prowl; [open]

[Rook]

Rook felt restless, he supposed the storm had something to do with it, but something in the back of his mind denied it, there was something even larger and blacker on the horizon.
The smell of deep, muddy rain, sinking deep into the island earth was carried all the way from the other side of town, the wetness was everywhere, glistening on every street post, every blade of grass and every fogged up window.

Rook had always loved the smell of rain, it was one of the cleanest and simplest scents, but it was also his enemy. The strength of it over powered everything else, and for a being who lived by scent and sound first, and eyesight second it was extremely inconvenient for everything to be swathed in a later of storm clouds.

Rook could still smell the faint coppery scent of blood though, he could almost taste something in his mouth, a faint trace of something like orange juice, he was disgusted, but at the same time salivating inside his deep, restless frown. His long, ragged now sodden tail swept the earth sending a few drops into the air, and he squared his shoulders, beginning to move like the magnetic field of the compass, blindly from Point A to Point B.

Despite the clean scent of the rain, this tiny scent of blood guided him through traffic and alleyway, until he came to the Wallside, looking around, but seeing nothing.

One wet ear flicked forward as the rain slowed to a drizzle, he folded his umbrella and let the last drops of the shower soak into his course, dusty fur. On the ArcAngel's huge snarling mouth was that same frown.

Suspicious, restless and somewhere deep, beneath the bottomless frown he was also hopelessly confused.

[Raron]

Tarsus looked around for the thousandth time as the rain slowed, it had splashed down his head, drained down the back of his neck, dribbled down his spine and soaked his underwear... or would have if he ever wore the damn things. He was absolutly soaking wet but his irratation kept him warm.
His client was supposed to have meet him at the walk three hours ago, and while he could forgive lateness, lateness as he got soaked to the bone was unforgivable. He stood up from his seat on one of the railing (which many would notice now had a permament sag in that one area) and starting pacing, the crowd parted before the irrated ankyosaur, which was just as well because there was no way right now he was gonna walk around anyone. The smile on his face was forced and the spring in his step was gone.
He was iratated.
He was angry.
He... had a phone which was ringing, he ripped it out of his coat in a sudden angry action and held it to his head.
"Tarsus Ridge, Repairman. What can I help you with..."
Those around him watched as he had a one sided conversation.
"Tony, where the hell ar...you found her? At the Golden Palace?.. the strip joint?... oh... you had been there... oh wow that sounds awkward as hell. Better you then me... why yes, yes I am laughing at your discomfort... yes I am irrated at being left waiting, don't worry about it. No bill. Yeah, if you need me give me a call"
As he hung up his grin had become genuine, his client would not need his services but he got a laugh out of it so he would chaulk today up as a profitable one. Hell, it was more he could say then most of the furres walking the walk. He sat back down on the bent railing, lodge his toes into it so no pusher without a forklift could send him to his death, and gazed upon the crowd.

[Rook]

Rook light grip on the railing was more a habit than anything, the Gates rarely pitched Angels over the side in those ridiculous tantrums the Council called accidents, he found the steel comforting to his racing thoughts. He could not pin point the area where the scent was coming from, but he was sure...at least 86 % sure that it was blood...the smell had that curious weight to it, like thick butter or cream, except instead of being sweet the tang of it was revolting, and even this tiny trace, almost like a cut on the roof of his mouth, refused to go away.

He paused for a moment, leaning over a trash bin, for a moment he thought he'd be sick, but then he just spit, drawing back and taking a flask out of his pocket, sipping the strong amber liquid for a moment, screwing the steel top and putting it back inside the depths of his large ragged brown coat.

The scent subsided a tiny bit (and so did his troublesome little thoughts), and was pushed further back into his mind when his claws sent static cries over to his head, almost triumphant in their sensory of the vibrations, even from so very far along the Walk.

Rook diddn't think or consider, it had been a slow day, there were many slow days when he was assigned this side of town, he could save perhaps one idiot from falling, lecture a pick pocket...but nothing large usually happened when he got Wallside. He could remember ten years ago he had chased a serial killer through these streets, up and almost over the wall, but that had been a long time ago and this part of town, though stained by the blood of many "accidents" always seemed cleansed of crime.

Rook followed the railing for a minuite, striding slowly before coming to a stop. Behind a couple of teenagers, was the one who had shaken the railing so Rook's sensitive claws could pick it up, the metal there was twisted and bent. It was a solid looking old dinosaur with a Devil-May-Care look on his face.

