AkiBlue

Never Ending Battle ~ PopeAlessandros x AkiBlue

Akito’s revelation of things made the prince pause and thought for a few moments. Unfortunately there was no way he could save Akito. He couldn’t even save himself from the ceremony. They’d have no choice but to talk to the royal families, even if it was just a hello. Hiro echoes the laugh and turns his head slightly to the side. “We could always fake being sick. Although that would only postpone the wedding.” The fingers intertwining around his made him smile and he continued to hold Akito’s hand. “I don’t know how reassuring I can be when even I don’t want to be surrounded by them but,” He gave Akito’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Just stick close to me alright? I mean, two of us taking on the ‘royal court’ has got to be better than being alone, yeah?”

His gaze went towards the sky. It was getting a lot cloudier than before. “We can make sure neither of us run off to hide from the party. And, well, at least the food will be nice. And the music! Special occasions allways have the nicest musicians. I suppose that means there’d be dancing…” His voice trailed off before Hiro chuckled a little. “You wouldn’t happen to enjoy dancing would you?” He could only imagine Akito’s horror of not only being stared at on a dancefloor but also a fear of messing anything up in front of them. Hiro learned how to dance from his stepmother. It was something he enjoyed doing, unlike his father who had two left feet. “It’s okay if you don’t want to or know how. The trick to escaping that is sitting with my father. He’ll empathize with you and happily allow you to sit and watch others dance with him.”

A scheming smile formed on the prince’s face before he whistled a low note. “Or~ I could teach you if you want. I don’t mind. I think four days is enough time to learn basic dance steps. Well, three days and a half maybe. ” Hiro then shrugged and scratched his cheek and shrugged. “That is of course, on the assumption that you can’t. You could be a fine dancer for all I know.”

He was sure the next few days would have the two busy going over the ceremony, making sure they knew where to go and what to do. Hiro had to remind himself that he had to play along and not be so stubborn. Ceremonies like this were important and he wanted to stray away from stressing out his parents on the occasion.

The Power of The Fallen ~ PopeAlessandros x AkiBlue

Aoba shrunk back and looked down when Kuro glared at him. He had half a mind to apologize repeatedly to the demon until the angel a few feet from him was pinned to the ground. It made him flinch a little but he stayed in his spot, not sure if he should try escaping from the second angel or staying put. The second angel finally landed and Aoba went through several emotions at once. He was surprised to find out just who the angel was. Aoba had worked under Fenrir for years, there was no way he’d forget him. He was defensive. The two were never really on the same terms and even if Fenrir was no archangel, he was still considered a higher up. That only meant bad news for both Aoba and Kuro. He saw the medical kit and watched as Fenrir started walking towards him and for the first time, at least first time in awhile, he felt stubborn and upset.

’I am fully capable a medic as he is, I don’t need his help!’’ Aoba realized he started to scoot away from Fenrir, but stopped. He could feel Kuro’s agitation at this point and decided to let Fenrir do what he did best. Even if he was a little reluctant, it would ease Kuro to know he wasn’t bleeding out. For most of it, Aoba turned his head away from both angel and demon, and after a few minutes he did finally speak. “...I could’ve- I could have done this myself. It’s not a big deal.”

Fenrir suppresses the twinge of sadness, hearing Aoba be so curt with him. He knew he shouldn’t have expected much after how he treated the smaller angel, but as an angel he could still hope. “It was damage on my part. I needed to fix it.” Was the response he gave before going back to work on the wound. He was careful not to fuse any more holy energy into him, for Aoba’s sake and his own. He was sure the moment he tried to purify him, Kuro would have his head. ’I wouldn’t want to ruin something like this for Aoba…’ He mentally sighed.

