Retaliation

Chapter 2: Meet the Family

Chapter 2

Music Choice: City of Angels - 30 Seconds to Mars

Zeke, Jonathan, Alex, Marco and Drew all live in this House with Dani.

This flight of Angels lives in a small building together, known as the Ivory House.  A House is the “habitat” for lack of better term, of Angels in Heaven. Heaven is a bit farther up in the galaxy, if you believe in that. Heaven is a level where the truly good people go; where the people who were denied Angelship and simply lived their lives to the fullest, without getting into too much trouble, lived.

However, the rest of the Angels live in a sort of limbo level, higher than Purgatory, but lower than Heaven, so it is easier to communicate with the Earth. Purgatory is a level for people who have committed terrible crimes but feel true remorse. But this other “place” is known as the Angel’s Realm. The Angel’s Realm consists of Regions, like countries on Earth, which are made up of Houses. Houses contain Flights of Angels, training them and preparing them to protect Earth.  In each House, each Angel has their own personalized Training Facility, where they learn to use, control, and grow from their given talents and powers. In the Ivory House, there are a total of six Angels who all work together on missions. However, each Angel has his or her own particular skills, none of which have the same. Five of the six Angels in the Flight died within a window of fifty years, the exception being Drew, so the flight is preparing to work together with each of their own specialized skill sets to go on Special Operations to protect other humans and mortals.

Drew is the flight’s mentor and a Virtue. A Virtue is in charge of maintaining a natural balance. When they show themselves to Humans, they appear as creative people, like artists and musicians. Above all, Virtues believe in the power of True Love. Drew is the oldest of them all, by at least 50 years. He has most of the flight’s abilities, but condensed. He studies and specializes in Nature, not the green stuff, but more like psychology and motivations.  He taught the flight how to control and use their powers wisely. Drew is about 5’10, light-skinned with medium length light brown hair and deep green eyes. He died in the early 1800’s due to a fatal flu-like epidemic. Drew was dressed in a nice, almost-tan t-shirt, a black blazer, brown pants, and a grey scarf around his neck.

As Asher and Dani entered the Ivory house, Dani was met with a flurry of questions.

“Are you okay?” Marco questioned, examining her arms for wounds. Marco DiStefano is a Healer, or doctor, who is also a Guardian. Guardians are normally simple, guarding creatures, only helping individuals. However, a Guardian in the Angel’s Realm has a specific field of practice. In Marco’s case, he is a Healer. Marco helps Angels recover from injuries. He is six feet tall, light tan skin, hazel eyes and has thick dark brown wavy hair. Many tend to think that Dani and Marco are siblings, but that could not be farther from the truth. Marco has a very nerdy take on life, and always wants to see the world, even if he is too scared to actually fight. He is also the funniest of the guys in the House, always cracking smart-aleck type jokes. He died serving as a medic for Greece in 1913 during the First Balkan War.  Marco was wearing light brown pants, with a white V-neck with a dark navy blue blazer.

“What happened?” Jonathan asked, standing stern and upright. Jonathan Wills is a trainer and a Power. Powers are the Angels of birth and death, and the only Angels that can reproduce for they are the only fertile Angels in the entire Angelic World. Powers are also soldier-like, protecting those who can’t protect themselves, and fighting off those who pose a threat. Jonathan is a very talented and achieved warrior Angel. He trained Dani to fight hand-to-hand and sword combat. Jonathan may be well built, but his brilliance leaves a lot to be desired. He is six feet tall, pale blue eyes and lightly tan, with a buzz cut. Again, not very bright. He doesn’t catch on to conversation very quickly, and tends to be stubborn. He is very outgoing but is a health-fanatic, using his physical strength to make up for his lack of mental strength.  Jo, which is the flight’s nickname for Jonathan, died in 1870 in the Battle of Sedan in France, during the Franco-Prussian War. He wore cargo shorts with a tight black muscle t-shirt and single diamond earring on his right ear.

“Are you hurt?” Zeke questioned, his eyes so wide you could see his almost golden irises. Ezekiel, or Zeke Maltin, is a Cherub. He records information about other mortals and their own kind like Guardians or humans. Many think of the knowledge of Cherubim as never-ending and infinitely growing. He is basically an Angelic encyclopedia. Cherubim are known for being sent down to Earth for special tasks, like when He expelled Humans from the Garden of Eden, protecting the entrance with a Cherub. They are known to be tall, lean creatures, unlike those fat, naked little kids on the covers of Valentine’s Day cards. ‘Fun’ Fact: Lucifer, who later became Satan, was a Cherub before he fell to Hell. Zeke is very brainy, which causes him to always be spitting out facts, easily getting on Dani’s nerves. He has a tendency to shy away from new people, but around his Flight, he’s a loose cannon. Zeke is about five foot eight, with pale white skin and short medium brown hair that he spikes upward. Zeke was killed in a Native American uprising in 1862, when he was living in Minnesota. He was wearing khaki jeans that were too loose on his skinny frame and a single blue argyle-print sweater vest over a white short sleeve shirt.

“Who is that?” Alex asked, looking at Asher. Alexandra Santiago is the only other girl in the house besides Dani and is a simple Angel with extraordinary abilities. She is an engineer and scientist, building specialized gadgets and weapons for Angelic use. Although Tech specialists aren’t high up in the pyramid of Angelic Status, they are still essential to Angelic existence. Angelic Status is like a social hierarchy, but all the Angels still communicate. They just have different values and levels of importance. The chart goes, from highest importance to lowest Virtues to Powers, Cherubim, and Spell-Casters to Healers, Tech Specialists, and ordinary Guardians. Alex is white skinned with long, light brown hair; bluish-green eyes and is about five foot one inch. Alex is probably Dani’s best friend in the House. She has a more adventurous personality, and a willingness to stand up for herself. She can also be very OCD, and organized. Alex has a very short-temper, similar to Dani’s. Almost anything can set Alex off.  She died in 1887, during the Sonora Earthquake that hit northwestern Mexico. She was wearing army green jeans with a black t-shirt and her matte maroon Doc Martens. She had seven piercings along her earlobe and a single thin silver locket and chain draped around her neck.

“Oh... um... this is  ... um…” Dani mumbled, closing her eyes.

“Asher.” He finished for her. I could hear him smile.

“What happened? We heard you found a body?” Marco asked.

Dani pictured the girl lying on the ground, helpless, and never able to do anything ever again. Her legs felt weak, as she grabbed onto Asher’s arms. Her eyes barely open as Asher helped Dani to her bedroom.  He then lay her down on her bed.

“I’ll tell them, don’t worry.” He whispered into her ear, his breath warm against her cheek. Dani could hear his footsteps leaving the room.

She lay down on her soft bed, wrapped in her light pink sheets, and fell asleep.

AN: Sorry this was such a short and uneventful chapter. I just wanted to upload a couple of things about her "family" that Dani lives with. If any of you guys have ideas as to who should be cast for the member's of Dani's house, or even Dani and Asher, message me and I would love to consider it! Thanks, loves! 

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