A bright smile shined on Ayako’s face. Her steps were fast and joyful through the forest. In her hands, she carried a bag. It was full of shells and seafood, which rolled inside while she walked up the uneven terrain, towards a familiar clearing.

She carried the bag to trade it with the angel, who she knew had to be in a bad mood.

Alexis had been shedding more feathers than usual. It was funny how he had been changing his fluff because of the summer heat. His feathers had been puffy, and messy, much more when she stared at him, no matter how much he complained. Luckily, they were soon back to their usual smooth and soft appearance, while the old ones fell in a more orange-like pile in his nest. She made good use of those, telling Godric and Cecilia she just found them by chance, in a temporal nest where the angel shed them.

For all that huge pile of feathers, she of course had to give him something in return. That was why she was going to pay him a visit now.

Not because she wanted to make up for how he had felt, no. Not that she cared he had been itching and tossing around, uncomfortable. Not at all.

Her eyes glinted, because she finally saw the small path that led to his hideout, between the dense vegetation. She called and stepped into the small clearing, with strong steps.

“Alex! I bring you something!”

She pouted, because no one answered. She heard no annoyed replies or grumpy complaints for her visit. She saw no one in the clearing or cave. He was not behind the drapes of his opening, nor near the river. The fire he always lighted was dead.

It was strange, because at these hours he was usually making breakfast. So maybe he was at the lake then, fishing.

Ayako sighed and walked towards the rock where she always left her trades. But she blinked and stopped when she got near, because she almost stepped on something on the ground. Her blue eyes widened slowly, and filled with shock, then worry. At her feet laid a feather, but it was not golden. Her hands dropped the bag, without thinking. The feather was black, and most importantly, shredded to pieces. It was like if something had made it burn, unnaturally.

Her hands dashed, she panicked and quickly reached for her belt. Her blue eyes cried as she raised something to her lips.

A loud whistle echoed through the forest.

—————————————-

Lykaios had been curled on himself; he had been resting, with his long tails tangled around each other. He was sleeping peacefully inside his empty tree trunk. As always, he was a calm demon, never liking to bother with much.

Rarely did he get out of his woods, which were far from everything, towards the west. He only did some days, disguised as a lynx, to see Ayako. The only one he cared for.

He let out a contented breath, enjoying another calm morning. He did not bother to even think of anything.

Until he heard it.

His head whipped upwards, his ears perked up in surprise. He heard the whistle he gave Ayako, made for her so long ago. A whistle she should only use in moments of need. It was meant for when an angel appeared… or to call for help.

Lykaios quickly dashed out his tree. His paws barely brushed the ground as he ran. He took speed and headed fast towards the faint whistle. He ran, hoping it was only a call to warn him about another angel to hunt, and not to beg for help. But he knew that it was near impossible that two angels fell at once in the same region. And that made him fear.

He growled between his fangs and fastened his moves. Because he was far from her, far from everything, in lands no one roamed.

But he would be there at her side soon. He would help her.

————————————————–

 

I… can’t…

He had fled for two days already. He had spent too many hours flying. Alexis could feel his eyes closing from time to time, and the exhaustion creep all through him. But he still kept fleeing; he still held the sword in his hands, even if it now dangled on his fingers in the air.

Keep going…

His surroundings had changed. The woods had been more or less clear before. The trees had been nice to look at, with beautiful green branches and trunks, with many soft bushes and plants around.

He halted that trail of thought and huffed, trying to make his flight a little higher. He dodged by little the sharp and crooked branches below him. He was losing height, slowly, and he could not see or find a good spot to land. He could only see tall black trees, with no leafs on them, only thorns. All were tangled with each other, and made a huge dark labyrinth below.

He kept going through the black sky. He kept forcing his wings to move. And eventually, he could not keep on. His eyes closed without him realizing it; he fell under his tiredness and exhaustion. The adrenaline had died out yesterday, when he lost the demon behind him. He had stopped seeing flames; he had managed to stop hearing those claws against the trees behind him. He was so tired, that he did not realize he was losing altitude; he did not feel how his wings went limp at his sides.

But he did not have time to fall into unconsciousness, not fully. Alexis let out a pained gasp when he felt something brush his shoulder. His eyes opened again, wide, and he saw he was falling quickly. And it was too late to take flight again.

He trashed in the air, he screamed as his wings hit many sharp branches. He tried to fold them back, knowing he could break them if he kept on panicking. He only could raise his arms over his face and brace himself for the hit while he rolled between thorns. The branches broke easily under his weight, causing him to descend at an alarming speed towards the hard ground.

