Zaira and Baby were stacking the alphabet blocks when a ray of light came down through the sky. The deck was suddenly illuminated as the angel landed. They dimmed their light and their features came into view.
“You know you are not supposed to do that."
Zaira turned away from Rushka to stare at the block she was holding. “I know.”
“I worry about you getting too attached. She needs to go home.”
“I know!” Zaira threw her hands up. Tears welled as she felt scissors being held over the time she had with the baby.
The child looked at both adults and disappeared. Zaira started picking the blocks up and chucking them back in their bin. Of course, she knew that Baby’s thread had been cut long ago. All she was doing was scrambling to catch the end.
Zaira heard Rushka take a long breath. “What are you doing here?” She asked.
“I thought I would come by for a cup.” Rushka placed a light hand on her shoulder. Zaira looked up at them. They did look tired, eyes sunken, shoulders hunched. “I thought I could bother you until my watch this afternoon.”
“Of course.”
Zaira made her way to the kitchen to prepare their drinks. Rushaka went straight to the couch and leaned their head back. They looked as if they could drift off at any moment. Zaira returned to the living room, placed the drinks on the coffee table, and sat next to them.
“Why do you insist on keeping up your glamour spells in your own home?”
Zaira put her feet up on the coffee table. She didn’t reply, though she did drop all but the one to please them. She hadn’t actually been keeping them up recently, but she had stared at her claws for too long that morning, mind wandering. She had hidden from herself when her stomach threatened to liberate her last meal.
She could feel Rushka’s gaze on her for a few more moments before they finally leaned their head back again.
“I was assigned to the children this week.”
Zaira took in a sharp breath. That couldn't be easy. And, despite having been in this line of work for nearly all their life, some roughly 15,000 years, she thought that perhaps she could hear the toll their work had taken. Her mind wandered. She wondered if she would see them fall. Would that be better for them at this point? Would it devastate them? She looked at the angel sitting next to her. Did all angels fall eventually?
Another question floated into her mind. Perhaps this one would be a welcome distraction.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Mmmm?”
“I was asked a question about you, maybe it’s a little rude, but I’ve also asked myself the same question.”
Rushka turned his head to look at her. “What question?”
“Plainly?” Zaira blushed. “What is between your legs?”
There was a pause. Rushka straightened. They scrutinized her face and Zaira started to worry. Perhaps she should have approached that more tactfully? Perhaps she shouldn’t have brought it up at all? Then, to her great surprise, a smile crept onto Rushka’s face. Soon after, they were bent over, laughing.
“300 years! 300 years we have known each other, and you just ask now!”
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“Oh, well. I’m glad you find that funny?” Zaira collapsed back into her seat.
“I’m sorry sister.” They brought her in for a quick hug. “When you didn’t ask me in the first couple of years, I assumed you knew. I’m stunned you lasted this long.”
“I just thought it was a rude question.”
“For a stranger, yes. Especially if it is said out of malice or ignorance.” They rolled their eyes. “I’ve seen that too many times. But curiosity is fine as long as you can accept the fact that the person may not want to answer.”
There was a pause as they looked at each other.
“So… Will I get an answer? Or was that a roundabout way to tell me you don’t want to answer?”
Rushka chuckled and decided to surprise once more. They stood and took off their green kaftan, draping it onto the arm of the couch. They held up their arms to their sides, confident in their nakedness and attempting to hide a little smirk. Zaira couldn’t help but stare. She had seen their chest several times before, hairless, with nipples, not completely flat but not enough to say they were breasts. But she had never seen their crotch… She was surprised to see… nothing. The skin had no features and grew the same hair that covered the rest of their body.
“Wait. What?” Zaira couldn’t see their amused smile as she openly stared at their crotch. “Is it just you?” She met their amused gaze. “Is it all angels?”
Rushka nodded after the second question.
“Wait… How are angel babies made?!” She exclaimed.
At that, Rushka started laughing once again.
“I know they exist! I have seen some!”
Rushka laughed harder.
“Rushka!” Zaira said, exasperated. This had created many more questions than it had answered.
“I’m…afraid… I have to…go.” Rushka said between laughs.
“What?!”.
Their laughter calmed somewhat. “I told you earlier. I have work to do this afternoon.” They said as they dressed themselves.
“Argh!” Zaira playfully threw her hands in the air in frustration. However, she knew she couldn’t keep Rushka much longer.
