• supernatural au

@• yoo taeyang This was new to him. Most things about most vehicles were entirely new to Youngmi - he had wings, six of them! Usually he didn't need to use any heavy machinery. Probably for the best as well. He'd once locked himself in a car practicing teleporting and been unable to figure out there he could just press a button on the awful machine to set himself free again. That unfortunate little experience was one of the reasons he didn't like the idea of learning to drive - it was probably going to try to eat him again anyway - and would happily just stick to his own means of getting around.

Even though Gisela had been about to kill him, the angel held no grudges. He trusted the man who had much more experience with the motorcycle than him, and by the end was even getting the hang of leaning in time with him too. It was new, and he wouldn't be keen on doing it too often, but it meant they could get to wherever he was being taken more quickly than trying to follow the bike from the sky, where he'd definitely have been distracted. When they stopped, Youngmi was first to tumble off the bike and look around. His teeth found the inside of his cheek and sunk in, swallowing, anxious. He knew this area a little too well. The tsunami, dying here, soon after the fighting when the house had collapsed- maybe he was regretting insisting on coming along, just a little.

The nervous bird cleared his throat, and just for the sake of feeling that little bit safer, brought his wings out of hiding. Each long limb stretched, ruffled and curled back to his side, as if each had a mind of its own. It had certainly felt that way when he'd first gotten them. "So... where to first?" He began, his spirits dampened some in the face of the desolate area. The scent of death still seemed to cling to it, even so long after the fighting and the dead had been laid to rest.

@• lee felix At least it would be easy for one of them.

When they reached his motorcycle, Gisela mounted the bike and kicked up the stand, keeping one foot firmly planted on the ground to keep the vehicle up as he put the key in the ignition. Though he was already expecting Youngmi's presence behind him, he still startled a little to feel a pair of arms around him and forced himself to try and ignore the discomfort, or at the very least keep it from the angel's notice. It was a small mercy that the vampire was wearing a leather jacket—a barrier against any skin-to-skin contact that may have occurred.

The vampire only gave a short nod to acknowledge that he'd heard what the angel said, and turned the key in the ignition. Pulling slowly out of the alley, Gisela gave Youngmi some time to adjust to the experience of being on a motorcycle for the first time before he began to accelerate. The roads were mostly empty until they began to work their way toward the highway, at which point Gisela's focus narrowed to the road and the traffic around them—the last thing either of them needed was to an accident—and the prickling discomfort of being so close to another person faded as he zipped between lanes, trying to avoid bunches of traffic and make it back off the highway as quickly as possible.

Eventually, Gisela took an exit off the highway into a quieter area of the island. It was mostly abandoned—it had been a center of activity before the fires had started and the tsunami had swept over the island, but since that somber day, the area had never quite recovered.

@• yoo taeyang Very much like a small bird bouncing around in the way of every proceeding, Youngmi had been filled with a new life. Or- perhaps, just his current life, renewed and rejuvenated now that he wasn't going to be forced to return to heaven, where the less kind, more tough and strong angels would be. And, well, while he knew that they were technically family - he didn't really want to get bullied for not being able to sing again.

He was oblivious to the concern from the other man. Touch had to be Youngmi's favourite thing. He loved it when people patted his head in passing, he loved to be hugged and held, maybe not squeezed, but held at least. It was a little difficult for him to comprehend how anyone could have concerns about something he loved so much. "Okay! I hold on and lean with you when you lean! I can do that, easily!"

The young archangel nodded, doubtful, but Gisela had clearly been doing this for a while and Youngmi couldn't say he had any experience in... Assassination. It wasn't the kind of thing you researched unless you were looking for a career or wanted someone dead. He shivered a little to himself. He could barely live with himself after killing one person, by accident, let alone being paid to take out strangers, lives he didn't know the stories of and couldn't judge. He climbed onto the bike after Gisela had, slowly wrapping his arms around the man's middle, squeezing him gently to tell him that he was secure.

"The money trail - uh, okay. I'll trust you to know where that is!"

