A/N: I'm sorry that the summary isn't very good, I really didn't know what else to put so I might end up changing it at some point.
I'm still working on the younger brothers' version of A Welcome Reprieve, but I'm struggling to find much time for writing at the moment and this work was written/ completed on a spur of a moment while the idea was fresh in my mind.
I haven't really done a lot of justice for my idea, but I wanted to write a little something that included Raphael and I had an idea for how Mammon's crow familiars came about – which came about after watching an incredibly intelligent crow that hangs around my neighbourhood.
I'm sorry for any mistakes in this fic, I'm planning on taking a hiatus soon to go through my older works and correct any mistakes
As always, thank you so much to everyone who had supporter my works, I really appreciate it :)
I hope you guys enjoy this fic,
~K'rasu xx
Familiar
"Ow!" Mammon hissed through gritted teeth as he tried to pry the other angel's hand off of his upper arm and pull his arm out of the vice-like grip. "C'mon! I said I wasn't gonna try and run, so ya can let go of me now, Raphael!"
Raphael shot a quick glare at Mammon over his shoulder before he snapped his head forwards again with a disgruntled snort as he continued to march on with Mammon forcibly in tow.
"Not until I report you to Michael, unless you'd rather face the end of my spear instead."
"Seriously?" Mammon dug his heels into the ground and redoubled his efforts to get Raphael to let go of his arm. "For what? I didn't even do anythin' wrong!"
"Yes you did." Raphael stopped in his tracks to grab Mammon with his other hand and pulled on his arm even harder in an attempt to get Mammon to keep moving. "You were trying to follow Lucifer again."
"So what?"
"So you were trying to go to the Devildom without permission." Raphael argued in his usual calm tone. "Which means you're disobeying orders again."
"If I was tryin' to follow Lucifer, how did I end up in the Human World, huh?" Mammon pointed out as he took a step backwards and dragged Raphael with him.
"Because only an idiot like you would get so lost that they ended up in the wrong realm. You didn't seriously think that you'd be able to just waltz into the Devildom of your own free will, did you?"
Sensing that Raphael was struggling to maintain his grip, Mammon seized his chance to pull himself free of the other angel with a final big tug, causing both Raphael and himself to stagger backwards.
Mammon felt himself stumble on his feet for a few moments before he finally lost his balance and the back of his head and shoulder blades collided painfully with the trunk of a tree while Raphael landed with a heavy thud on the grass nearby.
"Man, that hurt!" Mammon groaned as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head where he could already feel a bump forming before he turned his attention to his stinging upper arm where Raphael had left a large red mark.
"It's your own fault," Raphael shot at Mammon in a cool tone as he got to his feet, dusted himself off and checked his clothes for any rips or tears with a sigh.
"My fault?" Mammon stared at the other angel in disbelief. "How is this my fault?"
"You shouldn't have pulled against me so much."
"No way! You should've let go when I—"
Mammon's sentence was cut short as something fell from the tree and landed into his lap.
"What the—?"
Mammon stared down at the black, fuzzy ball in his lap.
"What was that?" Raphael asked as he took a step closer to survey it with a curious expression.
Upon closer inspection, Mammon could see a pair of small, beady eyes just above what was undoubtedly a beak staring back up at him.
"It's a baby bird," Mammon said as he carefully scooped the chick up in his hands, "I think it's a crow?"
He held his hands out towards Raphael so that the other angel could get a better look at the chick.
Raphael recoiled and took a few steps backwards.
"What's with that reaction?" Mammon asked as he surveyed Raphael closely. "Don't tell me that ya scared of a tiny bird?"
"I'm not scared," Raphael said defensively, "it's just… aren't crows supposed to be a bad omen? It'd be best to distance yourself from them."
"A bad omen?" Mammon scoffed and shook his head. "As if, it's just a defenceless, little chick."
Mammon got to his feet, making sure he protected the chick in his cupped hands as he did so, and stared at the canopy of leaves above their heads.
"Ah, look up there!" Mammon nodded towards a mass of twigs and leaves that rested high up in the branches. "It must've fallen outta its nest!"
Raphael frowned as he followed Mammon's line of sight.
"It's too high for either of us to reach." Raphael pointed out with a shake of his head.
"So what are we supposed to do now?"
"It's simple, isn't it?" Raphael turned his back on Mammon and the chick. "Leave the bird by the trunk of the tree, its parents should be able to find it there."
"But what if it gets attacked or summin'?"
