what a strange being you are / private

[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;"]it was no easy task to be an angel. though he lacked the wings and... well, the blessing of whatever god his father worshiped, there was still hardship that came with it. working himself to the bone just to prove himself worthy in raphael's eyes, doing anything in his power to do what his mother would want him to do. oh, how he missed her. his heart ached the longer he spent away from her, and deep down, he almost believed her to be dead. he hoped that wasn't the case; that after she'd told him to go, she found somewhere safe and was living her best life. perhaps one day he'd see her again.

junji sat alone in the shade of a bending palm tree, eyes transfixed on a worn journal, one white paw placed delicately upon the page he read. he'd read the thing through hundreds of times over as the months passed by, so much so that he practically had every line memorized. but there was still a fondness to his eyes as they flitted over the words, as if he was reading them for the first time. the familiarity of the book, the sweet smell of his parents that still lingered after so long, it calmed the angel. though he was losing hope in seeing either of them ever again, he could at least keep this to remind himself of them. it kept him going.

a soft sigh slipped past his lips, slowly lifting his gaze from the journal and settling it upon the ocean. for a few moments he hesitated, thinking what if it was a dream?, until finally he stood and padded down to the shoreline. another moment's hesitation. the angel watched the waves lap at the sand, breathing in the smell of salt in the air, feeling himself relax to the sound of the tide. he stepped forward, keeping his focus this time, and smiled softly as the waves spread around him like they had in the storm. they were still shaky, junji still not being completely used to his new power, but it was better than it had been.

he cooed gentle words to the ocean as he sat himself in the sand, watching with a warm gaze as the waves swirled around him. he could get used to this. the angel closed his eyes and let out a soft hum, swaying with the breeze and the familiar sound of crashing waves. oh, how the angel loved the ocean.

[member=1517]Luca[/member]

[Luca]

It was no easy task being a demon, either. Especially when raised in an environment where holiness was held above everything else. Everything he had done as a child was to get in favour of the angels- the hours of prayer, consuming only what he needed, enduring all the harsh punishments that had scarred him (quite literally) for life. It was only natural, then, that he felt betrayed when he had to give all of that up in return for his freedom. He spent years wondering if it was worth it, if he should have endured the abuse in order to become holy instead of throwing away all his progress by making some stupid deal with a dark god. Elias always said that he made the wrong choice, and not a day went by without his words echoing in Luca's ears. It made him ashamed. He had spend his whole childhood being told that demons were filthy, disgusting sinners with no life outside corrupting people an causing pain.

He tried to cover up the fact that he was a demon, although perhaps his way of doing so was a little unethical. He had learned that consuming enough angel souls could mask his demonic presence. His black, leathery wings sprouted pristine white feathers, and his spaded tail faded into a more pale colour as well. He had forgotten how many angels he had killed and consumed, but it was worth it. Anything was worth getting rid of that self loathing. The angelic shield that surrounded his corrupt soul was starting to fade, though. At this point the fact that he was a demon (and a rather embarrassing type at that) was pretty much common knowledge. The stigma that surrounded demons didn't seem to be as bad here, since a few of his crewmates wielded the title proudly, but that didn't stop Luca's shame. After all, after idolising them so much in his childhood, he was still very much attracted to all things holy.

Perhaps that's why Junji caught his gaze so easily. Luca stopped in his tracks, eyes bright with curiosity as they stared the pretty feline down. He hesitated for a bit, but then he turned on his paws and headed towards the shoreline. He was in a pretty sorry state, but hopefully his gruesome appearance wouldn't scare the angel off. The incubus stopped on the shore, standing behind Junji and resting his gaze on the faint scars on his back. He was unwilling to go any further, the distant memory of being drowned keeping him from joining the feline among the waves. While Junji seemed to be able to control them at will, fire was Luca's domain, so he would much prefer to stay dry. "Hey there," he greeted, feminine voice quiet against the ambience of the ocean. "I don't think we've met before." There was something predatory about the intensity of Luca's gaze, although he didn't have any plans to hurt the angel. Not yet, at least.

