Soulmate (Closed for Lucian_Devine)

[Ravishing]

Evangeline was adrift high above the valley her sisters had told her there were rumours of a dirty Fallen being here. Her wings of light streamed out wide from her position almost beacon, holding her aloft in the air currently. The wind whipped red hair across a face so beautiful, had humans been able to see her, they might have wept at the sight.

She knew there was a settlement of humans down there, but that wasn't her concern. A flutter of wings propelled her like a star unseen through the sky, while blue eyes searched relentlessly. Usually, there would have been other angels with her. But there was a far more widespread battle hours away from her location but Evaneline was not worried. Within her left hand, she held starlight, her weapon of choice mirrored after the human's own longsword made of a material akin to adamantine yet blessed by on high and most holy, it was paired with a shield of light and goodness across her right arm's forearm. Her armour looked more like finely woven chainmail over a resplendent white dress that fluttered about her thighs. Her shins and knees are protected by the divine addition of divinity incorporated into mithril plating encased about her calves, and feet—layering over the blessed woven leather of her boots.

Then she spotted something flashing for her, a grunt left her lips which tightened into a line as she braced herself in the air, divinity flared around her shield of light as the black thick crossbow bolt slammed into the shield and splintered against the divine might which flared. Her eyes looked through it for the source when she saw more of those bolts coming at her in quick succession. Dodging the first with a tuck and rolling whirl through the air she barely got the shield up in time to feel the double impact against it. Demon bolts, infused with hellfire. Finally, she threw herself into plummeting through the sky like a falling star aiming to bring her closer to that target.

Her thoughts echoed that it'd be just like a damned Demon to hide and sneak and ambush. As she landed on the ground there was a puff of dirt and brush around her, wings faded to fold then to her back. Looking more like the train of an elegant dress than the wings of light and divinity were. As she thought she spotted something 200 feet from her, with a squint of those blue eyes she zeroed in on that potential demon being closer to a small field with a river running beside it. She bared her teeth and began charging. How dare this demon think she wouldn't end them!

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Mairo crept through the trees a bit above the valley floor and the river that was slowly but steadily cutting it's way through it. His violet eyes paid no mind to the ground though, trusting his instincts to guide him as he continuously scanned the skies. Patience wasn't one of his strong suits, but he was doing his best, knowing the prize that would be waiting for him would be well worth the wait. He'd already set the bait, killing several of his enemies and wounding the rest. Yes, he could have killed them, but they and their powers were nothing compared to him. So he let them go so they could report to their superiors and send the real prize.

A flash of light in the sky made Mairo focus once more. He crouched low in the trees, his tongue flicking across his lips, already anticipating the sweet taste of the divine power.

Before he put the horse too far in front of the cart though, Mairo pulled his repeating crossbow from around his back, leveled it at his target, led his target a bit, and let the first bolt fly! A sadistic smile came to his impossibly handsome face as he saw the divine shield shatter with a single hit. He then hit the trigger again and again, the reloading mechanism able to fire ten bolts before he had to reload it! The angel got their actual shield up in time to block a couple more and managed to dodge the rest as they dove for the valley.

Mairo wasn't put off by any of this though. He'd already shattered the divine shield, and if there was one thing he'd truly come to love since creation, and even more since he fell from heaven, it was fighting, and especially fighting for his life. He slung his repeating crossbow back behind his back and unsheathed Annihilation, his adamantine serrated flamberge. He saw them land and start to charge and he happily did the same! His black wings flared out behind him as he ran on the uneven ground, ensuring his footing as he closed the distance, prepared to grab his mighty blade with both hands, and aim for any opening he saw!

 

[Ravishing]

Evangeline's face is a mask of righteous fury. Beautiful, yet terrifying to behold in this moment. Unmarred by her previous landing, unslowed by the difficulty of the ground between them. She exerted her divine will and as that distance rapidly closed that divine glow around her shield sprang back into full glory blazing in the potency of that which drove its return. Evangeline's own will and power.

Behind her, those tucked wings flared wide and if he hadn't already been locked onto the glow about her it intensified in that moment. Air rushed past her, and thigh-length red loose curls streamed behind her. As they got to within 100 feet of each other, there began to be a slight pull. As if the universe demanded by ties of binding that they -should- be closer.

She found her boots thudding effortlessly as if she was weightless and the gravity of earth mattered not one wit. Which became obvious as she threw herself into a leap that shield arm brought about in front of her as that divine protection extended to almost cover her completely at the front. That arc of her form was breathtaking to see as she streamed through the air for him. Her descent was lighter than air, rushing faster.

No doubt she knew he might seek to strike the shield or block it with a parry. But as her Shield encountered him or his weapon, it didn't matter which was encountered there was something unexpected that occurred to both at the same time. It was as if time stopped for a single moment, then -everything- exploded in a rush of air which threw both of them away from each other, while divine bonds also tried to drag them closer.

It had her shield's glow faltering which had never ever happened. Nor had the way she felt her wings fade. Divine of light and ethereal fading until they seemed to retreat into her. The rush outwards while also getting pulled inwards, had them spinning slowly in the air for a moment. Her shield reverted to simply a very impressive shield of mithril. Starlight, her sword, lost some of its divine glow gaining an etching of words of its name in celestial across it.

