Daevari -II-

Chapter 1.3: Warm Welcome

Ari awoke to the scent of amylis, a calming fragrance he had grown accustomed to during the early weeks spent with Auovin. Jolting upward, he felt the wagon bump and rock. His head was filled with fog, making further thinking nearly impossible. Concentrated amylis was potent to Blood Demons, inducing a sleep-like effect. Ari fought it, forcing himself to think, to remember until Sascha appeared in his mind. He searched around in the darkness that surrounded him, hoping now that the rain lessened his heightened senses would return.

"You are awake," Sascha said near his ear. The smell of his blood wafted to his nose causing a surge of panic to rush through him. It settled the moment Sascha kissed his cheek. "I am well. Well, well enough given the situation."

His eyes began adjusting. Small beams of light shot from the small glass window at the side, signaling the arrival of early morning.

Sascha yawned and sat back, his cuffs jingling.

It did not surprise Ari that Sascha would be calm even in a situation like this. He tended to be the more leveled one out of the two of them. It always meant he was thinking, always thinking. However, he was silent more than usual but, given their situation, Ari did not think much more of it.

Ari surveyed his surroundings, noticing they were in a carriage lined with red velvet with golden flowers embroidered on the seats and sides. It was clean save for the wooden floors being covered in mud and their mud and rain-soaked clothes staining the seats. As he looked to the right of him, he noticed the woman cuffed and quiet in the corner, not willing to meet his eyes no matter how long he stared. She shrunk more into herself.

"Ignore her," Sascha's words cut through the air like a frosty wind taking Ari aback.

"Sascha, I know this situation is precarious, but she is like us."

"And what of it? We are in this mess because of her," he hissed. "She led them straight to us!"

Ari winced. "Perhaps, that is true but I do not think she meant for this to happen. She was afraid and alone. You and I both know how that feels."

Sascha rocked his head back and gazed at Ari, his eyes storming. "I do not want a thing to happen to you, Ari."

"I feel the same for you, but with you and I together nothing shall. I will make it whereas it is so," Ari murmured onto his lips, wanting to kiss him.

He sighed and backed away with a contemplative face. "I suppose it is best if we make friends. Who knows what ill awaits us there."

Ari looked towards the woman. He rose from his seat and inched towards her and settled down on the floor near to her as best he could. The cuffs burned with the slightest movement and the terrain was rocky and filled with bumps.

Her hair was soaked along with her clothes. By the way she shook, Ari knew she had not had her fill of blood in a long time. She was a young demon, like them, but she seemed more like him than Sascha in many ways. Her brown eyes heavy with unshed tears gazed into his eyes before she tore away from him and stared back at the ground. No matter how he fought to not think of it, she reminded him of Auovin. From her sun-kissed skin to her thick, black ribbons of hair, long lashes, full lips... Despite her disheveled state she retained an undeniable, striking beauty that seemed to be juxtaposed to the situation they were in.

"You were raised by humans, were you not?" Ari asked, already knowing the answer.

She nodded.

"I was too, for a time."

The woman looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Although I cannot say I had the most pleasant experience, I did... I did love one once, like a father." The back of Ari's eyes stung and his heart ached. It had been hundreds of years since then but each time he spoke of it was if it just happened. "I love him still."