[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;"]raised under the stern paw of a high angel, junji had learned at an early age that demons were not to be messed with. and yet, in this group of pirates that he found a home in, there seemed to be a multitude of demons. perhaps it was the freedom of the typhoon, or simply that the place drew trouble. he tended to avoid the beings, but he couldn't do it forever, as it proved difficult to avoid half of the crew constantly. he would have to learn to work with them, accept the demons into commonplace, or he would need to leave. the latter wasn't an option to the tom. this place was his home now. the typhoon was his home.

junji nearly jumped upon hearing another voice, the waves around him dropping, but not toppling over him like they had before. he was glad he was at least able to catch them beforehand; it would have been a bit embarrassing, to say the least. the angel turned to face the one speaking to him, and though there was the softest of halos he could sense around the male, it was easy for the angel to tell that a demon stood before him. and with the predatory look he was being given, he could feel the hair on his spine begin to raise. silent for a few moments, trying to decide the best approach, junji finally offered a slow smile and met luca's gaze. he mentally scolded himself for even considering walking away, but instinct was a hard thing to deny. even with the unsettling look, the boy opted for kindness over everything else.

"hi," he murmured, tail swishing with the waves. "i don't believe so, either. i'm junji." he bobbed his head lightly. a few moments passed, and he shifted slightly in the sand, looking back as water lapped at his hind paws. he was losing focus. junji watched briefly until finally padding out of the ocean's way, joining the hellhound further on the beach. "who might you be?"

[Luca]

Understandably, Luca was a little annoyed by the fact that people assumed demons were always evil. Sure, he half believed it himself, but he disliked it when people judged him without getting to know him as a person. It didn't help that he actually reinforced all the negative stereotypes. He was lustful and violent, taking amusement in chaos and treating people's lives as disposable, but that had nothing to do with him being a demon. In fact, it was probably Luca's incredibly strict upbringing that led him to becoming what he was. The fact that he just so happened to be an incubus was just... coincidence. Sort of. There was no denying that the contact with the goddess that had turned him had corrupted him a little.

Luca blinked as he watched Junji jump, and for a second he was sure that the feline was about to be drenched. The waves stopped before soaking the tom, though, and Luca was almost a little disappointed. He always liked a good laugh, although he supposed that turning this stranger into the butt of a joke wouldn't be too good of a first impression. Luca was bad enough at those as it was. There were a few beats of tenseness as the pair stared each other down. Luca hoped that the angel wouldn't run away, for that would really kick his hunter instincts into overdrive, so he seemed relieved when Junji smiled and responded to his statement. He sat down and watched as the tom moved towards him, settling in to the warm sand. As his crewmate asked who he was, Luca fell still. He studied Junji for a beat, and then he blinked and the darkness was gone from his eyes as if it had never been there. A light giggle slipped from his lips and his posture relaxed.

"My name's Luca," he said, dipping his head ever so slightly. "Luca Rosario." His last name meant nothing to him. His hyper religious family had disowned him centuries ago, and his only living relatives wanted him dead. He said it anyway though, because apparently it was polite to announce a surname if you had one. He rubbed at a cut on his forearm with a sandy paw, only succeeding in irritating the wound further. Still, he seemed to pay no mind to it, and continued examining Junji curiously. "You're an angel, right?" He asked after a beat, although he was already sure that he knew the answer. He had a bit of a sense for things like that, although he had slipped up in the past. "You're sure cute enough to be one," he said slyly, casting the sage a quick wink. Subtlety had never been his strong suit.

[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;"]it was hard habit to break, always assuming that demons were bad people. though, to his defense, most of the demons the angel had met in his lifetime were predatory. murderers. people with no respect for another's life, killing and raiding and doing whatever they wanted. it wasn't right to judge, but with his upbringing and general impression of demons, it would be difficult to change his mind.

settling himself into the sand, junji watched the hellhound and nodded, committing his name and face to memory. "gavisus est in occursum tibi, luca." he murmured gently. his eyes followed the other's paw as it went to mess with a cut on his arm, brow furrowing slightly. though his attention was broken at luca's compliment. cute, huh? jun couldn't help but laugh quietly at that, leaning back on his haunches and turning his eyes down bashfully.

