Not Fallen... Yet

Chapter 10 - A Shift

 In compliance with Aryan's - No. The demon didn't even want to think of that dreaded, god awful word, let's just say it began with re- and rhymed with quest and leave it at that - Kiran went gleefully back to humming, seeming far too pleased with this unanticipated turn of events as his forest green eyes practically shimmered with silent contentedness and his pink lips curled upwards in the slightest bit, not quite a smile or anything but a definite improvement over the firmly set snarl that had been in place for so long.

The soft sound that escaped the angel's closed lips was a constant thrum of warmth that soothed Aryan in ways he'd never experienced in the entirety of his existence. Things like that just simply didn't exist in the Guide's home realm, nothing that fragile and kind could possibly hope to survive in the rough, barbaric world of the demons for more than a brief moment before being carelessly broken and cruelly mutilated into annihilation for nothing more than amusement alone.

The notion touched Ayan wrong but he adamantly refused to acknowledge that fact and forced the unwanted discomfort away with the simple counter argument that Kiran was hidden safely away where no one would ever find him and defile him like that - But they were talking about humming here, not Kiran... Whatever. Don't overthink it. Nothing pure, Kiran or otherwise, would be harmed on Aryan's watch.

Wow. So much for keeping compassion locked away. That had lasted for all of about two whole seconds. Call Ripley's, it's a new record! Aryan really needed to invest in some stronger mental locks.

For now, however, Aryan was content to simply ignore any subtle implications of compassion his own decision to encourage the angel might have carried or the way Kiran's quiet, tuneless humming brought peace to his mind and focus on the task at hand as he always had thrived at -Which currently happened to be cleaning the scrapes on the hideaway's arm and getting them bandaged up as well.

While the caverns of Hell were certainly not, contrary to popular belief, dripping with the rotting remains of the damned and absolutely sick with filth, they couldn't have possibly been the cleanest place in the world either. Pristinely cleaned hospitals, well cared for kitchens, and probably even the room of a messy teenage boy likely had the caves well beat in that regard; and thus, it assumably wasn't too wise a choice to leave an open wound exposed to such uncleanly conditions for any length of time.

"Stick out your arm." Aryan commanded distractedly, forgetting to even sound the slightest bit forceful in the demand as he rummaged about the bulky inside of his jacket to produce the cloth bandages and failed to do much save for simply blindly grope about in the cool material, succeeding in naught but administering an impromptu breast exam to himself. Hey! No lumps! Yippie.

However, when Aryan finally managed to locate the stubborn shit and turned his gaze back to the angel to make use of his find, he found that Kiran was doing his best to comply all while appearing almost entirely at ease, his emerald eyes confused but not suspicious as they so often were when Aryan asked him to do something and his body untense even as he did as he was told. (Or tried to, that was.) This in and of itself may not seem all too noteworthy of a situation but, when put alongside the fact that every other time Aryan had requested something of the boy before this moment, the angel only seemed to obey out of fear alone and looked like the dictionary definition of "scared shitless" the entire time he completed whatever it was that had been demanded of him, it suddenly appeared rather noteworthy in the demon's opinion.

Kiran feared him less, that much was obvious. It was the only feasible explanation to the boy's sudden willingness to comply with the demon's demands. Perhaps the angel even so much as trusted him more... But Aryan wasn't going to bother to think of any of that. He wasn't going to decide if it was good or bad, though, admittedly, he was somewhat inclined to view it as a positive change. Kiran feared him less. End of story.