[IC] [Skybreaker] Déchu Etoile [Marshal]

[Skybreaker]

"You know you mission, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Harp's voice was full of pep and excitement, white hair billowing all around him. His instructor smiled softly, her porcelain skin wrinkling a bit. He couldn't help but wonder why he had never seen her smile before.

"Harpus, be careful. I know you want to earn a wing, but if you let your guard down, he can take away your light." Harpus nodded to his leader. She was wrapped in a white dress made of some kind of extremely lightweight material beyond his understanding. "And," She continued, tilting her head to one side and causing her brown hair to bounce a bit, "The humans are not what they used to be. Do not reveal yourself, Harpus. If they find you, they will capture you. And your powers are too weak to fight. You know that, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be careful." Harp's pink eyes flashed for a moment. Since he lacked any wings, he also lacked the ability to tap into his powers. For now, all he could do was temporarily sway someone's emotions. There were good things about being a cupid. Of all the angels, cupids were the most involved with love. However, they could cause extreme chaos if they decided to turn against the one spirit. They tampered with emotions. If they could make people fall in love, they could also take away that love. Because of this, cupids were carefully trained. Harp was thought to be relatively harmless, to they didn't care about him too much.

Harp focused his gaze upon the water before him. It was suspended horizontally, so he could walk through it. He looked to be a young boy of fifteen, with skin and hair white as fine china, and eyes the color of rose amethyst. Though he was far from short, he wasn't lanky or twiggy. He was wearing what looked to be a tunic, and his hair was styled upwards. For a moment, Harp froze. Did he really want to do this? Of course he did! Though it was dangerous, he needed to earn his wings from the one spirit! With a sudden cry that made those around him widen their eyes, Harp suddenly pushed himself into the water.

The human world was warm. Very warm. As his eyes flickered open, he could tell that there were warm hearts in this world. At the same time, he could feel the darkness. He suddenly sat up and looked at himself. He was wearing the most strange of clothes. Harps traced flawlessly smooth fingers on the strange, heavy fabric that covered his legs. They looked to be black in color, and had many pockets. "Ah! These are known as cargo pants!" Harp suddenly exclaimed. He felt his chest, and was met with hard metal. "And I think this is called a 'vest'..." Quickly getting to his feet, he noticed they were covered in some kind of hard substance. Right! These were shoes! The angel couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. This was so exciting!!

After looking around, the cupid realized he was on the top of a skyscraper. Was this the place his target worked? It was a good thing he was used to walking around! The portal had granted him clothes and the information he needed to blend in. He noticed there were people all around him, but nobody was making any move to greet or acknowledge him. All of his attempts to smile at people were met with nothing but suspicious looks. Harp's smile faltered for a second, but soon returned. "Right! that's why I'm here!" Harp set out to scout his target- a very dangerous one at that. His mission? Show him light.

[Marshal]

"Ugh, these humans." His voice was rough and grating as he stared intently into the large bathroom mirror at himself. The young man in the mirror reflected something he did not wish to see, himself. For a demon of his line, Bel was what most considered 'average' looking, if not a bit bellow the line. In his human skin, at least! But that was all part of his charm, his tricks. It was always unwise to assume lesser-looking beings were actually bellow ones self, and out of all of them, Bel knew this best.

The bathroom had quite the raunchy smell to the demon's rather sensitive nose, he could hear the humming of the 'silent' air ventilation that ran throughout the entire building. Though at the moment he was far to focused on the mirror to care about the things he often found of great annoyance. His well trimmed claws scraped lightly over his human-face, over the delicately tanned and freckled skin. Though the freckles stood out like a sore thumb, spread across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. He did not like the freckles, nearly as much as he disliked the cloths he had stolen only a couple of hours ago. Covering over his lithe form currently was an overly large hooded jacket, black and covered with white print of some popular band currently. The zipper was broken, leaving it only zipped up mid-way to his diaphragm. The shirt underneath was a dark grey v-neck, apparently plain.

Though the worst part, Bel suddenly decided, was the pants he had grabbed. The jeans fit nearly perfectly to his legs, but still had to keep the punk-spiked black belt on to hold them up. And the shoes, oh the shoes. They were too large, even with two pairs of socks on. He could still kick them off by mistake while walking, but with where he was currently, what else was he to do? "I... I have been in this world for some time and I still do not understand their clothing..." He complained to himself, still gazing over himself intently in the large mirror, a flicker of black suddenly appearing in his bright, green eyed gaze. Unlike most, Bel did not have a particular reason for being here.

His personality and actions highly erratic, everyone considered him dangerous, a loose cannon even. The kind of person you sent to slaughter because no one could successfully keep a leash on them. Innocence happened to be his vice, too. The more pure, less tainted, and more holy, the better. Everyone was a potential target, everyone.

Suddenly a soft sigh would escape the short figure as he leaned in against the mirror, resting his head against the chilled glass. What to do, what to do. He had already scouted this skyscraper and found nothing of which he was after, no one even remotely within his range of 'want'. His poor choice of stolen clothing suddenly became much less of a big deal as he pushed back from the mirror to pull the large hood back from his head. The moment he had started to lower the the black hood, a crack struck across the entirety of the mirror and a frown formed upon his pale lips. "Always, always happens. Not even going to bother with this one!" He had stopped trying to pull down the hood, which was probably for the better. Though now you could faintly see the tips of what appeared to be some dark orange hair, a few loose strands having fallen into his face as he spins and swiftly makes his way out of the bathroom.