"There's nothing else we can do for it," Raphael said bluntly as he glanced at Mammon over his shoulder, "its chances of survival are already low, interfering even more than we already have will only diminish those odds even more. It would be kinder for us to leave it be and hope that its parents are able to find it."
Mammon stood in silence for a few moments and watched as Raphael began to walk away from him before he dropped his gaze down towards the bird that saw in his cupped hands.
"Dammit," Mammon muttered under his breath as he turned towards the tree instead.
He carefully moved the chick into one hand to free the other and held the bird close to his chest to protect it as he began to climb the tree.
"D-don't worry…" Mammon grunted as he pulled himself further up the tree, found his footing again and checked on the chick in his hand before he cast his eyes about the tree to plan his next move, "I ain't gonna leave ya behind…"
"Mammon?"
He heard Raphael's voice issue from somewhere below him and glanced towards the ground to find the other angel staring up at him.
"What are you doing?"
"I can't just leave it there," Mammon reached for another branch and gave it a few strong tugs to test its durability, "so I'm not going anywhere until this fella is safely back in its nest!"
Mammon stopped to steady himself as he slowly stood up on the branch and tried to reach for the next one above his head.
His breath hitched as felt himself wobble while he stretched up on his top toes and managed to balance himself by grabbing the trunk of the tree at the last second.
"You'll fall if you're not careful." Raphael's voice came again.
"Ya think I don't know that!" Mammon shouted back irritably before he tried to reach towards the branch again.
With no other way to reach it, Mammon jumped as high as he could to grab onto the branch.
He tried to push himself up with his feet against the trunk of the tree but couldn't find the grip and found his feet sliding against the bark instead.
Mammon's hand that held onto the branch began to sting as he struggled to maintain his grip and before long the chick in his hand began to squirm.
"I c-can't… hold on…" Mammon grunted through gritted teeth as he tried to pull his weight up using the strength in his aching arm alone.
Thud.
He gave a startled jolt and yelped when heard something collide with the trunk of the tree, and out of the corner of his eye he could see something long and golden protruding from the trunk just to the side of his left knee.
"WHADDYA THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Mammon yelled out angrily as he instantly recognised the object. "ARE YA TRYIN' TO KILL ME?"
"Use the spear as a foothold and push yourself up." Raphael's voice called back.
Mammon complied with Raphael's instruction.
He heaved a relieved sigh as soon as he was securely perched on the higher branch and stole a glance towards the ground where he could see Raphael readying another golden spear with a concentrated look on his face before he took his aim.
Mammon let out another yelp, shielded the bird in his hands and instinctively ducked as the spear hurtled past his head and became lodged in the trunk of the tree somewhere above his head with another thud.
"HEY, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE THROWING THOSE THINGS!"
"If I wanted to hit you I would've done it by now," Raphael replied in a cool voice, "I never miss," he then pointed towards the branches above Mammon, "you should be able to use that spear to reach those branches now. You need to start moving more towards the right side of the tree to reach the chick's nest."
"Huh?" Mammon blinked at Raphael for a moment before he glanced up at the place where Raphael had indicated. "R-right!" Mammon gave a determined nod as he settled the chick in his hand and began to climb again.
"Keep going, I'll tell you where to go next."
With Raphael's guidance, and a few extra spears to use as footholds, Mammon steadily climbed higher and higher until he finally reached the nest where he could see two more baby chicks resting inside.
"Hey there, little buddy," Mammon said in a soothing voice as he checked his balance before he held the bird in his hand out towards the nest, "I said that I wouldn't leave ya there, didn't I?"
A smile spread across the angel's face as he watched the chick clamber out of his hand into its nest with the others.
"You take care now, okay?"
Mammon gave the chick a few affectionate strokes before he climbed back down the tree.
Mammon hummed happily to himself and dusted his hands off as soon as his feet were back on the ground.
"Is your mind at ease now?" Raphael asked, he cast his watchful gaze over the other angel.
"Yup," Mammon grinned with a triumphant nod, "now that that little chick is back in its nest safe and sound."
"I've heard that crows are incredibly intelligent and that they have really good memories," Raphael mused aloud, "they can hold a grudge against those who have wronged them, but equally they remember the faces of those who show them kindness and even pass that information onto other crows."
Mammon stared at Raphael in confusion, "whaddya mean?"
"What I'm trying to say is that perhaps someday your kindness will be returned, Mammon."
The two angels spared a moment to stare up at the nest in the tree.
"But if you ask me, you brothers really are more trouble than you're worth," Raphael heaved a sigh as he shook with a small smile and turned away from Mammon and the tree to start walking again, "we should head back to the Celestial Realm now."
