Adapt to Live [Part 6]
Nov. 6th, 2015 11:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: Noblesse
Summary: It's been a long time since Tao had seen an angel, not since ze left Heaven and turned into a demon. Ze hadn't thought it was possible to pass through the barrier between Heaven and the physical realm without changing. M-21's task in the physical realm is to kill as many demons as they can. Except the pieces aren't fitting together.
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Word count: 1,797
Total word count: 14,058
Status: Work in progress
"Where's the other demon?" M-21 asked, looking around, trying to find them.
The demon raised an eyebrow. "Ze's resting after hir last meeting with you."
M-21 ducked their head. Oh. That... Yes.
The demon tucked their handkerchief into a pocket and right, M-21 had to tell the others who this was before they attacked.
Except when M-21 turned to them, Sera and Regis were staring at the demon. Not moving. Was there something wrong?
In fact, Regis had stopped calling, his aura faltering.
"I recognise you," Seira said, studying the demon's features, frowning. "You're...Frankenstein Lee."
"Indeed I am," Frankenstein said, dipping their head as their wings flared out. "You two must be from the Loyard and Landegre families."
M-21 hadn't thought much about it when they'd first seen Frankenstein since they didn't have much to compare to, but after seeing all the demons in last day, Frankenstein stood out as being much bigger than the others. Their wings arched higher and spread out wider and while most of the demons' horns were small enough that M-21 could wrap a hand around them, Frankenstein's were thick enough that M-21 wasn't sure both their hands would clasp around Frankenstein's horns. If they would be able to reach that close, since Frankenstein could summon multiple weapons, and how powerful were they?
How did the two know who the demon was?
"But..." Regis said, spluttering, "you're the leading professor in theology!"
Was that important?
Frankenstein smiled, their wings ruffling. "How did you think I was able to 'find' the research to refute some erroneous theories?"
"Though," Frankenstein said, raising a hand to stroke their own chin, "it's become harder to take up a new mantle and continue my research thanks to the invention of photographs." They sighed, shaking their head. "But watching humans' progress with technology has been absolutely fascinating."
"You've been steering everything to muddy the waters," Seira said, gripping her scythe, on the verge of raising it.
"Is that the view you have of my work?" Frankenstein arched an eyebrow.
"...No." Seira wavered, and then lowered her scythe, though not dismissing it yet.
"But then, why would a demon go into this field?" Regis demanded.
Frankenstein chuckled at that. "This is the area of my expertise, after all."
That was true…
"Though I doubt meeting fans is the reason why you made this...call." Frankenstein peered at them all in turn. "We should hurry before we're interrupted - there will be a few stragglers who are only now just catching up."
M-21 nodded and moved closer. They paused when they saw Seira try to grab them from the corner of their eyes, shaking her head. Not too close? M-21 hovered there, and then flapped their wings, backing away again.
Frankenstein didn't say anything, still standing there.
Except having the demon watch them muddled their thoughts and after all the fighting, M-21 couldn't remember all the questions they wanted to ask. There was one they could remember though. "What's the demon's plans for Heaven?"
Frankenstein raised their eyebrow again. "If you are expecting a demon attack, would you expect a demon to tell you, just like that?"
Well, yes. An angel wouldn't lie about any anything if they were asked a question.
But there were no other angels here.
"But truth be told," Frankenstein said, tucking some stray hairs behind their ears again, "there is no plan for Heaven - I'm not sure why you of all people would be asking." Frankenstein frowned, and why had they made that comment towards them?
"As far as I'm aware," Frankenstein said, continuing, "the majority of demons here had chosen to leave."
Another dull throb in M-21's chest area. So was it true then?
"Why would we want to go back?"
Frankenstein gestured to the other demons around them. "I'm sure you can see us presenting a united front against Heaven," they said, their voice wry. And there was the raised eyebrow again.
"Now then," Frankenstein said, looking at everyone, "is that everything?"
M-21 nodded, unable to think of everything else now that the demon was actually there.
"Very well." Frankenstein flapped their wings a few times. "I was between lectures so I need to return. And," they said, glancing around them, "if you wish to contact us again, it would be far safer and more convenient for you if you used my contact details instead. I'm sure you can find them, now that you know who I am."
Regis nodded. "Yeah..."
"Ah, wait-!" M-21 called out as they felt the prickle of magic from the demon.
The magic halted and the demon looked at them. "Yes?"
