Innocence (BoyxBoy)

The distressed screams had me bolting out of the seat in my room and bursting out into the hallway, rushing past the servants and bursting into the culprit’s room. He was asleep – as always – with his knees tucked up against his chest to curl himself into a protective foetal position. He never used to sleep on the bed. After all, he had his own smaller bed that he preferred to sleep in. But, ever since that angel was taken by fate, he’d curl up with the pillows that the angel once slept on. I guess the scent calmed him down, though his behaviour wasn’t calm at all.

That’s the thing about imps; they get too attached. It was why most of them were either kept at a distance from their masters or made into pets. Very rarely was an imp bought to be a friend, and now that his only friend was gone, this one was slowly sinking into an unhealthy state.

I sat on the mattress, careful not to wake him, and brushed his blue hair out of his face, revealing his sleeping face stained with tears. It seemed his fit was over, but there was no knowing when he’d have another. To be safe, I laid down next to him, drawing him into my arms and letting his back press against my chest.

His tiny body shivered and he rolled over, opening his eyes to star at me, a dazed expression on his face.

“Oh,” Talmai mumbled sleepily. “It’s just Anubis.” I kept my straight face, stroking his hair and making him giggle.

“Go back to sleep,” I said quietly, adjusting my hold on him so that he was more comfortable. “I’ll still be here when you wake up.” The imp nodded and rubbed his eyes, resting his head on the pillow again and letting his dulled blue eyes drift closed. I could remember when they were brighter, happier. That was when the angel, Benji, was still here.

The loneliness was getting to him, making him depressed. I tried; really, I did. But there was only so much I could do for a fragile little imp. There were only so many requests I could fulfil. Things like ‘can Talmai have some food?’ and ‘will Anubis stay with Talmai until he falls asleep?’ were easy, but when it came to ‘does Anubis know how to get Benji back?’ I wouldn’t let my guilt get to me. I had to tell him that Benji wasn’t coming back this time, which only made matters worse.

The first time Talmai had broken down was easy, but that was only because the angel returned. When Death had sent me to spy on his lover, I could already guess that he’d return one way or another. Now that that definitely wasn’t going to happen, Talmai was spiralling deeper into a sickness of the mind and Death had locked himself in his office, searching for loopholes and ways to return the angel to his side.

The household was quiet and filled with the disturbing stress that seemed to pass on to the staff as well. Even I had to leave every now and then to clear my mind, which left Talmai in a state of hysteria. Needless to say, I didn’t go out all that much.

When I did leave, I’d return to Duat, the Egyptian underworld, to visit my parents. For some reason Set and Nephthys insisted on staying in Duat even though no one worships us anymore, which was part of the reason I left in the first place. My new place was in Death’s home, looking after an imp he has no time to care for. It’s sad, but it’s true.

Asleep like this in my arms, he wasn’t so bad. When he was awake, however, it was something else. The screaming fits were only half of it. Otherwise he’d spend his time staring at the door lifelessly, as though he was expecting the angel to burst through the door at any time. For the majority of the time he spent awake, he looked like and empty shell of sorrow.

I touched his cheek with the back of my hand, feeling the soft plumpness of his face. He shifted in his sleep, pressing himself further into my embrace. I never knew why I was chosen to look after Talmai, and I never asked. I was more or less fine with the situation, but it was stressful.

Like everything else in this damn household.

Talmai mumbled quietly in his sleep, tilting his head up. I watched silently as a single tear trickled down the side of his face before it dripped onto the pillow. Pulling him even closer to my chest, I rested my chin on his head, breathing in the scent of the berry-flavoured shampoo that he’d use.

It was sad to think that a creature so small and innocent could fall into such a depression in just a month. I knew it was my job to protect him, but I could only do so much.

The real thing that was upsetting him was his mind, which I could not control. There were people who could, but why would they waste their time on an imp? Imps were lower class demons bought and sold like common trinkets. They were expendable, according to most people. They didn’t deserve the help they could give.

I didn’t see why people hated imps so much. Sure, the way they all spoke in third person was annoying, but they didn’t know any better. As for their physical weakness, I thought it was kind of cute in a way. They lived to please people – which made them lovable – but the fact that they were over-bred turned them into a pest.

I gently wiped away Talmai’s tears and closed my eyes. If he were to wake up, I’d be the first to know. In the meantime, I might as well get some rest while everything was momentarily peaceful.