10: Shedding skin is easier than most people suspect.

[scaresplants]

Who: Anthony J. Crowley and YOU.
Where: Hanging on a tree in the park
When: All day, man.
Style: Any you want!
Status: OPEN LIKE YOUR HEART TO TEMPTATION i mean what

[So, Vatheonites and new arrivals, you might be wandering around the park, exploring all it has to offer, when you might come across a tree in the middle of the clearing. For some reason, this area is quiet- no birds sing, no squirrels chatter. The tree just stands there, looking rather ordinary.]




[And hanging from a branch of this tree is something long and vivid green. A small snake. Which is odd, because if you've been in Vatheon before, you probably haven't seen any snakes around here.]

[It just sits there, red tongue flicking out lazily every so often. Approach it? Try to pet it? Talk to it? See what happens. Crowley won't bite...if you don't make him angry, that is.]

[ooc: Anthony J. Crowley is in his snake form and hanging out in the park, basically, because he is the Serpent of Eden and he does what he wants. And yes, he can speak. Just not yet, because scaring you all is a much better use of his time than just acting dumb. People who can detect demonic powers and such will be able to tell that he isn't just an ordinary snake. B)]

Comments

[scaresplants]

[A visitor. And...oh. It's Katsu. He cocks his scaly head slightly at him silently, trying to determine whether or not he recognizes him in this form.]

[But really, considering who he is, Crowley is guessing that it wouldn't be so hard for the kid to figure it out.]

[angelphones]

[So remember his tree-climbing fail all that long ago? Yeah. He's gotten better at it. Give him a second while he climbs up into the tree with you, balancing a little uneasily on a branch.]

Any special reason you decided to look like this today?

[scaresplants]

[Crowley lets out a disapproving huff as Katsu climbs up. He wanted people to troll around him, not people who thought that he was their best friend ever even though yes, he did have a soft spot for the kid which he will never, ever admit AND WHY IS HE THINKING ABOUT THIS.]

...Jussssssst felt like it.

[angelphones]

[Aw. Come on! It's fine. He leans back.]

Did you look just like this back then? Or is this a different kind of snake?

[scaresplants]

I looked like this back then, yes. [A huff.] Why wuld I ever change what I was?

[angelphones]

Well, I don't know. Maybe you wanted a change.

[He stretches out a bit, draping on a nice solid branch.]

... But I guess... do demons change that much over the years, in any way? I don't actually know a lot about demons, despite... yeah.

[scaresplants]

Nah, I like myself the way I am, thank you.

[He turns his head towards Katsu.] Not much. My colleagues aren't exactly forward with change Downstairs. And I don't think I have changed at all.

[Which is a lie, because he knows he has changed but will never admit it.]

[angelphones]

Yeah, I figured they weren't. And... well. I didn't know you back then, so I couldn't say.

[scaresplants]

Well, I knew your mum and dad, if that means anything. Your original parents, not the ones you have now, though I'm not sure if you have any at the moment...

[A pause.] Do you remember? Being Abel, I mean.

[angelphones]

I do, but... mm. I don't actually know how they are right now. They were outside the Lockdown...

[He shakes away the thought that they might think he's dead. He has to see them right after he gets back, angelic missions or no.]

[... But at the question, he tilts his head, closing his eyes.]

Almost? Like... it feels really familiar, but it's like a story someone told you about when you were too young to remember. I'm... not really him. Not all of him. I just have a part of him.

[His voice shakes a little, though. The idea of having a part of a soul in him is a little scary - and then there's the question of what happened to that part of his original soul? Of Katsu's original soul?]

[... Who is Katsu, anyway, and how much of him matters to any side in this?]

[scaresplants]

Hmm.

[Well, he should have expected that answer. Resurrections were tricky things. You could have somebody believe wholeheartedly that they were from the fifteenth century or something, and others who didn't remember a thing about their past lives except for a nagging feeling that never went away. He isn't surprised Katsu doesn't remember much.]

Makes sense. You're not exactly the same Abel I remember from all those years ago. It's a strange process, resurrection. It never results in the way you expect it to.

[angelphones]

Yeah.

[He'll just... leave it at that. And then reach over to pat Crawly Crowley gently on the snakey head.]

Maybe there's another Abel somewhere who remembers more.

[scaresplants]

[He smiles slightly, but then remembers that enjoying pets is not proper demon behavior and just kind of pretends its not there.]

Perhaps. With all these bloody worlds out there, it's completely possible.

[angelphones]

[It's okay he feels your love.]

Or in my world, maybe. It's not like I'm the only Abel.

[He's still weirded out by that, okay.]

[scaresplants]

Of course there's another Abel. I mean, if you're a resurrected version of him, maybe there's people before you who were Abel too.

[A pause.]

Stop talking about such idiotic things. You are who you are. That's it.

[angelphones]

Well... I mean aside from that. There's more than one Abel in my world, you know. His soul broke into shards and spread across humanity.

[Mrr. He strokes Crowley's head some more.]

Yeah. I know.