“This can be considered trespassing.”

“Shhh.”

She ignored his remarks, once again.

Lykaios’ jaws twisted into a scowl, feeling apprehensive. As much as he knew there would be no serious repercussions, he did not have fond memories of stepping into the territory of another demon. Yet he still followed her lead, which was firm and composed. She knew her way well through this forest, thanks to her attentive watch when she had crossed it. She didn’t feel tired, not even if they had hurried through, a long journey from her cabin.

She narrowed her eyes, seeing at last one of her objectives. She commanded, serious.

“First things first.” She looked back at him, nodding forward at the huge blockage of branches in the path. “Give me a hand here, will you?”

Lykaios scoffed, obliging grumpily. He broadened his big hairy shoulders, passing by her side.

“The great hunter can’t cut herself some scrawny branches…”

“They are not scrawny.” She knocked on one firmly, proving she would spend hours taking them down, even with a big axe. “I need you here.”

“And for what?” He let out a frustrated breath, laughing. “Clearing some dirty roads isn’t the most heroic and helpful thing you could do.”

She smiled. Lykaios tore down the tangled blockage efficiently, by just laying his big claws on them and letting himself stand on his hind legs, pressuring them until they broke with his weight. She clapped her hands, rubbing them with satisfaction.

“It is heroic, you blind old cat.” She motioned with her arms around her, to the dark forest. “You can’t see the whole picture here!”

He let out a sigh, because she ran ahead again, having a lot in mind. By the time he caught up fully with her pace, they reached another batch of inconveniences: a lot of rotten trunks on the path. He decided to move them before she could boss him around. And before he could demand some thankful words, she was running ahead again.

“This human is going to be the end of me.”

Yet he followed, biding every single wish she had.

The next time he managed to stand beside her, they stood in an intersection. He sniffed the rotten remains of what once was a sign post, which didn’t have comprehensible directions anymore. The tallest wooden arrow hung loosely, broken in half with humidity.

“What makes you think he will agree to this?”

“He doesn’t have to.” She took out a hammer and some wood from her bag, ready to do the only task Lykaios couldn’t help her with. “I know this is the right thing to do.”

“How can you know for sure? Yes, you will be allowing travelers to roam these paths with ease again, and you’ll do a good deed in the eyes of humans in both neighboring regions. But that might not be his wish. You are exposing his home to everyone; you are exposing him, to the very humans you know to be biased.”

“I know he longs to see his inn be useful again; I know it pains him to see it empty. I know he is as dedicated as me, I’ve seen it. Humans may have… given him a hard time when his family passed, but I know things will be different now.”

“He is still a demon, nothing changed. People will avoid this inn like the plague; no one will risk falling asleep with such host.”

“You forget something.” She smiled wide, blue eyes glinting with pride. “He’s not alone anymore.”

People stayed when Uriel had his family around, a loving and kind couple. She was sure that travelers would have enough reasons to stay with what they would assume a snarky human, and a very confident promoter.

“You are hopeless.”

“Hope is all I have!”

She let down her hammer again, satisfied to see the base of the new sign stand firm. She pointed forward and yelled for him to obey.

“Go around and take down any branches that loom darkly! We have a lot of work to do!

He obeyed, with a hidden amused smirk.

—————————————–

“You stole what?”

“It is only a book.”

“A very expensive one.”

“Why do you care?” She took said book out of her bag, and then placed it down on the ground. “Godric will never figure out that a book is missing from their personal library.”

“If they do, you can consider yourself fired.” He brushed a nail along the delicate pages, noting how old the thing was. “It must cost a lot of gold nowadays. It has a lot of spells written.”

“Yes.” He leaned his head away, because she quickly pushed the pages, searching for something. “And I know the perfect spell for the occasion.”

She slammed her hands down on the book, finally finding what she wanted him to read. His red eyes slowly scanned the page, and slowly, but surely, a frown grew on his face. He looked up at her again and whispered accusingly.

