"And as I have stated earlier we are ready to plan on taking action whenever is necessary and give the support you people may come to if we end up having this-" A woman raised her hand to stop the man before she crouched down to pick up her small boy into her arms before standing back up.
"I'm sorry to say but I'm actually not that interested in joining either side. The main reason why I even moved here was because we didn't want to be thrown into a mess. Plus, I don't want to put my children into a situation could my children would be harmed." She rubbed the child's cheek a bit, the child giggling as he sloppily clapped his fingers. "Thank you for coming all of this way but I'm going to have to refuse your offer."
Arthur lowered the paper in his hands, nodding his head slightly as he looked down to the side defeated. "No, thank you for listening to me and I'm sorry that I had used up some of your time." He gave a small smile.
The woman nodded, turning around as to go back to her house as the child watched Arthur back away slowly. When Arthur looked back up, the child shook his hand in an uncoordinated fashion before looking back up at his mother who closed the door. Arthur just stared, before sighing as he ruffled his unkempt hair that flew everywhere. He looked up at the sky, the sun touching the horizon as the colors began to change.
After being introduced to the village, everything settled down, all of the townspeople returning to their homes along with the flowers, that seem to have just disappeared. The next day he was woken up early with the demon, them separating ways as Arthur went to go help out in the fields as the other was sent to help with construction. The job was tougher than the one he had to deal with above; there were less people to help out with the job along with the people taking their time doing stuff rather than getting everything done as soon as possible. He found himself at the end of the day, frustrated people weren't taking the job serious along with exhaustion after doing as much as he could under the glare of the sun that seemed to get stronger and stronger everyday. When he made it back he tried with all of his effort to eat before he collapsed onto the bed, sleeping.
But along with that he was to go around convincing people into having their alliance, but because of the exhausting job he found himself having little to no time or energy to even conduct the mission. So he had only gone to six houses total, not including Francis' house. He promised himself he was never going to go over there again.
The sky was mostly dark blue and purple, the sun peaking a tiny bit at the horizon as it disappeared from the moon, Arthur lying on the grass ground and he stared up at the sky. Every house he had gone to refused him, basically all of them telling him the same thing; not interested, don't want to endanger myself, my family comes before me, I like how things are right now, etc. Arthur felt like they were all just sugar coating what they were all really thought not wanting to hurt his feelings. He didn't see the use in lying, and lying was one of the things he shouldn't ever do.
The stars shined, the dark sky spotted with the bright lights of the stars, the night cloudless. The air was warm but a breeze came down, a bit chillier than what he had gotten used to, the soft sound of the grass swaying that was quickly disturbed by the yelling of a name. Arthur's muscles groaned in protest as he pushed himself up, stretching his wings as he walked over to where Mansi was, her hands occupied as she held onto a tray.
Arthur had seated himself quickly over onto his bed, placing the tray onto a small table he had put out for Arthur and Alfred to use while they ate, which they hardly ever did together. Tonight was chicken, the fried flavor watering Arthur's mouth as he took in a bit, Mansi just drinking out of a cup she had brought over.
"How is it going?" Arthur looked up, not understanding what she was questioning about.
"The whole, convincing people to the alliance," she said, her hand spinning in a circular motion.
"Oh, just great." He said, the word just dipped in sarcasm.
"Is that sarcasm I hear?" Arthur sighed in resign, resting the meat onto the table.
"I haven't convinced anyone yet, and none of them seem very, interested…" Mansi stared at him, her grip light as he raised the cup for another sip of the warm tea.
"It'll be fine." Arthur looked up as Mansi placed the cup gently onto the small plate, creating a minimal clatter before she looked up. "I'm sure you'll be able to find a way."
Arthur took another piece of meat, sheepishly eating it down as she started up a new conversation. They ended up talking to a while long, Arthur talking more than eating as he slowly felt exhausted, his body reactions a bit more slower than normal. It wasn't until he stretched and yawned did he notice how tired he was, his muscles ready to pucker out at any moment. Suddenly the door opened, another tired figure making his way through the room, Mansi's attitude becoming sour quickly.
"Why are you coming back so late?" she demanded, watching Alfred walk over to his bed. Arthur tried to glare at him, his eyes dropping down to close rather than narrowing down onto the demon. He cursed at his inability.
"Cause I'm getting there late," Alfred mumbled, kicking off his shoes with his feet as he flopped onto the bed. Mansi just sighed a bit.
"It's because you keep getting up so late in the morning no matter how many times I try and wake you up." Alfred grumbled, his voice muffled as a hand inched out from underneath him, blindly reaching out and grabbing onto a drumstick. He moved his head up, brought the meat to his face and took a big bite. "Are you even listening to me?" Alfred just kept chewing, his eyes closed shut from exhaustion.
Suddenly Mansi got up, smacking Alfred before pulling the drumstick out of his hands, placing it back on the plate as she stood there, watching him. Alfred yelled some protest about returning his food only to be fired back with, "promise me you'll wake up in the morning!" He mumbled some incoherent words as he looked down, Mansi questioning in a demanding tone for what he was saying.
"I want the food-"
"Then promise." Alfred puffed out his cheeks, his mature face looking very childish as he mumbled some more incoherent words. Then Mansi started walking toward the door, Alfred's eyes opening up as he said, "Fine fine! I'll wake up on time just don't take away my chicken~"
He was given back his chicken, murmuring on about something as he continued to chew on. Mansi turned her head to look at Arthur, his platter half finished as he was snoring away into his dreams.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Time to wake up!" Mansi yelled before she closed the door. The room stayed silent for a bit, motionless until Arthur flung his arm over his eyes and groaned. A few more minutes passed until he was sitting up in bed, twisting his neck a bit to release the tension, looking around the room to allow his eyes to clear themselves up before pushing himself up from the bed. He walked passed the demon who was sleeping on top of all of the blankets with the same clothes he wore yesterday as he continued to snore, forgetting about the promise he had just made the night before.
When he got into Mansi's house she was sitting at the table, reading a book as she shoved a piece of toast into her mouth. Arthur sat himself down into the seat across from her, looking at the book she was reading with curiosity as he scooped up jam and spread it on toast that was laying in front of him. Mansi lowered the book, looking at Arthur before at the empty seat next to him. She scowled, the wrinkles on her forehead darkening.
"That little bastard isn't even awake - I swear I'm not going to feed him anymore," she mumbled under her breath, a few more insults thrown in. Arthur took a bite out of his toast, to taste the sweet mashed up flavor of strawberry. He wasn't sure why he never even thought about preserving fruits by crushing them. He thought it was a smart and cheap idea.
"Oh, so you know how you said you could get no one to sign your treaty? Well, how about you offer to do people offers, and maybe use that as an example." She flapped her hand a bit as she talked, the other one tightly holding onto the book.
