Three shadows moved in the dark. Their steps were calculated, direct. Even though their presence could be assumed as dangerous, the night still had echoes of wildlife. Their demonic presence was not seen as a threat, for it was known by the forest, familiar.

In fact, it was during the day when the forest would sometimes fall silent. The birds would stop singing, animals would hide. Not for any devil that roamed… but for humanity.

Each day, the forest’s edges were cut; for lumber was needed by the many souls that had bloomed near. It was still strong, but smaller each year.

But the heart of these woods was still untainted, safe. For now. It was a place they treasured, coveted.

His figure emerged from the shadows. Like so long ago, his violet eyes glinted in the dark, his steps strong as they entered the clearing. His expression was one of longing, of affection. His stance hinted his thoughts; he neared as if he could see someone there, like so long ago.

“Hello, my dear.”

She did not answer him. But he still felt her presence deep inside.

Ariel and Aurora followed close behind him, holding their backpacks close. The three entered the small cave that once had been a nest, almost reverently.

Uriel was the first to kneel by her tomb. He admired the stone they had dug long ago, the tombstone decorated by many runes and carvings. Animals, feathers, plants; all had been drawn over it. The ground had been dug strongly by his claws back then, providing a stony cavity that they closed with an ebony slab. Over it, even if worn out by time, still rested her dearest weapon.

He could still remember the first time he saw her, arrow struck. He fell for her quickly.

Like always, he smiled over her, calmly whispering like if she could hear him.

“I know we have taken a little longer to come see you. I’m sorry.”

Ariel let out a sigh with a smile, seeing him apologize once more. She would have reminded him how Ayako would have scolded him for apologizing for such a petty thing. Instead, she let him continue while he took something Aurora offered.

“Your kind seems to be taking from your resolve. Maybe one day you will end up surrounded by them, right here.”

Aurora commented, batting her wings with dislike.

“No; they can’t take these forests.”

She had her bow with her, as always. Uriel let out a chuckle, knowing she was the one who roamed most in her hunts, her eyes always finding themselves watching zealously over some humans that she would spot exploring or working.

“She would have agreed to help, Aurora.” He always surrendered to the whims of time, knowing it was useless to fight its flow. “Even if humans settle near this place one day, this place won’t lose its meaning. She would see prosperity and life around her.”

“Hopeless romantic…” Aurora sighed and gave him a pat on the back, standing after Ariel lighted the candles he placed around the tomb. “You will still cry the day they don’t let you get close to this cliff.”

“One day, surely.” He looked back at her, contrasting her reluctance. “I will truly miss this. Much like her hold and beautiful face.”

Ariel laughed a little, silently, adding with a comment he always said.

“But not the sight of her eyes.”

“No.” He rested a claw on her black hair between her curved horns, his fangs showing in a playful smirk, capable of seeing the very same blue colour he adored. “I have it right in front of me.”

While Ariel swatted his claw with her tail lightheartedly, Aurora walked off with an amused roll of eyes. She covered herself slightly with her hairy wings and let out a puff of air, the night cold.

“Well, while you two muse to yourselves there, I’m going to go see if I can find any hares. Maybe I will even fetch us some dinner, to honour her ways.”

Uriel called back with a shout, her steps already headed for the cliff.

“Do not fetch a snake, please. I’m not lighting a fire just for you to bring that.”

Aurora stuck her tongue out at him, much less picky with her food.

“Meat is meat! It tastes like chicken! Besides, it was a one-time occurrence! And you could still cook something nice with it, couldn’t you?!”

With that, she jogged away, her wings slamming down to help her circumvent the cliff, cutting some distance towards the lake.

Both horned demons sighed, knowing she would take a while to find any pheasants or boars; she would surely delay a lot if she managed to spot any rabbits. She never put a claw on them, sharing her love of them with Alexis. Bunnies were one of the reasons she once shot at a snake and then refused to throw it away.

“I’m sure mom would have been as curious to taste it as her.”

“Certainly. I’m sure she did it herself when she was a young woman. Perhaps even earlier.”

