Straightening priorities is a must!
Running away from troubles only makes them worse!
The sunrise was accompanied by the chirping of a flock of passing birds as Lulubell started to wake up from her sleep. She had slept fitfully over the night and got out of the crashed carriage as efficiently as possible, her face painted with determination.
Under the old tree, the angel slept peacefully with the demon. Lavi's wings were curled around them both, most probably to keep the warmth in during the harsh, cold night. It looked as if they were covered with a thick, feathery blanket of some sorts.
Lulubell came closer to see the Allen sleeping the day away, his face showing nothing but serenity and childish innocence as the playful sunbeams danced around him. She reached out; wanting to move a lock of hair that fell on his face, but her hand was swiftly caught by his sleeping companion.
Lavi was glaring at her with the red eye of a demon, before it returned to its original green in the blink of an eye. He released Lulubell's hand as he mumbled around groggily, "let sleeping angels lie,"
Whether Lavi was conscious when saying that, Lulubell did not know. But the call of her incoming coachman snapped her out of it. The coachman had finally brought the new wheel, waiting for orders from his employer. She was just about to assist him in fixing the wheel when she heard a vibrating growl coming from the demon himself.
"Wake up, Allen," Lavi groaned, as if the coachman needed Allen instead him. He shook the angel gently until he woke up with a blurry face and content smile.
Picking himself up as smoothly as if he was only taking a short nap instead of a night sleep, Lulubell knew that Allen was still a morning bird like he was before. Her younger brother wished her a good morning in a sleepy yet light voice before leaving to help the coachman in setting the wheel.
"There, we almost got it fixed! Good job!" Allen said cheerfully, wiping the sweat of his brow as he clapped the coachman's shoulder in a brotherly way.
Nearby, Lavi only stood and watched the fixing. He was content on monitoring rather than helping out because, Satan-dammit, he was no servant to anyone! But the awestruck look that the coachman was giving to Allen irked him a little, though Lavi knew not why. For some unknown reason, he had a small urge to rip out the human's ugly face and stick it up where the sun didn't shine. But just a small urge.
He didn't know that his wings were sharpening themselves until Lulubell's footsteps crunched the grass below. The elder angel stood next to him as she said with a calm demeanour that rang out like well-tuned violin, "Allen can't break your curse, demon,"
"I don't care," was Lavi's instant reply. He felt his wings sharpened as the close proximity of the angel. Lavi was unused to Lulubell, and he didn't like angels crawling up his personal space as if they owned him. Well, except for Allen, but Allen was always an exception in his mind.
"You're not listening," Lulubell growled, the violin tune screeching a little to show irritation. She blocked Lavi's view of Allen with her body, her wings curling up as primary protection. She stood her ground when Lavi growled in warning, her face unmoving as she declared ominously, like a judge using a gavel, "Allen cannot break your curse because he cannot love another being,"
Lavi reeled back in shock, his one eye widened along with his sharp wings. His mind turned numb and he tried to comprehend Lulubell's words. "You're lying," Lavi's voice came out like stone through mud. But even his accusation sounded cheap to himself.
Lulubell could only show a sympathetic face as she brought the gavel down again, "angels never lie,"
As if sensing Lavi's distress, Allen looked up from his work just in time to see Lavi fly away with great haste. He ran towards the unmoving pillar of his sister, confusion and slight panic evident in his perfect face, "where's Lavi going?"
"Away, if he knows what's best for him," Lulubell said coldly before warming her voice again as she spoke, "I told him about you,"
Even with that vague explanation tossed at him so carelessly; Allen immediately knew what Lulubell was talking about. He grabbed her arm in barely concealed anger, "why? Why did you do that, Lulubell?"
Lulubell stole her hand away roughly as both the angels' wings curled up around their body as if ready for a fight from the other. Lulubell had never known frustration like the before; she had always looked out for Allen and his well-being and he would never question her actions so blandly before. It made her so angry like never before and she felt the temptation to lock her brother up in her church and never let him know the chaos and destruction that was in the cruel world. But her mind forced her to calm down instead as she looked upon her brother's broken face. Contrary to popular belief and speculation, Lulubell was not cold-hearted. Nor was she rash. She felt Allen's sorrow as if it was her own, the hypothetical knife cutting through her own heart as it bled out for her loving brother. Can't you see that I'm only doing this to protect you?
Lulubell sighed as she surrendered first, her wings softening their hardness as she caressed Allen's tear-streak face. They have to open their eyes to the reality sooner or later... I'm just sorry that I have to be the monster who forces them open.