The armour on his called something to Rook's fogged mind ankyosaur?

Then he remembered and the name, spoken by a fierce well-meaning fledgling came to mind. Tarsus Ridge, it was an odd name, though Rook himself was no Tom, Dick or Stanley, but it stood out and was hard to forget, pictures of the business card flashed in his mind.

He'd promised this one to his friend, but now that the mysterious old codger was in sight, how could he leave him alone? On such a slow day, it was nigh impossible, and much too tempting not to do a little investigation. He had no intention of hiding himself for very long, he wanted to speak with this man.

The corners of his jowls tugged, but he suppressed his smile.

Rook wasn't as old as Tarsus by more than a decade at lest, in fact old people, despite the recent technology, were few because of the cold weather, the Seraphim were usually the only ones Rook came in contact who were older than him, and this interested him, but he had some of the wiles of an older man, or perhaps an older animal.

He blended into the line at a small cafe, making sure not to look at the dinosaur, but rather at the Specials Menu flashing in digital lights MINESTRONE SOUP- $10.88 the claws on his hands picked up signals of his movement.

His ears twitched Much too pricey for soup. Should be a crime.

[Raron]

Tarsus gazed out over the crowd, enjoying the moment as he was want to do. Life was full of pain especcally as you got older but long ago he had decided to focus on the pleasures, the little happinesses that happened everyday. Right now his was imagining his client finding his missing wife at a strip club he frequented... the jokes wrote themselves. He chuckled again. The thought of the expression on his stuck up client's face as he saw his wife walk out on stage... priceless, well worth three hours in the rain. With that mental picture and the rain fading he reaching into a waterproof pocket in his coat and removed a cigarette paper and a pouch of tabbaco. He extended his tongue to it's fullest and with a touch of drama placed the paper on his tongue and then poured a little bit of the tobacco into the paper. WIth that he started controting his tongue, bending it, and swirling it. When he was done he released the perfectly rolled cigarette into his open hand and deftly switched it with a dry, non saliva soaked on with a little slight of hand before he lit it up. The ceramony completed he winked at a girl who had stopped to stare, she blushed and kept watching.
"You are a wicked old man, you know that right?"
He whispered this to himself and found to no suprise he really didn't care that he was. Smiling once more he looked around, soup seller, novellty gift seller, there it was, what he was looking for. With a puff of smoke he walked towards a snack stand.
"One order of nachos, extra cheese... more then that... do you have that little shredded chesse people put on salads? yeah there it is, pour some of that on it... yeah that's the stuff. Thanks."
Without looking at the price he pulled out a couple of bills and placed it in the server's hand, giving him a fifty percent tip.
"Yum!"
He took his first bit and smiled as he walked the walk.

[Rook]

Rook felt hunger claw at his stomach as the smell of the soup--high prices as it was, wafted from the restaurant, but the hunger was overshadowed by his curiosity, after a day of nothing--( a big deal for someone who was used to clashing with terrorists and chasing down armed thieves) he'd found something significant, but how to approach it?

But he had to admit his hunger did sucker punch his curiosity in the face when he saw the dinosaur eating something that looked so respectably fattening that it raised the testosterone levels of the teenagers around them.

Ah what the hell, couldn't hurt.. Rook's choice was more ...elegant he supposed, he just couldn't get past the artificial cheese of some things. It may have been yellow but it reminded him so much of the glue that he had urged his daughter not to eat, that it was uncanny. and slightly disturbing.

Instead he had a biscuit and a cup of black coffee, when he came away from the stand by the cafe. The steaming hot liquid soothed his senses, drowning out the disgusting scent of the blood for one sweet moment before it came back to him, if anything sharpened by the contrast.

Crumbs falling from his long whiskers and he munched the crumbling hot bread, washing it down with a last gulp of the coffee--still so hot it burned his tongue and warmed his wet, frozen body down tot he bone.

Ah, time to get back to work. He walked towards the dinosaur, his gray eyes raising up to catch the other man's, audacious perhaps, but he didn't have anything to fear, or at least, it diddn't occur to him that he should.

If anything it's you who should be nervous. You have connections that seem so shady it makes a Council Member seem like a good Samaritan. I'm sorry, De. I have to have a look for myself.

