Angels, Demons, Donuts and Pixie Tea

Brimstone Hearts

Despite the heat of hellfire, the room was nearly pitch black.

Not that Baltha minded. He was used to the dark, it was the environment he had been born into. He had learned to tolerate the sunshine and bright lights of earth and other realms, but the dark was where he was most comfortable.

He could see clearly within it, his steps silent despite the hard heels of his boots as he approached the large four post bed and the form that was lost within the layers of blankets. The form that he had dreamt about, even when he was deep in the unconscious healing sleep that he had been lost in for months.

The heat was enough to make him want to stretch, the room far warmer than Lucifer's already warm manor and nearly a perfect temperature for a fire demon. It was warm enough to cause discomfort to humans, shifters, elves, and the like. The beings with very low and fragile optimal temperature ranges. But despite the temperature and the layers of fur and magically heated blankets, he could sense the chill coming from the sleeping woman.

Blankets would do nothing if she didn't produce heat for them to insulate, so he peeled off most of them. She lay near one edge of the mattress, breathing but otherwise rigid, only the fact that he could hear her heartbeat and see her chest moving slightly with her breath reassuring him that she was still alive.

"I'm never going to forgive you for using my axe, pixie." He murmured those words softly, tilting his head to the side as he watched her.

She would hate to know she was so vulnerable, asleep when he was standing over her. He knew that much, even if she trusted him, even if she nearly died trying to save him. Torix wouldn't appreciate him watching her while she was unconscious.

With a frown, he shifted to sit down on the edge of the bed closest to her, reaching out one hand to place on her forehead. He shivered, her skin feeling like cold marble under his touch, almost begging for him to help provide warmth through his own power.

Baltha knew he shouldn't be up yet. He needed more healing rest, more time spent without expending his power to regain what he had expelled against the angel. He had barely managed the jumping through realms to Earth and then here to Lucifer's manor, his power still guttering low, though his anger had fuelled him until now.

Furious at Lucifer, furious at himself, at the world, and at this woman laying beside him, he had been ready to do something rather stupid to vent his emotions.

It had drained from him while he had been speaking with Ferya and even the small amount of fury that he had retrieved as he approached Lucifer had guttered by the time he had reached this room. Baltha needed more rest, his energy needed more time before he could function normally, but he could manage to reassure himself of her presence.

He had only planned on staying for a moment before seeking out a safe place to rest and recover a bit more. Lucifer would keep her safe and do what he could until Baltha could recover enough to also help. But as Baltha was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her and working through the thoughts about what had happened, she moved.

Torix wasn't awake.

He knew that much, but she did something that he would treasure for the rest of his existence. She shifted closer to him, rolled onto her side, and reached out to place a hand on his thigh. Her body was warming up through its contact with Baltha, even through the clothing. He realized it as he stared at that hand on his leg. Whether or not she was a fire demon, or if she would ever admit it, he fell into her category of trust.

With a slow grin, Baltha stretched out gingerly, sitting back against the headboard of the bed, half lounging. He left his hand on her forehead and slid his other one down to cover hers, closing his eyes and drifting to sleep. It was a position that he continued to return to, only leaving to give himself a chance to fall into his own healing slumber back in his lair.

Baltha had not realized it at first. He hadn't been on the giving end of the experience before, and it had been a great deal of time since he had needed the support of one of his family members. Energy transfer through trust became rare as a demon grew older, and even rarer for one at the top of the pecking order, such as Baltha.

But the first time he had woken up, his head was spinning dangerously, and he had needed Lucifer to drag him up out of bed and away.

But Torix made progress with his presence and with a few days' recovery and a great deal of assistance from the fallen Angel, Baltha continued the ritual. She was never quite as cold as the first time he had seen her, but after a few days without him, she would begin to shiver.

Still, she moved when she slept now and her consciousness was closer to the surface, though neither he nor Lucifer could reach her in her dreams.

Baltha would arrive, take a seat on the bed, and lay a hand on her forehead. The third time he visited, she crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around him, forcing him to semi-recline, lightly wrapping his arms around her as she nuzzled her face into his throat.

She would kill him for this when she woke up.

Baltha knew that much.

But he would die happily knowing she was awake and that he had helped her recover. He would risk her ire for her wellbeing.

At least Lucifer had the good sense to have clothed her after healing her body and soul. And Baltha tried to leave some decency in the interaction. He always sat outside of the blankets and never touched her in any way other than his hand on her forehead. He didn't count the rare time he was brushing her hair from her features as he watched her sleeping features.

Torix, however, would take only a few moments before extricating herself from the blankets and crawling into his arms. He was thankful that he was half delirious from low energy by the time he pulled himself away from her. Baltha didn't think he could have left her otherwise, seeing her reaching unconsciously for him. But he knew enough to understand that if he didn't leave, he may never recover at all.

Demons, and whatever Torix now was, could move a great deal in their slumber.

Lucifer said nothing but he could tell his Lord was growing interested in the amount of power Torix was absorbing into her body. Far more than the power level she used to be able to maintain. It spoke volumes that it took both Baltha and Lucifer's power through him to keep her going.

Baltha knew that there would be a time when he had to ask his lord, just what he had made when he had recreated Torix. What Lucifer had been designing when he saved the elf's life, or if Lucifer even had any control over the process.

By the sixth time, she was slipping her arms under his shirt, trying to burrow closer to him. Baltha didn't mind the contact, barely able to suppress his growls of pleasure as he felt her fingers run over his skin.

He didn't mind, other than the fact that she wasn't awake to consciously make the decision about what her body was doing, which was a delicate balance he was having to maintain.

It made his heart soar, soothed his scarred soul, but he only slid his arms around her enough to keep her warm. He did his best to keep her from burrowing closer to him, and Torix seemed to settle as his arms went around her.

But if her movements escalated much more, Baltha was going to have to find a different solution.

"It's time to wake up, my heart...." Baltha would whisper every so often, though he knew she couldn't hear him.