Catching The Fallen :: Keziah

Keziah couldn't honestly remember the last time someone had gotten the drop on her. She was ancient in relative terms that humans could understand, but she was created to be a fighter, a warrior. She had survived countless battles and injuries. Tonight, however, her opponent had been different. She had been hired by a demon for protection against her own kind. Well, similar to her in that they were angels, not necessarily fallen. Kez had faced off against her own kind before. She had resigned herself to be a gun for hire, picking and choosing the jobs she wanted. This particular job paid quite well, and she had some exceptional plans for that money. She knew exactly what--or who she would be spending it on.

Her payoff would never come as she found herself squaring off with someone she once would have deemed a friend, a brother in arms. She wasn't sure how it happened, but she had failed to not only protect her charge, but herself as well. Now, here she lay in a partially abandoned alleyway, covered in bruises and blood. Wounds didn't bother her as much, and she healed faster than mortals, but that didn't mean she was privy from feeling pain or even dying. Slumping against the side of a building, she slid to the ground, her head leaning forward so that her hair covered her face.

Kez wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there. She couldn't tell how much blood she had lost, though there seemed to be a decent amount covering her hands and the pavement around her. She had been slipping in and out of consciousness, hearing voices of people passing by, helpless to call out. With any luck, anyone remotely dangerous would simply take her for dead and walk on. Then a voice reached her ears. It was soft and familiar, and Keziah summoned what little she had left of her strength and looked up towards the voice. She could hardly make out the form in the dark, but especially with one eye swollen shut and the other blurred by blood dripping down her forehead. Kez tried to part her lips, tried to utter words, but all that came out was a raspy breath and a croaking sound.

For the first time tonight, Keziah actually felt comforted and safe. She wasn't sure why, but she knew it was because Kendall was near. Even when she was frantic and frightened, the woman had a spellbinding voice. She opened her mouth to speak again, this time managing to get out a few words with her rasping breathing. "Fight...demon..." Two words were all she could manage as her face contorted into pain, then agony, then fear like a child.

She groaned when Kendall attempted to get her up, but she managed to get to her feet. Kez was leaning heavily against the brick wall beside her, ready to faint should the hard ground want her back. Slowly, she moved her hand away from her gut, revealing the handle of a blade still stuck in her flesh. With a loud, agonizing cry, she put her hand back over the wound, the handle to the blade securely between her fingers as she applied pressure around the wound.

Again, she looked up at Kendall, hopeful she could put the woman at ease. Kez was aware after their first encounter, and then finding her in an alley tonight, the young Fallen knew she had damaged whatever it was they had. She couldn't dwell on what might have been, but even Kez wasn't too proud to admit when she needed help. With pleading eyes, she looked long and hard at Kendall before parting her lips again, "Please...help m-me..."

Time was relative as Kez slipped in and out of consciousness. There were spans where she remembered attempting to walk, but was more being half-dragged by Kendall. Then there were times she could have sworn she was being carried. She remembered thinking how odd that this woman, this human could manage to lift her, let alone get her inside her apartment. Then, she was lying on a bed, struggling to maintain the world around her. Kez desperately tried to focus on Kendall's form, though her vision would go blurry every once in a while.

With a pitiful groan, the fallen angel took her hands away from the blade. The ornamental hilt was her first revelation and then the pieces started to fit. White hot pain seared through her body and she let out an agonizing shout, thankful Kendall had left the room. When she returned, Kez knew what needed to be done even before the words came from the girl's mouth. This knife was special, and it had a special purpose. Sadly, the longer the blade remained in her body, the more poison would seep into her system until she died.

Kez scooted herself up on the bed, resting her back against the headboard in a reclining position. Before Kendall could do anything, Keziah's hand gripped the hilt of the blade and she quickly pulled it from her gut with her last burst of strength. She let out another cry of pain before holding the weapon out to Kendall."Don't...lose that. If I survive the night--I want to return it to it's owner in a similar fashion." She closed her eyes for a moment. Each wound had it's own fresh sting, but the knife wound was by far the most painful.

