Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue.
Author's Note: Okay, I was planning on having a killing chapter here, but I decided not to and just go onto the cute little thing. Yes, I AM kind of rushing through this so please forgive me.
Chapter 10: Fallen Seraph
Lenore nibbled on the end of her quill, looking over her notes as she read. She had gone out for a small errand run after Angel's little escapade a week ago, when a certain, public invitation in Alexandria caught her eye. It was announcement of Garnet and Zidane's wedding, a very fast approaching event, only a week and a half from that day. Lenore smiled as Angel walked into the room, an evil plan of revenge formulating in her mind.
"Lenore? Can we go in the dungeon and train? With one of the dolls?" Angel asked, refering to the unconscious black mages that were kept as leftovers from Queen Brahne's army. Lenore had taken him down below for several training sessions against her and some of the unconscious black mages, using the human servants as nothing more than target practice.
"Not today," Lenore said, patting Angel's wing. The waltz cocked his head to one side.
"Why not?"
"Well, I'm afraid I have some more errands to run in Treno," Lenore said. "But I can let one of the other ones out for you to play with if you get bored."
Angel thought a moment.
"Ooookay..." he grumbled. "How long are you going to be gone?"
Lenore got up from her spot and began walking out of the drab study, a large, leather bound book in the crook of her arm.
"Well, I should be back tomorrow morning," Lenore said as she began ambling down the hallway, Angel toddling after.
"Oh..." Angel said dejectedly.
"But it is a beautiful morning today, isn't it?" Lenore sighed. "I think I can trust you to handle yourself outside if you'd like to take advantage of the day."
"Really?" Angel confirmed excitedly.
"Yes, on one condition," Lenore said, stopping in place. "You mustn't wander out of our little plot of land, you can't go beyond the mountain range."
"Well, there isn't anything there, right?" Angel asked naively. Lenore grinned.
"Of course there is," she replied. "Villages, forests, alot of things lay beyond our little home. But you won't be observing them anytime soon I'm afraid."
"Why not?" Angel asked.
"Because, I just don't think you're ready," Lenore replied stoutly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be heading out little one."
Angel didn't reply. 'I wonder what these "forests" and "villages" look like,' he thought to himself. 'Maybe I can go while she's gone.....no! She said not to! But...I want to...'
"Angel?" Lenore snapped, getting the waltz's attention. "I'm leaving. Feel free to go into the dungeon and have some....target practice. Okay pet?"
The waltz hid his innner conflict between compliance and his own intentions with a chirpy nod. The girl ruffled his feathers kindly and went down to the dragons' stables. The waltz sighed and began walking towards the dungeon.
"So what would you do?" Angel asked, sitting on the back of a muscle bound, former stable buck. The man had been forced to the ground by the waltz, Angel pulling his head back by the hair. The man's Adam's Apple bobbed as he gagged, struggling to breathe, his head nearly perpindicular to the floor. "Well? What would you do?"
The man gagged again.
"Fine," Angel sighed and loose his grip, easing the man's head down. "Now, answer me."
"You got issues, you inhuman monster! You're no better than the black mages that attacked Lindblum!" he crowed, eyes narrowing at the child on his back. But now that Angel's grip had loosened, he turned and smacked the waltz off with a large arm, getting to his feet hurridly. Angel fell to the ground with a small grunt as the man began desperately searching for a way out of the damp prison. "Let me out of here! Let me out of here!"
"Why?" Angel asked.
"What do you mean!? Just let me out of here!" the man barked, narrowing his eyes. Angel sighed.
"I don't see why I should, if you can't even answer my question," Angel grumbled.
"Okay, fine! Yeah, go! Now let me out of here!" the man retorted.
"Not a chance," Angel chuckled.
"But you said---"
"I didn't say about letting you out," Angel replied quietly. "Thank you anyways."
"Wait---AHHHHH!!!"