'Not that I should have been in that bathroom anyway...' He mused silently as he carefully crouches under the bright yellow 'UNDER CONSTRUCTION' tape. The apparent teenager swiftly starts to make his way towards the stairwell, for the most part seeming oblivious to everything around him with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

[Skybreaker]

"La-La! Laaa!" Harpus sang as he skipped around the building. Currently, he was examining an abstract painting. It was a red circle with a thick black line in it. "Oh! What does it mean?" The angel asked himself. Maybe it was the Earth, being split in two... Nah! Maybe it was something really sad... Like a heart breaking. Harp's smile faltered as he thought about it. Though he sensed broken hearts around him, he didn't hear the sad sound of any breaking. As an angel of love, Harp decided that a broken heart was the worst thing in all creation. Why was it even made? It was because light and dark had to be constant. So there would never, ever be perfect peace.

He sighed, not wanting to be like every other angel. They didn't care about 'lesser beings'. But Harp was one to put his foot down and say that everyone's heart could experience love. Just like how an ice cube would be able to last for a few seconds when hurled into a flame, even the darkest of hearts could experience love and emotion. Though it might not be much, it also meant that even demons were vulnerable to his arrows. Come to think of it, where were his arrows? Though he was nowhere powerful enough to make people fall in love forever, he could temporarily sway someone's emotions. That would come in handy, especially when he was around someone who could harm him.

Realizing that he needed to first find the demon in question, Harp sighed. He then began to shut his eyes. He was thinking about how to deal with him... He found his 'arrows', though he lacked a quiver and bow. They were in the shape of a single pistol. Though much scarier then that needed to be, Harp knew they wouldn't harm whoever he hot them at. "Hey!" Harpus heard someone yell. "Who the hell do you think you are, huh?"

"W-what?" Harp asked confusedly. He was being approached by a beefy looking teen. He looked a little scary, actually! Though he was an angel, Harp was weaker then this human. He kept a neutral expression.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, but nobody passes by me without paying their respects!" Harp's eyes narrowed. Was this a 'juvenile'? Whatever he was, Harp didn't have time to deal with him, and ran away promptly.

"This is a work building... why are there kids here?" Harp asked himself as he ran.

[Marshal]

Bel continues along towards the door to the stairwell, his head bobbing slightly in a silent rhythm to unheard music. Though something would suddenly snag his attention, his feet come to a grinding halt just a few feet from his destination. One hand was already out of his pocket even, finely trimmed claws just mere centimeters from the heavy metal push-handle door. A soft groan would escape him as he turns his head, ears twitching slightly as his eyes finally fall upon what had caught his subconscious. Yelling did that occasionally, especially the demanding-to-be-heard kind. And boy did this kid want the entire building to hear him, and it was something that Bel found to be quite irritating. Despite the fact that this yelling did have a reason, it was a stupid one.

The black hooded teen caught sight of what the true juvenile was so loud about, and quite quickly too. His bright emerald gaze suddenly turned black for a few moments in shock. Running from him was not something of this planet, he knew nearly instantly. Though not what the young male was, he just knew he was different. Different and... pure, from what he could see at least. And Bel could tell quite well between the pure and the tainted, he himself was a very tainted soul coated in the blackness of his sins and other injustices he had committed. Though he was never spot on on most things, he had to be -really- close to actually see everything, had to be touching. In that instant though, Bel had already decided to make this strange fellow his next target.

Bel had messed with angels before, he had corrupted them and killed them. The joy of ripping off their wings, feather by feather, painful scream after painful scream... With a final shake of his head, Bel's feet swiftly start to move as he raises a hand, attempting to catch the strangers attention, having all but already forgotten they were in a human building, filled with fragile fleshlings.

"Hey, you! Over here!" Unlike his talking before though, this time his tone came out smoothly, but was quite loud with an intense amount of command within it. No, he could not control others with it. But occasionally it caught someones attention so they would listen to him, or pay attention to him. It often worked well with the weaker beings, like the humans. Speaking of humans, several of them had stopped what they were doing to stare at him, barely paying attention to the aggressor and his escapee.

[Skybreaker]

Harp was halted as he heard someone yell. He didn't know it was angled toward him, but the authoritative tone of the other's voice made him freeze. Perhaps it was out of fear. Nevertheless, the angel slowly turned around, afraid what he would see. Harp's already pale complexion whitened. His hands balled into fists as pink eyes widened. The cupid met a brilliant green gaze. He was handsome, no denying that. Harp had to wonder if his target was a incubus. Or really, any kind of sex demon?

Shaking his head as he regained focus, Harp laughed nervously. Should he walk over to the demon? Would that be wise? Maybe the demon could smell he was an angel! Wait, did demons do that? They had better senses, right? NO! They had a sixth sense! Or... Harp frowned, unsure. If only he had paid more attention to his studies.

Finally resolving to comply, the cupid carefully made his way over to the other male. The demon certainly had a lot of... freckles. But his aura was no doubt the one he was looking for. Now, the question was... Should the angel reveal himself or play it cool?

