Similitude of Ashes and Feathers

Chapter 1: One Mistake to Rule Them All

Aaron was one of the training demons for the gate keeping position. The gates of Hell needed to be guarded just as much as the gates of Heaven, otherwise they'd have demons leaving left and right and both lands would have quite a few words for one another. Rogue demons were what they were called if they left without royal approval, rogues were not protected and were to be killed by any of the angels if seen.

Although Aaron looked sixteen in human years, he was actually three hundred and forty eight in demon years. Starting his training quite young. Demon years were actually slower than angel years, time paced differently in the three realms, but it made all of the difference.

One day, on Aaron's few walk alone sessions, he got a little too curious. He'd never seen the overworld. It was never good for a demon to be curious, but he gave in to the temptation and went through the gate he was meant to be guarding. It led to the most beautiful place, earth. The fields were green, the flowers in bloom, he just couldn't help but admire his surroundings.

How could he possibly have missed this? A gate keeper was not what he should've chosen, he should've dealt with foreign affairs or the temptations division. Then again, deal making was his least favorite thing they could do because of the intentions behind it.

It was just his luck an angel had been surveying the area he was in, Aaron never did seem to have the best luck. He'd noticed the angel first, or at least he hoped that to be the case, so he made his way to at least have some coverage as quick as possible.

Alexander just so happened to be out that day, patrolling to gain experience and to just get outdoors. He was meant to be with Hercules but he didn't exactly mind not having the other present. Yes they were friends, but he quite enjoyed having some privacy and independence.

It was thrilling to be out on his own, the idea there could be demons lurking around every corner was as nerve wracking as it was exhilarating. He loved it. It wasn't until he'd seen a blur of movement in his peripheral vision when he finally got to see his first demon face to face.

Whipping his head in the direction of the movement, Alex flew down near the small glade he thought he saw someone in. Aaron wasn't stupid enough to stay out in the open when an angel was drawing near. Being out there without approved reasoning technically made him a rogue, that meant he was asking for death being there.

Thankfully he was a lesser demon, that meant he had a smaller build and did not have wings. It would be so much harder to hide if he were a greater demon. All it required was a particularly wide tree and he was pretty well concealed from the view of any angel landing in the glade he had started at.

Alex had no doubt he saw a demon... Well, maybe a little doubt. Of course, when he landed there was no one around. All that was there were the main woods, other flora, and the clear space where he was standing. After a few moments of searching Alex moved back to the skies.

Little did Aaron know that didn't mean he was unseen, regardless of how hard he tried not to be.

He waited an anxious amount of time before peeking around the tree he was hiding behind, looking back into the glade with his heart beating rapidly in fear of his impending doom. This was terrifying, why had he thought this was a good idea? For a little bit there it didn't seem so bad, the overworld was very beautiful and this was quite the experience.

"Boo," Aaron heard a voice from behind him and promptly turned around.

The angel snatched the end of his tail and refused to let go of it, not risking Aaron being able to run away. "Let go of me, don't touch that," he hissed. Aaron gripped his own tail as well and tried his hardest to pull away. Not unlike a cat's, when demons were irritated their tails would whip around. Right now his was trying out of instinct but failing due to it being restricted by their grasps.