October 23rd, 2013

"Do you guys have a car?" Bodil asked, sitting up and wincing. He rubbed his temple, muttering something under his breath.

Jordan shook his head and looked at Seto. The sorcerer shook his head. "No, we teleported here."

"Fine," he mumbled, "we'll just fly."

"Bodil, I don't know if you haven't noticed," Seto said, "but neither of us have wings. And it doesn't seem like you're at your best, are you sure it's safe for you to fly?"

"No," Bodil answered, attempting to stand up. He sighed and sat back, winded from the movement. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. The Fallen hummed and looked up at Jordan, who stood, slightly awkward, in front of him. He blinked at the demigod then shrugged his hand off and tried to stand again.

This time Seto pushed him back down. "Stop. You'll hurt yourself. Can't we just wait until you're better before going out?"

The angel looked at him, orange eyes narrowed. He scowled, hands balling into fists. "This is a child we're talking about, Seto. I don't care about my own health, and I don't care about the how's and the what's. All I care about is saving him." He stood, only shaking a little this time. Seto sat up straighter, then finally stood up.

"I may not be an actual angel," Bodil continued, "I may be one of the most wanted by the Aether, but it doesn't matter as long as Antony is safe."

"…. Alright," Seto said finally, breaking the tense silence. "Alright." He sighed and turned away. Something by the door caught his eye. "Bodil, sit down. I have something to help you. Okay?"

The angel nodded, slumping back down on the couch. The sorcerer ran over to the door. With a clattering sound, he stumbled back over to the couch. A backpack was in his hand, which he was rummaging through as he sat down on the floor. "I think I have a potion in here somewhere."

After a moment, he pulled out a bottle, grinning triumphantly. He handed the potion over to Bodil, who studied it with a raised eyebrow. "And what is this supposed to do?"

"It's a strength potion," the sorcerer explained, "It'll help you."

Bodil nodded, uncorking the bottle. He wrinkled his nose at the smell. "I guess it doesn't come in flavors?" Seto shook his head. Bodil sighed and quickly downed the medicine. Instantly, strength flooded through his limbs, chasing away his headache. He grinned and handed the empty bottle back to Seto, then stood up.

Seto stuffed the bottle into his bag, then stood and slung it over his shoulder. "So, I have a way to fly. But Jordan, well, do you?"

Bodil glanced over at the demigod, who shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, sadly, no. I can teleport alongside you guys, I guess. But that would drain my energy really fast."

"Alright," the angel interjected, smirking. He rolled his shoulder, fluffing up his feathers. He jumped up, unlatching the skylight. The glass swung down with a slight creaking noise, finally resting a few inches above the floorboards. Bodil hummed and glanced around, then jogged over to a closet that was next to the door. "So if you can't fly," he said, "I'll just carry you."

He came back into the room holding a swing, dragging it behind him by the bar that was connected to two chains. He tossed the seat over to Jordan, holding the bar. "Okay, so here's the deal. As long as you stay still and don't move very much, I can probably carry you. There's a 24% chance that I can't carry your weight without dropping you sometime along the way."

"I don't think I like those chances," Jordan mumbled as he studied the yellow seat. He looked up at Bodil. 'Where did you get this anyway?"

Bodil shrugged and jumped into the air, hovering there. "Around. Get on."

Jordan cleared his throat and, awkwardly, sat down on the swing. He started when Bodil dipped in the air slightly. Seto snorted, tossing his backpack into the air. With a twitch of hi hand, silvery purple vines twisted under it, levitating it in the air. He stepped onto the bag, getting into a comfortable sitting position while the other two tried to arrange themselves. "Ready?" he asked after a moment.

Bodil nodded, fingers tightening around the metal bar. "Yeah. Let's hope this thing doesn't break while we're flying."

This earned him a glare from Jordan and an amused snort from Seto. The Fallen smirked slightly, then flew up and into the sky. Seto tapped his backpack and it started, floating after the other two.

…

October 10th, 2013

Bodil shifted uncomfortably on top of the skyscraper. The wind bit at him, as if it was scolding what he had done. He sniffed, hugging his jacket tighter against the wind. He hoped the other angels didn't narrow the attempted murder down to him. If they did, he was screwed.

Bodil glanced around, spreading his white wings and jumping off the building. He swooped through the air, dancing through the clouds. He flew into a wind current, gliding along it and giving his tired wings a rest. He had been on the move for the entire night and day since the incident at the party. He hadn't been able to rest in fear of being found and killed.

He knew that the penalty for trying to kill any god was either death or Falling. And the fact that he killed a lesser god didn't help. Bodil sighed, rubbing his temples and shaking his head. This was too much. Why did he ever agree to do this? He should have left the moment he saw the Fallen angel. He shouldn't have given in to temptation.