He came up to the other man, looking casual enough, just an older gent, dampened by the rain, his hands in his coat pockets, licking away the last traces of a biscuit.

"Excuse me if I'm wrong, but would you be 'Tarsus Ridge"?

How many ankyosaur repairmen could there be, really? It was a good way to start things off though, only an idiot would attempt to lie to something so false as that.

[Raron]

Tarsus's reaction was immediate, the smile froze one his face while his body rocked into stillness. He gazed down upon the furre with both eyes and then creaked his neck to the left. His right eye still on the badger his left one roamed the crowd looking to see if he spotted any backup for his curious new friend, that done he repeated it for the other side. As he did this he cursed himself mentally, his instincts had been beeping slightly that something was watching him but he had ignored them for a laugh and nachos. He would get through this, and when he did he would learn from this... went to show himself there was no fool like an old fool... but this guy had not been obvious, he was pretty good tracker, Tarsus could tell as his eyes locked onto the furre's. He looked him up and down and focused his senses on him.
The eyes and stance were the first thing he registered, the Furre before him was not a libraian or something happy and peaceful like that. He was a killer, the way the legs were ready to move, the way the hands were held, even the way his eyes moved were old tells that Tarsus had learned to read in his years. The Furre was not obviously armed but that meant nothing, the furre was also five... no ten years younger to boot, that meant he most likely faster and still knew quite a bit about what Tarsus refered to as "Artful".
"I sure hope I am him, otherwise he is gonna be real upset that someone is walking around in his pants."
The flipant reply ran counter to his postition, his right leg was slightly tensed. His nachos were held carefully with his finger under the container, ready to give his new "friend" as faceful of burning hot cheese. Finally there was the scrap of metal and concrete as his tail settled into place.
His mind raced, all he had to do was cheese him, stun him with his tail and throw him over the edge and the problem would be solved, these were his first thoughts. First thoughts are what the mind does when it gets first impressions. His second thoughts wondered if there might be a better way. Second thoughts is naterual and healthy doubt making it's apperence... finally the third thoughts made their apperence, they said Look, there is no need to cheese him, he came to you. Dispite the fact you are upset you did not see him coming does not make conflict nessasary, he most likely wants to talk so calm down... calm down already.
He relaxed his posture visiable and then regarded the badger again.
"Look your not looking for trouble are you? If so tell me now, I wanna finish my nachos first...maybe get something to drink..."

[Rook]

ooc; Rook isn't a badger xD

bic;

Rook eyed the nachos, Oh, holy shit. He's got me. and felt laughter, which he knew would have been shrill and insane if it had ever surfaced build up in his throat, but he suppressed it with a deep thoughtful frown, that reached both his hard gray eyes all the way down to the tip of his thrashing tail.

The dinosaur's muscles were tensing, the wolverine hybrid diddn't need his claws to tell him that, the claws were still buried deep in his coat pocket as he looked the dinosaur up and down casually, with an observant, critical eye, he could smell the burnt cheese, and he could feel the Repairman's tension.

He did not hide his scrutiny, they both knew where they stood,
he had no need to hide his motives anymore.

His almond shaped gray eyes were large, careful and glassy, they were perhaps the one thing about him that made it obvious that he wasn't a pure bred wolf. There were other hints, but none such as that.

He smiled thinly "You can decide for yourself whether or not I'm looking for trouble, Ridge, I have a few questions to ask you, if you answer me honestly there should be no need for you to waste those deep fried heart attacks".

Has he caught on yet? Strong, handy dandy fucker..maybe a little slow on the drawl.

At the mention of a drink, the Angel's ears pricked and he eyed the flask that hung inside his coat, but made himself avert his eyes. It was one thing to drink on the job, another thing to drink while you were actual interviewing a potentionally dangerous dude.

Dude? Damn Zarek...

"Look I don't like that pompous cat and mouse crap anywhere near as much as I pretend to. I'm bored and you happen to have some connections that I have a responsibility to investigate. Oblige me, and I doubt you'll come into any trouble for the next few weeks. Anywhere really."

With an Angel on your side, even for a little while there tended to be a lot of leeway for shit to hit the fan.

