Chapter 24 - Demons in Heaven

Hina yawned and sat up in bed, feeling confused for just a moment as to why two massive, feathery wings, black and white respectively, were blanketing her. Emily, a fell angel, and Aurelia, now a... a what? An angelic Succubus? What a contradiction that would be... but judging by things last night, there was no way that she'd lost her demonic half when she was, as the angels said, purified. Hina herself hadn't shown any signs of wings, or halo, or anything else, but she thought she remembered Aerendyl saying that she did indeed have them, and would learn to display them.

Slowly, Hina crawled out of bed and began to dress, accidentally waking or starting to wake everybody save for Aurelia on her way off the bed. By the time Hina had managed to drag on a pair of leggings with shorts overtop, Emily was leaning into her back, wrapping her ample, warm wings around Hina like some sort of poetic renaissance cocoon. "Mine," whispered the fell angel playfully, and she stood on the balls of her feet to plant an affectionate kiss at the nape of her neck, crushing warm feathers gently against Badger Girl.

"No," murmured Nao, sleep heavy afflicting her voice still. "She's all of ours... a communal Hina, if you will. Come on, share." Hina, then, felt pressure that she assumed to be Nao's prodding and poking at Emily's wings.

"Right now," Hina spoke with a soft, tired laugh. "I just want to get dressed, since we're going to be going off to Heaven today. I'm glad you get to come with us, Lottie... Aurelia too, really, and Emily, you two are half demon..."

"I can't help but feel like this is the real beginning of your story," Charlotte spoke on a somewhat different subject, sitting on the edge of the bed now, wearing only a thin pair of shorts and a loose tank that displayed her ample cleavage and left very little to the imagination. Hina was reminded of the leather tank that the Cheshire Cat-girl was wearing when she'd first been summoned... it was funny, in a sad way, how the entire point of summoning her was to protect them but in the end she'd been locked away in the Hall of Exits at their most crucial... hour of need, so to speak.

"What do you mean?" Hina was confused. She'd already been through so much, how could anybody possibly think that her story hadn't begun? Should she be offended?

"I mean, from what I gather, you were summoned and went through a lot... but that was like some kind of massive origin chapter, a prologue leading up to the creation of us. An angelic summoned badger girl, a succubus angel, a dark angel, a powerful demon from one of the most lethal hells, and a partly-angelic lantern demon... we're a strange hodgepodge mess, and it feels like our stories are about to begin in earnest." Charlotte paused, and then said; "I'm sorry, story beginning wasn't the right phrase to use. It certainly feels like a new one is starting, though..."

"Well, I can certainly agree to that," Hina couldn't help but to mutter softly. After all, this was turning into one psychotic story after the next, and Hina truly cursed whatever cruel god was subjecting her to this treatment. Truly, he or she must be a sick and tormented creature, deserving of much pity and equal hate in their own right.

"Well, we're going to be fine," Emily tossed in cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "We've been through some damnable things, but we're going to be fine now. We've got a trip to Heaven and a trip to Hell ahead of us, so we should just try to look ahead for now! Hina needs to learn to fly, so we can't have her being dragged down so early~"

