A Star's Element - 9. Tossing the Trash

Luno

I quietly walk to my side of the bed. Tobias is already under the covers.

He is reading a book. Kulu is wrapped around his neck.

I smile at that.

“You don’t look as scary with him sleeping on you!” I laugh.

Tobias lazily rolls his eyes, “I am a bit worried honestly. What if he just decides to choke me to death?”

He pokes at Kulu’s little head and the little serpent's tongue ends up falling out of his mouth.

I lean over to quickly push it back in and then pat Kulu’s little triangle head.

“You’ll be fine. He only really likes peaches. There is the chance that he’ll attack you if you try and hurt me, and I doubt you would survive it. So don't get on his bad side.” I smile and lay back on my pillow.

Tobias glares down at Kulu and then arches an eyebrow. “This little thing? He can’t even control himself.”

I just shrug and embrace that super fluffy pillow.

Mine are not at all this fluffy.

“How are you feeling?” He asks.

I give a small sigh.

I don’t know what I am feeling. Raiyo said it is fine to be lost and angry, but I don’t know who or what to be angry about.

I am used to feeling lost honestly. I’ve always been kept in the dark about most things in the world.

“I don’t know” I whisper.

Should I be angry at Mother? Should I even call her that? I don’t have parents.

I frown at that.

If I don’t have parents, then what am I? Apparently I am a star but is this it? I didn’t even know stars were living beings.

I feel so...weak compared to things like Mother or Raiyo.

I guess that should feel normal. They are gods after all. I am not.

I just happen to be the lucky one to get picked by the moon god.

Morgoren.

Not once has that name ever been mentioned.

Now I hear it all the time from Raiyo. I am guessing Morgoren has left a bad mark with other gods. I could tell Raiyo gets a bit heated when he mentions the moon god.

Perhaps I should try and talk to him? It makes me feel a little nervous thinking about that, however.

“Hey," Tobias calls my attention. “If you want, I can hold you till you sleep. I heard that is a good thing to do.”

I blink at that. That is the nicest thing he’s ever said or offered.

“It's only a one time thing so don’t get used to it.” He gives a glare but it melts away when I just hug him.

“Thank you.” I smile.

I haven’t had this in a long time. Sure I had all the creatures at home, but to be with someone that is somewhat like me? It is nice.

Well, I guess I am like them. I am a copy of a demon afterall.

Maybe that is bitter of me but that is what I am; as much as it bothers me.

I do have one question about this though.

“Do you have parents? I didn’t know if Demons or Angels could have family.”

Tobias frowns before he wraps one arm around me.

I keep my head on his shoulder, careful not to lay on Kulu.

“Well I was human once. Almost all of us were, except the Gods of course. When humans die, they either become angels or soul food for the demons. I was human once upon a time. I even had a human family. I believe my family and I died from a war that ran into town? I don’t quite remember. Well, we became angels. We did good with our human lives.”

“You were an Angel?” I ask, glancing at his horns.

“Yes I was an Angel. I was for about...twenty years? So not long at all. I learned about them. Realized things that I didn’t like. Things were changing, rules that had been used to keep the peace. Eventually it got to the point that I would ignore my duties and then they cast me out. They cut my halo in two and then threw me out. I then turned into a demon. That is how most demons are made. If you aren’t in line with the angels, you are turned into a demon. Forced to work under a new master. The halo cut in half then turns into two horns that stick out of our heads.”

I frown and run a finger against one of his horns. This is rather depressing.

“It is fine, honestly. I am actually grateful for it. I finally have a leader that I am glad to work under.” He forces a small smile. It is weird seeing that on his face.

“Raiyo?” I ask. He nods.

“My uncle had also been turned into a demon long before I did, so I still have family I can count on.” Tobias leans his head back and stares at the ceiling.

“Do you ever miss your parents?” I ask.

I probably shouldn’t have asked. It might be a touchy subject. I'm just curious about what it must be like with real parents.

“Of course. Even if they shunned me.” He smirks and closes his eyes.

There is a long silence that I assume means it is time for bed.

I am rather tired. I’ve learned so much but I just want to learn more!

I am just a bit bitter that I didn’t learn any of this from Mother, however.

“You know you aren’t useless right?” Tobias asks out of nowhere.

“What?”

“I mean you do...good things. You bring life. That’s more than anyone in this world can do. Not even the gods.”

I can’t help but smile at that. How could I not? The big, bad demon is being nice and opening up to me.

He just needed a friend!

I laugh, “I knew you were a big softie.”

He huffs, “No I’m not!” His face actually seems to turn a shade of pink.

I giggle and close my eyes, “Yes, you so are.”

“Idiot.”

