Sunset of Fire and Hope

[Armana]

Fire danced across the horizon as the sun slowly made its way down the sky. It was now sunset, and a very beautiful one as well. A great many clouds reflected the radiant red and orange light throughout the sky. Even the mighty sea could not help but be swayed by the beauty of this sunset. It too gleamed a beautiful orange and red, like a sea of flames.

Armana had always loved the sunset. But back in her native village, there was no ocean and the sky was often so cloudy that it blocked out the sun entirely. She had rarely been able to see the fiery orb descend in the sky, and the few times she had witnessed it it had never been as beautiful as this.

Armana was sitting at the base of a tree near the highest point of the tallest hill. She sighed and looked off into the sky. Somewhere out there was her native village, perhaps floating on a cloud. She wasn't quite sure how her village was connected to this world; Armana had come to Twilight through a portal. All she knew was that it was out there somewhere, and one day she would return to it..... but not before she had accomplished her goal.

The half-angel decided to turn her thoughts away from home. It was starting to make her home-sick. Instead, Armana pulled her small harp from the inside of her kimono. She strummed the cords a few times, making sure they were tuned. When Armana was satisfied with their sound, she began to strum a light melody. Armana struggled to make her song fit the sunset, but she had never witnessed something as stunning as this sunset. Nonetheless, her melody flowed softly over the hills, carried by a light breeze to any who was willing to listen.

[Señor Sunday Friday]

Seated amidst the branches of the tree was a rather strange figure, his skin of a pale pallor and his eyes a striking golden hue. His hair was a bedraggled mess of black around his face, he looked like the least likely person to ever speak with an angel, or even half angel. His clothing was a mixture of black with silver accents throughout it which certainly gave him a this odd look of foreboding about him, but if you stopped to look you'd notice something else about it... he possibly wasn't so bad. His eyes looked off toward the sunset, and the lightest humming was coming from him. His voice wasn't half bad actually- in honestly it was as good as humming could get if you were projecting how their singing probably would be. Israfel was a being whom had training from certain peoples, atleast up until he was around the age of eight... he knew angels and sang with them, he sang like them.

The breeze that carried the music off and away from the tree also rustled Israfel's hair slightly so it hung in front of his face a bit, he was smiling as he listened though, apparently not even aware that he was humming at the moment. It was funny, someone who looked so forbidding at first could later be noticed to not at all as dark as first glance would reveal, he almost seemed thoughtful as he looked off at the horizon, the slightest ghost of a smile on his lips.

[Armana]

Armana noticed something strange about her music, but it wasn't a sound she was producing herself. She could hear a faint background noise, interfering with her song. It wasn't bad, but it threw her off a bit. Someone was whistling nearby.... Armana quickly stopped playing the song. Now that she had stopped her song, she could hear the soft whistling coming from above. Armana slowly peered upwards, a faint fear tinging her mind.

A very pale figure sat above her, clothed in black and silver. He looked rather insidious, and Armana felt for some reason that he wasn't a friend. Armana quickly scrambled out from underneath the tree, twigs and leaves cracking under her feet. The figure seemed almost somewhat demonic, and Armana feared that he might actually be a demon. In that case he would probably try to kill her. "What do you want with me?!" She called out to the man.

[Señor Sunday Friday]

Israfel looked over towards Armana, a little bit of a curious expression on his face, confused with Armana's strong reaction, "Your music is beautiful and I was merely enjoying it." he said with a slight shrug, his movements were sinewy and lucid as he nodded to the harp player in a gentlemanly gesture. He slipped off of the branch to land on the ground, his shoes making a slight thud upon impact, "My name is Israfel... and you are?" It was funny, his name being Israfel which was traditionally the name of the angel of song. There was even a Poe poem about the angel Israfel... 'and none doth sing so wildly well as the angel Israfel.' Such depictions seemed almost rediculous looking at this figure but he didn't seem too terribly threatening at all, he didn't even have any visible weapons and the silver proved he was neither vampire or werewolf.

