Golden wings

Chapter 24 - Loss

Alexis was staring down at his hands, while he sat in the kitchen. He just kept quiet while Uriel made dinner. All was eerily silent, other than the sounds Uriel made while he cooked.

He was such an idiot...

Alexis felt horrible. Through the week, Uriel had not spoken much. He had a cold demeanor around him; he only said the most necessary and nothing else. He was avoiding him at all costs, but he was not showing anger towards him. His demon kept trying to keep it all hidden under a calm smile, which never reached his eyes. His voice was monotone as well.

Uriel just seemed... Depressed. And it was his fault, for going into that room, for asking things he had no business in.

While Alexis thought to himself, Uriel sighed, and then took the food he made from the counter, a seafood salad. Alexis worried when he laid the plate gently on the table, because he had only made one plate. The salad was for him, Uriel did not make any for himself.

Alexis frowned when Uriel turned and began to walk towards the door. Not wanting him to leave, he raised a hand and called timidly.

"Uriel, wait."

The devil halted, because he never refused to listen. His tired eyes showed no hatred or rancor. Still, Alexis doubted, while he glanced back and forth between the demon and the food. He dared to ask at last, after he swallowed his shame.

"You are not going to eat anything?"

He had not been eating much these days. He had skipped multiple meals.

Uriel shook his head with a little smile, while he averted his gaze.

"I'm not hungry." He waved his tail at him and left with a last whisper. "Don't worry about it."

Alexis did worry. He was left alone; Uriel was still refusing to talk much. He could only sit there, with helplessness. No matter how Uriel tried to hide it, Alexis could feel the sadness that flowed in him. He knew well that he missed his family.

He knew how it felt to miss someone...

Alexis did not feel like eating either. But he still reached for the food, not wanting to leave it to waste.

Uriel was not angry with him. He hoped so.

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Angels were not emotional creatures. But they still had a heart, no matter how they tried to suppress it deep inside. They hid and ignored every sense that made them similar to humans, which they considered immensely inferior.

Alexis sometimes wondered if he could be called an angel at all. But he was. One thing that defined angels, was their ability to sense. Sense the emotions around them... which they analyzed coldly, and then acted upon. Alexis could be the only one who truly paid attention to those emotions. He let himself be influenced by them; he felt them, and he did not hide it.

The angel was walking through a corridor, towards the main hall, without raising his gaze. He was letting the tip of his wings drag a little along the floors behind him, with each tired step he took.

He could not stand seeing Uriel like this.

Alexis smiled less and less, with every day that passed by. Uriel still held a friendly demeanor around him. He knew he was not angry with him, because there were no glares, no mean words... But he could not understand why he was being so cold. Even if his demon never ignored him and still prepared the food for the day, he was avoiding him. He spent more time in the lower floor, in his room, locked away.