Open Finished No shelter from the storm inside of me

The gray angel, that's what many called him, he who should have fallen, yet never did. He'd chosen to stay on Earth, found himself changing as he was exposed to the gray morality that one saw in his chosen line of work, he even went one step more and married a demon, but he never fell. So he kept going, being known around the station as an experienced detective who was incredibly ancient and overall a grumpy old bastard.

Tonight he flew, in truth he didn't do it often, his wings were flashier than most, but he felt the need to talk to a certain young man. From what he'd heard the young man was troubled, so he'd followed best he could. Eventually he came to small cliff along the beach and landed, his fiery wings vanishing. He'd start to walk, his eyes looking over the beach, hoping to see Ishvi, grumbling as he does.

Finally he spotted him laying on the beach, he would have missed him if it hadn't been for the moonligh. Shaking his head, he stepped over the edge, his wings appearing and letting him float to the ground, the younger man might have likely noticed the glow out of the corner of his eye.

The archangel would walk over to him, lighting a cigarette as he did, his wings would vanish as he got closer, but he'd pull out his phone to use as a flashlight. "Ishvi Havilah," he'd say, taking a drag of his cigarette and blowing the smoke away from them, "stay down there boy and you're gonna have a buncha crabs crawling over you, also a nasty toxic sea snake that's starting to pop up around here for summer."

He'd look down at the younger officer, "you ran off awfully quickly kid, whatcha doing down here?"

He'd make some kind of grunt and take another drag from his smoke, "I aint here as a cop, not really." Another long drag and he'd blow the smoke away from them both, "there's always more to say when it comes to things like this and keeping it bottled up will just turn everything toxic in your head."

The older angel tilted his head and squinted at him for a moment, "home," he'd repeat the word and hum in thought, "and where is home to you?" He knew the answer, he had contacts in heaven and hell and everywhere in between, hed been told of the fall of the Daewon outpost,.

"Truth is you did what most would do in that situation," another drag and the cigarette was finished, he'd toss it aside and light another. "Cops are expected to act with a clear head, without personal stuff, but it isn't always that easily. Not saying what you did was right and it's something that needs workin' on, but faced with that sorta thing, most woulda reacted badly."

Joe would step beside him, blowing his smoke toward the ocea to where the wind would keep it away from Ishvi, "you smoke?" he'd ask, offering one from his pack.

"Joe, I'm Joe," he'd sigh, his cigarette rolled from one corner of his lips to the other, "ah yes, the outposts, militaristic cities." He took another drag of his cigarette, remembering his time among them, watching them get build and then leaving them in the command of other archangels, that was a long time.

He'd look down at him, his head tilting a big, "a 'real angel' huh?" another drag on the smoke, "and what do you think real angels are like?" Joe would flick the finished smoke, almost lighting another, but deciding not to as the wind started to change direction.

"Good of number of angels are just conjured into existence," that was how he came into being, "some are born like other species." He'd slip his cigarette pack and lighter back into his pocket, "born, conjured, full or half, they're still just people. Some are assholes, some are decent, some are peaceful, others are zealots, but still just fuckin' people."

The archangel looked down and saw a small crab crawling onto his shoe, he'd flick his foot a bit to get it off, "people, which means they screw up, don't always understand their powers for a long time, and like other people they gotta learn as life goes on. Meaning, yeah, you didn't handle the situation well, doesn't mean it defines you forever."

Joe would nod, "oh yes, I know of them," he'd look down at another crab climbing onto his foot, this time he just ignored it, "placed at the border between realms, to fight and defend in a war that'll never end."

"Perfect," he'd repeat the word, clicking his tongue as he finished the word, "aint no one perfect, angels are generally pretty high up in the celestial order, so they're expected to be better than most, but like anyone they fail at times, make mistakes, do stupid shit, just like anyone." He'd look down at him, "constantly compare yourself to others and you'll never get anywhere."

He'd make a grunting sound, "you're not powerless boy, you can't duel him and you can't go back to change the past, but but you're not powerless when it comes to your life." The archangel would circle to the other side, "you said real angel, so I'm guessing you're a hybrid." Joe would stop to look at him again, "being a hybrid may change what abilities you got, doesn't make you less than anyone."

The archangel would tilt his head, remembering the outposts, "why'd you join the police force?" He wasn't serving the angelic military by being an MC police officer, especially not in a neutral area where demons and angels were both protected.

He'd look at the young man, he didn't tell people who he really was often, it wasn't a big secret but it could become an annoyance when it came to how angelic and demonic beings reacted. "Joe isn't my birth name," he'd took out another cigarette and lit it, "I took it when I started living on Earth and....that was a very long time ago."

Joe took a drag and blew the smoke out, "my birth is Zoranziel," the archangel, the former celestial general, most who'd served in the heave military would have heard of him, whether it'd be about his military exploits or how he'd left the angelic armies without falling.

"You shouldn't compare yourself to others...not really anyways," it'd been a long time since he'd talked like this, he'd used to talk to troubled soldiers a lot. "You find mentors sure, people you look up to, but in the end you go your own path," he'd sigh quietly and look him over, "the war between the angels and demons is still going, probably always will be, not saying the loss of an outpost isn't big but if you wanted you could go right back and rejoin it IF that's what you really want." He'd motion to the island, "you have an opportunity here that you don't have there, to find purpose outside a battlefield, a chance to see things you don't get to see in the heavenly realms."

Another drag and another puff of smoke blown into the wind. "Impure?" he'd click his tongue thoughtfully, "would you call a hybrid of...let's say a elf and human...would you say they're immediately sinful and easily corrupted just because their a hybrid." He'd tilt his head, "being half of something, being a hybrid does not make you less of a person." He'd finish the smoke and toss it into the water, "let's look at this way....you're half nightmare right?....Nightmares are not inherently evil despite what people think, there another piece of creation, not immediately evil, that's for the individual to choose, just like all pieces of creation."