A World Like That

Chapter XVIII

-Ariel-

It had been difficult to say goodbye to Dante, but he tried to put him out of his mind and focus on his friends instead. He still went through periods of feeling guilty that he was spending less time with them in order to see Dante.

As if Charmeine could read his mind, she commented, "You look happy for someone who just spent hours alone."

"I know," Jael said, agreeing. "Is it that much better without us?"

"No, of course not!" he insisted.

Jael was already laughing. "We're just kidding. But we do miss hanging out with you."

"You still see me in the morning. And at dinner."

"Why can't we explore with you sometimes?" Charmeine asked.

"Um, well, it's usually a lot of flying," he said, trying to come up with an excuse. "Jael can confirm that. When he flew around with me for a few days, he complained."

"Way to throw me under the bus!" Jael said, a look of mock indignation on his face.

Raguel tilted his head to the side and stared at Ariel, his eyes slightly narrowed. "You're not going somewhere you're not supposed to be, are you?"

"No," he said, wide-eyed and shaking his head. "I'm staying in the forests." His heart began to race, because even though he was still telling the truth, Raguel was suspicious and that was never a good thing.

"What happened to your lip?" Raguel asked, leaning towards him.

He reached up, putting his fingers to his lip. It did feel a little swollen where Dante's teeth had pierced the skin.

"I tripped and fell," he lied. "Unfortunately my face landed in a bush."

"You're usually so graceful," Jael chortled. "I would have loved to see that."

"Jael," Raguel warned.

"He knows I'm kidding!"

"It was kind of funny," he admitted, smiling at Jael. "You would have laughed."

"Be more careful," Raguel warned. "If you're off by yourself and you get hurt, no one will know."

"I will. I promise I'll be careful."

In his heart he meant it, although he knew Dante was the exception to being careful. But he didn't care. Nothing was going to keep him away from Dante.

-Dantalion-

Time seemed to stretch on forever overnight and the next morning. He longed to see Ariel and hold the angel's body against his, to look into Ariel's kind eyes and taste his soft lips. It seemed like the moment he could see Ariel couldn't come soon enough.

This time, Ariel was already waiting for him in the forest. His smile was dazzling, and he jogged toward Dante as if he hadn't seen him in days. Ariel surprised him by jumping into his arms and wrapping his legs around his waist. Ariel's lips were on his before he could say anything. After a few kisses, Ariel let go and slid back down onto his own feet.

"I could get used to your new way of saying hello. That's a lot more bold than I was expecting from an angel."

Ariel blushed. "Maybe you make me bold."

He took one of Ariel's hands. "That'll be a good thing for today. There's something I want to show you, but we have to go into the desert to see it."

He expected trepidation from Ariel, but Ariel only looked interested instead.

"If we see any other demons on the way, I'll pretend I'm dragging you along."