Quelling Anger

[Saiketsu]

Reserved for pinkroses

Zoheret sat by herself at a low table with two chairs, stirring her second drink absentmindedly with the little black straw. She was scrolling through her phone, checking emails and reviewing schedules, as was her habit when she was angry. Having something to occupy her mind had become increasingly important the longer she ruled in this city.

She had stormed out of the Museum without direction or purpose, her emotions high and her aura growing dark with hatred for McCloud. She had half the mind to drop the glamour and take off into the sky - a few times she gazed up at the clouds above her, contemplating flight. She hated that that little brat had enough sway over her emotions to make her react so angrily. Jake McCloud was lucky that she hadn't reached out to scald him, and the wasted opportunity presented nothing more than frustration for her as she sat in Venture, thinking and stirring her Long Island Iced Tea. Her legs were crossed at the knee, right over left, and the hem of the dress that the Brat Prince had praised fell back to mid-thigh.

McCloud had inferred that her current arrangement with Saraekiel wouldn't work, and that Saraekiel's claim to the Northern District would be contested by someone. It was a worry that Zoheret herself had brought up to her business partner the very day he told her he would be taking the North and the concern sat with her uncomfortably. Typically, she tried to ignore the fact that Jake McCloud knew enough language to speak in full sentences. Zoheret never took anything that came out of McCloud's mouth as being the truth - only his warped version of it. But as soon as her own thoughts passed through Jake's lips, the spell was broken and Zoheret, against her better judgement, began to wonder what it was that Jake McCloud actually knew.

Her first drink had helped quell the anger in her arms, the tremors of rage and the fluttering of her wings - which she kept exposed now that she was in a supernatural friendly environment; she dared anyone to come up to her and try to tell her to hide them for the sake of the humans. It made her warm and calmer, transforming her rage into something more pliable. She texted Saraekiel to let him know that Jake was up to something - after some great consideration. She received no immediate response and wondered if she was right in tell him at all. Maybe this was part of the plan. Maybe this was all a plot to undermine her position in the North West.

The dark angel sighed heavily and tried to push her thoughts away, focusing instead on beginning of her second drink. The alcohol was strong and made her relax a bot, warming her throat and stomach as it settled in her. She was beginning to feel its effects, taking the sharp edge off her anger and her senses.

[pinkroses]

It had been a long few nights and Seb had spent most of them away from his own home, which didn’t matter too much, but he’d wanted to head home from the White Rabbit where he had been spending time with Lisa-Joe, to make sure everything was running smoothly.

He hadn’t really been home properly since Lazarus had been arrested. He was thoroughly enjoying bonding with Lisa-Joe, but everyone was slightly on edge there. And Jake seemed to find the best way to deal with that was to hold parties which seemed to make the whole building vibrate (to those with more sensitive hearing).

On his way home Seb had realised he was near Venture and decided to pop in to feed. He wasn’t dressed up, wearing simple dark blue jeans, boots and a black shirt, open at the throat, but he hadn’t intended coming to impress anyone this evening. It had taken next to no time to find an eager mortal and Seb had led him to a back room. It quickly turned out that the mortal was looking for a little more than Seb had intended, so he had calmed the human with a mental urging, so the human would hardly know the difference in his change of mood.

Seb’s marble-like features were tinged slightly pink as he re-joined the crowd, intending to just head straight home, but a flicker of red against white caught his eye and he turned to see the source more clearly. If he breathed, she would have taken his breath away.

The last time he’d met her, he’d been taken unaware – it had been the first time he’d met a fallen angel and the whole idea had disgusted him. He, the martyr who took his beliefs so strongly that he’d been killed for them. Seb hadn’t approached her again since then, but he was aware than she had been at a few of the same events as he had been. She was a leader in the city as well, and as far as Seb knew, in her district things seemed to be running smoothly, he had begun to think perhaps he had judged too quickly and too harshly at their first meeting.

Seb waited for a moment before approaching the fallen angel, straightening his shirt and running a hand through his dark hair as he came close.

“My lady, may I join you for a moment?” Seb asked, bowing his head to the blonde beauty who was sat alone.

[Saiketsu]

Zoheret hadn't seen the vampire approach, too invested in sending out a strongly worded email entailing the new security measures that would be taking place on Monday due to her meeting with the Brat Prince. She felt a being approach but hoped that it would wisely pass her by. Her aggravation mounted, but she must keep her composure in such public places. Without meaning to, Zoheret raised her glamour around her wings and looked up at the creature who had the gaul to approach her.

