Private one on one thread

[speedy4ever]

Skylar

When Cassiel told him that there wasn't much to be done, Skylar bit his bottom lip and slowly nodded his head to show that he understood. Of course, there was something that he could do if he really wanted to but Skylar didn't want to use the bottle of holy water unless it was an absolute emergency. The water itself was given to Skylar from the leader of the angels himself and knew that it had great healing properties. Properties that Skylar planned on using in case of an emergancy. Shaking his head at the thought then, Skylar's gaze wandered over Cassiel's injured body once more before he turned his attention back to the other male's face.


"You want to know about the war huh? Well...there's not much to talk about really. After you were pronounced dead and missing in action, I was quickly placed in charge of the second group of angels. You know...you were the only reason that I wanted to fight in the war in the first place." he said blushing in slight embarrassment. Skylar knew that if Cassiel would have never saved him from that demon all those years ago, he wouldn't be sitting here with the other angel right now. "I don't know if you remember this or not but when I was a young angel I wandered too far from safety and was attacked by a demon." Reaching up then and lifting up his shirt slightly to reveal his side, Skylar pointed to where a huge claw mark like scar covered most of his entire left side.


"The demon had wounded me pretty good and when I thought that I was doomed; you came out of nowhere and saved my life." he said allowing Cassiel to see the scar before he lowered his shirt then and leaning back against the steel bars of the cage that confined them. Eyes looking down at the floor then, Skylar smiled a little to himself as he thought about that fateful day.


"Anyway, like I was saying before I got completely off track. We were actually planning on raiding this place and killing all the demons inside. We knew that they were housing prisoners of war down here and I told the other angels that nobody got left behind. So...before I went and got myself captured, we planned on attacking this place three days from now." Wings twitching slightly at the memory though of being captured, Skylar looked down at his blood stained wings and sighed.


"But...some leader I turned out to be. I couldn't even protect my friends from being slaughted by those filthy demons.

"Follow me and I'll lead you to freedom...or die trying."

[Nirai Kanai Lanai]

Cassiel



As Skylar spoke, he could remember, long ago and saw in Skylar now, the young and frightened angel he had rescued long ago. Cassiel looked away, unable to bear the memory any more. He knew that Skylar's story about his rescue of him was meant to make him feel better, but Cassiel could only think how saving Skylar that day had only ensured that Skylar would face a far worse fate years later when Cassiel would be powerless to save him. It would have been better perhaps if Skylar had died rather than following his hero a little closer than either probably wanted. The bitter ironies of their situation left Cassiel unsure if he wanted to scream or laugh.

Cassiel forced himself to leave those thoughts behind. Skylar had meant to give him hope, not remind him of his failures. He listened carefully as Skylar spoke about his own capture. Cassiel had long ago dismissed the possibility of rescue. A return to heaven was impossible for him in his current state, even if the rescue had succeeded. He was a fallen angel, and a crippled one. No matter how kindly he might be treated, Heaven would be as much a prison to him as Hell. What good would returning be if he couldn't take part in the struggle that had been at the core of his purpose? He would never be able to fly again, or fight.

Cassiel forced himself to think about the circumstances from a strategic point of view. When he spoke again, there were small glimmers of the warrior he had once been. “I'm assuming you and your strike force were either captured or killed in your initial attack? If whoever takes your place is smart, they will call off the attack, at least temporarily. They will need to re-group and re-assess the situation. Even if they don't, I doubt we will be here in two days, let alone three. You're attack will probably motivate the demons to move us. They've done it before, I don't know if it was failed attacks or other reasons, but they move us around a great deal and we usually don't get much warning. “

Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all.

[speedy4ever]

Skylar

all, to Skylar Cassiel was still somebody he looked up to and respected. If the other angel was disappointed in him then Skylar wasn't sure if he would be able to lead anybody else again. There was nothing more crushing than having the one person that was your idol think so lowly of you. Biting his bottom lip at the thought, Skylar subconciously wrapped his wing around him then finding himself unable to face Cassiel now. Wonderful, so much for becoming the great leader he had always dreamed off.


