forum And the Brightest Burned (Closed)

Started July 22, 2019 by VictoryOchre

tune

Pheonix grabbed her bag and came back to Lucifer, king of Heavenfell, lord of the Dark, and her older brother. "You know where my house is, let's go." Lucifer nodded and closed his eyes, bringing a hand up to his Forehead, the found themselves in her apartment.

Pheonix went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of cold iced tea. Taking a sip, she sighed in contentment. She looked at her brother and sat on the sofa. "So, why are you here for me?" She asked. Lucifer sighed and put his hands up to his head. "Where to begin." He muttered. Pheonix rolled her eyes and threw her bottle cap at his forehead. "How about at the beginning?" She said sarcastically. Lucifer glared for a bit but then sighed. "Trust me, you are not going to like this." He said and put his head in his hands.

"Heavenfell has come to earth." Pheonix laughed "theres a reason many humans say 'hell on earth's love." She said and leaned into the sofa. Lucifer shook his head and looked at her, his normally red markings were glowing with black energy. "You dont understand. It literally looks like Heavenfell out there. Fires starting for absolutely no reason, whole cities losing power, a lot of drowning, and the normal sins of the humans are being multiplied by a hundred. Murders are happening in broad daylight, robberies, attacks and more. Weiside is the issue many if us think." Lucifer said and started pacing. "Many of the Deylfell came to try and deal with the mess, but the dark powere was too much for many of them. Many fled back to Heavenfell, a couple are hiding out here, and a handful joined in on the 'fun's as they put it."

Pheonix set down her bottle and looked out the window, seeing , really seeing, the mess that the Earth had become. "Why have you come here, especially now? What can I do at a time like this?" She asked, arms behind her back. Lucifer came and stood beside her, turning her around to face him. "I came to ask you to help because you are the only Deylfell I know that can withstand dark powers for extended periods of time. You are able to change the weather in turn saving many places from 'natural' disasters."

Pheonix looked at her brother and held his shoulder. "I will need you to lend me some of your power if I am to fly around and save lives. I do hope that isnt an issue." One side of Lucifer's lip turned up and his teeth poked through his lips "of course, but I have gotten stronger, so be sure that you can take it." Lucifer held her forehead and a few black wisps escaped into her forehead. The marking on her body lit up with a ghostly black light and her eyes turned black. A few seconds later, she runned her head and blinked, her eyes coming back to normal. "Don't worry Lucy, I'll be back home before you know it." She smiled and started walking towards her room, not hearing what he said afterwards. "I hope so too, if not, a lot of people will suffer."

Gabriel cried for a long time.

He couldn’t help it, not really. Being as tired as he was, he could barely even manage to talk. All he did was cry and cry next to his younger sibling, occasionally stopping to try and hold it in, then cry some more when Sariel’s gentle hands patted his back. He wasn’t a crybaby in any sense of the word. In fact, if he’d been counting then he would’ve known that it was the first time he’d cried in about 500 years, but he hadn’t been counting. What he knew instead was that it felt wrong not to be upset when the Earth that he loved was ending and one of his brothers—and possibly soon another sibling—was probably dead.

By the time he finally stopped, breathing hard, cheeks splotchy, he realized he’d wasted a lot of time and was quite embarrassed. As a way to compensate for the lost hour or so, he started spewing details left and right about the task ahead and how he was going to try to keep in touch with Sariel as they went after the problem. His hands still trembled as he gestured wildly. Part of him knew that they were right, that he probably couldn’t make it to see one more Angeleyl, much less nine, but he wished he would have to. He could push through it, after all, if it meant his sibling was going to be safe.

“I’m going to repeat everything you just said,” Sariel said when his ramblings trailed off. “Heavenloche thinks that the escaped… whatever it is has made some sort of base in a nearby city. It’s my job to go look for a bar called The Tipsy Cherry, find a Deylfell named… something, ask them for all the information they have on the subject at hand, prepare some sort of method of attacking the escaped thing, and then go to the aforementioned city with the attack method and do my best to destroy it so the world can get back to normal. All the while, you and Michael will be sending me messages through the Loche if you have any new tips. I’m also supposed to avoid getting murdered.”