@• lee felix [] fjdsfdskgsd you're good bby

The angel's energy reminded Gisela of that of a small bird hopping around. All he'd need to do was flap his arms a little, and it would be an almost-perfect comparison. The thought amused the vampire—though he chose to keep it to himself. Not everyone liked to be likened to animals.

Gisela grimaced. For the first time since he started his unconventional line of work, he was regretting his mode of transportation. He didn't relish the idea of being that close to someone else—quite the opposite, in fact—but then, he'd always done his jobs alone. And he'd never let a target live.

"You're actually not that likely to fall off. The bike's more likely to tip over," Gisela replied, swallowing down the discomfort. He could deal with it later. "The general idea is that you hold on, and if I lean to one side or the other, lean with me."

Approaching the alley where he had left his motorcycle, he fished in the pocket of his leather jacket for his keys. The angel's questions gave him pause—that was a good question. Where were they going? Gisela couldn't very well take Youngmi back to his house, and he wasn't going to set foot near the Dream Guard headquarters.

...There was, he supposed, a place. A vacant office building on the far side of the city. It was a bit of a drive, but it was better than nothing.

"We start by following the money trail," Gisela said, ignoring the first question entirely.

@• yoo taeyang () screams imagine thinking you replied already but it turns out you didn’t ;;

While the assassin wasn’t overly unenthusiastic - Youngmi had been raised on teamwork. From the guard to generally tolerating others of his kind, he’d always had the presence of another person right beside him. Besides- he thought it was nice for everyone to have someone to spend time with sometimes! Even.. if… you’re going to find the person who wants you dead, and, well, your new partner had also tried to kill you.

He puffed out his chest as he marched out onto the street, only to turn back with a sheepish smile. “I know, I know. She’s really strong, I don’t think I’d ever be quite as good as her, but I’m happy with everything she’s taught me.” Luckily, the angel didn’t have the brains for ulterior motives and instead just paused at the thought of riding a motorbike. “I- no, no I don’t think I have. But it’s pretty simple, right? I just hold onto you and try not to fall off?”

This time, he trailed along after Gisela, floating on bouncy steps in the direction of the motorcycle and filled with a new rush - whether it came from escaping with his life, or whether it was the thrill of adventure, he didn’t quite know.

“Do you have an idea of where we’re going? Or how we’re going to track them down??”

@• lee felix Gisela side-eyed the young angel. He wasn't someone who ever worked with partners—and he certainly didn't work with people that he had just tried to kill. For that matter, even if Youngmi said he wouldn't be in the way... maybe it was just Gisela being uncharitable to not take those words at face value. The vampire didn't need to worry about whether or not the angel was safe, if he was going to seek out whoever had hired him to kill the Dream Guard.

"Just because your mother is good in combat, it doesn't mean you are," Gisela said briskly—and didn't that hit close to home, considering he had his own children that he worried about daily, despite having trained them himself. He wasn't sure Youngmi's mother figure—well, she'd try to kill him if she knew his involvement—but he wasn't sure she'd approve of Youngmi trying to seek out someone who'd hired a killer to take him out. But the angel was already headed out of the alley, motioning for Gisela to follow him.

And so, with a quiet exhale, the vampire did, even though it could have been a ploy for the angel to get a good look at his face—Youngmi might not have had the ability to see in the dark that the vampire did, so they were on an even playing field when they were under the streetlights rather than in the darkness of the grimey alleyway.

"Fine," Gisela sighed. He closed his eyes for a few moments, and he might have prayed for strength if he believed the devil was listening, but instead he turned in the direction of where he had parked his motorcycle. He wasn't going to the Dream Guard headquarters, that much was for certain. "Have you ever ridden a motorcycle, Youngmi?"

