Chapter Four

“Oh, right!” exclaimed the elf and stood back up. The demon watched as the elf untied his cloak, letting it fall behind him. Surrounding his waist was a rolled up piece of cloth— a familiar piece of cloth. The elf undid the knot connecting the two ends of the fabric before unraveling it out in front of the demon.

“Is that...?”

“Yup! I found your cape in a town! I cleaned it, too!”

The demon’s hand reached to grab it, but was denied as Eial took the cape behind him and draped the fabric over his back, his hands coming up in front to tie it.

The demon tried to ignore the warmth on his jaw where the elf’s forearm accidentally grazed. “The town? Were you following me?”

“No, I didn’t,” said the elf, patting down the cape to neaten the folds. “Our bond called me.”

“Called you?”

“Yes. I felt a deep sense of danger. But not from me. From elsewhere. So I came to the source. And then heard guards talking about you.”

The demon wanted to deny he was in danger at all, but he remembered the end of the fight with the three guards. It wasn’t a fair fight. And he had a broken wing. Of course he was at a disadvantage. “So that’s how you found me. Sure didn’t take you long.”

Eial giggled, “I’ll always come to meet you at the shortest time.” Taking a step back, he admired the black cape on the demon, making his back look majestic. The fur attached to the neck of the cape framed his head nicely. His eyes then wandered to the broken wing and gently searched the shredded remains. “Your poor wing… what happened over there?”

“The damn guards ganged up on me and wrecked my wing.”

“Goodness, did you do something wrong?”

“Bold of you to assume I was at fault. I just wanted to leave, but I guess elves can’t stand a demon in their territory uninvited.” The demon conveniently left out the part where he’d attacked and kidnapped an innocent guard.

“Oh that’s not nice of them,” the elf frowned. “Well, I’m glad you’re safe now. And that you’re here.”

Honestly, the demon was glad, too. This particular elf hadn’t been repulsed by him as elves generally are, which made him tolerable. And he had a safe space to carefully think of another plan.

Eial took a step forward again and carefully reached below the demon’s hair, pulling it out from beneath the cape and draping it out into view. His long, black hair fell in unison and glistened in the remaining warm tones of sunlight. “Your hair is beautiful and silky,” examined the elf, lightly touching it with the back of his fingers.

“Of course it is,” the demon responded, proud of his features.

Eial’s hand made its way up to the demon’s horns and caressed the roughness. The horns started behind his temples and curved to frame his head, the tips curving out towards the ends. “May I touch these?”

“Funny thing to ask when you’re already touching them.”

A little snicker left the elf. “Then tell me when you’d rather have me stop.”

The quiet peacefulness lasted a short while before—

GRRAAAAAAAW. The sound of angry thunder rumbled from the demon’s stomach.

Eial’s hands lifted from the demon’s horns and he looked in awe for a second before: “I’m so sorry. Give me a moment.”

The demon, raising his chest to counter his humiliation, turned to watch the elf who gazed at the sky, his eyes searching side to side. The instant a bird came into view, he shot a line of water magic, piercing the bird, instantly losing its life.

Eial walked over and grabbed the bird by the neck. When he walked back, he presented the bird to the demon, dangling its body in his fist. “I hope you don’t mind bird.”

The demon’s eyebrows raised in astonishment with a slight curve on his lips. “Wow. That’s quite merciless for an elf.”

“Sorry,” the elf’s hand retreated, “is this weird?”

“The opposite,” the demon chuckled with a flirtatious smirk, “it pleases me.”

Pink painted the elf’s cheek as his head lowered in a grin. “I’ll get to cooking, then.” Loose grass flung from his boots as he darted away and the demon watched in amusement.

Eial had used his magic to start a fire, and in just thirty minutes, the bird which had been carved into pieces and speared into twigs, had become ready to eat. He handed a stick to the demon, who had decided to join him near the fire as the air became cooler.

“Not bad,” reviewed the demon, chewing a large bite. It was a different presentation of a meal from how he’d get served at home, but food is food, and he was famished. Middle of a chew, he stopped, noticing the elf hadn’t grabbed a piece for himself. “Not gonna eat?”

The fire mimicked its dance in the glistening glass of the elf’s eyes. He smiled and stared at the demon. “I feel too happy to eat. Watching you eat makes me full enough.”

“That’s a stupid reason not to eat.” The demon went back to bite off another piece before his lips went thin and he turned back towards the elf. “Eat. It’s weird eating by myself.”

Eial’s eyes danced back and forth from the demon to the cooked meat. Failing to hold back a bashful smile, he grabbed a stick for himself and pinched off a small bite, glancing at the demon once more before chuckling gleefully.

“You’re a giddy little guy, aren’t you?” The demon had observed the elf’s frequent giggles without complaint, but noticed he was full of them.

“I just—it’s just— it’s been... a while since I’ve spent time with someone. I am very happy you are here. Spending time with me.”

“Because I have to”

“Still.” The elf’s smile branded a different emotion as he gazed at the ground. “I hope you will also become happy spending time with me.”

Waving branches and leaves covered the demon’s vision as he looked up. “At least you’re not boring—” When he noticed the elf’s cheerfulness returning, he added, “—for now.”