Re: An Unlikely Prophet

[Sandkitten]

He finally opens his eyes, stretching a bit. "That part perplexes me as well. I'm not sure what that might refer to, unless someone thinks that I've been in warzones for so long that I'm likely to lash out and try to subjugate the land here rather than just abiding this condition. But I don't see what good that would do. Even if I did have the urges of the Legion, I have no access to my weapons like this."

"I suppose that part of the riddle will present itself in due time. We've been here for a matter of hours, so I couldn't begin to speculate what we'll come up against in the larger city we're headed towards. I just hope that if we don't get there tonight, there will be a similar place to hole up tomorrow during the daylight hours." He glances around at their make-shift shelter from the elements.

[SharpestLife19]

Though the riddle is still very perplexing, Grace agrees that fretting over it and trying to understand it is probably pointless. It will all be revealed in due time. It's the waiting part that she doesn't care for. She glances over at Vincent. It's difficult for her to picture him in a war somehow. She supposes it's just the way she sees him and he was probably quite comfortable with it. She wonders if it would be impudent to ask about it. Well, he wanted her to ask more questions. "What was it like being part of a war? Weren't you frightened or do you not feel those kind of things ordinarily."

[Sandkitten]

"What, fear? Of course I'm capable of feeling fear - I'm simply not afraid because I have no reason for it. I wasn't under constraint of mortality when I was fighting - I could be wounded, of course, but I would heal. And even if I was mortally wounded, if I could die - I know what death is, and it's not frightening to me. So no, I wasn't afraid when I was fighting." He looks up at their ceiling, contemplating what it had been like. He hadn't thought of it like this at the time - he had simply done as he was told.

"Mostly... I felt sad. Not because what I was doing was wrong... it's difficult to say who's right or wrong in a war, when you're not the person who started it. I didn't feel anything towards the beings we were fighting. We were overpowering, but I didn't feel any animosity... or any sympathy. I simply followed orders. But I was sad for those left behind - the mortal families of the ones being killed, who had no real understanding of the reason for their loved ones' deaths, and no understanding of what death really means. I was sad because that kind of thing - fear without understanding - perpetuates more fear, and hatred, all under the banner of ignorance. And that meant that more sons would rise in the place of their fallen fathers to fight a war they didn't understand."

[SharpestLife19]

Hearing things told from an angel's perspective definitely brings them into a new light. Grace had never thought about death as something not to be feared and certainly was never something she understood. She felt bad for all of those families as well, for she understood how it feels to lose someone who means the world to you. She could see how that kind of hurt could bring about hate for being at a loss of where to put the blame. She knew firsthand how much sorrow and anger come from losing someone you love.

Thinking about Vincent as a soldier made a certain kind of sense. Of course he wouldn't be afraid because he was immortal and consequently, he had no interest in who won or lost. Immortals would make the perfect warriors. Though, being a child during the war made Grace abhor it. Now that she was old enough to understand what had happened during that time...it made her sick just to think of all the men who lost their lives, and like the people Vincent described, all those who were left behind. A tear comes to her eyes as she thinks of those dark times. "I understand."

[Sandkitten]

He looks back at her as he hears the tremor in her voice, and he catches sight of the tears building in her eyes. He must have struck a raw chord with her, he realizes - after all, where she's from, war is unending, and one of the greater ones has just ended a few years ago. Rising from his seat, he moves over to her mat and kneels beside her. He knows he's dangerously close to encroaching on her space, and if she makes any objection he'll gladly back off, but he doesn't want to be the cause for the anguish welling up in her. Bunching up some of the gauzy material on the top layer he's still wearing, he leans in and carefully wipes the tear away with a gentle brush. "I didn't mean to upset you. We can talk about something else." Perhaps she's always been this sensitive under that childish curiosity, but he hates to see her upset, and he's not sure how else to comfort her.

[SharpestLife19]

Wiping the hot little tear from her cheek, Grace gestures at Vincent in a way that seems to mean 'nevermind'. Thinking about those times make her sad, but she doesn't need to be sad right now. When those things happened, she had done everything a little girl could do, even when she didn't understand what she was doing. She had prayed for everyone, she remembers that now. In fact, when Vincent appeared, she had thought he was there to answer her prayers. She's learned since then that prayers don't get answered, even those of an innocent little girl. She gathers herself, trying to regain her poise. "I'm sorry, Vincent. I was thinking about when I was a girl."

[Sandkitten]

He sits back on his heels beside her when she waves him off, then rises and returns to his own mat, taking a seat once again. "When you were a young girl, you thought I was the answer to your prayers. Prayers don't always go unanswered, you know. It just depends who hears them... or who's listening. Guardians have a lot more to do with the answering of prayers than the creator of your world."