@• yoo taeyang The angel’s brows knitted tightly together. Surely, there was a way to please everyone without anyone being left behind- they just hadn’t found it yet, hadn’t discovered the right method of doing that. One day though, he hoped everyone in the city would be able to come together without differences striking them apart, whether it came from morals or politics. He nodded, slowly, understanding quickly. “Oh, I understand, sometimes they can do things because they think they’re doing the right thing that sometimes ends up being not a very helpful thing- ah- okay, I get why people don’t like us very much-”

He nodded, once again, while he brushed himself free of additional muck and grime from the floor and wall behind him. “I was- scolded a lot, I know it’s not great to do now-” He remembered with some embarrassment being tricked very, very easily into eating something he wasn’t supposed to, and had rightly received an earful by anyone he’d dared to tell about it.

Proudly, he drew himself up tall and grinned, his eyes shining. “I can help! I won’t be in the way, I promise. I’m trained and everything, my mother figure is the best person in combat that you’ve ever seen.” Of course, Youngmi could never hope to take a God on in combat and hope to win - he couldn’t beat a good many of his fellow archangels in combat, handle himself as well as he could. He gave up the attack quickly, trying to find every method of peaceful resolution before he pulled a weapon.

The joyful creature turned to march from the dark recesses of the alley, quickly gesturing for Gisela to follow him. “Um- I know I kind of didn’t help at all with narrowing down how it could be, but can I still come anyway? I want to help, and knowing who wants me dead could maybe help me avoid it in the future-”

@• lee felix "That's exactly why they'd want to kill you," Gisela replied calmly (and just a little drily). "That and... well. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but some of the things said and done by some of the Dream Guard haven't exactly been /popular/ with the rest of the city. People don't like the way some of your, ah, superious have been talking. Unrest often leads to violence, whether it originates from one side or the other—it doesn't really matter. You could have the best intentions in the world, and there would still be bloodshed. Especially here." The city was supposed to be safe, but Gisela supposed it never had been. Perhaps that was why it had been so easy for him to settle in there.

Once more, the vampire wondered why the angel knew so little about the world around him. "Don't eat fruit with fae," he sighed, reaching up as though to massage his forehead but halting when he remembered he was still wearing his gloves and—germs. Yeah, no. "I doubt he's who wanted you dead either. It would do him no good to... oh, never mind." Why did his children insist on befriending /naive/ little ones? Was that a family trait? If so, not of his own doing.

The angel started to babble again and Gisela withheld a sigh, because he was many things but rude—aside from trying to kill the child, but that went beyond /rude/—he wasn't. He listened patiently, folding his arms across his chest as the angle prattled on and on about things that had happened.

The vampire winced. "I'm well aware," he drawled. He'd heard a time or two, the antics of the great Dream Guards when it came to protecting their own. Word traveled through the city. He wasn't sure how he hadn't managed to put two and two together. But...

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Gisela said slowly, his brows furrowing. "You're the one they want dead—I don't think you seeking them out would make you /safer/."

@• yoo taeyang Wildly optimistic. It was one of the best ways to describe Youngmi. He didn’t always think things through, didn’t always understand that things could have bad consequences or undesirable outcomes - he trusted people, regardless of who they were, and often it could be quite the dangerous problem. The man had quite literally met death before, and still couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept that some people were just simply bad people.

“Enemies of the Dream Guard?” He echoed, his expression deep with conflict. “But- surely people don’t want to kill us just because we want to keep the city safe? I know people don’t like us sometimes.. and, well- some of us have been more trouble stirring than others- but all of us want to make the city a better place, really,” He declared, puffing out his chest just briefly before he curled back into his spot on the ground. The guard had its flaws, but they were still family, family could never be perfect, nobody could. “Oh, there was a fae I promised to eat fruit with? But I ran away and didn’t go back so I think I sort of broke that promise- he couldn’t be angry enough to kill me right??”

He nodded at the words that followed, convinced in a heartbeat. “Yeah! They tend to try to kill indiscriminately, I thought one was trying to kill me when he actually wasn’t,” He rambled on, chattering a whole lifetime of tales and experiences again at the flick of a switch, never really quite understanding which strangers he should probably not trust with the contents of a thick, emotional diary.