There was an odd sense about him as he stood there, the soft breeze passing around him as he let his strikingly catching gaze fall upon Armana, his smile was kind and he certainly didn't do anything to make him seem like an enemy. Upon closer inspection you could see a pair of bladed weapons strapped to his waist, shimmering metal knuckledusters with blades that would go across the knuckles, making for a much more efficient weapon. He made not a single move for the weapons and he seemed rather at ease so that if he were to be attacked he would under no circumstances be able to fall into a fighting stance and grab for his weapons before the first attack was landed.

[Armana]

When Israfel stepped down from the tree, Armana took a few more steps back. She wasn't sure whether to trust this man; everything he was saying could be a lie. If what he was saying was true, then the demon-like man would have just been listening to her music, which would be a good thing. But if he was lying, it could all be a trap. Armana also seriously doubted that his name was Israfel. That name belonged to a great angel; how dare he mock it!

"How do I know that you speak the truth?" Armana asked Israfel, glaring at him untrustingly. She glanced down to the weapons at his waist. Israfel hadn't tried to make a move for them, and if everything went well he still wouldn't. "Are you a demon?" Armana asked Israfel, lowering her guard slightly. She had realized she was acting more like the aggressor then he was.

[Señor Sunday Friday]

A touch of sadness drifted through his face, "I wouldn't lie... my word is my life- but you can know that I'm not lying because..." there was a pause before he continued, he could see the response now, it never went well, "well simply because I'm half fallen in a way... soul donated courtesy of Lucifer himself. I would have been killed you know, but an angel took care of me- her name was Castitas... she raised me untill I was eight and I made the damnedest mistake." There was a sigh after this, "I wouldn't tell you that if I wanted you to trust me... but I would tell you if I were telling the truth- lying to you and trying to hurt you would only bring me closer to Hell, and I'm already too close." There was a little chuckle and a shrug as if to just say 'that's life, I guess.' Well, not many people offered up their life story in a nutshell when they first met people, but Israfel's was certainly revealing. He had ties to Lucifer in Hell, not necessarily a good thing, but if Israfel was really evil then would an angel take him in and care for him?

He sat down in the grass, intending to chat and obviously standing was too offensive for this flower that he had the pleasure of meeting. "Do I get to ask a question now? Because I would love to know your name." he said, his voice smooth and sweet like honey cream. He stretched his arms out to the side, a nonchalant movement. He was really rather at ease, though he did seem to have a defensive edge to his movements- Israfel didn't have the best encounters with anything having to do with heaven or holy beings, and he was already plenty aware that he was speaking with a half angel- how he knew this was an innate sense and completely irrelevant at the time. He really hoped that there wouldn't be any attempts to 'cleanse the soul through flames' because in honesty- that really wasn't fun and he preferred to avoid pyro Christians at all costs.

Of course if it wasn't caught by Armana yet surely she would notice it soon- the name of the angel that had cared for Israfel was Castita- purity if you bothered to translate it. This Israfel fellow had the audacity to state that the angel that had taken care of him and raised him was Castita, representative of one of the seven holy virtues. If Israfel was telling the truth then he wouldn't be a threat to anyone, but if he was lying then he was one sick son of a bitch. Of course it was up to Armara to decide if she trusted him, and she probably would have taken Israfel's word for truth if Li-Wa, the RPer hadn't typed this extra paragraph in here for length and to note that she actually had reasons for all her angel's names.

[Armana]

Armana couldn't help but feel angry that this sick fellow was disgracing the names of several great Angels. She also couldn't help but lower her guard when Israfel sat down in the grass. It seemed that he really didn't intend to fight. Armana realized that he probably wanted her to sit down as well, but that would make her vulnerable if he decided to attack after all. Armana took the risk and sat down, feeling the cool green grass brush up against her. "You're a fallen angel?" Armana asked, not too surprised. To be a fallen angel meant that this boy was once an angel, and that he had committed some terrible deed in the past. Armana was weary again.