[Raron]

(ooc: I modded my previous post, you is no longer a badger... I do not know where I got the impression he was one... I really don't...)
Tarsus eyed him for a while and then reached into the cheap cardboard container and took a handful of the cheesy "heart attacks". He chewed for a while, relaxed and with every sign of enjoyment before nodding and motioning for the furre to follow him. He walked in silence for a couple of minute, doing nothing but enjoying the sights, the sounds, and the smells... but most of all the nachos. He walked until they came to one of the many covered and heated meeting spots set up along the walk, some enterprising soul figured that people might need a break in someplace heated along the way as they walked and had set up rude shelters with doormen on the entrances to take a small fee from resting furres.
Tarsus nodded at the doorman on their side and the furre nodded back, respect in his eyes as he opened the door without taking a cent, he looked questioning towards the hybrid with him.
"He's with me for right now at this place."
Tarsus informed him with a grin and a one shoulder shrug. The doorman nodded, made the obligatory joke that they were a cute couple, and then let them in.
The shelter had emptied out now that the rain was gone, and Tarsus knew the doorman would keep furres out till he was done talking to his new "friend". He walked over to a bench and sat down heavily and tossed the now empty cardboard chip holder into a nearby trash can.
"Alright, let's take a look at you Mr. Curious."
Tarsus gave the furre another once over.
"You are not one of Addy's idiots that is for sure, you are trained. You are curious about me and most of the big shots in less savory places seem to already know... leads me to believe you may have feathers I can't see."
Tarsus grinned at his own joke about the Angels and continued.
"I will get to the point, I am not one of Addy's and I am not on of you. I have no intention of being either. There is nothing I am willing to sacrifice as the greedy old man I am, and the only cause I believe in is protecting me and mine. For all I care the council and the rebellion, whatever names you want to give it, can go hang themselves and let the rest of us get on with our lives."
He lightly gripped the edge of his coat and pulled it open displaying a bit of his arsenal, but more importently displaying a flask inside his coat high up. Slowly and without hostile intent he took it out and then wiggled it to hear the swishing sound. That done he did a few flicks of the wrist and produced seemingly from no where a couple of expandable cups which he filled and shoved on in front of his new friend.
"That said yes, my name is Tarsus Ridge... now what may I call you and what do you want to know?.... keep in mind I reserve the right to tell you to get lost, get a new religion, or to copulate vigoriously with yourself. This will be my automatic answer if this is about any friends of mine. I will answer some questions about allies, but my friends and family are official off limits in this conversation."
With that in one smooth motion he knocked back his drink and refilled it.

[Rook]

Rook listened keenly, stood up straight, and did not interrupt the man until he had come to a complete stop, then he spoke in order.
He wished his house was as neat as his business.

"Those are cowardly views, useless ones too, but I suppose you've earned the right to have them. Mr. Ridge".

He said with unhidden contempt, and also some kind of ironic, distant amusement. All this crap. Did he even beleive in what he was saying himself?

How noble. How righteous. How utterly phony.

Some days...some days....

"My name is Rook and yes, I am an ArcAngel...ah thanks, I've got some myself but it's a bit too hard for the job as it stands"

[Killer]

He took the cup, sniffing it first, scenting for poison, before taking a sip, he made himself stop, putting it on a table beside them as he swung his hard gray gaze forward to look into the dinosaur's eyes.

Now that he was truly investigating, he had a responsibility to get his answers, and if he had to, he'd fight for it. Though truthfully he diddn't want to, he was having a fun time dancing around like this though.

Inherently he liked this man, he couldn't help it, this old jack of all trades with his wise eyes and hands, and a huge stack of nasty greasy nachos.

What wasn't to like? Ah too often he sympathized with his enemies...or worse, his prey.

His voice was deep and rough, but also had some kind of odd clarity to it, like someone who had been taught to speak after first becoming fluent in another language. This was not true for Rook, but it sounded this way.

"I beleive you came in contact with one of my associates in the Wallside Cafe, and you told her some interesting stories about you child hood...interesting because you mentioned things that no child in St. Lucent, aside from my own, who was raised in the Guild, should ever know. "

...I want everything, every small detail about your relation to the Angels, and whoever you may have met that gave you this information. I am bound by our laws to investigate this matter, and I'll pursue it in any way I can, if I have to, until you tell me what I need to know."

He paused, his claws hummed, a sound so small and soft that only soemone who was well acquainted with machines could have heard it. They took up the cup again and they glowed slightly, looking like rays of sunlight from the door and window had caught him, but they were at the wrong angle for that to be possible.


