Anita Zacharia's Story

"I still can't believe you got me to do this with you Annie" Noelle stated, slight panic in her soft voice as the group descended to the cave. A cave Noelle had sworn never to go to because of the crazy yet frightening stories about it. Yet here she was, only mere feet away from the mouth, climbing up a slippery, unused path up the side of a mountain at one in the morning. And who somehow got her up here? The one and only Annie, Noelle's sister from another mister and class A persuader. Of course Noelle wasn't the only one Annie had gotten hold of, nope, all her other best friends were here as well. For some reason it was hard to say 'no' to Miss.Anita Zacharia. A shriek slipped past Noelle's pink lips as her foot slipped on a patch of ice and her arms shot out instantly latching onto her friend Grayson. She clung to his arm until they finally made it to the cave. Noelle reluctantly peeled herself away from Grayson, feeling as though her anchor had been taken away from her and she was once again adrift in a slippery sea, where her Queen of the Klutz reputation made itself known.

"I swear to God Annie if I fall and die I'm coming back to haunt you" Noelle growled as she followed the group into the dark cave, happy to be out of the blistering icy winds that not even her jeans, winter boots and jacket couldn't block out. Once inside the cave Noelle made sure to stick to Annie's side. She reached into her coat pocket and took out her sleek touch screen phone, reluctantly having to remove the soft white gloves that made one part of her body warm. She put it on the flash light app and seconds later bright, LED lights flooded the pitch black cave. What Noelle saw shocked her, for instead of a blood thirsty beast lurking in the shadows there were hundreds of glistening, sleek, giant black feathers.

"Wow" Noelle simply said, for she was in a state of wonder. What was so big that it had such giant feathers? The thought seemed to shake her out of her bewildered state and she became instantly guarded, her left hand hovering off her belt which was attached to a long bowie knife that Noelle didn't go anywhere without. Never know when it will be needed. Her eyes scanned the area yet no matter how many shadowy corners seemed to move when she shone the light on it, the inky darkness would recede and blazing light would show her nothing was really there. It was all her imagination. Yet she couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched. It felt like they had been there for hours even if it was only a couple minutes and Noelle slowly let her guard down enough to wander on her own, going deeper into the cave. No one knew how far it went but when Noelle came to the end shortly she breathed a sigh of relief. Its not as big as I thought it was. Turning around Noelle was about to head back to the group until her eyes landed on a feather. It seemed different then the other's. It was darker then the others somehow like a shadow, it was also more worn then the rest yet still had that inky sheen to it and it was profoundly bigger the all the others. It instantly caught Noelle's eye and before she could even think about it her hand reached out and gently grabbed the feather. It was surprisingly soft as she ran her fingers over it and a desire to keep it flooded over Noelle until she gently placed it in her satchel. Taking in a deep calming breath she made her way back over to her group.

"Hey guys I really think we should go, I've got to be at work early tomorrow" Noelle said. Everyone seemed to agree as they made their way out of the cave, but not before taking a picture in front of it so Noelle could put it in her scrapbook she had made for their adventures. It was surprisingly full.

Noelle watched as each of her friends entered their apartments. It was kinda funny that they all lived in the same apartment building, even though they had been friends since childhood they ever planned on living so close to one another. Smiling Noelle took her keys out of her pocket and opened the rickety, off white door leading into her small but cute apartment. Closing and locking the door behind her Noelle hung her satchel on the coat hook by the door and took out the feather, running her hands over it again before placing it on the kitchen table and walking into the small ivory and blue colored bathroom. Stripping out of her clothes Noelle blasted the hot water, desperate to get rid of the ever present chill that hasn't left her since visiting the cave. She hopped into the steady stream and bathed her skin in a vanilla bean fragrance. Once the water had become cold Noelle quickly turned off the water and got out, wrapping herself in a soft, large navy towel before stepping out of the bathroom, steam rolled out the doorway, swirling with the cool air of the kitchen and living room area. Noelle scurried across the room, the wood floors feeling more like ice against her warm skin and she quickly made it to her carpeted bedroom. Flicking on the light the green and silver room was lite instantly and Noelle went to her dresser and pulled out a fluffy pair of black pj pants and a white long sleeved shirt before turning off the light and climbed into her bed, cuddling into the warmth as she drifted off to sleep.

The blasting sound of her alarm woke Noelle from her sleep. She groaned as her strange dreams about a handsome dark haired man with black wings faded from her even as she tried to hold onto them. Once they had fully disappeared Noelle opened her eyes and turned off her alarm before reluctantly crawling out of bed. She slipped off her pj's and replaced them with worn blue jeans, a white v-neck t-shirt, worn out brown cowboy boots and a black cardigan. It was almost seven in the morning and Noelle had to be at work at seven forty-five, so she decided on making chocolate chip pancakes. Grabbing all her ingredients Noelle mixed it all up and fried it in the pan. She made some whipping cream and cut up various fruits before eating. By the time she was done and all the dishes were washed it was seven thirty. Grabbing her satchel, keys, phone and wallet, Noelle left her work only being minutes away. But over all this time Noelle had forgotten about the feather she had left on the table last night and the fact that instead of it being on the table in the morning it was gone and a black feather tattoo had appeared on her wrist. But Noelle didn't notice any of that until she was at work when she decided to text her friends. Chocolate chip pancakes are on counter help yourselves Annie has the spare key. Once the text was sent out is when Noelle noticed the tattoo but she didn't have time to ponder as her boss called.

