i_seekgod Angels from Heaven (Progo)
No savioring for Max today. No waiting for her outside of the school. That gave him the entire day to wander the city by himself. When a man isn't paying attention to the outside world, and is considering his own thoughts, he can end up just about anywhere.
It occured to Jesse that he had no idea where he was, or how far he'd walked. It certainly wasn't a part of The City that he'd ever seen before. He laughed to himself and turned around, but the way behind him didn't look any more familiar than what was in front of him.
Oh well.
He shrugged and continued, might as well explore some while he was here. Who knew, maybe he'd find something really interesting, or unusual.
Jesse paused at the mouth of an alley to pack his cigarettes and light one up. From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/01/2006 18:21:41
There was a muttering coming from behind a dumpster. Or perhaps from above it. Or maybe even in it.
It sounded, if one were quiet and unthinking enough, and especially if one was someone currently not trying to be something they weren't, a bit like,
I want to go home. I don't want to be here. Meg's not here, and this wasn't supposed to happen. Unless. No one really knows what happens when this happens, so maybe this is right. But that doesn't make sense. Everyone knows that you're supposed to end up alright if you X yourself. It's only when they get you that it's bad. And they didn't.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/01/2006 18:24:07
Jesse frowned through the cigarette.
He turned to look in the alley and couldn't see anything straight away. Further exploration was required. He moved carefully into the shadows, trying to peer around and inside the dumpster at the same time.
"Hey." Jesse spoke quietly. "You okay?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/01/2006 18:32:03
Silence.
He hadn't realized he was thinking so loudly. He hadn't even really noticed that the man had stopped. People walked by alleys all the time without stopping. In fact, many people already had.
There was a sheepish-sounding foof, and a whisp of smoke curled out from behind the dumpster. A dry rustle followed, and then a big brown eye peeked out from around the dumpster, accompanied by a feathered white wing. No, a wing and the edge of another. He'd only wanted it to be one wing, but he wasn't the most graceful creature around.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/01/2006 18:37:51
He had to smile. He didn't quite know what he was looking at, but it seemed shy. Jesse edged around so that it could see him better, but he wouldn't seem threatening.
There were... wings.... and eyes... and it seemed as if that the smoke had come from this creature. Jesse was staring, and he knew it, but he couldn't help it. Sure it was strange, but it was also fantastic and beautiful.
The cigarette came out of his mouth and he threw it down and flattened it with the heel of his boot. Just in case the fire had come from it, and it turned out to be flammable.
What to say, though? It hadn't answered him when he'd spoken before, unless the spurt of smoke had been the answer.
"That was you, right? You miss home?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/01/2006 19:04:45
He stared... and stared... and stared... with half a dozen eyes. A seventh one, the bright amber of an owl's eye, blinked open, and a blue and a green one closed. Wings shifted, folding over the closed eyes, flapping lazily.
Then a burst of flame shot out, almost haphazardly, and in the general direction of the man - his own nervous warning.
Human? Uncertainty hung in the silent space between them, along with the word.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/01/2006 19:34:08
"Yeah." Jesse nodded. It was talking to him ... in his mind? Well. He had enough experience with that, didn't he? "M'name's Jesse. Jesse Custer."
He couldn't stop looking at it. It was so wonderful.
"If you don't mind me askin', what are you?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/01/2006 19:51:51
All of the eyes closed except for a pair of matching brown ones that widened slightly, and then relaxed. One wing flickered over the left eye and retreated again.
There was a pause, and then another puff of smoke.
Cherumbim. Singular. The tone almost suggested that this should be obvious, but he'd spent enough time around humans to know that it wasn't.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/01/2006 20:02:08
Jesse raised a brow. "Cherubim?" He peered from another angle. "Cherubim? I'll look past the fact that as I've heard it described, that's the plural and concentrate on the idea that this is definitely not what I expected at all."
Angels in Heaven....
Adephi had turned out to be wingless, and look like any normal man. Seraphi had ended up being a little crazy, and a little scary. But until now...
But why should he expect any less?
A part of him wanted to reach out and touch the cherubim. But it's whole posture gave the impression it wouldn't like that very much.