"If you tell me these things, I promise you will not be approached like this again, or harmed in any way...if you don't....".

[Raron]

"You will set fire to my apartment, seize my bank accounts, force me to listen to polka, cause it so all bubblegum losses flavor as soon as it hits my tongue, and give me thirty different STDs... I so hate to leave a threat unfinished."
He shook his head sadly.
"Really, she was an angel... I guess I should have seen that coming.. but hey I am an old man and I wanted some syrup, and granted some part of me was probably thinking that maybe later I would have something else to pour it on."
He waggled his eyebrow ridges in a lechurious manner before chuckling.
"But most likely I just wanted to help, I rarely stop to consider my motives for doing something these days, just go with the flow and react to the changes. All life is chaos and you have to sink or swim... I have been swimming for so long... sometimes I feel so old... and I have so little mercy left."
The smile vanished as Tarsus regarded the furre across from him, his tone had been as cold as a glacier and his face rigid as ice before he broke out into another grin, as if he understood the joke that Rook just did not get.
"There, you threatened me... I threatened you, we got that nonsense out of the way can we get down to business without talk like that? Let's be honest, you and I go at it and who knows what happens. Maybe I kill you, maybe you kill me, maybe you take me alive to be questioned, maybe I cause you to spill your guts about the biggest secrets you have... though I imagine I would see a hovercar parade led by indigo cockroaches shoot out your butt before the last one would happen... but the point is threats are a waste of time for both of us so please.. skip it."
He paused in thought.
"Unless they are really creative, I can always learn new ones for my trade."
He chuckled at the idea and took another drink as he studied the furre he now knew as Rook. Rook was taking tally of him as much as he was taking tally of Rook, it seems this Furre had been on the anvil side of life for a long time. Getting pounded again and again but rather then submitting he had gotten harder, tempered... in short he seemed like someone Tarsus could respect.
"Alright, let's get down to business... first off the old furre who got me into this stuff, the one I mentioned to the girl you know. Dead, been dead for years now. Name of... well we always called him Old Pete, don't really know his real name."
He took a final puff of his cigarette and ground it out on the table top before taking a fresh one out and regarding it.
"Old Regalia Tobacco, he turned me onto it. I always like the slight scent of sea salt that came off of it, like a promise of a summer that this place will never see. He thought it was so funny, all of it. The council, the gates, the whole ball of wax... he saw the world change and could do nothing to help it, so in a choice between laughter or tears he choose laughter. You see the furres out there worship the gates, they revere them.. I have neighbors that have ceramonies to appease them, little gettogethers on the roof with all comers welcome. Everyweek they seem to get a little more irrated that I don't 'get with the gates'... now I am the first person to tell you that you don't fuck with the infinite. But worshiping those things, those portals? No. Not happening. I don't care what laws your council passes, I see them as things and nothing more."
Tarsus rubbed the side of his neck in irratation.
"Tell me, do you believe it? Do you believe if we bow our heads enough to them the world will be a better place?"
He gazed out the window at the gates and snorted out his left nostril, a perfectly formed ring expanding.
"The gates... the problem with them is they are right there. Furres weren't meant to be able to touch the things we strive for. If we can touch them then what else is there to reach for? They need to have goals beyond their reach, have things to believe in beyond themselves and understanding. If I understand it all then what is the point of trying. If I have questions then will I not seek the answers?"
He narrowed his eyes as he regarded the scene.
"In your dreams do you seek the gates?... or do you seek something greater?"

[Rook]

Rook could not help it, he felt laughter build up in his throat and chest again like an overflowing dam and this time it indeed did come. However he was relieved it was not the shrill insane kind he had been dreading would one day crawl out of his head and out his mouth and land him in the loony bin, no, it was real laughter.

He looked almost inheritly apologetic for a moment, like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

It had been a long time since someone had been clever or old enough to rebuke him like this, and not make him angry at their corruption or hypocrisy. He realized it must have touched some nerve because Tarsus reminded him of his long dead David in some vague way.

But the Mentor had not died a hero's death, as much as he had deserved it. He had been through months and months of chemo therapy, but no one could have helped him for all their technology. Rook had seen his Teacher spasming on the hospital bed, his bleary reddened eyes losing their last bit of sanity after he spoke to Rook for the last time.