Aoba glanced at Fenrir, only to run fingers through his hair and sigh. “M-My apologies sir. That was rude of me. I appreciate the-”

“I’m not your boss anymore. There’s no need for you to call me sir. And you have every right to express how you feel. I don’t need a thank you, I just-” He stopped himself. ’I just wanted to make sure you’re okay’ He could imagine the many question both of them would have with a statement like that. Why would he care about Aoba now after all that happened? What did it matter now? He came all this way on some sliver of hope that he’d be forgiven, not realizing he was putting his own feelings before Aoba’s. He noticed him flinch after is words but carried on with his work. It was just a cut, something he dealt with millions of times with the archangels. It didn’t take him too long and he stood when he finished. “It’s healed up.” Fenrir helped Aoba to his feet. “The scar there will disappear soon enough. I made sure the mixing energies wouldn’t… clash too much to be unhealthy for you.”

Aoba eyed where the wound had been, still very sure he could have stitched the wound closed. It wouldn’t have been as quick to heal but it still would have worked. Fenrir only reminded him that the one thing he thought he was really good at was taken from him. He sighed, trying not to spiral into another episode and bowed slightly. “Thank you sir. I… appreciate the help.” He glanced over at Kuro before quickly looking down at his feet, feeling as though he was still in trouble.

When Realms Collide {AkiBlue & PopeAlessandros}

Enasi hummed his response and happily kissed Seishu in return. He carried both Seishu and Rasha to the bathhouse with Inui and Rue trailing at his sides. The siblings gave quick nods to let him know that it was all clear and Enasi returned it with a nod of his own before walking in and allowing Seishu to chose which pool he wanted to lounge in. “I suppose I need to bathe as well.” He responded to the pawing as he looked down at the silk robe. “I have been rather cooped up as well. Hm, probably will need fresh new sheets as well. Hm, maybe I should have gotten some clothes as well.”

The smaller ones’ giggling made him come out of his train of thought and look back down at Seishu. “Oh, well. I can worry about that afterwards.” He untied the robe and let it fall off his shoulders before slipping into the water. He leaned against the side in a particularly sunny spot and sighed happily. “I think some fresh air will do me justice too.” Upon hearing Seishu, he opened one eye and then the other before pushing himself back into the shade. He perked up a little at the idea considered he had always been intrigued by the nightmare guardian’s hair. He knew he would never keep up with so much of it, but it definitely worked for Seishu. “Yes, of course I can.”

Almost as if on cue, Rasha tossed a shampoo bottle Enasi’s way and then went back to his seat. It was obvious he was daring to ask to join, but kept his control as best as he could. Enasi caught the bottle and splashed him a little before turning back to Seishu.

“How do you manage all of this anyway? It always looks so clean and pretty- well, with exceptions-. I would never be able to keep up with it all. Which is why I don’t.” While he was scrubbing through Seishu’s hair, Enasi paused to ruffle his own fluffy hair. He continued to scratch and scrub through all of Seishu’s hair in wonder. Out the corner of his eye he caught sight of Inui happily and cuddling Rue in the lounge chair. It was cute, but he wondered just when he got so bold, not that he minded it of course. His mind wandered, wondering when the last time those two- well three took baths and made a mental note to make sure they took one as well. However he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything except the guardian in front of him with how affectionate he was being lately. Instead of keeping up a conversation though, Enasi hummed a song to fill the silence. He had a feeling 'business' was the last thing on Seishu's mind at the moment anyway.

The Power of The Fallen ~ PopeAlessandros x AkiBlue

The animals began to move away from the noise and danger to the far end of the fence. They weren’t in a panic but they did rush to put more distance in between them and the source just to be safe. Aoba pushed past them, having to force his way through in order to make room for himself. The demon was the only thing on the archangel’s mind at the moment, so Aoba went unnoticed for the most part. He was fine with it staying that way. For some reason, this fight was one of the rare few, if not the only one, he didn’t want to hide away from and maybe it was because Kuro was in more immediate danger than he was. He wasn’t sure yelling at the angel to ‘stop’ would be effective help, but maybe… just maybe that distraction was enough. Or maybe seeing Aoba would cause the archangel to jump further to conclusions and be even more furious.

