Hey faithful readers, I love you all with affection unspeakable… but it may be a fair while before the
next part gets up here, this is not due in any way to my losing interest or not wishing to continue (cos
believe me I do) but because I may soon be losing my computer and not having reliable access to one
for several weeks. Family troubles suck. If anyone wants to buy me a computer, I'll give you my real
name and address and you can send me a check… pretty please?
Kaworu turned to regard the doctor with a generous, beautiful smile. "Yes, Doctor Ikagi. It will suffice.
How soon will Ikari and Ayanami be moving in?"
She choked, taking a moment to regain her composure. "I'm sorry?"
"That is one condition of this deal, I thought you understood that." His lips twitched sensually,
disturbing in a boy appearing no older than sixteen. "I require the, uh, shall we say, companionship of
those two young people here in my dwelling place."
"Uh… have you asked them?"
"Not yet." He laughed richly. "Do not fear, I will not force them to become my love slaves, as tempting
as it is! It is merely that I enjoy their company, their presence, perhaps their friendship."
"Surely that could be as easily accomplished at school, or wherever it is you plan to spend your time,
Mr Nagisa."
He fluttered a wing in dismissal. "Not nearly as good. You will issue the order to Ayanami, that she is
to come live here, and I will see that Ikari gets the news. Both of them will benefit from this, you
understand. Rei needs companionship very badly, and while her pet is a start, he will not suffice."
Ritsuko blinked; since when had Rei had a pet? They were talking about the same person, right? "And
Shinji… well, he needs this too. You'll see."
Rei stared at the paper in her hands. Pressing close to her leg, Gryffyn looked up curiously, but she
didn't respond to him. So, he headbutted her thigh until he had her attention, then demanded that she
read it to him.
-REI AYANAMI. ORDERS TO RELOCATE. NEW LIVING QUARTERS ASSIGNED AT 126A/7
BABORI STREET. TRANSFER ALL PERSONAL EFFECTS TO NEW PLACE OF RESIDENCE
ASAP. -RITSUKO AKAGI-
"Hmm," he mused when she was done. "New den, Rei?"
She nodded. "It would seem so, Gryffyn. Is that alright with you?"
Considering, his plumed head nodded slowly. "I like this den, but- because it is our den. If not our den,
I not like it very much. Maybe new den better, still be ours?"
"Alright," she sighed. Not as though it would be a good idea to refuse her orders anyway, not after her
recent display of disobediance. And began to pack a bag.
Rei shifted the bagstrap over her shoulder uncomfortably. The thing weighed a tonne, and it's narrow
strap kept cutting off her circulation. Her arm had pins and needles.
Concerned, Gryffyn looked up at her. "Are you alright, Rei?"
She nodded. He was doing more than his fair share- his beak gripped the handle of a suitcase, distorting
his words, and two heavy bags rested on his back, braced by half-spread wings. Between them the two
held most of their worldly possessions. Not much, even after Asuka had taken Rei shopping.
Here was their number, the only door along that side of the hall. Why would she have been allocated
more spacious quarters? She had no real need of such.
She tried the key only to find that the door was unlocked. Puzzled, she pushed it open and stepped
inside.
Shinji was standing in the middle of the front room over a few bulky bags. He straightened in surprise
when he saw her. "R- Rei?"
She was pushed into the room by an impatient gryphon prodding at her back. "Uh.. uh… Shinji, what's
going on?"
"I don't know." He shook his head slightly. "Everything's been sorta pretty weird since last night."
Gryffyn was putting the bags down beside a leather-covered couch. When that task was finished, he
turned gleefully to Shinji. "Good to see, Shinshi," he greeted. "Here to help move things, or sharing
new den? Be denmates! Denmates is good!" He knocked Shinji over to playfully nuzzle at him, then
bounced back to Rei. "Good to have more denmates!"
"I…" she looked at Shinji. "You also received orders to relocate to these quarters? I do not
understand!"
"Received…" His brown eyes suddenly lit up and he began laughing. "Kaworu!" he called
demandingly. Seconds later, the pale-haired Angel stuck a head and a wing out of the kitchen door.
"Ah, our third member has arrived! Welcome, Rei!"
Cedar stuck a shy white nose around the corner of one bedroom, then edged out. Upon seeing him,
Gryffyn squawked in delight and pounced on him. At first Cedar was shocked and a little affronted, but
then the two began to play happily.
"Explain," Rei ordered. She was not impressed with this huge change which Kaworu had, quite
casually, inflicted upon her.