“Hm, what do you think we should do then? I’m, um- guessing I shouldn’t go home and tell anyone I nearly got murdered? They can be protective, and, uh- violent. I want to help find who wants me dead! It’ll be easier to stay safe then.” Proudly, the little bird clambered back to his feet, a flourish of thick, comfy autumn clothing.

@• lee felix Gisela blinked. Caelius had said that the Dream Guard was a little... optimistic, a touch off-putting in the naive way he seemed to view the world, but seeing it for himself was much different than hearing it from one of his children. That, combined with the way the angel didn't seem to think things through and had quite literally almost walked into his own death—apparently for the third time?—made Gisela wonder if anyone had ever tried to teach the angel about self-preservation and not getting himself killed. Or told him that being a Dream Guard in itself would cause him to have enemies.

"Well, it could be enemies of the Dream Guard," Gisela muttered, half to himself. That was—perhaps one of the most likely options, at least going off of what he was told—though it was hard for him to believe that Youngmi, as a Dream Guard, didn't have more enemies. Perhaps he just hadn't realized it, because those enemies hadn't yet made attempts on his life.

The vampire couldn't help but grimace when Youngmi sat on the ground and leaned against the alley wall. The thought of all the germs and grime the angel was sitting in—he stared out into the street, not quite looking at the streetlight as he listened to Youngmi speak, rather than having to look at the squalor the Dream Guard sat in. Hunters... No, hunters would have gone after the angel themselves, they wouldn't have sent an assassin—and an assassin who was a creature, at that—to do their dirty work for them.

"Don't waste your time," Gisela said calmly. "Hunters would have gone after you themselves." He supposed it made no difference if Youngmi suspected his line of work; when he went home, he would take his sons and flee the city before the Dream Guard had a chance to mobilize.

@• yoo taeyang For a moment, Youngmi hesitated, then chose not to push it. He didn’t really want the gun to make a second appearance. So long as the stranger was sure of it, he was sure it would be fine. And what’s more, it had succeeded in distracting Youngmi from staring like a frightened rabbit with his arms in the air. He was really starting to think about just being armed 24/7 because there were a suspicious amount of people who seemed to want him dead, and- round two wasn’t what he was looking for.

“Enemies? No, I don’t think so? Though.. like I said, the guy who killed me died, so I guess anyone who was a hunter might’ve thought I killed him as revenge? And then if they liked him, maybe they wanted me dead again. There’s also…” He thought, long and hard. He didn’t think he’d annoyed people to their faces- nor had he had it mentioned to him that anyone was upset with him. Never upset enough to hire someone to kill him, for sure. “I… can’t really think of anyone else? There’s nobody I’ve had disagreements with, the Guard is like my family so nobody there would want me gone, and if they did they would just make up a story and get me chucked out.”

As if forgetting they were in a dank alley, Youngmi slid to the floor, getting comfortable against the wall with his knees drawn tightly up to his chest, thinking, as hard as the chicken brain in his head could. “I don’t think the local gang dislikes me? And they’re kind of- you know, intense, scary, so they would do it themselves.” He shook his head.

“I think the best bet would be someone with the hunters who thinks I killed the man who died - ah, I’m sure I figured out his name or my friend, a ghost told me… Ailell? Yeah, him! The angry father with an axe!” Throughout his musing, he looked up, trying to get a better look at Gisela’s face. “Do you think one of his other kids could think I did it if he had more? I can ask if he had more!”

@• lee felix The vampire shook his head. "I'm fine," he replied briskly. And he was. Everything was fine. Nothing was wrong, aside from the dirtiness of the alley they were in and what he had almost done. And the thought of drinking, even if it was only water. No, he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to force himself to eat for a while.

After a minute, Gisela nodded, though it was only after he did so that he remembered he was lurking in the darkness of the alley, still hidden by the shadows. With a quiet sigh, he stepped closer to the mouth of the alley, where the light from the single streetlight would illuminate at least part of his face—might as well. If he was going to be reported to the Dream Guard, it didn't matter either way. Youngmi already knew who he was and his children weren't as... hidden as Gisela. Not by his own design, they were adults and did as they pleased, even if he urged them to be cautious.

