03-07-2017, 11:04 AM
The bottle of beer was cold in her hand as she took a swig. It was good, if a bit too hoppy for her taste. IPA's were never her thing- to say nothing of microbrews. Seemed to her that everyone competed to see how dark or strong or sharp they could make their beer. That or put in all kinds of weird ingredients to make their's unique. Orange peel had become pretty standard ever the years, along with other fruit, but people had gotten far too "creative". Tobacco-leaf was a serious mistake.
Thankfully, White- a fake name, she knew- was not a pretentious douche so he kept the standards around. Simple. Comfortable. She frowned at the slight bitterness. Well, almost.
The place was simple and well kept, with supplies and equipment organized and put away. It was what safe houses were supposed to look like. She'd spent days at a time in various ones and had seen good and bad. Ricky's, down in Mexico City, had been a nice one. She wondered what he was up to. He had seemed in line to adopt that girl. Which was good, she supposed. Regan had taken her in- well more than that, really. She hadn't really been a girl and their relationship was as much wife as daughter. But Regan had been a hard man, ruthless and decisive. He had been her rock through her parent's death and was the foundation of her career. Ricky was a bit too....not soft, exactly. Too human, too compassionate. Shades of Seth and Rune. This was war. So she wished him luck even as she wondered if the girl would lead him out of the trenches and into a house with picket fences.
White was another matter. He exuded some of the same ruthlessness, which she rather liked. Not that she put anything out there. There was far too much going on. The Atharim were imploding, now that the Regus and Barovsky were dead. She wasn't sure where the other Archangels were, exactly. Well, some, she knew, but not what they were up to. And the rank and file Atharim had been left to fend for themselves. It left ashes in her mouth, in some ways. Being part of a tightly disciplined organization was not her speed, so its not like she missed that part. But the archangels thing was pretty cool. And now it seemed dead already.
Ascendancy was still around despite that attack the news was filled with. Back and fully restored, if the reports could be believed. This was bad. The adulation for the man had only grown, for some ever reaching the point of worship.
The very thing that the Atharim was meant to protect from- and what they feared- was happening. The reborn gods were being viewed as Gods, as more than men. It was only a matter of time before that spread and got worse.
It had been why she had struck up a conversation with White when she happened to see him out and about. Her experience put her among the top Atharim in the world. Someone had to make something out of this mess. And she was an Archangel. Apollyon still needed killing.
Course, being contract, he wasn't exactly gonna be motivated by devotion or the war for humanity. He was far more pragmatic. He just liked killing monsters, which she totally understood. If the god's had not returned, she would have been happy hunting the rest of her life. But life was what it was, not what you wanted it to be.
But at least he had been amendable to hanging out. He was far more her speed than Yoshi. The man was so stiff and formal. White was someone she could hang with. And who knew? Maybe she could get him to join her somehow. Before the cancer of god-worship spread.
"I gotta say, it's a good safe house. Neighborhood's a little rough. They give you any trouble?"
Thankfully, White- a fake name, she knew- was not a pretentious douche so he kept the standards around. Simple. Comfortable. She frowned at the slight bitterness. Well, almost.
The place was simple and well kept, with supplies and equipment organized and put away. It was what safe houses were supposed to look like. She'd spent days at a time in various ones and had seen good and bad. Ricky's, down in Mexico City, had been a nice one. She wondered what he was up to. He had seemed in line to adopt that girl. Which was good, she supposed. Regan had taken her in- well more than that, really. She hadn't really been a girl and their relationship was as much wife as daughter. But Regan had been a hard man, ruthless and decisive. He had been her rock through her parent's death and was the foundation of her career. Ricky was a bit too....not soft, exactly. Too human, too compassionate. Shades of Seth and Rune. This was war. So she wished him luck even as she wondered if the girl would lead him out of the trenches and into a house with picket fences.
White was another matter. He exuded some of the same ruthlessness, which she rather liked. Not that she put anything out there. There was far too much going on. The Atharim were imploding, now that the Regus and Barovsky were dead. She wasn't sure where the other Archangels were, exactly. Well, some, she knew, but not what they were up to. And the rank and file Atharim had been left to fend for themselves. It left ashes in her mouth, in some ways. Being part of a tightly disciplined organization was not her speed, so its not like she missed that part. But the archangels thing was pretty cool. And now it seemed dead already.
Ascendancy was still around despite that attack the news was filled with. Back and fully restored, if the reports could be believed. This was bad. The adulation for the man had only grown, for some ever reaching the point of worship.
The very thing that the Atharim was meant to protect from- and what they feared- was happening. The reborn gods were being viewed as Gods, as more than men. It was only a matter of time before that spread and got worse.
It had been why she had struck up a conversation with White when she happened to see him out and about. Her experience put her among the top Atharim in the world. Someone had to make something out of this mess. And she was an Archangel. Apollyon still needed killing.
Course, being contract, he wasn't exactly gonna be motivated by devotion or the war for humanity. He was far more pragmatic. He just liked killing monsters, which she totally understood. If the god's had not returned, she would have been happy hunting the rest of her life. But life was what it was, not what you wanted it to be.
But at least he had been amendable to hanging out. He was far more her speed than Yoshi. The man was so stiff and formal. White was someone she could hang with. And who knew? Maybe she could get him to join her somehow. Before the cancer of god-worship spread.
"I gotta say, it's a good safe house. Neighborhood's a little rough. They give you any trouble?"