The Land of Dawn (ML Fanfic)

40. reunited

Rafaela has been walking for some time now and she could feel her knees getting knobby and wobbly. She didn't dare use her wings since she wanted to make use of her feet.

Despite her gallivanting confidently throughout the misty forest, she did not know where she was going. She was planning to ask that western looking guy gunner she met a while back but she was too prideful to throw him a question.

The mere presence of that guy unnerved her to the core and she cannot point a finger as to why. He was just too arrogant and overly full of himself, she thought.

She shook her head and wriggled her body rather intensely to let out the frustration out of her system.

She was reminded of someone from her childhood who resembled that western gunner; someone that was as arrogant as that guy yet one that she tolerated and let alone, admired.

Sighing deeply as the burbling throng of memories temporarily set a pandemonium in her thoughts, she lay her head supine and closed her eyes.

Argus.

It was Argus she remembered; who was once her partner in obliterating all the evil and pain the world could offer. Rafaela and Argus, both of them were angels sent by the gods to the realm.

Argus was responsible for dissipating evil and she was tasked to eradicate all that suffered and pained.

All was well between them, not until one day, Argus' power got into his head, which eventually led him to join the dark side. He sold his soul to a demon in exchange for a great deal of power that his old self would have never possessed.

Due to that endeavor, Rafaela was left all alone and that severed the tight bond between them.

Rafaela sighed once more. "Its such a frightful thought how words can promise a multitude of things, paint a beautiful picture for those who never fail to hope yet in a flick of a thumb, all can change and will leave you scarred, hurt and alone." She whispered to herself.

She was having a difficult time moving on from what happened to Argus because it has just been a month since her childhood friend submitted himself to the dark. It was too fresh, the wound was too raw, unscabbed, unsheathed-- she cared too much.

She had a future in mind for Argus, one where she was in it. And yet now, all she has are distant memories that may one day cease to be.

She continued her walk and noticed that the sky was beginning to darken, the shade of orange from the sun bringing in the initial reign of darkness.

She saw a nearby cave that was a Vermillion. She entered it and was somehow surprised to see a woman in there.

She had a huge creature with her, one that resembled a wolf. They seem to be close with each other. The woman looked up and met her eyes, they gave each other a smile.

"Hi! Are you staying in this cave?" Rafaela asked, as she roamed her eyes around the somewhat concrete shelter she was currently in.

"The yes! Are you planning in the staying here too?" The woman replied, her sentence seemed hard to comprehend and yet Rafaela was able to understand what she meant.

"Yes, I am. If that's okay with you? I am Rafaela by the way. And you are?" She replied, stretching out her hands for the woman to shake.

"I am Irithel and this is my brother, Leo." The woman replied, as she stretched out her hands towards hers yet not making contact. She placed her hand beside Rafaela's.

"Nice to meet you Irithel, Leo. Thank you for allowing me to stay here in the cave. How long are you planning to stay here?" Rafaela asked, determined to make a somewhat lively conversation between her and the strangers in front of her.

"Not for long." A sullen voice replied. A voice that was all too familiar to her, yet she was not sure if it belonged to who she thought it was.

She threw her gaze to a dark corner in the cave. A green smoke was originating from there and her sight was a bit hazy.

"Oh I forgot to introduce to you my friend, whom I just recently the met." Irithel interjected, swinging her out of her trance.

The voice emitted a shrilly laugh, one that she have heard before. A laugh that she has heard one to many times.

Suddenly, her knees got weak and she was having difficulty in breathing. A wave of euphoria, a dangerous kind, struck her longing heart. Time seemed to slow down as her suspicions grew wearier.

A familiar sinking feeling consumed her entire thoughts, a feeling that was caused by someone she knew before, yet left her.

"His name is Argus. Argus, meet Rafaela." Irithel chimed, mustering a smile that's too strained, Rafaela almost fainted.

"Ar... ar... Argus?" Rafaela repeated, not being able to hear her own voice. Her ears were ringing in utter horror and astonishment.

"Yes. Argus. The reformed angel. So we meet again, Rafaela." As he stepped out of the dark, revealing himself, for everyone to see.