Senshoku Origins: Dove

Dove

Long ago, there existed Angels. Among them was Dove, an angel whose duties included taking care of her younger sister, Crow, and another task assigned to all angels: protecting mortals. Although angels were forbidden from interacting with mortals, Dove was tasked with guarding them from otherworldly threats such as Demons. This is her story.

A gentle breeze passed by a sunny clearing in the forest near the base of a large cliff. Small pebbles and rocks decorated the entrance of a cave blocked by a large boulder.

"Do you really think there is a demon around here?" Crow asked her sister, Dove.

"Can't you feel it?" she replied, smelling the air.

"Feel what?" Crow questioned, a confused look upon her face.

"That horrible scent of dark magic," Dove answered, grimly looking at the ground. "Look at this, the rocks here wouldn't form naturally like this," Dove said, pointing to the cliffside. "No mortal could move a stone this large; it had to be a demon," Dove continued, feeling along the cliff wall.

"Have you ever found a demon? It feels like you've been hunting them for what? 5000-ish years?" Crow asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, once..." Dove replied, looking back at her sister.

"Wow, one whole demon in 5000 years," Crow responded sarcastically.

"And you've been doubting me for 4000 of those, but not today," Dove said, lifting the large boulder that once sealed the cave above her head and casually tossing it aside.

"Is it... is it going to scurry out or something?" Crow asked, looking at the cave entrance, perplexed.

"No, we go inside, and we kill it," Dove replied, drawing her blade from a pocket of her own magic.

Crow sighed and drew her own blade from her own pocket. "Remind me why I agreed to go on this expedition with you?" Crow asked.

"Because you haven't done your job in centuries and you're worried He's going to take notice of that," Dove said teasingly.

"Demons haven't been spotted outside of hell in like... gosh, a few thousand years?" Crow said defensively.

The two angels made their way into the cave, small lights in their palms from their powers illuminating the jagged, unnatural stone walls and hallways. As they ventured deeper, the cave revealed narrow corridors of sharp rock with a few rooms scattered about, and even a dilapidated bed covered in thick moss. Dove felt along the walls and furnishings, tracing the past with her fingers. She even found an old-fashioned vendor stall of sorts, grimacing at the smell of the musk of rotting wood. It looked like it had been ripped from wherever it was once nailed, and upon wiping the dust off the front, she saw the stall read "Apples," which might have explained the dirt-like gunk filling it.

"Did you notice? No fixtures on the walls to hold a torch or a light," Dove yelled to Crow in the other room.

"This place seems pretty old," Crow shouted back. "Maybe they didn't have the metallurgy to make things like that," Crow continued.

"No, this stall over here has nails in it, plus how could they mine out a cave like this? The walls are too artificial," Dove responded, looking at all of the ruined furnishings. "Whatever lived here could see in the dark," she continued.

"You got all that from there being no lights on the walls?" Crow asked.

"You pick up some detective skills when you actually do your job," Dove teased back.

Crow made her way into a room she felt did not welcome her, as if haunted, or the cave itself was almost angry at her for stumbling in; the cold from this particular room sent chills down her spine.