forum Lucifer Wasn't the Only Angel to Fall // oxo // open

Started June 11, 2022 by @knightinadream group

tune

Aurelium was somewhat up-to-date on the current state of human technology, but the man’s words still confused him. “I know I can get back there,” he said, blinking at him. “You just keep distracting me!”
He beamed, bright as the sun. His irises might have even glowed with golden light. “ZENTE AGNUSDEI,” he repeated loudly, “HOW LOVELY. HOW LOVELY INDEED!” Tilting his head, he said in a more acceptable and matter-of-fact tone, “God gave me my name.”
As for Aurel, he thought the human’s name fit him very well, though this was more to do with the feeling the name sounded in his mind than the actual meaning. It had an almost staccato rhythm, yet still flowed smoothly over the tongue. The man before him, likewise, seemed very rigid and uncomfortable at the moment, but he handled everything with a kind of elegance and grace Aurel liked.
“I like you, Zente,” he grinned, pointing to him. “I can see why the Archangels and Angels like their work.”
His wings quivered. As soon as the words left his mouth, he looked up to the sky. “But I really can’t stay…” He trailed off, and his figure went very still. His eyes glowed again, and when the glow faded, he looked back down at Zente. A strange expression took over his face, somewhere between surprised, afraid, and intrigued. “Or maybe I can!”

Zente, rather jokingly, held up his hands. He took a step back from the angel. "Oh, I'm sorry," He mumbled, "Guess I have a habit with bothering biblical creatures, if you don't mind me calling you one."

All he did was blink before experiencing a mild heart attack. A mild heart attack being a hyperbole for the better part. Zente doesn't know. He did not jump out of fear; Aurel's volume stunned him. Loud noises is something he still has to get used to. The word "thanks" was all he managed to mutter in response.

By the time his heart began to settle, he let go of all the tension with a long sigh. What's this atomic ball of sunshine's full name again? Aurelium Ardenti? It's definitely one he has to practice saying in his head, but it looks poetic and aesthetically pleasing to him in his mind.

There is just something about Aurel that he likes, but he isn't completely sure why. Maybe it's because this is by far the weirdest being he has ever come across. He means this in a good way. Like it's interesting how an angel can be so bright and nice yet strong and oddly threatening.

Like his typical idiotic self, he pointed to himself and asked, "Me?" In all honesty, Zente should be the last person to be told this. He just nodded in a polite manner. "Thanks. You're….cool."

Following Aurel, he gazed up at the sky. He just hummed in response. Took him a moment to realize that the angel was looking at him. Zente tried to dissect the expression he was observing. "What? Are you crashing at a friend's place till you can go back up?"

Aurelium laughed. “Yes, you!” His wings extended and flapped excitedly. “THANK YOU. COOL MEANS SOMETHING LIKE IMPRESSIVE IN YOUR MODERN LANGUAGE, RIGHT?”
He sort of remembered, now. Before this he had been falling, and before that he had been fighting, as he always did. Demonic forces battling him and his fellow Powers. But how did he go from fighting to falling? The Almighty had told him, and he remembered… an angel had been vanquished, had returned to Them. Heaven’s borders had been breached. Aurelium trusted that everything would be alright, but it made him want to go back even more. However…
His eyes stared at Zente, unblinking and glimmering. “The Almighty has commanded me to stay. I am needed on Earth, it seems.” Then he was back to smiling brilliantly. “I feel the Lord God means for me to stay with you. I am to… help you with something?”

Zente became stiff after experiencing another small, and metaphorical, heart attack. While it's nice to see that the angel is happy, and highly enthusiastic, he somehow did not expect more happy yelling. It took him a second to convince his body to relax, but when it did he said, "Yeah. It can many things like great, good, okay, nice, and impressive."

Given that angels supposedly (or actually) watch people on Earth and guard them, it makes sense if they picked up some of the lingo and things that humans came up with. It's not a bad thing; despite being a former priest, he just didn't think much about it. Then again, he's only delt with demons, but that's a whole other ordeal.

He is worried about having to explain something to Aurel given that sometimes he doesn't know either. Zente has a problem with just not knowing how to delineate or sometimes he trips over his own words. Action is what he's more used to anyways.

