Milena knew she’d regret it the moment she opened her door to answer the knock. Somehow she knew her studybooks would be neglected the coming weeks, months, perhaps even years. Her days of quietly studying would be over. Yet, she still opened the door after abandoning her essay on ancient Athens. The knock had sounded somewhat desperate and really, she had some time anyway.

She was greeted by a wet young woman, probably around her own age. She dripped water on Milena’s porch and looked downright miserable. “Sorry,” she started shivering, “can I come in?”

Milena noticed the woman wore a sleeveless hoodie, not exactly appropriate for a spring downpour, and sighed, opening her door a little further. “Get in. The bathroom is past the kitchen, you should take a hot shower. Just leave your wet things here and I’ll see if I can find some clothes for you.” She’d ask later who the heck she was.

Trusting the woman would do as she was told, Milena went to her bedroom and rummaged through her wardrobe.There had to be some old stuff still in there. She had just unearthed some pants and an oversized shirt, when the woman made her presence known.

“Sorry,” she began again, “how does the shower work?”

Milena raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment. “I’ll show you.” Walking past her near-naked guest, she entered the bathroom. No towels had been laid out yet, so she got some from the closet and dropped them on the floor near the shower. The woman entered after her and stood puzzled in the shower stall her eyes glued to the two knobs. Milena turned the left knob and grinned as the cold water made the woman squeek. “Just turn it back when you’re done. I’ll leave the clothes here and hang yours up to dry.”

Without waiting for an answer, Milena did what she said and afterwards returned to her desk. Her concentration was gone however. The words just flitted nervously across the pages and the empty word document flashed cackingly and mockingly at her. She kept wondering who the woman in her shower was and why she had been outside in the downpour of the evening without something of an umbrella. It was a mystey. Milena didn’t like mysteries, maybe that was why she had let the woman in instead of turning her away. Or it was just her upbringing.

“Thank you.”

Milena looked up and had to repress a snort. The shirt was on backwards and she obviously hadn’t tried to dry her hair. Milena got up and beckoned her. Helping the confused woman put on the shirt the right way, she still was overcome by the sense that it was inherently wrong. As if she shouldn’t wear it. Shrugging it off, she asked: “What’s your name?”

“Thuriel,” was the short answer. Thuriel looked in childlike wonder at the flowerprint which was now visible. “What is yours?”

“Milena. Milena Gaunt.” A sigh escaped her lips. “I don’t suppose you live nearby?”

A wan smile graced Thuriel’s features. “Not exactly, no.” For a moment it seemed as if she would say more, but no more was forthcoming. Instead she started braiding her hair.

“Figured,” muttered Milena. “Well, I still have a mattress lying around, you can use that if you want.”

Thuriel’s face lit up as if she was the sun itself. “You will let me stay here?”

“For tonight.” Tomorrow it’d be dry and Thuriel could go home without causing Milena to feel guilty.

Thuriel didn’t seem to hear and bowled Milena over, makign her wet with the long blonde hair which immediately flew out of their braids. “Thank you! Ah, sorry.” She hurriedly got up and helped her hostess up as well.

Milena wanted to be annoyed, but Thuriel’s cheer was infectuous. “No need.” Figuring nothing more would be done for the night, she resolutely closed her books and laptop, and eyed her guest properly for the first time. Thuriel was absurdly pale skinned, had long blond hair the colour of a sunflower, which fell straight down her back and piercing golden eyes. Despite the shabby clothing, there seemed to be something ethereal about her. Almost like an angel.

Shaking her head, she threw that thought away. She nestled on her couch and invited Thuriel to do the same. “So, what brought you out in this downpour?” She could still hear the rain pattering away at her windows.

Thuriel grimaced. “Qariel is not exactly known for being kind.”

Milena furrowed her brow. “You were dropped?”

Thuriel shrugged. “In a manner of speaking. Does not really matter. Tomorrow I should go find the others, will you help me?”

Milena shook her head. How would she be able to help anyway? She didn’t even know what they looked like and het guest didn’t strike her as the sort who kept pictures on her phone, if she even had one. “Sorry, no, I’ve got a lot to do.” Books to read, essays to be written and homework to be done.