Twenty years old, a few more perhaps; a frozen age, the only thing they would look like for at least a thousand years. Time barely mattered.

He was like that when he met her, and when he lost her; still today, as he mourned and held close her progenies. They as well, a vision of her young days, an echo.

They may not feel the pressure of time… but others did. Human lives were more fleeting, more urgent. Each instant was an opportunity to grasp.

The two were too entranced by her altar to notice that the wildlife had fallen silent in the distance, the night now as quiet as death.

—————–

 

Slowly, all ever slowly… her claw lowered.

Her sharp blue eyes glinted in the dark, fixed on the two small round ones that stared up at her intently. Moving only slightly more than a statue, she let her hand near the rabbit’s head, its frozen stance hinting distrust.

Aurora finally let her sharp nails brush its fur. And with her careful touch, the rabbit did not flinch. It did subtly shiver, but its legs did not kick to bolt away.

It began to sniff her claw a little, warily. But as she crouched there, with her bow a few feet away, it lost all its distrust. Her wings relaxed and unfolded, as many other small shadows peeked from bushes or burrows. Like in almost every single trip into a forest, she managed to pick the attention of the critters, thanks to her kind glance, inherited from an angel.

She rummaged through her rucksack as they swarmed around her, some remembering her glinting bronze wings.

“Let’s see.” She procured a piece of cabbage, which quickly was tackled when she let it drop to the ground. “Grown by the rabbit master himself.”

Alexis always gave her things with which to lure them. He knew exactly what kind of thing would make them sniff the air, having needed to fend them off from his plants in the forest, and then having lived with one of his own.

Her blue eyes narrowed with a sad smile, remembering fondly the black ball of fur that would always plop on her lap. These were similar, but none as attached or caring as Abiel had been.

“Life is so short…”

And yet she could already feel in herself what Uriel did. She did not show it much, but she understood his feelings. Everything moved around them fast, their senses twisted and less insightful of the small changes in the world.

In that serene contemplation, she stood. Once more, she grabbed her bow. As she turned, she was not surprised to see the critters scatter, not in a panic, but in wariness. Death was part of life, something her mother had engraved deep into her mind, not only because of her hunts.

The dangers that surrounded them had always haunted her mother.

She tried to look towards the lake again, a place full of life, its waters providing the life source all beings needed. Its flow had always been cool and comforting, because it was not only soothing for her, but the ones she cared about. Her feet moved towards it… but they halted when a loud sound rumbled in the distance. Its echo was too loud, too strong.

She recognized it, instantly. She had heard it sometimes, the woods in which she hunted not as secluded and solitary. Nowadays she was not the only hunter.

A shot. With one of those firearms she had seen in Feiren, in playful displays by the guard, mere shows for the crowds. Something she had also heard in her ventures, in the far fields.

This was distant, but not as much as it should have been. She smelled the powder, the spark.

And blood.

She dashed, as fast as lightning. She was not far and soon stepped on the edge of the cliff with a slam of wings. Her blue eyes widened, as she was presented with a grim sight below.

Uriel stood in the middle of the clearing, tall as he could stand. His fire had tangled all around, lighting the glade in a haunting colour, the night still shadowing their surroundings. But… there was no mistaking now the figures that stood by the bushes, creeping into the clearing.

She saw the smoke flow out from the firearm that one held, as he snarled.

“These things do know how to take it, huh?!”

Uriel growled, refusing to reach for the small hole on his shoulder, where the bullet had sunk. He had pushed Ariel sideways just in time. She was now standing from where he let her fall, invoking her own blue fire around her claws.

Aurora clenched her teeth in fury, seeing both of them be surrounded by men, who had crept in the dark while they mourned.

“Kyle, these don’t look much like nomads!”

The humans glared at Ariel and Uriel, who now stood side by side, wary of the weapons. Ariel was shielding her father slightly as they whispered, contemplating.

“No, they don’t.” The man who had shot chuckled, taking aim again. He recognized Ariel, having seen her in town. Yet he did not care. “Still demons though. They’ll pay us the same for their heads.”

