[IC] Exodus

[SashaWindrider]

Azurael sat in her assigned spot in a lonely corner all by herself/ She didn't care a huge deal about socialising. She was content with just sitting and watching the goings on. Azurael huffed, if only she didn't have to babysit the Princess. She glared across at the Princess, silently wishing that her assignment would disappear and be done with.

Sasha on the other hand was amusing a small group of children by shifting into different animals at thier request - she did have to say no to the great Blue Whale, and the hippopotamus, on account of the Rec room not being nearly large enough for that.

[Redthorn Anvil]

Sephiroth had been acting as co-pilot for the duration of the flight so far, but now he stood and left the cockpit, since it seemed that the main pilot didn't need him for the time being. He hadn't goten a chance to explore the ship yet, and so he decided he would take advantage of the opportunty to stretch his legs. For the sake of convenience, he sheathed his bulky wing for the time being. It was cramped enough as it was inside the ship without him taking up a good portion of room while he walked. Already it's weight made his shoulder complain, but he ignored the uncomfortable feeling. He was used to discomfort.

A few minutes of walking around led him to the rec room, where he saw a plethera of Angels. Sephiroth was of the opinion that they always seemed to have a good time no matter what. It was just a bit annoying to him, but he supposed that they were simply trying to make the best of things. just like how his people loved to see the worst about everything, he supposed that it was their way of dealing with bad situations. Being a Demon himself, he too found it difficult to see any positive aspects of just about anything, but because of his position as a potential ruler, he felt that he had to keep an open mind at least, even if his people wouldn't. He did his best, but he too made mistakes and rash decisions sometimes.

He felt that perhaps it would be better to leave the Angels to their own devices--seeing as neither party was particularly friendly to the other, and he didn't want to be the one who was known for starting yet another heated and pointless war with the Angels, simply because he tried to chat with one. He wasn't very sociable anyway, so it didn't bother him in the slightest.

And so it was that the Demon Prince pointedly avoided contact with the Angels--not in a gesture of coldness or even rudeness, merely so he'd avoid any potential conflict. He was tired, and not really in the mood for a fight. He wanted to make that obvious to the others, so that they wouldn't see him as a possible threat.

With that, he walked clear across the room from the group of white-wings to an unoccupied couch, and promptly lounged in the corner of it with the full intention of falling asleep.

[SashaWindrider]

Azurael watched the Demon prince Sephiroth come into the room. She observed his hesitance in interacting with the Angels. She sighed, hopefully the Demons and Angels would be able to get on once they landed on Terra - there weren't a huge amount of them now and they would need to co-operate in order to survive. She was sure it could happen. She pulled Sasha away from the group. "Hey Sasha?"
"Yes"
"Go say hi to the Demon Prince"
"Why"
"Well, we need them as allies."
"Oh"

Sasha walked over and said "Hi". She wasn't very good at the diplomacy thing yet. Azurael could be seen face-palming behind her.

[Redthorn Anvil]

Sephiroth cracked open an eye to see who had addressed him. Since the Angel standing before him had used such an informal tone, he could only assume that she must be the princess. That, and, there was a royal guard standing not too far off.
"Your Highness." Sephiroth replied with more formality than she had used. He made sure that his tone wasn't overly friendly, but also not hostile. More like, wary.
"Was there something you wished to speak to me about?"

[SashaWindrider]

Azurael walked closer, to a better hearing distance. She wanted to see how well (or badly) Sasha would do on what was essentially her first diplomatic mission.

Sasha decided it would perhaps be better to use a more formal tone as Sephiroth had. "Your Highness, the Angels and Demons need to form some sort of agreement with each other. We need to become allies, as there are so few of us left now." Sasha was nervous she hoped the Prince would say yes, but the species seemed to have an instinctual dislike or wariness of each other in most cases.

[Redthorn Anvil]

"Unfortunately, my people are perhaps not so willing as yourself. It is an inborn racial fault, in my opinion. They are hard-headed, stubborn, and stone-hearted." He said.
"Sadly for them, I tend to agree with you. It would mutually beneficial to our races not to destroy one another upon landing. What sort of alliance did you have in mind?" He queried.

