A World Like That

Chapter III

-Ariel-

It had only been a day since Ariel's attack, but he was too impatient to wait for his wings to heal. He wanted to go down to Earth. Once his friends had left, he dove through the clouds. As he spread his wings, he felt pain but was still able to fly. He could tell that his wings weren't catching as much air due to the missing feathers, but they got him safely down to Earth.

He chose to land in a field of trees with white flowers - pear trees. All he wanted to do after his ordeal was sit in the sun and eat his favorite fruit. Since he still didn't have a new basket, he used an extra cloth to collect the pears. He was reaching up for one particularly large pear when he saw someone enter the clearing in the trees.

He froze. It wasn't another angel. It was the demon from the other day that had mangled his wings. He felt a sense of dread weigh heavily down on him, like someone had placed weights on his chest, forcing the air from his lungs. He was lightheaded from the adrenaline rush and his heart started to beat rapidly in his chest. Coming to Earth alone had been a mistake, and now he was about to pay for it, maybe with his life.

The demon had spiky black hair and a pair of bare, webbed wings. His eyes weren't like angel eyes. They were solid pools of inky black. As the demon approached, Ariel could smell a hint of smoke.

The demon stopped a few feet away from him. "I'm not going to hurt you," the demon said. 

Not moving a muscle, Ariel stared back. He knew he should never believe a demon, but this one was looking at him in a curious manner, not a malevolent one.

The demon sat down under one of the trees, folding his wings in behind him. Ariel didn't know if he should try to fly away or stay put. Fleeing might make him a target. Before he could decide what to do, the demon spoke again. "I'm sorry about the other day."

Was this demon actually apologizing to him? Demons didn't interact with angels except to torment them. They certainly didn't start conversations or apologize. He didn't understand what was going on.

"I shouldn't have done that to your wings," the demon continued. "Is there anything I can do?"

Realizing he needed to respond, he shook his head. "They'll grow back."

The demon pulled a pear from the tree he sat under and held it out to him. All Ariel could do was stare, his mind racing. Fear still gripped his body.

"Come on, take it," the demon insisted. "It's not a trap."

Forcing himself to move, Ariel approached cautiously. He reached out a trembling hand as far as he could and gently took the pear from the demon's hand, then stepped back as though he'd been burned.

The demon gestured to the ground. "Sit. Eat."

He feared that if he didn't do as he was told he would be attacked, so he obeyed. He sat down under a tree across from the demon. The demon nodded, gesturing to the pear, so he took a bite and swallowed quickly without chewing. "Aren't you going to have one?" he asked timidly.

"Nope. We eat cactus instead."

He had seen a cactus before. It was covered in long, sharp spikes and definitely didn't look edible.

"How can you eat a cactus?"

"Same way you eat fruit. I like spiky, crunchy things."

"Doesn't it hurt to eat one?"

The demon bared his teeth to show two jagged rows of razor sharp points. "How can it when I've got a mouth that looks like this?"

"Point taken."