Mercy visibly softened at his second sentence, moving slightly closer to him again. "Alright... I believe you. I most definitely know her, and dislike is not a strong enough word to describe our relationship." She huffed, moving closer to him once more so she could still be... slightly annoying. "Alright, tell me the story of your suffering."

HOW CAN SHE GET CLOSER. she is literally on top of him XD!))

-

"Oh good, here's a stronger word. Hate. I most definitely, 100 percent sure hate her." Ajax muttered angrily, smoke starting to curl up off of his shoulders again. This time, though, it wasn't from him trying to be annoying. It was thicker and darker and came in puffs, more like smoke from a newly built fire. "Well, since you asked. Take your mind back to the stone ages when I had just got recruited to hell..." he paused with a faint smile. "Okay, like, a decade or two ago. I had just gotten my first assignment and just decided every demon was an idiot and I would never listen to anyone again. I was walking in... Wyoming I believe, hiking through the mountains without using my gloriously dark wings because I didn't need to. I was still feeling depressed about, ya know, dying, so I was hiking because that was one of the things I loved to do when I was still alive. When I got to the top of one of the mountains I sat down with a heavy sigh and started at the landscape below. I heard a whoosh of wings and whirled with alarm as one of the higher ranking demons swooped down, punching me in the face and successfully knocking me off the mountainside. Since I didn't real,y want to die a second time, I figured out I could flare my wings in mid flight, slowing my momentum till I was flying in midair then going right back up. I immediately got angry, flying back up and shoving him back then heatedly asking why he did that. The demon said that Satan had decided, since I didn't follow his law, I would get the worst punishment to a demon imagineable." Ajax stopped with a slight eyebrow raise. He seemed very reluctant to say this, and he knew he would probably get a horrified look from Mercy and possibly more, but he had already started. "They sentenced me to their own eternal judgement. The thing most demons hate the most is love, so they put a curse on me that any Angel or demon who saw me would... well, not fall in love with me but immediately like me, or see the outside me and never the inside. They would try to get close but never care about how I really felt or what was actually going on in my brain. Then he beat me up enough to almost kill me, and left me thinking about how I was doomed to that for the rest of eternity. Well, it may not have been such a bad thing because love is amazing if you ask most people, but anyone who sees me don't really care about me, they care about what I look like, so for years after that I never really got real love but just husks of people who only wanted to be near me because they liked what I looked like. For years I rotted away and thought about that one disobedient thing that ruined my whole, cough, second life. Shiloh was one of the first *victims*. She was flying around while I walked, smoldering below, and she decided to check out the smoke for I DONT KNOW WHY reason. Again, the curse worked, and at that time I was too, oh I don't know, meek to hurt anyone. She just kept pressing to talk to me and be near me, and when she finally just hopped in my lap, I knew I would rather die 50 times over then endure the mental pain here. That was the first time I actually *hurt* someone, not on purpose really but I just snapped and fled. Shiloh got a few bruises from falling onto the ground. Ever since I have been guarded and haven't let anyone come near me... especially woman... because I was afraid something like that, would happen again. Goose and Rooster were my only friends, but even they don't know. When I met you, I had, by that time, figured out how to kinda control my curse. I kept it all trapped inside, and if I never really *liked* you, it wouldn't work. Very soon I began realizing that would be more difficult than I imagined, but for some reason, when I finally couldn't hold the shell up any longer... I could tell the curse most DEFINITELY didn't take hold on you. It doesn't affect you, for some reason. In any case, I am terribly sorry for not sharing this before and will gladly leave and never return if you desire, because I do feel bad. I would never want to hurt you, Mercy, mentally or physically..." Ajax trailed off and stared at the window, not saying anything else. Great, he just lost another friend to something he couldn't control.

I DUNNO MY BRAIN JUICE ISNT WORKING XD))

Mercy nodded in agreement with a small snicker. "Something we can agree on, for sure." She gently swatted the smoke away from him with a smile. She looked up at him with the same intent gleam in her eyes that she always got when he told her a story. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as he began. "I didn't know you died that long ago." She murmured, smiling as he continued. "Right, depressed Ajax wandering around in Wyoming. Not hard to believe at all." She teased, her smile slowly turning to a frown as his story continued. She raised her eyebrows in slight confusion at his pause, and tilted her head empathetically when he continued. "Oh. I'm sorry." She chimed quietly, her thoughts half occupied about what that meant for her. She had always thought she had a pretty good grasp on his feelings, likes, dislikes. His personality. Was she wrong? She shuffled slightly as he continued, smiling faintly when he spoke about Shiloh. "I promise you, she deserved every bruise she got." She joked halfheartedly, softening at his next sentence. She tilted her head as he started talking about her, a small, warm smile growing on her face. "Ajax..." She paused, then sat up and gave him a genuine hug, rather than just having her arms draped around him. "That's really, really sweet. And, why would I ever send you away because of something neither of us can control?" She soothed softly.

