A Dying City (Open/NR)

Why had he banished himself to such a place? There were no redeeming factors about the city that he had taken to be his new home, nothing remotely close to being decency in the inhabitants who resided here. His golden eyes scanned the streets and he could taste the corruption of the city and its damned people, each one of them working themselves towards the eternal flame. It hurt him to think that the people of this place may be beyond redemption, but the more he sought something resembling hope or light the more apparent it became to him that this place was void of any such things. He simply shook his head, sighing and placing his right hand onto his forehead, long blonde hair slipping between the cracks in his fingers and moisture forming at the corner of golden eyes. He could see his glasses beginning to fog and he pulled them off, taking the silk square from his pocket and wiping them clean before placing it back in its resting place.

Astalan Alendriel, which was a surname he had adopted some time during his banishment to this world, was dressed in an impressive manor. He wore a pair of well shone black oxford shoes on his feet that went well with his black crisply ironed slacks and black leather belt. Cuffed sleeves with silver cog cufflinks were poking out from the slack pockets and the white shirt they were attached to was mostly covered by a sharp black vest with brass buttons. There was a pocket watch attached to a chain making its way from the center button to his right vest pocket and tied around his neck was an olive green tie, tied in a sharp full Windsor knot that protruded ever so slightly and was adorned with a perfect dimple square in the center. He had become a man who prided himself on his dress, having dawned the clothes of man after shedding his robes millennia ago. He pulled out the watch in his pocket and opened the casing, shaking his head when he looked towards the arm on the face of the clock, which wasn’t moving at all. As he slid it back into his pocket he checked the watch that he wore on his wrist, a simple silver skeleton faced watch, and noted that it was two in the afternoon, the sun peeking up in the sky as the afternoon heat began to rise.

He sat on a bench in a park, observing the world around him and waiting for something to change, seeing nothing redeeming about the city at all. Prostitutes were at their game, attempting to turn a quick dollar in exchange for their sexual services. The men who went to them were a mix of low life nobodies looking for a quick fuck and high up politicians and officials cheating on their wives with cheap whores when they thought nobody was watching. There was a certain advantage to being an angel, even if he was a fallen Angel. Astalan could go unseen when he wanted, or could blend into a crowd with ease. He watched as drug dealers sold their death product to junkies who were so far gone they didn’t care what the substances were doing to their bodies. He could see one particular junkie whom he had earlier witnessed pinching an old woman’s purse. The junkie was using the money from the purse to get his next fix and it made Astalan feel sick. He wanted to intervene but at this time that wasn’t his job. He watched again as the same junkie walked away and seconds later a low riding vehicle drove past the drug dealer and three men poked guns out of the windows and gunned him down, something Astalan saw as somewhat of a public service, even if he knew that it was probably a rival gang taking out a threat to their territory. The city was beyond saving, but Astalan still had hope…

Yawning as he watched the events unfold Lag quietly comments, "That's how I died awhile back..." Swinging his small legs as he sat on the bench next to the man. Lag wiped a few tears from the corner of his eyes as he quietly tried thinking of what to say next.

A kid dropped from... seemingly nowhere. If one had watched the news, or even knew the power structure of the huge city, they'd easily recognize the kid. The kid had white hair and red eyes, but was the spitting image of his father, sometimes even called his younger brother since they looked so much alike. He wore a grey windbreaker and a darker grey turtleneck beneath, grey slacks and black sneakers. The smell of a peculiar cologne hovered around him. A glowing halo was above his head, and upon his back were two large feathery wings.

He stood up straight and slid his hands into his pants pockets after straightening out his jacket. Two people were sitting on a bench nearby. One of them was a kid he didn't recognize, but the scent coming from him told him 2 things: The kid was a ghost, and he was also from Ground Zero. Could he have been caught up in the destruction of New Vegas?

The other man he recognized to be someone who'd been doing some work around the city, and the reason Jr was here. "...Been noticing you doing some good around town," said Jr, glancing toward the man Astalan, whom he quickly figured out to be an angel just like he was. "I'd have come sooner, but we're trying to adjust to being back home after a 5 years absence, and some of my family is already in a major crisis, so apologies. I found some time to get away though, so thank you for your work around Edge, Mr...?"

