Promises, Secrets, and a Pair of Wings

Marianna crossed her arms loosely and rubbed a thumb over one of her biceps lightly before looking back into Anahera’s tighten expression. It was clear he had a lot to say but held a lot of it inside, despite his best efforts to hide his emotions from her.

“Marianna, do you not understand how painful it is for me to be around you?"

The pained voice caused her to swallow the same tightening lump in her throat as she continued to listen to Anahera's words.

"How much pain I feel every time I see you? How much pain I feel at the idea of you being at risk? Yes, being your guardian angel gives me more powers to help you, but I wouldn't leave you anyway. I don't want you to be alone, but being away... It's all I can manage. If I didn't stay away..."

“Then stay.” She whispered lowering her eyes as speaking hushly, believing her words to not be good enough. She hadn't notice his staring.

“it wouldn't be good for either of us. It's not like– “
"I--I have to go."

Her head jerked up and she quickly uncrossed her arms as she watched as Anahera took quick steps to distance themselves from each other “Anahera, Wai-” before she could finish her words, she lifted her arms above her face to protect it from the sudden gust of dust from the angel’s take off. She felt herself stumble back slightly, watching as a loose feather fluttered to the ground as he disappeared. She quietly picked up the feather and gently twisted the stem with her fingers, noticing the light glow from it. Without another word she made her way back to the apart to her awaiting guests. “Mari, who is exactly is that guy? That's your boyfriend right? Slvyia was right, he is a dreamboat~” Luci gently teased. “He’s not… he’s not my boyfriend. It's not like that.” She stated flatly before putting the feather she carried in her pocket. “Where is he anyway?” “He’ll be back later… I think he had to get something.” Marianna thought of in a whim, trying to think of an excuse.
 
Sylvia scoffed, setting her hands on her plump hips and giving her eldest sister a reproachful look. "I call bullcrap. No just friends stare at each other the way you two do."
She dropped onto the couch and patted the seat beside her for Marianna to sit. Once she had, sitting rather stiffly, Sylvia dropped her head onto Mari's shoulder, staring at the massive painting of a skyscape across from the couch.
"Come on, Mari. What's going on? Anahera's body was a locked mess, and you got paler when he came in. Do Luc and I need to beat him up or play offkey scales two feet from his face for hours? Anyone who causes our dear sis needs to have their attitude adjusted." Sylvia lifted her head off Mari's shoulder just long enough to press a gentle kiss to her sister's cheek before dropping her cheek back down. "Something has happened between when you moved and now, and it's clear that Anahera has a lot to do with that. What's happening?"
 
Lucia followed her sister lead a took a seat next to Marianna on her other side, holding onto her arm and leaning her head on her shoulder. "You know we will always have your back sis, you can talk to us. And like Via said, we will rough up his pretty face up for you any day!" Marianna gave a light chuckle at the girls for trying to her to open up. She sighed and leaned her head against the top of Via's. She could tell them exactly all of what's going on between herself and Anahera. "It's complicated.." she began quietly, laying her hands in her lap and picking at the skin on the top of her fingers. "We got into a huge fight a while back and I said things I didn't mean." Her eyes began to lower and tears threaten to escape before she took a breathe and continued. "Back at the ball, or even.. maybe earlier than that. I think I started to see Anahera in a different light. But.. ever since that fight, and some other... drama going on.. he has been avoiding me." She sat back up and placed her head in the palms of her hands. "God, I fell in love with him... but- but he.. he hurt me, I got angry and told him I wished.. I wished I would have never met him. But- I hurt him too and I-l she began to cry, causing Lucia to gently rub her older sister's back. "Oh Mari..." Lucia consoled gently glancing at her twin for more words of comfort to say to their older sister. "Have you tried talking to him?" "How can I talk to him when he avoids me all the time now- it's my fault.. I hurt him too. When he told me he his fears and past."
 
Sylvia took a deep breath, her eyes catching her twin's.
She took Mari's hand, stroking it gently. "This is what you've been dealing with for months?" She ran the fingers of her other hand through Marianna's hair--just like their father always had when the girls were upset. "I'm so sorry, Mari," she breathed. "This never should have happened to you. Anahera's overreacting. If he really cares about you, as a friend or more, he would be communicating. You've been trying, but he keeps rejecting you. He--" her lips puckered, her brows knitting, "--He isn't worthy of you. If he isn't willing to mend your relationship, then he isn't worth your time. If you want my advice, write him a letter explaining everything and make it clear that you won't accept him treating you like this. You're worthy of the highest respect and kindness," she said, unknowingly repeating the angel's very own words when they were only new friends. "If he won't treat you like a human, then he isn't worth your time, and he certainly isn't worth your pain."
 
Marianna felt the familiar comfort of her father and sighed, wiping what ever tears she had left and straightened her herself up.

"I'm so sorry, Mari," she breathed. "This never should have happened to you. Anahera's overreacting. If he really cares about you, as a friend or more, he would be communicating. You've been trying, but he keeps rejecting you. He-- -He isn't worthy of you. If he isn't willing to mend your relationship, then he isn't worth your time. If you want my advice, write him a letter explaining everything and make it clear that you won't accept him treating you like this. You're worthy of the highest respect and kindness,"

Mari began to think hard on her youngest sisters words of advice. A familiar memory crossing her mind. She tucked some of her hair behind her ear and nodding, "You're right.. maybe.. maybe I'll try that." She spoke quietly, giving both her sisters right hugs pulling the three of them together closely. "I needed this.. I missed you guys." She smiled softly, placing a peck on both of the twins foreheads before standing up and going to the dining room table. With the help of her sisters she began to write a letter expressing her feelings and emotions the past few weeks, making sure to be distreect as possible with her sisters looking over her shoulders. Once finished, she decided to put the letter away and tucked in her room. Once she made her way back to her living room with her sisters, she turned her head to the sound of the front door unlocking. Anahera, groceries in arms. "Ah, welcome back!" Lucia greeted politely before glancing at her sisters. Marianna was a little more relaxed now to get some of the emotional toll off her shoulders but still had some lingering hestitation. "Would you like some help?" Marianna offered quietly.
 
Soundtrack: Evermore

Anahera had felt comfortable with the idea of coming back to the apartment until his eyes landed on Marianna, and his heart rate skyrocketed. He broke her eye-contact in a split-second, the soft, questioning warmth too much for him. The apartment immediately felt claustrophobic--the safe feeling as it had for months. Around each of the twins, though, there seemed to be an aura of space. They were outside of the pain and the history. They didn't know about anything that he and Marianna had been having to deal with all the way since the ball--innocents that brought fresh life with them.
Maybe them being around won't be that bad.
Their smiles cast light into a dark apartment full of pain and traumatic memories. Of course, the light from them didn't compare to the light that radiated from Marianna if he let himself see it. Being a guardian angel was an intense honor, but Anahera didn't want to always feel her presence in the back of his mind, keeping him distantly aware of her mood and state of safety unless something was wrong. Say, when her physical safety was in risk or when she was upset.

The first time he saw her after he returned from Heaven, he tested his new abilities. The easiest was to test if she did, indeed, cast a halo of light around her--invisible to everyone except her guardian angel. What Anahera hadn't expected was how dim the light would be. He confirmed with his superior: no, it wasn't normal for the aura to be so dim. He either needed to spend more time with her or she was in an immense amount of pain.
Anahera had barely held himself back from snorting. He wasn't going to spend more time with her, and any pain she was in was her own fault. She did what she did, and there were going to be consequences whether or not she wanted them. She couldn't expect him to act like nothing had happened, like she hadn't betrayed him.

Anger was easier than pain, but he had to keep himself from lashing out in front of the twins. They couldn't know what was really going on. They would keep pressing until Marianna let the truth slide, and that wasn't an option. He had already failed by allowing Marianna to know that he was an angel. More than that, he had allowed her to know his depths. He was a fool to trust a human the way he had. Humans were temporary, and with as limited as their lives were, the more they were likely to change their minds, be something else. Yes, Marianna and he had been close, but he clearly hadn't known enough about her to make clear headed decisions regarding what he could trust her with--his heart in particular. He shouldn't have expected her to be anything more than she was: human. He was a celestial being--one who was so much more than she could ever be. He had been naive to allow his heart to become attached to her. Why should he have faith in her when she didn't have faith in him?

He told himself all these things, and maybe they were true, but they weren't doing all that they needed to. Yes, he wasn't so susceptible to her as he had been before. She... she was still his weakness though. He felt it whenever he saw her--whenever he thought about her. Those emotions would get him killed, but they wouldn't be banished. His heart broke everytime he saw her, and there was no purer way to show him how she was his weakness than that.

He had been hyper-focused on unpacking the groceries, and her sudden presence next to him, standing at the counter, made him jump. He held himself back from jerking away from her in an way which was obvious.

"Would you like some help?"

She wanted things to be normal. The normal before the ball. That normal had been gone for over two months, and it wasn't going to come back. She was just going to cause herself pain if she tried to make it return. He wasn't going to humor her.

"That's fine," he said, voice deep in a way he didn't want it to be. He buried himself in the fridge with the cheeses for his lasagna. "You spend time with your sisters. Go on a walk or something. There are things that," he couldn't help the growl that grew in his voice, "I shouldn't hear. Things that aren't my business. Things I regret telling--I--" he lurched, flushing. The coolness in the fridge rushed over his burning ears. He stood straight stiffly, looking over his shoulder right into her eyes. "I mean, things that you may regret me learning." He returned to the counter and stood close to her, close enough to make her shift away--away from the kitchen. "Just spend time with your sisters."

Anahera forced himself to keep his eyes off of Marianna when she joined her sisters who had both watched the exchange back in the living room. Her bent shoulders weren't his problem. He was disappointed in himself for letting the pronouns flip. It hadn't been his plan to let her know that he regretting showing her his scars. That was his problem and not hers. After she walked in on him, he should have just made her leave. Humans weren't meant to know everything that Marianna Grace Davis did. Part of his responsibility as her guardian angel was to protect her mentally. That included her learning things she shouldn't learn. This was definitely one of the times that Anahera wish he had the ability to clear memories from his charge as some guardian angels could do.

"I wish I would have never met you, Anahera Golden Wings. I...I wish I would have never had feelings for you to begin with!"

The feelings were mutual now.
After his Guardian assignment was over, next time he came to Earth for a long-term task, he was definitely living alone. Let his pain only affect him and spare God's beloved humans from any more difficulties than they brought to themselves.
His hands had slowed and eyes had distanced, and when the oil heating in the pan spat onto his arm, he jerked back with a yelp, clutching his forearm. He turned off the stove top eye and waved away Marianna's offer to help without looking at her while he ran his skin under cool water.

********************

Soundtrack The Arena

The time that Lucia and Sylvia spent with their sister was incredible, but there was something missing from it. The twins talked about it privately and agreed that Marianna was still keeping secrets--specifically concerning one Anahera Ailesd'or. She hadn't told them everything, but everytime Syl and Luce tried to get their sister to reveal her heart, they were always stymied. While Luce and she never held anything back, there was still a wall that Mari had put up against them, and Sylvia felt her anger growing everytime Mari refused to let them in. She had tried every way to no avail.
She had then turned to Anahera to figure out if he would be even more obliging. When Mari's and Anahera's shifts at the bistro weren't aligned, Sylvia had asked Anahera to drive the twins to the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts for rehearsal, and she asked if Anahera wanted to see what it looked and sounded like preconcert just as Luce and she had done with Mari. He had agreed, and the twins' trap was sprung, but Anahera proved to be even less revealing than Marianna was. He was an incredible person--funny, intelligent, curious, kind, and helpful to name only a few traits--and Sylvia couldn't figure out why her amazing big sis and this amazing guy weren't already together for keepsies. Anahera didn't show any of the near-hostility or distance that she had expected from him since he treated their beloved sister that way, yet he was communicative, even if just to say that he wanted to change the subject away from Mari again, and open to hear anything the twins had to say... unless it was about Marianna.
The more Sylvia saw them together or saw their reactions when the other came up, the more determined she was to get them together while Lucia and she were still in town. Anahera may be acting like a jerk, but he wouldn't be acting so strongly if he didn't have feelings for Mari, and it was especially clear that this rudeness wasn't in character for him in general! Sylvia had walked in on Anahera in the living room with the windows all the way open, and his deeply sad expression every time made her heart pang. He did care for her sister; he just wasn't open to being convinced to behave differently. Clearly, another tact was required.
Her first attempts to set Mari and Anahera up were sloppy and easily seen through like the girls "accidentally" not making it to the candlelight dinner that the four of them were going to have or noticeably praising the other when one was around.
They were running out of time, and the only thing that had seemed to happen was Anahera and Marianna uniting... in irritation with them!

