Saints and Sinners [Open]

[Gabriel]

The streetcar shook gently as it rumbled down the tracks. Gabriel leaned against the window and sighed. It had been another long day, another day of work he had taken upon himself. Lately he had taken to running demons and other troublemakers out of the city, a tall order as New Orleans was not exactly known to be a sin-free zone. He enjoyed the work, though. Mostly. Except when it made him tired like this.

Normally, the ability to teleport made things like cars and buses and streetcars naturally unnecessary. Today, though, Gabriel was far too tired to do anything but let the humans' transportation get him to where he needed to be. Slow as it was, at least public transportation did not require him to exert himself. No, he was content letting the little red cable car make his way toward the Cemeteries.

Besides, he liked streetcars. They were inventive and fairly eco-friendly. Not like cars, which were tearing up the planet faster than the humans liked to admit. Then there were the characters one got to meet on the streetcars, like the gentleman behind him. The man had his head smashed into the back of Gabriel's seat, snoring loudly, and managed to reek of both alcohol and weed at once. Or the elderly woman across the aisle who kept poking Gabriel in the knee with her cane and telling him something about back-in-her-day. Oh, if only you knew, lady. If only you knew.

There was a young man in the seat next to her, who was looking out the window at the cars passing by. There was something Gabriel didn't like about him, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. So he left it alone, until the streetcar stopped and the young man got up. Then Gabriel recognized what it was. The kid was carrying a purse. Now, that was not exactly uncommon these days, what with "man purses" becoming popular, but… hadn't the elderly lady been carrying that same purse before?

"Hey," Gabriel said, standing up and taking a few steps toward the young man. The kid looked up, read Gabriel's intention in his eyes, and bolted. Gabriel reached out and caught him, only for the kid to spin around and punch Gabriel in the face. The hit stung, but not for too long, and thankfully there was a crowd of people waiting to get onto the streetcar that the kid had to push through, knocking people over left and right.

Gabriel jumped off the streetcar and made his way through the crowd. "Stop him!" he yelled, pointing to the kid who was making off with the woman's purse. Would someone in the crowd listen and help him catch the thief? Hopefully, but given what he knew about people, maybe not.

[Ramiel]

Ramiel

I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives.

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A Crowded Street
New Orleans, LA

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Tick..Tick...Tick...The sound of Ramiel's pocket watch sent chill down his spine. He looked at the watch shaking his head biting into one of his long piece of cherry twizzlers. It was almost time to guide another soul to the gate golden gates of Heaven. The Archangel closed his eyes concentrating on the next location he needed to appear to gather the soul. The sound of large wings rustling echoed around his body.

When his bright blue eyes opened he found himself on the roof of a three story building. The buildings around him had a unique southern look to them. He found himself deep in New Orleans, LA. Ramiel kept himself invisible to all the humans who crowded the busy streets. His vision locked on to a teenager running through the crowd with a purse. It was clear to him that the man was a thief. However, It wasn't his responsibility to stop such a task. His father gave each human free will, who was he not to allow them to make mistakes.

Ramiel stood about 6'1 wearing a stylish three piece suit. The jacket and pants were a shiny ebony black. The vest and tie were a elegant purple made out of a silky material. The taste of the cherry twizzler exploded on his taste-buds. He had grown quite addicted to the sugary snacks that plagued the earth. He continue to chew on his twizzler letting fate play out in front of him.

The teenager continued to run down the streets having no regards for the cross walk. In that moment that sound of about four car crashing echoed down the streets like they were bombs going off. The four car pile up only took the lives of two people out of the eleven it involved. The teenager was struck by a taxi that caused the purse to fly up in the air. Nonetheless, The kid was lucky to be alive after such a collision.

The Archangel teleported down to the streets sitting on top of one of the wrecked cars hood. He let his feet dangle off the side of the vehicle. The car was a white luxury BMW M3. Inside of the car was a well renowned Priest that owned a church with a high number in its congregation. Though the Priest would no longer be able to provide the word of God to the masses.

Ramiel glanced at the dead priest, blood gushing from his head ruining the leather interior of the car. The teenager kid laid on the ground screaming in agony due to the multiple broken bones he suffered. The Archangel continue to snack on his candy while staying invisible to the humans waiting for a Reaper to lead the Priest to the other side.