Eve, had no words, none, staring at him intensely. He did this? HOW! The word rocked through her mind as she felt them shoved into each other, and suddenly tumbling her shield was lost in the collision of them as it went end over end and skidded along the ground. They bounced to that dirt, rolling. His feeling that oh-so-soft silken hair wrapping about them to some degree, binding in its own manner, her elbow hit a rock which had her hand release the sword as pain. White hot pain rocketed up along that arm. Her mind was blown by the feel of it.

The feel of each impact until they splashed into that river at the edge and she felt her world tilting, spinning, a dizziness she'd never experienced made her sick and for a moment she collapsed against his chest. Water soaked into her boots, as she tried to make her mind .... think of something, anything but all those aches which hit her all at once.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

The look of fury on his opponent's face as she charged at him was met with a sinister smile by Mairo as he charged at her. His entire life had been building up to this moment, and he was enjoying every second of it! He even enjoyed the surprise that was the sudden reappearance of her divine shield. None of the angels he'd killed and injured before had been able to summon their divine shield so quickly after he'd dissipated it with his hellfire, and his brow furrowed beneath his short black hair, despite the excitement that still made his smile widen and his heart beat faster.

When Mairo got without 100 feet of the angel, he knew he was past the point of no return, like literally felt it in his bones, pulling him closer. He didn't fight it though. No, his fist closed tighter around the handle of his blade, his muscles going taught as he willed his own power to bear once more. A black aura of hellfire surrounded his blade, the same aura that had surrounded the bolts that had shattered her shield before.

As one the two leapt, she leading with her shield, and he with his sword, each hoping for a single clash that would leave the other crumpled on the ground, crushed and broken beneath their might and skill! Mairo's sword hit her shield, hoping to knock it out of the way so he could muscle her around as well. Then it was as if time stopped for a single moment, then -everything- exploded in a rush of air which threw both of them away from each other, while divine bonds also tried to drag them closer.

The aura slowly drained from around Mairo's sword, draining back down the blade and into him even as he felt the power that he'd so painstakingly stolen from so many creatures fade away into nothingness. Even his wings, black as they were, that symbolized his status as a fallen angel, shrunk and retreated into himself until they left nothing but tattoos under his clothing.

Mairo's crossbow was lost in the explosion outwards, but his hand held onto his sword with a death grip as the two were pulled towards each other once more, their bodies colliding and entwining as her red hair wrapped around them. Only the impact of the ground was enough to finally wrench his sword free of his grasp, sending it flying freely until it imbedded itself in a tree, the adamantine blade cutting effortlessly through and sinking through to the hilt.

With everything going on, Mairo's arms, legs, elbows, knees, and head hit the ground again and again, and yet for some reason the only thing he could think to do was wrap his body around her to make sure she came to as little harm as possible. He was a warrior for fuck's sake, with instincts to match. Why was he more concerned about her than himself, especially when she had to be responsible for this?

"W-what happened?" Mairo asked in a soft tone of the angel he cradled softly against his chest, finding himself curbing the anger, harsh language, and accusations as he put a voice to his thoughts, with no clear reason or understanding for why he'd done it.

 

[Ravishing]

In the aftermath of their coming to a stop, initially, there'd been no realisation that her enemy, the one who had to have caused all this in the first place, had sought to protect her. Even now he was wrapped around her, cradling her to his chest. Groggily another groan out of her, breath likely felt rushing over his neck since that's where her face came to rest as she'd collapsed into him when everything had stopped.

Evangeline heard those words from him, the softness of his tone. Surely it was a trap to lure her in. He wanted her to lift her face so he could smash it! Right? So it took her a few moments of breathing in and out, pain rolling through her, as she felt something akin to divine tendrils of fire run along her spine.

It caused her body to arch, her head to lift, her throat exposed, those blue eyes revealing the pain. All that red hair entangled was pulled at once for a moment, as what had been her wings became a visual entwine of silver and gold lines trailing her spine and outwards curling along her ribs via the sides and as the pain began dying down. There was a moment of her managing to untangle them from her hair enough that while it was still everywhere, she wouldn't be hurt if either moved.

About to speak she instead made a strangled sound as he'd this time -see- her divine halo flow through her and wrap about her throat, that golden light solidifying itself into a thin golden seeming collar around her throat, seamless, without join or lock. She reached up hand trembling as she touched it. She felt the hum of it, while he felt its resonance flow through both, it was something he hadn't felt in a long, long time, a touch of the divine. Eve pulled her hand away from it and instead rubbed her throat a moment.

"..I.." She what? What could she say? She'd never once heard of an Angel's Halo doing this to them. Wait. Everything hurt. Those blue eyes finally seemed to take in his face, the fact blood was oozing from his temple. Caused her to frown a little. Tentatively as if she didn't control, her own hand fingers gained a hint of a glow the barest smallest hint, and as she touched that temple he felt the soothing coolness of magical healing wisp through him there. It might just be enough to not only heal the wound but take away a smidge of the pain his head felt.

