“You cannot sit there and tell me you are that blind to not see what is really going on here? That you can’t hear the screams of our fallen brothers being eaten during the night? That you can’t hear their bones being crushed and their innards spilled out hot onto the forest floor? Haniel, you just saw for yourself what the fuck happens out here!” Haniel didn’t move, still frozen with fear as he stared ahead at the crumpled body of Teitrael. 

A thousand thoughts flooded his mind as he flipped the event over and over and over in his mind. He could not comprehend what had just transpired. He could not grip onto the thoughts that assaulted his own brain. While he heard Dagiel’s words he couldn’t really hear him, mind far away from his own body. His gaze grew more intense as he continued to speak. Dagiel reached down to shake Haniel by the shoulders.  

“Hani! Haniel look at me!!” Shaken out of his trance he broke his eyes away from the mangled and bloodied form that still drained blood out into the shadows around the camp. He looked at Dagiel with a dazed expression.

 “Yes Dagiel?” He whispered in a frayed and broken tone, he looked at the ground, wanting to look anywhere but the scene before them. 

“Get ahold of yourself Hani. This won’t be the first time this happens. It’s happened a million times before, angels get eaten every night! You can’t tell me that this is the first time you’ve looked?

 When Haniel’s heavy breathing was all the reply Dagiel got, he knew that it was. “I can’t comment on this, it’s just another night for me, another brother lost, another cold wound inside me, and while I can’t say anything, or feel anything about what has just happened to Teitrael” He frowned when Dagiel paused in his speech. Once a moment had gone by, the other carried on talking. The newer Axia Angel released the breath he did not realize he had been holding. “Overall, I can say with a full certainty is that someone needs to do something, or there won’t be any of us left to do anything at all. “He watched as Dagiel stared at him with dead eyes, cold as the tundra he frequented.

 “I may have grown cold in your absence, absence from being around me at least. I spend hours, watching from afar while you wallow in a fantasy world of life and peace, but, you, you weren’t always so… spineless, Haniel” Haniel then watched Dagiel walk away, long, light sea foam green hair billowing in the night wind. Watching silently while Duma danced across the air, he left Haniel standing there, not even bothering to blink. Haniel frowned, eyes overcast by the bangs of his otherwise short blond hair, cropped in the back as all angels were.

He then realized that Dagiel’s hair wasn’t blond, or short, his head shot up and he looked at the taller angel as he walked. Haniel was more than often staring at Dagiel in this manner, but tonight, something was, different.

 “It's God's will though is it not? That we leave her creations alone and let whatever she deems to happen. Happen?”

Dagiel stopped walking, he spoke without turning to face him. “God’s will, right.” Dagiel snorted. “Something like that, in these dark times Haniel, some of us have to realize just how doomed we are. If nothing is done, we are all going to end up like a herd following the leader into the jaws of a crocodile.” Dagiel frowned as he looked at the still shaking Haniel. 

“I realize this, my home is in the oceans, I am an angel of the water, creating the fish and the whales and all else that lurks beneath is my only joy in life. You are a fool. But my very best friend in all the Axia, best feather in my wing...” With that he trailed off, his tone was hollow and empty, ocean blue eyes shining in the light of the fire. Things were silent for a long, long time after that. Finally, Dag’s voice could be heard over the crackle of the fire…

 “I want a life outside of this slave camp Haniel, and if you were wise, you would want the same thing. Like I said, you didn’t always used to be spineless.” He then vanished inside one of the many shabbily put together tents made from animal flesh and bones. 

“Spineless?” he frowned as he watched Dagiel go into the hut. Dag rarely ever came on land to sleep, for him to do so, something must have been bothering him. This left Haniel alone yet again, staring at the space Teitrael was still being chewed. But this time his remains were being gnawed at by yet another bear. 

Haniel couldn’t recall that angel ever speaking to him. He couldn’t recall ever even seeing Teitrael before now. He vaguely remembered seeing him in school flock, always shy and jumpy. Teitrael was a small and unassuming angel, he kept to himself and didn’t speak to anyone much. He wondered why the bear had attacked Teitrael? 

He snorted, shaking his potentially blasphemous thoughts away, to investigate into the death of anything was a sin against God. As well were mysteries of any kind that were not contemplating about God. He got up, thinking about grabbing a burning log from the fire, he thought about swinging it at the newer bear, scaring it away from the broken body it was munching on. 

Haniel thought about it, but he didn’t do it. He couldn’t do it. He still loved God no matter what she did to them. Haniel couldn’t do anything even if he wanted to, he knew that it would anger God if he did so. Their God was a massive, pulsing creature. It lived in the heavens and gave out instructions and orders to the angels via a mind link. 

This link was amplified by the Feathercoms, newer versions anyhow; the old versions of the Feathercoms the original Axia angels had been given were not allowed to his group. He figured it had something to do with the changes. Overall, when an angel developed an individuality, it lost the mental link with God. This prevented God from spying on their thoughts and feelings, helping them better discover who they were.

