goodbye nostalgia / mdc prompt

[JUNJI]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; padding: 10px; height: auto; overflow: auto;"][div style="width: 400px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"]in less than a week, junji's faith had shattered. being kicked while he was down, first nearly killed by a hound hunting his wings, then holding his mother in his arms as she died. it was a cruel joke. someone with a voodoo doll, jabbing at his heart, ripping him to pieces from the inside out. the angel could feel himself waver. he wasn't doing very well, not recently. for a few moments during his time alone, spent in the silence of his little hut, he wished for death. he wished his wounds would fester. he wished that beast would come and finish the job.

naturally, he feared death. junji didn't want to die, not really, but it felt as though the weight of the world had settled on his shoulders. he just wanted it all to end.

despite what things had happened when he dared to venture from his home, junji wandered the beaches as he loved to do, feeling slightly better in terms of recovery. his leg was healing well and his chest no longer ached when he breathed, but still his back felt as if it was on fire. it hurt to move, every step agonizing as he shuffled through the sand. the angel did not care, not anymore. pain was a part of life, he'd learned, but oh was it a hard lesson. he wished the world was kinder, not filled with so much death and distress, so many cruel people plaguing the lands. junji just wanted to live in peace; deep down, he knew that would not happen. he wanted to cry just thinking about it.

life was not kind, he had learned. life was not fair. life did not give second chances. he repeated that in his mind as he limped along, the sound of the waves crashing in his ears, so loud but not enough to drown his thoughts. everything seemed so overwhelming at that moment, the cry of gulls above him, the crunching of the sand beneath his paws, the rustling of leaves to his right. junji came to pause on the edge of the beach. his breaths grew heavier the longer he remained, everything too loud, too much for him.

and then... silence.

he stared blankly at the ground. the air had shifted, a feeling drifting along the breeze that he could only vaguely remember. for a moment he thought he might suffocate from the heaviness of it. ocean blue eyes slowly tore themselves from the sand, dragging upward, and locked upon a figure so bright he felt he would go blind. though he could not see a face among the mass of white light, he knew it was his father. no other angel would ever visit him, wings spread so far, standing in all his glory.

"father," junji said softly, disbelief in his voice. only days after his mother had died he was here. perhaps the boy was imagining it all; the world was getting the best of him, twisting his mind, warping the reality he saw. the archangel must have seen it in his face, for as the larger creature approached, the light lessened to reveal a face he had nearly forgotten.

"junji." raphael rumbled, judging him with his golden gaze. the boy took a small step back and earned the smallest twinge of disappointment in the angel's eyes. "it's been too long, my son." he bent his head down and touched his nose briefly to junji's forehead.

who's fault is that? the little feline thought bitterly, though he looked to his father's face with love in his gaze. though part of him wanted to resent him for leaving, he couldn't; he knew the archangel was busy. he wouldn't have time to visit the mortal realm so often, and junji could take care of himself anyway. he didn't need a guardian angel. "is mother with you?" he whispered, concerned for her even after death. the boy just wanted her to find peace, to be with her love again.

the angel stared down at his child in silence, an emotion he couldn't place crossing his eyes briefly, before he rolled his shoulders and spoke again. "i've been sent to bestow a gift upon you, junji." raphael told him with a smooth voice. the feline tipped his head in confusion as he looked up at his father; a gift? what sort of gift? the words, though they seemed pleasant in some sense, gave junji a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. whatever the gift was, he wasn't sure that he wanted it.

"you're worthy, son, of becoming an angel." the glowing figure murmured. "a true angel. you could join me and serve the red god." there was a pause, a moment of tense silence as junji processed the words.

"worthy," he repeated softly, slowly, face twisting ever so slightly. "worthy?" junji took a step back, lip curled at his father and his ears pinned to his head. "i was almost killed. mother died in my arms. what kind of god do you worship, that he should find me worthy only after such cruel things have happened?" he spat.

raphael was quiet. he watched his son, golden eyes cold and calculating. perhaps junji should have held his tongue. "i am only here to carry out his wishes. nothing more." his eyes narrowed as he stared upon the boy's face, before angelic wings spread from his sides, and he disappeared with a single beat.

as he watched his father depart, junji felt his heart wrench. all the sound in the world returned, crashing over him and making him stagger; for a few moments he simply stood there, going over the encounter over and over again in his head. the feline felt his lips curl in a scowl. after all this time, all the good he had done, he needed only to experience death. to watch the life drain from person you loved most in the world. junji could almost laugh at the cruelty of it. yet as he turned away to leave, to go hide somewhere in the jungle, a sudden pain struck over his spine.