Jesse smiled. Warm, kind, and happy.
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/01/2006 20:29:34
There came a mutter again, barely audible: Of course not. Humans always expect something else. I'm not going to be a stupid little pink thing with wings just because they think I should.
A pair of wings fluttered, revealing a cat's eye. Cherubim, he confirmed, very patiently. And waited. He didn't trust the smile, not here.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/01/2006 20:32:52
"Well, I'm certainly not saying what I've heard is right. I've been shown that a lot. Just because some book says that things are this way, don't mean they are that way."
Jesse sat on the ground, making himself comfortable. His back found the wall of the building and he settled.
"I like this look more than pink babies with wings, I gotta say. This feels more real, somehow. It's definitely more beautiful."
He rested his hands on his knees. "Do you have a name?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/01/2006 21:04:16
He stared some more, wings curling in defensively. Still not sure of what this was, wondering whether or not clones of this man were going to appear, and where Blajeny (or any other Teacher) was, and where exactly 'here' was.
Plus, he hadn't even realized his thoughts had been audible - something else to pay attention to.
Proginoskes. He almost added the 'no Cheery, Blimy, etc.' spiel, but it didn't seem necessary.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/01/2006 21:06:33
"Proginoskes." Jesse chuckled. "That's quite a mouthful, friend. Would you take offense if I called you something shorter?"
He watched carefully every blink, every wing flutter. If he'd never seen all the things he had, he'd have thought he was dreaming.
"Do you need food? Or. A place to sleep? Or anything? I don't have much, but I would be willing to help you in any way that I can."
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/01/2006 21:22:46
If he'd had a head he would've tilted it. Instead, all of the eyes on his right side closed and four on the left side blinked open. Meg had given him the only nickname he'd tolerated from humans, for a moment, he wondered if everything had turned out alright.
Progo, he allowed. But nothing else. The eyes narrowed, and a few wings were flung out in a vaguely amused gesture. Do you think I need food? I just need a quiet place.
Outer space would be nice, too.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/01/2006 21:27:19
"Progo it is then, and nothing else." Jesse laughed a bit, at himself. "I don't know what you need, friend. And I've gotta ask in order to find out. So you don't need food. But I've got a quiet place."
But he thought about that. "There's a dog in it. If you're opposed to dogs, I could get you your own quiet place near mine. Nobody would bother you. Just tell me what you want, Progo."
He'd hate to see any of the bad folk of this place get their hands on Progo. He couldn't even imagine what they might do to the firey winged eye creature.
"I guess I also don't know how you feel about smoke, which I do a lot."
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/02/2006 16:07:13
Dogs. Proginoskes hadn't met any dogs... there'd been a snake, but she'd been a Teacher, too. He wasn't quite sure what the warning label on 'dogs' read.
I don't live in a house, he replied, guessing at what might be a somewhat appropriate response. In answer to the remark about smoking, several puffs of smoke rose, settling around him.
Proginoskes smoked too. Frequently.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/02/2006 17:27:16
"It's not a house, really. But I don't think you want to be out here anyway. There are not nice people here, and they run abundant. I live in a hotel room. You could have one of your own."
Jesse laughed a little to the smoke. "Fair enough, friend. Mine's a bit stinkier, but if you can deal with that, then you're welcome to stay with me. But again, you've gotta let me know what you want."
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/03/2006 17:43:21
Proginoskes spun slightly, and three wings unfolded to reveal a large, perfectly round, bright yellow eye. It looked somewhat reptilian.
Humans are odd creatures, he commented. Meg and Calvin and Charles Wallace had been nice enough, but then there were also humans who spent their days fighting one another. I don't need a room.
He paused, one wing wafting back over the bright orb of an eye. I need to go home. I need a Teacher. It was almost an absent thought. Proginoskes did well enough on his own, in space with the stars, but here he needed a guide.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/03/2006 21:13:14
"I don't know how to get you home, Progo. I won't lie and say I do. I don't even know how to get myself home."
Ask what he wants of a teacher.
Jesse rolled his eyes. Now was such a good time for headvoices.
