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Description
Ian sat silently at his desk, papers scattered about unheeded and unnoticed. In serious contemplation he thought about Ashelynn and her unhealthy desire to learn about anything and everything dark. She was his well learned student, but he hadn’t ever delved too far into what Hell was like in his lessons. He had not ever thought to, most angels preferred ignorance of the subject. But perhaps that was what caused her particular interest. Ian had traveled and studied and stayed in almost every immortal realm, and knew quite enough about the forces of this world. Such knowledge he passed onto Ashe in bits and pieces as she matured, but he could not shake the protective instinct to keep her among the blessed majority that were not haunted by the nightmares of the horrors he had seen.
     Ian paused as his memories began to tumble through the threads of time and back into his so well hidden pain, the part of his mind he kept locked away, closed. Such was the reason he controlled his emotions so well. He pulled off his glasses and let his head drop into his hands, hiding his face behind long fingers. Perhaps he was treating Ashe as more of a child than she really was. She was well into her teens now, and he could think of no more excuses to keep the information from her, except that she probably would regret. It was certainly not necessary for her to know, but…
     He could not gather his thoughts properly. He decided he’d get some sleep, and perhaps think on it again tomorrow. With a deep sigh, he heaved his lanky frame from the chair just as his wife walked in. “Arsit!” he went straight to her and kissed her before she even had a chance to greet him.
     “I’m so sorry I had to get home so late,” Arelstacia apologized after a tight hug, “We had a bit of a problem getting back in. Some radicals still think I should burn in Hell…” she laid her head on his shoulder, still wrapped in his arms. She was a witch (albeit, not quite of the same kind as the ones she had just left), and that made her unpopular in some circles in Heaven, though I am glad to say that most angels were more accepting of her virtues to be concerned with the so-called sins of her beliefs. But even in Heaven, people aren’t perfect - that is not and never shall be our burden to bear.
     Ian could think of nothing to do but hold her even closer and let her know how much he cared. After a moment, she pulled away to look at him.
     “You look a bit strained, dear,” she whispered, frowning. Ian wasn’t the type to get overworked or stressed easily.
     “I’m fine,” he smiled. And indeed, as he looked into the soft, grass-green eyes that lit up his world, he felt his heart skip with emotion; full to bursting with that indescribable feeling they call love. He would simply stand there with her forever if he could.
     “How’s Ashelynn?” the question brought him back to current reality.
     “In her room, reading if not sleeping by now, I would assume,” he replied absently.
     “I’ll go see if she’s still awake, you should go lie down,” she ushered him out of the strict confines of the study. He walked in a trance of tired emotion to their room and flopped upon the bed, fully clothed, face-down. Still, he thought of whether or when he should tell Lynn anything. For once he really was at a loss for what to do. He supposed that had something to do with a parental sort of bias that kept him from letting her develop on her own, simply because he wanted to protect her. He sighed yet again, and rolled over, asleep before he knew it.
          ~*~
It was dark .She had never seen such dimness before, she couldn’t hardly see at all. She wondered if this was considered bright to a demon, as she wistfully looked up, now unable to see the glow of Heaven. She was lost. The swirling mists and fog had mesmerized her and led her to nowhere. Now everything had turned to smoke and murky smog. She knew she had long since left Limbo, straight through the Abyss she had gone. Now… was this Purgatory? It must be…
     What was that?! Something even darker than the surrounding haze was shifting through it. She could not believe how dark it was; everything seemed to grow worse in its presence. It seemed to be coming toward her… but no, it couldn’t see her. It shouldn’t, her light had faded and gone out when she had lost hope, quite some time ago. But as she watched, she realized she had seen the likes of it before, on the edges of her vision. Then, she had thought it was just her imagination scaring her even further. Now she was terrified, what if it had followed her? She tried to turn and run, to fly or anything to get away, but the smoke enveloped her, stuck her there no matter how much she struggled.
     And then it was upon her. At first she was too horrified even to scream, she could not breathe. All her nightmares, all those rumors she had heard paled in comparison to the real thing. It was only vaguely human, it had horns curling out of its head into sharp, deadly, bloodstained points. Spikes sprouted down its spine and led to a twisting, curling, winding tail. It grabbed her in its claws, and she was bleeding already. She had never known pain, but now it was simple excruciating to be near this thing, under its gaze she burned and writhed. Scaled arms pulled her in, she saw pointed teeth, and now she screamed.
     The terror of those cries, of her pain and her anguish still ring and echo in that spot to this day, joining all those who had come before. The demon destroyed, her ripped out her heart and shred through her innocence…
     In the stillness that followed, he grew bored of her lessening reactions, and flew off back down into the darkness, leaving her in pieces. Very little kept her still awake as she slowly dissipated back into the forces that had conceived her. The energy that she was part of drifted off, and she watched as glowed on its way back up to where she once belonged…
     Ian woke with a jolt and sat straight upright.
     “Mom…” he whispered into the darkness. He allowed his self-control to slip away as tears began to fall. But suddenly Arsit hurried into the room with a look of concern.
     “Ashe isn’t in her room,” she began nervously, and Ian didn’t need his many years of psychology classes to figure out that she was suppressing frightened dread.
      “She’s bound to be somewhere,” he started, and was thinking up whatever other rooms she might be drawn to when Arsit continued.
     “She left a note. She’s gone!” her voice wavered. Ian quickly took the short note from Arelstacia’s hand. It simply said she’d be back, with love. The fact that she didn’t mention where was concerning enough. Lynn was usually very good about letting him know what she was up to. But it was not even necessary this time. He knew where she would be going. And for probably the second time in his life, Ian Noah Miles began to panic.