“Love bug.”

~~~

“Anything else you wish to say? I’ve already made my decision.” Raiyo smiles down at the Incubus below him.

Someone had brought the demon in chains because he was trying to get into a church full of human orphans.

“N-no, m-my master!” The Incubus cries and his body continues to tremble in fear.

“Good! It will make all of this faster for me.” Raiyo rises from his throne and seems to walk towards the Incubus.

His feet never touch the ground however. Each step in the air leaves a small ripple of orange fire. The ripples vanish as he makes his next step.

The Incubus is tall and only wears a loincloth.

Giant, dark, red wings are tucked behind him.

Raiyo reaches down and runs his fingers through the tall demon’s red hair and brushes his claws along their red-skinned cheek.

“You should turn away.” Tobias whispers next to me.

I do, and I make sure I keep my eyes on Tobias’ armor, even if the screams of agony seem to call for my attention.

When the screams grow louder, I close my eyes tight.

The cries seem to last forever, all I hear is strange chanting from Raiyo and the smell of burning flesh.

It is making me sick.

Finally silence is back. I peek forward and only see a steaming pile of ash on the floor.

Raiyo turns with a wave of his cape and walks back to his throne.

“Now,” Raiyo smiles and beckons us to stand in from of him, “Time for some more interesting business.”

He is back in the clothing that covers the tattoos. Still very strange that he chooses to cover the pretty fire tattoos.

“Forgive me, Raiyo,” Tobias starts, “but are we going to be doing anything about the human problem? Surely we must with powers like his,” He waves a hand towards me. “We could use his help.”

Raiyo rests one hand under his chin and drums the other on his armrest.

I guess this is how I imagined royalty. Sitting on a throne and clearly full of themselves.

The clinking of metal fills the air as he is thinking things through.

How hard are those things? They just look like painted claws. Are they actually made of metal? Surely not.

“I am aware of his powers, and I have thought about it.” Raiyo looks between the both of us, “but I do not want him doing things on his own. Morgoren could try and get to him, and we don’t want that now do we?”

Tobias shakes his head.

I frown.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” I ask.

Raiyo smirks and locks his creepy eyes onto mine.

“Would you let all the humans die? Allow their souls to be taken against their will? Letting them join the angels would mean that all the remaining souls in the world, that includes all your ‘friends’ in your little Sanctuary, would be free for them to consume. Do you want that?”

It is a challenge. He is saying these things but he already knows my answer.

If I were to say no then it would just be me fighting my own ways. Of course I’d want to help.

I just don’t like that he can smile while saying all of those things. How can one smile about everyone dying? It isn’t right.

Maybe I was wrong about Raiyo. He isn’t good.

Raiyo’s voice laughs in my head.

“Such a loud thinker.”

I purse my lips and stay quiet.

Raiyo turns back to Tobias since I am pretty much already a guaranteed part of the plan.

“Well this is actually quite simple,” Raiyo goes back to drumming his claws against the armrest, “you are going to go to all the new areas of the world that are being damaged. Luno will then restore the life that was taken there, and then you will move on to the next spot.”

Tobias looks like he wants to glare at Raiyo but he controls himself.

“How is that going to fix anything? Shouldn’t we be going for the source of it all?”

“Yes, yes we should be going for the source. We just can’t right now."

Raiyo lifts both hands in front of him, swirls of black smoke gather between his fingers and then they surge together into a flat shape.

The smoke disappears and then there is a map in his hands.

I am guessing it is a map of Thymestrys. The world is made into three colors.

There is a small desert area in the north, a green forest area that covers most of the map, and at the very bottom of the map, there is white for snowy mountains.There are also strange black dots in random places, mostly in the green areas.

It looks like black ink has been splattered across.

“This map shows what areas have been affected by the plague.” Raiyo points out to different ink spots littered on the map

“Oh look!" He presses a claw to a spot in the mountains.

A faint black circle looks like it is starting to form.

“Looks like a new batch of humans are about to die.” Raiyo smirks while folding the map. “I would recommend making your way there now.”

He hands the map to Tobias.

I blink.

“Were leaving right now?” I ask. I feel like we have only just got here!

Raiyo smiles, “I have things to tend to. I can’t have random demons and stars in my home while I am busy now can I?”

I frown.

“Oh don’t worry. I doubt we’ve seen the last of each other.” Raiyo stands. “Just don’t die and you’ll most likely see me again, especially if you stick with my dear Tobias.”

Raiyo drags his claws against Tobias’ chest armor as he walks past us.

We follow close behind him.

“I have business with your Unclr so I will be placing you back into the mortal world.”

Raiyo turns to us just as we reach a door.

“Have you got everything you need?” He glances at Kulu wrapped around my neck and then up at my eyes. “And everyone?”

I nod and look at Tobias.

I really want to get out of here.

“Yes, I believe we have everything.” Tobias says and I see him take a shaky breath.

Raiyo grins and then I see something I really didn’t want to see.

He has very sharp fangs! I can't help but shiver at the sight of that. Not even Tobias has that.

“Good!” Raiyo licks his lips before blowing a kiss to us.

A puff of smoke begins to fly towards us. It grows until it completely surrounds us.

“Don't die out there!” Raiyo’s voice echoes into laughter.

I grab onto Tobias’ arm.

I can’t see anything. It hurts to keep my eyes open and the smell of smoke seems to fill my nostrils.

It is awful!

I hear air blowing around us and also what sounds like the popping of a dying fire.

