Gabriela

He wasn't sure if this was more or less comfortable. On the one hand, he felt restricted, claustrophobic, and a little lost. On the other, he felt less judged, just one of the crowd, nothing special about him. For decades he'd been the one attacked, verbally and physically, for attributes of himself he couldn't control. But was it worth it?

He glanced around, taking in his immediate surroundings. He could see green grass, hear the giggles of young humans, the chattering of mothers, the hum of cars and whirring of electronic devices from all sides. He was sitting in a field in what he could only assume was a park, because outside of it was entirely tall buildings, businesses, and worn down apartments and houses. This was no doubt the definition of a big city. It was the ideal place to start his hunt. Ten human souls was nothing, even without his powers. He watched as a group of high school girls passed, giggling at him. That was four he could have easily taken with him already. Why didn't he, then?

Something felt wrong.

He'd felt it the moment he'd been told he'd need to travel to the human world without his powers. He knew he was being tested - he'd just advanced to the next rank, and everyone seemed to be against the decision. But he'd met with Lucifer's second-in-command and had been told if he wanted to continue up the ranks, he'd have to do this.

It didn't sit well with him. There was nothing particularly proving about bringing ten human souls to hell, even without using any powers. He was expected to do something more, he knew it.

But whatever it was, it was likely not going to simply walk up and tell him. And so, with that thought in mind, he stood up from his spot on the grass and looked around once more. The high school girls were gone, so that opportunity was already missed, but nearby he could see two mothers sitting together awkwardly as they watched their children playing on the playground equipment before them. They were too cautious, they'd be difficult to trick.

Down the sidewalk a ways was an older man in a business suit passing through with a briefcase. His eyes lingered on the playground a little too long, and even Rennyn had to sneer in disgust. Humans were truly odious creatures; he wasn't sure what made angels so attached to their lives. Certainly one like this didn't deserve protection.

Making his selection, he approached calmly, as if he were only a passerby. He wondered if the man was interested in the little girls or the little boys, and what age it extended to. Rennyn himself was probably too old, but that didn't stop him from talking to the man.

"Excuse me, I think I'm a little lost. I was looking for the library but I think I made a wrong turn," he started politely, producing the most unassuming and innocent smile he could muster.

The man tore his gaze off the playground, and as Rennyn thought, he appeared uninterested in Rennyn's age. Oh well, it wasn't the only hook he had. "My little sister is there for story time and my mom asked me to pick her up."

There we go, he thought as the man's eyes lit up. Let's go you fucking creep.

"Why don't I take you down there? It's not far, and I have some time," he answered, as expected.

"Thank you!" Rennyn responded happily, and allowed the man to begin the journey, even though it wouldn't be to the library.

There had been no instructions and no explanations; while the latter did not bother her so much, the former didn't sit well with Gabriela. Her hand reached at her side, grasping for something that wasn't there, and as her eyes took in her surroundings, that same hand clenched tightly until her knuckles turned white.

What was she doing on earth without a weapon or any information to aid her? Was this some test of her resourcefulness?

That thought soothed the rampant whirlwind within her mind by a considerable degree. She was sure she was being watched, even at that moment, being judged on her performance. Thus far, her training had been restricted to a safe, known environment, and no matter how intense a session might become, there was always a sense of certainty. Nothing would or could go wrong. With how well she was doing, they wanted to place her into an unknown situation and make her think she had no safety net to fall back on to see how she would handle the pressure and the situation.

Well, then.

This was just another test that Gabriela intended to pass with flying colors. As she relaxed the fist she'd made with her hand, she straightened her posture and took another survey of her surroundings, this time with the goal of discovering the object of the test. Earth was unfamiliar to her though, and simply looking revealed very little to her.

Fine. She would walk around for a bit and see if that helped any. Maybe she would find one of the others waiting on her. Or maybe she would be ambushed. She needed to find something she could use as a weapon.

Now in possession of some form of direction, Gabriela began to move, sky blue eyes flickering around her in search of something that could be used as a replacement for an actual weapon. She seemed to see through the humans that she passed by, seeing nothing within them that was worth her attention. Instead she saw what was around them, what they held, the things they had crafted, and as her eyes passed over these objects, she mentally evaluated what practical use she could put them to, if any, as well as their durability. Her eyes found potential ambush spots as well as places that could be used for cover.

The longer she spent evaluating her surroundings, the antsier Gabriela began to feel. She was taking too long, and she knew it. It didn't help that her mentors had never given her a test that she had not passed with ease, and the thought of this being the thing that undid her was unbearable.

Her concentration became so focused that she nearly missed the unfamiliar aura. Her reaction was belated by several seconds, but she stopped moving altogether as the feeling washed over her. It was not overpowering in strength, but it did not sit well within her all the same. It made her stomach hurt and felt as if it pressed against her skin in a dark, sticky web. She had never felt the aura of a demon before, yet she was sure that was exactly what that feeling was, and Gabriela suddenly understood the true purpose of her test.

She expected that this would be a weak demon, one her mentors had found and felt that she would be able to take care of, though they would obviously be watching and ready to step in should she not prove up to the challenge. This was a test of her ability to sense and find a demon, her resourcefulness on dealing with an unknown situation without any prior knowledge or weapons on hand, as well as a test of her combat skills. It was quite the test, with much hanging on it. Now that she knew everything though and what she had to do, a calm certainty settled over Gabriela even as excitement and anticipation tingled at her core.

In an instant, her stillness was dispelled as she once more surged into motion, knowing that if she had felt the demon, then it must have felt her as well.

She would have liked a little more time to find something that would have worked to her best advantage as a weapon, but it appeared that she would not have that luxury. She needed to find something and take the fight to the demon before it brought the fight to her first.

For a moment, Gabriela considered a nearby cane despite the fact that it was currently in use, knowing it would be fairly sturdy. Then her eyes found a closed umbrella. It had a point on the end, though dulled, had a hook on the end from its appearance, and could open up to be a shield if needed. It was metal, so it likely shouldn't be too easy to break. Sold.

Gabriela grabbed the umbrella from where it sat reclining against a bench and then spun around to determine where the demon was. Initially, nothing stuck out to her as unusual, and all of the faces around her remained as she'd seen them thus far, blurry and blank. As she stepped closer to the aura that made her skin crawl, however, one face slowly emerged from the monotony of the rest.

As the earlier tingle of excitement and anticipation spread within her, Gabriela smirked.

Without preamble, she clutched her makeshift weapon in one hand and rushed at the demon and swept the umbrella low with the intention of knocking him off balance. If he hadn't yet noticed her, she hoped the speed of her sudden attack would prevent him from being able to move in time to avoid her.

Rennyn began following the man as he went for the exit of the park. He had no intention of taking him here, where bystanders were already looking at the two a little strangely. Instead, he kept vigilant, looking for the next best opportunity to strike. A cliché dark alleyway, or empty side street would be ideal, but really whatever he happened upon would work as long as it was quiet and had no witnesses.

He couldn't be suspicious, not without powers to get him out of trouble.

It was as they were nearing the entrance, however, that he felt it. It was weak at first but unmistakable. It was nearing, closer and closer and at great speed. He knew it was not rushing out to greet him, whatever the feeling may be, but it was coming, and he needed to think about what to do now. He looked at the man beside him, none the wiser, and at their surroundings as the unknown aura drew nearer.

The closer it got, the easier it was to identify - this was an angel's aura. It didn't matter that it was weak, like his own; it was certainly an angel. There was nothing he'd ever encountered so pure and nearly suffocating - and he'd had to endure the assholes in his class up until just recently.

He turned his head just in time to see her form appear before him, swinging what looked like an umbrella at his legs. He jumped, grabbing on to the human beside him and using his arm to swing around and use him as a shield. The man yelped with surprise, babbling out something Rennyn didn't care to pay attention to and instead chose to focus on his attacker.

He considered all of her potential next moves. Either she would hesitate, giving him an opening or, more likely given the expression on her face, she would attempt to separate Rennyn from the human - whether that meant she pushed the human aside and risked his injury or she tried to go around was the question.

He examined the way she held her somewhat odd weapon of choice and came to the conclusion that she was likely a difficult opponent. He'd need more than his own strength to fight her. He'd have to rely on his wit and speed to face her.

"Hi!" he called out, his voice not attempting to hide his surprise at her sudden ambush. "I'm a little busy, could you come back later?" he questioned, knowing full well she likely wasn't going to play with him. He needed a moment, though. Just a little more time to figure out what he would do.

Despite her hope that she would be quick enough to start an attack before the demon noticed her, he spun and put an obstacle in her path. A quick flicker of annoyance creased Gabriela's features before it was smoothed into determination. She continued her charge without letting up, and rather than waste time going around the sputtering, confused human man the demon put in her path, she simply shouldered the man aside, unconcerned as he ended up sprawled in the street nearby.

The commotion her actions caused brought a group of onlookers that Gabriela hardly noticed, as they seemed wise enough to remain some distance away from the umbrella-wielding girl and the boy she attacked.

"Come back later?" Gabriela questioned with a scoff as she pressed her attack. "I don't think so."