The blonde didn’t seem put out at all. She shrugged. “Do you mind if I go to sleep now? I am really tired.”

“Not at all.” She helped her guest set up a sleeping place in a fairly unused room and returned to her couch. There was something different about Thuriel and not just her way of speech. The woman was odd in so many ways, yet she couldn’t really tell what exactly was odd. Honestly, she would be glad when the woman left tomorrow and she’d be alone with her books again.

Listlessly she flitted through some channels on the tv before finally giving up and heading off to sleep. As she fell into her dreams, the hope was suddenly kindled that the evening had been just a dream and no Thuriel would be there to wake up to.

Instead she woke up to Thuriel’s face absurdly close to her own. Yelling, she accidentally butted heads. “Ow! What in the name of insanity are you doing?”

“Waking you up,” Thuriel stated bluntly. “That is not important, I need your help. I forgot about it yesterday, as I was so tired - how do you humans manage - but I need a place to stay and I could really use some help trackin down the others. So I am staying here and you will help me get around the city.” It wasn’t even a question, just a statement of facts.

Over half of it had gone over Milena’s head, but she thought she got the gist of it. “No.” It was a blunt refusal. She had better things to do than house a total stranger and her friends when she found them.

“I need a place to stay!”

“Find someplace else.”

“I do not know anyone else!”

“Not. My. Problem.” Milena gritted her teeth. Why had she opened her door again?

“But Milena!”

“No buts.” Was this how her mother felt when dealing with the absurd requests she undoubtedly must’ve had? Running her hand through her hair, she got up, ignoring the pleading look she got - really, it didn’t even look sincere - and simply broke open the biscuit tin for breakfast. Bad habit, her mother’d say, but had long since given up on breaking her out of it. It had only gotten worse since she left home to live on her own.

Thuriel went to sit across of her. “You are right. I suppose I should explain.”

That wasn’t what she had meant by ‘no’. “No is no. I understand you have problems, but they’re really not mine. I have things to do and can’t help you. I have college you know!”

Thuriel raised an incredulous eyebrow. “The world might be ending and you are worried about college?”

“I have priorities.” She slammed the tin shut, then caught up and stared. “Wait - what?” Did she just hear the world was ending? What pot had the woman been smoking?

Thuriel nodded in all seriousness. “The Dividing Wall has been broken,” she looked slightly guilty at that, “and now the armies of Hell can break into your world any time they so please. So far nothing has happened yet, but it will not stay that way. You have to help me.”

Milena didn’t know whether to laugh or call a psychiatrist. Maybe both. She settled for a disbelieving snort. “Look, whatever happened to you, the world isn’t ending. The world doesn’t care about finals and all that.”

“You do not believe me.” It wasn’t hurt, nor dissapointment, not even a grin on having been found out. It was just a fact.

“No, I don’t,” she nevertheless clarified. “I dont know what you’ve messed up to believe the armies of Hell are going to invade, but it’s your problem not mine. Once you’ve had some sort of breakfast, you can leave and look for your friends. I wish you luck.” The end.

She left the kitchen and sat down at her desk, flipping open her laptop. After entering her password, the annoying word document flickered at her again, reminding her that she hadn’t written a word yet. Her goal of the evening before had been completely lost due to Thuriel’s arrival. Milena sighed and opened her notebook. Maybe she had written down something useful so the flasing cursor wouldn’t be on an empty document anymore.

“I will be going now,” Thuriel called from the doorway.

Milena raised her hand in acknowledgement thinking ‘good riddance’. She heard her front door close and sighed deeply, stretching her limbs. Time for herself and her awful amount of work.

She didn’t know how long it was before she finally stretched again, this time with a satisfactory feeling of accomplishment. She didn’t other to locate a clock to check the time, she just slipped on her shoes, grabbed her keys and went for a walk. There was a secluded area near her house where she often went to think or just in general. It was a quiet place which wasn’t often frequented by others.

It was deserted right now as well. There was just the picknick table by the riverside. Sitting on the table she let her thoughts float. They drifted by, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, but always they left. It was her way of dealing with the day’s happenings.

“You smell of angel.”

She went rigid. Someone had arrived and disturbed her peace, and she smelled like an angel? “Excuse me?” The words had barely left her mouth when she turned around and sat in shock.

