Leticia was startled awake by the sudden 'woosh' of air caused by the Angel flying away and the cloak which he had placed over her to cover her was partially blown off her body and along with it, the debris of broken sticks and dead leaves which littered the forest floor. She laid still and unmoving on the ground for a while, with her eyes open and staring straight to the sky and to the tree tops. What had just happened? Had she seen right? For the first time ever, she had come so very close to a creature which she had only heard of from people and which she had only read in books, she had seen an Angel. She almost could not believe it.
She had seen an Angel!She sprang up to a sitting position and that was when she noticed the cloak on her, it must have belonged to him, the Angel, she was convinced of this because the stench of alcohol was very strong on it. He must have been drinking the night before and had wandered aimlessly into this forest before passing out here in the open. But why would he have been drinking? She wondered. Do Angels actually drink? Are they supposed to? What kind of Angel was he any way?In as much as she was thrilled about having seen an Angel for the very first time in her life, she was also some what disappointed. Disappointed because her expectations of what an Angel would actually look like had been way high up and above a lot of standards, it had been way high up and despite what the other humans who had survived the war had told them about Angels being bad now and against the humans, still she had painted a perfect picture in her mind of a powerful creature with majestic shiny wings, adorned in the whitest of linen cloth and yielding a very awesome and magnificent, glittering sword but yet the first Angel she had seen was a drunk, passed out on the forest floor and reeking of alcohol.But she had to admit that this Angel was stunning. He was definitely a very beautiful creature. She had been able to study his face, those chisel sculpted face, his sharp features, his golden hair which she had really wanted to touch and to feel in her hands, his prefect body. Ugh! She groaned.Should she be thinking like this? She thought about that for a little while and shrugged her shoulders. It was not like she was sinning or anything, she was just simply stating her observations and praising a very well done creation. Were all the Angels this captivating? Was she already liking him?She laughed inwardly. Of course she had taken a liking to him, he was after all the one creature she had always wanted to see so naturally she would be taken by him even by a single glance, but no, she was not liking him like that. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She tried to imagine him as she had always imagined any Angel, radiant and daring, with fire burning in their eyes, excellently dressed in shining linen and wielding the most magnificent sword that could cut through any thing very easily. Even though this Angel was not what she had imagined, his wings had been glowing just like she had imagined so, it counted but she had not noticed a sword on him.Speaking of swords, where had she placed hers? She looked around for it and found it lying beside her, the two pouches half full with coins and the bottle of asphax were still on her but the sandwiches were gone. She frowned when she saw the wrappers she had used to wrap them on the ground and opened, the sandwiches were gone and only a few crumbs were left. She grumbled and stood up, grabbing her sword and the Angel's cloak as she did. She knew who had eaten them.She would wait for him to return back so she could give him a piece of her mind and advice him against eating the food belonging to strangers. At the least, he would have left her one sandwich, but no, he had to eat up the two, he just had to eat them all up. Holding on to the feather, she lifted it up and against the sun's rays to admire the still glowing treasure. Part of her mind still grumbling over her sandwiches and part of her was so mesmerized in the glistering feather she had held up that she did not hear the sound of footsteps slowly approaching her until the person spoke, startling her out of her thoughts."What is a female Angel doing alone in this forest and so early?" She spoke. "Are you perhaps with Sheila?"She spun round, her sword up in her arms and in defense. Leticia studied the woman who had just spoke, only that this was not just a woman, she was not even human. Her long tail hung steadily in the air behind her and her forked tongue slithered in and out at intervals, tasting the air. Leticia noticed that this... creature had no horns so she must have been a demonic spirit resurrected in a human's body. She looked on in awe, some how, it made Leticia cringe and feel pity to think that this creature standing before her was once a human being. And once a beautiful human being too, she could not deny the fact that this demon girl was absolutely stunning in beauty.Then a thought hit her, the demon girl had called her an Angel, which meant that the Asphax had hidden her human scent pretty well. Ha! It worked! She was so relieved that she almost jumped up in total happiness."How long have you been here?" The demon girl asked Leticia.For a moment she froze, not exactly knowing what she should reply the demon girl. "Errr....a while now?"The demon girl cocked her head. "Only a while?"Leticia sighed. "A long while actually.""You have been here with Liam?" The demon girl asked again, walking up and getting closer to Leticia whose sword was still up and pointed to her, trying to keep the distance between them. The demon girl smiled, this Angel was cautious of her."Who?" Leticia replied. Was she asking after the drunken Angel? And why? How did she even know that he was here?"Liam...? The Angel that was here?" The demon girl raised an eyebrow and pointed to the cloak Leticia held in her hand, she looked at the cloak. Liam? So that was his name. "Where is he now?" She questioned again after not getting an answer. "Where has he gone to so early?"Leticia faced the demon and decided to play along."Err.... He went away, not quite long ago, he left before I woke up."The demon girl cocked her head at Leticia with a frown on her face. "Before you woke up? You also slept here?"With him? The demon girl thought."Yes I did, we were together." Leticia answered without thinking, she lowered her sword slowly