She gave up on attempting to trip him now that she'd lost the element of surprise, guessing he'd just jump back or put something else in her way and instead launched a series of offensive attacks against him that felt awkward with the unconventional weapon she worked with. What she lacked in grace she more than made up for in ferocity though.

He watched as the umbrella wielding witch angel shoved his human victim aside, but chose to ignore the man's babbling and didn't even mind that he began to scramble away. Human souls were plenty; angel souls were a pretty rare occurrence, especially ones as weak feeling as this.

After the expected response came, he observed her as she jabbed and swiped at him, and he could tell that she wasn't nearly as weak as her aura would have others believe. At first he dodged carefully, sometimes only escaping just by a hair, on several occasions even feeling the tip of the umbrella graze him. However, as he watched her, he began to understand how she moved. She was skilled, naturally so, and likely had spent a lot of time learning and practicing. It was ingrained into her, but she was also fierce and impulsive.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait? I really needed that guy to help me out," he asked her one last time, dodging more quickly and expertly now as he began to feel the rhythm of this one-sided fight. He was slowly taking steps backward, so slowly he knew that the people behind him wouldn't notice until they were in the line of fire. He just hoped the angel didn't notice either.

He didn't wait for her to though, since as soon as he was close enough, he bolted towards the gathering crowd. He had no intention of running away, only to use them to his advantage. He was not the tallest, his physical appearance probably no older than 21 and no younger than 17, so he could be somewhat obscured by their bodies, and create panic among the onlookers enough to hopefully distract her, just for a split second.

He pulled the belt from around his waist through the loops and ducked low as people attempted to move out of the way, and pushing into a slightly more dense crowd, he popped out, hoping to catch the angel's umbrella-weapon and tug it out of her hands.

Gabriela's intended victim proved to be quick on his feet - quicker than she cared for, in fact. She couldn't seem to get a solid hit on him no matter what she did, something that was frustrating.

It felt different to be fighting on earth though, somehow. She felt heavier, slower, her movements less graceful. Only hours upon hours of endless practice aided her now, and she could barely touch the demon in front of her. He wasn't even attacking, just constantly dodging, and she felt that she should have had him by now, to her frustration. She was usually better than this, and she had no excuse for her lackluster performance.

"Too bad. You're dealing with me now." As Gabriela began to feel him slip away from her continued attack with new ease, she renewed her effort and pushed in even harder, forcing herself to move quicker. Her focus narrowed entirely to her and the demon as she settled herself into a zone of absolute concentration.

If she feinted that way, he would move to the other side and she'd finally get a solid hit, hopefully solid enough to slow him down, except she realized midway through the carry-out of the attack that he had seen through it and moved into the feint, leaving her once more swinging at empty air.

She shifted from attack to attack, performing each one as quickly as her practiced muscles could, her mind whirling as it watched and directed from the sidelines. When he suddenly stopped and ran, it actually took her a moment to comprehend what was happening. If she'd taken a moment to consider what was happening, she might have realized that the demon had some sort of plan.

Rather than stop to think and chance him getting away, though, Gabriela lowered her makeshift weapon and gave chase. "Hey! Get back here!"

Unwilling to let him get away, she sprinted into the thick of the crowd after him, jostling people out of her way as her blue eyes scanned faces to find his. She could still feel his aura clearly, telling her that he was still close, but the trick would be figuring out where he was amongst all of the people, who were causing a chaos now that the battle had been moved into their ranks.

The few seconds in which she lost sight of him and the humans around her caused their panic turned out to be costly as it led to the umbrella being suddenly yanked from her hands. That act revealed the demon to her again, and unconcerned about having been disarmed, Gabriela renewed her attack. By this time, most of the humans had been smart enough to clear out from the general area of the two with only a few left still attempting to get away, meaning that Gabriela once again had no obstacles between her and the demon.

Just in time too. Hand-to-hand was her best area.

Rennyn expected that the angel wouldn't give up her assault just because her weapon was taken from her, but he wasn't quite sure how good she would be. It turned out, she was comfortable this way, maybe somewhere in between the umbrella (since it was most certainly an unfamiliar object that she'd chosen on the fly) and what Rennyn assumed was her specialty, the sword. She was no longer bogged down by the resistance the umbrella provided, and simply began to throw herself at him with even more practiced ease.

Rennyn followed her moves again, even going so far as to parry her hits by lightly smacking away her wrist or catching a fist quickly before letting go and dodging a second. He knew neither of them could keep this up forever, but he was having a hard time thinking of what to do. His powers were being suppressed, he was being watched by a large crowd of people, and he was clearly not quite as physically strong as his opponent.

Her only weaknesses thus far had been her narrow vision and impulsive decision making; did she have anything else?

"Don't you have better things to do than hit on me?" he teased as he thought, hoping to get her riled up again. "Even though all your hits are misses!" he laughed.

After she launched another strike at him, he ducked under her and sent a kick at her stomach. He knew she'd dodge it with ease, but that was his goal. He used this small window to back-handspring away from her and give him some distance. He had only one small knife on him, but decided to test her by throwing it her way, hoping it would catch her off guard.

Again, he knew even if it did it wouldn't help much, but it was information that counted most in the long fight! He just had to get there.

As her new method of attack was rewarded with something other than simple dodging, Gabriela discovered that the demon was actually pretty good up close. Even so, she was better, and she knew it. The only reason this was dragging on so long was because of how quick he was at dodging and retreating. If he'd stop doing that and just try, she'd have him.

Underneath her determination to win and focus on what she was doing though, Gabriela felt another emotion. This was actually something of a challenge to her because of how the demon was going about dealing with her attack, and she was actually enjoying it. It was frustrating that this was taking so long, but deep down, she knew that she was the better of the two and would win given enough time.

"Don't worry. I'll get you eventually," Gabriela shot back as she pulled back out of range of his sudden kick. As soon as she had her feet properly beneath her again, she rushed forward to ensure he didn't try to get away again.

As soon as she saw him throw something though, Gabriela dropped into a roll, coming back up a few feet away, sparing a glance in the direction his trajectory would've followed. It was only a split second to ensure that he wasn't able to gift her with anymore surprises, but a second was all that was needed for her eyes to hone in on the knife that had bounced harmlessly against a wall a few feet off.

"Thanks for the knife," she grinned, though she didn't immediately spring for it. It was still several feet away, and she'd need to make a good opportunity to get it. With how fast he was, she didn't trust that she could make a run for it and come back up in time to stop whatever attack he made, or worse, that she would look up and find that he'd disappeared.

A new goal now established, when Gabriela started up another series of attacks, she did more than just attack with everything she had. She attempted to lead them closer to the knife, and once they were a few feet off, pushed herself harder, hoping that the new speed and ferocity would take up enough of his attention to give her the leeway she needed.

It was indeed too much to ask for, he realized this as she rolled away from his knife. It landed a good distance away but still much closer to her than it was to himself. While he had confidence in his speed, he didn't really want to risk that she might get her hands on something sharp. Though she likely wouldn't enjoy the feel of a demon blade in her hand, he didn't think the weakness of that particular one would deter her enough to drop it again.

He gave a quick look left and right, checking their surroundings once more. The onlookers had moved back quite a bit, several had phones held up in their hands pointed in their direction (if he became some viral internet video he swore to God the angel would pay somehow), but what really caught his attention was the dark clothing, the heavy jostling sounds… He squinted his eyes closer as they narrowed focus on… a gun at the figure's hip.

The police were coming.

But through all of this observation he'd been just a little too distracted. He kept the angel in his sights, somehow able to dodge her attacks even with as much ferocity as she was obviously putting behind each strike, but with his mind on everything else, he somehow forgot that he was supposed to be getting her away from the knife.

But even as she broke off from him and lunged at the knife, Rennyn realized that everything was now completely okay. The police, hero of the people! He never thought he'd actually be relieved to see one, but he knew that there was likely no getting out of this for him either. No doubt the idiots around them had recorded him throwing the knife at his attacker. Even if it was in self defense, it didn't look good.

"You should - " he started to warn, because ideally they would both run away, lose each other, and Rennyn would have more time to think out a strategy, but he was interrupted before he could finish.

"Stop!" a rough male voice called out, and Rennyn immediately held up his hands and stopped moving. If the angel wanted the opportunity to kill him, she could take it. But, well, it'd probably take a lot more than a small demon blade to kill him anyways.

He grinned at her now, since his back was turned to the policeman that approached them, as if to say try it.

When she finally picked up the knife, it felt uncomfortably cool, as if it had recently been in a freezer. Gabriela could feel her hands chilling, but she didn't let go. After all, it was the best weapon she'd found so far. It could burn her hand, and she would still hold on long enough to see this fight to the end.

When she came up and spun towards the demon, she shifted the knife into her other hand and stretched the fingers of her first. Gabriela had never held a demon's weapon before in her life, but she could guess that was exactly what she had in her hand, and the cold she felt was due to the fact that she was an angel.

Interesting, but not enough for her to think on it any further at the moment.

