Fight or Flight

"Did she die?" Three simple words he already knew the answer to, they all knew. Standing around in a circle were six others like him. The same golden eyes and wings folded on their backs. They wear different expressions as they wait for Elyon's answer. The boy stared at the one in front of him, a mask hiding his face but he can still see the faint glow of his eyes behind them. His gaze is looking through Elyon and the younger shivered whenever he does that.

"N-no.. she countered my strike by sending me away from her. She was able to teleport me." Muttering arises upon hearing their current situation, all debating whether to continue or to stop the hunt.

"She has powers, we have seen it countless times! Weather manipulation, empathetic perception. She was even able to see your true form without burning her eyes!" one of the men argue, showing the proof that she is a Nephilim. It wasn't much of a secret, they were tasked from the start to watch her, determined if Azalea Castellan is, in fact, a half-angel and if she is…

"Is still too early to determine her status, her powers may be manifesting but she hasn't appeared as a threat. We need to wait until— " another man argues only to be interrupted by another across the table.

"Until what? Until she blows up the university when she knows what she's capable of? We are dealing with a ticking bomb, not a lab experiment, Castiel," Azra argues. His stance is firm, killing her on the spot. He could have dealt with her months ago but their orders were to observe, not execute. Castiel is on the other side of the spectrum. He is glaring at the older man before directing his attention to Elyon beside him. His pacifist behavior will get them nowhere and while he's glad their leader will not act until properly ordered to, Castiel can't get close to her either. There is no winner in any way.

The debate goes on for another ten minutes, everyone pointing out their different ideas and solution to their dilemma. In the end, the group is divided between execution and mercy, both bringing strong arguments to their position.

"Whether we like it or not she is one of us, she has grace and she will go to heaven after death. If we make her understand and control her powers. She can even help humans and their planet."

"Hundreds of Nephilim have lived and breathed since the beginning of men and all have been corrupted by their humanity. They abuse their godly gifts for their pleasure and destroy everything in their path. Nephilim is an abomination, they are to be killed." A chair is heard being pulled back, the scratching against the marble floor is loud and alerts all the members in the room. One of them stands, wings expanding as he stretches and then hides them as he puts them back on his coat. The man lets his mask fall and places it on the table as he retires. Castiel looks back, calling out to him and he turns.

"Izari, he doesn't mean it like that. None of us do, she's not like you, you know that" Castiel assures him, smiling gently but Izari can see how careful Castiel is as he talks to him. Always so gentle and soft, handling him with gloves.

He shuffles on his feet, turning to the others and Izari can see the same worry and carefulness even behind their Ivory masks. "I'm okay, Castiel. Azra's words never affected me. I need to take a breather while you figure out what to do with the girl," Izari states as he exits, sparing no second look to his partners.

"Azra," Micah's voice echoes in the silent room, Azra turns to their leader as he speaks the other's name. "Please mind your words. Nephilim is a threat but they are always a sensitive topic to discuss. We cannot have the same mindset as our predecessors. Izari is an example of change, don't insult him with your ignorance." Azra stays silent, nodding while his hands are balled up in a tight fist.

The meeting comes to an end without a conclusion. The members get up and leave one by one until it is just Micah and Adriel.

Micah hasn't even gotten up. Mask discarded, clear eyes looking at what Adriel has in hand. A picture of the girl. Ethereally beautiful; that is how humans describe angels. She's able to stand out with simple features, her eyes gleam and her lips are perfectly cushioned and curved into a smile. Nose cutely poking out of her face and brows raised in amusement. Various imperfections radiate and distinguish her from the other thousands of girls that could match her type. Stunning in the simplest form. She looks human, a beautiful and harmless human. Adriel always liked that about her species.

"Do not underestimate her humbleness. As far as we know she could be an excellent actress," Micah comments as he sees Adriel staring at the picture. Adriel grins as he notices the bored expression of his leader, eyes trying not to glance at the picture like he did so.