“Yes.”

“Great. I’ll get ready to leave now.”

“Sariel, you… you…”

“Use your words, Gabriel,” they teased, not unkindly.

“You are going to survive.” He probably meant to sound confident, but he instead made it appear as if he was convincing himself of the fact.

“I’m going to do more than that.”

“Good.”

That was the end of the conversation. While Sariel threw together some things in a beaten up, leathery suitcase, Gabriel stretched out on the couch. Beings from Heavenloche normally did not need sleep; however, this was no normal situation. The Angeleyl’s exhausted body craved a break from all of the trials it had just endured.

The other Angeleyl Archis draped the blanket from earlier over him, smiled, wished him goodbye, and then trotted downstairs to the Nursery. They packet seeds in lockets with dirt and pinched flowers, herbs, and leaves to take with them in case they ran into trouble. A couple of vines went into a different bag they kept strictly for going out into town. Those came in handy for many reasons, one that they provided drinkable fluids if trapped in a location without access to water. They also made sure to get their staff. In public, they used it as a cane; in private, it was still their most trusted weapon.

Time was of the essence. They hurried to their front door and slung it open, eager to face their job and the world.

What they saw was not the Earth they loved.

A man down the street stumbled as he walked, drunk to the point of foolishness, right beside a pair of teenagers doing something very desperate and inappropriate right in plain sight. From open windows they could faintly hear arguments, and from a store came a man with a cart of what appeared to be stolen goods. In an alley right across from the Nursery, two homeless people literally fought over money until they bled. People screeched. Cars bumped over curves and swerved into lampposts. Some stripped of their clothes, others pickpocketed, a couple even wielded knives, pepper spray, and other weapons that they wielded towards anyone who got too close.

Sariel quickly adjusted the strap of their bag and hurried onward to The Tipsy Cherry.

Pheonix sighed and quickly grabbed her bag. Grabbing some vials of smoke and bright colored liquids, she placed them inside a small box, locking it, then placing it inside the bag. She threw in a simple change of clothes next, along with her crystal pendant, and her specially crafted arrows. She turned back to her closet and changed her clothes to something more breathable and flexible. She picked up her bow from behind her dresser and slung it over her head. Choosing out her favorite knives, she put them in their holders all around her body. She put a few extra arrows in her quiver and tied her bag before slinging it over her shoulder and looking in the mirror.

In the living room, a certain Deylfell was laying across the sofa rubbing his temple and cursing the issues that had befallen him. He sat up and grabbed his sister's drink before chugging it and laying back down. Pheonix came out then and looked at him. "What exactly do I need to do?" She asked sitting down. Lucifer sighed and rubbed his temple while glaring at the ceiling "you are not going to like this." He muttered. Pheonix frowned and crossed her arms. "Like what?" Her brother sighed and sat up "well you cant do this alone so Heavenfell and Heavenloche are each sending people to try and control this issue. You were chosen to control this issue alongside an Angeleyl named—" Pheonix stopped listening 'an Angeleyl? Who do they think I am? I can do this myself.' she thought. "And so your ate going to have to go to the Tipsy Cherry and meet them there. Good luck Pheonix, I hope you do make it back home." He said.

Pheonix watched as her brother disappeared into a smoke before she started cursing. After calming down, here marking stopped glowing and she sighed "let's head down there and see who the hell this person is." She muttered and went outside. The second she stepped out of her building, she was faced with an apocalyptic sight.

Cars were on fire, drunken people were roaming freely, attacking others and doing inappropriate behavior. Lust crazed people were writhing on the ground shamelessly, while children and adults alike were fighting each other to the point that one became a bloody mess. She grimaced and started walking to the Tipsy Cherry, dodging all attackers and tripping drunken fools.

