The New Beginning (Open)

[Čⓐѕ]

Footsteps echoed loudly down the halls of the castle, each step pronounced and unhidden to anyone nearby. The loud clink of a sword against metal could be heard with each step, the wind rushed past as he moved through the well lit and bright halls. Cassiel moved swiftly, the cape on his back blowing backward well behind him at his speed. Making his way to the center chamber of the castle he moved with purpose, finding the gold laced double doors he approached and with a wave of his hand blew them open. He passed through the Archway without a pause, the Grand style room was enormous. Several hundred rows of seats lined the sides of the room, a large square table sat in the center. In the back of the room sat a plush throne, the style wasn't intricate and the color wasn't flashy or bright, it seemed like a normal comfy chair. Cassiel passed the main table and rows of seats, his footsteps ringing around the room. His cape making soft whipping sounds behind him, he took one large step and was on the thrones base making his way to the seat. The Arch
Angel looked at it once, then sat down. He sighed loudly and looked around the empty hall,

"It is a new world..." His eyes closed softly as he bowed his head, the silence was ear splitting. He remembered the days of old when these halls would be packed day to day with on-lookers waiting for the chance to hear the council news, he sighed once more and kept his head bent and eyes closed. This was the start of a long war, and he could feel the tension starting to build already.

[.:Zodiac:.]

It was a little bit chilly in the castle, at least according to Zodiac. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and shivered a little before continuing down the hallway. Maybe I should have worn a jacket or- her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of doors being thrown open. Someone must be in the Arch Hall. She debated on whether or not to go investigate. She didn't want to walk in on something private, but she didn't want to miss anything important either. Curiosity won out, it wasn't like she had anything better to do.

It was only a few quick strides until she found herself in front of the great doors. She glanced around the entrance for a moment, before preceding to enter. It was a huge room, and apparently vacant as she scanned the rows of seats. It was a couple long moments before she spotted someone sitting in the head chair. She startled, but caught herself when she realized it was Cassiel. Great, I probably looked stupid just standing here looking around. It was so quiet, she wasn't sure whether to break the silence or not. Awkwardness got her in the end. "Hi there." She smiled.

[Čⓐѕ]

Soft footsteps in the hall told Cassiel someone was coming, his eyes opened showing the gold in them. A female angel stepped in the doorway and looked around awkwardly, she seemed out of place here. He sat up and tilted his head looking at her, his eyes a cold judgment of her character. She spoke across the hall to him

"Hi there." Cassiel's eyebrow rose, she smiled. He stood from his throne and spoke in a loud even tone

"Hello child, What is your name?" His arm gestured for her to come closer, she seemed very timid. Cassiel knew that his arrival here was sudden, he tossed aside the thought. He waited for her, polite with a hint of gentle nature on his face.

[.:Zodiac:.]

Zodiac took a couple steps forward, up to the end of the long table. "Hello child, what is your name?" There was still quite a distance between them, so she moved closer. She didn't want to have to yell. "I'm Zodiac... I haven't interrupted anything have I?" She traced the texture of the table with her fingers, taking another look around the room. It wasn't often she came in here. The ceilings were high and there were more chairs than she would like to count. Her imagination wandered to a time when all the seats were filled with angels. She shivered again, but not from the chill in the air. How intimidating that would have been, to have so many people watching you.

As she waited for a response, her eyes settled Cassiel. Her first thought- He's tall. Her second thought- Or maybe I'm just short. He was smiling, which she hoped was a good thing. At least there didn't seem to be any super-secret meeting going on. Wondering why he was here if there was nothing going on, she kept running her fingers over the wood.

[Čⓐѕ]

Cassiel's eyes watched her move, why did someone that seemed so unsure of their movements and so unsure of themselves want to join the war in the first place. His mind wandered a little as she spoke

"I'm Zodiac... I haven't interrupted anything have I?"