However, when he heard the other angel speak again though, Skylar's head perked up slightly as he looked over at Cassiel and found himself blinking in slight surprise. "Uh...yeah. I was the only one who survived. But if what you say is true about the demons moving us then it could be a good thing." Looking over at the demon who was on guard then, Skylar leaned in then so that the demon couldn't eavesdrop on their conversation. A plan was slowly starting to form in Skylar's mind and he wanted the great warrior's opinion on it before he went and did something that would not only jeopordize his life but Cassiel's life as well.


"Think about it Cassiel. If you figure they plan on moving us, they are going to save the stronger angels for last when they are moved. I've noticed that not all of the demons are as strong as they want you to think. I simply glared at one of them and I thought he was going to piss himself. What if one of us pretends to be weak and frightened? You know have the demons move one of us to the front of the line where the weaker demons would be. If the other angels have a leader in the front and a leader in the back, we just might able to escape." It was a risky gambit Skylar knew but it would be their only chance at freedom. All the angels had to do was group together and there was a chance that some of them would at least be able to escape.

"Follow me and I'll lead you to freedom...or die trying."

[Nirai Kanai Lanai]

Cassiel



Cassiel smiled at Skylar's words. He could see in the younger angel, the reason why he had replaced him and why the war had gone well enough that they were able to make plans such as the rescue of captives, especially those who had been held as long as Cassiel.

He listened intently to the plan. If Skylar was to avoid his own fate, they would need to do something soon. After the move, the demons would likely move quickly to secure their hold over Skylar, clipping his wings and beginning the brutal process of breaking him. Once that happened, Skylar would not be able to fight as well, no matter how much he might want to. Skylar had no idea how soul destroying the loss was.

If there was any way that Cassiel could help the most recent captives like Skylar, he would gladly give his own life. It would be better than the slow death of his soul here amongst the demons. For the first time in decades, Cassiel had a goal and an ambition. For the first time in centuries, he could be useful. He had years of observation on how the demons managed their angelic slaves, all vital to a successful escape. They had been given a rare opportunity.

Skylar was right, a move was a perfect opportunity to try something. There had been five times in the past that Cassiel and the other angels had been moved and he remembered each time to varying degrees. Each time had always been a surprise. The demons tightly controlled information that slaves had. The compound could have been attacked dozens of times and Cassiel had never known. But because of Skylar's information, it was the first time that Cassiel would know before hand a move would happen.

“It is unlikely they will separate us. The demons tend to move their captives in blocks. If they think a particular angel is dangerous, they take extra steps to ensure control. Any Angel with unclipped wings, or who has shown any rebellion will be wearing a shock collar, and likely put in chains. They are not above threatening cell mates to induce cooperation either.

While it might seem counter intuitive, they tend to move strong and weak angels together. They don't have that many guards, and there have been fewer in the past few years. I suspect we have your efforts to thank for that. But novice guards are usually also more rough and reckless because they are cowards. They are the bullies and they tend to take control of a weaker angel, while two or three are put on a stronger one. If the stronger one step out of line, the guard then takes it out on the weaker angel until the strong one is willing to cooperate.

During the most vulnerable part of the transfer there will be only two guards, but one of them will have the shock controller. That one is the senior guard. We need to find a way to stop him from using it and fight back then. We won't be able to get anyone else loose, at least not right away, but at least we can then look for opportunities from the outside. “

Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all.

[speedy4ever]

Skylar

Skylar had to admit that never before had he been so excited than right now. Working side by side with the one angel who had given him a reason to fight was enough to get Skylar's hopes up. Another thing that made the younger angel's spirit was the fact that Cassiel was becoming more and more of the once proud angel he once was and less like the tortured and abused angel Skylar had first met when he had been captured.


Sitting there cross legged in the cramped cell, Skylar found himself hanging on to all of Cassiel's words knowing that the other angel would know more about the way things worked down there than himself. Once Cassiel had finished explaining then what the general plan was, Skylar nodded his head in approval as he stole a quick glance at the demons who seemed to have noticed the strange behavior of the two angel leaders.