Unfortunately, Aoba couldn’t properly pull his thoughts together in order to come up with a real plan of action because Kuro decided that he wasn’t going to let the fight drag any longer than it needed to be. Seeing the scythe made Aoba’s heart stop for a moment, but faster than he could realize it, Aoba’s wings snapped open and he was off his feet. “N- KURO WAIT!” The smaller angel flew up from behind Kuro, his body casting a shadow over the both of them briefly before he was soon swooping down at the archangel. Like a hawk catching prey, Aoba reached out instinctively grabbed above the archangel’s head. Upon contact, his halo appeared and glowed making Aoba latch on as tight as he could.

Aoba wasn’t sure if he was thinking properly but even if he was, the two both crashed into the ground. The archangel howled in more surprise than pain as he hit his head on the ground. The sudden whiplash rendering him unconscious for a few minutes. Aoba on the other hand was too close to the ground to make a proper landing and crashed ungracefully into the ground, sliding a few feet away. He groaned as he slowly stretched one wing from under him and then the other from the awkward position it was in. As he stood, Aoba staggered a bit, instantly clutching his side when he felt a sharp sting. It was followed by a wet, and warm sensation that made him look down. The end of his shirt was tattered, but under that was a somewhat deep slice just above his hip. He had spotted the sword, but didn’t realize he’d still be readied to strike.

The holy energy that radiated off the sword made him numb to the actual pain, but the tainted energies fighting it made him a bit hazy. That and probably the loss of blood. The angel wasn’t as frantic about the injury as he was most things, but he did slowly sit back down. “M’gonna need to...stitch this.” The realization of what he had done set in and he looked up at Kuro with worried eyes. “I… Okay don’t be mad. I wasn’t trying to… Okay maybe it looked like I was trying to defend him but that- he-... If you did that the rest of them would have showed up. Archangels they fly in packs and, and the rest they wouldn’t- I didn’t want to see- Ahh, sorry I should’ve went to the barn!” Aoba was having a hard time formulating full sentences, trying to make sure that Kuro knew he wasn’t trying to get them both killed and he wasn’t trying to ‘save’ someone who probably didn’t care that much for him. Aoba wasn’t sure if any of that was coming across correctly, nor was he entirely sure if he knew what he was trying to say.

A second energy got close enough for him to sense and he looked up with wide eyes. ’Oh no.’ “I should… I shouldn’t have done that.” He was fighting his own morals, wanting to protect the angel doing his job, but knowing that it was best if… well if Kuro kept the barn safe for the both of them. Aoba bit his lip and pressed against the wound. “I can...I can fix this. Yeah, I can fix this. Just some stitching, no problem.” Aoba was moreso mumbling to himself as he started to pull the bloodstained shirt off. This was the second shirt that was bloodied in the matter of two days and he was really hoping it wouldn’t become a consistent thing.

Never Ending Battle ~ PopeAlessandros x AkiBlue

One moment he was watching Hoko and the next, even if only for a brief moment, he was in a gentle embrace. It didn’t take long for Akito to hide away, but nonetheless Hiro gave a content sigh. He would have happily laughed, but Hiro didn’t want him to think he was making fun of him. The soldier was finally relaxing and warming up to him. He was finally opening up- more or less. While Akito may have seen it as an embarrassment on his part, Hiro saw it as progress. It was slow progress, much different than what he was used to, considering he was used to getting things at the snap of his fingers. But it was an interesting change of pace and Hiro was willing to explore it.

The position they were in was comfortable so he decided not to move. Instead he followed Akito’s idea and explored the box to find what food was inside. He noticed a lot of the food in it wasn’t very suited for a proper picnic. In fact, it looked as if his mother picked sweets she was craving and told the chefs to put it in the box. It didn’t matter too much to Hiro because he spotted a few soft cookies and delightedly took two. While munching on them, he twirled his finger in the air and caused a small ball of flame to appear. The small flame gave him an idea.

