“Here’s a good spot.”

Alexis sighed, seeing them both stop at last. He let himself sit by a log, refusing to near the space that Uriel and Ayako deemed perfect to spend the night at.

“Finally…” He brushed his forehead, even though he was kind of exaggerating his tiredness. “I was beginning to think we would never stop.”

Ayako sent him a glare, rolling her eyes.

“Alex, you were complaining and whining, about how you would hate to spend the night in the eastern region, afraid and paranoid of possible roaming fiends. We just obliged and kept a faster pace to avoid that. We’re finally in Uriel’s territory; can’t you see the bright side for once?”

“The bright side?” Alexis smiled and eyed Uriel while he rubbed his stubble. He laughed and made himself comfortable against the log. “Now we can have dinner! Uriel, get to work!”

Uriel sent him a look, not really offended, but amused.

“And you say humans are entitled.”

Alexis stopped petting the rabbit that slept inside his bag, to point at Uriel.

“Your idea to drag me into this, your duty to provide me with food. You can’t have one thing without the other.”

Ayako commented while nudging Uriel, snickering.

“You really are bound, to the demands of your angel.”

“Indeed.” Uriel let the matter go, quickly snapping his fingers and summoning a small violet flame. “Let’s just make ourselves comfortable for the night. We have no hurry now.”

Ayako bit her lip. She was looking inside her rucksack, somewhat worriedly.

“Well, about that…” She lifted it up for Uriel to see its insides. There was only enough food for another day. “We may be in a hurry, if we don’t want to spend a day without a meal. I mean, we can manage, but-”

“A day without eating?” Alexis bounced up, quick to pale at the thought. “You sure there’s not enough!?”

She took out an apple, showing it to him with an awkward laugh.

“We can have some snacks, if we ration the fruit in slices.”

“Ugh.” He stood up and walked to her. Next, he crouched and rummaged through her rucksack, like if it was his. “I have two apples in my bag as well; I don’t need or want yours. Let me check if you’re hiding something tastier; it wouldn’t surprise me.”

He soon made a disgusted pout, sticking his tongue out, because he took out something he did not like to see. Ayako rolled her eyes while the angel slowly let down the piece jerky he took out, like if it was a muddy cloth. She asked, rather curiously.

“Have you ever tried meat anyway?”

“No thanks.” Alexis stood up and patted his clothes pridefully. “I have never, and I never will.”

“You love fish.”

“It’s different.”

“No, it’s not.”

Uriel joined, pointing out a few facts.

“In a logical point of view, it’s similar. However, he refuses meat from a traditional standpoint. According to him and his memory, there are no books written in his culture which forbid them of eating fish or seafood. He doesn’t refuse meat for its taste, but out of fear of angering the elders and his hypothetical deity.”

Ayako stared at Alexis, for a long while.

“Alex, I’ve seen many angels. You look like the least spiritual guy I’ve ever seen, including humans. Those old angels can’t even see you here; you could eat whatever you wanted. Heck, you usually shout curses left and right.”

Alexis crossed his arms, suddenly eyeing everything around him, warily.

“Oh, you’re right. I hate those stupid traditions and beliefs. Really hate them, I despise them. But…” He sighed, almost paranoid of being heard. “Something out there chose me. Something out there made me fall down here. Something has made me bite the dust, multiple times. Elders, and many angels, see signs of something lurking out there, watching. I have felt its fucking strings, toying with me and Uriel. I really doubt elders fake our traditions with some fancy spells. Whatever that thing has against me, I don’t want to give it more reasons to bring me bad luck. I’ve never been a lucky guy, so I try to keep what I scarcely have. I already spared my demon, something heretic, so let me at least do little things to keep the universe on my side. My curses are just a way to cope, sometimes.”

Ayako looked at Uriel, who strangely didn’t seem interested in his angel’s conspiracy theories.

“Uriel doesn’t seem to be as afraid as you are.”

The demon looked at them both, shrugging.

“If something exists, I don’t care. If it does, I can’t understand its true intentions. That entity tied my soul with Alexis, maybe intending to end my life. On the other hand, Alexis is the least dangerous angel that could ever be, so I’m confused as to why that thing sent him. There are two possibilities: One, that thing has a really complex plan for our lives, or two, it’s completely useless in fulfilling its malicious will. In any case, I don’t want to believe in any deities. I just roll with it, doing whatever makes my life better. Why should I worry if it doesn’t explicitly tell me what it wants from me? Its lack of presence denotes arrogance, from a supposed all-knowing and powerful being. The deity of angels wants demons gone, but I’m still here. It’s all too confusing for me to debate clearly.”

Uriel rolled his eyes, because Alexis dashed to his side, hushing him.

“Quiet, Uriel.” Alexis looked up to the sky, to the trees, to everything, back and forth, anxiously. “It can smell defiance. Don’t taunt it.”

While Uriel rambled, Ayako had been busy keeping their fire aflame. She snorted at how Alexis fidgeted; she spoke up, loudly.

