The trees whispered mysteriously as they watched the man limp through their forest without any direction. It was evening, and the grey and lavender sky peeked through the shuddering leaves as they swayed with the wind.
Altair coughed violently while he walked, sputtering up mouthfuls of black bile that splattered into the grass. Between the moments of vomiting, he hummed a little tune with the words, "G, D A, F sharp, B...E.." Reciting over and over something a friend had taught him.
Fuck, stop. Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about her. Are we going in the right direction...? What's this clan called again...? Fuck that hurts!
Stopping in place and leaning over, he heaved up another stomachful of dark acid and blood, gasping for breath as the scalding liquid drooled from his lips and burnt his tongue. He'd been walking for only a few minutes in the darkness, but he had to sit down, his breath wheezing raggedly in and out. All he could see was forest, in every direction. Thick, grey trees that creaked and squealed against each other like they were speaking a secret language, and dark grasses growing darker as the night fell.
Paint met parchment as the colorant splattered onto a page. It was as black as the bile the archdemon secreted, and created just as haphazardly, flicked onto the illustration by force. A silent being stood between trunks of trees; his entire pallet consisting of white, grays, and black. He watched the other in silence with nothing more than pure, simple curiosity of what had wandered into the endless forest. As night fell upon them, his strokes of the brush ceased, and he held to him his piece.
Whispers of the wind took the parchment from him, whisking it off somewhere in the unseen evening. It spoke in the same language of the trees, working with one another to create its ancient and endless loop.
With the leader momentarily absent, the Deputy watched this newcomer struggle to overcome his surroundings. From the shadows of early sundown, he moved forward after resting his brush and pallet in the hollow of a tree.
Out of merely curiosity, and nothing more, he asked a singular question.
Jumping in surprise, Altair fell back and caught himself with his hands. "Holy sh- You scared me-!" He rasped, his throat raw. Coughing and wiping his mouth, he answered.
"It's just a... a set of letters for a music bowl." Raising his hands, he shaped in the air what he could remember of the lute. Taking a tired breath, Altair got to his feet and approached Rudian with caution. "Are you -cough- the leader or a marshall or something of that nature? I'm looking for -cough- the leader of a place called Inferno...Inferno land."
Altair's explanation interested the etheral man, raising a brow in response. He had to shift through different ideas of what a 'music bowl' could be combined with such a gesture. Eventually he settled on the idea the archdemon was trying to present, yet he spoke not a word about the inaccurate representation.
Instead, he looked over the smudged bit of bile Altair failed to wipe away. An unfit state for a demon. Still coughing up his inner organs, for now, the man assumed he posed little threat.
Given a proper reply to his inquiry, he returned the archdemon with answers.
"You seek Infernoclan." He started, gazing slightly off into the distance. "I am not leader, however my rank is high enough to assist you, depending on your intentions. What is your business here?"
"Uhm- ah - I'm looking for...a place to stay?" He asked nervously, "I-I can pay in...certain favors." The demon's wheezing voice was quiet with discomfort at the offer, his eyes lowering. "Or- uh- if I'm not your type, I'm also designed to protect. I can be a guardian for your clan. I just...I'm no longer welcome where I used to live, and I was advised to come here. My name is Altair Invega, I'm an archdemon stationed at the Fore behind the gates of Hell. Or- I was. I broke out just a little while ago." Altair gave the man an anxious grin full of teeth.
Coughs came one after another at the uncomfortable suggestion of 'favors' the archdemon could do for the spectra of a man. They slowed, however, as Altair explained himself.
"No, that's alright." Although his rejection was rather flat in tone, he'd pushed aside the absurdity to scale the true degree of the request. "Are there any ways that your whereabouts can be traced? Regardless of your abilities, you're a liability to harbor."
"Oh- Uhm-" His brows pressed together in concern as he looked back at his own footprints, for if the Lord sent out their hounds, the prints alone were far more than enough to find him (not to mention the trail of melted organs he'd vomited).