"I'll be going now! Bye!" Angel said as the man's body was consumed alive by the fiery spell.
The waltz teetered on the air currents, approaching the mountain range with confidence.
"The man said I should go, but I still don't know if it's...okay," Angel murmured, giving his wings several sturdy flaps to clear a few trees as he ascended aloft the warm, sturdy thermal. He looked down, the scenery below was speeding by as he flapped. "I hope I'm over the mountain range soon, I don't like this air."
To the small waltz's relief, the mountain range came to an abrupt end, allowing him to ease his muscles abit as he drifted on the soft air currents of a small plain, several yellow grasses stuck up, swaying in the gentle, mid-morning breeze.
He noticed several cliffs below as he soared and the bluffs seemed to be containing a giagantic mass of green. The green sea of leaves reminded him of the house plants Lenore so dearly loved, but they were far too enormous to be spider plants. The waltz decided to have a closer look and folded his wings onto his shoulders, diving towards the canopy. Hardly five seconds beneath the canopy went by before he found himself lodged in the branches of a large oak tree, small twigs cutting the delicate skin beneath his feathers and the heavy bough crushing his ribs closer together than they were meant to be.
Angel cried out an inhuman wail, beating his wings forcefully and angrily, cursing himself for not listening to Lenore. He brought his wings out as far as they would extend, putting his hands on either side of his body.
"Hey, what's that!?" a voice from below called, answered by a nearby friend, though Angel didn't catch the response.
The waltz didn't concern himself with the being below, more concentrated on the tree that had him in a death grip. He stretched his wings out another inch and flapped with every ounce of energy he could possibly muster in the muscles of his avian appendages. As he did so, Angel dug his claws into the dry, rough bark and shoved back in the direction he intended on going with his flapping. The two movements combined were enough to release him of the bough's pinch but something went wrong with his wings suddenly. He exceeded his muscular capacity in his shoulders and appendages, going beyond their intended range of motion, snapping the tendons of his wings, pulling them out of place in his shoulders.
"Argh!!!!" Angel cried and flailed pathetically in the air as he fell, body barrated by all the branches of the trees. He tried spreading his wings to stop himself, but they only thrashed compulsively out of their own will, causing the mage to topple over several times in the air.
"Ah-ah-AH!!! I-it's coming towards us!!!" the voice cried again. Angel was now close enough to the ground to see that it was another black mage, a doll. But this bit of information didn't seem important in the least as Angel's last few meters of atmosphere escaped him, the waltz hitting the ground with a sickening, bone cracking thump.
"It's not a bird!" the first mage cried indignantly, spotting Angel's limp and wounded body. "You lied Mr. 176!"
"I-I didn't! I thought it was a really big bird." Mr. 176 murmured sheepishly, holding his basket of fruits and berries in front of him innocently. "But you thought it was a bird too, didn't you 99?"
"Just 'cause you said so," Mr. 99 muttered, the stout type C mage crossing his arms in an offended fashion. Mr. 176 was the first to step from the bush they were hiding, taking a step towards the waltz's body. Mr. 99 quickly dropped his stubborn attitude in passionate concern for his friend. "Wait! It might hurt you..."
"No, look, he's one of us!" Mr. 176 replied. "Erm, well....except he has wings."
"Aw, look, and he's hurt, real bad...." Mr. 99 whimpered. "We should bring him back to the village."
Mr. 176 agreed with a quick nod.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Mr. 99 snapped impatiently.
"Erm....you pick him up." Mr. 176 argued. "It's your idea."
"I---you're bigger than I am!" Mr. 99 retorted.
"...."
"Well?"
"Okay, fine," Mr. 176 said sadly, slightly amiss for being beaten in another argument by his counterpart. The muscular Type A mage shifted his arms under Angel's body, his back, shoulders and frame sagging according to Mr. 176's arms. He picked the waltz up easily. "Wow, he's pretty light for such a chubby---"
"Hey, that's not very nice!" Mr. 99 scolded, crossing his arms.
