As Above So Below

Chapter 3

He almost choked on his own saliva. Did she just say three hundred and sixty six of her siblings? Kcalb had no time to retaliate before the two finally arrived in the banquet room with a table that must have extended a billion miles. There were angels of old and young, as were gods. Chi, the nurse girl, was discovered to actually have the name ‘Ciel’; Etihw thought Ciel sounded too  much like a boy’s name, and decided on calling her Chi. Sherbet, who sat next to her, was a very smiley one. One almost never saw him with a frown. He would go on about how he adored sherbet, which was ironic, since that was his name. Anything having to do with frost, ice, frozen yogurt, frozen ice cream, anything; he would give sermons on that lasted at least a few minutes. Rigatona, the angel that sat to the right of Ciel, was dressed in what looked solely like a military uniform.

​

“People say she’s been in wars and stuff, and because of her ‘trauma’, she vowed never to take it off.”

Etihw whispered to the demon boy, as he stifled a nod through his nervousness. The angel had given off a sort of wave with a grin that sent a chill down his spine. Etihw, upon noticing there were almost no seats left for Kcalb and her to sit together, she grabbed his hand tightly, maybe a little too tight, and teleported to the nearby seats next to each other. Being teleported for the first time felt like a flash of nothingness, and suddenly reappearing wherever you desired. He had always wanted to do that… or at least remain invisible for an extended period of time. While thinking, the little god had pulled out Kcalb’s chair for him to sit down, in which he responded with a light flush of the cheeks, a bashful look down, and a muttered ‘thank you’. Etihw smiled as she saw how his eyes were entirely black.

“Is it normal for all demons where you come from to do that? It’s really cool!”

She giggled, seeing as he made no eye contact when he spoke; she couldn’t see his eyes before they returned to their normal state. Some gods took notice that there was a demon sitting at their table, as did the angels, but Sherbet, Rigatona, and Ciel made sure they were not too deceived. The demon was only here because his family had abused him to the brink of death, and their father, Lord Yahweh, as they called him, found it necessary to bring him up to live upon the good. ‘He had a fair soul, whatever fragment he had of it’, their lord said. ‘It wasn’t meant to be mistreated by such foul creatures as demons’.  Kcalb responded to the girl’s question by saying,

“E-Er… well, I suppose it’s not. I’ve never seen anyone with such eyes as mine…”

After he spoke, the bustling chatter of three hundred and sixty five siblings became nothing more than a quiet air, before their lord came down upon them; giving a blessing and speaking about what the demon assumed were plans for some sort, and after finishing announcements, slowly raised his hand to point in Kcalb’s direction.

“I do not know if any of you have met our new guest, but that there is Kcalb Julius Noir, of one of the most powerful demon communities one could name off the top of their head. He’s quite young, younger than Etihw, I believe. Please do not mistake him of evildoing; he is far from evil. Kcalb, we welcome you to our family as one of our own.”

With a sincere bow, a roar of applause emerged from the table, in which Etihw pulled him into a hug. His eyes did their thing again, and his face blossomed madly with a pink hue. There were brief grins from the gods and angels around them, and soon, food appeared in a blink of an eye upon the plates and utensils set before them. Everyone said grace and began to eat a warm meal of… Kcalb didn’t know what it was. It may have been rice, peas, and what looked like pork, but he was never too sure.

“Every night, one of my siblings chooses the three meals of the day. I don’t know who chose it this time, but that’s rice, peas, and… some sort of meat! Trust me, it’s really tasty. Go on, try a bite!”

The little god explained, before watching Kcalb intently as he brought a fork and knife down upon the meat and brought it to his mouth. He put it in his mouth quickly, as to not give Etihw an entire show of him simply eating food. He gave a humble nod and a brief smile.

“……. It’s very good, Eti.”

Etihw grinned, before digging into her own plate of food. The demon ate slowly; self-conscious of everyone around him. What if they stared? What if they made fun of him for the way he ate? What was there that Kcalb wasn’t self-conscious of? The food was delicious, and eating slowly was an overstatement; he’d shove it all in his mouth if he could. He’d never do something so impolite, though… He could never imagine himself doing that, even if he wanted to.

After dinner, the room began to feel as if it was growing, but it was only because of the lack of people who had not finished their food. Etihw and Kcalb had moved over to sit in front of Sherbet, Rigatona, and Ciel; talking about whatnot. Kcalb himself didn’t say much, for he didn’t want them to laugh and/or make the conversation awkward; he had a tendency of doing that.

“Well, it’s getting late, you both should get some rest. You too, Kcalb. I don’t want to hear any excuses…! You’re still brutally injured… I want you to feel better as soon as possible.”

Ciel bowed her head respectfully, as he gave a nod back. The both of them said goodnight, and headed up the stairs to find that Kcalb’s room was rather… dark. It was as small as what one would call a janitor’s closet, but Kcalb didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he was grateful that he could be by himself. Confined spaces weren’t really his cup of tea, but that would change later, after the unfortunate inevitable.

“Night night, Kcalb! Sweet dreams!”

The little god sang, her ebony black hair fluttering behind her as she shut the door. There was a bed probably right in front of him that was backed up against the wall, followed by a side table, lamp, a few dressers, and a closet. What didn’t this room have? For the most part, there was a television, but he wasn’t one to watch TV. If anything, he just wanted a music box to lull him to sleep… just how he used to back at home. If his parents hadn’t been so harsh to him, maybe he would be homesick, but he wasn’t the least bit sick of home.

The bed, after getting under the covers, was as if it were made for him. It went perfectly with everything; his horns, wings, and tails. Maybe one day he would try to disguise those wings and tails as something else to keep them hidden, but not now; he barely knew what he was capable of! Still wearing those shorts and t-shirt, he didn’t bother to change out of them; he was far too tired.