catch the sun ➵ flight,, attempt

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

Aurum put a great deal of trust in his fellow tanglers and as such, even though he could occasionally tell that Crowley was acting strangely or forcing himself to act a certain way, the guardsman had a habit of believing it. It was why Aurum believed that Crowley had a good deal of pride, and it was also why he seemed to be so delighted when Crowley broke from the roles he seemed to have been jammed into filling. Sure, before Aurum hadn't known that Crowley was a demon, but he had certainly realized that the other was putting on an act, and to just see that act crack, even only once or twice – or several times, depending on how charitable Crowley was feeling on a given day – sort of sent a thrill down Aurum's spine. Perhaps it was just because the angel had turned his back on his own predetermined role, and thus got satisfaction from seeing someone else breaking out of restrictive chains, or perhaps it was just because Aurum liked Crowley's true personality more than the mask he had to put on most of the time. Only time would truly be able to tell, and if wasn't the first thing on his mind at the moment. What really should've been on his mind was whether or not Crowley was okay after the tumble that he had taken, but... Crowley had repeated several times that he was alright, and it didn't seem as though he was seriously injured, so Aurum felt his interest and attention being pulled more and more towards the subject at hand – heaven and hell, demons and angels. It was all sort of... exciting, and new. Despite the fact that Aurum didn't relish his memories of heaven in the slightest, and had only recently rediscovered his status as a heavenly being, it still felt... nice. Like he and Crowley were part of some exclusive club that only they could really understand. Was hell as bad for Crowley as heaven had been for Aurum? The lion truly didn't know, but from how Crowley described his fellow demons, the guardsman couldn't imagine that it was pleasant.

When Crowley mentioned he would never have guessed that Aurum was an angel, a soft chuckle left the lion's mouth, his eyes seeming to drift far off for a moment as he rumbled, "Yes, well... even I didn't really see it coming at first. I only recently... remembered that I was one. Sent from above as a guardian... guess they thought it'd be best to wipe my memories clean so I could focus on the task at hand." Was Aurum slightly bitter that heaven had yanked that particular rug out from beneath him...? Somewhat, yes. He would've liked to have been able to remember that side of himself, and perhaps connect with others like him before this point, but it had also spared him from a great deal of misery and pain – on top of what he had already been suffering as a cub – so it wasn't a straightforward yes or no question. Still, the conversation thus far had curved into a more pleasant direction than it had started with, with Crowley snapping and frustrated at himself, and Aurum didn't want to put a damper on that with his own complicated relationship to heaven – even if Crowley had his own complicated relationship to hell, unbeknownst to the guardsman. Shifting his wings upon his back as he gave a light roll of his shoulders, Aurum offered a grin back at the demon, saying with a soft chuff as he spoke, "Suppose I should say it's an honor to be around a demon too. I never gave much credence to the thought that angels and demons were supposed to be mortal enemies, or that whole thing. I've gotta say though, it seems like a waste, just staying down in hell. After all, how would you cause trouble from down there?'" His voice was soft, and teasing, and he found himself honestly glad that, being the archangel of sorrow, it hadn't been drilled into him as much that demons were a threat. They had been mentioned offhandedly once or twice, but Aurum had been tasked with more important things to worry about, and the thought of something like that preventing him from interacting with Crowley now? Well, it just seemed ridiculous to him. He supposed it was yet another thing that heaven would have his head for, if they ever realized their guardian angel had gone rogue.

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[Blazic]

[arcy]