Allen hugged his sister as he heaved a heavy breath. He knew Lulubell was only looking out for him. And for that, she could not be blamed. But that didn't make his heart any lighter, nor did it bring his spirit back. He felt his sister pat his head like she did thousands of years ago as she murmured those words that Allen was dreading to hear all these while, "because you both need to know the truth; that loving each other.. Is a lost cause,"
Allen tightly hugged his sister once more before turning to get into the reinstalled carriage, "let's just go home, Lulubell. I'm tired,"
Lulubell did not want to know whether Allen meant physically or mentally.
When Allen arrived back at his church, the entire church people believed that he was a Godsend. They were so excited that they decided to have a grand dinner and a dance after sunset, when the townspeople were fast asleep. It was a joyful occasion. Of course it was; why should they not celebrate the return of their patron saint?
Lavi sat on one of the tall towers of the church as he watched Allen playing with the church children down at the lightened courtyard. Although the church was in a vibrant mood, Lavi was definitely not. In fact, he was most troubled and disturbed by Lulubell's words. What does she mean by "cannot love"? Does that mean that Allen doesn't care about me? What was even more confusing was that Lavi did not know why and where all these questions come from. Who cared if the angel didn't like him? Allen and him weren't meant to be friends, lest of all best friends, in the first place. They were supposed to be sworn enemies; angel against demon, evil against good, darkness against light. So where did all these stupid feelings come from?
"Hey! There he is!" Lavi didn't get up to greet Komui and Timothy, his mind still churning furiously.
Unaware of Lavi's depressed state, Komui sat down beside him as he spoke, "so get this: Allen told us that each angel has their very own church on earth! The church we were in was called the Church of Angels, and that's their main headquarters. We-" Komui waved his hand to emphasis on the building that they were sitting on, "Are now in the Church of Saint Allen Walker!"
As soon as he said Allen's title, Komui felt Lavi stiffen up tightly as if warding himself from the very mention of Allen. The Demon Lord's wings unnaturally curled in itself, mimicking the angels' ultimate defence system. Alas, demon wings were not meant to harden and they were not great shields as Komui pushed the infernal appendages away to gaze at Lavi steadily. With all the wisdom in his voice, he asked, "what's wrong, Lavi?"
Lavi knew that by asking him instead of ordering him, Komui was giving him a way out. But the Demon Lord trusted his second commander. After all, Komui was the first person (second after Allen now- Shit, shut up, brain!) he would go to for sound advice and unbreakable support. "Allen can't love me," Lavi sighed, relieved that he got that out of his chest. Like a rolling ball down a steep hill, Lavi tripped over his own words as he relayed what had happened the other day.
After that, Komui stared at him for a while, his expression unchanging until Lavi was feeling quite a bit uncomfortable. Then, Komui enquired more, "Does it matter?" He saw Lavi's shock expression, but he carried on with a composed voice of reason, "both of you care for each other in ways that I thought was impossible for angels and demons. You protect him, he supports you. You hurt him, but he understands you. You claimed that Allen's your best friend, something that I know Allen reciprocated. So what if Allen can't love you? He's still helping you to find a cure for your curse, and he didn't complain anything about you... Come closer, Lavi. I'll tell you a secret-" Komui pulled Lavi close to look at his infuriating Demon Lord in the eye as he pointed out, "-You're a dumbass and you don't need love as an excuse to be with Allen... Also, I ate your Lava cookies back in the Black Order castle,"
Lavi laughed at Komui's straight face, his chest feeling lighter now that he could see the light from the end of the dark tunnel.
Then, Timothy burst out between them with a flustered face, "What's all this fake stuff?! If ya wanna be best friends with Allen, then go for it! Since when did we demons believe in love anyways?!" He spat out the l-word as if it was a forbidden thing.
Komui chuckled as he gave Lavi a wink, "out of the mouths of babes,"
Lavi grinned widely as he retreated from the tower, ignoring Timothy's scream about "who're you calling a babe?! I'm freaking nine!" Lavi didn't care; he had an angel to catch.
When he landed down on the soft ground below, the church courtyard was already filled with humans of all ages and sizes. Lavi quickly casted a spell around himself to camouflage his black wings, transforming them into a long, black cloak instead. He tried to straighten his wild red hair, but gave up trying as he braved the boisterous crowd discreetly. Ahead, a beautiful voice of a woman sang through the church courtyard with ancient musical instruments.
Vida!
Vera misi vom ta le
Vera misi vom va se
Viserama
Vida!
Viste misi om na me
Viste misi om va se
Viserama
People started to gather in circles, cheering and whistling in loud voices. In each circle, there was a dancer in an extravagant costume. They dressed in different colours and danced in different styles, entrancing the audience as they moved to the rhythm of the music and the seducing voice of the lone singer. The dancers themselves were alluring, what with all their perfumes and pretty dresses. But Lavi felt no attraction towards the sirens as he continued walking through crowds. But he felt a sudden push from his back, making Lavi fall down and into one of the dancers' circles. Lavi didn't move from his spot on the ground as he saw the twirling dancer. The dancer was Allen Walker himself.
