He was following calmly; his bag swayed a little on his back, in between his wings. His amber eyes could not avoid looking at the decaying trees that surrounded them, ones he remembered well. For some strange reason, he felt unnerved. And he could not pinpoint why, he couldn’t explain why he felt a shiver each time he looked at the black forest. He didn’t know why he felt this way, because there was no apparent danger this time.

This time, he was safe. He was sure he was.

He looked ahead again, towards Uriel. The demon was walking surely and calmly, without showing anxiety for the dark path or the crooked and deformed forest. This time, he did not fear, he felt no dread at Uriel’s side. Even more, he felt better in his presence.

Alexis blinked and stopped thinking, because Uriel looked back at him. He gave him a smile and spoke to him with a friendly tone, while he pointed with a nail towards the distance.

“We are almost there. I know it seems like we will never get there, but it will only take a little while, I promise.”

It had taken them two days to get into this dark forest, which was Uriel’s territory. They would have arrived in just a day if they ran or flied, but Uriel had wanted to take his time, in order to show him the way between his clearing and the manor. He wanted to show him clearly the roads, so he could leave if he decided to. He made clear he could change his mind about this, whenever he wished.

Alexis returned the smile and nodded a little. He hurried a little more to keep up with the strong steps of his demon. He did not doubt in Uriel’s word; he trusted they would arrive soon, that this long and dark path in the forest would soon end.

It took another hour; it seemed short, compared with the many others that had gone by before. Uriel smiled with relief and familiarity, because he saw the outlines of his manor in the distance, at last. It was right there, past the tall trees, at the end of the small road. Even if Alexis had been here before, now he could really admire it. Last time he had been too worried about getting away to pay much mind to it all.

The building was very tall; and even if it seemed big from the outside, he knew it was bigger inside, with many halls, rooms, and a lower ground floor. It was a huge manor, in the middle of nowhere. Its appearance was welcoming and old, something that did not match with the decaying forest that surrounded it.

Alexis was curious, so he asked while they crossed the open gate of the manor’s courtyard.

“Did you build it?”

Uriel seemed to ponder for a moment, to then nod slowly. By the time he answered him, they were already at the doors. He spoke without looking at his amber eyes, limiting himself to walk up the steps of the entrance.

“Most of it. I had some help, but yes, I did. It has been a long time since.”

While Alexis walked up the steps, he looked all around him, at every section of the courtyard. He still could see burns on the outside wall, surely because of that fiery outburst that Uriel had. Though, it seemed like they had been cleaned up; as much as possible anyway.

Uriel huffed and pushed the big heavy doors, each with a claw. He let the light get into the big dark hall, his shadow looming onto the stony floor inside. He smiled politely when he stepped to a side, to let his guest step in. Alexis seemed to hesitate for a moment, surely remembering unpleasant things about the place. However, he got in after a brief intake of air, because he reminded himself that he had no reason to be paranoid. If Uriel had wanted to hurt him, he could have done so before; they had left that clearing behind, they had walked alone through small roads, through the forests, and they had to make camp and rest sometimes. Uriel had no reason to wait for so long or fake, just like him.

The angel ventured into the hall, hugging his wings against his chest with a little bit of apprehension. He felt weird in this place, not only because he had no clue of how to act as a guest. It was all dark; the curtains on the windows were down, and the candles out. He was squinting his eyes to look around him, even if he could see better than humans. Uriel gasped silently behind him when he noticed the issue, because he always forgot that others could not see as clearly in the dark as him. He moved a claw and made a small symbol in the air, something that Alexis did not see.

The angel jolted with a yelp when some flames sparked around him. The candles lighted all by themselves, and gave a vibrant light to the room. Uriel had no time to react, but somehow, Alexis was behind him now, hiding behind his shoulders. How could he move so fast when scared, he did not know. Alexis was trying to regain his breath after the scare, his voice less than amused.

“Warn me before you do some demonic crazy thing again, dammit!”

“…Sorry?”

Uriel honestly did not know why he was so startled by the candles lighting up, because it was common knowledge that angels used magic as well, and that they used it for daily things if they knew how to. Alexis did not seem to recall that the streetlamps back at his home lighted this way as well. Maybe it just was the color and shape of the flames, who knew.

Alexis calmed down somewhat and left Uriel some space. However, he still spoke with an annoyed and suspicious look on his face.

“You won’t move those armors now as well, will you?”

Those things had given him quite the creeps when he thought he was fleeing for his life. The less he saw them do things the better. And luckily, Uriel understood.