He shook his head gradually watching her fingers trace the ivory table, his eyes went back to hers. His gaze seemingly piercing though her, he spoke evenly

"It is a pleasure Zodiac." He paused thinking about how odd of a name that was, he took a few steps forward and stepped down from the pedestal the throne sat on. His stride was quick and decisive as he stepped forward to her, his eyes on hers the whole way. He stopped in front of his and gave a slight nod of his head, speaking again still in his harsh and somewhat cold tone.

"There was nothing to interrupt as you can see." He gestured throughout the hall, he came back to her in seconds his question a brief rather blunt one

"You do not seem the type to be in the middle of a war Zodiac?" It was less of a question and more a statement, he looked down at her his face giving away his thoughts.

"It is not my duty to tell who may and may not go into battle." His broad shoulders lifted slightly and came back down, he turned from her to the glass paned windows behind the rows of seats around the hall. His gaze seemed far away and yet so close to, he spoke once more

"Did you wish to ask something of me?" His head turned to look at her once again, his eyes cold and judging once more. He knew better than to become involved with the other angels in his duty, his eyes focused in on hers as he waited for her reply.

[.:Zodiac:.]

Zodiac watched as Cassiel's expression grew from accepting to somewhat harsh. It was time to get ahold of herself and stop being so awkward. She straightened up as he walked toward her, expression sober and making sure not to avoid his gaze. "You do not seem the type to be in the middle of a war Zodiac?" She wasn't sure whether or not is was a statement or a question, but she responded quickly. "No, but I don't see much other choice." She gazed up at him and at the gold in his eyes until he turned to look at one of glass windows. Her eyes followed, wondering if there was actually anything to see. She took in a deep breath of air, the dust tickling her throat as she listened to him talk. Did she wish to ask something of him? Not really, at least that she could think of at the moment.

Suddenly, something came to her. It wasn't really much of a question, and she couldn't tell if it was a good one, but it must be better than nothing. "What are you doing here by yourself?"

OOC; Gah, short, but I have to go. DX

[Čⓐѕ]

His eyes came a litter closer together at her question, was she daft? To ask why he was here, he stopped and looked around. The hall was empty, he barked a small laugh at that. Some how he had gotten lost in his own world, he turned back to Zodiac his face a little softer. He replied with a small smile

"That is a very good question Zodiac, maybe soon we will have a reason for entering this hall." He nodded to her and stepped away heading to the main entrance, he stopped at the end of the table remembering

"The table is made of Ivory, hand carved by only the most skilled of craftsmen." He turned back to her his own fingers tracing across the smooth top,

"Come, we have things to discuss." He motioned for her and turned around heading through the archway into the hall, his cape still snapping lightly behind him. He found the sound rather soothing once in awhile, he stopped in the middle of the hall and turned waiting for Zodiac to follow.

[.:Zodiac:.]

She recoiled a bit when he began to laugh at her question, and turned her face towards the floor, hoping to hide the blush. She had never been one for asking questions, or making conversation for that matter. He continued to comment on how it was a good question, but she somehow felt he was lying. Her thoughts soon shifted to the second part of his sentence, as she tried to decipher the meaning behind the words. Well, the world is changing faster than anyone can keep up. I guess the most we can do is try.

Zodiac took in the words about how the table was ivory and carved by skilled craftsmen. She nodded slowly, glancing at it's worn surface. "It's very beautiful.." she mused softly, more to herself than anyone else. She watched as the shafts of light from the window shifted across its length. Mesmerized, she was only stirred by Cassiel's words. "Come, we have things to discuss." Zodiac was tempted to reply with a quick- "Do we?", but immediately decided against it. He already thinks I'm incompetent, no need to rub it in. She followed right behind him, struggling to keep up with his stride while remaining in a walking pace. She adjusted after a moment, and took to admiring his cape from behind. He must not have realized how close behind she was, trying to keep up, because he stopped and turned around in the middle of the hallway. She let out a small gasp of surprise as she tried not to run into him. As she had now been in his presence for a couple of minutes and had decided for the most part that he wasn't going to harm her, she was growing a bit more comfortable. "Sorry." she said quickly, still a bit unbalanced. "Are we there already?" She looked around. Nope, this was definitely just a hallway.

