Like Real People Do

2 - Halos and Horns

            "Look, you're in no shape to walk, let alone drive. I'll make you a bed in the back room, you can stay the night here." 

            Why did you do that? She would have left, and then you could have carried on with your life.

            I can't believe you're actually doing this.

             But the expression of relief on the angel- no, on Aurora's face made it all worth it, as her face split into a wide, genuine smile.

            "I've thanked you so many times since we met that it scarcely has meaning anymore, but I would like you to know just how much this means to me. I'm am unspeakably glad that there are still people like you in the world. Good people, not like those ruffians out there."

            People. That word rang in her head like a bell as she looked into Aurora's eyes and, right then and there, she made a new resolution. She wasn't going to lie to her. She wasn't going to pretend to be something she wasn't, just for the sake of a potential friendship. Not again.

            This is an even worse idea than the last one...

            Fuck it. Who cares? I'm already in far too deep.

            "Yeah, about that..."

             Lucretia's hands went trembling to her jacket, more nervous than she could ever remember being before as she slipped it off and let it fall to the ground. Her wings, finally freed, spread out behind her, far smaller than Aurora's. Gone were the pristine feathers she once had, replaced by bat-like wings of skin and sinew - ragged, burnt and torn at the edges.

              The angel froze, staring at the demon. For a long moment, the two stared at each other. 

              Then, in the time it took to blink, they were there.

              Their halos.  Hidden most of the time, only appearing when in direct contact with their own kind. 

               The angel's was a circle of pure white light, seeming to exist directly behind her head, forming what looked almost, absurdly, like a handle. Unbidden, the demon's thoughts drifted back to Lucifer's speeches, back when the rebellion was new, back before the Fall. 

               He'd told them that the halos were their chains, told them that they could never truly be free until the last link was broken, told them that this was God's way of keeping them subjugated, keeping them obedient.

               So they'd snapped their halos and grown them back wrong, twisting them up, down, forwards, back - any direction but inwards, never reconnecting the circuit, forever severing their connection to God.

              They had made themselves horns, long and pointed and made of meteorite iron.

              How long they stood there, neither of them could say. But after what felt like an eternity (or maybe just a second), the angel let out a long, shaky breath and spoke in the ancient tongue.

              "This doesn't change anything. You showed me kindness, when no human would. For that, you deserve the benefit of my doubt, if not far more. If your offer still stands, then I'll happily take you up on it. Afterwards...well, we'll think about that when we come to it."

              Lucretia let out a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding as their halos disappeared. They folded in their wings, but didn't put on their coats, preferring to leave them close to their backs instead of crushing them under the heavy fabric.

              Aurora was the one to break the stare first, glancing downwards to avoid eye contact..

             They didn't talk much from then on, making a bed there together in silence. Technically, neither of them needed to sleep, but it would speed the healing process.

              After a last parting glance, Lucretia locked the shop for good, heading to her apartment up above.

              It took her a long time to fall asleep that night.