"Which is ironic, to say the least." Chessie's voice light and practically screaming with a smirk. "I mean, Emily, Nao and I are all wholly demons... but it'll be good to get our asses up there. Maybe I should be jealous about the fact that I don't have any fancy new angel's powers~" She teased, headed across the room. "I'm going to get us some food, and later, we'll get going!"

~~~

Later, as Chessie had said, the five girls sat in a loose ring, with Aerendyl between them. Maybe he planned on seeing his superiors or somebody else who was important...? Because, if it wasn't clear, the strong angel was wearing a thick, warm thermal shirt.

"Alright, are you girls ready? My sister and I are going to show you the ropes of all this angel business, one of you at a time to make sure you get the attention you need- but don't worry, I fully intend to be respectful, and even if my sister lusts for Hina, I'll make sure she doesn't get too handsy~ unless... you'd be into that, Hina?" He was clearly teasing, though, and with a pearly smirk on his lips.

"Hell no," the badger girl shook her head, answering with a smirk of her own. "You're alright Aerendyl, and I hope to keep your support for a long time... but, your sister can go fuck herself along with all the other angels. In the end, you're the only one who did anything to help."

"Well, it's because I love you- though I think I'm finally starting to mean that more as a friend than a wannabe lover~" Aerendyl grinned wistfully. "I do believe I asked for time... I'm getting there, my dude. Is that what the humans say...? I know very little about the version of Earth that Starria typically summons from."

"We'll go ahead and say that you got that one right, it was a valiant effort... and if I were a real girl, who knows, maybe I'd be all over you~ or maybe I'd still be gay as hell. One way or another, continue down this road, you'll end up happily in love one day." Hina and Aerendyl shared a grin while the other girls looked on cheerfully, evidently enjoying what was, in some ways, probably some serious character development for the angelic man. Major, yes... but he'd never been a bad guy, had he? Warning them every step of the way to the best of his ability, saving the lives of Aurelia and Emily when the knights of Starria had been moments away from killing them in cold blood...

"Alright, you bastard elf," Emily spoke lightly, offering a slow grin, her mouth still appearing a bit strange with her new lack of sharp fangs. That really was a demon thing, then... "Take us to heaven, will you? Just... not permanently."

"Ah, don't worry, it's not time for anybody here to die... as far as I know, none of you will be any serious danger for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, my lovely lesbian friends have a long and happy life of fucking the harem senseless!" With a laugh and a sharp clap of his hands, there was a flare of light... and then the surroundings of the six people assembled there seemed to change entirely. Gone was the castle chamber that Aerendyl had prepared for their traveling spell, and now Hina found herself in a rather odd room. Or rather, not odd at all, but far from what she'd been expecting.

She knelt, at the moment, on a plush red carpet with gold accents. The walls of what seemed to be an impressive library, where they weren't covered by the floor-to-ceiling shelves of book after book, were black and gold alternately, reminding Hina eerily of the black sludge that briefly flowed through her body. Those memories... they made her head swim, and for a moment, Hina felt a surge of panic as her vision darkened... but hardly a moment later she felt fine, and all was well.

There were no windows in the room, she suddenly noticed. If they were in heaven, there must have been one hell of a view, right...? So many people back where she was from wondered what heaven was like, and even more than that wondered if it was truly a real place... and in theory, now, here she was in just such a place.

"What is this room, exactly?" It was Nao who asked, and quietly so as she slowly brushed her long, chocolatey hair out of her eyes and began to tie it back into a loose knot at the crown of her skull.

"This, dear girl, is a library where you can find anything and everything you want to know, so long as your mind can feasibly handle the information within. It won't tell you Hina's fetishes or where she hid her lewd content as a man on Earth, no, but anything about the way the world works? Magic? Kingdoms of history, psychological theories, other worlds, angelic rituals... truly, a wealth of knowledge here just waiting to be had. First, I think I'm going to borrow Hina, show her where you'll be sleeping, how to use her wings... and then I'll bring her back, take somebody else! As long as you're here, feel free to learn whatever you like- knowledge, new spells, anything you find yourself desiring."

"This place looks incredible... and of course you'd want to take Hina first, since she's your bro~" Aurelia winked as if to further drive in the earlier message.

"That's right. Hina is off limits, and I'm going to keep telling myself that until I get it through my damnably thick skull," Aerendyl agreed immediately and apparently sincerely.

"So, Hina and I will be off if nobody objects... you are all free to wander the building and surrounding grounds as you please, but stay where we can find you relatively quickly. Food and drink will be brought here shortly, and there is a host of maids outside, should you end up needing anything beyond the basics. Is there anything... not agreeable in what I've said?"

"Oh, we'll be totally fine angel boy, that's an oath on a demon's life~" There was a laugh in Charlotte's voice.

"Ah, what a good kitten~ I'll make sure Hina gives you a treat when I bring her back to you, hm?" Aerendyl chuckled. "Or maybe, given who we are, I should be hoping for you to break that oath and drop dead instead..." In spite of his dark words, it was painfully clear that the man was joking, and a few small giggles sounded throughout the room.

"Alright, Aerendyl, let's go," Hina smiled amusedly.

"As you wish, my mother fucking broski... I think... that's right...?"

"It sure is... my mother, fucking, broski," Hina answered with a decidedly not-at-all-ladylike snort.