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[Gabriel]

Caught in the crowd, Gabriel could see nothing but the faded faces of people around him. The thief was long gone, he knew. At least he had tried. He never knew how things would turn out even when he was given clear instructions on how to respond, and in cases like this, when he acted on the spur of the moment, knowing instinctively what he was supposed to do, the outcome was even cloudier. He had been looking after these humans for so long that in many cases he hardly noticed he was doing it.

But in cases like this one, he remembered just what it was about free will that made many angels wish for it. The sound of metal crushing into metal reached his ears quickly, and he made his way out of the crowd, guessing what had happened before he even saw the wreck. The kid looked dead to him at first, but then he began to move, and Gabriel realized the taxi's strike had not been fatal, just incredibly damaging. The purse was lying nearby. Gabriel grimaced, remembering what it was that had started this mess.

He knew just by looking the condition of everyone involved. It was no surprise to him that a new figure appeared out of nowhere, invisible to the living humans, and approached a white vehicle in the collision. Looking up, he also spied the archangel Ramiel, enjoying a Twizzler on the top of the car. Gabriel sighed and headed across the street, disappearing behind a car and reappearing only to Ramiel and the Reaper, a pair of white wings extending from his back.

The Reaper was a pretty young woman, or at least appeared to be so - she was probably millennia old like the two archangels. Brushing back a lock of brown hair, she gave Ramiel a nod before peering into the car, her green eyes lighting on the priest's bloodied form. She drew the priest's spirit out of the car and spoke to him softly as she led him away, disappearing from sight.

Meanwhile, Gabriel flew up onto the hood of the car and sat next to Ramiel. People were beginning to panic around the scene, and someone had called 911; fortunately, there was a hospital nearby, and Gabriel figured the kid and any other injured would be seen to shortly. The whole thing was not as bad as it could have been, depending on what one viewed as "bad." The loss of the priest would surely be noted, but perhaps he was being called to do some work on the other side. Gabriel was seldom privy to the meanings of things.

"Got any more of those?" he asked quietly and politely, referring to the Twizzler. He could use a sugary pick-me-up. "I didn't expect to find you out here, Ramiel. How are things?"

[Ramiel]

Ramiel

'Faith' means not wanting to know what is true.

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A wreckage in the City
New Orleans, LA

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Ramiel sat on the hood chewing his cherry flavored twizzler. His electric blue eyes appeared out into the crowd of people on looking the wreckage. Some humans came to the aid of others while others just sat back watching from afar. A couple of them were recording with their cellphones. While scanning through the crowd his eyes locked on to a heavenly figured possessing a vessel. He was shocked that it was his big brother Gabriel wondering the streets like a human.

It wasn't long before a beautiful young looking Reaper appeared in front of him. He found the women Reapers to be the most pleasant and comforting. The men reapers could be scary especially the older gentlemen. Her stunning green eyes reminded him of a lovely green jungle full of life. The soul of the priest materialized standing next to the Reaper.

The Archangel stared in the soul of the priest. His electric blue eyes shined with a bright majestic light. It was like a flash of light reviewing the priest's soul within three seconds. However, To the soul is actually long journey reviewing the good and bad of their lives. He was lucky that he didn't have to spend a long time reviewing souls. Each life varied with the amount of time the soul was able to walk the earth. He found a way to manipulate the soul to overlook their entire existence with three seconds. Living souls took longer because an actual conversation takes place.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of Heaven, You have served the Lord honorably."

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Ramiel spoke softly unto the priest's soul before the Reaper vanished away with him. The sound of the paramedics and cops sirens blared down the streets. The sirens echoing off the building carrying the sound even farther. Gabriel sat on top of the hood of the vehicle with his wings visible. He seemed to only show off one of his many pairs of wings.

"Got any more of those?"

"You can keep the bag, I got plenty of candy Gabriel."

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Ramiel reached into the pocket of his jacket extending a bag with about six cherry twizzlers left. He kept a gentle smile on his face. He rather pleasant to be around filling the air with hope and joy. The humans involve in the wreckage needed every piece of hope they could gather. Losing love ones or seeing them in physical pain was never a good thing. He could sympathize with his father's creations.

"I didn't expect to find you out here, Ramiel. How are things?"

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"Well I didn't expect myself to be here either, Brother. Someone intervene with the fate around here. I wasn't suppose to take that soul of the Priest unto Heaven for a couple more years....However, Things aren't that good down here. I have noticed a lot of strange activity in what the humans called the paranormal. A lot more creatures and monsters are roaming the earth. Though the biggest one is probably the lack of faith they have in our Father."

