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The little boy, no more than two, was sitting on the couch and glaring at Anna as she flexed her huge black wings in front of him, preparing for a flight. After several minutes of silence, the slightly exasperated angel sighed and turned to face him with a stern expression on her usually bright and peaceful face. “Now look here, little demon,” she said, “I don’t care how much you hate it; this is a summons from the Archangels themselves! I can’t hide from them. Sure, I can stay away from the others, but not from them. I have to attend the meeting, you have to come with me, and that’s final.” The boy continued to pout, and crossed his arms in a strangely adult fashion. “No,” he said, turning his nose up in disgust. “I’m not going.”
Anna put her hands on her hips, and continued, arguing: “You’ll be safer there, with me, than here without, so yes you are. Besides, isn’t this why you’re here? To learn about them and the humans, to try and understand them? What better place to observe than the Hall of the Council itself? Remember, when you’re with me, I can mask your essence, keep you safe. Do you want to be sitting here helpless when a Battle Angel picks up your scent?” The child mumbled something to himself, but eventually acquiesced, holding up his arms and allowing her to pick him up.
She smiled down at him, and said “Thank you. Now, hold on, okay? It’ll be a very short flight, but you know it’s better when I don’t have to worry about you falling off.” He climbed onto her back slowly, getting into his familiar flying position. “Thankfully,” the angel thought, “his grip is much stronger than the average toddler’s…” The door to her apartment’s balcony was open already, and she stepped out onto it, closed the door behind her, and had one last stretch. Finally satisfied, she simply stepped up onto the wide, flat stone wall, spread her wings, and leapt off.
For the boy, there were only a few flaps before the great building of the Council materialized before them, and despite himself he was excited to finally see it. Rather absentmindedly, he licked his lips, thinking about how many angels would be inside. He hadn’t had a true meal in ages, as his body just needed human food, and Anna would never let him eat anything sentient. No tasty angels, no humans, not even the rare demon they came across. “Damn angel,” he thought, “Always making things difficult. I wish this body would grow faster… Once I can use it to fend for myself, she won’t be able to dictate my life…”
He looked up at the back of his Guardian’s head as she made her descent, noting the taut flying muscles in her shoulders and neck. He didn’t hate her, of course. He was grateful for what she was doing, and knew that without her, he would have died very soon after he arrived. She would die to protect him… Would he be able to protect her? “No, no, stop thinking about that,” he told himself silently. “What is to be must be.”
For Anna’s part, she was concentrating on a controlled flight, but a few orphaned thoughts slipped in, mostly having to do with the summons. “It will probably be safest to shield him the whole time… The Archangels will still be able to sense his presence, I’m sure, but with his essence blocked off by mine, they hopefully won’t be able to find him in the crowd… Gah, I’ll have to remind him to control his hunger. Those demonic urges could act as beacon, even through my shielding…”
Finally, they touched down, and the Guardian helped her charge off of her back, carefully folding her wings. She squatted down to his level once he was on his feet, swiftly and quietly reminded him to suppress any demonic thoughts, and kissed him on the cheek with a smile. “Okay, let’s go,” she said, and she scooped the child up in her arms, planting him on her shoulders. The purpose of this was two-fold: one, his body was only two years old, and couldn’t walk long distances, and two, the closer he was to her wings and her head, the easier it would be to shield him.
Now, the child was situated, danger was unlikely, and Anna could (if only slightly) relax. She hadn’t been around her own kind in quite a while, due to the unique nature of the child, and she smiled at several of them as she passed into the Hall. Obviously, with her wings the color they were, none of them except for one fellow Dark smiled back; they were all busy conversing with their own colors, the Pures all together, the Grays likewise, and the few Darks standing outside of the little groups, or off by themselves, tolerated but not at all accepted. Because of her nature as a Guardian, there was really little need for her to examine or bitch about the hierarchy. She was there for the child, and that was that. She didn’t even have any desire to be Pure, as it wouldn’t change her abilities, or her effectiveness.
Her charge, on the other hand, was very fascinated. He examined his surroundings with a keen eye, noting the groups, and especially the distinctions between the different types of angels, such as the Tamers, who made him shiver just slightly, having had a taste of their power in past lives, the Guardians like Anna, and the awesome, beautiful Miracles. He smiled a child’s smile, and hoped he’d be able to see an Archangel when he had the chance.
The thought had barely crossed his mind when they entered the Hall proper, and there they were. Radiating power from the center of the room, some of the most majestic beings in existence stood waiting, and though the boy was delighted, it was almost too much for Anna. She was struck with wave after wave of pure grace, and had to fight to maintain the connection with the demon on her shoulders. She carefully put him back on the ground, and fell to her knees, tears forming in her eyes. A few of the surrounding angels would likely have noticed bits of demon essence slipping from behind the mask, if they were not also in the presence of the Circle of Seven. After a quick look, the child knew he couldn’t draw attention to himself, and sat down, pretending to be nothing more than a small child.
Though their presence and their voice overwhelmed her, Anna was not surprised by the message she and her fellows were receiving. After all, she had a demon sitting next to her that could not have entered the Surface if the Gate was not weakening. Also because of him, she realized once her masters disappeared, she might be able to approach a Demon Lord, and gain his trust, or at least understand him the way they commanded. Shaking a little, the angel rose to her feet and placed her charge back on her shoulders. The tiny bottles, safely stored in her pocket, were powerfully magical, and gave her considerable reason to examine their next move. She’d have to talk to the child about a Demon Lord.
The demon had met beings of such power before, in several of his past lives, but the Archangels were… different. Powerful, yes, but with such a calmness and soft demeanor that he was genuinely surprised. After his experience with them, he thought, “I might have to make some amendments…”