"Elyon says her head is in the clouds. She never raises her voice and never speaks out when she's uncomfortable. That's she is gentle-hearted, naive and a pushover," Adriel recalls with a pained smile. Her case is oddly melancholic and Adriel pities her. "I cannot see a human quite like her deceiving us with her good looks and vulnerability."

"Then you must not be recalling well, Adriel. People like her are to be weary the most. You'll never know when they might suddenly snap." Micah stands up, feeling he had enough for today even though his day is far from over. He gathers his things, exiting and Adriel follows behind him.

"Zariel said he's smitten. Wouldn't dare to hurt her even if she were a demon," Adriel announces out of the blue but it is enough for Micah to turn.

"Then he will die and history will dare to be repeated itself until we learn the consequences of our actions."

~~~

It took Azalea almost two hours last night to vacuum all the gold glitter and feather from her room. When her roommate came late that night, surprised to see Azalea awake, her first question was if a bird had blown up in her room. Azalea didn't reply but humored her until she retired and Azalea stayed up cleaning the mess.

Once again, Azalea ditches her medication for the near fifth time in the week and she ought to believe she's having severe withdrawal symptoms. It could explain why her classmate dressed in ancient Roman armor with wings that stretched outward all while wielding a sword. As well the clear intent to kill in his golden eyes. Far too pretty to look so menacing.

She can still feel the warmth of the white light and the blade of the sword in her palms before everything was consumed and Azalea woke up to a piñata party gone wrong.

What confused her the most was Elyon. She has had vivid dreams of a couple of her friends before but their faces would be a blur or she would forget the moment she woke up. Not him. She saw Elyon's face as clear as the first time she saw him. The bright yet awkwardly looking boy entering the class, five minutes late and halfway through the first quarter. Wavy blonde hair and tanned skin that always seemed to glow. Azalea never admitted it but she thought Elyon was handsome but as his friends were more of the Frat kind she drew a line on that.

Coincidentally, that's when her headaches started.

The day was nice and sunny so she ought to take advantage of the nice weather. The weather clears her mind off worries as she gets dressed, having had a decent amount of sleep Azalea is in a better mood and visibly awake.

"Looking pretty, where are you going so early in the morning?" Nadiya is still in her pajamas, reheating some cold soup from two days ago.

"Sei needs me to help him fill out some papers for the club, then I'm working at the church for a couple of hours and— wait, no I'm meeting Elyon before that—" the name itself stops her from taking the lukewarm soup out of the beeping microwave and turn her attention to Azalea.

"Elyon Vatrias? Babe, what have I told you about frat boys," she playfully scolds but Azalea only smiles and rolls her eyes.

" 'fun for a short time, not a long time' and is not like that. He's behind on work and I couldn't say no because he looked so pitiful." Nadiya places her hands on her shoulder, a stern face contrasting the innocent surprised one of Azalea.

"Azalea, honey. You're a pushover. He's using you, why can't you see that!" Nadiya protested, throwing her hands up dramatically and finally giving in to the annoying beeping of the microwave.

"Nadi…" Azalea holds her right arm awkwardly. Not wanting to have this conversation this morning, or ever. "I actually like to help… I do."

"And that's very selfless of you and I'm sure no one has a heart quite like yours but you're just wasting yourself… someday you're gonna snap and it will not be pretty for those around. One person can withstand only so much before something catastrophic happens.��� Azalea knows Nadiya means well, but there are things Azalea is better off not discussing than feeling bitter and uncomfortable after.

"Anyhow, did you take your meds?"

"Ah! You know what? I'm running late, love you bye!" Nadiya is already yelling as Azalea runs off, Nadiya continues to yell by the door, making a ruckus but she ignores her while getting on the elevator.

Azalea sighs, resetting herself and she greets the day once again with a smile. Putting on her headphones, she makes the commute to campus, meeting with Sei for a couple of hours until she gets a text from Elyon:

