She bolts up again,  

“Are we alive? Did we survive? Where are the attackers!” no response. A jolt of pain immediately darts down her spine. Her heart is still hammering. She’d imagine at this point; she should be already used to it. But the sensation never gets old. The ground is hard this time. There’s no padding beneath her. She’s staring at rocks before her, glowed orange by the flickering campfire. Two fish on sticks stuck into the gravelly ground beside it. Outside, the sky is pouring blistering rain. She rubs her eyes, before her brain boots up and she’s fully conscious that she’s in a cave. Why is she in a cave? At least this means, they both survived that entire ordeal. Well, that’s at least a relief.  

She calms herself down. The wind sweeps past her is bitingly cold. She shivers. Huh. Are those her clothes hanging on a makeshift drying rack in the corner? It got washed. She dips her gaze down. She’s completely naked. Bandaged up with black scraps of cloth everywhere. On her lap a puddle of dark clothes lay over her like a blanket. She picks it up to examine it. It belongs to the assassin. He must’ve patched her up. 

Speaking of which, she tosses her head about. Where is he even? She waits for five minutes further. Tapping her fingers against her knees. He doesn’t return. Ah. She’s getting bored. She should go explore a little. After some difficult finessing. She manages to get herself up on her feet. Putting her clothes back on. It’s still a little damp. But it’ll do.  

Cautiously at first, she follows the limestone dangling above her. There’s nothing particularly interesting near the entrance except for the mineral covered rock walls glistering from the fire. But when she makes a turn in the corner, where the light gets completely cuts out, the entire ceiling illuminates in patches of green. Glow worms. That’s pretty. They don’t have those in Heaven. Not only that, she’s surrounded by white crystals all around her. Refracting the glare. Where is she even? How far did they travel? It almost feels like she crossed into a different realm all of the sudden and not the grisly, bloody one she was shown so far. 

Then she hears something. It sounds like rushing water. She approaches the sound. Exiting the tunnel and the cave opens up to a massive cavern. Gigantic quartz structures, angling like pillars out every corner. There’s a hole on the very top. Pouring in with rain water, pitter pattering onto the soil. Beneath her feet. She’s stepping on soft grass, blossoming with blue plants shaped like bells and emitting dim light.  

She bounces her sight to the water fall. That’s where the sound was coming from. She approaches to where it cascades into a lake. There are fish in here. She bends down to dip a finger in. It startles the fish away. Then the sound of splashing draws her attention up.  

Someone’s there. It’s the assassin. Completely nude. He has his back turned. Submerged up to his thighs. Droplets slipping off the tips of his hair to snake down his spine. It beads on the small of his back, like glass on white snow, extruding a porcelain light. But he isn’t all delicate and soft. The clothes he wore made him look deceptively lithe. His muscles are rigid. She watches them shift as he drips water onto a cut on his bicep. 

Wow. Thanks for the meal.   

She gasps. Bathory startled her. Shit. She’s been staring. It draws his attention. He glances past his shoulder. They made eye contact. An ice blue frost midst winter. Beautiful as it is frigid. Wait a minute. Did she honestly just, for a moment there, thought his pupils were beautiful? She swears it’s because of this flowery setting. Silence.  

Shit. She’s still staring. She lumberingly places a hand over her eyes,  

“I saw nothing. I promise.” very unconvincingly because she’s left gaps in her fingers. Stumbling a few steps backwards. She reminds herself; she should leave. Turning away. She immediately walks into a wall. He lets out a huff. Resembling a scoff. That fucking hurts. But she doesn’t linger to cringe at the pain. Instead, she’s picking her pace up on the double. Retreating to the campfire despite Bathory’s protests, 

Jesus! Why are you so useless. You should’ve went, can I join you? Or, let me scrub your back.  

Ahh... What the heck was that awkward as fuck interaction. Distract herself. Distract herself. The campfire is really nice and warm.  

Wait. don’t tell me you’re actually a virgin?  

It pops a vein in her head. Bathory starts laughing,  

No way! You actually are? That’s fucking hilarious. Oh my god. And you mock me for being childish. How old are you supposed to be anyway? A few thousands?  

Do not retaliate. Do not retaliate.  

You’re a thousand-year-old virgin? So much for being an angel. Why don’t you career change into a witch- 

She can’t take it anymore, she’s getting baited into retorting, 

“Listen, you little twat. It’s just been a while since I’ve seen a naked male form that’s pleasing to witness, alright?”  

“Well... Thanks I guess.” shit! Why does he walk in at the worst timings, “Do you always talk to yourself?” she snaps her gaze up,  

“No, I-” Getting a full frontal this time. Instantly averts it again, and changes her statement to,  

“Why are you still naked?”  

“My clothes are here.” he says simply, bending over to retrieve the pile beside her. His arm almost brushing her shins that she’s propped up. Why is this making her heart race. Or is that Bathory’s doing? Because she’s going ham with her squeals,  

Holy shit. He’s shredded! Was that a six pack? No eight packs. Oh my god. And it’s pink. It’s totally pink. That’s so cute. Or maybe I shouldn’t call it cute. He’s quite well endowed, isn’t he? Hey, hey! Do a double take! Stop ignoring me.  

“I’m not doing a double take!”  

Stingy! 

“You’re not?”  

“I’m not!”  

“You sure?”  

“Yes!” hold up. That wasn’t Bathory just now.  

