#Camp Uonder

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Starting another mini-arc for my story Camp Uonder that i was doing in my prompt challenge! This one’s about Eis, one of the angels who Seleno used to be close to before he fell.

Eis

“A man he fell in love with, eons ago, convinced him to fall; foolish, I know. Helias and I begged him to stay, but he struck down my wings and went on his way.”

Gabriel drew back at the mention of the demon’s name, finally realizing what this woman was, this creature made up of strips of white flesh and silk ribbons. He looked over at the corner where Nephie was curled into a ball, rocking back and forth, eyes wide and unblinking, unseeing.

“Will you let him hurt you?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“Who? Seleno?”

“My dear prince of Heaven, who abandoned our crown. I won’t let him hear you,” she promised, leaning in close. “If you think he will. I can do that.”

He couldn’t look away from Nephie, wanted to go comfort him but couldn’t move. “Block him out?”

“Such a sweet, our Archangel. Helias misses him dearly, you know.”

“Helias killed my husband.”

Eis tilted her head in front of him, her face identical to both Helias and Seleno’s, golden eyes shining. It hurt to look at them. “Do you want to know a secret?”

“No.” He didn’t want to talk to her anymore. Nephie was starting to cry, burying his face against his knees and sobbing, silent. Gabriel tried to lift his arm to reach out to his son, but not even his fingers twitched.

The creature held his face in her sharp, glass-like claws, almost piercing his skin. She whispered to him, “Those two cost me everything. If you call for them, I will strike them down with all my power.”

“Why? What did they do?”

“Seleno cut off my wings and Helias held me fast in Heaven after stealing my life from me. All I wanted was to be with my precious daughter and her mother. It’s not fair,” she whimpered, sounding as if she was going to cry. “Seleno gets to keep his halfling, why couldn’t I? And Helias… He weeps for our counterpart, but… Well, I suppose Father always realized giving us three a paternal instinct was bound to set us against each other. She must have intended this, or she would have taken it away, right? She would have.”

“You had a child too?”

Eis nodded, blood spilling forth like tears from her eyes. The thick substance dripped down onto his lap, sizzling on his clothes and burning his skin beneath like the barest touch of a lit cigarette. “Helias killed it, like he tried to kill Seleno’s. That’s his only sin, and I will never forgive him. I will never forgive Seleno, either. He stood there and watched,” she snarled, and the ribbons behind her in place of her wings turned grey and crumbled to ash.

“What do you want from me?”

“I just wanted you to listen. No one else will.”

Gabriel didn’t bother asking why. He wouldn’t want to talk either if he were her. He understood how she felt. He never spoke to anyone more than necessary about how Jude killed his mother. So why should Eis speak of her brother murdering her daughter?

She disappeared, engulfed by all her ribbons, and he slumped backwards as all his energy seemed to be drained from him. Nephie looked up, confusion on his face. He wiped his eyes, his crying ceased. Glancing around, he got to his feet and wobbled.

Voice shaking, Nephie asked, “Gabriel, what happened?”

“I… I think a demon came to our house.”

“Huh? Did it hurt you?” Nephie hurried over to him, afraid. “Are you okay? Should I call Dad?”

Rubbing Nephie’s head, Gabriel answered, “I’m fine, kiddo. A bit burned on the legs, but okay.” He drew the boy into a hug. “She just wanted to talk to me, that’s all.”

“About what?”

“Your dad. Has he ever said anything to you about someone named Eis?”

“No, I don’t think so. What’d she say?”

“Well, I think you used to have a cousin, maybe. A very long time ago. And, um… The person who killed your mother killed your cousin too.”

Frowning, Nephie clung tight to him. “Oh.”

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Day 50 // ft. Elijah, Gabriel, Jude, and Nephie

#42 / Anxiety

“It’s midnight! Where the hell were you?” Jude grabbed his brother’s shoulders. Nephie looked up at him, frowning. He’d never seen his stepbrother look so disheveled. Jude’s hair was all messy, and his clothes were wrinkled. It was like he’d spent the past few hours tossing and turning in bed. His eyes were red and puffy, and his arms were covered in scratches from his nails. “I’ve been worried sick!”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters! You’re a kid, you can’t just leave the house!” Despite the hysteria in his voice, Jude kept his voice low, not wanting to wake their parents. “What if you got hurt? None of us would be there to help you!”

He wasn’t by himself, but he couldn’t say that. Instead, he replied, “You’re hurting me. Let go.”

Jude immediately released him, taking a step back. He looked at his arms, seeming to only just realize that he’d practically mauled them. His eyes widened, and he began trembling.

Crossing his arms and hugging himself tightly, Jude demanded, “Where were you?”

“Why are you so upset? Even my dad doesn’t get so upset when I leave the house.”

“You do this a lot?”

“Sometimes.”

“Like- since you’ve been living with me?”

“Yeah. But I always have done it.”

“You- you’ve been sneaking out a night for two years, and I’ve never noticed. And Eli hasn’t said anything about it.”

“He doesn’t want to bother Gabriel. Are you okay?”

