Clouds swirled around violently, thunder and lightning slashing through the ever-crimson skies. Constant screams of pain and agony joined battle cries. Eternal chaos forever reigned here in the Netherworld. Amongst all the war and pain stood one demonic man, high above the rest. His blood red eyes peered around across the beautiful scene, taking in each detail. This war was all his, the great Azazias. He fed off the pain and bloodshed, tilting his head back as a gust of wind sent his raven mane of hair off to the side of him. Inhaling deeply, he suddenly let out a loud cackle. The time was now.

Reaching behind him, his rough hand gasped the hilt of his blade and pulled it forth. Holding it in front of him, a smirk took over his pale lips and he rushed down towards the ground. Upon landing, he'd slam the sword into the ground, causing a massive quake. Spikes of earth were sent jolting forward away from the man, killing many in their path. Yanking the blade out, he then took a defensive stance. First to deal with the minions...

What seemed to be at least a hundred demons came charging towards the male. "Come now! He must have better reinforcements than this!" he laughed wildly, swinging the blade. A huge wave of energy would knock all the weaker demons down, injuring or killing them. "Come out, come out! It is time you and I face each other, dearest brother~" he taunted, narrowing his eyes and looking around. Things grew eerily silent, but Azazias could sense something was coming. Licking his lips now, he held the blade out in front of him and waited. Suddenly the ground shook, sending the bodies of the weaker demons to bounce around like toys.

"You dare challenge me, Azazias?" rumbled out a voice, deep and far more demonic than his own.

"Why else would I be here, fool?!" the demon shouted, cackling.

"So be it, but your death is of your own accord!" the voice announced, and suddenly a demon twice the size of Azazias appeared before him, snarling in an unmatched rage.

"It is time your rule ends and mine begins!" Azazias smirked, charging at his brother. Now the true war would start. Just as his blade was about the strike the large demon, it met with the other's own blade. He had summoned it from seemingly nowhere, and its size was twice the size of Azazia's. Cursing, as he was parried, he jumped back and tried a new approach. Pointing his blade to the sky, the clouds would spin around faster and faster until a tunnel made its way down around his blade. "Even the clouds agree your end is near, brother!" Azazias shouted, slashing his sword in the large demon's direction. A huge burst of wind mixed with lightning headed straight at him, hitting him square in the chest.

"GRAH!!!" cried out the demon as electricity sparked in and around him and the wind gashed his chest open. Black blood oozed sickly down from the newly acquired wound, splashing onto the ground and having an acidic effect on it. The demon clenched as his chest, staring at the smaller of the two. "You have grown... yes... You are a threat now," he growled, "I will rid of you before father can have a say." Suddenly a huge ball of energy would glow bright red in his hands. "Cease existence!" he bellowed, blasting it at Azazias with a blinding speed.

Before Azazias could even react he was hit, crying out in agonizing pain. "NO!" he shouted, trying to fight against it. Alas, it was to no avail. The blast seemed to grow and grow but then suddenly enveloped him in a blinding light. Things grew black then.

---

A bright sun hung high in a bright blue sky, a few puffy white clouds passing through. Squirrels hurriedly ran about, collecting acorns, and a few deer trotted along a tired, old path. The location was a simple forest on the outskirts of a little nearby town, not many humans ventured in it currently. All was peaceful until a loud "thump" echoed through the trees.

Azazias lay there near death in the middle of the forest, far from consciousness. His demon blood poured endlessly around him, rotting the green grass and killing anything near. The only sign of life he gave was ragged, shallow breathing. His end was near.

A sudden squeak emitted nearby as the body hit the ground, a blond-haired young woman staring at the black-armored warrior and the small impact crater he'd left behind. She'd fallen back at the fright of it all and how he'd appeared so suddenly out of the air, hey, even Angels could be surprised sometimes.
The woman held a hand to her chest as she encroached, staring about at what his dark, ruinous blood was doing to the surroundings, that could be fixed easily enough, but right now saving his life was more of a priority. However as she knelt down at his side she stopped,
What am I..? Crazy..? This is a demon! She reminded herself all of a sudden, looking down on the suffering being as she drew out a fine silver dagger from a satchel she was carrying.