[SashaWindrider]

"Purely one of peace, be it just that we don't try to kill each other, as I would say that there would still be hostilites regardless of what laws or regulations either of us put into place." Sasha said. Azurael approved of Sasha's statement, although she was not sure how Sephiroth would react. She was ready for any possible outcome as any-one experienced would have been able to see, should it be peaceful she would relax and remove her hand from resting on the hilt of her sword.

[Redthorn Anvil]

"Aye. Unfortunately, my people are far more stone-hearted than yours, and so would not take kindly to the suggestion. Unfortunately for them, that is, because they will no longer have a weak, pushover king to lead them. They will have me. And they will soon realize that I am not my father. I am willing to discuss your proposal." He said. He looked around at the room. "And that is not because you have a plethera of angels at your disposal to try to intimidate me." He added with a slightly amused look.

[SashaWindrider]

"Angles don't do much intimidating" Sasha said with a grin on her face, blissfully ignorant of the fact Azurael had been ready to leap into action had Sephiroth not replied how he did. As it was right now, Azurael still stood watchfully but somewhat more relaxed. Azurael yawned, the day had been long but she had to up and about before the princess. Sasha was wide awake.

[Redthorn Anvil]

"A fact that I must say I do not at all understand. Intimidation is a perfectly viable and effective way to obtain truth. But I suppose that is just part of the reason that makes us so different. Now is the part where we start bartering, your highness." He said. It was clear that the girl had little to no experience in the subtle art of diplomacy. "Name your terms."

[SashaWindrider]

Azurael agreed with Sephiroth's words. She went and found a nice comfy chair to sit in and watch from a afar now that she was sure Sephiroth had no ill intent towards her charge. Azurael, without even realising it fell promptly alseep once her buttocks hit the chair. It look comical really - a guard in full gear slumbering.

Sasha scowled at Azurael, having no idea what Azurael's job actually entailed. She would have a word with Azurael later about sleeping on the job. She turned back to Sephiroth. "Plain and simple - we don't kill you, you don't kill us. Hybrids are to protected by both sides seeing as they fall under both our kingdoms." Sasha had personally never understood the issue with hybrids.

[Redthorn Anvil]

"I see. And what about territorial laws?" Sephiroth asked. He was mildly surprised--this was going along more easily than he had expected at first. He noted the sleeping guard in the chair some distance away with a small modicum of amusement.

[SashaWindrider]

"I was thinking that we may either set up one camp together, which would mean that essentially we can have half the camp dedicated to angels and the other half to demons or we could intersperse for greater efficiency, option two, or technically three is that we intergrate into human society, a far less noticeable option at least where the humans are concerned." Sasha replied.

[Redthorn Anvil]

"And then when one of us errs and a human sees us for what we truly are, then we will be hunted down and killed like animals. I would not recommend that." Sephiroth frowned.

[SashaWindrider]

"Sometimes safety is not in numbers, but in dividing. Should one of us err then, only one of us would be hunted. Not all of us. We would live in relative safety. I doubt the humans would have anything like our technology or powers." Sasha said. It seemed brutal for an Angel to say, but Angels happened to believe in the sacrifice of one to save the many. That wasn't to say they were uncaring

Azurael could be seen, mouth wide open, sleeping deeply, while the other Angels spoke in hushed tones and pointed, obviously finding humor.

[Redthorn Anvil]

"Perhaps, though I still believe it is risky. There is very little that we know about these humans. We cannot truly say how they think or how they would react, and so it is nearly impossible to say what would be safer regarding our existence here. Might I suggest instead that we at first find some place to conceal ourselves, and send out scouting parties to learn more about the humans?" He suggested.

[SashaWindrider]

"I would say that would be the best option" Sasha concurred, able to see well enough that Sephiroth had more experience in diplomacy and running a kingdom than Sasha had.

"Right now though, I have to deal with a Angel shirking their duty." Sasha said referring to Azurael. Angels were straight forward in thinking. Regulations and rules were things never to stray away from or justice would be swift. It kept every-one in line and was actually quite reminiscent of the Terran armies' regulations. Tough and just.

Sasha's ,massive wings unfurled in all thier splendour. "Azurael!" Her wrathful voice thundered out.

Azurael awoke with a start, and realising her error she got off the chair and knelt at the Archangels' feet. Azureal bowed her head.

