There was a short wall just outside of the barracks that surrounded a little garden. Nothing too fancy, but it was easy to find and it was pretty enough. Canine sat, leaning back with their hands on the bricks, one foot on top of their thigh while the other tapped against the ground lightly. The sky was dark but that never bothered them before. If anything, it would actually come in handy for what they were about to do.
As the door opened, they flashed a smirk from their perch. This was the first time they had seen Ava from this angle. Still hot.
“Took you long enough.” The words were tempered by the playful look in their eyes.
I tried my best.
Ava gave a small chuckle trying to hide her mounting anxiety. She had spent nearly an hour trying to get herself ready - makeup, tight clothes, all the works. Time to see if it would pay off.
Ava walked up to Canine after training very nervously. From all their time together, she had come to realize she wasn’t exactly experiencing what some might call love in the “traditional” sense. She and Canine had been an item for a while now, so she figured it would be best to tell them.
Canine?
She looks them in the eye, her cheeks flushed from anxiety.
H-how are you? You look like you took quite a beating from the session today. -🥛
@exorcist-ava
They looked up at Ava and grinned, dismissing her anxiety. She was constantly being dramatic over something so it was probably nothing. With any luck she wouldn’t even bring it up.
“Babe, if you think this is bad, you should see all the bitches I was up against. I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting Lute to come out to play, but it’s always good to have a challenge.”
Canine laughed and tossed an arm over Ava’s shoulders, leading her to the locker room. Making sure to glare at anyone who got too close, they made sure their presence exuded a constant ‘fuck off’ attitude. It was unspoken, but at this point everyone knew that Ava belonged to them and any slight against her was a slight against them as well.
They enjoyed the idea of someone challenging that though, if only so they could prove any of them wrong.
It was strange. The little club Ava had pointed them to, The First Man’s Last Dance, was decidedly not what they had expected. On the outside, another building in heaven. Clean white walls, pale blue accents, gold trim, it all looked so… heavenly.
Canine stepped inside, hoping their outfit would help them slip into the crowd as their wings surely wouldn’t. An all black button down with a pair of clean dress pants, something nice, but not flashy. They looked around, the room a bit crowded for their taste. There weren’t poles all around like in hell, but there were people, both men, women and neither, walking the floor and talking to the people sat at tables with their drinks. It looked very posh for what it was.
But it wasn’t a sin. It wasn’t, because Adam went here.
They took a seat at the bar, the counter top just a little wet beneath their hands as they instinctively slid an empty glass off and onto the floor behind it.
“Oh! Sorry, clumsy.” They smiled as the bartender cleaned it up while asking them for their drink order. “Old Fashioned.”
They had no clue what they ordered but it was recommended by one of the older exorcists so it was worth a shot. Now they just had to wait for Ava to come get them and bring them to the back.
(( @exorcist-canine ))
Ava had just finished up her warm-up stretches and realized she had forgotten to get some water for herself. She was about to order, until she spotted the familiar figure of her partner at the bar.
She approached them casually, talking away her nerves, tapping them lightly on the shoulder.
Glad you could make it. For a minute I was worried you wouldn’t show. -🥛
Oh god why did they show?? I didn’t think I’d actually have to show them my routine!!!
Gracias! Gracias a todos! You’ve all been a wonderful audience!
Ava stepped off the subway car as he finished up his little subway pole dance routine. It wasn’t nearly as filthy as what he would’ve done back in his earlier days in the club, but it did earn him a solid two dollars and three cents, so he figured he was doing something right with his old skills.
As the train screeches away, he takes notice of the station’s graffiti, two in particular catching his eye.
There it was! One of the first bits of graffiti he ever did! Ava had hit the town a few more times since then, but this little pizza rat still held up! He was proud of it!
And then he looked to the side.
This one he wasn’t so pleased with. Nothing wrong with the composition. It just happened to be a reminder of who he was a long time ago when he lived a different life. When he was younger, naïve…
Stupid.
He grimaces at the voice of his first lover in his head. All these years apart and they still never left her.
Guess I can’t get rid a’ you, but I can get rid a’ her… -🚬
He raises his fist, about to strike the old wall.
@exorcist-ava
Canine stands off to the side out of the way of the hustle and bustle of oncoming foot traffic. They admired the art that meant so much to them some forty odd years ago… how the light had reflected in Ava’s eyes, her smile wild as they let her have her fun.
But the light had to fade eventually, didn’t it?
Sera’s Light remained. It was hard to see some nights, but god, they could see it. The only thing that held them together some days.
And here, Sera’s Light remained. Something they could hold onto of her. Something they could reminisce.
They were so caught up in a memory they almost missed the all too real flash of green as Ava stepped forward getting ready to swing at the wall.
Canine caught the arm from behind, a hand on the inside of his elbow.
Canine was ready. They had their helmet on, claws sharpened, the chain of their blade wrapped around their right wrist ready to be thrown when a sinner escaped their grasp. Adam stood at the head of the crowd, his usual pep speech in progress. He and Lute worked the crowd, his army of murderous angels excited to go through the portal, pushing and pressing against each other in feverish abandon.