She held the knife to his throat, but stared at his face for a good long while. Not too long, she was aware the poor fellow was dying, but long enough to find a strange sense, an urging that called out to her as she placed the dagger tip against his flesh butt hen moved it down, beginning to cut away material, belts and segments of his armor, freeing it up so she could pry the demon's body from the shell like a sweet from a hard wrapper, though she left him with some dignity, keeping his pants and boots in place, she would retrieve the rest soon enough.

Cassiel lifted the body out of the armor and tunic resting him up against herself then stood, looked down on his marked skin, his body was half beaten, and all broken, what kind of antics had this poor soul been pulling to get him so horribly injured? She turned away from the armor, supporting the demon, though stopped again, realizing that if she carried this demon into town it would look mighty suspicious. Though she then snapped her fingers and smiled quietly to herself, brushing her left hand across his face as she supported him with the right.
An illusionary spell, to bind away his demonic appearance and fool the unseeing eyes of mortals, they would see the face, but his skin would be peach, his dark expression more an handsome one, and his ears withdrawn.

The angel smiled at her successful makeover of the demon and thus continued to walk towards the town, supporting the half conscious man, her clothes being quickly stained by the sheer mess of the wounds that she was pressing against, trying to keep the blood from flowing for now.
As she neared the village some of the more helpful villagers ran to her aid,
"Oh dear lord! Cassie! What on earth has happened?" One asked, the angel smiling lightly. It wasn't a huge difference being called Cassie, but it sounded different enough from her Angel name Cassiel,
"I found this injured young man in the woods," she replied gently, "Would to be so kind as to help me carry him..?" She asked, acting as though it had taken a great toll on her just to take him this far. One thing about humans was that she had to be bound by their limitations to fit in, though they still helped her graciously. It was one oft he many human traits she admired, in spite of all the bad they were capable of, this ability to help one another was also wonderful.

The angel followed them to her home, which doubled as an infirmary, the doctors house, for she was the acting doctor, and healer of this village. Although most aches and scrapes could be soothed with whispers of magic, something humans were very familiar with, sometimes she had indeed needed to display far more powerful magics, earning a modest fee for the services that she would often give out in a charitable fashion most of the time.
The villagers, however, had been generous enough themselves, In this cozy little village, Cassiel was at peace.. She had a purpose, but she also had much time to herself.

Once the man had been brought into her home and placed upon the operating table, Cassiel quickly shooed people from the home so that she would have space to work, cracking her fingers in a stretch before she held her hands out across the demon. One lucky thing was that healing was not, by nature, a holy magic, it was a principle. Forced regeneration of tissue, mass production of the bodies unique blood cells, so she could use it to mend his broken body, but there would only be so much she could before she would have to clean, patch and bandage his exterior wounds.
After a good hours work, tentatively fixing his bones and mending flesh, clearing burns and physical blemishes, she'd finally wrapped him up carefully, placing him in a recovery bed.

She would leave then momentarily to recover the remains of his armor, returning to store them in another room along with the rest of the clothes he'd been wearing, having covered him up as she worked. The rest of the night would be spent watching over him and replacing bandages as necessary.

Azazias was still barely conscious as the angel found him. He could sense her holiness and would have gagged if not for being near death. If he wasn't going to die from his brother's attack, it seemed this angel would do it for him. He could barely process the feel of cool silver pressing against his bare throat. If he had been fully conscious he would have laughed. How cliche. He had hoped for a more honorable death, or something at least memorable. Not a pathetic angel slitting his throat while already dying from his older brother's attack.

As the dagger moved, he mentally relaxed. This was it. Existence would be no more for him, thus the Netherworld's "Civil War" would slowly dissipate. That actually could mean something very dangerous for Earth, but he cared not for that part. The angel would simply realize what a mistake she had made and God would possibly smite her. That would be a laugh all in itself.

To his surprise, Azazias felt no pain from his throat. Was he already dead for good? Was this true death? Nothingness for eternity? He gradually began to feel lighter as well, but did not know it was simply because his armor was being torn off. This must be it. Sweet paradise... I welcome thee. he thought, finally slipping from consciousness completely as the angel dragged him away from the forest...

...Warmth.

No, it was not the blistering heat of pain, nor was it the raging flames of anger. In fact, it was a very foreign feeling. Something calming, smooth like melted chocolate. It slid down his throat and filled his whole body. He couldn't place a word to the feeling, but knew part of him, the weaker part, enjoyed it. Grunting slightly as she healed him, he did not awake yet. The only part of him conscious was his inner mind.