Uriel’s eyes filled with rage, as he understood clearly those words. The human nobility wanted the tribal devils out of their lands… and had established an incentive for the population to help. Like a hunting permit, like if they were simple deer that needed to be culled because of their numbers.

But the true invasive and highly numbered plague was humanity now, their greed overpassing their past aspirations.

“Back off. We are rightful landowners in this region.”

He tried to reason. It was certain they would not listen, he knew. And so, as they lifted their long wooden rifles again, he tensed. Ariel only needed a glance to know his next move. She readied her own.

Aurora gasped, hearing another shot. It missed, but not by much. Uriel had lunged, his claw slamming upwards and crushing in two one of those weapons. Though sturdier than a crossbow, it still shattered against his robust nails, its steam cartridge bursting with the sudden pressure.

That man wheezed and stumbled back, burnt by the flames that flowed up. Uriel towered over him, intending on knocking him out so he could not grab a knife on his belt. By doing so, he gave his back to one nearby, who aimed at his chest.

Uriel did not falter when he heard that one huff and drop to a knee. Ariel had swiftly head-butted him, her heart-shaped horns sturdier than a human skull. She jumped side to side as they shot next at her, the black folds on her vest following the flow of her long hair behind her.

Both tried to lunge towards the other men, who had backed away while they punched those two first. However, they had to halt, as they were still five of them, and all took aim once more, too far for them to grab them in time. The two glanced around them, both thinking of jumping onto some branches above before they could dress them with holes.

They did not need to leap, however. Because something else did.

The men faltered when a shadow dashed in the air. Above, against the dark sky, they saw the outlines of a humanoid, winged, its hands pointing a runed bow downwards. The figure had leapt from the cliff, and in a second had shot an arrow at their feet. One yelled, paling.

“Shit! An angel?!”

No, it wasn’t. It seemed so at first, thanks to the starless sky. But she descended slightly after her warning shot. As she did, her features became clearer, her face revealed with the violet and blue fire below her.

It was not an angel who had found its demonic prey. Her fangs showed clearly in her scowl. Her claws pressured tightly the bow and arrow she had ready. Her wings, though of the same shape, were much more bristly. And her blue eyes… even if as furious and outraged as an angel’s, were too feral and sharp. Her voice was also growled.

“He said, back off!”

She kept her arrow aimed at the head of the one who had shot Uriel. She now stood in between the two, her huge wings hiding their figures from their aim.

A stalemate. Her nails would release her arrow if they dared press their fingers on their triggers. And her first shot had been precise; it had brushed one of their feet. She was providing the ranged fierceness Ariel and Uriel could only match at close range.

The three demons glared at the five remaining humans, none daring to make a move. Not yet.

“Of course it’s another devil…” The man scoffed, eyeing her distinctive traits. “This one has had to come out from another shrew. Too many roam!”

Uriel wheezed as Ariel let go of him, in order to slam a foot forward and raise her fire closer to their legs. They did yelp and step away as the blue flames tried to lick them, dying out due to the distance.

“Don’t you dare call our mother shrew! Unless you want to look in a mirror!”

The men were about to retort, incapable of considering a human woman who had meddled with devils anything less than a whore. But they didn’t.

Ariel, Uriel and Aurora tensed. The bow was even lowered a little. Their eyes opened in worry, as they saw something dangerous.

But not for them, but the men.

“What are you looking at like-“

“Of all you dirty humans…” The men tensed too, at last. Their hands trembled around their firearms as they heard the growl behind their backs. “You dare insult her.”

They turned slowly. They did not have more than a second to try to distinguish what the blackness over them was. As soon as they leaned, two huge black claws and a big maw descended on them, big enough to reach for two of them with each.

Uriel finally dropped to one knee, sure that no shots would pierce Ariel or Aurora. The firearms did shoot again, but they either missed or sunk into limbs that barely reacted to the piercing bullets. Lykaios had pounced onto them and was now tearing into their arms, legs and weapons. His red eyes filled with glee as he let their blood brush his nails and teeth, his ears twitching expectantly with each pained scream he made them let out.