All too soon, it was the night of the concert. Lucia and Sylvia were flying out the next morning, and this was their last chance! Her twin and she had secretly written a violin piece just for the two of them. They had, giggling, chosen to call it "Mariannahera."
"It's their ship name!" trilled Sylvia through their mutual giggles.
They agreed with the conductor and the crew to play it at the end of the concert. "A violin duet!" Sylvia had explained it as. "One speaking to the other until they finally speak as one."

The twins were ready for the concert, and Sylvia had much more stage fright at the idea of playing Mariannahera to the unsuspecting not-yet-lovebirds than playing for the sold-out venue. She kept getting lipstick on her teeth from biting her lip as they waited to go on stage, her knee bouncing terribly.
"I do not want to get Shaky Bow Syndrome ever but especially not when playing Mariannahera. I'm playing Anahera, and his voice isn't likely to shake!" she fretted.
The performance went perfectly. The twins met Anahera and Marianna briefly backstage during intermission and gave them a quick show around with a promise of a more thorough presentation after the concert was finished "If you want."
The goal was that Anahera and Marianna would just want time alone to kiss and make up after they heard Mariannahera, but the twins weren't positive that would happen. All they could do was knock the duo's socks off and hope for the best.


**********************

Soundtrack: Halloween II Theme

The weeks since Shayton has barely escaped this apartment with his life hadn't been the brightest of his life. He had ended up crashing into the wall of the alley where he had ran into Anahera and the human the first time. He hadn't meant to go there. He just wanted to get out, and he had ended up there. His head smacked into a fist-shaped hole in the brick wall, and his stomach. He instinctively looked around, almost as though he expected Anahera to be there--waiting. Waiting to kill him. Waiting to burn him from creation. Shayton had never questioned that all the angel--ANY angel--was willing to do was send him back to Hell, but what Anahera of the Golden Wings had done... Shayton stumbled away from the broken bricks as though it had the power to destroy him like Anahera did.
Anahera... Anahera had almost destroyed him! And no one had stopped him!
A sharp inhale and a sharper memory.

"Please Anahera, I'm begging you.. stop!"

No way... the human had saved him???
Absolutely not!
It wasn't possible!
She wouldn't do that!
No one would!
And yet...

She had begged Anahera to stop killing Shayton, and Anahera had listened. Why? WHY would he stop like that? Marianna had proven how little she cared about Anahera.

"I'm here for you."

Anahera hadn't come to save Marianna. He had come to kill Shayton. He had come with that specific purpose, yet he had stopped when Marianna asked him to. Even though Shayton didn't want it to be true, it was: he owed his life to Marianna Davis. Something had to be done. He had to go get her, prove to her that he didn't owe her anything, use her as he had plan-- Bile rose in his throat, and Shayton lurched backward, lost his balance, and tumbled into a pile of trash bags.

What?
What was that?
Why the hell would he not want to do that to her?

Panic rose in Shayton, and he got to his feet, shaking. He needed to get out of the alley. It was just the alley and the near-death trauma that was getting to him. He would be fine with food and compan-- Shayton stomach lurched, and his head spun with dizziness

Holy fuck. Nope uh uh. This was not happening.
Shayton got to his feet, teleporting away. He needed darkness and enjoyment. He would be fine.

He flashed a recognized and returned smile at the door and dropped onto a white couch at the newly re-opened Bluegrass Secrets Social Club, sulky, twitchy, and concerned. He needed to prove to himself that everything was alright. He was the only one in the dimly-lit room without a mask, but that was nothing new. He didn't care to hide who he was.

Angela, more commonly known as Dirty Angel, Kentucky's dirtiest Southern Belle, as per her charming usual, picked up on his presence in moments and appeared behind him to whisper in her Southern Belle drawl, "Welcome back, Shayton. I've missed you." She attempted to massage his shoulders, but he flinched when she touched him. Her hands stilled, questioning, and Shayton had to make a decision.
He dropped his head back and gave her a lazy smile. "Did I leave you wanting last time?"
"Nooo," she drawled sweetly, leaning down. "You never leave me wantin'. I just never want you to leave. No one makes me scream like you do, my demon lord."
Shayton chuckled and pulled her down for a kiss, but as soon as she melted into his kiss, Shayton knew that something was wrong. Very wrong.
He pulled away. "Oh fuck."
"Mmm yeah," said Angela, climbing over the back of the couch and trying to get in his lap. He sprang up.
"No! Not a good kind of fuck! Something's wrong!"
Angela frowned, the lust leaving her doe-eyes to be replaced by concern. "Shayton?" Her Southern drawl was so perfect. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Shayton snorted, turning his back and sinking his hands into his hair. "Oh, please don't tell me to actually care for me, Angela. You know what I am."
Angela's stilettos clicked on the wood floor when she got up. "You know I don't care about that, sugar! It only makes you more intriguing to me. Why shouldn't I care for you?"
Shayton lurched around and snarled, inches from her face, "'Why?' You want to know why you'd be a fool to think caring for me will bring you anything but pain?"
Angela had taken a step back, but Shayton wasn't done. He popped his claws out and grabbed her wrist, dragging it up to press her fingers into his fangs. She cried out in pain. "Shayton! You're hurtin' me!"
Her blood ran over his tongue, but he spat it out. "Disgusting."
"Y-You said my blood was delicious before." She was still trying to pull away.
"Yeah! And now it's not, and I don't know why!" Shayton howled, and Angela squeaked in fear. "You think--you think you know me?"
"I know enough about you to care about your well-being!"
Shayton let out a mocking bark of a laugh. "What have I told you? That I'm a demon? What have I shown you? My claws?" He let them pop into her skin, and she let out a little cry. "My fangs? These are superficial. The smallest parts of what it means to be a demon--what it means to have my power."
Power, yes. He had power. He had power over himself, and he had power over this girl. He could destroy everyone in the social club before the police came, and then he could kill the police too! They were humans. He was a demon! A creature of HELL.

In a moment, he let his eyes go black and then purple, and he began to emit the same hostile, purple light from his eyes, claws, and mouth that were his own personal demon trademark. "This?" he hissed. "Is this what you knew me as?"

"Shayton, please--!"

"WHOA!" A security guard had appeared behind them. "Let her go!"

Shayton turned his head a full 180 degrees without turning his body and gave the man his best demonic smile.

Angela's and the guard's screams were in unison, and Shayton was a smirking wisp of smoke before either of them had stopped.

****

Shayton spent the next weeks trying, and failing, to find enjoyment in pleasuring himself or torturing humans, but nothing worked. He didn't want to cause suffering anymore! He screamed, raged, bargained with himself, planned, failed on those plans, and went back to whaling on himself.
He tried to beat the weakness out of himself. He tried to kill Marianna, but Anahera was there to save her from the driver that Shayton had sent careening her way. He couldn't eat. He couldn't sleep. He had taken to living in the sewers because there no humans could bother him or remind him of what he wasn't again. He wasn't a demon anymore. Over and over, he tested his body, checking to see if the purple had gone or the fangs had gone or his eyes weren't purple anymore. His body hadn't physically changed, but his mind had. He hated it. He hated HIMSELF.

It would be better to be back in Hell than live a life of kindness toward humans. It would be better to die than live a life like that.

So, he decided. He was going to turn himself in to Anahera. Kill him or send him back, Anahera would have some affect on Shayton's life since the demon couldn't seem to do anything.

One last thing though. Before he gave up on Earth, he wanted to partake in the one thing he still enjoyed: music! Hell didn't have music. All it had were... hellish soundscapes, but Earth? Earth was FULL of music, and Shayton loved all of it. He had listening to the violin playing of Sylvia and Lucia Davis online before he knew they were coming to Louistown for a performance. When he had found it, he had purchased the first ticket.

He spend that whole day of the concert making himself presentable. He made the owner of the largest mansion in Louistown believe that he was a rat, and he and Shayton traded places. He made the woman working the in-house spa believe that he was the master of the house and give him the full treatment. By the evening, Shayton felt better than he had since Anahera had almost killed him.
The scars, shaped like hands, were still there, but Shayton had gotten treatment for them, and they were much less noticeable now. His beard covered most of the shapes.

He settled into his seat, prepared to enjoy his final evening on Earth as much as possible.
He knew he would enjoy the music. However, he didn't know that he would enjoy the musicians so much. One in particular...

Lucia.

That familiar, much-missed draw was back. He wanted her.

He would have her.

He spent the rest of the performance planning. He had just finished his final mental preparations when Lucia's twin stepped forward.

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you so much for coming tonight! It has been an immense pleasure to perform in here in the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts with the Louistown Orchestra!" Pause for roaring applause. "We have one more piece for you tonight, and this is a very special one. My sister and I composed it just over the last few days. It is for our sister and someone who cares very much for her. My sister and I gladly present our piece, Mariannahera!"

What.

Shayton lunged forward in his seat, craning his neck to see where the Davis girl had been lookin-- there.

H.o.l.y shit.

Lucia Davis was the little sister of Marianna.

His heart was racing so badly that he couldn't hear the piece that was played, but the applause at the end shook the room. The performance presenter came on and offered each girl a bouquet of roses and heart-felt thanks for performing, but Shayton was out of the auditorium before he was done with his speech, and he was waiting when, first Marianna and Anahera then the other twin and Lucia, stepped out of the performer's stage door an hour later.

He waited until the door was shut behind them before stepping out of the shadows. Anahera froze, and his body tensed, but it was too late.

"Excellent performance, Lucia. I was transported by your playing, and now you get to be transported by me!"

With a purple smile and a terrified scream from his prisoner, Shayton, Demon of the 12th Degree and Lucia Belle Davis were gone.
 
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Time really did seem to fly by as her sisters’ company made her realize how much she missed home and she wasn’t so alone despite her troubles. Anahera’s and Marianna’s relationship was rocky and was made clear to the two twins and Lucia and Sylvia made it their mission to get them to kiss and make up. Despite their best efforts to get both sides of the story and why they were so strained around each other, Marianna was sure to keep her walls up. A wall the twins were met with often, especially more after their father’s death. Marianna would put on a face and avoid talking to deeply into her “relationship” problems, simply stating she didn’t want to have them worry about her and wanted them to focus on their upcoming show and spending quality time with each other.
Even so, Lucia and Sylvia created schemes with the youngest being the mastermind of trying to get them alone together, such as candlelit dinners they would “accidently show up late" to, but they soon discovered this only made the problem more awkward and strained between the two. Despite many failed attempts during their stay, the twins thought of another plan, creating a new song, especially for the two of them unknowingly.

"Mariannahera."
"It's their ship name!" trilled Sylvia through their mutual giggles.

“I love it Via, they will love it for sure!”

Once the night of concert came by, Lucia did her best to follow her sister’s plans and made sure to seat the two flatmates together in the front row, doing her best to not strain her fingers as she tried to practice her part in the show. “Oh Via, it will all okay! Sis will love it! Everything will work out!” She chimed excitedly, handing her twin a tissue to help with her lipstick stain teeth.

They four would soon leave the show together an hour later, “Thank you for the song, Lucia, Sylvia.. It was very lovely.." She stole a quick glance at Anahera before turning her attention back on her sisters. "You girls have gotten so much more talented since I last saw you. I’ll have to come to another one of your shows.” Marianna smiled, wrapping her arms around her two sisters in a hug, all three girls giggling. "We will be sure to save the both of you a seat!" Lucia chimmed.
Marianna soon released the girls from her hug and looked up at Anahera, clearing her throat at her sister's comment. “Um.. what did you think Anahera?” She asked politely, trying to suddenly change the subject. Before she could get a proper answer from Anahera, a familiar shadow took form behind them as the door shut.

"Excellent performance, Lucia. I was transported by your playing, and now you get to be transported by me!"

Before Marianna could grab both of the twins' arms to protect them behind her back, Shayton snatched up Lucia, disappearing in a purple light and smoke. Leaving Marianna’s ear ringing with Lucia terrified scream. “LUCIA!!” Marianna’s panicked scream rung in the alley. She jolted forward in an attempt to save her sister, but to no avail, only to swipe her hands through vapor of his purple cloud. Her heart began to pound rapidly and her skin turned pale. She spun around looking for any trace of where he could have taken her, looking towards the sky and the ground. Marianna’s face was grim and filled with panic. She began to breathe quickly, almost hyperventilating. “Lu-Lucia.. We have to find her.. Shayton- Shayton he’ll-” She jerked her head up towards Anahera, and quickly ran up to him grabbing onto the front of his shirt in desperation. “A- Anahera.. Please-!… please I don’t know what I'll do if she gets hurt. I-I… I can’t lose anyone else… I-I can't…!” Marianna began to sob, her voice cracking. She was on the verge of snapping. It was her fault. Why did she ask Anahera to not kill Shayton.. He would have never taken her sister.

