☾~ Evelyn ~☽
The sun rising on the horizon was like a fiery round semi-circle of light, cresting the jagged mountains in the distance in slow-motion. Paper-thin fabric draped a solitary girl in a meadow as she cupped a lonesome lily in her palm. The forest around her was silent; the eye of the storm. A solitary bird chirped in the woods, but all else was cloaked in an infinite, deafening quiet. The girl looked up, eyes like sapphires piercing her surroundings. Suddenly, the dream was warped, fire charring the picturesque scenery and ash coating the fantasy world. The girl was swallowed by flames and smoke, until she disappeared.
Just as quickly as the dream turned chaotic, I quickly removed it from the innocent child's mind. Shuddering sympathetically, I looked down at the small girl. She was merely a toddler, forced to have prophetic dreams not even an adult should have to shoulder. She resembled myself in so many ways... It was somewhat eerie.
I felt a comforting pat on my shoulder and turned to see Eternity, my best friend and number one companion. She wore a ghost of her smile on her face, somber from the scene we had just witnessed. It was never an easy task collecting the dreams.
Ever since I had... passed on, life had changed immensely for me, who had been such a normal girl before. I was assigned to Cloud 9, the Dream Cloud, and later deemed worthy enough to be an Astrum Angel, the elite team of dream-collectors whose skill was far superior to all others'. Blinking, I realized I still couldn't believe that I, Evelyn, had ended up here.
"You helped her, Ev," Eternity whispered consolingly. She patted my shoulder once more and turned towards the window we had entered the bubble-gum pink room in. Flowers twisted up the walls in intricate patterns, and the child we had relieved of a prophecy slept soundly in a white crib.
I took one last longing glance towards the toddler, wishing I had life so easy, unfurled my wings and flew out the window after Eternity. Her wings were magnificent in comparison to mine, fluffy and almost twice her size, emanating an iridescent glow. Eternity twisted and twirled in the air with ease, giggling and waving her arms theatrically towards me as we soared through the sky.
I chuckled softly and continued on, concentrating on the steady beating of my wings as we gained altitude. Unlike Eternity who always wanted to talk and laugh, I was much more reserved and introverted, preferring to mull over a thought multiple times before speaking my mind. My partner could care less, I doubt she noticed when as much as she rambled on. It was alright, though, because that made it easier for me not to speak so often.
"Last one there has to write the report!" Eternity called, speeding up rapidly ahead of me.
"Cheater!" I blurted, attempting to fly faster in an effort to beat her. But it was impossible as she was the fastest angel in Heaven. Sighing, I mentally gave up and came to a gentle stop behind her as we landed on Cloud 9.
An immense palace lay before us, with gold-encrusted domes and spires shooting up as far as we could see, invisibly tapering to a point miles above. Dozens of turrets held hundreds of angels surveying the city surrounding the castle in the center. The towering building itself was crafted of sole white marble, glistening in the light of the full moon. It was staggering in its height, yellow pools of light shining through window-less rooms inside. It was guarded by over a thousand soldiers, for good reason too. This was where all prophetic dreams were stored.
"Starstruck?" Eternity teased me, skipping ahead towards the building. Although we could have just flied to the palace, both of us preferred to stroll through the less-magnificent, but still breathtaking city that framed the immaculate castle.
Dozens of winged pedestrians crowded around us, navigating the winding streets expertly. I rushed after Eternity through the cluster of angels. Her shoulder-length auburn hair bobbed up as down as she maneuvered between citizens and dodged rushed angels. I admired her adept skill with sparkling green eyes. Another resigned sigh. I was getting father and father behind from Eternity.
"Eternity!" I shouted, hoping to get her attention. It was no use, so I just hurried on towards the castle. Soon, I found Eternity, arguing with one of the gatekeepers in front of the palace.
"Let me in right now!" she demanded childishly, stomping her foot on the ground.
This time it was my turn to place a hand on her shoulder. She turned her face slightly towards me, regarding me with bright hazel eyes. "What's wrong?" I inquired, curiously looking between my partner and the burly angel standing guard at the entrance to the castle.
"He won't let me in!" Eternity huffed, crossing her arms. She turned her nose up at the man and looked away angrily.
"Eternity, did you, I don't know, tell him that we were Astrum Angels?" I whispered softly.
"A-Astrum Angels?!" the gatekeeper stammered, flailing his arms in the air nervously.
"Uh, no... Should I have?" Eternity responded, scratching the back of her head apologetically. "Oops!"
I rolled my eyes but cracked a small smile; Eternity always seemed to brighten up a dark mood. The guard quickly began shouting orders and the golden gates before us slowly parted to let the two of us in. Retracting my wings, I walked slightly ahead of Eternity, a determined gleam in my eye.
"Ev, why so serious all of a sudden?" Eternity questioned, quickening her pace and falling into step with me.