Emerging from the kitchen- a 'Kiss the Cook' apron tied around his waist- the Angel took both of the
pale girl's hands in his. She snatched them away. Taking that in his stride, he said calmly, "I desired
your company. And your Company was very eager to please me at this point in time. Does this distress
you very greatly?"
"It distresses me that this was done by an order, not by the common courtesy of asking me," she replied
coldly.
He raised an eyebrow. "Well, my dear one, if you'd prefer it, you may return to your squalid 'den';
dank, lightless, only made a home by the presence of your Gryphon- who, may I add, looks a good deal
more comfortable here. Or," he grinned disarmingly, "you can stay here, with us all! I promise I'll give
it at least a week before I seduce you."
For no apparent reason, Shinji started choking on a breath. He thumped himself once or twice on the
chest, dragging himself to his feet- and picked up one of his bags, heading, with red cheeks, towards
his room.
Kaworu brushed his fingers lightly along Rei's cheek. "Make that three days, beautiful one."
Gold feathers blurred, and Kaworu was knocked back several paces. Gryffyn crouched, growling
softly, in front of Rei. When Kaworu tried to take a step forward, the young gryphon- young, but still
waist-high at the shoulder- mantled his wings and hissed.
The Angel bowed fractionally, his wings spreading behind him. They were so gorgeous- a few shades
paler than his hair, the wingspan massive, the feathers eminently strokable. "Pardon me, little friend.
Have I offended?"
Not dropping out of his defensive pose, Gryffyn growled, "You can't mate with Rei! You're not
allowed to!"
Everyone in the room gaped.
"Does she belong to you, then, small one?" Kaworu asked, half-mockingly.
The leonine tail lashed once and was still. "Not to me. But I'm gaurding her for the one she will belong
to. And that's not you, little bird!"
Rei frowned. What was he on about? "You must tell me of this later, Gryffyn-chan."
He nodded, watchful eyes not leaving Kaworu, backing up slowly until he stood by her side. Only then
did he stand up fully, silencing his growl with an almost visible effort. Rei rubbed his ears almost
absently to reassure him, and he gradually relaxed over the next few minutes.
Kaworu shrugged, appearing resigned. "Well, if that is the way it is, then I suppose I will accept that
for the time. But I will be working on it!"
Gryffyn actually chuckled. "Oh, you can try it," he grinned, his beak seeming designed for the
expression. "But not get very far."
Just then, Shinji stepped into the room again. He took one look at the three standing there and, sensing
some sort of tension, was about to vanish again when Gryffyn tackled him wildly once more.
"Don't go away, Shinshi!"
"I'm not going away," Shinji reassured the golden beast. "You'll probably see more of me in the next
week or two than you wanted to do in your entire life! We'll be… uh…" He searched for the word that
Gryffyn had used. "Nestmates?"
Gryffyn snorted laughter. "No, silly! Nestmates share a dam. Nestmates brothers, sisters! Shinshi, you
and me are denmates now! Live in same place, share secrets and food and good things." Now that the
confrontation with Kaworu was over, he seemed happy to slip back into his mangled version of the
Japanese language. His speech was gradually improving, and if he put his mind to it, he could speak
almost perfectly. "Will be fun! Four of us, all denmates! Enough to be a pack!"
"Four?" The Angel, knowing he was the one left out of the count, raised a sculpted brow.
"Fine. Five." Gryffyn cast a sly sideways glance at his recent opponent- then leaped at him, bowling
him over. The two wrestled for a moment in a wild flurry of wings.
Shinji watched, worried. Would they hurt eachother?
"I'd stop this if they were serious," Rei murmured. "Gryffyn might break a claw on that tough skin."
Amazed, Shinji exclaimed, "Rei, you just made a joke!"
She smiled fractionally. "It may occassionally happen. I believe…"
He stepped closer to her, carefully avoiding the two battlers. "Yeah?"
"I'm changing." A tiny grin crossed Rei's lips- unmistakably not a smile, or a wince, or a twitch, it was
a true grin if small enough that only the eye experienced at picking Rei's expression would have been
able to see it. "You know that, Shinji, you are a part of it. I believe I'm changing for the better."
Bravely, he took her hand. A smile was all he needed to give her; words would not have been adequate
to contain his response to her admission.
She bit her lip, feeling as happy as she had felt in many days, and not really knowing how to deal with
it. Instead she gave his hand a brief squeeze and let it drop, saying apologetically, "I… I need to change
my clothes. Which room is mine?"
The two winged beings paused in their wrestling for Kaworu to point. "That one, precious, the one with
the spacious double bed and the whips and shackles on the bedside…" A hard beak dug into his
abdomen, and he corrected himself. "That one's all yours. Go for it, my dear one."