“No!” Jude exploded, voice rising. “I’m not okay! I’m been worried like crazy when I couldn’t find you in your room! I searched all over for you, and then waited in bed for the door to open! I couldn’t sleep, and- and-”

Tears were falling from his brother’s eyes, and his breathing became strangled. Nephie’s eyes widened as Jude clawed at his own throat, stumbling towards the kitchen table to steady himself with one hand.

“Gabriel!” Nephie shouted, hurrying to the stairs. “Gabriel, help!” He ran up the stairs, and to his parents’ bedroom. The door was cracked open, so he went in and darted up to the bed.

“Wha-”

“Gabriel, get up!” Nephie grabbed his stepfather and tugged on him. “Get up!”

“Neph, what’s wrong?”

“Jude can’t breathe! He’s in the kitchen.” That got the man’s attention. He got up and hurried downstairs. Nephie followed him, but lingered at the doorway.

Gabriel took Jude’s shoulders and held him up. “Hey, buddy, relax.”

“I- I can’t- I can’t-”

“I know you’re anxious, but you can relax. Come on, deep breaths…” They went through a few breathing exercises. Nephie jumped when a hand touched his shoulder, but he calmed when he saw that it was just his mother. He turned and wrapped his arms around him.

It wasn’t as comforting to hug his mother anymore, not with his belly rounding out. Still, seeing his stepbrother so upset rattled him.

“There you go, J… Come on, let’s get you seated.” Gabriel led Jude to the living room and had him sit on the couch. He sat next to him and put an arm around him. “Aw, you clawed up your arms. Ah- Eli, would you get the blue box under the bathroom sink?”

“Sure, hon. Come on, Nephie.”

-

After cleaning up Jude’s arms, Gabriel bandaged them and gave his son a hug. “Feeling better?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Do you wanna talk about what happened?”

“I dunno… Nephie, he…”

Gabriel incorrectly took that as meaning Nephie knew what was wrong, instead of him being the reason. He looked over at him, and Nephie quickly lied, “I was getting some water, and Jude came down, and I think he had a bad nightmare…”

Jude stared at him. He smiled a bit, “Yeah… Yeah, I had a nightmare.”

“Oh, it’s been a while since a nightmare set off your anxiety. Well, you have a session with your therapist in the morning, so you don’t have to worry about telling me about it, if you don’t want to.” Gabriel sighed, and then stood up. “Well, how about we all get back to bed?”

“Just a second-” his mother said. “I’ll get Nephie his water, and then be right up.”

Nephie was steered towards the kitchen. He watched silently as his mother got him a glass of water. He took it when it was handed to him, but just stared at him. His mother tilted his chin up so he’d be forced to look at him.

His face distorted, and his mother sighed. “Nephie, did you meet with your father again?”

“No.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“Angels don’t lie.”

“Yeah, and the cat absolutely knocked over my guitar last week while I was standing right in the doorway. I know he visits you.”

“Yeah.” His father had told him.

“Now, I don’t know what you did to Jude, but it wasn’t very nice, and I don’t want you doing it again. Not to Jude, not to anyone.”

“But I didn’t do that to him!” Not in the way his mother thought, at least.

“Nephie. I’m serious. I thought you liked having Jude as your brother.”

“I do!” he protested, balling his fist. His face distorted again. “I didn’t do that to him!”

“Please, Neph, don’t be like this.”

“But I didn’t do it! I don’t use my powers on family!”

“Eli, Nephie didn’t do anything.” His mother turned at the sound of Gabriel’s voice. His stepfather was standing in the doorway. “I’m sorry, I never mentioned… Well, it’s been a few years since- ugh… Jude used to have really bad anxiety. He just had an anxiety attack, that’s all. He hasn’t had one since before we met, so I never said anything.”

“Oh. Ah-” His mother put a hand over his belly. Nephie frowned. “Oh, Neph, I’m sorry, baby… It was wrong for me to accuse you like that.”

Nephie threw his glass of water on the floor. It shattered, and water went everywhere.

“Neph!”

“You always think I’m the cause of everything bad that happens in this house! You hate me!”

“No, Nephie, I don’t hate you. I don’t know what your father has said to you, but-”

“He didn’t say anything! He doesn’t talk about you! You just think we’re bad people, just because we’re not human!” His whole body distorted. Gabriel winced. “If you hate Angels so much, why bother having me? You should have just waited to have your perfect little human baby!”

Gabriel tried to soothe him.  “Come on, kiddo, we love you. And we’ll still love you just as much when the baby’s born. You like Jude, so I think you’ll like the baby.”

“I hope it dies! I hate it!

“Come on, Neph, you don’t mean that.”

“I do! I don’t want a baby sibling! I hope it’ll die when it sees my distortion! Then you can both have something real to blame me for!”

God, he hadn’t meant to upset Jude so badly. His stepbrother was the only person who really cared about him besides his father, was the only human who really understood that he couldn’t control his Angelic nature, his distortion.

He couldn’t help but say awful things to his mother when he couldn’t really admit what was wrong to him. And he hated that it was true, too. He didn’t want a baby sibling, and resented his mother for replacing him with what would no doubt be a better child.

His mother was crying, now, but he was too shaken up to feel bad for that.