"Can..." The words wouldn't come, and M-21 flapped their wings, trying to form their thoughts. "Can you tell the other demon I'm sorry for getting them hurt, and thank you." They bowed.
The demon didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I'll make sure ze gets your message."
M-21 relaxed their wings, folding them close to their body. "Thank you."
The demon was already gone by the time M-21 straightened again.
"He's right," Seira said, her scythe no longer in her hand. "We should leave."
M-21 nodded.
* * *
Tao's internet searches hadn't turned anything up; there were a number of urban legends in the city, but what place didn't? Ze'd already visited those places.
It didn't help that the call from Loyard and Landegre had stopped a few minutes ago, soon after ze'd talked with Boss. There hadn't been any flares of power following it, so that meant they weren't in a fight either. Hopefully. Unless the angel had tried to attack Boss. The angel wouldn't have the time to generate enough power for Tao to sense it from where they were.
Tao drummed hir fingers over hir phone. Boss was fine. Boss was Boss. Of course they were.
The sack of stones in hir gut wasn't shifting though, grinding against each other. What it they weren't fine? What if something happened? And ze were here not doing anything?
Hir phone buzzed and Tao exhaled, some of the tension in hir stomach easing.
[
Which meant Boss had done something, even if it was small. [
[
That could mean a huge number of spells and manoeuvres Boss knew.
[
Tao quirked an eyebrow up at Boss using 'angel' in a text, but it could be used as a nickname, so it probably didn't look so weird out of context.
And then ze snorted when they read the full sentence, a flare of pain in hir stomach reminding hirself to not do that again. Ze would have loved seeing Boss' reaction to that.
[
[
Both Tao's eyebrows shot up this time, reading over the text again to make sure ze'd read it right. And the meaning was still the same the second time around. Huh. [
Tao could just imagine Boss' wings rustling as they tried to not flap them so they wouldn't show Tao had affected them. Boss liked appearing unruffled at all times, but there were a few things Tao knew would get a reaction out of them.
[
Ze grinned, flipping the tip of hir tail on hir bed. [
[
[
Ze had a number of hours until they had to get up.
* * *
M-21 watched Regis patch Seira up. Seira was bleeding in a few places, though not as much as the dark-haired demon had. M-21 knew what happened to physical bodies when they were hurt, but that was different from seeing it in front of their own eyes.
They turned back to the microwave. The numbers were still counting down but it was almost ready.
When the machine beeped, M-21 concentrated their power to their hands, opening it. Trying to phase the mug through the door wouldn't work, they could guess that much.
"Angel," Seira said, looking in their direction. "You don't need to do that."
M-21 fluttered back and forth in tight circles. "I want to help." They didn't know how to take care of wounds, but they knew how to make hot chocolate after seeing Seira and Regis make it. Touching a mug was one thing, but they didn't want to find out what could happen if they lost their concentration while touching Seira or Regis.
"If you're sure," Seira said, watching them, and M-21 nodded.
"I am." It was the least they would do. They added all the things M-21 had seen them add to Seira's cup and then concentrated again, making sure they gripped the mug in the way they'd seen Seira do as they hovered over to her side.
She nodded and smiled at them as they took the cup from their hands. "Thank you."
M-21 flapped their wings in answer and then moved to make Regis' hot drink.
The television was on as Regis finished up and M-21 finished making the second cup of hot chocolate for Regis.
"In shocking news, the aftermath of a large scale fight has been discovered on the outskirts of the city." the person on the tv said.
Wait. M-21 turned their attention to it, recognising what was on the tv. That was...
"-anyone has any information, to please contact the police or call this number-
M-21 turned their attention to Seira and Regis, who were watching but not moving for their phones.
Could they not reach them? Regis could still move and M-21 hovered a little closer to the phones. "Aren't you going to tell them?" M-21 asked when the news turned to something else.
Regis shook his head. "At best, they won't believe us."
"At best?" M-21 echoed. But they were fighting demons!
"At worst they will think we did it and lock us away. And we are the culprits they're looking for, so it's best not to tell them."
____________________________________
I'd written more today, but this is as far as I got with editing it, hah.
Summary: It's been a long time since Tao had seen an angel, not since ze left Heaven and turned into a demon. Ze hadn't thought it was possible to pass through the barrier between Heaven and the physical realm without changing. M-21's task in the physical realm is to kill as many demons as they can. Except the pieces aren't fitting together.
