Penryn sat with the Watchers all along the beach. None of them had any idea where Raffe was, just that he had said he needed to attend to something. Penryn had offered to come along, but he had refused, kissing her forehead before shooting off into the night, his demon wings stretching out across the moonlit sky.
DeeDum sat near Penryn, trading jokes with the Watchers, and Paige was fast asleep on a log. It was a cozy sight, not unlike a campsite. If Penryn closed her eyes, she could convince herself that that was all it was; a group of friends sharing a campfire.
"What are the modern day Daughters of Men like?" Hawk asked the twins, his tone a little too inquisitive.
"They're crazy, man," Dee said, shaking his head. "They'll break your heart and then to add insult to injury, tell you that they thought of you more as a friend than a lover."
"Totally ruthless." Dum agreed. "Almost heartless."
Penryn scoffed openly at this, rolling her eyes.
"What?" Dee said. "Don't agree with us?"
"You only think that because no woman has ever let you out of the friendzone." she retorted. "Women are not as complicated as you men like to think we are."
"Oh we don't think it," Dum argued. "We know it."
The other Watchers agreed with this, their heads bobbing in agreement. Penryn sat up, fully awake now and ready to argue.
"Women aren't complicated." Penryn said again. "You men just always expect something out of us, like we owe you something."
"And how is that the case?" Thermo interjected joining in the conversation.
"Take DeeDum's argument about the friendzone for example," Penryn said. "Imagine being in the shoes of the woman, thinking that these guys you genuinely were getting along with just wanted to get into your pants the whole time."
"And if she gives off signals that she wants a more intimate relationship?" Thermo pressed. "Is it the man's fault if he comes on to her?"
"Just because she is sending off signals that you interpret as sexual doesn't mean that they are." Penryn said.
"How are we then to have intercourse if we do not know whether or not women are sending off sexual signals?" Hawk asked, exasperation tinging his voice.
"Easy." Penryn replied. "They'll tell you."
"And you are an expert on this based off of what exactly?" Dee asked, the other angels nodding in agreement.
"Well for one, I am a woman." Penryn said, rolling her eyes. "And believe it or not, before the end of the world I partook in a few relationships."
DeeDum gasped dramatically, clutching their chest as if they were clutching their pearls.
"You mean to tell me there were guys before Raffe?" Dum asked. "The hunky, warrior angel god?"
"Inconceivable!" Dee exclaimed.
"We all had lives before the end of the world." Penryn shrugged, her cheeks flaming slightly as the whole group's attention was suddenly on her.
"I'm just trying to picture you with a scrawny human boy," Cyclone said, his eyes squinted in concentration as he gazed at her. "I can't imagine you with anyone other than the Commander."
"It's really not that hard to picture." Penryn insisted, feeling slightly indignant at this mode of questioning. "Though I was never strictly in a relationship, just had some fun with a few guys here and there."
"Interesting." Dee said, settling lower against the log he was leaning against and angling his body towards Penryn as if waiting for her to tell him a bedtime story. "I wouldn't have pegged you as a one night stand type of gal."
"After my dad split I was so angry that I didn't care who came along." Penryn said. "Just as long as they were a warm body that temporarily filled the void my dad left."
"Ooo, daddy issues." Dee said, grinning widely.
Penryn answered by throwing a handful of sand at him.
"Anyone to write home about?" Dum asked.
Just at that moment, Raffe decided to make his entrance. Bits of sand flew in the air as his wings pumped wind around them.
"You're just in time Commander!" Thermo said. "Penryn was just divulging to us the wiles of modern Daughter of Men."
"Oh really?" Raffe asked, his eyebrow cocked.
He walked over to Penryrn, plopping down beside her, his wings spreading to cover her exposed back.
"There aren't any 'wiles' to speak of." Penryn scowled. "Just simple communication."
"And what would that communication entail?" Raffe asked.
"Easy." she said. "Make your intentions known. Hey, I like you and I find you attractive. I'd like to get to know you more."
"Is that what the Commander did to win you over?" Cyclone asked.
"Yes." Raffe replied while Penryn said: "No."
Raffe looked at her in surprise.
"What?" she said. "You literally told me once that you didn't even like me that much."
"Only because I wanted to protect you." Raffe retorted. "I told you plenty of other times that I liked you."