Staring back at Aurel, his lips rolled back. His teeth bit down on the bottom lip. He wants to ask if angels need to blink or if it's normal to be weirded out by an angel not blinking at him compared to things he has already seen.

"Help me? With what?" His mind was blank. It always happens after exorcisms and just fighting Ullman, but it gets worse when he phases out of his senses. What would he need help with- "Ullman? Is that what he means?"

He still did not blink. It was like he forgot to, somehow. They narrowed, however, at the mention of the name. He seemed calmer, now that God had given him a mission. “Ah, him! I know him. Yes. I would like to crush his very being between my fingers. Hm, perhaps. Is Ullman one of the demons you have seen?”
Aurelium’s form shivered slightly. He had been in his humanoid form for a while. Sure, he could keep it up indefinitely, but it’s been a while since he’s used it for this long, and it was starting to get uncomfortable. But even if this human had seen demons and other spiritual creatures, Aurel did not want to risk anything happening to him.
Then he raised a hand. “Oh! Perhaps it would be better if we spoke of this at your place of residence. Let’s make our way there!”

(Sorry it’s short)

At least someone else thinks the same thing as him. Sometimes he wonders if crushing Ullman into a pit is a terrible thing to wish for. It might be cause of wrath, but he did not want to ponder much right at the moment.

Zente rolled his eyes at the name; he hoped that Aurel did not see that as him rolling his eyes at the angel. Of course all demons are terrible and deserve to be wiped out of existence, but Ullman is also beyond annoying. The demon will just appear in places to fuck with him, start a fight or some sort of mess, then manage to escape at the last minute.

"Yes…..So many times…." He shook his head. His eyes glazed over as they stared bleakly at the ground. "It's fucking stupid. Feels like I'm Batman and he's Joker or something, I swear to-"

Glancing up, he stopped and stared at Aurel. "Right…Right…" As his feet trudged over to the nearest trash can, he threw out the ice cream dish and spoon then started off in the direction to his apartment. Moving his chin over his shoulder, he motioned Aurel to follow him. "If anyone runs into us, just say you're a cosplayer, okay?"

Aurelium finally blinked at him. “Oh, I see. So you need a lot of help. Do not fear, Zente! I will be with you the next time you cross the wretched thing!” He grinned brightly, his wings spreading out as if he were excited. But then, when isn’t he excited?
He followed Zente as he walked, hovering just over his shoulder. Cocking his head at the man, Aurel turned upside down in the air again. He didn’t know what a cosplayer was exactly, but that wasn’t what confused him.
“That is only if I reveal myself to that human. Need I remind you that you are the only human who can perceive me at the moment? I exist on a different plane than you, and I do not have a physical form that reflects light. You, Zente, have been given the ability to be in tune with and perceive other planes of existence, so therefore you can perceive me…” he continued rambling on and on until he somehow changed to talking about demons and how they exist, and then he started speaking in a language that definitely was not human and was beyond all comprehension. He seemed not to have noticed, and continued speaking like this, floating in the air, upside down.

He shivered. Somehow watching the angel finally blink after God only knows how long is just as creepy as them not blinking. But he didn't want to be rude about it, so he pushed the thought aside.

"A lot is a understatement," He shrugged in an attempt to make a job. "But I appreciate it, thank you." How soon will it be till they have to deal with Ullman? Sometimes Zente hadn't seen the demon in weeks while other times it was just four hours; yes, he always counts.

There was a point in which Zente could not understand what Aurel was saying. If only there was a way to describe what he was hearing. It's not like hearing another language he doesn't know despite it being almost the same situation. It's like hearing TV static; that's the only way he can describe it. Zente just glanced over at Aurel, watching the angel continuing with a conversation that he is inable to participate in.

Yes demons have their own tongue in which he doesn't understand too, but it looks like he was more used to that than an angel's. At least Aurel seems to be sugar personified and Zente is the only one who can perceive him.

"I guess dealing with other beings more than humans has led me to forget such things," He pondered. "Thanks? I don't know what else to say aside from it being weird….then again I've must have had this vision since I was five."

As he turned down a street corner, he looked over his left shoulder. "Are you having fun? I'm guessing you guys don't get dizzy doing that."