It's our way Regulus. Warriors will often fall on their swords. I knew the risks.

Two days later, Rook had been informed of his death, and had been passed through his training with flying colors.

This chilled him into sobriety, but he spoke with irony.

"I have to disagree there, a threat can be very useful. In fact, lying is one of the first things they teach us. Telling someone I'm going to rip their face off often saves me from actually having to do it. But your right, it's an ego trip for me, and it's half baked. I won't apologize though. Don't forget, I could turn on you at any time, I'm not literally an angel after all, it's just a a name the papers gave us"

But he wouldn't have hurt the dinosaur now even if the fucker had thrown himself at him or run off.

He shut up after that, taking in everything Ridge told him, his lips tightening in some places, his frown deepening, his eyes narrowing.

He would remember it all, even the name of the tabaccco. There had to be more but...

Crap.

Rook could not remember how many times a statement or plea had been put to him, asking him to explain, asking him to make everything better, asking him for answers and sanity. But he wasn't a creature of sanity. He knew things, he knew what was good, but after all he was just a garbage man.

And he could not tell, not yet. They promised one day....

He wanted badly to say something, though he hid his struggles well behind a nonchalant frown.

He could not just be silent though, not after David...He would try, he would half ass an answer. There had to be something he could say that could be complacent, that could help in any way. After all that training,...there had to be.

Well I wanted not to be bored. I'm certainly not bored. He already knows more than he thinks he does. Christ if I tell him much more I'm a traitor.

"You mentioned the word 'portals'" he began slowly "That's not right you see, it's the wrong thing but it's very very close. Listen to me, the things that you touch and see, the things that are made of stone, made of metal, which you walk on everyday...are not the Gates. Those are objects and they've got decades worth of blood and brains stained on them, it's repetitively been washed off with bleach. I can smell it sometimes when I walk by, even under all the perfume and hot dogs..."

he paused "I can't say anymore. You know a lot more than you think you do, I'll give you some credit. But we're getting off subject here".

He had looked away, only slightly, he was proud, he supposed to be a Warrior on the right side.

Pehraps sometimes too proud....but he hated himself for it. He felt like a preacher who told the mom of a dead baby that the One God had wanted a new cherub.

That was complete bullshit of course, Lady, your baby is dead because you have a bum uterus, or maybe you smoked too much crack. God has nothing to do with it, if there is a heaven, your baby is definitely there.

But God needs no more Angels, he has plenty, and your baby would scream if he saw what they really looked like.

[Raron]

Tarsus felt better when the furre laughed, he liked to see laughter it was one of the most right things in the world. It seemed to him there was nothing pure in the world besides laughter.
"Heh, you are right. I guess we are getting off subject it is just been a long long time since I thought about Old Pete like this, thought hard about him. He... he was like a father to me."
He shrugged, the furre didn't need to know that his father had left his mother bearing an egg, it wasn't his business.
"He talked alot, and I listened, he told me that this world was a brutal place but wonderful at the same time. Full of magic and horrors beyond measure. Young as I was I had noticed the same thing, that was probably why he talked to me. He taught me alot, how to read books that most consider too hard for a person of your age, how to keep your eyes wide open at all times so you don't miss anything, how to make the perfect s'more using a lighter, and how to smile as much as possible because a smilin' furre is underestimated. He taught me alot in those early years of gates and how to look at the true face of a furre."
He took another puff and tilted back on his chair.
"He taught me to fight, and more importently he taught me to win. 'Rule 27 kid!, only cheaters prosper.' He said things like that while teaching me what he called 'the code' a code of honor and integragrity. You don't leave a friend behind, you deal honorably with people and return what they deal to you, that there is nothing lower then a hypocrate, and many others. He taught a young boy how to not only survive but to thrive in this wicked city."
He gazed at the Angel.
"He never came out and said he was an Angel mind you, but he also taught me to read between the lines."
Another puff and then noticing that the room was warming up nicely he slowly and carefully took off the long scarf around his neck and his coat, setting it to the side. This revealed all he had. A knife in his right boot, a sawed off shotgun at either side, and a pistol in a shoulder holster..
"He taught me alot and taught me to want to learn, I wanted to learn more about the gates so he talked on about passages and disguise, about hiding in plain site. It was his way, rather then just teach you the answer sometimes he would teach you how to find it yourself."
Tarsus bowed his head and thought a bit on the old furre, about watching him die as his own organs turned against him, as they shut down... he refused to go to the hospital, perfering to die with dignity fighting against his own body with everything he had. In the end Tarsus watched him die, called the police, and left. He had never gone back to the building, never gone to see who moved in. He knew he never would.
His head slowly rose to look directly into Rook's eyes.
"So, out of curiousity what really happens when you learn all I know? Do you and I really go our seperate ways, the angels staying away and life goes back to normal? Can you really say that in honesty? I mean will your higher ups who I imagine you have to make regualar reports to allow that? As we talk are you wondering if you have to kill me or possible have me followed? Let me be frank those are your options for that, if you are possibly contemplating taking me alive in and locking me up... that is not happening. I have people I must protect in the coming storm. I can promise you taking me alive is not an option."
He thought for a second..
"That girl I met at the cafe might make an acceptable parole officer though..."

