Sinfully Delicious

Cowardice

Torix sat at her desk in the office blinking away exhaustion that pulled at her mind, which was an effect of her working too many nights in a row. She would never admit it to anyone, would never allow her coworkers the satisfaction of knowing just how hard it was for her to stay on the top of her game during the night.

She was, neutral or not, more bothered by the night than most of the other Tuath Dé. She could see Murchadh's power blossom on shifts that had them roaming the streets after sunset, even as she had to guzzle as many stimulants and fight her daylight loving body. She also hated violence, but her anger helped a little with that, at least.

With a growl, Torix forced herself to stand, tossing her coffee cup into the trash and hearing it hit the metal with a satisfying clang as the door to their commander's office opened to allow an angel to exit. The man's wings shimmered gold, his body rippling with muscle that may have been of some practical use, though she suspected it was more for show than anything else. Trying to imagine an angel doing anything that would require that much physical strength caused her to snort, which drew a low growl from Murchadh.

Torix looked over to her partner, to find his teal eyes locked on hers with a pointed expression in them. He was warning her about something, but she couldn't seem to figure out what it was. Until Murchadh sighed and stood, offering a bow that had her spinning around to face whatever was behind her.

"Lord Sarathiel." Murchadh murmured, even as Torix caught herself and bowed, falling silent as she stood beside her partner.

"Murchadh. You're still here?" Sarathiel gave him a thoughtful look, before smirking ever so slightly. The asshole wasn't surprised and Torix was pretty sure he was perfectly all right with Murchadh's place in the world, just from that expression. Even Sarathiel's voice was music to her ears, despite the condescending tone. "I understand that you were investigating some odd behaviours of our night brethren this week."

Torix let out a slow breath and watched Murchadh out of the corner of her eye, half expecting him to glare at their commander. But he barely reacted other than raising a curious brow to the angel and taking his time in answering. "We noticed that there had been some activity within the city as a whole, and as part of a neutral protective force we ensured that all Praetoria's citizens were safe. But we found nothing that broke the council's laws."

Which was true, there had been nothing more for them to do other than inform their Commander that they had checked out some concerns and spoken to several people but found nothing of note. But surely the intelligence they had learned, even if not actionable, was worth mentioning? Still, Torix found her mentor stoic, jaw tight as he returned Sarathiel's gaze without flinching.

This was why Murchadh was still here, after six hundred years of service. He clearly hated the angels as much as he hated Lucifer and his demons, though Torix's partner had never hinted at his thoughts or feelings on either matter.

As if sensing her realization, Sarathiel turned to look at her next, the smile that spread out over his features wiping away every vestige of exhaustion she had been feeling through the night. He was sunlight, he was purity, he was everything she needed him to be. All that and more shifted into her mind during their eye contact and buoyed her with some sort of inane contentment. Every ounce of the creature of light that she was, wanted to bask in his approval and do absolutely everything to make him happy.

Courage was a hard thing then, so hard that she didn't know how Murchadh could stand to do what he did day in and day out, with no reward. Not even Lucifer was on his side. He shifted enough that the rings on his ears chimed beautifully, drawing her gaze and breaking the spell that she had been caught in.

"Another partner, Murchadh, how long is this one going to last?" Sarathiel's voice was sweet, reminding her of chocolate cupcakes and warm sticky buns.