Gabriela didn't notice the police as they forced their way through the crowd, her attention having been solely focused on the demon in front of her, but then a voice called out, the demon went still, and then grinned at her in a challenge. For a second, she considered taking her chances, though one evaluating look at the figures closing in on them stopped her. Guns. They were something angels didn't use, though she knew about them, and there was no way she would be able to dodge all of them. There was also the admonishment she'd heard so many times over the years that humans weren't her enemy.

"Put the weapon down!" another voice commanded.

Her eyes narrowing on the demon, Gabriela's grip on the knife tightened. Then she sighed and released it, hearing it clatter to the ground mere seconds later. She stopped moving after that, adopting the same harmless position as the demon, pressing her lips together.

She would cooperate for now, but as soon as the opportunity presented itself, she planned on finishing what she had started.

As some officers attempted to disperse the crowd, the angel and demon were instructed to put their hands behind their heads and move off a ways, and another officer collected the knife that Gabriela had been holding. Within minutes, the two were handcuffed, read their rights, and put into the back of a police cruiser. Together.

Gabriela remained on her side in the back of the car, stoically silent though it felt as if her stomach were upside down. Her thoughts of how she had essentially failed this test her mentors had set for her weren't bad enough it seemed; on top of it, the movement of the vehicle made her physically nauseous. And while she refused to complain about it, Gabriela was thankful when the car finally stopped at their destination.

Rennyn thought for a moment she might try, could see the desire burn in her eyes, and he wasn't completely sure he disliked the idea of the angel getting shot right there in front of him. But alas, she was smart enough to drop the weapon and the two were quickly detained.

It was interesting but not entirely surprising, he thought, that he'd one day see the inside of a police car from the back seat in handcuffs, but he was 100% sure he'd have never anticipated being seated next to a hot headed angel.

He turned to watch her as the car pulled away. Though he could tell she had no intentions of showing her emotions, he could see a flicker of discomfort - from the unfamiliar motions of the car from the back, or perhaps that the front and back seats were separated with hard (probably damage proof) plastic and pressed tightly against even Rennyn's slightly shorter legs. It was not the most pleasing ride for sure, but at the very least he found enjoyment in the fact that his company obviously felt the same way, and as they arrived at their destination, he stuck his tongue out childishly at the angel when they made eye contact.

Fortunately, the officers didn't see as one helped each of them out of the car and escorted them into the station.

"This isn't the way I pictured myself ending up here," he spoke his thoughts from earlier calmly. The words were mostly a jab at featherhead, but he didn't do anything to quiet the statement, earning a strange look from his armed escort.

"And how did you picture getting here?" the man questioned. Rennyn shrugged, eyeing the man's gun, wondering what it was like to use such a weapon and how easy it'd be for him to get his hands on it, but waved the thoughts away as quickly as they'd come. No use getting distracted by things he shouldn't do. He had to think of a way out of the current situation first.

"I dunno, rebellious teenage antics." Another strange look, and Rennyn was sure a normal youth might not have responded with this exact wording. Oh well.

They were guided straight to what Rennyn assumed were holding cells, and the angel's escort began to speak. "We're going to put the two of you in separate holding cells for now, and will get each of your sides of the story once you've had a chance to calm down." He swung open one cell door and pushed the angel in gently, while Rennyn was guided to one just next to it.

Realistically, the bars weren't really enough protection against the two of them, but he decided to play nice. For now. As long as she did.

Their arrival at the police station brought physical relief to Gabriela, who was sure that she would have been incapable of holding her discomfort at bay any longer within ten more minutes of being inside the vehicle. She wasn't sure if it was even the movement alone, considering the demon barely a foot away and the disgust she experienced at the feeling of his aura which almost seemed as if it was sticky like cobwebs.

Unfortunately, she knew she would not be getting rid of the feeling any time soon. Not after messing up her best shot.

Gabriela glanced over at him in what could only be described as a thinly veiled glare, and when she saw him stick his tongue out at her, her mask of stoicism nearly shattered. After reminding herself that attacking him again right at that moment would not be a good idea, considering she would get nowhere with it, her expression closed off, and she deliberately - even pointedly - looked away. She refused to give him any sort of response.

Along the same vein of behavior, Gabriela remained silent as they were escorted into the building. She did not reply to anything the demon said, did not even so much as acknowledge either his existence or the existence of the humans around them as she cast her gaze out onto her surroundings. She did not plan on staying here long, after all, and it seemed helpful to know how to get to the exit quickly.

Fortunately for the angel, it seemed as if whoever had designed the structure hadn't wanted to confuse those within its walls. From the little she saw, the layout was simple. The first room they entered within the building was decently spacious with a desk area against the far wall facing the doors and a waiting area comprising the rest of the space. There seemed to be a few options in where to go from there, though the only one that mattered to her was the door they passed through, which essentially led straight back to the holding cells, some of which were occupied and some of which were not. Knowing there was no way that she could get lost if she tried when the time came to escape, Gabriela stopped paying too much attention at that point, content that this would be simple.

When she was not stuck in another confined area with the demon, Gabriela made no noise of complaint. For the moment at least, she was not interested in attempting to attack him any further. It would get her nowhere in their current situation, and though hitting him did strike her as more than slightly appealing she knew this was a case in which she would need to wait.

Though she wasn't the patient sort naturally, Gabriela could force herself to be when the situation called for it, and unfortunately, the situation called for it.

Once standing within the cell, the sounds of a lock clicking into place ringing behind her and then echoed by the adjacent cell the demon occupied, Gabriela took a quick survey.

A bench. Done.

She had no intention of sitting on it or laying down, however. It was time to figure out what she planned on doing to get herself out of this situation.

The beginning circuits of the angel's pacing were cut short as her feet carried her into an abrupt halt - thankfully with her back to the demon. This situation. She hadn't yet failed this test, of which she was certain, but she should have been able to take care of it quickly, with that first confrontation when she'd had the element of surprise. Gabriela's hands began to curl and then clench at her sides. Even with her weak points in training, she had never performed this poorly, and while she still held every confidence that she would pass this test as well, how long would it take? How would she actually do? She'd ruined her best chance already, and she doubted she could surprise the demon twice.

All at once, Gabriela began rapidly pacing again, hoping this time to clear her mind of disastrous thoughts and focus it instead on the most pressing problem currently.

For a while, Rennyn watched the angel's internal struggle. He could tell that she was trying to think of ways to get out of this, but her pacing was a sign that she was getting nowhere.

Whatever other thoughts plagued her mind were of no consequence to Rennyn, but he did need her to focus. As much as he didn't want to admit it, it'd probably be best if the two of them cooperated in order to leave sooner. If their stories didn't match, the police would need more time to figure out the truth of the matter. So even though Rennyn was positive he could make up a convincing story that made him look like the victim (not that he needed to, since it was the truth that she attacked him out of nowhere), it wouldn't allow him to leave any sooner. He decided, since the angel continued to quietly suffer in her own head, that he'd need to be the one to break the silence.

"You can do that all you want angel, but it isn't going to get you out of here any quicker," he commented, standing beside the metal bars that separated them, inspecting his fingernails instead of continuing to watch her pace herself dizzy. "You're probably thinking about how you can get out without them noticing, or using brute force to break yourself free, but then they'll just come after you and whatever it is you're here to do, you'll always have to be looking over your shoulder to make sure no one's recognized you."

Not that he cared. If she really wanted to escape, so be it. But he'd stay, and she would be the only suspicious one. So in the end, it was win-win for him, whether she paid attention to his words or not.

"The best course of action, whether you like it or not, is to cooperate with me to come up with a story. Working together is the smartest way for both of us to get out of here. And then, when we both aren't worried about the human authorities breathing down our necks, you can try and use your little feather brain to rethink your attack strategy in a way that doesn't involve mindlessly attacking me in a park when I'm trying to remove a pedophile. Maybe I'll even give you some tips." The last part was a joke, of course, but he couldn't help but try and insert some humor in this situation.

This really wasn't where he expected he'd be when he came to earth, and he was sure that if anyone was monitoring him right now, they'd be laughing their ass off.

Well, now he had a story to tell, he supposed. He couldn't help but imagine himself one day, a high ranking demon, telling the youth about how he got stuck in a cage next to an angel that wanted to kill him.

Though the demon was speaking, Gabriela did not bother to stop or so much as cast a glance in his direction. In fact, she barely heard him, and his words just passed her by like the annoying crackle of background static. She wasn't particularly interested in anything he had to say, and even if she had been willing to listen to his distracting ramble, it wasn't as if he would actually have anything useful to say.

At least, that was what Gabriela's mind told her, up until the phrase "working together" penetrated the furiously churning thoughts that had been building up.

Gabriela paused mid-circuit, her blue eyes fixing on the demon as if he'd grown two heads, both of which were clinically insane. Of course, that stunned silence was destroyed as soon as he insulted her, and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Yes, I'm stupid enough to believe every word you say wholly and without question, because you're just a concerned citizen trying to do the right thing." Her scowl disappeared as a feigned, wide-eyed expression of shock and complete innocence appeared. "I know!" She took a couple of steps towards the bars that separated them. "How about I just save you the trouble of asking and give you any and every soul, including mine, right now?"

With that point made, Gabriela's scowl returned, and she crossed her arms over her chest as she arched an eyebrow in challenge. "Sound about right?"