"Martin?" A voice called. Bodil whipped around midair, orange eyes wide. The shadow of an angel shown through the clouds. Bodil backed up, then turned and darted into a large, dark grey cloud. The sounds of wings beating the air passed by him and, by the looks of it, there seemed to be more than one angel looking for him.

'Oh how far I've fallen,' Bodil thought silently, 'Hiding from my own friends.'

"Martin, come on! We need to talk! I know you're here."

It was Simon. The other angel's Bulgarian accent was impossible to mistake. Bodil hovered there for a moment, then sighed and started flying forward. The moment he was out of the cloud, Simon slammed into him. "Martin, they're looking for you! You have to hide!"

"Wh-what?"

"They've followed me down here and-"

As soon as the words had come out of Simon's mouth four angels, all dressed in golden suits, dropped down on top of Bodil. They quickly grabbed his wings, holding them together and tying a rope around the joints. Bodil fell limp, unable to move without hurting his wings. He grunted, trying to punch one of them. They easily caught his hand, jerking it back and trying it to the other one.

"Martin!"

Bodil glanced over at Simon, who was being held back by one of the angels. He shook his head slightly, telling his friend to stay out of it. A rope was tied around his feet, and the one around his wings was taken off and wound around his ankles. For a moment he struggled, feathers and limbs flying wildly. Then he was suddenly swung upside down, and his limbs locked up.

The angels above him sneered, holding the ropes that were wrapped around his feet. Bodil would have scowled back, but his entire boy was suddenly unresponsive. He twitched slightly, wings hanging behind him limply. His gut twisted in anger at how humiliating this was. Being strung upside-down like a chicken was going too far.

He was jolted as the angels flew up into the air. Bodil sighed and closed his eyes, accepting the fate he had given himself.

…

Bodil stood in the middle of a ring made of gold. He stared at the ground, unable to meet any of the gods' gazes. A group of angels sat to the left of him, whispering heatedly about the case. He just stared down at his feet, still and silent. Finally someone spoke.

"We're here today to discuss the case of homicide that took place on October 7th, 2013." Bodil's eyes flicked up to look at Notch for a moment, then d=back down at the ground. The god continued on, "Martin has been accused of being guilty. Penalty will be immediate if he cannot defend himself. Martin, what do you have to say? Are you innocent or guilty?"

Bodil rolled his shoulders, wincing at the pressure of the metal plate that had been set upon his shoulders so he couldn't fly. He looked up, eyes guarded and face emotionless. He stared at the god he had tried to poison. The angel scowled lightly, then said, "Both of us know that I'm guilty. So let's stop pretending that you don't know and get on with the punishment."

Bodil couldn't tell, but he thought he saw one of Notch's eyebrows twitch upwards in slight surprise. He cleared his throat, then nodded and turned to his left. "Martin, upon the demand of the Laws and the population of the Aether, I hereby sentence you to be forever cut off from the Aether and its inhabitants."

Bodil's eyes widened when he realized what Notch was saying. "Wait-"

"From this day and forever on, you are now titled as a Fallen."

It took only a few minutes—minutes that seemed like hours to Bodil—before the floor underneath his feet opened up. The metal plating around his wings seemed to melt off sinking deep into his skin. Instinct took over, and he tried to spread his wings. But he found that they wouldn't listen to him; instead they lay limply, battered by the wind. Bodil turned in the air, falling on his stomach. He never really felt the fear of heights until then.

But now, as he stared down at the quickly approaching earth, he knew that fearing the distance from the ground was foolish. He should have been scared of falling in the first place.

A wind current swept around him, curling in hi wings and tilting him back up to the sky. Bodil caught sight of his wings, which were starting to turn a dark grey. He gasped and grabbed the tips of the feathers, desperately willing the black out of the soft, downy feathers. But the black spread quickly, slinking its way across the pure white and splattered grey like a disease. "No," he whispered. "No, no, no!"

He hit the first cloud layer, and the wind once again curled around him in a semi-comforting embrace as he fell. But as the darkness crept over his wings, the wind started to churn angrily around him. Bodil swallowed and glanced over his shoulder, staring at the ground with wide, fearful eyes. The he turned and looked back up to the Aether, which was quickly shimmering out of view.

Maybe death would have been better than this. At least then he wouldn't be scared of the air that he had spent his entire life in.

Hello, peoples! Here's another chapter for you. I had serious writers block on Saturday, and I only had around sixty words done by this morning. So I spent t entire day writing. So it's slightly late, but whatever.

Oh, and by the way, if you haven't seen my profile, I am looking for writing prompts and ideas. I need these for a group of one-shots and stables that will be coming up -fairly- shortly. The prompts need to be around the characters in the Animal series. It can be about anybody. And if I'm inspired by the idea, I'll write it. And if I writerly, you read it. Abd I you read it, I build more self-esteem and make more chapters of other tired. Sounds like a fair deal, yes?

So if you have any idea, then PM me or write it in a review. I'll make sure to credit you and everything.

-Cold