[Rook]

"You should do your best to forget about the girl in the cafe". Said Rook, a protective note in his voice. "She is my friend, and believe it or not Angels can be young and naive like everybody else, I'd know as I oversee all the Apprentices. Don't tell any of them this if you meet them, but they are all like children to me".

He backtracked a bit after that, and looked straight back into the dinosaur's eyes with his own hard, stormy gray ones.

"I don't often have a chance to promise people protection, usually with me it's the opposite. But when I say it I mean it. Any Angel who tracks you down about this matter would have me to answer to".

He sighed and went on, he spoke carefully, he did not wish to offend the dinosaur about something he seemed to care so deeply for.

"Your...'Old Pete' sounds like he was a decommissioned Angel, possibly even an ArcAngel just like me. See, when we get to a certain age we are..chosen to become Seraphim.

And when they don't choose us...well they'll keep us at it until something bad happens, then you leave with whatever money you were wise enough to save and get sworn out. Usually".

He couldn't help but have a bitter note, though he had tried his best to keep his voice even.

How many years for me? Am I going to slow up one day and get a bullet in my head? There goes Killer. Or maybe cancer like David. Please...please not that.

...but Cancer would only take my life...the Seraphim would....

[Raron]

(kinda long this time and lots of dialog, that is the way it came out. ;P )
Tarsus believed Rook, he was mildly suprised by that. Not often did he met someone trust worthy.
"Hmm... you know... I actually beleive you. And the decommisioned thing sound about right, jibs with some of what he let slip from time to time. 'Not good enough for that', I remember him saying that once... mumbling it. He most likely thought I didn't here him say it but it stuck in my mind over all these years."
He thought for a second, sorting through old memories, trying to figure out where he should head next within his blurry recollections.
"As I said he set me up to check out the library, get to some of the more... guarded shelves. It was suprisingly easy all it took was a uniform, some scale dye, and some fake horns. I disguised myself as a heavily hybrided night janitor, I went around back as a night janitor picking up trash outside, they nodded at me as I went. Figuring I was the new guy. Once in the backway I went to the employee entrance and started trying my id code in the door, the one I don't have... the error message kept popping up of course and I started grumbling. A guard came to check me out and I told him the machine must be malfunctioning."
He chuckled at the recollection.
"I-I-I-I-I-I t-tol-d-d-d hi-m-m-m-m l-lik-k-k-k-kk-k-k-e this... a horrible stutter cause by obvious mixed breeding and nervousness, by the time I finished the explanation of how the code was not working he had forgotten how it b-b-began, finally he threw up his hands and tried his code. It worked."
The smirk on Tarsus's face was one of pride.
"I am more then just a pretty face after all. People have views about mixed blood and sometimes you have to roll with it to get a job done."
He smiled showing all his teeth, the frontmost ones were not the flat teeth of a pure ankyosaurian, but rather more like knives made of bone, the teeth of a predator.
"Anyways once you get past security and are inside well, you are supposed to be there obviously and no one takes a second look at a janitor... expecally when they are obviously working hard and look funny. They look right through you and walk on, at least most. Some started up conversation with the poor mixed breed... but after he took two minutes to say two sentences they made themselves scarce. With that I cleaned my way to the shelves I wanted and slipped a few books into my coverall and then made my way out after working my 'shift', left... and well I was able to pull this off twelve different times before security tightened down. They never suspected me but they had implimented trackers and the like for the night staff and seeing them install new stuff I decided to cut my loses... besides I had learned enough. I forgot most of it, science and explantations... but honestly what stopped me was not the security. It was the fact I no longer cared about the gates, I had moved on. I had began to see 'the bigger picture' Pete talked about. You said earlier you thought my views cowardly, let me explain something I figured out. People think there are two sides to every conflict, there are three. The third is the people who duck and cover and only prayer is 'please of please make this not be happening.' When you and yours and Addy and hers finally get around to business... what side do you think mine will be on? Most of them go about there lives neither knowing nor caring about what you and your angels get up to. They don't give a snot for the rebellion nor what could come of it. They just want to keep doing what they do. You angels protect each other, the council, the gates, and the city. Those are your priorities. If something gets in the way of those you eliminate them. Addy, she and hers have each other, their cause, and what ever future they have in mind. Those are their priorities. That is what they are willing to kill for. I only have one priority."
Tarsus indicated his guns and his knife.
"The main reason I carry these has nothing to do with what I do, most of the time I don't even use them for work. I perfer to keep it quiet. The main reason for these is because someday my friends may be stuck in the middle, they may be the ones praying 'make this not be happening'. I will protect them, I will save them, I will do what I do best. I fix problems. I can not protect them from your side, or Addy's side. So I will make a forth side, my side. The side that will not enter the battle, will not take part of your games, as long as both sides leave my side and what my side values alon. That said... I will admit I would perfer that you and yours win against her side. I think it would be better then the alternative... also..."
He flicked his hand once and there was a white card, identical to the one he had given the other angel. He slid it across to Rook.
"I think you are a decent guy, doing what he has to do for what he believes in. I respect that. If you ever need a pair of hands, someone to watch your back, someone to fix a problem... someone who is without hidden feathers. Give me a call, I am willing to work with you even if I will not work with your organization."
Tarsus put out his second cigarette and refilled his cup one last time before taking a sip and grimacing.
"Sorry for wasting your time with an unasked for run down of my personal pet theories... where was I?"