It occurs to him that he hasn't explained what a Guardian is properly, either. "Tell me, what do you think of when I reference Guardians? Paint me the picture that's in your mind. I'll explain what they are once I have your take on them."

[SharpestLife19]

Grace has to smile at that. Vincent always seems to know just what she's thinking. For all the times he's called himself a guardian, she never really considered what that might mean. She can't recall if he ever mentioned when she was a little girl. It seems like she would have thought about it then if he had. But now, she simply had not. She noticed that he would say things as if she ought to know what he meant, so she would not question that, and simply act as though she did know. Now, she had to decide what it meant.

"Hmm...Well, where I'm from a guardian is someone who takes care of you, who watches after you. More often than not they are there to care for a child if their parents pass away or something else happened to them that they no longer could take care of the child themselves." She shrugs, "Though I'm sure you knew about that. And of course we have been told about guardian angels before, but they always sounded rather like the same thing but with wings."

[Sandkitten]

"Well... in a sense, you're right. Some Guardians are assigned by a creator to watch over a certain subject or group of subjects, and their job is to ensure survival and ease of trial for the subject or subjects during their Human experience. It's more common, however, for a subject to have a bonded Guardian. Two beings will have a close bond, and when one decides to undergo the test, the other agrees to watch over them without interferance. But that can carry severe penalty, because sometimes the Guardian will interfere with intent to spare their subject pain or trial, and that can throw a wrench in the whole machine."

"On top of that, bonded Guardians do not have that task assigned to them, so they have other jobs to do - which means that sometimes they neglect their given duties, which can also carry consiquence." He's seen the consiquences of such abandonment of duty, and it seems rather unnecessarily severe to him. He opens his mouth to continue, but his stomach growls loudly, startling him for a few seconds.

[SharpestLife19]

Grace was taking in this information and wondering what kind of consequences would come from such things when Vincent's stomach growls. He looks surprised by it again and she can't hold back her laughter. "You're still not used to that, I see. Would you like me to fix you something? I'll have to have a look and see how to make these things..." She roots around in the food bag, making faces at the food. The food is just as odd as the rest of this planet and she's not sure what she ought to do with the things.

[Sandkitten]

He presses a hand to his stomach and raises an eyebrow, trying to dermine which part of him it's really coming from. "I suppose I do need to eat. I apologize for the noise. Whatever you have, only prepare- oh, well I suppose maybe a body experiencing mortality... mm, better not to take a chance. No flesh of any animal, only of seeds born in soil. Fruits, vegitables... whatever else you might call them. If you bought meat, that's reserved for you."

He stretches again, careful not to upset the noise in his stomach again, and glances outside, The shadows are beginning to enlongate in two directions. That's good. Night can't be too far off, then, and they can continue on their journey. Before they do, he wants to get a good look at the land they'll be covering. "Excuse me." Standing, he goes outside, and has to squint - the suns may be beginning to set, but they're not down yet, and they're as bright as ever. Looking up, he sees a good place to try and get a look all around them. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Spreading his wings to their full width, the chestnut feathers shine in the light before he takes off, taking a short-cut to the top of the tretcherous rocks.

[SharpestLife19]

Sniffing this and that, Grace is trying to decide what food is supposed to be used in what way. She thinks she might have figured it out now. It's interesting to her that Vincent is a vegetarian. They don't teach you those kind of things about angels when you're a girl. She has to wonder if it is all angels or simply him and thinks of asking, but then he excuses himself so she decides it can wait.

All her thoughts fall away as she watches his beautiful brown wings spread out to their full length and he takes off to fly. She gapes in awe, eyes wide with childlike wonder. It's such an amazing sight. When she was a girl she always wished she could fly. She wonders if Vincent could carry her along, just so she could have an idea of how wonderful it must be.

[Sandkitten]

Mortal though he may be, his body has lost none of its physical strength, and his wings beat powerfully, carrying him through the air to the top of the first ledge, the second, the third - it's a matter of a few minutes, but he finally makes it to the top, touching down so that he can get a good look at the surrounding land. With the suns retreating quickly to the horizon, the landscape is a patchword of dunes and shadows as far as he can see. The city they left behind is no longer in view, thanks to the mountains of sand, and the one they're headed for isn't on the horizon either. This desert seems to stretch on for days in every direction. He's stood in more prestigious places and viewed more desolation than this, but the effect it has on him now is to make him feel impossibly small.

Though he can't see the city they're headed for, he can see the small specks of traveling caravans - three in total, one in a line, and two circled around as if camping through the day, as he and Grace are. They seem to be traveling along the tops of the dunes, rather than weaving and dipping between them, so he keeps that in mind for their own travels tonight.