~~~
~~~

Tobias

Gods I hate it when Raiyo makes me travel through...whatever this shit is.

It starts out alright, just smoke carrying your body somewhere else into the world, but then it just starts getting bumpy and everything feels like it is spinning out of place, almost as if we are in little balls that are rolling around.

I am almost certain Raiyo does this on purpose.

I try to keep myself from running into Luno and hurting him. Honestly I really did try, but there is only so much I could do.

Luno slams hard into my chest and I know it must have hurt him.

He yelps and cries out from the rude transportation and I grit my teeth when he happens to knee me in the groin.

One second we are rolling around and then the next we are dropped onto soft cold snow.

Luno lands on me and I just can’t get up. I am a out of breath and everything hurts.

“What,” Luno says breathlessly, “was that?”

He lifts his head up and I see that his hair is tossed around in every direction.

He has a few bumps on his head from slamming into my armor multiple times. No doubt other parts of his body are also going to be sore later on.

“That...would be Raiyo throwing us out of Enfierna.” I sigh and lean my head back into the snow.

At least we could use the snow for all the bruising that we will no doubt have later on.

Usually it is not so bad when you are by yourself, but damn...it still manages to hurt.

The fact he used the same thing on the Gatekeeper almost makes me want to laugh honestly.

Luno lifts himself up and glances up at the sky, his face wincing from whatever soreness he feels.

I must say, seeing his dark skin in contrast with his hair, the sky, and his clothes...it is kind of pretty in a way.

I quickly look away and shove him off immediately.

Luno gives a small yelp before he falls face first into the snow.

I push myself up and then sit back on my knees. The cold snow feels like it's reaching past my armor and freezing my skin.

I glance at Luno and see he is back in his weird two piece skirt thing with jewelry everywhere.

“How are you not cold?” I ask in bewilderment.

He just shrugs his little shoulders and falls back to make a snow angel. I roll my eyes.

Of course he would!

“I just don’t think about the cold and then it doesn’t bother me. The same with the heat.” He says with a stupid cute smile on his face.

I scoop up some snow and ball it up as best I can. I underhand the throw and it arches up into the sky before falling straight down onto his face.

He gives a small shriek and then it dissolves into laughter. He pushes himself up and he has a smirk on his face.

“No.” I glare, “No no! It was just a warning. You are just-” my eyes go wide.

Luno lifts his arms and spins in place. Snow from the ground begins to rise and then they begin to form into perfect snowballs.

They circle around him for a moment, he keeps his eyes on me with a wicked, cute smile on his face.

He pushes both his hands forward and about ten snowballs start flying straight for me.

I bolt for safety. I even transform in the middle of a jump just to run faster.

Luno’s laughter can be heard above me. I peek behind me and see he is flying in the air and has more snowballs circling around him.

The cheater!

I give a small roar as one snowball manages to hit me square on the back.

I dodge and weave through the frozen trees and see something that I could use to help me.

A tree has fallen over and leans against another dead tree. I run for them and glance back to make sure Luno is chasing me still.

He is!

I mentally laugh and quickly keep trying to dodge his attacks as I run for the trees.

A few still manage to hit me. That can’t exactly be helped. I am pretty big in this form unfortunately.

Who knew I would be annoyed at being gigantic for once. From a fucking snowball fight.

Why am I doing this? We are supposed to be saving the world. Not playing in the snow like a bunch of childr-

A snowball hits me on the back of my head.

He is going to regret that!

I shake my head to remove any snow stuck in my fur and run even faster for the fallen trees.

“You’re so fast!” Luno laughs behind me.

Oh he is so going to get it. I don't care how much he compliments my tiger form.

I am finally at the two trees and then run straight for the fallen tree trunk. I glance behind me and see Luno is still chasing after me in the air, snowballs still raining down after me.

I push myself off the tree and high into the air towards Luno.

In the middle of the jump, I transform back into my normal form and grab for Luno.

He gives a rather girly scream and I can’t help but grin as I manage to wrap my arms around him.

We immediately start to drop down to the ground.

The impact isn’t that bad honestly. The ground is completely covered in a few inches of snow.

We roll around and then manage end up with me on top of him. I am careful not to crush him.

Luno just giggles the whole time and he looks up at me with the sweetest smile. His cheeks are a little red from the cold, and possibly from hitting my armor from before.

Flakes of snow are trapped in his already white hair and they are even stuck in his eyelashes.

He looks so adorable. I just…I just want to…

I lean down and cup his face with my hand before pressing my lips to his.