In the distance, Uriel was still running. He had never stopped his chase. His violet eyes narrowed, when he heard a loud thud ahead. Because of that, he clenched his teeth and growled, running even faster.

A pained whimper echoed between the broken branches on the ground. A figure trembled below them, struggling to stand.

Alexis raised his head slowly, dazed from the fall. Luckily, he had fallen without crushing his wings. Still, he feared for them, thinking they could be broken. He tried to move them, and he sighed when he saw he could, though weakly. They only had a few scratches on them, with a few feathers lost or torn apart. Other than that… He could only feel the exhaustion, the strain on his muscles.

Alexis slumped slightly onto the ground, closing his eyes as he cried silently. He tried to focus on just breathing.

I have to… Keep-

He jolted; a cold shiver ran down his spine. He heard a noise, not too far. He made an effort to open his eyes again, unsettled by the growl that echoed to him.

Uriel stood near. Too near, he could see. The demon was standing tall, on the top of a small hill between trees. Those flaming violet eyes were glinting in the dark, glaring at everything below, to find him.

And he did find him. He saw him, thrown there on the ground, at the feet of the hill.

Uriel’s eyes filled with surprise and perplexity, because he saw the trail of a forceful landing, too many broken branches above the angel. He felt even more confused when he saw the blond struggle to stand, with troubled breaths and movements.

He had though he landed willfully. But it looked like he had… fallen.

Uriel stood still, grimacing; he saw a lot of scratches on his skin and wings. He didn’t understand either why he saw tears, falling from the eyes of his enemy.

Alexis stumbled, but managed to stand once more. His expression showed pure fear, because he saw the now familiar violet glow again. Too near, so near that the demon would only need a few seconds to reach and kill him. He had thought he had more distance between them. And he had thought wrong again.

Uriel gasped with worry, because his angel rushed for the sword lying near him. But then he ran again, without facing him, without bothering to pay mind to his bruises or troubled breaths.

Why are there tears?

Uriel’s anger faded slightly, below his growing confusion. His instincts were pushed away as he tried to think with reason. He always tried to.

Now that he pushed down his blind blood lust, he could smell… fear. But angels never feared. Never.

Uriel jumped down the hill, and observed with narrowed eyes how the angel could barely breathe while he fled away with quick and pained steps.

The angel was running away, from him, desperately. When he had attacked his angel, there were no tears. He only had dodged, he moved fast.

And now Uriel came to realize… That the angel had not attacked once. He only did so when he grabbed him to keep him from flying away. And even then, it had been a reflex kick, in self-defense. The pressure of his tail on his foot had to hurt for sure. He did not even try to swing the sword he carried.

Why?

Uriel did not understand. But one thing he knew… The angel was scared.

He was not an evil demon. He was not. Troubled, his eyes lost all anger, filling with concern instead. He ran again to catch the angel. But this time not to attack him, but to question him.

“Wait!”

Alexis heard him yell, as he flapped his wings weakly to jump over a ledge. Unsurprisingly, he refused to halt or wait.

He could not wait just to let him claw at him. Maul him, or worse.

His amber eyes caught a glimpse ahead, of an area with fewer trees. There was a huge formation of rocks, a mountain covered by sharp cracks and thorns. There was a big opening at its feet, a huge cave at the end of a ravine.

The night was dark. He would not see anything if he was human. Neither of them was. Both could see the ravine ahead.

Alexis, as much as he would hate going into a place like that in other circumstances… decided to run towards the path and caves. He feared more his demon than the darkness.

Uriel huffed and ran as fast as he could. But even like that, he was unable to catch him. It seemed that fear made the angel even faster. He barely could keep up with the panicked and quick moves of the other, who even if tired, never stopped. Not even if he screamed at him to do so.

“I mean it! Stop! I want to talk!”

Alexis did not hear the last part; he lost him behind, past crooked trees and uneven terrain.

He reached the beginning of the ravine at last. But in his hurry, he tripped; he crumbled face first onto the ground, with a hissed huff. After the fall, he raised his gaze slowly and stared at the huge rocks above him. There it was; the mouth of the cave loomed over him, where inside an unsettling grey mist tangled. Humid rancid air emanated from it. The tunnel did not seem to have an ending; it looked like a deep throat. There were sharp rocks everywhere, almost making the opening resemble huge jaws that would close onto him.