"How will that help?" Arthur questioned, not too enthusiastic about the idea.
"I don't know... give people the idea that you guys mean good and want to help us? You'll never know unless you really try. It could be better than you expect." Her fingers rubbed her thumb, the crumbs falling onto the plate as she spoke.
"But-" He stopped in the middle, wondering. He didn't see a bad in this idea other than seeing no good. He was just going to be completing the tasks people didn't want to do on their own time, that they were too lazy to do.
"Just try it," said Mansi, shrugging her shoulders a bit. "Do something for the village."
Arthur stared at her before he dipped his head down a bit, looking at the edge of the table as he nodded his head in agreement. "Fine...I'll do it." Mansi just looked over a smiled, everything coming together a bit better than she expected. She looked back down at the book, continuing to read from the line she stopped at.
"What are you reading," Arthur suddenly asked, making sure to swallow all of his food before talking. These days he made sure he did that, after watching the demon stuff and talk with a full mouth, giving everyone a perfect site of his teeth at work. It was truly disgusting.
"The Caged Princess," she said, laying the book down onto the table. Arthur took another bite.
"What's it about?" Mansi finished the crust of her toast as she flipped the page, the touch of her finger and the end of the paper creating a soft sound before she dragged her finger to the middle of the page.
"There's this kingdom where the king dies without a heir, so other king's want to take over it, only to learn that it is protected by a barrier that can only be broken if they bring back the princess the dead king locked in a tower. So basically the whole story is about prince's fighting to get the princess as it takes the turn for the worst. It's interesting, you should try it. It looks routes I wasn't expecting." Arthur stared up at her.
"When did this event in history occur?" Mansi stopped eating for a second, scrunching her eyebrows as she looked up at him, to see if it was a joke. Arthur kept staring at her with a straight face.
"W-what do you mean?" She asked, looking to the side of his head for a bit.
"When did this happen? In time?" The conversation went silent for a bit, the woman trying to understand.
"Arthur, you do know that this is a fantasy right? Like, this really didn't happen?" Arthur cocked his head to the side the slightest amount.
"Fantasy?" He furrowed his brows at the foreign word. Then it hit her.
"Oh my dear, oh Arthur, just. Oh my," she stuttered out, not believing what was going on in front of her. "You've never read fantasy?"
"Like I said, what is that?" He questioned, not sure what to do or say anymore.
"What kind of books have you read then?" She leaned forward a bit as she watched Arthur who turned away for a second.
"Books about the council and what they have contributed in society, um." Arthur raised a hand up to his chin, only touching it slightly so he wouldn't get any crumbs onto his chin. "The battles during the fallen ages, the rebellion of dishonest-"
"So history books about your empire." Arthur looked up at her.
"Yeah."
Mansi stuttered out words of disbelief before she pushed herself out of her seat, trotting up the stairs. Arthur sat there stunned and confused, wondering if he did something wrong to cause her to leave as he looked down at his plate, the last of his toast almost done, the flakes scattered all around the plate.
Some came down onto the table, the angel jumping back a bit from both the noise and weight as he looked over at Mansi who was carefully aligning the pile of books she had brought down. There at least six books, some of them covered in colorful bindings, intricate lines of gold and silver of design shinning on the size varying books.
"These are some of my favorite stories. Especially this one, about the land no one can get to and this one where mysteries start occurring all around the world, and this one where a boy rising up from the bottom to the top, and - they're all amazing." Arthur stared at Mansi during her rambling, the woman picking up each book to look at the cover as she felt a wave of nostalgia run over her. She smiled, the places and journey these stories were able to take her through during the times of boredom or escape. She owed so much to this world of imagination.
"And I'll let you borrow these!" Mansi handed a book out to Arthur, the ends of the hardcover starting to bend as there were a few strands becoming loose. It looked old and worn out, but treasured and taken good care of. Arthur rubbed his hands together to get rid of the crumbs that may have still be stuck on his hands before taking the book from her, the smile not disappearing for a second. He brought the book down in front of him, feeling the rough texture of the cover while admiring the maroon cover, the incomprehensible scribbles of gold shining right across the top.
He touched the end of the cover, pulling it as he looked at the yellowing paper, flipping the pages until he came across what he assumed was the beginning of the story. He looked at it for a bit, not sure what to expect as he looked up at Mansi, who was smiling but her eyes questioning him.
"I-I can't read this…" Mansi just stared, blinking a bit as her smile didn't waver for a second.
She never imagined the seclusion this man had gone through could deprive him of so much pleasures. She had never pitied someone as much as right now as she watched the clueless angel try to understand what was going on.
Oh, how little he knew about this world.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Mansi's plan had actually worked, a lot more than Arthur expected. When he came back from another hot day in the fields Mansi had came up to him with a list of things people wanted him to do. The first night was a miserable day for Arthur.
"Fix the hole in the wall, paint the rest of the room, clean the live stock, what is this!" He yelled at Mansi, hitting the paper a bit emphasize how ridiculous this was.
"Oh come on, it won't be horrible," she said in her defense, laughing dryly to try and lighten up the mood.
"Are you kidding me? I don't even know how to do any of this stuff!" Arthur said as he waved the paper around in anger and frustration.
"It won't be bad, it'll be fine." Mansi patted Arthur's shoulders to calm him down. Arthur just glared back at her. "They said they got all of the supplies so you won't have to spend a penny. Plus, you're not going to have to do all of the chores. I talked to Alfred about it and he was cool with the idea so he'll do half of it and you'll do the other half." Arthur quickly looked down at the paper and back at the woman, his eyes widen with what she just told him.
"The demon's doing this too?" Mansi nodded his head. He stood there quietly for a while, looking at nothing before he spun around, making his way to the door. The demon being mentioned was enough to anger Arthur, but the fact that he was also going to partake in this plan annoyed him even more. He was going to prove to not only Mansi and the rest of the town that he was worthy but also the demon. He wasn't going to back down this quickly in some measly chores.
"I'll be doing all of these so he doesn't have to worry about it." Mansi just stared at the back of the angel, his white wings bending so he could squeeze through the door and leave. She then sighed, wondering if he was always going to be this stubborn.
An hour and a half is how long it took for Arthur to complete two of the tasks. Filling in a hole in the wall hadn't been as bad as he had expected, if only he didn't have to deal with listening to a mother yelling at her two boys to stop fighting along with puncturing another hole during his stay. One of the kids thought it would be a smart idea to try and pry off Arthur's halo, only to receive a smack from his mother and sent to timeout, leading to another awkward period of silence. Once he was done he quickly left, mumbling curses under his mouth in hopes of never having to return to that house as he went to the next.