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The Archangel spoke freely to one of his big brothers. He had no problems telling them how he felt. He never felt the urge to lie to anyone. It was a common trait of the humans that he hated with a passion. Some of them had the nerve to lie to him even after he introduced himself as an Angel of the Lord. He could see why Lucifer hated mankind. Though it was their flaws that made each of them unique.

"So what are you doing down here walking among the humans? Father doesn't have you running messages anymore?"

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He asked Gabriel with curiosity in his voice. Ramiel hadn't spoken to his father in a very long time. They hadn't spoken since God gave him the date of the Final Judgment. Which was way more of burden than anything else. He had to worship and love the humans while also knowing the exact date that they would be coming to an end. He wanted to ask God why he selected him with such a secret, but knowing his father he would never get a true answer out of him.
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[Gabriel]

It was sometimes said that when an angel was happy, the feeling spread among the humans nearby. Gabriel was not happy. But the kindness of his brother Ramiel cheered him a bit, and he hoped that feeling would reach the humans on the street and help ease the pain the crash had caused. He had been partly responsible for it, after all, as much as an angel can be responsible for such things.

He could tell Ramiel felt their pain as well, even through the other archangel's gentle smile. The angels tended to care deeply for man. They had chosen to watch over them, after all, effectively bend the knee to them, something their former brother Lucifer had not taken too well. The angels who had not shared the love for man had fallen with Lucifer, leaving the ones who did care to look after their fellow creations. That was a silver lining, he supposed. "Thanks," he said, accepting the bag of candy. There were six pieces left, which cheered Gabriel further.

When Ramiel mentioned the Priest's soul, Gabriel raised an eyebrow and looked at the crash scene again. The Lord works in mysterious ways, everyone said, and it was true. Maybe plans had changed. It couldn't have been Gabriel himself that had altered the course of fate. Could it? He did not think he had that kind of power. Such a thing involved a level of free will that he was not supposed to have access to.

But Ramiel made a good point about the recent paranormal activity, and its relation to lack of faith. Gabriel nodded, taking a bite of a Twizzler and offering the bag back to Ramiel in case he wanted to take another. Otherwise Gabriel would gladly eat all of what was left. He tried to stay away from the sugary stuff, as his vessel did not take to it so well, but some days required exceptions.

"The humans seem to be growing content, and not seeking their Creator as much," Gabriel commented in return, watching the humans around them thoughtfully. "Though I'll hate to see what happens when they realize the things they love to see in movies are real."

He had come across all kinds of beings. Demons, often. Those of course he had known about. But there were half-animals and vampires and more as well, and not the sort humans knew from movies where the creatures sparkled. Ironically, they'd had it right in the old days of cinema, while those creatures had kept themselves mostly in hiding.

"I've been running messages still, but not as often. Lately I find I have much more time. I suspect Father has other plans for me." Gabriel frowned slightly. He did not mind being a part of something larger, but on days like this one, he sometimes wondered what it was the future would bring. He always followed his Father's directions, though, even when he wasn't sure on what those directions were.

That had brought him to New Orleans for a spell, where he had been trying to make matters better by expelling some of the demons he knew were prevalent around town. It was not usually his job, but a part of him hoped - or expected - that it might bring him closer to facing his former brother. What he would do if he ever found Lucifer, he did not know. Nothing, he guessed, unless he was instructed otherwise, which was extremely unlikely. God definitely had some plans for Lucifer.

"Looks like you've been busy at work." He paused, watching the humans rush around him, placing the purse snatcher on a stretcher, trying in vain to bring the priest back to life.

[Ramiel]

Ramiel

When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.

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A wreckage in the City
New Orleans, LA

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"Thanks,"

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The Archangel lifted his left hand waving it back and forth informing Gabriel to keep the candy with his hand motion. He had plenty of candy in his pockets to sustain him for the rest of the day. He usually stacked up on candy that he was craving in the morning. It was like the morning start of his day. He didn't need to sleep which could make telling time impossible to tell. It helped that he had a heavenly pocket watch that adjusted to wherever he is present. It would be a large pain in the ass to reconfigure the watch for each time zone. It did look like a silver antique pocket watch after all.