—
Lucia soon found herself teleported in a purple smoke, and falling to her knees on the cold tile as her legs were weak from fear. Where was she? Who.. who was that? She looked around her surroundings and began to realize she was sitting… in a mansion…?
“Where… where am I?” She whispered, rising to her feet carefully, dusting herself off. Her skin began to crawl as she began to feel more frightened and uncomfortable in her current situation, it began to sink in, causing her to hug herself for comfort.
 
Anahera's wings were out before he realized, and he tried to whip them back in, but it was too late. Sylvia Davis had seen
.
"Wh-You-You're--" her pointed finger was shaking, and the other hand had lifted to her mouth. He caught a flash of bright red lip[stick smeared on her palm as she dropped it from her mouth, stumbling backward. She caught herself on the wall of the large, maintained alley, her eyes flicking back and forth between her sister and him.

"This-_You--Mari...anna... Marianna, THIS is what you were hiding! What BOTH of you were hiding! Not that-that you two are in love--Everyone can see that!"

Anahera tensed tight, his throat constricting.

"You were hiding that Anahera is a... a, a WING DUDE? And my SISTER! Who the hell took my sister? He was glowing PURPLE."

Anahera groaned and tugged on his hair. "We don't have time for this! I have to find him!"

"Who? Find WHO, Anahera? You know who he is? He's PURPLE."

"He isn't a... Guhhhh" Anahera turned away, but Sylvia followed him around as he turned.

"He isn't what? He took my sister! You're wings popped out, and you know who he is! He's clearly related to you! Fix it!"

"I can't!" Anahera looked as shocked by his outburst as Sylvia and Marianna were. "Look, Sylvia. I'm Marianna's guardian angel, not Luc--"

"You're what?"

"Merde." Anahera rubbed his scalp. Even as an angel, he couldn't escape a headache. "Look, this isn't the time! I can--" His voice caught. There was no way he could tell more humans the truth. Lie? That wasn't going to work. Sylvia wouldn't leave Marianna alone until she had worked every tidbit of truth out if Anahera didn't satisfy her himself. Lying would make things worse for Marianna later.
"When does your flight leave?"

"9:30am, why?"

"Merde! That doesn't give us much time!"

"'Us?' What 'us' are you thinking about, angel because all I see it a man who's avoiding answering critical questions!"

"Do you want your sister back or not?"

Anahera regretted his words as soon as Sylvia gasped, and her face closed over. She marched up to him, face livid and full of pain.

"How dare you! You have no right to question my devotion to my sister! You're naive if you think that I'm going to trust you blindlessly after seeing you bust out a pair of wings, call yourself my older sister's guardian angel, and then refuse to answer my questions! What's the point of keeping secrets now? I already know!"

Anahera's bark of laughter splashed over the girl's face. "Marianna already knows far too much. I told her things I never should have, and I've paid for that." He did NOT look at her. "There's no way in Heaven, Hell, or Earth that I'm going to tell you everything."
"I've made promises I can't break, I have secrets no one else should know, and my pair of wings only scratch the surface. You cannot know more."

"Haughty bastard! You think you're above us lowly humans?"

"Yes! I mean no! Sylvia, the answer is no, but the fact remains that you're human, and you have limitations which I don't!"

"So, you are an angel."

"Yes!"

"Does that make you automatically good?"

"Yes!"

She took a step back, her arms crossed. "Then go get my sister."

"I would if I could, but I don't know where they are! I put censors off around Shayton's old apartment, and none of them have gone off. We don't have time to mess around, but I have no idea where he could have taken Sylvia. I don't even know what his game is! There are several different ways he could play this situation, and I have no way of knowing which he'll pick!"


******

Soundtrack: Teeth

Shayton, relaxing in a plush armchair a few feet away, got to his feet and stepped lightly over to Sylvia. "I'm really sorry about that," he said gently. "I didn't mean to move so quickly, but I was just so blown away by you that I couldn't control myself..." He helped her to resettle her clothes and hair, letting his hand linger just long enough to make the connection behind his mastered slow smile that he sought.
A dragging hand along his lips and courteous offer to help her sit, including one trustworthy handhold and thumb stroke over her knuckles, all with eye-contact, and there it was. Human bodies were so predictable. Her pupils started to dilate, and Shayton let his eyes drop as he sat across from her, posture open and engaged.
"I cannot lie to you, Miss Davis. You're exactly who I've been seeking for a very long time. I may not believe in love at first sight, but I do believe in instant connections, and you... As soon as I saw you on that stage, finally in person after admiring your craft for so long... it lit something in me. You're so much more beautiful than any picture can capture, but that's just one aspect of you that I'm drawn to. Your light. You practically glow from the inside out."
She was glowing alright; a blush that even he, calloused, experienced, and nothing more than hungry, found truly charming.
 
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Marianna took a moment to collect herself as Sylvia and Anahera argued. She couldn't tell Sylvia the truth, and she knew neither could Anahera. Just as she was about to step in and stop her sister from pressuring Anahera further-

"Do you want your sister back or not?"
"How dare you! You have no right to question my devotion to my sister! You're naive if you think that I'm going to trust you blindlessly after seeing you bust out a pair of wings, call yourself my older sister's guardian angel, and then refuse to answer my questions! What's the point of keeping secrets now? I already know!"

"Sylvia, Anahera please stop-

Anahera's bark of laughter splashed over the girl's face. "Marianna already knows far too much. I told her things I never should have, and I've paid for that." He did NOT look at her. "There's no way in Heaven, Hell, or Earth that I'm going to tell you everything."
"I've made promises I can't break, I have secrets no one else should know, and my pair of wings only scratch the surface. You cannot know more."

Marianna's heart panged at the angel's words. His regret. Those words pierced her heart and hurt more than she imagined.

"Anahera.. is there anyway could maybe.. track my sister? I mean... we are related by blood and maybe we would have some sort of connection that could help us find her... is there really no way"?
----

Meanwhile...

Lucia was slowly beginning to scan the room around her to get more of an idea where she had been taken to, when alluring male voice spoke up from the corner of the room, approaching her. .

"I'm really sorry about that," he said gently. "I didn't mean to move so quickly, but I was just so blown away by you that I couldn't control myself..."

Lucia was hesitant around Shayton at first as he helped her adjust her clothing and hair. "You were... blown away by me?" She questioned in quiet confusion. She gently took his hand as he lead her to her seat across from him in the room. She studied the stranger's body language and and facial features carefully, doing her best not to get caught staring as she took mental notes. He was quite handsome, similar to Anahera in a way when having a mysterious aura around him that was almost alurring--
She felt a blush warm her cheeks as she caught his gaze. Lucia quickly looked away and began to fiddle with her fingers to distract herself, feeling restless under his gaze and grin.

"I cannot lie to you, Miss Davis. You're exactly who I've been seeking for a very long time. I may not believe in love at first sight, but I do believe in instant connections, and you... As soon as I saw you on that stage, finally in person after admiring your craft for so long... it lit something in me. You're so much more beautiful than any picture can capture, but that's just one aspect of you that I'm drawn to. Your light. You practically glow from the inside out."

"You.. you are saying to much.." she responding softly, continuing to fiddle with her hands, the blush spreading and glowing. She was used to fans complimenting her and the endless amount of fan mail her twin and herself received after their concerts, however... something about this stranger caused a strange feeling to brew within her heart.. butterflies? No. His words were sweet and honey-flavored, he was kind but were his true intentions? Who was he? "W-who are you exactly...Why.. why did you bring me here?"
 
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Themesong: Heads Will Roll

"Anahera.. is there anyway could maybe.. track my sister? I mean... we are related by blood and maybe we would have some sort of connection that could help us find her... is there really no way"?

Anahera's eyes, painful in intensity, snapped to Marianna's, a more clear look than he had given her since the twins had arrived and he had nearly bared his entire heart to the woman before him on the roof. It didn't feel like the intensity, unendurable though it was, was meant for her though."No," the angel growled. "There's a way. Not involving either of you." His brutal gaze flicked to Sylvia, and her knees buckled before she caught herself on the wall of the alley. Quiet profanity was heard as the youngest Davis girl tried to regain her balance.
"There is a way," he restated, "but it won't be pleasant for anyone involved, and no human who doesn't have to be there should be present. You two need to go home and wait--"

"Like hell we will!" lashed Sylvia, and the full ferocity of Anahera's gaze latched onto her. She managed to hold her balance this time. "I don't care if, Marianna trusts you because I don't, and I'm not going to let you traipse off to do God knows what and leave us behind! Lucia is our sister. She's just some human to you, and even if you are automatically good, I won't leave my sister's fate entirely in your hands. Someone needs to be there who really cares about her!"

Anahera's hands clenched, and he fully turned his body to glower directly down at Sylvia. This anger was entirely for her. Her hand subtly slipped out to brace herself against the steady crimson bricks. "Have the last few days completely left your mind, Sylvia?" hissed Anahera. "If my memory serves, which it does, you and your sister were all over trusting me all week, and I've more than proved my care for both of you." He launched his arms out, and Sylvia flinched at the sudden movement. "Even if I didn't personally know and care for both of you, I care for each and every human on the planet! I don't wish ill on any of them which is what will make what I have to do so difficult."

"Wha-What are you going to do?"

Anahera's arms dropped, and his eyes narrowed into slits. "I'm going to drag the truth out of every human that Shayton interacted with which may be serving him," he growled grimly. "While I was still searching for Shayton, I was keeping my eye on the various occult groups in this and surrounding cities. I didn't directly witness Shayton interact with any of them, but if I know anything about demons, they like audiences."

"W-wait, DEMONS?" sputtered Sylvia. "What do you mean demons?"

Anahera sighed and rolled his eyes. "What else would have the power to do what he did. The demon Shayton has been on Earth for months, wrecking havoc and avoiding my capture. He's taken Lucia which is the second person I'm specifically aware of him taking forcefully." The momentary lock with Marianna's eyes and twitch in her direction was easily missed. "I'm sure he's taken others though, unwilling or otherwise." The disgust in his voice was blatant. I'll start at the home of the head occult priestess in the city, and neither of you should come. It's not a place anyone should enter, and it certainly won't be safe. You're supernaturally vulnerable right now. I'm not positive what powers these humans have accessed, but you won't be safe neither from the humans nor from," his eyes dropped, and his Adam's apple bobbed, "me. I won't be myself in there, and I can't guarantee your safety."

Sylvia crossed her arms, but they were just a bit too tight to be merely stubborn. "I don't care. I'm going!"

Anahera groaned and turned away before spinning back and saying pleadingly to Marianna, "Please, convince your sister not to come with me. I know that you aren't stupid enough to want to witness whatever is going to happen as well."


-----------------------------------------------------

Themesong: Sucker For Pain

Shayton tilted his head, his half grin slowly growing as he ran his eyes up and down the girl across from him, slow enough that she had to notice and recognize his appreciation.

She shifted in just the right way, and Shayton's eyes were sparkling when they rose to Lucia's. Usually it was a touch harder to read what a human wanted, but this girl's desires were screaming at him and not just through her eyes which were where he usually read the motivations and pleasure triggers for humans. Miss Lucia's whole body was oozing her needs. It was clear that her performer lifestyle didn't give her the opportunity for anything further than compliments and flirtatious comments.

Well, he could help with that.

He rose fluidly from his chair and strode to her. It was only a few steps, but it was enough to relay his strength, confidence, and comfortableness. When he was within easy touch range, he bowed at the waist, gently took her hand in his hands--just chilly enough to shoot a shiver up her spine, the reaction releasing more dopamine into her system--and lowered his lips to the back of it. He paused long enough to let his warm breath flow over her hand before pressing his lips to her skin. He closed his eyes, letting his beauty, lush eyelashes, smooth skin, perfect facial structure, and proximity--his bowed head inches from hers--draw her in more. When he lifted his lips from her hand, he looked up and caught her gaze through his eyelashes.

"My name is Shayton," he purred, "and I brought you here because I couldn't stand another moment without touching you." He shot her a cheeky grin before flipping her hand and pressing his lips against her delicate inner wrist.
He could hear her erratic pulse through her skin. The pumping blood, so very close to his teeth, made liquid flood his mouth. The temptation to surrender the game and unleash his urges was so strong, but he held himself back. The struggle made the payoff even better, and the pain in the eyes of his victim after he had claimed their heart before revealing his identity and his intentions from the very beginning was so much sweeter than a quick end to the game.