The Tipsy Cherry was not the type of place that Sariel would go in their free time. At the front door were drunk men in tacky biker wear arguing heatedly about a high tab. They slipped past them quietly and ducked into the low front door. Bright neon lights buzzed at them from all angles as they headed past some deer heads on a brown wall, a lewd decal of a topless woman in an absolutely ridiculous pose, some pictures of prized customers that hung crooked, and a handful of tables that were packed with slurring customers. Without looking anyone in the eye, they made their way to surprisingly empty bar and eased onto a red barstool.

The bartender, a young man in a flannel with dirty blonde hair and a pair of square black glasses, came over to them instantly. He gave them a charming smile.

“Hey, miss. Don’t get many customers as pretty as you ‘round here. Mostly big, burly guys that have pissin’ contests and all that.”

They smiled politely. “Thank you for the compliment. Can I order a drink?”

“Yeah, sure. We’re almost outta everythin’, but I’m sure I can dig up somethin’ for you. What would you like?”

“Water, please. Water with a lemon.”

His eyes sparkled. “That’s it? Nothin’ stronger?”

“No, that’ll be just fine.”

“Are you sure? Seems somethin’ bad is goin’ on out there. Might be nice to have a little brandy, or some whisky…”

They tapped their staff on the floor. “Yes, I’m sure.”

He stared at them for a moment with a very weird look on his face. Then, he leaned forward on his elbows, licked his lips, and let his smile melt into something more sinister.

“Well, I could get you that water, or…”

“Or?” Sariel responded innocently.

“Or we could do somethin’ else. My shift ends in five minutes. If the world’s really endin’ as they say, then it might be nice to just… get out of here, y’know… have a bit of fun. Spend the evenin’ together.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“I’m about to have a very important meeting with someone.”

One of his eyebrows flicked up. “The only person I see here right now is you, dear.”

“They’re not here yet.”

He growled. It was a very animalistic thing, a noise that made Sariel uncomfortable for a reason they didn’t understand until he came out from around the bar and loomed in front of them.

“Tryin’ to get rid of me, are you? Well, sweetheart, this is my bar. I own it. And while you’re in here,” he slammed his hands down on the counter behind them, startling them, and they realized that he smelled a great deal of alcohol, “you don’t exactly get to get rid of me. I get to do what I want, and right now…” Sariel shuddered as he pressed into them, shivered as he moved their hips, “that’s you, sweet pea. When I said that I wanted to get out of here with you, it wasn’t a suggestion.”

“I advise you to take a step back.”

“Oh, you’re goin’ to regret sayin’ that. You’re goin’ to regret sayin’ that a lot.” His hands skated down their sides and gripped their hips hard enough to leave bruises. “Everything’s screwed. I’m not leavin’. We’re gonna go to the back room right now, and then I’m gonna-“

Several things came out of his mouth. There was a great amount of things involving holes and fingers and being rough that made Sariel so uncomfortable that they felt paralyzed. Their breath caught as he moved against them again, his breath hot and gross in their ear, and let his hands drift lower.

Pheonix slapped an elderly pervert before ducking into the bar. Roght off the bat she noticed how empty it was. The drunks that were roaming outside had probably stopped here for they drinks. She grimaced at the sight of the decal and headed to the bar.

There, she rapped her knuckled on the counter and called for the bartender. "Hello? Where the hell is everyone." She muttered and reached behind there to grab a random bottle and take a mouthful of the liquid. She heard some interesting sounds and turned the other way to see a disgusting male doing lewd things with a petrified younger girl. She took another mouthful of the liquid before getting off the stool and heading to the couple.

She pulled the man off the girl and punched him "I came here to have a drink and meet someone, not to watch a dirty movie being made infront if me." She growled

The bartender stumbled back with a loud noise and nearly fell. He righted himself, glanced between the two of them, and then apparently decided that it wasn’t worth it. With one last nasty remark, he slapped Sariel on the thigh and went somewhere else, most likely the back room he’d talked so much about

Sariel sighed softly. “How terribly annoying.” They gave the stranger a wary smile. “Thank you for that. I would have done the same, but I’m not much for punching humans. They’re such awfully messy creatures, aren’t they? So full of feelings. So eager. So peculiar.” Another beat passed. “Say, did you mention a meeting? I think you might be looking for me. My name is Angeleyl Archis Sariel, Great Bringer of Life, Pillar of Wisdom, Owner of Yel’s Plant Nursery. I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but… well.”