In less than a second, however, Altair felt his subconscious travel to another world- and instantly return, with more memories, and, a sudden lesser urge to throw up. His heart hurt far more than his bloody throat now.
"U-Uhm...I..." The archdemon closed his eyes at the deep stab of betrayal that rippled through his body down to his fingers. He swayed on his feet like he'd been hit with an arrow.
Smearing some tears out of his vision, he looked back up and said, "Honestly...If they look hard enough, they'll find me. Infact, the entire army might be on its way. I'm sorry...I was led here by someone I trusted, but, I don't think I should have come..." It seemed the fight in him had suddenly died, collapsed under an unseen crushing weight. "I'm sorry," Altair murmured quietly, "I'll leave immediately, but, could you show me how...? I don't see a way out of this forest."
The sudden change in attitude from the archdemon wouldn't go unnoticed, however much Altair blended it into his array of already chaotic emotions. As Altair swayed on his feet, Rudian looked to the endless yet bare forest, finding no further signs of life.
"Momentarily."
He replied, setting his entire set of paints and canvas delicately onto the tree's branches. After cautiously securing their stability, he walked behind the trunk, disappearing from view entirely. His materials would mark the spot of their conversation, and prove of his intent to return. Yet, once again, Altair was left alone in a sea of hushed whispers as Rudian waited for Dante's return.
With a soft hush from the trees, Dante stepped out of the air from behind the trunk with Rudian following him. His heavy robes were silver and layered with intricately embroidered silk, pale orange fabric lining the insides and flashing like fire as the fabrics swayed with his graceful movements. His hair shined like starlight under the rising moon, his hands he kept tucked into their opposite sleeves.
"Hello, Altair." He said softly to the demon, smiling at him. With a start, Altair frowned in alarm and took a step back. "Yes? Who are you?"
Dante raised a hand to calm him, "I am Dante Aphelion of Infernoclan, I am the lord of this land." Holding his arms open, he revealed the sashes round his waist.
"I am unarmed."
At that, the tension in the demon's shoulders relaxed just a bit, and Dante continued. His voice was deep and gentle. "This is Rudian, my friend and advisor (here he gestured to his companion). He tells me you came here hoping for sanctuary."
"Yes- but- no...I need to leave." Altair said quickly, "I'm putting you in danger being here."
Dante's smile drifted down into a melancholy frown. "Yes, Rudian told me that as well. Before you go, however, I'd like to invite you inside my home for some tea. Some rest. I'd like to learn more about your situation and see if we can help you." But the archdemon was already shaking his head.
"No, no, I can't stay, I'm sorry. I need to leave, I need to leave now. I'm sorry I came here. I'm so sorry." Altair's eyes closed tightly as he bowed his head for a moment, overwhelmed with fear and betrayal and anger. "Please just, tell me how to get out of here..."
Silently, Dante's mouth opened and closed as he stood uncertain of what to say just yet. He glanced in Rudian's direction, deep in thought.
Puzzlement laid across Rudian's face, silently questioning the quick change of mind the archdemon upheld.
"You are not the first to seek sanctuary within our borders. We can conceal your aura for now while you gather your bearings. This forest works mysteriously to hide you for a time." He openly admitted, taking back up his paints and brush. "We cannot force you to stay, as that's always your choice, however we hope you'll reconsider and think things through before rushing out into the world where others will immediately know of your whereabouts. If you insist on leaving, then we shall pray that no harm befalls you."
Dante's eyes drifted ever so slightly in Rudian's direction at the words 'No harm befalls you'. The longer he'd thought about it, the more he'd realized that if the archdemon chose to leave, they'd be letting a weapon walk away unscathed. Hell's top defender, a brutal creature designed to annihilate angels and other guardians of everything that was good in the world. A great defiler, a destroyer of the sacred and the innocent. Looking up, Dante noticed the trees around them had turned their branches away, and he knew that the demon's presence alone was enough to poison the earth and kill the fragile life around him. What a terrible thing...for the Creator to ask of me. He thought sadly, finally settling his eyes on Altair once more. To shelter a creature that makes my world bend away in pain, or to send him to his own eternal torture.