The angel laughed, a sound like ringing church bells. “Of course! It is my pleasure and delight.”
Aurelium only stopped speaking a few seconds after Zente began to speak himself. “Hm? Oh, sorry! Got carried away. Is it strange to you? I suppose I do not understand what it must be like for a human.”
Some of the things he spoke of could not be accurately spoken of or described in English, or any other human language, which is partly he stopped speaking it all together. The other reason is that he simply lost track of himself. Indeed, sustained interaction with a human was something he was going to have to get used to.
He laughed again. “Indeed, no! Just as I have no physical form, I am also not bound by gravity. This is not really ‘fun’ as you call it, I think it’s rather commonplace. Only, since you are affected by gravity, you’re the one who looks strange to me! What’s it like being pulled to a large planet like this?”

Zente had to stop himself from nodding but he went on with it. "Don't worry about it, you're fine, Aurel," He assured. "Strange is a way to put it. Trust me, even us humans don't understand either." In a way it's true based off his experiences; even he doesn't understand himself or just being human. He only knows enough to explain it to Aurel, hopefully.

Pulled to a large planet….At first he thought of gravity, yet he thought about it for a minute. "Weird….I guess" He shrugged. That's all he could answer with at first, but after a couple of steps, he began to think about it. "In all honesty, no one really thinks about that in a deep sense a lot. While it is weird and scary, it is kind of nice sometimes."

"Oh we're here." Zente looked both ways before jogging across the street. The building he was heading for is the gym that he manages. Around the side is a staircase that goes up to his place. He got up to the door then unlocked it.

His hand twisted the door knob, but he stopped. "Ah right…" Putting his right foot out a little, he turned to look Aurel over his shoulder. "I have a cat. She's nice, but she likes to stare at visitors and follow them."

He cocked his head, though it looked strange when he was upside down. “Aurel?” He repeated. “That isn’t my name…”
He wasn’t sure. It sounded like his name, but only the first two syllables. Everyone in Heaven was rather formal, and he had always been called Aurelium or the Lord’s Golden Flame, or some combination of that. Sometimes he was just called Power, for the choir he was a member of. He was not really familiar with the concept of nicknames.
Then he laughed. As could probably be guessed, he laughed a lot. “That makes sense! It is all you know. It is probably difficult to describe to a being who does not know at all.”
Aurel just glided after Zente as he crossed the street, flapping his wings and doing a little flip in the air. His eyes grew wide as the man approached the building and watched closely as he turned the knob of the door, now right side up.
Then his head snapped up to Zente, a brilliant smile on his face. “A CAT!” he boomed. “Really? Will she be able to see me like you can? Sometimes I know when animals can sense my presence, but I do not think they can see me…”

"Oh?" Wait….Aurel…Aurelium. Technically he is calling his newfound friend a nickname. "I mean I can just call you by your full name or something else if you prefer that."

Another mini heart attack. That must be his seventh million one today. But hey, at least Aurel knows about cats and seems to be eager about one being in the apartment. Well, the angel always seems to be in a cheery mood about everything, including violence against demons; if they don't get along, God only knows why.

"Could Lilith be able to see you? That is a good question," He said, mostly to himself. "Uhhh, maybe. You can try to hold her, but there are times where she isn't aware of the fact that she is a cat. And she gets annoyed if you disturb her during TV time."

Zente fully opened the door. The immediate second he did, the black cat hopped out and began to whack his shoes. "Ahh yes," He mumbled while picking her up and walking inside. "I missed you too, you stinky weirdo."

Throwing the furball over his shoulder, he managed to take off his shoes and set them on the little shoe shelf. After he stood to the side so he can close the door.

The angel blinked. Then he smiled. “AUREL!” he screamed excitedly, “AUREL, AUREL! AUREL IS GOOD.” His hands curled into fists, and he banged them up and down rapidly. Being called by a nickname was new and exciting for him, perhaps more than it really was. If only he could save Zente from going deaf as well as he could from going blind. His voice was more difficult to control than his appearance it seemed.
He remembered to reign it in. “Oooo, I can hold the little creature?” Aurelium’s eyes were wide as Zente opened the door and the little black thing pounced from the entrance. He gasped, and as the man threw her over his shoulder, he followed him inside and tried to touch the cat’s nose. “Little creation…” he whispered, perhaps the quietest his voice had ever been in ages. He was not sure if she could see him, but perhaps she could sense his presence.

