Drifting Feathers (Joshua/Genesis)

[Joshua Kiryu]

He stood, admiring creation.

The city stood on the edge of a rural area, and he stared off intot he distance, a faint smirk on his face. This city smelled of secrets and intrigue, plots and schemes, the perfect kind of place for him, he thought, as he admired the distant line where uncut woodlands began to intersperse witht he buildings he could see for miles. Run-down, some might call this section of the city, possibly even dangerous, but he stood seemingly without fear.

He closed his eyes, lifted his face to the wind, spread his wings to fully feel it on his senses.

Is this what the Angels feel? he thought to himself. I envy them...

It was, in its own way, odd that he should feel that way. He had come to grips with his flaws long ago. Now, he merely considered them tools to help him with his goals. Envy had no purpose, no application, and thus, no place, but he'd been dealing with that particular sin far too often as of late, so he let it go. Folding his wings, he turned away from the scenery and began, once again, to wander.

He had secrets to explore.

[Genesis Rhapsodos]

((Heeheehee, way to steal N's opening thread title, in the same place. ))

Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul
Pride is lost...
Wings stripped away, the end is nigh..

LOVELESS... It was everything. It still is, rather. I close the large white book, tucking it inside my coat. I'd been in this city for weeks now, but... something about this dangerous-looking area was just where I found myself. There had been a couple of attacks, but nothing to work up a sweat...

I flip hair from my eyes and hold two fingers to my forehead. I thrust my arm out to my side, my lone black wing protruding from my back. I take to the sky, black feathers falling from the graying wings. I needed something... I needed to be healed. I need the gift of the Goddess... But my body needs to be healed, first. I won't last long enough to receive Her blessing... Damn Hollander wasn't anywhere to be found. Perhaps there was someone who could help in this town? I'd have to look...

[Joshua Kiryu]

A feather fell in front of him, and he looked up as a shadow passed overhead; a man with one wing, and something looked off about him. Joshua himself took to the sky, but only to land on top of a building just close enough to possibly get the red-haired man's attention.

Perhaps he could tell him something about this town.

((Title not stolen anymore ))

[Genesis Rhapsodos]

((BWahaha. I was joking, love. You didn't need to change it. THough I do like the title.))

My attention was robbed by a boy landing on a nearby building. He, too, had wings... But they were different. Not sure how it could be described. There were no feathers, that was for sure. It was more like... just lines.

This intrigued me. I drop onto the building in front of the boy and smirked. "Your wings..." I say quietly. I look at him, questioning if Hollander had gotten to him, like me, too... Or perhaps even Hojo... I didn't care enough to ask though. Like myself, it was clear he was a monster.

[Joshua Kiryu]

"A gift," he said quietly, stroking one's edge - soft and smooth, silvery and almost ethereal in the light. "A gift from this world, and one which I do not understand." He cocked his head, eyes narrowing as he inspected Genesis.

"But to you, yours seems a curse... am I wrong?"

[Genesis Rhapsodos]

I smirk. "Monsters do not get cursed, boy... Monsters are curses." I reply calmly. "It simply is just that way. I take out LOVELESS, opening it to Act IV.

"My soul, corrupted by vengeance
Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey
In my own salvation"

I recite. A simple statement of the situation. "You're a bright kid. Even I can see that." I continue in my calm voice. How bright exactly is he? Could he help...? Does he know anyone that can? I would have to find some use...

[Joshua Kiryu]

He grinned mentally. Flattery only went so far with Joshua, but it wasn't as though he didn't enjoy it.

He flicked his hair back, giving Genesis a small, smirking grin.

"I'm glad you think so highly of someone you've just met," he pointed out. The words of his poetry were unfamiliar to Joshua, but he could feel the heartfelt emotion being poured into the words.

"What makes you so sure you are a monster, however?" he asked.

[Genesis Rhapsodos]

I chuckle at the boy's question. "Are you blind, child? This wing, this decaying body... I'm not even a natural being." I sigh, and put away the book. "I'm not human, boy. So I'm a monster. That is the way that it works.."

[Joshua Kiryu]

A monster, hmmm?

"Are there no in-betweens?" Joshua asked. "Either you are human or a monster - absolutes, with no grey areas." He chuckled. "I've learned that the world does not work in such terms."

[Genesis Rhapsodos]

I smirk at the boy's logic. "Then please, tell me what it is, between man and monster. What is a monster but an inhuman beast?" And I smile to myself. Just a beast... I turn my gaze to the wing. Yes. Just a beast... But it's why I need the gift of the Goddess... To finally be whole. I begin chuckling. "Look at me, discussing such things with a mere boy... You know not of what I speak."

[Joshua Kiryu]

"I know more than you think," was the reply - from behind him. Sliding was one of the easiest skills for Joshua to grasp, and had always been - as of now, it was the only one he still possessed any grasp of.

"I learned the hard way that the world is impossible to define as absolutes. Between man and monster, there are several tiers, and some beings that exist outside of either category," he replied. "Many have no definition in any language spoken by men."

[Genesis Rhapsodos]

I begin laughing now. "Why do you try so hard to defend one you do not know? You are just so set on proving my humanity." I point at my wing, noticing a couple more greying feathers. " No man has wings like this, child." And no man is decaying in a rapid, desperate way... No man seeks the gift of the Goddess the way I intend to... "You cannot honestly say you are a human, boy." I nod my head at his wings. I wonder who did this to him... "You are a monster, too, surely you know this... You've had to tell yourself this, once you knew the truth...." I don't realize it, but at this point, I'm not ecen talking to the boy. It was like he was no longer there. Like a mirror had taken his place..

[Joshua Kiryu]

((Actually, I don't know that I made this clear - sliding is Josh's word for teleporting, although leaving a mirror image behind is rather cool and I might incorporate it...))

"My wings have nothing to do with who and what I am," he replied, eyes narrowing slightly as he inspected Genesis' back, the greying feathers, "and I never claimed to be human at all." He smiled. "Though, indeed, I was human once, I agree that the word no longer applies. Monster, though, is not the term you are looking for, either... at least, I don't believe it is. Perhaps I'm deluding myself..."

[Genesis Rhapsodos]

"I'd believe you are..." I reply in a darker tone. The mirror was gone now... The boy was Behind me now... I didn't notice it happen, but I didn't let it affect me. He presented no threat at all. I turn my gaze behind me. "But I suppose that is a fair response." I sigh and slowly turn around to face him once more. "Bur you admit, we are not men... You are led to believe that we are not monsters, either... I'm truely curious about you now, boy... No absolutes, you say. But what if it is true? I could very well just be a monster. That's not completely ruled out."

[Joshua Kiryu]

He grinned, placing his hands on his hips and inspecting the red-haired man as if he were some particularly troubling piece of artwork.

"Perhaps not," he admitted. "Perhaps you truly are nothing but a monster. But I've met more than one monster, and they rarely take the time to question their existence. The fact that yours bothers you is a point in the opposite direction..."