Looking over the city (Bele and Veron)

Beleth sat in the empty window of a rather high end apartment. The window itself, glass and frame, was missing for some reason but the rest of the apartment was in great shape. And the view was brilliant. It was in the centre of the city and you could see many of the tourist hotspots. Or what had been hotspots before the apocalypse began. Thankfully the window was pretty high up so the people on the streets, wandering aimlessly in their search or any kind of food, looked normal from the distance. He shook his head and checked the ice bucket beside him, flaring his demonic presence every few minutes so any angels could pick up on it. After all, he'd felt Veronique in the city awhile ago and he wanted to meet her again.

Veronique had felt the presence of a demon from her home town and she wondered just why he would be sending up such a strong signal, did he want to be found? Sighing lightly she hurried towards the signal and she just hoped that there would actually be something there that she could get something out of, Beleth although attractive and pleasurable to talk to had not been very informative.

Dashing along, her wings out behind her, she passed into the main city of Paris and stopped outside an apartment when the signal reached it's peak, looking up she saw Beleth and her mouth opened a little, she was half tempted to turn away and resume her business here in Paris but she did not.

Clutching the small velvet bag she had gotten from her nome just then, Veronique stepped into the apartment, flying up to the broken window and entering that way, seeing the champagne, Veronique blinked, and decided not to question the reason he brought that;

"If you were trying to summon your fellow demons, your partner perhaps, you should probably make a less subtle signal, I picked you up in Versailles Beleth." she smiled gently.

Beleth had felt Veronique drawing closer and closer and he couldn't keep the grin off of his face. Oh how he wanted to see her again. He'd thought of nothing else but fucking her, dominating all of her holes, since they last parted. With her mouth hanging open she looked both amusing and rather attractive. The gaping DSL got him again. Noting the way she glanced at the champaigne, Beleth gestured for her to sit down in the window beside him,

"I don't like my fellow demons. A rather untasteful bunch of louts." he chuckled lightly, "No I was signalling you little Veronique! I could tell you were in the country and I decided to make good on my little promise that we would see each other again."

He held up the champaigne with one hand and gestured at the beautiful city with his other,

"I came to spend the day with you in Paris!" he grinned at her, teasing her lightly, "Won't you join me for some champaigne? I find my tongue loosens when I have some... perhaps you can listen as I spill all my secrets?"

Veronique smiled sadly and she sat down next to Beleth, she thought that she would have been strong enough to go to that place, and she had been entirely wrong. It had been one of the most dreadful mistakes that she had made in her life. Her heart was aching and she could feel like she was not in the mood to talk at all, she was in the mood to run away and cry where nobody could see her.

"It was a rather hurried promise to be honest, I was not sure if you meant it or not." she sighed lightly for once not being her usual cheery self and she would hope to be cheered by Beleth's presence.

Taking the glass of champagne, Veronique flicked the glass with her nail and she smiled, sipping at the liquid, and hoping that she would not be frowned upon for drinking too much, after all she was not really supposed to drink at all! It was a lovely champagne, and it reminded her of one she had on her wedding day.

"I am not much in the mood for spilling secrets today." she smiled softly.

The sad smile made Beleth raise an eyebrow. Was she upset about the starving humans? That would make sense. This had once been her country after all. Of course she was now an angel but Veronique didn't seem to believe that the two lives were completely separate. Beleth, however, tried to keep his old life as nothing but a memory. He tilted his head to the side with a small smile,

"Don't get used to hearing this from demons but..." he grinned, "I always keep my promises Veronique. That's why my promises are very rare."

He smiled when she sipped at the champaigne. Tasting the liquid from his own glass, Beleth smiled a little bit. Champaigne was something that he'd enjoyed in his past life as well. He had to hold back a little chuckle. Angels weren't strictly allowed to drink but her she was bending the rules. It was good for him because if she was willing to bend the little rules like drinking then she was more likely to break the big ones like, say, letting him ravage each of her holes. He raised an eyebrow curiously when she said she was not in the mood for secrets,

"A throne who doesn't want to know secrets..." he frowned slightly, "What's happened to you today Veronique? You seem... out of sorts from what I know of you."

Veronique did not mean to be so sad, she wanted to be happy and to show the demon that she was not weakened, but she could not bring herself to be happy at this moment in time, standing up she walked a little way into the room and sat down on on of the chaise lounge lining the corner of the room, she did not know how she should tell him, or even if she should, she had not told anyone apart from her best friend, the Seraphim.

"It might surprise to know that all Thrones are not the same, they are not all interested in knowledge all the time, and this just so happens to be one of the times that I am not interested in knowledge, although it is my duty to ask I suppose." she smiled lightly, looking at him from her seat.