Lag turning his head surprise of an appearance of another person quietly looked at the man with watery eyes. He hadn't seen this man before in his life, but Lag got some strange sense of strength coming from the man. He had a halo above his which caused Lag to stare with a bit of awe. "Are ya a angel?" Lag now assuming he was an angel thought the he was here to purge him from this plane of existence.

"I don't wanna leave!" crying his heart out he stood up on the bench even then he only reached the mans neck, "I don't know why I'm here, but I ain't leaving!" His voice as shaky as he spoke between tears, "Can you even purge ghosts...?"

As he continued to watch the city’s madness unfold two things happened. He had been joined firstly by a ghost on his bench, one who was simply recalling the horrific details of his past and notably his death. Were Astalan able to he would have placed a hand on the ghost’s shoulder to comfort him, but he instead let it be and simply stated “Death is an embrace that I have not been able to feel after millennia of life. Banishment without release is difficult… I’m sorry you were killed so young child.” He looked towards the ghost and then out of the corner of his eye he watched as the second figure approached him, a man whom he had heard of in whispers…the man who ran Edge City. Astalan watched him come forward and smiled slightly. This man was an angel, but also something more. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what made the young Kane different but he didn’t care as he had attracted the attention of the man he had been waiting for.

After the young Kane had spoken, Astalan nodded his aknlwledgement of his thanks and responded in his low but powerful voice; “My name is Astalan, Astalan Alendriel. I have been hoping I’d be able to meet you. I understand being busy, and do not worry, time moves too quickly after all these years for me to ever be waiting on someone for too long.” He looked towards the ghost and tilted his head, the young former human boy asking of the powers of angels. “Fret not child, an angel can banish whom they wish, though you do not cause any issue and pose no threat. I would nigh banish you nor send you to another plane.” His eyes shifted back towards the man who ran Edge and he held out an open palm in greeting, his other hand staying in plain sight and also opened so that there would be no questioning that Astalan meant him no harm. “It is always nice to meet another angel on this plane.”

The ghost kid must have thought this other Angel or Jr was here to take him to the afterlife, seeing as he dropped out of the sky. It made sense. The tired, bland expression of Jr's young face didn't change much as crimson eyes look toward the kid again, who seemed to be crying and scared. Apparently he wasn't ready to go yet. Jr wasn't here for that.

"No, it's nothing like that. I came out of that building there," Jr said to Lag, pointing behind him at Darkman Tower, the tallest building in Edge and able to be seen anywhere in the entire city. "That's why I dropped down like I did. You have nothing to worry about, so long as you stay out of trouble..."

The other angel introduced himself as Astalan Alendriel, and said he'd been hoping to meet Jr. Perhaps it was because he wanted to join The Company, or perhaps it was for other reasons. Time would eventually tell. "Yeah, I know all about the way time moves," Jr said to his next comment about waiting, and it was the truth. Time was something he was able to manipulate ever since he wore diapers.

"It is nice to meet another Angel, outside my dad, sisters and cousins, of course. You said you were hoping to meet me? I'm pretty new at this running a whole city thing, I just recently took over for my father. What can I do for you Mr Alendriel?"

The boy let out a silent sigh as he was reassured he was not to be sent into the next life. Lag listened to the man trying to understand his words with difficulty. Next thing he knew Lag was staring at Darkman Tower. Nasin wasn't sure what the tower represented, but he assumed that it meant the man was a big shot of some sort. Snapping back to his senses he responded to Jr, "Yes, Sir. I won't be any trouble. I just was wandering about as I usually do..." Wiping tears from his face he remained quiet when the two men spoke.

Both seemed to very powerful in their own rights. Both were Angels, but one was actually in charge of the city. Lag smiling widely asked with child curiosity, "You own this city?! Do you own this bench?!" Jumping on the bench he awaited for an answer.