Keziah winced as bandages and pressure were applied to the wound. Everything hurt, and not just like normal wounds either. Every mark on her body, even healed scars seemed to burn. Her flesh was crawling with unseen fire, and she wondered briefly if this was what it was like to be from Hell. Kez felt hands taking her limp ones and pressing them over the wound. She let out another whimper of pain, but followed her instructions. A smile escaped her usually hardened exterior, "What can I say? I've always been one to not follow the line." She looked down at the knife before allowing her head to lull to one side.

When Kendall returned with water, Kez again did as she was instructed. She let her hands fall to either side, exposing the blood soaked bandages beneath. It was hard to tell if all the blood came from the knife, or if the multiple cuts along her body aided in the deep red. Either way, she had lost a lot of blood. Her mind was too scattered, and Kez found it difficult to focus on keeping her wings hidden and secure from human eyes. She hardly ever used the damned things anymore, and their color was only a reminder of how her Father had abandoned her and cast her out, but she could no longer conceal them in her weakened state. Slowly, the massive feathers appeared. They had started out as a light gray, nearly white color, but had since faded to a dark gray, almost blackened. The curled in behind her like a soft back support while Kendall tended to her wounds.

"Don't..." Kez placed her hands on top of Kendall's, stopping their motion. She looked up at her, eyes wide with a mixture of thanks and despair. She knew very well how this night could end and more than anything she didn't want the woman to have to witness any of it. Since their first night together, Kendall had occupied much of Kez's mind. She found the woman intoxicating, and though she had vowed never again to become vulnerable to someone, she knew deep down that was what was happening with Kendall. Kez squeezed the woman's hand as best she could before looking down at the knife and speaking with labored breath, "It was poisoned. A special formula meant for Angels, Fallen or not. Like I said--I'll be more than happy to return it to it's owner...if I survive the night..."

Keziah had seen such desperation a few times before in her long life. Before, when she was a warrior for her Father, losing one of her own was a holy and divine moment. Was there a heaven for angels? That she could not answer, though she doubted it. However, dying as an angel of God is more spiritual than anything else. When Kez had fallen, she had yet to be so tainted but the world of man and her bitterness. She had actually tried to help mortals, and each time she failed and someone died, she had held the same look of desperation when they exhaled their last breath as Kendall now had. She hated herself for being the cause of this look.

She also knew when to fight, and when to comfort someone by letting them believe they could make a difference. Kez hadn't completely fallen from grace. At least not yet. She nodded and moved her hand away from Kendall's, allowing her to continue cleaning her wounds. Kez closed her eyes and attempted to slow her breathing to help with her pain. After a moment, her eyes opened yet again, this time with a bit more resolve in them."Kendall..." Her words were soft, barely above a whisper, "Kendall, stop. I need you to hear me..." Kez took the woman's hand, lacing their fingers together, and she looked at her with adoration in her eyes, "I can't...I can't let you do this. I can't let you watch me die. It isn't fair to you. None of this is fair to you..."

The words weren't something Keziah was used to hearing. Someone not willing to give up on her? Just about everyone she had ever known, even her creator had given up on her. Yet this woman, this human was willing to stay by her side and nurse her back to health. Kez wasn't sure what the feeling was swelling in her chest, but it was certainly something she had never felt before.

Slowly, she simply nodded in response. A small smile escaped her lips as she let go of Kendall's hand to let her keep bandaging wounds. She relaxed back, breathing slow and steady as her pain lessened somewhat. "Alright, but only if you stay with me."

Keziah was not used to being so vulnerable. She had no strength and no way or protecting herself at this moment. She was completely and utterly at the will of whomever had come across her. Luckily, Kendall had found her on a fluke. For whatever reason, though, she felt completely safe under the woman's care. There would be very little Kendall could do should someone track Kez and attack again, but just her presence was enough for now. Looking up at her, studying her face and her features, Keziah had an overwhelming desire to kiss the girl. "You are a very interesting human, did you know that?"