He kneeled up and kept on staring, too doubtful to move and go in. He was unsure of going in, yes, until he heard the crackling of flames in the distance, growing louder every second. He had heard them before, and he hated to hear them again.

The caverns did not seem as bad now…

Uriel snarled and cursed, because he saw him stand and dash into the dark.

“Stop!”

His voice roared to be heard. And heard it was. Alexis noted its impatient and feral tone. And for that reason, he ventured deeper through narrow tunnels. He did not doubt to keep descending, towards an unknown destination, wherever these claustrophobic caverns led him. Nothing would stop him from fleeing for his life.

He reached a bigger tunnel after some minutes, in which he never stopped hearing the strong steps of his attacker. He halted dead on his tracks, panting. His eyes moved to look at the multiple paths in front of him, very narrow tunnels. Each went in one direction, one upwards, others sideways, while the last one seemed to descend more. Neither had any light, or any clue as to where they led. He had no idea which way could provide shelter, or a way in which to save his life. Any of them could lead to the other side of the mountain and his freedom, or just get him into a cold space where he would die.

As he wasted some precious seconds doubting… something seemed to move above him.

Alexis was unaware of the shadow that hanged on the ceiling, between shadows, cracks and sharp rocks. He did not see how a bat-like wing whipped open, or how a second untangled, following lazily the first. A red eye opened slowly, to then narrow and look below with interest. Sharp fangs raised into a sick smile, one full of malice.

The demon hanging from the ceiling laughed silently, which made his black fur shiver. Its figure was humanoid, but animalistic and feral, similar to a bat. Its wonder was obvious in its movements while it looked at the angel below.

What are my eyes seeing? An angel, in my caverns.

The devil leaned a little, to look more closely. He did not make a sound while he pondered the situation. He took advantage of the angel’s ignorance; he was too busy peeking warily into the diverting tunnels.

Centuries had gone by since he devoured one like him. He missed the taste of flesh and blood. It felt wondrous, so satisfying to feel that pure essence on his fangs, down his throat. See their life dying in his claws; take away all their blind righteousness and purity. Make them discover true fear, and see it reflected in the eyes that showed might before. See their pain…

Its figure trembled with the mere thought. He began to untangle from the ceiling, smiling wide at the literal golden opportunity.

He would have lunged down onto the angel without second thoughts. But he backed up with a surprised silent snarl when he saw something. He saw his possible prey cower too; the angel gasped and looked back fearfully to the tunnel he came from. A violet light was growing from it, with the sound of small flames. It erased the darkness, nearing fast. The bat growled and cursed silently; because he saw Alexis take the last and closet path, down into the depths of the hollow mountain.

There is already a demon chasing the angel. Damn my luck…

The eyes in his claws filled with hate and ire, as he saw another demon run into the bifurcation with strong and decisive steps. The horned devil only halted to consider which one of the ways to pick.

The bat understood well. The angel belonged to this young demon, he was his prey. They were bound to one another. He couldn’t dare to get in between, not if he wanted to keep his own neck. He could see that this demon was powerful, even considering his younger age; there were small flames tangling around him while he advanced, unstoppable.

Maybe… he could at least have the left overs, if he left anything behind. Maybe a few droplets of blood or a few bones, maybe even torn flesh. He could search for the corpse once he had killed and was satiated enough.

The bat crawled on the ceiling; he followed them both, without being seen or heard. Uriel ran down the last tunnel, able to sense that his angel fled through that one.

Said angel had stopped running.

Alexis was in the center of a huge cavern. The tunnel had led him there, to a place where he could not get out from. It was a huge room, with thousands of stony cracks and sharp stones, which rose from every wall, the ground and ceiling. He stood in the middle of it all, between many rocks looming at his sides. He had stopped moving, because he understood he had no way out. He was left shocked and breathless. He looked up slowly, shadowed by the uneven terrain. The walls that enclosed the cave were high and almost unending; he barely could see the ceiling. On every wall, there were fissures, which could lead to other outer tunnels. But they were too small for him to squish himself through. He could not break or open them either; he had no strength, not now.

It was a dead end. There was only one possible escape, a faint one. There was a ledge above, far above; it was a stony platform looming from one wall, up in the shadows above him. It was a small precipice, something he could only reach by flying.

He raised his shaky wings even if it hurt, knowing that it was the only way. The ledge led to another tunnel, a path that went back into the narrow paths.