[[On the way. Might be late]]

Azalea quickly replies only to put her phone away and finish the last bit of paperwork.

"So, are you busy, this evening? I was thinking we can go out and have dinner, you know, normal… people… things…" Sei asks and Azalea blinks when she hears him, not quite getting it but smiles at the gesture.

"Ah! Sure. I mean, I'm still seeing Sister Marie to donate clothes for kids but I'll be done by eight."

"Eight! Eight it is then. Oh, I can pick you up then, if Nadi doesn't mind that is." Azalea chuckles and nods, Sei laughing as well.

The joy is short-lived as the theater doors open and a figure enters. Azalea immediately heard muttering in her head, her name is spoken only to be covered by static and die. Azalea turns to Sei if he hears it but his attention is more on the man that came in.

"Elyon? Oh, you found it!" Azalea chimes as she stands up and approaches him.

"I thought we were meeting in the library?" He questions. Azalea hums as she acknowledges his question.

"I was helping Sei so instead of making you wait we can just walk there. Oh, yeah, Sei Fujikawa, this is Elyon Vatrias. He's in my Religions lecture with Misses—"

"Cheng, yeah, I had her last year." Sei curtly greeted Elyon and while he could sense some kind of hostility coming from the male, Elyon didn't really care.

"Ah, you're right. Sei, can you help us out? Elyon is sort of behind so I was gonna help him catch up but you have the notes from last year so can you let us see it?" Azalea mentions, putting Sei on the spot. He is reluctant to give it to Elyon, not quite trusting him. "Sei, please, you can trust me right? You always had!" Her words are innocent enough and normally, Sei would have given her the notes out of the kindness of his heart. Even if that was his motive, Sei was swayed.

Elyon saw how his eyes turned hazy, a dazed sleepy look on his face as he dumbly nodded and walked off without question. Azalea looked amused as Sei walked out without saying a word. Elyon couldn't believe she wasn't acting.

With just mere words, Azalea got his friend to blindly follow along with what she says and she didn't even notice she did it.

"Wow, he must like you to agree when you ask for it. Everything must be so easy for you, Azalea." Elyon eyes Azalea, seeing how she reacts just to find a blank expression.

"Huh? Oh, Nadiya says it's because he likes me… I guess that's why he asked me to dinner." To his amusement, Azalea doesn't seem thrilled, almost insecure.

"Well, that's good! He might become your boyfriend!" Elyon elbows her but the atmosphere thickens. She raises her shoulder, her arms hugging her boy and she looks down at the floor as her feet hang from the stage.

"I guess but… what does he like about me? It happens every time, some random dude I barely know thinks I'm their best next thing but how can they come up with that conclusion." Azalea has put some thought to it but Elyon guesses her power is responsible. "Is scary… sometimes they won't accept a no."

"What do you mean." He was curious, prying more into her life and powers with mere questions.

The air thickens, Elyon feeling his chest heavier with every breath he takes. He can't breathe, for a second, it feels like there is a vacuum but the air comes back and he sighs. "Well… last summer there was a guy I met at a bowling alley while I was with my friends. I didn't know him but he seemed to know an old friend of mine so I didn't think much of it."

Elyon knows she's being honest and it vexes him how she can act so scared and worried at a memory. So human despite having just used her power against someone.

"Well… when I went to throw the ball he got behind me really close saying he'll help me get a strike but I was already uncomfortable with just that. I wanted to tell him, no but he…" her nails dig into her arms remembering, the memory frustrating her. "He pushed himself closer as if he didn't care! He looked drunk and I told him to get back—" Azalea stopped rambling when Elyon put his hand on her shoulder. She felt the electrifying sensation but soon after she felt a cool and healing feeling.

"You don't trust that kind of person, right? The ones that feel they have a right over you. It must be so hard in your predicament. I understand you perfectly." Azalea's greatest flaw as being part human was her vulnerability. Weak since birth and easily played with. He's gonna use that. "I bet you wanted to push him back and scream at him." She nods and he grins.

