They traveled in silence, for several days afterward. In a huff, she stomped behind him, as if to prove her displeasure to him. That is, until the next incredible alien peculiarity caught her eye.
She was not a child—although most creatures would appear so, next to a being like Thrall—so she had enough experience to know that a man with a made-up mind will not be swayed by the tantrum of someone he does not respect. So, she decided the next best thing was to hog all the fun for herself!
She hummed as she picked curious spring-loaded seed packets from the earth, and watched in awe as they rocketed up into the sky; exploding in a cloud of colorful spores. Her smile was infectious, and heart-warming. A pity that no one was around to see it.
A devilish idea crossed her brain, as she carefully collected a few handfuls of these small plants. She would sneak up behind her new friend and surprise him in a rainbow shower of brightly colored ejecta. He would continue strolling through regardless, and she would have her bitter revenge. It was the perfect plan!
At least, up until she grabbed a particularly bulbous specimen. It was far too overripe. A single brush of her fingers was enough to set the thing off; and it exploded right in her face, sending the entire collection spilling from her hands to the ground below, like a domino chain.
The entire world was aglow in a violent swirl of fine, pastel mists all thick and hanging in the air for a good thirty feet in every direction. As it settled, one could make out the shape of a shocked harpy with eyes and mouth agape.
She sat there, dazed, for only a few seconds; the multi-colorful dust settled on every single plume of feathers within her body. She looked like she was carved from a pillar of opal; appearing almost impressionist with the level of abstract coloration—and she laughed.
That was the most amazing fun that she had ever experienced! She giggled and howled, and rolled about on the painted ground in sheer inextinguishable joy.
She was suddenly reminded why it was so thrilling to be on this journey again, and why she was so excited to leave with him in the first place. Would she ever have experienced such wonders were she limited by her own imagination?
She stood up, and dusted herself off as well as she could, before speeding off behind him to the next unthinkable attraction unveiled itself.
His muscles ached, and his mind throbbed in time with every footstep. He couldn't stand to keep going any longer. She was able to enjoy herself so freely; he wouldn't rob her of that opportunity. It brought him much joy to let her experience the magnificence of His creation. It will make it all the more clear why he fears Him so, once they arrive.
The pounding in his heart was growing stronger, as they approached. It must be getting close to the center of the garden. He could never forget this feeling. He remembers it clearly, just as all else. Omission is a human malady, after all.
They were coming upon a dense grove of tall ferns and vines. He sighed. They had arrived.
"Xantheaa!" He called, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. She perked up, suddenly, poking her head out of a bush made of soft, velvety material; almost like a cushion made entirely of cloud. The hairlike strands were so fine that they danced in the wind, but dense enough that it nearly supported her entire weight.
She waved at him gladly from the mass, threads clinging to and tangling with the barbules in her primaries. Even he couldn't help but smile back, chuckling lightly as he waved her over. "Come here. It's about to get a lot tougher to travel. We need to stick together, or you may become separated."
"Okaaay!" She called back, leaping from the brush and sending a few tangled cords dancing upon the winds behind her.
He choked trying to swallow his laughter as she flew towards him. She was saturated from head to toe in all manner of dust, seedlings, hairlike filaments, and even much of the brightly colored spores that had yet to completely shake loose from the vane of her feathers. "What is all that you are covered in?!"
She paused, offended by his intonation, and flapped shallowly in front of him as she looked over herself. Then, with renewed enmity, she smacked him across the face with on of her wings; her face a blustering mask of flushed indignation. "That is not how one should address a lady! I- You know very well, that it is your fault that I appear this way! You never gave me the time I requested to stop and properly preen myself!"
She wildly flapped her wings in a threatening gesture, as if out of habit, and stepped closer to him. "...and that's another thing!" She continued. "I have had it up to my neck with your attitude of condescension toward me! You have the utter gall to ignore me for weeks on end, and then yell at me—Again!—after all I did was ask for ANY Explanation for what we were doing, where we were going, and why! Why, if I did not know any better, then I would think that you had thought of me as your little pet!"
She continued laying into him with little restraint as befitting the greatest of Electra's stewards. "I will not have it! I will not stand for it! I will only tolerate such abuse for but a short time, but this is appearing as a regular trend in your behavior, and I do not like it one bit! I would hope that you have one Tartarus level explanation for your behavior, or I will dedicate my life to causing you much distress, sir!"
Despite the holy retribution with which he was being currently dressed down, the poor Seraphim could only think of one thing—how utterly beautiful she was, all invigorated with passion and rancor.