"Again," Penryn said. "You never flat out told me that you liked me. It was always 'being with me just can't happen'."
She said this last part in a poor imitation of his voice, her eyes rolling as she said it.
"Isn't that acknowledgement enough?" Raffe asked incredulously.
"No." Penryn said vehemently. "It made me feel like all my feelings were one sided."
Raffe looked at her with a smirk on his face, his dark eyes flashing with something mischievous.
"So, when I meet a woman, I should tell them I am want to have sexual relations with her?" Thermo asked with earnestness.
"What?" Penryn exclaimed. "At what point did I say that?"
"You said to be straightforward!"
"After getting to know her a little bit!" Penryn said.
"I will never get you women." Thermo said, shaking his head.
"What did I say that was complicated?" Penryn asked incredulously.
"Nothing." Raffe laughed. "Thermo just has the brains of an ox."
"I resent that statement!" the Watcher replied.
Penryn rolled her eyes and got up, wiping the sand off her legs.
"Where are you going?" Raffe asked.
"I need to go put my sister to bed." she replied, stretching her arms out above her, her body aching.
"I'll come with you." Raffe said, getting ready to stand.
"No." Penryn said, pushing his shoulder down lightly. "I can do it myself. And anyways, I want to get to say goodbye before I leave."
Raffe nodded, though his eyes never left her as she went to scoop up her sister. The small girl opened her eyes slightly, sleep heavy on her eyelids. A jagged scar cut through the bridge of her nose, still red from healing. Penryn was still getting used to this Paige, the one weathered by severe pain and toughened by the exhausting storm of survival. Then again, it wasn't just Paige who had survived this storm, the ragtag group of survivors behind them were testament to that. A well of emotions rose within her, but Penryn quickly swallowed it down. She didn't have time for that.
Penryn carried her sister into the new house that their group had taken residence in. It was farther away from the city, tucked into the mountains by the shore. They had decided to leave the city while Penryn and Raffe ventured back into the Pit. Here there was a better defense against any who would try to attack them. They had purposely not told anyone where they were going, leaving in shifts so as not to attract attention from Michael or any other blood thirsty angel.
Most of the human survivors had actually scattered into the mountains, taking up refuge in the abandoned grocery stores and houses. Penryn, DeeDum, and the other former leaders of the Resistance had organized food routes and helped the camps arrange defenses in case of...intruders. It didn't put Penryn completely at ease, but it was something.
Penryn walked up the somewhat steep slope to the house, Paige nestled against her chest and already breathing heavily. The locust followed behind them, just as sleepy as their small master. As they walked, Penryn noticed a shadowed figure, hunched around the grounds, the harsh smell of rotten eggs drafting from them.
Mom. Penryn thought, going over to her.
The woman was mumbling to herself, grabbing rotten eggs from the pockets of her dirty sweater and alternating between burying them and placing them preciously against stones. Penryn watched her quietly, knowing that if she intervened it would probably earn her a screaming or even a rough smack.
"Mom I'm leaving tomorrow." she said quietly. "I don't know how long I'll be gone."
"Shh!" Penryn's mother hissed, placing a rotten egg in the heart of a fern.
"Please watch over Paige." Penryn said, persisting. "Make sure that she eats something. She really likes tuna fish now."
Penryn's mother continued as if ignoring her, now kneeling down and rocking back and forth while praying.
Penryn swallowed a lump the size of a grapefruit. She was used to this, she reminded herself. This was normal.
It would have just been nice, in a world filled with angels, and hellions, and things she could not understand, if her mother was the one thing she could rely on. Shaking her head, Penryn carried her sister up the rest of the way to the house. Makeshift hammocks hung around the living room, a neat invention on the part of the Watchers. A pile of blankets and pillows lay on the floor where DeeDum, Paige and Penryn slept. It was better that they all slept in the same room, as it conserved heat better.
A few Watchers were already sleeping in their hammocks, their wings draped leisurely down the sides of the canvas fabric. Penryn laid Paige down on her small cot, tucking the blanket snugly under her chin. The moonlight shone softly against the small girl's face, bathing her in silver. She looked as if she could be a nymph with her pixie like features, straight out of a storybook. Her older sister tucked Paige's hair away from her face, rubbing a tender thumb along her brow.
"Sweet dreams Paige." she whispered leaning down and kissing her sister's forehead. "I love you."