"..don't... get it." Eve finally found herself finishing. She didn't get it of course. She had not caused this. She'd wanted to slam her shield into him, and while he was dealing with that, swing starlight at him. Wait. Where in heaven was her sword? She turned her head rapidly, while at the same time seeking to push her hands to his chest and heave herself into sitting up, this put her astride him. Probably not the best thing, as her vision swam again for a moment and she found herself shutting her eyes really, really fast. Oh gods, dizzy. Things like this didn't happen!

She was an Angel for heaven's sake. Dizzy, hurts, aches. She felt them naught. The divine righteousness of heaven's power kept such things from happening. It was then she heard something. A thud. Then it happened again. He would see her looking confused. First, she managed to peek her eyes open and look at him, then she looked at her own chest. A hand lifted, pressing to the chainmail there. Another thrumming thud resounded. While her heart had beat all her life, now it felt as if it was beating in time with something. Atunned to something. She looked from herself, down at him. Tentatively pressing a hand to his chest there. It was like a lightning bolt zapped up her hand, and her arm and hit her in the heart. The heaven? She thought. What foul sorcery had demonkind cooked up to make hearts beat as one? Thus intense confusion was felt by her, and no doubt Mairo felt that same lightning bolt effect as she'd done it.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Mairo had acted to protect Evangeline out of pure instinct. He didn't in fact realize that she'd ended up on top of him until she'd made to lift her head, the motion exposing her throat. His first instinct wasn't to smash her pretty face or cut that beautifully curved throat though, but rather to...kiss it? What the fuck was wrong with him other than what was clearly a severe concussion?

Just as Mairo had been about to shake his head to try and clear the cobwebs out of it, he saw Evangeline lift her hand and extend it towards him. He knew he should react, because it was surely reaching for his throat, ready to choke the life from him, right? Before he could react though, it moved past his throat to the temple of his throbbing head. He couldn't see the glow from her fingers, but the feeling of what she was doing pulled a soft sigh from him. He turned his head towards her fingers as he tried to remember just how many years had passed since he'd felt that soothing divine healing. In the back of his mind he knew it was a trap, but for just a moment he let himself enjoy the way it took the edge off the throbbing pain of the headache and let him focus on their surroundings and situation.

"Thank you...for that." Mairo said, swallowing his pride for at least that moment and thanking the angel for doing what they both knew that she didn't have to do. She didn't immediately respond, not that he'd expected her to, being all high and mighty, but he was surprised when he saw her get a little dizzy as she looked around. He saw the way her head swam and she closed her eyes and braced herself more fully on him, resting her hand on his chest as he once more instinctively moved to support her. What the hell was wrong with both of them?

Things got even weirder when Evangeline pressed her hand to her chest over her armor and then, as Mairo watched, pressed the same hand to his chest. When her hand touched his chest though, he flinched as he felt a bolt of lightning surge through his entire body, and judging by her reaction, she felt something similar surge through her body as well.

"What the fuck?" Mairo shouted as he flinched and turned his body, dumping Evangeline unceremoniously into the shallow water of the river. "What the fuck was that, and what the fuck did you did you do?"

As freaked out as Mairo was by the lightning that had surged through him, he was also very torn. He'd naturally retreated a little from Evangeline, crab-walking backwards up the bank a little, but only a little, because despite his unease at what had happened, he couldn't deny how beautiful she looked with the wet dress under her armor clinger to her body. He took a crab step closer and reached out to her before he stopped himself, that torn feeling making itself truly felt as he wanted to wrap himself around her and keep her warm, despite the fact that he truly suspected that she was responsible for all of this.

 

[Ravishing]

Dumped off him she hit the water sideways, rolled to her back in it and thus was soaked right through that chainmail and the dress under it. She blinked a little, hands seeking to brush the water off her face as she first sat up. Her wet hair clung down her cheeks and just limped against her otherwise in water-weighted straight strands.

Eve didn't realise she gave him a betrayed look as she looked up, through the curtain of red thick long lashes. As blue eyes came to settle on Mairo. Likewise, her lower lip gave the slightest tremble as she began standing up straight. The heaven was wrong with her. They'd wanted to kill each other! They should be fighting. Not rolling about in the water. Water sodden and filled boots squishing as she stormed out of that water. Past him in a pouting huff of temper.

Even mad right now she looked vulnerable, beautiful beyond belief. "You did it. You had to. It happened when I touched you. What the heaven did you do to me? Look at what you've done to me, it's some demon trick, isn't it? Power me down to make it an easy kill?" She picked up speed boots splashing water out of them as she stomped along, gaze casting about looking for her Starlight. Finally, she saw the muted glint of it. "I can feel something is horribly wrong here... I ache, I hurt..." Her mind refused to supply that he, the demon, had bled. From a rock hit.

Even as she began running for that weapon in her fury, she simply completely missed the fact humans were slinking closer through the trees. Until a handful of them fired arrows in Mairo's direction and one called out. "You, stay put, we just want her... she's a fitting tribute..." The one speaking was well armoured and the others were similarly clad.