Painting a room was by far better and easier to deal with, the atmosphere being a lot more calmer being for the lack of children the family owners had. The only problem was that the room was fairly small, his wings constantly smudging the painted parts of the walls, his white wings being light blue. The more he moved the more smudges he created along with the frustrated groans as he quickly finished up with this 'stupid task'.
The last task of the night was a bit better and worse in ways. As he washed the horses with everything he had he learned to never hit them in the back, after he had woken up from a throbbing forehead that still stung a bit with pain. These majestic beasts were beautiful, but they were a real pain in the ass.
"Getting absolutely nothing for all of this- this-!" He stuttered at the end, not sure what he was going to say as he scrubbed the side of the last horse vigorously, his patience thin after cleaning 5 other horses, his muscles ready to pucker out at any moment. The horse neighed in response, almost angrily in hopes of sending him the message that he was washing him a bit too hard.
"belt up and stop whining! At least you're not the one sore all over and has to deal with a bloody demon!" He swore, his thoughts spilling out of his mouth in an uncontrollable speed. The horse neighed again, something in Arthur's mind taking it as a threat. He picked up the hose.
"Oh yeah? You're going to complain to me? We'll - there!" He turned on the hose, spraying the side of the horse with water as he laughed a bit, until noticing that the water that was hitting the horse came right back at him. He rushed and turned it off, his tunic soaking onto his skin as he flapped his wings to get the water off.
"Are you kidding me?" He questioned himself, looking down at his half soaked body. Now he wanted to hit something, to maybe break it. The want to punch an item filled inside of him, looking up, the first thing he sees being the horse, its face almost humiliating to Arthur as it turned to the side, huffing some air before bending his neck down to chew on some hay.
"Fine, I'm done with all of this shit. I'm leaving. I hope you have fun being soaked!" He yelled grabbing a towel to wipe his face. After he was done using that he threw it at the horse's side. He was tired and exhausted and didn't want to do anything anymore. He hadn't received one single signature and he was going no where. All his efforts seems to become more and more futile the more he tried and care. He just wanted to head back home up in the sky and do what he always did. At this point, he didn't even care if the demon won. He just felt frustrated and mocked everywhere he went, and felt like hiding in a corner and crying. He just didn't know what to do anymore and he hated this feeling of indecisiveness.
"Oh! Are you done?" Arthur looked up to see a man at the doorway of the barn, his head peeking through.
"Um, yeah," He said as he quickly looked over at the horse. It looked clean enough. "Yeah, I'm done." He ended up talking sincere, in hopes that the owner would let him out early, the anger from earlier diminishing a bit.
"I got a bath ready so come over and take a bath. It seems like taking care of Marcus was a bit more than you expected." He laughed a bit as Arthur looked down at his body once again. He looked like a mess. Not only was he soaked he was covered in random light blue paint along with the dirt from the ground smudged onto his body with a few hays sticks, not counting the bruise he probably now had on his forehead. He raised a hand up and touched the throbbing spot, quickly reiling his hand back as he winced. Yup, he definitely had a bruise.
"Come on!" The man called out, bringing Arthur back into reality as he looked over to see that the man was now gone from the doorway, walking back to his house. Arthur chanced after him, not wanting to back down on his offer and curious to see what a bath was.
He was soon rewarded with the answer, a bath being a large a large concave object that held a large amount of water. Arthur stared at it, not sure what to do.
"Get in there while it's still hot okay?" The man said smiling as he held onto the door handle to close it. Arthur quickly turned around, catching the man's arm before he was out of the door. The man stared at Arthur a bit startled.
"Um, what do you want me to do with this much water?" Arthur asked, sincerely confused as he bit down onto his lip softly.
"Take a bath. You know, like, wash yourself down. Clean yourself." The man stood a bit, hoping that Arthur now understood what he was expected to do.
"Like, a shower?" The man nodded his head silently. Arthur then let go of his arm, rubbing his hands together a bit in embarrassment, from his lack of knowledge. The man quickly left Arthur alone, the room smelling sweet from the tub, the outside dark for the sun had already set. When it did, Arthur didn't remember.
Arthur wasn't sure what he expected the bath to feel like. But either way it felt like heaven; the warmth enveloping around him, keeping him warm as it smelt of roses and peaches. He hadn't felt so relaxed in so long. Dipping half of his face into the water, he watched the small ripples of the water being created from his subtle breathing, it poorly reflecting it's surrounding. It was calm and peaceful, the only noise being that of the water.
It took a bit of time to clean himself, using the brittle brush a bit too harshly on his feathers, to get the caked on paint off of his wings. Once the pinkish water was tinted with brown and a bit of light blue, Arthur got out of the tub and dried himself off with a towel and lightly flapped his wings, a bit sadden that he didn't have a clean tunic to wear.
Arthur sighed as he combed his hand through his damp hair, a few droplets tailing down his skin, using the other to open the door. He looked around, down a hallway that was leading into another room, the brown wood walls illuminated in a golden color.
"You're finally out!" The man's head popped out from the side before disappearing again. "I just finished cooking so come over here." Arthur spun his head to look at both of his sides before cautiously walking over to the end of the hallway, squinting a bit as the light shined into his eyes, blinding him for a moment.
When his eyes fixated on what was in front of him he stopped and stared. The man was by the side of the table, cutting up a slab of meat. There were three plates, two on one and one on the other side of the table as it was aligned with a fork, knife, and cup along with a salad bowl placed in the middle of the table.
"You're fine eating lamb right? I think it came out pretty nicely today." The man gloated before smiling as he finished cutting the slab, taking the plate that was on the side by itself. "Just sit right there," the man said as he placed the plate onto the empty spot. Arthur sat himself down, shifting a bit until he found a comfortable spot.
The man continued to cut a slab for himself before seating in the seat across from Arthur, eating right when his hands got ahold of the knife and fork, munching happily. Arthur looked down, the meat a bit red and pink with a burnt crisp color around the edges. He took the fork, glancing up and down at the man before he started using the knife sloppily. The knife scraped onto the plate a bit, Arthur quickly retreating his hand as he looked up at the man, terrified of what he may have just done before noticing that the man didn't take any heed. Arthur tried again, taking off a sloppy bit of meat before putting it into his mouth, savoring the flavor of the soft chewy delight. He glanced up before looking over at the white plate that was next to the man, empty and waiting for it's time to become useful.
"What is, this?" Arthur questioned, cutting the meat slowly, watching the juice spill out from the punctured spot.
"Like I said, lamb," He said as he chewed on some food, taking a quick sip of water.
"No, I mean like, why are you doing this for me?" Arthur asked, the last part coming out as a mumble. The man stared at him before laughing, Arthur's cheeks dusting with red.
