[Open] What a lovely day for a picnic~

[bloodwriter]

Characters: Disciple, Dolorosa, and open to anybody!
Setting: Floor Twenty-Five
Format: We're comfortable with any format you decide to put up.
Summary: Dolorosa & Disciple decide they would like a nice time away from it all, so why not have a nice picnic? If you would like something cooked over an open fire, Di will happily cook it for you!
Warnings: Fire and smoke, but only if you are really careless when playing out in the open.

After running to get to this peaceful floor, Disciple happily runs out in the open to floor 25. She falls instantly on the grass and rolls in it as Dolorosa quietly sets up the big blanket and the food. Embarrassed that she wasn't helping out, Disciple gets up and does her fair share by setting up a small fire to cook on.

When done, they both smile at their accomplishment and relax.

Comments

[mamadonna]

They didn't, not really. Which isn't to say they lacked religion completely, but that a high degree of them were violent and highblooded cults.

It's an uncertain gaze she replied. "The only angels of which I am familiar are the vicious harbingers of Death, foreshadowing his coming and that of his Handmaid."

[warriorscribe]

Now it was Enoch's turn to look uncertain. "...While there are angels of death, there are many others, for every aspect of life in Earth and Heaven. Where I come from, they and the God they serve are benevolent and to be respected."

He knew they must both be confusing the other, so he paused here to take a bite and leave a space for questions.

[mamadonna]

Her face turned downward, an expression of uncertainty flooding her features. "My world wasn't an especially common quality on my world. It must have been a pleasant concept to be in habitat under."

She straightened herself once more, giving him a sort of wan smile. "Perhaps you could tell me more regarding what results from such a thing."

[warriorscribe]

Enoch leaned forward a bit to try and watch her expression when her head tilted down, looking concerned.

"Is that why the troll girl I met in the world I lived in before this...was so brash and cynical for her age?"

He had never learned her name, but her harsh manner stood out to him. If that was ordinary, that a troll could mature into a woman like this had to be some sort of miracle.

"God is spoken of as a father to the angels and the Earth that He created. While it's true in many ways, after having been to Heaven, I think it's too simple."

[mamadonna]

"Potentially. Though her mood may also be determined by her caste, and the circumstances this would have allowed her. This God you speak of may have presented a far different context." She wonders about the description he supplied, filtered through how well her own experiences can understand it. They are, understandably, not terribly conducive to leaving one trustful of rulers. "Though it isn't guaranteed. Your benevolent creator places himself in a seat of power, then? I suppose such things can never fully be simple."

[warriorscribe]

Enoch nodded - it wasn't as if his own world didn't mostly run on some sort of caste system. Even Heaven did, though that was, honestly, to be completely expected. Angels were expressly created with a purpose, after all, rather than born.

"In a way, He does, but...it's a passive sort of power. He rarely exercises it, and the angels work in secret, minor ways, mostly to dissuade demons from claiming human souls for The Darkness. He is a father to humanity, provided humanity is not a young child but one nearing adulthood. We must learn and adapt for ourselves, but He keeps a watchful eye on us in case the situation is one that He must interfere in. I was the first human contacted by Him or an angel in five generations."

It's only after he'd stopped speaking that he realized he'd slipped into the role of the lecturing priest again, right up to the formal tone, and he took a bite of his sandwich to interrupt himself.

[mamadonna]

She listened intently, warming to the idea as he spoke. There were qualities in this God that she could admit an an inclination to display herself. A parental watchfulness is precisely the thing she would most relate to.

Enoch's display as a skilled orator did little to endear her against him, likewise. She thought of Signless, and how the two would easily get along.

"Well, I suppose that isn't so terrible. Though I must express curiosity as to why he would remain isolated for so long a period! An adequate guardian must always grant their child the attention and affirmation needed, when the opportunity is available."

I did not go into this thread thinking he'd wind up doing this, I swear o_o

[warriorscribe]

"It's as I said, humanity is as near adulthood rather than a child." Enoch gave Dolorosa an easy smile, comfortable for once with the subject at hand - none of those little nagging doubts that understood too well why humans flocked to Semyaza's Tower.

"He already imparted wisdom to us so that we were more than the beasts, but beyond that, the Earth is ours to live on, and we must learn best how to do so rather than be told how. In fact, that would be why I was contacted in the first place."