Sebastian would see the flicker of change in her face plainly, from one of professional annoyance to that of genuine surprise. Of all the people she had expected to be looking down at her, she had not expected this one. She instantly became very aware of her clothing and was glad that she had chosen this outfit after all, dipping and hugging in all the right places. Her face lit up with recognition and a very faint coloring washed over her cheeks as the vampire looked across at her. Zoheret had forgotten how dashing he was, how absolutely intriguing he had been to her at the Masquerade Ball. He was an extremely handsome specimen of a man, despite being undead, and the color in his skin tonight made her even more interesting.

"Lord Sebastian!" She said with an easy smile, one that didn't feel too fake on her lips. "Forgive me, I thought you would be someone else. Please, please sit." She gestured at the chair across from her and tucked her phone back into her purse. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, tasting the word on her tongue like an aged wine. An unexpected turn to the evening, indeed.

[pinkroses]

Seb was surprised at her positive reaction to seeing him, and her easy-going welcome of him, but he didn’t let it show on his face, responding instead with a charming smile of his own.

He settled himself into the seat she had gestured to, almost relaxing back into it in response to her friendliness, but then reminding himself of why he had wanted to speak to her.

“I’m not a Lord, not officially at the moment anyway,” he said with a grin, leaning forwards a little with his elbows on his knees.  He probably did own enough land to be a lord, but he hadn’t had an official title for some time.

“I wanted to apologise to you. The last time we met I was prejudiced, I made a snap judgement of you because of things I thought I knew and that was wrong of me.” Oh, that did hurt to say, that he’d been wrong – well, perhaps he hadn’t been, but he was willing to let her assist in moulding his opinion of her rather than judging by what she was.

“I was rude and I’m sorry for that.”

[Saiketsu]

"A familiarity I've grown too accustomed to as of late," she said at his lack of title. She smirked and rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink. When he began to apologize for his previous comments, Zoheret listened intently for his words and his meaning, a neutral expression fitted to her features.

 She hardly remembered him being rude now. Certainly, she remembered that it had happened, some nasty comment about her being at the bottom of the proverbial heap. At the time she had... overreacted. The anger that she had felt then - hot and bubbling - simply didnt have the same sway over her now. After all the political mess that came with ruling the immortal city nowadays, Sebastian's comment was a trivial thing, forgettable. And if it meant that she could continue a conversation with the man, well, then she could forgive his indiscretion this once.

But not that easily.

"Well," the dark angel began with a serious look on her face, not looking at the other for a long moment, "I do remember you being quite rude that night. It was an awful thing. And I'm not sure if I'll ever forgive you for it." A curl of her lips to indicate her jest. "I suppose you'll just have to make it up to me." Zoheret smiled wider at him now, a flirtatious little invitation for him to keep her company for now and distract her from the madness of the city. "And to make amends, I demand one hour of your time." She gave him a devious little grin and lowered her glamour for him, allowing him to see her wings as the sat behind the back of the chair.

[pinkroses]

A smile curled on Seb’s lips as she teased him, pleased that she didn’t seem to have taken his comments during their past meeting to heart. He still felt a little wary of what she was, as a fallen angel had seemed so conflicting with his beliefs, but he had made mistakes in his past. It didn’t have to mean you never got another chance, especially for creatures with lifespans like theirs.

“Well, that does seem quite demanding, but I suppose it is a small price to pay,” he said with a grin. “How could I turn you down? I will have to make sure I use that time wisely to pay off the punishment.”

As she revealed herself fully to him again his bright blue eyes roamed over the beauty of her wings. He’d met an angel decades ago, but Seb hadn’t seen his wings. He’d imagined them as pure white, but seeing her rich colours, contrasting so gorgeously with the virginal white of her dress, it was awe-inspiring.

Reluctantly, Seb tore his gaze away from Zoheret and gestured to a passing waiter to order a glass of blood. He may have only just fed but he wanted something else to focus on for a moment.

“You looked quite perturbed when I approached, something disturbing on your mind?” he asked, turning his attention back to her and focusing on her hazel eyes, despite the temptation to let his gaze wander.

[Saiketsu]

Zoheret watched his eyes as her glamours faded. It was a privilege to see, after all. It was understood amongst her kind to keep the glamour up for fear of discovery. Many of her lovers had never even seen her wings. She loved that it had captured his attention, however briefly and she felt her skin become warm with enjoyment.

Zoheret waved her hand dismissively at his question and she reached for her drink. "There is always something to fix in this city, that's all." Her smile was tighter than she intended and she was trying to let all this Jake business go. "I just had a very unfortunate run-in with someone I'd prefer not to speak to. Hence why I am at a vampire bar, drinking exorbitantly priced drinks and sending emails from my phone." She smiled with bitterness and took a long sip of her drink, now nearing half full. The alcohol was strong and welcome now that she was no longer alone with her thoughts.

