1x1 Angel and Demon War

[Paintedsky]

"Right, cool it Simon. We'll start with her," Jean said, smug satisfaction lining her features. Approaching Ash, she stood beside her, looking down. "You're going to tell us the future plans of the angels in the war. When we're satisfied that you've been of use to us, we'll let you have a little break. So," Jean said, nodding to Simon. In response, he set a poker down in the flames, the end burning red hot quickly. "Anything you'd like to share?"

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash shook her head, and spat blood into Jeans eye, having bit her cheek. She didn't care, and nor did she know. her species kept their plans with a select few, those who it involved

 

[Paintedsky]

"She's a trained angel soldier," Dez snarled through his teeth, trying to push back on the pain as the salt fizzled on his skin, like acid reacting with a base, leaving angry, black welts behind. Real sexy. "Like you're going to get anything out of her with torture methods."


"Quiet, demon," Jean snapped, narrowing her eyes at Ash, thinking. "You're the one who suggested we do this instead of kill her, remember?" Simon started sniggering at the patronisation in Jean's speech. He then received a nod from Jean, and thus lifted the poker. Moving aside Ash's clothes with deceptive tenderness, he pressed the white hot brand of the poker down over her chest, across a rather sensitive area.


"Don't!" Dez yelled, pulling against is restraints in pointless protest as he watched, panic mounting for the both of them.

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash glared at Jean, her now grey eyes imaging stabbing the human with the poker that Simon held. She flinched as her clothes were moved gently, glaring at Simon, before she realised what he was going to do. She struggled weakly, and screamed as the poker was pressed on, her body buckling under the pain

 

[Paintedsky]

"Fuck," Dez said, listening to the shrieks that ripped through her throat. His own curses then escalated into strangled attempts to bite back on a yell as Thomas sprinkled salt across the skin of his face, burning, everything burning. There was nothing else to focus on, glancing sideways only gave the sight of either Thomas grinning, or Simon pressing the poker deeper and deeper into her skin. Watching, he saw Simon turn up the heat of the fire, and knew that Ash wouldn't take this that much longer. She'd been so close to death before… and now there was no way to heal her, no way to help. She'd end up just like the angels he'd seen before. She of all people couldn't turn into… that.


"The demons," he said, his voice hoarse, barely audible as a few grains of salt seared upon his neck. "They can't fight on the day of the solar eclipse."


"Did the demon say something?" Jean asked, turning her head to glance at Thomas.


"Somethin' about the lunar eclipse," Thomas said with a nod. He sprinkled a fresh round of salt, this time on Dez's chest, moving his clothes aside to let it connect with flesh. "What was that?"


"Demons can't fight during the lunar eclipse," Dez snapped. "Our magic cuts out. There's a nine minute period where we're completely incapable of using it on the night of the lunar eclipse. You didn't need to torture anyone to find that out though. Just go to any demon pub and the drunkards never shut up about it. It's our equivalent of the end of the world. Everyone's been freaking out about it for ages, since it's happening in a month."


(OOC: *slow claps* Dez, wth dude. You're normally so good when I torture you, all stoic silence. One pretty girl and you're putty in their hands *shakes head*) (heh, when I torture you makes it sound like a regular occurrence) (… tbh, with him is kind of is… )

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash's screams turned into raspy sobs, her throat sore from screaming, having trouble breathing from the heat and the poker. As the poker was pushed further, the only thing she could do was sob, and arch her back in pure pain, unaware of Dez's confession.Her wings were rapidly blackening once more, her already grey eyes paling

 

[Paintedsky]

"Cut the heat," Jean said, irritated by Ash's screaming as she tried to listen. Obediently, Simon moved the fire pit out from under her and withdrew the poker, setting it aside and extinguishing the flames. "How do we know you're not lying?"


"Please, it's common knowledge to anyone with the sense to put two and two together. Demons are associated with the moon and night, Angels with the sun and day," Dez muttered, his muscles relaxing as Ash at least was given a break. It shouldn't be worth it, doing this to his own kind. He blamed the salt for making him dizzy, for destroying all ability to think straight, but in that moment protecting Ash had seemed the only matter of importance.


"Thomas?" Jean asked, looking to her husband.


"They are known associations," Thomas confirmed with a nod of his head, absently dropping a continuous stream of salt onto Dez's exposed flesh.


"This is it then," Jean said quietly, her brow furrowed in thought. "We have the information we need. We can take down the demons, and then the angels will be easy. Who knows, by the same logic, they should be helpless on the day of a solar eclipse. Until then, we know their weakness." She seemed as surprised as she sounded, wide-eyed, her head tilted in disbelief. "We've done it. We've found what we need."


"What do we do with these two then?" Thomas asked, giving Dez a poke on his forehead with a salt-coated thumb.


"Dispose of them, kill them, I don't care. We can't have the demons finding out we know of their day of weakness, nor the angels. Simon," She snapped, glaring at the man in question. "Hurry up and have them locked up. We'll incinerate the angel. The demon's death should be arranged easily enough."