She knew they could both get out without much problem, without the other, though what he'd said about the human authorities had struck a chord. That was the only reason she wasn't gone already, and why she'd been pacing. Ignorant as they were, humans would never believe that she wasn't in the wrong, and it wasn't as if she could just tell them the truth. Even if she did, they'd just think she was crazy, which would just get her moved from one cell to another.

"What were you thinking?" It was a heavy-handed demand without any change in her posture as she continued to scowl at the demon. So far, she hadn't had a good idea, so if he had something that would work, she'd consider working with him briefly… just until they were out though, and then like he said, they'd be enemies again.

As she studied his face, Gabriela almost smiled. By the time this was over, she was really going to enjoy taking him down.

Rennyn shrugged as Gabriela started to get smart with him. In the end, it was only herself she was hurting if she didn't want to cooperate out of stubbornness. There were too many witnesses, and a lot of evidence stacked against her that Rennyn was actually not even sure if he did want to do anything with her anymore. Clearly, it'd be more to his own advantage if he just let all this play out. However, he was fairly sure if he let it play out, he'd be involved in the legal process, and he just didn't want to have to try and explain why he didn't exactly exist.

In the end, it would just be much faster if the two of them could come to a temporary agreement. And so he attempted to explain this to the angel.

"I'm sure you've come to the realization by now that between the two of us, you're the one that is facing the most trouble here," he began, not actually with intent to rub it in, but in hopes that she would see just how much more this was benefiting her than himself. "In reality, I could just let this go, let you try and fight your way out, and use all the advantages it brings for me against you out in the street. But if I did that, they'd want to know all sorts of things about me so they could "protect" me from you, and I'm sure you're just as nonexistent in this world as I am." He stopped to let her think about all this for a moment before continuing.

"What we need to do is convince them that the entire thing was harmless, or at the very least that it won't happen again. I don't know about you, but I can't provide a home address or phone number let alone… what was the phrase? …press charges? Yeah, press charges against a psycho that tried to impale me with an umbrella. It's as simple as getting our stories straight. I'll agree to let you go, and we go our separate ways, or at least find a less public place to continue where we left off."

He wouldn't do that last one, of course. It wouldn't help him in any way to continue the fight head on. He needed to have the element of surprise, and a strategy. No, if the two of them got out he'd leave her the second they got out the door.

"So? Do you think you can manage that much? Or would it hurt your fragile pride too much to agree to lie to authorities with a demon?"

Gabriela waited - admittedly less than patiently - for the demon to explain to her what he had in mind when he had made the offer for them to partner up temporarily.

As he started to explain all of the reasons he could think of for why she should team up with him short-term, some part of her wanted to cut him off. She hadn't asked to be convinced, and she trusted almost nothing that came out of his mouth anyway. If she was going to do what he suggested, it would be based on if she thought he actually had a decent plan. The only reason she didn't cut him off was for the chance that he wouldn't start talking again if she did. If she agreed to his plan and then somehow offended him later, then fine. She could stay quiet long enough to hear him out though.

And as much as she hated to admit it, even privately, once she heard his suggestion, it actually did make sense. It would mean that they could both get off clean, without any trouble, and fairly quickly at that, whereas her way would probably include brute force, and it would lead to annoyances later down the road. It would annoy the demon too, which she really wouldn't mind at all, but the trade-off wasn't really one she was willing to take as her first option.

"Okay, we'll do it your way," Gabriela finally amended.

His little dig at her didn't really spark her temper, but she honestly had little to no respect for the human authorities. If it wouldn't have gotten her wounded earlier at the park, she probably wouldn't have paid them more than a passing glance. And she wasn't exactly worried about them parting ways after this either. She needed a little time to regroup before she re-challenged him.

"We were play-fighting. It was all a show, which the authorities interrupted. We didn't think it would be taken that seriously, since an umbrella was used instead of a harmful weapon," Gabriela then offered after a lengthened silence.

Rennyn smirked at his victory, though honestly he was sure there was no way the angel could resist his offer unless she really and truly were stupid. Somehow, he didn't think she was, and was proven correct when she countered him with a plausible story for them. He nodded his head, thinking about her words and how he could expand upon them to make the story better.

"It works, I suppose," he responded slowly, shrugging his shoulders, "We should probably get a few more details than that though. Just a few, too many would make it seem contrived." He was only concerned with them asking questions about why they would be fake fighting in a park, when clearly that would concern people. Especially with how serious the two had looked.

"We could have been sparring? Practice for some sort of human martial arts competition, or just to test each other's abilities. I'm sure something even this simple might convince them, we'd be able to get off with a warning I imagine."

Gabriela personally didn't think that anyone with half a brain would actually believe that this demon practiced any sort of serious martial arts. It wasn't that he was small - she was small, too, and in the past, that had assured her greater speed and flexibility in movement than her opponents. It was just how weak he looked. But it was the best explanation they had, and since they were both going with it, it wasn't as if there was really anything the human cops could do.

"Okay, we were sparring, testing each other's abilities. And since they'll probably assume we know each other, my name is Gabriela," she said succinctly, her manner business-like. It didn't even occur to her to lie about her name. There was no harm in it, and she honestly didn't care if this demon knew her name. At this point, cooperation was what mattered, however cold it might be.

He'd barely given her his own name, whether real or fake, she didn't really care as long as it was the name he was also giving to the humans, when a police officer approached the cells, his face stoic. Gabriela shifted from her position facing the demon with her arms crossed to leaning against the bars, wondering which one of them he intended to take first. "Chummy in there, aren't you two?" Gabriela smiled blandly, unamused, as he used a key to unlock the cell next to hers. "Come on. You're up first for questioning."

Gabriela waited until the two had disappeared around the corner before she started up her pacing again, unable to just sit still.

Rennyn was glad she agreed, though he wouldn't admit it. Sometimes, the easy way was the best way and he just didn't really feel like struggling with her any more than he had to. He knew that this day wouldn't be the last he saw of her (he wasn't sure he wanted it to be, anyways) and he'd need a lot of patience if he was going to deal with her in the future.

The ease at which the name flowed out of her mouth told Rennyn that she most likely had given him her real name. He shrugged - while that would give a lot of power to some demons, for Rennyn it did nothing but give him a slightly stronger connection to her, making her slightly easier to locate. With a shrug, he decided to give her his real name as well, as he was not opposed to being on equal footing and there was really no reason for him to give a fake one.

Almost immediately after he had done so, an officer came in and approached his cell, making a comment that Rennyn rolled his eyes to. It appeared he would be the first, and he left the cell quietly with only a quick sideways glance at the angel as he passed. He wasn't much worried about himself, but he hoped greatly that she was at least a decent liar.

It took only a minute to navigate back to the main area, where Rennyn was led to a desk somewhere near the back and motioned to sit in the chair facing it. The officer that guided him there sat across from him and let out a deep sigh, as if expecting a long winded and annoying narrative that the other party would negate with a completely opposite account of what went on. Rennyn hated to disappoint, and was tempted to do so, but decided it best not to annoy the man who held his freedom in his hands.

"Alright kid," the officer started, and Rennyn scrunched his nose in distaste. He knew humans liked to use their age as an authority, but it bothered him that this man was assuming so… wrong. "Wanna tell me what happened back there? You can start with your name."

Rennyn shrugged quietly at first, saying his name and then pausing, thinking of where to begin - really he just wanted to make the man wait a bit for his impatience. "My friend and I were sparring and we may have gotten a little carried away," he offered with a shy smile, putting on his innocent persona now. "Gabriela is very competitive so when I kept dodging her, she got a little… frustrated."

The officer pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sparring?" he asked, clearly exasperated. He'd had to go through all this trouble for such a trivial thing? No way.

"We practice different martial arts, but rarely do we get a chance to spar against anyone outside of our fields. It was intended for fun, but I think it must have come off very seriously."

"She had a knife." Okay, well it was actually Rennyn's knife and it was more like a dagger, but he wasn't about to correct the man. He'd let Gabriela do that if she wanted to.

"That was… a really poor idea I suppose. We weren't thinking clearly but honestly, we had no intentions of hurting anyone or each other," Rennyn lied easily, biting his lip and looking down at the desk for effect.

It seemed to work, because the officer let out another deep sigh and started writing his statement down. After a few more harmless questions, he had Rennyn read and sign the statement and escorted him back to the cells, promising he'd most likely be out soon if Gabriela's statement matched. He nodded quietly and gave another glance back to the angel.

You're up.

All in all, the demon actually wasn't away that long. A good or a bad sign, Gabriela wasn't sure, but as she heard footsteps approaching the jail area of the station, she once more put a halt to her pacing and leaned against the bars. While most would attest pacing to a sense of nervousness, as it often was in people, her case was a bit different. Gabriela did not handle inaction very well, and pacing was simply another way of keeping her moving.

She hardly spared a glance for the demon as the officer opened up her cell next and escorted her the short way towards the back where she was motioned to sit down at a desk. She did so as the officer sat down across from her, and other than the foot-tapping that started up shortly after sitting, she appeared perfectly calm.