His ears were ringing for two minutes straight before they decided to stop. The enthusiasm on Aurel is something else. At least the angel seemed to like having a nickname, he appreciates how they are. On another note, he has to remember to put on those broken headphones laying on his desk cause it looks like they are going to come in handy pretty soon.

Zente turned his head to get a look at the cat. If he could describe Lilith in a sentence, he would use: "A cute curious ball of chaos." It seemed like the cat was staring at Aurel, but he wasn't sure if she could see the angel. When Aurel attempted touching its nose, Lilith drew her paw out as if she was planning to whack the angel, but pulled back and kept on with her thousand yard stare.

Turning around, he removed the cat from his shoulders then held her out to Aurel. "Her eyes are wide so that's got to mean something," He noted, "But I would be aware, she likes to hit any and everything, even she likes something or someone. Hold her over your shoulder or cradle her, whatever works for you."

After handing the adorable abomination over, he rushed over to put those broken headphones on. There was some ringing in his ears still, but at least he has an attempt at ear protection. He glimpsed at the clock to see that it was actually dinner time then went over to the kitchen area by the door.

"Make yourself it home. I know I ate some ice cream but that was a segway into actual dinner. Demons always ruin my appetite."

Aurel returned the cat’s thousand yard stare, forgetting to blink again. “Yes,” he said, his mouth slightly open, “I respect your inclination for violence as a display of affection, Lilith.” When he took her from Zente, he mostly just held her as if she were a hamburger. He kept staring at her, unblinking, as he moved further into the home.
Since he wasn’t familiar with human eating habits and customs, he made no comment. However, Zente did say “make yourself at home,” and the angel responded to this by reverting back to his true form and carrying the cat in one wing. He glided over to an empty spot near the kitchen, his large eye moving about as he took everything in. What was Zente going to do here? What were all these structures and instruments for? And what, in the Lord’s name, were those things on Zente’s head?
“DEMONS RUIN EVERYTHING,” he said, his voice also returning to a louder and more inhuman timbre. “ARE THOSE THINGS ON YOUR HEAD FOR YOUR EARS? I APOLOGIZE IF MY VOICE IS LOUD ENOUGH TO DAMAGE YOUR EARDRUMS.” As he said this, he remembered the cat and covered her ears with his wing too. “IS THIS HOW HUMANS PREPARE FOOD IN THIS AGE?”

Zente wasn't really in the mood to actually cook a meal. Despite his laziness, he pulled out a bunch of different things: eggs, a pack of spicy noodles, seasonings, and leftover popcorn shrimp. Taking out a pot, he went to the sink and filled it up with water. He looked over at Aurel with wide eyes before shaking his head. At least Aurel is making himself home.

Meanwhile the unfazed furball that is named Lilith was just there. She didn't mind what was going on. She didn't try to wiggle her way out or bite Aurel. The loud sounds were confusing, although if she could talk, she probably would be appreciative of Aurel covering her ears.

On the other hand, Zente almost died five times in the last two minutes. It's not the angel's fault or anything, somehow Zente isn't used to angel stuff yet. "To be quite honest with you, if I took these off, my eardrums probably would explode and then blood just streams out my ears," He said, "They're noise canceling, but I don't think these were created with the sounds of angels in mind."

Opening up the noodle pack, he dropped the noodles into the pot then did the same with the seasoning. He went to focus on making sunny side-up eggs. "Kind of. This is how I prepare ramen noodles," He replied before adding, "I always do feel the need for sweet and salty food after exorcisms and demon fighting. Maybe they're trying to kill me this way." He chuckled a little at his own joke. "But what's nice about is humans, is that there are several ways to make the same kind of food."

Aurelium watched with great interest, if his large, singular eye didn’t convey that enough. He went very still, with the eye being the only thing that moved. For a moment he tried to calm himself, in case he got too excited and his excess energy set Zente’s apartment on fire. Lilith would probably notice the angel’s normally very warm temperature to go down a bit.
“OH, I SEE!” Aurel said. “I’VE NEVER SEEN A HUMAN’S EARDRUMS EXPLODE BEFORE.” He seemed a little too interested in this possibility, but then he blinked and flapped his wings. “OH! LET ME TRY SOMETHING!”
An eerie silence fell over him, and a few moments passed. Then, his voice emerged again. It was at a more tolerable volume, but it still carried an inhuman quality and seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
How is this? I think this way is more fun. He lifted his wing off of the little furball and watched to see how she reacted as well. Though he was generally confused with all of the food talk, he still watched Zente’s movements with fascination. Ramen… noodles? My, tasting and eating are such interesting concepts. It is good that you are familiar with such arts, and that you know how it affects your mortal body.