Without releasing her hand, he twisted sinuously and settled next to Lucia on the loveseat.
Loveseat, thought Shayton scornfully. He had never engaged in any lovemaking on these seats much less experienced love. He wasn't a sappy demon. He sought and obtained what he wanted, and he never wanted soft or sweet or tender. Let the woman feel whatever she wanted. He charmed his victims for as long as he had to, but his own feelings were nothing more than the thrill of the game and the satisfaction of desires.

He couldn't let this girl know his thoughts though. While the reveal was always the best part, the initial seducing was the second best, and he couldn't let his facial expression ruin the carefully crafted mood. He held her left hand in his right and very lightly ran his fingers over her palm and along her fingers, particularly stroking her calloused fingertips, the proof of years making a violin sing.
"The marks of your craft," he breathed before shooting his eyes up to her violin hickeys beneath her chin and on her neck. His hand lifted abruptly, and he ran his thin fingers along the irritation. "These also." Her shiver was rewarding.
His fingers skimmed up her neck to her jaw as he leaned forward--all while brushing gentle circles on Lucia's palm with his right thumb as his hand held her delicate hand--bringing their faces very close indeed before he ran a chill forefinger along the hard bone, slipping up to rest in the dip beneath her lips. He held his finger there, relishing her juttering heartbeat.

"Lucia," he whispered, "look at me."

Shayton noted with pride how blown out her pupils already were. The temporary unwelcome compassion for humans hadn't stolen his power over the female sex. Suddenly, he pulled back and a cheery smile burst on his lips. "Would you like some juice?" he asked before dropping his hand from her face, released her other hand, and hopped up from the loveseat and spreading his arms wide. "There's ever so many types in this house. Which would you like? Orange? Apple? Pineapple?" He had turned away and was walking away while talking over his shoulder and watching Lucia with shrewd eyes. Yes, 100/100 he knew he hadn't lost his touch as he watched the human wobble and blink far too much.
 
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"No," the angel growled. "There's a way. Not involving either of you."

Marianna's heart sank at the angel’s words. A cloud of doubt threatened to form over her head.

"There is a way," he restated, "but it won't be pleasant for anyone involved, and no human who doesn't have to be there should be present. You two need to go home and wait--"

"Like hell we will!"

As the youngest Davis girl began to lash out at Anahera, Marianna stepped in to try and grab a hold of her fuming sister.

"I don't care if, Marianna trusts you because I don't, and I'm not going to let you traipse off to do God knows what and leave us behind! Lucia is our sister. She's just some human to you, and even if you are automatically good, I won't leave my sister's fate entirely in your hands. Someone needs to be there who really cares about her!"

“Via, I promise… He didn’t mean-”
She was caught off mid sentence as Anahera turned himself glower at Sylvia, causing Marianna to retract her hand from trying to step in a defuse the situation.

"Have the last few days completely left your mind, Sylvia?" hissed Anahera. "If my memory serves, which it does, you and your sister were all over trusting me all week, and I've more than proved my care for both of you." He launched his arms out, and Sylvia flinched at the sudden movement. "Even if I didn't personally know and care for both of you, I care for each and every human on the planet! I don't wish ill on any of them which is what will make what I have to do so difficult."

Marianna stood by helplessly as the two continued to argue and disagree about the situation. Slyvia suddenly became shocked at Anahera’ s announcement of Lucia’s captor as a demon.

"What else would have the power to do what he did. The demon Shayton has been on Earth for months, wrecking havoc and avoiding my capture. He's taken Lucia which is the second person I'm specifically aware of him taking forcefully." The momentary lock with Marianna's eyes and twitch in her direction was easily missed. "I'm sure he's taken others though, unwilling or otherwise." The disgust in his voice was blatant. “I'll start at the home of the head occult priestess in the city, and neither of you should come. It's not a place anyone should enter, and it certainly won't be safe. You're supernaturally vulnerable right now. I'm not positive what powers these humans have accessed, but you won't be safe neither from the humans nor from," his eyes dropped, and his Adam's apple bobbed, "me. I won't be myself in there, and I can't guarantee your safety."

Sylvia crossed her arms, but they were just a bit too tight to be merely stubborn. "I don't care. I'm going!"

Anahera groaned and turned away before spinning back and saying pleadingly to Marianna, "Please, convince your sister not to come with me. I know that you aren't stupid enough to want to witness whatever is going to happen as well."

Marianna had stop herself from forming a scowl at Anahera’s words of being stupid. She sighed and approached her sister. “Sylvia, Anahera is right. We can’t have you going and putting yourself in danger. It won’t help Lucia’s situation any better if something happens to you as well. I need you to wait back at the apartment, Anahera’s has a blessing placed on it, so you will be safer there.” She explained, gently holding onto her sister’s tightened shoulders. Marianna knew her sister wouldn’t budge that easily and was persistent on going as well. “Slyvia, I know you probably don’t trust and Anahera or really myself.. But I promise. We won’t let anything happen to Lucia. I swear. I promise to explain everything later to you. And I mean… everything, no more secrets. I will help bring our sister back.” She gently released her younger sister, hoping to make some compromise, despite a certain angel possibly being against the idea. “Anahera, please let me go with you.. I am not afraid of you nor your abilities. Sylvia is right though, someone that truly knows our sister needs to be there to help, whether you like it or think its stupid or not..” Marianna turned her body to face Anahera once again, standing tall with determination in not taking no for an answer. Despite their rather drastic height difference, her dark brown eyes held firm as she stared up at him.

—-----
Theme; I Put A Spell On You

Lucia felt herself jolt slightly in surprise as the stranger smoothly rise from his seat and stride towards her in only a few steps. She watched with mixed emotions as he gracefully took her hand- the touch was quite- electrifying. Lucia felt the same flustered heat rise to her cheeks once again as he pressed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. This seemed to be out of a romance movie her twin and herself would watch as teenagers.
His lips were soft on her skin, and warm compared to his smooth, chilled hands. She stared down at him, wide eyed and embarrassed on how to react to such an introduction- clearly giving him the reaction he was searching for.

"My name is Shayton," he purred, "and I brought you here because I couldn't stand another moment without touching you." He shot her a cheeky grin before flipping her hand and pressing his lips against her delicate inner wrist.

A barely audible “o-oh.” was all she could mester in her flustered state as she miserably failed to regain her composure.
Lucia’s heart threatened to leap out of her chest as the same warm sensation tingled through her entire being as he kissed the tender flesh on her inner wrist. She never had a male in her entire life touch her in ways he was doing so. She had never been in a relationship to begin with, mainly due to her busy life schedule and focusing on her career.

Lucia bit her bottom lip slightly as she tried to get her mind to focus elsewhere as Shayton continued to toy with her emotions. Her attention carefully turned back to face Shayton as she watched as he studied her calloused fingertips. A slight insecurity and consequence to her beloved career.

The touch caused the same tingling sensations from earlier

"The marks of your craft," he breathed before shooting his eyes up to her violin hickeys beneath her chin and on her neck.

The sudden staring at the light bruising on her neck caused Lucia to shoot her head away, to avoid making eye-contact only to gasp a little too loudly as she felt his thin finger run over the tender flesh. She shivered as her ears began to grow hot at his continued poking and prodding, goosebumps forming on the back of her neck.

His fingers skimmed up her neck to her jaw as he leaned forward--all while brushing gentle circles on Lucia's palm with his right thumb as his hand held her delicate hand--bringing their faces very close indeed before he ran a chill forefinger along the hard bone, slipping up to rest in the dip beneath her lips. He held his finger there, relishing her jittering heartbeat.

Lucia felt as if she faint there in that moment if he continued to play with her fluttering heart any further,

"Lucia," he whispered, "look at me."


As if enchanted, Lucia listened to his quiet command and turned to face Shayton, Her face more flustered than ever as she began to fully notice how close their faces were from her each, her heart racing more as she felt as bee being lead to honey… only to be suddenly-

he pulled back and a cheery smile burst on his lips. "Would you like some juice?" he asked before dropping his hand from her face, releasing her other hand, and hopped up from the loveseat and spreading his arms wide. “There are so many types in this house. Which would you like? Orange? Apple? Pineapple?" He had turned away and was walking away while talking over his shoulder and watching Lucia with shrewd eyes.

Lucia blinked several times in disbelief. Her body trembled in the loveseat as she stared at Shayton in confusion and bewilderment. T-That’s it? Her longing thoughts threaten to slip out loud.

“I-I… I um…juice.?” She mumbled, slightly dazed.

She took a moment to compose herself before shaking her head and shrugging.. "I like pineapples.. so I suppose pineapple?" She responded quietly as she watched him give her slight nod and grin before turning smoothly on his heels and disappearing into a room, she guessed was the kitchen. She starred at the empty space that Shayton had left as she tried to collect her thoughts. What exactly was going on... She was kidnapped and taken to god knows where, she was teased and now being offered... juice? "Is this what Sylvia warned me about guys doing... strange things when they like someone?" She blinked several times, her innocence clearly being shown. Her emotions were all out of whack and she wasn't sure if she should be afraid and on her guard, or if this guy meant well but had a... interesting way in getting her attention. She was beginning to get lost in her thoughts as Shayton came back in the room, beverage in hand as he handed it to her.. "Oh um, thank you.. Shayton." She nodded shyly as she held the drink in her hands, hoping the cool glass when calm her nerves.
 
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Themesong: Heads Will Roll

Well, this wasn't supposed to happen.
Sylvia and Anahera spoke at the same time and then glowered at other in sync as well, a good half foot between her curls and his beard.

Sylvia opened her mouth, but Anahera beat her to it and raised the insult by turning away and addressing Marianna. He sank his hand into his hair and said hair shaking, "Marianna, this isn't about me. This is about the humans. Well--it's about both of us. What you've seen is me dealing with a demon--someone who already knows about me and my kind but humans? I'm-I'm not someone I like when I'm getting something from a human. It's different than with Shayton. Intimidation doesn't work the same with humans, and I don't want you--either of you--to see what happens when humans or I engage in that, and again, I can't guarantee your safety. What kind of guardian angel would I be if I put you at risk?"

Then, he rounded back to Sylvia. "As for you, there's no question about you going. At least Marianna has months of experience with the supernatural world. Not all of this will be new to her, but you didn't know angels existed ten minutes ago."


"T-That's not true!" said Sylvia, her finger rising to point at the angel. "I knew they existed, I just didn't know they could come to Earth and act like humans. Besides, I'll just follow you, wherever you go. The internet exists--I can find out for myself where you're going! You'll have to lock me up to prevent me from coming with you!"


At those final words, Anahera's body locked tight, and he studiously didn't look at Marianna. He stared at Sylvia before his eyes and shoulders dropped. He spoke quietly, "I'm not going to trap you, Sylvia. I won't do that." Then, quieter still, "Not again. Not to a Davis."


Sylvia's eyes flicked in confusion to Marianna's, but her sister provided no answer. "'Not again?' What do you mean, 'not again?'" she prompted before holding up a hand and shaking her head. "No, stop. Bigger thing: If you won't lock me up, you can't keep me from coming with you!" She proclaimed the final part of the sentence triumphantly, her toes bouncing, her smile beaming.


"I-- no, I-- Marianna," Anahera found himself appealing to the eldest of the three Davis daughters again, "please. You have to understand that I wouldn't ask this if the situation wasn't dire." His voice dropped low. "I know what you've seen, Marianna, and I know what you haven't seen. You shouldn't--can't--see more. This is my world, not yours, and I won't let more of your precious soul be spoiled by my secrets."


"Look," chirped Sylvia and broke the intimate atmosphere developing between the guardian angel and his purpose, "I'm coming with you either way, and Mari isn't gonna stay. So, you've lost on both counts! Just give up, angel boy! Just don't launch any of your angel... fire..." she wiggled the fingers of her face-level hands outward toward the man, "powers at us. Okay? As long as you don't blast us or whatever you can do," she waved her hand dismissively, "we'll be fine!"


Anahera sank his face into his hands. "You have no idea what you're asking me to do. I-I can't--" his gaze was nearly as pained as it had been on the roof days before when he looked into Marianna's sweet, beautiful, seal-brown eyes. "I can't show you any more, Mari," he whispered. "I don't want you to see any more of who I can become. I won't be a guardian tonight. Not a flatmate. Not a coworker. Not a friend. Not something..." his eyelashes fluttered for a moment before he breathed, "more." He unbowed his shoulders and looked at Sylvia for a moment. "I'm going to be a soldier. A divine entity far beyond any human's imaginings and not in a good way, and I won't be holding back. I'll be there to get information and to leave a warning--one shown through violence and understood in fear. Very rarely are angels called to be this type of a messenger, but tonight is a night for exceptions, and what must be done must be done. Please, Mari, Syl, I'm begging you. Stay at home."