Nothingness was lonely, that much he could admit. Company would have made death much better. Perhaps a beautiful demoness to entertain his needs, or one of his friends from the past, before life changed...

Finally his mind suddenly awoke completely, and the nothingness faded as the sound of footsteps grew louder. Feeling hands work over his body, taking off bandages, Azazias' crimson eyes snapped open and his right hand grabbed one of her wrists with staggering strength, threatening to snap it. "Who are you? And where the hell am I?" he demanded, looking upon what seemed to be a normal human female. However, he could sense the disgusting amounts of holiness in her. She was the angel from earlier, no doubt. But hadn't he died...?

It seemed not.

The angel didn't react as the hand wrapped around her wrist, instead she placed her right hand over his as she relaxingly placed the left, which he'd grabbed, on his chest,
"In respective order; Cassiel, my home." She responded calmly, suddenly slipping her arm from his grip and returning to working on the bandages, "Please relax, you'll pull on the bandages, reopen your wounds and continue bleeding to death.. Certainly not preferable.. Wouldn't you agree..?"

She smoothly set the last bandaged and snapped the large roll off, using a large pin to hold it down before she stood, calmly rubbing her wrist as she looked down on him,
"I would recommend you don't overdo it, your mana is burnt out, repairing the energy pathways that run throughout your body is a complicated and difficult process," She instructed, warning him then, "If you push it you'll damage them for good and be stuck in your current state, well except for being alive and unwounded once I'm done healing you."

The angel smiled, turning away for the moment and stopped at a desk just next to the doorway in the adjacent room, gazing over at him occasionally as she jotted details down, she'd have to be cautious around this one, he seemed a little hostile..

Azazias narrowed his eyes as she easily placed the hand which he grasped so tightly upon his chest. Obviously she was stronger than her puny appearance implied. Listening to her answers, he was less than pleased. Releasing her as she pulled away and went back to work on him, he let his hand gently fall back beside him. "Your home, you say? There is no way I'd be allowed entrance in Heaven so I must be upon Earth," he said in a rhetorical sense, moreso talking to himself than the female before him. "If I am on Earth it must mean his attack backfired... Creating a hole between the two worlds," he continued on, his dark brows furrowing together in thought. His brother had meant to kill him and create an opening to Earth so the demons could slowly begin to infest no doubt. This was less than pleasing news to the prince.

As she finished bandaging him, Azazias seemed to realize that she was still even there. Grunting in response to her warning, he simply watched her. She was a curious being, even for an angel. Something was different about this one. "Why bother healing a demon?" he asked coolly, sitting up a bit. Most humans would've winced or cried out in pain, but he seemed not to feel much. Pushing it for him would mean going out and sparring or something of the sort. Looking down, he wrinkled his nose in disgust at seeing colorful skin. She'd even taken it upon herself to disguise the demon. "Aren't you going against everything by helping something like me? Surely God will smite such actions. You'll be an outcast amongst your kind," he warned, smirking at such thoughts. He always found it funny, the way the Heavens worked. Of course, he didn't truly know how they did. Simply what he was taught as a young demon prince yearning to become the king.

Flexing his hands slowly, Azazias sighed and leaned his head back against the headboard of the bed in which he sat. He could see what was happening in the Netherworld already, his brother lying to his father about how the young prince died and sending a few demons to terrorize Earth. Things were about to dramatically change for these humans.

Cassiel observed him as he spoke mostly to himself, trying to understand his situation, he'd obviously been in battle against another demon, but she didn't inquire about it, the wars in the netherworld were violent, brutal things, she'd witnessed them herself decades ago. She smiled a little when he inquired as to why she would help him, honestly she wasn't sure herself, but his talk of it going against everything, God smiting her and being made an outcast..

She shook her head a little and chuckled,
"You're probably right about the first and the last things.. But God would not smite me for showing compassion." The Angel got to her feet, putting down the pencil and paper she'd been working on as she went out of sight for a moment before returning, holding a pair of clean cloths that she placed on a table beside him,
"If you feel anything hurting.. Tell me."

She moved away then, she needed to think about what he'd said, it was true that her actions would be frowned upon if anyone found out. The humans knew of the existence of Angels and Demons, sure, but these villagers were hardly aware that they now had one of each hidden among them. As for Cassiel's reasons for helping him.. She still felt an odd need to do so, beyond her own control, admittedly part of her was screaming at the very mistake she was making but a greater self denied it,
"Are you hungry at all?" She suddenly asked, turning to him, "And what should I be calling you?"