Rei picked up the bag which contained her new clothes, the ones she'd yet to try, and headed into that
room. Closing the door she examined it. Pale blue décor, fresh and airy, with a large window. The bed
was reasonably luxurious, and had been made up with fluffy cream sheets and pillowcases, the
comforter bearing frolicking fluffy sheep. The curtains were fluffy too, and a fluffy rug was currently
attempting to devour her toes. She thought she could pick a theme.
And there were paintings hung on her walls, too. Three of them. One a graceful rendition of a flock of
storks wading in a lake; one a young unicorn snuggled into its dam's flank, lit by starshine; the third a
depiction of a certain winged boy-man, his wings cupped in landing from flight… and his primary
feathers his only protection against the weather, apparently. Not-quite-snorting in amusement at the
last, she reached up to take it down and turn its face to the wall. Indeed. A skilled painting maybe, from
what little she knew of such matters, but she didn't care for the subject matter.
Along the far wall was a wardrobe with drawers at the bottom, a desk, and an empty but large
bookcase, all painted in a deeper shade of blue than the walls, and all waiting to be filled with her
things. She stepped forward and started to take clothes from the bag, putting them away.
Then there was a creak behind her, as of a door opening, and Gryffyn sidled in, pushing it closed
behind him. Now she remembered that the doors here had long handles rather than knobs or those
indents for grip on sliding doors- indeed, the apartment seemed fairly Western in style.
"Hello, Gryffyn-chan," she greeted.
"Put on bright plumage?" he pleaded, his dark eyes gleaming appealingly. "Want to see pretty things."
Rei smiled tenderly. "Sure." She looked through all her new clothes, soon selecting a pair of dark jeans
with embroidered dragons coiling upward from the cuffs, and a paler blue singlet top with dark blue
edging. Quickly doffing and folding her school uniform, she donned the new outfit with some
nervousness. She looked at Gryffyn for approval.
He let out a slow, wondering breath. "Rei is beautiful!"
Rei blushed at the complement, not used to receiving them. So she turned and finished putting these
clothes away, not looking up until she had regained her composure.
Approaching her as she was kneeling to put the last few things away, Gryffyn laid his head over her
shoulder. "It's true. You are really pretty, Rei. Plumage just makes it easier to see."
She pushed him a little away, embarrassed and not really believing him. After all, she couldn't be
beautiful. She was just Rei.
"You say 'thank you'," Gryffyn hinted.
"Thank you," she smiled. "I'm sorry, Gryffyn-chan, but I am not used to these things. I do not intend
rudeness to you."
"I know," the beast boasted, giving her hair a quick groom with his deft beak.
She draped both arms around his neck. "Gryffyn, you are so kind to me… but tell me, of what were
you speaking in the other room? Who are you guarding me for?"
"Not know, silly?" He buffeted her lightly on the shoulder. "Shinshi, of course! You and him will be
mates."
Rei blinked.
"Shinshi wants to be your mate," he pointed out. "Smell it. See it. He wants to mate with you, be your
mate."
Rei blinked.
Now he looked slightly worried. "You want to be his mate, don't you? If not then I not defend from
birdman. Birdman not so bad, but not Shinshi. Thought you wanted to be Shinshi's mate. Don't you?"
"I…" She shook her head slightly. "I don't know, Gryffyn. I don't know."
He shrugged his wings impressively. "You will choose what will be best," he decided trustingly,
nuzzling his head under her arm, allowing her to hold him for a moment before he pulled back. "Now
go and show pretty Rei to both toms."
Eventually Rei allowed the gryphon to escort her back out, her hand resting lightly between his ears.
Both 'toms', as Gryffyn had called them, froze at the sight of her. Kaworu, sprawled across the lounge,
stared at her… then gave her a slow grin. Shinji, standing in the doorway to his own room, swallowed
hard and dashed inside as soon as he had recovered.
The Angel stood lazily, approaching her, and captured her hand to lay a wet kiss on her knuckles. She
snatched it back, disgusted. "My lady," he gloated, devouring her with his vivid crimson eyes.
Gryffyn gave a low warning growl, but didn't leap in between them again.
"Are you quite done?" she asked acerbically.
Startled, Kaworu backed off. –Well, that works,- she noted to herself. She retrieved the next of her
bags and took that into her room, unpacking it as well. By the time she'd emerged for the next, Shinji
had come back out from his room and was talking quietly with Kaworu about something which he
broke off, blushing hotly, when she stepped out.