While they were sitting back to back, Hiro began to create a few different things with his flame, all that could fit in the palm of his hand. The first one was a small butterfly that flew around their heads before disappearing. The next was a bird that did the same. He created a few more random creatures before turning his attention to Hoko who seemed to take interest as well.

“I don’t think Akito wants you playing with fire. It’s a dangerous you know.” He stopped the show to scratch behind Hoko’s ears and rest. As it fell quiet, and it did a few times, Hiro filled it with different stories of the neighboring kingdoms. He mentioned a four year old princess who was a delight to dance with, twin princes who weren’t the most friendly, and a few others he remembered from his childhood that they hadn’t gone to visit. He figured Akito would want to- or at least need to know some of the princesses and princes in the neighboring kingdom, though with his military training Akito probably knew where they were at least. Some of those royals would be coming to the ceremony and it was best to know how to act around them.

“Oh there’s also the- well,I doubt they’re showing up but the Cano Kingdom used to be close friends with my father if I recall correctly. My dad almost married me to the princess there when I was younger but then their king backstabbed my father...somehow. I don’t remember the full story, but the two went to war a long time ago and it wasn’t pretty. But, as I said, I highly doubt they would show up to our wedding ceremony.”

When Realms Collide {AkiBlue & PopeAlessandros}

The plant siblings’ sounds of disgust made Rasha’s ears perk up. His eyes sparkled and in an instant he slipped out of his guardian’s grasp to jump on the bed and see just what everyone else was shielding their eyes from.

“Oh?” Enasi started to turn to see why Rasha had left, only to feel weight on his back. It made him lean forward a little, but he straightened up to support the weight on his back.. “Hm? Yes, Seishu?” He couldn’t turn his head to see the nightmare guardian properly, but the loud purring was enough to assure that he was there and he was happy. The sudden weight made Enasi raise an eyebrow, debating if Seishu was just being playful or really did need help to get to the bath. He had been lying about for a few days so it was possible. With nothing more than an innocent blink, the dream guardian spoke. “Are you sore? Do you want me to carry you there?”

The question made Rasha break his staring and turn into his human form to look at his guardian with a gaze mixed with curiosity and excitement. “You can carry Master Seishu?” The rest of the minions turned their gaze to him with curious gazes as well.

“What? Of course I can? Why would you think that I couldn’t?” The group of gazes made the guardian confused. “I mean I know I look kind of frail, but I can definitely carry Seishu. He’s not that heavy.” Enasi puffed his cheeks as he spoke. “That’s a little insulting guys-”

“No, no, it’s not that we think you’re frail. It’s just that-”

“Well, we don’t get to see you do a lot of stuff, so we didn’t know!”

Enasi blinked and thought for a moment. Well, they weren’t necessarily wrong. He didn’t use his energy as much as Seishu did so when they had the swimming contest they had all right to be surprised. He never flew either so that could also have been a bit surprising to see as well. “Huh… I guess you’re right. Uh,” Enasi scratched his head before playfully patting Seishu’s. “I don’t use as much energy as Seishu does. I’m not as flashy as he is. I kind of rely on my own physical strength, I guess? When you’ve gotten yourself stuck in a cuddle pile you kind of need to be able to lift minions to get up and also maneuver without stepping on someone.” He laughed at the example but shifted ever so slightly, catching Seishu before he could fall off his shoulders. He playfully kissed Seishu’s forehead before scooping him up bridal style and standing. “See? Nothing to it.” Crios and Harper couldn’t help the snickers as he watched the guardian effortlessly scoop up Night like a damsel in distress. “Do you mind making sure the bathhouse is cleared? Wouldn’t want Seishu getting sick all over again, of course.” Harper decided to take the job, with Flynn and Starla quickly following behind him. The two were sure they were more help there anyway.

Enasi started to walk after them before pausing and looking down at Seishu. “Oh, sorry. Did you want me to put you back down?”

