Chapter 1 - How could this happen?

Matthew was enjoying the afternoon alone. Everyone else seemed to be busy with something but today was his day off and he decided relax by the water. Normally one would need a permit to go to the Land of the Living but he was on a special team that allowed him to disregard most of the more strict rules. In return for this freedom he had strict he had to follow a bunch of procedures and laws that were tailored for his line of work. He was one of the people that was on the front lines, fighting demons and protecting heaven, when need be.

When he reached the Land of the Living he folded his light golden wings close to his body. Humans normally didn't notice wings when they were tucked close to one's body. Even if they did notice they usually either forgot or convinced themselves that they were just seeing things. In fact, they ignored both angels and demons unless they were directly interacting with them.

It was a cloudy, rather gloomy day so there weren't many people by the lake. Matthew laid down on the dock, looked deep into the water and reached his hand down to touch the tips of his fingers in the water. Trout were swimming around the him, not touching him at all. Animals didn't dislike Angels but they generally didn't come to them or touch them. Angels are sort of in between humans and demons in that aspect. Animals normally hated demons but loved humans.

He had been sitting there for a while before he sat upright. He sighed heavily, but his head shot up suddenly when he realized that there was someone behind him. He was normally very good at sensing people but he had let his guard down.

Sharp leathery wings were tucked close to the body of a short red haired man. "I didn't notice you, Lovino." Lovino turned to him, a very grumpy look on his face. Matthew moved to the side slightly to invite him to sit next to him. Lovino took the invitation. "Something wrong?" Matthew asked. Lovino crossed his arms and frowned strongly. "I'm here because stupid Antonio wanted to visit that stupid human."

Matthew knew about Antonio's relationship with a that human. Antonio was a little odd when it came to relationships. He was a demon what was really close to an angel as well as a human. It wasn't really against that rule to have relationships with other species but it was frowned upon to get to close. Francis, the angel, didn't really care either way. Matthew, on the other hand, would talk with other angels and demons but never got very close with either of them, save his family. He didn't talk with any humans though. Not because he didn't want to but because he was too shy to start a conversation.

"What are you doing out here alone?" Lovino asked. Matthew shrugged, "Today is my day off and I thought I would enjoy the day." Neither of them said anything for a while. Matthew let his legs dip into the water and watched as the fish fled away from them quickly as Lovino did the same.

"Lovi!" came the energetic voice of his partner. He ran up to them, while a tall young man followed him. He was an odd looking human, pale skin and white hair. Lovino stood up to meet him but Matthew didn't move. This isn't his group and he didn't feel he needed to get involved with them at all. The human was just looking at him awkwardly as well.

Matthew felt like he should say something so he walked over to him. The human's eyes were a dark pink, almost red. "Hello." Matthew said quietly. "Hey," the human replied. After a moment of watching the two demons reunite the human said, "Are you a demon as well?" Matthew shook his head, "I'm actually an angel. My name is Matthew." The human gave him a shocked look, "Seriously, that's awesome. I'm Gilbert."

"So," Gilbert drawled out, "I thought that demons and angels didn't really hang out. Well, except for Antonio and Francis, but they're, ya know, different." Matthew shrugged again, "Sorta. Demons and Angels aren't really at war. Sometimes there are some fights but normally that's because one side or the other interferes in the other's affairs or enters the other's territory. "I see." said Gilbert, obviously unimpressed. Matthew was a little unsure of what to say at this point.

Gilbert suddenly turned to him with an excited look in his eye, "So you can fly around and stuff right? Like anywhere you want?" Matthew took a step back, "Sort of. There's a bunch of rules about that but I could fly anywhere I need to go." "Awesome." said Gilbert.

He crossed his arms and looked a little pouty, "That's not fair. Demons and Angels get to fly but I'm stuck on the ground." Matthew couldn't help but smile a little at his childish behavior. "Not all Demons or Angels can fly. I'm not too sure about demon society but Angels have to earn the ability to fly by proving themselves." "Lame." he said suddenly, waving a hand in front of his face to emphasize his point.

Matthew wasn't very happy with this. What would a human know about flying anyway? The human smiled at him, "I'm just joking. It's cool that you can fly." Matthew gave him a serious look but let it go. There was no point in fighting with him.

Gilbert stuck his thumb over in the Demons direction. "Are you friends with Antonio too?" Matthew shook his head. "Um, no really. I just happened to be here when he came over. I mean, I talk to Lovito sometimes but that's it."

They were a little awkward. It seemed like neither of them knew what to say. Finally, it was Gilbert that broke the ice, "So, what do you do for fun?" "Um," Matthew said awkwardly, "I like drinking coffee early in the morning, listening to music," "Really original." Gilbert injected, rolling his eyes. "And," Matthew continued, "playing games, like hockey and stuff like that."

Gilbert smiled, "That sounds fun. Look, I've got to go but I'll see you around." He waved as he left the same way he came. Matthew thought about it for a moment. He supposed that he would have to ask Antonio about Gilbert's information. But he wasn't even sure he wanted to see that human again. He had never had a friendship with a human before, perhaps it wasn't be so bad.