Glad to see that he was wearing a shirt today, Veronique smiled lightly and she looked up at the cieling when she thought about what she should say, sitting up straight she sighed and opened her palm so that Beleth could see the package in her grip, explaining further she added;

"I visited my old home today to retrieve these."

Beleth was beginning to feel a sadness in the air. It was unlike anything he'd felt before. It felt like something that was trying to make him sad as well. Raising an eyebrow when Veronique wandered into the apartment, Beleth followed her slowly, cautiously. It wasn't that he didn't trust Veronique, it was just that caution let you live in Hell. He sat down on the sofa beside her,

"I can tell that you're not interested in knowledge. Mmm must make sure to revise the knowledge we have on thrones." he joked lightly, "I know, angels and demons are as varied as humans are. Makes sense that you don't all fit a mold just like we don't."

Beleth noticed the package she was holding for the first time. It hadn't seemed that important when compared to her arrival but apparently it was quite important. He frowned a little bit,

"Your home brings you bad memories?" he asked before tilting his head to the side, "Or good memories that you are sad to relive?"

Veronique had hoped that there would be some sort of distance that she could keep from Beleth, she knew that he would be able to make her feel good however there was something that she didn't think that was really appropriate given what was wrong with her, given the fact that she was once again cast down about the loss of her husband and the fact that he was in Hell somewhere alone...

"I know, you probably should update that, your information gatherers must be somewhat limited as they wont be able to meet many angels before they are killed."

When he frowned at the package on the palm of her hand, Veronique undid the drawstrings and she pulled out on ring, placing it on her hand, and then the other and placed it on the hand next to her, she had not looked at these for a long long time, and the silver was somewhat tarnished.

"Yes, very bad memories." she smiled gently "I suppose you don't have many of those that you care to remember, I wish I could disconnect myself but....alas I cannot." she added, running her hand through her hair "Enough of me, what of you, how are you?£ Veronique asked now with a fake sense of happiness about her.

Beleth was aware that Veronique was putting up signals for distance between the two of them but he ignored them when he sat down. Not because he wanted to seduce her right now but because he knew that those signals were put up by someone who really was sad and in need of someone to cheer them up. And it was also because he wanted to see if he could try his luck as well but mostly the first reason,

"Yes well the same could be said about you angels." he joked lightly, "If I had been any other kind of demon back in South America you would have been in trouble. I'm glad that you met me however, I'm glad that I met you."

As she untied the little package, Beleth waited with thinly veiled curiosity but when she held the ring in the palm of her hand he paused and looked at it. It was joined by another and he couldn't fight the urge to glance up into her eyes,

"They were... your rings? Wedding and engagement rings by the look of them." he paused, "Sorry, it was rude to pry. Me? I'm good thank you. Spent some time back in the second circle, not that fun to be honest, and went back to Ireland for a bit. You got me thinking about the humans and being one once. It was... odd."

When Beleth continued to sit next to her, Veronique looked up into his eyes, and she found herself beginning to sniffle a little and she knew that she had to stop, she had to make sure that she was strong, this was a demon after all, could he be trusted as a friend? Could she be herself truly around him and let him know what so few people knew? Biting her lip she smiled gently at him.

"I know, I dont think I would have liked my chances against the giant rat, what kind of demon was that anyway?" she asked mildly interested and getting her enthusiasm back "I think that we could be good friends, if you would like to be."

Veronique was glad that they were seemingly on the same level as with their friendship, she did not mind telling Beleth a little bit more about her rings, and she nodded her head when he said that they were her wedding and engagement rings, she had managed to get them back...from her.

"Don't say sorry Beleth, you can ask me anything you want, you're my friend after all, and if you want to know I shall tell you, just like I will probably ask you questions about your past, if you're willing to answer them." she smiled gently, placing the rings on her finger once more.

Hearing that Beleth had returned to Ireland, she asked; "How was it odd?"

He caught her eyes. She had very beautiful eyes and he liked looking into them. They made him feel like he was normal again, like being a demon didn't automatically make him something beneath other beings. The sniffle was small but she wasn't able to hide it from him. When she bit her lip his mind wandered to her DSLs but he pulled himself back. Now was not the time for sexual thoughts,

"The giant rat? Oh Bart! Oh he's harmless. Just throw a rock at him and he would have run for the hills. He's a rather low down demon, he died as a child but was judged evil because he pushed a kid off the monkey bars and the other kid snapped his neck. Manslaughter but apparently he meant it so he went down. The result is a weak demon, he's not evil at all." he told her with a small smile now that she was mildly enthused again, "I think I would like that Veronique. You come to me whenever you have a problem and I'll come to you when I have a problem. That is what friends do right?"

