Chapter 47 - Opposite

Iris

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"Raguel."
The half-breed looked over from where he stood, leaning back against a wall. "Yes?"
Valkyre paused, staring down at his boots for a while, undecisive.
"I..." he muttered at length, "I'm... leaving."
Raguel paused, cocking his head slightly to one side, then merely nodded, closing his eyes.
Valkyre frowned, startled at how calmly the half-breed had taken the news.
"I... It's not because of... because..."
Raguel only smiled slightly, shaking his head.
"I understand," he replied, voice cool and steady. "You don't need to explain. I know you'll find the way, eventually."
Valkyre nodded, stiffly.
It wasn't because of what he'd said to Corryn. And it wasn't really about trust anymore.
It was just...
Iris was gone.
And he had to go find him.
And this was something that Valkyre knew that this was something that he had to go do alone.
"I know, Valkyre. But..."
The angel looked up, surprised. Raguel was walking over, movements slow and careful, feet stepping around the debris and broken bits of glass that lay scattered over the ground. Along the wall, the broken machinery rested in its crumbling shapes, sharp and jutting.
"...There's one thing... before you go."
The half-breed was right next to Valkyre now, and he laid a light, pale hand on the angel's shoulder.
"There's just one thing... I need to ascertain."
Valkyre blinked, startled. When the other had touched him, it seemed as if his headache had flared back, throbbing sharply just behind the front of his skull, making him wince.
"What...?"
Next thing he knew, Raguel had leaned closer, closer, so close his inky black hair brushed the angel's cheek. Valkyre felt the half-breed's fingers tighten on his shoulder, felt the puff of cool breath on his skin, making him shiver, closing his eyes.
He felt the sudden cool lips on the side of his neck like an electric jolt to his body. The angel's eyes snapped open and he jerked himself away, one hand going instinctively to the seal around his neck.
Raguel only stood up straight again, smiling, touching a finger to his lips.
"It's true," he murmured, tongue darting out for just the briefest second, warm, hot red like blood.
"Wh... What?"
Valkyre felt his face flush, mentally admonishing himself for having let his guard down so much. Of course he shouldn't have trusted Raguel at all, and that was no doubt still a factor for why he was leaving, why he should leave right now, should find Iris...
He was backing away, glancing backwards to figure out where the doorway was. The angel wanted to leave this room now, with its dead mechanical-organic Eire and Raguel, whom he never should've trusted in the first place.
How foolish he'd been, travelling with him. A moment's hesitation back there, and Raguel could've bit straight through to his veins. A second longer, and he could've been dead.
"What... what're you talking about??"
He no longer really wanted the answer, though. He saw the sharp ruby red and pale yellow eyes narrow, that smile spreading on the lips. It reminded Valkyre yet again that Raguel was part vampire and part demon, and that plenty of consequences could occur from just that dangerous mixing of blood. Not to mention... certain requirements. It'd been a world ago when Asher had told Valkyre that his parters had been slain... And Raguel probably...
The half-breed only smiled back.
"You hold that seal of yours in your hand so dearly, Valkyre. Be careful."
The angel swallowed hard, feeling the cold stone and thin gold loops dig into the palm of his hand. He dropped the seal stone, feeling it fall down, pulling at the chain around his neck.
His seal? What of it? Dear...?
Valkyre only shook his head. He was backing up, he was through the doorway now, glad that the shadows were falling over him, hiding him from view.
Raguel, his eyes were so dark, and no matter what, the angel couldn't get the image of that tongue flickering between the lips... lips that'd rested on his neck an instant ago, right above his vein, right over his blood.
And then Valkyre was running, and then he was gone, gone from the narrow darkened halls and Raguel and Eire and empty cobwebs.
Outside, he gripped the seal around his neck, feeling the cool, responseless black stone in his palm, and pulled it off.
The angel paused then, groaning slightly, pressing a cool, slightly trembling hand to his head. The headache still hadn't gone away, and in fact, it only felt worse. Perhaps he wasn't as healed as he'd thought he'd been.
Valkyre shook his head, pulling his hand away from his face. He tucked the seal into his pocket and flared his wings.
There, again, a sharp pain. What was wrong with him?? Maybe he'd damaged his wings somehow...
But there was no way the angel was going to stay behind here. Pushing away the sharp sting and doing his best to ignore the headache that throbbed at his temples, he beat his wings, lifting up slowly into the air, and began to fly.
It wasn't until the remants of the labs had faded from his view that he realized what'd gone wrong.
When Raguel had touched him... when demon touched angel...
He'd gotten his headache.
And that was not the physical pain that should've happened instead.
This wasn't opposites touching.

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AN: Okay, here's another chapter I was kinda half-way forced to grind out. I'm hoping things will go more smoothly from here though, because things are really starting to build up into what I wanted.
I'm afraid I might not get to reveal the big spoilder on your b-day Deffy, but if not, then it'll be the post right afterwards, I swear~
Thanks everyone for your dedication, and for the comments! I seem to have picked up a few new readers along the way, and I'm glad you guys have decided to stick through with this immensely-long and constantly-shifting story of mine!! :)
Oh, and a quick note about the previous chapter: I gave up on using 'archangel' for Corryn. I just hated that to death.
I'll have to come up with something different that Corryn can call Valkyre that's still pertaining to 'angel' but not... the word 'angel.' ^^; (I think I'm going to either use Seraphim or 'cherub.')
Thanks again~ Next chapter [or maybe even the one after that, depends on how much I can get done ;) ] is promised to hit on the anniversary of one whole year of IRIS! THANK YOU ALL~

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