"Okay, the other kid's given me his side of the story. You give me yours, and if the two match up, we'll be in good shape. Got it?" He officer leaned forward in his seat, giving her a serious look, and when she nodded, he sat back. "Great. Let's start with your name and then you can tell me what happened."

"My name's Gabriela. Rennyn and I met in the park to do a little sparring with each other. I'm stronger than him, but he's faster, so it sort of balances things out between us to a degree." Just a little. She couldn't accept the fact that maybe they were even remotely balanced in abilities.

She was a weapon. He was just fast.

Sensing some tension, the officer decided to prod a bit. "And you don't like that?" he questioned.

Realizing that she'd let her true feelings show through a bit, Gabriela actually stopped to consider her next response before speaking. "It's okay… Like I said, I'm stronger. I have better technique too. It's a little frustrating not to be able to easily beat someone who simply has speed on their side."

The officer nodded as he scratched down notes. "And your knife? That seems less harmless than sparring." He looked up at her and waited.

"It's actually Rennyn's," Gabriela corrected, faintly wondering what the demon would've told them about that part of it. Honestly, there was no telling, so she simply thought about what fit best with the story they were using. "Some of the martial arts that we practice include the use of weapons for those on a high enough level. Though this wasn't strictly practice and more a test of abilities, we still decided to try incorporating the knife. We've both had enough practice that we thought it would be fine."

"Uh huh," the officer mumbled, continuing to fill out the report. More questions followed, though some of them seemed like they were looping back towards the original questions, as if they were searching for inconsistencies, but Gabriela remained firm in her story, and before long, she was being escorted back to the cells, where she was left with the demon, the officer promising that they'd soon know when they could leave. She took that to mean that things had lined up enough that they were letting them go, probably with some sort of warning not to cause any more public disturbances.

Good. It was ridiculous that they were here in the first place.

Rennyn was sitting patiently on the floor, stretching his legs out in front of him somewhat reminiscent of a child. The pull of his muscles felt really good, considering they had just physically exerted their earth-bound bodies to such a great extent and then gone inactive for who even knows how long now. The officer walked Gabriela back in just as he was sitting himself up straight, but he made no move to appear any different. As the officer left, likely to match their stories once more and write up a report, or whatever it was that human authorities did when there was trouble, Rennyn spared a glance at the angel.

"Everything went well then? We should be getting out soon then, I hope." He knew the answer should be yes, and it didn't seem like the officer's expression was telling anything negative when he'd mentioned when they might be released, but he couldn't really account for how Gabriela's narrative went. "When we do, I fully expect you not to stupidly swing an umbrella at me right out of the station doors. I have things to do, I can't be coming back in here again."

Though it chafed at Gabriela to have to stand around in the cell for even another minute, she didn't attempt to argue or fight with the officer. Once behind the bars of the cell adjoining the demon's once more, her eyes scoured the small space, but she neither sat down nor paced. Instead, her foot tapped against the cement in an impatient rhythm as she placed her hands on her hips. She absolutely could not get out of this place quickly enough.

"Fully expect whatever you want. I'm not about to get us thrown back in here again, but don't think you're just disappearing either." Gabriela didn't bother to glance at the demon as she replied succinctly.

Her mind was already trying to figure out what to do next. She'd worked with the demon to get them out of this mess because she had to, but that didn't mean she was about to let him go. And as he'd pointed out, it would be stupid for her to attack him as soon as they were released, especially when she had no reliable weapon. Which meant that she would have to bide her time and come up with a plan. But that left her with the problem of what to do while she was planning. She couldn't just let him walk away; that was as good as giving him her express permission to go off and steal souls, not to mention that it would be an admittance of defeat.

Nope. She was going to have to figure out a way to keep an eye on him.

The officer reappeared, looking annoyed, and keys in hand. "Okay, the two of you are getting out of here with a warning," he said as he approached the cells. "No more public stunts. If you want to practice martial arts or whatever, do it in a private place or a dojo or whatever. If there's a next time, you will be arrested on charges of public disturbance." Though he started off glancing between the two of them, the officer inevitably settled his gaze on Gabriela as if he were speaking directly to her, to which she was profoundly offended. She kept her mouth shut though and simply nodded her understanding.

Apparently satisfied that the warning was understood, the officer unlocked the cells and escorted Rennyn and Gabriela out of the station.

Rennyn didn't much care for Gabriela's warning. He knew if he cared to, he could physically get away from her. He had already made clear he had speed over her, but whether or not she would be able to find him later was the issue. He had to think about his options, and quickly.

The officer appeared once more, all too soon since he'd really made no decisions at all, and gave them a verbal warning. It was as Rennyn expected, fortunately, and nothing would be going on their nonexistent records. Rennyn had to hold back a laugh as the officer's gaze seemed to settle on the angel, and he couldn't help but nod in agreement - to both the warning, and of course the officer's obvious judgment.

It was not difficult to see who was the troublemaker between the two, in his opinion, though he found it rather funny that the officer was so misguided when it came to whose intentions were more malicious. It was even more difficult to control his emotions when Gabriela forced herself to keep quiet, though it did appear that the words affected her in some way. Rennyn kept his expression schooled seriously though, and thanked the officer with his most convincing tone of gratitude.

And with that, they were taken outside. The officer took them all the way to the steps of the station doors, and offered the two of them a ride wherever they needed to go (though it was quite obviously forced). Rennyn denied it, knowing Gabriela would as well if he did so, but made no move to leave just yet. The officer sighed in relief and turned back inside.

For a moment, it was awkwardly silent. He didn't know what to say now that they were free, but he knew Gabriela wouldn't attempt anything near the station (or hopefully, anywhere too public).

"You know, it's a really good thing that that man I was taking was a pedophile, otherwise his testimony probably would have kept us in there for a lot longer," he commented offhandedly. He looked off in the direction he believed they'd come from, and then back the opposite way.

That man was long gone by now, and would probably never speak to Rennyn again. Such a shame.

"I might have to just find easier targets from now on. You don't know how difficult it is to find people that disgusting, he was so worth an early trip to hell!"

And then he took a few steps off in a random direction, with nothing more compelling than a feeling. It was all he had to go on for now, and he didn't fear losing the angel anytime soon. He just had to avoid any unpopulated areas.

The officer seemed to have as much disdain for Gabriela as she had for him - though she personally thought she did a much better job of hiding it than he did - and the tension between them was thick in the air as he led the angel and demon outside and offered them a ride, which they both denied. And however unprofessional it was, Gabriela seriously considered sticking her tongue out at him or making an obscene gesture as soon as his back was turned, if for no other reason than her personal satisfaction.

It was the knowledge that her every move was most likely being watched by her mentors that ultimately stayed her hand, and in the following silence, she turned to study the demon whose very presence made her feel sick to her stomach. It would have been unbearable to be forced to stay so close to him for much longer than she'd been forced to, but though she was glad for the space that she was now able to put between them, she forced herself to remain where she stood.

Gabriela would not be the first to step away.

When the demon began to speak, Gabriela frowned at him; he was trying to make small talk with her. A demon was trying to have some sort of "normal" conversation with an angel. Was he really foolish enough to believe that they were on friendly terms now? The latter part of what he said dispelled that notion from her mind, and Gabriela bristled even as she stalked after him.

"If you really believe you're going to be stealing souls now that I'm here, you have another thing coming. The only reason you aren't already dead is because I don't have a proper weapon," she hissed as she followed him, though she retained enough distance that she didn't feel the constant need to puke (while she knew her presence would be just as upsetting to him as his was to hers, she wasn't particularly in the mood to punish herself).

She said nothing about the pedophile, nor did she defend his soul and its inherent right to be judged at the end of his life.

Gabriela's regard for humans was the one area in which her mentors struggled with her. In all other areas, she was practically a prodigy. However, she lacked compassion for the humans that she was learning to fight for, particularly those such as the demon described. If he truly had been stalking a pedophile, then she was almost sorry that she hadn't stayed her hand until his business had been concluded.

Rennyn listened patiently as Gabriela went about her way, all threatening and scolding as if her words really made an impact on him or his plans. He made no move to hide the smile on his face at the genuine amusement he found from her discomfort (which of course he felt still as well, but who cares if it means more fun!) and disdain. At the end of her short retort, he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

He took another moment of quiet, thinking about what he was supposed to do or where he was supposed to go that wouldn't lead the angel to a place where she could attack him again. It was inconvenient.

"Right," he nodded, as his mind settled into its complete lack of ideas, "because with a weapon you would have been so much faster, you would have caught me for sure. Or the pedophile, that would have been fine too. He doesn't have to be alive for me to get his soul anyways." And then Gabriela wouldn't have gotten out of jail, all would have been right with the world. Or, for him at least. Maybe not for everyone else.

It really depended on Rennyn's mood and who was available to him.

"But that matter aside, we're at something of an impasse. I have no plans to let you try another sneak attack on me, and you probably couldn't catch me off guard even if you tried." He bit his lip and thought for a few more minutes before his awkward, heavy human body made a weird noise. A faint ache in his stomach told him this was probably earthly hunger - not at all the same as what he felt in hell. Gross.

