[Open] Waltz of the Flowers

[dancingonapin]

Who: Aziraphale and anyone else whom he bumps into~
Where: On his way home from the Aquarius district going to the Libra district late at night (nearing but not quite at the 13th Hour)
Summary: A certain angel is getting home late from his job after putting together... a little project of his possibly involving a new job. Feel free to either bump into him (literally), or meet him while he's being hindered by demons. Or comment on how mostly-naked his Persona is.
Warnings: Aziraphale is kind of adorable? Also his Persona Eve is nude with only ivy covering her lady parts.

The angel hadn't been paying attention to the time when he'd finally decided to quit his research that night. Putting together forms and papers, mapping out a curriculum, and amassing several books of prayer, worship, and prophecy written in several different languages- all of which he could read, of course- had been his new project for this week. Two days into this project and he was already beginning to feel the burden of what pursuing a job like this would mean...

But things had been rather quiet working in a library. He enjoyed the quiet, honestly, he really did, but having all downtime and no "uptime" meant the most exciting moments of his day involved snatching expensive books out of children's hands, and the occasional run-in with his "brother." In fact, the most enjoyable time he'd had, surprisingly, was teaching his young pupil Pit how to read and write English. It was hard work, a rough endeavor, but the pay-off of seeing him slowly begin to comprehend what he was being taught was unlike anything Aziraphale had felt. And he did "good" things for people for a living.

Which is where this little project had come in... He wasn't sure if he'd go through with it, still, but he figured it was worth at least looking into. It would be something nice to do aside from library work... And he'd be able to really share his passion with others for the first time in what he could only guess was centuries. (His knowledge on religion, prophecy, angelology, and demonology was incredibly vast, after all, which is where the difficulty in putting together a narrow curriculum came in.)

So with stacks of papers, books, and various folders in his arms, the angel is walking home as the hour approaches midnight, wrapped up in warm scarves and warm coats as he hums a rather fitting tune considering the snowy weather. Aware of the hour and the danger that came with it, beside him floats his Persona, a Greek goddess of a woman with ivy snaking up around her, only barely covering up certain areas of her otherwise naked body. The motherly looking woman is holding an apple in her palms and regarding Aziraphale with fondness, seeming to sway along with his humming as he walks.

Aziraphale may or may not be looking where he's going... he may slip on a patch of ice on the sidewalk and drop all of his books and papers. Or perhaps he's attacked by a demon once the Thirteenth Hour is upon him? Or perhaps you're simply curious to know what he's doing out so late at night with such a... strange looking Persona. Decide how you'll find this angel.

Comments

[belfire]

"Oh. That works."

Kazuya rolled onto his feet, pushing his cape back into place and straightening out his general appearance. Well, he'd humiliated himself quite effectively in front of this guy, but that didn't mean he should stand there looking to be in a complete state!

He frowned though, stilling briefly before leaning forwards slightly, giving a little sniff.

...the man smelt funny.

He pulled back, letting out a dissatisfied noise before pushing it aside for now.

"Sorry about running you over. I didn't ruin any of your paper things, did I?"

[dancingonapin]

That sniff was a little strange... but okay. Aziraphale moves back a little, straightening up and shaking his head. "No more than they'd already been ruined tonight, it's alright." This was their second mishap to snow. Still, everything was legible enough... He'd make copies if it was necessary.

"You said this place was messing with your powers?" He adjust his glasses curiously.

[belfire]

"Yeah. I can't teleport accurately anymore, and I'm stuck using my COMP for magic and summoning again..." Kazuya was openly pouting now. He had gotten used to flouncing around with his awesome Bel powers, able to use magic and summons as he pleased - and to be stuck using his old as shit COMP? He internally wept.

[dancingonapin]

"... COMP?" Aziraphale blinks and the pair of glasses that he mysteriously came here with appear over his eyes. "You mean these?" He gestures to them before they fade away again. That didn't make much sense to him...

[belfire]

"Urrrgh...I knew this was going to get annoying at some point," Kazuya muttered. He reached inside of his cape, and took out a Nintendo DS looking device. "This is a COMP. It does magic and summons demons because...magic."

He stowed it away quickly, crossing his arms over his chest as he sniffed again. That smell was driving him nuts - it was making his nose itch... "Do you use a strong detergent on your clothes or something?"

