To See You Bleed


 * City Center - 


 * The quirky architecture of the mist-laden city of Necromundus is distinguished primarily by the absence of many right angles. Wooden-slats climb walls that are rectangular cubes, but the lines from ground to gable form rather oblong angles, giving everything from the dominant clock tower to the Purgatory Tavern a rather unstable appearance.


 * Ghostly entities of many shapes and sizes can often be seen traveling the narrow, fog-shrouded streets, preparing to resurrect after a misadventure or accident beyond the great portals that lead to strange and distant realms.


 * The paths head out in four directions from here. To the north lies the Boneway, and the shopping centers. To the west, the residential districts. To the south are darker paths through Hard Luck Road. Finally, to the east is the portal plaza, the dim glow showing bright even here.


 * It is a cold afternoon. The slightest breeze stirs over the land infrequently. A few wispy cirrus clouds streak the otherwise clear sky. 

"Now is this a bad 'we have to talk', or...?" Ravus leaves the question open. The blood-spattered angel, in full armor, is leading Zariel off towards residential.

"Not really," Zariel remarks, "Just... a favor I'd rather not ask of you, but I kind of have to."

Bennatsuyu the tiny dragon bounds along, housecat sized again today, from the residential. Right past Ravus and Zariel, even, and he slows a bit to peer curiously at the blood spattering on the angel.

"You know I don't mind giving you favors," Ravus almost-scolds, voice gentle. "I love to help my friends. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's -fine-." This said, the angel stretches his wings with a lazy groan, pausing on his way to tilt his head at Bennatsuyu. "Oh, hey there little guy. Anything I can do for you?"

"Heya, Tiny," Zariel greets lightly, waving a hand to the dracoid, before looking back to Ravus, "Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean I like asking. You've already done so much for me, after all. Besides, this favor's a little... meh."

"Mm, no, thanks. Oh wait! Er, have either of you seen Linnael?" The small creature pauses his stride and coils neatly on the cobblestones to peer up at them better.

"Not for a while," Ravus muses, slowly shaking his head. "Should I tell him you're looking for him, if I do?" His hand steals out, reaching to take Zariel's. "And don't -worry-. I know you wouldn't ask me for anything 'meh' unless you had to."

"Not today," Zariel says to Benny with a shake of his head, "Have you tried asking for him at the Mall? The person working at his shop might have an idea of where he's at." He squeezes the angel's hand, "Like I said, that doesn't mean I like asking."

"Please do," Bennatsuyu responds to Ravus, and rolls back to his paws. "Thank you. I will check at the mall, now, that's a great idea. Thank you, too, Zariel." The small dragon realigns himself north. "If you beat me to him, please ask him to watch for that slobbery black dragon," he adds almost as an afterthought. "It's on a tear, and I don't know why."

Despite his slow blink of incomprehension, Ravus nods agreement. "All right. Well. Good luck finding him!" He flashes Benny a smiling wave with his free hand, before continuing on his way. "Glad you got over that enough -to- ask, Zar..."

"No problem, catch you later, Benny," Zariel wishes with a wave.

"Well, it did take a little while," Zariel admits, "Not that that's put me back any, I still have some other things to get."

"To get?" Ravus muses, shaking his head as he turns into the Dead End Gardens subdivision. "THis is getting more and more curious..."

"Yeah, well," Zariel shrugs, "Call it a shopping trip."

"Riiight," Ravus laughs, padding down the street and holding the door to his house for the both of them. "What can I get you, Mr. Zariel?"


 * Ravus's House - 


 * A small house with one gable and an angled roof, faced using blue-gray clapboards. The house has a concrete foundation and round windows overlooking a weedy garden.

Stepping inside, Zariel shakes his head with a light chuckle. He reaches into his jacket and shuffles around. First vial he pulls out is glowing. "Meh, wrong one, that's the holy water," he remarks. Second one is spoken for, too, "Nope, demon tears..." Third time's the charm, and he pulls out an empty vial. "There you are. Slippery little bastard."