"thank you," the boy said lightly. "uh... but, yes, i'm an angel. half, at least. my father is one." junji pawed at the sand a bit awkwardly. even after all the comments by others in the crew, he didn't think he would ever get used to being complimented, or being called an angel by anyone other than his mother. even if he was one, he only associated the word with her. a moment passed and he lifted his gaze back to luca. "do you want me to look at that cut?" jun offered, gesturing to the sandy wound. "i'm a sage; i could treat it, if you'd like."

[Luca]

Luca probably wouldn't be the best person for changing Junji's beliefs. Sure, he had been trying his best to improve himself lately, but 'improved' didn't always mean 'good'. He was definitely better than he used to be, but he was only a fraction less vile than he had been when he had joined. He was starting to feel like it was all for nothing, though. Practising earning what he got instead of just taking it was just tiresome and hard. There were so many years he had to undo, it almost didn't seem to be worth it. After all, it was unlikely that anyone would pay attention to him even if he managed to right himself. Bad behaviour always drew more eyes.

Now wasn't the time for his internal debate, though. He tired his best to focus on the angel in front of him as he responded in a language that Luca couldn't quite place. One of the old ones, he guessed. He tilted his head and blinked curiously, running the words through his head again before being brought back to reality. It sounded a little like the language that the demons spoke, the one they used when they didn't want Luca to listen in. Junji's disposition was friendly though, so Luca assumed that his words were the same. The hellhound flashed a fanged smile, one that only sharpened at the reaction to his complement. He had always been a sucker for the innocent bashful types.

The answer to his question drew a hum from Luca's throat. He was an angel on his father's side as well, or at least he was before his deal. The angelic blood that ran in his veins was as faint as his morals though, only making up an eighth of his genes overall. He was sure that it had been overwritten by now, but the fact that it had been there in the first place was probably what made angel souls compatible with his. There was a brief moment of silence, and Luca was about to break it when the pretty tom did it for him, inquiring about the wound on his arm. The canine glanced at it as if he were seeing it for the first time, blinking twice before glancing up at the sage. "Oh, sure. I have a ton of them though, so if you're keen on treating all of them we'll be here for a while." He shuffled closer anyway despite his warning. Any excuse to get close to someone was good enough for him. "It's awful kind of you to offer," he added softly, lifting his arm and extending the bloody limb towards the 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;"]it was true that it was a difficult thing, trying to better yourself. though junji had never had worries about the matter, he knew well of the sorrows of mortals and demons, fighting to improve on bad behaviors. it was a hard task, something that took time and effort, not anything that would happen overnight. though bad behavior did draw more eyes, it was attention that was likely unwanted, unless you got a kick out of getting bawled out for doing something dumb. junji could admire the efforts that people went through to become better, though. it was... humbling. if you got far enough.

ocean eyes met luca's own for a brief moment before dropping back to his wound. he let out a puff of laughter and stood from the sand with a twitching tail. "it would be my pleasure." junji said sweetly, turning to trot off into the jungle. he was only gone for a minute or two before returning, a small satchel draped around his neck that smelled of herbs and flowers, and a small container of water between his teeth.

the angel settled in front of the hellhound once more, opening his bag for easy access, before prying the lid off the container and setting it in the sand. "i'm still new at this, so... bear with me," he murmured, focusing his eyes on the water. "i need to clean it." a few moments passed and he released a deep breath, lifting his head ever so slightly and smiling to himself as the water flowed out and hung in the air. jun breathed out again, and though a bit shaky, he was able to manage it, settling the blob on luca's cut and keeping it there to draw out sand and whatever else he may have gotten in it.