Like he hadn't been about to ask that anyway. "What exactly do you mean by 'teacher'?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/03/2006 21:36:08
Teacher, Proginoskes corrected, stressing the capital 'T' as much as he could. Several eyes opened wide, all peering in different directions. There was a nervous puff of smoke.
Something new, that spoke like he did, almost. Not in words so much as thought.
My Teacher. Feathers rustled in something like a sigh. I'm a Namer, I watch the stars. There are beings that instruct us in that.
He needed directions in order to be comfortable. Preferrably directions that included the quiet recitation of names.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/03/2006 21:41:11
You could be his Teacher, Jesse.
Jesse shook his head. He didn't think he could be. But he couldn't argue with Genesis outloud like he usually did.
You can help him.
Again, he shook his head. He didn't think he was the sort Progo was looking for.
"Like I said, friend, I'll do whatever I can to help you. I'm not sure what all you desire or need, but if it's in my power, I'll get it for you."
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/03/2006 22:08:04
There was another voice. And it didn't seem like he was the only one hearing it, unless this human just had a strange habit at shaking his head at nothing.
It could've been true, but Proginoskes wasn't a complete ignoramus when it came to humans. What is that? he asked, distracted by the other kything voice.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/03/2006 22:16:00
"Oh." Jesse laughed a little. "That... I didn't know you could hear that, by the way, or I'd have made an introduction earlier... is Genesis. It's... well, it's a being that attached itself to my soul, and now kind of shares my brain and all that."
I am the child of a demon and an angel. A new idea....
"Shut it." Jesse shook his head. Sometimes, Genesis could be a little full of itself. "It wanted a soul, so it fused with mine. I gotta say it's amazing to me that you can hear it. Now I don't really feel so crazy."
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/03/2006 22:30:19
Proginoskes batted a few long-lashed eyes bashfully, though it probably looked more demure than bashful. It kythes well. It's easier when there are no sounds.
He blinked. Attached to you? It has no form of its own? Normally, Proginoskes had no form of his own, either, but he at least had the ability to manifest physically. He didn't have to attach himself to anything else.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/03/2006 22:34:04
"No, I think it does. Something about a comet with the face of an infant. I'm not really sure on the details just yet, there are things that it can't share with me until there's more of a bonding. But I think the only way for it to get a soul was to find one that was already existing. And the only way to do that was to fuse with a human."
Jesse shrugged. He wasn't entirely sure, but that's how he understood it for the most part.
"Kythe? Is that what it's called what you're doing?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/04/2006 00:20:13
That doesn't make much sense, Proginoskes thought to himself, a bit ruffled. Comets don't have faces. And certainly not that of a human child.
Kything. Speaking with your mind, yes. There was a flurry of wings, as if to indicate the lack of space for a mouth anywhere on his body. I am surprised you understood me so easily.
At least it was a good a confirmation as any that (yes, and his name had been...) Jesse wasn't one of the Echthroi.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/04/2006 18:57:17
"I think it's easy for me because of Genesis. I can't honestly say if I'd have been able to hear you without that aide or not." He smiled a little. "I'd like to think that I'm the kind of guy who would, but I supposed humans like to think a lot of themselves that just isn't true."
Jesse shrugged a little. "I suppose we can never know for sure, huh?"
Since they'd established that smoke didn't bother Progo, Jesse dug for his cigarettes and lit one up. He played with his lighter a moment before putting it away again.
"So you don't need a room, or a home or anything like that. Then what do you do to stay warm and dry and out of harms way?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/04/2006 19:04:51
Warm? Proginoskes echoed, eyes widening slightly. I live with the stars. Even humans have reached space by now - how cold do you think it is?
Besides temperatures had never seemed to have much of an effect on him. He hadn't really thought about it.
Out of harms way... came the faintly amused musing, and then all of his wings folded upwards and he simply disappeared.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/04/2006 21:02:33
Jesse laughed loudly. "Well. Just goes to show, no matter what's goin on in my head, I can't stop thinking like a human. Never even considered the temperature of the stars. And I've gotta say, that vanishing thing surely is a good way to protect yourself."
He laughed again. "I'm a fool, and I can admit it, Progo."