"Oh, right. Hey, is it just me or does he look alot like---what's his name again---that other black mage that was travelling with his friends?" Mr. 176 asked.
"Vivi?"
"Yeah! That's it!"
"Hm, now that you mention it....he kinda does...." Mr. 99 confirmed. "But I don't remember Vivi having wings."
"Maybe it's not him, I mean, alot of us look alike too," Mr. 176 said as he began following after Mr. 99 like a child. "Oh! M-my berries! Could you grab them, please?"
Mr. 99 sighed and rolled his eyes, picking up the small wicker basket.
"I hope that's enough for Mr. 45 to make a pie," 176 said as they continued walking through the beaten path in the woods, though both knew the woods well enough to navigate it without the small road. "I wonder if he likes pie."
"That's a silly thing to say," Mr. 99 said nonchalantly, but found himself somewhat curious as well. "I'm sure he does, I mean, everyone likes pie, right?"
"Not Mr. 79," 176 replied.
"Oh, he doesn't like anything," Mr. 99 retorted.
"Heh, yeah," Mr. 176 agreed lazily, the village coming into sight. "I wonder how he got wings."
"Me too," Mr. 99 nodded. "It would be pretty cool to be able to fly."
"No way!" Mr. 176 said, shaking slightly. "That's too high up for me!"
"You're just saying that because of that time you fell off the roof you were working on," Mr. 99 chuckled.
"So what if I am?" Mr. 176 said.
"I don't know," Mr. 99 shrugged, putting his arms behind his head, the basket in his hands hitting his back. "Maybe we should take him to see Mr. 288."
"No, we're getting him to 49," Mr. 176 urged. "He knows the most about taking care of--um---what's the word when something hurts?"
"Injury."
"Yeah, injuries." Mr. 176 replied with a chirpy nod.
"But Mr. 288 can tell us if he's dangerous or not," Mr. 99 said.
"How could you say that!?" Mr. 176 snapped with slight disgust. "He's too small to hurt anyone! Besides, he's....injured."
"I suppose you're right," Mr. 99 said, opening the gate for his friend. "Look, I'll go talk to Mr. 288, you just take him to Mr. 49."
"Alrighty!" Mr. 176 said chirpily, holding the child in his big arms carefully.
"And try not to trip! You'll crush the poor thing's bones if you fall on him," Mr. 99 said in both a scolding and friendly manner.
"I won't, I promise!" Mr. 176 said.
"Okay, hurry and get him to 49," Mr. 99 waved, Mr. 176 scampering off almost immediately. "Okay, now to go talk to Mr. 288."
The type C mage marched across the village and into the depressing cemetary, Mr. 288 at his usual post near the entrance, looking to the horizon wistfully, keeping his ever-enigmatic attitude.
"Mr. 288?" Mr. 99 asked. "Is something wrong? You look kinda...down..."
"No, I'm fine," Mr. 288 said. "You sound more sincere, alittle less sharp tongued than usual. I'm supposing there's a reason?"
Mr. 99 chuckled slightly at Mr. 288's small stab at his personality, not minding this small, playful change in his usually serious demeanor.
"One doesn't make remarks to a person he's seeking counsel from," Mr. 99 retorted.
"Is something wrong?" Mr. 288 asked.
"Not really WRONG," 99 said. "It's just, well, while Mr. 176 and I were in the woods this---thing, a winged black mage, fell out of the tree and he's hurt kind of bad. I was just wondering if he was dangerous or anything."
"Hm, perhaps I'll be able to better tell if I get a look at him," Mr. 288 said. "Where is he?"
"At Mr. 49's hut," 99 replied. "He fell out of the top of the tree."
"Alright, well, we'll let him rest for awhile," Mr. 288 said kindly.
"Y-yeah, okay," Mr. 99 nodded, beginning to walk towards his hut.