It was monstrous. Horns poked out everywhere on its red body, its teeth were huge and pointy, and claws adorned its feet and hands. A cleaver was strapped onto its back.

Milena jumped off the table and edged away. Demon, it resounded in her mind. “It’s not Halloween, you know,” she said shakily.

It growled and advanced. “You smell of angel,” it accused again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Angel, really. She wasn’t a believer and this - this thing - was just a kid playing a prank on her. It had to be. “It’s not funny, so stop it!”

It didn’t listen, at all. “You are enemy,” it growled. It advanced again, somewhat warily, then suddenly it lunged.

Milena screamed, fell over backwards, scrambled up and ran. “Leave me alone, you creep!” First Thuriel talking about the end of the world, now this. Today was a bad day. She ran and ran, tripping over her own feet almost constantly. The heavy footfalls, no longer silent, followed her. If it now made sound to scare her, it was succeeding spectacularly. “Go away!”

“Enemy!” The demonlike creature started swinging its huge cleaver around, Milena saw when she looked over her shoulder. It made a whooshing sound, and sometimes the sound of cutting something.

Milena was well and truly terrified. What if it decided to throw its cleaver? It would cut her in half! What if the thing caught up; what if she truly lost balance; what if? Tears ran down her cheeks and she wanted to scream until her lungs were raw, if only someone would hear it. But there was no one around as far as she could see and nothing had reacted to her initial scream.

“Stay, Angel! Die!”

“I’m not an angel!” Her scream was hysterical, her breathing started to get ragged and she felt herself stumble more often. Her heart beat so fast and loud it took over everything Milena could hear. Her stomach constricted and she felt lightheaded. Fear. Pure and primal fear curled up from her toes. She feared to keep running and she feared to stop.

The cleaver crashed near her feet. She squeeked and ran faster, faster to home where she had to be safe.

“Angel!” it roared.

Her lungs began to burn. The world started tilting and her muscles started to cramp. She was no angel!

Then suddenly the ground was gone from beneath her feet and she was lifted into the air. Strong, brown arms held her tight to the owners chest and she heard the man say something, but she couldn’t comprehend. Her eyes were glued to the white wisps eminating from her saviour’s back. They were like wings. Wispy wings. She hardly noticed when she was set back on the ground.

“Are you okay?”

This time the question did get through. Milena nodded, but hardly realised what she nodded at. The wings were gone now and she could only think she imagined them. The man looking her over was dark skinned, had black hair which looked so soft she wanted to run her fingers through the strands, and had piercing golden eyes. His mostly white clothing gave him something ethereal.

“Stay here.”

His deep baritone voice resounded through her mind and held a quality which made it impossible to disobey. She felt she would stay there until the end of time if he so commanded. She followed him with her eyes. Unfrightened and undeterred he ripped the cleaver away from the creature, snapping it clean in half.

But then something flitted in her vision which made her scream. “Thuriel!” The young woman held her bloodied left arm close to her side and edged away from the thing, letting the man take over. At Milena’s scream she looked up and smiled. Waving, she made her way over. “Good to see we were in time. Do not worry, Simael will be done soon.”

With what Milena didn’t ask. She could guess even if she didn’t want to believe. Suddenly her knees gave way and she ended up dumbfounded on the ground. Her legs wouldn’t move, no matter what. As if the batteries were dead.

“Milena?” Thuriel asked worried.

“Adrenaline is gone,” Milena breathed. She remembered reading about it. It was normal, just about the only normal thing that had happened. Her frame started shaking and without her awareness tears ran down her cheeks.

“Milena, why are you crying!” Thuriel waved about frantically.

“Relax, Thuriel, it’s relief.” The deep baritone voice answered.

Was it? Milena wasn’t as sure. Maybe it was relief, but she felt something else bubble to the surface as well.

“So, you are done then?”

“Yes, I’ve told you before we should’ve switched.”

“So you did, but I tell you, she would not have had a positive reaction to me.”

“You overreact.”

“No, I do not.”

“What in the name of insanity is going on!” Milena screamed. “First you prattle about the end of the world,” she jabbed angrily at Thuriel, “then I get attacked by this guy in a Halloween costume claiming I smell like an angel, and I get saved by the big guy - thank you by the way - who had wings - wings! - after running for my life for far too long and nearly getting cleaved in half!” She took a deep breath and continued: “Furthermore, you tried to order me around and invade my home, now tell me, what is going on. Whose prank is this and how do I get them to stop!”

