“Aoba, you silly boy, what are you doing up at this hour?” Fenrir mumbles, glancing at the mirror between reports. The mountains of paperwork littering speaking to the hours he's spent buried in them, unable to sleep. Rolling his shoulders he decides to take a little break, bringing the mirror up to his face so he can examine the scene more closely. Even in the middle of the night the moon reveals all the little changes that have taken place since the angel fell to earth and was embraced by demon kind. His darkened wings, his faintly tanning skin, his completely different wardrobe.

[i]'And it's not just physical changes either'[/i] Fenrir muses. [i]'I don't think I have ever seen him more. . . .content. More satisfied at the end of each day, or more happy just going about his daily routine. He is surrounded by demons, with the threat of more dropping by each day, and not all are friendly, though I am still on the fence about these so called “friendly” demons he lives with. But that aside, every day his life is in danger, he's not sure he will make his way to the next season without running out of food, he is performing hard labor with hands he has trained long and hard to perform more delicate tasks, he even injures himself and is worked hard by an overbearing demon, and another who seems to want to push him to the limits just for fun. . .but still he's. . . .Happy'[/i] The angel knows Aoba is not completely happy, as no angel can be when God has turned his face from them, but comparing his old life to his new one, Aoba seems a far happier and content angel, despite all the bad in his life.

~*~*~*~*~

With all of his senses tuned in to the angel constantly Kuro wakes the second he Aoba moves from his bed and is on his feet before the angel passes through the window. [i]'What is he thinking, going out in the middle of the night?!'[/i] He yawns, stretching and looking about the room. Over the past several days the young demon has spent a lot of time lost in thought, letting Dani and the Little Mouse get to know one another better, only having to separate them a couple times when the little demon got over excited or started playing too rough.

Lifting his eyes to the ceiling Kuro stares for several minutes, letting his mind wander freely over the past month and with a faint laugh he wonders what he would have said if someone told him this is where he would end up after being captured. [i]'I was ready to die up there, when they finally figured out pain was no motivator for me. That their petty anger and righteous wrath was never going to get them anywhere. I mean, I always figured there would be a way out, if I just kept my eyes open, but of all the endings I imagined, this. . .'[/i] He shakes his head, moving around to the front door and stepping outside.

As quietly as he can he ascends to the roof, landing lightly and making his way over to the angel's side. Without a word he settles down next to the angel, wrapping one of his warm wings around the smaller figure to keep the cool morning breeze at bay, lessening the chance of the silly angel catching a cold. He doesn't say anything, just sits there silently, protecting the angel even though he never asked for it. [i]'He never will ask either. He still doesn't get why I do it, why I'm here, why I care. . .'[/i] He sighs softly, looking up to the sky to watch the stars.