Author's Note: Okay, I was planning on having a killing chapter here, but I decided not to and just go onto the cute little thing. Yes, I AM kind of rushing through this so please forgive me.
Chapter 10: Fallen Seraph
Lenore nibbled on the end of her quill, looking over her notes as she read. She had gone out for a small errand run after Angel's little escapade a week ago, when a certain, public invitation in Alexandria caught her eye. It was announcement of Garnet and Zidane's wedding, a very fast approaching event, only a week and a half from that day. Lenore smiled as Angel walked into the room, an evil plan of revenge formulating in her mind.
"Lenore? Can we go in the dungeon and train? With one of the dolls?" Angel asked, refering to the unconscious black mages that were kept as leftovers from Queen Brahne's army. Lenore had taken him down below for several training sessions against her and some of the unconscious black mages, using the human servants as nothing more than target practice.
"Not today," Lenore said, patting Angel's wing. The waltz cocked his head to one side.
"Why not?"
"Well, I'm afraid I have some more errands to run in Treno," Lenore said. "But I can let one of the other ones out for you to play with if you get bored."
Angel thought a moment.
"Ooookay..." he grumbled. "How long are you going to be gone?"
Lenore got up from her spot and began walking out of the drab study, a large, leather bound book in the crook of her arm.
"Well, I should be back tomorrow morning," Lenore said as she began ambling down the hallway, Angel toddling after.
"Oh..." Angel said dejectedly.
"But it is a beautiful morning today, isn't it?" Lenore sighed. "I think I can trust you to handle yourself outside if you'd like to take advantage of the day."
"Really?" Angel confirmed excitedly.
"Yes, on one condition," Lenore said, stopping in place. "You mustn't wander out of our little plot of land, you can't go beyond the mountain range."
"Well, there isn't anything there, right?" Angel asked naively. Lenore grinned.
"Of course there is," she replied. "Villages, forests, alot of things lay beyond our little home. But you won't be observing them anytime soon I'm afraid."
"Why not?" Angel asked.
"Because, I just don't think you're ready," Lenore replied stoutly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be heading out little one."
Angel didn't reply. 'I wonder what these "forests" and "villages" look like,' he thought to himself. 'Maybe I can go while she's gone.....no! She said not to! But...I want to...'
"Angel?" Lenore snapped, getting the waltz's attention. "I'm leaving. Feel free to go into the dungeon and have some....target practice. Okay pet?"
The waltz hid his innner conflict between compliance and his own intentions with a chirpy nod. The girl ruffled his feathers kindly and went down to the dragons' stables. The waltz sighed and began walking towards the dungeon.
"So what would you do?" Angel asked, sitting on the back of a muscle bound, former stable buck. The man had been forced to the ground by the waltz, Angel pulling his head back by the hair. The man's Adam's Apple bobbed as he gagged, struggling to breathe, his head nearly perpindicular to the floor. "Well? What would you do?"
The man gagged again.
"Fine," Angel sighed and loose his grip, easing the man's head down. "Now, answer me."
"You got issues, you inhuman monster! You're no better than the black mages that attacked Lindblum!" he crowed, eyes narrowing at the child on his back. But now that Angel's grip had loosened, he turned and smacked the waltz off with a large arm, getting to his feet hurridly. Angel fell to the ground with a small grunt as the man began desperately searching for a way out of the damp prison. "Let me out of here! Let me out of here!"
"Why?" Angel asked.
"What do you mean!? Just let me out of here!" the man barked, narrowing his eyes. Angel sighed.
"I don't see why I should, if you can't even answer my question," Angel grumbled.
"Okay, fine! Yeah, go! Now let me out of here!" the man retorted.
"Not a chance," Angel chuckled.
"But you said---"
"I didn't say about letting you out," Angel replied quietly. "Thank you anyways."
"Wait---AHHHHH!!!"