Azazias did not look away from the angel yet, listening to her as she responded to his comment about the consequences that could occur from her actions of saving a demon. As she got up, he couldn't help but smirk slightly as a thought struck his mind. "I dunno, God can be pretty pissy sometimes I've heard," he nearly taunted the holy being before him, slowly crossing his arms across his chest. He couldn't help himself, his demonic nature always leading him to say something disrespectful about God. Once she left, he let out a sigh he'd been keeping in. Stress was easily digging its way into the core of his mind. He should have been dead. In fact, he almost wished he was. The fact that he wasn't meant he'd still have duties to fulfill and the war between himself and his brother would not end yet. Not until one was finally dead. At least I have a purpose, I suppose... he thought, allowing his eyelids to flutter shut momentarily.

The angel quickly returned, causing him to reopen his piercing eyes and glance at the table where she placed fresh clothing on. Reaching over, his hand slightly grazed her's as she pulled her hand back, causing a strange heat to pass through him. His hand froze for a mere moment, before continuing its path. Grasping the shirt, he quickly pulled it on and shook his hair out. "I doubt I'll be hurting so long as I'm stuck on this planet," he shrugged, his dangerous smirk creeping back upon his lips.

Grabbing the pants next, he pulled those on as well. Stretching his arms above his head, Azazias let out a loud yawn. Finally he seemed completely awake, his blood flowing steadily in his body and sharpening his senses. As she inquired about his hunger, he opened his mouth to say he was fine but his stomach let out a loud rumble in protest. "Ah... I suppose I do need some sort of supplement," he admitted, having nearly forgotten that he'd been without food for at least thirty-six hours in the Netherworld. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he inhaled deeply to fill himself up with fresh air. It was strange, Earth's air was one hundred times cleaner than the Netherworld's. It felt good on his lungs and body.

"You can call me Azazias," he answered to her second inquiry. That was all he cared to say for now, so part of him was thankful that she only asked for his name and not whole identity. Most likely he would lie or not say a word if she asked. He was a demon named Azazias, simple enough. One could go off of that and make up their own little stories if need be. The fact that he was a prince in the war for the Netherworld was something only he needed to know while on Earth.

Cassiel hadn't noticed the touch as their skin brushed together for a moment, rather distracted by what she'd been doing and the deep thoughts that had been disturbing her regarding her helping the demon. Perhaps she would be damned, but she kept her faith in the forgiveness of god.

When she heard his stomach growling she grinned a little bit, smiling more when he gave in tot he needs of his belly, he would recover better with sustenance to support his body, help him generate fresh mana to focus on the wounds and be quickly up on his feet again,
"Azazias..?" The angel froze, staring at him a bit but then tilted her head, "Such an odd name.." She shrugged it off she carried on out of he room, beginning to prepare things in the kitchen so she could cook him a supplemental meal, though she then left some water on the boil.

Eventually she returned to the patients room and sat down on the bed,
"Whatever is in store for me for helping you, it shouldn't matter. You can be glad that you have a chance to get back at those who did this to you." Cassiel stated finally, looking int he direction of the kitchen as she crossed her legs, the left exposing itself as it sat upon the cloth of the right,
"Helping the injured and the sick is my purpose now, you were injured, so I did for you what I would do for anyone. Living as a human I am free of the more fickle nature my angel brethren share."

Azazias let out a condescending snort as she commented on his name's normality. "Hah, Cassiel isn't exactly common either," he smirked, shrugging lightly and continuing on, "I'm a demon, and generally we have names not exactly to a human's norm." Allowing his feet to fall upon the floor, his toes flexed slightly, enjoying the cool sensation it brought him. Most days in the center of the Netherworld, in which he constantly fought, were flaming hot. It was only in the outer corners of his realm where it became cold. Of course, that cold was nothing comfortable either, generally something that brought death to those demons not prepared.

Yawning quietly as she left, he let his mind wander more while staring up at the bland ceiling. Should I return? Or perhaps fade away from memory... and rot. he questioned himself, truly unsure. It seemed as long as you were smart, you could hide yourself well among the humans without them ever knowing. If this angel could do it, why couldn't he? The Netherworld didn't need someone like him. He was too logical, and weak-minded by demon standards. Azazias was something of a saint compared to most in the Netherworld. He wanted diplomatic solutions, instead of constant warring. He wanted to give them a glimpse of happiness. None seemed ready for that.