Gabriel carefully approached him. “Hey… You look overwhelmed. I know seeing your brother like that must have scared you, but that’s no reason to be mean to the baby and Eli.”

“I know.”

His stepfather held out his hand. “Now, this is tile, so it doesn’t matter if we clean this up. Let’s go make sure Jude settles in alright, huh? I bet he’d really appreciate a visit from his favorite little brother.”

Nephie doubted it, but took the offered hand anyways, sniffling.

“Elijah, I’ll be back soon, if you want to wait in the living room.”

“N-no, no, make sure the kids are alright and get back to bed okay. I’ll be fine. It’s just hormones.”

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Day 54 // ft. Jude, Nephie, and Seleno

#43 / Halo

“What the hell is your problem?!” Jude snarled, stepping up close to Adam so that they were almost touching. He had half a foot on the other teen, and Adam was forced to look up at him. “Leave my brother alone!”

Nephie stared at his stepbrother with wide eyes. For the first time in his life, he felt no distortion. Jude was protecting him. They were in the middle of the woods, with no one around but Adam and a few of his friends. Jude had no one to show off to, no adults to act in front of. It was a threat to his safety to protect him. There was no gain in confronting Adam.

He was doing it because he cared. Because they were brothers.

“Your brother’s a freak, Jude Etherford.”

“He’s not a freak!”

“Really? Then what is he?”

“He’s just half human and half Angel!”

“He’s half monster, that’s what he is.” Nephie’s father had always told him that humans just could no longer comprehend what it was to be an Angel, that they had never been able to comprehend the idea of accepting the Nephilim. And there had been so many Nephilims over the years, sired by tens of Angels. To a human, his father whispered, he was the very definition of imperfection, his distortion.

Jude could understand that he wasn’t human, despite his blood.

Jude was the first human in a long time to comprehend the difference of the Nephilim.

“My brother is not a monster, Adam. He’s a little boy.”

Jude accepted him.

“Hey, Jude, do you know what they used to do to kids who claimed they were half Angel?”

His father said Nephilim could only survive in this modern human world, where the laws protected children, where murder of difference was frowned upon in the city. His father wasn’t terribly familiar with the thoughts of those who weren’t in those modern human cities. Modern people, outside of the relative safety of a city, did not have distractions to keep them from looking too closely at the distortion of a Nephilim, the bad luck that surrounded them.

Nephie had a feeling that the next Nephilim would be born to a high class mother, one that could protect them until adulthood, hide them away until they were strong enough to defend themselves.

Elijah wasn’t good enough, even if he looked the part,

“No, what?” Jude asked, fists clenched at his side.

“They’d get rid of them.”

He’d never seen Jude get so angry before. His brother slammed Adam against a tree, lifting him up by the collar of his shirt so he could hiss, “I won’t let you lay a hand on my brother.”

“Yeah? Or else what?”

“If you hurt him, I’ll kill you.”

“Ha!” Adam laughed, but Jude didn’t let him go. His smile faded. “Wh- what are you talking about? You’re a nice guy, I don’t think you’re capable of-”

“Why do you think I’m in the behavioral section of the counselor’s cabin, Adam, huh? They don’t stick good kids in there. They don’t keep such a close eye on me because they want to see what the model camper looks like.”

“I thought they kept you in there to look after your brother.”

“Nephie doesn’t get to sleep in the same room as me in that cabin. Take a guess, Adam. Guess why they stick me in my own room, with only Mr. David to look after me. Why do they have ‘prone to episodes of extreme violence under stress’ written in my file? I’m not allowed to join teams with anyone but Nephie if I don’t have a counselor keeping an eye on me.”

“You- you didn’t. You couldn’t have-” Adam’s friends took off. Nephie grinned, his smile just a bit too wide for a human, his teeth just a bit too sharp. Adam went pale when he glanced at him. “No-”

“I killed my own mother, Adam, what makes you think I won’t kill you?”

He let Adam go, and the blond leaned against the tree. Jude took a step back.

“Hey, Jude…” Jude looked back at Nephie. He held out his hand to his brother, and Jude took it. “Close your eyes.”

As soon as his brother’s eyes were closed, there was a sickening rip of flesh as his wings burst free from his back. Adam screamed. Jude opened his eyes. A searing pain wrapped around his neck, and etched its way up, and a voice in his head praised the Nephilim.

He was the first of the Nephilim to be granted their halo.

-

The camp counselors called their parents to come pick them up early. Unfortunately, they were in Italy, and wouldn’t be able to come to get them for another week. Their grandparents couldn’t make the trip. Since the two of them were both special needs, they couldn’t just be stuck in a taxi and whisked away to the bus station without supervision, and none of the counselors were willing to sit alone with them.

A few hours later, a car pulled up in front of the main cabin. A tall man in a solid black suit stepped out of it. Looking at his face revealed just a black expanse of flesh. Nephie’s father had adopted a hairstyle similar to his son’s, and his form looked deceptively human. Sacrificing the face allowed an Angel to appear human.

“Excuse me, sir, but you can’t just come onto the property without permission.”

“I’m here to pick up my son and his brother. You called their other parents and grandparents. Elijah and Gabriel asked me to come get them.”

