Coat hanger halos don't come cheap from television shepherds with living room sheep....

[lovemeipromise]

Upon close examination, the CLF had appeared to have been disbanded sometime before the plagues. Curious, that. Michael, however, managed to find a small, close-knit group that was still active and had promised them that he could show them a way to be successful- an elegant group of warriors against the real enemy, rather than a group of unseemly

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[francis_barnam]

Francis is also kind of pissed about the plagues.

They should have killed more demons. They had almost reignited his belief in a higher power until they didn't purge this city of all of its scum. He also doesn't believe in mementos like this.

Which is why he has a can of gasoline.

No one worthy of a shrine died. And at least torching it will let out some of his pent up frustration.

[lovemeipromise]

Michael will be having none of that. His first instinct as soon as he sees the man with the gas can is to put himself in front of him, glowering.

"Have you even the slightest bit of respect for the dead?" Certainly, there are wanderers there, but as he does not have to smell the rank, vile, little creatures when it's just pictures on a wall, he's willing to give the monument the benefit of the doubt.

"Or are you simply a barbarian?" He adds, glowering and not even caring that this man much older than him. It doesn't matter. Michael is an Angel of the Lord and none of God's own angels would allow this site to be desecrated.

[francis_barnam]

"No, I'm just tired of this town pretending its sorry little existence is actually worth anything," Francis says, sloshing gasoline on Michael's shoes. Hey, if Michael wants to get in the way, he's going to have to deal with the fact that Francis doesn't really care if he ruins someone else's shoes. "They act like they have some higher sense of morality when really, their philosophy is running the town into the ground. And as there's a treaty, see, I have to burn in effigy, not the actual things that deserve burning. So do you mind stepping out of my way? I'd really prefer not to hurt an angel. Not really my cup of tea."

Well, usually. There were always special exceptions to that rule, like in the case of one Robin Rice.

"Respect the dead in revenge. But allowing yourself to get worked up over a corpse, no matter how much you loved or cared about them, will only get you killed in the long run. But yes. Memorial to burn. Mind getting out of my way?"

[lovemeipromise]

Michael liked those shoes. Thankfully, shoes are worldly possessions and as he cannot take them with him when he abandons earthly ties and ascends to his place at his Father's side, he is not too broken up about it.

Michael sets his jaw and doesn't move. "This town is worth a great many things, sir. It simply needs to be fixed and an effigy is insufficient. God says, 'thou shalt not worship false idols' and if that's true, then one shouldn't substitute a symbol of hope for whatever your warped sense of aggression has deemed an appropriate target... I assume you're an archangel? The barbarian lout attitude suits their single-minded drive. As much as you may think otherwise, I am on your side."

He kills wanderers- abominations- but demons running free disgusts him. He can admire an archangel, for all that their brutes who have despaired and lost sight of Heaven, like all angels, for their extermination of the beasts. The treaty, and he's heard of it, is disgusting and should never have been put into effect.

[francis_barnam]

"It will be fixed," Francis says solidly. When his family comes to town, things will change. "The gutters will run with blood, the corpses will be burned, and then when it rains, the last of the stink will leave. But when you're starving, when you have that need, you need to do something, and it's either break the treaty again, or treat myself to a drink and a bonfire."

Michael isn't moving. Francis doesn't approve.

"Yes, I'm a Barnam," he adds with a frown to Michael's question. Well, it wasn't as much of a question as a statement of an assumption. "You're on my side?"

Now, this is interesting.

"And here I thought all of the angels in this town were new-age-y failures."

[lovemeipromise]

Michael smirks. "Oh, we are clearly on the same page, my dear sir. However, I prefer not to be so blatant about my actions. People do tend to respond rather badly to genocide on such a large-scale, even if it's for the greater good." And he can't have people not believing in him. They're going to love him for what he's going to do. They have to.

He shakes his head. "Lost lambs, the lot." Including the archangels, but why waste such a marvelous tool by telling him that? "I am in the business of seeking to bring them all back to rights. Demons belong in Hell, not Earth. And Wanderers are an unclean scourge that must be purged. I'm certain this sentiment is familiar, yes?"

And this coming from a seventeen-year-old.