"Hi! Were you talking to me?!?" Harpus sang peppily. Yup. Play it cool it was.

[Marshal]

A smile cracked upon the freckled demon's face as his new target froze, before making his way over. Bel offered a soft smile towards the pink-eyed male, showing a small bit of his suddenly rather sharp looking teeth. But the smile only lasted a moment before it faded into a blank slate, lowering his once waving hand to the top of his hood, giving it a bit of a tug to cover down over his face a bit more. Already the humans that had been staring had went back to what they were doing, deeming the 'children' no longer a concern, which Bel was slightly thankful for... not that he really cared if they continued to watch or not. He would not be so foolish as to do something here, in the open.

"What is someone with such stunning eyes as yours doing in this dark, dirty place? I am quite sure you are in the wrong building." Bel murmurs, keeping a mostly blank expression as he leans back slightly against the heavy metal door. The demons mind was already running through various scenarios, ones that were possible, ones that weren't. Something about this pink-eyed fellow gave his senses quite the rile, and not just the fact that he was an angel, either. But he couldn't quite put a finger on it, something was... different. As far as first impressions went, Bel had decided this one was somewhat dense... at least seeming like that, anyhow. No better way to actually know until-... Suddenly he would give his head a light shake, a forced smile re-forming upon his features.

"So... how about you come with me and we get out of here. This is no place for children, anyhow." Bel says, suddenly pushing off of the door and spinning around. Now facing the door, he quickly pushes the metal bar and it clicks open. Easily he pushes it open and steps into the stairwell, holding the door open for the other with a quirked brow. A slight chilled breeze would blow past the open door, the inside of the stairwell rather cold. The lighting was rather bad as well, just barely bright enough to show the countless steps downwards to the bottom floor.

[Skybreaker]

"You have a nice smile, by the way." Harp murmured softly before Bel spoke. Though the other's sharp teeth were a bit unnerving, he was reminded that after all, it was a smile. An evil smile. A demonic smile. A smile that was probably shot at dozens of angels before they had their wings brutally ripped off! Harp's own smile faltered, but only for a moment. 'Okay, don't let your guard down!' He thought. What Harp didn't know was that this demon was very, very dangerous. Full-fledged angels were sent on the same mission and were killed. Others became demons themselves. Still others lost their minds.

Harp felt himself relax slightly when he heard the faux warm tone of the other's voice. He might have been an emotion angel, but he couldn't read this demon at all! Though Harp seemed dense, he was just constantly in his own little world where everything was bright and beautiful. There was no place like that, not even the world he was from! There was a reason Harp lied to himself, but he didn't like to talk about it. "Oh, thanks..." He replied, blushing a bit, knowing the other was flirting with him. After the demon asked him to leave with him, Harp's eyes widened. Should he? He could sense this demons was dangerous, even he wasn't that slow. But on the other hand, this might be the opportunity he needed! Not to mention, Harp still had his 'arrows' with him.

He was planning on using them. When people were in love, they did crazy things, right? But if he tried to shoot his target now, he would be stopped. The angel wasn't as fast as the others, after all. Maybe keeping his cover would be the best course of action. "Alright, lead the way, Mister..." Harp lead the word on, his own way of asking the name of the demon. There were so many freckles on his face! Harp wanted to just reach over and connect the dots somehow. Though the male was handsome now, Harp couldn't help but wonder if he looked scary in his demon form. He fingered the device his arrows were kept in. It was clipped to his pants. He was lucky he was the only one who could wield them! It would be more than simple to steal it from him... "Oh, I almost forgot! My name's Harp! Like, the instrument? Though I think harps are a little too quiet for my tastes." He chattered as he followed the other male out the door. Harp was shorter than him, so that was one more thing that made him uncomfortable. As he stood outside for a moment, Harp thought about what to ask him. As a demon, the other would be really, really clever. At least in theory. But... Harp knew how to deal with those people...

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Meeting no objection, the pink-eyed angel continued. "Will you be my friend?" He smiled warmly, though the question made him a little sad. The last time he had asked someone that... NO! There was no point in thinking about that now!

[Marshal]

"Harp?" He mumbled out as he pulled away from the door, allowing the heavy metal block to slide back into place with a soft click of the lock mechanism. "The harp is beautiful instrument, very calming and relaxing. If the right cords are plucked, that is. Otherwise it is quite a tribulation... I am sure you are just the same." Bel says this as his hand slips from the door handle and steadily starts to make his way down the stairs, not even bothering to look to his side or behind him to see if Harp was following. He had followed him into the stairwell already, was there really any other need to keep an eye on him? He seemed to simple to just stop following him now. A soft sigh slowly escapes the demon as he stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets. He was not cold, not even remotely. The chill rolled off of him like fog in the early morning on a lake... it touched, but nothing was felt. It was a human notion he had picked up some time ago, he was not sure why the did it, maybe to stop from needlessly moving their hands about?

