A New Partner

@Thoth

Tybalt rolled his eyes. "I look like I can grow old like a normal human but turns out I was probably around before..." He trailed a little, gritting his teeth. Around when humans first started appearing. "Nevermind."

Augh, he needed a smoke. Did they allow that in here? Probably not. Something something cancer something. He never developed it and he had pristine lungs, despite smoking since humans first learned how to burn plants and inhale the results. Perks of being an angel.

The second bit made Tybalt cock his head to the side. "Hm?" An angel? Jeez, how many angels could land on Manta Carlos before God parted the clouds, smacked them all upside the heads and told them to go somewhere else?

Tybalt began to eat. Perhaps not at the same pace, but he was eating and steadily sipping at his coffee.

"There's some strange stuff on this island, I can admit that." And it wasn't unusual to be completely open, either. He was partially thankful for that; a few people and his higher ups at the office knew he was an angel, though they were never interested enough to find out which one he actually was. It wasn't like he hid it, but he didn't flaunt it either.

@Thoth

There was a pause. Tybalt raised a brow, took a sip of his coffee. "Hm..." A vague mumble, then a chuckle that sounded almost like a hitched breath than anything. "Please, don't think of yourself as so special."

It wasn't because Angelo was the new guy. It was because he was a guy. It was because he was a person, and the angel of punishment and judgement generally didn't want to go throwing that distinction around. Being an angel was one thing, his official title was another and... remembering why he was on earth in the first place was beyond the realm of anything he wanted to discuss.

"Must you play this game?" Another sip of coffee, nonchalant. "Does it actually matter what I happen to be? You're aware enough of my powers." Partially, at least. He knew how he could see souls. The other part he didn't mention, but he figured that he'd need to put it in use soon enough that Angelo would find out.

@Thoth

Teasing? Oh, please.

Tybalt sighed, taking another forkful of his food. Very well. If that was how it was going to be between them, then so be it. Angelo was a partner, and he had to work with him, which meant they had to be at least civil towards each other in a practical sense, if not on a personal level. He'd be finding out more about his powers soon enough. As for his actual species... maybe. He'd had some partners never know and some find out shortly after their introduction.

"Fair enough." So that would be that. He dropped the topic at that point, refocusing on his food and the coffee. Perhaps not a fan of the eating, but he made a mental note of this place. It was a tiny bit out of his way to work, but the coffee tasted like it'd be worth it once in a while.

The angel finished off his meal without further complaint.

"I'll get it. Consider it your welcome meal." Tybalt was rather quick to snatch up the bill when it came. For an old creature, he was quick.

@Thoth

"Don't mention it." He paid and took the last few sips of his coffee, draining it before getting up and fixing his suit to make sure there were no creases. Always neat and tidy, and he stepped out into the cooling evening air with a sigh. Ah, where was his lighter...

He paused where he stood for a few more seconds. No goodbyes just get. No, he was curious about something. It wasn't very often that he became curious enough to check; he usually found it needless anyways. But this was a partner that he was supposed to be working with, and he hadn't gotten anyone with a soul quite so sickly during his time on the force.

"Hey, Angelo." Tybalt stepped off slightly to the side, sliding a carton out of his breast pocket and picking out a cigarette. The movement was natural, like he'd been doing it for hundreds of years.

Without further warning, his free hand reached over and lay itself flat against his chest, right between his collar bones where the glow of his soul resided.

His pupils dilated and it was as if he took one breath and just stopped; the focus was practiced but still intense. He'd done this a lot in the past, not so much now and even less when he landed on Manta Carlos. Hell, he hadn't even used it with his last partner; his soul had been a little greyed, but still very light.

It wasn't the same as seeing, but sight was the closest thing he could describe to this particular sense. He knew clearly what had been done. Murder. Plain and simple. The faint sound of bullet casings hitting concrete rang in his ears for a moment, then a flash. He knew immediately that it was murder, but the 'sights' hinted at what had happened, where it had happened...

Tybalt's focus didn't falter. He'd seen worse, he just wasn't expecting this from a cop.

@Thoth

Another distant echo of a bang, a gunshot, and in a very blurry and surreal way it looked like he was peering over the edge of a roof. Everything was over-saturated, echoing and either too loud or sounding like he was in a bubble. So it was murder, with a gun... But it wasn't once, because the scene kept changing. It jumped back and forth, he couldn't pin anything down.

Tybalt was sure that it would've kept going if Angelo hadn't knocked his hand out of the way. His face remained passive, the same uninterested half-lidded look he always seemed to have plastered on his mug. His hand hovered for just a few more moments before dipping into his breast pocket to find his lighter.

"The French are affectionate." They both knew that was a lie, but he wasn't trying to cover much up in the first place. He lit his cigarette and took a slow inhale. Murder. His partner was a murderer. Did the bosslady know about this? Jeez...

"I'll see you tomorrow, Angelo." He offered him a small smile, turned on his heels and walked towards home. A murder most foul. Ah, he knew there had to be a big reason behind the greyness of his soul.