Ebony Wings

18

~Ali~

A crash and the woman skitters backwards, slipping over furniture in a blur of mottled greys. She slithers into the shadows cast by the flickering candles, ghosting behind a heavy, wooden desk. A long, narrow kitchen knife glints in her hands, throwing orange light across the desk.  

"State your purpose!" Her knife flashes threateningly, a long, palatial tail of chinchilla-grey snaking in and out of view. "Don't make me repeat myself..." The words leave her lips in a hiss, the knife shaking it in her clawed fist.

Ethan steps through the entryway, his back pressed to the wall. 

"My name is Ethan Hamon, guardian angel to Ali Bliss." I step up beside Ethan. "This is Jack Jezal, guardian to Jaz Sparks. We mean no harm. We only come seeking answers." Ethan and Jack unsheathed the daggers at their hips, placing them to the floor and kicking them away with a clatter.

Her eye reflectors gleam gold in the lowlight; two floating torches in the shadows, skittering between the relinquished blades and ourselves. 

"Hamon?" she repeats inquisitively, teasing the word on her furred tongue. 

"Yes; my lineage by blood and birthright." Seconds pass, minutes, and the tension in the room inflates, infecting the space with the a heavy silence.

Her tail whips the air then disappears from view. Her shadow wavers and moves as she navigates the far end of her home, her padded paws betraying no sound. On the far side of the cave Thessaly rises slowly, hesitantly, gently bringing herself into view under the gentle firelight. Two furry ears crown her head, curving to an elegant point at each ear. They twitch and swivel at each shuffle or scuff we make. 

She has hair the colour of moonlight, eyes the colour of burnt copper coins. Her long tail sweeps the floor nervously, a fluid motion like a ribbon in the wind. But it's her legs that draw the most attention. Even when covered with fur from her waist down it does little to deter from her curved hind-legs bending backwards at the hock and arching down again to finish at the clawed paws. Her pale fur and dark markings leave two words echoing in my mind. Snow Leopard.

Her hands and head and torso are all very human-like, save for her leathery snout which twitches as she scents the air around her and needle-like whiskers fanning out from her blushed cheeks. She is beautiful to say the least, in an otherworldly and unimaginable way. And not a doubt is left in my mind that she is half snow leopard with the distinctive darker smudges colouring her grey-white fur. 

As Thessaly begins to speak, two elongated, ivory-coloured canines slip below her upper lip, glancing off her bottom lip. 

"I apologise profusely, Ethan Hamon, Prince of the Angels and High Kingdom," she offers sincerely. Her shoulders bunch as she bows respectfully. 

"There is nothing to be sorry for, Elder. We didn't mean to intrude so disrespectfully, however, time is not in our favour."  

"It is a pleasure to host the young Prince and his companions. Come, come," she ushers, waving us further into her home. Her tone is light and forgiving, however, her posture is unmistakably tense beneath her robes.

"You are welcome to stay the night as darkness has crested. Please excuse my lack of guest accomodation, however, I keep a couple spare mattresses laying in the storage room." She gestures to an archway concealed by a curtain of stringed beads. 

"You have travelled far in search of my knowledge - I can smell the adventures on you," Thessaly deduces, snout flaring. "What is so pressing that you seek such a fossil as I?" 

Ethan looks to Jaz and I warily. I smother my fatigue behind an encouraging grin.

"We are grateful for your hospitality, Elder. However, I hate to be so forward as to request your spare quarters for the night. If it is no trouble, it would be appreciated if our conversations could begin after a restful night?"

"My apologies, Prince, please excuse my lack of thought. It seems I have not kept company in some time." Thessaly laughs nervously to herself, bewildered to be accomodating a Prince angel. "There is bread in the kitchen and cheese in the cooler, please help yourselves. Blankets are in the cupboard and I am afraid the toilet is outside." She shrugs helplessly at this before bowing shallowly and retreating to another doorway beside our own. "Until tomorrow." 

Through the beads, the boys pull down the mattresses pressed against the wall, while Jaz and I collect a small platter of seeded bread and cheese. I pluck a bundle of blankets from the cupboard and part the strings hiding the store room. Shelves occupy three sides of the small room, packed high with canned foods, fresh beeswax candles, silver pots and copper pans amongst other miscellaneous home needs. Between the shelves candles mounted on the wall burn lazily.

Jack smothers the flames one at a time as Jaz and I shake off our outer layers and heavy boots. I fall wearily onto the mattress, Ethan slipping a blanket over my shoulders. The bottom of the mattress dips under his weight, but before I can enjoy his warmth, sleep quickly consumes me.