Satisfied that there's nothing else for him to see from his lofty perch, he spreads his wings and heads back down to the make-shift camp to Grace. His landing causes a rush of air to move through their open ended enclosure, dust in the crevaces coming up to dirty their mats. "I don't know how far we have to go yet - I couldn't see the city from the peak. We'll travel as far as we can tonight, and tomorrow I'll look again." He folds up his wings, coming over to brush off the mats, and looks at what she's preparing for food.

[SharpestLife19]

By the time Vincent lands, Grace has regained her composure and has stopped gaping. She even returns her attention to the food she's making. She's startled by the sudden rush of air from Vincent's landing. She chuckles at herself for being startled over it and goes back to making them some dinner. "That sounds good. We'll get there at some point, and that's all that really matters."

Her face flushes again, as she thinks of asking Vincent if he would fly with her. She doesn't know if it's an appropriate question. It's not as if she's had experience with the topic before. She never had to ask Frankie if he could fly her somewhere, after all. The thought of Frankie trying to fly makes her laugh outright and she covers her mouth, startling herself with the sudden outburst. "Oh my.."

[Sandkitten]

He's leaning over behind her to look at what she's doing when she has her outburst, and her laughter causes him to chuckle as well. "Something on your mind? Or is the food talking to you?" Whatever she's making, it looks - well, it smells good, but it certainly doesn't strike him as funny. Because of his angle, he didn't catch the flush rising to her cheeks... this time.

[SharpestLife19]

Grace can't help but laugh again as she tries to tell Vincent what she was thinking about. Since she can't do both at the same time it comes out as unintelligible babble in the midst of laughter. She waits a moment to get her laughter under control and tries again. "I was just thinking about Frankie trying to fly. I guess the picture of it in my head made it real funny to me."

[Sandkitten]

Vincent takes pause momentarily to try and imagine her boy of interest trying to fly - his mind goes through the normal channels of arm-flapping and then a series of Wright-brother type fiascos, then a comical image of the boy simply levitating, uncertain how to keep himself upright or how to steer himself. "Yes... I can see how that would happen." He comes around to sit on his mat again, folding his wings and tucking the tips again. His expression is carefully masked, and he closes his eyes in the semblance of meditation.

He's not jealous - jealousy is the mark of a constraint, the feeling of posession that comes when there are conditions within a relationship. He feels no such posession over her, but he is concerned for her happiness - if she's still thinking about the boy after being under such duress, she's clearly quite attached to him. Whenever they get back, he'll want to keep an eye on the boy, just to be sure that Grace will be happy with him. He can't interfere, but that doesn't mean he won't pay attention.

[SharpestLife19]

Cooking has Grace once more in her element, which is the only reason she can think of that her thoughts strayed to those at home. She has always enjoyed cooking and feels comfortable doing it even out here in the middle of a desert on a strange planet. And of course, it is something to do. She tastes the food she's working with, giving a nod of approval. She smiles and offers Vincent a plate. "I'm not sure what to call it, but I think it's pretty good."

[Sandkitten]

He opens his eyes when he's offered food, and takes it gladly. "Thank you." He takes his cues from her as far as how to eat it - he doesn't want to make a specitcle of himself for his eating habits, so he follows suit rather than leading. He's not sure what it would be called either, since he doesn't even know the names of the ingredients, but it's satisfying, so he doesn't really care to quibble over neumonics. "We'll just call it good food."

Hungry as he is, he finishes quickly, and then has to readjust his wings. Sitting on the ground is definitely not his thing - not with his wings out. It's awfully uncomfortable. Hopefully riding will provide him more space to stretch them out. He glances outside to see how the light is, and it seems that in a short time, dusk has arrived. "We should get going." Standing, he stretches again, and makes to put on the extra layers he had removed earlier, but finds that his wings prohibit that action. At least, not without alteration, and help. Ripping the backs of his layers, he recruits Grace to help get all of the pieces where they need to go, then he ties the bottoms so that they won't flap around. Fully dressed for any temperature change the night may bring, he takes the packs and leads her back down to where they left their mount. The lizzard is asleep, but it wakes with a start as Vincent begins strapping things onto it.

Once everything is set and the beast is saddled, he climbs up, and assess the situation. "You'll have to ride in front of me." He scoots back a bit, then reaches down to help her up.