but still kept a distance from her. "And you have been here with him also though out the night?"Leticia raised an eye brow at the demon girl who was asking just to many questions. What exactly does she have to do with the Angel? She decided to ask."Why are you looking for him?" Leticia replied her with her own question."I brought him here." The demon girl leaned against a tree and eyed Leticia. She could not get the thought of Liam being with her throughout the night out of her head. It annoyed her but she managed to keep a cool head."Ohh..." Leticia muttered while nodding her head. "I actually thought he might have just wandered in here on his own during the night, seeing that he was drunk and reeked of alcohol. He almost startled me.""Drunk? He was not drunk, Angels do not get drunk on alcohol. You are an Angel and you do not you know that?" The demon girl fired at her.Leticia's eyes widened, Angels do not get drunk on alcohol? No, she did not know that but now that she did... "I know that." She composed herself and defended. "I am an angel afterall." That almost made her laugh but she held herself. Well she did smell like an Angel so she was not exactly far from being one. She smirked.The demon girl scoffed. "If you know that then why did you say that he was drunk?""Because he looked to be, but I never said that he was drunk on alcohol, or did I?" Leticia tried to twist around it."Do not try to play smart with me." The demon girl frowned."I do not try to play what I already am." Leticia did not know why but she found it amusing to her that she was pissing this demon girl off.The demon girl moved from her position of leaning on the tree and took an offensive stance against Leticia. "What did you do here with him any way and how did you end up with his cloak?" It was getting obvious that the demon girl really did not like Leticia and frankly, Leticia knew that she did not like her too. Her questions were becoming a little bit too much.Leticia perceived that this demon was getting jealous of her by just thinking that she had spent the night with the Angel but why? Because of the Angel, Liam? She thought they had been together? Does she perhaps have a crush on him? She almost laughed out but instead she chuckled."Do you have something going on with Liam? Because you are making it way too obvious." Leticia decided to pick on her."And what if I do? What is it to you?" The demon girl half smiled.Leticia laughed lightly. "Nothing actually, but I can understand why you are behaving like I just stole your boyfriend.""What?!" The demon girl sparked. "Liam is not..." She paused. Leticia smirked and hugged the cloak closer to herself and inhaled the scent with her eyes briefly closed, she tried hard not to choke on the alcoholic stretch. The demon girl hissed. "He gave this cloak to me." Leticia spoke but seeing the jealousy evident on the demon girl's face, she decided to take it up a notch. "And as for what we did, I think it is best I do not tell. You know, it was pretty cold last night out here in the forest for me to remember anything." Ok, maybe she took it too up.The demon girl rolled her eyes at Leticia, her anger was beginning to build and it was rising fast. "And how come you two ended up together then?"Leticia thought on that for a short while and replied. "Ohhh... hunting. I was out hunting.""Hunting? Human hunting? You are an Angel and yet you are hunting humans?" The demon girl laughed out loud. "You do not look like the type of Angel to do that.""Why?" Leticia questioned. "You do not think that I can? Do you think of me as small and unable?""I do not think any thing of you." The demon girl spat. "And besides, if at all you do hunt humans in this forest, then you would not stand a chance with Liam. He hates such sport as he calls it as being inhumane."Oh does he now, so he's against human hunting, Leticia thought and smiled to herself. He might be a keeper."I do not stand a chance with him?" It was her turn to laugh. "I am not in need of a chance with him but if I do not stand a chance with him then you do?" Leticia scoffed, it riled the demon and Leticia was enjoying every bit of it."That is because you hunt. You hunt humans and then sell them off for money, isn't that what you have tied to your waist?" The demon girl said, her eyes on the pouches tied to Leticia's waist."Yes, it is money but not money from hunting and selling humans. When I said hunting..." Leticia continued and put down the cloak before fixing her eyes on the demon girl. "...I mean demon hunting. I hunt demons for sport. Demons like you.""I would love to see you try!""You would not sell much in the market because you are a bit skinny but I am in need of a runner. You will be my errand demon."The demon girl snapped and charged at her. Leticia brought her sword up and smiled, adrenaline burned through out her veins and she knew for sure she was going to love this exercise. She knew she needed it and she was ready.Liam dropped down noisyly to the ground, his huge wings flapped once before folding up behind him. He had skipped going to the lake and rather chosen to go to the waterfall instead, standing under the falling water was much better than dunking yourself in a lake. He was already shirtless and he did not bother taking off his pants before stepping into the water. The water here was really shallow, reaching only up to his knees, he walked under the water fall, welcoming the cascading coolness that washed over him, it felt refreshing on his skin.Closing his eyes he tried to drown out his thoughts but he could not, the dark image of Renard constantly played in his subconscious, this corruption had spread faster than anything he had imagined and he did not know why he was feeling pity towards him, he had after all, chosen the path he was on now and he would face it himself. But what had made him change? He knew one of the reasons was power. Renard had always been an Angel who en