Nephie sincerely doubted it, but he didn’t know for sure. Maybe his mother thought it was more important to remove him from a bad situation than to keep him from his father. An improvement from usual.

“You’re- ugh-” The counselor rubbed their eyes as they tried to look at his father. “You’re Nephie’s father?”

“Yes. Seleno. Where are the boys?”

“Dad!” Nephie ran up to his father. Seleno lifted him up, and Nephie could feel the happiness and pride radiating off of him. “Dad, look what happened!”

“Our Lord and Master has given you your halo, my son! Oh, this is truly glorious- I am so proud, child. You are the first of your kind to join the Holy Army.” His father’s arms and face distorted as the sin of pride consumed him. “Did you hear our Lord’s voice when you earned your halo?”

“Yes! He told me I was the first Nephilim to be worthy of his gift!” Nephie was beaming. He hadn’t stopped smiling since he’d gotten the red tattoos on his neck, face, and limbs. His father traced the ring around his neck, and his hand glitched. “And Jude understands! See?”

He pointed at his stepbrother. Jude waved awkwardly with his good hand. The other one, the one Nephie had held onto, was black, and gradually faded to normal flesh at the elbow. His neck had a red tattoo on it as well.

“Oh my…” Seleno stepped up to Jude, and a smile formed on his face, along with a few pairs of eyes. Jude looked at his face, not even flinching. Red eyes searched the Angel’s. “I haven’t seen a human like you in an eternity.”

“Do you like him, Dad? I think he’s perfect the way he always was, but I wanted us to match.” His mother had been slowly morphed into someone he wasn’t, everything but his mind changed to match his father’s desires. Nephie didn’t see any reason to change Jude besides wishing for the tattoo on his neck. The hand and eyes he wasn’t responsible for, but he quite liked them too.

“Oh, he’s wonderful, Nephie. Now, let’s get you to your grandparents��� house. I promised your mom I’d not waste time.”

[tinybibmpreg]

Day 51 // ft. Elijah, Seleno, Gabriel, Jude & Nephie

#95 / Me

“How bad do you want me?” Seleno asked him, a sharp toothed mouth next to his ear. Twisted claws gripped his arms, gentle enough not to break his skin, but firm enough to hurt. In the two weeks they’d been meeting up again, Seleno had grown more and more rough. He still left no injury, but Elijah worried that if he kept this up, the Angel would hurt him.

“Not at all,” Elijah answered, and desperately hoped that it was true.

Despite everything, it wasn’t. Seleno laughed quietly, and velvet soft skin pressed against the back of his neck.

-

Gabriel didn’t mind if he and Seleno still wanted some sort of relationship, and Elijah almost wished that he would. If his husband just said that he was uncomfortable with the idea of him being with another man at the same time as him, he would have a reason to ignore all the feelings inside of him, and could tell Seleno to stop visiting.

However, his husband admitted he’d never really cared for strict monogamy. “Honestly, Eli, I’m fine with a bit of a polyamory. If my wife came back from the dead, I’d want to be in a relationship with both of you.”

Elijah wouldn’t want to erase an old relationship of his husband’s, either.

-

“Do you talk to Nephie about me?”

“No, why?”

“He thinks I hate him,” he admitted. “And he said he wants the baby to die.”

“Well, precious prophet, to tell you a secret…” Seleno leaned in close and whispered, “So do I.”

“For what? The former or latter?”

“I think you know.”

He did.

-

Gabriel looked worn out when he came home from what was supposed to be a check in with a ‘doctor.’ Apparently, Jude saw a therapist once a week. Elijah felt hurt that Gabriel had kept that secret from him, that he and Jude worried that he would find that shameful. “He isn’t taking the breakdown he had very well, so he’s staying there for a few hours until he can work out what happened.”

Nephie drove his hands through the glass coffee table. He’d been drawing with the markers Jude bought him a few weeks ago. Elijah had thought he’d calmed down, but apparently not. He was still rattled by his brother’s anxiety attack.

As Gabriel rushed over to make sure the boy wasn’t hurt, Elijah wondered if Seleno was right.

Sadly enough, when it came to their son, he usually was.

-

“If you don’t feel like you’re up to going to Camp Uonder, I won’t be upset. Your grandparents would be glad to see you,” Gabriel assured his son, hands on his shoulders.

Jude looked up at him. His eyes were red and puffy, like he’d spent most of the past few hours crying. He smiled, and told his father, “No, it’s fine, really. I want to go to camp with Neph. Right, kiddo?” Nephie had practically attached himself to his stepbrother’s leg when they all got home, sobbing and apologizing. In the car, Jude had told them the real cause of his ‘relapse.’ Elijah still felt horribly guilty for not telling them about Nephie’s outings.

“Mhmm. Wanna go to camp wi’ Jay…”

The baby kicked. Elijah rubbed his belly, sighing. Gabriel gave Jude a tight hug, and then lowered an arm to give Nephie a squeeze. “Good boys. Now, does anyone else have any big secrets to reveal? Uh… Oh! Nephie, while you’ve been seeing your dad at night, Eli and I have been seeing him during the day. I don’t know if your dad told you.”

God, he wished Gabriel wasn’t such a good and honest person.

