It was a late Saturday evening, when Zed finally decided to cook. He stood in his kitchen looking through his fridge as the strong moon light filtered through the window, illuminating the area. On the counter lay the tickets remaining from the amusement park. They caught his eye and he was reminded of his time spent at the park with the odd demon.
It was definitely an experience, and one that he’d rather not have again. As Zed thought more and more about that day, it suddenly occurred to him; why didn’t he just leave? There was nothing stopping him from leaving, yet when he saw Alvis and Nestrio’s interaction, he couldn’t find it within him to leave--at least not yet.
Throughout the day, he felt several weird things happen to his body. One moment he was relaxed and enjoying the sun, but then Nestrio would come by and his heart would start racing...but then Alvis would open his mouth and he’d be pissed for some reason.
Zed chucked at the memory of Nestrio clinging to him on the ride and how frustrated he was at the simple game. He sighed once more as he finished cooking and sat down for the meal. It was quiet and peaceful as he let his mind wander. There was harsh knocking at his door and his eyes squinted in annoyance. Leaving the table he angrily shuffled over. He’d had this home built in the mountains for a reason, so people wouldn’t bother him. He felt his annoyance rise at what lay behind the door. Nkauj Ntuab was dragging Alvis, who looked worse for wear, around by the collar. “Hi Zed! We came here for a movie night!” She said in her usual cheerful tone.
Zed tried to close the door but she pushed pass him quickly. “What the hell!?”
“Aw Zed, don’t you like us anymore? I brought ‘The Demons Redemption!’ It’s a very popular movie here in Midland.” Nkauj Ntuab made herself comfortable on his sofa.
“No, and I don’t know what that it...but make yourself at home...I guess…” Zed rolled his eyes. He then looked at the door wondering where Nestrio was. Nkauj Ntuab always dragged him around as well, except of the three of them he seemed the most sane...and tolerable.
Zed thought about asking Nkauj Ntuab but then caught himself, because why would he care what that demon was doing?
“Oh, Zed also! Nessy is gonna come here in a bit! So don’t feel too disappointed!” Nkauj Ntuab beamed happily.
“Since when have I ever been worried about that demon!” Zed said a bit too quickly, embarrassing himself in the process.
With a scowl, Zed walked towards the door and was swinging it shut; however, he heard the flapping of wings and decided to peek out the door. He saw Nestrio descending slowly from the sky, his large black wings on display and his eyes glowing brilliantly. When he landed he stretched before concealing them once more. Zed paused, unsure of what to say. He could hear his heart in his ears as he watched Nestrio walk towards him.
Zed stepped out of the doorway as Nestrio walked passed him with a short greeting. Following Nestrio inside, he closed the door.
As they spread out on the couch, Nkauj Ntuab asked for a blanket. Zed glared at her for invading his personal space with a “No.” With a frown, Nkauj Ntuab sighed and started one of the movies she’d brought, saving the scary one for later.
Nestrio was currently sitting in between Alvis and Zed while watching the movies. Being that he and Zed were from different realms they never had much opportunity to see what Midlanders came up with. Zed was particularly annoyed with the belief that angels existed to protect mortals and other nonsense.
Soon enough, Nkauj Ntuab was starting the final movie.
It was a slow start. And for the first twenty minutes, all Zed could think about was how much he wanted to leave. Yet he soon became enraptured as the protagonist carried themselves through the dimly lit hallway. The soft, but sharp sound of string instruments added to the movie’s air of gloom. Zed felt himself tense; his legs were tucked in and his hands were slightly covering his face. But with pure unadulterated fascination and horror, he leant forward in his seat.
As the protagonist opened the door to the dark room ‘creek’ and walked into the room he felt goosebumps up his spine. The main lead searched his pocket for their phone for light and illuminated his face. With a blare from the orchestra, Zed jumped, and with a quick squeak he retreated into his hands as the white-ashen face of a bloody woman shone right beside the man in the movie.
Taking a deep breath, he gathered what's left of his pride and lifted up his head once more.
The man was still unaware of the apparition, so she slowly feathered her hand up his arms onto his shoulders--and that when he felt it.
A touch so light, and a breeze of cold air at his right shoulder that made his blood run cold.
Zed’s muscles contracted and without further ado, he leaped with all his might and tackled the person to his direct left. His heart was pumping and his brain was hazed with the fuzzy feeling of adrenaline as he clenched his eyes tight and curled up as far as he can from his previous spot.
It wasn’t until the lights turned on and the sound stopped coming from the movie that he cracked his eyes open. He saw the faces of Alvis looking at him in worry, and Nkauj Ntuab trying to hold in her laughter….for a moment he just sat there until he realized someone was missing from the picture.
He looked up and saw Nestrio looking down at him. His eyes were wide with curiosity and surprise as they stared at each other, through Nkauj Ntuab’s cackling. “Are you--” Zed cut Nestrio off when he stood up quickly.
He stood silently and began walking away, “I’m going to sleep now. Please let yourselves out when you’re done.” On the other side of his bedroom door, Zed sank to the ground. He was embarrassed that he’d reacted in such a way because of a movie. He could still hear Nkauj Ntuab laughing her heart out and it made him so mad but he was too embarrassed to do anything.
When the noise of the movie was finished, Zed glanced out the window and saw Nestrio standing there with Alvis. He felt his heart clench and became annoyed that Alvis had even come by at all. He watched as he acted coy with Nestrio, going as far as to hold hands with him and close in the distance inch by inch. Zed’s eyes were wide in surprise but he sighed in relief when Nkauj Ntuab joined them quickly. He blushed and shook his head at the thoughts, “Why would I care if they kissed.” He watched Nestrio fly away before settling in for the night.
Above the petshop in the downtown area of Misotopia, Nestrio pulled off his clothing after checking on the animals he cared for. Zarkar followed him around his apartment and soon settled in bed with him. Nestrio was confused. He was confused about his latest stint with the friends he’d made. The angel had surprised him. He hugged a pillow close to his body as he thought about it. He never would have thought his heart would’ve been pounding so fast in that moment.
He thought about Zed’s eyes, dark hair, and mischievous smile, he was definitely attractive. Nestrio looked up at his stuffed animal, that lay on the bed with him and Zarkar and had been for the past week. However, whenever he looked at it he felt his blood move a bit quicker. Then, there was Alvis. He could tell the satyr was attracted to him, his light touches, conversations, etc. He wanted to have a nice relationship with no complications but he was unsure of what it was that he wanted. Alvis would be everything he wanted, he loved animals just as much as he did but there was something about the arrogant Zed as well. He was definitely confused.
Knock...knock...knock
“What the hell?” Nestrio stated as Zarkar began to chirp.
Knock...knock...knock
Nestrio went to the door and was greeted with Nkauj Ntsuab standing happily. “Hey, I just came by to check on you. You seemed a bit out of it when you left. Is everything okay?”
Nestrio sighed, but felt happy that Nkauj Ntsuab was here. They sat down with tea and he detailed his plight, although embarrassed, he was happy that Nkauj Ntsuab was taking it seriously. “Well, you have two choices. One that is definite, and the other is unknown. You know what you want but you also seek adventure. You’ll know what choice to make when the time comes. This may seem like I’m pushing you to make a choice but I’m not. I’m just a gardener tending to the seeds that have been sown.”
Nestrio nodded at her odd words in understanding. He blushed deeply thinking about the choices he’d decided on.
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