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash gasped for breath as the fire was removed, her skin pale, but tinted a unhealthy red. Her wings were burnt and the remaining feathers pure black. She shivered, coughing badly, turning her head to look at Dez, pale eyes filled with pain and fear

 

[Paintedsky]

Muttering under his breath, Simon removed Ash's restraints, Thomas doing the same to Dez. Simon alone then escorted the two prisoners back in the direction of the quarantine padded room, Thomas remaining behind to discuss with Jean their intended course of action. "Well what's the fun in all of this?" Simon muttered moodily, not looking at either of the prisoners as he dragged them in their weakened states back to the room. "You just had to tell them. Couldn't let us have any more fun, could you?"


Opening the door, he threw them both onto the padded floor before following, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now look what you've done. I'm supposed to kill you. There's no fun in killing you. It's too quick. Besides," he paused and gave Ash a fond smile, "I could never kill you, my love."

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash's feet dragged as she walked, wobbling weakly. She looked at Dez sadly, her pale eyes showing her agony, the burn still visible. She flinched at Simons words, "Y-Your love?" She spluttered with a rasp, looking disgusted

 

[Paintedsky]

"Where the hell is my wedding invitation, huh, Ash?" Dez demanded, his voice still sounding like someone had taken a grater to his vocal chords, a pained crooked smile on his lips.


"Wedding invitation?" Simon asked, tilting his heads. Then his eyes lit up with realisation and he grinned somewhat manically. "You were going to propose?"


"No-" Dez tried to protest, but Simon cut him off, practically bouncing up and down on his heels.


"Oh, you should have told me. But this changes everything. I can't let you die now, not if we're going to be married. Jean will understand, I'm sure."

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash glared at Dez, but sighed, realising this was the only way of getting out, "yes....I was." She replied, trying to look truthful, but ending up looking like she was in pain, which she was, "B-But.....Dez needs to be out ring bearer" She stated

 

[Paintedsky]

Dez had only spoken out of jest, but it seemed whatever the hell was going on with Simon, he had become delusional enough to actually take him seriously. Dez gave Ash an apologetic grimace, before smiling as pleasantly at possible at Simon. "It would be my honour to attend the wedding of the happy couple. Besides, all weddings need a witness. I'm imagining that this particular location is a little short on priests, however."


"Yes, yes of course," Simon said, his brow knitting together in concentration. "Jean doesn't want you two anymore, so I guess it's fine if I have you… and we can't get married in here." He laughed. "That would be ridiculous."


"Positively insane," Dez agreed, the double meaning in his tone pretty obvious, but Simon didn't seem to pick up on it.


"I can escort you two out of here, we can be married, and then everything will be okay. Jean won't mind. Jean won't be angry. Not this time." He looked at the two prisoners, speaking slowly. "Although… we should probably go now. In case she decides maybe she does want Ash, or you, demon-whore."

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash nodded hurriedly, "And who else would we have as a witness? Besides, it would be quicker to use him, then we could be married quicker" The angel continued weakly, before agreeing with Dez, "Absolute Madness" She told Simon, also having a double meaning, "But dear? Could you take these off first?" She asked softly, rather great at acting even when she was in agony, motioning to her restraints, and then to Dez's

 

[Paintedsky]

Simon narrowed his eyes at her, seeming confused for a minute, as if he were having some great mental debate with himself. "You're not going to run away from me again, are you?" He asked. "Because you did last time. Even though we had that moment together…" Sighing, he looked between the two of them. "But I know your weakness now…" Stepping forward, he pulled from his pocket a small knife. In a moment of great lucidity, he popped off the back of the cuffs which Ash wore, revealing a complex electronic memory board. With the blade of the knife, he then slit three of the hundreds of wires. The mechanism hissed for a moment, then the cuffs clicked open and fell away from her wrists. The metal wires implanted in her skin were still there, but with a series of quick, deft movements, Simon freed them from her flesh, rubbing his fingers over the marked skin. "If you try to run," he said gently, leaning to kiss the skin that had been impaled, always keeping his eyes on hers, "I'll kill you."


(Such a sweetie this one, ain't he?)

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash flinched, letting him kiss them to keep up the act but giving Dez a helpless look and a glare. Her wings were still cuffed, but at least she could move her wrists, "thank you love" She said softly, kissing him lightly on the cheek again to keep up the act, though she hated it

 

[Paintedsky]

Dez in turn stiffened somewhat when she kissed Simon's cheek, though he had no right to. Besides, he knew it was an act, knew she was doing it to save both their asses. He still didn't want him touching her, especially not when she was clearly so against it. "Shall we go?" He asked stiffly.


"Let me finish," Simon snapped, rubbing Ash's wrists with a small smile before attending to the cuffs on her wings. He repeated the process, removing them, before he regarded Dez's cuffs. "I suppose I ought to do yours too."