“You know what; I think you shouldn’t worry about that thing. It doesn’t exist!” She bit onto the meat she still had, and with her mouth full, raised a fist to the sky. “Hey, spirit! If you exist, strike me with a big rainy storm! I’m eating meat, and I’m taunting you! Come on!”

Even if eating meat was only forbidden for angels, Alexis yelped and threw his hands to his head in alarm. Uriel merely held up a claw, waiting to see if any droplets would in fact fall. Alexis kept bracing himself for thunder, for a whole minute.

Nothing happened.

Ayako grinned, and kept munching on her meat, satisfied.

“See? Nothing!” She lied back in front of the fire, glad that there was not a single grey cloud above. “Do whatever you want, Alexis. I won’t try to make you change your beliefs, but I won’t be afraid to voice mine. That thing, I’m sure it’s just some kind of natural inner working of our worlds.”

Alexis growled, and then sat down in front of her. He began to question, sure of what he saw.

“It exists, even though I wish it didn’t. How can you explain that a crystal clear orb showed Uriel’s face, even though none of the elders had seen him to fake it?”

“I don’t know. Give me the orb; I’ll open it to figure it out.”

“Aya, are you serious? That orb is ancient, a relic… and you want to smash it open? Even if I could go back, I wouldn’t take it! It’s one of the most sacred things up there. I would be a dead man as soon as I set foot in its proximity!” He ruffled his hair, trying to find something that could make her understand his argument. “How can you explain a huge black void, which sent me here when I plunged into it?”

“A void? Is that how you came here?” Her eyes filled with interest, always curious. “I really would love to see it. I’m sure that with enough experimentation, we could come up with a logical explanation of its capability of transportation.”

“Aya, you’re not giving me any rebuttals; you’re just assuming these things could be natural, not acts from a deity.”

“You don’t have any way of proving that deity exists either. You hold the burden of proof. I am sure that with time, it could be explained with reason; I just lack the way to achieve it right now. Just like medicine nowadays, we can come to new conclusions, more advanced. Did you know that before, we thought bleeding out and using leeches were good treatments?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I didn’t. It’s an analogy.”

“Analogy my ass. Tell me, did you know that the use of leeches came because you humans began to ignore angels’ guidance? Our books hold a lot of information on medicine as well. And it works. It was advanced from the start. It had to come from somewhere.”

“Brains and reason. Repeat with me: The brain is a part of the body, which-”

“I know what a brain is. I have it. I know what reason is. You don’t.”

In between their bickering, Uriel found a chance to interfere. The demon leaned in between them, smiling nervously, offering a change of thought.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Both Ayako and Alexis stopped looking at each other, as soon as Uriel raised his claws with something in them: food. “Do you want some?”

Uriel was holding the last salted fish they had, and some sliced fruit, which the men had given them. Alexis quickly snatched the fish, letting her have the slices.

“This is the last thing we have other than fruit they gave us, right?”

Uriel nodded a little, but quickly tried to dismiss it.

“It’s the last. But that gives you more reason to enjoy it now, no?”

“Hmrr.” Alexis munched on the fish, sitting cross-legged. “If we had some way to get more… That would be great.”

Alexis kept eating, thinking to himself. While he complained mentally, Uriel sat near Ayako, joining her by the fire. Demon and human began to chat mindlessly while they ate, whilst he stared at the distance. His amber eyes glinted after some time, because of one thought. His worries faded as soon as he realized something. He spoke up, gone his grumpy expression.

“Uriel.”

His demon looked back at him, attentive as ever.

“Yes?”

Alexis was not looking at him. He was looking north, with an unreadable look on his face.

“How many days did you say we would take to get out of your territory and close enough to my clearing?”

“Hmm…” Uriel counted, taking into mind that they did not have to escort any humans now. “Just a day and a half.”

“And we would have to be really careful of rationing the fruit to have enough to eat, right?”

“Yes. What are you trying to say?”

Alexis’ eyes narrowed. Uriel grimaced when his angel said the next words.

“Your manor is not far.”

Uriel nodded, very slowly, almost sorely. His violet eyes were now serious, even offended.

“It is not; but that does not matter. We will reach your clearing, without need of changing direction.”

“Your manor is right there, just a few hours. We’re running out of food, and we will have to sleep in the open.” Alexis stared at Uriel, noting how tense he was now. “If we go there, we will be able to stay for as long as we need, with food and a roof over our heads. We will even be able to refill our waterskins, with plenty of water.”

Uriel showed his fangs non-menacingly, saying each word slowly.

“Alexis, we’re not going to my manor.”

Ayako got into the conversation, doubting to do so.

“Why not?”

Uriel gave out a silent growl, all the while turning to look at her with a pained grimace.

“Because I say so. And that’s it.”