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/05/2006 15:00:26
The flame on the end of Jesse's cigarette flared brightly, growing into a rounded little candle-like flame before completely separating from the paper and hovering in the air.
I don't feel the cold, or the heat. Proginoskes only felt the artificial - Ecthroi-induced terror that was the cold of ice, or the heat of fire, perhaps, but sitting by an actual fire would do nothing to warm him.
What sort of human are you, to have another creature attached to your soul? he asked curiously, the flame burning more brightly.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/05/2006 18:11:48
Jesse kept his eyes on the dancing, moving flame.
"I'm a man who was having a crisis of faith." His eyes flicked to Progo, then back at the flame. "A preacher who'd started doubting God and everything he'd learned. Genesis, being what it is, I think, found kin in me. Something familiar. It saw qualities in me that it desired or wanted. I can't really honestly say. But I'm pretty sure it had to do with a mutual anger toward the Lord."
He wondered what else the little winged thing could do other than vanish and manipulate fire. Not that those weren't fantasticly amazing.
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 11:59:02
Proginoskes knew of the beliefs some humans had - that beyond the clouds was a Heaven with fluffy little cherubs and harps and halos. He'd traveled the universe, and never seen anything like that.
The flame puffed out a whisp of smoke as if it were contemplating what had been said. I don't understand your beliefs, he said thoughtfully. But he didn't expect his own existance to be understood either.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/06/2006 13:34:50
"Yeah, well." Jesse said, sticking the cigarette in his mouth and leaving it there. "I don't really understand them either anymore. That's what a crisis of faith is. Doubt sinking in. Can't be sure of it anymore."
Jesse watched the moving flame in silence again. It made him smile a little. "The whole belief system of God isn't really clear even if you do understand it. There are so many different cultures that believe different things. Then you've got the non-believers, and you ask them, there's nothing. This could get to be a very long conversation."
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 15:29:49
You like to complicate things, Proginoskes concluded, the bit of reproachfulness in his voice echoed by the nearly-invisible sense of feathers rustling.
A whuff of smoke that might've been a sigh. The stars are so much easier, he mused to himself. They only put up a fuss if you don't name them quickly enough.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/06/2006 16:44:01
"You're likely right. It's in human nature, I think. Take the stuff that should be the easiest, and make it a lot harder than it had to be. Nothing can be simple. Nothing is taken at face value. It could be where a lot of our problems come from."
Jesse took a drag of smoke. "Or it could just be that we're all colossal assholes."
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 19:02:39
Something was lost in translation there, and Proginoskes manifested out of surprise, two tawny eyes blinking wide in confusion.
There was a pause that felt like there should be something in it, and then he folded his wings up again and disappeared. Confusing, he repeated, almost petulantly.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/06/2006 19:15:20
Jesse laughed a bit. "Sorry. Didn't mean to be. What part confused you? The colossal assholes part?"
It was the only thing he could think that might be unclear to someone like Progo. But how could he really know? It might be the whole Southern thing, and how his accent distorted some of the words he used into slang, even if they weren't.
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 19:22:55
Pff, said Proginoskes, and a sharp little breeze blew up against Jesse's face. All of you. You're a confusing species. Some of you fight for a living and some of you would never think of harming another intentionally. Everyone wants peace somewhere, but most accept killing as a way to get that.
The breeze swirled in on itself, twirling. It's simpler where I'm from.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/06/2006 19:25:05
"It must be nice. Things being simple."
Jesse considered what it might be like to lead a simple life. He couldn't even imagine what it would be like. Simplicity had never been something for him. Not even when he was younger. Everything had always been complicated.
"What's it like? Where you're from, I mean?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 19:32:00
You would think it cold, Proginoske mused, with some smug amusement. There was another pause filled with the suggestion of rustling wings. It's vast. Open empty space, and stars. I'm a Namer, and to be saved the stars must be Named. It keeps them from harm.
The breeze seemed to settle somewhere at face-level, wrapping itself loosely around Jesse's neck like a scarf. To Proginoskes, it was almost an unconscious movement - or, at least, he didn't think about whether or not it might be considered odd, or rude, by the human. And still, it gets darker every day... But oh, how he missed it.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/06/2006 19:35:50
He wasn't quite sure what was going on with the breeze, but it didn't bother him any.
