A soft comforting breeze flowed by. The wind traversed through the deep forest, its sound echoing while it coursed between leaves. A sound anyone would find nice to pay mind to, as it was accompanied by the singing of birds.

A man felt the breeze caress his shoulders, softly; yet he refused to stop what he was doing. The surrounding landscape would be beautiful, if it were not for the ruin that tainted it. He held his shovel more tightly, and dug more strongly into the rubble that piled next to a small cave. He was working diligently, even if tired, even if there was too much. There was a cliff looming over him, broken and torn. Everything around him looked like if had been clawed at. In a sense, it had been. There was no trace of sharp rotten vines anymore, yet the aftermath of their presence was clear: the once beautiful clearing, where he once made his life, was in disarray; it was barely restored by his hard work and persistence.

Alexis sighed and pulled his shovel back; then, once he threw the stones away, allowed himself to brush the sweat off his forehead. He was not the only one disrupting the peace of the forest. There was someone else, nearby. His amber eyes looked sideways, subtly, and caught perfectly the movements of someone above. There was a tall figure at the top of the huge cliff, shadowed by stone and debris. No one would have recognized said figure, but he did. He sighed and muttered sadly, all to himself.

“Uriel… There’s no need for that, I told you.”

The demon above did not answer him. Uriel kept moving stone with his bare hands, one by one, in hopes of allowing the water to flow down the broken cliff, like it had done once.

It would take a long time to make the river course down onto the clearing again; it was something Alexis did not need, yet Uriel kept trying to achieve. Both were working, not really needing to. There was no hurry or need; Alexis was not human, he would never get sick in the cold nights. He really did not mind to sleep out of the cave, which was now blocked. He did not mind walking more to reach the river either, as he would gladly stroll for hours to reach a nearby lake. He was an angel, a being far too powerful to suffer what a mortal would.

What they were doing, was just to avoid something: address something far more dreadful than a damaged hideout.

Nothing was the same. It had not been for a long time. But some days ago it became far more obvious.

They both contained their breaths, because some familiar steps echoed into the clearing. Both looked to the surrounding bushes, timidly, and both tensed when they saw her. Their dread vanished fast from their eyes, and was quickly exchanged by other emotions. While Alexis smiled tiredly at her, Uriel walked slowly out of sight above them, almost reluctantly. Ayako noted their reactions, but refused to show any apprehension for it. She kept walking calmly towards the cave, with a trace of a smile. She knew perfectly that her presence caused their tension, but she knew at the same time that it would be worse to turn back and leave.

Human and angel finally looked at each other, face to face, somewhat awkwardly. Ayako looked up for a second, wishing she was not only speaking to one of them. Once she realized that the demon would not even show himself, she spoke to the blond with a little timid laugh.

“I brought dinner.”

Alexis looked down when she outstretched her hands, which held a small bag. After staring for a second, he commented tiredly, not really uncomfortable next to her.

“Hope you don’t have any critter in there…”

She almost rolled her eyes, but decided to joke lightly instead.

“No, I haven’t hunted any cute rabbits, don’t you worry. I know well you don’t like that kind of diet.” Her hand dug into the bag and took out a couple of things, for him to check out. “Got some mushrooms. I also used your net to get some fish. Do you want to take a break, and… I don’t know, eat?”

She was tilting her head, trying really hard to convince him to stop working, to make him rest. Her persuasive stare worked, because Alexis looked away from her eyes with a silent groan, and then whispered reluctantly between his teeth with a tired frown.

“You won’t stop looking at me until I do, so I guess I have no choice.”

She snickered, like if some villainous plan of hers had gone smoothly. She twirled around and began to walk towards the center of the clearing, speaking more proudly.

“I haven’t wasted my time getting food just for you to reject it now. I want to be useful as well, you know.” She hid her worry for his past reluctance in her smile, scolding playfully instead. “So sit and eat, before I force you to.”

The angel shook his head with a small smile, and then began to follow her calmly. Before he stepped closer to the fire she was trying to light, he looked up, with one of his thick eyebrows raised. The human managed to light the fire quickly. When she looked back, she noticed that he was looking up at nothing. Instead of telling him to stop zooning out, she understood perfectly. Her faint smile faded a little, and her expression filled with serene concern as she whispered quietly.

“He’s not having dinner with us again, huh?” Alexis finally looked down, and saw her staring sadly at the small flames. “I wonder if he will eat anything at all.”