Paige only sighed, delving deeper into her heavy sleep.
Chuckling slightly, her sister rose and walked out to the porch, sitting down on the deck and watching as her mother continued her dutiful task. She took Pookie Bear out, sliding a finger down the angelic blade slowly. It too glinted in the moonlight, the frightening steel even more menacing in the dark.
"She takes a liking to you, you know." Penryn heard Raffe say.
She glanced up to see him watching her from the treeline.
"We have an understanding." Penryn said, looking down at the sword again.
"It's more than that." Raffe said, walking over to her. "To her understanding, you are a great warrior, a loyal wielder."
"And how do you know that?" Penryn asked, looking up at him and smiling as he took the place besides her.
"When I had gotten my angelic wings back, and had said goodbye to you for what I thought was the last time, she showed me something." he admitted.
Penryn's eyebrows rose in shock. She knew that the sword had that ability, she just thought that it was reserved for the memories of its original owner.
"What did she show you?" she asked.
"It was mainly just flashes of things, bursts of emotions." Raffe said. "But she showed me your relationship with her from the start. From the moment we met on that bridge, til the final day you wielded her."
Penryn quieted, looking down at her borrowed sword.
"She was telling me that she was going to miss you." Raffe said. "That she respected you."
Penryn smiled, her heart swelling.
"If only I had given her a better name." she sighed.
"Too late now." Raffe smirked.
Penryn sheathed the sword, setting it delicately beside her. Below them, her mother had finished her task and was now making her way back into the woods.
"Don't forget to eat something Mom!" Penryn called out after her.
"The devil won't let me." her mother replied, turning her sunken eyes to her oldest daughter.
"That's not good." Penryn said, rising from her spot and walking over to her mother. "Why don't you come inside? We have food and water."
Penryn put her arm around her mother's too thin shoulders, guiding her into the house. Raffe watched from the porch, Pookie Bear beside him. Once inside, Penryn prepared her mother a pb&j with a large glass of water. Her mother gobbled it up eagerly, her shoulders finally relaxing.
"Paige is asleep, why don't you go sleep with her?" Penryn said, giving her mother another sandwich which she eagerly ate.
"Paige is here?" her mother asked, looking up at her daughter with an almost puppy dog like look.
Penryn nodded, pointing to the floor where Paige was sleeping peacefully. Without saying a word, her mother rose from her chair and walked over to the cots, snuggling in beside her small child. Penryn followed her, gently taking off her mother's filthy sweater and shoes. She set them outside, as the smell of them was quite overpowering. The whole time, her mother watched, her eyes wide like a child.
Tucking her in, Penryn brushed her mother's matted hair away from her face, whispering quiet assurances to her. Fear stuck Penryn's heart as she gazed at her mother. She was too thin, too mentally inept to care for herself. The woman was starving herself to death, fearing that the devil was in the very food she ate. It scared Penryn, the realization that her mother was dying.
"You have to eat, Mom." Penryn whispered. "Do you hear me? Paige needs you to eat, I need you to eat."
The older woman opened her mouth to speak but Penryn quickly shushed her.
"We need you around, do you hear me?" Penryn asked. "We need you to be alive."
She looked at her mother for any sign of confirmation, but the woman was halfway asleep already, curling up beside her daughter who had nestled under her mother's arm. Penryn covered her mouth and looked away, choking down sobs. She had no clue if what she said had gotten through to her mother, no way to assure that she would even remember her daughter putting her to bed at night. Hope was the only thing she could do, hope that her words had somehow gotten through.
Not wanting to break out in tears, Penryn quickly rose and got out of the house, almost gulping down the air as soon as she got out. Raffe was still in the same spot, though his eyes were trained on Penryn as she walked towards him. He said nothing as she sat down, which Penryn was grateful for. She didn't want to speak for fear of crying.
Warmth enclosed her back as Raffe stretched his wing out, draping it over her shoulder and pulling her to him. Penryn nestled in between his legs, resting with her back against his chest. Raffe folded his leathery wings around them, creating a pocket of warmth. He pulled the hair from one side of her face, kissing the spot where her neck and shoulder joined.
"I think my mother is dying." Penryn whispered, finally admitting her fears into the world.
"Are you scared?" Raffe asked.
"Yes." Penryn answered, swallowing hard. "I'm terrified."