The alarm started chirping rather optimistically, abruptly ending the silence of the room. It was quickly joined by Jared swearing at the alarm. "I'm awake, I'm awake, just shut the f...." He trailed off as he noticed the tattoo on his wrist. "You have got to be kidding me." He groaned. The alarm persisted in chirping until he smacked it with an unnecessary violence. He sat up and took a better look at the new marking on his wrist. A black feather, with the name Anita Zacharia underneath it. He rolled his eyes and swung his legs out of bed.

He went to the kitchen and stretched, allowing his huge black wings to extend to their full width. He had cut slits in the back of most of the t-shirts he wore to bed, meaning that he could stretch fully in the mornings without having to rip a perfectly good shirt or sleep shirtless. He didn't particularly want any of the other fallen angels to turn up in the middle of the night and see the scars that lined his back, beneath and around his wings. The fewer questions that were asked, the better.

He perched on the table to eat his bowl of granola, but found himself staring at the new addition to his arm. He'd have to cover it up- he didn't particularly want students seeing it and asking questions. He found himself wondering who exactly had found his feather. He didn't recognise the name, which thankfully meant that it probably hadn't been any of his students.

When he finished, he put his bowl in the dishwasher and looked up at the clock, sighing a little. He would much rather spend the day trying to find whoever it was had found his feather, but he had classes to teach. He didn't exactly want to pull a sickie. While he didn't feel much like work, he had a decent idea that once he got into talking about Greek mythology, Roman culture and how onomatopoeia is used in poetry, he'd be more than happy.

He pulled on a plain white shirt and black jeans, sliding his knife the holder he wore beneath his shirt, before grabbing his gear for his bike. He threw the carefully organised pile of essays into his briefcase and headed downstairs.

The ride into school was brief, but gave him enough of an adrenaline kick to fully wake him up. As he got in, he remembered that he had promised some of the students that he'd be there first thing in the morning to give them pointers for their essay on the character of Romeo, and headed straight to his class, hanging his jacket over the back of his chair. He took the moment to text Lucifer. "Woke up with a tattoo on my arm. Not exactly the best start to my day."

"Shit" Grant's mumbled cursed as another blistering chill hit him seemed to echo off the slick mountain front and get blown away by the fierce icy winds as him and his misfit group of friends made their way up to the mouth of the cave. A cave that people have said holds a blood thirsty creature of shadows. The thought excited yet terrified Grant, of course he wouldn't let anyone see that fear but it was still there, quaking in its boots at the back of his mind. He felt a flash of panic when he heard Noelle's scream, shooting around only to see her fearfully clinging to Grayson like a koala to a tree. Grant sighed in relief and turned back around to see Anita, leading the pack as always.

"Hey An......" words escaped Grant as they finally reached the mouth of the cave, a frisk of fear jolting down his spine but he pushed it back trying to ignore it. A small chuckle left his lips as Noelle latched herself onto her new prey aka Anita. He smiled at Grayson then entered the cave along with everyone else. He instantly reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, switching it on flashlight app and letting the soft LED light flood the area around him. The cave was smaller then he thought it was and he slowly started to drift away from the group. He didn't know how long he just stood there looking at all the black feathers that littered the area. It was when Noelle stated they should leave that Grant's eyes landed on a certain feather. He didn't know why it was that one feather, it looked actually like all the others, yet he couldn't stop himself from grabbing it and shoving it into the pocket on the inside of his jacket. He then followed the group out of the cave, his fear receding the further they got away from it.

Grant sighed in relief when they finally made it home, rushing into his apartment and locking the door behind him. He didn't know why he was so anxious to get home. Once the old lock was firmly in place Grant left his body physical relax as he pushed himself off the door from his leaning position and walked towards the small kitchen area. He took the feather out of his pocket and placed it on the black marble counter top of the island and examined it. The feather was sleek, shiny, pitch black and the size of half his arm. Running his finger's along it he felt it was coarse yet still soft. Sighing he shook his head, grabbed the feather and walked to his bedroom, placing the feather on his bedside table beside his lamp and alarm clock. Grant quickly undressed and through on a pair of old sweat's and a navy t-shirt before climbing into bed. He turned off his bedside lamp and began to fall asleep, all the while watching the moonlight reflect off the sleek surround of the black feather.

Grant groaned in his sleep as he heard the tell tale sounds of his phone buzzing with a text message. Flipping over in bed he grabbed his phone from underneath his pillow and glanced at the text.

~Chocolate chip pancakes are on counter help yourselves Annie has the spare key.~

Grant's stomach instantly growled at the offer of food and he shot in bed. He was about to get dressed when his eyes landed on his bedside table and he noticed that the feather was.....gone? He looked around the room but didn't spot its glistening inky color anywhere.That is until he looked down and caught sight of his arm and the black feather tattoo with a name in a different language underneath it. What the fuck!

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"Why I do this? I'm going to be late." The young Indian girl said to herself as the group made their way up to the cave. While they all voiced their complaints and concerns, Anita didn't say anything. She knew that they were afraid and in all honesty she was a bit skeptical herself. She had no idea what was in that cave, but she didn't believe the whole 'blood thirsty monsters' story like a few of the others, mostly her best friend, Noelle. She pulled the cigrette from between her full lips and blew out the smoke before looking to herself to see Noelle holding tightly to Greyson. "Ellie, you need to relax. Everything will be fine, okay?" She watched the sweet blonde slip on a piece of ice before chuckling softly, she loved her best friend more that anything. But, sometimes she just wished that the younger girl would just trust her and go along with it. No ifs, ands, or buts. Because, there was no saying 'no' to Anita.