Pheonix spat in his direction before turning to the girl and scoffing. "You Angelwyls and your ridiculous titles." She muttered. She took a seat by the them and took a swig of her drink before tossing the bottle over the counter and facing them. "I'm Pheonix, Deylfell Beta, master of the weather, and owner of From the Ashes book store." She introduced.

Pheonix picked her bag off the floor and set it on the tabletop, took out a pencil and pad, and turned to face Sariel again.

“Master of the Weather? For one who claims we have ridiculous titles, you sure have one yoursel,” they mused before straightening up. Their odd eyes flickered over Pheonix’s pencil and paper before finding a spot to focus on over the Deylfell’s head. “I suppose we ought to do some talking about what knowledge we have of the situation. Unfortunately, Heavenloche isn’t as informed about the catastrophe as they are about most things. It’s almost funny. Nothing is right anymore. People are acting up, my superiors are quite nervous, I have to work with… one of your kind… it’s all gone awry. I suppose that’s our job, isn’t it? To stop the world from going further awry.”

They took a deep breath and crossed, then uncrossed, their legs. “Here’s what I know. All of the Angeleyl are retreating to Heavenloche. They fear that the Earth is going to be destroyed and that they might be die alongside it. The thing that is causing all of this came from Weiside. It’s not an escaped spirit, but it probably has a similar magical capabilities if it originated in the same place. It can be tracked. Michael is working on that with the others as we speak. I was informed under an hour prior to our meeting that he will keep in contact with me, as will the Angeleyl Archis Gabriel. Gabriel told me that he believes that this thing—whatever it may be—was powerful enough to kill one of my siblings, Raphael, or at least harm them severely enough so that they’ve gone off the map. If he’s right about that, then whatever we face is strong. Far too strong for its own good.

“Now, in terms of location, I know it’s in the next city over. Magen, I believe the town is called. It’s small. Shouldn’t be hard to search.”

Pheonix nodded, quickly jotting down all the details. "Yes, many of Deylfell have retreated because they were not able to bear the abilities if this…thing. A few of them were led astray and have joined in on ruining the earth. My elder brother was able to lend me some if his strength so I would be strong enough to take on this beast." She said and added her points to the notepad.

Pheonix leaned back against the bar stool and sighed "how to we catch this thing? If it is strong enough to destroy one of your own, it must be pretty powerful. We need to decide a plan." She said

“Agreed. Raphael is—was, I guess—by no means weak in terms of magic. If it took down them, then I’m not sure how much we’ll be able to do to it. Our best hope is that it’s in a somewhat weakened state.”

Sariel’s mind was going a million miles a second. They crossed their arms and found themselves staring at the stained counter below them, Raphael’s consistently content, smiling face flickering across their thoughts. Raphael wasn’t the sibling they’d been closest to—that had to be either Michael or Gabriel, who’d visited frequently even before all of the apocalyptic nonsense had begun—but their loss felt like a hot coal burning in their chest. An Angeleyl perishing was a rare event.

As horrific as it was to think so, Sariel hoped desperately that Raphael would be the only Angeleyl to perish that day.

“Our plan,” they mumbled, “is this. We fly to Magen, find a place to make a base, locate this monstrosity with the help of Heavenloche, and tear it apart piece by piece. I have nature magic that can help us. Venomous herbs, grasses that can snare legs, thorns as big as swords… that’s just the beginning. Neither of us stop until we win. Sound good?”

"Yes, but while you use your plants to stop a giant beast, I shall call upon my Deylfell and with the help of my Weqther controlling abilities, we can slow him down enough for you to use your… whatevers to kill it." Pheonix said, putting the pad back inside her bag and standing up.

She looked around the hauntingly quiet room and grimaced "we should leave as soon as we can to minimize the risk of having another incident like the one you were victim too." She said and strapped the bag onto her body. She ruffled her hair and turned towards Sariel "Sariel was it?"

