Tee hee!

- ML

Chapter 7: January, Part Three

January 28, X792 11:14 p.m.

(Come to the courtyard, midnight. Don't mind the guard, he always keeps watch there.)

Jackal woke with a start, staring blankly at the ceiling. He felt terrified of the dreamless slumber in the few times he could sleep. It was too dark without the crimson moon, now that it shrank to a thin slit. He felt around for his journal, his closest source of relief.

Oh, wait. It's too dark to write.

The journal fell to the floor.

"Shit," he grumbled, rolling into his stomach to reach for the floor. As his good eye adjusted to the lack of light, he noticed a folded slip next to his shoes. He placed his journal back on the bed, then grabbed the little paper. He squinted, holding it up to the minimal light coming into the room.

"Courtyard... midnight... guard on watch?" he tilted his head in confusion. Then he remembered that unique handwriting. My admirer, he thought with a glimmer of enthusiasm. He got up, grabbed his slippers, then crept out into the hall, making sure to not disrupt Tempesta. He saw two guards in that hall, and an officer at the end. Why have numbers when you're the only ones with curse and magic?

Lucky mother fuckers.

He descended the stairs to the main hall where the locked up cafeteria was, passed the double doors, then went out through the courtyard gates. The prison wasn't so huge, only three stories and five big walls. Three triangular units. Underground tunnel mines. Isolation chambers. Torture chambers. Closed off human unit. Showers. Plenty of layout. So why outside?

As Jackal wandered the courtyard, he heard a hushed 'psst!' from an alley sized gap between two units. Hopefully it was one of the cuter females. Or maybe a male, didn't matter as long as they weren't butt ugly, right?

"Over here," the hiding male said. Wait, I know that voice!

Jackal jogged over, determined to confirm his suspicion.

"Tempesta, is that you?" Jackal inquired. There's no way this brute was capable of writing anything like the secret admirer. Tempesta did in fact stand waiting in the small alley. He wore a blanket protectively against the cold. Jackal was unbothered by the winter, it was warm as Autumn to him.

"We're probably going to die soon, so," Tempesta trailed off as Jackal stood across from him, utterly speechless. The alley was narrow, so they stood quite close. Tempesta looked down. "Don't just stand there gawking like an idiot."

"... how long?" the blonde demon asked quietly.

"Too long" he shrugged. Jackal narrowed his eye.

"Was it because of Lamy?"

"Nah, I thought you'd be repulsed."

"Hm, makes sense," the blonde shrugged. On the inside, it felt like his stomach was down back flips. I can't believe it. This chuckle fuck was the master mind behind those notes? No way! He writes like a damn nerd!

"I'm not repulsed by you, T," Jackal added quietly. It wasn't entirely false. Jackal really wanted to be with Lamy. She wanted him too, sexual or not. The male duo exchanged looks. Jackal could tell he was practically hiding under that blanket. Jackal grabbed it. Tempesta gripped his blanket tight.

"Whoa, chill, it's cold as frozen Hell!" the demon protested. Jackal snickered, wrestling the blanket from his hands. But Tempesta was stronger. "I said chill!" Tempesta grabbed Jackal's wrists, slamming him against the wall. The blonde hit his head rather hard. Jackal froze up, his eye wide in terror.

Tempesta noticed right away, immediately taking several steps back. "Jackal, snap out of it," he said worriedly, thinking his head might have hurt a little. Jackal looked at his hands, trembling. He grabbed his shirt, struggling to collect his thoughts. His eye looked blank, somewhere far away from Purgatory.

I watched his thoughts, images of infinite darkness flooding back to him all at once. The smell of his wasting away, the filthy oily water, and the sight of his strange writing in the wall when light flooded that cell for the first time in weeks.

But then, I saw remnants of something deeper, older than anything I've seen. A flash of light, water pushing his body away from a pure magic source.

Die, die, die, die...

'Heavens, open your deepest reaches... I command the stars... gates of vengeance...'

'URANO METORIA!'

Is this Lucy? Is that how Jackal died? No, it seems fire, burning fleshof a feral demon in combat. Gasp! His Earthland memories! Yes! I-I mean, no, that's bad. Probably?

From Tempesta's open of view, the blonde slid to the ground, tears streaming from his eyes. Tempesta had no idea what was wrong with him.

Damn it, I didn't think I'd break him! Tempesta knelt down, draping his blanket over Jackal.

"Come back to me, Jackal. You're supposed to call me a piece of shit or something, not this!" he kept his voice at a desperate whisper, not wanting to alert the guard on standby.

"Um, uh, that look you sometimes have, joy? Yeah, that one. You love reading our entries," the thick haired continued. "Sometimes you looked that way, reading the notes. You uh, you have a big heart. Chest. Whatever the fuck. Just please come back, you're safe with me..."

Jackal looked at Tempesta, sniffling. His breaths were shaken from choked up, silent sobs. Tempesta shut his eye tightly. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry! Fuck! What would Lamy do?!

"S-should I go?" he asked hesitantly. Jackal shook his head. He wrapped his arms around Tempesta, holding him firmly. The demon sat stiff as a board, trying to make sense of the spiraling Jackal.

He's worse than I thought, he grumbled to himself, guilt washing over him. He took the blanket and wrapped around both himself and Jackal. The blonde was still shivering, so he naturally assumed he finally felt the cold too. They sat in silence for a long while. Tempesta watched the stars slowly traveling across the sky.

"Don't... don't let them take me," Jackal whispered after several hours. Tempesta was leaning against the wall now, with Jackal curled up between his outstretched legs. He jolted awake when Jackal finally spoke up. The sun was rising, but the sky was still dark. Black Qora.

"I won't," Tempesta muttered, hugging Jackal. "I can't lose you again. You're apart of my world."

"Corny bastard," Jackal chuckled. He looked up at Tempesta. His eye was puffy and red, but the tears had stopped. Tempesta smiled softly.

"Say it," the blonde whispered. "Before the spell breaks."

"The... spell?" Tempesta raised a brow in confusion. Oh, he must mean... The demon cupped the blonde's spotted cheeks, kissing him softly.

"I love you, Jackal."

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned.

- ML