It was late afternoon when Arine, Ikko, and I were walking down a forest path with Ikko leading the way. It was nice to have another friend with us, but Arine didn't feel the same. I was walking next to him when he leaned in and whispered to me. "Are you sure we can trust a fallen angel? Who knows where he's taking us? He could harvest our souls in our sleep for all we know."
I rolled my eyes. "Nobody can have a chance to show kindness if no one gives them the opportunity." Arine crossed his arms. "Even if he is leading us to the right place, it's obvious he's got the hots for you and I don't like it." Ikko then stopped and turned around with no expression on his face. "You know I can hear everything you're saying, right?" Arine glared at him. "It's true though, you old chicken!" Ikko glared back. "Whatever you say, fly brain."
As they continued to fight like children, I noticed that there was a very large log in the middle of the road ahead and walked up to it. On both sides, it was either pricker bushes or a cold river. The only way was over. I looked up and noticed how difficult that would be. 'It's at least ten feet, I can't climb that!' I turned to see that Arine and Ikko were still fighting like cats and dogs, and I sighed. "Hey! Can you two idiots stop fighting over male dominance for one second and help me get over this log?!" They both stopped and looked at me blankly.
Then Ikko put his hands on his hips and smiled at Arine. "Sure. Step aside and watch a real man at work." Arine glared at him as Ikko walked over to me and grabbed me by the waist, pulling me toward him. I instantly blushed as he spread his wings and flew me over the log. Even though his wings were gray, they were still as beautiful as I imagined an angel's would be, which made me mesmerized until he put me down.
He let go of me and brushed my cheek with his hand. "For thousands of years, I thought that you could only enjoy a soul by killing the human and eating it. But every time I touch you, I feel so good. Imagine how good I would feel if I kissed you right now." I pushed his hand away. "Keep on imaging. Because I'm never going to kiss anyone ever again."
I turned away from him and continued to walk down the trail as Arine flew over the log and followed me. Ikko then flew over us and landed so that he was in our way from taking another step. "You've been hurt. Who made you say such a thing?" Ikko demanded. Arine looked down with both sadness and anger in his eyes. "The Demon King, you numbskull. Try to keep up." Ikko's eyes widened and he stepped back. He then looked down and glared at the ground. "How dare he. How dare he take such a beautiful creature for granted?" I was stunned at his response and Arine crossed his arms. "Finally. Something we can agree on."
I was so confused. 'All my life, no one has ever treated me better than a pile of dirt, then suddenly, I became a beautiful creature in an instant. But still, I can't seem to see what everybody else sees. To me, I'm still just an ordinary slave, putting everyone who cares about me at risk.' My mind went to Liem and I continued to walk past them so they wouldn't see my eyes fill up with tears.
"Thanks for caring. But a murderer like me doesn't deserve empathy." Ikko walked beside me and raised an eyebrow. "Hey. That's my line." Arine rushed to the other side of me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't say that. You are not a murderer. It was his choice to die for you, not yours. So stop being so hard on yourself." I looked down and smiled a little as Arine hugged me. "We're never going to let you get hurt ever again." Ikko smiled. "Yeah. And there's nothing you can do about it." My smile brightened. "You two are the best."
Later that night, we decided to settle down in an open field in the forest away from the road to avoid any travelers passing by. We made a campfire to sleep around and the light warmed my skin as I sat in front of it. Ikko was asleep while sitting against a tree in front of me, and Arine was sleeping next to me on the grass. I let them drift off as the fire decimated into ash. 'Arine hasn't slept in a while, I'm glad that he's finally getting some rest.' I thought as I continued to sit awake, looking up at the night sky and into the endless amount of beautiful stars.
Somehow I couldn't shut my eyes a wink, and decided to stay up, watching over them as they slept. I started to grow tired after an hour or so and was about to close my eyes when a cloud uncovered the full moon. The moonlight crept across the grass and spread its glow over Ikko. I gasped as the moonlight made his pale skin sparkle like diamonds, and his wings glow like silver. His beautiful appearance startled me until I couldn't help but stare.
It was true that Ikko was a fallen angel, but he was still an angel. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before. I was so captivated by him that I felt pulled towards him, wanting to touch him. I slowly got up from where I was sitting and kneeled next to him. He was so bright and his sparkling skin looked so soft.
'He looks so peaceful.' I then hesitantly pulled up his sleeve and felt his arm. 'His skin is softer than anything I have ever felt before!' I continued to touch his arm until I looked up at his collar. It was usually open, but now I couldn't help but want to feel his chest.
I slowly raised my arm and slid my fingers along his collarbone. 'So soft.' I continued to feel him until I looked up and saw his eyes open and looking at me. The moonlight made his silver eyes glitter and shine, making me jump back in shock. He tilted his head, no expression on his face. "Are you raping me?" I suddenly blushed, realizing what I was doing. "I am so sorry! I don't know why I did that!" He waited a moment and looked at his hands.
"Don't apologize. My body was created to have unspeakable beauty. It's designed to attract humans so it wasn't your fault you were captivated by it." He then smiled. "I thought it was a worthless gift other than being able to devour souls easier, but, now that you're attracted to me, the urge to take advantage of it is eating at me from the inside out." I was blushing so hard that it hurt, but he was so amazingly shaped that I couldn't hold back anymore and cuddled up to his chest so I could hear his beautiful heartbeat. "Sorry..."
I hugged him tightly and peeked up at him to see if he was going to push me off or not. But I was surprised to see him blushing completely with shock. He started to shake and closed his eyes for a moment. "Y-Your touch... It's, it's making me feel so good... I-It's so amazing that I don't know if I can hold back from you much longer..."