"This isn't how I would have wanted to meet you either," Gisela answered quietly. If he had known the angel was Caelius' friend... he wouldn't have taken the job. But then, it wasn't like he'd asked Caelius 'is this your friend?' before taking on the job. He'd never been hired to kill someone close to home—there weren't a lot of people that /were/ close to their family.

The assassin snorted. "Trust me, that's not why /I/ was going to kill you," he assured Youngmi, who began rambling again about how he hadn't killed anyone. For a moment, the vampire wondered how old the Dream Guard was. He seemed young, but there was no real way to tell with creatures in the city. "Do you have any enemies, Youngmi? Aside from someone that you might or might not have killed?"

@• yoo taeyang Bracing himself for a potential very unpleasant second ending, the angel winced once again as the gun moved, half expecting the trigger to be pulled regardless of his story. What surprised him even more was the holstering, struggling and heaving. Youngmi’s eyes widened - as if a switch had been flicked, panic melted into concern, his brows furrowing and the horror slipping free from his body, replaced by a simple craving to assist, to help and care for the stranger.

He reached a hand out, then hesitated, leaving his fingers floating cautiously in the air. “Are you okay? Can I get you anything, water?” He offered. He could never quite tell in the city what to offer people, there was such a wide variety of diets - but water seemed as good a guess as any for something refreshing. His oldest child knew him. Quickly, he wracked his mind, searching for the name of his attacker, or the identity of the mentioned child.

Eventually, the name was what tipped him off. Caeli- Caelius! He’d proudly declared himself the vampire’s friend after being shown so much kindness when he’d been upset over the crushing of a spider- but since then, he’d frequented the library a lot more, and not so much to sleep on the books or watch bugs on the desks. “Thank you- you’re Caelius’ mum? I kind of wish I hadn’t met you like this?? But- um- nice to meet you, I think?” Nearly being murdered usually wasn’t how you wanted to meet your friend’s parents, but he supposed you didn’t really get a choice sometimes. Youngmi cleared his throat, trying to shake off some of the lingering jitters from having the cold metal against his chin.

“Could I ask why you wanted to kill me? If you don’t, you know, think I killed anyone? Because- I promise I didn’t, there was one guy but he said he forgives me so it’s okay now-”

@• lee felix Oh, lovely. Gisela had hoped he was wrong—as unlikely as it was that there would be two people with the same stories in this city, it wasn't /impossible/, and one could hope—but no, he had been hired to kill his son's only friend. And had almost gone through with it. Would have gone through with it if the angel had passed the alley unsuspecting as he had all the times before. The vampire swallowed, bile burning his throat as he put his gun back in its holster. He could imagine the distress it would have caused Caelius if he'd—clasping a hand over his mouth, Gisela dry-heaved.

When his fit was through, without any loss of bodily fluid—Gisela's evening was already going six ways to hell—the vampire replied hoarsely, "You don't know me. I don't know you, either. But my—oldest child does—I didn't know it was you." A non-answer, because telling the truth to a Dream Guard would be dangerous business and he was /already/ in hot water, so to speak.

At the questions, Gisela laughed tiredly. "I'm not going to kill you," he muttered, "I wouldn't be able to look Caeli in the eyes." Killing a person was one thing. Both of his children knew he was a killer. But killing the only friend Caelius had had in all the years he'd been alive? That was something Gisela couldn't do. Not for any sum of money. Not unless Youngmi did something to harm his children, and the angel hadn't.

All the same... Now Gisela would have to figure out who would have put a hit out on the angel, and why they had; that was, if the Dream Guard didn't report the incident and have the assassin hunted like a wild animal. In which case... well, Gisela was good at hiding, but he was even better at running. He'd done it before. If he had to, he would take his children and be out of the city before anyone could say "jackrabbit".