"It's for thanks! I know washing the horses is not the easiest thing, hell, that's why I even called you over, 'cause I hate doing it. And the person that usually does it is-" the man paused for a moment for what seemed to last longer than it should have before he resumed again with a smile. "-has been working a lot lately so they haven't been able to find the time to wash the horses." He nodded to what seemed like himself before taking another bite, chewing carelessly as he held onto the end of his fork, waving it around. "Plus they stink! Could never imagine any joy coming from cleaning horses. Especially Maximus! My word that horse is stubborn! Just because the person cleaning you is different doesn't mean you can be rude and stubborn. I have to ask though, did you get kicked in the head by him?"
Arthur looked, a bit surprised that the man noticed, but the more he thought about it the more obvious it would be for someone to notice it. His skin was a bit colored by the sun, in a darker porcelain shade of his normal tone and a bit red from a sunburn. He thought that the blue and purple must stick out on him like a sore thumb. Arthur unconsciously raised his hand up to cover his forehead as he tried to look up at it, quickly giving up for it was impossible. "Actually, it was one of the horses I cleaned in the beginning. I think it was white."
"Sylphy did that?" The man said before he burst out laughing, Arthur nodding slowly out of a bit of shock as he took another bite of the lamb. "You must really be horrible with horses if you were able to get Sylphy upset!"
Arthur looked down at his food, biting down from saying anything in his defense as he felt his cheeks warm up from the humiliation of messing something up. He hadn't felt this feeling of being useless, the thought poisoning his brain with thoughts lowering his confidence.
"Oh sorry! That's right, it's your first time doing something like this. Sorry sorry! Of course you will have a tough time with something you have never done. Don't worry, everyone starts as an amateur." The man rubbed the back of his head, rustling his brown curly hair. Arthur looked up at him, feeling a bit better.
"Yeah, I have only worked in the fields. And truthfully, this is the closest I have ever been to a mammal."
"That seems like a boring job," the man suddenly said, surprising Arthur as he furrowed his brows a bit. "Isn't there anything else you've done, or want to do?"
"Anything...else?" Arthur questioned. The man took another bite of the lamb.
"Yeah, like is there anything you want to do, or experience? To me it doesn't seem like farming is a lifelong job for you, but correct me if I'm wrong though! It just seems, tedious." The man said before eating some more meat. Tedious….Arthur thought as the word echoed through his mind in what seemed like forever. Was it tedious? Was it a boring job? Did he enjoy it? Was there anything else he wanted to do? Was there anything new he could do? He couldn't do anything new unless he was given the job so why even think of something so useless? Plus what if he failed like today, not being able to complete his job correctly? Why should he care if he was never appointed the position? Why should he wonder?
But...did he enjoy it?
"I don't know," Arthur said, answering both the his and the man's question. The man sensed the confusion and tension coming from Arthur, withholding himself from talking any further about the topic. They finished eating the rest of the meal in silence.
Arthur began to wonder if Mansi was going to be mad at him for coming back so late. But then again, this whole 'thing' had been her idea that Arthur had to complete, so he didn't feel too sad about it. When Arthur went over to the door, he silently turned around to see the man, running around as he was bringing over the dirty dishes to where Arthur assumed was the kitchen. He didn't touch the clean plate and silverware that was still on the corner of the table. Arthur turned back around to face forward and pushed open the door.
"Wait!" A disembodied voice called behind Arthur who turned around, about to close the door. The man rushed forward to Arthur, forcefully grabbing onto both of Arthur's hands. He then gave Arthur a soft smile, genuine from the top to bottom. "Thank you!"
Arthur stared, not sure what to do at all. He blinked, confused on what just happened, the man giving Arthur another bright smile and waved before closing the door. Arthur finally broke his stare, spinning to the side to look at the dark world, the few lights in front of the houses. He then began walking up the rocky sand path back to Mansi's, questioning the warm soft feeling that seemed to have erupted in his chest, something that felt foreign to him.
OOOOOOO
The rest of the week was a busy and tiresome week for Arthur. He was forced to get up early, work all day, come back while the sun was still high and strong before going out again to fulfill the favors. Some of the favors Arthur had to do were simple while others were difficult, Arthur leaving with an annoyed mind filled with pent up frustration and anger.
But in the end it had all been worth it when he was able to get his first signature. That day he ended up running back to Mansi, exclaiming about the good news as he jumped up and down, the smile of joy on his face, not faltering for a moment. Mansi ruffled his hair, her words of praise soothing his excitement as she smiled up at him. He grinned back. He was so happy that his hard work was paying off, that none of this was useless. There was a spring in his heel, causing him to hop around with happiness and pride. He felt as if his heart would just flutter out of his chest, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop smiling, his muscles doing the work for him automatically. But it still was strange, and he couldn't quite put his finger on the feeling that had warmed his heart that one night. Somehow, that feeling still lacked.
The week rolled into a weekend, which Arthur learned was a day where everyone was given two days to just sit down and do nothing. Arthur felt like it was a waste of time, but that seemed to change once Mansi suggested on teaching him to learn to read during then, finding the time precious and fun as he learned letter to letter. He was beginning to look forward to the weekend more than ever now.
"Good. Continue on like this and we'll be done really soon," Mansi said as she bent over to grab another piece of laundry, flapping it out to get rid of the wrinkles. Turning around she handed it over to Arthur who quickly took it and neatly laid out on top of the drying pole, clipping the sides so that the wind wouldn't take it away, if there even were any. The sun beamed down today, scorching in a manner that it felt like you were standing next to a heating lamp while the shade luckily provided a nice chance to cool down. Nobody wanted to work today, and it seemed especially true for Alfred, who was still asleep in the cabin, refusing to even acknowledge Mansi when she tried to force him up. She didn't put up much effort though, knowing that it wouldn't be any use. Plus, she enjoyed the time where she didn't have to worry about any more fights erupting.
By the time they did finish with hanging the laundry, Arthur felt tired and lacked any motivation to continue doing anything for the rest of the day. When he questioned Mansi about this feeling she laughed, Arthur a bit surprised as she explained that this is what weather does to people, continuing on with the fact that this it was going to get even hotter until summer came to an end. Arthur stared at her, wondering how anyone could and would want to live in such a climate. Mansi just laughed some more at the expression Arthur wore, guessing what he was thinking as she walked back into her house, Arthur slumping into the outdoor chair, which creaking the slightest bit.