an agonized cry bubbled from his lips as he knelt to the sand; it felt as though claws were tearing down his back, only pausing to dig into his shoulder blades, the space where that hound had bitten and ripped and tore at. junji heaved out a breath and pressed his muzzle into the sand as the pain only grew worse, spreading throughout his body, infuriating his injuries more and more. then, suddenly... it stopped.

a flurry of feathers burst from his shoulders, and the weight of them dragged him to the ground. he slumped to the sand with a thump as new wings flapped lamely over the beach, enormous and heavy and feeling so foreign. they were larger than him; much larger, to the point where they made it difficult to stand, paws scrabbling in the shifting sand, trying hard to get up. large and painfully heavy, but as he managed to calm himself enough to get a better look at them, he thought they were beautiful. the wings he had dreamed of ever since he was a child, white as the clouds above, feathers tinted gold as if the sun itself had kissed them. a gift. junji swallowed thickly. he'd always longed for wings, but now that he had them... the angel wasn't sure. he was afraid; surely the hound would come back for him now, once word came that the little angel he had nearly torn to pieces had sprouted wings.

a shaky breath escaped him as he finally stood from the sand, stretching his wings out as far as they would go. he knew from just then that he would not fly with them, not with a body as small as his own. he'd never get off the ground. junji frowned at that, but he didn't dwell. the angel simply sighed softly to himself as he shuffled closer to the ocean with his wings dragging at his sides, and for once since his attack, simply sat with the water.

he was an angel. now and forever.

[beck.]

retro

    The little ghost had never been certain of who or what to believe. Childhood during the rough European seas clashing against each other in a battle for the dominant religion alongside a pagan mother raised him into a tangled mess of dormant faith -- As if ya had any 'faith' in the first place. "Shut up." Where was he? Oh, right. Beck never know whose preaching to listen to; he ignored their holy ramblings to focus on his top priority of surviving as a street rat until at least adolescence. Maybe then he could have sought out work, he could have provided for himself without stealing, he could have found someone to love -- he was getting off-track. His mouth was partially the reason for a bounty on his head, never afraid to babble to fellow orphans and outcasts about how an omnipotent god that was supposed to care for every living being couldn't exist since they themselves had been rejected by God's own followers. He never thought much of religion beyond spite, yet his ignorance was enough to label him as a heretic. A pest, a low-life thief, a murderer, and a heretic. He supposed he deserved an execution in the end, huh?

    Two glassy eyes stared from the divide between trees and shore, never blinking as Beck tilted his head to the right in curiosity. No concern winced across his youthful features as he stared beyond the divine creature groveling in the pale sand. Hackles bristled for a nonexistent beat, lifeless eyes narrowing in unwanted jealousy as feathery stubs sprouted from the stranger's spine before engulfing his pristine figure. Why was he so... perfect? The scars crisscrossing his grimy body seemed to burn with embarrassment as he admired someone else's fortunate beauty, even after he snapped from his trance and stalked from his hideout. It was always challenging to notice his approach, considering his eerie lack of audible footsteps and occasional forgotten habit of breathing. Years of hiding from pursuers and lurking in houses molded a silent entity, save for when he gathered the nerve to blurt out to join a conversation. Wordlessly, he halted just behind Junji, inky nose flaring as he picked up on the scent of herbs and vanilla -- he even smelled nice, this wasn't fair. Beck finally announced his presence with a rasping giggle, a frigid paw beginning to twirl a gold-dipped feather in an attempt to fight the urge to pluck it out for himself. "I ain't never seen someone just -- poof, wings!" the boy croaked, holding his paws up with pads faced outwards in a silly gesture before quickly dropping them back on the ground, hoping Junji didn't glimpse the blistered burn marring his right palm. Visibly gnawing on his intact cheek thought the window of his disfigured snout, Beck's dark eyes shifted back to the sage's wings as he mumbled something incoherent before daring to ask aloud: "Ya think I can have one of 'em? Of course, his honey-grown glare had locked itself onto one feather, in particular, one that looked soft and downy and all he knew was that he needed it.

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[Luca]

[only the last two paragraphs are relevant sobs]

Luca had never had much of a choice when it came to what religion he practised. The town he had grown up in owed everything to the church, so pretty much everyone that lived there was deep into Catholicism, or the twisted version of it that the corrupted clergy had preached. His father and mother were no exception, especially since the former of the two carried angelic blood (something Luca had only discovered after everything had gone sour). He had grown up studying edited scriptures, reading passages from a bible that wasn't entirely correct. His intense studying of the town's religion was Luca's way of survival, for it was clear to every child taken in by the church that they would be punished if they didn't know the rules off by heart.