[dancingonapin]

"Huh... strange, I assume that's from your world then?" Not that the word 'COMP' was all that original, it was just a shortening of the word 'computer', so it was likely just a coincidence.

His question catches him a little off guard and the angel looks at his coat with concern, sniffing the collar a little. "...No? I use perfectly normal detergent... I don't wear cologne or use strongly scented shampoo either..." He didn't smell anything...

[belfire]

"You smell...strange..."

Kazuya puffed out his cheeks in agitation, rubbing his nose vigorously with the palm of his hand. Maybe it was the cold, but his stomach was turning slightly, the Bel demons within him shifting and hissing restlessly in close proximity to this guy.

Hm...

"...Whatever. Anyway, yeah, my COMP is from my world. Dunno if this one has an equivalent for it called something else."

[dancingonapin]

"I disagree, I believe I smell perfectly normal..."

Huh. Yes, moving along from his supposedly strong smell. "I don't believe any devices here are capable of performing magical feats, I believe that's what our Personas are for." Aziraphale gestures to Eve. "You may view it as an inconvenience... but I think it's rather interesting, and quite useful to have any magical abilities at all." For a human, anyway. Humans in his world very, very rarely possessed any sort of supernatural abilities.

[belfire]

"'Course you would," Kazuya said, jutting his hip to the side as he rested his hand on it, tilting his head with a scrutinising look. Now that he thought about it, that vague deja vu feeling with the guy's Persona was bugging him as well. Everything about this guy was...buggy.

Samyaza chuckled in the back of his head, but he ignored that as easily as he ignored the other Bel demons' mutterings.

"You're out kind of late though. You gonna beat some demons to death with your books or something?"

[dancingonapin]

"No, no, I'm returning home from work late is all, and these books are much too valuable to waste on smacking around a few demons. If any demons were to attack me, well, that's what Eve is for."

He shrugs his shoulder at his Persona, who is vigilantly keeping an eye out for any such creatures. She actually wasn't very good at attacking... if things got too messy too quickly he'd bring out Principality instead.

[belfire]

"Eve?" Kazuya said a bit sharply, his shoulders drawing tight abruptly before loosening. His gaze returned to the Persona, looking thoughtful. Since his conversation with Naoya about their biblical beginnings (Cain and Abel, seriously, it sounded like something out of a pretentious anime to him), he had actually brushed up a bit more on his bible readings.

Eve was the mother of Cain and Abel. Of course, Kazuya had a mother, and he had loved her dearly - Eve was, some women in the bible. He only felt a faint echo of feeling towards her, but he felt soothed now. So that's why she was buggy.

Fair enough.

"She doesn't look very strong," Kazuya noted, turning away with a sniff. "...if you want I can walk with you. Kind of as a sorry for running into you, or whatever. Not that I care if you take it or not, but..."

[dancingonapin]

Aziraphale can't help but smile at the offer. He wasn't bothered by his comment about Eve- technically, he was right, the Persona wasn't very strong. She could do odd things like revealing enemies or letting people walk on water, of all things.

"I have a second Persona for combat... but you're welcome to walk with me if you'd like. My name is Aziraphale, by the way."

[belfire]

Kazuya glanced at Eve again before his gaze settled on Aziraphale, his eyebrows drawing together slightly. "That's a mouthful. I'm Kazuya, or Kaz. Either or."

He turned away, digging the toe of his shoes into the icy pavement, his hands showing into his trousers' pockets. "So...where to?"

[dancingonapin]

"It's nice to meet you, Kazuya." The angel beams at him, and it's clear that he means it. He tends to ooze goodness and politeness. "We're just heading to my apartment, I need to get all of this settled and organized there. It's in the Libra district. I hope that isn't too far out of your way?"

[belfire]

Wow. Okay. Kazuya did a slight double take at that bright smile - it was rare for him to have such open pleasantness directed towards him. His distant, abrasive personality tended to shut the door on that, and back home his Demon King status preceded him, making people generally frightened or nervous around him.

"Uh...no, it isn't," he said, recovering swiftly. He lived in the Pisces district, but night time was when he was most active. It was no biggie for him. "It's fine."

[dancingonapin]

Aziraphale seems to notice the odd reaction to his smile, though he's not exactly going to relent. You're talking to the best friend of a demon, Kazuya, he tends to be able to look past a little abrasive behavior. Especially since the boy offered to walk him home.