"I swear to God Annie if I fall and die I'm coming back to haunt you."

Anita let out a chuckle and bit down on her lip before turning back towards her best friend. Oh, everything will be fine." She ensured as they made their way to the mouth of the cave. When they entered, the Indian girl threw her cigarette on the floor and stepped on it with the heel of her black boot. Not long after, she felt her best friend cling to her side. The two were close, really close and Anita loved the girl to death. She was closer to a sister than her actually sister. Anita kissed the top of her best friend's head with a smirk on her lips. "Any have a light? All I have is a lighter."

She looked back towards the opening of the cave only to see the shadows of her friends. She looked down at Noelle as the girl found an app to shed some light into the rather small cave. Looking around, Annie raised an eyebrow at the large amount of feathers. While they all looked the same, Anita just wanted to go look at a few of the others. It was a bit further than the others but, Anita wasn't afraid of the dark and she wasn't worried that the light was beginning to fade as she made her way further into the cave. She was about to lose the light entirely before she finally grabbed one and made her way back to the group. "Hey guys I really think we should go, I've got to be at work early tomorrow."

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She nodded towards the group. "Yea, I have work tonight anyway." As the whole group made their way away from the cave and back to their apartment building, Anita was thinking about what time she had to get to work. While her friends hated her job, she did what she had to do in order to make ends meet and while they all wanted to help, she didn't allow them to. She didn't need their money and/or sympathy. While her friends all made their way to sleep, the young Indian girl was on her way to her night job. She set her bag down at her station as she made her way to the stage only to see her lover, Mario standing with the band. While she felt something for the man, she wouldn't exactly call it love. Not at all. Right now, Anita saw them as 'friends with benefits' more than anything. She could hear the men cheer as she stepped on stage and she could see Mario give her a look a disapproval before starting the music. The man wanted what was best for her, he wanted her to leave the club and never come back but, Annie couldn't do it and risk giving up her lifestyle of luxury and expensive things.

And for the next six hours, Anita gave into the demands of her male clients before finally being able to leave a go back home. Mario had to sneak his way out through the backdoor, seeing that their boss would not like the pair being together, for lack of a better word. When they got to her apartment, they didn't waste anytime to start showing their affection.

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Later that morning, Anita could barely feel Mario kissing her neck gently as he spoke to her. "Anita." She just groaned softly before settling back into her large bed. "Beautiful, your phone was ringing." Anita sighed before reaching for the phone on her bedside and seeing the text from Noelle. She just sighed before sitting up in her bed with the blanket against her chest. "Don't call me that, it's not the truth and I hate lies." She got out of her bed and slipped on her robe. The Hispanic man just chuckled as he moved towards his lover and wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear. "You're the only one who thinks it's a lie though." He said with a raised eyebrow as Anita nudged out of his strong arms and made her way to her closet. "And, I thought you said that you would quit. You do not need to do this to yourself. I mean, you have your family, friends,.... me. You--.."

As the girl looked through her closet she looked up at the ceiling and sighed. She wanted Mario, she did but she was not willing to get hurt again. She wished that for once, a man would just want to stay the way they were. The would sleep together and then act like nothing ever happened between them. She turned towards him and sighed. "Mar, you're my friend. But..--"

"I know, I know. You don't want a relationship right now, you don't want to ruin what we have, you don't want to get hurt, and so on. I get it, I know." He said as he grabbed his shirt from off the floor and slipped it on. When he slid on his black jeans he looked towards the Indian girl before sighing and chuckling softly. "One day, you're going to look back and wonder why you were such a bitch." Anita just scoffed as she watched him walk to the door. She went to the door behind him and tapped his shoulder. [i]"I know what I'm doing, Mario. Get some business of your own and stay out of mine."

As he walked down the stairs he turned towards him in annoyance. "Yea, whatever. By the way, you must just gotten that tattoo because I certainly didn't notice it last night." She looked on her wrist to see the tattoo before looking back at Mario who had a raised eyebrow as he walked to his car. As he drove off, she just slammed the door and walked back to her bedroom to go take a shower and get dressed.

Twenty minutes later, she was out of the shower and almost done getting ready. Her makeup was all done along with her freshly dried hair as she slipped on her jeans that hugged her hips. She looked over her reflection with a small smile and shrug as she grabbed her jacket and purse. She looked back over the text from Noelle before realizing that she needed to grab her key to Noelle's apartment. She grabbed it from her counter and headed to her best friend's apartment to get something to eat before going to work at her day job.

"Thank you have a nice day" Noelle chirped kindly as her last customer of the day walked out the door. Today had felt longer then usual, but that because Noelle wasn't focused on her work but more like the mysterious tattoo that had appeared on her wrist. After a close look Noelle had realized that there was a name beneath the feather. It wasn't in the English language so during her lunch break she had put the name in google translate. The name was in Latin.

Samael.

That name had been the source of her pondering all day. As Noelle sat at the counter she ran her hand over the feather tattoo, surprised it felt different from the rest of her skin. It felt like the feather from last night. Strange.

"Noelle could you lock up and come here for a moment" Calvin Hardie, aka Noelle's boss, ordered from his office.

"Okay" was Noelle's answer as she got off the stool and locked the front door before heading to his office. When Noelle entered his office she was slightly surprised when she didn't see him. His office was small and bare only a oak desk, laptop, file cabinet and chair was placed in the light yellow room. Then suddenly the door slammed shut behind her and Noelle swiftly turned to see Calvin. His fiery red hair was wild and his blue eyes seemed to glow. He was an attractive man only having five years to Noelle and he like many other men in
this town have seeked Noelle's attention only to be polity turned down.