Zente glimpsed over at Aurel and Lilith. At first the cat seemed to be fine, but she probably felt the sudden change in temperature and started to try to wiggle herself out. It felt weirded out when Aurel wasn't moving, and it tried to touch the angel's wing multiple times but was unsure. The conniving kitty became stiff, yet stayed put.

He drew his attention back to cooking and Aurel. The water started to boil. He turned the heat on low. "Well if you really want to see, maybe I should take these off and we can both find out if human eardrums can explode."

It was awfully weird after he spoke. Sure, Zente is one for sitting in silence and all, but just the sudden welcoming of it now was just eery. The cat had busied herself by jumping on top of the fridge and attacking a spider on the ceiling. Before Zente could say anything about the cat ruining the apartment's good luck, he shivered.

He could hear Aurel still and it doesn't really feel painful to hear with the headphones on. "It's alright, thanks, but I…Are you….Are…Are you talking the same way I am right now?" He pointed to his lips for a second; he isn't sure, he just had to ask that.

The sounds of the egg cackling brought him back to what was going on. He took the spatula and slid it underneath the egg. "It is interesting," Zente concurred while sprinkling some spice on the egg, "Although, I don't know much, but at least I'm not burning the place down or making terrible food."

The angel was not fazed by the tiny thing’s wiggling, and he let her slip away from him when she wanted. His eye flickered, but did not move from what Zente was doing, not even when he began to speak to him.
I think I would like to see, he agreed, But I do not think God means for your body to be damaged just now. Besides, children of Adam and Eve can feel pain from such damage, is that not so? I do not want you to feel pain, Zente.
Pain was just as strange as food was. One sustained a mortal body, the other was a sensation meant to signal damage to that body. Aurelium, of course, did not have such a fragile, changing vessel to house him. He had no need of one. Was feeling pain like tasting food? From what he has heard, there were as many ways to feel pain as there were to taste food. Savory, sweet, sour. Aching, stinging, throbbing. Senses, he remembered. The instruments with which mortals use to understand the world. So perhaps they really were alike.
Aurel considered the next question. Hm, I do not think so. I think before I was speaking like you do, with my own internal force to carry my voice. But now I use the environment as my vocal instrument. I am creating sound waves with the gas molecules around here… for a moment he slipped back into his angelic language, but he stopped himself. Perhaps he was getting better with this voice control thing.
Aurel laughed as bells ring. His wings fluttered, and his eye flickered shut, but only for a moment. Yes, though I don’t know much of this either.

At first Zente did not say anything. To him pain is as natural as the sun and moon; it's been with him all his life whether it be physical or mental. "Thanks," was all that he could manage to say. He took a small red bowl out and sat it down on the counter beside the stove. The smell of the noodles filled the kitchen. He took a deep inhale then slowly let go of the exhale. Leaning over, he put the timer on for three minutes.

Glimpsing over his shoulder at Aurel, he stood back up. Just hearing however the angel is talking is still so weird to him; not in a bad way or anything, just in the fact that he is obviously a human and not necessarily built for such scenarios. Honestly Zente is surprised at Lilith being able to handle this situation very well, and she's a cat who needs to have SpongeBob on the TV when it's raining outside.

He pushed his glasses back up to his face using his thumb and middle finger touching both sides. "Alrighty then…." He mumbled to himself. The whole voice thing kind of makes sense to him. He doesn't really know, there might some scientific matter that he isn't really aware about. "That's really impressive, Aurel. I appreciate you doing that."

The timer goes off, and he swiftly presses the button to turn it off. Lilth jumped down onto the counter then onto the floor before scurrying away. Zente shook his head. The egg still needed a minute, but he already went to putting noodles into the bowl.

A faint smile pressed onto his cold face. For a second, he stopped to look at Aurel then went back to focusing on turning the stove off and taking care of the food. "No worries, my friend. There's nothing wrong with that. Now we have the opportunity to learn, if that's what we want to do."

