Lykaios’ eyes were fixed on the distance. Alexis was sitting at his side, trying to focus on his net. Both were following the daily routine they had established. But Alexis could barely concentrate today.

“…Would you stop?”

The feline did not look at him when he answered, he did not even move an inch.

“I’m not doing anything.”

Alexis snarled and looked sideways at those red eyes. His pupils were sharp as knifes, red as blood. Lykaios was looking at something; and he did not like it.

The angel kept telling himself that Lykaios would never dare eat him. But he could not avoid feeling uncomfortable, because the lynx was staring at a deer in the distance, at the other side of the big lake.

“You don’t need to hunt it. I am fishing already.”

“I’m bored of eating fish.”

“You are not even hungry!”

“It’s not that. It’s not the same. I miss hunting.”

“Oh, come on… S-stop looking at the poor animal like that!”

The lynx let out a sad growl and lowered his ears, unable to look away from the unsuspecting deer.

“Very well, I won’t chase it.”

But he still kept on looking at it, like if it was the only thing around him. So Alexis sighed, unnerved.

“I swear, your eyes freak me out when you are like this.”

Lykaios could not help himself. He had transformed into his true form when he had picked up the scent of prey. His tails were long as ever, his paws clawed the ground, his fangs were sharper, and his pupils smaller. Even if he was sitting, he was as big as a bear. He was a predator deep inside; a calm one, reflexive and thoughtful. But one nonetheless.

Even like that, Alexis was grateful that Lykaios had self-control. He was frozen at his side at the shore. His claws were not moving, he was not showing intent in chasing the possible meal. He was just looking at it, only having eyes for the deer. He was surely imagining the excitement of the hunt.

Alexis guessed it was enough, that he could not complain, because he did not know how hard it was for a demon to control itself. Lykaios was quiet; he was giving him company in his solitude. And he was not devouring a deer, and so, not freaking him out. A thing he could do without regret.

Alexis focused on catching their dinner, while Lykaios kept on daydreaming.

Neither was paying attention to their surroundings. Neither was worrying about a demon that would never attack, bound to his word. They had stopped looking for Uriel with their eyes, because Lykaios was always there. Both had lowered their guard. And it was a mistake they soon would regret.

An angel was too focused on not falling into his wild depressive thoughts; a demon was too entranced in his bloodlust. Neither saw the three humans sneaking in the shadows of the trees. The scent of a human was never as strong as the one of a demon or angel. And if there was such scent, any hunter always knew how to deal with that. There was no trace of their presence in the air.

The three women leaned against the trees, wearing their light leather armors. Their mouths were covered by their iron masks, which only let their sly eyes be seen.

The three had followed Godric’s directions diligently. They searched in these woods for days, and finally, they had found that waterfall in its core. They found the nest, but the angel had not been there in that moment.

They found him anyway.

The leader’s eyes glinted. She raised a hand slowly, and warned her sisters with a small wave. She signaled, because the angel was not alone. The three could only wonder while they looked with narrowed eyes. They saw the angel, sitting near a demon, and neither of them were doing anything; they were not attacking each other. Both were calm, side by side.

It was truly strange. But the ways of such creatures were none of their concern. They could not care less. They were here only for the money.

The one with two ponytails waited patiently for orders, with an arrow ready. None uttered a word while they held their respective weapons.

The older pondered for a minute; she watched the demon and angel with a prideful glare. Then, she moved her hand, in a motion the archer understood. Her younger sister grabbed a flask, and the arrow was covered with its poison.

The one with the axe whispered behind them, grinning below her mask while she held her axe anxiously.

“How much do demon’s skulls sell for right now?”

The leader smiled and looked at the lion-bear beast with interest.

“Enough to be worth our while.”

The three had their gazes fixed on their more imminent objective, while the bow tensed.

The arrow flew.

———————————————–

Uriel had been calm. He had kept himself away from the angel. He had been trying to ignore the painful pounding in his heart. He was brushing the course of the river with a claw, while he sat cross legged on a rock.

There had been silence. But it was broken. He was startled by the agonizing roar that echoed through the woods. He stood sharply and glared towards the sound, confused.