@• yoo taeyang Confusion was beginning to overtake the panic. He didn’t want the money? Or the phone? What on earth did he want then? Had he really guessed right, that he was about to be killed for the second time by someone who thought he’d killed someone who he… most likely hadn’t killed. There was Derek, but Derek was… in limbo, so it didn’t really count as him being dead anymore. He hadn’t killed anyone else, had he? No, he was a hundred percent sure of it.

Quickly, the light died in his fingers, and his hands shot up to rest on his head when he was free. Maybe he would have it explained to him what was happening if he didn’t try to recognise the attacker, or blind him with bright lights. He shut his mouth, a clunk of his teeth hitting each other following as he firmly clamped his jaw shut, determined not to babble anymore - he’d probably accidentally talk the guy into losing his patience and killing him if he didn’t give him time to process all the nonsense Youngmi was spouting.

The slow call of his name paused the angel from going on another rant about how he didn’t do anything and how he really, really, didn’t want to have a second funeral because the first one must’ve been expensive as it was and he didn’t want to put the Guard through another one. “That- that is me. I’m Youngmi. Um- I don’t really know you though, sorry- unless I do?? Why are you murdering me??” He squinted, but the darkness betrayed nothing. The stranger was really good at keeping things hidden - whereas the angel was chattering his whole life story to try to explain why he shouldn’t be shot and left in an alley for someone unfortunate to find some time later. And- as much as he liked the little street critters, he really didn’t want to get eaten by raccoons, they scared him a little up close.

“Are you, um… still going to kill me? Can I call my parental figures and partner first so I can say bye this time?”

@• lee felix "What—" Gisela inhaled deeply, clinging to the shreds of his patience. Maybe it seemed like this was a stickup for money—that was a fair assumption, though if he was going to target someone for money it wouldn't be a Dream Guard. He didn't think anyone would target a Dream Guard for the sake of financial gain. "I don't /want/ your phone or your wallet," he snapped.

What the angel said next was even more confusing. Gisela's grip on his collar loosened minutely, though it quickly tightened again. He didn't—was he supposed to think the angel had killed someone? Was that why he had been hired for this hit? A revenge killing? Not that the /reason/ mattered, but...

"Wait," Gisela said slowly. Something niggled at the back of his mind, something familiar, something he was sure he was supposed to know. The angel was babbling about not killing someone who had killed him, and not being angry with that person, and for some reason that sounded like something Gisela should recognize. Something he should know, even though he was certain he'd never come face to face with this angel in the past.

He reared back from the hand raised toward him, releasing the angel in his rush to evade his hand, though he kept his weapon leveled toward the Dream Guard. Taking a few steps back, he swallowed.

Third chance?

Slowly, the pieces began to fall together. Caelius had mentioned meeting an angel in the library, someone who had just died after—after being crushed under a building because of an angry father—someone who was part of the Dream Guard—

Gisela felt like he was going to be sick. Stomach roiling, he tried to steady himself and asked, "...Youngmi?"

@• yoo taeyang Youngmi understood perfectly - some people didn’t like taking money from other people! He knew it was a pride thing, it was hard to take money from other people, especially when they were strangers and you probably didn’t have a means to pay it back. The angel was about to go on to hurriedly assure the person that they didn’t need to ever pay him back, it was all fine and they could go their separate ways once the person was back on their feet again- and then a pair of gloved hands seized and dragged him deep into the bowls of the alley.

He couldn’t make a sound in time to shout before the cool, unforgiving barrel of a gun pressed under his chin. Cruel, without any mercy for the man quickly panicking. No move was made to arm himself, instead Youngmi squeezed his eyes shut, biting back the sting of tears welling up as he rooted in his pocket for his wallet, which he quickly tried to push into one of the gloved hands. “Y-you can just have it- it-it’s okay- please don’t- do anything too rash now, you can have this just take it-” His words came blurted in a messy jumble, broken by deep breaths in by lungs charged by a rapidly beating heart, a system in overdrive now that somehow, the unsuspecting creature had ended up well over his head. “Do you.. do you want my phone too? You can- you can sell it if you want, please just don’t-”

Wincing, the angel dared to open his eyes just a crack, though the face of his attack still lay shrouded by the shadows, as if he was being threatened by the very alley itself rather than what lurked within. Suddenly, his eyes widened, as it some sort of realisation had taken place. Once again, he began, rambling as he went, “W-whoever you think I killed, I didn’t do it, I really didn’t do it- if you think I killed that guy who killed me I promise I didn’t- I wasn’t- I wasn’t angry with him, please, I didn’t kill anybody.” He rose a hand, desperate, fingertips shining with a golden light to try to illuminate the features of his attacker some.