Ajax's eyes smoldered with a dark, deep sadness that he had never exposed before. As Mercy gave him a hug, they flicked over to her. "My only guess is it didn't work on you because you are the most pure at heart Angel I've ever met... or, for that matter... the purest Angel, demon, or human I've ever met." He murmured with a hoarse voice, his shoulders sagging slightly as he looked back out the window. "Sweet?" He gave a dry laugh that held no joy. "It has completely ruined me, and I can't do anything about it." Ajax's voice was almost a whisper now as he glanced at Mercy, a deep hurt showing in his eyes that exposed decades of scars and suffering. "I hate feeling powerless, but that's exactly what I am in the devils big game. Nothing but a pawn on his board to be punished and discarded. Just given a never ending curse that kept everyone away from me for the rest of eternity, until I finally go insane and kill myself. It is terrible to think about, is it not?" He asked, looking at Rex this time and avoiding Mercy's gaze.

You really hit the low spot in Ajax's life lol())

That turned dark real quick lol))

Mercy lifted her head to look at him as he spoke. She swallowed and attempted to hold herself together. "I find that hard to believe, but thank you." She nodded, keeping him in her embrace since he seemed like he most definitely needed it. "...I don't think you're ruined. You're pretty perfect, to me. Just a little annoying." She said softly, attempting to lighten his mood. "You aren't powerless, Ajax. What could be more satisfying than finding a way around Satan when he thinks he's almighty? That's what you did with me. And as for the rest of eternity, I'm here. I always will be. You can try, but I won't let you go insane." She teased, her voice softening slightly. "It is." She nodded quietly, watching him intensely. She wanted so badly to help him, but for once in her career, she didn't know how.

AHAAAA MERCY DOESNT KNOW HOW TO HELP AJAX IS DOOOOMED))

-

Ajax had never cried before, and he would never, but he felt quite low right now. -Just five minutes ago you were annoyed at Mercy. Now she is the one Angel who thinks you're not a pile a crap waiting to be thrown out- He thought, swallowing down anger and regret. "If I would have never told you that you would have never described me as perfect..." Ajax mumbled with a little grin, but it was much more lifeless than normal, and there was no spark in his dark blue eyes as he thought about the thing he had avoided for so long. "I have a feeling you will drive me faster to insanity..." He attempted a half-hearted joke, looking at the floor with a sigh. Rex took that moment to get up silently and hop up on the couch next to them. Since the giant dog weighed more than Ajax did himself, it probably wasn't good for the couch to have two enormous beasts on it. Rex leaned over and flopped into a down with a long, heavy sigh that mimicked Ajax's almost perfectly, laying his big head on the only part of Ajax's chest that wasn't covered by Mercy. He whined a little, blinking his big, dopey eyes.

Yeeeeeeaaaah probably xD))

"If you didn't look quite so pitiful, I wouldn't have. Your head might've gotten too big if I told you the truth." Mercy teased gently, leaning back to give him a surveying look. She gave the smallest of scoffs and a nod. "That might be true, actually." She joked quietly, gently reaching one hand up to cup his cheek and turn his head toward her. "Hey. You're a good person, Ajax. Nothing is ever going to change that. No curse, no demon, no superior power. You're you, and that's more than enough." She gave him a small smile and leaned forward to press her lips to his forehead gently.

Ajax's eyes creased slightly as a smile barely threatened to tug at his lips. "Might be true?" He asked quietly, but didn't argue more. Which should be concerning, because if Ajax didn't argue or tease or joke... he was either seriously I'll or serverely depressed. His eyes flitted towards Mercy when she pretty much pushed his head to force him to look at her. He listened to what she said, letting out a very, very slow breath. "I don't know whether to flinch because you are still too close or find it funny that you still are sitting on my lap after that story." Ajax finally spoke with a slight smile, his eyes twinkling slightly.

"It might be." Mercy smiled, giving him a concerned look. She rolled her eyes at him and quickly got off of him, sitting with Rex instead. In all honesty, she had almost forgotten that she had been sitting casually in his lap. "Right, sorry. I won't get close again." She scoffed.