Gruffly, he freed Dez of his cuffs, and then opened the door. "Follow me, and keep quiet. There's an entrance round the side where we can borrow a vehicle." He turned back to look at Ash, wide-eyed and hopeful, holding out his hand for her.

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash looked at Dez, making a disgusted face and a 'you owe me more than one mate' face when Simon wasn't looking. When he offered her his hand she silently took it, her face holding a fake smile, as she wobbled over to him, unsteady on her feet

 

[Paintedsky]

Returning Ash's disgusted expression with a cheerfully mocking grin and a wink, Dez followed after her as Simon carted her away, off to his promised grand escape. Careful not to let Simon see, Dez clutched at his heart and made dramatic swooning poses, being a perfect shithead because hey, at least his bad stand-up was a distraction from holding hands with the resident nut job.


The resident nut job did as he promised, however, leading the pair down to a garage, which possessed several heavy-duty military jeeps. Filching the keys from a glass locker, Simon got into the passenger seat of one and started up the engine, grinning when it roared to life. "I want a white wedding," he said suddenly, looking over at Ash. "Like your wings used to be. Then, at the end, we should burn it, so it turns black, then it'll match right." He shook his head then, frowning at the wheel, which he he'd clutched tight in both hands. "No… no that's stupid. We should burn it during the wedding. That would be much better."

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash flinched, sitting beside him, "I-I'd rather not burn a-anything...." She stuttered, letting fear into her eyes as she looked at him. She shivered, though that was natural, and lowered her head so neither of the boys could see her pain. Her wings twitched, curling about her shoulders

 

[Paintedsky]

Sighing, Simon put the Jeep into reverse and, clicking a button on the dashboard, opened the garage door and reversed out of it. "I suppose the bride gets the final say," he said in a resigned manner, sighing again for emphasis. Dez meanwhile was sat in the backseat watching Ash as she bowed her head, frowning in concern before smoothing the expression. Pissing off Simon right at the end of their escaped seemed foolish; he could check if Ash was alright once they got free of this hellhole. Briefly he touched his hand to hers, on the side that was out of Simon's line of sight, just to let her know he was still there and that things were going to be okay before he settled back in his seat, watching behind them to see if they were pursued.

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash nodded, wheezing slightly as a after effect of the heat. She looked at Simon, gently leaning her head on his shoulder, "Thank you" She said softy, freaking herself out with how well she was acting. She felt Dez's touch and calmed slightly, her burnt wings fluttering softly, as she tried to keep up the guise that she was perfectly ok. She took her head from Simons shoulder, and leant against the window, looking outside and watching everything pass

 

[Paintedsky]

Simon, smiling contentedly at how well things seemed to be going for him, leaned his head back against hers and drove them through the forest across a dirt road. They drove for some time, an hour at least, before the trees started to thin and dense woodland graduated into grassland, high-reaching reeds splaying up from the ground, bent over in a gentle breeze. Two suns were shining high in the sky, and in the bright sunlight and cool wind everything seemed horrifically peaceful, as if what they had left behind had never existed, could not exist in the same world.


"Twenty miles from here there's a fishing village by the coast," Simon told them, sounding rather pleased with himself for knowing the information. "It's human run, but angels and demons both pass through it due to the docks. You can sail anywhere from there; best shipyard in the eastern world. Neutral ground in the war, so they should let us all in there. That way we can marry, and demon-whore can be our witness and ring-bearer." He gave Ash a bright smile. "We can be married before the night is out."

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Ash smiled back at him, and nodded quietly, looking back at Dez briefly, before looking back out the window, awed by the peace that she hadn't seen in years

 

[Paintedsky]

Catching Ash's glance, Dez gave her a supportive nod before he too fell to watching the outside, leaning out the window and feeling the rush of the moving car and the breeze on his skin. Nothing was simpler or sweeter than freedom after being captured, that rare moment when you could appreciate all that wasn't painful and evil. Of course, that was ignoring the fact that the humans now knew their species' weaknesses, and the days on which they would be rendered helpless.


Sinking back in his seat, Dez looked down at his hands, suppressing a momentary panic attack. Shit, shit, shit. What the hell had he done? Certainly, he didn't regret getting them to stop hurting Ash, especially since it had in some ways helped facilitate their escape, but still. Shiiiiit.


They drove in relative silent, Dez's stomach twisting into knots with knots in them, feeling more than a little sick. The fishing village was all Simon had promised it to be, populated by a colourful cast of humans, angels, and demons alike. The peace seemed well-maintained, for there were no fights in the streets. A few lines of heated arguments could be overheard from inside some of the buildings, but overall the town was nothing short of quaint, with thatched roofs and the fresh sea air leaving everything calm and clean. "We can stay in the hotel by the beach. They don't care what folk stay there, so long as they pay," Simon said, tapping the wheel impatiently. The calm seem to have the opposite effect on him, and he fidgeted more often, seeming agitated.