Nephie looked over at him, and he could practically feel the hate in his eyes. “Really? Even though you told him not to talk to me ever again?”

“Let’s not get all worked up again, sweetheart. Your father has his own reasons for why he visits us separately.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

“Nephie!” Gabriel chided, but not at all firm. “It’s not very nice to talk to Eli like that.”

“It’s not very nice for Eli to try and keep me away from my dad!”

Jude swallowed hard, one fist clenching, the other holding his stepbrother’s sleeve. “Come on, Neph, let’s go get our bags packed! I’ve been to the camp a bunch of times, I know what we’ll need!”

“I wish you were my mom instead of Elijah, Gabriel.”

But then he’d be just like me, Elijah wanted to tell his son. Your father made me this way, don’t you understand? Why can’t you understand? It doesn’t matter who I am. Seleno is a monster, your mother was always going to be me.

[tinybibmpreg]

Day 49 // ft. Elijah and Seleno

#72 / Liar

“I don’t remember a fight or a reason, so what happened? Why did we break up?”

Liar.

“I know you still care for me. I can sense it. You could never keep anything from me, precious prophet.”

Liar.

“You’re scared to show your feelings to me. Your husband doesn’t mind if we’re still in love. Pretty please, precious prophet… I love you.”

L i a r.

Elijah wished he’d never drawn that wretched star on the ground, begging for a new life to any creature that would listen. An Angel had crawled from the shadows from a place it called Heaven, answering his prayers.

He’d believed the creature cared about him. Then came the fits of madness, the begging to some being it called Lord and Father, asking to be forgiven of its sins, its giving in to temptation. But he’d taken pity on the Angel-

“Pity, pity, precious prophet.”

And they’d conceived a son. The Nephilim he’d borne had cried for that place called Heaven, and now he was finally happy, with a husband who genuinely loved him and did his best to care for his hybrid son, with a stepson who did all he could to make sure his younger brother felt included and happy, and a new baby on the way.

He didn’t want Seleno to ruin the new life he’d made. Gabriel didn’t understand why he was so uncomfortable with Seleno being a part of Nephie’s life. His husband encouraged the boy to enjoy the time he spent with his biological father, and was glad that Seleno went through the effort of visiting Nephie when the boy had time. But Seleno was poison, slow acting and corrosive. He hid behind his distortion and burning guise, explaining that it was his nature to be difficult to be around. Angels and humans were just too different, he’d said, and left out how horribly human he could be.

“I don’t love you, Seleno.”

“Well, precious prophet, I do. But I promise I won’t do anything untoward to you unless you perchance… change your mind.”

“I won’t.”

“When’s the little one due? Ah, five months. How strange to see you showing so soon. Remember when you were expecting Neph at this stage? He was so tiny…”

“I don’t want you here when he gets home with Jude.”

“Pity, pity, I can’t even wish him well before he goes off to some dreadful human summer camp?”

“I won’t tell him you were here.”

“If you insist, Elijah.” Seleno gave his hand a squeeze, and then vanished.

God, he hated it when the man used his first name.

[tinybibmpreg]

Day 89 // ft. Elijah, Seleno, and Nephie

#3 / Seleno

“No, I’m not letting you go. It’s too early to get out of bed.” Elijah squirmed, but Seleno held on tight to him.

“But you don’t need to sleep.”

“You do, precious prophet.”

“I have to get ready to go to work.”

Seleno grumbled against the back of his neck. He could feel his face shifting, his hair growing longer and brushing against his skin. “I don’t like when you have to interact with other humans.”

Elijah immediately thought of the warnings the other Angels had given each other about allowing the mothers of their children around people who could potentially cause them harm. Though he and Seleno had been in a relationship for a few years now, he didn’t think that those warnings would apply to them. Seleno had never brought up the idea of having a Nephilim with him.

“Seleno?”

“Yes, precious?”

“...Nevermind. I’ll sleep in. But only for a half hour. Then I really need to get up and leave.”

-

Sometimes, Elijah would wake up in the middle of the night and find Seleno sitting in the living room, golden tears falling from whatever eyes he currently had on his face. His shoulders would shake, and Elijah would hear quiet sobs. Whenever that happened, Elijah sat down next to him and held his hand until the Angel’s tears ceased.

He went to ask him what was wrong one night, and Seleno nuzzled him and answered quietly, “I mourn for my demonic brothers and sisters who disregarded Heaven, and grieve with my brethren whose children were denied the gift of life.”

Another time, Seleno was distorting so heavily that Elijah could barely stand to look at him as he alternated between bitter sobs and hysterical laughter. When he finally collapsed to the ground, insect limbs holding him up as he spat ichor from two mouths, he told him, “I feel the sin of Envy consuming me.”

“What are you jealous of?”

“It’s too difficult for you to understand, my precious prophet. Please… Shall I make you some coffee? I could use a hot drink.”

Angels didn’t need food or drink, but Seleno loved to drink coffee whenever he appeared in front of him. Elijah knew every cafe in the city by now, since Seleno had dragged him into every one when he walked him home from work.

Seleno broke three cups before managing to steady his hands enough to make coffee, with some help from Elijah holding his hands to help him pour it.