I shrugged, mouth turning up at the edges in a barely noticeable grin. The truth was, I could not wait until I could see Valor, another part of my team, again. His lovely gray eyes, prideful stance, and rugged determination made me look up to him in more ways than one.
"You're thinking about Valor again, aren'cha?" Eternity poked me in the side playfully; she always seemed to be able to read my mind.
"W-What? No!" I stuttered. My cheeks were heating up and I pressed a cold hand to them, trying to regain my composure.
Eternity was about to say something else when Valor and Erlos came into view. I almost waved and called to them, but caught myself when I saw the look on their faces. Something was wrong. Never had I seen either one so serious... Even Erlos's smile held less joy in it.
"What's wrong?" Eternity asked, always the one to speak for me. I was grateful for her steady presence.
"The demons," Erlos murmured, ushering us towards a nearby meeting room. I followed him, Valor, and Eternity as the doors swung open to let us in.
A long table stretched before us was about the only furniture in the room, the rest being plastic black chairs along the sides. Erlos took a seat at the head, and after Eternity, Valor, and I had been seated on either side of him, other angels began filing into the rooms. I spotted many important figures and heads of government from all the Clouds, not only the 9th, and knew instantly the issue was worse than I had initially thought.
"Why have you called us here, Erlos?" a gravelly voice rumbled from the other end of the table. I shifted in my seat to get a better look at the old man, and was surprised to see him there. You could say he was the "president" of Cloud 9, President Snow.
"As many of you have heard," Erlos began, never losing his calm demeanor, "the Kage and Crux Clans are conspiring as we speak."
Several gasps echoed throughout the room as the news sank in. I had barely been educated in demon clans before I had been shipped here, Cloud 9, to work on collecting dreams. Although I had no idea what the Kage and Crux Clans were, there was a peculiar evil ring to their names.
"Their plans have already been put into action, as we have heard, and mortals are being affected."
"What do you mean, 'mortals are bein' affected'?" Eternity demanded. The dangling jewelry she wore clinked together noisily as she eyed Erlos.
Erlos sighed and pressed a finger to the center of his forehead, rubbing his temples with his other fingers. "The humans are falling asleep... And staying asleep."
The silence in the room was deafening. Tiled floors, tapestry covered walls, spectacular views; everything about the room seemed to be suffocating me. Although I could not remember my past too well, I knew that I had had a family before... right? And they were still alive, and... Mortal.
"What would you like us to do about it, then?" A haughty voice inquired. I turned to sharply glare at the woman as she pushed her horned glasses up on her nose. Gray hair tied up neatly into a bun, her beady black eyes met mine as if I were an insignificant life form, not even worthy of her gaze. I hated her immediately.
"Yes," another angel concurred, "What can we do about it? You are the Astrum Angels, are you not? The almighty?"
"That is true-" Erlos began, but was cut off by a cacophony of voices all straining to be heard simultaneously. Erlos pounded his fist on the table, calling for order, but to no avail.
"Shut up!" Eternity screamed at the top of her lungs, causing all attention to be directed towards her. "Do you guys care about no one other than yourselves?!" Her face was set in a deadly scowl, not even acknowledging the appalled faces of the wealthy officials around her. "Just shut up and just try to be selfless for one, jeesh."
I brought a hand to my mouth to stifle a laugh. The angels' faces around me, shocked, baffled, and most of all, outraged, were just too funny. Eternity sneaked a glance my way and cracked a sly smile, and I knew instantly she thought the scene was just as funny as I did.
"Continuing on," Erlos drawled, relieved to have everyone's attention once more, "The Astrum Angels will prevent this situation from worsening. We called this meeting to notify you of the issue. You may leave now."
Angry mutters and furious whispers were left in the wake of the angel politicians of Heaven. As soon as the door was shut, and only the four Astrum angels were left, Eternity and I cracked up laughing. Valor and Erlos looked extremely confused, which made us laugh even harder.
"What's so funny?" Valor questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"N-Nothing," Eternity wiped away the tears that were welling up in her eyes from laughing too hard. I had to hold my stomach because it hurt so badly, gasping for air that had escaped my lungs.
"Anyways, what about this situation?" Erlos said, moving the topic along to a more serious note.
Eternity propped her Converse-clad feet on the table and leaned back in her chair. She placed her arms behind her head and shrugged, "We do what we gotta do... And that's fight off those demons."
"Let's just hope we win..." My comment was a mere wisp on a draft that had picked up in the room, swept away with the laughter that had ended so abruptly. The war ahead would be long and hard... Was I really ready for this?
Taking a quick peek at Valor's determined pale eyes, Eternity's carefree disposition, and Erlos's squared shoulders, I wondered if I really fit in with this group. With the elites.
~~~
Long post... @.@ I'm so sorry for making you read all that! T.T It's probably the best I've ever written before, though. XD Continue?