"Rei, you look…" he glanced up at her and as quickly back down again, "You look… really good…
that sort of stuff suits you heaps better than what you normally wear." He snuck another peek, not
aware that he was on the verge of babbling. "I mean the school uniform's okay at school and
everything but that looks great, I hope you wear more stuff like that from now… I mean…" Blushing
hopelessly, he sat down.
A tiny secret smile crossed Rei's lips. She wasn't so dense that she didn't understand that. Maybe, just
maybe, it was possible that Gryffyn had not misread the signs.
There was another good thing. There were so many of them now, and more every day!
She could barely believe that she had ever eagerly awaited her death.
All went smoothly for the next few weeks, as smoothly as it might be expected if one were living in the
year 2017, post-Second-Impact, with one human, one gryphon, one Angel and one unicorn. Shinji
cooked almost every meal for the five, and as a result, all of them became used to good eating. Rei
slowly grew accustomed to wearing her 'casual' clothes, though she was yet far too shy to wear them
to Nerv or school, and Cedar was almost ecstatically happy in the company of anyone else in the Den
(as it was now known). Asuka wasn't very happy about the new arrangement, but didn't protest too
loud. Kaworu and Gryffyn's rivalry became friendly, but stayed rivalry nevertheless. The Angel failed
in his goal of a week for the seduction of Rei, and Gryffyn managed the 'j' sound in Shinji's name but
preferred to keep using the other form.
Then came the bad day.
The very bad day.
The Angel was circling the city very quickly, spiraling with swoops of unbelievable speed. Its huge
bulk cast ominous shadows on the hiding city.
Asuka fired a volley of photon bullets at it, but those few that hit ricocheted right off a powerful AT
Field. Cursing softly in German, she approached it while Rei crept up, sheltering behind those
buildings that were not able to retreat into the ground.
Its sleek head turned toward her. It folded three pairs of shining wings and plummeted onto the red
Evangelion.
There was a loud, horrifying crunching sound as the large sharp claws on its forelegs pierced Asuka's
AT Field and tore it open with ease. Now hunching over her, the draconian Angel neatly bit off the
Eva's head.
Asuka was not dead, but she was definitely out of the action.
As it was contemplating the silent biomachine, scraping its claws lightly over the jagged hole of its
neck, Rei lunged at it with her power spear and thrust the weapon deep into the muscle of its shoulder.
The beast let out an enraged roar and spun on its powerful hind legs, pouncing on the second Eva. Rei
cried out in effort, struggling to match her AT Field to its, but bit by bit the oddly beautiful creature
was overpowering her.
Still contained in Nerv facilities, Shinji pleaded to go to her aid- but Gendo, impassively, denied him.
Rei screamed as the Angel burst through her AT Field, bowling the Eva over, then rolling it about like
a cat with a toy.
Shinji begged.
Gendo refused.
Rei screamed.
The Angel knocked the Eva flat on its back and ripped off its chest plate. Blood poured out in a hot
flood.
Ignoring his orders, Shinji launched his Eva and ran desparately for the place where Unit 00 was being
literally torn open by the sadistic dragon. He could see its head bobbing up and down as it ripped
mouthfuls of flesh from the biomachine, gulping them down with apparent enjoyment.
And there, a glowing egg held in its straining jaws- the small AT Field that Rei was trying to project,
without her Eva's aid, for her own personal protection.
It didn't work.
The Angel's powerful narrow jaw crushed it, and it chewed something that flashed white and blue in
the early morning sunlight, and swallowed twice.
A cry of rage and loss burst from Shinji's throat, a strange animal noise.
He was upon its back, ripping its glowing wings out by the base as it keened in sudden pain. He
grabbed handfuls of flesh, tearing them out, spraying the buildings and earth with the creature's bright
red blood. Their AT Fields flashed sporadically about them, ineffective. Its long sinuous neck and
slender head were ripped from its body to fall heavily upon the ground. Gobbets of flesh and strings of
thick blood splattered all around as the furious Eva went about its work.
"Is that… is that the Dummy system?" Misato asked softly, riveted as they all were to the horrific
scene before them.
Gendo shook his head grimly. "That's Shinji."
Finally he had what he was truly looking for… here was the tube that ran from it's throat down to the
core at its center, still pulsing weakly with life. He used the Eva's hands as gently as he could to split
the tube open.
About halfway down it, he found her.
Slightly less than half of her.
The rest was a little further down.
Bile rose in his throat. With a single blow he burst open the Angel's core, the ensuing explosion
surprisingly small.
Then turned and vomited into the LCL, hearing with odd clarity the filter that whirred into sudden
activity.
Rei was dead.
Please don't come after me with a sniper rifle! I'll try really hard to get the next bit up as soon as I can.
Really really really really hard. OK?