-

“Seleno?”

The Angel grinned and hugged him. “So do I.”

“Oh, come on. I wanted to say it.”

“I can’t help it, precious. I always want to know what you’re going to say to me.”

“Well, I love you.”

It wouldn’t be for a few years that he would realize that Seleno distorted whenever he told him he loved him, that he would overhear a tearful confession to the Lord and Master of Seleno’s lustful corruption.

Angels could not experience emotion as a human did.

-

Seleno took him to a park filled with all sorts of lovely plants and sat down with him on a bench. While Elijah looked around at everything, the Angel’s eyes were only on him, spindly fingers playing with his sleek, black hair.

Elijah turned his attention to Seleno when he tucked his head against his shoulder. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw a perfectly human face looking back at him, light grey skin framed by Seleno’s typical wavy black hair. The rest of his body was molten, like melted wax, the grey dripping down into a black mass. Black wings pushed free of the ooze, growing larger and surrounding them like a cocoon.

“Seleno?”

The Angel’s face was the most beautiful he’d ever seen, with mournful red eyes welling up with that golden ichor he wept for his sins. Elijah wondered which one he could possibly be committing now.

“Elijah, my precious prophet… Would you like to see my true form?”

Darkness engulfed them both as Seleno spread his eight pairs of wings. Elijah watched them unfurl and grow, and Seleno rose up, getting larger and larger. He spread his arms, and a red halo appeared around his throat, glowing tattoos snaking down his body from his neck.

It burned his eyes to look at him, but Elijah couldn’t tear his gaze away, didn’t want to look away. Red squares appeared around them, that burned the tips of Elijah’s fingers when he reached out to touch a small one hovering near his knees. Horns grew from Seleno’s head and his grey skin faded to a deep black, his features dissolving. A sword appeared at his side, made from flames instead of metal.

A large, red eye opened sideways on his face, and golden tears spilled from it.

Seleno’s body glitched like a computer error as if he were made of pixels instead of flesh. Elijah felt like he was going to be sick, but at the same time, he was amazed. He opened his mouth to make a sound of awe, but nothing came out.

Though he’d never doubted before that Seleno was divine, this confirmed it. How could he be anything but an Angel? If this is what he’d been spending so much time with, this shifting being- no wonder he’d changed. How could anyone stay the same after coming into contact with a creature like this?

“Elijah-” Seleno lowered himself down so that his face was right in front of his lover’s, and carefully held his head between two claws. “Elijah Ordell, my precious, would you marry me?”

Oh, God, Elijah thought, hating himself for only realizing something at this moment. I can’t believe I never noticed this before. His voice returned, and he asked, “Seleno… I know this is supposed to be a really romantic moment, but… Have you ever heard of a movie called The Hobbit?”

Seleno blinked. “Elijah, I’ve never once watched a movie before in all of my life. What does that have to do with my proposal.”

“Well, uh-” He’d brought it up, so now he had to explain. “There’s a character in it, Gollum, who sounds exactly like you. You even both say ‘my precious’ a lot. I mean, you add ‘prophet’ a lot, but-”

“Do you want to marry me or not?”

“Oh! Yes! I do want to!”

-

“You’re not an Angel.”

“Shh!” Seleno shushed him, body distorting, and pulled him out of the room as their toddler looked up from the blocks he was playing with. His features morphed and glitched as he loomed over him, finally settling on a sharp-toothed snarl and six multi-colored eyes in a semi-circle, all glaring. “What have I told you about speaking blasphemy in front of our son?”

“It’s the truth.”

“No. It’s what you convinced yourself to believe because you’re upset with me. Don’t involve our son in our quarrel.”

He lowered his voice. “You’re just some monster who came to ruin my life.”

“And how, precious prophet, have I ruined it? You went from being alone and unloved in an apartment, on the verge of suicide, to being a married man in a beautiful home, with a family that loves you. You haven’t hurt yourself in years.”

“You don’t love me.”

“I’m an Angel, Elijah. We feel things differently. But Nephie loves you. He’s the family you always wanted. You can’t comprehend what it means to be an Angel, but don’t take out your anger on him. Don’t ruin his childhood. The Nephilim deserve to be happy.”

“Why did you marry me?”

Seleno stroked his cheek. His hand glitched, and it stung Elijah’s skin. “I chose you. You’re the mother of my Nephilim.”

“So that’s all you wanted me for?”

“You were the one who suggested we have a child. I have never had a Nephilim before. I have no idea if I was truly ready to become a father like some of my brethren have. I would have been content to keep waiting.” Before he could say anything else, Seleno patted his cheek and told him, “I gave you a good life. Don’t be so ungrateful. What if I took it all away?”

“Nephie is my son too. You can’t take him from me.”

“But you don’t want this life.”

“You can’t!”

“I can do almost anything, precious. Don’t you remember how I told you that?”

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Gabriel and Seleno from my story Camp Uonder. Elijah's current husband and ex-husband. Gabriel is Jude's father.

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Drew a version of Seleno ! With his black hair, red squares, and his halo

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Day 72 // ft. Seleno and Elijah

#8 / Daniel

“Just pretend to be my date,” the Angel told him, fingers threading through the human’s red hair. Before he could ask why, the Angel answered, “Because my brethren can be quite unruly when a human is brought to one of our gatherings.”