Sariel inwardly scowled at the tone the girl was using, but they managed to keep their face straight. With their mouth firmly set in a line, they hopped up, shook the pins and needles out of their legs, tapped their staff on the ground, and gave Pheonix an icy look.

“To those I know it is Sariel. You may call me by my title: Angeleyl Archis. I will not have my name be sullied on the lips of the Fallen.”

Without waiting for a response, they rolled their shoulders. A pair of giant, glorious wings burst from their back. The feathers had touches of gold that shimmered under the low bar lights, and there was a faint, glossy tone to them that made them look nice. In all honesty, one close look would ruin that illusion. Their wings were pretty, but they hadn’t been cared for properly in a long time. A long time ago, an Angeleyl by the name of Azrael had groomed their feathers for them; he had, however, long since settled down in Heavenloche as an ordinary miracle worker, no longer interested in helping with such troubles. There was no way Gabriel would help them—Angeleyl most often groomed with either a romantic partner or a very close friend, and Gabriel, while one of Sariel’s friends and close siblings, was much too stern to offer—and asking Michael or Raphael would only get them a pitying, yet confused, look.

“Let’s go,” they said, striding towards the door. “As you said, there’s no reason to just wait around here.”

Pheonix scoffed at them and stepped outside, unfurling her own tattered wings. Black and blue, with streaks of grey, ripped and leathery. She sighed and flapped them once and lifted off.

"Stupid Angeleyl and their stupid pompous personalities." She muttered

Sometime during the conversation indoors, the sky had turned a stormy, almost foreboding, gray. Sariel studied it with frustration before tying their bag tighter around their arm and taking a sprinting start off into the sky. Normally, they’d be worried that people would see them with their wings out. On such a day, however, they figured most would be too drunk or high to notice them at all. They didn’t suppose it mattered if anyone sober did spot them, though. If they didn’t get to Magen fast enough, nothing would matter at all.

Strong winds buffeted them as they fought their way closer to the city. The gusts grew even stronger the further they went. At a certain point, a drizzle strong enough to weigh them down started. With the agility of an expert pilot, they maneuvered themselves through rain that pelted their back like bullets into a clear patch of open air. Only then did they close their eyes and reach out mentally through the lines of Heavenloche to the first person that popped into their mind.

‘Sariel,’ Michael murmured, ‘Gabriel informed me of your choice. You are on your way now?’

‘Yes. I’m heading over with the Fallen. Do you have any new information you could give me?’

‘Not much, unfortunately. In Magen, you’re going to be looking in a radius around a restaurant called amy (the most wonderful woman in the world)’s Diner. That’s where the last pulse of magic came from. There hasn’t been another yet, but I’ll tell you if whatever it is has started to move.’

‘Alright.’ As an afterthought, they added, ‘So Gabriel made it home?’

‘Yes. He is with me now.’

‘And he’s unharmed?’

‘Mostly, yes. Just tired. He shouldn’t be returning to Earth anytime soon.’

‘Good. Tell him I’ll see him soon.’

When Michael didn’t respond, Sariel turned their head to look at Pheonix.

“We’re looking for a place called amy (the most wonderful woman in the world)’s Diner. Tell me if you see it.”

Pheonix groaned at the name.

"Really? It's in that place?" She said. "I know exactly where that is."

She flapped her wings harder and created a burst of wind underneath her wings and flew faster.

Sometime later they reached the town and Pheonix started weaving in and out of streets. Once finding the storefront, Pheonix sarcastically gestured to the shop. "Here we are."

amy (the most wonderful woman in the world)’s Diner hadn’t been what the Angeleyl had expected. The place was big, for starters, with a hand-painted sign, roof the color of clay, bunch of tall windows, and welcoming doormat. The door was wooden and swung open when Sariel twisted its knob. Nobody was inside. They crept forward with their staff at the ready, pupil-less eyes sweeping through the main room. It looked like a weird scene from a horror movie. One table had been knocked over. The rest were still standing, but not a single one appeared to be empty. Half-eaten breakfasts sat waiting to be completed beside cups of coffee that had long since gone cold. Napkins fluttered across the floor in a swirl around their feet when they paced forward.