Evangeline snorted. "You have to be kidding me. Really..." A defiant look on her face as she went to reach for her blade on the ground. The lead human stepped forth and swung. Eve had never really paid much attention to the grand creation, seeing them as a bother. Her designation as a warrior, not a guardian potentially why she deemed them annoying. She didn't think he'd have been fast enough to hit her, most demons struggled too. But as that fist connected to her jaw, and sent her sinking to the ground, her eyes blinking back tears she began to attempt to re-evaluate it through a ringing sound blasting through her head. "Course, he won't care if the goods are a little bruised." The Leader murmured, while seeking to step up to Eve's form there, his foot kicking her sword along the ground.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Mairo had just pushed himself to his feet as Evangeline stormed past him. Despite looking beautifully vulnerable, as soaked as she was, he was not dissuaded from retrieving his weapon, especially when he saw her looking for hers and heard her verbally blaming him for something he knew he had nothing to do with.

"Further proof that you don't know a damn thing about me!" Mairo shouted as he closed his hand around the handle of Annihilation.

The conversation Mairo and Evangeline were having was interrupted by the twang of several bows, and he snarled as the warning shots landed and again when he heard the man speak. Mairo had been about to pull his weapon out with his left hand, but when he saw the pan punch Evangeline square in the face, he turned, grabbed the handle with his right hand, braced himself against the tree, and ripped the mighty weapon free in a single motion.

Mairo then pushed off of the tree and broke into a run, holding Annihilation the exact same way he'd been holding it when he'd been charging at Evangeline. The men rushed to nock their arrows, but they hadn't been expecting him to attack, and thus were too slow. His left hand joined his right on the adamantine weapon as he brought it up and around, almost cutting one man in half with the rising slash, and then another with the downward slash. The other two got their bows ready and fired, but at such a close range, and rushed as they were, one went wild and the other just missed his shoulder.

From there both men dropped there bows and drew their long swords, but that only made Mairo smile. He spun Annihilation in one hand and charged. They crossed their blades to block his, and the effort appeared successful until he took his left hand off of his blade to punch one man in the face and then lifted his fight foot to kick the other man in the chest, dropping him. He then spun Annihilation once more before turning it blade down to stab the downed man in the chest. He ripped it out just in time to to block the attack coming his way from the man he'd punched in the chest, use his superior strength to shove the man backwards, and then use the opportunity to stab him in the stomach. He turned the man towards Evangeline and the last man just so that he couldn't be caught off guard before giving the waved and serrated blade a twist, just to hear the man scream before he ripped the blade out.

"Now...I'd say that we should agree to disagree..." Mairo said as he walked in a slow circle until he came across Starlight. "But...you are not going to live that long." He nudged his foot beneath the blade and kicked it up into the air, catching it with his left hand. He prepared for it to burn him, ready to grip it tighter when it did, but then was surprised when the burning never happened.

A sinister smile came to Mairo's lips as his violet eyes flicked up to the man who'd dared to lay a hand on Evangeline. "The only thing that saddens me..." He started as he took slow and confident steps towards the man who naturally took slow and cowardly steps backwards. "Is that your life..." He stepped up to Evangeline and offered her sword to her. "Is not mine to take."

 

[Ravishing]

Her jaw was bruised and the pain burned through her worse than her first taste of a Demon's hellfire. It brought tears to her eyes. Made her recoil, the reaction of course had her looking up. Thus she saw exactly what the demon did to them. Honestly, she couldn't blame him. Not at this moment. They wanted to do what to her? Turn her into a tribute? A what? Her. An angel as a gift to a mere mortal?

Thus she watched those four lose their lives in quick succession. Each fell to that blade in the demon's hand. If he hadn't been on the other side, she might have cheered for it. When the demon held her weapon. She fully expected it to burn him with righteous heavenly fury. It had burned every other damn demon who'd dared to touch it. Yet. He held it. His face echoed surprise for a moment but she put that down to demon trickery. He was clearly trying to trick her about that. Right? Right.

When he actually offered her, her blade. It would be this moment that fully revealed the extent of that bruising. Almost as if something powerful had hit her. Yet. Nothing had. Just a mere mortal. Rising unsteadily to her feet, finally she took the blade. Their fingers brushed in the process and the feel of that electric tingle made her give him an odd look.

The human, in that moment, turned to take off running. Eve heard the steps and snarled hand in sword she ran. Those light steps were driven by fury at the one who'd dared think her something to take and offer as a gift! How dare he! She paused a moment chest heaving, eyes narrowing, as she took a moment seeming to center her mind. Then she totally threw that long sword at him. It flipped end over end and impaled him in the middle of his back severing the spine, he went down HARD into the ground then with a strangled cry as it twisted as he hit the ground.

Doing it should have been effortless. Yet she swore as she threw it there was a twinge of muscles complaining in her shoulder. Then the pain of her jaw reminded her she was there. As she stood there, however, Mairo might see red against that chainmail, a stream of it. Something in the manner she'd had moved and pulled red wet hair out of the way to show blood slowly running against the back of her neck and down. It gleaming over the golden collar of her transformed halo about her throat. That she had red hair didn't exactly help him in seeing where that wound was. He had, however thrown her off him, they'd also gone tumbling across the ground. He'd incurred a wound then, it totally stood to reason she had, they'd just not realised.