The two looked at each other. “This is no prank.”

“Stop lying.” Milena was sick of it. She started crying for real and shouted various profanities at Thuriel, who tried - with little success - to calm Milena down. “I don’t want to calm down, I want to know what’s going on!”

“It is a long tale,” Simael began.

“So let us go to your house,” Thuriel interrupted. “Oh, do not look at me that way! I think we have to now.”

2: Chapter Two

Milena stared over her mug of tea at her two guests. They had told her a tall tale, after Simael had properly introduced himself, and now waited patiently for her reaction. Thuriel’s arm had been bandaged when they’d gotten home and she now proudly sported a white bandage on her upper arm. “So let me get this straight. The two of you are angels and together with two others you have been cast down from heaven and made sort of human. Because some wall has been broken you four are the only ones standing between earth and hell?” She raised an incredulous eyebrow. “Do you honestly think I’d believe that?”

“But, Milena,” Thuriel protested, “you saw the truth of it with your own eyes! You went up against a demon!”

More like ran away from one. “That was some guy in a Halloween costume,” she dismissed. Even if there were demons, surely they wouldn’t look like the stereotypical one.

“You said it yourself, it’s not Halloween.” Simael was puzzled. “So why won’t you believe?”

“Because angels and demons aren’t real! They’re conjured by humans seeking to explain things that can’t be explained, same with gods. Every civilisation had its own gods, do you know why? Because they all wanted explanations their fellow humans couldn’t give. But they’re myths, they’re not true!”

“Then what are we?” Thuriel looked hurt. “Apparitions? Fantasies, mirages?”

“Humans whose prank has gone on for far too long!”

Simael sighed, got up and pulled his hood over his eyes. Where there once stood a human clad in a white hoodie and blue pants, there now hovered someone best described as an angel. His hood obscured his eyes, giving the impression there was nothing above the mouth. His clothes were pure white with black lining, and two long sashes hung from his shoulders and two shorter ones with a ring at the end swung gently in a non-existent breeze. From his back two black things grew, from where wisps of white floated gently in the air. Four wisps from each shoulderblade giving the impression of wings. It was barely visible, but a soft glow also eminated from his frame. Simael looked… angelic.

“Do you believe us now?” Simael’s deep voice had stayed exactly the same. For some reason Milena had expected it to change.

She didnt answer but got up and inspected Simael’s hovering form. Her hands brushed over the black wings growing from his back and could go through the white wisps which gave off a gentle and warm feeling. He also truly hovered. “It’s real,” she breathed, touching the wings and wisps again. “How can this be?”

“Angels are real, as are demons,” Simael explained while allowing Milena to confirm it was real again and again. “It isn’t just from humanity searching for explanations that there are myths about us. From time to time we descended from heaven and showed ourselves to humans. Myth and reality became mingled over the ages.”

“Even so, there should be records, eyewitness accounts.”

“Aren’t there?”

Milena thought about it properly. Simael had said myth and reality mingled, so some myths could - at least partly - be true. Still it was ridiculous to think of angels and demons. It must simply be a dream, a nightmare. She pinched herself. She stretched and stretched her cheek, but she didn’t wake up, only caused herself pain.

“What is she doing?” Thuriel whispered.

Simael shrugged. “She’s making sure of something I guess.”

Milena wasn’t dreaming. “It’s true?” she whispered. “How can it be true?” She ran her hand through the wisps again.

Simael grabbed her hand to stop her. “Sorry, but I’m going to turn back now. This is really tiring.” He simply flicked his hood off and he was the Simael she’d met again. He rolled his shoulders after letting Milena’s hand go and sat down again, sprawling. “That is going to take some time getting used to.”

Milena stared at Thuriel. “You can do that too.”

Thuriel simply nodded.

Milena sagged back down in her chair trying to wrap her mind around it. It wasn’t a dream, she currently had two angels turned semi-human on her couch and had narrowly escaped death by demon. She felt like fainting. Letting go off a deep sigh, she sagged even further. “Well, shit.” That about nicely summed it up.

