On the way back home, Ezrael didn’t talk too much. He was a little embarrassed and just couldn’t find the words to talk with Misra or especially Avery while se was around. She quickly left after they returned to the world of essence and headed to her place in Aertol. That left a long and very silent walk for Ezrael and Misra to go through together which was extremely awkward for the both of them.

A few days ago, Misra thought that there was a high chance that she would never see him alive again, but now here he was walking right beside her looking like a very angsty crow. The thought made Misra chuckle and then laugh, until Ezrael simply couldn’t ignore her anymore.

“What’s so funny…?” he asked, causing her to laugh even more.

“Ezrael… You look and act so edgy… I mean… Come on… you’re twenty-three and you look like you just fell out of Ser… You’re wearing a cloak of black feathers. Did you make that yourself? Are the feathers real or did you just get them from somewhere? And your voice. Have you just become so used to speaking quietly for so long it’s your default?” she asked, practically laughing the whole time.

Ezrael rolled his eyes. “Have you seen yourself lately, Mis? Your hair is a mess. You look like you just fell through several very large trees. And your clothes look just the same!”

Misra smirked. She knew that Ez wasn’t actually trying to hurt her feelings and she realized that it was just like old times when they would playfully make fun of each other.

“Well, I’m sorry, mister. I was busy worrying sick about my older brother who I wasn’t even sure was alive for the past nine years!” At that, she found herself beginning to tear up and she realized that her anger on this matter was not just a joke or her trying to recreate the old time. This was something that she had been holding in for a while. Ezrael could tell and so he just said nothing. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing, but he didn’t know what the right thing to say was so silence seemed like the best option. And so, they continued that way until they arrived back home.

When Dameria saw Ezrael, her eyes widened and she immediately rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in close. “Ezrael… My baby… I’m so happy you’re safe…”

Ezrael just sat there, a little taken back at first, but then he returned the embrace, nestling in to her and allowing a faint smile to creep on to his face. “I’m really happy to be home, mom…”

After a few minutes, Dameria eventually released him and it was then Amelia’s turn to scoop him up in to her arms. “My little angel… Welcome home…”

Ezrael smiled softly and then noticed Samantha, Gabriel, and Cynthia peering at him from behind Amelia. Once Amelia had released Ezrael, which took a while, he gave Samantha a hug and then knelt down and hugged Gabriel and Cynthia.  “I presume you’re Gabriel and Cynthia? Misra told me a lot about you two. It’s really nice to finally meet you. I’m your older brother, Ezrael.”

The two were mostly silent and Ezrael turned back to face his parents and Misra, bowing his head slightly. “I’m sorry for being… being…” his heart began to pound very quickly and he grasped his eye bandages as he collapsed to the ground, visions flashing through his mind before fading altogether, leaving him panting and gasping on the ground.

Misra steadied him and then helped him to his feet. “Ezrael, we need to get the rest of that eye out, now.”

“N-No… argument… here…” Ezrael muttered and Misra and Dameria moved him upstairs and Amelia called for the surgeon in town. Within a few minutes he was there and ready to operate on Ezrael. He put Ezrael to sleep and then began to remove the remaining fragments of the cursed eye that were still embedded in Ezrael’s body. Despite his insistence that they leave, Dameria and Amelia stayed the entire time and once he was done, they sat by Ezrael’s bed, waiting for him to wake up.

When he did, he seemed to be brighter, somehow. He looked around and smiled faintly as Amelia held him tightly. “Hey, mom…”

“I’m so happy you don’t have to deal with those awful visions of the future anymore….”

Ezrael nodded. “Yeah… Me too…”

Amelia released him and stood up, both her and Dameria leaving the room, giving Ezrael some time to rest. The surgeon said that he would need to stay in bed for two weeks to ensure that he fully recovered properly.

Over those two weeks, he and Misra talked a lot, but one day, when she came in, she seemed to have something on her mind.

“What’s up, Misra?” Ezrael asked, his voice sounding much lighter than the pained hush he had been reduced to before.

“I want to go travelling.”

Ezrael smiled softly. “That sounds like a great idea, but haven’t you been travelling a lot over these past years?”

She nodded and looked up at him, a strangely determined expression on her face. “I was doing all that to try and find you. Now… I wanna see the world. And… I’d actually quite like to help out the mortals. The time I spent in their world… it was short, but it was enough to know that they need our help.”

“I think you’ll be a great help to them.”

“I want you to come with me. I want you to travel the world with me and help me with helping them? We’ll be like their guardian angels.”

Ezrael chuckled softly at the name, noting his black feather cloak in the corner. “Yeah… Angels…”