"Why..... why would I tell you my name?" Armana asked Israfel. "Just because you told me yours? .... Fine.... My name is Armana," she finally told Israfel. Armana could sense a defensive feeling about Israfel. Perhaps he felt the same way as herself; in that case maybe they could make peace.

[Señor Sunday Friday]

Israfel let out a sigh, "It wasn't so much my situation or what I did- it was moreso how I am." Israfel tried to explain, "people sold their souls so their life work would be finished- what they were missing for their experiments was a soul to inhabit the bodies, Lucifer promised that one of those experiments would have a soul- which was in all actuality a part of his own soul augmented into the cells of one of the projects." Israfel shrugged as if what he was saying was common knowledge, "Most of the angels thought it should be killed but Castitas took care of it- and well, I'm only human... just with a few more shortcomings- and I ruined it so I ended up in... less desireable places. You should be careful what you say when you're in heaven because something you don't mean can get you cast out." he said, sounding a little sad, "I was eight, and more than a little hotheaded, made a mistake and whaddya know? I'm here." He laughed a little, "Obviously you don't want to tell me much about yourself and I guess that's okay- but I didn't want you to think me to be worse than I am." he shrugged, "I didn't ask to be imparted with a part of Lucifer, it just kind of happened, and all I can do is try my best to not be like him." He meant this, you could see from the determination in his eyes and to be honest, someone who was so dedicated to go against what should be their own nature couldn't possibly be too terribly bad.

[Armana]

The long explanation was a bit confusing for Armana. She didn't completely understand what Israfel was saying, but after looking into his eyes she felt that maybe he was telling the truth. He probably didn't mean any harm. So, Israfel is a fallen angel because of some things he couldn't really help? If I understand this right and he's telling the truth, then he was part of some dark experiment of Lucifer that got him cast out of heaven. And apparently he's now a human, though he was an angel once I think....

"I don't really understand...." Armana told him. It was kind of confusing, everything he had just said. "But I think I understand your intentions. You really don't mean any harm," Armana affirmed.

[Señor Sunday Friday]

Israfel nodded, "Thank you for understanding." He said, his voice soft and comforting, his golden eyes looking back towards the sun as it crept closer and closer into hiding, he turned his attention to the other horizon where the moon could be seen climbing up into view. "You should try to find someplace to take shelter for the night." He said in an absentminded thought made vocal, "Twilight Moon Academy is dangerous enough during the day and at night it might become much worse if you're not prepared." he warned, his gaze finally settling on Armana, Israfel truly was worried that something bad could possibly befall Armana.

The RPer feels like she didn't get the entire story across efficiently enough so she chose to post it in story format here...
A small group of scientists were assigned the task of creating a person from the first cell and up, and speaking in the manner of DNA and the alignment of the cells their experiments were fine, they had, through years of research and work, created living, functioning human beings without any original human matter but there was always the same problem they couldn't fix. The experiments were always feral without exception, they were wild and without any ability to properly act within society. They were baffled, nothing they did fixed it and genetically as well as physically there was nothing wrong with the people they created- it would all be fixed the day that they were approached by a stranger with short cut brown hair and piercing sulfurous eyes. He said he could provide them with a successful experiment, but only one- and if they accepted his help then the souls of the entire lab staff were forfeit. There were few religious people in the facility and upon hearing of the offer a good many of them quit, not wanting to fool around with the selling of souls- and so when there were no more people who would oppose of the deal, it was made and the stranger promised that one of their experiments would grow and develop healthily, of course which one it was wouldn't be revealed so they had to continue their working, and none of their experiments did develop normally as far as they know- because the one that WAS to become a normal, functioning human being was stolen before it reached any significant form.