Luca's memory had never been very good, all broken up into fuzzy bits and pieces, so he often found himself in some pretty deep trouble. Luckily he was fairly well liked, his appearance saving him from some of the worse punishments out there. At least he wasn't blinded or disarmed like some of his old friends had been. The fear was still there though, driving him to accept the teachings and drink in all the information fed to him out of fear of what would happen to him if he didn't.

It was only when his goddess began speaking to him that the possibility of other religions had crossed his young, impressionable mind. She would talk to him in the darkness, smooth down his messy fur and speak sweet words into his ears. Her presence was much more comforting than that of the holy men he was supposed to be following. What he caught of her appearance was terrifying, all teeth and eyes and inky peeling flesh, but she was kinder to him than any other of the authority figures in his life. Soon he began to question his faith, which he knew was dangerous at the time. But this god he was supposed to be worshipping had never showed himself to the young canine. Even when he had learned all the stories and sang all the hymns, he never appeared before Luca as his nameless goddess had. As far as he knew, this holy maternal presence was for more reliable than the wrathful deity he'd been reading about in his studies.

His secret switch in religions hadn't gotten rid of the fear he held inside him, though. He still found himself practising what he had learned, digging his claws deep into his skin after every misstep to cleanse himself of the sin. At least he never had to do that after some of his more lustful acts though- to a being as naturally shy as Luca, they were the punishment in of themselves. Shame constantly clung to his pelt, an eternal reminder that he was dirty and wrong and that he never should have listening to the sweet, tempting words of another god. He would never be forgiven now, not when he had burned down a village comprised entirely of the faithful. Some sins could never be forgiven, no matter how many times you died to repent.

It was the sound of Junji cry that drew the pretty little sinner forwards, the sound of crunching sand deafening in his ears as he paws carried him urgently towards the source of the noise. The distinct sound of pain in the pretty angel's voice was becoming all too common, bringing with it an ache to Luca's stuttering heart. It didn't take him long to come upon the delicate form that he so admired, but something stopped him from diving forwards to comfort him. Luca wasn't quite sure what was holding him back until two feathered limbs burst from Junji's back, the suddenness of it all causing Luca to start in fright. Any fear on his face soon dissolved into awe, however, his rose eyes glowing with unmasked admiration as he took in the new addition to Junji's body.

It was only when Beck came forwards that Luca did too, following the tracks in the sand made by Junji's wings to come up behind the angel. "You're so beautiful," the demon said softly as he moved to the side of his clanmate, his eyes following the curve of the closest wing back to Junji's body. Without thinking too much he reached out to stroke one of them, but pulled his paws back at the last second. He was too dirty to touch someone so pure, too corrupted and cruel. Surely a single touch of those gold-tinted feathers would be too much for him, and his lust for the holy presence of an angel's soul would over come him. It was for the best that he stayed away, just a hair's breadth away from the ethereal sage.

[JUNJI]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; padding: 10px; height: auto; overflow: auto;"][div style="width: 400px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"]religion. as an angel, born of an archangel directly serving a god... religion had never been much of a choice, and yet, he'd never quite cared for it. his young mind had only ever focused on his father, not the angel or high-ranking ethereal being that had helped conceived him, but the man that sat with him in some evenings to watch the sunset, teaching him valuable lessons. he'd only ever wanted a family; he'd only ever wanted to be loved and make his parents proud.

junji was silent as he watched the ocean, eyes drifting over the waves, lapping at the sand as if hungry. if not for the rasping giggle behind him, he wouldn't have noticed beck; the angel's ears perked up lightly at the voice, turning to peer at the ghost that seemed to hungrily eye the feathers of his wings. he felt a twinge of fear momentarily, there and then gone; the type of look the hound had given him, even when he hadn't had wings. a frown played at his lips briefly. he barely processed the spirit's words to him, though he managed a slightly bitter laugh to the remark about having sprouted wings. it was rather unusual, wasn't it? truly a sight to behold.

he settled his gaze on the feather that beck was touching, gold-tipped and glistening in the sun with each twirl of the ghost's paw. it was just one feather... it wouldn't hurt to give it away. junji watched the smaller feline warily for a moment or two, before slowly he stretched his neck forward, gingerly securing his teeth around one sunkissed feather, and plucked it. it stung a bit, eliciting a slight huff from the angel, though he disregarded it with a soft shuffle of his wings. junji set the feather down in the sand by the ghost's transparent paws. "here," jun murmured.

a second voice, one so sweet and familiar, drifted into junji's ears, causing him to lift his eyes to meet luca's enamored gaze. for a moment after the hellhound spoke, he was quiet, watching intently as a paw stretched out to touch his wing, and felt almost disappointed when the other pulled away. he stretched the wing out ever so slightly, as if to beckon for the touch, allow permission; junji turned his eyes away to watch the ocean once more. "...thank you." he said finally, voice light as a whisper.