Chapter 4:

When Richie came to, he was greeted by darkness.

He closed his eyes and opened them again, hoping that would clear his vision.

Still darkness.

It was then that he realized that it was night.

He couldn't see clearly, but he could hear crickets, and he could see bits and pieces of the night sky through the holes in the ceiling. The stars were glowing clearly, which relieved him because he hadn't seen them since he came to earth.

After a few more minutes of admiring the night sky, he took in his surroundings.

He was in a dark room, surrounded by worn down walls.

The surface was hard too, and he wasn't sure he wanted to move.

His body felt numb, but he was sure it was just an illusion.

He turned his head slightly, noticing that his wings were still out.

They lay limp, but he didn't dare try to test its state.

"Hey." A voice brought him out of his reverie, focusing on the source.

A figure sat against the wall of the building a couple feet away from him.

"E-Eddie?" He managed in a croak.

"Yep. It's me." He smiled.

Richie stared at him for a few more seconds before focusing back onto the ceiling, groaning as he felt an intense headache coming on.

He heard Eddie shuffling, and he soon stood next to him.

"How are you?" He asked.

Richie scoffed, "How do you think?"

Eddie gave him a look of sympathy, "Well. I thought I'd wait until you woke up before going back into town, if there's any left of it, and get some first-aid stuff."

Richie turned to look at him again, brows furrowed, "No."

Eddie stared at him for a few seconds before letting out a breathy laugh, "Richie. You're in pretty bad shape, your wounds are gonna need proper care, until you're able to heal yourself."

"You can't go back there." Richie persisted.

"Well, I wasn't asking permission." Eddie smiled.

Richie rolled his eyes, glancing up at the sky for a few seconds.

Finally, he carefully lifted his arm, slowly reaching for his battered coat.

Thank god it was still there.

"Here. Take this." Richie finally said, handing him the dagger he had threatened him with just days ago.

Eddie stared at Richie's hand like it was a foreign object, glancing at the knife, then to Richie.

"Take it. If you're gonna go do something stupid, at least with this you'll stand a chance." Richie insisted, stretching his arm further to him.

It was then that the pain started to bloom.

Holy fuck!

He fought off showing any sign of pain.

Eddie slowly edged toward him, eyes focused on his, clearly scanning him for any signs of a trick.

Slowly, he took the dagger from his hand.

Richie let his arm rest back onto the ground, hoping that if he went still again, the pain would cease.

Eddie sighed, "I'll be back. Get some more rest."

With that, he left.

Richie waited until he could no longer hear retreating footsteps.

He looked at his wing that lay limp just below his arm.

Risking another wave of pain, he carefully glided his hand down the feathery limb.

They... They weren't his wings.

Not anymore.

They were ruined.

Feathers were matted and covered in blood, some of which was still fresh.

Finally having had enough of the coursing pain, he let his arm rest back onto the wooden floor.

He hated this.

He hated being in this position.

Slowly, his eyes drifted shut.

Eddie was surprised when he found the town was still in one piece.

Ambulances and police cars flooded the streets, but other than that, it looked normal.

Eddie stuck to the shadows, he wasn't sure what these police would be up to.

After a few minutes, he found a convenience store.

He was greeted when he entered.

Eddie nodded before heading directly for the first-aid aisles.

A couple bottles of peroxide, a few boxes of bandaging, sewing necessities, and a couple bottles of pain killers.

God knows he'd need them.

Then he moved to the food section, grabbing a few bottles of water, a few boxes of granola bars and crackers.

Eddie sighed when he noticed how full the basket was.

He'd have to make a couple trips. One for this, then he'd need to come back and get items like blankets, pillows and towels.

Something so that Richie wouldn't be suffering on a hardwood floor.

He paid for the items before leaving the store.

He remained unseen all the way out of town.

Ugh, he was so tired.

It'd have to wait. He need to get Richie stable first.

Snap.

Eddie spun around when he heard the sound of a twig snapping.

Nothing.

A rustle of leaves sounded behind him, making him face that direction.

He sensed something was there, but he didn't know what, or who. It made the hairs on his arms stand on end.

His hand edged towards the knife in his pocket.

He waited a few long moments for anymore movements.

Nothing.

Eddie sighed, finally deciding to just continue and get back as quickly as possible.

