Chapter Text
Two Weeks Later
Luz’s POV
Well, Viney certainly wasn’t wrong about the whole nicking fingers part of carving.
She’d accumulated several new scars on her fingers from the older angel’s pocket knife as she tried to learn how to properly carve with it. The process was painstaking and frustrating, Luz often swearing under her breath when the knife ended up slicing her skin instead of the wood. Her fingers were now covered with small, pinkish scars, along with the more recent cuts.
Currently, she was sucking the tip of her ring finger, a new cut running along the pad. It stung, but not unbearably so.
At least it distracted Luz from the pain in her heart.
She didn’t get why carving was so difficult. Even using pine wood, which was softer than oak or maple, the knife didn’t want to glide smoothly across the wood like it did when Viney was handling it. She’d tried to beg the older angel to teach her, but she’d just chuckled and waved Luz off.
“All part of the process, squirt! All part of the process.”
It was sort of hard to see the process when her material was stained with blood, sweat, and tears.
Okay, maybe she was exaggerating, but not even the stupid piece of wood wanted to work with her.
How am I supposed to heal if all this is doing is making me angry?
Luz set down the stick with a huff, still nursing her wounded finger. She leaned back against the tree behind her, closing her eyes for a brief moment. She could feel the breeze on her face, caressing the skin with cool fingers, bringing a slight reprieve from the harsh sun. It was an unusually warm day for early spring, so Luz welcomed the breeze.
Granted, it was still very nice outside.
She was glad not to be stuck in the house, to have at least something to do, however pointless it may be. Despite the weeks spent honing her wood carving skills, Luz had yet to have anything to show for it. All the little figures she tried to make looked awful, or had broken, or she’d just given up on them.
At least she was trying.
Heavens, even Amity is up and doing something useful.
It was no secret that Eda had started training the fallen archangel again, not after she’d gotten curious about all the noise that the two were making. One afternoon, Luz had wandered around the side of the shack, trying to locate where the sound of wood smacking was coming from.
Much to her surprise, she found Eda and Amity locked in combat, training swords smacking against each other as beads of sweat rolled down their faces. With a pounding heart, she’d rushed to hide around the corner before either of the two spotted her. Luz slowly walked back to her room, sitting heavily down on her bed as she tried to make sense of what she’d seen.
I guess I’m the only freeloader around here anymore.
I don’t even have an excuse to be sitting around! She lost her wings, her pride, her very existence, but she’s still trying to live.
All you lost was her.
The sound of leaves crunching nearby pulled Luz out of her thoughts, cracking open an eye to see Viney approaching her.
“Tired of carving yet?”
She pushed herself off the ground, brushing dirt and bits of dried leaves off of her pants.
“You could say that.”
The older angel laughed, leaning against a nearby pine. Luz noticed that she was soaked in sweat, and wearing a tool belt around her waist along with her two war hammers. Despite that, Viney had a somewhat satisfied expression on her face along with the tiredness, like how one would look if they just finished a particularly difficult task.
“Did you just bench press another tree? You look exhausted.”
The older angel adopted a wounded look.
“That was one time! I thought we agreed not to talk about it.”
“I will keep talking about it until you admit that you only did that to impress Emira.”
Viney rubbed her neck and cracked her back, letting out a small huff. Luz grinned, knowing that she’d won this time. She took the angel’s silence as a confession by itself.
“Ya know, I was going to ask you to help with the cabin, but I’m not sure I can stand your teasing right now.”
“My teasing?! That’s a little hypocritical coming from you!”
Despite the playful banter, Luz felt herself relaxing in Viney’s upbeat presence, teasing or no. The older angel was a near constant reminder that she wasn’t totally dead weight, that she was still appreciated as a friend. On the bad days, the knowledge helped her get out of bed.
“Well squirt, I hope you know how to use a hammer better than that pocket knife.”
“... What’s a hammer?”
“Oh, you have to be screwing with me.”
“Yes, Viney. I’m not that much of an idiot.”
“Debatable.”
“Hey!”
~~~
Amity’s POV
As her feet dangle over the edge of the roof, she thinks for the briefest moment that she’s developing a fear of heights.
Actually, fear isn’t the right word.
All her life, Amity was used to being able to leap from islands and the tops of buildings, her wings spreading open like almost second nature. Just the same as being able to bend her arm, or open and close her fingers.
She remembers something vividly; standing on the edge of an island as a child, toes hanging over the edge as she stared into the open sky below. Then, ever so slightly, she would lean forward, falling for just a few moments. She’d spread her wings, catching the breeze as she swooped through the sky, feeling the sense of absolute freedom.
Every time Amity would fall, there’d be no reason to fear; her wings would catch her.
Now, sitting on the edge of the rooftop, if she tried the same thing, she’d fall and break her neck. So, Amity was developing this certain… caution towards heights.
A small fear of falling.
It could be almost funny. A fallen angel afraid of heights.
But who was laughing? Certainly not Amity. Maybe the wind found it humorous, peals of light laughter blowing past her face, causing the mostly faded green stands of her hair to flutter.
She exhaled, and the breeze exhaled with her.
There’s no point in thinking about it.
Below her, Amity could see Gus and Edric still working on the new cabin, which was about halfway constructed at this point. The boys were lifting wooden planks, setting against the frame, then hammering them into place. She was still surprised that her brother was actually working, despite having seen him help with the building before.