Maybe it was because her blush inflamed her cheeks and brought out the natural state of allure that is so crucial to her species, to heights that he had never before witnessed.
Maybe it was because she was ever so patient with him, despite everything.
Maybe it was because the first time he had laid eyes on her properly
since their conversation at the gates in the void, and he did crave that
which he had unfortunately denied himself with good reason.
Maybe it was because she had never before dared to get this close to him of her own volition, sending his pulse racing against his control from her proximity.
Maybe it was the halo of dust framing her face in the warm sunlight, or the whiplash of focusing mindlessly on the task before them for weeks on end.
Maybe it was all of those things at once, or none, or something new that he had yet to consider... but he cut off her justified reproach of his loathsome treatment with a whisper.
"Shouldst that I were to admit that thou art fair, shall thine spirit become disquieted within you?" he breathed, almost involuntarily, before he had a chance to take it back. His eyes widened as he realized what he had just let slip.
"What?" she blinked, stopping dead in her tracks. "I'm sorry, what did you just say to me?!" Again, this was NOT the confession that she was looking for! He had the worst possible timing. Her heart trembled at the implication, as she realized how very near their chests were to brushing against one another, but she shook her head. She would not be distracted.
He cleared his throat, and stepped backward—out of her range. "Ahem, I mean to say that... you were right. I have been treating you with much patronization, and that ends now. I am sorry if it made you to feel like any less than the partner you are, and I apologize for any distress that it ma-"
"No, no, no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no!" she interjected, stepping closer, into his comfort zone again. "What did you SAY?"
"...May have caused you." he continued. He backed away even further, with her in direct pursuit, until his back met with the tall stalks of foliage directly behind. "I only did it because I trusted you would understand the lengths I have to go in order to survive in this place, and you have."
"Uh-huh," she answered bemusedly, hardly paying his words any mind. She had long ago discarded the allure of a heartfelt apology. A more alluring prey had reared its handsome face, and she had him in her sights. She would have that confession made evident or Elektra was not her patron deity!
He parted the ferns behind him to give himself some more space, but she was right on his heels. "Repeat what you just said, Thrall. Louder. So, I can hear it this time."
He stuttered. HIM! "I-I- I don't know what you're referring to." He continued to back through the thick wild stalks. The eyes on the back of his wings were enough to guide him straight toward their ultimate goal. "Listen, I have to explain some things to you-"
"Later," she crooned, lurching behind him impatiently. "You called me fair!"
"No-no, I think we really must discuss this now! For this is not a place that can be resided in for long. There is a secret buried in the Garden of Eden that makes this place a ticking time bomb."
"Ah-" She scoffed. "A tikkeng time bomme? Stop making up words. You are not getting out of this one. I caught you, in flagrante delicto! Admit it!"
"No!" he shouted, turning and running in a straight line. She was hot on his trail. "I-I'm sorry, that is a term from after your time! It means that this place is going to be destroyed soon!"
"Don't lie to me!" She screeched like a hawk, leaping nimbly after him. She was much faster in the air. Her tackle sent them both tumbling into the ground, where they slid roughly until a clearing opened up behind them. "Got you!"
He coughed, lifting his head to look in front. "I have never lied to you, and I never will. See?" He gestured toward a tremendous dark tree, with a sturdy trunk. The bark was thick, and coarse, almost too easy to climb, and the leaves were small and plentiful.
On its branches hung translucent, multicolored, succulent fruits; shaped like a curved teardrop, or a magatama of lore. The fruits looked juicy, and sweet. In fact, they appeared almost conscious—begging to be eaten. Her eyes ran over them, greedily.
"HEY!" he called out, snapping her out from her private reverie. "Don't even think about eating those. It is poisonous!"
"Wha- Huh?! How can they be poisonous? You said that your God made this place to be perfect! Everything else is perfectly edible—Why would He put a poisoned tree in the very center of His garden?!"
"Because He is a jealous God—If you forget all else, then surely remember this!—He put these here, as a test for His great creation, one that man will always fail. For, they are weak unlike the angels; who never gave into temptation. Once that happens, all of the Garden will be destroyed, and we will be trapped here!"
She climbed off of him, appreciating the gravity of his words, while still eyeing the fruit. "How can you be so sure?"
He sighed, climbing to his feet, and brushing mud off of his torso. "Because it's happened before."
She turned to him, confusion writ plainly upon her features.
"All of this place, is a memory—A chronicling of my past. I told you once that I was betrayed, and that all begins here."