"Mr.Hardie?" Noelle questioned as the man blocked the door. Panic started to rise and her stomach churn in unease. Calvin didn't answer her when he suddenly lunged, knocking Noelle to the ground and pinning her down. Noelle whimpered as her head hit the desk.

"Should have known......he would make a mistake one day.....now he dies.....now he dies....kill.....Lucifer.....you....smell like him...." Calvin's words were more growls. He flipped over Noelle's arm, fixing his glowing blue eyes on the feather tattoo. "What.....a.....fool..." he snarled. His grip on Noelle was painful and she could feel her skin become slick beneath his nails. He's drawing blood!

"GET OFF ME!" Noelle shouted angrily as her leg swift connected with Calvin's groin making the man fall to his side. With his grip loosed Noelle slipped from beneath him and rushed out of the office, grabbed her bag and ran from the store. It being winter time the sun was going down already, even if it was only five in the evening. A rage filled shriek filled the streets, which were bare as always, and moments later Noelle was tackled to the ground. She kicked and hit something, making a loud cracking noise fill the air and a scream of pain. That didn't sound....human. Noelle shot up to her feet and looked back. Standing before her was no longer Calvin Hardie but a creature of dis-form with his fiery red hair and glowing blue eyes. A long forked tongue lashed out, slipping between razor like teeth, rows and rows. His nose had completely vanished, his face looking more like a corpse, and his skin shone with blackened scales. He was terrifying to say the least. Noelle's body shook with fright as the creature advanced yet before it could reach her something slammed into its side, making them both fall to the snow covered ground.

"NOELLE RUN!" Grant shouted as he was thrown back by the monster, flying threw the air and landing a few feet away. The monster shot up to its feet and lunged towards Grant, snarls that sounded like "she's mine" escaping the creature. Then the piercing sound of gun fire echoed through the area and the creature fell where he stood. Noelle shook with fear as the pistol from her bag slipped from her finger's and she fell to her knee's, tears threatening to escape.

"NOELLE!"

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Ziva was tired, exhausted from a combined school and work day. Of course, that didn't stop her from flying off to her friends when Annie had called her up to go on another one of her little adventures. With each step she took she was reminded just how cold it was outside. The rips in the knees of her jeans were making said part of her body cold and while her leather jacket and boots kept her relatively warm, her lack of gloves or a scarf had her shivering every once in a while. To fight this, the blue haired woman just tried to keep moving as fast as possible.

Humming softly to herself, a distraction really, Ziva could hear Noelle's comments from in front of her. They had her smiling to herself, thoroughly entertained by the other woman's words. Sometimes she thought of Noelle as the dedicated 'mom' of the group, always worrying and trying to get all of her friends from going along with Anita's plans. Of course, she always accompanied them anyway.

So was this endeavor really worth all the effort? Was it worth the biting cold and wind that kepis burning every part of exposed skin that Ziva had? Well, no, not really. There was, (un)fortunately, no blood thirsty monster. The scariest thing that had occurred was Noelle screaming when she had slipped on the way up. On the bright side Ziva did get to spend some time with her friends, at least that was nice.

As Noelle suggested their departure, Ziva was rather happy. She really wasn't dressed appropriately for their expedition. Something caught her eyes as she turned to leave though. The black feathers that covered the floor hadn't really interested her earlier, too cold, but there was just something about them at that moment. Slowly she knelt down, brushing he fingers over one of the soft items. It took her a few minutes, but eventually the woman picked it up and shoved it into one of her coat pockets. Her hazel eyes skimmed over the cave one last time before she followed after the others. There was something strange about it, but then again maybe that feeling was just the fact that she hadn't eaten since noon.

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Home was, of course, where they all parted ways. It was nice to live in the same building, but they all still needed their own space. Still freezing and tired, Ziva got inside and kicked her shoes off haphazardly. Heading straight into her bedroom, the young woman stripped and began her long regiment to get ready for bed. One long scalding shower, make-up removal, and a change into sweats and a tee and she was ready to sleep. Something still irked her though.

Heading over to her vanity, Ziva reached into her jacket which hung on the chair. The feather was still soft to the touch as she lifted it out. It was pretty she had to admit, but it was a feather. Enjoying the feeling of it between her fingers for just a second longer, she laid the item down before heading back over to her bed and sinking into the sheets. It was going to be one hell of a day when she got up.

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So waking up late wasn't nice. Thanks to Noelle, and her offer of actual breakfast, Ziva woke up. Sure there was no time to eat said offered food, but at least she had time to get herself decent looking before leaving her apartment. Thank goodness for taking a shower the night before.

Running around her room like a chicken with its head cut off, the blue haired woman threw on a long red shirt with a red and pink blended off the shoulder cover before slipping into some dark blue jeans. She couldn't leave her house bare faced so purple eyeliner was applied in a hurry before she tripped out her door trying to put her boots on and her coat in hand. Bolting down the stairs in the hurry she shot a quick text Noelle's way. Thanks for the offer Frost, but no time. Appreciated the wakeup call though.

And with that she was off to class, no time to notice the missing feather on her desk or the new tattoo on her wrist.