The world she thought she had know for twenty one years had been turned upside down in less than a day. Suddenly there were things like angels and demons she had believed were myths, and she still could barely believe it, despite the evidence mounting before her eyes. She still wished it to be a dream. “And now?”

Simael had fallen asleep. Milena had to deal with the irrational Thuriel again.

“Well, as we have said, we are here to stop Hell’s armies from invading, but we are not used to being human, so you need to help.”

Milena snorted. “I need to help? Thuriel, I get the two of you are angels, but you can’t order me around. I’m not someone who can’t think for herself and needs someone to follow. If you keep ordering me around, I’ll kick you out. I don’t need to help.”

Thuriel looked conflicted. “But we need a place to stay and do not understand your mundane needs. You told me to have breakfast, but I do not know what that is.”

Mundane needs, why thank you. “You needing help and I needing to give it, are two different things. Listen, you can stay here - I get the feeling that won’t be the last demon, and I think you have something to do with it - but it’s not because you ordered me to.” Her point still didn’t get fully across, but it was a start, she supposed. Then she stared. “Don’t tell me you didn’t have breakfast.”

“I could tell you if I knew what it was,” Thuriel sulked.

“Did you eat something before you left?” Milena clarified. She had a sinking feeling Thuriel hadn’t. Now that she thought about it, Thuriel hadn’t been long in the kitchen after she’d returned to her desk.

“Why would I eat something?”

Milena heaved a long, suffering sigh. “Because people need food in the morning or at least at lunchtime and you probably didn’t eat then either.”

Thuriel frowned. “Angels do not need food.”

“But humans do and you were the ones who told me you had been turned human. If you’re human, you have human needs. That includes food.”

“So that is what that feeling is,” said Thuriel mystified.

Milena shook her head and went to grab the cookie tin. “Here, this’ll do until dinner.”

The blonde angel looked in wonder at the biscuits. “Dinner is food as well?”

“Yes,” Milena confirmed. It felt odd. If they truly were angels, Thuriel had to be a lot older than her, yet Milena was the one explaining simple things like mealtimes.

Thuriel shook her companion awake. “Simael, Simael, try these. It is food. I have never tasted it before.”

“Of course you haven’t,” Simael mumbled sleepily. He took the biscuit Thuriel offered him and ate it while falling asleep again. Or would have, if Thuriel hadn’t kept bothering him. “What?”

“How was it?”

“Nice.” He yawned. “Now leave me alone, Thuriel, I’m tired and unlike you, I haven’t had a place to sleep.” His head sagged backwards and his breathing evened out, signifying he had fallen asleep again.

“Boring,” Thuriel muttered.

Milena’d call it mature and Thuriel was definitely childish. She hoped the other two would be more like Simael than Thuriel, else she’d have grey hairs by the end of the week. And why was she so concerned for them anyway - it was their fault she even was in this mess. That and that demon who said she smelled like angel- she turned to Thuriel. “That demon said I smelled like an angel.”

Thuriel looked somewhat sheepish. “Ah, yes, that would be, well, my fault. Because I stayed the night you smelled like me.”

Milena distinctly remembered being bowled over. “And this scent sticks to me, it won’t go away?”

The angel shrugged. “If you stay away from angels it will eventually fade. In a few weeks.”

Not an option then. It would be very optimistic, not to mention unrealistic, to think nothing would happen during that time. So she was stuck with four angels, once they’d found the last two, and none of them probably knew how to pay bills, or even had money. Fom the sheer ignorance Thuriel openly displayed, she figured angels knew little to nothing about human society. Maybe it was generalising, but better be prepared than unprepared. She could see her debt to the government rise already and groaned. Her parents’d be pissed.

Well, she’d just not tell them. Easy. As if. She groaned again and buried her head in her hands.

“What are you doing?” Thuriel asked.

“Thinking,” Milena answered. “About money, how to pay for everything and how to keep my parents from finding out. Furious won’t cover it if they find out my debt is rising exponantially.”

“We can get a job.” Simael cracked open one eye. “Support you.”

Milena jabbed a finger at Thuriel. “If she’s any indication you’re not going to get one. Besides if a demon shows up, then what? Just leave the finances to me, I’ll make it work somehow.” Unless someone told her parents, it was a very slim chance of them finding out. And really, she was of age and financially responsible for herself. They had no business saying anything about it.