"I'll be going now! Bye!" Angel said as the man's body was consumed alive by the fiery spell.
The waltz teetered on the air currents, approaching the mountain range with confidence.
"The man said I should go, but I still don't know if it's...okay," Angel murmured, giving his wings several sturdy flaps to clear a few trees as he ascended aloft the warm, sturdy thermal. He looked down, the scenery below was speeding by as he flapped. "I hope I'm over the mountain range soon, I don't like this air."
To the small waltz's relief, the mountain range came to an abrupt end, allowing him to ease his muscles abit as he drifted on the soft air currents of a small plain, several yellow grasses stuck up, swaying in the gentle, mid-morning breeze.
He noticed several cliffs below as he soared and the bluffs seemed to be containing a giagantic mass of green. The green sea of leaves reminded him of the house plants Lenore so dearly loved, but they were far too enormous to be spider plants. The waltz decided to have a closer look and folded his wings onto his shoulders, diving towards the canopy. Hardly five seconds beneath the canopy went by before he found himself lodged in the branches of a large oak tree, small twigs cutting the delicate skin beneath his feathers and the heavy bough crushing his ribs closer together than they were meant to be.
Angel cried out an inhuman wail, beating his wings forcefully and angrily, cursing himself for not listening to Lenore. He brought his wings out as far as they would extend, putting his hands on either side of his body.
"Hey, what's that!?" a voice from below called, answered by a nearby friend, though Angel didn't catch the response.
The waltz didn't concern himself with the being below, more concentrated on the tree that had him in a death grip. He stretched his wings out another inch and flapped with every ounce of energy he could possibly muster in the muscles of his avian appendages. As he did so, Angel dug his claws into the dry, rough bark and shoved back in the direction he intended on going with his flapping. The two movements combined were enough to release him of the bough's pinch but something went wrong with his wings suddenly. He exceeded his muscular capacity in his shoulders and appendages, going beyond their intended range of motion, snapping the tendons of his wings, pulling them out of place in his shoulders.
"Argh!!!!" Angel cried and flailed pathetically in the air as he fell, body barrated by all the branches of the trees. He tried spreading his wings to stop himself, but they only thrashed compulsively out of their own will, causing the mage to topple over several times in the air.
"Ah-ah-AH!!! I-it's coming towards us!!!" the voice cried again. Angel was now close enough to the ground to see that it was another black mage, a doll. But this bit of information didn't seem important in the least as Angel's last few meters of atmosphere escaped him, the waltz hitting the ground with a sickening, bone cracking thump.
"It's not a bird!" the first mage cried indignantly, spotting Angel's limp and wounded body. "You lied Mr. 176!"
"I-I didn't! I thought it was a really big bird." Mr. 176 murmured sheepishly, holding his basket of fruits and berries in front of him innocently. "But you thought it was a bird too, didn't you 99?"
"Just 'cause you said so," Mr. 99 muttered, the stout type C mage crossing his arms in an offended fashion. Mr. 176 was the first to step from the bush they were hiding, taking a step towards the waltz's body. Mr. 99 quickly dropped his stubborn attitude in passionate concern for his friend. "Wait! It might hurt you..."
"No, look, he's one of us!" Mr. 176 replied. "Erm, well....except he has wings."
"Aw, look, and he's hurt, real bad...." Mr. 99 whimpered. "We should bring him back to the village."
Mr. 176 agreed with a quick nod.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Mr. 99 snapped impatiently.
"Erm....you pick him up." Mr. 176 argued. "It's your idea."
"I---you're bigger than I am!" Mr. 99 retorted.
"...."
"Well?"
"Okay, fine," Mr. 176 said sadly, slightly amiss for being beaten in another argument by his counterpart. The muscular Type A mage shifted his arms under Angel's body, his back, shoulders and frame sagging according to Mr. 176's arms. He picked the waltz up easily. "Wow, he's pretty light for such a chubby---"
"Hey, that's not very nice!" Mr. 99 scolded, crossing his arms.