"Alright, so then the general plan is this then. We need to try and group the weaker angels as best as we can. If we can get them surrounded by the stronger angels, the demons won't have any leverage on us. If we have at least five strong angels on the outside of the weaker angels, we have a better chance of keeping the angels in the middle safe.


Since we'd be in blocks, we have to find out what angels are more stronger in each block. Is there anyway we can get word around to the other angels of the plan? I don't know about you but I do not want to try this plan without being assured that every angel is aware of what is happening. The last thing we need is for a weak angel to go and get himself caught because he wasn't aware of what was going on." Looking down at the collar around his neck then, Skylar slowly reached up then and gently tugged on it slightly.


There had to be someway of dealing with the collars or at least make them somewhat ineffective. Wait a minute...rubber absorbed electricty. Looking over at Cassiel then, Skylar tilted his head to the side then when a thought occured to him. "Hey Cassiel...rubber absorbs electricity right? Well what if...what if we find something made of rubber to tuck underneath all of the shock collars so that they wouldn't shock them?"


Maybe if the shock collars were rendered useless then the other angels would have a chance at a fair fight without having to worry about being shocked. Smiling happily at the thought, Skylar found himself wincing slightly when his shock collar slowly started to glow then and sparks of electricity began to shock his pale skin. What the hell was going on now? Before he could even blink then, Skylar found himself crying out in surprise as a powerful burst of electricity once again coursed through his body causing his body to topple forward.


The demon who had been watching the two angels since they started talking had approached the two while Skylar was lost in his thoughts and decided to shut the young angel up. "Be quiet you. You have a very irritating voice. I think that it's time to silence that big mouth of yours." he said reaching in and grabbing Skylar by his hair. Dragging the young angel out of the cage then, the demon looked over at Cassiel then and smirked slightly. "Don't worry old timer. We'll return him back to you as soon as we've had our fun."

"Follow me and I'll lead you to freedom...or die trying."

[Nirai Kanai Lanai]

Cassiel



Cassiel had known they would be coming for Skylar eventually but as they dragged him away, the feeling of helplessness returned. If he thought fighting back would do anything at all, he would have. He might have even done so before they started talking about escape but there was too much at stake right now. He couldn't let the demons know he had any hope at all. He had to make them think he was weak, or he would be not be free to act during their move. He needed to save his own strength.

Skylar's plans were ambitious. He wasn't sure they would be able to get everyone out. But he and Skylar might be able to escape and then they could work on freeing the others. It would be very dangerous but he was at the point that danger meant nothing. He had nothing to lose from fighting now. There was nothing the demons could do to him, they hadn't before.

Still watching the helpless expression on Skylar's face made Cassiel so angry and yet useless at the same time. There was nothing he could do to protect Sklyar this time. He knew how cruel the demons could be when they had an angel, particularly one as proud as Skylar. Nothing good was waiting for him. Cassiel could only wait and hope the experience did not dim Skylar's ambitions, or wound him too much to be an effective fighter. They would be moving soon, Cassiel was certain of it, and he had to find a way to get Skylar out of the demon's clutches before then.

He stood at the entrance to their cage, waiting. He gripped the bars and put his head against them, trying not remember the awfulness of his first time. The memories still hurt even five hundred years later.

Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all.

[speedy4ever]

Skylar

About two hours later, the two demons came back dragging an unconscious Skylar behind them. It was apparent that the demons didn't take it easy on the young angel because of the various claw marks, lashings, and cuts that covered his now exposed chest. Shirt ripped to shreds and one wing missing having been apparently ripped off during the time he had been alone with the demons. Carelessly throwing Skylar into the cage then, the two demons looked down at the unconscious angel then and couldn't help but smirk in obvious amusement.

"I must admit, this one was definitly a lot more funner than that last angel leader that's for sure." Holding up Skylar's missing wing then, the demon looked over at Cassiel then and couldn't help but smirk as he tossed the wing in front of the cage. "Here. Give this to your little friend when he wakes up and tell him it's a gift from Talion."