"So uh. Do you have money?"

"Catch you?" Boy, did he have the wrong idea about her intentions where he was concerned if he really thought her goal was to catch him.

If angels ever figured out a way to create, arm, and maintain a prison specifically designed for demons, they would consider it. There were plenty who would argue that they could be "rehabilitated" and shown a better way of life (as if that was working for humans where their criminals were concerned). If that ever happened, Gabriela supposed she might eventually have to simply capture a demon, but where things stood as of that moment, demons weren't captured. They were killed. And just because she'd yet to take the life of one didn't mean she would hesitate when the moment presented itself.

Gabriela snorted, adding, "You may have speed, but you're obviously incompetent. Due to how fast you are, it may have taken me a little time, but I would have worked out how to get the upper hand soon enough, and if I'd had a proper weapon, even our intervention wouldn't have been able to stop me from killing you." She spoke matter-of-factly, almost coldly, and with complete confidence in herself.

When she'd felt his presence, Gabriela had expected a little more of a challenge out of the demon, but while he was fast, she was obviously the more skilled. She knew that much just from their short clash. If her mentors had chosen to test her by pitting her against a demon, they'd obviously decided to make sure to put her up against a weaker one either from lack of experience or because they didn't want to risk serious harm by testing her with a demon more on her level of ability.

As he asked her about money, Gabriela gave the demon an incredulous look. "Why in the name of all that is holy would I have money? Do I look human to you?" As soon as the last question left her mouth, her eyes narrowed. "Don't answer that last one."

Of course she looked human. She couldn't walk around in armor, weapons strapped to her, wings out. It would cause mass hysteria amongst the humans, most of whom only halfway believed in the existence of angels and certainly never expected to see one, much less a warrior like herself. More than likely, such a scene would attract human authorities, who would not take kindly to her presence, and this was much of the reason why both angels and demons masked themselves under human guises when they walked on earth.

It did remind her though… This body felt heavier and awkward compared to what she was used to, and her energy seemed to drain at an alarmingly fast rate. That bout earlier should have been nothing, but instead, she could feel the toll it had taken, sapping at her energy. Her steps were heavier, and parts of her ached that absolutely should not have been after such small exertion.

It was sickening, if not mildly alarming, how weak humans were.

Rennyn couldn't help the snort that left him. Leave it to an angel to misinterpret a phrase for a literal meaning. He decided not to correct her, however. Her superiority complex wouldn't care even if he did.

Rennyn allowed Gabriela to catch up with his thinking, deciding once again not to help her along as she clearly came to realize that her human-like body was not quite at 100% anymore. The disgust on her face made it pretty easy to figure out that she had, in fact, noticed exactly what Rennyn had.

Humans needed food, water, and rest on a regular basis. While it was frustrating to say the least, there wasn't much either of them could do about it while trespassing on ground level, where neither of them belonged.

"Well then, aren't you useful," Rennyn mumbled, but he didn't allow her much time to ask him any dumb questions or get defensive.

Instead, he eyed the large group of humans crossing the street over to their side. He gave a thorough look at each one, from head to toe, and ruled out a good majority of the women just from his cursory look. Women generally had purses - they kept them tucked close to their bodies or snapped shut, difficult to slip a hand into even if you ran into them. Men, on the other hand, usually kept only essential personal items on them. Anything for work would be in a briefcase or bag. He could see before him which men had wallets, some kept in loose front pockets and, as they passed, he could see others kept them in their back pockets. He assumed the ones he couldn't figure out either kept their money and cards in a money clip, as it was much harder to spot. He ruled those ones out as well, since there was too much risk for no guarantee.

Not allowing himself, or the angel, much time to deliberate on choices, Rennyn impulsively decided on the spot as he ran his shoulder roughly into a balding older man. Surprisingly, the man did not scowl or yell at him, not even noticing Rennyn's hand had already slipped into his pocket and pulled the wallet out right on impact.

"I'm sooo sorry!" Rennyn apologized profusely, sounding rather sincere if he said so himself. He bowed his head quickly, hoping the effect would be enough to get the man to accept his apology and be on his way quickly.

It was.

"No problem, young man," the man smiled, already resuming his journey to wherever. "So polite, these days," he heard the man mumble happily, and Rennyn rolled his eyes. As they took a few steps further away, he checked the folds of the wallet, immediately ignoring the card in favor of the green notes hidden in the inside pocket.

"Probably enough for food," he said with a shrug, not caring if the angel thought he was talking to her or not. "You can join me or not, but if it isn't enough for two meals I'm not sharing."

The whole of the encounter was so quick and efficient that Gabriela, even having watched the proceedings with open suspicion, didn't catch that the demon had stolen the old man's wallet until he returned to where she stood and began to flip through it, searching for - and finding - money. Had she known beforehand what he was up to, she would have put a stop to it, but the old man now out of her sight and the damage having been done, she didn't bother. Maybe the guy would actually pay attention in the future.

"Not," she said at once in response to the demon's words, muscles tense. She wouldn't take anything from a demon. If it came down to it, she could hunt her own food, a skill she'd never employed but was sure she was more than capable of, considering her extensive training.

Gabriela opened her mouth to say more, but the words were silenced on her tongue at the sudden appearance of a familiar aura.

Khal?

She shut her mouth, sky blue eyes cutting across the crowd as she searched for the owner of that warm, comforting aura that pressed against her skin like sunshine. No other angel had an aura that strong yet disarming; it had to be Khalanthris.

Then he was there, making his way toward where she stood. Several inches above six feet, he was taller than many around him and broad of shoulder. He wasn't a mass of muscle as so many humans attested to strength, but lithe and wiry, his strength covert. Reddish-brown hair was pulled back behind him in a ponytail, serious gray eyes fixed on her. He wore a v-neck, faded jeans, and flip-flops. Despite looking the part of little more of a hippie, the young angel visibly tensed in his presence.

Despite not realizing it at first, as the intimidating angel came to a stop in front of her, Gabriela realized that as soon as she had felt his aura, she had grabbed Rennyn's arm. Not out of any sense of needing comfort, but as an anchor to keep him from fleeing. Judging by the fact that her mentor had come to retrieve her, she was sure that she had utterly failed her mission and worse, embarrassed herself to her teachers. Even if she had been unable to stop the demon in her allotted time though, she was sure that Khal would be able to, and the least she could do in apology was stop the demon from running off and making things harder on him.

"Gabriela, let the demon go," Khalanthris said, to which she obeyed, even going so far as to step away, her tense, defiant manner having given way to a more subdued manner. After casting a glance around to make sure that no human was within earshot, he added as he turned his gaze upon Rennyn, "You may leave, demon. I will not harm you and neither will my misguided student. A warning though: hunt or steal any souls that are Heavenbound or before their time to leave this earth, and one of our own will come after your blood."

Khalanthris dismissed Rennyn with that and turned to his student, unconcerned with what the demon did at this point, so long as no interruptions were made. "Gabriela," he said, voice sharp, "Your mission here was not to hunt this demon. In fact, there is no action for you to take, which is the reason behind the decision to leave you weaponless. We did not give you instructions nor restrictions other than that you be without weapons for we thought neither were needed. However, you have proven us wrong. Henceforth, I command you that you shall not make attacks, no matter demon or human, provoked or unprovoked. The only instance in which you are to engage in combat is if it is a matter of defending yourself from an attacker, and you will not provoke attack in order to get around the rules set before you. Your mission is to learn what it means to be a warrior of Heaven, and until it judged by myself and your other mentors that you have achieved success in this endeavor, you are to search for your answer here on earth."

When Gabriela opened her mouth, Khal raised a hand, silencing her. "That is all I have to say. Do not fail, Gabriela." Without so much as a wave of his hand or a smile in farewell, he turned and retreated from the crowded area.

As she watched his retreating figure, Gabriela's hands clenched at her sides, and by the time the feeling of his aura vanished entirely, the nails had begun to bite into her palms.

Rennyn turned away from the angel, ready to shrug his shoulders and be off to the nearest cleanish looking food establishment when all at once, a chill ran down the entirety of his spine, stopping him in his tracks. Well, that would have been enough to stop him in his tracks, but the featherhead also seemed to have suddenly grown very attached to him because her hands clamped down on his bicep, restricting his ability to take any additional steps forward. Rennyn imagined, even though her grip was strong and bordering a little bit on the painful, that he could get away in her current state of mind - it was clear to him that something was upsetting her and it was very likely the disgusting feeling walking right towards them.

Rennyn wouldn't be admitting any time soon to the panic that settled in the pit of his stomach at the sight of the… angel who clearly had been away from the ground level a little too long - or else he was taking his role a little too seriously. He thought of ten plans on the spot, devised ways to get away and lose both of them for good, but he knew it was unlikely any of them would do him any good in this particular scenario.

So, when the strange angel finally did open his mouth, Rennyn couldn't much hide his reaction. It was too conflicted, a mix of relief, confusion, and suspicion. Why would the other let him go? He was being so… typically angelic. But Rennyn wasn't about to question his luck, and as soon as Gabriela's hands let go of him, he took five long strides up the sidewalk and away from them (mimicking a quiet "so polite these days" as he went), not far enough to be completely out of earshot.

