Fallen Angel

Understatements

        After walking back to my house, and sipping some water, Alessa took a deep breath, processing my excuse. Her face was unreadable. Phillip slithered down my arm, and on to the sheets of my bed. Alessa scooped him up in her hand, and let him slither up her arm. 

        "Are you mad?"  I asked, hoping she wasn't think about using her bow to choke me. 

"So that was why you had the dragon?" 

"Yeah, that was a bit weird."

"Erich, the weirdest things happen to you."

"Yup. That's my entire life's story right there." 

        "Okay," She paused, and took a deep breath, stifling some anger. I cringed, preparing for her to burst. Alessa doesn't just stay calm when something happens to her stuff. "You, owe me some new gloves, and a greaves. That's my only payment for what happened." My jaw dropped at her demand. She held out her hand as if I just had armor shoved down my pants. 

        "It wasn't my fault! Why do I have to get that stuff?" I held my hands up, making my scraped leg burn. Phillip twisted himself onto Alessa's arm, curling the tip of his tail around her pinky. 

"Do you want me to go ask the Válto Dráko̱n for it? I don't think he'd want to pay me either!"

        "Come on Alessa, cut me some slack! Anything but that, and you've got it." She put her hand down, with Phillip still tangled around it. She made a grin that sent shivers down my spine. Probably not the best thing I could've said right there. 

        "Well, I haven't practiced shooting in awhile...how about a good game of Skóto̱se to Omoío̱ma?" She grinned. My heart jumped into my throat. 

        "Come on Alessa, you know I hate that." I rubbed my eyes with my hands, and sighed as she giggled. "You're acting like a anthró̱pini̱ girl Alessa." Skóto̱se to omoío̱ma, meaning 'shoot the dummy' is where one person is the archer, and the other is the dummy. Alessa is always the archer, and I'm that moron running around trying to dodge her arrows.  The dummy gets ten minutes to hide, and then once found, is shot with an arrow. We use painted, dull point arrows that bounce off armor, but it still hurts.

        "Hey, my terms, my choice." There's no way out of this. 

        "Today?" It was already getting dark, and the sun was slowly sinking underneath the clouds outside.

        "Oh, no, of course not. It'd have to be tomorrow." I sighed, and she smiled, knowing that i had given up.

        "I really need to learn how to hold my tongue."

          "Yeah, you do." She began to get up, and headed for the door, leaving Phillip on my bed. 

        "What time then?" I stood up and followed her out my door. She was already walking down the hallway, into the main room and kitchen, a devilish grin on her face. 

        "Uh, let's say in the morning, at Hazelwick's Creek?" She strode around the kitchen island, and waited for me at the front door. 

        "Whatever...do you have any idea how insanely hard it is to be friends with?" 

        "Says the one who got my armor destroyed."She rested her hand on the large iron knocker, and grinned at me. 

        "That was a dragon, and who was it that left their armor there anyways?" She leaned on one hip, a feminine thing that most Undesirables did. I guess it's a reflex they carry over here.