With those words then, Talion and the other demon turned around then leaving the two angels alone for the rest of the night. From where he was on the floor, Skylar heard the demons walking away and he couldn't help but growl slightly even though he couldn't move his body because of blood loss and shock. "Yeah well...next time I see Talion I'll have a gift for him." he muttered quietly as he forced his eyes open then and looking up at Cassiel with a small frown upon his face. "So tell me...how bad it is?" he asked referring to his missing wing.

From what he was feeling right now, Skylar had just assumed that the demons ripped some feathers out or something because it felt like the wing was still even there even though there was nothing but a huge chunk of missing skin where his wing used to be.

"Follow me and I'll lead you to freedom...or die trying."

[Nirai Kanai Lanai]

Cassiel


When Cassiel saw Skylar he wanted to attack the demons. He didn't care what they would do to him. It didn't matter any more. Nothing mattered. All his hopes had come crashing down again. He had wanted to protect Skylar but this was worse than anything he'd seen Skylar must have made them very very angry. Enough that they would kill him slowly. There was no way he could recover from an injury like this. Not without any thing to clean the wound or stop the blood.

Cassiel felt rage like he had not felt since he first came here. If he had the strength he wanted to rip the demons apart with his bare hands. But he was too weak. If he attacked them, they would only take it as an excuse to destroy him too. He didn't care. But something stopped him. He couldn't let go of everything just yet. Skylar was still alive, even if it probably wouldn't be for very much longer. Cassiel felt so useless but he couldn't leave Skylar alone by throwing his own life away. He had to try and make him as comfortable as he could.

“Try not to move. You must have lost a lot of blood.” Cassiel tried to find the words to tell Skylar what had happened but he couldn't find the words. He knelt beside Skylar, picking up the wing. “It's bad. It's very bad. You've lost a wing.”

Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all.

[speedy4ever]

Skylar

Laying there waiting patiently for Cassiel to tell him what the damage was, Skylar couldn't help but chuckle a little when he thought about what it was that had gotten him in this situation in the first place. One of the demons who had been having his fun with him had dared to insult Cassiel in Skylar's presence and that caused the young angel to react in a rather violent way which included killing the demon who went and opened his mouth and the other demon who had tried to help his friend.

Looking down at his blood stained hands, Skylar sighed a little as he slowly closed his eyes as he felt himself slowly starting to doze off. "Damn demons...calledyoua...disgrace to angels everywhere." he slurred slightly trying his best to explain what had happened in the first place. "Killed the guy who insulted you and the other demon who tried to help him...they thought...it was amusing." he said slowly opening his eyes then and watching Cassiel curiosly as he knelt down beside him and picking something up.

Just as he was about to ask the elder angel what it was that he was holding, Skylar felt his blood run cold when he heard that he had lost a wing. "What?!" he cried in slight disbelief as he quickly bolted up which was a big mistake on his part as a searing pain erupted from his back. Slumping back down on the floor, Skylar looked up at Cassiel completely horrified. "They...they ripped my wing off?"

"Follow me and I'll lead you to freedom...or die trying."

[Nirai Kanai Lanai]

Cassiel listened with growing horror as Skylar told him how he lost the wing, without realizing how bad it was. He seemed quite proud of the fact that he had managed to kill two demons. This explained why they had decided to maim him so fatally. Demons had very little loyalty to one another. They seemed to delight in tormenting each other as much as the Angels they kept. It made their games even more cruel because they would use the angel's natural compassion and feeling for another angel to make whatever torment they devised much worse by playing on angels concern for one another. Only the sick mind of a demon could turn positive qualities like empathy and loyalty weapons to injure their foes.