Maybe this whole situation was doing him some good.
Viney reappeared from the trees, with… Luz in tow with her.
She grit her teeth and cast her eyes away, towards the horizon.
It still hurt.
A creaking from behind her caused Amity to whirl around, muscles tightening as a pink-haired head appeared over the top of the roof. The rest of the person’s body came into view as they ascended the ladder, revealing a semi-familiar face.
Boscha scowled when she spotted Amity, but stepped onto the roof anyway.
“You stole my place.”
She raised an eyebrow at the demon, who sat down next to her, albeit a few feet away.
“I didn’t know you owned the roof.”
Strangely enough, Boscha’s expression twisted into a smile, though it had an absence of warmth in it. Amity looked at her curiously.
“Well, don’t annoy me, and I might consider letting you stay up here.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that you also controlled how I live my life.”
If anything, the girl’s smile only widened into a cheshire-like grin, little bits of humor dancing in her three sky blue eyes. She only grew more confused at how the demon was finding this funny, and it annoyed her enough to pitch a small rock off the roof, somewhat wishing that it was Boscha.
Amity had seen her around often enough, mostly bothering Willow, or snoring excessively while Eda and her trained. She’d seen enough to not want to interact with the girl if possible.
“So, whatcha doin’ up here?”
She could ignore the demon, but she decided to play nice, speaking through gritted teeth.
“Brooding.”
A howl of laughter erupted from the demon, which caused Amity to jump slightly at the sound, staring as Boscha doubled over. Her face warmed with discomfort as the pink-haired girl finally stopped cackling, leaning back up for air as she wiped imaginary tears from her eyes.
“I thought… you’d have a stick... up your ass, but you’re fucking hilarious!”
Amity just stared at her, deadpan, as the demon wheezed.
“Are you done?”
Boscha held up a finger, letting out one last chuckle before brushing strands of hair from her face.
“Thank you for providing a small bit of entertainment in my miserable life, archangel.”
Fallen archangel.
She didn’t bother correcting the girl, but did wonder for a second how she knew that Amity had been an archangel, rather than a regular angel.
“Glad I could be of service, demon.”
Things were quiet between them.
Below, she fixed her attention on the four angels building the cabin. The boys had made progress on the left wall, now using miracles to levitate the higher planks, where Viney and Luz hammered them into place. Somewhere along the way, Luz had lost her shirt, the angel now only clad in a tank top that was much too small. Her tool belt hung low on her hips, revealing a strip of skin where the tank failed to cover.
Suddenly, the heat in her face wasn’t just due to her annoyance at Boscha.
No.
You learned your damn lesson the first time. It doesn’t matter how good she looks, there will be no falling this time-
“So, what’re you brooding about?”
Amity jumped, letting out a huff, wondering if it wouldn’t be a better idea to just get off the roof.
“Will you leave me alone?!”
Boscha grinned again.
“Not a chance. You’re fun to rile up.”
When she didn’t respond, the demon followed her gaze towards Luz, and her smile widened. Amity felt a bit of panic flare in her chest at the expression.
“Is it about her?”
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Look what you’ve done now.
Boscha must’ve taken her silence for a yes, by the way her grin was replaced with an overly smug look.
“Crush?”
Fuck.
“Get lost.”
“Nope! Ex-friend?”
She dragged a hand down her face, rubbing the space in between her eyes. Amity felt the beginnings of a headache.
“Friends, but now there’s weird tension?”
“No.”
“Estranged lover?”
“What? No!”
Boscha started laughing again while a throbbing formed behind her eyes.
“You know, she’s sort of cute. Not really my type, but if she means nothing to you, then I might give it a shot.”
Her fingernails scraped against the roof as she curled her hand into a fist, clenching her teeth as a strange blend of emotions flooded her chest. She wanted to sink her fist into Boscha’s teeth for even insinuating such a thing.
The idea of Luz being with someone else, especially the demon, made Amity feel sick to her stomach.
“What is wrong with you?”
Boscha’s face was suddenly wiped of its smirk, and her eyes grew cold.
“Probably the inherited archangel arrogance. I’m sure you know all about it.”
She suddenly felt like someone hand planted a fist in her gut, knocking all the wind out of her at the demon’s words.
“What’s what supposed to mean?”
The pink-haired girl turned towards her, a scowl resting just as easily on her face as the smirk did.
“Oh, didn’t I mention it? I’m not actually a demon. I’m half archangel, half demon.”
She was silent for a moment.
“A freak.”
But Luz isn’t a freak… so I guess that extends to you as well.
Boscha’s next words came out bitter, such a contrast to her earlier humor.
“My mom, the archangel half, gives birth to me and says “Oh, she’s hideous! Three eyes… what an abomination. Give her to her father!”. Or, that’s what I imagine, since she hung herself before I could ask. Couldn’t live with the knowledge that she had given birth to a bastard child apparently.”
The demon half-breed lifted her head upwards, yelling towards the sky.
“What’d you expected when you hooked up with a three eyed demon, you bitch!”
Amity was silent as Boscha suddenly stood, making her way back towards the ladder. The girl turned and faced her, wearing a slightly pained grin.
“You know, you’re not half bad company.”
She gave Amity a sloppy salute.
“Good luck with your angel.”
Then, the half-breed was gone.