[Rook]

"So it was the library..."

Rook muttered to himself, honestly he wasn't suprised, but he was definitley relieved. If he'd mentioned holes in Angels security, directly.... There was still a chance though, he had to keep listening, if there was even a little more to tell. Then he'd go check himself, damn it, every nook and cranny, anything to keep this off from the Seraphim as long as possible. He'd have to report it, but if he could just get the damn Red Pavillion's name pasted all over it, it'd minimize it's credibility.

and if there's a need...I'll try to take care of it myself. I'll try.

Rook had to restrain himself not to flinch when Tarsus called him a 'decent guy'.

I'm not. You've never had to see me rip someone's throat out with my hands, my friend. You've never seen me blow a fucking hole in someone's head. Maybe the other Angels, the scientists and doctors, deserve your sympathy and praise, but not me.

Hell I just take out the trash, get paid and keep going. And sometimes I even catch myself enjoying it. Sound decent to you?

Lowering his eyes for a moment before bringing them back up, he hesitated, then took the card, and shook Tarsus's hand. Firmly. His hands and wrists were suprisingly compact, even thin, for the large things they wore. They looked more like the paws of a ferret or a badger than a wolf.

His claws sparked a bit, then dimmed again, on the surface they looked natural, but if you looked closely you could see the wires running through them, thin as thread and dissapearing into slender hands, encased in something that at first looked claw, then like plastic, and then like something altogether stronger than either.

"I appreciate it".

It was sincere, but it was also distantly sad.

"Hm, it might've been unasked for, but I think if I would've had a choice to begin with I'd go the same way.Not everyone has to fight everybody else's battles, even if we say that in propaganda, the ones we cherish the most are the ones who stay out of it, and in the end still make the right decisions...

....anyway, don't get me started on the politics, you've eaten too many nachos and I like this shirt.

I will say this though, at first I got beaten on for being a hybrid, even by the last Apprentice Overseer, some of the higher ups even opposed me, but Big and Scary comes in all shapes and sizes, so once I put on a few pounds, killed a few assassins, I had those same bureaucrats trying to get me to sleep with their wives and kiss their babies".

He smirked

"The moral of this story? Dunno, already lost it, just wanted to brag I guess. Told you I'm bad at politics". He shruggred.

"You were detailing your infiltration of the more private areas of the Red Pavillion".

His strange almond shaped eyes shone dimly.