Watching as the old woman laugh ticked off Arthur a bit as he leaned his chin on the outdoor table they were sitting at, the cloth that was wrapped around the pole flayed out, to what Mansi called an umbrella, giving Arthur a cool spot to peacefully look out, admiring the landscape. It was still around the beginning of noon, the sun still as high as ever as it was cloudless, the blue bright. From the corner of Arthur's eyes a flock of birds came by, flapping as they glided through the sky, the strange blob of almost black standing out like a sore thumb against the blue. Placing his cheek onto the flat of the table Arthur looked out to the side, soaking in the tiniest details of his surroundings; the different colors of the green grass that was tinged with yellow, the almost quiet sound of the a cricket creating music as a bird suddenly chirped, a rare breeze coming through as everything swayed. It was no different to what Arthur had seen before, basically what he was witnessing everyday. But it was still new for Arthur every time he stopped and stared, a beauty he never knew he was missing,the quiet yet eventful landscape that never failed to amaze him. He was falling more and more in love with it.
OOOOOOO
Something thumped against his forehead, Arthur scrunching his closed eyes before opening one up, not sure what to expect as he awoke from his slumber. In front of him was youthful face, the boy's light brown eyes examining the angel closely, his eyebrows furrowed as if questioning if Arthur was a source that could be trusted. The boy then craned his neck to look up at Mansi as Arthur shot up from the seat, startled from the sudden events. In the slowly darkening sky, the sun was traveling down, the air cooler than it was previously as a few crows cawed, their call echoing through the serene.
"Wh-what's going on?" Arthur quickly questioned, rubbing his chin in case he had any dried up drool stuck onto his skin. He glanced up at Mansi, who just smiled as she lightly shoved the boy toward Arthur before walking away from the two. The boy looked back at Arthur, his eyes almost creating holes into Arthur with his intense gaze as he straightened his back, uneasiness stirring within Arthur as he waited for what was going to happen next.
"I want to ask you a favor." Arthur let out a breath of air he didn't noticed he was holding back, relaxing his muscles.
"Um, sure. What is it?" Arthur questioned, stretching his arms a bit as he waited.
"I want you to help my brother," the boy said, his voice not faltering for a moment. Arthur blinked at the boy a bit, before he nodded his head.
"Oh, Okay, that shouldn't be that bad." Arthur whispered as he got up, the boy's gaze breaking for a second as he stared down at the short hem of the tunic before his eyes widened.
"You do wear a skirt!" He suddenly exclaimed, quickly looking up at Arthur's confused face before back down at the tunic. Arthur too looked down, wondering if there was something wrong with it as he examined the side.
The boy walked up to Arthur, grabbing onto the end of the tunic, flapping it a bit as his mouth widened into a smile. Arthur's body became still from the sudden action, not sure how to react as he just waited for the boy to get bored of it. When he was done he looked back up at Arthur, the big grin still there as he smiled at him, showing all of his white slightly crooked teeth before he quickly snapped out of the expression, replacing it with a stern one as he stared down at the ground with brooding eyes. Arthur just stared back down, before he turned to look at the dirt path.
"Let's get this over with before it gets dark." The boy nodded in agreement running a bit to lead Arthur before the two heard a sudden bang, along with some yelling as Alfred came rushing out of the one roomed building. Mansi then came out after him yelling at him about something before he stuffed his hands into his pockets, his face revealing a pout as he stomped over to where Arthur was. Arthur scrunched up his nose, the wrinkles showing prominently as his mouth formed a small snarl while the demon got closer to them.
"Who are you?" The boy asked, stern expression deepening to something that seemed too serious for such a young boy to have. Alfred looked up, taking one of his hands out of his pocket as he itched his ear, his face revealing a look of uncare.
"Granny sent me over to come along with you guys on your petty mission." The boy's eyes narrowed some more before turning around to continue leading the way, Arthur and Alfred trailing behind him.
"You know you don't have to join us. I can take care of this all on my own." Arthur said, keeping his gaze forward.
"Like hell you can take care of this on your own." He said back, Arthur clenching down on his hand to keep himself calm. Maybe today he could finish the fight he and the demon kept picking at for Mansi wasn't here. Maybe today, but either way he was going to beat the little shit, even if it wasn't in the form of violence.
Alfred then spat out some excess spit that had been left in his mouth, the liquid lightly falling onto the grass. Arthur wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"That's disgusting." He stated, giving one last look at the grass that got hit before turning back to face forward. "Wouldn't expect anything less from such barbaric people."
"And what do you suppose I should do with excess spit huh?" Alfred said out of whim, his patients running shorter than he anticipated.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe swallow it down like everyone else?!" Arthur said as he emphasized the last few words, his head turned to look Alfred right in the face. Alfred reeled back a bit, looking to the side as he searched for an answer. Arthur snickered as he moved back into his walking position, knowing that he won. "That's what I thought."
The suddenly, something cold hit Arthur's foot when it made contact to the ground and splashed into a million bits. Arthur raised his foot up, surprised as he heard a mumble. "close"
"Are you spitting at me?!" Arthur shouted at him as he stopped walking and rubbed his foot frantically to get off any remaining spit.
"Oh no." Alfred said as he turned around to look at Arthur, his smile sadistic as he placed a hand onto his cheek to mock sympathy. "Why would I ever do that? Oh, that's right, it's cause I'm sooooooo barbaric. Well please excuse this barbaric me as I continue on with my barbaric duties." And with that he spat some more at Arthur's feet, most of them missing as Arthur jumped around to avoid them.
"Are you trying to pick another fight?!" Arthur shouted, aggravated as he continued to jump around.
"Why would you ever think that?" Alfred laughed a bit more, his laugh like the sounds of nails on a chalkboard to Arthur. He continued spitting with everything he had, before desperately trying to create more spit. Arthur saw this as a perfect chance, flapping his wings a bit when he jumped so he could swing a hit at the demon's head more easily. Alfred raised his arm up in effort to block the hit, his action a bit too slow for he was only able to block the attack partially, toppling a bit to the side when he lost his balance. Alfred revealed his teeth as Arthur landed lightly on his toes as he inspected the leg he kicked the demon with, the skin a bit red when it made contact with the hard horn.
"Hey," a voice suddenly said, the two turning to look at the boy they seemed to have forgotten about during this feud. "You're starting to create a scene."
Surrounding them were rows of houses that were more cramped together as there were people outside, staring, whispering. Arthur shot up, his face dusted with red as he pat down the end of the tunic for any dust that may have gotten onto his clothing. He couldn't let people see him like this, fighting with such a creature. It would definitely ruin the image of peaceful and sophisticated. Alfred just shrugged his shoulders, stuffing his hands back into his pocket and walking down the road in a nonchalant manner. The boy also began walking down the path that was slowly turning from dirt to concrete before Arthur to sped up his pace, looking at his feet the whole time to hide away his shame.