Bel was quiet as he moved down each step, he had ignored the comment Harp had made about his smile and promptly ignored the others request for his name. Though occasionally his bright emerald gaze would move over to look at Harp, not fully ignoring him. 'Is it alright to do that though?' Bel mused to himself, offering a light shake of his head. If this angel was half of what he expected, Harp would already know who he was, he would know he was dangerous. It was likely he was sent to try and kill him, he guessed, like all the others. But what made this one special? Special enough to be sent on an obvious suicide mission? Maybe he was seeking death, or possibly had such dull senses he couldn't tell...? Bel's thoughts came to a grinding halt though as he heard Harp's next words, his feet followed as he stopped mid-step down to the next floor.

"Friend?" He manages out, the blank look on his face suddenly faltering with the slightest widening of his eyes as he looks to Harp with a slightly confused look. "I am someone you do not want to have any relations to, Harp. I do not have 'friends'. People do not 'befriend' me. I have disposable acquaintances and enemies." Bel continued to stare at Harp for several moments, the look of slight confusion dispersing as a new, much more raw emotion would emerge at the corner of his now down turned lips. The bright emerald eyes suddenly seemed much darker than they had previously, though Harp would not get a much better look before Bel turns his face away and continues down the stairs, in silence aside from the light step of his feet on the concrete stairs.

'Why did I answer like that?' The question spun in Bel's mind over and over within the passing seconds, why had he answered like that? Instead of with a 'yes'? He had seen angels play these games before with other demons, even once with himself. But he had killed her too fast to give any emotion to it, not that he had many positive emotions anymore. Most of them had been eaten away by the more crueler and darker side of things, or maybe they were there, just... Suddenly Bel lets out a loud, audible sigh before he stops yet again, sucking in a sharp breath. 'I am a demon. A powerful demon. I don't -need- anyone but myself.' And he didn't need anyone else, no angel, no demon, no anything. Power was everything and this angel was his next target, and nothing next to the great divine himself was going to stop him from this. Or at least, that is what he thought.

"Bel." He mutters a bit loudly. "You may call me Bel."

[Skybreaker]

Harp stopped for a moment, awaiting the other's answer. Though he was in a lucid state, the demon's response was enough to make him widen his bright eyes in shock. He balled his hands into fists instinctively, but kept them at his side. His lips felt dry suddenly, and his tongue darted out to wet them. As the cold wind cut at him, he felt like it was running through him. As if he was made of mesh, and he wasn't able to stop anything from happening. Bel's unfamiliar words made the angel pause. Suddenly, his gaze softened. Did all demons think like this? As the demon revealed his name, the angel breathed out.

"That must be a really... sad way to live, Bel." Harp said, using a tone that was more cut-throat. He looked down and swallowed. He was all but positive that Bel knew what he was. Why bother keeping this facade up any longer? "It is true," He said, moving a bit closer to the demon while still keeping his distance. "That you're probably really powerful. But if... you really, really don't need anyone, then you should have a brighter look to your eyes." It appeared Harp's ditzy demeanor had vanished, at least temporarily. A more serious look graced his features, though he still had the same young look. "I've seen that look before. You want something. And it's not normal pleasure, either. You want something..." Harp stopped, trying to regain his thoughts. "We want the same things, Bel." He finished.

Looking down, Harp wondered what the demon would do now. It was possible he could try to kill him now, but there were so many humans around. If the Seraphs had reason to believe Bel was a danger to this world, they'd send a whole armada to get rid of him. This thought comforted Harp, though it was possible Bel would take the chance, anyways. Demons were hard to read.

The angel coughed. "Anywho!" He sang, his normal attitude returning. "If you don't want to be my buddy now, that's fine! But..." His pink eyes burned fiercely. "I'll get you to crack eventually!" He smiled. "So, uh, what're you planning to do now...?" He asked sheepishly. He had foolishly revealed himself, showed his serious side, and spoke from the heart to his target, all in less then five minutes. 'Oh, Harp... you're gonna die soon...' A voice echoed in his head.

[Marshal]

"The same things, we want the same things?" Bel kept a relatively calm face, his eyes no longer growing wide, hardly reacting to anything the angel was telling him. The demon kept his gaze forward, refusing to lower his eyes as they continued down the stairwell. He suddenly wished the entire building was vacant so he would rip Harp in half without having to worry about cleaning up the mess. Maybe he should just kill all of the humans as well, make the angel watch, and then kill him? Or... No matter how Bel thought of it, killing all the people in this building alone would be more effort than it was worth. Such impurity filled just that top floor alone, it would make anyone sick to their stomachs. That and only more angels would be sent to try and slaughter him. So instead, he decided to try and rattle the him. Or at least try.

"What I plan to do now," Bel mused as a large grin suddenly forming upon his face, "it is quite simple really. I am going to speak with you until we reach the bottom floor, then I am going to take you elsewhere and then torture you in an unmerciful manor before bathing in your blood. Maybe if you are lucky I will make sure you are dead before the bathing part." His grin was quite large as he turned his head to peer at Harp, his fangs were bared and already stained slightly with blood from having dug into the flesh of his mouth while forming so suddenly. "Maybe I will lock you away and corrupt you at my leisure, instead. It is always fun to watch you all slowly descend. Especially the cute ones."