Once more the angel would return at his side, and Azazias allowed his eyes to fall upon her once more. "Haha, yes. I suppose I should be glad at a shot for more revenge," he replied, a very sarcastic undertone in his statement. Looking her over as she sat and looked away, his crimson orbs would fall upon the bareness of her leg. Unable to help himself, he simply stared, as though mesmerized. She was a gorgeous being, despite the fact that she was an angel. But... she was just that, an angel. Disgusted with himself, he quickly coughed and looked away.

"...What made you choose this lifestyle? I guess it is serving God, but wouldn't you rather be up there doing... angel things? Or whatever it is that they do?" Azazias asked, making small chat now.

When he asked her about what had brought her to this lifestyle, she looked away, bowing her head a little so that her hair cascaded forth, hiding her face as she grimaced painfully, the reason she sat here among the humans was painful to remember, even more so to describe. Then there was being up in Celestia where she belonged, no.. She didn't belong up there, she couldn't face the other angels.. Out of shame perhaps.. Or guilt..

She stood, holding her hands across her stomach and keeping her head lowered while she made her way to the door, but then stopped, looking over her shoulder at Azazias,
"I came here.. For peace.. To heal wounds.." She turned away from him and carried on through to the kitchen again, a strange aura of sadness following her wake, but she didn't speak on the subject anymore.

Cassiel began to quietly prepare food, she wasn't entirely sure what she would use but she would made a stew of some kind. Perhaps there was some meat in cold storage, she'd check soon, working her way about the kitchen, cutting up vegetables and preparing herbs and spices to pour into the pot, though her mind remained distracted by the memories..

Azazias rose a brow as she suddenly seemed to emotionally shrink, turning away and bowing her head. Sensing a deep regret from within the celestial being, he bit his lip to keep from speaking. He wished to push her further, but knew better. No one should be forced to live through painful memories, no matter who they were. Sometimes the past was just that, the past. Bringing it up usually did little to no good.

Once she told him why, in the vaguest way possible, and left, Azazias sighed. "Sorry, didn't mean to... ask something touchy," he called out in a weak apology, shocked at his own sympathy. Perhaps being on the mortal plane was already changing him. Groaning at the thought, he forced himself up. His muscles were slightly sore, but it was nothing compared to what his brother had initially made him feel. This was a walk in the park when you looked at it that way. Leaving the room, he walked into the kitchen quietly and leaned up against a wall a few feet away from Cassiel.

"So, uh, what are you making?" he asked, hoping to distract the angel from whatever memory that was invading her. Glancing over, his eyes fell on all the vegetables. Wrinkling his nose, a questionable look grew in his eyes. He had never ate anything besides meat really. "Looks... weird," he added in.

Cassiel continued to calmly chop at the food items, sliding them into the pot gently then moved onto the next item, making sure to clean the knife every time she was done with one set of vegetables and moving on to the next.

She often made meals for others, seeing as she would often have guests, or injured patients. The Angel was definitely no famous cook, but she did cook good meals, how else would her patients have survived? She looked over at him, raising a brow softly when he asked what she was making, his comment of it looking weird making her giggle,
"No weirder than an Angel taking care of a demon.. It's a human recipe called a stew, and these vegetable things are quite edible. Up in Celestia, all we ate was fruits and salads, and we drank nothing but Ambrosia.. I suppose I still miss the Ambrosia.." She shrugged, clearing another lot of vegetables into the pot. The knife was deposited in the sink and she grabbed another, then want to a corner of the kitchen, pulling open a refrigerator bottom half, the freezing temperatures inside allowed her to freeze foods, especially meats.

She drew out a hunk of beef, even though it was frozen she simply placed her hand over it for a momentum, the ice steamed off it, loosening the meat and allowing her to start slicing the beef into smaller cutlets. She made sure there were enough equal bits though some were larger or smaller.

She poured meat in on top of the other ingredients, picking out from the spices before emptying some of one into the pot, a smile on her face as she grabbed a wooden spoon, beginning to stir it calmly. She seemed quite happy doing something so simple, whereas Azazias was probably used to having meals made for him, and at one point even Cassiel had lived in such a way, but since coming here she'd learned a thing or two,
"So, Azazias.. As a demon I expected some-one a lot more.. Hostile.. But you've been quite.. Hm.. Well compared to a great deal of your bretheren, quite gentle."