“Hmph, you can carry me if you want.” Rasha’s mumbles weren’t missed by the two youngest and they began to giggle again.

Crios could only roll his eyes before heading out the door. “You’re all taken care of Night so I’ll be on my way. I need to make a check through the med bay to make sure everything's running smoothly there.”

The Power of The Fallen ~ PopeAlessandros x AkiBlue

“Oh right of course” Aoba didn’t give Kyou’s ‘breakfast time’ a second thought. Whether it was souls or actual food didn’t concern Aoba, at the moment, the one thing concerning the fallen angel was feeding all the pigs- and watching them wallow in their muddy pens. When they were done with all of the work, Aoba decided to rest by the pasture fence and watch Otto bound around his mama and the other cows. “The sheep don’t seem to appreciate all the extra movement.” Aoba commented with a laugh as Otto knocked into one by accident. “At least his horns haven’t come in yet.”

Aoba didn’t pay too much attention to the wind change, but he did look up when he heard Kyou rushing by. “Oh there-” But before he could finish the sentence, the demon raced past and straight into the barn. As odd as it was, it made Aoba grow more weary. Demons couldn’t be around right now, could they? He thought after Issho and Kuro had that battle, none would show up for awhile? The questions started to buzz through his head while he hopped over the fence to prepare moving everyone back inside. However, the moment the breeze picked up again, Aoba froze where he stood. His wings sagged to the ground in near disbelief and he looked up at the sky. The energy he felt wasn’t threatening. Intimidating that was for sure, but it felt...familiar. It felt like… Aoba quickly shook his head. That energy he felt wasn’t home. It was trouble no doubt and if he remembered correctly, it had to have been an archangel. But by Yahweh he hoped he was wrong.

The angel sunk back, using one of the cows as cover. For once Aoba wasn’t the target, Kuro was, and that made him all the more anxious. Demons that attacked were blinded by their desires to catch an angel, they’d always get taken down by Kuro or Dani. But these angels were trained. They were dangerous. Aoba heaved a sigh. ’Kuro withstood a fight with his brother, he can take an archangel… It’s only one. If it stays that way, that would be great.’ As much as he feared the confrontation, his morality kicked into gear with the idea of Kuro actually killing one of them. He could barely stomach Kuro killing his own kind for his sake, Aoba didn’t want to see an angel die either.

~~~~~~~~

Fenrir couldn’t keep up with the archangel, especially not after he had caught another demon’s energy as the second one ran. At least, with the unbridled ‘holy anger’, it was easy to follow the trail. He was glad he toted his first aid kit as well because the angel, Leo, he believed his name was, didn’t plan on stopping to chat.

The archangel started chasing after Kyou, a mile or so behind him. It wasn’t long before he caught onto another demon, who was no doubt stronger than the first. He smirked at the idea of a challenge. With his years of fighting, he knew demons weren’t into negotiations, and Leo had grown tired of trying it that way anyway. Instead of stopping to land in front of Kuro, the archangel grabbed the shield on his back and was prepared to barrel into Kuro at full force to knock him off his feet.

Aoba saw the angel coming in faster and faster and for a brief moment wondered if he could ever fly that fast, but ultimately Aoba flinched and braced for the impact that angel would make.

When Realms Collide {AkiBlue & PopeAlessandros}

It was hard to focus with the nightmare being as affectionate as he was, but he does manage to get the most of what Seishu is saying. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear either, but even Enasi knew it was something that he would just have to deal with. If he hadn’t scared them as he did, a lot worse could have happened, things he didn’t want to think about. For most of it he listened, giving a nod or humming in agreement to let him know that he was paying attention. Occasionally, when he could, he’d even return a few of the kisses.

“Ah-” It wasn’t long before Seishu kissed him and dozed off once again. Enasi could only sigh and smile, leaning to kiss his forehead. “...Right. We’ll figure this out and we will have peace.” He echoed the words before falling back into thought about what Seishu said earlier.

’Meet the dream denizens?’

It was bound to end up in some sort of panic, he was sure. But that was the way of his people and it was all they knew. The idea however… if they could get the dream denizens to come to accept- not like, but at least accept, Seishu then fighting Gin would be a lot easier. Seishu would have an entire realm and a half backing him up.

His stomach dropped at the idea of standing in front of his people admitting that something as serious as a threat to his life and the life of the realm could be possible. The chaos that could and probably would bring was very unsettling. But, he looked at his sleeping counterpart, now shifted a bit to his side and breathed. “We’ll figure this out and we will have peace.”

For now, Enasi’s peace lied right where he was, resting at Seishu’s side. He wasn’t as sleepy as the nightmare but cuddling up to him was enough to induce it anyway.