------------
Soundtrack: Play with Fire (feat. Yacht Money)
3c283e7448822d89886ae14793a584ab.jpg



Shayton handed Lucia the champagne flute of pineapple juice and settled next to her, slacked leg hooked over knee, jacketed elbow on luxurious loveseat arm. His black suit jacket parted to show more of his sculpted chest beneath his snug crisp button down.
A choking sound to his right.
"Careful," he murmured eyes on his drink. "Take smaller sips next time, hm?"

He sipped leisurely at the crimson liquid within his own flute, senses on high alert for the signs. A ripple in the yellow juice as her hand trembled. A caught breath as he slowly swallowed. A brilliant blush beneath his gaze as he watched, with half-lidded eyes, the delicate movements of drinking and swallowing sweet and tart pineapple juice. She was putty in his hands. Almost too easy. All he had to do was reach out. Grab. Take. Rip. Taste. Claim. Ruin. Dispose. So easy. She wouldn't be able to resist him if he went for her--not that she could have resisted him before. The victory would be sweeter now that her body screamed for his. If he took her, her heart would say no, but her body would say yes, and the body always won out.

Lust was so much stronger than a sense of preservation at least under his guidance. Intense, precise, not a moment wasted. He knew how to work a woman no matter how much she was convinced he couldn't.
When every female's desires cooed to him without her ever knowing, there was nothing any woman could do to resist him. Not in the end. Not when he could touch her in the way that no one else could, not when his words sent more shivers over her skin than any other words, not when he read her mind and satisfied those deepest desires. Mind over matter, eh? Never in Shayton's experience.

He played with the tracing in the crystal in his hand with deft fingers in the exact way to make every-- there. A new round of dopamine and skyrocketed heartrate.

He set his empty flute on the glass end table next to the loveseat, unhooked his knee, and turned his full, smoldering attention to the girl next to him. She was practically gripping the empty flute for dear life. He reached out and gently freed the crystal which had served its purpose nicely, setting it on the table next to his.

He ran his hand through his hair and leaned back, an easy smile and twitching eyebrow teasing Lucia. Time to pounce.
"Sweet doe, I have way too many terrible thoughts running through my head," he purred, smile seductive and olive eyes drifting over her.


4aac72f62e5ece96f70b9447c8d835d9.jpg
 
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Theme: I'll Follow You Down

Despite Anahera’s worries and dismay of the two going, Marianna was still determined to go with, as well as Sylvia. He was right however. Marianna was more likely safer to go along with, due to being exposed to his world a lot longer than Via herself who only discovered that angels and demons even existed on earth in the first place.

"T-That's not true!" said Sylvia, her finger rising to point at the angel. "I knew they existed, I just didn't know they could come to Earth and act like humans. Besides, I'll just follow you, wherever you go. The internet exists--I can find out for myself where you're going! You'll have to lock me up to prevent me from coming with you!"

Marianna felt her body tense slightly at the memory of being put on house arrest after Shayton’s attack in the alley. She unconsciously reached up and rubbed her opposite bicep where previous bruises had lingered so many months ago after their argument of letting her leave guarded flat.

"I'm not going to trap you, Sylvia. I won't do that." Then, quieter still, "Not again. Not to a Davis."

Marianna kept her composure as the younger sister looked for meaning within his words.

“I-- no, I-- Marianna," Anahera found himself appealing to the eldest of the three Davis daughters again, "please. You have to understand that I wouldn't ask this if the situation wasn't dire." His voice dropped low. "I know what you've seen, Marianna, and I know what you haven't seen. You shouldn't--can't--see more. This is my world, not yours, and I won't let more of your precious soul be spoiled by my secrets."

Just as Marianna parted her lips to speak once again, Sylvia broke in,

“I'm coming with you either way, and Mari isn't gonna stay. So, you've lost on both counts! Just give up, angel boy! Just don't launch any of your angel... fire..." she wiggled the fingers of her face-level hands outward toward the man, "powers at us. Okay? As long as you don't blast us or whatever you can do," she waved her hand dismissively, "we'll be fine!"

“--Please, Mari, Syl, I'm begging you. Stay at home.”

Marianna bit the inside of the tender flesh inside her cheek slightly, not enough to break skin, but to cause discomfort. She clung to his words as he basically begged for the duo to stay back. The girl shook her head. “Via, Anahera is right. I’ve been exposed to more than you have, and I can’t risk you getting in trouble too. We won’t be much help anymore if something happens to you, you’re her twin and he could come after you too and use you against us, especially since you haven’t been exposed to him like Anahera and I have…” She pressed her lips tightly before continuing, “You can be our eyes from the city. You have the internet, right? You can look up places Shayton could have possibly taken her around the area, you’ve always been good at finding hole-in-the-walls, especially for your concerts. Please, you have to trust me this once Sylvia. I can’t lose you too. Not after dad..” She quickly cleared her throat before looking back at Anahera carefully. She turned to face him once again.

“Anahera, you’ve already shown me so much since the day I met you. It doesn’t matter how hard you try to hide and shelter me away from all the evil and secrets in the world. You won't be able to hide me away from everything forever.. ” She could see the pain in his eyes, the same pain he showed on the rooftop- the day she tried jumping. “I know you are scared of getting people hurt, and I know you want us to be safe. But Anahera, you can’t do this alone. Not again. You have to depend on me too. I’m here. I don’t care if you try to make yourself believe otherwise after this is all over- but Hera, I can’t bare the thought of not being there when my sister needs me most, and even.. you. I know what Shayton is capable of.. I’m prepared for the risks. You have to trust me. Even for just today.” She gently reached out and held Anahera’s large hand within her two small ones. She studied the deepened scars that were created night in the alleyway. “Please.”

—---
Theme: I Feel Like I'm Drowning

Lucia studied the glass for a moment, alarms beginning to ring in head, only to be pushed away. She was too trusting. Maybe she was just afraid to cause a scene, even if that was the case, she carefully brought the glass to her rose colored lips. Before she could take a taste of her juice, she caught herself stealing a glance at Shayton as he relaxed with his own beverage of choice. Her eyes trailed from his drink to his chest, only to jolt slightly and scold herself. She took a rather big gulp, only to choke slightly on the tart-sweet flavor of pineapple.

"Careful," he murmured eyes on his drink. "Take smaller sips next time, hm?"

Pervert. She thought to herself as a blush rose to her cheeks. Lucia felt as the room was getting stuffy, and her dress felt tighter on her small frame, causing her to be restless in her seat. She wished for something stronger to relax her anxiety around Shayton. She felt herself become more aware of his movements and sipping, causing her body to form goosebumps on her arms and neck. What was wrong with her… She wished she was more confident like her younger twin Slyvia, or even level-headed as her oldest sister Marianna. Why did she have to be the inexperienced one of the three when it came to flirting and men?

It continued for a few minutes, the quiet company as they both enjoyed their drinks, or at least Shayton was it seemed. Or more of her reactions that was… Had he done this before she wondered? She starred at the glance in her hands for a moment before looking back at Shayton, watching as played with the glass within his hands. Chills shivered through her being as felt the same chilled touches on her violin bruising on her chin and neck become more noticibly sensitive to the room air. Her heart began to flutter as she watched him carefully set his glass to the side before turning his attention to her more fully. She clutched the glass tightly as gulped a bit too loudly. She felt a slight whine escape her lips as he took away what little protection she thought she had in her hands.

"Sweet doe, I have way too many terrible thoughts running through my head," he purred, smile seductive and olive eyes drifting over her.

She licked her lips in her nervousness at his words, tasting the linger pineapple flavor on them. “T-terrible thoughts?” She questioned meekly, as she felt like a doe about to be attacked and eaten by a predator. “I.. I um.. Shayton, why don’t you tell me more about yourself.. U-u-um I.. I would be opened to get to know you better first.” She squeaked, as her blush grew brighter as Shayton continued to pursue her, closing the distance within what little room the loveseat was giving them already. “I’m not that kind of girl.. I-If that's what you’re looking for.” The alarms she had ignored earlier seemed to be going off once again, however, Lucia wanted to give Shayton the benefit of the doubt.. Maybe.. Maybe she was looking too far into things?
 
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Theme: Dark Legacy

Sylvia was ready to tell her sister to eff off no way was she leaving her precious twin until Mari mentioned their dad, and all the steam blew out of her sails. She deflated like a balloon, and tears filled her eyes. "Okay," she breathed, voice choked, and carefully retrieved both her and her precious twin's violin cases where they had haphazardly landed over the past few minutes. She held Lucia's case tight in her arms. If she couldn't hold her sister, at least she could hold a part of her heart.


Sylvia was staying. Good. Now all he had to do was convince Marian--
“Anahera, you’ve already shown me so much since the day I met you. It doesn’t matter how hard you try to hide and shelter me away from all the evil and secrets in the world. You won't be able to hide me away from everything forever.. ”
She looked up into his eyes, and he knew she saw the pain. Why wouldn't she let him protect her?

"Even of that's so, there are still ways I can protect you now. You needn't see everything. You would be safe--"

“I know you are scared of getting people hurt, and I know you want us to be safe. But Anahera, you can’t do this alone. Not again. You have to depend on me too."
He didn't. He couldn't. He was an angel. She was a human. Fragile, weak, precious. He couldn't ask her to answer the call that only angels could. She would die.
"I’m here. I don’t care if you try to make yourself believe otherwise after this is all over-"
She thought he didn't think she was there? Of course he knew she was there. She wasn't there for him though. She had made that perfectly clear when she had jumped. Anahera loathed Shayton, but he had saved her life that day.
"but Hera, I can’t bare the thought of not being there when my sister needs me most, and even.. you. I know what Shayton is capable of..."
That wasn't the problem. Shayton could only do so much harm to her. Humans could--would--do worse. At least Anahera knew what Shayton wanted and what he would do to get it. Humans were harder; more dynamic and thus more dangerous.
"I’m prepared for the risks."
No she wasn't.
"You have to trust me. Even for just today.”
He did. He always did. He didn't have a choice. Not if he wanted to keep his word and never trap her again.
He was jolted from his thoughts when her soft hands wrapped around one of his and pulled it toward her. Her fingers brushed over his scars as she looked at them, and Anahera's pained expression grew. He tried not to think about that night--about what he had done, what he had shown. How none of it would have happened if he had been just a couple of minutes early. How much easier and sweeter life would be if Anahera had arrived before Shayton and prevented the demon from ever revealing the supernatural world to this innocent human.
“Please.”
Her voice was so soft, and Anahera's heart panged. He was gentle when he removed his hand from hers.

"Mari," he said softly. Her eyes lifted to his. "I would be putting your life at risk if I let you come with me, and you cannot conceptualize what would happen if you lost your life because of me."

"Anahera?" Sylvia's voice was the quietest that he had heard. His eyes slid to her. She looked and sounded like a little girl clinging to her favorite stuffed animal to comfort her in times of danger. "If you won't take me, then you have to take Mari. Please. I may not trust you with Lucia, but I trust you with Marianna. You value her life above your own, and you will protect her. Even if that means that you must ruin your original plan, you won't let anything happen to her. I see this even if you don't. Even if you weren't her guardian angel or whatever, you clearly feel so strongly for her that she is your highest priority. Even above Lucia--" she cringed on her lost sister's name, "you would protect Marianna. Trust yourself, please."

Anahera stared, lips parted, at Sylvia. He was utterly disarmed. He kept his feet, but that was all he could manage for several long moments. Then, his eyes slowly closed and he released a soul-deep sigh. "You're right. I don't want you to be right, but you are. If I can't convince her to stay, then I will keep her safe."

Sylvia had managed a weak smile when Anahera opened his eyes, and he mirrored it.
He looked up and around the alley. The sun had finished setting by this time, and darkness swam in the space between the halos of golden light spread by the many lights in the alley. A crisp, spring evening breeze rolled through the alley, and Anahera shed his suit jacket to wrap it around Sylvia's bare shoulders. He carefully lifted Sylvia's violin case and led the silent procession to the parking lot. Sylvia tucked into Marianna in the back seat, silent tears rolling down her cheeks, as Anahera drove. His tense face was illuminated by the flashes of the passing streetlights.


The trio entered the apartment silently, and each split, knowing what they had to do without discussing it. Sylvia went straight to the computer on the desk in the living room without changing out of her dress. Anahera and Marianna slipped into their rooms and met in the hall minutes later in normal clothes.
"Pull your hair back and put on a heavier jacket," was Anahera's first comment since the alley as he passed her in the hall. He went to Sylvia and bent next to her, hand braced on the desk. He made a few suggestions to help Sylvia narrow her search, instructed her to text Marianna with any information, laid a hair tie next to the keyboard under Sylvia's shocked and then appreciative eyes, and met Marianna at the door. He handed her a heavier jacket than she had originally picked and waited for her to exchange them.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

They entered the night together.


