War

Blossoming Flowers

The Horseman sat, chin propped in his hands, and stared out past the golden gates of the City of Angels. It suddenly struck him then that he didn't belong here. He was a Horseman -someone who was not supposed to choose a side in the End War and yet... here he was. Maybe for his own personal reasons (to help Melody) but either way. He had never imagined himself in this position, watching the sun rise in the most Holiest place into the entire known universe besides Heaven itself. That was block off even from most angels, and War had no possibilities of even glancing at the city that was the greatest place to go once someone died. But here, on the outskirts of the City of Angels, War could finally feel something for the fantasy that the humans had for Heaven.

Here the sun was several different shades of yellows, reds, pinks, purples and an amazing touch of gray toward the bottom where the sun's rays hadn't touched yet. It was so beautiful. There was nothing to cause the light to go astray and no clouds blocked the strengthening source of light. The sun here never set or rose; it stayed exactly where it was and either grew in strength or began to lack it. As strange as it was, there were many planets that had the same situation that went on with them. Some had moons that were always visible and others had the sun that disappeared from sight in the air. It had never really bothered him before but now with there never being an actual night, it just felt strange.

War was pushed to the side a little and Ruin, who was chewing a rock loudly, nudged him gently. The stallion sniffed at him and then snorted, nibbling on his free hair. I don't see why you are so worried. Nothing will happen to her.

"I know. It just... I don't know."

Nickering, Ruin pulled back his lips to reveal his teeth and much of the rock that he had just devoured. While War rolled his eyes at the immaturity of his horse, Ruin smacked him so hard with his muzzle that the Horseman was stunned for several seconds before he regained his balance. You know what you're problem is? You worry way too much! I think that if you just relaxed, then you would calm down a lot.

"The last time that I calmed down and actually took a vacation," War stated, angrily glancing at his horse. "Everything was falling before us. I don't get breaks anymore."

Still. There's no one to bother you now -just go ahead and walk through the City to see everything and relax. Who knows! Maybe you'll see something that will help you reveal... tension. Ruin snorted, blowing some spit into the air.

"Ok, maybe horses are allowed free range with each other and they're okay with that, but most other animal species don't." War patted himself off, brushing any random dust particle that was on his red armor.

The smoking stallion waited until War had taken his step to make sure that he was coming before he threw himself into a gentle and yet demanding trot. He was leaving large smoked hoof stains on the pearl white floors of the City of Angels, his internal body temperature leaving making huge rifts of steam fly up in the air. War tried to kick out the still burning remains of his horse's path but eventually just gave up. The sun's rays melted the ashes back to the normal white anyway. I say that you just walk around and maybe eat something! They've got all of this funny human shit that actually smells really good!

War shook his head in annoyance. "It wouldn't matter if they gave me the strongest spice that they had, it wouldn't even effect me. I don't need to eat for another few centuries," he muttered under his breath darkly. That was one of the few things that he hated about being a pretty much immortal race like the Nephilim. Because they lived so long, War barely needed sleep and food.

So what? Find something and just chomp on it!!

"How were we matched together again? Something about being able to relate to creating complete destruction and chaos? Right now, you're as far from it as you can get."

You want hectic? I'll give ya the damn definition of the word! Ruin pretty much growled.

War had just been walking past a vacant tent with the front opened when he heard his horse neighing and saw the stallion rearing, throwing his head back and kicking out with his hooves. At first War was going to stand and let Ruin throw his fit. But then he saw a stocky angel on the ground, bravely refusing to scream for help. There were books strewn around him and then a pair of flimsily made glasses were on the ground. Sighing, War took one, two, three steps before he broke into a full blown sprint, timing it perfectly to where he had slammed into Ruin's shoulder just before the horse could let his weight fall onto the angel.

Son of a-

"There is no need for that kind of language!" barked out the angel with surprisingly ordering and commanding tone. Both Ruin and War froze from trying to get the upper hand to sit there and stare at the angel as he stood.