That roar came from a demon.

His eyes widened, now understanding that it had been that wolf. He began to run, only having one thought in his mind.

The angel…

“I knew that he would not hold back his murderous nature for long!”

He was sure that the angel had attacked the other demon; that he had grown tired of feigning innocence and weakness.

As soon as he reached some trees, Uriel leaned down a little. With a strong jump, he stabbed his claws on the wood, and then climbed easily and quickly. The tall trees provided him a much faster way to go towards the lake, to evade the uneven terrain below.

He hoped it would not be too late.

—————————————–

“Lykaios!”

Alexis screamed, but his call was barely heard below the rumble of the devil’s roar.

They both had heard a hiss in the air. Too late.

Alexis dashed forward towards him, when he saw him stumble down with a whine. The angel could not avoid huffing when he tried to hold him up, because the demon weighted too much for him. Lykaios began to suffer convulsions, and soon let himself fall down to the ground. When the big lynx fell, Alexis finally saw clearly what he had only caught a glimpse of in the air. An arrow was stabbing deeply on Lykaios’s side, and blood was beginning to pour out.

Alexis’ hands trembled, but he still tried to hold him to his feet, without managing. Lykaios seemed to be struggling to even move, and he could not stand upright. The demon struggled, but ended up surrendering and slumping on the ground with one last whimper.

Lykaios growled, in pain, one simple word.

“R-ru-n-”

Alexis was frozen, he was staring intently at the arrow and blood. He only stopped looking when three figures stepped out of the shadows. The hunters did not waste their time. The leader snarled and outstretched her arm; she pointed at the angel, who was now standing in shock.

“Get him! Don’t damage the wings!”

Lykaios was huffing loudly; he was scratching the ground with his claws while he tried to stand. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t. He felt a strange substance in his veins, poison. The same venom that Ayako knew about, the very same one she kept in her belt. It was a poison able to paralyze a demon, used by her guild.

Why are there hunters here?

The lynx could not waste time asking himself why or how. He lifted his head a little, and looked back and forth between the angel and humans. The three women began to dash towards them, one holding a long battle axe, the second with the bow that wounded him, and the last with a sling. Even if Alexis was seeing those weapons too, he was just standing there, barely doing more than taking a step back.

So Lykaios howled loudly, knowing that if he kept on standing there at his side, he would be a dead angel in no time.

“RUN!”

Alexis yelped, because the woman with the sling hauled a rope with rocks at him, surely intending to tie him up. He dodged it easily with a strong flap of his wings, bouncing some meters away.

He only dodged; he did not begin to flee. He doubted, because Lykaios could not follow him; he was whining on the ground in pain. The three hunters were nearing the demon, weapons in hand.

“I can’t leave you th-!”

Lykaios’ voice barely could be understood anymore, it became more feral and pained. The demon used his last bit of strength to command.

“I’ll b-be f-fine! Y-you won’t be if-!”

He could not say more, his body was convulsing too much while he struggled against the venom. He crumbled down at last. His muscles burned; his efforts of moving were only making him hurt. And even then, he kept trying to rise from the ground, in vain.

Alexis had no other option than to obey. He cried out when an arrow struck at his feet on the ground. He heard the women laugh when he dashed between trees and began to flee at last. He raised his wings and looked up. He huffed with fear, because there were branches all above him and around. He could fly, but not rise above the trees to flee. He would only break his wings if he struck the sharp and thick branches, which prevented him of seeing the sky. So he could only take long leaps with his wings, as he tried to run between them. He moved fast and carefully, searching for a place in which to take true flight.

The taller woman halted besides the big demon and glared at him. Her voice was questioning, while she lowered the axe near his neck.

“What do we do with-?”

“Leave it for now!” The leader cracked her knuckles and neck, and then nodded towards the figure running ahead. They could still see golden flickers. “This one can’t move. But the angel does!”

The other two were quick to follow her when she took chase. They left Lykaios behind, roaring while he struggled to stand and stop them.

Alexis was breathing too quickly. He was running as fast as he could, for his life. It was a familiar moment to him, a horrible one: a chase.

Ayako…

He did not know why three hunters were chasing him. He did not understand, not when Ayako promised she was the only one in this region.

