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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 27, 2016 12:34:13 GMT -5
Mistystep followed curiously, crouching so she wouldn't be seen.
Suriel dipped his head. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to come here for many years."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 27, 2016 12:39:31 GMT -5
Wrenkit just shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, we're here anyway." She said, flicking her tail to the clearing they were standing in. "I think so, anyway. Do you feel it?"
Weaselstar didn't, but he didn't bother mentioning it.
Ianuarius approached the white body, carefully stepping around the burned wing marks. He just stood there looking at it silently for what seemed like a long time, and his eyes seemed to glow harshly. Then he finally blinked, turning them back to the frozen blue, and dug a shallow grave. After the dead angel was inside, he buried her and covered her wing marks with leaves.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 27, 2016 12:42:22 GMT -5
Suddenly there was a loud, eerie shriek and it was as if something tore past them, just out of eyeshot. Mistystep barely repressed a shriek of fright and dove further into the bushes.
Suriel flicked his tail and circled the clearing. "Yes...it should be here somewhere." he said, sniffing practically every blade of grass he could get to.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 27, 2016 12:46:47 GMT -5
"What are you looking for?" Weaselstar asked, watching him cautiously.
Ianuarius glanced up, his head following the thing even though it seemed to be invisible. Then his eyes slid down to the bushes, and he abandoned the grave, running straight for Mistystep. "Follow me." He hissed down at her as he went past. "Don't look back.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 27, 2016 17:15:29 GMT -5
Mistystep's eyes widened and she ran after him, glancing nervously over her shoulder. The screech sounded again and something invisible whooshed over their heads.
"The emergency exit." said Suriel. "It should be here..."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 27, 2016 18:20:54 GMT -5
"StarClan has a back door?" Weaselstar asked, raising his eyebrows. "Um. Why?"
"Go right." The reaper ordered over his shoulder, and without waiting for a response he swerved to the left.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 27, 2016 18:27:00 GMT -5
"That's not important right now." said Suriel. "What is important is that we find it." He continued looking all over the clearing. "I can sense it...it's right here!" he said frustratedly.
Mistystep obeyed and the invisible force whooshed overhead, flattening the grass with a gust of wind. There was another shriek, then all was quiet.
"Ianuarius?" said a loud voice from behind him.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 27, 2016 18:30:47 GMT -5
Ianuarius froze, but didn't turn. He didn't answer, didn't even look, just waited. If they knew his name, they knew what he was. And if they knew that, well...they probably didn't like him.
"Where?" Wrenkit approached, trying to sniff the spot. "I don't see it."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 27, 2016 18:34:47 GMT -5
There was an impatient sigh from behind him. "Ianuarius, stop being a dolt. It's Kaina." She flashed her reaper-white eyes to confirm. Mistystep stayed thoroughly hidden in the bushes.
Suriel closed his eyes and sat down. "It's closed." he said in a pained voice. "Sealed, somehow."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 27, 2016 18:40:57 GMT -5
"What does that mean?" The angel's tone made Wrenkit nervous, and it showed in her tone.
"So we're trapped here. Sorry, but that really isn't news." Weaselstar said bluntly, twitching his tail.
Ianuarius turned then, his muscles relaxing somewhat but not completely. "Kaina. Did you see what happened?" He asked her earnestly.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 27, 2016 18:44:42 GMT -5
She shook her head. "No." She flicked her tail agitatedly. "One minute I'm reaping souls, and the next I wake up here. What is this place?"
"Don't be stupid, please." said Suriel irritably. "Sometimes fallen angels die as mortal cats. This is where we go to retrieve them. It should be open, but someone or something sealed it."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 27, 2016 18:48:56 GMT -5
Weaselstar was beginning to suspect all the monsters hated him. "Okay, smart wings." He growled. "What's the plan? You have any bright ideas now?"
"Weaselstar." Wrenkit sounded shocked at her leader.
"This is where the souls go.' Ianuarius told her seriously. "Look. Misty, you can come out now." He called.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 30, 2016 8:05:15 GMT -5
Suriel growled deep in his throat, eyes switching to a burning yellow-white that was almost too bright to look at, and cast unearthly shadows on the ground around him. Even his wings were visible for a moment. "Don't test my patience. I am a supreme being, and I will not be spoken to in that way."
Mistystep crawled slowly out of the bushes, staring cautiously at the second Reaper. Kaina considered her for a moment, then looked around again at her surroundings. "So this is where we bring them." she said quietly.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 30, 2016 8:09:48 GMT -5
Ianuarius dipped his head to the side in a single nod. "Be honest, Kaina." He murmured, looking at the other reaper with a tired expression. "Did you really believe they were going to a better place? Did any of us?"
Weaselstar flattened his ears and narrowed his eyes angrily, but he didn't dare retort. He didn't intend to get flattened by a temperamental alien bully.
"Can we stop fighting?" Wrenkit sounded upset. "Isn't this bad enough already?"
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 30, 2016 8:13:33 GMT -5
Suriel's appearance returned to normal. He stared down Weaselstar briefly before turning back to Wrenkit. "Very well." He paused. "The next step is to find more friendly creatures. Either angels or sympathetic supernatural creatures."