Without the threat of a large horse about to smash his head and then something blocking his path of sight, War could see the angel clearly. He was an ageless man (like all angels) and his long white hair had been pulled back with a small, dark purple bow that had been flawlessly tied. He was short and had a small weight problem when it came to his stomach, but War could spy that this angel had used to a largely built being. The angel's wings were thinner looking than what the others were. His feathers had a darker shade of white to them and they didn't seem to glisten quite as much as the other angels had. Not a single piece of armor or a weapon was on this angel. Instead he had countless of scrolls, books, feather pins and a million other objects that would help him either read ancient writings or to read them. War prepared himself. Scholarly angels were normally cocky and arrogant; spending millions of years at a time with books on every subject in the universe tended to do that to you when you knew that you knew everything in the universe that the Lord had created.

"I am sorry for my horse's actions," War apologized as he stood, making sure to kick Ruin one good time. The angel flinched visibly. "He is not normally like that."

"No, no. Your horse is fine. I forgive him for his actions." Ruin's mind literally exploded with choppy waves of anger, pushing War a little to the side. As he reached up to brush his temple and calm Ruin mentally, he just saw a hand that was thrown out near him in his general direction. "My name is Ferago, stranger. Pray tell, what is yours?"

The name struck War as familiar and he took the angel's hand with caution, giving one firm pump to the hand shake before he let go. "War."

The surprise that flashed across the winged figure did not pass by War's notice and the Horseman felt his ego flare just a little. He couldn't think of the last time that he had impressed an angel enough to where he could tell that he had. "War... As in first and youngest of the Four Horsemen?"

"Yes."

The one and only! With his horse Ruin! Who is a noble, handsome looking stallion with a flowing mane and tail, muscular body tone and quite the ladies man! You can't say all of that for War though!

If War could have guessed, he thought that he saw Ferago's hazy eyes roll just once. The Horseman was beginning to suspect that Ferago was blind or either lacking in sight, which was why he would require the thin pair of glasses that were still lying on the ground. He scooped up the tiny article used for seeing and was giving it to Ferago when he noticed something that he was pretty positive that no other angels had. A tattoo meant for a demon. War knew much of the demon language -with Fury always visiting down in Hell and her already large knowledge, he had picked up a few things- and he knew simply by looking at the tattoo that looked similar to a hollow oval that this was a Shadow Demon. Which was odd, considering that this was an angel standing before him, not a demon.

Ferago placed his tiny glasses neatly on his nose with a sigh, blinking a few times to allow his eyes to get used to the feeling again. "Ah, thank you, War. I cannot see without these at all!"

"Cannot see? But I thought that it was impossible for an angel to have any health problems?"

"Sight is not a health issue. Not mine anyway. I am disappointed with you War; could you not remember who I am without a simple given name? Fury must have told you much about me and my little... adventures. She used to admire me greatly."

War's mind went to a screeching halt while Ruin's went on a rampage. The horse nickered and snorted as he pounded away at the white marble floors almost with his own spark of disappointment. Ferago had been Rasha's eldest and first son. With his father being the Demon Lord and his mother the damned Demon Queen herself, Ferago was destined for either a grand place at Lord later on or being a pawn for his father to play. Before Ferago could get the chance to choose though at which one he wanted, Samael swept through Hell and murdered the fourteen children that had been born between Rasha and Lilith. Apparently Samael had missed the biggest and most threatening piece. War had never seen Ferago as a demon, but if he had a guess by the tattoos that Ferago was probably covered with and the medallion that was shaped into the signs of the Shadow Demon King's symbol, the once-demon had used to be one of the most powerful that you could roll by.

"But Samael killed you," War exclaimed without missing a beat as Ruin continued assaulting the white stone. "He killed all of Rasha's children. Fury told me that she saw everything."

"Well, when Samael was hunting us down, he missed four of us. Me, Alooc, Mayline, and then Oscuro. Alooc went on by himself and became a bounty hunter with his shifting abilities and became pretty filthy rich. Mayline is currently in the Underworld, cleaning up this large mess that was going on with some of the Shadow Mutts, and then Oscuro took my old position as Shadow King. I became an angel by saving a human being out of courtesy and returning kindness while learning how to forgive," Ferago explained, placing his hands inside of his habit sleeves. "It's a long and complicated story on how He thought that I should become an angel."

"I do not think that many demons have became angels, now have they?"

"No. I am the first since the... 2nd century I think."

Ruin sauntered past them, flicking his ears about and his tail, slinging black smoke wherever he went. Thank you for that marvelous history lesson, Ferago. Can we leave now?

