Tender Moment

The barkeep poured another round. The spectators anxiously held their breaths as Alric, and another pack member downed the liquor shot in one go. The elf with a deep scar across his face grinned triumphantly before turning unconscious and slamming his face onto the wooden table. Everybody cheered, patting Alric on the shoulder.

"Talk about having an iron stomach," Aodhan commented, grinning from ear to ear. His breath revealed he was slightly tipsy. The two watched the crowd disperse, then got up. Alric felt the alcohol impede his balance, requiring him to lean against the table for a moment. It seemed it had been too long ago since he had last drank this much. He shook his head to clear his mind.

"Heavenly Duo, want to club with us?" A young human female wearing a simple black dress laden with heavy jewelry approached the two, every step clanging. Behind her stood two more women dressed in similar skimpy outfits. Since they had no tattoos on their cheeks, they were considered outsiders in this bar.

"Yes, we'd love to party!" Aodhan replied, all ready to dance. The girls in the back giggled and whispered to each other.

Alric took a glance at them. He immediately surmised they were the type of girls looking for free entertainment and drinks. If he had the money to splurge, he'd have tagged along, but being nothing more than the Keeper's secretary was not enough to indulge on ladies.

"I think I'll pass tonight," Alric said. "You go have fun on your own, Aodhan."

"Aw, come on, dude."

"Maybe another time."

Aodhan sighed, then whipped out his money card. "Then I guess you'll have to make do with me."

The girls giggled again, but the money card was all he needed to convince him. The group headed to the basement, from where loud music was blaring.

Alone, Alric headed out to catch some much needed fresh air.

Or at least an approximation of fresh air.

Compared to the day, the night was less smelly. He was lucky, too. Condensation had hit a peak, and the ensuing rain had purified the air. Puddles on the concrete streets reflected the dying neon lights. In the distance, some clubs were still playing loud music to attract customers, but Alric steered clear of that area. Instead, he headed to the night market, which was on his way home. It consisted of a labyrinth of narrow alleys clogged with stalls selling various goods and meals. Even though Alric disliked pushing his way through crowded streets, the alluring smell of good food was enough to take him back here regularly. And, in the early morning hours, the bustle usually had died down, making it easy for him to stroll through the market casually.

Feeling somewhat nostalgic about his days in The Heaven, Alric decided to purchase some fried dumplings. They were slightly different from what he was used to, but they tasted delicious regardless. Happy with his purchase, he continued on his way with a smile on his face.

That's when he saw her. Or was it really her?

Alric blinked, but he could not get a clear image of her no matter how often he did so.

Fiera was standing before a stall and paying her purchase with a card. Like digital images overlapping each other, she had another face, another body. Even her tattoo glowed dimly.

But what surprised him even more, was that she was alone. No Zan nearby. What in the three realms was she doing? There was somebody out there hunting matriarchs, yet she was outside alone without protection.

Fiera left the stall, stuffing her newly purchased earrings into her purse. Alric found himself following her from a distance, both worried and curious about the nature of these interweaving images. The succubus seemingly had no real destination, walking through alleys, only to walk a parallel road back again.

Finally, after what had seemed to be ages of walking up and down Main Town, she stopped at a dead-end alley.

"I wonder," she began before turning around to Alric. "are you the stalker or loyal puppy type?"

Without realizing it, he had closed the distance, thus, it had become evident to her that she was being followed.

Embarrassed, Alric averted his gaze. "I, uh, I was irritated by the way you looked. Besides, shouldn't you always be with someone?"

"Oh?" Fiera raised an eyebrow. The glow on her tattoo disappeared, and her image finally became clear. "Better now?"

Alric sheepishly glanced over to her and nodded.

"Interesting." She approached him slowly. He felt her scrutinizing him but failed to turn away. Too mesmerizing were her eyes, like rubies in the sun.

Fiera tilted her head. "You just saw through my shapeshifting ability. Is that perhaps your archangel talent?"

"Huh? I have no such talents."

"You mean to say you have never seen a shapeshifter in action before?"

"At least not in this way, no."

Fiera raised her finger to her mouth, pondering. "I wonder. Is it perhaps due to my life force coursing through you?"

"What?" Alric had more questions than answers and was displeased by it.

"Let's not converse here," Fiera said, shapeshifting into another woman. Again, she became a blurry mess of two women. "Follow me." She winked, then locked her arm into his. Before he knew it, she dragged him along.

While the way seemed as obscure as before, Alric quickly realized she was leading him to the Pride building. But unlike his usual routine, going through the main entrance and past the security guards in the lobby, Fiera did a sharp turn and headed to a wall in the back. She waved, and before his eyes, a doorknob appeared. She held the doorknob until a clicking sound signaled it was unlocked.

"Don't ever tell Zan I showed you this. Actually, don't tell anyone." She beckoned Alric to follow her through the door.

One moment later, he found himself overlooking Main Town through the glass facade. Flabbergasted, he turned around to check, but Fiera had already closed the door, and all he saw was a wall. She walked past him and unlocked an office door, undoing her shapeshifting along the way. Alric continued to follow her.