"luca," junji cooed. "while i work, tell me about yourself?" the boy finished with the wound, and after doing his best to cleanse the water of the bacteria from it, he returned it to the vial. he got to work with his herbs, pulling out a stem of goldenrod and beginning to chew it. he barely refrained himself from scowling at the bitter taste, still not used to it after so many moons, but managing to suppress his expression to a slightly curled lip while he chewed it up. his gaze flicked up to luca while he did, ears swiveled forward to catch whatever words left his mouth.

[Luca]

Any sort of attention was good for Luca, who had been deprived of it for basically his whole life. When he remembered being locked alone in that cold, dark room, even the memories of his beatings were pleasant ones. Perhaps further on in his recovery he'd be able to understand that good attention was better than bad, but he wasn't quite there yet. He hadn't quite connected the dots yet, but he was close to understanding that good actions were more likely to get people to stick around. His acting out drew more attention in the short term, sure, but it only pushed people away in the long run. If he wanted a more reliable source of comfort, he would have to start improving at a much quicker rate. It was hard without a teacher, though. He missed having Shininglight guide him on what was and wasn't socially acceptable. With his upbringing it was hard to tell black from white sometimes. But now Shine was acting all weird, like he barely even remembered Luca. It hurt too much to look at him, let alone ask for help again.

Luca stared into Junji's eyes as their gazes met, pink clashing with that calming ocean blue. People always said that eyes were the window to the soul, and Luca found the statement quite accurate. Over the years he had grown pretty accurate in picking out other people's emotions. The eye contact was gone as quickly as it came though, giving the canine little to no opportunity to glean anything interesting. With a quick word Junji was gone, heading towards the foliage of the jungle. Luca's ear flicked as he watched, his eyes lingering on the feline's rump for a second before he tore his gaze away, heat creeping onto his cheeks. He took the time alone to let the breeze calm him down, trying not to focus too much on how pretty and how kind Junji was. Innocence and kindness were always sure to lure Luca in, and the angelic sage seemed to have both in excess. He had to remind himself to hold back a little, though. It was the intensity of his affection that had scared away most of his partners in the past. Apparently, randomly declaring that you love someone five minutes after meeting them wasn't the right way to go about it.

Luca perked up a little as Junji reappeared though, wriggling slightly in the sand. His eyes fell on Junji's newly equipped supplies, the smell of flora washing over him and slightly calming the ever-stuttering beat of his heart. "S'all good," he said in response to the angel's warning. Everyone had to start somewhere, and there was no doubt that Junji would take better care of Luca than the hellhound took of himself. He watched curiously as the water encased his wound, watching particles of sand swirl out of his flesh. The sound of his name drew his attention back upwards, breaking his trance-like state and bringing his focus back to Junji's face. he had never been too good at talking about himself, but if that's what the sage wanted to hear, he'd be happy to provide.

He hummed a quick note, glancing off towards the ocean while he thought. "Well, you already know my name..." That was usually where you started with things like that, right? "I'm the youngest of five children, but I haven't really talked to my family in forever. I grew up in a church, but it wasn't really a very good one, so I ran away and I've been wandering since. Um... I like baking an' soft things an' cool weather, but I hate storms an' being wet. Out of all the places I've stayed, the Typhoon is one of the best, I think." he seemed lost in thought for a moment, as if trying to think of anything else that he could say about himself without sounding like too much of a freak. He seemed to come up blank though, because then he turned to look back at the feline. "What about you? I'm not very interesting to talk about, y'see."

[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 his own upbringing, junji considered himself raised well, despite only having spent three months with his parents. in that time, though, he had learned much. his mother taught him to be kind, even when someone was cruel to him. in the beginning he questioned it. why should he be kind to someone who was insulting or wounding him? it took grace to remain kind in cruel situations, and his mother taught him to be graceful. an angel that was not such was not a very good angel. be kind, sweet, graceful, and people would treat you well. people would hold you on a pedestal and love you if you were kind enough, and though junji still wasn't sure how to act to being treated so well, he yearned for it if only to make his mother happy.

wherever she was.