War was about to chide Ruin for his rude behavior when Ferago laughed and shook his head, smiling as he opened and closed his wings gently. "Don't worry War. I know about animals. You and Ruin are fine; go ahead and leave." The Horseman nodded and was about to leave when the angel grabbed a hold of his shoulder, making him freeze. "But beware. You are accidentally causing an ancient prophecy to come into play if you stay here in the City of the Angels with this woman."

"What? What prophecy are you speaking of? There is only one prophecy that involves the Horsemen."

Nervously, Ruin slammed his hooves into the white floors several times. He didn't know of another prophecy -he could barely remember the one that was in the Bible about the Horsemen- but just talking of one cost his entire being to jerk and spasm. Again he threw his head up and down, pulling back his lips, and silently pleading for War to continue walking with him. He didn't want to know about this other prophecy.

But War's curiosity had been stirred once again. He had been told that he was a cross in between Fury and Death many times; he had Death's small attention span but Fury's knack for wanting to know every little piece of information at the same time. What would manage to grab at his attention had to be either frighteningly important or somewhat exciting. To War, another prophecy meant that his time killing things and the set-up that he had been in were not over. He had not gone back to the Charred Council since he had been redeemed by Death and he did not plan on going to visit any time soon for any reason. The Horseman had even openly refused their calls for a meeting. Because he had gotten so strong, he had the power now to do pretty much whatever he wanted too, including refusing any social meeting that the most important group of three heads in the entire universe could have.

"What prophecy, demon?"

Ferago snorted here. "I would prefer the term 'angel' here but you are not so wrong." The demon/angel saw the mighty glare that War was giving him and then how his hands were clenching and unclenching. "But the prophecy speaks of the Horsemen choosing sides to either Hell of Hea-"

"But that is not possible!" War snapped, his words being enforced by Ruin in behind him snapping his jaws together. "We cannot choose sides!"

"Well, there is a slight, serene possibility that you might. And it starts with you.

"When the Rider of Chaos and

Destruction aides the Angels of Heaven,

When the Bringer of Death and

Sorrow sides with the Angels of Heaven,

When the Rider of Wrath and

Anger aides with the Demons of

Hell,

When the Bringer of Argument and

Self Doubt sides with the Demons of Hell,

The End War shall be very near

Indeed.

Every creature, between animal and

Human, shall tremble in fear as war

Goes on below their feet and

Above their heads.

It begins with the Rider of Chaos and

Destruction asking the favor to

Transform a love one

And then continues when the

Bringer of Death and Sorrow

Asks for refuge for his growing

Child.

The Rider of Wrath and Anger

Shall feel a life-long attachment

And promise the Lord true loyalty.

The Bringer of Argument and

Self-doubt shall side with his

Sister."

"That's not possible!" War exclaimed, taking a step back. "Death doesn't even have Anna pregnant!" He felt stupid saying it, yes, but Nephilim could pretty much in pregnant one of their own with a snap of a finger, which was why there were so many and because very many cheated on each other. But War knew for a fact that had not been any time that Death could even try.

Ferago shrugged. "You've set the prophecy in motion. Are you sure about Anna? You have not seen her in a long while, no?"

The Horseman growled as he turned away, utterly finished with this conversation.

************************************

Melody's eyes slowly slid open and it took a few minutes for her sight to return to her. Right away she noticed a difference. She could count how many dust specks were on a spider web that was fifteen feet away. More confused than anything, she gently slung her legs over the side of the fluffy bed that she was in, trying not to panic when she swore that they were longer than what they normally were. Without thinking, she took both hands and ran it through her light hair nervously. When she pulled them back, having felt like she was stringer than what she regularly was (she had almost pulled her hair out), she did panic.

Screeching out like a little girl, Melody fell back onto the pillows of the bed with her legs and arms pulled up onto her as she just screamed her legs out. Black lines that were actually were beautiful swirled around her entire body. They covered her arms, her legs and then decorated her stomach when she worked up the courage to pull up the sleeveless dress that she was wearing to see. She had no idea of what they meant. She really just hoped that it didn't cover all of her face up.

Silently she began to calm just a little, figuring that her earlier actions had been childish and uncalled for. Pausing, Melody glanced at herself in the dress that she was wearing. The dress was lightly colored with a beautiful yellow with orange highlights all over it, making her look like some flower of some sort. It curved lightly over her collarbone before it dipped back up, showing nothing of her cleavage. She could feel the air lightly touching her shoulder blades and she had a feeling that the back of the dress was opened. What looked like layers was on the bottom of the dress and she smiled as she pulled them apart to find several different hues of orange and yellow. Her feet were covered by black laced up boots that made her smile even more. That was more of her style.