"What are you doing out so late anyway, Kazuya? Is practicing your teleporting really such a late night activity?"

[belfire]

"Not really," Kazuya admitted. "But there's less chance meetings like ours at night time. Don't exactly want to pinball between people when teleporting into a crowd or something. I might actually end up with an active social life. Shudder."

He started down the street then, although he kept his strides short and slow. He wasn't worried about slipping again, but he already embarrassed himself once tonight; he didn't want to do it again.

[dancingonapin]

Aziraphale laughs a little at that, giving a short nod. "Well, I wouldn't know about creating an active social life from running into others, but it is lovely to make your acquaintance." He isn't one of those strange people who believes an exchange of words makes you friends, of course. Kazuya, especially, didn't seem like the type to make friends regardless.

"... If you're worried about slipping, actually, I believe there's something I can do about that, for a little while." He glances back at his Persona. "Eve, cast Glide, please." The Persona obeys, and makes it so that Lev's feet very lightly touch the top of the snow. It seems Glide worked with frozen water, too.

[belfire]

"Oh! Oh, this is new," Kazuya said thoughtfully, staring down at his feet. He wasn't even floating, which was a bummer, but it was still pretty useful. Hm, he could teleport and dimension jump, but he couldn't float under his own power?

...could any of the Bel demons float? He couldn't think of any...

Dammit.

"Glide, huh? That a strictly Persona skill?"

[dancingonapin]

"Well... it's a skill my Persona possesses, certainly, but I wouldn't say it's strictly something that only Personas can do... Gliding- or the skill to walk on water- is a popular miraculous event in certain religions. I'm not entirely sure why Eve learned it, but if she's a reflection of my soul... I suppose it could be symbolic of a number of things."

The angel glances down at his own feet. Walking on water was a simple miracle, really, far simpler than turning water into wine, or healing people of disease.

[belfire]

Kazuya was quiet briefly. Miracles...

"So...a reflection of your soul casts miracles and stuff, huh?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck with a small laugh. "Does that mean you're the new Jesus or something? Version two!"

[dancingonapin]

Blink. "What?? Oh, goodness me, no! I'm no Messiah!" Though he supposed he could consider himself a 'son of god' if he really wanted to get technical. "You won't find my name in the Bible, believe me." Unless you were reading his Buggre Alle This Bible, of course, but he didn't think that counted, and he wasn't mentioned by name anyway.

[belfire]

"That's probably for the best," Kazuya said, shrugging his shoulders carelessly. "If you're in the bible, you're either a jerk or you get shat on at some point."

From his rather biased experiences anyway, that was true. Cain and Abel - he died and his 'brother' got punished for all eternity. Jesus Christ - Crucified. Adam and Eve - they got tricked by a serpent and kicked out of Eden by God. God. Don't even get him started on God.

But, maybe there were people in the Bible that were genuinely kind and had happy things happen to them. Remiel hadn't been that bad, really. He'd been one of the less jerkier angels.

[dancingonapin]

"Huh..." He's not sure if that's true, but then again he's not entirely sure it isn't either. He can tell, though, this guy definitely doesn't go along with 'Good's definition of the Bible. Which to Aziraphale translated to an interesting thinker.

"That's a strange way of looking at it.... but certainly interesting too. While a 'messiah' interpretation of my Persona is a bit too literal, I can't say my Persona is entirely metaphorical either. It isn't exactly surprising that Eve is my Persona, really."

He looks down at his feet in thought, a finger hooked across his lips in thought.

[belfire]

"What would Eve represent, anyway?" Kazuya wondered aloud, kicking up a clump of slushy snow and watching the lumpy pieces fly through the air. He smirked to himself. "Fertility or life, right? Or if we go with negatives, disobedient, weak-willed, prone to temptation, deceitful, and seductive."

While he was unfamiliar with the bible, everyone knew the story of Adam & Eve. Taking the apple from the tree of knowledge against God's rules, tempted by a serpent. Eve got shafted a lot even though Adam took an apple as well. Kind of unfair, really, but what did a Demon King know about fairness, right?

"So you a tempter or what?" Kazuya asked teasingly, grinning a bit at Aziraphale. "Or are you just really into life?"