Though Bel made no more aggressive actions towards Harp, in fact, the moment his fangs started to reform into a more human-like shape and regained his neutral expression, he actually started to talk. "It might be a sad way to live, Harp. But it is the only way to live. Everyone betrays you in the end, in one way or another. The only thing that is for sure is power, and even that is always fleeting. If you have too much of it, everyone wants you dead because you are a 'threat' if you suddenly decide against something." He shakes his head lightly. "What is it that you want badly enough to willingly walk to your death?" As Bel asks this, he actually looks toward Harp again. His expression was no longer neutral, but there was still not much there to see. A slight narrowing of his eyes, a faint quirk of his brow. He was actually curious as to what this angel wanted so badly that he would do this.

Normally Bel would not bother asking such questions, it just left room for even the slightest possible bit of attachment. But the pink eyes really had a drawing effect on Bel, not that he would openly admit it. But the angel had revealed himself so simply and in such a short time, even Bel himself had already just told him what he was going to do to him. 'A bit sad, but too bad.' Bel thought, knowing he was going to end up killing Harp. He never had seen eyes like his, or maybe he had and he never paid attention before now. Harp already knew too much, Bel had decided the moment he had told him that he did not need anyone else but himself. Even if he corrupted him and ate his purity, he still knew too much. He knew that he wanted something, but what did he want? Did Harp know something about Bel that he himself did not? Bel himself did not even know what he wanted anymore, it was not a thought that often crossed his mind. Even when it did, he dismissed it. He didn't want anything.

[Skybreaker]

"I see." Harp's expression was unreadable. He had just been told how he would meet his end, yet the angel seemed perfectly fine with it. Though he wasn't smiling, he wasn't showing any sign of panic or distress. In fact, Harp was acting like a bored child forced to take a test. Slightly hesitant and cautious, but not genuinely afraid. As Bel spoke on, the angel couldn't help but tilt his pink eyes downwards sadly. "Even if you are right, it's better to have that fleeting happiness..." He whispered, with a hint of longing.

When asked what he wanted, Harp stared at the demon blankly. It was as if he could peer into his soul, and was disgusted by what he foound there. "Death is irrelevant. I'm going to die eventually. It's alright, though. Nobody will miss me." The cupid murmured sadly. He then smiled at the demon. "I mean, even if I do die, I'd be happy knowing that I could bring at least one person joy." He said, refering to Bel. Did Bel like killing? Harp concluded he must, if he was willing to kill someone he had just met. "Oh, and I don't really eat aaany bad foods, except for maybe sugary stuff. So my blood'll probably make good bathing liquids." He said nonchalantly. Harp was honest. nobody would miss him. He had no family or notable friends, even his teacher didn't really like him too much. But being the optimist he was, Harp didn't care.

"What do you think my mission was?" Harp asked suddenly. However, instead of waiting for an answer, he continued. "It was to show you light. And I have, even if you didn't want to see it." He revealed. "But... I'm still here, and still without my wings. Not to mention I've revealed a lot about myself. Don't you think it's strange nobody's come yet? The angels are fast." He inquired. "Though they sent me on a mission, it was really just a glorified death sentence." He admitted piteously. Deep inside, Harp knew he was disposable, He laughed weakly. "Ha. Like I said, at least one of us gets to be happy! Lucky you."

"As for what I want...?" He paused. Then smiled with what seemed to be real happiness, raw and unfiltered. "I know you probably don't care, but you asking me makes my empty soul warm anyways." Harp looked straight into Bel's eyes. "I want to be whole. I'm sure, when you first met me, you might have thought I was... stupid, but that's not it. It's like... my way of protecting myself, y'know?" Since he was to die soon anyways, there was little point in keeping everything in, right? "I'm always cold... and alone. Forced to watch people hold hands and be together, it hurts. Because I'm not like them. I'm different. I'm empty." He struggled to explain himself better. "I'm like a jar. Beautiful and perfect from the outside. But upon closeer inspection, there's nothing inside. Why? Nobody ever bothered to put anything inside, because they didn't want to put anything in the jar. Nobody ever showed me any attention or believed in me. So I'm empty. Go ahead and kill my worthless soul." He paused. "You seem like you're not whole, either, Bel. But you must be powerful to be able to kill me, right? So why does your heart..." The cupid gently placed his hand on the other's chest. "beat with such a sad noise...?"

[Marshal]

Bel merely listened to Harp speak, remaining silent. His ears twitched slightly. They had come to a stop at some point, he didn't even realize. He couldn't break his eyes away from Harps. It was almost like a trance and it actually startled the darker parts of Bel that someone had this kind of ability, especially against him. Maybe he had let his guard down, let it slip a small bit... it was enough room for error. But as the angel's words slipped into his ears, something else began to stir. He was not sure what it was exactly though, because he never felt anything like this before, at least not that he could recall. His chest felt a bit heavy, like someone had dropped an extra weight into it. A weight he did not want there, a darker thought crossed his mind in that moment. One that even startled Bel himself, which was a rare, unheard of occurrence.

Carefully Bel pulls a hand from his jacket pocket, swiftly raising it to grasp onto Harps, the one that had been placed upon his chest. One would think his hands would be quite rough, but they were somewhat soft and rather warm. His nails had grown slightly within the past few minutes, they now resembled small, rather sharp looking claws. Yet he was careful to be sure to not cut the angel's hand. His brows knit together as he tilts his head slightly, a few locks of dark orange hair escaping from his hood, a slight wrinkle of his freckled nose. A slight smile forms upon his pale lips as he begins to talk, his tone painfully soft sounding, maybe even slightly charming. He continues to gaze at Harp with now nearly black eyes that betrayed his soft smile and tone.