Uriel stepped into the huge opening, just in time to see Alexis move down his wings, take flight. He saw him jump; however, he did not lunge to stop him. He did not need to, because Alexis did not manage to stay in the air for long. The young demon watched with pity, because after the angel managed to raise a few meters, he gasped in pain and dropped down. He fell onto his hands and knees, and his wings went limp to the ground, barely avoiding scratching the rocks around him.

He couldn’t fly… Both knew.

Alexis shivered, unable to do anything but stare at the ground while heavy footsteps echoed behind him. His hands began to fidget on the ground, to try to grab the sword he had never left behind. He saw it there at his feet, and so, considered it his last chance.

Uriel halted, his eyes narrowed with annoyance when Alexis stood and turned to face him clumsily. He had the sword in his hands, up in between them. But that could barely be considered a common fighting stance. His angel was staring up at him with pure terror, keeping the sword up for dear life. He was trembling like a leaf; his hands shook while they clutched the handle of his weapon, so tightly that it hurt.

Uriel looked scarier in the shadows. His eyes shined and seemed to sharpen like a feline, it did not help that they were fixed on him with a thoughtful look. He almost looked as tall as the rocks rising around them, as sharp as his horns.

Alexis only managed to dare a few words of warning.

“D-don’t… D-don’t come a-any c-closer!”

The bat smiled and watched in the shadows. He saw Uriel approach slowly; he towered over the terrified angel and scared him even more, even if he only intended to push away his sword.

After a few steps, Uriel blinked, because Alexis closed his eyes and screamed suddenly. The blond finally decided to try to defend himself; he moved the sword forward, without even thinking how. The demon easily dodged every slash with simple leans, baffled and annoyed. He could see how he was using useless blind attacks, out of fear.

Alexis huffed suddenly, when he felt the edge of the sword halt forcefully, against something. He cracked one eye open, slowly. Only to almost faint when he saw Uriel there, glaring down at him with his claw around the sword, without even a scratch. His strong nails were keeping the sharp edge still, while his eyes showed him how frustrated he was.

“Stop already. I will-“

Alexis did not want to listen to what he thought to be descriptions of how he would tear him apart, for defending himself. Uriel growled with surprise when Alexis began to pull at the sword with a snarl, desperate to make him let go.

It only made Uriel lose his patience.

Uriel pulled as well in the opposite way, strongly. It made Alexis let out a small gasp as he lost grip of the handle, easily overpowered. His amber eyes opened wide; he saw Uriel steal away his sword and lean it away. He inspected it for a second… to then haul it brutally over his tall shoulder, with a single move of claw.

Alexis let himself fall onto his knees, mouth slightly agape. He heard his only weapon clank above, very high above. It was thrown so strongly that it landed on that ledge, so far over them. It was now out of reach, far of sight.

After a satisfied huff, Uriel tried to reason once more. This time he did so with a calmer tone, but more severe.

“Enough already. If you don’t fight, I will n-“

Neither wanted to fight. The demon had raised a claw, intending to lay it on the angel’s shoulder, to try to quiet him down. And that’s when Alexis finally broke down, deemed himself dead, unable to think clearly anymore.

Uriel could only back off and shield himself when Alexis screamed suddenly. He began to yell words loudly and as fast as possible, with a deep grimace and his eyes closed.

“Paenitet omne peccatum feci! Me poenituit comedendo pisces! Me poenituit, ludite eiusdem militie tempore! Omnia quae feci! Deo placere non patiar amplius, ne me ad inferos-!”

Uriel winced and waited to feel any kind of pain, because he thought the words were a spell or incantation. But Alexis just kept going, and nothing happened. He lowered his arm and claw slowly, and then stared down at the blond with a baffled gaze.

Is he seriously praying?

Uriel did not understand a single thing. He did not understand the words, or why his angel was behaving like this. So he showed his fangs in a snarl, as he leaned and hissed angrily.

“Shut up! I said I won’t-!”

Alexis stopped when he felt a claw on him; he felt those nails brush his feathers when said claw gripped his wing, the closest limb to reach. Uriel’s tail dropped when he saw Alexis brace himself, like if he was going to hit him. He heard him let out the next words in a quick whisper, with urgency and anxiety.

“Not the wings!” He would not die if his wings were clawed at. He preferred to be stabbed, bitten, or anything which made death faster. “P-please, not the wings…!”

“Silence!”