Perhaps something of Eve, realised it now as she swayed for a moment and dropped to her knees heavily.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

When Evangeline turned towards him as he held her blade towards here, Mairo got a full look at her face and the bruising the punch had caused, and the swelling that was still going on. His face twisted into a snarl as he saw it, imagining all the things he wanted to do to the man, knowing that whatever death the man got would be too good for him.

All of the thoughts going through Mairo's head were interrupted when Evangeline took the blade from him though. The transfer caused their fingers to touch and another electric tingle to surge through him. She gave him an odd look, and his snarl turned into a quizzical look as he wondered what she was on about when she was the one doing all of this electricity nonsense.

Seeing the human dare to run would have been laughable if not for the events that preceded it. Bullies did tend to be the biggest cowards after all. Mairo had a great view of the kill, and of the beautiful Evangeline with her shapely hips as she gave chase and threw her sword in a motion that should have seemed unnatural, but somehow seemed perfectly fitting. She hit her target dead center, severing her spine and dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

Before Mairo, or even Evangeline could even think about celebrating any kind of victory though, his keen eyes caught sight of something eyes, a different shade of red showing against Eve's red hair. He was already moving, even before she fell heavily to her knees, and his arms were around her, holding her close, and eased her to a sitting position that was more stable for her than kneeling. His fingers reached gently for her hair and scalp, trying desperately to ignore the tingling sensation until he found what looked like an abrasion from hitting her head on a rock. He stripped off his shirt and pressed it against the abrasion while also hugging her close, all without even thinking about what he was even doing or why he was doing it.

 

[Ravishing]

That tingle that ran through her as he came to cradle her to him, was distracting. Yet despite it, she felt why he was suddenly ripping off his shirt and putting it to her head. There was all that bare skin against her then, the scent of him tickling her nose. As much as that touch of them so close made her gasp, as her body found itself reacting to it.

"...I'm... bleeding, aren't I?" She asked him to confirm it. She swore she could feel it that slight trickle that had been going on for a while. Yet everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. "That's why my head aches, so badly, why I can't think straight, why I..." Why she what? Felt that tingle that made her toes want to curl just because he was touching her. Why, why would he do something so damn distracting.

A soft groan left her lips, it as much expressed pain as it expressed the flickers of something she felt. A press of her cheek to his chest then even as she shivers softly. "...I need to .... get... it healed..." She made a frustrated sound then softly. That hand lit up, just as before her hand lifting and wavering as she tried to bring it about. Would he help her get it there, or would he direct it to himself and fix his own aches? He'd felt what that could do.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

"Yeah, hit your head on a rock I think." Mairo said out of reflex as he put a bit more pressure on the wound to help stop the bleeding.

When Evangeline groaned, he couldn't help but look down. His violet gaze softened when he saw her shiver in pain, her cheek pressed against his chest. The sight of it made him feel things he hadn't felt in a long time. He shook his head, trying to clear it, knowing it was a trick. It HAD to be a trick. He heard her words, then the sound of frustration.

When Mairo saw Evangeline's hand start to glow, he couldn't help but be entranced by it. He couldn't help but remember what it had been like to be able to do that, and what it had felt like what she'd healed him. His gaze lingered on beautiful but marred face as one hand pulled his shirt from the wound on the back of her head, and the other guided that glowing hand to cover it.

Even with his assistance done, Mairo didn't pull away from Evangeline. He still held her close as she healed herself, rocking their seated bodies back and forth a little as he waited for her to be strong enough to move. He still didn't know why he was doing these things, and his mind was working at a mile a minute to figure out why, yet here he was all the same.

 

[Ravishing]

As he rocks them still, she shivers from the contact between them. Another softer sound, which might just be pleasing in another way to those ears of his as he heard it from her parted lips. Hearing it out of an Angel, well, certainly a first time for everything.

As her abrasion heals at the back, some of that healing redirected on its own to slightly speed up the bruise and its healing. Turning it from how it was rapidly turning black to a pale brownish yellow. Finally, she seemed to be breathing stronger. He felt, however the moment she was stronger within, his own heart seemed to reaffirm it all on its own as if his heartbeat had a tie to hers. Something that seemed to link back to that lightning shock between them.

For some reason, she found it, nice, being within those strong arms wrapped around her, yet her mind threw back the insist. Now it could think through the fog of pain she'd felt; Demon. He's a no-good demon, a Fallen one. Certainly with what he'd shown her on the field. Not some human who'd bartered for the powers and been infected. No. An original Fallen Angel.

Yet, instead of pulling away from him she, stayed there a moment. A lick of her tongue over her lower lip, her mind thinking rapidly now. "..we need to move." Even as she spoke the words he felt her chainmail shiver between them and retreat. It recalled a bracelet about her wrist with but a thought from her, at the same time her wrap-around shinguards did the same vanishing trick turning into a small embed of metal on her white leather boots. Likely the only ability left to it now. "..it's going to be less conspicuous if I'm not running about armoured." From memory women here who looked remotely pretty didn't do that.