"What about you?" She asked pleasantly, casually with no direction, putting her drink down and leaning in a bit more casually than she normally would have. "Should I ask why you're here, or would the question be too silly and the answer too obvious?"

[pinkroses]

Seb watched her as she spoke, seeing that there was a lot more on her mind than she was giving up, but since she obviously didn’t want to linger on it then he would let her keep her secrets.

“Fair enough. Seems like if you want to forget about it properly you should probably put the emails away as well. I’m assuming there’s nothing more you can do about it tonight?” he said as his drink appeared by his side and he accepted the glass of warm blood, taking a small sip before reaching forward to place it on the low table between them, mirroring her movement without thinking about it.

“Well, it might be a slightly obvious one,” he said with a grin. “It’s one of the better places around the city to find a breathing drink,” he added, gesturing at the crowded room around them.

“I’ve found there’s been a lot of heavy topics of conversation recently which I’ve been a part of, which, to be honest, I assumed this would be as well. I’m pleasantly surprised to find it’s gone in a different direction.”

“It does seem like an odd place to find you, I would have thought you might have gone to other places in the city which aren’t full of us blood-suckers. Of course, then you wouldn’t have been able to show off your assets quite as openly,” he said with a teasing smile and a nod towards her wings as he scooped up his glass again.

[Saiketsu]

She smiled widely, enjoying this little teasing game greatly. "Well then, I'll have to ensure that no seriousness transpires between us. I'd hate to ruin the next hour with you with talk of politics and business." Like clockwork, she heard her phone vibrate in her bag, no doubt a text from Saraekiel. Had it been anyone else but Sebastian sitting with her, she wouldn't have bothered hiding her interest in the other angel's words and would have checked the message immediately. As it was, she moved her purse to the back of her chair as she spoke. Politics would always be there when she was ready for them. For the next hour, she was on vacation.

His comments about her assets had her beaming, her stress fading. She was losing that haughty, cutting timbre to her voice and her enjoyment was becoming more evident in her body language, facades dissolving slowly. "In my defense, there aren't many places in this city where I am allowed to fully lower my guards and spells." She didn't miss the insinuation about her assets and knew full well that her wings were not the only things the were glorious about her body. "Although if I attract a few stares from other immortals, it wouldn't be an awful thing, I suppose." Zoheret, the Dark Angel, District Leader of the North-West, sister of Lucifer, felt her face grow faintly warm. She couldn't remember the last time she blushed. Breaking eye contact with the vampire, she took a sip of her drink and allowed her gaze to wander somewhere else, hoping his eyes would wander as well and worship her frame.

[pinkroses]

Seb’s gaze flickered to her bag as he heard the phone vibrate, and he was pleased to see her push the bag away and focus on him. He could see her starting to relax and he leant back in his seat, folding one leg over the other, resting his drink on his knee.

“That must be frustrating for you, to not be able to reveal your true self whenever you want to,” he said, enjoying the sight of her cheeks colouring. “I’m sure you attract more than just a few stares,” he added, raising his glass to her. She seemed pleasant, obviously with a fiery temper, but when you were on her good side, it was hard to see that darkness.

“I must admit, before I met you I had only met one angel and that was centuries ago.” It had been before he’d really considered himself immortal, and when religion had been a huge part of his life still, so it had been overwhelming. He would never have dared speak to that creature at that age the way he had done Zoheret on their first meeting.

“I think I’ve adapted that memory in my mind to fit what I think it should have been. So far this time has been much more enjoyable – I can speak more than then, so it’s hopefully more enjoyable for you than him as well,” he added.

[Saiketsu]

She stirred her drink and thought about how to respond to the vampire. She couldn't remember the last time that an immortal had felt empathy for her. "It's the price of power in this city, it seems, hiding the very thing that visibly marks me as an immortal," Zoheret said with a touch of regret. "It's not exactly becoming of a District Leader to flaunt their inhumanness. Setting the standard and all that." Others of her kind, like Saraekiel and Mirh, let their wings free at the first opportunity - they even took flight within city limits! Zoheret, on the other hand, took the supernatural masquerade quite seriously. She was already impossibly beautiful, perfect. Sebastian was right - it did draw enough attention to her and not all of it was the kind she preferred to bask in.

"I am, however, curious to know who you had met all those years ago. Perhaps this angel and I were familiar at some time. Do you remember the name?" She didn't know all of the angels that existed, of course, but it had always been interesting to her to see who from her World had revealed themselves to the members of this plane. It was mostly taboo, after all, to play with the mortals.