After about a minute or two of walking they soon arrived to the town center. The center consisted mostly of large buildings and some restaurants, along with the stands where products were being sold while the ground, instead of boring concrete, was decorated with mosaics. People were everywhere, leaving, entering, buying, playing. Arthur stared in amazement as he looked at everything, so new, so different. By the time Arthur snapped out of his gaze he barely caught sight of Alfred and the boy walk through a crowd of people, running to catch back up with them, folding his wings as much as possible so he could squeeze through the people.
Arthur didn't like the immense amount of people through, constantly hitting into him as he paused to apologize, only for the others have continued on without giving the angel a single glance. People seemed to be coming out of everywhere, making it hard for him to be able to successfully dodge everyone while his sight of Alfred and the boy became more and more distant. It didn't take long for him to lose them, Arthur's heard twirling side to side in hopes of finding them quicker. He began taking a few steps in one direction, doubting himself as he turned to another only to doubt himself again until something grabbed ahold of his arm, harshly yanking him to a small opening between two buildings.
"You gotta keep up with us angel." Arthur looked up to see Alfred staring at something ahead as he leaned against the wall as something to hide against. But before Arthur would protest the young boy raised a finger up to his mouth, signaling Arthur to stay quiet as he rushed over next to Alfred, also looking out. Alfred then turned around to look at Arthur before his hand that still had a grip on Arthur, releasing it as he rubbed both sides of his hand on his pants. Arthur felt offended before he too frantically rubbed his hand, both from disgust and irritation.
"That's my brother," the boy said as Arthur peaked over his head to see what they were looking at. On the other side of the road was a teen boy, his body lean as he continued to slowly walk up to a stand, bending down a bit to look at the fruits while his hands were stuffed into his pockets. He looked like the boy they were with, his face a bit less pudgier with narrower eyes, his hair a darker tone. Another man walked up to the stand, distracting the stand owner by questioning him, the boy quickly stood up straight and spun to the side, starting to walk away. But before he left the side of the stand he took a hand out of his pocket, casually picking up an orange as he shoved it into his pockets, walking away as the stand owner noticed nothing.
"He stole that…" Arthur murmured under his breath, his disbelief thick as he stared at the back of the boy that continued to walk. The younger one that was with the two just kept a straight face, not very surprised at what he saw compared to the other two. The younger boy suddenly pushed himself from the hiding spot, disappearing into the crowd before Alfred to followed after him. Arthur just stared and mumbled some more words before he chased after the two.
They continued their game of hide-and-seek, disappearing as much as they could as they watched the teenage like hawks. The brother continued on stealing, having taken a few more fruits and some small items. He wasn't caught a single time. The sun was almost about to disappear from the sky, the building shadows tall as the streets were becoming more and more empty the more they continued to chase after the boy. After some difficult twists and turn in the alley way, the teenager was completely alone other than Arthur, Alfred, and the young brother watching him from the side silently. The younger boy knew what was going to happen, having had followed his brother multiple times in the past. Arthur and Alfred were curious, Arthur mostly enraged about the bad the boy was doing while Alfred was more intrigued.
Suddenly from the other side of where the teenager was standing appeared a couple of other boys, their stance and walk confident as the other seemed ready to whimper under the pressure. But he had grown used to forcing himself to not physically show that weakness. And so the boys began talking, their voices to quiet and hushed to it to reach the ears of the three that were hiding. The young boy suddenly turned around surprising the two a bit as he looked at both of them, his eyes narrowed to express his seriousness.
"I want you to help my brother now."
Arthur just stared down, confused in a way. "Wait, you want us to save your brother from those boys?" The young boy nodded.
Arthur looked back up to see the brother pulling out all of the items from his pocket, handing them over to the boys as they greedily took everything. They then turned around, about to leave the boy until the brother quickly placed a hand on one of their shoulders, the boys spinning around to reveal a questioning glare. He then proceeded to say something before one of them grabbed the collar of the brother's shirt, snickering as he began talking.
Alfred was ready to go until he heard a "no." He stopped and turned around to stare at Arthur with shock, forgetting about the situation the brother was in as the younger boy's face seemed to just fall apart and crumble.
"W-why?" The boy stuttered out, his eyes glued onto Arthur as Arthur stared right back, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Why? Because he's a criminal! If he gets into a lot of trouble for stealing than it's his fault. If he hands out with the wrong people than it's his fault. All of this is his fault. If he thinks he needs saving than he'll do it on his own. I will not be going around helping those that have committed bad deed on their own."
"But what about right now?" The boy quickly glanced to his brother who was being shoved backwards, the other boy letting go of his grasp of the shirt.
"Right now? This is what he gets for doing all of that! He shouldn't be doing that to begin with! And before you start saying it's the others fault, he shouldn't be hanging out with them! It's his punishment for stealing all of those stuff from people. This is the punishment he gets!"
The boy bit down on his lip, holding himself as much as he could back from letting his tears smear down his face, his eyes looking glassy as they began to water up. Arthur looked down a bit surprised but kept a stern face, spinning around to walk back. "Don't come to me next time to bail out brother from punishment."
The boy just watched the back of the angel as he turned the corner and disappeared, his vision distorting a bit as he raised his arm up to his face to hide away the falling tears. Alfred just stared down at disbelief at the boy, quickly looking back to see if the brother and the boys were still there, to his fortune, not.
"But, it's… it's not even his fault…" the boy voice hitched before he clenched down his jaw to contain any other noises from escaping. "It's not…"
OOOOOOOOO
Arthur was a bit on fire during the time he was walking, or to be more precise, stomping back to Mansi's, trying to diminish his anger by breathing out short breaths of air. Why would anyone help someone like that out? He thought. Some nerve the boy had to ask him, a follower of God to be more exact, to rescue someone who was basically dyed black with sin? He was better than to be asked to do a task so lowly like that! That was wrong, wrong of the boy to do. If he was good he could just stopped and left; it wasn't like it was a ridiculous task. Arthur continued to stammer on in his mind, having a full blown out venting session with himself. He was definitely going to tell Mansi about this, to get her to do something to stop the boy. There was no way, no way, he would ever help someone from something they deserved. It was just the punishment the brother had to face for knowingly doing something that is obviously wrong.
"Angel!" A voice called, snapping Arthur back into reality as he turned around to see Alfred landing on his feet, the wings flapping a bit before they folded up. "What was that for?"
Arthur stared blankly at his face for a moment before he furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean?" Alfred asked, his voice laced with bit of confusion toward Arthur not understanding. "I mean everything you said back there. You don't know what kind of problems that kids going through."
"That doesn't matter! What he did is bad and that's that, there is nothing else to it!" Arthur stammered back, quick to defend himself.
"Don't you think there's something else to it? That there is another side to this story?"