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Crowley probably wouldn't have known what to do with Snarl's thought process even if she had said it out loud. He wouldn't blame her for thinking he was delusional, but yikes, Crowley wished he was. Wouldn't it be neat, if he could just ... wake up, and not have to spend every other moment worrying about being demonic enough or having Hell on his tail?
Anyways, he'd probably think she was right on every other front besides the not real thing. Crowley wasn't particularly optimistic about Heaven or Hell, honestly.
"Wouldn't that have been a conversation starter," He tells her dryly. That conversation had been as close as he'd gotten to spilling his guts before this moment. He's honestly a little alarmed by how quickly she took to the concept -- was it just ... common knowledge, here? Were there more, right under his nose? Or was there ... something else? Crowley regards her with something dubious, but, with a flick of his tail, allows her to circle him. It's a little .. nervewracking to allow. He trusts her to an extent, with information especially, but Crowley is paranoid by habit, and he hasn't exactly struck any gold with her motivations. He's in the dark.
He distracts himself.
Crowley wrinkles his nose as Aurum explains his story. He isn't particularly surprised -- Aziraphale may be deluding himself into believing in Heaven's methods and goals, but Crowley saw through them. Still, it's ... jarring. To realize that that's something they could do.
They could do that to Aziraphale, and Crowley won't be there to do anything about it. He curls his tail around himself, ignoring the spike of anxiety, and continues without a hitch.
"Didn't realize they could do that," Crowley says, somewhat flatly. Quite frankly, as much as he's glad the attention is off him, Heaven and Hell still aren't his favorite topics in the world.  "Still, they do have a certain ... method of treating their employees," Crowley's face looks sour for a moment. Employee was an interesting word to use in such a context, but Crowley did like the sort of .. energy to it.
As Aurum continues, a somewhat startled look crosses over Crowley's face. It's .. such a polar opposite to what Aziraphale would have said. It's ... strangely exciting, to hear the near opposite of Aziraphale's great speeches about hereditary enemies and all that.
.. Listen, by no means was Crowley meaning to compare Aurum and Aziraphale. They were different, aside from the whole .. angels who don't fucking hate his guts thing. On this specific subject, though, it's hard to stop himself. It's positive, though.
"The only reason it's true is 'cause people buy into it at all," He grins, eyes bright. That's propaganda, baby! Crowley may not understand why Aurum is an exception to this, but he feels like questioning it would just be ... bad luck, or something. "They come up for specific temptations sometimes. But mostly, they leave ... left it up to me," He flips a paw. It aches, a little. He ignores it. It's weird, not being able to just ... miracle away his injuries. It's nothing serious, mind. "Just one single field agent, can you believe it? They're all stuck in the fourteenth century. Wonder what they'll do, finding a new one?" His grin is practically wicked, now. It's at a terrible cost, Crowley is sure, but he wishes he could see the chaos of them trying to acclimate another demon to the planet.
He can get some joy out of his terrible mistake. Aurum might find it similarly funny, as long as Crowley keeps the ... darker, imminent death parts of it neatly tucked away.

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[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

Truthfully, if Snarl had expressed her opinions on things such as heaven and hell, as well as demon and angels, Aurum wouldn't have much of a defense against her, nor would he particularly want to defend his words. After all, all he had now were his memories of heaven along with his wings and powers, and none of those were truly solid evidence that heaven and hell existed, considering many others had powers without claiming that they were heavenly. Aurum found he didn't really care if someone believed, however. It wasn't as if he was a perfect poster child for heaven, much like Crowley wasn't the perfect poster child for hell, and the guardsman found that he didn't particularly want to be viewed differently because of his status as an archangel. After all, he had just been Aurum the lion before he had rediscovered his past, and he was still Aurum the lion now, loyal to Tanglewood and nobody else. He really did wonder if that would ever come back to bite him in the ass, but if it ever did, he would be ready to face whatever threat was thrown his way head on. The members of Tanglewood had been more family to him than anyone in heaven or the pride had ever been, and this place was home. He wasn't going to leave it without a serious fight, and if he had known about Crowley's worries, he would've been willing to help Crowley face his – quite literal – demons as well.

When Snarl mentioned that he seemed the type to be an angel, his wings shifted upon his back and a soft, faintly embarrassed laugh left him. Truthfully, everything she has said had been true, but he never really thought about it. Pretty much anyone in Tanglewood could corroborate the fact that Aurum was a mother hen, particularly his son. He mumbled after a moment, fluffy tail flicking back and forth, "I wouldn't say too nice. I prefer to think of it as just nice enough." His joking tone and look faltered slightly when Crowley spoke, mentioning that he didn't know heaven could wioe memories, but Aurum recovered quickly, clearing his throat before mumbling, "Yeah, trust me, I didn't know they could either, until it happened to me... turns out heaven isn't the greatest place to work. Don't even get good health benefits." He attempted to joke away the faint look of pain that glazed over his eyes as he thought back to the decades upon centuries of suffering he had gone through in heaven, but it only somewhat worked. Thankfully, Crowley saved it, talking about his own former duty as the one field agent that hell actually kept at their disposal. Shrugging off his former remorse over the past, Aurum laughed and said, shaking his head a little bit, "I'm sure that'll be a hell of a spot to fill. I'm sure that you were a fine troublemaker. Perhaps they'll get wise with you gone and actually send out more than one demon to do the tempting." A small part of the angel wanted to ask why exactly Crowley had decided to abandon hell, as he had decided to abandon heaven, but he refrained, noting it away as something to ask at a later date, perhaps when they had more privacy.

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