When she nodded her head to indicate that he'd been correct, Beleth nodded and looked at the rings in thought. He'd never liked wedding rings. Not for a long time at least. He shook his head to clear it a bit before nodding towards the rings,

"Why do they bring back bad memories Veronique?" he asked her, honestly rather curious, "I was under the impression that a woman's wedding day was the happiest day of her life. Surely that memory alone would make the rings hold good memories for you?"

He chuckled a little bit, a bitter sound,

"I visited a grave of someone who had once been very dear to me but who had hurt me a great deal." he shook his head, "I convinced myself during life that I would dance on her grave. Well I got there... and I didn't feel much like dancing."

Veronique was saddned even more when she heard that a child had been sent to hell, it was something that she had never understood and she knew that the woman, Razial who was the judge was often thought of in cold light because of things like this, but there must have been a good reason for it, manslaughter was maslaughter after all, but to not show lienience to a child...how cruel.

"How awful...oh the poor thing he must have been so scared, I wish I could have..." she stopped and shook her head, she could feel tears welling up in her eyes and she shook her head again to try and clear them away "I believe it unfair...that a child should be punished and mutilated so for something that was an accident..."

Nodding her head, Veronique smiled lightly; "Yes, I would like that very much." she whispered.

A light laugh escaped her throat and she shook her head, it was that day that had killed her, she often thought what would have happened without that accident, if she would have been happier; "I was in an accident, my coach was overturned and I broke my arm, I did not manage to get married on that day, although I was afterwards, I died however...shortly after when the bone became infected."

Veronique knew that she was not the only one to suffer and she blinked back her own tears, placing a hand on Beleth's cheek, stroking it with her thumb; "Everyone has ghosts in their past, Jack, it is whether we allow them to consume us that sets us apart from the rest."

When he saw Veronique's face fall at the story, Beleth decided that telling her about Bart was probably a bad idea. Should have just made something up so that she didn't end up feeling really bad. He had to admit that he himself felt sorry for Bart, the kid hadn't really done much wrong. Of course most demons felt sorry for Bart so he'd managed to get along fine, not being eaten at all,

"Bart was very afraid... we all are when we're first reborn." he admitted with a small amount of shame. Early days as a demon were not fun in the slightest, "It does seem unfair that a punishment should be inflicted on a child. I believe the humans asked themselves the same type of questions. How can God let bad things happen to children? To good people?"

Seeing Veronique smiling, Beleth couldn't help but grin,

"Then it's settled, we'll be best friends." he grinned wider, "Be warned, I have some weird problems. I guess you could say I'm pretty messed up."

The little laugh seemed out of place on her rather sad face and as she explained the events leading up to her death. He had to admit it was a really bad way to go. He grimaced a little bit,

"That... does not sound like a happy wedding day." he finished lamely, not sure how to really talk about it. He paused before attempting a smile, "Well... at least you could watch over him when you became an angel right?"

The tears of an angel were doing their work. They made everyone in the area just as sad as the angel who was crying. He could feel his own sorrow creeping up on him. Of course it was all because of the effect of her tears. He wasn't weak enough to cry on his own, he told himself fruitlessly. He was past it. It was done, it was ancient history. There was nothing that he missed from his old life! He was happy as a sex demon, he was...

A flash of his old life.

The football team he'd coached had just won the cup. They were so happy that they all jumped around. He was happy too. He gave each of them a piggy-back ride around the pitch in a victory lap. He looked up into the stands and grinned at her-NO! He dragged his mind away. He wouldn't think of her. Never her. He felt something wet on his cheeks. He'd been crying,

"I try to block them out..." he croaked in response, "I don't want to remember Veronique.... My life as a human is over. I am not Jack Tate, I am Beleth."

Veronique let the smile on her lips dim as she thought about the pain that the child must have gone through, being in such a horrible place all alone, in the dark and with Lord knows how many creatures down there with you, how frightening must it be to have to endure something like that...? She could only imagine....and she felt her heart tugging when she thought of Alexander having to go through this himself.

"I do not know the motives of the creator, sometimes I question their ruling in the hands of others, I am sure that for children...he would show a patience that the judge cannot hope to portray..." she sighed lightly, running her hand through her trousled hair, looking for some more champagne.

A little sad smile crept onto her lips with what Beleth said and Veronique smiled gently; "You most certainly have problems, and you most certainly are messed up, but I'll tell you something, all the best people are."

Veronique couldn't help but let a few tears roll down her cheeks and fall onto the purse as she nodded her head, oh yes, she could see what it was like for him once she was dead, and she remembered her visions only too well of course, they seemed to never leave her mind; "Oh yes, I could watch over him night and day, I wanted to make sure he was safe."