Ravus stares curiously at Zariel, his head tilted. He shuts the door behind them as he too enters, then starts removing his armor piece by piece. "...What -are- you making?"

"Ink," Zariel replies, "I'm working on getting Plutok's True Name, seeing as he's the new ArchDemon and poses more of a threat to my well-being now. The holy water's unrelated, that's for Trueguard. What I need from /you/," he holds up the vial, "is angel's blood. I don't like asking you to bleed for me, but you're the only angel in his right mind who'd give me something like that freely."

"Oh, is that all?" Ravus laughs brightly, seeming to relax. "You could have told me it was something so simple." Once the armor's a steely pile on the ground, the angel stretches and turns to pad into the kitchen. His home is incredibly neat and clean, but almost has the look of a hotel room- scarcely used. He emerges holding a knife, humming to himself.

"You're creepy sometimes," Zariel remarks, tilting his head at the angel with an uneasy frown.

"Creepy?" Ravus halts, concern widening his eyes. The humming stops as he tilts his head at Zariel. "I'm not -happy- to do this- well, I am happy, because it's something I don't mind, but you know what I mean."

Zariel grins lightly and shakes his head, "You came out of the kitchen with a knife, /humming/. Considering the context, I think that qualifies as a little creepy."

"Well, sorry," Ravus laughs sheepishly, shaking his head. He moves back to Zariel's side, and delicately opens a cut along his wrist, shallow and against the vein, not along it. This done with only a wince and soft hiss of pain, the angel holds his wrist toward the vial. "What'll you do with his true name?"

"I'm hoping I'll only need to bind him out of my way, if it comes to that," Zariel says, "He's the only one who poses enough of a threat to warrant this now that Xerum's been overthrown. If it takes more than that, then..." He trails off and holds the vial up to the cut to collect the angel's blood with a frown, "Big bad serial killer made uneasy by a little bit of blood out of an angel's wrist. It scares me sometimes, how easy you get to me."

Ravus flashes Zariel a smile that's gentle in its understanding. "The very definition of love," he murmurs. "The ultimate risk, the ultimate vulnerabiltity. Everything has a price. Love's price just happens to be worth paying." He watches his wrist carefully, and only when the vial fills does he touch two fingers to the wound. For a moment silver scars flash, overlaid on his pale skin, before the wound's edges crinkle and it begins to seal.

Stoppering the vial, Zariel tucks it back into his jacket pocket with the others. "Yeah," the demon nods, "I just hope that's the last time you have to bleed because of me." He kisses the angel's lips lightly.

Ravus returns the kiss, lips soft and lingering. "Of all the things I ever have to do," he disputes quietly, "bleeding is one of them that bothers me the absolute least."

"It bothers me," Zariel replies lightly, "But I don't want you to have to anything that bothers you, either." He smiles, "But now that the unpleasant necessity has been taken care of... for a little while, at least, you don't have to."

"For a little while?" Ravus pads back into the kitchen, washing the knife. "Will you need me to do that again?" His voice has all the ease of a man discussing a household chore, a dispassionate question about laundry or dishes.

"I doubt it," Zariel replies, "But I'm sure your average day involves doing or experiencing things that bother you. Everyone's does, it part of life... erm, well, unlife. Existance."

"I just use life," Ravus advises, eyes twinkling as he returns from the kitchen. "Much easier. And, yes." Sobriety calms his grin as the angel confesses, "I see many people who don't want to hear my message. It makes me weep, and decide to try harder."

The demon steps forward and wraps his arms around Ravus, "Well, like I said. Right now you don't have to go through that." Zariel runs a hand through the angel's hair, then, and kisses him again.

Ravus's arms twine around Zariel again, as usual much stronger than their appearance suggest. His return kiss is more thorough this time, the angel pulling back afterward to whisper, "Every day I do. But yes, right now, I'm very happy. It's more than enough."

Back to The Ascent of Zariel, Volume II, Chapter 1

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