~~~~~

“Alright Night.” Crios packed away the last of his supplies, allowing Inui and Rue to bombard Seishu’s space. Rasha had started to follow, only to pause in mid crawl and stare at his own guardian who had slid out of bed to stretch.

As much as Enasi enjoyed lying about and being with Seishu, he was going to eventually get cramps in his muscles if he laid for too long. Enasi re-tied his robe, a silky green one this time before sitting on the edge of the bed. Rasha had quickly took the opportunity to climb in the guardian’s lap in his cat form. Almost expectantly, he began to pet Rasha who was overjoyed about the attention.

Crios hadn’t monitored Seishu as closely as he had done before, knowing that there was little he could do that wouldn’t have him in a medicated coma. So, he was left with a bit of area to only imagine what Seishu could have been doing other than sleeping- which probably wasn’t much. ““I think these past few days of...rest have done you enough justice. It’s time for you to get off your butt now.”

The dream guardian had been drifting in and out of his own mind for the past few days, organizing his thoughts and seemingly planning for something. No one could tell for sure besides Harper who had pieced bits and pieces of it all together. When he was able to, he reassured them that their guardian wasn’t out of it, but simply wondering about some of the next steps they could take. Harper also reassured that there would be a discussion about it eventually, but with Seishu in and out of consciousness they simply had to be patient.

Currently, Enasi wasn’t in one of those states of drifting off, being too indulged in his cat minion to do so. Although hearing that Seishu was free from his ‘prison’ made Enasi glance over and smile. “Oh, that’s good. You’re healing up.”

Never Ending Battle ~ PopeAlessandros x AkiBlue

Hiro was a little relieved that Akito came out of ‘hiding’. If he had stayed, Hiro wasn’t sure what he’d do for the remainder of the trip. He remained quiet as Akito spoke, not wanting to interrupt and dispel his train of thought, however he would nod every so often to let him know he was paying attention.

It was rather baffling to know that the kingdom’s soldiers didn’t always think the same way tradition let on and now even he wondered why they felt it was something to partake in. Hiro remembered the first time Akito decided to run away and he was sent to fetch him. The soldiers had all stared, as he expected, Most were more concerned with why Akito came running back, but Hiro didn’t miss the comments of Akito being ‘lucky’ and things of that nature. Tradition was tradition he supposed. Hiro mentally sighed. ’At least this kingdom’s soldiers are less likely to be like that.’

The prince began to smile as Akito mentioned that he was glad that he ended up avoiding something like that, until of course Akito started rambling and putting himself down. Hiro couldn’t help but pout. “I don’t understand how you could think so low of yourself.” Hiro shifted to face Akito a bit more. He tapped Akito to get his attention, not wanting to spook him before he gently took his hands. Hiro offered a smile and waited for Akito to look at him. “You weren’t born to be royal. You weren’t built to be perfect. And that’s okay Akito. I don’t expect you to be perfect or get everything right on the first try. My first and only role was to learn how to be a prince. Outside those palace walls, I’d probably be more lost than I can imagine. You were trained as a soldier and you are good at what you do. You don’t have to be out in battle for me to see that. Just as I have to learn about new things, so do you.” Hiro paused and his gaze trailed to the side for a moment.