"It is truly sad to hear such sorrowful words from such a beautifully stunning pink-eyed angel. Claiming to be such an empty jar, but no jar is ever truly empty. All you must simply do is place it within the light, and then it may reflect all the colors of the spectrum on everything else around it." A soft chuckle escapes him. "But even the brightest of the sun beams falls pray to the darkness at night. Make a contract with me, Harp. Make a contract with me and I will help you fill your... 'oh so empty' jar and prove to you that no soul worthless. You can come to understand why my heart beats so sadly." He said it, Bel said it. A contract. Usually such things were made merely between a human and a demon, but it worked other ways too. And something gave Bel the impression that the other angels would not fully oppose to this, either. Harp, one who was 'apparently' worthless and a throw away, had managed to get farther than any other they had ever sent to be slaughtered. How had he gotten farther than any of them? Well, that was up for question, even by Bel himself at the moment. He did not 'do' contracts. Not with humans, not with anyone... At least until now, and he had only just offered.

It was interesting though, how the demon who held no interest in anything but power suddenly taking an assumed liking to a throw-away angel without wings. Without wings, Harp was mostly right, there was little point to kill him aside from the fact that he knew too much about Bel already. But something had crossed his mind, of just how amusing it would be to see how this played out. Would the other angel's be furious that this nothing was succeeding? But as Bel continued to stare at the angel before him... he realized he was not a 'nothing'. A nothing was a void of existence. Who stood before him was not such a thing, no. If Bel could calm him anything, it would be something along the lines of 'He who made a tiny impression upon a great demon'. Then again, that could be all the wrong wording. For a demon, Bel was quite terrible with words.

Bel lightly grips onto Harp's hand, eyes narrowing slightly as he continues to peer at him quite intently. Suddenly though he would twist his hand around the angels, attempting to twine their fingers together while pulling him roughly towards himself. His free arm would be out, attempting to loop around Harp as well. Should Harp have been pulled in as planned, he would easily find that it was not only the demons hand that was warm, but the rest of him too, even through his clothing!

[Skybreaker]

"A-A contract...?" Harp stammered, pink eyes widening. The angel glanced down, obviously uneasy with the idea. It was against everything he had ever known. Once you signed your soul away, that was it. A contract, he recalled, was like a bond. By bonding himself to Bel, he would we linked to him for as long as he could survive. And yet, it was arguably better than his alternative, which was to be tortured and killed. Why was he responding like this?

Hadn't he admitted that his angelic soul was worthless? Harp abided by his words. However, this could all be a trick. By signing this contract, would something worse happen to him? A fate far worse than death? Harp's nervous gaze met Bel's deep black one. It was... so intense. It was as if he was staring into the endless cosmos. He was about to object, death would be better than succumbing to this fate! But before he was able to do so, his holy hand was grasped by the demon, and he was falling right onto the demon!

The first thing he realized was that Bel was really warm! It was as if the demon had a fire inside of him or something like that. Even though there was a layer of cloth that separated them, Harp felt like the other's heartbeat against his own. It was... strangely comforting, despite it belonged to a demon. Despite his better instincts, Harp relaxed slightly into the other. The angel felt... well, he didn't really know other than he really liked it. It was weird, but at the same time, comfortable. He sighed softly. What had he wanted to do again...? It was getting hard to think...

"You're really... hot..." Harp murmured drowsily. It was like he was being covered in blankets... Suddenly, Harp's pink eyes lit up. "I... Do I have to decide right now...? I'm so... comfy..." The cupid felt his arrows brush up against him, and was reminded he still had a little bit of power. If he still wanted to use it.

[Marshal]

"I prefer the term 'abundantly warm'." Bel muttered softly, his now solid black eyes still upon Harp, even with him now so close. At least for a few moments anyway, his gaze suddenly shifted as a mouse squeaked somewhere within the stairwell. His ears twitched slightly, sucking in a sharp breath before slowly releasing the angel's hand to wrap his other arm around him. "While you do not have to decide right at this moment, I do expect an answer soon."

Despite the calmness Bel was exerting at the moment, he was actually quite nervous. The hairs on the back of his neck were on end, his senses were alerting him to something he was not seeing, or something he was over looking. Or maybe even to something that was coming. It happened on occasion when other creatures of possible danger were near, but Bel couldn't sense anything aside the angel he had his arms wrapped around contently. His senses were usually right, but for once... they appeared quite wrong. It could quite possibly be because Harp was so close to him at the moment. It had done it before while he ripped wings off. Mentally he shakes off the impending threat his senses was alerting him about, something else catching his attentions.

Several levels above them, a door would open an loud, human noises would enter the stairwell. Quickly it was followed by the sound of heels clicking on the metal stairs, though luckily they sounded to be going upwards, away from them. A faint smirk forms onto Bel's face as he quirks a brow, gripping onto Harp as he leans in, resting his head lightly against the angel's shoulder while whispering into his ear. "I know making a contract with something as disgusting and twisted as myself is not appealing, but... What do you really have to loose?"