What Sasha did not know was that not only did Azurael have to be awake at the Terran equivalent of 4am, she had to run security checks on the massive craft herself, have herself fed and ready for the day, take care of Sasha's quarters and her own, amougst a ton of other things. Not least of which included taking care of Sasha's every need. And Sasha realised it not, but she asked far too much of her Guard. Azurael went to bed more often than not well past midnight. Azurael was close to a burnout.

But Sasha did not realise and Azurael was to be punished. "You have shirked your duties, an unforgiveable error especially given your rank and station! You are not longer fit to be a guard!"

Tears glistened in Azurael's eyes and words died on her lips unspoken.

[Redthorn Anvil]

Sephiroth chuckled. "Come now, your Highness, the young lady merely dozed off after she'd realized that there was no danger. You don't honestly think that she can be at your beck and call at every moment of the day, do you?"
He paused to laugh again.
"For shame! Do you see me being shadowed by a royal guard? And here I am in the middle of a room-full of Angels. Besides, even guards need to have a break every now and then. So do be sensible and perhaps instead focus on the task at hand, and leave the poor woman be." He chastised the princess in good humor.

"And I thought Demons were supposed to be the least forgiving." He added with a mild smirk, which soon gave way to his previous, more serious tone. He returned to the previous topic.

"If we are agreed, then, please excuse me. I am going to follow your guard's example and get some sleep." With that having been said, Sephiroth rose, and his face twisted into a snarl.
The motion had strained his left shoulder, causing him to reflexively unsheath his own massive and fairly useless wing. He sighed with a look of resignation.
"Damn." He muttered with irritation. Without another word, he strode off, his mass of black feathers dragging behind him along the floor, a stark contrast against his silvery-white braid, which swished behind him rather dramatically as he went.

[SashaWindrider]

Sasha only grew more irritated when Sephiroth spoke up. "And if she were on a battlefield and had an 'innocent' snooze!? For the want of one guard we might lose the battle. Lessons must be taught and it is better they not be taught where lives could well be at stake."

"You need no guards! Even the 12 Archangels are needed to do what one High Demon can do by himself." Sasha said.

Sasha drew in her wings as she spoke the second statement but left them unsheathed.

Azurael had in the meantime taken the opportunity to disappear and find a spot on the ship where she could be in solitude.

[Redthorn Anvil]

He paused as he was about to leave the room and looked over his shoulder at the princess. "Perhaps so, but perhaps before you judge, you should endeavour to learn the reason for the behavior. How do you expect to teach your lessons, if you do not know how your students learn best? Let us try not to be quickly angered, princess--that is how the last war was brought about." He tilted his head slightly. "Good morning." Then he turned and left the room.

As he made his way to his quarters, he allowed himself to be lost in his musings. Oh, the irony. That girl was surely naive. He shuddered to think that she was bound to be a ruler. She hadn't even tried to disagree with him during their 'negotiations', if they could have even been called that. And then the way she'd suddenly lashed out at her guard like that--he was beginning to think that she may indeed be a typical 'spoiled brat' as all princesses are believed to be among the demons. He wondered if there was any sense in that girl's mind. Surely, it wasn't exactly proper etiquette for a guard to fall asleep on duty, but had she seen the look on that woman's face? The poor guard looked exhausted. What exactly was it that the princess had her doing all day that would make a royal guard so tired? So was the princess 'punishing' her guard for a crime that was actually the princess' fault?

One thing was certain--the princess was very short-sighted. He'd never really had any fondness for Angels, but...in this case, he was genuinely concerned for the well-being of her people. He may not particularly like them, but that didn't mean that he wanted genocide. He was almost convinced that, if the princess took the crown, her people would almost certainly fall to ruin.

He desperately hoped that their small talk this morning would encourage her to review her habits, or it wouldn't be the guard that causes the fall of the Angels...

He shook his head. As grim as it made him feel, the fate of the Angels was not in his hands, and therefore, he really should not have meddled. It had simply astonished him how air-headed the young princess actually was in person, and he couldn't help but try to fix a situation that, really, was absurd.

He'd noticed that the guard had fled the room while the princess hadn't been watching. He wondered for a moment if he should find her, but he felt that he'd already done enough meddling in affairs that really were not his business. He frowned. Well, he wished her well. It was unfortunate that the princess had seen fit to start off their new lives by rearranging her staff.