He dropped his harsh expression, realizing he had spoken severely to her. Ayako was not offended, but did show concern for his sudden apprehension. She had come to realize that they could be fine one moment, and suddenly lash out in hurt. Uriel stammered for a moment, trying to find words with which to apologize with.

“It’s just…” He shook his head, looking at her with more kind eyes. “My recent memories of that place are not pleasant, ok? I’m sorry.”

Ayako and Alexis said nothing when Uriel stood up. The demon grabbed his own bag, and took out a bedroll.

“It’s late. We should rest.”

Alexis just nodded, while Uriel moved a little away from them and went to sleep. Ayako glanced at Alexis, asking silently what could have ever happened to get this kind of resentment out of Uriel, but the angel refused to tell her.

Alexis remembered how much he feared, hurt and mourned in that place. He remembered the first time he awoke there, trapped. He remembered the time he laid in bed, bleeding with the recent loss of his wings. He remembered the time when Uriel threatened him with his own sword, benevolent even if hurtful. He had hurt in that place, more than one time. He had left last time, bowing to not come back. But he was over it; he wanted to let it go. However, Uriel did not seem to be able to forget, for he was the one to cause it all.

The three went to sleep, not addressing what had suddenly transpired.

———————————————————–

“She always suggests mixing spicy and strong herbs in every treatment.”

“You got to be kidding. Even with people with sore throats?”

“I wish I was joking, Alex.” Ayako kept chatting with Alexis while they walked, killing time. “Cecilia has always been… direct, to say something. Some strong herbs can and do help, but at the cost of the comfort of the sick. She has never had problems with that though.”

Alexis pointed a finger at her, grinning mockingly.

“You have no second thoughts about messing with my scars either, may I remind you. It also is annoying.”

Ayako swatted his finger down with a pout, quick to retort.

“Do you think I would touch them if I had another way of dealing with them? Let me magically apply the saps, with no hands!”

While they bickered again, neither paid mind to Uriel. The demon was walking ahead of them, guiding through the paths they had taken to get the men to their destination. Neither Alexis nor Ayako noticed how Uriel suddenly stopped, after having led for hours through the dark forest.

His violet eyes closed, seeing a familiar small intersection. At last, Ayako and Alexis stopped walking, once they erased the distance between them. They both blinked in confusion, because Uriel was saying nothing, standing there without looking at them.

“Uri?” She asked, confused by how he was looking into the distance. “Is something wrong?”

Uriel took a while to answer. He kept looking at the path, at the small stones that once had been a road. There was a small sign at the side near some trees, which was broken and fallen, an old reminder of other times. The breeze was cold; the wind was pushing his hair back slightly. His tail dragged along the ground, mimicking his inner thoughts. He answered, slowly and calmly, but with a trace of doubt in his words.

“No. Everything is fine.”

Ayako and Alexis raised an eyebrow and exchanged looks, not too sure he had said the truth. They still followed when Uriel began to walk again. He had been more or less silent since they woke up, and they had decided to not argue with him.

Soon enough, they saw Uriel get to the center of the intersection. They grew even more wary, because Uriel turned right, instead of left. They had come from the left path, and he had taken the opposite direction now, one that did not head towards the green forest they knew.

Alexis was the first to voice his concern. He halted and coughed to take his demon’s attention.

“Hey, Uriel.” The demon turned to look back. Alexis moved an arm and pointed over his shoulder, with a small lean of head. “The way back is over there. Are you still asleep?”

Uriel shook his head, deadly serious.

“No, I’m not.” He turned and ignored his angel. “I know exactly the way I’m going.”

Alexis blinked. He looked back, and forth. His eyes widened, soon filled with realization.

“You don’t mean…”

He remembered this intersection now. He knew where they would end if Uriel kept heading this way. Ayako had her suspicions and quickly interjected, concerned.

“Where are you going?”

Uriel looked at her, softly. His voice grew tired, even resigned.

“We, we are going. I’m taking you to my manor.”

Ayako did not cheer. In fact, she tensed, noting how Uriel did not seem to enjoy the idea, even though he looked sure of his words.

“Why?”

Uriel opened his mouth, looking north. Again, he only spoke after letting out a long sad sigh.

“Why?” He pointed at Alexis with a claw, who looked as confused as Ayako was. “Alexis has a point. We need food. We would do better with a roof over our heads. It’s cold out here. We will go to my manor, but only for a night, enough to get everything we need and get some rest. Then, we will leave, without question.”

Uriel turned sharply, walking forward again, at a faster pace. He did not look inviting, but demanding. He began to proclaim, setting the rules of the stay he was offering. He did not even turn to make sure they were following while he stated his will.

“One night; no overstaying, no delay. I will collect everything we will need, while you rest. You two will wait in two rooms, near the entrance. You are forbidden of wandering in my home.”

Alexis gasped, realizing something with those words.

“Wait. Does that mean I can’t go to my old room?!”

Uriel glared back, firmly.

“Certainly not. In your absence, I have locked it shut. I don’t want that chamber open.”