the young sage smiled as he listened to luca speak, leaning to spit the poultice on the hellhound's wound. he smoothed it with a paw and moved to inspect the next cut, repeating his process. he paid quiet attention to the other's words, ears twitching occasionally as he spoke, storing the information somewhere in his mind for safekeeping. a soft 'hmm' escaped him at the mention of a church, one that was not so good, as luca described. it was a shame, a tragedy to grow up in such places, and though he did not know the extent of "wasn't a very good one," he could guess at what awful things had occurred. soft blue eyes glanced up to the other's face with a hint of concern, before he returned to his work.

junji let out a puff of laughter at his last statement. "i'm afraid i'm much less interesting," he purred in amusement. "suppose i might as well, though." he fell silent for a few moments as he chewed another stem of goldenrod, tail waving lightly over the sand as he thought of what to say.

"i grew up alone," he began lightly, patting the poultice into another cut. "my parents raised me on a beach, not too different from this place. father was around at times, but he had duties as an archangel, so i didn't see much of him. just me and mother alone, most of the time." the angel settled his gaze on the other wounds marring luca's body, deciding on which to do first. perhaps he should have brought more herbs, even though he had quite a lot stuffed into his little bag. he hummed softly, silently opting to move on from the subject of his parents. "i love storms, actually. the feeling of rain on my fur and the rumbling thunder... it makes me feel alive. i don't have many hobbies aside from learning herbs and reading." junji murmured.

he stepped back after fixing up a few more cuts, turning to look up at luca again. he offered a sweet smile. "all done, i think." the boy settled back into the sand with that, briefly casting his gaze to the ocean. "ah... i've been in the typhoon since i was about 3 months old. haven't been anywhere else. it's lovely here," he cooed and returned his attention to the hellhound. "isn't it?"

[Luca]

Luca wouldn't consider himself raised well. His father had surely tried, but he didn't have much time to ingrain his policies into Luca before the child was taken away to live with the church. Perhaps if his mother had been able to gather enough resources, he would have been able to stay with his family and grow into those "honorable men" that his father was always talking about, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. All his father managed to do was plant the seeds of his son's insecurity. He had criticised Luca's soft body, his bad work ethic, his femininity, all things that the canine still felt insecure about now. His mother had never done anything to help; he had received his cowardice from somewhere, after all. At least his father hadn't been outwardly cruel to him though. He had never raised a paw against Luca nor any other member of his family, and for that the hellhound could be thankful. For that and that only.

The church was worse, far worse. Even the brief mention of it before made him feel a little sick. He swallowed thickly and tried to focus on Junji, allowing the pale feline to distract him from some of his more disturbing thoughts. The concerned glance would be met with a smile, one that melted from his face as soon as the attention was back on his wounds. He honed in on the sting of herbs against raw flesh, his eyes narrowing slightly with concentration. Soon the rush of fear would pass, it always did, it wasn't a rare event for Luca to misjudge how well he was dealing with things and send himself into a panic.

The half-angel's presence definitely helped him with calming down. As he listening to Junji speak, his heart rate slowed until it reached its usual rhythm. Growing up alone sounded sad. Luca hated being alone, the one thing he missed from his early years was the constant bustle of a full household, knowing that he could always count on his brothers (and single sister) for entertainment or advice. The feline before him didn't seem all that upset though, and Luca continued to watch him curiously as he spoke. Junji's reason for liking storms was valid, he supposed, although he couldn't quite agree. Perhaps he might have been able to like them if it weren't for the thunder and lighting, but the sudden loud noises and the bright lights didn't mix well with Luca's already fragile mental state. It made him jumpy and on edge, and he hated people seeing him like that.

Luca noticed Junji step back, and glanced down at his herb-coated wounds. He blinked and looked back up at the sweet feline, already missing the contact between them. He managed to smile back though, allowing his body to relax now that he wasn't in such close proximity. He followed Junji's gaze out towards the ocean, staring out into the rolling waves. He had only been there for about a month or so, but he had to agree. "Ah... yeah," he said quietly. He glanced at the feline beside him, a smile dancing across his lips. "Not as lovely as you though," he added, the faintest hints of a teasing laugh lacing his words.