"No, because what he did was a bad deed. He deserves what he get's after everything he's been doing to others." Alfred just scrunched up his face in confusion and disgust.
"What? Would you get off of you high horse for one fucking moment and try to see? He's just a teenager."
Arthur sneered back at him in response before saying, "So? That changes absolutely nothing."
"Well, obviously there is, because if there wasn't do you think that poor kids little fucking brother would have come for you for help?"
"Still changes nothing. And I will definitely never help that boy."
"So you're saying that for whatever reason, there is no way you would want to help someone out? Why don't you tried to see it from his point? There are other possibilities you know, for the reason behind all of his doing!" Alfred's voice began to increase in volume, his annoyance toward the other starting to become uncontrollable as he dug his nails into his hands in hopes of holding him back, before he would be thrown into a frenzy.
"No, of course not, for God stated it. It's because you creatures have no upper intelligent control which makes everything you guys do so barbaric and crazy, with your unstable government and society. This is partially the reason why he sent us down to the surface, to steer you imbeciles into the right path after years of ignorant misguidance." Arthur spat out before Alfred grabbed onto the top part of his tunic, pulling him closer to his face. Arthur eyes widened as he stared into the other's eyes, fear he tried his best in concealing as it rippled through his eyes for a moment before raising his head up a bit, to stabilize his power stance. Alfred just stared back, ideas muddled up in his mind as he regulated his breath, the demon's warm breath gingerly touching Arthur, causing a shiver to run down his spine. Arthur bent his knees, in a ready to attack position to what this may lead the two into.
But nothing happened, to his surprise. He was just pushed back, released from Alfred's grasp as he stumbled before securely balancing himself. Arthur stared up at him watching Alfred turn around, his shoulders slumped forward as he walked, his hands finding its way back into his pockets once again.
"Why don't you try and see for once on your own you god damn angel." Arthur just continued to stare, trying to believe what had happened before furrowing his eyebrows together with discomfort. By the time had started walking, the demon was out of sight. Arthur returned back to the room, ignoring the call he was getting from Mansi for dinner, sliding into the covers as he buried himself.
It was all of the boys fault, there was no other explanation. He deserved what he got, and he deserved more, to be honest. He still was going to have to do a lot for repaying the sins he had committed. This is why, Arthur thought, this is why a group is better with a strong leader to establish rules and restrictions, to create the black and white zone. There was no in between, no grey zone. Only lies and broken boundaries that cause problems for other people. If the boy knew it was wrong and didn't want to do it, he could flat out refuse to do any of the actions. It's his own fault for being dragged into a situation and agreeing into doing such wrong actions. It was… right?
But it had to be! Screamed Arthur's mind. The rules specifically states that stealing is prohibited. Once it is done it's done, you have committed a sin and you must repent for everything you have done. It was justice for one to receive punishment for such actions. That's what was written in the law book, that's what it stated.
Arthur heard the door opening for a moment, stiffening as he was thankful that he had thrown the covers over his head and was facing the wall. The soft sound of bare feet touching the wood floor made it way toward the opposite of where Arthur was, motionless for a moment before the room was filled with the sound of a blanket wrinkling up as a heavy object laid upon the mattress.
Arthur huddles up into a curl some more with the blanket, looking at a spot on the mattress which was shined upon by the moonlight that had poured in through the window, lightly placing his hand onto the light, hoping for something to changed. Nothing did, other than him staring off into the mystical looking light, the feeling of something mixing together like a thick heavy goop deep in his stomach, feeling sympathetic for the boy. Arthur questioned himself whether if he was okay before curling up even more.
OOOOOOOOO
Arthur had a miserable week, constantly getting frustrated with his feeling as he lacked the comprehension. He just didn't get it, why he kept doing that. Whenever he would walk up to Mansi, ready to spill out about the brother and his acts he would stop, the thick goup back in it's spot in his stomach as he opened his mouth to try and form words. Nothing ended up coming out, his vocal cords failing him as Mansi would ask if he was okay, whether if he needed anything to drink. Arthur just shook his head, the words, "no, I'm fine" forming perfectly as he walked away from her. He just didn't understand, and slowly began to detest himself because of this.
Throughout the week he kept getting frustrated at his surroundings, as every confused thought ended up turning into rage. Alfred didn't approach him after that, seeming to have been avoiding him with everything he had. It was technically the same as always other than the glares wars the two would at times start, but Arthur couldn't help but feel that this was happening because of something he individually did, rather than because they were natural enemies.
It wasn't until the weekends came around was he finally released from this unknown curse. Arthur was lying in bed, feel bored out of his mind wishing to do something. But when he tried to do something the feeling would just come back, getting frustrated once again. He resorted to feeling unmotivated, laying there like he would die the moment he left the covers.
It was all sudden, the door banging open, surprising the angel as he pushed himself up. He spun his head, ignoring the strands of hair that flew into his vision as the same young boy from the week before desperately clutched onto the covers as his face dripped with a bit of sweat, his eyes darting back and forth.
"Please! Please save my brother!" Arthur sat there in disbelief, wondering how much courage this boy had to come back to Arthur, who had rejected him. The sweat was joined by a few tears, his eyes reddening as they were a bit puffed up. "Please," he muffled again.
Alfred then suddenly came to the door, holding himself in place with his hands placed onto the frame, huffing as well. The boy looked up, jumping up and rushing over to the demon, also pleading to help his brother. Alfred just quickly nodded, the two of them quickly disappearing.
Arthur just sat, a bit dumbstruck. He stared at the empty door that swung a bit with the breeze, the light that poured in until it reached the wall as his chest felt heavy, the memory of the boy still lingering in his mind as he fell into confusion once again.
Then, an idea came into mind. This was the perfect chance to prove himself that he was right, that the kid was deserving everything he was receiving, his punishment. That's right! He thought. Once he sees the brother then all senses of just will return to him! He wouldn't be feeling so strange anymore. He could finally get rid of this, this feeling. Arthur jumped out from under the covers, quickly strapping on his sandal shoes before running out.
He was rather impressed how quickly he got there, but still felt like he was taking too much time. He had ended up flying to the town center, quickly jumping down and running back through the complicated twists and turns of the alley from the week before, almost skidding on the ground with his sharp turns. He sighed with relief when he was the back of Alfred and the boy, the relief quickly turning sour when he heard shouting.
Quietly he walked up behind the two, looking over the boys head as he stared at the scene in front of him. It seemed that the brother got himself into even more trouble, pinned up against the wall with an arm fisting into the shirt. The boy struggled a bit for he was being held high than his height was, shifting the position of his feet to a more comfortable position for him.
"Let, go of me!" The brother tried to yell in an aggravated tone, coming out more in huffs of desperation.
"What did you want?" The boy commended, his voice laced with irritation.