“I was baffled when you told me to bring some tree seeds. Now I know why you wouldn’t tell me what they were for.”

“You’ll do it, right?”

He glared hatefully at the book. In it, a spell, designed to help give life to plants, thanks to a transfusion of energy. He met her eyes, and gave his answer.

“No way am I learning a spell so similar to what that wench did.”

Ayako yelped, because the big demon swung up and gave her his back, refusing entirely to acknowledge the book.

“Oh, Lykaios, please!” She pointed at herself, now nervous. “I know you hate this kind of incantations, but I need you!”

“I’m sure Uriel can do without a little inch of green in here.”

“But it would make this forest look less grim! It would be inviting to travelers!”

“Even if I do plant the seeds, and make them spur to life out the ground, they will still take years to grow fully.”

He shook his huge mane strongly. Ayako watched the seeds fall out from in between his hair, having been hidden and carried there from his greener territory. He kicked some dirt onto them, as if to affirm his remarks.

“Bury them. You can do that. They will grow.”

“No they won’t.” She kneeled and took them in her hands before he could throw more dirt on top of them. She pouted up at him, angry. “Nothing grows here anymore. This terrain needs a little push forward. I need you to give it that push.”

“I won’t. Forcing life to appear so unnaturally is not my style; I would never reduce myself to her level. You plant them, you never know.”

“If I plant them, the seeds will never sprout. Stop being so stubborn, you are not like her. You can learn a spell in minutes, you’re a smart demon.”

“Implying that demons are generally dumb?”

“No.” She stood up harshly. Then she pointed at herself, yelling. “I’m saying that I can’t learn any spells, even if would love to!”

They both glared, knowing well humans couldn’t contain any magic in them. It was proven time and time again, for ages.

Lykaios sighed and softened his glare. Her hurt frown lessened, when he neared the book again.

“Let me see what I can do.”

She smiled, thankful.

——————————-

 

“You’re cornered.”

The queen moved again. He watched as his loyal tower was pushed out the battle ground, leaving the king with no options. Down or up, left or right, every single move would leave him at the mercy of the queen in the next turn. A smirk grew on Uriel’s face, because Alexis seemed to grow uninterested in the match because of that. And so, the demon moved the queen right into one of those squares that would lead to Alexis’ defeat. The angel began to chat mindlessly, not even looking at the king.

“You know, you looked funny carrying a chessboard all the way here from your manor. You did not even bother to try to squish it into your bag.”

Of course, Uriel was quick to take Alexis’ demeanor as a sign to end the battle, and moved the queen one square away from Alexis’ king.

“Checkmate.”

Alexis glanced at the board again. The queen was inches away from the king, looming with menace.
Uriel was smiling contently, until Alexis grabbed a nearby pawn and slid it into the square the queen was at. The demon watched baffled as Alexis grabbed the white queen and toyed with it, to then throw it out into the box with all the black pieces Uriel had taken out.

“I thought you were bored and wanted to get it over with.”

“Never, ever, forget the pawns, Uriel.” He pointed at his demon with a finger, amused. “It’s the small details that decide it all.”

Uriel snorted, looking at the board.

“Well, it’s not like I’m going to lose anyway.”

Alexis gave him a blank stare, noting that he only had a pawn and the king, while Uriel still had most of his little army. The angel quickly straightened his pose, faking a cough.

“It doesn’t matter; it’s the small victories that count.”

Uriel kept smiling, while looking smugly to the ceiling of the cabin.

“Says the one who usually loses.”

Alexis let out a small growl, and pushed all the pieces off the board, to then begin to place one by one back into their original squares. Below on the ground, a bored rabbit began to munch a helpless bishop.

“You keep on talking; I still win from time to time. It’s not like I haven’t shown you who’s boss, or-” He looked up, sensing a change of mood. His demon was looking at a wall, slightly tense. “Uriel?”