Love Angelicorn- see you around some time.
next part gets up here, this is not due in any way to my losing interest or not wishing to continue (cos
believe me I do) but because I may soon be losing my computer and not having reliable access to one
for several weeks. Family troubles suck. If anyone wants to buy me a computer, I'll give you my real
name and address and you can send me a check… pretty please?
Kaworu turned to regard the doctor with a generous, beautiful smile. "Yes, Doctor Ikagi. It will suffice.
How soon will Ikari and Ayanami be moving in?"
She choked, taking a moment to regain her composure. "I'm sorry?"
"That is one condition of this deal, I thought you understood that." His lips twitched sensually,
disturbing in a boy appearing no older than sixteen. "I require the, uh, shall we say, companionship of
those two young people here in my dwelling place."
"Uh… have you asked them?"
"Not yet." He laughed richly. "Do not fear, I will not force them to become my love slaves, as tempting
as it is! It is merely that I enjoy their company, their presence, perhaps their friendship."
"Surely that could be as easily accomplished at school, or wherever it is you plan to spend your time,
Mr Nagisa."
He fluttered a wing in dismissal. "Not nearly as good. You will issue the order to Ayanami, that she is
to come live here, and I will see that Ikari gets the news. Both of them will benefit from this, you
understand. Rei needs companionship very badly, and while her pet is a start, he will not suffice."
Ritsuko blinked; since when had Rei had a pet? They were talking about the same person, right? "And
Shinji… well, he needs this too. You'll see."
Rei stared at the paper in her hands. Pressing close to her leg, Gryffyn looked up curiously, but she
didn't respond to him. So, he headbutted her thigh until he had her attention, then demanded that she
read it to him.
-REI AYANAMI. ORDERS TO RELOCATE. NEW LIVING QUARTERS ASSIGNED AT 126A/7
BABORI STREET. TRANSFER ALL PERSONAL EFFECTS TO NEW PLACE OF RESIDENCE
ASAP. -RITSUKO AKAGI-
"Hmm," he mused when she was done. "New den, Rei?"
She nodded. "It would seem so, Gryffyn. Is that alright with you?"
Considering, his plumed head nodded slowly. "I like this den, but- because it is our den. If not our den,
I not like it very much. Maybe new den better, still be ours?"
"Alright," she sighed. Not as though it would be a good idea to refuse her orders anyway, not after her
recent display of disobediance. And began to pack a bag.
Rei shifted the bagstrap over her shoulder uncomfortably. The thing weighed a tonne, and it's narrow
strap kept cutting off her circulation. Her arm had pins and needles.
Concerned, Gryffyn looked up at her. "Are you alright, Rei?"
She nodded. He was doing more than his fair share- his beak gripped the handle of a suitcase, distorting
his words, and two heavy bags rested on his back, braced by half-spread wings. Between them the two
held most of their worldly possessions. Not much, even after Asuka had taken Rei shopping.
Here was their number, the only door along that side of the hall. Why would she have been allocated
more spacious quarters? She had no real need of such.
She tried the key only to find that the door was unlocked. Puzzled, she pushed it open and stepped
inside.
Shinji was standing in the middle of the front room over a few bulky bags. He straightened in surprise
when he saw her. "R- Rei?"
She was pushed into the room by an impatient gryphon prodding at her back. "Uh.. uh… Shinji, what's
going on?"
"I don't know." He shook his head slightly. "Everything's been sorta pretty weird since last night."
Gryffyn was putting the bags down beside a leather-covered couch. When that task was finished, he
turned gleefully to Shinji. "Good to see, Shinshi," he greeted. "Here to help move things, or sharing
new den? Be denmates! Denmates is good!" He knocked Shinji over to playfully nuzzle at him, then
bounced back to Rei. "Good to have more denmates!"
"I…" she looked at Shinji. "You also received orders to relocate to these quarters? I do not
understand!"
"Received…" His brown eyes suddenly lit up and he began laughing. "Kaworu!" he called
demandingly. Seconds later, the pale-haired Angel stuck a head and a wing out of the kitchen door.
"Ah, our third member has arrived! Welcome, Rei!"
Cedar stuck a shy white nose around the corner of one bedroom, then edged out. Upon seeing him,
Gryffyn squawked in delight and pounced on him. At first Cedar was shocked and a little affronted, but
then the two began to play happily.
"Explain," Rei ordered. She was not impressed with this huge change which Kaworu had, quite
casually, inflicted upon her.
Emerging from the kitchen- a 'Kiss the Cook' apron tied around his waist- the Angel took both of the
pale girl's hands in his. She snatched them away. Taking that in his stride, he said calmly, "I desired
your company. And your Company was very eager to please me at this point in time. Does this distress
you very greatly?"