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Word count: 1,797
Total word count: 14,058
Status: Work in progress
"Where's the other demon?" M-21 asked, looking around, trying to find them.
The demon raised an eyebrow. "Ze's resting after hir last meeting with you."
M-21 ducked their head. Oh. That... Yes.
The demon tucked their handkerchief into a pocket and right, M-21 had to tell the others who this was before they attacked.
Except when M-21 turned to them, Sera and Regis were staring at the demon. Not moving. Was there something wrong?
In fact, Regis had stopped calling, his aura faltering.
"I recognise you," Seira said, studying the demon's features, frowning. "You're...Frankenstein Lee."
"Indeed I am," Frankenstein said, dipping their head as their wings flared out. "You two must be from the Loyard and Landegre families."
M-21 hadn't thought much about it when they'd first seen Frankenstein since they didn't have much to compare to, but after seeing all the demons in last day, Frankenstein stood out as being much bigger than the others. Their wings arched higher and spread out wider and while most of the demons' horns were small enough that M-21 could wrap a hand around them, Frankenstein's were thick enough that M-21 wasn't sure both their hands would clasp around Frankenstein's horns. If they would be able to reach that close, since Frankenstein could summon multiple weapons, and how powerful were they?
How did the two know who the demon was?
"But..." Regis said, spluttering, "you're the leading professor in theology!"
Was that important?
Frankenstein smiled, their wings ruffling. "How did you think I was able to 'find' the research to refute some erroneous theories?"
"Though," Frankenstein said, raising a hand to stroke their own chin, "it's become harder to take up a new mantle and continue my research thanks to the invention of photographs." They sighed, shaking their head. "But watching humans' progress with technology has been absolutely fascinating."
"You've been steering everything to muddy the waters," Seira said, gripping her scythe, on the verge of raising it.
"Is that the view you have of my work?" Frankenstein arched an eyebrow.
"...No." Seira wavered, and then lowered her scythe, though not dismissing it yet.
"But then, why would a demon go into this field?" Regis demanded.
Frankenstein chuckled at that. "This is the area of my expertise, after all."
That was true…
"Though I doubt meeting fans is the reason why you made this...call." Frankenstein peered at them all in turn. "We should hurry before we're interrupted - there will be a few stragglers who are only now just catching up."
M-21 nodded and moved closer. They paused when they saw Seira try to grab them from the corner of their eyes, shaking her head. Not too close? M-21 hovered there, and then flapped their wings, backing away again.
Frankenstein didn't say anything, still standing there.
Except having the demon watch them muddled their thoughts and after all the fighting, M-21 couldn't remember all the questions they wanted to ask. There was one they could remember though. "What's the demon's plans for Heaven?"
Frankenstein raised their eyebrow again. "If you are expecting a demon attack, would you expect a demon to tell you, just like that?"
Well, yes. An angel wouldn't lie about any anything if they were asked a question.
But there were no other angels here.
"But truth be told," Frankenstein said, tucking some stray hairs behind their ears again, "there is no plan for Heaven - I'm not sure why you of all people would be asking." Frankenstein frowned, and why had they made that comment towards them?
"As far as I'm aware," Frankenstein said, continuing, "the majority of demons here had chosen to leave."
Another dull throb in M-21's chest area. So was it true then?
"Why would we want to go back?"
Frankenstein gestured to the other demons around them. "I'm sure you can see us presenting a united front against Heaven," they said, their voice wry. And there was the raised eyebrow again.
"Now then," Frankenstein said, looking at everyone, "is that everything?"
M-21 nodded, unable to think of everything else now that the demon was actually there.
"Very well." Frankenstein flapped their wings a few times. "I was between lectures so I need to return. And," they said, glancing around them, "if you wish to contact us again, it would be far safer and more convenient for you if you used my contact details instead. I'm sure you can find them, now that you know who I am."
Regis nodded. "Yeah..."
"Ah, wait-!" M-21 called out as they felt the prickle of magic from the demon.
The magic halted and the demon looked at them. "Yes?"
"Can..." The words wouldn't come, and M-21 flapped their wings, trying to form their thoughts. "Can you tell the other demon I'm sorry for getting them hurt, and thank you." They bowed.
The demon didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I'll make sure ze gets your message."
M-21 relaxed their wings, folding them close to their body. "Thank you."
The demon was already gone by the time M-21 straightened again.
"He's right," Seira said, her scythe no longer in her hand. "We should leave."
M-21 nodded.