The demon did not answer right away. Alexis asked again, feeling slight concern.

“Is something wrong?”

Uriel’s eyes narrowed, suspiciously.

“Nothing is wrong, but something feels… strange.”

Alexis did not understand. He snatched away the bishop from the merciless paws of his rabbit, and then inquired more.

“What, left something in the fire?”

Uriel shook his head, knowing well that he had not forgotten any food when they had eaten outside; he always made sure to extinguish the fires they made in the clearing.

“No. It is something I’ve not felt for a long time. Something ticklish.”

“Ticklish?” Alexis was giving him a blank smirk, shaking the chess piece in his hand. “Are you trying to build up some type of joke or something? ‘Cause I don’t get it.”

Uriel did not look like he was joking. He was serious, somewhat distracted. He was not looking at his angel, but away.

“I feel a strange echo in my mind, from the frail connection I keep in one of my armors.”

Alexis blinked, taken aback.

“Uriel, are you seriously saying that you keep one of those things awake?”

Controlling those armors was very tiring, and not easy. To do so, so far from his manor, was something only a lunatic would do in Alexis’ eyes. Uriel shook a hand, explaining without looking at him.

“It’s not fully sentient. I keep a light tie with one, right by the manor’s doors, for me to be sure of my manor’s safety. I can only feel slight dissonance around it. You can never know if some bandits might intrude in my absence.”

“You live in the most intimidating forest around, which is the worst place to travel in. I really doubt bandits would want to take it as their headquarters, considering how far of town it is.”

“But thieves can still think of snatching some valuables.” Uriel sighed, already concerned with the thought. “I gave you the key of your room, yet you didn’t take your old armor. It is partly made of gold, a memory, but you did not bother to take it back here.”

Alexis glanced at his room in the cabin, now full of tools.

“A chessboard? Okay. A clunky old chest plate? No, thanks.” He leaned back onto his chair, making it tip on two legs. “The tools I took from that room are useful, couldn’t return without them.”

Uriel was not listening to him anymore. Alexis sighed, because Uriel lifted a hand and interrupted.

“I need to check what’s going on there, something has moved near the armor. I’ll be right back; surely it is nothing but a mouse.”

“You’ll freak out if it’s a mouse.”

To Alexis’ disappointment, Uriel did not hear that last jab. Those eyes had glinted, then sharpened, and now were engulfed in a dim but bright violet light. So, Alexis knew he could comment to himself, sure that Uriel could not focus and hear it.

“You are too noisy, Aya.”

He knew she was lurking somewhere around there. She had murmured something about helping Uriel when she left the clearing to return to her village. He knew what she was plotting, but he wouldn’t try to stop Uriel from seeing her trespass.

—————–

“Just one more.”

She lifted another one in her hands, with a huff. She balanced the empty wooden box in her grip, not faced by its heaviness. She turned around and faced the dark corridor. Slowly, she began to carry the wooden box back to the entrance of the manor. She had intruded into Uriel’s home, and had taken away three boxes and a barrel.

“It’s not stealing, Ayako. It is not.” She had to keep telling herself that. She snorted, rolling her eyes while marching through. “Uriel is not going to miss some empty dusty boxes.”

But she still had opened the manor’s doors, after having entered through a nearby window. She was setting foot, unannounced, uninvited, behind his back. And she was taking away something, even if with little value.

“It’s for his own good.”

It was. Maybe in a sneaky way, but it was.

Ayako had at first peeked through every turn when she had carried the first box, but now she was less wary of being caught. She soon left the basement floor, again walking in more decorated hallways. She passed by multiple armors, each in the same place where she had seen them. Except one.

She halted her steps. Ahead, in an intersection of four corridors, stood an armor, right in the middle. It had not been there when she had ventured in, yet there it stood now. It was not preventing her of going ahead, for it was near the wall and leaving enough space, but it was still facing her in the path. She would’ve said it was her imagination, if not for the eerie violet glow in the dark. The armor had eyes, even if not real ones. And they were fixed right on hers.