Si ache are ano
Va sere malino
Hanavi chiva, se ome
Oome omina
Vida!
Soma isti no male
Isera, y mana mosane
Allen danced like nobody was watching him. With free-flowing robes that acted almost like dresses, his dance looked as professional as the other past dancers. The robes were of pure white, with lovely red designs that was sewn across the edges. Allen was wearing a purple scarf that ran along his arms, the long cloth flowing like water when he moved his hands sensually to the music. Even his white wings were decorated with small, silver bells and long, thin cloths that made the most delightful sound every time they moved. Allen was entrancing to watch, a mystery dressed in white since the angel was covering his face with a silver mask. Every move was calculated and performed with the tranquillity of an angel.
Si ache, are ano
Va sere, malino
Hanavi, chila, se nome
Oome omina
Allen laughed happily as he spin on his bare feet again, throwing his head up high as he felt his energy returning. But he stopped completely when he saw who was kneeling in his dancer circle. Although his wings were missing and he was wearing a black tuxedo, Allen could see the familiarity of the person's bottled-green eye. He could sense the unmistakable scent of ash and old books from this spectator as he froze in the middle of his dance. The spectator was Lavi himself.
Vida!
Soma isti no male
Isera, y mana mosane
Lavi knew the 'fight or flight' feeling that came from Allen very well. The angel bolted as soon as he recovered from his shock, pushing the throngs of crowd aside as he escaped in the middle of the dance number. "Wait! Allen!" He picked himself up and raced after the escaping angel.
Allen didn't obey the order, running away from the gathering towards the deserted part of the courtyard with all the swiftness of a fox. He spent the last couple of days thinking that Lavi wanted nothing to do with him, since the demon now knew about his handicap and had not talked to him at all about it. To see Lavi at the dance made Allen's blood crawl but his heart sing. The sudden whiplash of emotions threw Allen in a loop he did not know how to get out from, so he did the best thing he could think of: run away from everything. If he could find a place where he was able to think clearly, then he could act rationally instead of being caught off guard.
I think I lost him… Allen stood, panting as he realised that he was now far away from the celebrations, standing in the middle of a wooden bridge that overlooked one of the many church ponds.
A rush of wind accompanied the sound of large wings from behind him. In a blink of an eye, Allen found himself surrounded in a sea of black feathers and his waist held tightly by an equally-exhausted demon. Lavi growled softly from above Allen, "Never run away from me. It'll make my demon side wanna eat you,"
Allen tried to struggle against the stony hold, but Lavi was having none of the insolence. He was hit by a soft white wing as he felt Allen tremble from his arms. With smooth skills, Lavi turned Allen by his waist and leaned against him. Allen growled angrily when he saw that he was trapped between a solid demon and the wooden bridge railing, "Go away, Lavi. I'm not useful to you anymore, right? So, move!"
Lavi moved even closer as he answered the threat with a growl of his own, both hands coming to trap the angel between them, "I'm not going anywhere, Allen. You're still my best friend!" Then, Lavi felt Allen stood as motionless as a statue, his bitter silver eyes simmering to unbelief. Lavi rolled his one good eye as he leaned his forehead to Allen's one, relishing on the angel's cold yet warm aura that he had missed dearly for the past days, "I don't care about whatever this stupid love thing is.." He made sure keep to keep eye contact with Allen though, as he whispered faintly, "Just being with you is enough for me… So don't ever leave my side," he ended with a small growl.
Allen stopped thinking about the problems that he would face in the future, the drama he would have to put up with, the conditions that came along with having a demon best friend. From that exact moment, Allen knew that he'd throw away everything just to save Lavi. He found himself not caring about that the least. Everything came secondary to Lavi's own well-being. His laugh started building up again as he said through his melodious voice, "I promise, Lavi!"
Lavi heard that promise and was assured that Allen would rather die than to break it. Because angels never lie.
I seem to be giving you guys more fluff than the usual, I do hope you're enjoying the loveliness that is Laven here then haha The song (or soundtrack) that the church is using is Mosane by E.S Posthumus. It's a wonderful and magical song, really! I can picture Allen in all his innocence dancing to the song. I'm terribly sorry for not updating for quite some time, I had finals and mini-traveling trip to go through before I could even sit down.
But on the other hand, I have my trimester break right now! So you can expect some more updates in the -near- future! Yay! Again, your comments and opinions are appreciated by me, they give me such never-ending motivation! Happy Holidays, peeps!