Only after they’d finished scanning the place did they look at Pheonix. A feeling as heavy as lead had settled in the pit of their stomach. They weren’t really regretting their choice; they just hoped the whole thing would be over soon.

“Maybe this can be our base for now. It looks sturdy enough,” they said.

Outside, the rain turned into a heavy downpour. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed in crazy zig-zags.

Their features screwed up in a wince. “Nevermind, there’s no maybe about it. We can’t go out in that. Until the storm lightens up, we’ll have to stay here.”

Pheonix begrudgingly agreed and went inside. She looked around the room and picked up an peice of untouched hashbrowns and ate it. She set down her bag, not knowing that her crystal necklace had fallen out and was now in the floor.

She went into the backroom to look at the supplies they had then walked around, going to the office and bathrooms before concluding that this was a decent place to stay.

With disdain, Sariel watched Pheonix wander around. Their own bag landed on the seat of an empty booth with a thump. One eager sprout poked a leaf out that they absentmindedly stroked as they thought about the upcoming event. Heavenloche should have forced a few members down to fight, they thought with a hum. Their odds were looking as grim as the thunderclouds all around them.

Just as they were about to start unpacking, something caught their eye. It was a necklace on the ground. At first, they ignored it, deciding it must’ve belonged to one of the patrons of the diner, but on second glance they decided to check it out. It looked like a feather of sorts, and they were sure it hadn’t been there moments prior.

“Did you lose something?” they called. The chain dangled from their fingertips limply.

Pheonix poked a head out from behind a wall "what?" She asked. Her eyes drifted down towards the object in their hand and she rushed forth. "Where did you get this from? You were looking through my stuff were you not?" She said, glaring at them.

(Hi there! Sorry about being AWOL! I got into some trouble with my dad and had to hand in my phone, but I’m back now.)

“Looking through your stuff? Please. I’d have no reason to do such a thing. Besides, that sounds more like something your lot would do, not mine. Angeleyl avoid snooping.” They passed the necklace over with a grimace and turned to look over their shoulder. “Listen. I don’t exactly have a problem working with you for now, but that’s only because the world’s ending and all those in Heavenloche—all of the people I know and love—might be in danger. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t be here- no, I wouldn’t even be associating with you. So don’t even think for a second that I’m interested in you or any of your belongings, alright? I’m here to do a job.”

With that, they strode back to their own bag, dug their hands in, and began to pick through various seeds and flowers.

Pheonix made a very rude gesture behind their back and turned back to the necklace. She closed both hands around it and muttered a few words. The crystal started glowing and a smal image appeared. In the image, a young girl with wild hair was sitting atop the shoulders of a laughing man as a slightly older boy was being tickled by a smiling lady. Pheonix felt a couple tears arise at the sight if the image and she sat down on a nearby chair with her head in the table and the image still infront of her.

Pheonix left the crystal as is and walked to her bag, grabbing her weapons and potions she set them on the same table and started going through them. It was a good thing Pheonix packed a few extra herbs and things, if she didnt have a potions she needed, she could simply whip one up.

What felt like an hour passed by quickly. Sariel left Pheonix to their own devices, choosing instead to focus on finishing their defenses. They hummed while they worked, the tune bland, unmusical, and generally lacking passion, their hands not shaking but deadly stiff.

Five minutes after they finished strewing some burgundy petals onto the floor, they made the choice to try and open up to Pheonix. Maybe conversation would make them feel better; besides, they’d been rather harsh.

As they turned their head to shout something, a loud noise came from somewhere right outside. Their first instinct was to jump. Their second was to, with a sinking feeling, check out the window to see what the source of the noise was. A figure approached the door. It was shrouded by mist and rain and darkness. The only part of them that was visible was their face, and only the lower half, not nearly enough to make an identification.

That was, until they smiled. Sariel would know that smile anywhere.

“It’s Raphael,” they said faintly.