It wasn’t often he had to give pep talks, in fact it was rare, but with Akito it felt oddly necessary despite his little experience. “All of that stuff, it’s something you learn over time, you know? You’re being silly. Staying stuck in your own head won’t do you any good. You’re little mistakes are just that, little. Very minor. But you get worked up so fast and I never get the chance to say it’s okay.” Hiro chuckled and squeezed Akito’s hands. “It’s okay! I promise! You’re doing your best and that’s fine. You’ve been nothing but kind, understanding, and patient and that’s all I can ask of you. Honestly, well... that’s perfect for me.” He laughed again. “I will remind you of this until I run out of breath I promise you.”

After another brief pause, Hiro added. “If anything, just remember, there’s no need for you to be perfect in my parents’ eyes. I’m the one you’re marrying, not them.” Without much else to say, he decided to confirm it all with a quick kiss before pulling away and returning to his seat at Akito’s side to look at the pond. Hoko was much more entertaining to watch though as he began pouncing on bugs that the prince didn't see.

The Power of The Fallen ~ PopeAlessandros x AkiBlue

The kiss woke him up a bit more and he smiled in return. For a moment he watched Kuro climb out of bed until he shook off a bit more sleep and climbed out himself. He had forgotten about his manic cleaning and rearranging the night before so it took him a moment to remember just where he put all his things. Slowly but surely, he put some more pep into his step as he got ready, growing more excited to see the animals. Getting ready to start the day went by faster than he realized. Breakfast went by quick and the only thing stopping the angel from bolting out was him looking for his work boots. The one time Aoba did pause for was to sigh contently being back in his ‘old clothes’ and adjusting to the life he had enjoyed. It was nice to be back. Living in the church had it’s pros but as guilty as he felt admitting it, he just wasn’t as happy there. The thoughts weren’t dwelled on too much because he was soon out the door, leading the way to the barn to let out the antsy pasture animals.

Aoba didn’t know why he had fret over forgetting how to take care of the animals because as soon as they started everything felt like clockwork. He had been doing the farm work for so long it felt natural. Sure the calluses he developed on his hands and feet had been scrubbed away, but he would more than likely get that again. It wasn't something he missed, but it was something he needed to remind himself to be careful about. "This is nice." He hummed to himself as he checked on the pigs before heading into the barn.

While the angel was directing the animals out a few of them stopped to nudge their heads against Aoba as if to show they were happy with his return. One of them, Mama, was the last of them out with Otto bounding right behind her. Aoba smiled and patted them both, earning a huff from Mama. “I missed you guys too.”

~~~~~~~

“Sir?”

An angel moved Fenrir out of his own mind and he looked up at her with a questioning gaze. “Someone else is injured?”

“Oh, no sir. You and the other medics have done a fine job, thank you. The ones capable are being sent back home as we speak. The others are getting some rest before their trip back. I was just informing you that the sun’s rising, so the demon activity will cease for awhile. We’ll be checking around as usual so if you’d like to go back feel free to do so.” She quickly added, “Though feel free to stay with us if you like. The guards would suggest having someone to accompany you if you choose to do so.”

Fenrir let the woman ramble on before giving a confirming nod. Of course he wasn’t planning on leaving, so he decided it would be best to stick around with the guards for the time being.

Opportunity rose, around two hours later, when one particular guard announced that he would check the area a little farther out from the city. “I noticed some activity shifting that way once before, but I didn’t think anything was out that way. I want to go double check while it’s clear."

~~~~~~~~

Work continued on with Aoba only asking a few questions about what he had forgotten, or where things were rearranged to. Some of the stuff, Dani moved around solely for his convenience while he and Kyou were working. He hadn’t had the time to put things back considering he was dragged home by his older brother.

“Huh, where’d Kyou go anyway?” The question was said aloud, but he didn’t expect an actual answer. Kuro scared him off, so Aoba wasn’t sure how long the demon would be gone for.