Theme: DARKSIDE


Instead of going down, Anahera pointed Marianna to the stairs going upward. To say that it was awkward to tread the same path they had done in less friendly times would be an understatement. Way too many things were reminding him of the past tonight, and he was ready to deal with something new. He said nothing, and that either made things worse or better. He didn't care to test his voice right now. What was there to be said anyway?

When they reached the roof, Anahera walked out toward the West and pointed. "The flight shouldn't be too long. It only takes me a few minutes, but you won't be able to tolerate my full speed. I need to stay out of sight because birds don't carry humans around, so my usual guise won't work. Thankfully, it's dark tonight." The light pollution was what lit the night rather than the moon. Anahera frowned up at the glowering clouds. "I really hope it doesn't rain," he muttered before half-turning and extending a hand to Marianna, releasing his wings at the same time.
They extended fully for a second before folding, and Marianna caught the image that no painter could do justice to. The angel's black jacket and dark jeans contrasted sharply with his glorious wings, shimmering gold in the breeze. His body faced away, his face, stern, beautiful as a statue, framed by tawny hair tossed by the teasing wind, toward her, and his hand, palm outstretched, beckoning.

When she took his hand, he pulled her to him, wrapped a powerful arm around her, and said, resolute gray inches apart from shocked brown, "Hold on tight, and don't move."

Wings up, wings down, and they were airborne in a breath-stealing whoosh.

Once they were in the air, Anahera hooked her legs with one of his so she wouldn't be dangling from his arms when he flew horizontally, and once she was secured to his satisfaction, Anahera tilted, and they were off, the beats of his wings keeping them aloft and moving in the right direction entirely contrary to the laws of physics.

They swept upward, skimming in and out of the clouds. Anahera tried to keep Marianna from getting wet, but he was carrying her through tufts of water, and getting damp was unavoidable.

He watched the ground over her shoulder, her rapid breaths rushing against his neck, sending shivers over his skin. He didn't want her to be afraid of flying, but he wasn't taking her on a pleasure flight. They had a place to be, and he wasn't able to take the time to give her a proper first experience of flight. Her first hadn't been enough to count. The point had been to get them home, away from the alley-- dammit. His flight dipped hazardously as he caught his mind dwelling on the unpleasant past once again, and he chided himself further when he heard the tiny squeak from the human in his arms.

He tilted his head to speak into her ear so as to be heard over the rushing wind. "Sorry. Won't happen again." He raised his head when the telltale lit firepit and circle of lit torches in a yard came into view to his supernatural eyes. His dipped his head again. "It's almost over. We're heading down now."

Anahera folded his wings, and they dropped. The squeal of fear from Marianna at the abrupt drop and final swoop just before they crashed into the ground was unwelcome but unsurprising. They were on the ground in seconds after taking over a minute to initially reach the altitude they had been at. Humans weren't supposed to experience that kind of drop. Even though she was perfectly safe, Anahera knew that the experience had to have been harrowing.

He sent her on the soft turf carefully and held her up while she swayed and fought nausea. He held her, brushing back her loosened hair, for minutes, firm, safe, warm, until she could stand on her own and open her eyes without passing out.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly, close to her ear. "We'll need to be quiet now. I set us down a few blocks from the house, but there's no telling what these people may be up to.

He slid his hand down her back, keen eyes flicking over the scene, wings folding away. "From now on," he said levelly, "we are in enemy territory. Count no human as an alley, and don't go anywhere without me. Humans are often more dangerous than demons, and neither of us can take any risks. Follow me."

He slipped into the shadows, watching for Marianna to follow. Not as stealthy as he was, but Anahera was impressed. He led them across dark yards and within shadows, always keeping proximity porch lights from coming on, their breathed fogging unavoidably in the unseasonably cold night air.
He held out his arm when 1961 Trevilian Way came into sight from the left. His body stilled as his eyes and mind took in the scene, skimming, dissecting, choosing. From the front, the house looked fairly ordinary. The darkness and knowledge of what was inside did soil the picture though.
Besides, Anahera the angel could see what human eyes couldn't. The house itself looked pretty, but dozens of oily tendrils slithered over it, slipping in and out of the window and door frames, always moving, always industrious. Anahera didn't know which demonic powers the humans were messing with to gather this power, and he didn't know exactly what they did.

He also knew he couldn't let them touch Marianna or him.

23f3e1b035be0928249df2cc1a83867d.jpg

He slipped his hand into Marianna's as they left the safety of the brick shadows and crossed onto the boundaries of the dark house. Candlelight sprang up and moved around behind an upper window, but he couldn't be sure if it was because of his invasion.
His mouth twisted, and he let go of Marianna's hand. He gestured for her to stay still before taking several more steps on the property. He had reached the sloping driveway now, and the pavement was, thankfully, free of tendrils. He kept his eyes trained on the dark house. The candle had gone out.
He set his foot on the bottom step of the arching pathway of steps to the front door and paused for several seconds. A crow cawed only a few feet from him in the short tree. His eyes snapped to the dark foliage, watching closely. When nothing else happened, he reached out his hand and beckoned Marianna to him. Her footsteps across the driveway were not silent as his had been, but he didn't fault her that.

When her cold, trembling hand slipped into his, he squeezed it gently, comfortingly. He took his eyes off the house for a split second to smile at her and squeeze her hand again. I'm here, said the smile.
He led her up the steps until they were on the threshold, and there he paused. The waves of malevolence rolling off the entire house were so strong that Marianna had to feel it as well. His lips pursed, and he turned to look down at her, his hands holding her shoulders.

"I understand that it will be pointless to ask you to stay outside now, but please, don't let yourself be seen once we're inside. Not only will it put you further at risk both physically and psychologically, but if you're held as a hostage, I won't be able to do what I must."
After Marianna gave her assent, Anahera squeezed her shoulders. "Thank you, Mari. Please step back."

Theme: Legends Are Made (Alternate Version)

After she took the necessary steps backward, Anahera took a full-body, fortifying breath. He shook back his hair and rolled his shoulders. From behind him, Marianna saw his fists clench, the muscles rippling all the way up his arms and into his back as his jacket, shirt, jeans, and sneakers were replaced with a flowing, sleeveless robe the color of purest snow which ran to his sandaled feet. His head ducked, the taught muscles in his neck and shoulders visible from behind as his hair fell forward. With a terrifying roar, Anahera thrust his hands into the red wood of the door and hurled out his wings. The door shattered in the blow, the shards flying into the dark house. All at once, all the slithering coils of darkness were visible to the naked human eye as they fled in unison away from the avenging warrior. They whisked away over the peak of the roof, under the house, around the corner, chased by myriad hissing streaks of glittering gold, the same gold as the blessing Anahera provided for Marianna.

The zips of gold shot into the house as well over the walls and floor, traveling way too quickly as they flashed in the second story windows within two rapid thumps of Marianna's heart.

"Selene Hallowell!" the angel bellowed, voice physically rumbling in Marianna's ribcage, stepping past the threshold of the house. "I summon you and yours."

A scream and thump from above was met with a feminine shriek and male cursing from below. Anahera stepped into the house. Not bothering to fold his wings, he let them break through the paint, stucco, beams, plaster, and shingles as they refused to bend to puny human building materials. The impromptu demolition was met with foul cussing from above now as well and more screaming from below.

"Don't test me, witch! Come down, or I come for you."

Anahera lifted his foot and slammed it down, breaking through the golden wood like it was styrofoam. More golden bolts shot from his foot down through the broken floorboards, and the noises from below reached a fever pitch.
Crashing, clattering, and shattering of surely precious resources preempted the bursting open of a door and the haphazard arrival of a young man and woman, faces ashen, hair coated in plaster dust from the suddenly descending ceiling under Anahera's foot. Their clothes were layered, their faces and body painted. There was a strange thick substance dripping from the woman's fingers.

"Where are the others," growled Anahera.

"Outside!" stammered the woman. "They're in the backyard! Selene is upstairs!"

"Actually," came a clear, melodic, but clearly commanding voice from around the corner to the dining room, "I'm right here."
A moment later, a woman entered the dining room through the doorway splitting to a bedroom, the stairs up, and the kitchen.

She was regal.
Many skirts layered, graying hair long and loose, coronet dark, smile amused.

"Hello, there, angel. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Her eyes were teasing.

The two younger occultists stared, mouths gaping, back and worth between their fearless leader and the radiant invader.

Anahera was having none of it.

His halberd was in his hand too fast to be seen and was finished shredding the carefully crafted and charmed wreath over the door in almost as short a time. Skulls, feathers, crystals, and other paraphernalia of the craft reigned down--somehow never landing on the angel.

"Don't try to toy with me, witch. The cost will be higher each time."

Selene wasn't smiling anymore. Her green eyes were flinty, and her crimson lip was curled. Her hand tightened around the amulet she had been toying with, and her eyes narrowed.

There was a pause.

A shocked blink and mocking laugh.

"Witch, I am not a human. You're petty tricks won't work on me."

Anahera wasn't smiling either. He took two steps forward, spinning his weapon in a blinding blur of gold and green and addressed the man. "Get the others."

The man stumbled on the blood-decorated rug as he fled the room. Anahera and Selene didn't take their eyes off each other. Even through the blur of his tool of death, she didn't waver, lips thin and hands folded stiffly over her skirts.

"What do you want, angel. We have no quarrel with you."

Anahera didn't even answer her. The weapon spun on; the witch's lips and eyes narrowed more and more; the girl kept trembling.

When the rest of Selene's coven, twelve in total, rushed into the now-overstuffed room--some angry, more just terrified, and two serene--Anahera finally spoke.

"Your deeds have been tolerated enough. The time has come for it to end."

A man nearer to Selene's age than the rest, took a step forward and snarled, "How dare you prance in here like you have some right--gck"
His voice was cut short by the shimmering halberd as it plunged through his neck and slammed into the wall.

He was dead before the point, scarlet with blood, smashed through the plaster.

Anahera pulled back his hand from launching the halberd and scrolled his eyes over the people in the room.


Pandemonium.


The screaming was the worst. As each human tried to flee the room through one door or another, Anahera was already there, teeth bared, wings flared, face spattered in red, to grab them by the throat and smash them into the floor. Not a single one was spared as the angel moved far too quickly.
His fist plunged through the chest of a man who was unfortunate enough to run toward him, and the bloody corpse was thrown to block the gaping hole where the front entrance had once been. The humans trying to escape that way scattered like roaches, throwing each other in Anahera's direction so he would be distracted for their own escape.
It was to no end though as the celestial warrior was far too fast to be delayed.
When someone had managed to make it halfway up the stairs, indistinguishable as a man or woman from the gore on them, Anahera grabbed their leg and flung them in the air before slamming them back into the stairs so hard that the steps collapsed, taking one more of the few-remaining supports for the upper floor.

It was over in less than five minutes, but the single unharmed human just outside the collapsing house saw it all almost in slow motion.

The living room was covered in gore and corpses, some intact, most in pieces, and Anahera...

Anahera of the Golden Wings wings were so covered in crimson that not a single feather was still white. His arms were coated in glistening liquid life like they had been dipped in it, and his robe and hair were wet with it. He held the witch up by her dress, her feet dangling feet from the ground. Her hands were clawing fruitlessly at his hands, her eyes wild like a panicking horse's.

"I have two things for you, Selene," he whispered. "One is a message which I think you received, and the other is a question: where is Shayton?"

"I-I don't know!" the witch gasped. Anahera let out a threatening growl.

"Wrong answer. Try again."

"It's true!! I don't know where he is! B-But I do know that he likes to go to the Bluegrass Secrets Social Club on South 5th Street! He spent a lot of time there!"

Anahera's growl was deeper, and he looked to the side, toward the back of the room. "Of course he did."

Anahera looked back and realized that her eyes were settled on someone.

But not him.

"Help me," begged Selene, her quaking hand outstretched to Marianna.

Anahera growled and shook her roughly, turning his back to Marianna so she couldn't see anything else.

"No one can help you now, witch. Your fate was sealed when you chose to serve the demon. The only help that exists for you now is freedom."

"Freedom?" Her voice was nearly an inaudible squeak.

"Yes," said the angel of death.

And broke her neck.

He released his hands, and her body dropped to the floor. "The only freedom for you," he addressed the corpse, "is the freedom of death."


----------------
Theme: A Charming Devil

Shayton chuckled and leaned forward to brush a loose strand of Lucia's hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger gently on her cheek. "I love a woman who knows what she wants," he said, eyes heavy-lidded and steady on hers. "It's my favorite characteristic in a woman." He pulled back a moment after Lucia's skin cheek began to tingle—a moment before she would have irresistibly leaned into his touch.