Pheonix took a cloudy grey potion and tossed it down I front of the two of them. A dark flame sprung up and Pheonix touched it. "If he and his soul haven't been tainted by the creature, he would be able to pass these flames with no problem." She said

She had a sneaking suspicion that something was Wrong with the Angeleyl's sibling, but it wasnt her place to simply tell them.

“No-” they started, froze, and repeated with urgency, “no! It’s Raphael. He’s not- he’s alive, I can’t belie- Raphael!”

The figure lifted its head. It was Raphael, although he looked worse than he ever had in the past. When his eyes locked with Sariel’s, he immediately stumbled up to the front door.

“Oh, oh no, you’re hurt, come here, El, I’ll help you out. Come inside. It’s not safe out there.”

Raphael’s dark curls fell in his face. He still didn’t speak.

“Raphael, what are you waiting for? It’s dangerous! Come- come on, please, just get inside, El-“

And then it hit them. He wasn’t speaking because he couldn’t.

The blood coming from his mouth had to be-

They’d thought maybe he had a rib problem, but no, he-

Did-

“Raphael?” they asked, afraid.

Two giant wings burst from his back, tearing through his skin. They hung like giant, bony, torn curtains around him, blocking the storm from wetting his already soaked body. For a moment, they just stood there, looking at each other some more, and then he started to flap.

His wings extinguished the flames.

“Should he be able to do that? Should- how did he- Raphael, how did you-“

He lunged for them.

Phoeanix yelled and immediately ducked down, pulling Sariel with her. "Rule number one of a battle, never trust anyone!" She yelled. Pheonix conjured up a thick layer of fog as she navigated her way to her bag and back. "Do you have any herb to knock him out?" She whispered

“Knock him out? We are not knocking him out! He’s my brother, and this is not a battle!”

A loud clang happened to their left. Sariel flinched and reached out for a nearby vine. It curled around their hand before slithering off like a snake onto the ground.

“There. If he tries to come close, that’ll snare his ankles.”

As if to prove their point, someone crashed to the floor in front of them. A strangled gurgle came from the thing’s—Raphael’s, they reminded themselves—throat.

“Raphael, I don’t know what this thing is, but you’ve got to get it out of you,” they tried hopefully. Raphael made a spitting sound in response. “I’m not going to hurt you. Don’t make me do more than this.”

Pheonix cursed at them in the language of the Heavefell and threw another potion at his feet. From the broken glass, a green most appeared that went into the air, calming the atmosphere and forcing Raphael to be quiet. Pheonix could tell he was seething

"Whatever thay thing is, it is no longer your brother." Oheonix said after a moment of silence

“Don’t say that. It’s still him, trust me. I can feel it.”

Raphael thrashed some more. He was breathing hard through his nose and coughing very faintly. Finally, after a couple of minutes of being otherwise silent, he raised his head as much as he could.

‘Help me.’

Sariel actually let out a noise that resembled a gasp.

“He’s in my head. Give me a chance to talk to him.”

Pheonix sighed but relented. "Fine, if he doesnt change back, I'm knocking him out." She muttered

They nodded at Pheonix before stepping closer through the green mist to his side. His bloodshot eyes peered at them with an angriness that they’d never seen in any Angeleyl ever before, but that didn’t stop them.

‘Please. Help me.”

‘Raphael?’

‘It hurts.’

‘I know. Raphael, can you-‘

‘Please, stop it, please.’

‘Raphael, listen to me, can you feel the thing that’s possessing y-‘

‘I’m going to die. Stop it, please, I’m dying, it hurts-‘ and then it all became too much to listen to. Sariel winced and disconnected themselves from his thoughts.

“He wasn’t talking to me. I think he’s hurting so badly that his mind’s reaching out in hopes that someone will answer and help him. It means he’s desperate. We need to think of a way to help him.” In their head, they went through a list of all the plants they’d brought. None would be useful in such a case. “Do you have anything against possession? Sort of like something you’d use if you were going to tear a regular escaped spirit from a person’s body. I don’t know if it’ll work in this case, but it might be worth a try.”