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After going to her best friend's house to eat some of the pancakes she had made, Anita made her way out towards her car as she grabbed in her purse to grab out her phone. She dialed Mario's number and listened to it go right to voicemail. She groaned in frustration as she tossed her phone back into the bag and grabbed out a cigarette. She put it between her lips before unlocking her car door and slipping into the front seat. She pulled out her lighter and lit the stick before putting it back in her purse and put her purse in the passenger seat. "Okay, don't let him upset you. The happier you are the more money and tips you'll make at the pretty little flower shop." She told herself as she pulled out of her parking space and drove off with her window down and her music blasting. As she drove into town, she could see people give her looks as she drove past them. While her best friend was seen as the 'innocent one', Anita was seen as the...whore, for lack of a better word. Mostly everyone in their small town knew what she did at night for money and some made rumors of what she did behind closed doors. Making her pretty much, the most hated young lady in town. The men either wanted her or hated her for leaving them high and dry like she has done many times before while women either liked her and knew the real her or they disliked her with a passion, thinking that she was a 'home wrecker' and would try to hurt their relationships.

A little over ten minutes later, she was in front of her workplace and parking in the back like all the employees were told to. Looking around at the cars she only saw three meaning that she was going to have to forget about her lunch break and work even longer. "Great, just perfect." She took her keys and put them in her pocket before grabbing her purse and heading out into the cold Winter air. She bundled up her black jacket that hugged her chest as she headed in towards the back door. It wasn't long until the owner, Vita rushed towards her a shooed her to the back exit once more.

"No, no, no, no. Put out that cancer stick before you even come close to this store..--

"C'mon, Vi. It's cold, at least let me by the heater!" She begged as the older women pushed her away from the door.

Now, come one. Yalla, we have work to do." Vita said before as she snapped her skinny fingers and closed the door. Anita groaned as she tossed the cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. She walked inside and put her coat on the coat rack in the employee's lounge and walked past her boss with a smug smirk. "Happy?" Vita rolled her eyes and hit Anita behind softly as she walked up to her. "Remember, I am your mother's best friend. I will ground you. And speaking of your mother, does she know what you're wearing? I mean look at you, you're dressed like a...like a...like a..--"

[i]"Whore." She said with a raised eyebrow as she grabbed a few red roses and pearls for the wedding centerpieces she had been working on for weeks. Vita went up to her as she started working on the bridesmaids' flowers. "I was not going to say that, Anita."

"No, but that's what everyone else says behind my back or to my face. So, why would you be any different?"

"Because I am your friend and not one of those Americans who like you to your face and talk about you behind your back. And they call you Annie, what kind of nickname is that?!" The Indian woman said as she put on bouquet to the side with the other finished products. Annie rolled her light brown eyes just shaking her head. "I like the nickname Annie, Vita. And not all Americans are like that, you know? Most--Well, some are very kind and nice." Vita stopped her work before looking at her employee and friend. "Yea, if you say so, Nita. Hey, what's with the tattoo on your arm, you know your mother hates tattoos more than she hates your clothing."

Nita looked back at the strange tattoo on her wrist before shrugging towards Vita. "I honestly don't even remember getting it. It wasn't there last night and now, poof. Here it is, She looked to see Vita nodding with a strange look on her face. Do you think it's a sign from the gods. Am I being chosen to become to goddess of lust or whoreish clothing or something?" Vita threw a rose with thorn on to the girl's bare arm. "Make fun all you want. Just want, one day you'll be struck down by lightning. And besides, that's not Indian, it looks like Latin or Spanish or something like that. Anyway, we need more roses and hydrangeas, I'll be back soon." Nita waved her off as she continued to work on the centerpieces. She couldn't stop looking at the tattoo. She huffed before sighing and shaking it off. She had work to do and she did not have time to worry about something she could worry about when she got home.

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Lucifer Walker

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Lucifer sighed. Humans were... troublesome, to be certain. Always had been; even Adam had a fight to him. Something angels were not born with; it made mankind interesting. Mortality, it seemed, gave them a reason to act.
Angels were different. The lack of fear of death... it changed them. They needed a reason to get up in the morning, a good one. He'd watched many Fallen simply die of despair at their eternal existence. While the forces of Heaven tried to hide it, he knew that they were beginning to suffer the same issues. This war was taking a toll on all of their psyches. Some were beginning to give up.
Never him, though.
"Elaine, calm the boy down," he said. No Fallen Angel was forced to serve him, but she'd proved competent and loyal in the past. It would be nice to have him out of his hair-
Wait, what was it the girl had said?

Her face in the dark of his room, the barest outlines of her eyes, nose and lips visible in the near-blackness. Mere millimetres from his, her expression as unreadable as ever - he wondered, just for the briefest moments, if she was smiling a little.
Only warmth surrounded them, the warmth of their bodies pressed together, hers a little cooler than his. He could feel every part of her; the blood flowing through her veins, the air slowly moving in and out of her lungs, the firing nerve synapses within her.
She moved her face that tiniest bit closer to his.
"I love you, Samael..."

His fist clenched as his eyes re-opened; they had only been closed for the briefest of instants. He tensed every muscle in his body, forcing the memory from his mind. He could not afford that. Could not afford such things.
"Do not call me that name ever again," he commanded, voice icy cold, staring down at her. "The one named 'Samael' died a very long time ago. The angel standing before you is Lucifer, Lord of the Nine Circles of Hell, Commander of the Legions of the Damned, First of the Fallen."
He turned around; he could hear police cars. Somebody had heard the shots. No time for explanations.
"We need to go. Now."

