• A sharp pain radiated from the location of my left eye. I winced and reached up to apply pressure to help relieve it just to find that there was nothing there other than a gaping hole. A glower crossed over my face as I looked down at the dead demoness beneath me, my blade still rammed through her heart. Sometime during the midst of the disastrous fight we had just had, the demon had taken my eye. Still glowering, I tugged the blood stained glove off my right hand, leaned down, placed the palm of my hand over her dimming red eye and claimed the sinisterly beautiful object as my own.

    A burning sensation ran through my hand, up my arm and neck, to settle at the empty spot in my head. Gasping, I pulled my hand back from the ashen woman's face and stumbled backwards, grasping at the ache that seemed to be getting worse. I sank to my knees and sobbed as the pain became more prominent. Slowly, the pain began to fade, allowing me to once again rise to my feet. My hand, having found its way to my new eye some time in the middle of my weeping, finally left my face to show me the tears of blood I had just been crying. It was a startling realization, however the reason behind them was obvious: a demonic eye now possessed by an angel would certainly produce anomalies.

    With my still gloved hand, I wiped away my tears and looked about at the totality of the fight. The majority of the city seemed like it had been ruined beyond human repair. However, humans are resourceful creatures, they would find a way to restore the section to its former glory if not better. Disgruntled at how hectic the fight had become and the thought of mortals once again destroying their home, I stretching the wings I had hidden then took to the skies, aiming for Home where a grand welcome should be waiting before the large luminescent metalwork gates.

    When I arrived at the Great Gates, the sight I had expected was not there and had been replaced with the image of the Grand Seraphim. Before my feet could even touch down, the Grand Seraphim stepped forward and spoke. "Cassiel Exitium, return to the land below. You have been issued charge of Naomi Skye." The words sent a chill down my spine. I had never been issued a Charge before and my serious dislike of mortals often made it so. Being given one now meant that I had done something to anger the higher ups and had been placed under another's jurisdiction. I let my feet touch down long enough for me to bow to the Grand Seraphim, and without a word I turned and leapt into the wide blue before me. It was heartbreaking to be sent from my place in the Clouds to the Land of Pain and Sorrow. It was even more heartbreaking to leave those that I loved behind in the Clouds for many years while I searched for and watched over my Charge.

    Once in the steely blue of the earthly skies, I let my inner self guide me towards my Charge's hometown. It was a dreary place. There was so much grey and black. I was some what relieved to find that most of the people within this city didn't seem as dreary as the color pallet that had painted this place. I gave the city a once over from the sky before flying over to the park, not that it could truly be called a park with its leafless trees and dying grass, and landing. I quickly hid my wings within my Body in case any mortal should happen past, then checked myself for a human sense of normality. My normal transparent self had indeed become solid, which was to make searching for Naomi Skye easier...Hopefully. And hopefully, I would have to talk to very few humans to find her. Unfortunately, I had no idea what this human looked like. How the Guardians managed to find their Charge so easily, alluded me. Sulking, I pulled a spiritually based strip of cloth out of nowhere and began to wrap it around my abnormal eye. Bringing attention to myself was not something that would be wise. I ran a gloved hand through my burnished hair before moving out of the park to wander the greyed streets of the town in search of this...Human.

    Street after street seemed empty, with nothing of importance to me, at least until I began to reach the outer skirts of the city where blood and death swarmed. I could see the occasional heavenly body lift from the ground and speed towards Home, the sight pulling forth the greatest of longings. Along with the sorrow of not being able to go home came the feeling of recognition, almost a tug at my inner being. Immediately, I took off running, my black suit fighting my every movement, trying to get to the source of this recognition for I could not name it myself. By the time I was feeling out of breath and had come to a stop, I could tell that cause of this disruption was nearby and began a sort of jog towards it in hopes of catching it before it left. However, my hopes were crushed. All I found after rounding a corner was a foggy ally that reeked of blood and death. I heaved a sigh and glanced behind me. Alone, of course. Chewing on my bottom lip, as if I truly were human, I put a hand on the nearest vertical surface and breached the wall of fog to see what I might discover within the cover. I nearly stumbled twice over the foot of a dead person, but found my ground rather quickly after having lost it. Still, I made my way further into the fog. The further I went, the more it smelt of blood and less like death. Gradually, the pressure of soundlessness began to disperse to allow my ears to pick up the soft sounds of a young woman crying. Hearing that quiet sound, concern filled me and urged me forward into a spot where the fog seemed to have disappeared completely or to have originated. The sudden lack of an enclosure startled me, but I quickly pulled myself together upon the sight of said young woman and cradled in her arms was a pale young man. As I approached, I could tell this man was dead and that he had meant a lot to her, with a couple more years they could perhaps have been in love. Obviously, that was not in His Plans. Saddened by the sight, I stepped forward and gently placed a black gloved hand on her shoulder. "He is in good hands." The young woman jumped under my hand and the fog suddenly caved in around us, blocking everything from sight, then before I knew it I could no longer find the girl or my way out.

    I must have spent a good ten or twenty minutes just trying to find my way out of that alley before the cloud around me vanished showing me that I was standing at the wrong end of the round-a-bout and just how many bodies were laying between me and my way out. Looking down the narrow view I gagged, my hand moving to my mouth. There was no way I could make myself move between twelve bodies. No way. It was then that a thought occurred to me. How did that young woman live through such a massacre? Or worse, was she the source of it? I shook my head vigorously and let the strips of Humanity seep into the core of my Spirit before taking flight, still unable to deal with the horrendous sight of twelve dead bodies at once. In the darkening sky, my mind wandered back to my previous thoughts. Only genuine sorrow could move me so she could not have been the cause of that man's death. So that left the question how did she become the only survivor. I found me a tall apartment complex to settle upon while I let my thoughts wander. How could that single mortal female survive that tragedy? It was the one thing my mind kept coming back to. I heaved a sigh and let my hands fold behind my head as I leaned back against the graveled rooftop and watched the already bleak sky turn darker.