"I did… I did push him back." The color of her eyes seem to fade to a more silvery color, shining and while she was in a trance she couldn't react.

"Good girl, Azalea. You're so strong," her head bobs, and Elyon got closer, putting his hands around her neck and tears pouring from her tired eyes. "Did you kill him? Did he go away?"

"He disappeared. He never bothered me again." Her body was limp as Elyon stood up, holding her by the neck as a free hand aimed his sword on her chest.

"Well, you're never going to suffer through that again. I'll make sure of that—"

"Uh, my head feels dizzy… Azalea I got the— Azalea!" Sei enters only to see Elyon digging a sword on Azalea's chest. The girl did nothing to stop it.

"Ah, you came back. I thought little Nephi sent you away." Sei drops his notes as he runs to Elyon but the shockwave of the sword sends him back, the human hitting a wall and dropping to the ground. "Hey, buddy, my business is not with you so stay out if. Believe me, I'm doing you a favor.

"Y-You're gonna kill her!"

"That's the plan. Is either this or thousands of you—" Elyon looks back at Azalea to see her awake, out of his manipulation spell and not quite the exact girl he knows. She's grabbing his arm, nails digging his skin until he bleeds. Elyon drops her and she lets go, falling on the floor but she quickly stands.

"It seems I have struck a nerve." Azalea didn't respond or did anything really. Her silver eyes were trained on Elyon, darting to whatever direction he moved. "Come on do something. That Nephilim bitch is somewhere around that stupid brain of yours—" Azalea attacked the moment he asked for it. Leaping towards him and in the blink of an eye, she was inches from his face.

Elyon jumped back, exposing his wings to gain a faster speed but Azalea was catching up. "The hell, where are her wings?" Elyon turns but gets kicked and thrown hard against the ceiling only to drop down again. The moment he tried to stand up she stepped on his wing making Elyon shout in pain.

"I'm seriously gonna fucking kill you now," Elyon screams again when she applies more pressure on the wing. She's aiming to break a bone, he knows that much but he can't get her off him.

Then he sees it.

She's crying. Teardrops trail down her cheeks and to his feathers, the bloodstains disappearing and the pressure eases for a second.

That's all he needed.

Elyon is able to lift his wing and kick her until her back hits the stage. He approaches her body, weak as she barely stands and Elyon grabs her collar to keep her on her feet. "I should finish with you once and for all. You already caused us so much trouble." A sword manifests into his hand, the blade reflecting Azalea. She tries to fight, the light in her eyes flickering and her strength fading again.

"You exhausted yourself. You don't even know how to use your powers!" Elyon grinned as he raised his sword, wanting to chop her head clean off.

Her vision is hazy, blurry with tears and her voice doesn't seem to come out the more she struggles. Only whimpers and hushed cries while her fist weakly hit his arms.

The second Elyon was going to strike he stopped, another force pushing him away from Azalea and she fell on the hands of another angel.

The voice echoes in the silence, clear like glass and deep like thunder in the distance. It feels familiar and comforting. The more Azalea tries to stay awake the harder it is for her to do so. A song lulls her to sleep, falling into a slumber in the arms of her savior.

"Why are you stopping me? She's right here, in front of us," Elyon argues.

"You caused this, Elyon. You harmed a human. Don't think Micah will take this lightly," Izari sneered, tongue sharp. Elyon gritted his teeth, unable to talk back. "Retire and I won't tell Micah of you disobeying orders. I will take the girl." The sword is drawn back, disappearing in thin hair.

"Don't have sympathy for her. You are more like us than she is. Is only a matter of time until she knows what she is." Elyon exits. The sound of the alarms starts to ring loudly, alerting first responders.

Izari holds Azalea in his arms, her expression is restless as she sleeps. Brows are furrowed and eyes darting back and further under her eyelids. Scared, and he is curious to know what she is dreaming about.

"Once you know your nature. Will you be more like us? Or I will be less like them?"