Tao's internet searches hadn't turned anything up; there were a number of urban legends in the city, but what place didn't? Ze'd already visited those places.
It didn't help that the call from Loyard and Landegre had stopped a few minutes ago, soon after ze'd talked with Boss. There hadn't been any flares of power following it, so that meant they weren't in a fight either. Hopefully. Unless the angel had tried to attack Boss. The angel wouldn't have the time to generate enough power for Tao to sense it from where they were.
Tao drummed hir fingers over hir phone. Boss was fine. Boss was Boss. Of course they were.
The sack of stones in hir gut wasn't shifting though, grinding against each other. What it they weren't fine? What if something happened? And ze were here not doing anything?
Hir phone buzzed and Tao exhaled, some of the tension in hir stomach easing.
[
I'm back at the university. I didn't do anything too strenuous.]Which meant Boss had done something, even if it was small. [
What happened?][
I dusted off a skill I haven't tried in a long time. I was pleasantly surprised to find I can still pull it off with little trouble.]That could mean a huge number of spells and manoeuvres Boss knew.
[
I met some fans. Angel wanted to know if we were going to try and steal their flag.]Tao quirked an eyebrow up at Boss using 'angel' in a text, but it could be used as a nickname, so it probably didn't look so weird out of context.
And then ze snorted when they read the full sentence, a flare of pain in hir stomach reminding hirself to not do that again. Ze would have loved seeing Boss' reaction to that.
[
We need to find our King first.] Then they could return to Heaven and find out what exactly had changed since the last time they'd been there.[
Of course. Angel also apologises for getting you hurt and thanks you for saving them.] Both Tao's eyebrows shot up this time, reading over the text again to make sure ze'd read it right. And the meaning was still the same the second time around. Huh. [
What did you do?] Tao sent, smiling. [I know you can be a scary person when you want to be.] Tao could just imagine Boss' wings rustling as they tried to not flap them so they wouldn't show Tao had affected them. Boss liked appearing unruffled at all times, but there were a few things Tao knew would get a reaction out of them.
[
I did not intimidate it out of them.] Ze grinned, flipping the tip of hir tail on hir bed. [
I'll believe you this time.] Don't laugh, don't laugh, because that would hurt. [I'll prepare dinner for when you get back.] That should be a big enough subject change. [
Don't strain yourself.][
I won't. You get back to work.] Tao wriggled back further under hir covers. Ze had a number of hours until they had to get up.
M-21 watched Regis patch Seira up. Seira was bleeding in a few places, though not as much as the dark-haired demon had. M-21 knew what happened to physical bodies when they were hurt, but that was different from seeing it in front of their own eyes.
They turned back to the microwave. The numbers were still counting down but it was almost ready.
When the machine beeped, M-21 concentrated their power to their hands, opening it. Trying to phase the mug through the door wouldn't work, they could guess that much.
"Angel," Seira said, looking in their direction. "You don't need to do that."
M-21 fluttered back and forth in tight circles. "I want to help." They didn't know how to take care of wounds, but they knew how to make hot chocolate after seeing Seira and Regis make it. Touching a mug was one thing, but they didn't want to find out what could happen if they lost their concentration while touching Seira or Regis.
"If you're sure," Seira said, watching them, and M-21 nodded.
"I am." It was the least they would do. They added all the things M-21 had seen them add to Seira's cup and then concentrated again, making sure they gripped the mug in the way they'd seen Seira do as they hovered over to her side.
She nodded and smiled at them as they took the cup from their hands. "Thank you."
M-21 flapped their wings in answer and then moved to make Regis' hot drink.
The television was on as Regis finished up and M-21 finished making the second cup of hot chocolate for Regis.
"In shocking news, the aftermath of a large scale fight has been discovered on the outskirts of the city." the person on the tv said.
Wait. M-21 turned their attention to it, recognising what was on the tv. That was...
"-anyone has any information, to please contact the police or call this number-
M-21 turned their attention to Seira and Regis, who were watching but not moving for their phones.
Could they not reach them? Regis could still move and M-21 hovered a little closer to the phones. "Aren't you going to tell them?" M-21 asked when the news turned to something else.
Regis shook his head. "At best, they won't believe us."
"At best?" M-21 echoed. But they were fighting demons!
"At worst they will think we did it and lock us away. And we are the culprits they're looking for, so it's best not to tell them."
I'd written more today, but this is as far as I got with editing it, hah.