[Čⓐѕ]

His stone gaze fell on her, he didn't smile at her question as it was a silly one at that. He turned back and started to walk again her footsteps following, he took a sharp right down the hallways to a plateau that over looked the war torn city. He stopped at the plateau's edge and over looked the city crossing his arms, a light breeze passed over them as they stood. He craned his head back to Zodiac and pressed a serious question

"If you were in my position Zodiac what would you do here?" He paused for a moment of emphasis, he turned back to the city and gazed at it.

"Where should we start? Where should we begin?" His eyes seemed to shift far away, he seemed lost in thought as he gazed out not really looking at the skyline. He stayed that way for a moment before coming back, his gaze becoming hard again as he spouted out his own thoughts

"We are here to eradicate these vermin from this planet, the wolves, the leeches.. but what of the humans? What is their fate? Should we let them take this beautiful creation back? Or should we take their lives and own it for ourselves?" his gaze went up to the blue skies, it was a lovely day on here on Earth. His figure turned as he faced Zodiac, his gaze on her own.

She seemed awkward around him at first, he wasn't one to command respect from another without proper reason. She blushed a lot, her actions pointing to that of a innocent girl, he spoke plainly at her waiting for her own thoughts

"Tell me Zodiac, what are you thoughts?" His arms dropped to his sides as he stretched his wings behind him, the metallic plates shining in the sunlight reflecting them in several directions. He folded them back to himself, another light breeze ruffling his clothes.

[.:Zodiac:.]

Okay, so it wasn't that funny, but you would think it would kill the guy to smile at a joke. Oh well. She smiled to herself once he started walking again. He wasn't too bad, just very serious, and even that was to be expected- given the circumstances. She was reminded of this as they stood looking over the ravaged city. It wasn't like she hadn't seen it before, but it drained any thought of silliness from her mind. People were dying down there. As for what she would do if she was him, she truly had no clue. However, she expected that would be an unsatisfactory answer according to Cassiel. She frowned, and thought about it for a moment, turning the question over in her mind. What would I do..? She could go with the obvious answer- fight, but she wanted an answer that would impress him. ”There’s not much choice. You could choose to fight, or you could choose to die. Of course... there’s always the third option, the one that used to take whenever there was any sort of disagreement.”

She let it sit for a moment while she gathered her thoughts. ”That would be, sitting it out while other people settled it.” She frowned again and scrunched her eyebrows together as she knew that option clearly wasn’t the way to go. ”This matter though… is way too important to sit out on- which is obvious, since even I’m planning on fighting.” she smiled a little at this. You know it’s important if the cowards go to war. Zodiac tilted her head up to look at Cassiel. ”As for what to do with the humans, maybe we should give coexistence a try.” She shrugged, not seeing the point in eradicating a race when an arrangement could be reached.

[Čⓐѕ]

Cassiel stood overlooking the torn city, he could not place a finger on the feeling of overwhelming sensations he had. His mind ran with him, his thoughts of war and bloodshed taking over his mind. He shook them away as his eyes shifted to his right and noticed Zodiac frowning at his previous question. He waited for a moment and listened to her speak

”There’s not much choice. You could choose to fight, or you could choose to die. Of course... there’s always the third option, the one that used to take whenever there was any sort of disagreement.”

He took that in, thinking about what she meant before she continued.

”That would be, sitting it out while other people settled it.”

He turned his head and studied her for a moment listening to whatever else she had to say

”This matter though… is way too important to sit out on- which is obvious, since even I’m planning on fighting.”

Cassiel nodded at that, if she was planning to fight then there was more to the issue than he noticed at first. His head turned back to the city, the gold in his eyes shining through the clouded sun and over the horizon.

”As for what to do with the humans, maybe we should give coexistence a try.”

