Gazer

Part One

Why am I here again? I promised myself I would have nothing else to do with the damned nephalem. I don't care that they defeated my dear brother, who became Death itself; the nephalem are still a blight of creation. Then why, why can I not stay away from this one? I steal to her bedside, making sure to dim my heavenly glow to that of the full moon outside. Ever since I saw her weep at her sister's grave, my heart – my unneeded, supposedly nonexistent heart – ached for her. Yearned to hold her in my arms as she wept. I have never, EVER, felt anything remotely to this; I shouldn't be able to – I am an angel! An archangel of the High Heavens to boot! Yet here I am, carefully crouching down on the floor of a dingy human dwelling she and her nephalem comrades decided to sleep for the night. I kneel close to her face, making sure my wing rests lightly on top of her. I stare at her resting face and sigh inaudibly. Who am I to do this? To go this far just to see her face not set in a harsh scowl. I have no right to steal away just to bear witness to her most vulnerable moment, yet I am succumbing to a very human need – the need to protect the weak.

She shifts a little; my wing hovers a few inches from her body, a sparse canopy against the silver beams. I gaze at her face thinking of the moments after Malthael's defeat. Tyrael wanted them to have a few more moments with their departed loved ones; I made haste to leave and happened to be near the Demon Huntress as she spoke softly and earnestly to a young girl of no more than fifteen human years in age. I felt a soft thudding in my chest as I listened to her voice, so soft and full of love and longing; I wouldn't have believed that she had slain the Prime Evil and Death had I not seen with my own eyes. I drifted close enough to hear the girl giggle but knew not what about.

"Are you sure you haven't met someone new? Anyone who's caught your eye?" the girl asked discreetly looking in my direction. What is she on about? What does that question mean?

"Dear Halissa, I can assure you that nothing of the sort has happened," she countered with a small shake of her head. I could easily teleport from here, go back home to help rebuild, but I felt compelled to stay there and immersed myself in their conversation like... what was that human phrase Tyrael used? He just used it a moment ago... ah, yes, a fly on a wall or something similar.

"Well," the girl Halissa started holding the word, "Then who's to say that you haven't caught someone else's eye? I say you caught a pretty big fish," she says giggling harder. A fish? What exactly is a fish? I don't remember anything like that here. This tingling sensation, this need to find out... is this what Tyrael meant when he talked of curiosity?

"What are you talking about, sister?" the Huntress demanded suspiciously. "You are not making any sense."

"Nuh-uh," the girl chastised shaking her head and a finger, "I'm keeping my mouth shut; I refuse to have you ruin it by trying to prove me wrong or spout some balderdash about you not meant to find a special someone."

The Huntress sighed aggravated; I was aggravated about this girl being intentionally vague as well but kept silent. "Since you're so keen on keeping me in the dark, give me some clue as to who this mysterious admirer of mine could be. And no lovesick statement like 'He's closer than you think' or something."

"Aw, but he is!"

"Halissa."

"Okay," she huffed. Then she tapped her finger on her chin for a moment before saying, "How about this:

Stronger than steel yet adrift in sorrow

For him, there is no 'morrow

Only the nourishing boldness

From his beloved's dark chalice