Annabelle had started her journey through heaven months ago, being an angel she thought it only seemed fit to explore her roots. Though she couldn't be entirely sure if this was her first time in her mother land, but she did know is that if she had been here before she did not remember it. One thing about heaven she was thoroughly enjoying was the sounds. The blissful, peaceful silence of the forest she was in amazed her. Yes she could hear the obvious animals and forest creatures but it had a ring to everything about it that made it so damn wonderful.
Anna was not sure what forest she was in anymore. When she left the kingdom of heaven the day before she had checked a map of the area, but did not study it as long as she perhaps should have. Annabelle felt like a tourist in a big city everywhere she went in heaven, but the woods at least let her feel like she wasn't so far from home. Plopping herself down she rested her back against a tree and took a swig from her water canister. She scanned the area and noticed a large pond not to far away. As she reached the pond, she cupped water and washed her face with it. After a few minutes of splashing around she laid back, feet in the water, head on her pack, relaxing in the shade.
Spada stepped slowly between the trees unsure of his final destination. He was completely unsure of anything around as well for that matter. With nobody fun left in heaven he had taken it upon himself to train his senses. He hoped that he would eventually be able to raise his ability to use powers as high as his own physical strength. So far it had been fruitless and even now he just felt and looked silly walking through a forest with a blindfold over his face. All he was able to see was a small view of the world directly in front of himself. After an hour of aimless walking in search of an unknown he stopped abruptly finding himself at the edge of a creek. Silently he jumped over the water and sailing through the air several yards. Despite the massive sword he carried with him his landing made little to no noise though it did unbalance him slightly. As his body turned to correct himself he happened to spot a young woman at the waters edge. He took his blindfold off for the first time since entering the forest and waved. "Hi there."
Annabelle had dozed off a bit, still she was completely aware of her surroundings and part of her conscious mind remained alert. A mans voice caused her eyes to snap open. Her natural reflex was to jump to her feet, grab her bow, and aim. But she knew better than to do that here, she knew she was safer here than anywhere else in the world. Or so she thought, her hand still twitched towards her weapon. When she saw the man Anna calmed a bit, she could feel an aura of good about him immediately. After analyzing him for a second, Annabelle gave a small smile and waved. "Well hello." Then she got to her feet still standing in the water. "I haven't seen another person out here all day." she added in a kind voice. Getting out of the water completely now, her feet welcomed the warm grass on the ground where she had been laying. It wasn't until now she noticed the water was very cold.
Seeing the slight twitch she had given at the sight of him he reached up behind him. Slowly he wrapped his fingers around the handle of his blade before unsheathing it. Effortlessly he spun the massive sword over his head before holding it perpendicular to his body. He wanted to show her that he was not a threat to her. Unwrapping his fingers from the handle he let the sword drop from his hand letting it fall to the ground. As the force of over a ton of blade hit the ground a thunderous crash rang out echoing through the tree. "Yeah not many people care for the outdoors much in heaven anymore. They all seem preoccupied with admiring the luxury cities allow them all."
Stiffing up as she watched him grab for his sword, she was unsure to what he was doing. Out of habit her nostrils flared as she thought about running, but waited another second to see his intentions. Once he dropped the sword Annabelle cocked her head slightly and then when he spoke she relaxed certain he was not a threat. His sword made the ground shake and made a thunderous noise, well it had been so quit that any noise was incredibly loud. Anna snickered at his comment, it was true, the kingdoms were swamped with people looking for excitement and fun. She had been a farm girl since she had been rescued many years ago, Thomas had his own farm and she did stay there with him for a very long time. "Well I think they are wonderful." she said softly looking up to the trees, "Heaven is quite a wonderful place in fact." she smiled at the thought.
"I have been to every corner of each kingdom and I always find myself returning to heaven. It will always be my home." Dropping the blindfold behind himself he sat down on the side of his sword. He would sit in the grass but he had forgotten to take off his dress uniform from an earlier engagement. "Enough about Heaven though. I would hate to meet a beautiful girl in the woods and bore her like that. I am Spada, it's nice to meet you."
Nodding, she realized he must have been around for a very long time. Though she wasn't really sure how long she herself had been around still he had obviously done quite a bit of exploring and living throughout his lifetime. "This is my first time here," she said sitting down on the grass as he sat on his sword. "That I can recall." Anna added pulling her legs up to her chest wrapping her arms around them. "It's not boring at all!" her eyes lighting up as she looked around once more, gazing at the beautiful forest. "Thank you. I am Annabelle, and it's a pleasure." Belle smiled looking over to him again. "You can call me any shortened version of the name."