The smile seemed to slip, then, and he paused as if trying to figure out how to continue, a certain aged look creeping into his eyes.

no it's okay c:

[mamadonna]

"It can be difficult to see them grow beyond a need for you, even as they near a more mature age. It isn't easy...letting go." There are easier ways to do so, of course, than the circumstances she was given. Though he also couldn't imagine being so distant through adolescence, even if it wasn't so direct a relationship as what she'd imagine.

"So, in a way, it is through you that He selected to offer his farewell?"

I'm still sorry! ^^; He'll definitely be asking Dolorosa to share her story after all this in kind.

[warriorscribe]

"Not quite...I found His favor to such a degree, somehow, that I was invited to live and work in Heaven with the angels. He is never truly removed from us, because there are forces only Heaven can protect us from. The Darkness is..."

He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. This is something he needs to gather his thoughts on before he speaks.

"...it is everything Heaven is not. When a human dies, their souls ascend to Heaven for judgment and the option to remain in Sheol, the place for the dead, or to be reincarnated and live another life on Earth. But if a demon of The Darkness manages to secure their soul in life somehow, through deceit or unfortunate circumstance, their souls go there instead, where they are trapped for eternity, perhaps...I have heard they may be consumed by some demons, but I don't know for certain.

"A leader among the angels, Semyaza, betrayed God, and convinced his followers to descend to Earth with them along with stolen Fruits of Wisdom. He built a tower in...what did Lucifel call it...'a shroud of distorted space', creating a veil to hide from God. It tossed aside all notion of letting humans learn how best to use the Earth they live on, simply giving them all manner of luxuries they never had the discipline to work for. I...admit I understand Semyaza's reasoning. But it isn't worth the dangers that Tower holds."

[mamadonna]

"This distortion, it separated God from a knowledge of the Darkness? Or was it his opportunity to influence his children? If not the latter, I can't imagine a father of any merit would allow such an association to continue! I know that I, personally, would have run them off the moment I was made aware of them."

Though it was difficult to resolve the analogy so cleanly as that. This was becoming far bigger than simply raising a child to maturity, and as ever centered around a sinister Tower.

[warriorscribe]

Exactly as Enoch had said, simply calling God a father to humanity was too simple, and led to too many conclusions that were unfair, either to Heaven or Earth. "The Darkness is something of a mystery. Not even the angels know its workings, and it is as entrenched in the world as Heaven is.

"It's interesting you should assume they hid something of The Darkness from His eyes - as far as Heaven knew, the danger came from the offspring of the fallen Grigori and humans - Nephilim, creatures that are in constant pain. They eat one another to try and end their brothers' sorrow, but in doing so they grow...until their pain is too intense and they become Fire Nephilim, monsters bent on mindless destruction of the world around them. If just one of these were to escape the shroud around the Tower, Earth would be in grave danger.

The leading angels in Heaven decided that the only way to find the Grigori before the Fire Nephilim escaped was to flood all of Earth. ...I was serving on the Council as a scribe, so I was there to protest. They allowed me to return to Earth to search for them, myself.

But the Fire Nephilim were only the start of the danger. Inside the Tower, I found that the Grigori had made a pact with a prince of The Darkness. Any human that died in the Tower descended to The Darkness. They...Azazel, their leader, condemned the soul every human that wanted to live in his so-called 'perfect' world."

[mamadonna]

She nodded her head in some level of understanding. "Ah, so it was the Tower which was so enshrouded. So, it was only you and those who resided within that held knowledge of this world Azael offered? Did you achieve any success in thwarting this deluge?"

[warriorscribe]

Enoch set his sandwich down, apparently deciding not to take another bite of it after all.

"...I don't know. I don't believe I failed, but... I was still scaling the Tower when I was first taken from my world."

[mamadonna]

She noticed with some concern that he'd stopped eating, fearing that the discussion had bothered him enough to kill his appetite.

"We can find some other topic of conversation, if you'd prefer."

[warriorscribe]

It was the uncertainty of it, the thought that he may have failed...or might not have had a chance to succeed, his world gone anyway, and not by God's hand.

"...What about your tale? I think I've spoken enough." He gave her a bit of a sheepish smile, at that. He hadn't been expecting himself to tell her so much so readily. But her presence was a comfortable one.