Reluctantly she pulled herself to her feet, and before she really had time to think, found herself offering him a hand up. "Need to grab my sword and shield, they'll do the same. Hide, against me." Her blue eyes seemed thoughtful. "We need a place to work out what happened. There's a settlement somewhere to the east.." She didn't like offering up they go near humans, but she did not foresee them having much of a choice.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

As Evangeline's breathing steadied, Mairo knew that she was starting to feel better and stronger. It wasn't just that he knew she was feeling better and stronger, but he could somehow literally feel that she was better and stronger, like feel it deep inside in a way that felt really weird. Despite that weirdness though, he didn't push her away like he had at the river, and neither did she seem to be in a rush to do the same.

Evangeline's words came with a weird shivering motion, and Mairo loosened his hold as he studied her to see what was going on. It was truly a strange sight to watch her armor shiver and retreat, turning into various pieces of jewelry on her body. "Huh." He said as he reluctantly allowed her to pull away and stand up. "That's a neat trick. Does it still protect you when it's in that form?" He asked with obvious curiosity, reaching out his hand to touch part of her leg that had been protected by her shin guard.

 

[Ravishing]

The only reason Eve's armour pieces could alter form was because of how far she'd come up in the grace of Angels. Heaven's Armourer also had happened to admire her, from afar. Thus the imbuements to allow her to hide it if needed. The only thing no Angel could do was have their Halo change form. She had no idea what was going on there. Except that, she was positive he caused it.

"Yes," the word left her parted lips just as his hand encountered her bare calf. That touch made her shiver a little with the way his touch came across as the best experience ever, that tingle flowing along her flesh. "..It... it uh..." An attempt to straighten her mind out from the fog of budding emotions that trickled through her. "..it'll spring into place if I get the distinct feeling I'm in danger, or if something knocks me unconscious it'll wrap about me, and won't allow itself to be pulled off me."

Those blue eyes of her's dropped to very likely where he was touching her still, as she just watched...

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Mairo nodded as he heard Evangeline's words, both at the same time as his first finger came in contact with her bare calf. The touch of their bare skin once more sent tingles through his entire body, and yet he found himself torn. He'd only intended to experiment, stopping once he felt either the cold feel of metal or the warm touch of skin, but now that he felt her warm skin, what started as a single fingertip turned into the backs of all four fingertips as he leaned closer.

While Mairo of course knew that time was of the essence, he also knew how strange yet intoxicating that tingling feeling was, and with it starting with just a small feeling from a fingertip, he was in control of how strong the feeling was. As he brushed the backs of his four fingertips across her skin and reached the ends of them, he took one leap further, sliding the pads of his fingers along the flawlessly smooth flesh, just far enough so that his thumb could trace along her skin as well.

Mairo's violet eyes had been drawn to his hand and her leg, entranced by what he'd been doing. Even as he'd been doing it though, drawn in more and more by that tingling feeling that grew more and more with each bit of contact, he knew too that he should stop. His hand paused for but a moment to flick upwards, to the owner of that leg. He swallowed hard, afraid of what he might see, and yet afraid of the fact that he was afraid. He was never afraid, it wasn't like him to be afraid. Hell, it wasn't like him to be doing any of this, and yet here he was. His mind asked itself why again and again, always coming up either blank or because of her, and yet here he was all the same, both doing this, and pausing to give her a chance to respond, participate, or stop it...How could he be so in control of something, and yet so out of control at the same time...?

 

[Ravishing]

Plenty of people had touched her hand. Her arm. Even her calf. Especially those who wanted to earn good graces by adjusting her leg guards. Yet. As she felt one fingertip, turn into the backs of all four fingers rubbing against her calf, seeing him leaning closer. His fingers traced them the right way, thumb joining it. Eve found herself watching him with it. Feeling that tingle of his hand against her, in the way those fingers brushed her.

With that hand mostly on her leg, pausing in movement. As those violet eyes look up, see her blue ones staring down at him. He got to see her expression. Hints of enjoyment are clearly there, as her lips part and a shakey breath drawn in, a tremble of enjoyment fluttering through her form. It was the moment her mind, for now, reasserted itself.

They weren't somewhere safe. her longsword was still in that idiot who'd hit her and wanted to claim her as a tribute to offer to another. She had no immediate idea where her shield was. There could well be a secondary hunting party coming for them. Who knew with these silly little mortals! "..we need to blend... get to the city, get a room, somehow, take a moment in a secure location to try and work something out, talk..." She was actually being very reasonable in saying all that. Not one word about him being a no-good demon!

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Evangeline's eyes, and the expressions on her still beautiful, if slightly marred from the punch, face, said so much, even as her mouth said so little. He saw the enjoyment painted across her face, and yet he made no mention of it, neither using it as a taunt nor wanting to spoil the mood. Her words were reasonable after all, and not exactly an outright rejection of his attentions. So where he could have responded in so very many ways, he simply smiled and lifted his left hand to take the hand that she'd offered down to him, letting his right linger against her calf as long as he could before having to pull it away so that he could stand.