[SharpestLife19]

Grace smiles, glad that Vincent likes her food. It always makes her feel good when someone compliments her cooking. She feels like she's achieved something, even if it's just a small thing. She helps Vincent into his outer garments, surprised they could get anything on around his large wings. She's not looking forward to riding the terrible and large lizard again, but there is nothing to be done about that. She takes Vincent's hand, allowing him to help her on the back of the creature. She doesn't look down at it, that will just make things worse. Grace manages to hold the icks inside she wants to say, thinking Vincent probably doesn't want to hear again about her distaste for the creature. "Alright...which way?"

[Sandkitten]

He can tell how much she detests their mount without her reitterating it for him, and he's rather glad she doesn't - it's not like they have much choice, and there's nothing he could do about it for her. Urging the beast to follow his promtings once again, he takes them down out of the rocky hils, and back to the sand, sticking to the tops of the dunes as much as possible. "Whatever direction continuing along the mountains is. I didn't even catch the directionals they use, I was just directed in this... way." Too many variations on 'direct'.

As the suns disappear one at a time, the shadows give way to darkness, and stars light their way, but no moon - if there is a moon, it's not on the same schedule as her earth's moon, taking over once the brighter orbs disappear. The temperature begins to drop, too. Soon, he notices that their beast of burden has slowed slightly, and he himself can feel the bite of chill on his uncovered face. The wind has died down, at least, so there's no sand blowing in their face, and no wind chill... but the lack of cloud cover allows the hot day air to rise away from the ground.

His arms are around Grace as he holds the reins, and he pay attention to see if she's comfortable or shivering - since she seems alright for the time being, he drives them on over the dunes, only dipping when their path ends, or they're off in a direction they don't need to be. After a couple of hours, he finds that he's paying less and less attention to where they are and where they're going, except to keep the mountains in view. It's difficult to keep his attention focused, and his eyes and arms are heavy. "Grace... I think I'm getting tired."

[SharpestLife19]

Though she doesn't want to look down at the horrible beast, looking around isn't much of an improvement. There isn't anything to see but miles and miles of sand. Just sand and nothing but sand. It's intensely dull. Grace wagers she could fall asleep riding the beast simply because it would be the only thing to do. Thinking in the sun was next to impossible, but the sudden cold that sets in might be worse. Grace never would have imagined such a hot, disgusting place could ever become this cold. It didn't seem like it should work that way to her, but apparently she was wrong on that.

Grace is relieved when Vincent announces he thinks he's tired. For awhile, it means she doesn't have to be on the disturbing creature and she can shut her eyes and not look at sand. She's worried that it will be too cold for sleep and hopes that Vincent knew how cold it would get and brought something warm. She looks around at the sand again, "Where will we rest?"

[Sandkitten]

He looks off at the mountains, but they're too far away - it would be another half hour to get to the foothills, and a half-hour climb from there... that's too long. But here in the sand, there's nothing to shelter them except the dunes themselves. But if they have to sleep in the sand, better to be in the valley of a dune than at the top, in case the winds start again. He steers them down into a depression, and dismounts. "Our options are fairly slim... this will have to do." He helps her down and takes their bags off the animal, though they have no place to tether it. The lizard doesn't seem to mind, however, and it begins digging into the sand, creating a trench to snuggle into. Vincent watches it, and decides it's onto something. He doesn't want to do the work himself - what would he do, scrape out a depression with his hands? - so he urges the beast out of its comfortable spot, and gets growled at for the effort. But the beast creates a new sleeping depression, and he lays their mats down inside the one he's taken over, tossing their blankets down inside as well. "We'll sleep here. If there's anything amiss, I'm sure I'll hear the beast stirring."

[SharpestLife19]

Grace is thrilled to be off the back of the beast, but very unhappy that there is no place to tie it. She does not want that thing near her at any time. It digs it's little hole and when it growls, she jumps up and backwards about a foot both ways. She lets out a little squeak of fear. Toeing near the edge of the depression, Grace looks down into it with some uncertainty. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" She doesn't add her other question, which is he sure the lizard will not be near them.

[Sandkitten]

Vincent did notice her reaction to the beast's growl, and although it amused him, he doesn't mention it. It would surely just cause her more grief. He steps down into the depression with her. "I'm not sure it's a great idea, but generally what nature does to adapt in an environment is good enough to be mimicked... and at the moment, that's good enough for me. We're short on other options, unless we want to go for a hike. I just don't feel I'll be awake that long." He sits, urging her to do the same, and folds the ends of the blankets around their feet to keep the sand out of their tiny haven. The sand is warm for now, having been soaking up the heat from the suns all day, but he's sure it will cool off over the course of the night. "Get comfortable." He realizes that their proximity might be a problem for her, but he has no intention of doing anything to make her uncomfortable. Once she's settled, he lays down beside her and stretches one of his wings over the top of her to help keep the sand off, and he heat in.

[Sponsored content]