He didn't do much to hide his eavesdropping, as it were. He knew that an angel this strong would sense his continued presence regardless of where he hid, so he stood in the open, awkward and hesitant. He weighed his options, wondering if he was putting himself at unnecessary risk for his curiosity, but the more logical half of him knew that if the stronger angel did not kill him then, he would probably not kill him five steps away either.

And it seemed to be true, as the two continued with their conversation, completely ignoring him though keeping their voices low so as not to alarm or confuse the passing humans. He imagined they wouldn't be bothered even if they overheard, at most confused, but he wasn't about to interrupt them just to inform them of something so trivial.

And he was rewarded, in the end, as Gabriela took a scolding and then some, as Rennyn imagined this was what an angel scolding probably looked like. For once, he was unable to hide his emotions even a small amount and had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide the grin that spread across his face when Gabriela was given her instructions.

Despite having known her only a few hours, Rennyn had already learned quite a bit about her personality, and he was guessing that her only real strength was… well, her strength. And ability to fight. And now she didn't even have that.

He continued to cover his mouth and stifle the laughter that threatened to fall out, but as the man retreated into the crowd and Gabriela stood shaking in her place, a snort burst forth and Rennyn had to take a moment to remember to breathe because humans did that and he forgot.

After sucking in a few lungfuls of air and calming himself back to his natural state (subdued amusement), he remained in his place but dared to speak up.

"Oh man," he sighed, allowing his grin to show freely now, "that bites. What are you going to do now? Because I don't make offers twice and you already said no to dinner."

Gabriela's mind reached for answers, demon entirely forgotten in light of her mentor's appearance and subsequent scolding and instructions.

Why would they place such restrictions on her? She was a warrior! They'd been training her for years so that she could fight demons. Without any set instructions when she'd been sent here, she'd thought that the purpose was to give her a real-life scenario where she would have to use her own knowledge and skills to take down a demon. Not only had she failed in doing so, not that she'd been given the time she needed, now she was finding out that it wasn't what they wanted at all. They'd gone so far as to forbid her from attacking the demon!

As she heard a loud snort, Gabriela's head snapped up, blue eyes immediately fixating on Rennyn, who still stood nearby and currently had his mouth covered with a hand, eyes dancing and shoulders practically shaking. Realizing that this demon had overheard the entire conversation, everything her mentor had said to her, bright spots of anger appeared on Gabriela's cheeks even as she stalked over, threats already forming in her throat.

In the few strides it took her to reach him, however, he'd composed himself mildly, and she'd realized the uselessness of threats. They both knew that she no longer possessed any ability to carry them through, and the demon no longer had any reason to be wary of her. She was lost, confused, embarrassed, but prevailing above it all at that particular moment, there was anger.

"What I do is none of your business," she finally snapped, hands still clenched into tight fists at her side. And because she couldn't stand that knowing grin, she turned on her heel and stalked off. She didn't even care where she went at that moment, so long as it was somewhere that she could sort through what had just happened and what, exactly, to do about it.

Rennyn blinked as Gabriela snapped at him and began to storm off in a random direction. He wondered briefly if she hoped he'd leave or hoped he would follow, but he wasn't sure he really cared. His stomach rumbled again, reminding him once more of his stupid human-like hunger (which was annoying, because no matter how nice of a human appearance he wore, he didn't understand why he needed the functionality of a human as well - he could only attribute it to being on the human plane of existence). He shrugged his shoulders the farther away she got, but decided to call out to her, just to test her own resolve.

"I suppose I'll just… go to the hospital and devour some miserable souls then~" he taunted.

To be fully honest, he hoped she would stick with him long enough for him to come up with a plan of his own. He still wasn't sure what Lucifer really wanted him to do here, but even if the angel wasn't it (and he was fairly certain she wasn't, she was of no consequence to someone as powerful as Lucifer), it would look much better than ten easy human souls for him to bring down an angel - particularly one who hadn't fallen. He didn't mind the idea of tainting her purity, though it was highly unlikely to ever happen. She was quite obviously very stubborn.

With that being said though, he turned in the opposing direction and took a few small steps away, not even sure where he would find a hospital. He really didn't have any intention of going to one (yet), and in the end, would just find a cheap restaurant to eat at. He was sure he could find the angel again, now that he knew her aura.

Gabriela had no idea where she planned on going. She certainly didn't know her way around earth, any area of it, though she had the nagging feeling that she was soon going to get to know this particular area. For the moment though, her singular goal was to sort through what was going on and figure out the best course of action to deal with it all.

Part of her even wanted to hit something, but the human body she inhabited rebelled against the idea with an unfamiliar weakness and fatigue that she attributed to humans being physically inferior.

Her determined step faltered in hesitation, however, at what the demon called out to her. Her mind flashed a rapidfire argument in which her orders were pitted against the right thing to do, and she even played over the entire "conversation" with Khalanthris once more. It was thanks to doing so that she faintly remembered her mentor delivering a warning to Rennyn before letting him go. If he did as he'd threatened, he'd meet the sharp end of an angel's sword, and while she'd rather it were her own, even if she did follow to stop him, her hands were tied.

Besides, she'd have to be a complete fool not to notice how he'd gone from doing everything in his power to try and get away from her to suddenly trying to change her mind when she went to walk away. She didn't know what he was planning, but she knew she didn't want anything to do with it.

So Gabriela kept walking, threading her way through a crowd she hardly took the time to notice other than to avoid any collisions and letting the stomach-turning feeling of the demon's aura fall away, even though it somehow felt wrong to do so. And all the while, she kept a look-out for areas that seemed less densely populated, her mind inevitably turning back to the prevalent issue at hand, which was tearing apart her mentor's words in search for answers.

Rennyn pouted. It was something he would deny if anyone called him out on it, but as the only person who might walked away from him he didn't hold back.

He took a few more hesitant steps in the opposite direction of Gabriela, but realized that doing so would lead him exactly to where they'd just come from - and in any case, he had no idea where he should go. How did humans decide where to eat with so many options? All the signs and chains and whatnot meant nothing to him as he spent relatively little time during his education learning about human food and food sources, and almost absolutely no time at all just before getting sent here.

So, with that thought in mind, Rennyn dropped the pout and turned on the spot (running straight into a lady, but she excused herself without making any kind of scene surprisingly, considering it was Rennyn's fault). It would do him no good to linger, and while he knew he'd be able to find the angel again should he need to, he decided to just save himself the trouble and follow her now. If she figured out that he was following her (as she likely would), he could just say he was looking for food.

He quickened his steps to catch up, but stayed at the edge of the distance needed to just barely feel her aura. He knew that if he could feel her nearby she could probably feel him, but he wondered if she would even think much about it given her current state of mind.

As he walked he considered his new mission parameters.

Ten souls was a little more difficult if you were being watched by high ranking angels who threatened your life should you take anyone. But the angel had specifically said anyone bound for heaven and before their time, so Rennyn guessed that the hospital actually would be a pretty good place to haunt if he still wanted to make an attempt at what was obviously not meant to be his mission to begin with.

But what was? It couldn't be the angel - at least he didn't think it was her, there was really nothing he could do about her, and with her unable to do anything with him either it was a dead end for both. Maybe he was meant to be finding something? Or figuring out some sort of informati -

"Watch where you're going, kid!" a voice cut off Rennyn's train of thought, but that didn't stop him from running straight into, presumably, the voice that spoke.

It was funny how second nature following Gabriela's aura had been (though admittedly, he'd gotten much closer than he'd intended while he was distracted), that he would run into people. Or maybe human auras were just so weak in comparison that he hadn't yet gotten used to them.

"Sorry," he said insincerely, because it was clear his innocent teenager act wasn't going to work on the rough looking man towering above him.

"Sorry?" the man returned, cracking his knuckles like a cheesy comedy bad guy. Rennyn snorted at this, face impassive. What could this man do to him?

"Maybe if you said it like you really meant it, I would forgive you," the man threatened, and Rennyn rolled his eyes.

As much as he didn't really want to get in a fight, he didn't have time for this - if the police came for him again it would be self defense, right? Though two times in one day would probably be too much. They might look him up this time. Ask him where he lived, who his family was, all questions he had no answer for.

"What are you talking about? Of course I meant it," Rennyn replied, tone betraying his words. He could just run away, he figured. But then, that was before he was suddenly surrounded by three additional large men.

"Want to try that one more time?" a man behind him said, putting a giant hand on Rennyn's shoulder. He sighed, a bit disappointed in his own carelessness this time.

He'd still blame the angel later, for distracting him.

"For fuck's sake, I can't go back to the police station today. Can you just let me go and we'll all be on our way? Pretty sure you don't want to be charged with assaulting a minor, anyways." While the irritated nature of his speech was probably not the best approach, he had hoped that his words would make them back off. Hoped.

"Not going to happen, kid."

Well, shit.

