An L.A. suburb, Friday afternoon
"I hate this place," Gabriel said, looking up at the sky. "The City of Angels. Hah! As if!" He kicked a beer can littering the sidewalk, sending it flying across the street. "Did we really have to pay that taxi driver to get here?" he asked Karal. "I mean, we could have just walked off." Then he turned his head, sniffing. Even with the useless sense of smell of a mortal, he could feel it. "That's smoke, isn't it?"
vkandis_son
Karal, who was desperately wishing they'd Jumped, no matter how ill it would have made him, if only to lessen the time spent listening to Gabriel complain, stopped.
"Smoke?" he repeated, frowning as he inhaled. The whole place smelled unpleasantly strange. "I'm not sure."
Altra
Altra's tail bristled and he yowled, crouching low. :I am. That's smoke, and it's coming from right where we're supposed to be going.: His tail lashed, then he sprang forward. :Hurry up!:
vkandis_son
Without hesitation, Karal bolted after him, heart beginning to race. "Gabriel, come on."
no_archangel
Gabriel followed, finding that although a mortal body was an annoyance, he could still run when needed.
The house was on fire. Flames were bursting through windows of one half of the house and he could see dark shapes approaching from the other. Not mortals, he could sense that.
Gabriel stopped. "I thought Good Friday would be a day they wouldn't do anything stupid."
vkandis_son
Karal truly didn't see anything good about this day, not when faced with this. "Vkandis, protect us. Altra, can you do anything about the fire?" It was the correct house, the number on the fence was the number he'd found.
He was trying very hard not to panic, but his eyes were wide and his heart was pounding harder. Vkandis Sunlord.
Altra
Altra's eyes were locked on the dark shapes. :Yes, but I'm more concerned about them.: He dropped the magic that made him appear small, and bared his very long, very white teeth. Sparks were crackling in the air around him.
:Karal, stay behind me. If the worst happens, you run, and you don't stop until you're safe. Gabriel, I can control the fire. The woman is dead, but there's another life in there. You're going to have to go in and get him, and you're going to have to be fast.:
no_archangel
Gabriel was about to protest to being bossed around by a cat, but he limited it to a cold stare. "Once I have the boy, if it's him, I might need some help. This won't be a pleasant family reunion." Then he raced towards the house, kicked in the back door and disappeared into the flames.
Altra
The flames curved away from him, forming a corridor just wide enough for Gabriel to travel down without burning. It wasn't easy, Altra was staring, every muscle rigid, eyes glowing faintly blue, sparks crackling over his fur. :Get him, I'll get you, and we'll Jump out of the Vkandis be damned place, just hurry! Up and left.:
vkandis_son
When Karal took a step forward, unable to stop himself from at least trying to help, Altra hissed, :You stay right there, or I'll Jump us out right now.:
Karal didn't know if he meant it or not, but he couldn't risk it. He stayed where he was, tucked behind the Firecat, clutching his Vkandis medal and praying.
no_archangel
Fire could hurt an angel as well as a mortal, although it wouldn't cause permanent death. The smoke and the lack of oxygen was worse. Gabriel covered his face with his coat. This might hot have been a smart decision, but he knew a world reigned by Pyriel would be a lot worse.
There were sobs coming from somewhere across the room, followed by coughing. Gabriel headed towards the sound, nearly stumbing on a lifeless body on the floor. A woman, her arm still protectively around a frightened child.
There was no time to waste. He pulled the boy of the floor and kicked the nearest window to break the glass. The flames roared past him, reaching for the air, and he hurled himself and the kid through the opening.
Altra
Altra launched himself into the air, sinking the tips of his claws into Gabriel's back, and then boy and man and 'cat vanished.
They reappeared seconds later, flat on the ground, Altra scrabbling to his feet. :KARAL!:
no_archangel
"Hey! What..." Gabriel shouted as he felt the claws, and then he felt the heat fade and the cool grass under his hands. "That hurts!"
vkandis_son
Karal hit the grass next to them, eyes darting to the black shadows in the house, and the hairs on the back of his neck rose as he realised they were watching. "Altra, we need to to go. We need to go now."
He reached out for the boy as he spoke. "Altra?"
Altra
:You're not burned, you're not dead, and we are leaving.: He slapped a paw on Karal's foot, hissed at the black forms, and fixed his eyes on Gabriel. :Ready?:
Danyel
The boy looked up, eyes wide. "Mommy," he whispered.
no_archangel
"Yeah, we should go," he said, trying to sound as if he had control over the situation. He didn't. The angels were approaching and he wasn't one of them anymore.
vkandis_son
Karal's heart ached for the boy. In that moment, he didn't care about fire, he didn't care about angels, he just hugged Danyel close, bracing himself in anticipation of Jump sickness.