"Is that a smile I can see, Raphael?" Mammon teased as he fell into step beside Raphael and nudged the other angel playfully with his elbow.
"No, it was just your imagination."
"Sure it was."
"I'm still reporting you to Michael."
"WHA—? Seriously?"
Wind filled his ears before he collided with the ground, leaving indents in the mud where he landed from the impact of his fall, before he rolled to a stop and stayed motionless until his consciousness caught up with him along with a deep aching that coursed through his whole body.
He waited a moment or two for the worst of his pain to subside before he pushed himself up with his trembling arms to sit up with a groan.
He hissed through gritted teeth and clasped a hand over his shoulder as he felt a sharp, shooting pain with each movement.
"D-dammit, Raphael!" Mammon growled under his breath as he lifted his hand to inspect the wound on his shoulder before he pressed his palm back against his injury to stem the flow of the bleed. "He barely got me, but man that hurts!"
He tried to push all thoughts of his pain to the back of his mind as he clambered to his feet and stared at his unfamiliar surroundings, from the inky black sky and the blood red moon above to the splattered mud of a grassy plain that was surrounded by tall, dark trees, while he tried to dust off as much mud as he could from his armour of light.
"I've gotta find the others…" Mammon murmured to himself as he staggered forwards on shaky legs and forced himself to drag on foot in front of the other. "… I've gotta make sure everyone else is safe…"
He felt his knees give way under his weight before he fell forwards and instinctively held his hands out to break his fall.
Mammon held back a cry of pain and closed his eyes tight as he cradled his stinging wrists against his chest and rolled onto his uninjured shoulder.
He remained still and took deep, calming breaths while his injured shoulder and wrists gave aching throbs, and he began to feel faint.
He heard a cawing sound issue from somewhere above him and seconds later he felt something flutter against his cheek, making Mammon slowly open his eyes again until his gaze met that of a large black crow.
"Hey there, little buddy…" Mammon whispered while the crow tilted its head from side to side and stared back at him, "… I'm gonna need a favour from ya… I need ya to find my brothers and sister, just make sure they're all safe for me. I'd go myself, but I can't move right now," he added with a small chuckle, "I'm counting on you, little buddy, okay?"
With another loud caw, the crow took flight and circled around Mammon twice before flying off towards the trees, leaving only an echo of more caws in its wake.
Mammon watched as the crow disappeared into the darkened sky before he let out another chuckle.
"It almost felt as though that crow understood what I said for a second there," he mused to himself in a quiet voice as he let his eyes close again and listened to the sound of the crow's calls growing more and more distant before he let himself succumb to the enveloping darkness.
"—see him now, thank you for your assistance."
Mammon's head swam as he woke to the sound of an unfamiliar voice that was followed by continuous crow's calls.
He opened his eyes and waited for them to adjust before his eyes found a figure headed in his direction.
"I'm glad to see that you're conscious," the unfamiliar voice spoke again as the figure crouched down beside him, "you must be Mammon. My name is Barbatos, I am Lord Diavolo's loyal servant. Your familiar alerted me of your presence."
"My… familiar?" Mammon mumbled in confusion as he stared up at Barbatos with unfocused eyes.
"Yes," Barbatos motioned towards the corvid that was now perched on his shoulder, "this crow told me that it was your familiar and showed me where to find you," Barbatos explained as he offered his hand to Mammon instead, "you were looking for your brothers, correct? They are already waiting for you at the Demon Lord's Castle, I can take you there now and I can tend to your wounds. Are you able to stand?"
With Barbatos's help, Mammon rose to his feet once more and let the demon guide him.
As soon as he was steady on his feet with Barbatos close at his side to support him, Mammon felt something land on his shoulder and glanced around to meet the gaze of the crow as a grateful smile spread across the fallen angel's lips.
"Thanks, little buddy."
Disclaimer: finding fledgling birds (young birds with feathers) on the ground is normal as they usually spend some days on the ground before they can fly, these are usually safe as long as their parents return to them so it's best not to move them and to just monitor them from a distance.
The chick I was referring to in this work is a nestling (chicks with no feathers/ young birds with fluffy down feathers), if you find a nestling on the ground it is best to return them to their nest (do NOT endanger yourself or the chick by climbing a tree to return them to their nest like Mammon did), however if that is not possible you could make a replacement nest, place it in/ around the nearest tree to where you found the nestling and monitor from a distance, the parents will usually find them again and continue to care for them - if the parents do not return please contact your local wildlife expert/ rescue
(sorry for adding this in, just thought it might help)
~K'rasu xx