"It distresses me that this was done by an order, not by the common courtesy of asking me," she replied
coldly.
He raised an eyebrow. "Well, my dear one, if you'd prefer it, you may return to your squalid 'den';
dank, lightless, only made a home by the presence of your Gryphon- who, may I add, looks a good deal
more comfortable here. Or," he grinned disarmingly, "you can stay here, with us all! I promise I'll give
it at least a week before I seduce you."
For no apparent reason, Shinji started choking on a breath. He thumped himself once or twice on the
chest, dragging himself to his feet- and picked up one of his bags, heading, with red cheeks, towards
his room.
Kaworu brushed his fingers lightly along Rei's cheek. "Make that three days, beautiful one."
Gold feathers blurred, and Kaworu was knocked back several paces. Gryffyn crouched, growling
softly, in front of Rei. When Kaworu tried to take a step forward, the young gryphon- young, but still
waist-high at the shoulder- mantled his wings and hissed.
The Angel bowed fractionally, his wings spreading behind him. They were so gorgeous- a few shades
paler than his hair, the wingspan massive, the feathers eminently strokable. "Pardon me, little friend.
Have I offended?"
Not dropping out of his defensive pose, Gryffyn growled, "You can't mate with Rei! You're not
allowed to!"
Everyone in the room gaped.
"Does she belong to you, then, small one?" Kaworu asked, half-mockingly.
The leonine tail lashed once and was still. "Not to me. But I'm gaurding her for the one she will belong
to. And that's not you, little bird!"
Rei frowned. What was he on about? "You must tell me of this later, Gryffyn-chan."
He nodded, watchful eyes not leaving Kaworu, backing up slowly until he stood by her side. Only then
did he stand up fully, silencing his growl with an almost visible effort. Rei rubbed his ears almost
absently to reassure him, and he gradually relaxed over the next few minutes.
Kaworu shrugged, appearing resigned. "Well, if that is the way it is, then I suppose I will accept that
for the time. But I will be working on it!"
Gryffyn actually chuckled. "Oh, you can try it," he grinned, his beak seeming designed for the
expression. "But not get very far."
Just then, Shinji stepped into the room again. He took one look at the three standing there and, sensing
some sort of tension, was about to vanish again when Gryffyn tackled him wildly once more.
"Don't go away, Shinshi!"
"I'm not going away," Shinji reassured the golden beast. "You'll probably see more of me in the next
week or two than you wanted to do in your entire life! We'll be… uh…" He searched for the word that
Gryffyn had used. "Nestmates?"
Gryffyn snorted laughter. "No, silly! Nestmates share a dam. Nestmates brothers, sisters! Shinshi, you
and me are denmates now! Live in same place, share secrets and food and good things." Now that the
confrontation with Kaworu was over, he seemed happy to slip back into his mangled version of the
Japanese language. His speech was gradually improving, and if he put his mind to it, he could speak
almost perfectly. "Will be fun! Four of us, all denmates! Enough to be a pack!"
"Four?" The Angel, knowing he was the one left out of the count, raised a sculpted brow.
"Fine. Five." Gryffyn cast a sly sideways glance at his recent opponent- then leaped at him, bowling
him over. The two wrestled for a moment in a wild flurry of wings.
Shinji watched, worried. Would they hurt eachother?
"I'd stop this if they were serious," Rei murmured. "Gryffyn might break a claw on that tough skin."
Amazed, Shinji exclaimed, "Rei, you just made a joke!"
She smiled fractionally. "It may occassionally happen. I believe…"
He stepped closer to her, carefully avoiding the two battlers. "Yeah?"
"I'm changing." A tiny grin crossed Rei's lips- unmistakably not a smile, or a wince, or a twitch, it was
a true grin if small enough that only the eye experienced at picking Rei's expression would have been
able to see it. "You know that, Shinji, you are a part of it. I believe I'm changing for the better."
Bravely, he took her hand. A smile was all he needed to give her; words would not have been adequate
to contain his response to her admission.
She bit her lip, feeling as happy as she had felt in many days, and not really knowing how to deal with
it. Instead she gave his hand a brief squeeze and let it drop, saying apologetically, "I… I need to change
my clothes. Which room is mine?"
The two winged beings paused in their wrestling for Kaworu to point. "That one, precious, the one with
the spacious double bed and the whips and shackles on the bedside…" A hard beak dug into his
abdomen, and he corrected himself. "That one's all yours. Go for it, my dear one."