[pinkroses]

Seb gave a non-committal murmur as she mentioned District Leaders flaunting their inhumanness. He’d met plenty over the years who saw the masquerade as pointless and broke it, some of whom lied about their true nature, preferring humans to see them as some sort of God. That was an abuse of power, but a little awe… it could sometimes work miracles. Then of course there had been those who had adhered to it, or not, before the masquerade even had a following.

“It does seem a shame for us to have these gifts and not be able to use them properly. Within reason of course. Especially since in this city so many mortals are aware of the secrets happening all around them.” Of course, informing those unaware could be risky, so sense had to be used.

“He did not give me his name, but a human I was with said his name was Samael. I was working closely with those nearing death at the time, so it makes sense, given the theories around him,” Seb said with a small shrug, although in his existence that meeting had been worthy of far more than a small shrug. It had been verification that everything he believed in and had died for – twice – was true.

“Do you know him?” he asked, before taking a small sip of his drink to hide his true interest in her response. She was fallen, yes, but falling from grace couldn’t mean you lost all contact to those beings you used to know, could it?

[Saiketsu]

Her eyes widened at the mention of Samael, the Angel of Death. Yes, she was familiar with Samael, as was all angelkind - fallen or graced. The name unsettled her, his tales legendary even outside of her own kind. "You have seen Samael?" She had never actually met the Archangel, the most loyal and obedient of all angelkind, but she had seen him from afar - and diverted her eyes when his gaze shifted upon her. Lucifer had told her long ago that anyone unfortunate enough to interrupt his mission would find themselves a victim of his harvest.

This was eons ago, back when her name was still Sarai and she had not Fallen. She was a weaker, more vulnerable angel then, but the name still sent shivers through her. Samael was used to reap souls of humans back to the Heavenly plane, and in battles he was merciless. He had reaped Angelkind plenty of times, when her kind had fallen and given up on a human life at old age. She feared him completely.

"I have never met him, no." Her throat was suddenly dry and she took a large sip of the alcohol in front of her, grounding herself in her chair. Sebastian was getting more interesting by the moment. "How have you seen him? Only the dying are supposed to witness him."

[pinkroses]

“Only briefly, but he told me he’d seen me too often,” Seb replied, smiling slightly at her reaction. He had been in shock himself, especially when he had read up on the angel afterwards.

“The human died soon after, within moments of whispering the name. I was supposed to… intended to…” Seb’s voice trailed away slightly with a frown at his memories.

“I was executed twice, then got into a habit of healing mortals with a few drops of blood, not enough to turn them, but enough to hold off death in a few cases. I imagine that’s not a habit an angel of death wants to encourage.” He had been intending to heal the mortal, but Samael came too soon and too fast.

Of course, he had been young and strong-headed, it hadn’t been until his own sire Irene had found him that Seb had stopped trying to heal humans. There were too many and they lacked gratitude. It wasn’t worth almost killing himself for. There were millions of humans and they kept coming.

[Saiketsu]

"No, I imagine he wouldn't like that at all," Zoheret agreed with a smirk. "Angels can be very stubborn and inflexible when someone interrupts their missions." She couldn't recall the last time she had spoken to an earthly creature about the divine occurences of the heavenly plane. Usually she kept that sort of information private out of habit. Now, however, with the encouragement of the alcohol, Zoheret found the words slipping excitedly through her lips. "Missions mean everything to Angels of light. To allow interruptions to that mission is to invite in chaos and Doubt. And with Doubt, you begin to Fall."

She stopped speaking and began to feel as if she had said too much. Perhaps she wasn't meant to discuss Angelic matters with earthly creatures like Sebastian. Surely she wasn't saying anything that wasn't already obvious to the vampire, but they were words she had never spoken aloud. Every Angel knew these things, or at least suspected them. All angelkind was afraid to Fall, lest they end up like the Devil himself. Zoheret smiled to herself and finished the rest of her drink, setting it down between the two of them.

"Just imagine," she started with amusement, crossing her arms over her lap, "what would have happened had Samael fallen to earth? Humankind would live forever! Or at least until another Angel took his place." She chuckled lightly and shifted in her chair, uncrossing and re-crossing her legs, tugging at the hem of her dress so as not to reveal too much before the time was right - if it ever was.

"But you say that you were executed twice?" He tone was playful and inquisitive, curious and light, as if she were discussing an upcoming event or a bit of gossip, not the man's death. "What kind of mischief had you gotten yourself into that you had to be executed twice? I assume one time they didn't succeed, considering you're here as an immortal man." She traced his figure with his eyes before looking back at him with more than mild interest.