He smiled. “How’d you know I was going to ask?”

“I always know what you’re going to say to me next, precious.”

“Is that something all Angels can do?”

“Of course! We just can’t do it to each other.”

He hugged the Angel, and four arms wrapped around him. “You’re so cool, Seleno.”

“Thank you, Daniel. It’s so rare to find a human that appreciates our power.”

One arm loosened so Seleno could touch his hair again. Daniel pulled his head away, a wide grin on his face. A cluster of eyes stared down at him, all different colors. “You really like my hair, huh?”

“It’s very soft. I think I like black hair more than red, though. At least, for myself.” The Angel always chose to have black hair when he had it at all. Daniel thought it was a strange color for creature known for their purity, but he also knew that different cultures viewed colors in a different way. Perhaps Seleno believed black was a fitting color. Before he could ask about it, Seleno replied, “Black is all of the colors mixed together, a rainbow the human eye only comprehends as a void. It’s beautiful. Besides, Angels are usually associated with white, though my brethren and I find it a simply dreadful color.”

“Why?”

“It’s the color of death! Bones are all white, and when drained of blood, does the flesh of pale humans not turn a ghastly shade? Spectres are often depicted as white figures. Plus, milk is pretty gross too.”

“Milk?” Daniel laughed, and Seleno hummed in content. “You’re so funny! We were having a serious conversation.”

Seleno pulled him onto his lap, nuzzling his hair. “And when have you known me to be serious, precious?”

“You’re a big goof. Are all your family members like you?”

“I hadn’t thought of calling them that before, but in a manner of speaking, we could be, and we are similar. Of course, the gathering will sadly be a serious matter. It’s a funeral.”

“Oh no, did one of the other Angels die?”

Seleno sighed. “No, no… Angels can’t die. But going with your family analogy… My niece passed away a few days ago, quite tragically. Her mother, a human woman, drowned her, and then committed suicide by slitting her wrists.”

“That’s terrible… Your brother must be so upset.”

“Yes, he is. So the rest will be happy to see a new human entering the family.”

“But we’re not really dating.”

“Just play pretend. We could use a little happiness. Oh, I’m so happy you agreed! We’ll have a wonderful time!” Daniel didn’t really like that Seleno hadn’t let him say his agreement out loud, but since he was going to anyways, he supposed it didn’t really matter.

-

Seleno wrapped a blindfold over his eyes before they entered a large, empty cathedral, saying that he’d likely go blind from the pain of looking at too many Angels at once. Daniel found that odd, since he didn’t feel much pain from looking at Seleno anymore, but didn’t protest. He let Seleno lead him into the building, and once inside, he heard slow music and quiet murmuring and laughter. There was a burning smell in the air, and it felt just a tad too warm.

A few different voices spoke to Seleno in a language Daniel didn’t understand, as the Angel would speak in response. A few times, there would be touches on his arms and chest, just light enough that he wondered if he’d imagined it.

“Are you hungry, precious?”

“A little.”

“Someone actually brought food. Here, I think it was my niece's favorite.”

“What is it?”

“A little pastry of some kind.” Seleno tapped his lips with a claw, and he opened his mouth. A small bite of food was placed in his mouth. It tasted like a small, homemade donut of some kind, slightly burnt, with a bitter undertone. It had too sweet frosting on it, with some sort of berries on top of it. Daniel heard someone say something, and Seleno added, “My brother made these. They’re grapefruit donuts with pomegranate seeds.”

“His daughter liked these?”

“Oh, does it taste bad?”

“It’s not something I would choose to eat, that’s for sure.”

“The Nephilim do tend to be quite different from full-blooded humans.”

“Half Angels?”

A hand squeezed around his wrist, and he couldn’t tell whether or not it was Seleno’s. “Yes, my brothers and sisters’ darling children. I haven’t ever had any myself, but we’ve been trying very hard to raise our children to adulthood in this cruel human world. None of us have succeeded.”

“That’s very sad.”

Claws tangled roughly in his hair, and he heard laughter behind him. Seleno whispered into his ear, “Don’t worry, I know we’ll succeed soon.”

There was a sound like someone clinking a glass, and silence washed over the room. The hands in his hair and around his wrist released, and Seleno tugged him. They walked a few feet, and then stopped.

A voice, very different from Seleno’s, began to speak, starting off with, “Greetings, my brethren. I am grateful that we have all decided to gather today to discuss the latest failures of the Nephilim.” Daniel had been expecting to hear a eulogy, not whatever this was. “Our efforts to expand our Holy Army has once again ended in tragedy. My beautiful child, who cried for our Heaven for just three years and seven months, was slaughtered by the human woman I selected as her mother. In my arrogance, I had left them alone for too long a time. The Nephilim require frequent monitoring, even in the quietest and most remote areas. A non-native human will adjust poorly to the move if you do not force them to admit whether or not they still love the child.”

Seleno was humming. Daniel felt sick to his stomach, and he didn’t know why.