He shook his head, the thought of the humans still using this planet for its resources disgusted him. He had seen many planets fall because of the misuse, they needed to be exterminated as well.
His voice rang out in his heavy tone, the stern look on his face planted with his emotions.

"We would be fools to let the humans live here any longer, this planet weeps for health and prosperity." His mind churned through some obvious tactics and underhanded motives, he spoke again making his speech notable

"We will wait for now Zodiac, we need more troops before trying anything. The humans will be the least of our worries in the end, it is the other creatures roaming this planet that worry me more than that of the humans. Their smart, the wolves work in packs and use tactics like we do to take down opponent's. They are weak in small numbers or if they are alone, the vampires work in the night which is dangerous for any kind of creature that lives during the day." He gestured at the fortress they stood in

"Our walls are thick, no creature without wings can come here and attack us. The humans have devastating weapons that they can harm us with as well, but with no knowledge of our whereabouts then we are safe for now.. but they will find us and use their cannons and metal to take down our walls." He turned and faced Zodiac his eyes showing a stern harsh gaze, he spoke again to her directly

"We will wait for now, there is no need to rush perfection." He nodded his gaze becoming a little softer

"Learn what you can of them, find their weaknesses.. find their homes, capture one or two of them from each side and find out what their planning.." He cast a side glance at the city, a look of disgust rang over his face.

"Don't take unnecessary risks here Zodiac, we don't know enough to walk outside of these walls into the mist of war."

His head turned back to her, he spoke with authority

"Understood... Soldier?" A smile escaped from his lips, a small one but still a smile. He knew Zodiac would do well under the circumstances, he would keep an eye on her.

[.:Zodiac:.]

Well, at least that response didn't seem to have fallen flat. Though, she was a little bit disappointed that they were planning on wiping out everyone. She had always felt sympathy for the underdog, and wondered what she would do if she was ordered to kill someone who was surrendering. I guess I'll only really know if it happens. She was reassured with Cassiel's words about safety, and glad that she still had a little time to mentally prepare herself.

"Learn what you can of them, find their weaknesses.. find their homes, capture one or two of them from each side and find out what they're planning.."

Zodiac smiled at this, it being more her style. She often spent time watching people, learning their habits and personalities. Strengths and weaknesses. She was a watcher, and always had been. She nodded a little, recalling how she could predict individuals actions quite accurately. Sometimes it even seemed a little creepy to her, but she did it unconsciously, getting into other peoples heads and running through their trains of thought. It amused her to understand how other people worked. Now that would be something she was good at.

"Me? Take unnecessary risks?" she had a good laugh at this, still glad to know that maybe she wouldn't be completely useless in the war. "You won't have to worry about me getting into trouble. Avoiding trouble at all costs on the other hand... that will be your problem with me."

[Čⓐѕ]

Cassiel stood overlooking the city, Zodiac beside him. His own thoughts still churning through what they were going to do now, he admired the green of the forests and grass around them. He did not miss the swirling sand he had once been in, something had happened to their people. The other towns would find out what had happened and send more reinforcements, he would just have to wait for now.

He listened thoughtfully to Zodiac reply to him

"Me? Take unnecessary risks?"

She laughed openly at her words, Cassiel knew why she was. She was a scout without question, he knew he had asked her the proper order in her case. He closed his eyes lazily,

"You won't have to worry about me getting into trouble. Avoiding trouble at all costs on the other hand... that will be your problem with me."

He nodded his eyes still closed, her energy and lack of emotional control fit her well. She seemed the type to be able to fit out of a tight spot, Cassiel spoke evenly

"You have your orders Zodiac." He turned his head and opened his eyes, the stone dead look piercing into her own. He spoke with a hint of agitation

"No.. Unnecessary Risks." He turned back to the city and continued to stare out at it, the tall buildings reaching higher than their city floating in the sky. Cassiel knew the air under their city was much thicker than the air this earth had, they were falling but very very slowly. He knew they would touch down on the earth soon, his gaze stayed the same as he stared out. He made no notion of saying anything more.