"Did I hear something about how I get the rest of my classes off today?" Jared asked, perching on the edge of the desk. It was the last few minutes of class, and the students had all handed their essays on the character of Romeo up on time, which, according to some of the other teachers, was a rare occurrence. However, it never happened with a certain Mr. Semira as he tended to bribe his class with outings to the theatre and movies in class if everyone had their assignments handed up on time.

"Yeah, sir, we're being brought to some college thing." One of the jocks called out. Jared raised an eyebrow. "Some college thing. As eloquent as always, Mr. Sanders, and I expect nothing less in your essay." The rest of the class laughed, and even Jason Sanders, the student in question, smirked.

"I think I'll let you off homework then. We'll be watching Romeo and Juliet tomorrow in class, so it'll mean we won't waste time correcting work. Enjoy yourselves, and don't make any life decisions you'll regret." He told them as the bell went. His class cheered, and he laughed at them. The principal was waiting outside the door.

"Are you going to stay in school for the afternoon, Jared?" The elderly gentleman asked. Jared shook his head. "No, sir, I have matters to attend to." The principal nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, then." Jared nodded and headed outside.

He rolled up his sleeve to look at the tattoo, taking note of the name. It meant nothing to him, and he sighed, pulling his jacket on over his shirt.

He decided to get something for lunch, but a woman in the flower shop caught his eye. When he saw her, a shiver ran down his spine. He stared at her, bringing his bike to a stop across the road. He pulled his phone out from his pocket, staring at it, before typing out a reply to Lucifer. Clarify hunt. Destroy? Or just scare the living daylights out of her?

Noelle reluctantly agreed with the man that they had to leave. Don't get her wrong she shivered in fear when the woman bluntly stated to Lucifer to not kill Noelle. And something told Noelle he wasn't one fore taking order's. As the siren's got closer Noelle grabbed her bag and stuffed the gun in it, happy that for one there town's police department was from the dinosaur ages and two the only source of security the book store had was locks on the doors. Noelle shot a glare at Lucifer, which was rare for her cause no one ever really got on Noelle's bad side. If she had to put it in number's the amount of times she's glared at people would probably be the same amount as this man has smiled. Its just a guess though.

"We can go out the back door" she stated simply unsure if he would follow or not. Without a look his way Noelle scurried to the back of the small building and went out the back door, instantly entering an alley. She could see her apartment and without hesitation ran home, rushing up the stairs and unlocking her apartment. She immediately started looking for the source of all this crazy shit and let out a frustrated growl when she couldn't find the feather. Where the hell is it!?

Even while asking herself this she knew as she looked down at her wrist she wasn't going to find it cause she already had it. Sighing she took out her phone and texted her group of friends.

~Come to my place immediately! Its urgent~

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"LET GO!" Grant growled at the woman. He needed to get back to Noelle in case she got hurt. The woman was surprisingly strong and he feel pleasurable shiver's rocketing from where she touched him, but being as stubborn as he is Grant ignored it.

"I have no idea what the fuck you mean about getting us contected! All I know is if Noelle gets hurt cause of your buddy I'll make you pay" Grant snarled as he finally wrecked his arm out of the woman's hold. The buzzing of his phone alerted him of a text and he fished it out of his pocket and saw it was from Noelle.

"Come on" Grant snapped as he took hold of the woman's hand and started dragging her behind him. Like hell he was just going to leave her there without answers. A thought in the back of his mind kept telling him that this woman was letting him pull her but he ignored it as they got to the apartment building and up to Noelle's apartment. Once they arrived he knocked and Noelle instantly answered the door.

"Hey" he said calmly giving her a small smile, trying to reassure her. He had only seen Noelle look so scared and anxious once in his life and that was when her parent's were murdered right in front of her. Those were some bad time's none of them wanted to live through again.

"Come in" she replied coldly and Grant pulled the woman in with him. Grant instantly noticed the tall man wasn't with Noelle and briefly wondered where he was as Grant let go of the woman and took a seat on the couch.

---

Lucifer Walker

---

Lucifer stepped into her apartment, scanning every corner of it. Exactly one entrance; a reasonably open space in the front room, although not enough to draw Thaumiel if it came to it. He'd have to make do - who knew how long it'd take for someone else to attack them? He wasn't particularly afraid of stray demons, or even rogue Fallen Angels with a grudge. But a coordinated assault by Heaven…

He pulled out his phone, texting Jarryd. He needed to get in contact with his trusted friend as soon as possible - there were few angels who he trusted to have his back in a fight, but Jarryd had proved himself more than capable. The two had fought side-by-side on more occasions than he could count.

Change of plans. Bring her to the apartment on 2 Morecroft Way. Second floor. DO NOT LET HER DIE. Will explain further when you arrive.

He turned around as Elaine and the boy rushed in, nodding to them both, along with Noelle. "Alright. Elaine, with me. Noelle, take up a position behind the counter. You - the other one - take this," he said, materialising a short scimitar and tossing it to the human male. "I'll explain further when those we need arrive. For now, your need-to-know information is that none of us in here can afford to die, and that you will see things; if not today, then in days to come. Things like what you saw in the store. Dangerous things, abominations that will try and kill you."

He considered summoning a unit of Hellguard demons, but decided against it - a demon summoning would be sure to attract the attention of angels. Until they knew more about the situation, he couldn't afford being forced into an all-out battle with the Army of Heaven.

He came to realise that, for the first time in a very long time, he felt fear. He never felt fear on the battlefield - he was untouchable, after all. He could - and had - slain even Archangels in open combat. It had always been a matter of 'when' with regards to the success of his mission, not 'if'. That's what he told himself.