"Oh, right. Hey, is it just me or does he look alot like---what's his name again---that other black mage that was travelling with his friends?" Mr. 176 asked.
"Vivi?"
"Yeah! That's it!"
"Hm, now that you mention it....he kinda does...." Mr. 99 confirmed. "But I don't remember Vivi having wings."
"Maybe it's not him, I mean, alot of us look alike too," Mr. 176 said as he began following after Mr. 99 like a child. "Oh! M-my berries! Could you grab them, please?"
Mr. 99 sighed and rolled his eyes, picking up the small wicker basket.
"I hope that's enough for Mr. 45 to make a pie," 176 said as they continued walking through the beaten path in the woods, though both knew the woods well enough to navigate it without the small road. "I wonder if he likes pie."
"That's a silly thing to say," Mr. 99 said nonchalantly, but found himself somewhat curious as well. "I'm sure he does, I mean, everyone likes pie, right?"
"Not Mr. 79," 176 replied.
"Oh, he doesn't like anything," Mr. 99 retorted.
"Heh, yeah," Mr. 176 agreed lazily, the village coming into sight. "I wonder how he got wings."
"Me too," Mr. 99 nodded. "It would be pretty cool to be able to fly."
"No way!" Mr. 176 said, shaking slightly. "That's too high up for me!"
"You're just saying that because of that time you fell off the roof you were working on," Mr. 99 chuckled.
"So what if I am?" Mr. 176 said.
"I don't know," Mr. 99 shrugged, putting his arms behind his head, the basket in his hands hitting his back. "Maybe we should take him to see Mr. 288."
"No, we're getting him to 49," Mr. 176 urged. "He knows the most about taking care of--um---what's the word when something hurts?"
"Injury."
"Yeah, injuries." Mr. 176 replied with a chirpy nod.
"But Mr. 288 can tell us if he's dangerous or not," Mr. 99 said.
"How could you say that!?" Mr. 176 snapped with slight disgust. "He's too small to hurt anyone! Besides, he's....injured."
"I suppose you're right," Mr. 99 said, opening the gate for his friend. "Look, I'll go talk to Mr. 288, you just take him to Mr. 49."
"Alrighty!" Mr. 176 said chirpily, holding the child in his big arms carefully.
"And try not to trip! You'll crush the poor thing's bones if you fall on him," Mr. 99 said in both a scolding and friendly manner.
"I won't, I promise!" Mr. 176 said.
"Okay, hurry and get him to 49," Mr. 99 waved, Mr. 176 scampering off almost immediately. "Okay, now to go talk to Mr. 288."
The type C mage marched across the village and into the depressing cemetary, Mr. 288 at his usual post near the entrance, looking to the horizon wistfully, keeping his ever-enigmatic attitude.
"Mr. 288?" Mr. 99 asked. "Is something wrong? You look kinda...down..."
"No, I'm fine," Mr. 288 said. "You sound more sincere, alittle less sharp tongued than usual. I'm supposing there's a reason?"
Mr. 99 chuckled slightly at Mr. 288's small stab at his personality, not minding this small, playful change in his usually serious demeanor.
"One doesn't make remarks to a person he's seeking counsel from," Mr. 99 retorted.
"Is something wrong?" Mr. 288 asked.
"Not really WRONG," 99 said. "It's just, well, while Mr. 176 and I were in the woods this---thing, a winged black mage, fell out of the tree and he's hurt kind of bad. I was just wondering if he was dangerous or anything."
"Hm, perhaps I'll be able to better tell if I get a look at him," Mr. 288 said. "Where is he?"
"At Mr. 49's hut," 99 replied. "He fell out of the top of the tree."
"Alright, well, we'll let him rest for awhile," Mr. 288 said kindly.
"Y-yeah, okay," Mr. 99 nodded, beginning to walk towards his hut.