"Yes" Anuriel and Damien said together, and without a word - Damien kinetically grabbed another roll, which Anuriel toasted and Damien sent flying at Ma'ai.

"Sorry" Anuriel said. "B-b-but" She tried to say before just laughing. Damien also joined in.

The two were actually having time to relax and enjoying themselves. The oppressive atmosphere around the place seemed to have gone.

Ma'ai reflectively caught the burnt piece of toast tossed at him and tossed it right back at Damien. The last time he'd been in a food fight was probably years ago. He felt obscenely immature by participating but if he was being honest with himself, it was actually quite amusing. Anuriel and Damien's contagious laughter certainly added to the situation and Ma'ai couldn't help but join. "I don't get it" he barely managed to get out between breaths. Just when it seemed like he was ready to stop, he began snickering again.

Finally, Chrissa emerged, carrying with her a small pot of chowder for Mr. Narkissos, and expertly balancing the plate of fruit she arranged for Anuriel and Damien.
"Sorry for the wait! I ended up adding chicken to the chowder as a last-minute decision..." She blushed in her embarrassment, then set everything down on the table for them. She noticed burnt breadcrumbs everywhere and Damien and Anuriel were laughing.
"Oh, um... I'll just, uh...clean that up..." She said, mostly to herself it seemed, then left again to find a broom. Which she did, and then got on the floor to sweep up their mess.

"Oh my gosh Chrissa. I am so sorry" Anuriel cried out. She hadn't thought of the mess it would make. She still giggled a little every now and again.

Damien had stopped laughing when Chrissa had re-entered and was helping her with the mess the best he could. He was totally silent again.

Anuriel just watched on, she wondered if Chrissa was totally oblivious to Damien's behaviour. She also wondered just how far Damien would go not speaking. She smiled.

She whispered so neither of the pair could hear but so Ma'ai would catch her words. "I think Damien has found love."

Ma'ai was still laughing rather loudly when he hurried to get up and help Chrissa. "Wait wait, no need to do that! I'll take care of it, it's partly my fault." But she'd already left again and Ma'ai wasn't entirely sure she'd heard him. By now the trio were receiving funny looks from others here in the cafeteria and Ma'ai promptly shut up. The smirk remained plastered between his cheeks, however, when he began swiping the tabletop clean and collecting the crumbs in his hand so he could properly dispose of the mess. Ma'ai paused when Anuriel whispered to him, and a wicked grin tugged at the edge of his lips. It disappeared as quickly as it had come though since Ma'ai didn't want to give away the little secret. "Is that why he's been so quiet?" he whispered back. Without waiting for an answer, Ma'ai straightened up and promptly left to find a bin to dump the crumbs in. He returned shortly afterward, clean hands and all, then sat down to eat the soup Chrissa had brought him. It smelled delicious and he'd been dying to taste it since she first brought it.

"Yes. Usually he's a lot more chatty." Anuriel said. Damien had come back to the table and had no clue what they were talking about.

Anuriel and Damien both tucked into the fruit.

"If you ever need any-one to show you around camp, I don't mind." Damien said, doing his best to make Ma'ai feel welcome.

"I am almost always in the kitchen, and if I am not then Chrissa usually is." Anuriel said. She hoped Chrissa would come back, she wanted to ask Chrissa about apprenticing for her so that one day when Anuriel retired, some-one would take her place as cheif Cook.

"N-no, really, it's my job..." Chrissa said, mostly adressing both the men that got up to help her. She was blushing furiously--no one had offered to help her with cleanup. She supposed the two of them were extraordinarily thoughtful men. She knew that Ma'ai was, to some degree, by how often he'd come to buy flowers for his sister and mother. He didn't know a thing about flowers, so he always had simply told her what the occasion was for, and let her arrange them appropriately for the occasion. The memory almost made her giggle. The other one--Damien? She had never met him before, but already she could see that he was the quiet sort. At least, he seemed very quiet to her. She didn't really know yet what she thought of him.
Soon, however, the mess was quickly disposed of, and she pulled up a chair to sit on the other side of the table from them.
"So, um..." she began, but quickly trailed off awkwardly. She wasn't used to this. Not at all.

Anuriel didn't have much of a mean or cruel streak in her, but she could have a wicked sense of humor when she felt like it. "So, Damien has a big crush on you."

Damien let out a girlish squeak and was hiding his face.

"He does though. He likes you a lot." Anuriel said. "Also, I have an offer for you. Would you like to be my apprentice."

Anuriel had made both statements before she realised she had verbally blindsided the poor girl.

Ma'ai likely would have choked on his food if he hadn't been previously warned about this. He felt a little bad for Damien; having the spotlight shined onto him like that must've been quite uncomfortable. Although, Ma'ai didn't really see reason to interfere so he simply kept silent and continued to eat his meal. The demon would have to fend for himself on this. The conversation became slightly less awkward when Anuriel asked Chrissa about working for her and Ma'ai hoped the topic would stay on that. So long as it avoided touching back on the discussion on affectionate feelings, he didn't really care where the conversation went.

Chrissa was shocked, twice. It was too much for her little self to wrap around. "U-um..." She couldn't say anything else. "Uh..." Her expression was one of surprise, confusion, and stress. She wrung her hands in agitation and nerves. "I-I...Um..." She couldn't get any words out. Finally, she stood rather abruptly. "E-excuse me...Um... I'm sorry!" She promptly spun around and fled back to the kitchen.
There, she hid behind one of the prep tables and sunk to the floor, breathing heavily. She knew Anuriel meant well, but...That was too much. Too much for her. She hugged her knees and tried to focus on calming herself.