But now, things were different. This human… if she died, he died. No question of it - those were the rules of the contract. Unless she died of natural causes, of course, but with this, that felt unlikely. He knew that Heaven would do all they could to kill her.

That wasn't it, though. Not all of it.

He was afraid of failing to protect someone again.

(Really sorry for the delay in posting- life's been hectic!)

He read the text and sighed, climbing off his bike and heading into the flower shop. The girl behind the counter was familiar in a strange way, even though he was pretty sure that he had never seen her before. It was like he'd seen her in a dream before. She sent a shiver down his spine, making him think that she was probably the one he was looking for. He gave her a bright smile.

"Hey. I'm looking for Anita Zacharia? I don't suppose you could tell me where I could find her?"

He caught a glimpse of the tattoo on her arm and allowed himself to jump to conclusions. He highly doubted that a lot of people had found their feathers. He raised an eyebrow, unbuttoning his sleeve and rolling them up. He held out the arm that the tattoo was on, showing it to her. "My name's Jared Semira, and you need to come with me. Now. No arguing, no excuses. This is urgent." He hated being so blunt with her. He would have preferred the opportunity to flirt with her, ease her in, persuade her to come with him. But Lucifer had made it sound urgent.

"The bike's outside. You're not scared of speed, are you?" He asked, grinning.

"Can at least tell me where we're going?" The woman asked as she came out of the store. Jared checked his phone. "Apartment on Morecroft Way. It's a very long story. I'll explain more when we get there." He produced an extra helmet as he pulled his jacket back on. He gently threw her the helmet and swung a leg over the bike, making sure she had room. It occurred to him that Lucifer might have meant for him to take it easy when he sad told him to not let her die. He was pretty sure that if she died, something bad would happen to him. So maybe he'd stick to the speed limit.

"Hold on." He instructed once she was on the bike, before kicking off and heading to the apartment. He almost drove past it, before spotting it and slowing probably a little too harshly. But neither of them were thrown from the bike, so it was all good.

He trusted that she'd be relatively safe going up to the apartment, so he allowed himself to be a little bit ahead of her- at least, until he reached the door. He knocked on it.

"It's Jared." He called, hoping that he had the right apartment.

Noelle smiled, noting the fact that the man looked very handsome when he smiled.

"Its no probl..." she began but was cut off by a knocking at the door and a male voice. Noelle looked at Lucifer before standing up and going to the door. Opening it she saw a dark haired man. He said his name was Jared, she had never met him before but something told her he knew Lucifer.

"Come in" she said polity. He made her feel uneasy unlike Lucifer. Leaving the door open Noelle went over to the kitchen.

"Are you hungry Jared?" she questioned. That was Noelle's coping mechanism. Offering people food.

She wished Anita was here at the moment.

---

Lucifer Walker

---

Lucifer was caught off-guard by her return smile. Not the fact that it was there, but just how it looked... dammit, why now? Why her, of all people? He couldn't afford such things. He was about to enter the toughest war of his life! He could not permit such grievances. But what choice did he have?

He couldn't help but look up to the sky, hand curling into a fist. Was this God's doing? Another way of tormenting him? Even after all this time, was it not enough? Was not living with the memories of the way she mouthed those fateful words as she died - not despairing, nor defiant, but simply her to the very end - was that not enough for God's wrath?!

No matter.

He pushed the thoughts from his mind and nodded to Jared as the younger Fallen entered the room, finding himself feeling a little more at ease. There was perhaps nobody in any of the three planes of existence that he trusted as much as Jared - the two had seen so much, fought so many side-by-side. He couldn't count the things they'd been through together; watching the Seventh Altitude light up like a great candle as the Archangels cast their combined Angel Fire upon the invading army, desperately pulling Jared to safety after he took an arrow to the ribcage, standing before his mighty army as they cheered at the elation of another victory.

"Good to see you," he said, relaxing his body slightly as he stood to greet his friend - if, of course, Lucifer could be said to have such things - entered the room. "I assume you've already worked out why you're here, haven't you?"

A pretty blonde opened the door, asking him to come in. He smiled at her, glancing over his shoulder at the girl he had brought. "Are you hungry, Jared?" The blonde asked. He realised that he was- it was supposed to be his lunch break, after all. "Yeah, I am actually. Thanks!" He called.

He glanced at Lucifer and grinned. It was nice to know that he always had someone who knew exactly what was going on. They'd been through a lot together. Surely they'd be able to get through this. They'd battled Archangels while being severely outnumbered, they'd faced down Holy Fire and had a few very near misses, they'd patched up each other's wounds in the middle of a battlefield. The matter of a few humans was surely going to be easy to deal with, right?

"Good to see you," Lucifer said, standing up. "I assume you've already worked out why you're here, haven't you?" Jared nodded. "I'm guessing we've formed some kind of connection between the humans-" He gestured to his arm, his sleeves still rolled up, "-And us. And if anything happens to either of us, the other's in trouble. You know, there's evidence of similar things happening in both modern history and mythology." He said excitedly, looking around.

"It's possible that some Greek legends were inspired by this. Gods falling in love with mortals and all that. They did think that we were Gods, back then. I think I got called Thantos once, what with the wings and all." He stopped himself then, realising that he was almost trying to change the subject. It wasn't intentional- he just loved history so much. And okay, maybe he was a little nervous. At least he hadn't started spouting Shakespeare yet.