He held up a finger. "Excuse me," he said and stood, smoothly slipping off his suit jacket and folding it. He walked to a nearby table, bent, and laid the garment on the glass top. He felt Lucia's eyes on his back and shoulders, clearly muscled through the tight shirt. He strolled back, noting with pleasure how Lucia's eyes shot to the side as soon as she caught a glimpse of his chest. No ogling for this chaste human then.

Not yet.

He settled next to her again and settled his chin in his cupped hand, a pinkie brushing subtly back and forth over his smirk.
"I know you aren't that kind of woman, and I'll never treat you as such. Any man who mistakes you for one is a fool. Far beyond your beauty, you're strong and tenacious. Aside from all the other ways, your success in your career attests to that, and you are skilled—not only with the violin might I add. I am compelled to say that you are also positively marvelous at,” a dip of head and tone, “enchanting me. I have never met a such an absolute masterpiece of a woman."
He allowed a small, almost shy smile to grace his lips as his eyes dipped. “I hope I don’t seem too forward, Miss Davis. It’s just—” he looked suddenly into her eyes, lips pursed and eyes carefully desperate. “I’ve traveled the world, and of all the millions of women on the planet, none has done to me what you have.” His voice dropped to a near growl. “I can barely behave myself…” His right hand drifted out and ran slowly, temptingly along her neck and collar bone.
 
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After the trio had finally agreed on who was going and staying, Marianna silently followed the duo into the parking lot and took a seat in the backseat of the car Anahera had offered to drive. The older Davis girl gently brushed the tight curls of her youngest sister’s hair as she silently mourned their taken sister. Marianna knew the twins were close, especially more after the death of their father, leaving Marianna to pick up the pieces of her broken family and help her mother during the time of grieving. Lucia and Sylvia only really had each other to rely on during those times- she couldn’t begin to imagine the pain of fearing for her twin that Sylvia was having. Anahera was their only true hope of getting Lucia back.

They soon arrived at the flat and split up to get out of their dress clothes. Everyone but Sylvia who was straight to the computer and determined to get to work on helping find Lucia. Shortly after Marianna had finished getting dressed in her street clothes, she met the angel and her sister in the hall.

"Pull your hair back and put on a heavier jacket,"

Marianna quietly nodded, pulling her hair up into a high ponytail, some small stray strands refusing to be pulled back. She hurriedly went back to her room to find an thicker jacket that would still allow her to move, only to be slightly annoyed when Anahera gave her a different jacket anyway. Without a fuss she quickly changed her jacket and followed him upstairs to the roof. She couldn’t help but think about their previous conversation there- well if you could call it a conversation that is. Now wasn’t the time to think about the past. She continued to quietly follow Anahera until the reach the top,

“The flight shouldn't be too long. It only takes me a few minutes, but you won't be able to tolerate my full speed. I need to stay out of sight because birds don't carry humans around, so my usual guise won't work. Thankfully, it's dark tonight."

“Okay.”

Marianna couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback as Anahera extended his large hand towards her, releasing his wings at the same time. The image was beautiful, especially in the night sky, his golden wings seemed to illuminate against the dark scenery. She had to catch herself as she noticed she was staring a bit. It had been a while since they had been close to each other and the atmosphere wasn’t so heartbreaking. She cleared the small lump that began to form in her throat out of nervousness as she carefully took her hand. She felt her breath catch as he pulled her close to his warm body. Her eyes were wide in surprise at the sudden movement.

“Hold on tight, and don't move.”

“O-okay.” She mustered a quiet stammer in acknowledgment to his instruction.

The last time she had flown was after Shayton had kidnapped her. Although gentle, it wasn’t a very pleasant ride back.

Whoosh.

Marianna let out a squeak in sudden surprise as they went airborne, gripping tightly around Anahera’s neck. Unconsciously pressing her face into his chest, as she had forgotten how much she had hated heights. This is the quickest way to find Lucia. It’ll be fine Mari. She cursed herself.

She tried to loosen her grip on Anahera so he could focus more on his flying as he secured her to himself more. Marianna did her best not to focus on the ground and chilly air. No wonder he told her to wear something warmer. She felt her heart beating rapidly due to the adrenaline running through her veins, doing her best not to be in too much trouble as he flew through some tufts of water here and there. Marianna bit her lip hard to keep herself from hyperventilating. Her gaze turned from her suddening to Anahera’s face as she noticed he seemed to be elsewhere in his mind. Switching her gaze back at her surroundings, she felt her stomach churn as he was suddening dipping too much to her liking. “H-Hera..!” She squeaked, tightening her grip once again.

“Sorry. Won't happen again.”

Soon enough, Anahera had found their destination and warned her of their descent. Even with the warning, the sudden drop caused a squeal of fear to ripple her throat. Her stomach flipped once and again she thought she would be sick when Anahera sudden landed on the group in seconds from when he dropped. Once Anahera had set her on her feet, she had to hold on to his arm to get some of her composure as she felt dizzy. “S-Sorry. I just.. I just need a minute.” She managed to say through her queasy state.

Soon enough she caught her breathe and was ready to go and followed Anahera’s lead,
“From now on," he said levelly, "we are in enemy territory. Count no human as an alley, and don't go anywhere without me. Humans are often more dangerous than demons, and neither of us can take any risks. Follow me."

She did her best to follow his lead in being stealthy despite having lack of experience, nevertheless Anahera didn’t seem too worried. It was dark and Marianna did her best to keep close to Anahera as he seemed to see through the night clear as day. She felt his hand slip into her’s leading her to the safety of the shadows as they approached the house with the red door. She felt him release her hand and gesture her to stay still while he got closer. Once all seemed to be safe, he allowed her to come closer. She could feel her heart beating rapidly once again in nervousness. Causing her to bite her bottom lip hard to prevent her breathing to become to loud. Her body trembled with the mix of cold night air and fear of what was to come. Out of habit, she reached for Anahera’s hand in search of comfort for her nerves. Thankfully being acknowledged with his warm squeeze back and silent comfort. Marianna couldn’t help but feel a strange energy radiating off the house, causing her gut to tighten in discomfort.

"I understand that it will be pointless to ask you to stay outside now, but please, don't let yourself be seen once we're inside. Not only will it put you further at risk both physically and psychologically, but if you're held as a hostage, I won't be able to do what I must."
After Marianna gave her assent, Anahera squeezed her shoulders. "Thank you, Mari. Please step back."

She carefully moved away as Anahera began to release his angelic energy, the same energy she had felt when he had arrived to save her from Shayton. She watched with wide eyes as Anahera took his angelic form, bursting through the door in shards. She did her best to cover her eyes from any stray debris. She cautiously watched crouched by the remained of the entrance of the house as Anahera made his presence known, demanding for a woman named Selene Hallowell.

Marianna watched as the event unfolded in front of herself and Anahera as the frightened and bewildered cult stammered and tried to explain the whereabouts of the leader he was searching for. Only for her to reveal herself moments later.

Watching silently as a bystander, Marianna couldn’t help but reminded of the side he had shown when he had nearly killed Shayton. What she had seen back then, was not like what she was seeing here. Not even close.
"Your deeds have been tolerated enough. The time has come for it to end."

A man nearer to Selene's age than the rest, took a step forward and snarled, "How dare you prance in here like you have some right--gck"
His voice was cut short by the shimmering halberd as it plunged through his neck and slammed into the wall.

Theme: Monster

Marianna quickly covered her mouth in shock, her body unconsciously trembling as she watched the man’s horrified eyes turn lifeless. Before she could fully take in what was going on, the sounds of screams rung in her ears, only to be silenced within seconds as Anahera attacked. She felt nauseous as she watched the cultist members become mutilated in front of her very eyes. Anahera had warned her after all. She let out a squeal and jumped as the body of a cultist was flung out the door only to land beside her. She quickly backed away from the body and did her best to remain hidden despite the mortifying state of a corpse besides her. Soon the screaming had stopped. However, the smell of flesh and blood filled Marianna’s nose as she peeked from behind the doorway towards the back of Anahera. Her eyes were still wide as she noticed how bloody he had become in such a short amount of time.

"I have two things for you, Selene," he whispered. "One is a message which I think you received, and the other is a question: where is Shayton?"

"I-I don't know!" the witch gasped. Anahera let out a threatening growl.

"Wrong answer. Try again."

Marianna continued to watch carefully out of the way as Anahera continued to interrogate the witch as she begged for her life. She felt a lump form in her throat as she made eye contact with a pair of green eyes.

"Help me," begged Selene, her quaking hand outstretched to Marianna.

Marianna quickly turned her gaze away and her lips pursed into a thin line as she looked away from the helpless woman.

"No one can help you now, witch. Your fate was sealed when you chose to serve the demon. The only help that exists for you now is freedom."

"Freedom?" Her voice was nearly an inaudible squeak.

"Yes," said the angel of death.

And broke her neck.

The sudden audible snap caused Marianna to cringe and squeeze her eyes shut. “Oh. god.” She muttered silently.

He released his hands, and her body dropped to the floor. "The only freedom for you," he addressed the corpse, "is the freedom of death."

She felt herself jump against at the sound of her lifeless body being dropped to the floor. She did her best to not focus on the stench of blood and rotting corpses. “I-Is that all we needed..?” She asked faintly. She swallowed carefully to avoid becoming queasy, gently grabbing onto one of Anahera’s bloodied hand. “Let’s… go.”

—----
Theme: Unravel Me


Lucia accidentally let out a slight whimper as Shayton leaned foward and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. His touch sent chills down her spine the more it lingered on her skin.

"I love a woman who knows what she wants," he said, eyes heavy-lidded and steady on hers. "It's my favorite characteristic in a woman."

She felt ashamed of herself for feeling disappointed as he pulled his hand away from her warm cheek. “You must be very popular with all the women then, Shayton.” She commented quietly before blinking several times at his held up finger.

"Excuse me,"

She watched curiously as he stood from his seat and slipped off his suit jacket, folding it. She watched his swift and smooth movements as he laid his clothing item on the glass top of a nearby table. She watched innocently as his muscular back flexed behind his shirt. She cleared her throat and averted her eyes from continuing her staring as he soon turned and returned to his seat next to her.

“I know you aren't that kind of woman, and I'll never treat you as such. Any man who mistakes you for one is a fool. Far beyond your beauty, you're strong and tenacious. Aside from all the other ways, your success in your career attests to that, and you are skilled—not only with the violin might I add. I am compelled to say that you are also positively marvelous at,”

“enchanting me. I have never met a such an absolute masterpiece of a woman.”

She could feel the heat of her blush becoming more intense as he continued to compliment her. She really didn’t know how much her poor inexperienced heart could take of his sweet words and prodding. She carefully looked back at Shayton to study his expression as he showed a more shyer side to him.

“I hope I don’t seem too forward, Miss Davis. It’s just—” he looked suddenly into her eyes, lips pursed and eyes carefully desperate. “I’ve traveled the world, and of all the millions of women on the planet, none has done to me what you have.”

She felt herself tremble slightly as he stared her in the eyes. His bright green eyes, catching her off guard while doing so. She had never seen such a bright color in her life.

“I can barely behave myself…”

His low growl had caused a ripple in her chest as she felt herself melting. She felt her body tingle as he drifted his hand near the sensitive skin along her neck and collar bone. “S-Shayton I.. I..” She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to avoid his eye contact to be able to read her emotions for clearly when suddenly.

Growl.

“A-Ah, are you hungry? I was so busy preparing for the concert with my sister that I had forgotten to eaten. W-Would you like something?” She stammered as she jolted up, coming to her senses and away from Shayton’s touch.

She did her best to create some sort of distance from the temptation. She hardly knew this man and she was treading dangerous territory if she continued to allow him to swoon her any further.

“I learned how to cook from my older sister.” She rambled as she hurried her way towards what she believed was the kitchen. Which thankfully was. She soon found the refrigerator, bending down, beginning to look for ingredients, mainly finding breakfast items of sorts. “D-Do you like anything particular with a breakfast meal? I-It’s not a grand meal, but it’s something!” She took out a few eggs, squash, and bacon as well as a few other items.
 
Theme: Monster

As the chaos ended, so did the inflicter. Anahera froze, his eyes locked on the woman on the floor. Slowly, unwillingly, his eyes rose and moved around the carnage, his wings slumping more and more each time his eyes took in one of his victims until they drooped limply on the floor.

"What have I done," whispered the stricken angel. "I-this-this wasn't what I--" A step behind him, and he froze still as stone, head straight forward.

“I-Is that all we needed..?” came a weak voice, but Anahera couldn't respond.

A hand slipped into his, and Anahera's breath stopped. The look in his eyes was panicked.

“Let’s… go.”