Hm… what is the expression humans use? It’s no biggie, Aurelium laughed. Though I will say, interacting with the material plane is always an enlightening experience.
His eyes stayed on Zente, ever watching, but after a moment he took on his humanoid appearance and glided over to him. Curiosity showed in his expressive face. He spoke, but his lips did not move.
I should like to learn, son of Adam. This interests me greatly; all the things of your earthly life do. Especially since God did not give me much information about you beforehand.

Covering his mouth, he chuckled at the angel. He looked up from the food, letting his hand drop to his side. "You really are in with the cool kids, Aurel. That will get you ahead if you ever talk to anybody else here."

To describe feeling the eyes of an angel as weird is an understatement. Whenever someone tried to flirt with him using the "eyes of an angel", he always thought of it to be a strange pick-up line; guess he's right.

But Zente kept on, as if all of this were normal. He opened up a drawer and picked out some lilac colored chopsticks. His brows jumped up then settled. Taking the bowl, he turned around, leaning against the counter. "There's not much you need to know, Aurel. There isn't much about me except for what I am now," He explained, "But what I can say is that, I can do my best to teach you. Although, I'm still learning about this earthly life myself."

The angel tilted his head, not really understanding what that meant. I suppose… I should hope so. I don’t want to frighten other humans with my voice and my words, though I may not speak to other humans much. I thought using more current language would help me seem more… understandable to the human mind. Does it help you?
Having been somewhat still for a while now, Aurel stretched out his wings and flapped them a bit, careful to not let them hit anything. I must disagree, Zente. Regardless of how much you think there is to you, or how much God chose to reveal to me, humans are not simple beings, as I’m sure you’re aware. There is a wealth of information inside you, there’s a lot you could tell me about yourself. What matters is how much you feel comfortable disclosing, yes? What you are now is only one version of yourself. Your cells have died and replaced themselves millions, trillions of times over the course of your lifetime. How can the present moment be all there is to you? He blinked, realizing he may have been talking too much again. But he smiled. You need not teach me anything. We shall learn together, yes?

"Oh shit…." Right, he forgot about how Aurel probably does not understand concepts such as "being in with the cool kids" or some kinds of slang. Sarcasm, he needs to be aware of it. You see with demons, Zente does not give a single damn. Half of the times, they know because they have been lingering on this planet with humans for longer than necessary. Doesn't matter either way because Zente always sends them back to where they cake from.

"Yeah, it does," He replied. Before continuing, he used his chopsticks to shove some noodles into his mouth. He coveted his mouth wjth the back of his hand while eating then went on with speaking. "I was just being sarcastic to be funny, but I guess my humor is obscure. It's okay."

No matter how stuck he is in an abyss of his pessimistic mindset, he had to agree with what Aurel was saying. The whole time the angel spoke, he kept eating. Might as well as his new friend is talking. But as he glimpsed up from his food, he stared at the angel and their smile. The sight of it made him smile for a couple of seconds.

"I suppose that you are right. There is a lot to me, just as there would be about anybody, but….if you really want to know something specific just ask. I normally say there isn't much because who ever really listens? Me now is what I know best," He shrugged. "But yeah, we shall learn together. I think that would be great."

Ah, wonderful. I am glad. His wings lowered as a sign of relief. He watched as the man began eating, fascinated by the way his mouth moved and chewed the food. Although he has seen Zente eat the ice cream earlier, he had been to preoccupied with other matters. Now, he could see it up close, and besides, this movement was different than when he ate ice cream. He listened, and tilted his head. He was trying to be funny? I am sure it is just because I am not human, Zente. Maybe if another human were here, they would understand and find you humorous.
Aurelium was beginning to feel rather restless. He started walking around the kitchen, moving his wings around. I will be sure to ask, then, he nodded, still smiling. I am a curious being, and I am especially curious about you, Zente. However, I will not overwhelm you with questions just now.
It has already been too long since he fought a demon. Aurel itched to go out and slash his sword into something, but he kept himself where he was. It was strange. It felt like he was disobeying God and not doing his job, but really it was the opposite. It was quite jarring to be fighting and defending Heaven for millennia upon millennia, only to suddenly be on Earth, among mortal beings.