Rei picked up the bag which contained her new clothes, the ones she'd yet to try, and headed into that
room. Closing the door she examined it. Pale blue décor, fresh and airy, with a large window. The bed
was reasonably luxurious, and had been made up with fluffy cream sheets and pillowcases, the
comforter bearing frolicking fluffy sheep. The curtains were fluffy too, and a fluffy rug was currently
attempting to devour her toes. She thought she could pick a theme.
And there were paintings hung on her walls, too. Three of them. One a graceful rendition of a flock of
storks wading in a lake; one a young unicorn snuggled into its dam's flank, lit by starshine; the third a
depiction of a certain winged boy-man, his wings cupped in landing from flight… and his primary
feathers his only protection against the weather, apparently. Not-quite-snorting in amusement at the
last, she reached up to take it down and turn its face to the wall. Indeed. A skilled painting maybe, from
what little she knew of such matters, but she didn't care for the subject matter.
Along the far wall was a wardrobe with drawers at the bottom, a desk, and an empty but large
bookcase, all painted in a deeper shade of blue than the walls, and all waiting to be filled with her
things. She stepped forward and started to take clothes from the bag, putting them away.
Then there was a creak behind her, as of a door opening, and Gryffyn sidled in, pushing it closed
behind him. Now she remembered that the doors here had long handles rather than knobs or those
indents for grip on sliding doors- indeed, the apartment seemed fairly Western in style.
"Hello, Gryffyn-chan," she greeted.
"Put on bright plumage?" he pleaded, his dark eyes gleaming appealingly. "Want to see pretty things."
Rei smiled tenderly. "Sure." She looked through all her new clothes, soon selecting a pair of dark jeans
with embroidered dragons coiling upward from the cuffs, and a paler blue singlet top with dark blue
edging. Quickly doffing and folding her school uniform, she donned the new outfit with some
nervousness. She looked at Gryffyn for approval.
He let out a slow, wondering breath. "Rei is beautiful!"
Rei blushed at the complement, not used to receiving them. So she turned and finished putting these
clothes away, not looking up until she had regained her composure.
Approaching her as she was kneeling to put the last few things away, Gryffyn laid his head over her
shoulder. "It's true. You are really pretty, Rei. Plumage just makes it easier to see."
She pushed him a little away, embarrassed and not really believing him. After all, she couldn't be
beautiful. She was just Rei.
"You say 'thank you'," Gryffyn hinted.
"Thank you," she smiled. "I'm sorry, Gryffyn-chan, but I am not used to these things. I do not intend
rudeness to you."
"I know," the beast boasted, giving her hair a quick groom with his deft beak.
She draped both arms around his neck. "Gryffyn, you are so kind to me… but tell me, of what were
you speaking in the other room? Who are you guarding me for?"
"Not know, silly?" He buffeted her lightly on the shoulder. "Shinshi, of course! You and him will be
mates."
Rei blinked.
"Shinshi wants to be your mate," he pointed out. "Smell it. See it. He wants to mate with you, be your
mate."
Rei blinked.
Now he looked slightly worried. "You want to be his mate, don't you? If not then I not defend from
birdman. Birdman not so bad, but not Shinshi. Thought you wanted to be Shinshi's mate. Don't you?"
"I…" She shook her head slightly. "I don't know, Gryffyn. I don't know."
He shrugged his wings impressively. "You will choose what will be best," he decided trustingly,
nuzzling his head under her arm, allowing her to hold him for a moment before he pulled back. "Now
go and show pretty Rei to both toms."
Eventually Rei allowed the gryphon to escort her back out, her hand resting lightly between his ears.
Both 'toms', as Gryffyn had called them, froze at the sight of her. Kaworu, sprawled across the lounge,
stared at her… then gave her a slow grin. Shinji, standing in the doorway to his own room, swallowed
hard and dashed inside as soon as he had recovered.
The Angel stood lazily, approaching her, and captured her hand to lay a wet kiss on her knuckles. She
snatched it back, disgusted. "My lady," he gloated, devouring her with his vivid crimson eyes.
Gryffyn gave a low warning growl, but didn't leap in between them again.
"Are you quite done?" she asked acerbically.
Startled, Kaworu backed off. –Well, that works,- she noted to herself. She retrieved the next of her
bags and took that into her room, unpacking it as well. By the time she'd emerged for the next, Shinji
had come back out from his room and was talking quietly with Kaworu about something which he
broke off, blushing hotly, when she stepped out.
"Rei, you look…" he glanced up at her and as quickly back down again, "You look… really good…
that sort of stuff suits you heaps better than what you normally wear." He snuck another peek, not
aware that he was on the verge of babbling. "I mean the school uniform's okay at school and
everything but that looks great, I hope you wear more stuff like that from now… I mean…" Blushing
hopelessly, he sat down.