Then the door opened and she saw an angel coming through. She didn't even wait to think before she opened her mouth and screamed the loudest that she possibly could have.

Azrael had been coming in to check on the woman. He had been able to change her successfully without killing her. That itself had been an amazing accomplishment and the angel was extremely proud of himself. But what pride that he had shattered when he felt a case break across his face that Melody had thrown at him in a panic. He had forgotten how strong that Nephilim could be too. Melody was weak in her new found situation and yet she literally broke his neck.

Breaking into a choked sob, Melody watched in horror as Azrael's neck snapped into the correct position and he made a slight gagging noise, creeping her out. She slapped away the hand that he offered her with disgust and fright as she leaned from him, shaking.

"Melody, I am not here to hurt you," Azrael exclaimed, not helping but to feel slightly annoyed. He had just gotten his neck snapped in half and here she was, freaking out. The first time that he had broken something of his own (he had fallen backwards from a ladder and surprisingly angels cannot fly upside down) he had more than grossed out when it corrected itself without a moment's notice. "I was the one who made you a Nephilim."

"Like War?" Melody was able to say after she managed to think for a few minutes.

Azrael nodded. "Yes, just like War."

"Is he alright?"

"Why would he not be?"

Melody took that as a 'no' and she began to stand from the bed, ignoring how Azrael was warning her to take it easy. She wanted to see War. Pushing herself up, Melody strode past Azrael in that fancy dress of hers, brushing past his large wings and then slipping through the door. The angel struggled to follow her as she stormed through the Library, where he had transformed her. She didn't even bother glancing at the massive shelves that were rising up from the ground and then the angels that either sat at desks, most with glasses perched on thin noses, or the ones that flew from shelf to shelf, searching for a book. Nor did she stop when Azrael tried to threaten her to not go outside. His words didn't go noticed as she burst through the Library's doors and stood on the top step, searching for War in the mass of angels.

You would have thought that a large man dressed mostly in red armor would have been able to be easily spotted in a city where most of the occupations wore absolutely no color. But she glanced over everyone and still continued to fail to find him and she fumed silently. Then she spotted Ruin. The stallion had found a stall where he could stand there and continuously steal apples that were so ripe that they were colored gold. She didn't wait a single second before she ran down the steps, skipping three at a time.

"RUIN!" she roared once she had gotten past the steps. The stallion pricked his wide ears at her before he neighed and trotted toward her, shaking himself. She threw himself about his massive head after he lowered it and she pressed a soft kiss in between his ears, smiling when Ruin snorted and pulled at the middle of her dress.

You know, the stallion snorted. I think that you're much prettier as a Nephilim than a human.

"Thank you! Where's War?" She wanted to see him so badly.

The horse pointed to the City of Angel's walls with his nose, shaking himself again. He's up with Trantic and Olpa talkin' about battle plans and then some prophecy that had him all worried.

"Okay!" Melody beamed and took off running again, causing Azrael to sigh loudly when he caught up only to have her take off running again. She ran through the crowds of angels as fast as she could, determined to find War.

Then she saw him.

Ruin was right when he had said that he had been talking with Trantic and Olpa. Their wings were slightly touching as the Horseman spoke with then by the gates, his hand rubbing at his chin as he thought deeply about some subject or another. Melody hitched up her dress so she could run faster as she called out his name. War half turned to her and his eyes widened when he saw her. Then he threw his head back and laughed. Whenever War laughed it would cause vibrations to run through Melody's spine and she felt it more than ever as she got closer, tears of joy falling from her eyes. She literally flung herself on him and he caught her easily, spinning her around as his lips found hers instantly. Right away she grabbed his head and she pulled him closer to her as she kissed him ever harder, feeling his mighty arms wrap themselves even tighter against her waist and his fingers digging into her hips. His smile was so gentle.

"Ahem," Trantic coughed. "Would you two like a room or a place to stay the night together?"

War broke the kiss softly, remembering where they were. Had they not been out in public, he probably would have ravished her so hard that she wouldn't know where she was. He held her still in his arms, placing her feet on the ground as their foreheads connected and he closed his eyes. "I do think that it could rearranged."