Uriel breathed out with a flaming huff. With that, he managed to make Alexis obey at last, even if thanks to being intimidated. Alexis shrunk and bowed his head, not daring to look up at him. He was unable to do anything but jolt with silent sobs, still feeling that claw grabbing him. The nails were sharp enough to sink deeply between the feathers, ensuring an inescapable grip.

The young demon stood there, trying to calm himself, huffing, having let out his anger and exasperation. He felt less anger by the moment, as Alexis tried to contain his sobs and just waited to be killed.

The bat was feeling more impatient, he was fidgeting while he waited for Uriel to stop scaring him and do anything already. As much as he enjoyed smelling the fear and watch the angel have a breakdown, he was hungry. The small cuts and bruises he sensed were making his fangs sharpen.

In the end, his bloody eyes widened with surprise, because he saw Uriel take a deep breath and soften his hurtful grip. It then understood he would do nothing to harm the angel. Instead of clawing at him, Uriel spoke slowly, tired of not being listened to.

“I said… I am not going to kill you.”

Both Alexis and the bat froze in shock.

After a few seconds of him looking blankly at the ground, Alexis raised his gaze ever so slightly, to give the demon a confused look. He surprised himself when he managed to say one single word, out of his mouth without thought, too shaken.

“W-what?”

Uriel sighed and frowned even more. He tried to sound reasonable, but firm. He still did not understand anything, and he did not trust in the angel.

“I won’t kill you, as long as you… Don’t fight.”

Alexis had been horrified of being chased; he thought he would die, that he would be eaten alive, or worse. He had his fears confirmed when Uriel had first attacked him; when he heard him yell he would tear him to pieces.

Slowly, he realized that the nails were no longer clutching his wing as forcefully as before. He stared at the demon for a whole minute, still crying, with a dazed gaze. He was still fearful while he glanced at those now calmer violet eyes; he still felt small while he towered over him.

But one thing was clear… He felt confusion and relief at once, it flowed all through him. There were too many emotions in a single moment, both in his heart and mind, all mixed up inside. They settled with the tiredness, and they finally ended with the last bit of strength he had.

Uriel gasped when Alexis’ eyes half closed… and his body went limp. He would have fallen with a thud, were not for him holding him quickly and nervously with both claws, before he could hit the ground.

“H-hey…! I- I- What… Have you just fainted on me?! W-wake up!”

Uriel held him carefully, even if he was tempted to let him go. His tail was moving with pure shock, mimicking his thoughts. He could only wonder what the hell had just happened.

Was this guy really his angel? An angel would never faint… They… They were clever creatures, full of pride. They always loved to fight, and never feared doing so.

Could he be faking?

Uriel shook him a little in his grip, carefully, to try and see if he was just faking. Maybe he was trying to wait for him to let him go… to then take him by surprise and strike.

But he deemed it was not plausible, it could not be. Not when the guy looked so beaten, so limp, with a sad but peaceful expression on his face, full of relief. He was not moving an inch, only his chest when he breathed tiredly. Even his nervous wings now rested unmoving at his sides, slumped and limp. His breaths were turning more even, and the tears had stopped falling.

He just stood there, with the angel in his arms, not quite knowing what to do. What to think.

This was not normal. No angel had ever acted like this, ever.

Uriel doubted; his claws twitched over Alexis. He considered he could be really plotting, to fool him. He considered stabbing him, end with him before he could cause him any harm… But his violet eyes closed again, he swallowed in his hate and weariness. He ignored the burning in his veins, the strange pulse in his heart, the dark inaudible whisper, which told him to tear him apart before it was too late.

He was no savage. He would not be the monster angels considered them to be. He would not kill without a fight. All he had wanted was to fight and assert his right to exist, show an angel that he was no animal they could hunt in their crusades.

He had thought his angel was fleeing to gain an advantage, to guide him to his doom, somehow. But he was only fleeing to avoid fighting him; to save his life.

But that… That is not possible. Or is it?

His heart was torn, unsure. Angels were not supposed to feel fear or any emotion, yet there he was having just seen it. Somehow, it was difficult to see him as an angel now, even with those wings. No matter if he distrusted him with all his soul, he could not kill him now, not yet. Not without being sure of his intentions. It was a strange thought for him, to spare the angel, but he could not think of just killing either.

Red eyes filled with anger and disbelief, because they saw the young demon make a choice. Uriel easily took Alexis into his arms, and began to walk towards the upper tunnels. Without a single drop of blood on his claws.