The experiments lacked a soul and so the single thing needed to make one of the experiments work was a soul, or a partial one at least. The mysterious being who visited the scientists simply gave part of his own soul to one of the experiments, and so that single person was an extension of the donor- Lucifer. This raised questions for the angels who were left to decide what to do with this child, they could easily predict that it would become just like Lucifer, the fallen whom had separated his own soul to make the child whole but the problem was that the little one had done no wrong to warrant the judgment that would be passed upon it. (Keep in mind that at this point in time the 'child' was still likely only a few cells if anything) and so it was decided, if an angel would step forward and care for the child then it would be spared. Castitas was that angel and she raised the kid till he was eight and by saying something that he couldn't have meant more at the time he was no longer allowed in Heaven, and so he was dragged down into Hell. The child regretted what he had said immediately, and now after years spent in Hell and Earth a second chance is what he needs- of course this whole life and story belongs to Israfel.

[Armana]

Armana nodded, understanding the need for shelter. "Is Twilight Academy really that dangerous? I haven't seen any monsters so far," she told Israfel. "Do you think we have time to make it back to the academy, or am I going to have to camp out here for the night?" Armana asked, hoping Israfel would tell her that there was enough time. She looked back at the horizon to see the sun falling towards the sea much faster then she had hoped. There probably wasn't enough time, and if Armana ran into trouble all she had was her music to protect her. "What should we do?" She asked Israfel without looking back at him; she was still staring at the horizon.

[Señor Sunday Friday]

"We should start our way towards The Academy, perhaps to The Ninth Heaven- one of the safest places around here and where it would be my honor to buy you dinner." he said, standing up in a languid gesture, offering a hand to Armana to help her stand up. "You've been out here playing for so long I can imagine you've likely missed supper hour." he mentioned pointedly. He moved his hand that wasn't offered to Armana to his waist looking as if he were about to slip it into his pocket but instead his fingers laced into the silvery weapons, preparing for nightfall and the dangers that would come within it. As the sun continued to extinguish in the waves Israfel's eyes seemed to develop some kind of ethereal reflective glow of what little light remained in the air. His smile was kind and as it was already determined, he meant no harm- he was really if anything else, worried that Armana might find some reason any minute to distrust him and Israfel had to admit that if there was some kind of distrust that formed then the entire situation would look a lot more grim because without cooperation then the trip back to Twilight Moon would be much more dangerous.

[Armana]

Armana accepted his offer to help her up, though a bit timidly. She carefully watched Israfel's hand slide towards his weapons, still not completely trusting. Armana was sure he was just preparing his weapons in case they ran into some kind of danger on the way back to Twilight Academy, but she couldn't help but be careful. "You're right, we should go back," Armana agreed with him.

After hearing his invitation for dinner, Armana pondered it for a second. Despite being somewhat demonic-looking, Israfel was rather charming. After a few seconds, Armana gave Israfel a somewhat silent "Alright." She said it quietly and with a blush on her face as well as a small smile, as she had never gone out with a boy before.

[Señor Sunday Friday]

Israfel had a smile on his face, "It's an honor." he said, placing a kiss on Armana's cheek in a movement relatively unexpected so it was hard to pull away from before it was commenced and then over. He didn't mean to be rude or anything, he still had a gentle hold of Armana's hand, "The campus is this way..." he said, his face bore a lightened smile, his voice alight with affection for Armana as he started guiding the beautiful young woman to their destination, the grass that they traveled through tall and filled with serenading insects, as the sky grew darker fireflies started to rise into the air with thier winking lights.

"It shouldn't take too long before we're there." he said, trying to comfort. It was funny- the atmosphere of the place didn't at all seem to grow sinister at night, it was just more splendor that sprouted from the air when the moon climbed to her place high above. But as it was proved with Israfel, things were not always how they appeared around here. Twilight Moon was a magical place with suprises for those who were willing to take a chance to go find them.

[Armana]

Armana didn't have a chance to pull away, it all happened so fast. The peck on her cheek left Armana dazed, and she wasn't completely sure what had just happened. "Wai- Wha?" Armana asked as she was pulled along. Did he just? How dare he! Armana thought, but she made no action to reprimand Israfel for it or even resist him pulling her along. Israfel seemed very cheerful and light-hearted, and Armana couldn't find it in herself to say anything cruel to him at the moment. In fact, she rarely could find it in herself to hurt a person's feelings. So she let Israfel sweep her away towards campus.