He leaned his head to look over his shoulder, without stopping shoving branches and bushes out his way. He cursed under his breath, because he saw those three running fast behind him. Their eyes were uncovered by the masks, fixed on him, full of what he could only describe as amusement. He was sure they were smiling under their masks.

They were not chasing him with all their might. They had him at hand. The forest provided the perfect trap, dense and endless. Even if he managed to take flight, they knew they could find him again. They could chase until he tired; it was something humans did since their early days.

“And this is the angel who has been giving her that much trouble?!”

“He is not very clever… He’s running aimlessly. He’s not even armed.”

It was stupid to go to that lake, because the sky could not be seen in that area. There were too many trees, a blanket of green over the ground and blue water.

The older swung her sling in circles and gave them a scolding glare.

“Don’t assume, girls! He could be dangerous!”

Alexis dodged yet another rope that flied near his feet.

“Fuck…!”

He had no other option, he had to take flight. So he did, with a groan. He was too close to the ground. He had fast reflexes and dodged the trees skillfully, but it was not an easy route to maneuver through.

It was just what they had wanted him to do.

Uriel’s eyes narrowed, while he watched the scene play out.

Hunters…

Uriel followed the chase easily; he leaped from tree to tree, and kept a preventive distance. He looked down from above with doubt, at the angel and women.

Lykaios had not been attacked by him, now he knew. The situation made Uriel ponder, his emotions were conflicting. There was an easy way out ot his predicament with his angel: He could let these three have their way, he could let them kill. No one could help him.

Uriel grew more quiet and serious, because Alexis let out a startled scream. He had been flying too fast, and when he had to dodge another haul of rope, it caused him to hit one of his wings with his sudden move. He had not curled his wings in time to dash in between two trunks. The demon winced, because he saw the blond roll along the ground ahead, dragging his wings along painfully. The other three saw it too, and cheered; they now really hurried to catch him. The angel let out a faint whimper and groan, thrown on the ground.

Alexis tried to push himself to his feet, only to freeze when an arrow struck inches away from his face, onto the ground he had been staring at. The archer had not missed, it had been a warning. Before he knew it, he had the women around him, smiling down at him with dark glares. He slowly moved his gaze up, without daring to stand, to meet their eyes.

He trembled while they exchanged looks between them. One was still pointing at him with the bow, and there was an axe very close to him.

“It was too easy.”

Alexis held his breath, because the one with the axe gave him a forceful nudge with its long handle.

“Are you going to lay there like a statue, angel?”

Alexis finally tried to sit up, slowly, to show he would not attack or try anything. The hunters blinked when he raised his hands in surrender and spoke up with a nervous whisper. He did not try to struggle or flee anymore, because he remembered the night in which Uriel chased him.

“Please, lower your weapons… I won’t-”

One of them grabbed his hair suddenly and pulled at it, causing him to let out a hiss and shut up. The woman spoke and referred to him as a mere animal they could hunt.

“We’ve found a weird one!” She moved her axe a little and gave her sisters a baffled smile. “I’ve never seen one like this!”

Alexis paled and froze when the axe moved. His eyes unfocused with fear, as the sharp edge of the axe brushed his neck. He tried to move away, only for her to pull fiercely on his hair again, making him stop.

“Hgh-!”

He closed his eyes when he felt the edge of the axe pressure. He could not move much, still hurt after having rolled along the ground strongly. He did not want to either, not with the fear that if he tried, he would be pierced by an arrow.

“Wait.”

The axe stopped pressuring. It only gave him a faint cut.

Uriel landed onto a branch above after a strong jump, and finally caught up to them. He saw and heard how the leader spoke up, to stop her sister. She did not let her cut Alexis’ throat.

The angel let out his breath in a raspy cry and opened one eye. He felt relief, even if he had a small cut on his neck, because it could have been worse, lethal. They had moved away the axe. He let his wings slump at his sides and focused on steading his breath. They were looking down at him intently, thoughtful.

He hoped they would be like Ayako. But he could not make a worse mistake than to give himself hope that they were. His horror grew when he saw their cold gazes and malicious smiles, when he heard the next words from the leader.