"I said, I quit!" Arthur just stared blankly at the boy, surprised that he was even doing it.
"You can't quit on us, Jackson, and you know you can't! You do owe me after what your cute little brother has done, or should I say sister?" Arthur blinked, the slight twitch catching his eyes as he saw the young boy flinch a bit. "You wouldn't want everyone knowing how much he loves wearing girl clothes do you? He would surely become the mockery of this town." The young boy was now just looking at the ground, his legs shaking a bit as they seemed to weaken, leaning against the building wall for support.
Arthur was more of less mortified as he continued to watch the boy before glancing up at the brother who was mentioned to have been named Jackson, who also casted his glance to the side knowing that the other was right. Something itched in Arthur, something threatening to take control as he stared angrily at such reasoning to go such a far extent.
"It's his punishment." Arthur snapped out as those words rang through his ears, spinning his head to took at Alfred who leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. His face was calm as he stared out at the scene. "It's what he deserves after everything he has done right?" He then gave Arthur a quick glance, who was staring back at him shocked, surprised, and lastly, betrayed.
Arthur opened his mouth to say something, his words falling short as nothing came out, the feeling springing from his stomach once again as sweat trickled down his face. 'And before you start saying it's the others fault, he shouldn't be hanging out with them! It's his punishment for stealing all of those stuff from people. This is the punishment he gets!'
' If he thinks he needs saving than he'll do it on his own. I will not be going around helping those that have committed bad deed on their own.'
'That doesn't matter! What he did is bad and that's that, there is nothing else to it!'
' If he gets into a lot of trouble for stealing than it's his fault. If he hands out with the wrong people than it's his fault. All of this is his fault.'
… But was it? All four echoed through his mind for it. Did he deserve this? Did he deserve to go through this after all? Arthur looked down at the younger boy, who only looked up once an a while to get a look at his brother, his fist clenching down on his shirt, wishing he could do something. But alas, the last time he stuck up to these boys by throwing a tomato at their head, his brother came back with a black eye.
Then a thought came into Arthur's thought which surprised him of how uncaring it sounded, the words echoing through his mind. 'Screw that'
But before Arthur could continue on what he was going to do Alfred grabbed onto Arthur's arm, looking at him square in the eyes before saying, "Of course you can't, because God stated it?"
Arthur's mind went through a turmoil after that, his mind beginning to just spin around, his thoughts on both side mixing in as he couldn't depict which was which, which was wrong and which was right. But he didn't want to do any of this, but God said it is wrong, and he was forced to comply to the other boys wishes, but God said it was wrong, and he did it for his brother, but God said it was wrong, and he just wanted to help him, but God said it was wrong, and protect him, but God said it was wrong, but, but, but, but - God said it was wrong.
'Why don't you try and see for once on your own you god damn angel'
In the end, what caused Arthur's mind to crack was Alfred, just saying one critical sentence at him.
"Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!" He yelled, surprising Alfred by forcefully shoving him into the wall before rushing over to the boy who were bewildered at what was going on. Arthur then grabbed onto the collar of the boy that kept threatening the brother, bringing down a fist right in the jaw, the frustration that had piled for a week finally released, making his body feel lighter.
He was doing this, because this is what he felt was right. And honestly, Arthur hadn't felt this great in so long.
OOOOOO
The next day, Arthur and Alfred had found themselves hanging upside down from a familiar tree once again, a bit sad that the last day of the weekend was going to be spent doing nothing other than waiting for them to resent what they had done.
After Arthur gave in the first punch the rest of the boys attacked him, Arthur trying his best to defend himself as he randomly threw punches. It didn't take long for Alfred to grin, picking the boy closest to him and giving him a similar attack and when they noticed that they were no match against Arthur and Alfred they skidded away, Arthur's triumphant laugh echoing a bit as he mocked them for being good-for-nothings. The next day Mansi had learned about the fight they had started yesterday, forcing the two to wake up from her voice that thundered with anger, dragging the two out as she yelled at them to go apologize to the families of those that had found their sons coming home covered in bruises and some, with a black eye. And when the two shook their heads, refusing she quickly cocooned them, leaving them hanging as she stomped off to do her chores.
"This is all your fault," Alfred said, starting up the blame game again. Except Arthur didn't say anything back, deep down knowing that it was. He already had given himself a hard time about it, shaming himself for getting so caught up into the moment and going to that far of an extent. Looking back it felt relieving, along with finally getting rid of that feeling in the pit of his stomach. But deep down, he didn't feel a single drop of remorse for what he did to those kids, like he felt for the brother.
"Oh, so no snarky remark today? How rare." Arthur tuned out, ignoring the other as much as he could.
All of a sudden the demon began to move a bit, desperately trying to itch a spot that had begun to tingle a bit. "What are you doing?" Arthur questioned, his voice sounding annoyed as Alfred continued to shake, hitting Arthur.
"I'm - just trying - to itch - a spot!" He said as he tried scratching, failing to relieve himself from the almost unbearable pain.
"Well, stop moving at least. You're causing me to-" but before Arthur could finish Alfred accidently bonks him in the head with his shoulders, the angel's annoyance risen to it's peak.
"I said, stop it!" Arthur demanded through his clenched jaw, head butting the back of Alfred who said a small 'ow'.
"Why you!" Alfred said before randomly moving his body in a motion so he could hit Arthur, who bounced off of him before falling right back down, bonking both of their heads together. Both groaned, stopping their movements as they tried to forget the pain that was sprouting in spot that made contact with the other. Alfred got on the lucky side, Arthur having had not only collided into Alfred's head but also his horn, trying to look up and see if he had any imprints on his skin.
As he continued to fail looking at his forehead he noticed a pair of shoes walking toward him, the grass parting when the foot came down. He looked down from his perspective, narrowing his eyes from the shine of the sun until a head came to block the ray, a face Arthur remembered seeing before.
"Um hi," the boy shyly said, looking at the two hanging people his fingers intertwining with each other.
"What's up?" Alfred questioned, Arthur scrunching his face in a confused fashion, wondering when 'what's up' became a way to greet someone.
"Ah, I just came here to say…" he stuttered looking down at his feet briefly. He kicked at the grass before mumbling, "thank you"
The two just stared at the boy who continued to kick at the ground in awe before Alfred started laughing his voice booming when he noticed the red that had tinted over the boy's face. The boy looked up his fists clenched to the side as he yelled something Arthur didn't catch which he presumably assumed was 'stop!'. He just continued to stare something deep inside of him feeling warm as it blossomed to something bigger and stronger.
Arthur's face slowly brightened, welcoming the thing called 'happiness' to course through him as he smiled, the action not feeling so unnatural like the first time. He was happy, and he liked every second of it.