Tilting her head to one side she wiped the tears away from Jack's eyes and she smiled slightly wider, giving comfort to others was something she enjoyed, but, there was a question she had been wanting to ask, and she meant no offense by it when she voiced it;

"Beleth, as a demon, can you love a person?"

Beleth saw the smile on Veronique's lips dim back down again as she thought about Bart, the child/demon/rat. He could tell that it didn't sit well with her, that a little boy should be punished like that. To be honest it didn't sit well with him either. Beleth had looked after the demon boy for a few years after his death, until the lad had found his niche,

"I think the judges do what is expected on them." he replied quietly, "They pass a judgement that has already been made. I doubt that the creator really gives them a choice in the ruling."

He grinned a little bit before he placed the line. He laughed, having remembered where he'd heard that line from,

"Ah too true, too true." he agreed with a smile, "A good little philosophy there. I swear I've heard the line before though..."

Seeing Veronique cry, as well as feeling the sadness that leaked into the air from the action alone, Beleth reached out and stroked some of her tears away. He wasn't very good at comforting people but he hoped that the attempt at least helped her a little bit. What were friends for after all? He smiled a little bit, unsure about this part because he'd always fought the urge to do the same,

"Was that good?" he asked her, "Knowing that he was safe?"

He attempted a smile when Veronique wiped away his tears but it wasn't in him at this moment in time. Just as he was beginning to feel better she asked the question. He thought she was different but it turned out she was just like all the other angels. So judgemental. So sure that they were the only ones who could feel. Who could love. His first contact with an angel after his death had been an exercise in judgement. The first angel he'd ever met had pinned him to a wall with a knife and proceeded to explain, in great detail, why he was scum. Why he was bellow human emotions. Beleth felt his throat constrict and he jerked away from her touch, as if burnt. He stood up and took a few steps away,

"No. Of course not." he muttered bitterly, gesturing to himself, "I'm a demon aren't I? How can a demon love anyone? I was such an evil person in my old life that I obviously couldn't love then either! No my heart is black as coal isn't it? Isn't that what all you angels get told? That demons are heartless beasts? Yes Veronique. I have loved in the past. I have the capability for love, does that surprise you? To learn that a sex demon actually has a heart?"

Veronique could tell, she could tell that her seemingly innocent question had not gone well at all with Beleth, and her eyes widened when he moved his hand away from her, she had not meant the question in that way at all and she felt as if she was the one who was scum for making her new friend think of her and her kind in this manner, and she could not help but feel more hurt than ever when he stepped away from her.

Silently she listened to what he had to say, and when he said that he had loved in the past she knew that it was the fact that he had loved, and he had been hurt because of this love, that had made him the way he was now, she had not meant any sort of offense and she too stood up, wiping the rest of the tears from her eyes, but new ones replaced them soon after.

"Forgive me...I only meant to find out what was causing you so much pain, if you had loved in your past and can carry that love on through death, I meant no offense." she said quietly coming to stand at the edge of the apartment.

Spreading her wings wide, Veronique cast a look back at Beleth, someone who she had hoped she would be able to be friends with, but she knew she had ruined all chance with him now, sighing she turned her head to the sky and asked her fellow Thrones for help.

Giving a few test flaps, Veronique bit her lip;

"I'm sorry...I'll go now and um...you're not a heartless beast, at least, I don't think so." she smiled and jumped out of the window letting the wind catch her, and hoping she would make it to her home without crashing into anything on the way.

Beleth knew that he shouldn't have blown up at Veronique about her question, she couldn't have known what such a question meant to him. She was innocent of any wrong doing. But still he couldn't stop himself getting angry. His capasity for love had hurt him in the past but a part of him still loved... her. The one who had hurt him so much. It was a very sensative topic and now, thanks to his spectacular blow up, Veronique knew that it wasn't something to bring up around him. He turned to her and fixed her with a rather dead look in his eyes,

"I do carry some of that love with me now. But that's not what makes it painful for me." he told her quietly, "What makes it painful is that someone who was said to have a greater capasity for love than me... tore my heart out and stamped on it for her own selfish gain."

Beleth couldn't move as Veronique flapped her wings and prepared to leave him here. He couldn't move. He wanted to stop her, to go over to her and try and get her to calm him down, to tell him that everything was alright... but he just couldn't move. When she told him that he wasn't a heartless beast he opened his mouth to say something. But then she was gone, flying away. And he was alone again. Now that she was flying away, Beleth... no... Jack, felt like he could move again,

"Thank you... you're the only one I care about enough to want to hear that from..." Jack whispered as he watched his disappear. He was Jack again for the first time in years and all it had taken was one angel who had been willing to listen. One angel who he had scared away. Jack felt tears stinging his eyes, "We'll meet again soon Veronique... I promise."