Only when he was standing his full and proper foot taller than her did Mairo finally move to step away from Evangeline's, taking a respectful step backwards before turning his back to a lady. He lifted his arm and sheathed Annihilation as he walked to the place where the two of them had clashed so that he could set about trying to deconstruct the scene to locate both his crossbow and her shield.

"I know I lost my crossbow during the explosion." Mairo said loud enough for Evangeline to hear. "So I know it's in this direction." He pointed in the direction he'd charged at her from. "Do you remember if you lost your grip on your shield during the explosion backwards or when we were pulled back towards each other? I know a lot was happening at once, but it would narrow down the search area."

 

[Ravishing]

Eve's grip on his hand was firm yet she found she had to brace her foot backward to help him up, thus once he was up, an electric feeling of his hand as it left her skin. There's a watch of him turning from her, and seeking to then watch him walking. It was only when he stopped she realised he'd walked right to where they first impacted together.

Slowly walking towards him she came to furrow her brows a little. Replaying it in her mind. "I think as we initially hit, I still had it. It loops along my forearm in two locations." Eve explains softly, that lilt of her voice rather musical. "As we hit, I still had it, but as we first flung apart...." She turned slowly back walking to where she'd been standing, eyes closing as she brought her arm up as if the shield was on it, as she seemed to be perhaps retracing it all. "Then my arm went..." A turn and point, as she looked along that trail she began moving along it. Finally, she seems to stop looking down to her feet. Right in front of them, it was mostly embedded into the ground.

A pout touched her lips as she sought to grip that inch of it that was visible and pulled hard. Those white leather boots skidded a little as she did as if it was well and truly stuck. A cute glare down at that shield as she pulled harder, a slight move of it, boots skidding a little more over the uneven and rocky ground, before with a slick sound it came free in a rush, sending her to land hand on the ground, that length of her very loose flowing dress lifting to show off those delicate panties, and well-toned athletic thighs, before she ended up potentially lightly winded by an impact with the shield to her chest. While it didn't really hurt her, it certainly had her land in a position where that dress also had risen to bare a flat-toned stomach. Putting her flat on the ground.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Mairo listened to Evangeline work out in her mind what had happened, watching as she closed her eyes in the process. When she turned to start her search, he did the same. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for, though he hoped and expected that her search would be a bit more fruitful, as his search ended with him finding splinters of wood spread all over the beach. It had been durable, but without the it's enchantments, it hadn't been able to withstand the force of the explosion.

As he turned around, Mairo saw the cutest glare come to Evangeline's face as she was looking down at what he assumed was her shield stuck in the ground. He couldn't resist a smile at the comedic sight, but the smile actually turned into a blush as he saw the shield give way, and the force of her pull land her flat on her back with such momentum that her loose and flowing dress went with her, giving him a full and clean view of the entirety of her tonged and athletic legs and thighs, her delicate, white, and innocent-looking panties. I mean hell, the dress had flown so far up that he could even see her flat and toned stomach.

While Mairo couldn't resist taking at least a bit of a peak, he did eventually turn his gaze away for Evangeline's sake as he approached her, offering her his hand to help her stand this time while also trying to distract her with a bit of conversation. "That explosion certainly had some power behind it, didn't it? Hell, It sent my sword straight into a tree up to the hilt, waves and serrations and all. I wouldn't have thought it was possible if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes.

 

[Ravishing]

A frustrated sound as she swung the shield to land against the ground, then thrust her hand up into his, pulled to her feet she hadn't been expecting that strength. Distracted as she was about the conversation about the strength of the explosion. She found herself landing against him, a small eep out of her.

"..Yes... Yes, it did.. I've never lost my shield before. Ever." A deeper breath inwards there as she felt herself tremble a little. She found her head tilting back as she looked up into those eyes of his. A bite of that lower lip as she kept staring. "That's never happened.. either... I don't know what's wrong with me... we need to get somewhere safe... something's wrong.. very wrong..."

If he looked down at her he'd very much be able to see hints of the perfection of her cleavage bared just slightly, yet shown through that white wet dress she wore.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Mairo wasn't sure if he had pulled Evangeline to her feet that hard on purpose or if he was still getting used to this new body of his, because this body was most certainly new. The sound that she made as she landed against him was unexpected, but far from unpleasant as her wet and barely covered form landed against his naked chest. He looked down at her, once more in his arms, as she took a deeper breath, a breath that couldn't help but draw his attention to her covered and yet slightly shown cleavage, with his view being accentuated by his vantage point.

When Evangeline's head tilted back, his gaze lifted to meet hers, his violet eyes darkening a little as he took in, truly took in, the beauty of the angel before him, even wet, disheveled, and bruised as she was.

"Sorry I..." Mairo started before pausing as he met her gaze. "I'm still...getting used to... to...to this body." He didn't know what it was about Evangeline's eyes, those beautiful blue eyes, but they just tore at every thought and shred of his concentration.