Alexis jogged to Uriel’s side, demanding answers, even though his demon only had eyes for the horizon.

“But it was my room, wasn’t it?! Why can’t I go back?! I had things in there!”

“It was.” Uriel marked his words, each with a nudge at Alexis’ chest with the point of his tail. “My manor, my rules. You are staying one night; you won’t ever live again in this place. I forbid it. If you really have things in there that you want to take back, I will take them out for you.”

“Are you serious?!”

“Very.” Uriel leaned close to Alexis’ face, almost menacingly. “Do not argue with me; I warn you.”

“Or what?” Alexis prodded Uriel back, never one to be intimidated by him, not again. “Will you kick me out with your hoard of armors? Throw me back into that basement you call a dungeon until we have to leave? Punch me in the face?”

Alexis was giving small jabs to Uriel’s arm, in order to annoy him. The demon’s eye was twitching, but his expression was calm.

“I have a small urge of doing so at the moment. But I won’t, I can’t. If you disobey me, I will make sure that you never set foot near my home again. I promise.”

Alexis shut up, noting the seriousness in his voice. He huffed and stopped arguing, knowing better than to push it. He was going to visit Uriel’s manor again, and even if not how he wished to, it was better than nothing.

Ayako did not want to push it either. For her, seeing Uriel’s home, even if only a small part of it, sounded interesting. She also would love to sleep in a bed for once. It was not her business to dig into Uriel’s personal plights. She said nothing to the demon, but as soon as the angel walked by her side, she inquired.

“What did he even do in there?”

Alexis answered, with no doubt in his mind.

“Be an idiot.”

————————

She was amazed by its outlines in the distance. She was even more amazed when she was at its feet, looking up to its huge structure.

“Woah.”

She whistled. Uriel ignored it; he had seen her amazement before, and he did not want to remember. It was taking a toll on him to bring her here, to risk hearing words that could hurt him, out of her lips. He opened the gate of the manor and walked into the patio, knowing they would follow.

Alexis was not looking with the same wonder as her. He was following Uriel’s steps angrily, glaring at the doors. He refused to look at the empty terrain that once had been his garden. Ayako looked at him, not understanding his anger.

“I thought you wanted to see this place again?”

“Not like this.” Alexis glared at Uriel. His demon would have once given them a tour of the big surroundings of the manor, but was now walking up the steps of the entrance unceremoniously. “Look at him; he should be glad to have you here. He should be guiding you all around, inviting you to see every corner of this place. For fucks sake, he’s opening the doors like this place could burst aflame at any moment.”

“It’s his home. He’s right to feel all the apprehension he wants.”

“I assure you, he’s not behaving like this because of shyness.” Alexis walked ahead, seeing that Uriel had gotten in already, doors open for them to follow. “He likes you. He’s acting like this because of that, besides other reasons.”

Ayako blushed a little, smiling to a side.

“He does?”

The angel rolled his eyes at her. If only she knew what he did, she wouldn’t be smiling. He found it very depressing that he couldn’t tell her why Uriel acted like this.

Inside, Uriel waited, arms crossed behind him. He eyed the doors over his shoulder, waiting for the two to come in. Once they did, he commanded to his angel.

“Close the door behind you, Alexis.”

The angel blinked. He gave Uriel a sarcastic frown and motioned to the armor that was right by the doors.

“What, can’t you bother to close them yourself?”

Uriel looked annoyed. He asked nicely, but firmly.

“Please, just do as I ask. I’d rather not use them.”

“Fine…”

Alexis kicked the doors closed, receiving another scolding glance from his demon. Uriel sighed, and then turned slowly to face them. Ayako’s eyes opened more with wonder when the candles around them slowly lighted alight, all by themselves. Uriel gestured with a hand, using a monotone tone.

“This is my home. It’s decades old, and even if hidden, keeper of many memories.” He outstretched his arm, to display the big hall in front of them. “But, you already know that, Alexis.”

Alexis was now leaning onto one of his legs, arms crossed, looking very unimpressed and snarky.

“How would I ever forget…” He nodded at Ayako, who was looking all around in wonder. “Just finish your rambles and show us to our rooms already, you aren’t going to show her anything of real interest.”

Uriel took a deep breath, smiling crossly.

“Every small detail, in every single chamber, is of interest, a reminder of this region’s history. But of course, you’re a blacksmith, not an erudite.” After those taunting words, Uriel turned, wanting to be done with this. “Please, follow me. The rooms are this way.”

Alexis was not surprised or impressed, because they only crossed one hallway to get to the rooms. They were two, very small, near the main hall. He peeked inside, and saw that they had less furniture than others. They had a closet and a bed, nothing else. They did not have a bathroom, which Uriel was quick to motion at the end of the corridor.

“Bathroom is over there. Feel free to take a bath if you wish to. There’s water by the entrance, in the well.” He grew serious again, begging them both with his eyes. “Please, do not wander off. Take this as a chance to rest, not to go round. I mean it. I’d really prefer to leave this place as soon as possible.”