Alexis raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms; he was still taken aback by Uriel’s generosity.

“Oh, I get to choose one?”

The demon found the angel’s conformism amusing. He never expected much, nor had high hopes about his luck.

“Of course? There are a lot. I don’t even use them.”

“If you don’t use them, then why have so many? I mean, you could run an inn in here or something!”

Alexis got no answer to his comment. Uriel turned and began to walk through the corridor, without paying mind to his remarks.

“Let me just show you the manor, alright? Last time, you ran around like the floor was on fire. I’m sure you don’t remember much of it, other than doors and hallways, do you?”

Alexis followed him, but did not waste his chance to let out a little bit of sarcasm.

“You did set things on fire.”

“That was after you ran away, may I remind you.”

“And I did that, after you gave me the scare of my life and locked me in a cell.”

“…Let’s just focus on where you are going to drop your things. Not in that cell.”

Alexis forgot quickly the question Uriel avoided. Both went deeper into the labyrinth of halls and corridors, with far too many rooms.

————————————————-

“They are all the same.”

“Maybe so.”

Alexis looked into yet another chamber, one which was closer to the living room that Uriel had shown him. This room was not too big, nor too small; it was decorated like the rest he had seen in adjacent hallways. He glanced at it all while Uriel stood at the door. There was a king seized bed, which seemed more comfortable than the ones he saw in other chambers, smaller. He would be able to spread his wings on this one without having to fold them, in order to avoid they fell off the edge. There were more things: a mirror on a wall, a closet, a small desk, a chair, a big glassy window, and a door that seemed to lead into a small bathroom.

Alexis shrugged, smiled and turned to look at Uriel.

“I think this one will do, if it’s alright?”

Uriel gave a firm nod, with an expression that showed how much he found Alexis’ hesitation unneeded.

“Of course it is. I have already told you, you can have any, or even switch between them all. There is really no use for them, I live alone.” He laughed a little and pointed a finger at the angel, with an eyebrow raised. “You can keep any room, as long as you don’t make a mess, like in your cave!”

His angel was not someone who kept things in order. He always dropped feathers, he sometimes left half eaten food on his table or near the fire, he had his armor thrown somewhere on the floor garnering dust, his clothes were usually bundled on his bed, and he always forgot to pick up his tools and left them scattered all over the clearing.

Alexis glared and grinned at Uriel, sarcastically.

“Even when I told you not to touch my things, you could not hold back for long. You ended up messing with my hideout, organizing things that did not need to be changed. If this is going to be MY room, just let it be. Please, really: I won’t mess with any other place.”

Uriel rolled his eyes and sighed. He agreed verbally, even if he was already planning on using his armors to clean it, once it got chaotic.

“Very well.” He stepped away from the room and left Alexis alone, so he could have his privacy. But not before he said some last things. “Make yourself at home. When you want to, you can find me in the living room. I will show you everything else.”

With that, Alexis lost sight of Uriel; his tail whipped around a corner and his steps echoed away.

The angel stood in the middle of the room, looking around himself once again. He sighed, still unable to process that he was going to live there. He could still not believe it, because all had happened without him expecting it. He had lost count of how many days had gone by since he fell.

Does it even matter?

He walked slowly towards the closet, and then dropped his bag on the ground near it. He would take his things out later; he had only brought clothes, a few small tools and his armor. He would have not brought something that gave him unpleasant memories, but he had his reasons to bring that thing. He could not leave it behind in that cave, because he did not know if someone could roam the forest and find it one day. Even if it was weird, it made him remember his world, somehow. It was the only thing he still had from that place he called home, because he had lost that sword.

He outstretched tiredly; his wings moved over his head like his arms did. He looked at the comfortable looking bed… and then let himself fall forward, without blinking or thinking twice. He fell onto it with a small huff, and then slumped into those soft blankets. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes; all his muscles relaxed.

Really missed this…

The angel fell asleep quickly; he was very tired. His wings stopped twitching and dropped limp at his sides; he finally had enough space to rest without them having to fold over him. The bed was soft and comfy; it was not rough and flat, it was not a wooden surface placed onto a rock. It did not have leaves, but blankets, and there was no rocky wall besides it. There was no exit which allowed the wind to flow in, he had a window and it was closed. There were walls, which allowed him to have privacy, not like those fragile curtains made of plants. It was a real room.

Even if he still missed all he had before he fell… this was enough. He was safe, and now he had a real place to live in. No matter if he was bound.