Alexis could see the worry in her blue icy eyes. His own amber ones were full of it as well, but they had a different kind of dread. Ayako did not move when he sat slowly and calmly at her side by the fire, or look at him when he spoke carefully.

“I don’t like it either, but there’s no way he will change his mind; not for now anyway.” They had tried to stop Uriel from isolating himself, for many nights already. It was not easy when all he did was shy away from both. “He will eat, alone. And even if he doesn’t, he’ll be fine. He’s a demon.”

Ayako did not answer; she just kept staring at the flames. Only after a while did she say something, and it was a completely different matter, spoken with a monotone tone.

“Hand me my waterskin, would you? All that scavenging was tiring.”

Alexis blinked, taken aback by the change of topic. He reacted soon enough even if baffled, quickly grabbing and handing the water to her from her rucksack. Deep inside, he was grateful for her sudden request, now able to avoid the previous matter himself.

“Huh, sure.”

“Thanks.”

The exchange was fast and awkward. They did not find much else in mind that they could say, and both knew that anything would be too uncomfortable to acknowledge. They just sat in the center of the clearing, staring at the fire and the food, keeping quiet. All around them was ruin and gravel, and both knew that it would take many days to get rid of it. They knew well that these awkward whiles would not soon end.

Everything was a mess, quite literally. One could think that their worries were concerned with the state of this place hidden in the middle of the woods, given how much effort they put to clean it each long day. In reality, what made them dread were the emotions that crept inside them. And no one dreaded more than the one who lurked above, separated from the other two he cared about.

Uriel let out a silent sigh and finally looked away from them. His feet stepped away from the edge of the cliff slowly, while his boots brushed the droplets of water that tried to flow between ruin.

He could see the worry in those amber eyes, and the uncertainty in blue ones. He felt sorrow himself, but he wouldn’t dare approach more than necessary. He wished he could, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Like many other days, he ended up looking away and began to walk north. He headed slightly away, to leave them be.

The more steps the young demon took, the more trees towered over him. Soon enough, he couldn’t sense the presence of the human and angel anymore. On the other hand, he could finally feel the one who always watched in the shadows. The voice came again, monotone and somewhat disappointed.

“You certainly are more fearful than your angel. And that’s saying something.”

Uriel’s eyes narrowed, full of anger and frustration. He looked up from the ground and glared at the shadows, where he saw the outlines of the huge devil. The red eyes of the black beast were fixed on him, almost judging. He just scoffed and acknowledged the presence tiredly, but proudly.

“You’re crazy if you think that things will be quickly resolved and mended. If I do this, I must thread very carefully… Just like you do.”

Lykaios shook his long curly mane, more irritated than Uriel was, even if it didn’t show on his unemotional expression. He kept speaking to the younger demon with the patience of an elder, whispering through his sharp fangs.

“You will forever hold a grudge against me, I know. However, I suggest that you let it go. We may have to feign distrust and animosity for each other in front of her, but there is no reason for you to carry this hatred inside.”

Uriel’s claws and tail were clenched, shivering. He remembered perfectly the night in which Lykaios tried to end the life of his angel, just to keep her of knowing painful truths. Both demons were glaring, angrily, keeping their animosity inside. In the end, the older one spoke softly, to then walk even farther away from the clearing.

“I know you despise me; but I don’t return that feeling. I am quite thankful to you.”

Uriel’s claws unclenched, and a calmer breath escaped his lips. He saw Lykaios begin to walk deeper into the shadows, to leave him alone in the night. Before the feline could get out of sight, his droopy ears twitched, because he heard a faint reluctant whisper from Uriel.

“I’m thankful too. Just…”

Uriel couldn’t voice his conflicting thoughts, having too many in his mind. A faint smug smile grew on Lykaios’ maws, having enough with those words. He had sacrificed himself for Uriel to be alive. And even if Uriel still resented some of his actions, the young demon couldn’t deny he was grateful to him. Those violet eyes could not look at the scars, at the lack of long black tails; he could not let go of his fury, because it was the only thing keeping him from crumbling down. With his mind focused on his hate, Uriel could avoid the fear he felt, the dreadful beating of his heart. Ayako was truly the one who unsettled him the most.

Lykaios looked away from Uriel, and left him be alone with his painful thoughts. They all felt like they were living in dark days, yet knew the morning would come.