Anahera didn't move. He couldn't. He was frozen beyond control. His mind wasn't even working as only a single word pounded like funeral drum in his head.

no. no. no. no. no. no.

Then the horror escaped his mind and he was saying it: "No no no no no no no."

Finally, he dragged his face down, and he was looking into Marianna's pallid face, then her hand in his.

He jerked away, hand ripping from hers. He stumbled back, hands up as though to ward her away.

Or protect her.

"S-Stay back!" he gasped, nearly falling backward as he tripped on a corpse. "Y-You can't come close to me." His chest was heaving, eyes wild as they roamed the room. "I'm not safe. This-this wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to lose control like that!" He lifted his trembling, scarlet-coated hands to face level and stared at them. "I feel like a monster," he whispered. "If--" his eyes snapped to hers, "--if my control over myself is so weak, what guarantee do you have that I won't loose control on you? Whatever I do-Whatever I touch--Everything's so weak, Marianna. You don't--can't--understand how fragile and breakable you are! I didn't need proof to know that I was capable of committing horrors to humans, and now that I have it? How can I let you get close to me if I could snap you without ever meaning to? I'm supposed to protect you, but I'm-I'm so powerful, and you're so soft." He stared at her.
 
Theme: Someone To Stay

“Hera..?” She spoke quietly, concerned as she felt the angel’s body tightened in response to her touch. “H-Hera? Look at me. What-”

"No no no no no no no."

Marianna raised her left hand in attempt to gently hold Anahera by his other arm to turn him to face her, however before she could, she froze becoming caught off guard by his sudden grim expression. She watched carefully as he stared down at her, then to her right hand that was still holding onto his. She stumbled slightly back as Anahera jerked himself away from her grasp and hands up almost as if he was trying to keep her away. His eyes were wide and bewildered. Similar to wild animal who was desperate to find a way out of a dangerous situation.

"S-Stay back!”

Marianna slowly tried to approach the frightened man, keeping her hands up as if trying to calm a scared animal. “Anahera.. Calm down.” She spoke gently as he continued to back away from her. She gasped slightly in late warning as he tripped over a corpse and continued to back away in his horror.

“Y-You can't come close to me." His chest was heaving, eyes wild as they roamed the room. "I'm not safe. This-this wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to lose control like that!"

She bit her bottom lip nervously as he continued to take in the full realization of his situation.

"I feel like a monster,"
"If--" his eyes snapped to hers,
"--if my control over myself is so weak, what guarantee do you have that I won't loose control on you? Whatever I do-Whatever I touch--Everything's so weak, Marianna. You don't--can't--understand how fragile and breakable you are! I didn't need proof to know that I was capable of committing horrors to humans, and now that I have it? How can I let you get close to me if I could snap you without ever meaning to? I'm supposed to protect you, but I'm-I'm so powerful, and you're so soft."

“Hera.” Her voice was soft and gentle as she carefully continued to approach a now cornered Anahera. “Anahera, you are not a monster.” Her once trembling hands stilled as she tried to be the calming grace to Anahera. How were you supposed to comfort someone who killed so many people in such a short amount of time..?
“Hera. Listen to me..” She began, struggling to find the right words. She finally got a close enough distance to Anahera, still giving him space to breathe. “Look at me.. Breathe. Deep breaths. In... and out..” She spoke softly in a near whisper, using her small frame to try and block the destruction behind them. Once she approved that his breathing slightly improve and calmed enough, she began, “You’re right. I don’t understand how capable you are… I never truly have.. However, I know you would not hurt me or those you care about. Anahera.. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” She quietly reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and gently offered to take one of his hands. “Let me help you.” she spoke softly. Despite his reluctance, she carefully did her best to clean the blood from his hands before it dried and stained. “I know there isn’t anything I can do to bring you comfort or ease your worries.. but …”

"I'm here. You are not a monster. I am not scared of you." She stopped her cleaning and looked back at Anahera. Staring into the cool grey that used to be a source of comfort for her many times before. "You are just as fragile.. and I'll be here to help pick up the pieces."
 
Theme: Alone, Pt. II

Despite his height, his power, and his sheer danger, he felt like a trapped animal when she had cornered him. He didn't want to calm down, but her gentleness was irresistible, and he followed her instructions despite his clinging terror of hurting her--terror of himself.
“You’re right. I don’t understand how capable you are… I never truly have.. However, I know you would not hurt me or those you care about."

"But--"
She wouldn't let him continue.

"Anahera.. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her hand slipped into her pocket and from it emerged a handkerchief. She reached for one of his hands, eyes tender.
“Let me help you.”

Anahera resisted internally, but some part of him trusted her, and it had control of his hand. He was still stiff in her hand as the soft cloth tried to wipe off the blood which still could be removed, but her touch was gentle, and the part that couldn't remain stiff toward her was winning out.

“I know there isn’t anything I can do to bring you comfort or ease your worries.. but …”

His eyes flicked over her bowed head, disconcerted.

"I'm here. You are not a monster. I am not scared of you."

The cloth stilled and dropped from his skin, but his hand stayed in hers.
She looked up at him.

"You are just as fragile... and I'll be here to help pick up the pieces."

He stared at her in bald-faced bewilderment. "How-How can anyone care for me like that? No one has showed me that much grace. Even Aoith avoided me after I returned from an assignment that went very, very wrong. It was personal to him, and I don't blame him at all! But you? You saw me lose control. You witnessed the monster inside me first hand, yet you have the..." he laughed breathily and brushed back her hair, "idiotic gaul to not reject me? I can't..." he shook his head, smiling crookedly, "I can't make sense of you, Marianna Davis, and I can't think of a better blessing than having you as my friend."

He didn't notice it in this moment of surreality, but that was the first time he had called her his friend since the night of the ball all those months ago.
 
Theme; Don't Blame Me

Marianna felt a slight warmth rise to her cheeks as Anahera brushed back her hair. The sudden gesture caused her to feel slightly flustered.

"I can't make sense of you, Marianna Davis, and I can't think of a better blessing than having you as my friend."

She smiled back at the angel, returning his crooked grin while squeezing the hand that remained relaxed in her palm. “.. It’s been a while since you’ve called me that.” She stated, her tone remaining gentle. “I’ve missed you Anahera.” She brushed back some stray golden curls that blocked his eyes, the touch lingering a bit before she retracted her hand.
Although the circumstances were a bit.. Grim. Marianna was pleased to have gotten her friend to finally calm down a bit,the fearful look in his eyes was nearly gone. She was aware this situation would not be gone and forgotten that quickly, but they needed to move on and not dwell on the past. Who knew how much time they had.

With a sigh, Marianna offered an extended hand to Anahera to help him up. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up. We need to tell Sylvia about that Social Club.” She eased Anahera from the rumble of the home and helped him clean up with what rags and water she found outside from a hose. Once he was cleaned and back in his regular street clothes, Marianna texted her sister of the next location and asked for directions. “If this is correct, that club should be just downtown. She stated as she stared at the glowing screen of her phone.
 
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Theme: Romantic Flight

To say that being cleaned off using a hose was humiliating would be an understatement, but if Anahera had changed back, his clothes would be clean, but the rest of him would still be covered in something he wanted off more than his pride wanted to refuse to be washed off like a toddler who went wild in mud.

Once he was mostly clean from the horror on his skin, the event started to just get funnier and funnier. The water spraying on his wings was simply tortuously ticklish, and the feathers on the edges of his wings flapped manically under the pressure like a dog's ears when its head was stuck out the window of a moving vehicle.
He had never had the opportunity to use his wings for anything other than explicitly angelic purposes. In other words, they had never gotten a spray bath!

Once Marianna was done, Anahera faced her, arms out, neck thrust forward, wings sagging, and grin brilliant in the darkness. His beard was dripping water on his nearly-transparent robe clinging to his skin, and water steadily ran from his drenched hair to land in the puddles surrounding his feet. His wings were waterproof, but water was stored between each pair of feathers, and it was heavy! His laugh was jovial when he shook his head, sending water droplets everywhere. He warned Marianna to back way off before he shook his wings.

Water sprayed out, misted, and spread about him like a halo, hovering like their breaths in the air more and more as the night descended.

Anahera stood straight to face Marianna, his smile warm and genuine. His wings folded behind him, the arching peaks two feet above his head. For a moment, the clouds parted long enough for a single ray of crystal-bright moonlight to cascade down, splashing onto Anahera and his halo of mist, lighting him so perfectly that it seemed impossible to be a coincidence, and the angel was bathed in white. The scars on his arms and chest were stark, but his smile and eyes were free of pain--proof that his past didn't blacken his soul. He looked up into the moon, and his smile gentled.
"No rain," he said softly. "Thank You." He then looked down, and his smile grew again before he rolled his shoulders, and as his wings folded away, his robe faded to his street clothes--instantly damp.
He snorted, ran his hand into his wet hair, and looked up to watch the moon retreat behind the clouds again. Shaking his head in wonderment, he combed his fingers through his hair as he approached his friend until he stood before her, and his smile faded away, his eyes saddening. He looked back at the silent house.


Theme: Darkness

"The police are going to have a hay-day unless this gets cleaned up, and even then, missing persons cases are going to spring up to remain unsolved. I-- This--"
Marianna's hands on his stopped him, and he gave her a wane smile. "Sorry. This isn't easy for me." He paused. "At least we have something to work with. Can you Sylvia so we can get the information we actually need to pull this off?"


“If this is correct, that club should be just downtown," reported Marianna after a few minutes, her face lit by the cold, bright light of her phone screen.

Seconds later, Marianna's phone buzzed with a call. When answered, Sylvia for the phone to be given to Anahera.

"Sylvia?" asked Anahera, phone against face. Sylvia's slightly panicked voice buzzed through the phone.

"Anahera, I've been looking into this club, and it's..." Her voice tightened off. She didn't want to say it.

"I know what it is, Sylvia."

"And you're really going to take my sister there? You do realize how you're going to have to play this, right?"

Anahera's eyebrows shot up, and his eyes latched onto Marianna's. He hadn't.

"Uh..."

"Anahera, this isn't going to work! Mari can't fake that! She's not a good enough actress!"

Anahera frowned, looking away. "Please give your sister more credit than that, Sylvia. Marianna is very strong and capable, and she's willing to do what must be done."

"Does that include adhering to the dress code?"

"DRESS code?" Anahera said is disgust, his eyes were back on Marianna, and he was scowling. "There's seriously a dress code?"

"Yeah, and you won't like it."

Anahera groaned deeply, eyes lifting to the sky. "Let me guess, luxury night club?"

"Yep until your clothes get ripped off you."

Anahera winced. "In other words..."

"In other words, you're going to have to put my sister in a classy slut dress, and unless you want to break cover, you're going to have to let her mingle as others will have her."

Anahera released a growl, but Sylvia's immediate gasp of fear cut it off.

"That won't happen, Sylvia." He was staring at Marianna fiercely. "I'm going to keep her safe."

"Even above my sister, I know! But you have to understand that you can't enter that building planning to NOT let her off your arm."

"I refuse to let anyone touch her."

Sylvia's sigh was exasperated. "If you wanna try to convince her not to come in, good luck with that!"

"I-- I don't..."

"Shall I ask her?"

"..."

"Hand her the phone, Anahera."

"No. I'll tell her."

"Alright then! Goodbye, Anahera. Oh! And you'll also need masks. It's a masquerade naughty club apparently."
A beep.

Anahera lowered the phone, wiped it free of moisture from his face and hair, and handed it back to Marianna.

His hands slipped into his pockets, shoulders jacked high, and he looked away, shifting back and forth on his feet.

"Look, Marianna, the um." He tried again and managed eye contact. "Look, remember at the ball that we put on outfits to play the roles and fit the scene? Well, we'll have to do that again, but it's a different kind of costume and a VERY different kind of role that you and I shall have to play. The Bluegrass Secrets Club is a..." He struggled for a chaste description before giving up and huffing out a sigh. "It's a luxury brothel and sex club. I knew the basic idea before now, but I didn't know that it was luxury, and I certainly didn't know they had a dress code. If you still want to come, you and I will have to find clothes to look the part." His blush was visible even in the grey orange light bouncing off the clouds as his eyes darted up and down her. "I won't ask you to wear anything or do anything you're uncomfortable with. All that's needed is more information about Shayton. I can go in myself and find out what's needed. If you went in, not only would you have to look the part, but you'd have to act it too. Any wrong move, and the disguise will be broken. Your safety is more important to me than things going the way we need them too, and if I insist that you stay on my arm, we'll be spotted as imposters and thrown out. I'm not sure how long we'll be in there or what we'll have to do. If it can't be avoided, we may be forced to do things we don't want to and to pretend that we enjoy it. Do you still insist on coming?"
 
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