---

Lucifer Walker

---

"That would appear to be the case, yes," Lucifer nodded. He didn't mind Jarryd's occasional tangents about human history - he found it fascinating himself.

Many Angels, Fallen and otherwise, took no interest in the past of humanity; but he believed in the species, in a strange way. He'd seen their dawn, been named guardian of the First Man, and had watched them flourish across the Earth. He felt proud, in a way, looking back; Adam had done well to create all this, and Lucifer had been there to help him. Once, he mused, he'd helped people, even despite his nature.

But that was a different time, and a different name.

"I'd say we've got about four hours until Heaven tries to hit us," he said. "A demonic construct of some sort attempted to kill her earlier. Unfortunately for us, I cut it down before it could be interrogated, but if I had to guess, I'd say that the Archangels were trying to terminate her subtly without drawing attention to themselves."

He stared out the window for a moment, into the sky and the clouds above. What machinations were occurring as they spoke? What forces being assembled, malicious plans being formed? What angelic blades were being honed to cut down the human beside him? It was cruel, in a way unfair, for Angels to try and kill humans. They could not meet on even ground. But honour was something far beyond everyone in this war.

Noelle dished Jared some of the leftover's and handed him the full plate.
"My name's Noelle Frost, its nice to meet you" Noelle said kindly. She was raised with manner's, it didn't matter if he was a Fallen Angel she would still be polity especially since he seemed to be one of Lucifer's friends. Why doesn't he go by Samuel?
That was his name, that's the name that is imprinted on her arm. Or maybe's she's wrong, maybe it does say Lucifer.....but then why did he get so offended when she called him Samuel? Shaking herself she zoned back into the conversation. She didn't like the thought of someone trying to terminate her.

"Isn't their anyone you know that could hide me and my friends somehow? Like a spell or something? How do you make it so they don't find you when you sleep?" Noelle questioned. They probably thought she was a freaking idiot but in her defense she didn't even know their kind existed an hour or so ago. Walking over to her desk Noelle grabbed her laptop and placed it on the kitchen island, facing the screen away from the two men. She went to google translate and typed in the Latin name on her arm again. Still the same results. Samuel.

Noelle's head popped up and she looked at Lucifer in a questioning matter then looked down at his arm. She typed in what she saw and her name popped up. Google's correct. So then why...... Sighing Noelle looked down at Jared arm and typed in what she saw. Anita Zacharia.
A tiny gasp slipped past Noelle's lips as her head shot up the Jared.
"Your connected with Annie? I mean Anita?" she questioned.

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"Oh" Grant mumbled, totally forgetting about the mark. Of course she can read it.

"Umm no sorry I don't recognize you, sure I've gone to a underwear store with Noelle and Annie but I try not to look around" Grant answered as he stirred the mac&cheese. I shuttered as he remember the day Annie dragged them all to that panty store. Poor Noelle was treated like a dress up doll and he and Grayson had to do the whole thumbs up or thumbs down thing for hours. That store was so pink it gave him girly nightmares for a week.

"And for the food you can eat a little, its not going to give you instant beer belly or anything" Grant teased as he took the finished mac&cheese off the stove and dished to bowls, making sure her's was relatively smaller portioned then his own.

"Beside's thats what working out is for, whenever Noelle's not cooking something I live off packaged easy foods and I'm not fat" Grant chuckled as he lifted his shirt slightly to show hardened abdominal muscles instead of fat. He grinned widely, putting down his shirt and plopping down on the couch, switching on the tv.

"You want to pick?" he questioned holding the remote out to Elaine. He noted that is was a very pretty name and suited her well. Pretty name for a pretty girl.

---

Lucifer Walker

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"Perhaps," Lucifer said, sighing and thinking over her question. It was their best shot - both for the safety of the humans and to avoid having their best forces tied up as bodyguards on Earth. Nonetheless, such magic was far beyond his understanding - he had never seen reason to pursue illusory magic. He existed to kill, nothing more.

"The connection cannot be broken under any circumstances," Lucifer stated. "Until you die of natural causes - 'without ill intent and after all attempts to live', I believe, is the technical wording of the Grimoires - then we are bonded."

He stared at Jared, and the human by his side. Humans were so weak, so easily broken... yet here they stood, their last hope. This was dangerous. Madness, even, to try.

But the price of failure was too high to walk away now.

"My name's Noelle Frost, it's nice to meet you." He nodded as he accepted the plate. "Jared Semira, and the pleasure is all mine. She asked Lucifer about hiding them, and he sighed, taking a forkful of food. It was good, sure, but he was thinking. He instinctively put his hand to his boot, grasping the hilt of the knife. The fact that it was still there steadied him.

He forced back the memories of one of his last encounters with the angels. They had nearly killed him, and he had been left scarred as a result. Even Lucifer didn't know the truth of the white lines on his back. Jared was pretty sure that Lucifer didn't believe the story of a motorcycle accident, but he was glad that he didn't question it.

"You're connected with Annie? I mean Anita?" Noelle asked. He jumped a little, before nodding. "It appears so." He replied.

"The connection cannot be broken under any circumstances. Until you die of natural causes - 'without ill intent and after all attempts to live', I believe, is the technical wording of the Grimoires - then we are bonded." Jared swallowed the forkful of food. It really was good.

"In simple terms, if an angel burst in here right now and stabbed me through the heart, Anita here would be in trouble. But if she were to drop dead of a heart attack, I could keep on living."

He winked at his companion. "I'd really rather if you didn't though, darling. It really would be a shame. Noelle, this food is really good, by the way."