With a Herculean effort, Mairo did finally manage to tear his gaze from Evangeline's, but only so far as to look up so he could gauge the position of the sun in the sky. Despite managing that effort though, he could not bring himself to pry his arms from around the angel he held. "Do you remember how far away the city is, or was going to be from the battle, or how long it would take to get there? Setting up a camp in the dark is doable, but something of a pain, and is even worse with sparse supplies. If the city is close we could push for it, but if not...we may have to prepare for a night out here."

 

[Ravishing]

While prominently visible on her jaw, it lent a vulnerability to her as she leaned against him, initially staring up into his eyes. before she was simply looking up at the sky as she looked around, that wet form slightly tugging against the arms securely around her. As she looks squarely up. That mind recalling the details she'd seen from above. "..we're three hours from the city. It'd be dark then, and cold. This area gets cold fast." She points to the south. "There's the desert out that way, the chill from it travels far due to how the side mountains funnel it. We're going to need to make a fire... and we may need to stay close." She spoke softly about it to him.

Gaze lowering to him then. "The light's going to fade faster than we realise. I spent a little time around this area," Okay so she'd been double-checking her other Angel's facts. On him. Carefully she seeks to free herself from his grip. "I'll.. collect the brush, kindling, and find a spot and whatever bigger things I find. It.. It might take me a while to remember what to do to start a fire.."

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Though he was in no hurry to part from the lovely, if wet, angel that he held, Mairo listened closely to Evangeline words about the times, distances, and reasonings for everything, nodding to her and reasoning as he felt her tugging against her hold. It took him a second to realize what she was doing, and he actually blushed a little she he released her, as he hadn't been aware that he'd been holding her that tight or sort of against her will for a second there. "Oops...sorry about that..." He said sheepishly as he released her, apologizing more times in a single day than he'd apologized in as many centuries.

As Evangeline headed towards the tree line, Mairo turned his attention towards the more unsavory task of salvaging supplies from their attackers, particularly camping supplies, as any combat supplies they were likely to have were certainly going to be inferior to the angelic and demonic armaments each of them carried. The group didn't have much, which told him that they were probably from that city that was close by, and were thus not expecting to be gone long. One thing they did have though, was flint and steel. He smiled at that, closing his large fist around them as he continued his search, pocketing any money he found, as he figured they'd need it later, and passing on pretty much everything else.

As luck would have it, when Mairo was done checking the leader, who had the most money of the group, but unsurprisingly no supplies, Evangeline was on her way back with the supplies for the fire. She set them by a nice and flat spot that would make the perfect place for a fire, far enough from the river to be safe from the water, and far enough from the tree line to not be a fire hazard. He moved to sit across from her and beside the pile of supplies, setting the flint and steel on the other side.

As he sad down, Mairo remembered what Evangeline had said about how it might take her a while to remember how to start a fire. So he just took the opportunity to grab the dry grasses that she'd grabbed, built a nice little nest, grabbed the flint and steel as he positioned his body between what would hopefully be a fire and the wind, leaned down, rolled the flint over in his hand several times to get a feel for it before holding it just so, and then struck it with the steel several times. His violet gaze burned with intensity as he watched a couple sparks go wide of the nest and then a couple land dead center as he leaned in closer and kept going. Several more landed dead center as a thin pillar of smoke started to rise. He then dropped the two tools and leaned down, and blew the gentlest bit again and again until the tiniest flame dared to peek out around the grass. He continued to gently blow as he fed a bit more grass, taking his time before daring to add even the tiniest of sticks to the baby flame.

Only when the flame was healthy and stable did Mairo finally sit up and reach for his shirt to get fully dressed once more.

 

[Ravishing]

Eve managed to gather rocks and put them in a wide circle about that grass once he moved back enough to let her. Then she found herself focusing on it. Even in the time he'd taken to strip them of supplies and she to gather firewood, kindling and grasses for it. She'd also collected her sword and shield as she sat there she put a hand on each. They shimmer and while the shield appeared on her inner wrist, the sword appeared to stretch along the forearm and a tattooed version of both there on her ever-so-pale flesh. She exhaled softly.

Huddling closer to it even intermittently the two seek to add bits gradually building that fire up. The faint edges of that dress start to dry as she pulls it from herself trying to let the warmer fire dry it. That flickering flame cast shadows against the white of her dress. Making it just as near see-through while a fire light lit it up and her.

Her red hair was a curtain of curls and slight knots cascading about her there as she sat. Carefully pulling those boots off to let them dry. "How are we going to keep warm? You... might actually be fine. You've got more on than me." She hadn't felt hunger hit her yet, which would likely come in the morning, nor thirst. But the cold, for some reason. Then she seemed to remember that the dress was still trying to dry. It occurred to her she might just need to take it off. None of the dead were clean enough with blood for her to steal a shirt. Eve took a moment, another shiver before she pulled that wet fabric off herself, moving to drape it over that larger rock nearby, close enough to have helped shield with the firebreak for the wind. She still had on those delicate panties and a camisole top that just came to an inch above her belly button. It was silky, soft and clung over her in a provocative manner.

"...I don't know what happened to ... me..." She couldn't bring herself to say, us. Despite it she was looking at Mairo as she spoke it. "...but it occurred as if we set something off by getting too close... would another demon by trying to set such a trap?" Would another Angel?