When Richie opened his eyes, the room was brighter.

The sun peeked through the cracks of the building.

He still felt slightly numb, but his body was cramped from the hard flooring.

The sound of shuffling grabbed his attention and he turned his head to the source.

Eddie stood a few feet away, back turned to him.

As Richie observed the movements, he noticed a large sheet of blanket spread out. Two of the corners tied to a sturdy wooden post, the other two tied on another post across from it.

It made a nest-like formation.

After a few minutes, Eddie straightened up, turning to him, "Hey sleepy."

Richie just stared at hi before scanning the room, noticing that he was surrounded by patches of white fabric.

There was some wrapped around both of his arms, and a wad of fabric taped around his stomach

Richie attempted to sit up, "What did you do to me?"

"Woah, woah, careful." Eddie closed the distance, carefully wrapping an arm around him, "Not so fast."

Too late.

Richie had awoken every part of his body, which exploded with pain. So much pain.

"Calm down. Lay back down dumbass." Eddie scolded.

Finally, Richie complied, letting his body back down onto the hard floor, which didn't ease the pain at all.

"What are these?" He asked, managing to turn his head to glare at the contraptions on his arm.

"They're bandages. I had to clean your wounds and keep them protected until you can heal yourself." Eddie explained.

Richie switched his focus onto him.

"I... I wanted to clean the wounds on your back but, I didn't want to move you. Plus I wasn't sure how to do it. I mean... Your wings and such." Eddie continued.

Richie glanced over at wings that were still limp, but blood was no longer on them.

"Did you... clean my wings?" Richie asked.

"Yeah. What I could at least." Eddie said.

Richie remained silent for a few seconds, trying to image this demon-... Eddie, touching his wings.

"No one touches my wings." He finally said below a whisper.

He focused back on him.

Eddie's brows lowered in confusion, "What, you rather them get infected or lose more blood?"

"It doesn't matter." Richie said quietly, and for the first time, he gathered the strength to try and lift one of the wings.

It went up a couple inches, pain quickly shooting through his body.

It made horrible snapping sounds the more it lifted.

Finally having had enough of the pain, he let his wing drop back to the floor.

He was panting now. He had never felt so much pain before.

"They're probably ruined." He managed.

Eddie slowly sat down next to him, "I'm sure they just need a little time to recover, just as you do."

Richie shook his head, "Even if they do heal, they'll never be the same. They're damaged beyond, and I don't think I'll be able to fly again."

Eddie smiled despite the words, "Not able to fly? And I thought you said you didn't even like flying."

Silence.

Richie cursed himself when he felt a tear escape from his eye, running down his cheek.

Of course, Eddie noticed, "Shit. I'm sorry."

Richie shook his head again "No. I don't want your pity."

"Richie, I'm not pitying you, I..." He trailed off.

Richie nearly jumped when he felt the demon's hand rest on his shoulder.

It was gentle but still made him wary.

"Why did you do it?" He finally spoke up.

Richie turned his head towards him, confusion on his face.

"Why did you save me? If you had... If you had just left me there, you wouldn't have to be in this position. I'm a demon for fuck's sake, why would you even bother? You were stupid, and reckless, and... And it's all my fault." Eddie ranted, clearly on the verge of tears.

Richie narrowed his eyes, demons didn't cry, they didn't express this much emotion.

Nonetheless, this was Eddie. He wasn't really a demon in Richie's eyes anymore.

He didn't know what possessed him when he managed to lift his hand, gently caressing the other's cheek.

Eddie tensed, looking down at him with glossy eyes.

"I saved you because I believed you were worth saving."

Eddie stared at him, eyes widening slightly.

It didn't last long before they fell shut, tears falling freely.

Richie caught some of them with his thumb, gently wiping them away.

Eddie took a deep, shaky breath, reaching up to lay his hand on Richie's.

After a few seconds, he slowly pulled their hands away, carefully placing Richie's arm back to the floor beside him.

He hastily wiped at his eyes, "You should get more rest. You're not you when you're tired."

With that, he stood, making distance between them again.

Richie stared after him.

He wasn't really tired, but he didn't really have the strength to do anything else.

He watched Eddie, who was turned from him again, working on pieces of the building.

He took a deep breath before looking back up at the ceiling, watching bits and pieces of the clouds as they rolled by.