The sisters frowned, knowing that he was not killing, but crippling them for years. They did not step in between, and not only because the men had wounded Uriel. The big feline was entranced in his mauling, letting them crawl and try to run, only to let them stumble like mousses under the paws of a cruel cat.

The three stepped back closer towards the cliff, Lykaios dragging his prey into the dark. Ariel and Aurora proceeded to hold Uriel up, as he sighed and finally showed hints of pain.

“Uriel.” They had helped him walk towards the cabin by the waterfall, letting him lean against its steps. “Let me check, where-“

“It’s fine.” Much like Ariel, he always tried to seem composed, calm. But the pain was evident in his dismissive tone. “They hit my shoulder. Nothing. I’ve had worse. An arrow would have sunk deeper.”

Aurora was not one to be told to hold still. He knew. She was the first to pull at his clothes, to get a peek at the wound. Ariel assisted her quickly, with a cloth already on hand.

“These fu-“

“He told you not to curse.”

“I can curse all I want, he is not here.” Aurora proceeded to tie the fabric Ariel handed her around the bleeding, pressuring as much as possible. “He would curse too if he was here.”

Alexis had stayed back, wary of patrols that could trespass into their home; perhaps more men demanding tribute, which they now knew to be often invented. It would not be nice to return and see him find out about this.

Those men had been roaming, scouting, for many days. Not only for the purpose of hunting devils, but any animal. These forests were no longer secluded as they were. It was only a matter of time they stumbled upon their small hideout, their little cabin.

Her tomb…

So easy to reach, so exposed; the woods no longer veiled her resting place from foreign eyes.

Uriel stared at her crossbow, the nest, everything. The vision he had in his mind before, of humans roaming respectfully, was tainted. He imagined strangers stepping on her slab; kicking the candles or trinkets they left by her. And worse of all… he was sure that anyone would steal the necklace that hung over her, something many priests would pay their weight in gold for.

Any human daring enough to venture could hold the malice needed to reach for uncharted awards, by force. Whoever roamed here first would not do so to raise a home or a loving settlement. They would do so out of greed, seeking resources with which to pay their next vice.

Humanity could love… but few were like her. Much like their own race, or angels.

In that knowledge, he felt cold, haunted. He could not look away from her while strong steps echoed back, after some minutes. Ariel and Aurora frowned at Lykaios’ bloody claws, which painted the ground as he advanced towards her grave.

“The first who step here will only defile her memory.”

Lykaios glanced subtly at the cabin; as well, keeper of many memories, their laughter still seemingly echoing from inside. However, it could not be shielded. All knew that humans would come back, and they could do nothing but let them.

“I can keep them from one thing.” Uriel closed his eyes tight as the big lynx whispered that. He sobbed silently, incapable of looking as Lykaios sat by the opening, his red eyes taking a look at her remains. “No matter if we can’t reach her… she will always be present, by you. I will keep her hidden from unloving eyes, safe.”

If her spirit was present at all, it would not only roam around this place, but their home, them.

After a few moments, in which the feral demon let them take one last glance… his claws moved again.

Ariel and Aurora trembled as those huge black nails sunk into the edges of the opening, clawing which such force that the cliff seemed to twist. Uriel clenched a claw in impotence as rubble began to pour, torn off from above. In seconds, the view of her tomb was shadowed, by rocks that were clawed out of the stone, fallen at the ground.

It took a few moments, but it felt an eternity.

When Uriel opened his eyes, he could not see the nest where he saw them both once. He could not see the flat rock where his angel had slept or the edges where leafy drapes used to hang. There was only stone, the cliff was still hollow deep inside, but it was impossible to tell. No one could think of that cavity now unless they had known of the times spent in it.

The crossbow and necklace would never be taken. She would be kept away from malicious souls that she had despised in life. Afar from them as well, after all the time they had been able to near her. And even though he accepted this fact… it still hurt.

Aurora was right; the tears escaped him.