[francis_barnam]

"It's impossible, really, to be subtle when you've made the family business to be genocide," Francis says, shrugging. "And really, I couldn't agree with you more. I don't understand why people flock to Wanderers like they're something special."

Yes. He likes Michael. It's such a refresher, meeting someone who isn't crazy.

"The city would be better off with a heavy scrubbing. Sorry about your shoes. I'm Francis, by the way. And you are?"

[lovemeipromise]

Michael has, since an early age, learned how to be manipulative. It is sneaky and underhanded and not becoming, but sometimes necessary, and here God has given him such a wonderful blunt instrument. He would do well to reign him in and find a use for him. "Not impossible- merely difficult. We are taught to resist our base desires and control them, so they do not control us. God tests us. Truly, your remarkable resistance while upholding that ridiculous treaty is a wonderful testament to that."

Ah, and the tool is his. Or, rather, in his grasp. "Because they don't know any better. So Moses went to Sinai and his brother made a golden idol so that the Israelites might have a god in his absence, so do these people seek to find gods in these abominations. They have a great deal to learn."

Which is more of his ultimate endgame than he has exposed to anyone, but he's sure the nuance of the plan will be lost on one so barbaric as this one. "I'm Michael, like the archangel. However, I'm afraid I don't share the... Common archangel's tastes."

[francis_barnam]

Francis honestly wouldn't care if Michael was being blunt about his intentions. He could use similarly-minded people in his life. Even if they're using him, it would at least give him a sense of meaning in this godforsaken town.

"Just my name is a banner for genocide," Francis said offhandedly. "And I would say that my resistance is more a necessary evil. I have to admit, I've snapped a few times, oops, but there should be no guilt over a document that shouldn't exist in the first place."

He kind of brushes off Michael's need for religion. Whatever floats his boat. "You hunt Wanderers, I assume?"

Francis is dumb, but he's not stupid. He's not an archangel then. Angel of vengeance? Such a pity. At least he's made something of his mistake for a life. He's not nearly as messed up as the majority of them.

"We should go hunting some time." While Francis doesn't usually like to hunt in pairs, it's safer to break the treaty with someone else. Easier to clean up. Easier to take care of witnesses.

[lovemeipromise]

"Starve yourself and the meal only tastes sweeter if you savor it, rather than gulp it down." That is Michael's response to that, thank you very much. "If you've slipped and no one's noticed, you're doing rather well for yourself."

And he said he wasn't subtle. Either the enforcers are incompetent or he covers his tracks well. Either could work in Michael's favor.

"I do, although you'll find me a much more savory character than my fellows. I understand the stigma against Angels of Vengeance, but I actually made an effort to control my desires." And, sure, the smell of a wanderer makes him nauseated, but better to be nauseated than to be standing in a puddle of blood after a total break.

"I'm afraid you might not like my style of hunting, my good sir," Michael says with a tiny smirk. There are swords involved. Swords and prayers. It's a very delicate procedure and while he's content to call this man his right arm, provided he proves useful in that role, he can't quite say he wants to hunt with him.

[francis_barnam]

"It's pathetic when the only sane person I've met in this town is an Angel of Vengeance," Francis mutters. "And well, when styles clash, they clash."

He doesn't seem to see it as a big deal.

"And trust me. I savor every meal, whether or not I've starved myself. When you're taking out the garbage, you should be able to remind the filth of what they are, rather than give them the mercy of a slow death." And Francis is mildly daydreaming right now. He's thinking about his last kill. The plagues had been good to him, no matter how unhappy they had left him. "Each cut, a work of art. Each scream, a part of the masterpiece. The blood soaking into the ground, staining the canvas."

Oh yes. Francis loves his daydreams.

[lovemeipromise]

Irony, thy name is Francis.

Michael just smirks a little more, clasping his hands behind his back. This one is a man after his own heart, although... Well, Michael can't say he approves of slow deaths. Sacrificial lambs die quickly, their throats cut, and that's all any wanderer is to him- a sacrifice held up to God in order to seek His favor. Abominations killed in His name.

Still, art is art, and any killer that can take such pride in ridding the world of such filth as demons is fine in Michael's eyes.

The smirk grows into something that's almost a predatory grin, flashing perfectly white teeth. "And I wouldn't have taken you for an artist."