Simael closed his eye again. “If you say so.”

“Hey, what do you mean if I am any indication?” Thuriel shouted.

“You are childish.” Milena shook her head. “But it doesn’t really matter, I’ll just deal with it.” She pulled out her phone to check the time. Not exactly dinnertime ye, but her stomach was growling. “It doesn’t matter to you what you eat?” She asked while getting up.

“Probably.”

Well, at least Thuriel wasn’t whiny about that. Though that may have more to do with the lack of food she’d had. That really was something to wrap her head around. Not needing to eat, ever. To her it seemed like a horrifying prospect. Shaking those thoughts away, she opened her cupboards to see what she had. It would probably be a pan of pasta she ended up making.

Thuriel draped herself over Milena’s shoulders. “Hey, Milena?”

“Hmm?” Her movement was only slightly impaired by Thuriel’s weight. The angel was ridiculously light.

“You will help us, right? Finding the others?”

Milena was struck by how absurdly young Thuriel seemed in that instant. As if she was an insecure child asking her parent for confirmation. It made her react in a motherly way, so before she knew it, she was petting Thuriel’s head. “Yes, I will.” Maybe - probably - she’d regret it later, but the pure joy that lit up on the angel’s face was worth it. She hoped.

Thuriel gave her a crushing hug and bounced around the house, properly waking Simael up.

He walked into the kitchen an watched Milena work. “She already has you wrapped around her finger.”

Milena blushed. Maybe. “She’s just like a child.”

“Hope is always childish. Luckily, she probably doesn’t even realise it.”

Milena’s mind was stuck on the first word. “Hope?”

Simael crossed his arms. “We all represent something and with it come certain characteristics. Thuriel is hope and so it is childishness for her.”

Milena eyed him. “And what are you?”

“Righteousness.” There was no arrogance in his voice like so many people had who proclaimed righteousness or justice; it was just the stating of a fact. He was absolutely sure and Milena had to believe him.

Though the whole idea did sound ridiculous.

Silence hung between them like a thick blanket for a while as Simael watched and Milena cooked. Thuriel was possibly still bouncing around somewhere, leaving them undisturbed for the moment. If not for Simael watching her, she could almost believe she was alone in her home again. She even started humming.

“Are you alright?” Simael suddenly asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

Milena didn’t know why she wouldn’t be. “Yes. Can you set the plates out at the table and a fork and knife near each? They are in that cupboard.” She pointed vaguely to her left.

“How many?”

“Three.” Wasn’t that obvious?

“But me and Thuriel have had a biscuit.”

“A biscuit won’t get you through the day, or what’s left of it anyway.”

“I thought you were just preparing food for yourself,” he muttered. “How mysterious.” He did gather the plates and cutlery and set them out though.

After dinner - during which both Simael and Milena tried to keep Thuriel at the table, and Milena had many choice words about their manners, none of them positive - Thuriel bounced up and down, now dragging Milena, then dragging Simael. “That was really good, but we need to find the others now. They have to taste this as well!”

That… wasn’t exactly the reason they’d had to be found. Really, just like a child. Milena stopped her. “How about you first tell me who we’re looking for and what they look like.” She didn’t exactly feel like trudging through town in the evening, but if she had to, then she at least wanted to know what she was looking for.

Thuriel provided the simplest description possible. “Chasael is a female, skinny version of him,” she pointed at a grumbling Simael who insisted he was not fat, “and Segiel is bald.”

The description said everything yet nothing. She only knew Thuriel for a dat, but it already felt typical of her. She could probably recognise Chasael, but ‘bald’ told her nothing. Enough people were bald that it didn’t stand out.

Simael sighed. “We all wear basically the same. I think our white hoodies are fairly recognisable.”

Fairly. Well, it’d have to do. “You don’t have any pictures?” She could always ask.

“Pictures?” Thuriel was confused. “What are pictures and how do you get them?”

“Nevermind.” Best break that off quickly. Milena had no idea how to explain pictures. Snapshots of reality? But then what were snapshots? The questions could become endless and really, in the end it probably would still seem magical. She hoped Thuriel wouldn’t pursue it and luckily that seemed to be the case.