"When I said hunting..." Leticia had continued, putting down the cloak before she fixed her eyes on the demon girl. "...I mean demon hunting. I hunt demons for sport. Demons like you."The demon girl fisted her hands by her side. "I would love to see you try!""You would not sell much in the market because you are a bit skinny." Leticia went on, weighing the sword in her hand and throwing it from one palm to the other without taking her eyes off the demon girl. "But I might be in need of a runner. You will be my errand demon."The demon girl snapped and charged at her. Leticia brought her sword up and smiled, taking careful steps backwards as adrenaline burned through out her veins. She knew for sure she was going to love this exercise, the last time she had to train was two days ago but it seemed like eternity. She was not used to staying a long while without exercising her arms and see could not train herself by fighting the trees, no, that was a waste. She saw the demon
Leticia gripped the sword in her hands tightly, her eyes fixed on the Angel Liam and the demon girl who seemed to know each other pretty well, she took a step back and watched them."Liam?" Phidian called in surprise."What is going on here?" He asked, directing his question to Phidian. Throwing a glance off his shoulder, he sighted Leticia backing off slowly from them. He had not been thinking straight when he landed with his back to her and his wings dangerously close to her, he could have lit her up like a dry wood in a camp bonfire."I came here for you but found her instead." Phidian took a step to the side so she could see Leticia."And then what happened? You girls were in each other's throats." He turned now to look at Leticia who threw her face away from him, clearly she was upset about something. He faced Phidian again when she started speaking."She said you both spent the night together, is that what had happened Liam?""We..." He started but paus
Leticia was screaming her voice away, causing her throat to hurt and her eyes were tightly shut, she had grabbed on to Liam body with a death grip, since the Angel was not putting on any upper body cloth, with her fingers digging into his skin. She was very scared of heights, her head was spinning, she felt the wind blowing against her, she heard the flapping of his wings, she felt his hands which firmly gripped her around her waist and the under of her knees. She screamed louder, begging him to set her down on the ground because it felt like he was not able to hear her until he screamed for her to quiet down. She had done so almost immediately, her heart was beating so rapidly, she felt that it would soon burst out of her rib cage and out of her chest."I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please do not drop me, I'm so scared. Do not drop me." She continued to plead but without shouting."I won't drop you."She heard him say and she partially calmed down but dared not to open he
Sheila whistled an old nursery tune she had been used to hearing from her human long before the war had happened as she bounced up and down on the seat perched in front of the wagon as it rolled quite noisly along the unevened road, she held on to the reins and did not bother to urge the horse to move faster because the road was a perilous mix of rocks, bumps, holes and sharp objects, she could not risk loosing a wheel or waking up the humans, but then she was sure that the bumpy ride must have woken them up already.She knew that if they were already awake, then they would not scream or shout because they would most definitely believe they were in a demon's wagon so what they might do, or would do would be to find a means of escape without her knowing about it. Now that she thought about that, she remembered that she did not tie them up and now thinking about it maybe she should, else they might escape from her and walk right into another danger, but then again, it was not
Smokes was not the kind of place to be opened during the day and Liam was grateful for that. He sat on the bar stool beside Leticia who did not feel quite comfortable in the bar, it reeked of alcohol and vomit and was really stuffy. She noticed that the windows were kept shut and the only light here came from the red bulbs hanging on different places in the ceiling, that sort of amazed her because it made her wonder how they could have managed to get electricity running in here, but it was still relatively dark and you could not tell if it was day or night outside from in here.She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and reached for the bottle of asphax that was still tied to her waist, wondering if she should apply more. She looked up over the counter, the demon girl whom she had come to know as Phidian was busy fixing them coffee, she had her back to her. Leticia squeezed the bottle of asphax in her hand."You're fine." She heard Liam's voice say to her in her head. She glance
Both Phidian and Leticia kept quiet when Liam walked back inside. Leticia held her cup on her laps and wound both hands round the smooth body, letting the heat warm her hands. She could not drink this, it was too bitter and she suspected that this demon girl had purposely made it as so, she eyed her from the corner of her eyes and frowned. If she could not drink it at least it is would serve another purpose of making her palm and fingers warm.She watched Liam sit with a sigh, placing both of his hands on the counter and resting on them for a while then he lifted his head and fixed a soft gaze on Phidian. Phidian who was caught unawares because her eyes were also on him began to feel somewhat uncomfortable, she blinked repeatedly and blushed heavily, momentarily looking away from him."Th...thank you." She muttered."Hmm." He blinked. "Thank me for what?"Phidian pointed towards the door and added. "For getting rid of Ben.""Ohh that..." He waved a hand. "Ben is
Ben got up from the ground, dusting himself and grumbling as he did. His jaw ached him terribly and his elbow was slightly bruised from hitting the ground too hard when Liam had flung him out carelessly. He wiped whatever little blood sipped out from the injury onto his trousers and cursed some more at Liam.It was still quite early for anyone or rather, any thing as he loved to call the demons, to come into Smokes and the place around the bar was deserted of beings so no one witnessed him being flung out or it would have been more humiliating. He stood at the door for a while, knowing that the could not go inside any more, at least for now or Liam would do worse and he cursed.The renegade Angel he had come to hate was always seen around Phidian and it irked him that Liam had latched himself into her, what exactly was going on between those two, he did not know but he hated that fact that they had become close. They had become way too close for comfort. He knew there wa