Samael

As soon as I give him permission, he lunges into my awaiting embrace. Is this what life had come to? Is this what had become of us, that he, my Hamaliel, must wait for my permission? Did he fear that I would cast him away? That I would shun him for his past transgressions and throw him aside in favor of something else? No... No, he must understand; I have, and always would be his. He would forever hold my heart, this cold, frozen, damned thing that somehow still beat within my ebony breast.

My breath was for him, my heart beat for him, and I would die for him. I lived for him, and only him. Never again would I devote myself to another, be it mortal or God. This devotion, so sweet and all-encompassing that it startled even myself, was only for this pale, painted creature that was pressed so intimately against myself.

"And I you, my Sweet, I you," I murmur to him, my dark lips brushing against his strong body, the ice-blue irises of my eyes falling shut for finally, finally, he is within my embrace once more. "I have bled every day that we have spent a part... But now my wounds can heal. I've missed you terribly. I love you... I'll always love you." My nostrils widen and flare as I greedily suck in great lungfulls of his beautiful, wonderful scent, committing it to memory... Even though I had never forgotten it, never once in the centuries that we had been a part.

Gently and slowly as though not to startle Hamaliel, my wings furl forward to brush the sides of his barrel, the silky ebony feathers moving to encompass him and hold him to me. Each feather seems to have a mind of it's own as they twitch and shudder at his touch, relishing every moment and soaking in the contact. Oh, how I had missed him... But my anger had blinded me to everything except the hurt and the betrayal that I had felt upon falling, and leaving Hamaliel behind.

A terrible, painful ache grips my heart with merciless hands and squeeze fiercely, and tears prick at the corners of my eye from the pressure. My lips open and breath seems unable to come to me as I'm choked with emotion... But soon it passes, and I release a soft, content sigh, rubbing my cheek against his handsome neck.

It was the abrupt, crude sound of a cough a small distance away that snapped me from my loving reverie, from enjoying my seconds with my long-lost lover. My wings curl back towards my sides and tuck inwards and out of the way, but my ears pin back flat against my skull and my head snaps towards the sound that had dared to interrupt my moment. How dare it! Irrationally anger flared within my heart. Be it mortal, spirit, angel, or a God, I would shred it to pieces for interrupting...

... But through the blood-red cloud of my uncontrollable animosity, I see a child. The cold, frozen blues of my eyes focus as I realize what I am staring at, and I hear the muffled, hurried, and thoroughly embarrassed words and apologies of the child and kit that had stumbled into Hamaliel and I's little reunion.

"... Your... Fox?" I tilt my head as my lips slowly form the words meant for this mortal colt, ears slowly swiveling forward and my jaw slowly loosened so that my teeth were no longer clamped near painfully together. I risked a glance to my side, to look upon Hamaliel and gauge his reaction to this turn of events and the arrival of this child and kit. If my mentor ordered, I would act. If he was uncomfortable, then I would strive to remedy it. Slowly my head turns back to regard the ebony and crimson stud, soaking in the sight of his horn, and the cute tufts of orange that coated the young kit. "You came to say hello?"

I never claimed to be the charismatic sort, so quite frankly, I found nothing wrong with repeating the colt's very own words back to his face. What a strange little place I had wandered. If not for the return of Hamaliel to my side, I'd wonder if I had thoroughly lost my mind.

"Who are you? What's your name?" I ask him, my words quick and guarded. Come to think of it... "Where is this place?" The second of my questions were directed to both the colt and kit combination, as well as the tobiano form of my lover. "Is this where you call home, my Love?"

the Fallen