“W-whatever you want, you can have it, I really don’t want to die, please, they won’t give me a third chance and I- I really don’t like home, I really don’t want to go back please don’t-”

@• lee felix When the angel took a couple of steps into the alley, Gisela was fully prepared to shoot him—his movements had been heard, evident when the angel froze again, and it was the perfect moment to take the shot—but then the angel spoke.

/Give him money????/

For a long moment, Gisela was quiet. Trying to process what he had just been asked, honestly. Usually, if someone detected someone else lurking in a dark alley, they would turn and haul to the safest place they could find. Not this Dream Guard, clearly; it would seem he didn't have self-preservation instincts. Sure, he had no way of knowing that Gisela was actually there to kill him, but—he should have fled as soon as he realized he wasn't alone, or at least kept walking.

(If he was this dumb, why did someone hire an assassin instead of killing him themselves? To avoid potential detection?)

He shifted his weight and then pounced, gloved hand in the collar of the angel's shirt and dragging him into the alley. He slammed him against the alley wall, nothing more than a shadowy figure in the darkness, the barrel of his gun pressed up into the softness underneath the angel's chin. His skin squirmed from the close proximity, but he grit his teeth and bore it, hissing, "Do you have no survival instincts, or are you just stupid enough to ignore them?"

For all that the angel had been jumpy like a skittish deer, he had about as much sense as one that was caught in headlights—he walked into a trap like a lamb going dumbly to the slaughter, and part of Gisela—the part that was a parent—wanted to shake some sense into him. And he would have, if he hadn't been there to /kill/ him.

@• yoo taeyang Youngmi couldn’t much be blamed for becoming a more suspicious soul as of late. The city hadn’t been the most peaceful setting, as much as he hoped for everyone in it to find their happiness, whatever that meant. Hopefully, they’d achieve it without hurting other people.

There was… definitely something back there. Unsettled, he shifted his weight between both of his feet, resting on one and then the other, silent, worried almost that speaking would cause lightning to strike with the crackling tension in the air. No. No, he was being stupid, there was never anything back there, why would today be any different? His teeth dug into his bottom lip, gentle, then harder. Right- a cat, it was probably just a cat. Or a fox. Or a raccoon. Nothing ever went wrong with dark alleys that he couldn’t quite see down that there may or may not be feral cats down.

Another moment of hesitation. He’d.. just go see, to reassure himself, then run all the way home and hide in his nest of a bedroom for a while until he was brave enough to come out again. One step became two- he was hyping himself up in his head, telling himself it would all be okay, he was going to be just fine, he got to pet a fluffy creature then go home, it was all going to be just okay.

He heard the squeak of leather, just a moment too late, and froze like a frightened deer once again. “…hello?” He began, slowly. “If- um- if you’re a person and not a cat, I can give you money?? Or- do you like alleys? I’m not judging, I just thought, maybe if you’re staying down here I can find you somewhere warmer to stay instead?? It’s cold and it- it kind of only gets colder in the winter so if you want I can pay for you to get somewhere warm-?”

@• lee felix The angel gave the alley two glances as he passed, which was not uncommon from the other times Gisela had shadowed him through the streets—but instead of moving on as he normally would, the angel turned back to the alley and stopped, staring into the darkness as though he suspected there was someone else present. Gisela was unsure if his presence had actually been perceived, standing as still and rigid as a statue as he stared back at the Dream Guard frozen in the mouth of the alley.