"I guess...I guess I figured anything was better than killing their souls, or letting them wander lost." she said quietly. Mistystep's eyes widened. "Wait - you can kill souls? Like...permanently? Cause here, if you kill a ghost, it's only temporary. They'll reemerge eventually."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 30, 2016 8:18:57 GMT -5
Ianuarius closer his eyes. "We can do anything with souls you mortals can do with each other." He explained. "Only we can bring them here as well." He turned back to Kaina. "We didn't care." He stated simply, gazing at her. "We did our job and we didn't ask questions. Tell me, do you care now?"
Wrenkit shot Weaselstar a nervous look, then turned away. "So where do we start?"
Weaselstar turned away, calming himself. Losing his temper now would likely result in his annihilation.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 30, 2016 8:26:08 GMT -5
Kaina turned to him, ears flicked back. "No." she said in a Loki-esque attempt at deflection. "But we need to figure out how to get back to our jobs."
"Follow me. I'm instinctively drawn to others from my realm, we'll find someone eventually." He started off.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 30, 2016 8:31:39 GMT -5
"Are we going to see the reaper?" Wrenkit persisted, she looked a bit odd now because she was trotting while he was walking, but her feet weren't carrying her any faster, just using up more energy. It was a reminder that she was still used to being a kit.
"Exactly." Ianuarius looked relieved. "The souls will be trapped by now, between worlds. We need to get back as soon as possible."
"Suriel!" A shout came from behind the group, just out of sight.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 30, 2016 8:34:10 GMT -5
"No." said Suriel. "Reapers are independent and stubborn, they won't help us." He whipped around when he heard the voice. "Stay behind me." he said, eyes flashing blue again. He stared warily out into the moor."
"How?" asked Kaina. "The rift is sealed."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 30, 2016 8:39:52 GMT -5
"Yes. I was wondering though..." The reaper turned and looked thoughtfully at Misty, falling silent again. His sort of silence gave the feeling that he had a lot going on in his head, but he'd forgotten that the others couldn't hear his thoughts.
A small, stocky albino she-cat appeared, blinking at the group. "I thought I heard your voice Suriel." She panted, as if she'd been running. "What's with all the mortals?"
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 30, 2016 8:41:53 GMT -5
"They're spirits. We're in their realm." said Suriel tiredly. "It's good to see your face, my friend."
"What are your thoughts?" asked Kaina. "It seems the telepathic link that usually exists between us has been broken."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 30, 2016 8:46:45 GMT -5
Ianuarius looked surprised. "Ah. I was wondering if the door that we convince the souls to go through is still open. It would be another way out, as well as in."
"And yours." She answered automatically, as if this was the equivalent of saying "I'm good" when you were asked how you were. "Why do you have them all? I mean, they all look like they were following..." Her eyes widened. "You're not their leader?"
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 30, 2016 8:49:29 GMT -5
"They need protection." said Suriel, slight discomfort reaching his tone. "They are ill equipped to defeat demons and other monsters."
Kaina shook her head. "I had the same thought, but I can't find it anywhere."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 30, 2016 8:54:01 GMT -5
"But we've never been through it." He reminded her. "We don't know where to look." He glanced again at Misty, waiting for her to catch on.
The she-cat stared at him for a minute, then slowly a grin grew, and soon she was laughing at him. "You're leading the mortals? Oh Suriel, that's....that's frankly hilarious."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 30, 2016 8:57:36 GMT -5
Suriel sat down and flicked his tail ill-temperedly. "It's not their fault the monsters are here." he said. "We can't just let them be extinguished."
Misty's eyes widened. "What - me? I don't - I barely remember the portal. I don't remember where it was!"
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 30, 2016 9:02:01 GMT -5
"I don't believe what I'm hearing." The angel sat down, shaking with mirth. "The great Suriel, here to rescue the mortals from the evil in the world! What do you care if they survive? They're barely even sentient."
"Close your eyes." Ianuarius told her gently. "Breathe deeply, relax. You just walked through the doorway, now what do you see? Don't try too hard, just tell me what you see."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 30, 2016 9:06:48 GMT -5
"Amriel, we're supposed to protect them." said Suriel angrily. "That was our mission, if we can care to struggle to the end of it."
Mistystep did as she was told. "I see the moor...I see StarClan. It's so dismal and sad...like everyone's lost and no one is happy. I panic. Turn around. Run for the rift, but it won't let me through. It just sits there, closed, like it's mocking me."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 30, 2016 9:09:22 GMT -5
"What part of it is mocking you?" Ianuarius pressed her softly, staring at her intently.
Amriel snorted, shaking her head. "Since when are you such a saint?" She scoffed.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Aug 30, 2016 13:37:59 GMT -5
"When did you become so indifferent to our mission?" returned Suriel, lashing his tail.
"The core. It looks like I could almost step in...almost see the world I belong to. But I can't - it's blocked." said Mistystep.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 30, 2016 14:12:09 GMT -5
"What does the place around it look like." Ianuarius refocused her attention, knowing that if she panicked or got upset she'd open her eyes.
"Okay, okay." Amriel raised her tail in defense. "I can see you're taking your....erm....leadership very seriously. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
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