"Must be beautiful. Stars and empty space." His eyes rolled Heavenward as he contemplated it.
"Sounds real peaceful."
A blink of the eye, and Jesse snapped out of the brief daydream. "So. You did that bit with the fire, and I'm assuming you're doin this with the breeze, cause I've never felt a breeze move quite like that before. What else is there?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 19:41:33
And the shadows, he reminded the man. Not that 'shadows' in themselves necessarily meant anything.
The breeze seemed to lose momentum, though it was still moving in tiny little brushes back and forth - otherwise, it'd just be dead air, after all. Doing that bit? Proginoskes echoed. I am the fire. And the wind. I only take the other form because it's easier for humans to comprehend. And because I am not a baby human with tiny useless wings.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/06/2006 19:46:36
Jesse nodded. "If it's more comfortable for you the other way, it won't bug me none."
After all, having an entity in one's head did leave one more open to strange things, like talking to seemingly nothing.
"You're element, then? Is that what you would consider it?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 20:02:46
It's easier to express corporeally. You miss things otherwise. Even if he was a natural at kything, there were subtleties of it that came only from using the mind-speech as one's natural form of speech. Emotions for one, or the cherubim equivalent.
I'm... a cherubim. If he had eyes, he would've blinked. And then stared (and stared and stared).
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/06/2006 20:05:18
"Well yes." He conceded. "I mean, what you're made of. Which is, now that I think of it, a stupid question. Cause we're all element. Nevermind. Let's just forget I asked, yeah?"
Jesse shook his head at himself. It just wasn't a good day for brain power.
"Let's try another angle, shall we? How do you find your Teachers?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 20:59:39
Proginoskes-the-wind unraveled and pulled away from Jesse, coalescing into his solid, visible, winged-and-eyed form. He blinked, wings drifting over his open eyes.
They find me when I'm needed.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/06/2006 21:08:06
Jesse nodded. Made sense.
"Do you think they can find you here?"
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 21:26:45
The wings folded over all but two of his eyes - a mismatched pair with small, round irises, one red and one amber.
I don't know. I don't think so. Surely someone would've showed up by now, if they could... And he had X-ed himself, which must've changed things. I - It's a complicated process.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/06/2006 21:29:52
"Sorry to hear that." Jesse watched the end of his cigarette in his fingers.
It was sad, it felt sad. Sure, they were all seemingly alone when they got to The City, but Progo seemed extra alone.
"Can I do anything for you?" It was all he could think to ask.
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 21:58:02
Two bright eyes flashed open, edges curving in an expression of amusement. How funny, Proginoskes remarked. No, I don't think there's anything you can do to help in that way of things.
He'd get used to Earth again. He'd already done it once.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/06/2006 22:00:58
"I didn't mean just that, Progo."
Jesse put out his smoke and pulled himself up.
"I'm gonna go get some coffee. You want to come too? I'm sure you probably don't drink coffee, but I'd appreciate the company."
He resisted looking at the underside of Progo to see if there were little feet.
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/06/2006 23:25:28
Just wings. Layers and layers of feathers, constantly folding and unfolding and shifting. If Proginoskes had known about the feet pondering, he would've been slightly insulted by it - what use did he have for something so ungainly?
Everything folded upwards again, and he disappeared again. I'm afraid I won't be very good company.
If there were more people around, he'd definitely go back to his more reserved nature and stick around, silent and invisible.
From: [info]i_seekgod Date: 02/07/2006 12:43:46
"You just being there and me knowin it will be good enough for me."
Jesse pointed. "I think there's a coffee shop over that way. I passed it on my way this direction, but that don't really mean it's still there. Things here like to move and shift."
From: [info]i_amangels Date: 02/08/2006 16:31:35
Hm, Proginoskes hummed thoughtfully. If you say so. The words were doubtful, but his tone was only a touch confused, and that was more wonderment at how quickly he'd been found by someone somewhat friendly than doubt at the sentiment.
Human attachments were so strange. The Wallace children had been like this too, instantly latching onto him as if they'd known him for eons, centuries even.