“We need to cut the wings first, while he lives. They are golden, and it would be a shame they were not anymore!”

The other two nodded and agreed to her statement. The feathers of an angel lost some of their power if it died. One could see their brightness and color fade while life did. But if the wings were ripped while it still lived, they kept all their properties, for the soul still flowed in the moment they were taken away. It had to be a sudden loss, a division. Cut, they had more value, gave more benefit.

Godric let them have one of the wings.

Alexis’ eyes widened, because he was unable to process those emotionless words in his mind.

“W-what- No, wait, I-!”

He let out a strong huff when he was given a kick to his stomach. He bent forward and held himself with a groaned cry. They let go of his hair, but he was unable to do anything but tremble, stunned. When he managed to regain his breath and mind after the kick, it was far too late to move away.

He tried to run, knowing these hunters would show no mercy, nor let him speak. But as soon as he tried to dash off, he was quickly held back by the leader and archer. He showed anger at last, he began to struggle. He tried to kick and push them away. He could only writhe, twist and trash, because the archer was pulling at his wings backwards, while the leader held his arms strongly.

“Hold still!”

“No! Stop-! Ah-gh!”

They leaned his wings in a painful angle, a very painful one. That finally made him hiss and stop kicking; it allowed the leader to grab his wrists easily. He panted angrily; he could feel the hands grasping his wings, the fingers clawing between his feathers. They pulled at them, outstretched them as far as possible behind him. They exposed the joints where the wings connected with his shoulder blades, just where his shirt had two gaps.

Uriel was staring with a haunted gaze. He heard Alexis implore; his angel panicked. Both saw how the third woman was swaying her axe playfully, with an amused grin below that mask.

“No, no, NO! You won’t cut my wings! L-let me go!”

The young demon’s eyes filled with disgust and horror while she neared, with clear intentions.

They would cut off his wings clean, with a strong cut. Or two… There were two limbs.

Uriel’s mind ran wild while Alexis pulled and struggled for his life again; he was letting out tired gasps each time they bent his wings or arms painfully, to make him keep still.

I could let him die…

His violet eyes closed; the thought flowed in him clear as water. He could let him die. Not do anything.

“A-aya…”

But as he heard that faint sorrowful call, he opened his eyes. Only he heard the angel whisper, only he heard him call her. The angel cried with his head bowed, limp under the hold of his stalkers. Alexis was not moving, not even if the axe was rising slowly over his shoulders. He was unable to struggle; he did not have the heart to do so. His voice was broken and full of sorrow.

“Please…”

Where is she?

He wondered what he had done to deserve any of this. The tallest hunter snorted and raised the long axe high, over both their heads. She mocked him, amused by a prey so strange and easy.

“Don’t worry! We’ll kill you later!”

For an angel, the loss of wings was a fate worse than death. And a horrible shame to live with.

Alexis screamed breathlessly when he heard the air hiss, when the axe was flung down towards him. His wings twitched, reacting both to the nearing sharp blade and the loud roar that rumbled around him. He trembled when he heard a loud thud. He gasped and opened his eyes a little, because he felt no cuts, no hits. He only felt how the hands let go of his limbs suddenly, because the hunters were startled by something.

Uriel stood tall again, after having leaped down strongly from the branch of a tree. He had slammed that woman and her axe to the ground, with a calculated and fierce tackle. He growled deeply and glared at the human fainted at his feet. But he only did for a second. He turned around sharply when he heard a sling move; he swiped and clawed away the rope that flew his way. He growled at the women, who had let go of Alexis to target him instead.

Alexis let himself fall to his hands and knees with a sigh. His tears and wings fell down too. His gaze was unfocused, and he was unable to react to the shadows that loomed over him. A very tall demon was facing his attackers, fiercely.

Uriel punched the leader squarely on her jaw, while his tail tangled around the archer’s neck, not giving her any time to strike him with one of those arrows. His flames rose; his feral breaths did not let their pained whimpers be heard.

Alexis winced when the two remaining humans fell down with a loud thud. They were punched to unconsciousness. They were no match for the sudden attack of the devil, a demon who had lost himself in his emotions.