"If I continued to talk about heaven like I was a tour guide though when you explored for yourself there would be no fun left." Also there would be no time for him to get to know her better. There was a small familiarity in her features that called to him. It didn't feel like a long lost friend but instead more like a fixture he had seen several times but never noticed when it went missing. He couldn't tell either if it was a face he had seen growing up that left to soon for him to tell or if he had passed her by later in life. Even if it was just a passing nothing he wanted to get to know her better anyway. It was rare to meet someone who enjoyed the forest these days. "Do you prefer Anna or Bella? Either name seems to work very well for you."
"Not entirely true, I haven't done too much exploring but knowing everything about it would not bother me a bit." Annabelle said with a light laugh. "But I guess you are right, I will have to go look and learn it all for and by myself." For a brief second she became home sick, and wanted so badly to return home, but stopped when she remembered there was really no home to return to. "Either works, Spada," saying his name seemed odd, he was very formal. "Whichever you prefer."
"Well Bella there are things here in heaven though that you have to experience them with no prior prejudice. The beauty is enough to take your breath away. Waterfalls so amazing they appear to be painted by the most skillful of artists hands." As he spoke he closed his eyes letting himself be taken away even for just that moment and enjoy the memories. "There are some places though that are shit holes and you should avoid like the plague." Even after twenty of the oldest humans lifetimes the place he was born was still left relatively untouched. People still fought each day just to make it to the next. Life had become so disgusting there when he was young it had taken him a hundred years just to buy a better life for his father.
Watching him carefully again she noticed the what sounded like angst, or pain, or something in his voice. "I can't wait to come across something like that." she said quietly referring to the waterfalls, mostly to herself. After he spoke of terrible places she was perplexed and confused, how could such a terrible place exist in heaven. However she didn't ask, it was obvious that whatever it was may have pained him and she couldn't bring herself to question him. "Bella is a new one. Most choose Anna, or just Belle." her bad attempt at changing the subject.
Spada stretched out his arms hoping that by some miracle the movement would give him something new to focus his mind on. It didn't do much good but luckily there was something new for him to focus his mind on. "I spend much of my time in Italy when I am away from Heaven. Bella is the Italian word for Beautiful." If there was ever anywhere he would call a second home Italy would be that place. He could spend just as much time there enjoying the foods and enjoying the sights as he could up here. He loved the place so much when he changed his name and joined the army he took on the Italian word for sword as his new name. "I feel that Bella is a fitting name for you."
Annabelle felt her face redden a bit, she wasn't used to compliments mostly because she kept to herself completely. "Thank you, Spada." she thought to herself for a second, Italy sounded nice and one day she would have to go. "Italy? What is it like there?" she asked wanting to know more. Spada was truly an interesting person, and he seemed to know so much that it really intrigued Annabelle. "One day we might have to travel together, because it sounds like you've been to some pretty amazing places."
Spada tilted his head and looked into the distance his eyes clearly focusing on something other than the trees. He could almost see the first small house he had spent the night in so many years ago. The smell of fresh bread baking in an open fire place filled his nose once again. His first night there was never supposed to happen. He was given a mission to get in and take out a clan of demons suspected of breaking the treaty of the originals. When he had arrived though he found nothing but a small gathering of families who welcomed him in with open arms. "While it was never home I could always find a place to take a step back and relax. There are beaches that seem to stretch into water so clear it looks like the sky above." Her next statement pulled him back to the forest, back to where he was sitting having a conversation with her. "If you ever want to go anywhere with me I would be more than happy to accompany you. I am old though so if I lose myself in memory you will have to pull me back to the present."
Annabelle watched him quietly and patiently as he looked as if he were drifting into a memory. She did not mind it because she often did it herself. There was not a day that passed she wished she could remember it all though that would really give her peace of mind, but she always figured if she traveled long enough then she would run in to someone who knew her in the "before". "Italy sounds very lovely." she said under her breath trying to imagine a gorgeous beach, with crystal clear blue water, and just miles of water and sand. "It's okay, I often find myself thinking about the past as well. Although probably not as much of a past compared to yours, but a past full of memories all the same."
"It's no fun having to many memories sometimes. I mean right now I am sitting here talking to you about places and drifting away. It's this bubbling brook I swear. They are nice to enjoy for a moment but to long and us old people will fall asleep." Spada held his hands out in front of himself a second before images appeared in the air in front of him. Each image looked like a recording of varies parts of the woods. "We can stay here and enjoy this beautifully boring trickle of water until I fall asleep of old age, or I could show you some of my favorite spots in the woods. Each of these images you see are a real time shot of the places they are showing."
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