Finding You in My Field of Paper Flowers

Chapter 1: The First Night

Rating: PG15+ - light R (Anyone from Australia? Think MA-15+).

Genre: Angst/Horror

Warnings: Weird, violent and iffy content.

Notes relevant to text: Because the dream sequence is in italics, thoughts are in between backslashes.

Notes not as relevant but still important in my opinion: Thankyou to the lovely, lovely people who weren't afraid of the enormous wordcount on the intro and left me nice reviews. ^_^ Reviews make me so very happy - I mean, who doesn't thrive on quasi-anonymous praise? ^o^ Also, if it isn't obvious enough, I changed the title to something more pretentious, but also more...meaningful...? No...let's just stick with the knowledge that pretentious titles are a hobby I could stand to quit myself of. Now, without further ado, I'll shut up.

***
The sound of far-off battle, desperate battle, awoke Raenef to the dream Krayon had woven for him.

"Alithiel!"

Strange name. He hadn't heard anything like that before. Must be northern.

"Alithiel! Pay attention, will you?!" A hand clamped down on his shoulder, coated with dust and flecked with what he could have sworn was blood. Lifting his gaze to the man's face, he was stunned by the beauty of it, even marred by sweat, grime and marked with worry lines. More impressive, though, were the feathery wings jutting proudly from the other's shoulder blades. A creature of Heaven, without a doubt. But why was he speaking to Raenef as if he knew him? Surely a heavenly creature could discern the difference between a Demon Lord, however diminutive, and one of his own. Raenef moved to ask just this, only to find his throat wouldn't shape the words he wanted. Instead, a young woman's tenor began to speak.

"I apologise, Hadriod. My mind was elsewhere."

Now that was weird. Catching a glimpse of himself in a nearby pool of stagnant water, Raenef would have fallen over in shock if his body had obeyed him...the last time he checked, he had neither cleavage nor wings. He had expected to be a detached observer in Krayon's dream, but obviously the fey demon had other ideas. Mentally shrugging, Raenef decided to go with the flow.

Hadriod scowled at him/her. "Hardly appropriate. This is war, girl, and there's no time for you to ogle your own reflection. Lives other than yours are at stake!" S/he blushed and hung his/her head in shame. Hadriod seemed satisfied.

Another of the winged beings, a young looking man with a gash on his left cheek, spoke up as if to draw attention away from Alithiel/Raenef. "Has there been any word from Aureleid? Anything of negotiations?"

"Alas, no. Beasts," Hadriod spat. "They have not drawn back despite their own heavy losses, and the war is likely to continue unhindered for some time. They do not care for their fallen. The Demon Lord known as Raenef is moving east with a small band of mercenaries and Crusaders, so for the moment he is not of our direct concern. Nonetheless, he will not have left his flanks guarded by only ruffians and we have heard rumours that he is accompanied by the Third Order demon, Ecli--" the word was lost in a gurgle of blood that spilt over Hadriod's unshaven chin even as he looked down at the wet blade protruding from between his ribs.

Alithiel/Raenef let out a thin scream, clutching at her/his arms in wide-eyed terror as the captain fell forward and his murderer was revealed. Clad all in black, bony armour adorning his shoulders, a scarf over his mouth and nose as if to ward off the rancid stench of the air his enemies dared breathe, Eclipse flicked the sword he'd stolen neatly out of the fallen creature's scabbard to free it of the bright mess. As he stabbed it into the ground and Hadriod's blood, unable to be absorbed by the ruined earth, pooled around it as it trickled downhill, Raenef heard the slight snort he associated with the Eclipse he knew as making when his time had been wasted. The dark eyes staring out of that pale face were so cold that he shuddered inwardly; gods willing Eclipse would never look at him like that.

The remaining creatures of heaven - Alithiel/Raenef, the young man with the bleeding cheek and an older woman who had moved herself between the two of them and the demon, spread their wings aggressively and reached for their respective weapons. //Why aren't they using magic?// As if in reply to her unseen passenger's question, Alithiel's thought rang out clearly and terrified: //We have nothing left. Rased save us, we're going to die here.//

"Monster!" the oldest of the trio shrieked, charging blindly at the smirking demon. Raenef felt Alithiel's horror as the woman drew back her sword arm, but the blow never landed. Eclipse extended one hand and half-slapped-half-threw her headfirst into the cliff face, the sickening crunch of bone echoing off the wall of solid rock. She was frighteningly still, and one didn't need to see the spreading stain of blood or the chips of white scattered through her golden hair to know that she was dead.

Through the heavenly creature's eyes, Raenef watched in morbid fascination as Eclipse returned his attention to the remaining two, seemingly satisfied at his success thus far.

"You are nothing but a beast," the young man snarled, blocking Alithiel/Raenef from Eclipse's direct line of sight with a dusty wing. He was muttering, words Raenef could not understand but Alithiel clearly did, for the girl began begging in earnest.

"No! Please stop...if you try to conjure you won't live through it! Please, please stop...stay with me and we'll pray for a miracle..."

/Fly!/The command had obviously come from the winged man, and Alithiel/Raenef could sense from the weakness of the thought that he was throwing the rest of his life force into the blast forming at his fingertips. The incanting stopped, and the niche the group of three occupied filled with brilliant white light as he landed face-first in the dust with his fallen comrades. Using the momentary distraction, Alithiel/Raenef heaved a sob and took to the air.

As they hung over the canyon and the creature of heaven wept hopelessly for her lost friends, Raenef observed that he thought he'd like to try flying with wings one of these days, and perhaps he'd ask Eclipse for a spell...Eclipse. Where was...?!

Searing pain shot through her/his shoulder, and Alithiel/Raenef spiralled out of control to crash into the rocky terrain below, blacking out. When s/he awoke, it was to even worse pain which the angelic creature quickly assessed to be broken ribs, one of which s/he felt protruding through skin; a damaged lung and gods-knew-what-else from the upright rock which had broken the bones; judging by the blurry vision, a concussion; and...oh gods... S/he let out a soft cry of resignation. Even if Eclipse left her/him, s/he was going to die.

Her/his vision was brought sharply into focus as Raenef recognised the black boots of his tutor. The coppery smell of blood seemed to engulf the demon as he reached down to pick up Alithiel/Raenef's ruined body by the fractured and bleeding wings, which twitched uselessly of their own accord.

Eclipse drew her/him up to eye level and held them at arm's length, his expression mocking and cruel beneath the masking scarf. "So, where's your Rased with your miracle now?"

Alithiel/Raenef looked into the face of her/his killer, and tears rolled freely down her/his cheeks.

"Please," s/he murmured, "I need to live, ple--"

Eclipse's free hand shot forward, straight through her/his light armour, through flesh and bone and neatly out the other side into a mangled mess of brightly dyed, matted feathers. Alithiel/Raenef let out a silent scream as s/he hung impaled on the outstretched arm of the demon in black while overhead, lightning cracked.

***

Raenef woke up screaming the scream the creature of heaven hadn't the breath to give air to, and barely made it to the side of his bed before he retched violently on the floor.

Endnotes: *teary eyes* You scratch my back, I'll stop talking about upchuck. Deal?