Just like how they took Lykaios by surprise, Uriel was on them fast as light. After he was done with his attack, he stood tall, but shivering with adrenaline. His violet eyes were full of rage, his chest was rising with deep trembling breaths, and his claws were twitching while he glared down at the humans at his feet.

Alexis hugged himself with fear. Uriel was standing near him, in a raging trance. He feared he could kill the hunters. Or him.

Uriel was growling loudly, his tail was swaying in dashes while he towered proudly over them all. He had seen how they had held his angel down. He had felt torn. He felt a strong ache while he tried to think. He had debated the possibility of letting him die, let him suffer under their hands. He appreciated the idea of the hunters freeing him from the angel… But when he saw those tears fall, heard his pleas, sensed his fear, and smelled the blood, his mind and soul filled with alarm. He felt disgust, for himself. He was horrified by the fact that he could enjoy the idea of letting someone perish without doing anything, even if it was someone that could harm him someday. He could not let someone die like that. Not without regretting it later. His blood had boiled. Something in him had snapped. A sudden rage flowed in him. Those thoughts he had triggered another one.

It was HIS angel; under the mercy of others. Yet only he should be the one to judge his fate.

Alexis waited; he glanced dreadfully at his demon. He did not dare move while Uriel trembled with small blazing flames around his shoulders. Those claws were still outstretched, open. However… he looked at his wings. Then, towards the hunters, slowly. The three were unconscious, but not dead. Even if Uriel was in trance, with his sharp claws ready… he was not killing. He was not keeping on hurting; he was only breathing out, in a furious daze.

The angel opened his mouth to speak, as he glanced around nervously, dreadful and baffled.

“…You- Did you just-?”

That got Uriel out of his trance. His flames died out.

Alexis flinched when Uriel leaned his head to glare at him, because those eyes were still showing that same cold sharpness and fury. But that expression softened; Uriel huffed tiredly, after seeing how Alexis averted his gaze with submission and raised his hands at his sides, not daring to speak again after that glare.

Still scared…

The demon’s tail lowered to the ground, his claws closed. His raging frown turned slowly into one of concern and inquisition.

“Are you wounded?”

His violet eyes filled with relief and sadness when Alexis shook his head quickly and repeatedly, still without looking up at him. He was staring at the ground, and he was not letting his hands down, like if he was worried he would provoke him by doing so.

Both stayed there awkwardly for a whole minute, neither saying anything.

Alexis finally tried to steady his breathing, when he understood that he was not being ripped apart. He calmed down as he registered that Uriel had spoken at him. He had given him a question about his wellbeing, if he was wounded.

He had saved him.

“…Why?”

Uriel crossed his arms and bowed his head a little. He was bothered by the baffled tone in the angel’s voice. He was not sure himself why he had saved him.

“Multiple reasons.”

Alexis finally lowered his hands and gave Uriel the most confused look he could give. After all the hate Uriel had shown for him, all that distrust… he had stopped others from killing him. He let a perfect opportunity pass by.

No, not pass by; he outright thwarted it.

The demon’s eyes moved to glance sideways at him, with an eyebrow raised. He spoke to him, with a tone of bitterness and aversion.

“I simply could not let you die. As much as I’m sure you are plotting my demise, I hold no evidence that you are lying. You are innocent until proven otherwise. Even if you really wanted me dead, it would be cruel to let you go through that. I am not like you angels.” Uriel sighed and shook his head, to then whisper. “But the main reason… was her.”

Alexis looked up at him with realization.

“Ayako?”

Uriel smiled at him with disdain.

Alexis leaned backwards with a gasp when Uriel did forward with a growl. The demon pointed a nail at his face, lowering himself to glare right at his amber eyes. His voice became harsh again.

“Don’t think this means anything. You are still my angel. I won’t let my guard down.”

“But-”

Uriel’s tail smacked Alexis’ jaw, closing his mouth from below; he left him baffled and silent. His exasperated glare was more than enough to make him curl his wings away and shut up.

Once the demon saw that the angel would not dare question him…

“Now…” Alexis relaxed when Uriel left him alone; in order to glare at the humans instead. “What do I do with these idiots?”