No doubt they had not killed Skylar outright because they knew it would be far worse if Cassiel discovered his new friend's loyalty and admiration for him had been the cause of his death. Knowing this, didn't change how Cassiel felt. Nothing he had ever done was worth a thing, if had only become the means by which an angel like Skylar would die in such a brutal fashion. Cassiel felt sick. He didn't care what the demons thought or said about him. He was beyond such pride. The insults that Skylar would die for meant nothing to him.

When Skylar asked him disbelieving he could only reply weakly ' Yes.” He buried his head in his hands. It was not enough that Cassiel had wished for death. The demons had found a way to make him wish that he had never existed at all. If he hadn't been there, then Skylar would never have tried to follow his example or tried to defend his honor. As if there was anything left to defend. He was a disgrace.

Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all.

[speedy4ever]

Skylar

Noticing the way that Cassiel had buried his head in his hands, Skylar frowned slightly at the older angel's actions. Surly he wasn't upset over this little incident? Biting his bottom lip at the thought, Skylar weakly turned his head towards the loose stone where he had hidden his bag and then it dawned on him that he still had the holy water. If he could at least drink one drop of that precious water his wounds would be healed and his wing would grow back as well. Smiling slightly at the thought, Skylar weakly reached out with a shaking hand then and managed to remove the stone where his precious bag was hidden. Fumbling around for a few seconds, Skylar soon found the bottle of holy water he was looking for and pulled it out gently not wanting to break the precious vile.

Despite the pain that was running rampant all over his body, Skylar forced himself up into a sitting position and making sure not to lean his back against the cool metal bars, the young angel forced open the cork off of the small little vile before taking one tiny little sip leaving just enough holy water left should another incident like this were to occur. Closing his eyes as he felt the effects of the water working instantly, Skylar couldn't help but smile a little as he felt the injuries all over his body begin to heal like nothing had happened to him in the first place.

A few minutes later, Skylar was as good as new with a new wing completely grown back in the place of the other one. The only remainder of what happened was a scar above his right eyebrow but Skylar figured that one more scar wasn't going to kill him. Looking over at Cassiel then, Skylar bit his bottom lip then as he reached out then and gently rested a hand on the other angel's shoulder. "Hey, you alright? Come on, don't tell me that you'd think I'd be killed that easily."

"Follow me and I'll lead you to freedom...or die trying."

[Nirai Kanai Lanai]

Cassiel



When Skylar spoke, Cassiel looked up amazed. Skylar was almost entirely healed. There was only one thing that could heal an angel so quickly. He noticed the small glass vial. " Holy water. " Cassiel grinned. He had thought that bread had been the only thing that Skylar had smuggled into the cell with him, but the bag of supplies thankfully had more than that.

Cassiel picked up the vial to examine it closer. He gasped and put it down as quickly as he could, fighting the urge to drop it. His hand still throbbed from where he held the vial. Of course. He was a fallen angel. What had restored Skylar to perfect health would be worse than poison to him. It hurt to be denied something which had previously been a blessing, but he was relieved it had restored Skylar and there was still some left if the need arose again.

The demons would not be pleased. They likely believed that their actions had killed, or was in the process of killing Skylar and to find him healthy and unharmed would not go unnoticed by them. They would search the cell and both Skylar and Cassiel and they would likely find the secret stash of supplies. Even if they didn't find it, they were likely to come down twice as hard on Skylar now, as he had demonstrated some unknown capacity to heal. Holy water could cure grievous wounds but it could not bring back a dead angel to life and they would surely kill him this time.

“We have to get you out of here. We can't wait till they move us. If they find you like this, they will kill you for sure.' Cassiel whispered urgently. “We need to come up with a plan to get you out now. We can worry about everyone else later.”

Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all.

[speedy4ever]

Skylar

Skylar nodded his head with a grin of his own when the other male recognized what was responsible for healing his wounds. "That's right. You really don't think that bread was the only thing I had in my little bag did you?" he said with a smirk as he allowed Cassiel to pick up the bottle to examine it. However, hearing the fallen angel gasp after picking the vial up, Skylar found himself mentally slapping himself when it dawned on him.