A tiny secret smile crossed Rei's lips. She wasn't so dense that she didn't understand that. Maybe, just
maybe, it was possible that Gryffyn had not misread the signs.
There was another good thing. There were so many of them now, and more every day!
She could barely believe that she had ever eagerly awaited her death.
All went smoothly for the next few weeks, as smoothly as it might be expected if one were living in the
year 2017, post-Second-Impact, with one human, one gryphon, one Angel and one unicorn. Shinji
cooked almost every meal for the five, and as a result, all of them became used to good eating. Rei
slowly grew accustomed to wearing her 'casual' clothes, though she was yet far too shy to wear them
to Nerv or school, and Cedar was almost ecstatically happy in the company of anyone else in the Den
(as it was now known). Asuka wasn't very happy about the new arrangement, but didn't protest too
loud. Kaworu and Gryffyn's rivalry became friendly, but stayed rivalry nevertheless. The Angel failed
in his goal of a week for the seduction of Rei, and Gryffyn managed the 'j' sound in Shinji's name but
preferred to keep using the other form.
Then came the bad day.
The very bad day.
The Angel was circling the city very quickly, spiraling with swoops of unbelievable speed. Its huge
bulk cast ominous shadows on the hiding city.
Asuka fired a volley of photon bullets at it, but those few that hit ricocheted right off a powerful AT
Field. Cursing softly in German, she approached it while Rei crept up, sheltering behind those
buildings that were not able to retreat into the ground.
Its sleek head turned toward her. It folded three pairs of shining wings and plummeted onto the red
Evangelion.
There was a loud, horrifying crunching sound as the large sharp claws on its forelegs pierced Asuka's
AT Field and tore it open with ease. Now hunching over her, the draconian Angel neatly bit off the
Eva's head.
Asuka was not dead, but she was definitely out of the action.
As it was contemplating the silent biomachine, scraping its claws lightly over the jagged hole of its
neck, Rei lunged at it with her power spear and thrust the weapon deep into the muscle of its shoulder.
The beast let out an enraged roar and spun on its powerful hind legs, pouncing on the second Eva. Rei
cried out in effort, struggling to match her AT Field to its, but bit by bit the oddly beautiful creature
was overpowering her.
Still contained in Nerv facilities, Shinji pleaded to go to her aid- but Gendo, impassively, denied him.
Rei screamed as the Angel burst through her AT Field, bowling the Eva over, then rolling it about like
a cat with a toy.
Shinji begged.
Gendo refused.
Rei screamed.
The Angel knocked the Eva flat on its back and ripped off its chest plate. Blood poured out in a hot
flood.
Ignoring his orders, Shinji launched his Eva and ran desparately for the place where Unit 00 was being
literally torn open by the sadistic dragon. He could see its head bobbing up and down as it ripped
mouthfuls of flesh from the biomachine, gulping them down with apparent enjoyment.
And there, a glowing egg held in its straining jaws- the small AT Field that Rei was trying to project,
without her Eva's aid, for her own personal protection.
It didn't work.
The Angel's powerful narrow jaw crushed it, and it chewed something that flashed white and blue in
the early morning sunlight, and swallowed twice.
A cry of rage and loss burst from Shinji's throat, a strange animal noise.
He was upon its back, ripping its glowing wings out by the base as it keened in sudden pain. He
grabbed handfuls of flesh, tearing them out, spraying the buildings and earth with the creature's bright
red blood. Their AT Fields flashed sporadically about them, ineffective. Its long sinuous neck and
slender head were ripped from its body to fall heavily upon the ground. Gobbets of flesh and strings of
thick blood splattered all around as the furious Eva went about its work.
"Is that… is that the Dummy system?" Misato asked softly, riveted as they all were to the horrific
scene before them.
Gendo shook his head grimly. "That's Shinji."
Finally he had what he was truly looking for… here was the tube that ran from it's throat down to the
core at its center, still pulsing weakly with life. He used the Eva's hands as gently as he could to split
the tube open.
About halfway down it, he found her.
Slightly less than half of her.
The rest was a little further down.
Bile rose in his throat. With a single blow he burst open the Angel's core, the ensuing explosion
surprisingly small.
Then turned and vomited into the LCL, hearing with odd clarity the filter that whirred into sudden
activity.
Rei was dead.
Please don't come after me with a sniper rifle! I'll try really hard to get the next bit up as soon as I can.
Really really really really hard. OK?
Love Angelicorn- see you around some time.