“What if I want a snack in the kitchen? Can I-?”

“You cannot.” Uriel quickly shut him off, pointing at his face with his tail. “If you’re hungry, you call me. I will have breakfast ready in the morning.”

“What about the main living room? The chimney there-”

“You won’t be cold, I assure you.” Uriel’s eyes glinted for a millisecond. Ayako was surprised to feel the air grow warmer for a moment. “You are forbidden of many things: Going into the kitchen, going into the second floor, going into other rooms, especially your old one.”

Alexis was enjoying making Uriel lose his patience, just because he was indirectly revealing things to Ayako, and in turn, increasing her wonder. He wanted her to be at ease here, like in the old times, and knew that Uriel too, no matter how he denied it. He asked frivolously again, risking it.

“What about-?”

Uriel was done. He yelled down at him, not harshly, but with enough agitation.

“Nowhere! Not even that place.”

Alexis feigned ignorance, which Uriel knew was an act out of spite.

“Which place? Can’t remember…”

“You know dam well where! That place!”

“Sorry, can’t figure it out. If you just said it out loud, maybe I would understand where I’m not supposed to go, but-”

“The basement and my chambers, you-!” He stopped and realized he had said it. He sighed, arms droopy, all ever tired. “…That place.”

Ayako snickered, raising an eyebrow up at the defeated demon.

“Your room is in the basement? Seriously?”

Uriel lifted his gaze a little, asking plainly.

“What’s so funny about it?”

She contained another snort, being under the frustrated stare of the demon.

“Nothing. Completely normal to have a room in there. I bet it would be nice to be near a wine storage or something like that, maybe for a midnight sip.”

Uriel looked at her for a few seconds, deadpanned. Finally, he turned away, to leave them be.

“Make yourselves comfortable. If you need anything, give a call; I’ll hear you.”

If they didn’t trust Uriel they would say that those last words were ominous. The demon walked away slowly through the corridor, not looking back. Ayako pouted as soon as he got out of sight, somewhat disappointed.

“I wish he would show me all of this. It’s a huge place, all too big to let it be hidden.”

Alexis gave her a look, disbelieving.

“You just said that he shouldn’t have to.”

“But one can hope, right?” She looked up, to the complex wooden ceiling, which held the floor above. “I wonder what’s up there.”

“Empty rooms. Mostly.” If she didn’t see that huge kitchen, better. There was one portrait there, and Uriel would truly look like a demon if he let her see it. “Get some sleep, Aya.”

She said nothing while Alexis got into his room. She kept looking ahead into the dark corridor, still seeing Uriel there in her mind. Again, her heart was beating, longing for something. Her mind was whispering, words she could not decipher. She was feeling something, deep inside, which made her sad and hopeful.

She realized she was alone in the corridor. Alexis had closed the door of his room, and she could swear she heard him throw himself onto his bed angrily. She reluctantly stepped into her room… and slowly closed the door behind her.

—————————–

She turned on her bed, again. There was a faint sound, of footsteps. One of her eyes opened a little, still clouded. In her sleepy thoughts, she recognized the sound of a door creaking open, ever so slowly. It was followed by the same sound, of it being closed back.

Ayako opened her eyes. She sat up a little and looked around her. Her eyes narrowed, because she heard movement, faint and slow. She said nothing, but did frown. There was a small window in her room, the moon shined outside of it.

She sat still. She waited for that sound again, suspiciously. When she heard it again, she decided to stand. She pushed herself off bed and walked towards her door like a feline. She was much more silent than whoever made those sounds in the corridor. She leaned her ear onto her door and listened carefully. Whoever was moving outside had moved from Alexis’ room.

Her expression changed. Before, she was suspicious, but now she wore a blank look on her face. Of course it was him, who else.

Outside, Alexis peeked around the turn of the corridor. He glared at an armor that stood there, silently. He glared, and squinted, but saw no trace of any violet glows in that black helmet. Just to be completely sure that Uriel wasn’t watching, he decided to look again towards the opposite end of the corridor, towards the second armor that stood near the entrance’s hall. He did not see that armor, but something that had gotten into the corridor while he looked away.

Ayako was not surprised when Alexis jumped out of his own skin, as he turned and saw her there. The angel scrambled a little backwards, but after a second realized that he was not being haunted by a ghostly spirit in a nightgown. It was pitch black in the hallway, even Uriel could have been scared by her sudden appearance.

“F-fuck…” He glared at her, not letting down the hand on his chest. “Aya, you almost gave me a heart attack.”

He was whispering, unable to show as much anger as he wanted. His grimace grew when she spoke and didn’t whisper as much.

“What the heck are you doing out here? Do you know what time it is?”

Alexis glared around, sarcastic.

“No idea… Uriel doesn’t have many clocks hanging on his walls.” He raised a finger to his lips, serious. “Speaking of Uriel; lower your voice, he could hear you. Go back to your room.”