A strange facial expressed appeared on Gabriel's face. The raising of the eye brow was a sign of curiosity or surprise. Their father gave them the ability of free will if they decided to embrace it. They were Archangels who wielded Godly like abilities or powers. If fallen angels could intervene with fate, that only meant that any Angel of the Lord could alter fate. Though majority of the Angels were not embedded with that ideology to have free will.

"The humans seem to be growing content, and not seeking their Creator as much, Though I'll hate to see what happens when they realize the things they love to see in movies are real."

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"That is very true Brother. They will be begging and pleading for our Father's name when that times come. A lot of humans only call out to God when they are experience time of trouble. Rarely do they pray for the simple satisfaction of having faith...I enjoy giving them clarity to live a better life. They will need to hold on to hope in the tough times that is up ahead of them. I just have a bad feeling that their is a horrible storm a brewing and I can't control it."

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Ramiel spoke bluntly with Gabriel. He had no problems speaking the truth. However, He did know how to be tactful with those who don't truly know him. Humans were prone to panic when they weren't mental strong enough to handle the truth. It was the reason why their were a low numbers of hunters. He had a great respect for the human hunters. He considered them to be the true warriors of Earth.

"I've been running messages still, but not as often. Lately I find I have much more time. I suspect Father has other plans for me."

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"Yeah your not the only one who has a lot of time on their hands now. Sometimes I grow bored because I don't know what to do with myself. I might help out the humans when it comes to hunting creatures and monsters. Can't have this world be taken away from our father's creations."

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The Archangel spoke passionately about helping mankind. Majority of them didn't have the skills or knowledge to become hunters. Hell, They didn't even have the courage or bravery to hunt down the creatures of the night. He couldn't sit back and watch as more humans die everyday.

"Looks like you've been busy at work."

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"Well the funny thing is I am not that busy actually. There used to be about 155,000 deaths a day, but with the increasing numbers of paranormal activity the numbers are close to 200,000 deaths a day. With all those deaths only about 17% of them make it into heaven on a daily basic. That percentage becomes lower with each passing year."

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Ramiel looked up in the sky letting the words smoothly come out of his mouth. His speech pattern was very unique. His words seem to run together in a perfect synchronization. His voice was soft, but his pitch could carried the tone great distances. He wasn't as careless with his powers or abilities like most Angels. Angels were just warriors after all ready to obey commands. They carried more about getting the job done then the collateral damage they could create.

"So Gabriel, How does it feel to walk among the humans? How do you fit in with them? Did you find yourself a job or profession?"

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[Gabriel]

The candy was a sort of relief for Gabriel, not only because it was tasty, but because the bag of Twizzlers gave Gabriel somewhere to direct his physical attention. The weight of it in his hands was comforting. He chewed on the candy while listening intently to his brother, nodding as Ramiel spoke of a storm brewing with regard to the creatures appearing on earth.

"I am sure you are right. It's a shame. If they only opened their hearts to believing, much of this could pass. But it seems our kind are out of style." He took another bite and listened thoughtfully.

Ramiel had asked about Gabriel's business as messenger, and responded that he had been quite idle of late as well, which surprised Gabriel, since, as he voiced, it seemed there was much to do in Ramiel's trade. But the archangel explained that the number of heavenbound souls was decreasing. Gabriel shook his head gently, briefly watching the passersby as the ambulance took off with the purse snatcher inside. Lucky kid.

"Hmm. I don't know why I am surprised to hear that. Given the levels of sin and carelessness this world has sunk to, I should have expected it." He did not say it in a bitter tone, but rather casually, as he was just speaking his mind, his opinions, and not expecting anyone to blindly go along with that.

"Helping the humans with their hunts sounds like a good idea. I had not thought of that, though I guess I have been helping, in a way. Occasionally I find a demon and I send it out of this plane. New Orleans has been particularly rife with them."

He would be glad to help the humans if he could. Gabriel loved mankind and found them interesting company. Ramiel asked what it was like to walk among them, and Gabriel considered the questions for a moment.

"Oh, no, I have not gotten myself a job. I have kept to the cities, where I believe most humans pay very little attention to me or others. I like to think the ones who do see me more than once simply think of me as a mysterious stranger. Whatever the case, it is very interesting to watch their behaviors. Yet it hurts to be so close to them when they make their mistakes, and be able to do nothing about it."

He sighed a little, but the moment of gloominess passed quickly. He was not one to brood on subjects, and besides, Ramiel's positive mood always lifted his spirits.