"You'd neeever have to be cold again, you could touch me all you wanted, for as long as you wanted, whenever you wanted. And-..." Bel fell silent for a moment. "We should continue this talk elsewhere."

[Skybreaker]

Harp too heard the distinct click of shoes against stone in the distance but didn't really care. They seemed to just be two ordinary teenagers to the untrained eye. Of course, there was the fact they were hugging, but that wasn't too suspicious. "Hm..." The angel sighed when he was urged to hurry. Who knew demons could be so impatient?

...

Okay, so it was pretty much common knowledge...

Bel didn't seem to be too impatient, but Harp was perceptive enough to realize when someone was urging him to hurry. He had a strange feeling. It was like he was being lifted by thermals of air. Perhaps he had butterflies in his stomach, as the saying went? Though he had never really eaten butterflies. Or seen them. But he wanted to, because they seemed to be really cool. Maybe he could see them in another life...?

Harp was silent for a few more minutes before breathing out heavily. He couldn't delay this any longer. Not a full hour ago, Bel was fully prepared to kill him. To rip off wings he would never have, to crush him with darkness. But what had happened? A miracle? Had the 'one spirit' intervened? Whatever had happened, it worked in his favor. Harp wasn't about to complain or anything like that! "That's true..." However, the cupid still seemed hesitant.

'Remember,' He thought, 'You have your arrows. Shoot him now! This is your best shot!' But what if Bel anticipated him? It was possible he sensed he was a cupid. Pink eyes narrowed. He wouldn't get anywhere just arguing with himself! But the fear of being foiled before he could shoot was immense. Finally, Harp made up his mind. He would shoot Bel if he ever exposed his back. Then, even if he turned around...

"I could touch you... Whenever...?" Harp repeated dazedly. That was enough for him! "Okay." He smiled slightly. Even if his soul was eaten, it wasn't like it was worth anything, anyways. "How does this work, anyways?"

[Marshal]

A small, tiny part of Bel's mind continued to scream at him in warming, but the rest of it was far too enamored with the fact that Harp asked how it worked. Bel had learned all about contracts a long, long time ago, but this was the first time he was ever actually even attempting one. He had only ever seen them as a distraction or a waste of time, who wanted to dote on some fool wanting to loose their soul when you could just wait for them to send people after you and take theirs? He supposed that was the error in his 'ways', possibly why he was so feared. Because everyone was a target, not just the trash that wanted something more than their own soul. He did not like trash, but Harp was not trash, now was he? No. He was merely an angel without his wings.

When he thought about it like that though, they really had sent him to the slaughter it seemed. Without his wings, he was mostly powerless against Bel, even humans. How truly cruel heaven was, he mused mentally to himself before sucking in a sharp breath, slowly exhaling against Harp's neck before whispering his words again. "Well... There are many different ways it can be done, Harp. It is mostly in personal taste, though. Some ancient words are spoken, some form of blood exchange, then something to cement the contract." He stops for a moment, his nostrils suddenly flaring as he moves his head in a bit more to lightly nuzzle against the angel. It felt familiar to be this close to another without slaughtering them, but at the same time, such a distant and odd feeling. Bel was not sure... He loosens his grip upon Harp, not fully releasing him but giving him the option to move away from Bel if he so wished.

Why he was giving the angel such an option was anyone's guess. Bel himself did not know if he wanted to grip the angel tighter in a strangle, to bury his face back into Harp's neck, or if he wanted to shove him away and hope he took a tumble down the stairs. Maybe he had been among the humans for far too long, watched how they acted and treated one another. Not everyone liked to be so close, some people even detested it. Though Harp had not really shown much resistance, the appearance of having some control might help make him a bit less reluctant to everything? Urgh, Bel honestly had no idea at this point!

"Seeing as I rarely never do such things, how about I let you choose what we do? Something as simple as a kiss, or maybe I could put my mark somewhere on you." Bel murmurs softly. "Keep in mind though, there -must- be at least a minor exchange with blood or some form of fluid somewhere in the mix."

[Skybreaker]

Harp nodded as if he understood. Bel's black eyes seemed to be sucking him in. They were such a dark, solid color. The angel's own pink eyes flickered around nervously. There was a voice telling him to pull the arrow out and prick him, to hurry up and trick him into doing whatever. Love was a powerful tool, but not at all common.

What was really worrying him was what he had said about an exchange of fluids. Harp wasn't prepared to kiss anyone, let alone a demon. But being marked seemed equally scary. What was he to do? The way Bel was staring at him made Harp realize that it was totally up to him. The real question was what he had in mind?

Harp was as naive as they came, so didn't even consider harsher ways like sex. He sighed. "Maybe... A kiss...?" Kisses would be alright, wouldn't they? It wasn't like Bel was going to bite his tongue or anything. Maybe they could do it vampire-style! Harp felt that it was time to launch his secret weapon. "But... could you... close your eyes? Please? I've never done this before..."

[Marshal]

"Close my eyes?" Bel groaned softly, sucking in a sharp breath. "Alright, I suppose that is fair enough. But make it quick, I cannot keep my eyes closed for too long on unprotected ground." By unprotected ground, he was referring to the 'human' building. It was unwise for any predator to close their eyes for long periods of time in open territory, but it should be alright... if only for a couple of minutes, he supposed. He did not really see Harp as much of a threat, what could this angel possibly do to him that no others had before? He did not even have his wings yet.