He was looking at her. And she knew.

“Hi, Uriel.”

There was no fear in her voice. Maybe there was some shame. The armor did not move, but the eyes did. She glanced as well at the box in her hold, frowning with an embarrassed smile.

“Well, I could very well drop to the floor red faced; I didn’t think I would get caught stealing from you.”

Funny; I didn’t think I would drop to my knees, arrow struck, when you caught me in here keeping an angel from you .

Those were words he didn’t voice, thanks to the armor’s silence. Overall, there was only silence. Ayako had tensed, not quite knowing what to say. The black armor wasn’t moving much, it looked like a shadow in the darkness ahead of her; only its helmet moved, to glance at her with what seemed wonder. After a tense while, the puppet moved under her nervous stare. It walked forward, towards her, until it was face to face with her.

Ayako looked up to Uriel, he looked back at her. Her hands lifted a little more when the gauntlets took a grip of the box she carried, slowly and gently. She commented, glancing down sadly.

“I was going to put its wood to good use. Some paths could use some extra signs and fences.”

The armor, of course, said nothing. It took the box from her and kept it in its tight hold. Ayako expected Uriel to take it back where it was, but he had other plans. She blinked when the armor turned away, towards the main hall, towards the entrance. She followed, baffled, seeing Uriel open the doors, walk down the steps and stand by the boxes she previously carried out. He lowered the box with the others, and turned to look at her again. The armor had a stance that looked inquiring, but in a kind way. She fidgeted under that stare, entranced in those eyes, unnatural but familiar. There was the same amiability she had seen in the demon, in the flesh.

“Should I interpret your stare as a go ahead?” The armor nodded, even moving an arm sideways to motion at the gates. She frowned. “Not even when against your word, you yell in anger. You do not stop surprising me with your selflessness.”

To her surprise, Uriel managed to joke; the armor leaned, raised a finger to its helmet, and tapped on its mouth, reminding lightly of its muteness. She laughed silently, and quickly grabbed a nearby hammer. He watched while she dismantled the boxes and barrel, taking the materials. She gave him a sad look, as she confessed her plans.

“I am going to show you, you don’t have to be alone.”

He watched her run through the gates, leave, too tired to follow her pace with his puppet.

———————–

He opened his eyes again.

His vision was foggy for a few seconds, he didn’t recognize his surroundings at first; but there was no mistaking where he was, not with the snarky remark that soon came.

“Let me guess, you didn’t have the guts to tell her off.”

Uriel laid a claw on his eyes, wincing with a mild headache. Though, he did not know if it was caused by his spell, or his annoying angel.

“My puppets don’t have guts, or lips with which to yell. So no, I did not force her out of my home.”

“Typical of you. Did you even gift her some flowers as she messed with your things?”

Uriel glared at him, not really angry.

“There are no flowers there.” He sighed, standing up. Alexis was now lying on his bed, arms behind his head, mindlessly looking at the ceiling, with no care for his questions. “Did you plot this with her? Is this why she left the very same day we came back here?”

Alexis grumbled, not interested.

“Uriel, why do you always growl at the wrong tree? I did not plot anything with her; I am not the one messing around with an old manor.” He shrugged, yawning. “I just let her go, not really caring what she would do with your land.”

“You talked with her here, deciding to not tell me, of course. You knew.”

“I’m not your secretary, Uriel.” Alexis plopped onto his side, glancing at his demon. “I knew you would figure it out, so I gave her some time, to even things out. Things will turn out alright.”

“So you agree with what she is doing?”

“You do, more than I. If you didn’t agree, you would be there now, stopping her, instead of arguing with me.”

Uriel was silenced with those words. The conversation was over, and there was no interest in the forgotten chessboard anymore. The demon could not say or do anything; the angel decided to sleep their worries away.