“For someone that boldly claimed you wanted to sleep with me. You certainly get flustered pretty easily.” something doesn’t feel right here,  

“Why are you nice to me all of the sudden?” He’s sitting down beside her. She takes a brief glance at his legs that he’s crossed. He’s clothed now. She finally relaxes her shoulders and turns to address his face. He shrugs,  

“I’m not such a stonehearted prick to demean a person that saved my life.” now that she’s seeing him without his scarf. She can’t help noticing. He really does look young. Younger than what his mannerisms sometimes portray. In his early twenties probably. He’s reaching forward for the two fish that he’s toasting. Poking it with a stick. It still feels foreign to her when he initiates making conversation,  

“So, care to enlighten me why did you want to sleep with me to begin with?” but she’s eager to explain again, 

“I already told you. It’s not me. It’s this body’s original host. Bathory. If I don’t sleep with you. I won’t get my powers back.”  

“Is that right?” he’s entertaining her this time, “What powers do you have?” although, she can’t tell if he completely believes what she’s saying. His face is hard to read, and his voice is monotonous. She’s proud to brag regardless,  

“Lots! Telekinesis, rapid healing, enhanced strength, enhanced speed, and I can wield light like a sword.” she mimics with her arm, hacking at the air, 

“Whoosh. Whoosh.”  

“Is Heaven that chaotic of a place too that Angels need to have so many combat-oriented abilities?”  

“It isn’t anymore. But I heard it from my elders, a millennium ago, before I even became an Angel. There was a huge war in the immortal realm between God and his brother, Satan. And apparently, everyone got dragged in their little family squabble. Afterwards, Father made it mandatory for all Angels to receive combat training in the case of another Divine War. But it doesn’t look like it’ll happen anytime soon. They’re pretty cushy with each other nowadays. So, we mostly just use our abilities to influence the mortal realm.”  

“To do what? Destroy it?”  

“No silly. To protect it! Have you heard of Guardian Angels? That was my duty.” he retorts dryly, 

“You’re doing a terrible job then.” ouch. Taking stabs from Anyak and God is one thing. But hearing it from a mortal hurts even more, she instead changes the topic,  

“What about you? What’s your story?” he’s gone silent at that. Staring into the fire. The flames, dancing on his face as he thoughtlessly pushes at the charcoal. He looks like he’s contemplating. She probably irked a sore wound, so she quickly adds,  

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to talk about it.” but he’s choosing start on the hopeful part, 

“I want to save my little sister.” she returns him a committal gaze, giving him space to find what he’s comfortable revealing,  

“When my family lands were attacked. She was taken by the Marquess Horan of Estalis, along with the rest of my family as hostages. The negotiation didn’t go well. My family was publicly executed in Abaddon Square. She was the only one spared. The Marquess has taken a fancy to her apparently, forced her into marriage.”  

“Isn’t that a good thing? You know, marriages are a sacred union blessed by God.” he immediately gags, offended, 

“Don’t you even dare. He’s 58 with ten other wives from all over the Seven Kingdoms. She was only 7 at the time. There’s nothing sacred about pedophilic rape. But at least I know, she’s still alive... If Estalis burns, then perhaps I can finally see her.” he’s getting rather sadistic for the next part,   

“I can finally look that bastard in the eyes as I gut him for all the things he’s done.” Then he closes his eyes briefly, opening them again, the emotions are all gone. Repressed into the depths of his heart. Stoic as the rocks around them, he sighs, addressing her face,  

“If you’re hoping to get close to me to receive wealth or land. Forget it. It’s a waste of your time. I gave everything up when I joined the army. Now I only have an empty title with nothing to my name.”  

“I don’t think Bathory cares about wealth or land honestly. She’s probably too shallow for even that.” the moment she said that Bathory protests with an agitated - Hey! but she ignores her, 

“She just thinks you’re hot.” and he’s cool, badass, sexy as hell, she’s starting to irritate her, so she intentionally reveals,  

“And she likes the color of your dick.” you didn’t need to tell him that! Now he’s going to think I’m a creep! She does receive a disgusted look in return,  

“Am I supposed to be flattered or something?” 

“Not really. I just wanted to ruin Bathory’s image.” He lets out a small chuckle at that, before reaching forward to retrieve a fish from the campfire to hand it to her. It’s done cooking now,   

“If you aren’t Bathory. What’s your name?”  

“Lumeria.”  

“Just Lumeria?”  

“Yup. Just Lumeria. Angels don’t have last names. We’re all children of God.” she asks after taking a bite out of her fish,  

“What’s yours?” unseasoned, but it tastes warm.  

“Soril.”  

“Just Soril?”  

“For now. Yes. It’s only fair considering you won’t tell me yours.” ah. Thought so. He didn’t believe a single word she said.  

They spend the next few moments finishing the food whilst he draws her a map of their location upon her request. They’re currently in the mountainous forests northeast of Ryden. The village they were previously in. Further west will be Astia’s borders and Estelis territory. He’s planning to go to Kanra. Directly east of here. Two days on foot. It’s one of Astia’s biggest mining cities, governed by Lord Wascald. And now that Ryden’s fallen, it’s likely Kanra is Estalis’s next goal. Seizing the city would mean lesser resources for weapon crafting therefore weakening Astia’s army. It all makes sense now why Ryden was so heavily fortified despite being a small unassuming farming village. It’s the location that makes it valuable. The mentioning of the subject makes her recall,  

“The people and soldiers left in Ryden. Are they... dead?”  

“I won’t know that yet. We’ll have to reach Kanra to find out. If someone did survive, they’d have sent a raven.” then he gestures with a tilt of his head towards the cave entrance,  

“Have you rested enough? We can set off.” The rain has stopped. But the sky is gloomy, the forest is dark. It’s hard to tell time. She pats the crumbs off her skirt, picking herself up on her feet,  

“Alright. Let's go.” to Kanra!