Thuriel shrugged. “Well, whatever. Ome one, they are waiting and at the very least I have a duty to Segiel.”

The notion of Thuriel have a duty was so ridiculous, Milena almost snorted. She couldn’t see Thuriel bearing any responsibility at all or actually be responsible. Sure, she had seen the angel serious, but actually having responsibilities waas a different matter entirely.

Simael laughed and followed Thuriel out the door. “You’d better come too, Milena!” he called. “Before she dissappears on us!”

Milena hastily grabbed her keys and ran after them. The two angels were already down the street by the time she had locked the door behind her and had to run to catch up to them. “You don’t even know where you’re going!”

“So?” Thuriel shrugged. “Neither do they.”

She probably had some kind of logic behind that Milena didn’t understand. She sighed. “Do you know whether they would even be in the area? Else walking won’t get us anywhere.”

“We were all roughly dropped at the same point,” Simael answered, “and Chasael at least will move towards civilisation and possibly the busiest area.”

“Which is the other way,” Milena deadpanned. “We’re moving towards the edge of town.”

Thuriel didn’t break her pace as if she’d known that already. “We’re looking for Segiel first.”

If only Milena wasn’t sure Thuriel had just made that up.

Simael stroked his chin. “Well, being in the middle of nowhere is something you’d do.”

“Exactly.” Thuriel sounded triumphant.

Milena however was quite sure it wasn’t meant as a compliment. Soon enough the fields stretched out before them. Milena lived quite close to the edge of town, so it wasn’t long until you stood on a pasture. Endless fields stretched as far as the eye could see and in the falling dark it became harder and harder to see anything on the fields, let alone a person. Though Thuriel and Simael did seem to emanate a glow from their bodies, it was barely visible even up close. Milena doubted they could discern Segiel that way.

“He is not here,” Thuriel observed dissappointed.

“That we can see. Let’s go to the center of town, maybe we’ll find Chasael there. Segiel will have to wait untill dawn.” Simael looked up to the sky. “He’ll be fine you know.”

Thuriel bit her lip. “I know. But it is my fault.”

“He chose to follow you. Don’t hold yourself responsible for his actions.”

“Still-”

“Center of town, now,” Simael interrupted and pushed his companion back on the street.

Milena understood very little from their conversation, but supposed it didn’t matter. It was something between them. At least she didn’t have to trudge through the fields in the rapidly falling dark. She led them to the center of town; a fairly decent square with shops, restaurants and snackbars. The pub was elsewhere in a really odd place in town. You had to pass under a bridge, go through a narrow alley and climb steel stairs to find the entrance. It was pretty popular under highschoolers though.

It wasn’t busy at the central square at all, though it never really was. An odd couple of people walked here and there, but nothing you could call a crowd, and no skinny, female version of Simael either. It was a bit dissappointing.

Simael began to doubt. “Are we certain they were dropped in this area as well?”

Thuriel gave him an accusing glare. “You said we were. I fell first, you know. I did not see.”

He looked uncomfortable. “Yes, well, Chasael isn’t here and I didn’t see Segiel either. Even so, you’d think we’d at least be able to sense each other.”

“I barely noticed you until you practically fell on top of me. I do not think we can trust our senses.”

As interesting the conversation was, it didn’t bring them anywhere. They could debate the nature of themselves, the universe or whatever later, Milena wanted to know what they wanted to do know. “Are we giving up for the day or do you want to search elsewhere?”

“Chasael will turn up here sooner or later, I’m more worried about Segiel and where he could be. “Simael froned and stared at the square. “If he didn’t end up near this town, there’s no telling where he will go, and even if he did see, he could still walk the other way.”

Thuriel looked insulted. “He may be a bit dim at times, but you are not giving him enough credit. He won’t do something stupid. He can take care of himself.”

“Not in the long run.”

“Yes, well, that is why we are looking for him,” Thuriel snapped.

“Plan of action,” Milena intervened.

Both angels looked at her and chorused: “Look around some more.”

Milena led them through some busier parts of town, but no sign came from either wayward angels. After a while she had had enough and called it off. It was getting nowhere, they could see better during the day and she really wanted to get some homework done.