Though admittedly preoccupied going through her thoughts, it would have been nearly impossible for Gabriela not to notice that the demon had chosen to follow her. Human auras were so weak that you had to be right up on them and concentrating to feel them out, but the auras of angels and demons were strong and oppositely aligned. There was a radius in which they could be felt, that area growing wider depending on the strength of the aura, and the closer you were, the stronger you felt it. That was why she knew the demon was keeping his distance. He was so far away that even though she felt it, recognizing the particular feeling as belonging to his aura, it wasn't so strong that her skin crawled or she felt sick to her stomach. It wasn't debilitating in the slightest. Just this feeling hovering on the edge of her awareness.

He didn't try to catch up, to poke and prod at her and make her angry enough to want to defy the orders she'd been given. And since he was keeping his distance, Gabriela ignored the fact that he was following her at all - not that she could have done a damned thing about it to begin with.

Then she felt him start to move closer, but, gritting her teeth, Gabriela left it alone. Only he didn't stop closing in behind her, and at last, the grounded angel stopped, turning on her heel to face the demon. Rather than finding him creeping up behind her, trying to see how far he could get before she turned to yell at him, however, she instead found the demon surrounded by four large humans, all of whom looked like they could snap him with two fingers.

Well, well, well.

Not the only one to stop at the sight, Gabriela was actually joined at others excited at the prospect of a fight, some of which had already formed a loose circle around the men and demon, and though it also presented a good opportunity to just walk off, well…

Gabriela had a feeling she'd find this entertaining.

A deep sigh. Street noise somehow fell away, despite the busy time, and all he could hear was one annoying voice getting very close to his face. A large finger prodded at his chest and Rennyn finally opened his eyes, which had at some point closed in an attempt to erase the situation from before him. No luck. Apparently that was not one of his gifts, if he had any to speak of here on earth in his dinky human shell.

"I'd appreciate it if you kept your hands to yourself, sir," he interrupted calmly.

Maybe if he were thinking clearly, he would have turned and just slipped through them. He would have run away. He should have run away. But Rennyn, despite his strongest quality being intelligence, surprisingly did not always think straight. So here he was, challenging four large men that realistically he had no way of defeating.

Well, being a demon wasn't really realistic to humans anyways, so how could they know?

But Rennyn's words made everything worse, as per usual. The grumpy one's eyebrows pulled in, and he made a constipated face that Rennyn assumed was supposed to convey anger or perhaps be intimidating. It wasn't, so Rennyn continued to stare boredly at the man, who poked at his chest one more time. This time, Rennyn really wasn't having it - he didn't like being touched. Not by angels, not by humans, not even by other demons, so Rennyn smacked the man's wrist away, and things seemed to speed up immediately.

It was over in seconds, he guessed. The man threw a punch that Rennyn once again smacked away by the wrist as he turned and ducked an attack from behind. He kicked a third man in the chest while he was low and then grabbed the initial man by the arm as he regathered himself and went in for a second time. Rennyn twisted around him, bringing his arm with him and pulling until it was at a painful angle. The fourth man jumped into action now, attempting to help his friend from Rennyn's hold, but Rennyn used his first attacker's back as leverage and kicked this man in the head as hard as his human body would allow - enough to knock the large man onto the ground, at least. As he landed, he used his momentum to swing the man in his hold to the ground, perfect position for kneeing the man's already twisted arm, a sickening crack surprisingly stopping all action.

It was quiet as Rennyn immediately let go, just for a moment. Rennyn's expression now matched the innocent face he wore much better, eyes widened and bottom lip pulled in between his teeth - then the man's howling yell of pain met his ears, and he woke up.

"Fuck, shit fuck, oh shit, ohhhkay," he panicked, whirling around and easily shoving through the men no longer concerned with him. Apparently they were loyal to their asshole friend and were concerned with his well-being enough to not realize they were letting him get away.

He took quick strides, and when he spotted Gabriela just down the sidewalk in a crowd that had gathered around at some point, the panic settled further. He jogged up to her and immediately spoke upon reaching her vicinity.

"I didn't kill him, and it was self defense! You saw! That angel who leashed you has nothing to say to me, alright?!" and with that he continued pushing his way through the crowd, not meeting anyone's gaze.

This wasn't Rennyn's style, it wasn't how he pictured himself fucking up (if he did at all). He never even imagined he'd be worried about police (which was a real possibility right now), least of all hippy archangel threats on his life.

Why did things never seem to go right for him?

Whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't what Gabriela saw. When she'd attempted to engage the demon earlier that day, he'd just evaded her except for a single knife throw. Here, he'd actually acted. One moment, he was being poked in the chest, and the next, he was defending from attacks, not running, but actually standing his ground and defending. And then he snapped the human's arm.

She was too shocked to even consider acting, and by the time he was letting out profanities, had remembered that even had she wanted to, she couldn't do anything.

And then he started towards her, and Gabriela squared her shoulders, eyes narrowed. She wasn't allowed to provoke but if he walked over and hit her now, she'd have the excuse she needed. She'd mistaken panic for violent intention though, something she realized when he spoke. The snarky demon was actually scared. She could see it.

Gabriela acted without thinking it through. After he passed her, she spun on her heel, turning to follow. She had to push through the jostling crowd, creating her own path, and as word of what happened reached the outer edges towards those who hadn't seen what he'd done, whispers and pointing started up.

"You really screwed up, didn't you?" She called after they had gotten out of the thick of the crowd, moving in a little closer. After her horrible start, this was just what she needed to cheer up a bit. "So soon after being let off with a warning, I wonder what the human police are going to make of you. And actually breaking someone's arm this time. Oh, and then there's Khal. He never said he'd kill you for hurting a human, but I can't help but wonder if someone will be showing up to give you a reminder."

Rennyn huffed, his pace not slowing down despite the fact that Gabriela had chosen to follow him. And tease him. Deservedly. He'd really lost his cool, and she wasn't making it any better.

"Ok but shut up," Rennyn muttered, not really concerned with the fact that his voice was definitely pitched higher than it should be. What? "Those dumb humans will be too damn embarrassed to go to the police. What are they gonna say? A tiny high school lookin' boy beat the shit out of them? Right."

To be honest, Rennyn wasn't sure who he was trying to convince, but the words were working. He slowed his pace after a few more minutes, and finally started breathing normally.

"As for the angel… whatever. I'll deal with that when it comes. Like I said, it was self defense. There's nothing inherently demonic about saving your face from getting punched in. I think God can forgive me for that," he shot, at full capacity now.

He tried to put everything behind him, consider it an example of what not to do in the future. That was the best way to act, but the next order of business: "Why are you following me now? Making sure I really do get scolded? I suppose you would, after what he said to you. It's my turn, right?"

He wouldn't put it beneath her to think that way, at least. There was a part of him that would probably feel the same, anyways. Not that he would admit it. Ever.

It seemed Gabriela's needling actually got her somewhere, as Rennyn went on the defensive. He didn't glance at her once, and his words didn't hold any heat, but it was obvious that the demon was still panicked.

It was about time something bad happened to him.

And then he recovered, much too fast to Gabriela's liking, and as he actually turned to her when he spoke, she stopped, muscles tensing, looking similar to an animal with its hackles raised. She couldn't very well admit that she'd taken pleasure in his panic. The act itself was bad enough without it being openly aired, but neither did she want to admit to his guess, as it was almost just as bad.

"Just making sure you fully know what trouble you might be expecting," Gabriela said curtly after a moment's contemplation, at which point she turned and walked off again. The direction was completely arbitrary, its only requirement being that it was away from the demon.

What was she thinking, following him for even a short amount of time? She'd rather he just disappear altogether, and even the shock of the fight he'd gotten himself into wasn't a good excuse.

Still, witnessing that had lifted Gabriela's spirits a bit, and it was with renewed energy that she looked about her surroundings. It didn't take her long to decide what her next order of business would be either, as her stomach rumbled its demand. Okay. Take care of her fragile human body first. Figure out what, exactly, Khalanthris wanted from her second.

It was a start.

Afterword

I imagine after reading Volume One of Gabriela, which took up about 40 pages in my word doc, you might not be feeling up to reading much more, so I'll keep this brief.

Gabriela began as a roleplay named Losing My Religion, which ended rather quickly and was restarted. This is the restart. The only edits I made were for grammar and punctuation. Oh, and Gabriela's name. Her first name was pretty stupid.

I started this project with someone I only knew by the screen-name Yuurei. I'd left a request for an angel x demon roleplay on a website we both frequented. We planned an amazing plot, and when we got to the stage where we were sending character information to each other, we realized something… She only wrote for gay pairings, and I had assumed she wanted a heterosexual pairing like most people.

So, rather than recreate my decidedly female character or engage in a romance plot, we decided Gabriela and Rennyn would be enemies who became best friends, rather than lovers. We had big plans for how we'd reach the end of this friendship, actually.

In the end, we took years to write only two arcs, which I have divided into two volumes for your reading pleasure. That said, I have a hard time letting go of good characters and good plot ideas. So…

I'm putting out a request for a co-author for Gabriela, starting on Volume 3. Rennyn was Yuurei's character and will be put to rest, but I want to see what other people Gabriela meets and what her story will be with them! I want to watch her make mistakes and engage with others and grow. So please, if you're interested in participating in her story, leave me a private note on this story!!

Or, of course, you could always