¡DEVILISH! [Discontinued]

XI

Seraphim scurried across the rock floor, her bare feet making a soft padding sound against the dust of the ground. She pushed more wood into the fire, using her wings to fan the flames, as she pushed the logs in with her foot. "You're cold," she said mindlessly, "we need more logs."

     Harlequin sat criss-crossed, watching as the Goddess paced about with a hand on her head, both wings stretch unnaturally. "I'm fine," he said in a gravely voice, "it'll be fine."

     "Fine?" she repeated incredulously, "no, no, no! Nothing about this is fine!"

     As soon as Seraphim had regained her wits, she pulled him down from the sky by his ankle, rushing them both back to the cave in a huge gust of wind. In the blink of an eye, the blue sky had been replaced with the brown rock ceiling he stared at as he fell asleep every night. Big ruffling wings shuttered on his friend's back, as she placed him down and folded them close.

     He'd only seen their span for a moment, but they were big, and the shadow they cast was bigger.

     The sun had gone down by now, and she hadn't shown any sign of stopping her little nervous breakdown. Harlequin was rather relieved actually; it was a bit humbling to know even a fallen angel had her bad days, but then again, falling had probably been a worse day than this little miscommunication.

     His symptoms hadn't even been all that bad. A scrathy throat, his voice beginning to give out, his head spinning slightly (though that could also be attributed to watching Sera pace in circles), and his small fever are the only things that had come in the last hours.

     Yet Sera was convinced the world was ending.

     He flinched, as she groaned, pulling both wings in front of her, as she began rustling the goosebumps away. "I'll fix it," she promised. To him or to herself, Harlequin wasn't sure, but she continued to walk in circles. "Yes, I'll fix it."

     He stood up, walking closer to her, but she backed away, muttering something under her breath. "I don't feel that bad," he said.

     "And when it gets worse?" she asked, "then what? I have no clue how to treat sickness, much less one caused by a curse!" When Harlequin tried to catch her attention, she continued, "I can't heal you, obviously. I could learn medicine. But from where would I get information on medicine?"

    Harlequin tried to speak again. "I know a little about herb-"

     "There has to be a medic around somewhere," she rambled, "but what does a doctor know about curses? You need a mage, yes. But no mage would come close to this type of magic, if they can even practice it to begin with."

     "Seraphim!" he yelled, finally catching her attention. She snapped her head his way, eyebrows furrowed and lips stretched into a deep frown, as she scanned him up and down and side to side. "Sorry," he mumbled, "whatever happens, I'll be alright. We'll figure it out."

     "We will?" He nodded, and she tilted her head. "You aren’t mad?"

    "I wish you would have told me when you first found out," Harlequin said, scratching the back of his neck, "but I'm not angry with you. Why would I be?"

     At hearing this, Seraphim seemed to finally, once and for all, calm down, as she felt nothing but truth and sincerity from the fairy. She shook her head. "It doesn't matter," she said, "I just need to keep you warm for now. Here." She shoved fruit into his face. "The more you eat the better. Maybe water would be better..."

     Harlequin laughed at her, as she glanced up at him. "For someone so capable, you worry a lot."

     "It's how we all are," she said, looking back down to her feet, "or were, at least."