And with nothing more than a brief pop of displaced air, they were gone, Altra covering their trail as he Jumped them back to Fandom.
[Preplayed with the wonderful vkandis_son. NFI, NFB, OOC always welcome.]
vkandis_son
Karal, who was desperately wishing they'd Jumped, no matter how ill it would have made him, if only to lessen the time spent listening to Gabriel complain, stopped.
"Smoke?" he repeated, frowning as he inhaled. The whole place smelled unpleasantly strange. "I'm not sure."
Altra
Altra's tail bristled and he yowled, crouching low. :I am. That's smoke, and it's coming from right where we're supposed to be going.: His tail lashed, then he sprang forward. :Hurry up!:
vkandis_son
Without hesitation, Karal bolted after him, heart beginning to race. "Gabriel, come on."
no_archangel
Gabriel followed, finding that although a mortal body was an annoyance, he could still run when needed.
The house was on fire. Flames were bursting through windows of one half of the house and he could see dark shapes approaching from the other. Not mortals, he could sense that.
Gabriel stopped. "I thought Good Friday would be a day they wouldn't do anything stupid."
vkandis_son
Karal truly didn't see anything good about this day, not when faced with this. "Vkandis, protect us. Altra, can you do anything about the fire?" It was the correct house, the number on the fence was the number he'd found.
He was trying very hard not to panic, but his eyes were wide and his heart was pounding harder. Vkandis Sunlord.
Altra
Altra's eyes were locked on the dark shapes. :Yes, but I'm more concerned about them.: He dropped the magic that made him appear small, and bared his very long, very white teeth. Sparks were crackling in the air around him.
:Karal, stay behind me. If the worst happens, you run, and you don't stop until you're safe. Gabriel, I can control the fire. The woman is dead, but there's another life in there. You're going to have to go in and get him, and you're going to have to be fast.:
no_archangel
Gabriel was about to protest to being bossed around by a cat, but he limited it to a cold stare. "Once I have the boy, if it's him, I might need some help. This won't be a pleasant family reunion." Then he raced towards the house, kicked in the back door and disappeared into the flames.
Altra
The flames curved away from him, forming a corridor just wide enough for Gabriel to travel down without burning. It wasn't easy, Altra was staring, every muscle rigid, eyes glowing faintly blue, sparks crackling over his fur. :Get him, I'll get you, and we'll Jump out of the Vkandis be damned place, just hurry! Up and left.:
vkandis_son
When Karal took a step forward, unable to stop himself from at least trying to help, Altra hissed, :You stay right there, or I'll Jump us out right now.:
Karal didn't know if he meant it or not, but he couldn't risk it. He stayed where he was, tucked behind the Firecat, clutching his Vkandis medal and praying.
no_archangel
Fire could hurt an angel as well as a mortal, although it wouldn't cause permanent death. The smoke and the lack of oxygen was worse. Gabriel covered his face with his coat. This might hot have been a smart decision, but he knew a world reigned by Pyriel would be a lot worse.
There were sobs coming from somewhere across the room, followed by coughing. Gabriel headed towards the sound, nearly stumbing on a lifeless body on the floor. A woman, her arm still protectively around a frightened child.
There was no time to waste. He pulled the boy of the floor and kicked the nearest window to break the glass. The flames roared past him, reaching for the air, and he hurled himself and the kid through the opening.
Altra
Altra launched himself into the air, sinking the tips of his claws into Gabriel's back, and then boy and man and 'cat vanished.
They reappeared seconds later, flat on the ground, Altra scrabbling to his feet. :KARAL!:
no_archangel
"Hey! What..." Gabriel shouted as he felt the claws, and then he felt the heat fade and the cool grass under his hands. "That hurts!"
vkandis_son
Karal hit the grass next to them, eyes darting to the black shadows in the house, and the hairs on the back of his neck rose as he realised they were watching. "Altra, we need to to go. We need to go now."
He reached out for the boy as he spoke. "Altra?"
Altra
:You're not burned, you're not dead, and we are leaving.: He slapped a paw on Karal's foot, hissed at the black forms, and fixed his eyes on Gabriel. :Ready?:
Danyel
The boy looked up, eyes wide. "Mommy," he whispered.
no_archangel
"Yeah, we should go," he said, trying to sound as if he had control over the situation. He didn't. The angels were approaching and he wasn't one of them anymore.
vkandis_son
Karal's heart ached for the boy. In that moment, he didn't care about fire, he didn't care about angels, he just hugged Danyel close, bracing himself in anticipation of Jump sickness.
And with nothing more than a brief pop of displaced air, they were gone, Altra covering their trail as he Jumped them back to Fandom.
[Preplayed with the wonderful vkandis_son. NFI, NFB, OOC always welcome.]