Altair was frowning at the ground, deep in thought. Round his neck was his melted collar of inward spikes, fused into his skin. He could feel half of them in his throat, from the Marshall throwing him onto his back, and they made it awfully hard to swallow. "I...I'm just going to leave." He said, not looking at them. "It was a mistake to come here." If I can't trust her, I can't trust them. No one is on your side here, no one. He thought to himself, fearing gnawing at his stomach. "Thank you, but I'll be on my way. If, you'd show me how..." Looking back at them, his eyes widened. "Huh-?"
The two were nowhere in sight.
* * * *
"We can't possibly let him leave." Dante said to Rudian, whose robes he'd taken hold of before disappearing into thin air. The two were still there with the demon, but no longer visible, merely specters, unable to be heard if they so wished. "They will find him, and if he isn't killed he'll be returned to his post. If he is killed, his essence will surely be harvested. Recycled. Here, he is trapped. More easily extinguished by a holy soldier if we made his whereabouts known to them." Turning away from his advisor, Dante glared at nothing and paced a few steps. "We could behead him ourselves but we lack knowledge regarding the consequences of doing so. What are your thoughts on this?" He looked over his shoulder towards Rudian.
Rudian bit his tongue as Dante explained himself, holding back his immediate rejection of allowing the archdemon to flee. However the more the leader explained himself, the more Rudian understood his line of reasoning. Closing his eyes, he shook his head at the awful situation.
"We lack the knowledge as no such knowledge exists. This is unprecedented." He grumbled, thinking. Quickly. They had to decide something before the archdemon caught on to the two. And the longer he was there, the faster the trees would decay. Their shrieks filled the air around them, silent to those unaware.
His expression turned grim as he opened his eyes, wisdom from hundreds of years unable to assist the two. "Our records have few tales of what power an archdemon holds. We should guide a holy warrior over at once, and allow Invega to believe he is exiting while we keep him held here.
Staring into the empty woods, Altair yelled in frustration. "You're just going to leave me here?! Tell me how to get out!" He blinked, his breath heavy and fast with anxiety as no one answered. Turning, he took a few steps and looked up, watching how the tree branches curled away from him over his head. Even here he felt shunned. For the first time since he'd left, the archdemon regretted his choice of rebellion. "Marshal was right..." He muttered, throwing his hands up and laughing sourly as tears stung his eyes. "HE WAS FUCKING RIGHT. WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING OUT HERE?! WHAT THE FUCK AM I-"
Dante watched silently as the demon threw a sad little fit, yelling and stomping, throwing things and whining from the pain in his neck afterwards. "I would never have imagined an archdemon so...infantile. He's helpless." He said, his voice full of confusion and curiosity. "Why would the gatekeeper of the castle be so helpless and know so little? Look at him, Rudian, he's terrified." His expression hardened as the air around them suddenly grew hot and Altair stormed away into the trees. "We need to act. Now. We don't have time to head back to the beacon." Turning swiftly, the leader ran his hands along the smooth bark of a silver tree nearby. "Fear not, Adrasteia, it won't be much longer. We need you to hold him here, but do not hide his energy. Take the wounds, protect your sisters on the other side. If he is released, they are lost. They are all lost."
A soft hush followed in reply, the aspen tree shuddering at his request and relaying it to the others. Dante looked at Rudian, a few silver hairs blowing over his face. "I am no trickster, I won't lie to him." Taking a breath, he stepped out of the veil and into sight once more.
"Altair." He called loudly in his deep voice.
The demon hadn't gone too far, circling round and round and finding nothing. When he heard Dante, he froze and glanced around wildly to find him. "Where did you go...?!" He called, heading towards them, the air around him pulsing with heat.