She taunted him, not one to obey just because told so.

“Oh, go back to my room? I could say the same to you. Judging by the position of the moon outside, it’s a couple hours past midnight. Whatever you’re doing, you’re the one who could wake Uriel. Do you know how noisy you can be? What are you doing? It’s unusual for you get up once you doze off.”

Alexis glanced sideways, at the armor nearby, nervously. He only spoke when he was sure that there were no violet glints there, yet. When he looked back at her, she noticed one of his eyebrows twitch.

“I was going to take a bath.”

She stared at him, deadpanned. He tried to hide the sweat on his forehead by staring at a painting.

“In the middle of the night?”

“Yup…”

A faint tired smile grew on her lips. Her voice dragged, very slowly.

“Hmm, I see. So you’re going to get into the bathroom, before getting the bath full of water first. I also assume, by the fact that you are not carrying clothes which to change to, that you’ll go to the well after you undress in there. You’ll run all over like that, both outside and through the halls.” She shrugged, with a smug smile. “I mean: I’m not complaining, I don’t care what you do, but I think it’s highly inefficient.”

She knew damn well that he hated to expose himself; he usually grew very nervous by just showing a glimpse of his shoulders. Indeed, with what she just said, she had managed to make the angel fidget and grow red, alarmed in his own mind, judging by how frozen he was. Alexis stuttered, trying to counter her argument.

“I- I was- I mean, j-just heading…!” He groaned and rubbed his face on his hands, knowing he couldn’t fool her. “Fine, you win. I am not really planning on that right now. You always have to mess with other’s business, you nosy night owl.”

“So, what are you really doing out here?”

Her eyes told him very well that she wouldn’t let him go without an honest answer. Still, he tried to bargain. He approached her, and then asked with the nicest tone his frustration would allow.

“Aya, please, just go back to sleep. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

She did not budge. In fact, she just kept on breaking his resolve.

“Nothing to worry about, you say. Well, you do seem worried. This has to do with Uriel. You two haven’t been in the best of moods since we’ve mentioned this manor. And since we arrived, he has kept to himself, more than usual. You’ve been more snarky as well. And now, I see something that seems supernatural: you, getting up of bed after laying on it. After all the help you’ve given me, I can’t avoid being worried. You two just keep on making me wonder what runs in your crazy minds.”

Even if they hadn’t helped her, she would have still felt concern for them; she was altruistic, and they knew it well. Alexis had been nervous, but now he was looking at the floor, crestfallen. He looked defeated, but calm. He sighed and looked up at her, like if he was dealing with something mundane.

“You always wonder, but you know nothing.” That’s all he was able to say, even though he was dying to voice deeper words. “I was going to have a small talk with Uriel. I was trying to reach his room, unnoticed. I’m fed up of his protectiveness and anxiety. I hate it, because part of that anxiety… is for you.”

Ayako had winced a little with his first words. She frowned, laying a hand on her own shoulder. It was a subtle sign of her inner hesitation.

“I wonder, I do. I don’t know much about you two… but I wish I knew more.” She looked up to Alexis, serious. “I just recently met you, and I don’t know if I have a right to get in between.”

He nodded, and then just said two words with his eyes closed, looking sure and serious.

“You do.”

Ayako watched as he turned, facing again the end of the corridor. He asked without looking at her, casually but grimly.

“Aya, do you know why he behaves like this?” He looked back at her, and then smiled sadly. “He thinks he doesn’t deserve shit; he also fears he could scare you off. He can’t make up his mind, if he should be happy or not.”

All this was a loop in her eyes; she understood that someone could be zealous of past hardships, but not to this extent.

“Why does he feel this way? I just don’t get it; he says he’s been spiteful, but I don’t see it in him. I haven’t seen him hit you, not even insult you, not once. He is protective; he is almost scared of losing sight of you. He keeps acting in a way in which he shouldn’t. His words and actions don’t make sense to me; I can’t imagine him doing something horrible enough for him to be so remorseful.”

“Well… That’s the point.” He snorted and waved an arm for her to follow. “Let me show you one of the things he doesn’t want you to see, but wants you to keep in mind. Let’s pay a visit to my old jail, shall we?”

She gave him a confused look, but did follow as asked. She sneaked with him through the halls, silently. Both knew that they shouldn’t be disobeying Uriel, but he didn’t give a crap and she was too curious. They walked slowly past familiar rooms, which she had seen before but didn’t recognize now. He made sure to not get too close to the armors they walked by, cautious of alerting Uriel. He led her deeper, into darker corridors, which went downward. They reached the lower floor. She had heard them call it a dungeon from time to time, but only through weary eyes could it seem one. The walls were older, and made of stone instead of wood. No portraits decorated them, and cracks ran all over. There were less armors here; most of the corridors had piles of crates and barrels on the sides, there was a lot of unkempt storage around. This place was full of spider webs now, something Uriel didn’t usually allow. Only Alexis knew it had not been like this before. She would have sworn they walked for an entire hour, but maybe it was just for the fact that the hallways were longer, and because Alexis begged her not to make noise. There were many turns and dead ends, which they only passed by thanks to his lead. Most doors here were closed, thicker than the ones above. If any was open at all, they only presented empty stone rooms, once used to store wine.