Alexis’ eyes narrowed. He watched how Uriel raised one of them by the head, the one of the axe. He opened carefully one of her eyes with his free claw.

The angel shivered, because the demon’s eyes began to shine, with small violet flames. And then, those flames dashed sharply into hers. The woman, even if fainted, jolted under his hold. Her pupils could not be seen under the violet color. The sparks lasted for three seconds. Then, it all faded, and Uriel’s eyes flickered back to normal. He opened his claw, and let her fall to the ground without care.

Alexis’ wings puffed, because he feared what he just imagined Uriel had done.

“What have you done to her? Have you-?”

“I did not kill her.” Uriel turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I would do that?”

Alexis laughed nervously and waved his hands side to side, each second more uncomfortable under his offended stare.

“No! No, no! N-not at all! It’s just that…!” He gulped and scratched his hair, while he slowly dared to stand. “What was that exactly?”

Uriel did not know how to feel about the fact that Alexis lost a little of his fear for him. He was not entirely sure if he accepted it or not. Either way, he resigned to explain, to calm his worry.

“I erased her memories.”

Alexis stood there, poker faced. Uriel rolled his eyes when he asked again.

“What?”

Uriel huffed, tired of him daring to make stupid and unneeded questions.

“I. Have. Erased. Her. Memories.”

He ignored Alexis’ frown and knelled at the archer’s side, intending to do the same to her. This time, the flames rose when he laid his claw onto her forehead. Again, it just lasted a moment after they sunk into her eyes; the hunter fell limp after a few jolts.

Uriel chuckled under his breath, because he felt no empathy for the three.

“Some of you have your own tricks under your sleeves. Why are you so surprised I have my own?”

Alexis shook his head and looked nervously while Uriel walked towards the third and last hunter.

“No. I do not doubt you can do- I mean…! Why are you doing it?”

Uriel stood tall and clapped his hands when he let go of the human. This one as well, her mind was seized. He pointed his tail at Alexis in question, he asked with accusation.

“Do you want them to try to kill you again?”

Alexis blinked, confused. Uriel was looking at him with little patience left.

“Of course not… But I still don’t get why you would-”

“Then that’s it. I made them forget who they are. They have forgotten everything. Once that old cat wakes up, I suggest you tell him what has happened. I’m sure he will know what to do. I won’t save you twice, nor give you more help against these idiots.”

“But that’s-“ Alexis glanced over them, taking in the implications of such spell. “They…”

Uriel blinked at the angel, seeing the worry and shock on his face. The demon’s voice tangled with a trace of disbelief.

“Are you seriously feeling sorry, after what they tried to do to you?”

Uriel stared baffled at Alexis, because he shrugged and gave another unsure glance to the three humans.

The demon ended up laughing bitterly, unable to understand.

“I don’t get you.”

He really could not manage to understand his angel.

Alexis stayed quiet when Uriel turned and began to walk away. He spoke one last time, with feigned anger in his voice.

“I will be watching you, Alexis!”

Alexis frowned sadly, as he watched Uriel leave through the vegetation; after referring to him directly with his name, for the first time. Once he lost sight of his demon, he sighed and looked down. He was not entirely sure what had happened exactly, or why these hunters found him.

Why has he saved me?

One thing he knew. Uriel was not a bad demon. He now knew well that he did not really hate. It was clear as water. Uriel only feared him and his possible intentions. As much as Uriel tried to hide it, he had felt his care and worry when he had dealt with the hunters.

Alexis brushed his hair in wonder while he looked at the mess at his feet.

“I should better go with Lykaios.”

Before these three woke up. Even if something told him that it would be a while until they did.

He was worried for Lykaios, but he moved his wings a little before he went back towards the lake. He flapped them slightly, to soothe them and ease them of the pain, because of all the hits he received. Once he deemed they were not broken, he looked away and began to head through the forest.

The three humans were laying limp on the ground. They were unable to move while something untangled from above, once they were alone. Those bloody eyes were full of disappointment. Hate as well.

“Useless humans…”

No. They had almost succeeded. It was Uriel who had failed, when he saved the life of his enemy.

He would find a way. He just needed to wait.