Rushka smiled at her. “How about I promise to come back after work?”
“Please. I’ll feed you.”
“You better.” They smiled.
Rushka spread their wings and launched themselves upwards. Zaira saw a quick streak of light through the window, up and across the sky.
She smiled at the sight.
A little whine broke the silence. Zaira looked down just as little hands grabbed onto her knees. The demon picked up the little ghost. Rushka was right. Zaira allowed herself to kiss the little girl’s forehead. She wouldn’t be surprised if this was her last afternoon with her. She’d make the most of it.
----------------------------------------
“Hello, sister.”
Zaira would have smiled in greeting, but Rushka’s voice was so quiet, they barely shuffled into the room. Instead, she moved from her rocking chair to the couch and patted the spot beside her, as they had done for her many a time. Unlike her, they liked to cuddle. She tensed as they lay on the couch and rested their head on her lap.
“Rough case?” Zaira forced herself to relax again.
“Mmmh.”
They sat for a while. Neither talking. Enjoying companionship.
Rushka broke the silence first. “Distract me.”
“You were going to tell me how angel babies are made?”
Rushka let out a short loud laugh.
“Yes, I was. I still can’t believe that you, who are older than me by millennia, have never heard of this before.” Rushka looked pensive.
“Yeah, well. You know me.”
“I do. I fully believe you when you tell me you have never had much contact with anyone. I don’t understand it. But one day I will get you to tell me your story.”
“Rushka, babies.” Zaira had no intention of spilling anything tonight. Her slip with Ime had been enough.
“Right. Well, you are aware that angels are supposed to be unbiased. One of the ways to help us stay that way is the lack of a reproductive system. Of course, this doesn’t stop us from falling in love. Love is the main reason for angels ‘falling’. But it does prevent distractions and some… oopsies.”
“Can an angel fall for other reasons?” Zaira already knew the answer to that one.
“Yes. Fallen. It only means that an angel doesn’t work only for the One anymore. That other things now come before the good of all. A spouse, a child… It’s a natural process.”
“Can you lose faith?” Zaira watched Rushka closely for any signs of cracking.
“Possible yes. Though it rarely happens.” They snorted. “This one angel became a serial killer after losing their faith. They became a twisted vigilante in the process.”
No break in their demeanor. Nothing but a smile.
“You are smiling.”
“Yeah. She’s served her sentence in the Underworld now and is quite a nice woman.”
“She’s still around?”
“Yeah, she agreed to do her sentence while living. She knew what she was doing was wrong.”
“What was she doing?”
“Killing pedophiles, rapists, murderers… The country she had been assigned to was very corrupt. After decades of no changes, they decided to take justice into their own hands. Understandable, but unacceptable.”
“Oh. Holy shit.”
“Mmm, yes.”
They fell quiet. Rushka’s eyes closed. Zaira thought they had fallen asleep but eventually, she heard her name whispered.
“Zaira…”
“Mmm?”
“Speaking of children.”
Her muscles tensed. Her mind immediately jumped to her son.
“That child needs to go to the Underworld.”
She deflated and hung her head. “I know.”
Neither moved.
When they finally stood, they moved to make their supper in silence.
At the table, they told her bits of interesting information they had learned while on their cases and she told him about the Rosses newfound interests and her last case. At the same time, she was keeping an eye on the blocks in the living room as they floated out of their basket and moved about the floor on their own.
After supper, Rushka allowed her one last cuddle with the child before they took the little ghost from her arms. She squeezed the girl tight and kept a hand on her until Rushka was out the door. Zaira did not follow them outside. Tears welled in her eyes, and she wiped at her nose. She waved goodbye as the little girl opened and closed her little hand in her direction. And just like that, she was gone. She knew it was for the best but still…
Zaira pressed her forehead against the cool wall. Her mind had jumped to her little boy. She hit her head against the wall. How dare she even hint that this was comparable to his loss.
Her claws scratched at her arms. Rushka was right. She had gotten way too attached. She straightened and looked around her home.
Now that she was truly the only thing in her house, the structure felt so empty. The energy was gone. The bad energy was gone yes, but the good energy was too.
Zaira dragged herself up the stairs and started her nightly routine but couldn’t make herself go to bed in the hollow house.
She picked up her bedroll and went to sleep outside, near the energy of the forest and all in it.