At last, Alexis stopped walking. Some surprised words escaped him, suddenly.

“…Well, this is new.”

She peeked from behind his shoulder. She laid a hand on her mouth with surprise, as soon as she saw what he was staring at.

“Oh.”

Alexis stepped closer to the door of his old cell. Well, what was left of it. He gave the pieces of wood a little nudge with his foot, and what remained of the door creaked inwards a little bit more. He snorted, honestly beguiled.

“This door used to swing outwards.”

He scratched his long black flick of hair, biting his lip. Ayako looked down at the thick broken door, noting how it had dents all over it. Some parts had been clawed off, causing it to hang loosely from the doorframe. The small window with metal parts on its upper half had been pulled off, forcefully. Everything had a small layer of dust, which hinted that it had been like this for a long time. All was scattered about, leaving the room open wide. It seemed Uriel had punched the door to pieces.

She slowly and carefully moved closer. He did not object to her leaning to look at what was past the broken door. Strangely enough, what was inside was not as torn as the door.

The inside of the room was stony, but did not look much like a prison without the thick door. There was a small bed, with blankets that looked decent, not thin and cold. There was a small table, with a suited chair; maybe not of the best, but comfortable. There was even an oil lamp; it was not lit, but she was sure that it could erase the darkness a prison was supposed to have by default. There was no window, but she supposed that a cautious demon wouldn’t like it in a cell where a dangerous angel would be kept.

It was not a muddy or cold room, the basement was not truly a damp dungeon like she had portrayed once in her mind. This room, if not stony, could be the same as the ones above. There were no chains, not a single ominous torch. It was just… empty and void.

Ayako nudged the door as well with her foot, prodding Alexis with a question.

“I think he really, really hates this room. It is proper, but he seems to have a very dark view of it. He describes it like if he has torture instruments in here, which contrasts your word and my sight. There’s even a sketchbook and some ink on that table, to kill time with, and I don’t think a captor would provide those things.'”

“I mean, I was a little freaked out when I was locked here and I had no idea how Uriel was as a person… but come on, you’re seeing it now with your own eyes. Even the door could pass as one fit for a wine cellar; he didn’t have to break it down.”

Both jolted, because a third voice echoed behind them, not harshly, but firmly.

“It was a wine cellar.”

Both looked at each other, slowly. The angel cringed, the human grew deadpanned. Both slowly looked behind, and were not surprised to see Uriel there, staring them down with his arms crossed. What they were more surprised to see, was that Uriel was holding a broom.

Alexis laughed nervously, facing Uriel awkwardly with his hands behind his back.

“Heh… w-was it?” He scratched his hair, caught wandering like he had been forbidden. “You never told me it was.”

Ayako laid a hand on her chin, squinting her eyes with wonder. The demon wasn’t surprised to see that she wasn’t distressed by his sudden appearance.

“Sooo… When did you empty the cellar and put furniture, before, or after you knew he had fallen?”

Uriel leaned onto the broom he was holding and rolled his eyes. He spoke, not wanting to admit he changed the room as soon as he analyzed the possibility of trapping the angel, alive.

“It does not matter when I turned this room into a prison.” He bowed his head a little, inquiring. “What are you two doing in here? Why did you disobey me? And most importantly, why are you not sleeping like I advised?”

Alexis rolled his eyes as well, sharing a short amused look with her.

“His priorities are messed up, am I right?” Before Uriel could glare more, Alexis kept going. “You know well I don’t like listening to you; you tend to have extreme opinions.”

“My will or views are not extreme, and yes, you tend to ignore me like I’m trash at your feet.”

Alexis raised an eyebrow, and did look at his feet.

“Speaking of…” He looked at Uriel again, pointing at the broom he held. “How long have you waited to clean this mess? When did you tear apart this poor door? And why would you ever decide to break something in your adored manor?”

Uriel huffed and then gently pushed them both away from the broken pieces. He began to broom the mess, quickly and efficiently, while he scolded them.

“Yes, I did break it. Yes, I did get out of hand. I was in a haze; you had just left, promising to never return. I hated myself for everything; so as soon as I walked near this room, I saw red. Call me melodramatic, whatever. I would have cleaned this sooner, if I had been in disposition and I hadn’t left this place. Now that I have packed everything we need, I was just about to clean it. I hoped you would listen and stay away from this room, but of course, you had to lead her here in the middle of the night, before I could clean it, and let her see a perfect example of the brute I am.”

Alexis raised his hands up, only slightly apologetic.