Because Cassiel was a fallen angel, the liquid that once could have saved his life could actually take it away which had Skylar wondering what would happen if Cassiel were to be grieviously injured. He didn't know what one would use on a fallen angel so that left option B which meant that Skylar made sure that nothing happened to Cassiel so that he wouldn't have to worry about losing the other angel because he didn't have the proper supplies.

Gently grabbing the small vial then and tucking it back into his small bag, Skylar looked over at Cassiel and frowned slightly when the other male said that he had to get out of there and quick. Skylar knew that while using the holy water saved his life; it could possibly end it as well if the demons realized that he wasn't dead yet. Surely there was some way to get out of here and with Cassiel. If Skylar were to magically escape there was no telling what the demons might do to the fallen angel for helping in Skylar's escape which was why the young angel decided that they needed to escape together.

Thinking for a moment as he looked around the holding area, Skylar looked down at the stones in the floor then and pointed down to them. "What's underneath here? If there's a basement or storage area below us, we could dig our way out of here." he whispered softly as he slowly laid down then and tucking his one wing underneath his stomach so as not to draw attention to themselves. After all, he was supposed to be dying after all and Skylar didn't think that sitting around and smiling would be such a good idea.

"Follow me and I'll lead you to freedom...or die trying."

[Nirai Kanai Lanai]

Cassiel



Cassiel sat beside Skylar on the floor trying to look upset. Every now and then he would stroke Skylar's wing as if comforting him. The demon guard was thankfully out of earshot and hadn't been looking when Skylar healed himself. The guard looked over and smirked at Cassiel who shot him an angry look. He needed to make the guard think he was reacting to Skylar dying rather than his recovery. He must have done a good job. The guard noticeably paled, and moved a little further from the cage. This guard must be one of the weaker ones. There had been a time before he fell, when Cassiel was considered a very dangerous prisoner and no doubt none of the senior guards wanted to have to deal with his reaction when Skylar finally died. They probably wanted the amusement of watching him tear through a couple junior demons so the rest would have an excuse to tear him apart.

There was only so long that he and Skylar could pretend before the demons got suspicious. He listened to Skylar's suggestion and whispered a response, trying to think about what he could remember of the layout of this place.

“As far as I can tell, we are on the bottom level. But it's not entirely solid rock. This area is honeycombed with natural caverns and vents. Many of these rooms are just natural caverns that have been expanded. The hiding spot we're using is a natural crack. We might be able to expand it, but we need to be careful. There is a volcano in the very bottom of this complex, it's how they keep it so hot. Some of the vents are empty but some are full of steam. Still we can probably find vents that lead outside or dig our way out from one of them. We just need something to dig with.”

Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all.

[speedy4ever]

Skylar

As Skylar lay there listening to Cassiel explain the layout of the area, he thought for a moment of what they could use to dig out of there without getting caught by the guards. They were running out of time before the guards began to grow suspicious of why he wasn't dead yet and Skylar preferred living over death anyday. Not that Skylar feared death of course but it was simply the fact that he had a reason to live at the moment and that was freeing Cassiel and the other angels from their imprisonment as soon as possible. Of course, Cassiel was the main angel that Skylar wanted to free at the moment and the sooner they thought of a way to get out of there the better. Looking down at the floor then, Skylar struggled to think of something they could use to dig as fast as they could without getting caught. When nothing came to mind, Skylar growled slightly as he turned his head to slightly face Cassiel.

"Alright, so I don't have anything in my bag big enough to dig us out so I think we need a new plan." he whispered quietly before shuddering slightly to make it look like death was coming to claim him any second now.

"What about a new plan. What if I pretend to die? The demons have to take my body out of the cage right? Judging by the way that younger demon looked when you glared at him, I would have to say he's the weakest one here. If he unlocks the cage to come in after me then maybe you could pretend to go into a rage and kill him. That would bring the senior demon running down here and as far as I could see there are only two guards. The senior guard would be expecting to deal with one angel instead of two. We take care of the senior demon then, we could buy us a quick means of escape."

"Follow me and I'll lead you to freedom...or die trying."