~*~

Description
Ian sat silently at his desk, papers scattered about unheeded and unnoticed. In serious contemplation he thought about Ashelynn and her unhealthy desire to learn about anything and everything dark. She was his well learned student, but he hadn’t ever delved too far into what Hell was like in his lessons. He had not ever thought to, most angels preferred ignorance of the subject. But perhaps that was what caused her particular interest. Ian had traveled and studied and stayed in almost every immortal realm, and knew quite enough about the forces of this world. Such knowledge he passed onto Ashe in bits and pieces as she matured, but he could not shake the protective instinct to keep her among the blessed majority that were not haunted by the nightmares of the horrors he had seen.
     Ian paused as his memories began to tumble through the threads of time and back into his so well hidden pain, the part of his mind he kept locked away, closed. Such was the reason he controlled his emotions so well. He pulled off his glasses and let his head drop into his hands, hiding his face behind long fingers. Perhaps he was treating Ashe as more of a child than she really was. She was well into her teens now, and he could think of no more excuses to keep the information from her, except that she probably would regret. It was certainly not necessary for her to know, but…
     He could not gather his thoughts properly. He decided he’d get some sleep, and perhaps think on it again tomorrow. With a deep sigh, he heaved his lanky frame from the chair just as his wife walked in. “Arsit!” he went straight to her and kissed her before she even had a chance to greet him.
     “I’m so sorry I had to get home so late,” Arelstacia apologized after a tight hug, “We had a bit of a problem getting back in. Some radicals still think I should burn in Hell…” she laid her head on his shoulder, still wrapped in his arms. She was a witch (albeit, not quite of the same kind as the ones she had just left), and that made her unpopular in some circles in Heaven, though I am glad to say that most angels were more accepting of her virtues to be concerned with the so-called sins of her beliefs. But even in Heaven, people aren’t perfect - that is not and never shall be our burden to bear.
     Ian could think of nothing to do but hold her even closer and let her know how much he cared. After a moment, she pulled away to look at him.
     “You look a bit strained, dear,” she whispered, frowning. Ian wasn’t the type to get overworked or stressed easily.
     “I’m fine,” he smiled. And indeed, as he looked into the soft, grass-green eyes that lit up his world, he felt his heart skip with emotion; full to bursting with that indescribable feeling they call love. He would simply stand there with her forever if he could.
     “How’s Ashelynn?” the question brought him back to current reality.
     “In her room, reading if not sleeping by now, I would assume,” he replied absently.
     “I’ll go see if she’s still awake, you should go lie down,” she ushered him out of the strict confines of the study. He walked in a trance of tired emotion to their room and flopped upon the bed, fully clothed, face-down. Still, he thought of whether or when he should tell Lynn anything. For once he really was at a loss for what to do. He supposed that had something to do with a parental sort of bias that kept him from letting her develop on her own, simply because he wanted to protect her. He sighed yet again, and rolled over, asleep before he knew it.
          ~*~
It was dark .She had never seen such dimness before, she couldn’t hardly see at all. She wondered if this was considered bright to a demon, as she wistfully looked up, now unable to see the glow of Heaven. She was lost. The swirling mists and fog had mesmerized her and led her to nowhere. Now everything had turned to smoke and murky smog. She knew she had long since left Limbo, straight through the Abyss she had gone. Now… was this Purgatory? It must be…
     What was that?! Something even darker than the surrounding haze was shifting through it. She could not believe how dark it was; everything seemed to grow worse in its presence. It seemed to be coming toward her… but no, it couldn’t see her. It shouldn’t, her light had faded and gone out when she had lost hope, quite some time ago. But as she watched, she realized she had seen the likes of it before, on the edges of her vision. Then, she had thought it was just her imagination scaring her even further. Now she was terrified, what if it had followed her? She tried to turn and run, to fly or anything to get away, but the smoke enveloped her, stuck her there no matter how much she struggled.
     And then it was upon her. At first she was too horrified even to scream, she could not breathe. All her nightmares, all those rumors she had heard paled in comparison to the real thing. It was only vaguely human, it had horns curling out of its head into sharp, deadly, bloodstained points. Spikes sprouted down its spine and led to a twisting, curling, winding tail. It grabbed her in its claws, and she was bleeding already. She had never known pain, but now it was simple excruciating to be near this thing, under its gaze she burned and writhed. Scaled arms pulled her in, she saw pointed teeth, and now she screamed.
     The terror of those cries, of her pain and her anguish still ring and echo in that spot to this day, joining all those who had come before. The demon destroyed, her ripped out her heart and shred through her innocence…
     In the stillness that followed, he grew bored of her lessening reactions, and flew off back down into the darkness, leaving her in pieces. Very little kept her still awake as she slowly dissipated back into the forces that had conceived her. The energy that she was part of drifted off, and she watched as glowed on its way back up to where she once belonged…
     Ian woke with a jolt and sat straight upright.
     “Mom…” he whispered into the darkness. He allowed his self-control to slip away as tears began to fall. But suddenly Arsit hurried into the room with a look of concern.
     “Ashe isn’t in her room,” she began nervously, and Ian didn’t need his many years of psychology classes to figure out that she was suppressing frightened dread.
      “She’s bound to be somewhere,” he started, and was thinking up whatever other rooms she might be drawn to when Arsit continued.
     “She left a note. She’s gone!” her voice wavered. Ian quickly took the short note from Arelstacia’s hand. It simply said she’d be back, with love. The fact that she didn’t mention where was concerning enough. Lynn was usually very good about letting him know what she was up to. But it was not even necessary this time. He knew where she would be going. And for probably the second time in his life, Ian Noah Miles began to panic.
~*~