Golden wings

Chapter 6 - Care

Alexis sighed and smiled a little, while he held a net tightly.

Another week. And he was still alive.

The angel let out a small sad chuckle, because he saw his situation as funny. In a weird way. There was no trace yet of his demon, nothing.

Maybe it was because he was being careful now; he was keeping watch of any feather he could drop, to keep the demon away, and so keep himself alive. But there was another reason.

Alexis frowned, and wondered if she would be back at all. He had been leaving the feathers at the same rock, every day. But every time he came back from exploring, they were still there.

Maybe she was angry. He could not blame her for it. Though in his defense, he could say he had all the right to be wary. He had to be, to survive.

Alexis tried to push those thoughts away, again. He tried to focus on the good side of things. One, he was alive. Two, he had found a lake.

He huffed and pulled strongly at the net, when he saw a shadow tangle with it. The lake was big, and somewhat deep, with many fish inhabiting it. The best was that it was not that far from his nest.

A small happy laugh escaped him, because there was a fish in the net, plopping around in vain. It struggled, trashing on shore, not managing to flee. He had to give her credit; it was really easier with a net.

Now, food was not a problem. Fish tasted better than fruit, but he ate both things. It was a small good thing in his hopeless fate.

He grabbed the fish gently and carefully, to then let it drop inside a bag he had made a few days ago. Not without feeling slightly bad for the animal.

"Sorry..."

He felt pity, but he had to eat. He had to keep going.

He had already two fishes, enough for today. He was going to fold the net again, and go back to his nest. But his eyes caught something tangled in it, something that glinted a little. His hand reached slowly for it, and raised it in front of his eyes.

"A shell?"

He doubted, not knowing if these things could be eaten. Either being edible or allowed by law.

After a minute he just shrugged, and threw it into the bag as well. In his situation, he could not afford to care what would the priests think.

It could taste bad, but he would not lose anything by trying it.

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Along the past days, he had tried many ways in which to cook fish. He first tried to mimic how Ayako did it. It was good, but it felt... Not quite right. It missed something; just putting them near the fire on sticks was too simple. He knew that in some other way they could taste better. He began to think, with his nervous mind. It helped that if he thought of that, he did not think of his demon. And so, after two days, he had crafted something. He had raised a flat thin rock above the ground, held up by three sticks he had sharpened to support its weight, all was tied up. He placed the thing just where he always lighted his fire. When lit, the heat below made the rock blaze, and so, it cooked any fish on it. The smoke also gave the food a better taste, which he found out after some failed attempts.

Tonight, he could not avoid smiling. He was keeping the fire up, with the two fishes and the shell on the rock. His wonder increased, because with the heat, the shell opened slowly, and it revealed the meat inside. It also made his mouth water. His impatience grew with each second he waited.

Alexis ate the fish first, being hungry after a whole day of walking and fishing. Once done, he grabbed the shell, to inspect it closely.

"Let's see."