“Hey, how was I supposed to know you shredded this door? I know no magic; I can’t see the future or past. Besides, taking her here wasn’t my original plan. At first, I only planned to get to your room, and have a little talk with you, but she spotted me, ok? I just wanted to show her that you are over exaggerating, because this is a nice room, and you did not hurt me in there.”

Uriel did not look at Alexis, he kept cleaning without word. Once the angel was done talking, the demon inquired, almost tauntingly.

“Are you done rambling?”

Alexis was taken aback, and soon groaned under his breath.

“I am certainly not. I have a lot to say, and I want you to understand it, not just hear it. I will let everything out, before you kick me out with a troop of your clunky puppets.”

Alexis expected those armors to come marching into the corridor at any moment, and them grabbing him and pushing him back into his room. However, nothing of that happened, not even if a while passed. Uriel kept cleaning, saying nothing or looking at them, like if they were not there. In the end, the demon finished, throwing every piece of door into a disposable bag, which to throw later. Ayako watched as Uriel turned away from the room and stepped aside to lean against a wall. He crossed his arms and then asked Alexis, with a matter of fact tone.

“Do you really want me to use them?”

Ayako could not see true anger in Uriel’s eyes, just frustration. She asked while looking sideways, never having seen him control the armors like Alexis had told her he could do.

“Will you?”

Both angel and human were not surprised when Uriel shook his head tiredly, having been sure all this time that his threats were empty ones.

“I doubt I will. You have already seen what I did to this door, Ayako.”

Alexis’ gave Uriel a disbelieving look.

“Are you saying that the only reason you wanted us to stay put, was because of this stupid door?”

Uriel shrugged, looking to a wall.

“Not the only reason, but one. I haven’t found time to clean it, and you have to agree it’s unsettling to see such destruction. You haven’t seen my room either. She has already seen what I can do bare handed and when in a bad mood, so I doubt that harassing you both with some puppetry will impress her much more.” He wiped his tail down, defeated. “Roam all you want now for all I care, I won’t kick you out. You’ve already shown her how pathetic this place has become.”

Ayako frowned, not liking how Uriel was talking.

“Uriel, this place is absolutely not pathetic; do not dare imply that you are careless.” He raised an eyebrow down at her, not faced by how close she got to him or how firmly she spoke. “Hear me out; a lot of people go through rough times, and I bet many have angry outbursts from time to time. Heck, I’ve seen Alexis wake up many mornings being angry with everything around him in his forest, and not many things can top that. This is your home, that door can be compared to some flimsy dishes; I sometimes have broken some of my hunting tools out of frustration. You’re thoughtful, and attentive; you take care of everything around you. With how little I’ve seen of this manor, I can say that it’s beautiful. It’s impressive how well it’s kept, considering you’re the only one living here!”

Uriel sighed, eyes half closed with sadness.

“If you think this much of it now, I wonder what you would’ve said if you had seen it in its grand days.”

Ayako had great imagination, but she was no medium.

“Well, sadly, I can’t read your mind, Uriel.” She smiled up at him lightly, beckoning him to talk. “So, wouldn’t you tell me how it was?”

Alexis was always amazed by how easily Ayako compelled Uriel to open up, which always was a good thing for the demon. Uriel’s defensive stance softened. He gave her a reluctant but soft look.

“It was… much better than this. All was warmer, more welcoming, and livelier.” His violet eyes stared at the ceiling, and then a small smile grew on his lips without him even noticing. “Light would shine brightly through the windows, thanks to a gentler weather. There was green all around outside, not a grey and brown decaying excuse of a forest. People would roam the halls and corridors, never a single wing empty. The roads were more spacious and obvious to the eye, not ridden with wild vegetation or rotten trees. Oh, and the fields, covered with looming layers of foliage; how secretive yet beautiful, to find them there after an unending labyrinth of oaks.”

Alexis murmured to himself worriedly, never having been able to guess which kind of trees surrounded the manor, given their actual decay.

“They are oaks…?”

Ayako and Uriel ignored Alexis’ disbelieving remark. Uriel frowned again, realizing that he had been daydreaming. She asked mournfully, while he stepped a little away with his claws clasped.

“Why did things change?”

He glanced back at her, letting out a small breath.

“I was alone.”

No loved ones; no aid in the deep solitude he was casted into.

Uriel made a sharp motion with his hand and threw something he had kept in his pocket towards Alexis. The angel blinked and scrambled to catch the small object, then looked down at his hands to see what it was. A small key, one he had never used when it had belonged to him. He looked up at Uriel with an eyebrow raised, but his demon was walking away through the corridor.

“Feel free to rummage through it all you want, maybe you find something you want to take back.” Uriel picked up the bag full of wooden pieces and then waved bye with a claw, dismissing. “I’m going to sleep for the time being; you should too.”

He left without saying anything else, to the disappointment of human and angel. She slowly looked at the key, asking with a whisper.

“What does it open?”

He answered with a sigh.

“My old room.”