 Lucifer was the first to undergo this transformation. He had reached his realization point, and at that point he broke away from the connection to God. He used this to his advantage and with it he began to work on the plans to escape from the labor camp, Haniel helped as much as he could. Moons went by and Lucifer slowly worked his plan into motion. Escape was the first order of business. He came to the conclusion that it would be a hard thing to do but he was determined to do it. He gathered a select group of angels around him, Salsa, Dagiel, Paimon, Maze, Asta, Gabriel and his lackeys, Uriel and Cassiel.

He turned them into his personal attendants and servants. The first eight would became his council and the others his foot soldiers. He was a kind ruler as the angels had lifted him up as their leader. However not all the angels were pleased with this outcome. Dummah was among the ones who opposed the choice, Dummah could do nothing and in turn he flipped his anger onto those who had nothing to do with it; but one in particular would suffer from his transgressions. 

Haniel stared at the mission scroll handed to him by a page boy angel from God. the page boy angel, a young one dressed in a blue kimono, stared at him expectantly. “God commands you leave for this mission in four new moons time.” the words played back in his head as he sat by his tent. 

Haniel had reluctantly agreed, though he was still hesitant, all in all he knew this must have been part of his punishment for defying God that one time. He knew Dagiel was going to get a similar summons, it would not be much of a difficult speculation. Overall, the angel was really worried when it came down to it. He didn’t at all know what to expect. He spent his days wandering the camp while working on building up young trees.

 He’d stop to breathe life into small animal bodies that had been left by those who crafted them. The newest and final Axia Angel replayed the fact he himself had made that mistake. He replayed it inside his very mind. The mistake of angering their maker. God punished him for it with the nervous tick of repeating the laws like a mantra. Not that he wasn’t already doing so. Haniel sat on the rocks, watching as Dagiel created things under the ocean waves. He spent most of his time here, watching Dag work his literal magic. 

He was always amazed by Dagiel’s skill in creating things from the power God had placed inside him for that purpose. He smiled as he watched him. “ Come see what I just made! I call it a Spinulosida, I know you already named the whole species starfish, or sea stars or whatever you keep talking about, but I made a specific kind so it’s MINE!” he waved it around, above the gently rolling waves. 

 Dagiel looked around as if expecting someone to answer him. Of course, he is waiting on me, Haniel thought. Haniel smiled wide, reaching out to brush away some seaweed that had ended up dangling from the other angel’s head. This made Dagiel jump in surprised shock and he whipped around to look at Haniel. "Oh. It's you." Haniel frowned at Dag's clearly unintentionally bored tone of voice, but smiled just as quickly. 

“It’s ok Dag, your starfish is just as cute as you are.” He smirked as the other angel backed away slowly, looking aay from him. It was ok, Dag was just shy... “All the cute underwater critters you like to make. Like what even is this?” he asked as he reached into the water and pulled up a baby seal.

“That, thank you very much, is a he and it’s a young seal. Gimme it!” Dagiel snatched the baby seal away from Haniel and it licked his face happily. Watching Dag play with the seal with an expression far happier than he ever looked when looking at him, made Haniel’s perfect world crack, just a little bit. 

He ignored it. Dagiel liked him, he knew he did.

Haniel chuckled as he watched Dagiel help the baby seal swim back down into the water. “It’s so cute whatever it is, all I get to make is the beach and the rocks those things laze around on all day. Are you just making them as an excuse to be lazy too Dag huh?” he teased the other angel, reaching out to poke him in the cheek. “My little starfish.” he took the starfish out of Dagiel’s hand and got closer to him. The taller angel’s eyes widened from what Haniel assumed was embarrassment. The shorter angel knew he could do better than Salsa with that stupid pick up line.

Before he could do anything however, Dagiel screamed, a shark, disgruntled at being ignored right after it’s creation, had grabbed him by the tail fin. Haniel looked on in shock as blood filled the water, and Dagiel was dragged. Diving down he reached to grab a rock, but a hand shot out to grab the rock first. 

He glared as Salsa smirked at him before shooting toward the shark. Swimming as fast as his normally land dwelling body would go, Haniel grabbed his own rock and chased Salsa. Salsa slammed into the shark with his bare fist and threw the rock at Haniel. Hitting Haniel in the face, the shark dazed from Salsa's strike, swam after Haniel instead.  Salsa had swam over to help a screaming Dagiel. He thought Dag was screaming because he was being chased by the shark, but as he struck it with a rock, he heard them kissing..

He wanted to scream himself as the shark swam off, he caught the end of their conversation. 

“ you Salsa. Well, starfish can normally be seen on the rocks can’t they? Bivalves are in shells aren’t they? You’re my shell Haniel, my protector, you saved my life and I couldn’t be more grateful to you for it.” Dagiel’s arms were wrapped tightly around Salsa's neck as the other kissed along his jaw.

“Yea… Yea I am, I’m your shell, I’ll always protect you, my little starfish, mine,.” He grinned as he squeezed Dag’s waist gently.

Haniel quickly went to land and tried to block out Dagiel calling out to him "Haniel, please just stop trying to get in the way, it's not going to work!"

The very next night, as punishment for helping his fellow angel, Haniel's new mission was set with Salsa to help create the deepest underground part of the oceans and he’d not see Dagiel for ten long, grueling years.