"I'm curious about something," spoke Raphael, his voice cutting through the chilled night air. Celeste slowly looked up at him, her eyes having only seen the flickering lights of the campfire for what felt like an eternity. The dancing flames illuminated his rugged face, white hair, and impossibly red eyes that seemed to shine even brighter in the darkness.

Celeste lowered herself onto the grass, her beautiful sunshine eyes trained upon Raphael as she asked softly, "What is it?"

"I'm baffled. Do angels possess a gender similar to mortals? Judging by thy physical form, one could only assume thou art female. This perplexity has intrigued me since we met."

Celeste couldn't help but smile after hearing Raphael's exclamation of curiosity, the warmth of her lips spreading sweetly like a hearth fire. Even the dark and dense forest seemed to be touched by her radiant grin, responding in kind with its warmth.

"That's quite a query, Raphael," Celeste replied with a light chuckle.

"I know, it's a stupid question, to be honest, but just answer it," Raphael explained.

"Yes, we were born in pairs, just as humans are. But while you two are intertwined like cause and effect or earth and sky or moon and sun, we serve our purpose. We can transform into anything - even a human. When that happens, we take on the traits of whatever form we chose - if I become human, then every aspect of humanity will be given to me," Celeste elucidated as Raphael nodded his comprehension.

"What purpose, then, did the gods have in mind when they shaped you?"

Celeste mulled it over in her mind for a few moments, her brow furrowed as she did so. At last, with an apologetic glance at Raphael, she spoke the words that had already formed on her tongue. "I'm sorry Raphael," she said softly, "I can't answer that."

"Hmmm...so you're a woman, then?" Raphael queried innocently, his gaze softening as Celeste smiled once again.

"Yes," Celeste murmured, trying to stifle her smile, "compared to humans, I am a woman."

"If you're to reside with me, I must know all there is to know of you," Raphael declared. "For soon enough, you'll be intermingling with humans other than myself."

"I understand that," said Celeste as she nodded her head.

"From what I could gather after witnessing your quarrel with that other celestial being, it would appear you are in a rather precarious situation. You were even harmed when I came upon you earlier."

Celeste paused for a moment before speaking, her thoughts swirling in her head. "You could say I'm the traitor or the one who was overthrown," she stated solemnly. "It's something like that."

Raphael had some grasp of Celeste's plight, yet he would not deign to concern himself with it.

"I shan't trespass upon your troubles overly, but rest assured I shall banish all who seek to do so," Raphael declared resolutely. "No matter what the source of these tribulations may be."

Celeste responded with a slow and deliberate nod of her head, the twilight air thick and heavy with an unseen tension. Seconds stretched into minutes as the night crept closer, each still moment like a black void of nothingness that seemed to swallow up all sound and light. The sky grew ever darker until its inky depths were illuminated only by faint points of starlight, blanketing the earth below in an endless shroud.

The moon watched over them from above, but not a single ray of light was able to make it through the dense canopy of trees that made up the Forbidden Forest. There came a solitary wolf's howl, which seemed to linger in the air for an eternity until it eventually faded away. Then, like an echo from beyond, another howl answered back. The stillness was agonizingly interminable until finally all that remained was a thick and unyielding silence.

Celeste looked upon Raphael and immediately noticed the darkness that seemed to be emanating from him. She could not help but wonder how many lives had been lost at his hands - a thought that chilled her to the core. His aura was filled with darkness like a cloud of despair encompassing him as he stood alone.

Celeste laid herself down by the fire, her wing folded up for a makeshift mat, and with a look of concern she asked, "You didn't sleep?"

With a wry smirk, he arched an eyebrow and gestured to his face. "Do you spot the charcoal shadows beneath my eyes?"

Celeste squinted her eyes as she trained her gaze in the direction that Raphael had indicated. Curiosity was evident in her expression.

"Sleep had been an elusive companion for me, though my mind was never completely devoid of slumber. While the cause of this remained a mystery to me, I found no great distress in its wake. I've been having trouble sleeping for a long time," he said, "not that I don't sleep - but I don't mind it."

"You appear tormented by it," Celeste uttered.

"No, I enjoy it," Raphael muttered, prodding the red-hot embers of the campfire with an old stick. "Being awake always gives me a sense of safety."

Celeste's heart ached as she looked upon Raphael, his gaze conveying a certain despair and sorrow. Pain welled in her eyes as she felt an almost palpable wave of compassion emanating from his soul, the pain that he had been forced to endure for so long weighing heavily on her mind. She knew intimately what it was like to suffer, and it pained her greatly to see him in such a state.

*****