Anuriel raced after Chrissa. She found her hiding near a prep table. "Chrissa, I am truely sorry." Concern was evident in Anuriel's voice.

"What I done was wrong and cruel, I should have given you the offer, and let Damien tell you himself at a later date. Do you forgive me? You don't have to, and there isn't any hurry to answer right away."

The demon was genuinely sorry, she liked and respected Chrissa.

Damien watched the Angel and Demon run away. He turned to Ma'ai. "That was mean of Anuriel. I am sure she realises, but there was no need for it."

This was not the outcome he had in mind. Ma'ai let the spoon from his hand clink the his bowl as he watched Chrissa run off. Her distress was evident; if not by her tone, then surely by her behavior. Ma'ai had never seen Chrissa so upset before and didn't realize how much it would bother him until now. But what could he do? Ma'ai remained seated as Anuriel ran off after Chrissa to correct her error. When Damien spoke up again, he picked up his spoon once more and began to fiddle with it. "I tend to avoid these kinds of things so I do not have much experience with it." He shrugged before adding, "How long have you and Chrissa known each other?"

"N-no, it's fine...I just...um..." Chrissa trailed off again, returning to the act of hugging her knees. "Um, I think it was a bad idea for me to stay, miss Anuriel. I'll catch up with Mr. Narkissos later, when...when there's no one else around. People scare me, miss Anuriel... and, and...I just got this job, and I'm not ready for...that...yet...I just want to work, miss Anuriel, that's all..." She let out a sigh.

"I have known her since I walked in here for lunch, but I am already love-struck." Damien said wistfully. He was more forthcoming with both of the women having left. "How can I speak to her? When I try my throat closes up." Damien looked miserable.

"What if she doesn't like me?" Damien asked. "It's possible she won't, after all she is an Angel and I a mere Demon."

Damien looked at Ma'ai and asked in an even more dejected tone than before. "Why can't everybody just get along?"

..............
"It's okay. The job offer is still there for whenever you want it. If you ever think I am out of line, tell me. I won't bite." Anuriel said. She knew she had been out of line.

Had he the energy, Ma'ai just may have given Damien the most sincere answer he could have possibly conjured on the spot. However, now was not the time nor place to start such an argument so he tried to think of a suitable answer that would satisfy the demon and pacify the tension. "That's bold. I think patience is the key here especially now that Chrissa knows how you feel." Was he egging Damien on? No although it would be easy to see why one would think that way. If asked his opinion, Ma'ai felt that love was something that took time so he assumed Damien merely fancied Chrissa. In time it would either develop into something deeper or completely vanish, depending on what occurred. As for Damien's latter concern... Ma'ai himself was a perpetrator to the ongoing conflict between Angels and Demons, so he didn't know how to answer the question. "I feel instinct may play a part in that." Ma'ai judged that to be a safe answer, since it was his truthful opinion and it kept him in a neutral position.

"All most people see me as is some-body who loves technology but wouldn't know his brass from his oboe." Damien said, using a far politer saying than what it rhymed with. "My instinct is not seen as very useful, so I will probably mess up."

"I am not annoying you am I?" Damien said, sensing something off about the Angel. Damien thought Ma'ai did look tired.

"Thank-you for your help." Damien said. To be honest Chrissa was the first Angel or Demon he had loved since his last disastrous relationship years ago.

"T-thank you, miss Anuriel--um, I'd like to think about it for a bit..." Chrissa blushed at Anuriel's offer. It was very generous. She pushed herself to her feet. "I'll just, um...get back to work." She nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that. I'll do that..." She grabbed a list of orders and busied herself in the kitchen. She needed a distraction from her mixed thoughts. Cooking helped with that. She just didn't want to think about anything other than work. Her little heart couldn't handle anything more than that right now.

Anuriel decided it would be best now to just leave Chrissa alone with her work. The angel was delicate and Anuriel had disturbed her enough for the day. Anuriel decided that somehow she was going to make it up to the Angel to pay for her wrongdoing.

Anuriel returned to the table. "I am sorry Damien. I was wrong." Anuriel said, averting her eyes.

She sat down.

"No, not at all. My apologies it's just that I returned from a tedious journey not long ago and I do believe I am in need of rest." Ma'ai wasn't gonna lie and say everything was perfectly fine, fearing it may only come around to bite him in the rump later if this conversation dragged out longer than necessary. Though he calculated that he could continue chatting for a little while; he didn't mind Damien so much, plus he fully intended to finish every last bit of his chowder and not allow any to go to waste. "It was no problem at all" the angel finally added when Damien thanked him for his advice. Ma'ai certainly was no expect on the subject but he tried to help where he could. That's when Anuriel returned. "Would you two like some privacy?" he asked. Ma'ai was being courteous of course but there was a small part of him inside that hoped they said no so that he wouldn't have to relocate tables.

"No, no. Stay here." Anuriel said.

Damien neither accepted nor rejected Anuriel's apology. He instead kept his attention on Ma'ai. " I can show you somewhere to sleep, if you want. There is still a bed free in my tent. Unless of course you want to bunk with other angels. Most tents in this camp are capable of being occupied by several people at once."