The hairs on the back of his neck still stood on end while his mind continued to poke and scream, something was not quite right. Yet he continued to ignore the warning, a faint fanged smirk appears upon his freckled face. But it quickly faded with a look of concern mixed with a rather serious tone. "Alright, I... am going to close them now. Do it quickly." For once, there was actual reluctance from Bel as his black eyes slowly slid closed. He did not like having his eyes closed, let alone in such a place. He lightly tightened his grip on Harp, for a small, tiny bit of reassurance.

This was quite the rare moment, a powerful demon with his eyes closed and guard down. Though it was hard to tell how long this rare moment was going to last. Already Bel was twitching nervously, his grip on Harp just a bit tighter, no longer being overly cautious with his claws.

[Skybreaker]

Harp took a deep intake of breath. At first, he was worried the demon would not agree. After all, closing your eyes in front of someone who was all but a complete strange wouldn't be very smart at all. As soon as Bel's solid black eyes were closed, Harp's pink eyes had a new fire. He noticed the demon's grip on him was growing. The angel carefully reached into his pack pocket and felt around for one of his arrows. Finally, he found one the size of a toothpick. Rolling it between his fingers, Harp shuddered. Not because he was about to kiss a demon, or another male, but because he was going to kiss someone period. Harp never really considered himself a kisser, so this was quite a shock.

"Okay, Bel... I'm gonna kiss you now, okay...?" Harp was. It didn't seem right to enchant the demon without giving him a kiss. He discreetly slipped the arrow into his mouth and secured it with his teeth. Tenderly, Harp looped his arms around the others neck and gently planted his lips on the other's. Bel's lips were very warm, indeed. They felt like they were burning his own.

It was heavily frowned upon to kiss like this. But Harp had read novels about romance before. It was part of his research on the human world! It was rather exciting. Tenderly, Harp moved his lips against the other's. He instinctively leaned in a little closer. Suddenly, Harp would move the arrow in his mouth and prick Bel on the tongue! After that, Harp drew back. "Ah!" He moved the arrow back into his mouth. "Did I bite you? Damn! I'm such an idiot...!" The angel cursed in faux frustration. "I'm... really sorry, Bel..." The angel murmured softly. He was honestly and genuinely sorry. This seemed... wrong. Bel hadn't really done anything to him, and yet... Harp had done this...

[Marshal]

Bel was silent as his eyes slowly opened, staring back at Harp. His face was oddly blank as he looked at the angel before him, the demon barely seemed in focus. Maybe, just maybe... He had given this angel too much trust. He knew better, knew it was a terrible idea down to his core, but did it anyway and against his guiding and protective instincts. And boy was it likely the worst decision he had made in his life. The moment he had felt the prick on his tongue, he was suddenly aware at why his senses were going nuts. The danger was not on its way or anything, it had been trying to warn him of the one he had deemed harmless...

But it was already too late, he knew the exact moment the magic hit him. Normally his guard was up, he could have easily rejected such a thing. But it had not been up, even his eyes had been closed like some blubbering idiot. Bel's grip slowly released Harp, his hands promptly falling down to his sides as he continues to stare at the angel wide-eyed. He felt too heavy suddenly, like a great weight had been placed in his chest and on his shoulders and limbs. It hurt almost, a stinging pain that he couldn't quite grasp, he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs and rip something to tiny bits. He wanted so badly to sink his teeth into the delicate flesh of Harp's neck, to the point his teeth were grinding together to stop himself from doing just that. Instead, the demon swiftly raises his hands to lightly shove Harp.

Not a very rough shove, a very light one, if anything to create some distance between the two of them. He did not want the distance, yet at the same time he did. He wanted Harp's touch, he wanted to touch Harp. He wanted. Actually, not even just 'wanted', more like 'needed'. Bel's face was suddenly struck with an utterly pained expression as he finally unclenched his jaw to speak. As his lips open though, a bit of blood would slip past them, apparent he had bitten the insides of his mouth quite badly within those few moments. But not even that pain had aided in helping gain control of himself as raw, unused emotions were dragged to the surface.

"Do... not touch me." Bel rumbles out as he darts his tongue out to lick the blood before it trailed down his chin. "Something as pure as you... should not touch something as nasty as myself." But that was all he could manage out as he promptly stuffs his hands back into his jacket pockets, hands now balled into fists, his nails digging into his palms. His black-eyed gaze would suddenly shift again, pained emerald green eyes resurfacing from the darkness they had been swallowed in. So many things were filling Bel's mind now, but the only thing he could find himself to do was keep Harp at a distance to avoid touching him. Because he was right. Something as pure as Harp should not touch such a nasty and vile creature like himself... But who here was truly vile? The one who had merely offered help, or the one who had restored to dirty tricks? Bel already knew the answer though. It was obviously he himself was in the wrong. And now he couldn't do anything to Harp, not even if he wanted too.

All Bel could do now was stand there and stare at Harp with an utterly hurt looking expression upon his freckled face. The more human-like eyes conveyed the hurt much better than the abyssal black they normally were, you could almost see tears in them.