Once inside, he realized it was her office. It was pretty functional, with several screens hovering over a desk and two other desks without apparent electronic devices. The opaque glass walls were full of scribbles and post-it notes. It reminded him more of a detective's office than the company's CEO.

"Ah," she said, noticing his interest in her writings. "As you can see, I've been trying to collect information about who has been killing the other matriarchs."

"So you, too, believe there's one person behind it."

"Doesn't need to be one person. Perhaps it's an underground organization." She dumped her purse on her office chair before joining him before a wall. "But in the most recent case, the murderer got careless." Fiera opened a file drawer before her to retrieve a single black feather. "This was found clutched in the matriarch's hand. Your brother had found it before the police arrived on the scene."

"That's a Tengu feather," Alric said surprisedly, taking the feather from her hand. He looked at it more closely. "No, wait." The color was definitely Tengu, but the shaft was curved and the vane softer, almost plume-like. There was dry blood on it, presumably from the succubus who had held it. "This doesn't make any sense at all," he concluded. "It resembles more an angel feather, but I've never heard of a black-feathered angel before. Even in the sporadic case of angel and Tengu blood mixing, the wings are only dark grey, at most."

"Are you sure?"

"You can check and compare to mine." He pointed to his stump. Taking a closer look at him, Fiera realized that whoever had mutilated his wings did so under resistance. It was not a clean cut which is why some feathers grew back. She plucked one and held it against the black one.

"You are right, they look similar." Though, in her eyes, 'similar' was an insult to Alric's wings. She had seen them from afar before and had always considered them the prettiest angel wings there ever was. Looking at the single feather she had in her hand confirmed her appreciation. It sparkled under the dull office light as if the barbules were made of crystal.

"Ahem." Alric felt even more embarrassed as he watched her, staring intently at the feather she had just mercilessly plucked from his back. "Despite how my wings look like, that hurt."

"Oh. Sorry."

There was an awkward silence. Fiera snatched the feather from Alric's hand and tossed it back into the drawer, together with his. Alric noticed he had enjoyed her company thus far. He would probably have spouted something horrible again if he had not been tipsy, making him glad he had agreed to the drinking contest earlier.

"I remember you mentioned earlier your life force was coursing through me?"

"Oh, right." Fiera had that stare again, the one that made him feel as if she saw right through him.

"... And?" Alric found himself slowly inching away.

"You, see, when you were dying, the life force of my pack wouldn't have been enough for you to survive. I had to pour in some of mine. So, unlike the other pack members, we're closely connected, whether we like it or not."

"Or your Beta."

"Or Zan."

The two exchanged glances before they began chuckling.

"So, you believe that's why I could see through your shapeshifting?"

"Ever the smart angel you are," she said with a grin.

"Hm." Alric pondered for a moment. Then he suddenly said, "thank you."

"Huh?" Fiera looked at him blankly. "What for?"

"Saving my life. I believe I haven't properly said so before."

Alric noticed how her cheeks flushed before she turned her head away. He felt as if he was talking to a crush in High School, making him feel embarrassed as well.

"Well... in any case, why would somebody be interested in the killing matriarchs?" He tried to change the subject.

Fiera did not immediately answer. She walked to the facade and looked out the window. For a moment, it seemed as if she was focused on something before she finally responded.

"You saw the seal down here, right?"

"Yeah."

"Every time a matriarch dies, the seal is opened. And with that, I mean that it disappears, and the surviving matriarchs have to deal with larger and deadlier hellspawn."

"Wait a minute. So when that big whatever came out recently..."

"That's right. That was when Gluttony died."

"So what happens if all die? Wouldn't the things just disappear?"

"According to my mother's words, a large hole appears instead and swallows the entire Underworld." She turned around to face Alric. "In any case, I must ask you to leave. Zan is on his way here." Not giving him time to process her words, Fiera walked over to him and shoved him to the door. "You don't want to end up down there again, do you? And I'm not in the mood for discussion."

"Yeah, yeah, I got the hint." He let himself get pushed out. Before he could say goodbye, Fiera shut the door right in his face. Alric headed straight for the elevator with a loud sigh and took it down to the lobby.

As soon as the doors opened, Alric nearly stumbled into a disgruntled-looking Beta. He narrowed his eyes upon recognizing Alric.

"Fancy seeing you here this early morning," he snarled, his ears standing erect.

"Guess I quite like my job," Alric immediately replied without losing eye contact.

Zan continued looking at him while sniffing the air.

"I don't know what your problem is, dude." Alric immediately understood what he was looking for and hastily left the elevator. He hoped that Fiera's perfume had not rubbed off on him too much. "Anyway, tell your boss I said hi." He waved and walked away, feeling the wolf's inquisitive gaze pierce right through him. Only when he was finally outside could he take a deep breath. He looked up to the top of the building to verify she still had lights in her office. Then he turned around and headed back home, the streets slowly filling up again.