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“I was falling,” Summer read out loud. “Falling through time and space and stars and sky and everything in between. I fell for days and weeks and what felt like lifetime across lifetimes. I fell until I forgot I was falling.”
A long, drawn out groan from the other end of the couch made her lower the book to her lap. “This story is so boring ,” Raven griped, practically hanging off the opposite arm of the couch in her supposed anguish.
“Oh don’t be so melodramatic,” Summer chided. “You’re the one who wanted me to read it to you.”
Raven let herself slowly slide onto the floor, groaning the entire way until the noise was muffled into the plush carpet.
Summer rolled her eyes at her antics, a smile playing on her lips. “Are demons always this dramatic, or did I just get lucky?” It was more of a habit than an actual question, really. They’ve known each other for thousands of years, of course Raven’s always been like this. Since almost the beginning of time, she hasn’t changed very much. Dramatic, stubborn-
“Not even your beautiful voice could make me want to listen to another word from that book.”
...and that. Right there. That was the real problem.
Summer’s shoulders twitched with an ache that she was desperately trying to ignore. “I’ll agree that it’s not the best book I’ve ever read, but it’s not that bad.”
Raven just groaned again.
Summer tossed the book onto the small of Raven's back, a smile on her lips. “Fine. Put it away then, we’ll do something else to waste away the evening.”
Raven rolled over and sat up with her back facing Summer, letting the book fall to the floor in a way she knew would irritate her. She lifted her arms above her head in a luxurious stretch, and Summer was once again thankful that she had opted to go with an open floor plan.
Raven’s wings were gorgeous.
Her full wingspan was almost twice that of Summer’s. The tips of them still brushed the opposite walls when she extended them fully. They were made entirely of jet black feathers, without a single bent shaft or ruffled barb to disrupt their sleek shape. When sunlight hit them at the right angle, they were alight with a deep purple sheen that reminded Summer of sparkling galaxies and faraway stars.
She had always admired the demon’s wings. Always wondered if they felt as silky as they looked. Raven was slowly pulling them back in, and the longest feathers of her left one were easily within Summer’s reach.
Without actually meaning to, Summer raised her hand to touch it. Just a soft, gentle brush if her fingertips down the few primaries close to her. They felt just as velvety and dangerous as she imagined.
Raven froze at her touch, but to Summer’s surprise she didn’t move or pull away.
It wasn’t like touching an angel’s wings was wrong , fallen or not. But it was intimate, and for all of Raven’s flirtatious teasing, it wasn’t a line she had ever crossed.
Not one they had ever crossed.
Raven held her wing stiffly in place. Every muscle in her back and shoulders was tense. Rigid. Ready to snap. Feathers trembled under Summer’s hand, just the barest amount. She should stop. They shouldn’t be here. They were on opposite sides of a war that had been raging for millenia, they shouldn’t be- ...whatever they were.
Summer looked up to find Raven’s eyes already on her. Curiosity shone through every feature on her face. It was laid bare for her to see, the usual mask Raven wore slipped away for now. She was begging her to say something with eyes the color of war and blood.
How are your wings so soft? Summer wanted to ask.
How do they survive when the world around you burns so easily?
How are they not destroyed?
Instead, what came out of her mouth wasn’t nearly as simple. Easy enough in response, but heavy is the cost.
“Why did you fall?”
The mask slipped back over Raven’s face.
Summer hadn’t known that that question had been so close to the surface and ready to slip out. Sure, it had been on her mind recently, but the silence that clung to the demon on her living room floor said maybe that wasn’t yet her knowledge to gain. Raven pulled her wings away, back towards her until they disappeared from sight. Summer was sure that she wasn’t going to answer.
“I cared too much,” Raven finally whispered, like they were words she wasn’t sure would come out. “About things I was told I shouldn’t care about. But… that was a long time ago.”
Summer nodded, because she understood. Because she wasn’t surprised by the answer. Because caring was a dangerous thing, with edges that cut and coals that burn.
“It’s getting pretty late,” Raven said with an abrupt change in tone. Like either of them had any reason to care about the passing of time. They knew it was an excuse, an escape. Both were grateful. “I should get going.”
Summer nodded again as Raven stood up, glad at least that her voice sounded normal but distrusting of her own. Raven made a show of wiping her pants free of the dirt that she knew Summer would never allow to exist on her floor. The cocky smirk that she tossed over her shoulder was comforting in its familiarity.
“I’ll see you around, pigeon,” Raven said just before closing the front door behind her.
Summer stayed where she was for a while after she left. It wasn’t like she had anything she needed to do. Any one of her hobbies sounded like too much effort, and the pretense of sleep felt… lonely. Time has never loomed so heavily over her head, like the rusty blade of an abandoned guillotine poised to fall.
After a while, after she knew Raven was truly gone, Summer gave in. She let out her wings and stretched them like they’ve been aching to be stretched for what could have been a lifetime. Gingerly, she brought one around to examine it, careful with her movements. It felt like the world would shatter around her if she moved too fast.
She watched the smoke rise up from the charred, blackened tips, curling through the air like a dance choreographed to music she couldn’t hear.
It was getting worse. Her primaries were in tatters. Singed and scorched and broken, black with soot and death. Her coverts had started to burn too, the down underneath them sparse and brittle. The damage was made all that more dramatic against the healthy areas that still managed to shine pure white. Broken pieces of burning feathers fell every time she moved, an ill omen that they wouldn’t last much longer.
I cared too much , Raven had said, and Summer knew now as she had always known; Raven was far more noble and good than anyone gave her credit for.
Because if you peeled back all the layers, shed the masks they’ve had to wear and the shows they’ve had to put on throughout their lives, you would find the truth. And it was simple enough in theory, but heavy is the cost.
Raven had fallen for humanity, and Summer was falling for Raven.