Gisela narrowed his eyes. Something about the angel was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was; the scent that carried on the wind, perhaps, though he couldn't say where he'd smelled it before. He tended to avoid Dream Guards, slipping under their notice as nothing more than a civilian who liked books and worried for the safety of his children. Perhaps they had crossed paths—at one of the many celebrations hosted by the city's overzealous mayor, or in passing at the library.

Whatever the case, it didn't matter. Gisela shifted, grimacing at the soft creak of leather as he raised his hand—it wouldn't have been much of a matter if his quarry had remained ignorant to Gisela's presence as he had in the weeks the vampire had spent observing him. But Gisela presumed he had been made from the way the angel lingered in the mouth of the alley, squinting into the darkness—he had to move forward with his plan /now/ or risk the angel escaping and telling the rest of the Dream Guard that someone had tried to kill him.

With a single goal in mind, the vampire whipped the firearm up and into position, bracing his hand as he aimed at the angel's chest and began to squeeze the trigger.

@• yoo taeyang Unsuspecting was the angel as he stomped home after a long patrol. With every step closer to home, the tension seeped from his shoulders, the bad guys of the day left just to be memories that he wouldn’t even see in his dreams. The closer he got to the Dream Guard’s barracks, the less alert he became. He knew the city, the city was his home. He didn’t have anything to be scared of at home anymore- there hadn’t been bad fights for a little while, everyone was alive and well and things seemed to be looking up. Just the minor things.

He knew people didn’t like the Guard much- did anyone like law enforcers? He didn’t think so, nobody, even him, liked being told what to do. But Youngmi could sympathise with both sides - the Guard were his family, and he knew they only wanted justice and what was right. The two sides didn’t get along much- but there was peace, mostly. For now. Ever since an entirely peaceful sports event had been disturbed by bloodshed, he couldn’t help casting an extra glance behind him wherever he walked. Better to be safe than sorry.

He shivered- was it colder, or was he just on edge? Both, maybe. The young archangel drew himself up a little taller, puffed out his chest and kept walking. If a little more hurried than before. He was fine, he’d walked home plenty of times, he didn’t need anyone to hold his hand.

Finally, he reached the crossing of the alley, giving it no more than a second glance before he froze in place, daring to turn to take a third. No- there hadn’t been anyone there. There wasn’t a single shape hiding in the shadows, he reassured himself quickly, though his body remained painfully rigid in it’s place, peeking into the darkness.

@• lee felix There's a /schink/ when the magazine slides home in his handgun, a click when he methodically chambers a round. Tucked in a holster underneath a black leather jacket, it's by no means the only weapon he carries. There's another handgun, and several knives, and laying on the vanity table in front of him is the dossier that has him suiting up in the dead of night.

Tonight's target is a little out of the ordinary. It took him weeks to gather information and identify the angel's routine, down to the restless nights and his tendency to take flights. It took him even longer to plan the hit—there's no room for mistakes. Not tonight; the target is a Dream Guard, and while Gisela's no stranger to taking hits on law enforcement, his client made it clear in no uncertain terms that /this/ Dream Guard is close to the ones that, ah... Gisela would rather not be on the radar of. There's a very narrow window for him to take the hit.

He leaves, somber and silent, hearing the sound of video games from his oldest child's room as he takes the stairs two at a time. It's a sound that fades behind him when he shuts the door and strides to his motorcycle, forgoing his helmet when he mounts the bike. It'll just get in his way; this isn't a leisure ride, and he's been riding motorcycles since they were invented anyway.

It's a quiet ride, the wind cool in his hair. The city isn't dead, but the streets he takes are; it's still and it's quiet, which is why he abandons his motorcycle in a safe place at a safe distance from the location he's planned to take out the target. He goes the rest of the way on foot, melting through the shadows, footfalls silent like those of a cat. When he reaches his chosen outpost, a dark alley close enough to the Dream Guard barracks for the angel to pass by but far enough that Gisela has time to escape after making his hit, he settles into the shadows to wait, drawing one of his guns out of his jacket.

He'd rather not get close and personal with his target.