There was of course a part of the speech for the new ones on the job and Canine did everything in their power to avoid looking over at Ava. They still weren’t handling that particular situation well, but they just needed to tuck their head down and wreak havoc in hell. It was their purpose. Ava wasn’t.
They descended into hell, their wings tight against their body trying to make themselves as aerodynamic as possible so that they could get to the ground first. Right before they landed they spread their wings and body wide, landing on the ground on their hands and feet, pushing off and throwing their knife into the first sinner they saw. They didn’t wait for the knife to return before throwing themself at another.
The tally didn’t register in their mind. They had a job, they did it and they relished in the pride of a job well done. They didn’t need to know their count anymore. They could tell by the burning in their muscles, the strain in their arms and the throbbing in their wings, that they were doing an excellent job as always.
Every time they had a moment, any lull in the fight, they would look for Ava in the crowds. They watched as she struggled to chase the sinners and take them down.
Try as they might to forget about her, to quit worrying… well they always had a soft spot for her. They were rarely ever paired with her during training, Lute believing Canine to be too merciless to set against any of the up and coming exorcists. They had watched her fight but really, their frame of reference for her strength was practically useless.
Maybe forty-five minutes into the fight they lost sight of her. They thought about seeking her out, but there was a job to be done. Canine stuck their head down and did it.
They were barely a few hours into this year’s extermination when a bell chimed from the heavenly gates. Canine looked back, shocked as the rest of the exorcists were, to see the portal had reopened and Sera was standing at the edge looking down into hell with righteous fury evident in the sneer gracing her beautiful lips.
Canine’s claws snapped shut on the sinner in their hands, effectively euthanizing them before they turned back and flew towards their heaven.
They were the first one back after Adam and Lute, kneeling before their High Seraphim. They hoped that the red blood of the sinners they had eradicated adorning their weapons and armor would bring glory in the many eyes of her holiness. She was silent though, watching as their sisters in arms made it back one by one. Some kneeled, following Canine, others stood at attention, following Lute.
Adam was uncharacteristically nervous, pacing in front of the formation as the other exorcists streamed in. They could hear some of them asking about it, Boob’s voice carrying her confusion forward. Canine didn’t have answers either, but they wouldn’t be caught dead questioning the Leading Light of Heaven.
When Ava arrived, Canine’s gaze snapped to her immediately. She was the most beautiful thing they’d ever seen, second only to the sovereign of heaven herself. Her mask was covered in the blood of the wretched and the damned, and as she made her way onto the clouds, she ripped it off to regain vision. Despite her armor being drenched in the life and spirit of the souls sent into hell, her face stayed clean. Sinless.
She was ethereal.
Canine was in a trance, lost in Ava as she anxiously stepped forward on the clouds to the front of the formation.
“Fucking finally. What? The bells not loud enough for you, you stupid bitch?” Adam’s words, thrown so carelessly at the newest addition to the exorcist army forced them back into the moment. Canine hissed before they could stop themself, but a golden sword was pressed against their throat and they remembered their place as they sat back and witnessed.
“I didn’t mean to-”
“Didn’t mean to? Oh Lute, listen to this, the fucking pigeon didn’t mean to-”
“Adam.” There was a hush around the formation, everyone silent at the single word uttered by the High Seraphim. Her posture was straight and her chin was held high as she looked down upon them all. Both figuratively and physically she was so far above them that they could only dream of pleasing her, let alone being among her level. Canine bowed their head in respect, regretting losing their temper for something as meaningless as Adam’s tone but appreciated the seraphim for stepping in regardless.
Sera turned towards Ava. “What is your name, exorcist?”
Ava looked up with wide, fearful eyes. “My name is Ava. I’m sorry, this is my first-”
A hand stopped her mid word. “You are the one who killed the hellborn?”
Canine’s eyes focused onto the black blood dripping down her arm that they had missed before. Why had she- was it in defense? Hellborn would sometimes come and shake things up just to cause trouble knowing they had immunity. Had one of them tried to hurt her- had they succeeded?
“I am, and I am so sorry, I promise it was an accident!” Ava pleaded as if for her life. Truly, it could’ve been.
Sera nodded, although her face showed her displeasure with the situation. “There will be a trial for you today. This is a grave error you’ve made, there must be consequences. Prepare any statements you will make now.” Sera turned to the rest of the legion, “Exorcists. Take the rest of this night to clean up and remind yourselves of the rules we have. Commit them to memory, and do not make the same mistake again. This extermination is over.”
Canine and many of the exorcists were shocked, almost expecting the portal to reopen behind them and for them to be pushed off the clouds. But they weren’t. And they wouldn’t be. Without another word, they followed their commander back to the barracks.
The leaderboard was on full display when they returned, large numbers at the top showing a combined total and a list of every exorcist in order from highest to lowest kills below that.
This years kill count was the lowest it had ever been for Canine, in part due to the extermination being cut short, but they knew that even if they had the entire time they wouldn’t have been able to make their usual numbers. Their mind was elsewhere, too busy watching over their former love. They shook their head looking at the board. It was for the best that they forget about anything that could distract them.
Not like Ava would be around anymore after that little stunt.