“My beautiful Mary, from a congested human city, could not adapt to the lonely wilderness I whisked her and our daughter to, though she wanted for nothing. I brought them money, food, whatever materials she asked for. Humans require socialization, even if we have determined that access to outsiders increases the chance of execution by persecutors.”

A murmur went through the crowd.

“The human could not tolerate loneliness, and I did not notice. I arrived to find them beyond human help, my daughter already dead. I suggest that Nephilim and their parents not be allowed near water, and for the house to be routinely checked for anything unnecessary that could be used to harm.” There was a pause, and he continued, “I have failed my Nephilim once more, and beg our Lord and Master to f-forgive me. Oh, my Lord, forgive me for what I have allowed to happen to my daughter!”

There was a piercing sound, like a distorted bird’s screech, and hands covered Daniel’s ears as the sound grew too loud to bear.

Eventually, Seleno removed his hands. The sound was gone, though Daniel could hear a man weeping. “Oh, Lord, my beautiful little daughter…! How shall I ever have a child again? This misery of fatherhood, my beautiful little sons and daughters… Lord, please, I have failed again.”

“Come, precious. I want to introduce you to some of my family. They could use some joy.”

The sound of crying grew closer, until Daniel was certain that they were standing right in front of the Angel who was grieving. He could hear murmuring, like a few others were trying to comfort him.

“Seleno, you’ve brought a human?”

“Yes, my precious companion, who may someday comprehend.”

Hands touched his unruly red hair once more, and an ice cold and slightly sticky hand caressed his face. “I am pleased to see one of us carrying out our Lord and Master’s will.”

“Of course.”

“What is his name?”

“His name is Elijah,” Seleno answered.

Daniel had a feeling he wasn’t supposed to speak, but he corrected, “That’s not my name. It’s Daniel.”

The other Angels just laughed.

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Day 47 // ft. Elijah and Gabriel Etherford, and Seleno

#73 / Coffee

“Can I at least buy you a coffee? For old times sake.” Seleno put a human arm around his shoulders, and Elijah sighed. He had started to feel hopeful that he’d never see his ex-husband again after their divorce just over two years ago, but apparently not. The man simply found him when he wanted to. “Hmm, you’re about to tell me you can’t have coffee, aren’t you? Pity we have to break our routine, but I know you’ll say it’s important.”

“It is.”

“Oh! Congratulations!” Seleno gave him an inhumanly wide smile, and his face glitched like it was part of a computer screen. Elijah winced as his eyes burned. Though he was used to the effect of Seleno’s appearance, it still hurt. He was lucky that the burn that came from looking directly at Seleno, even when he was maintaining his shape, no longer affected him. “A human baby. Must be strange to carry something that isn’t calling out for Heaven.”

“You’re no angel.”

“Pity, pity, precious prophet.” He squeezed his shoulders, careful not to hurt him. Despite all his dangers and faults, Seleno had never hurt him or their son. He knew his strength. “Have I not shown you my true visage?”

“You have. I stand by my belief.”

“I respect that, prophet. And I know you respect my wishes not to speak blasphemy to our son. But he has seen my original form, and he knows we are our Lord’s Children.” Seleno went to touch his belly, which was just starting to show, but hesitated. His hand hovered over the bulge, and then dropped back to his side, distorting.

“So… what brings you down from up above?”

“I just wanted to see how you were doing. Shall I buy you a hot chocolate or tea? I’d hate to ruin our little tradition just because you’re pregnant.”

Mercifully, Seleno didn’t use his ability to foresee what he was going to say, so Elijah responded with a firm but kind, “Sorry, I can’t. I’m waiting for my husband right now.”

“Ah… Hm, I can’t tell what he’s going to say when he gets here, so I’ve never seen him before. Well, we can talk, can’t we?”

“Of course.”

“Great. How’s Nephie doing?”

Elijah was glad that Seleno wanted to talk about their son. He wasn’t mentally prepared to try and describe his new personal life to his ex-husband standing outside in the rain. “He’s doing well. My husband has a teenage son named Jude, and he’s really helped Neph be more outgoing.”

“An older brother, a human. Jude… Ah, his next words to you will be-” And in a voice identical to that of his stepson, Seleno told him, “Eli, Dad, it’s great to see you again! Neph and I missed you! How was your vacation?”

“Well, nice to know we survive our vacation and pick up the boys on time.”

“Ah… Why, I know what his first words to me are going to be. Would you like to hear them? I find them quite… intriguing. Oh, I promise I won’t hurt the boy. Now, if you’re going on vacation with your new husband, where is Nephie going to be? With his new grandparents?”

“No. He and Jude are going to a summer camp.” Seleno made a face, a black tongue covered in tendrils dropping out of his mouth. Elijah rolled his eyes. “I’m sure the boys will have a great time. Neph will have Jude to look after him and make sure he enjoys himself.”

“He’s never left your side before.”

“How would you know?”

“A lucky guess.”

He’d had his suspicions that Seleno stalked their son, or even talked to him in secret. Since Seleno had repeatedly told him he didn’t believe in luck, he knew it was a confirmation of his theories. Though it made him angry that Seleno was going behind his back to talk to their son, despite his request that the man not try to influence Nephie, he was kind of happy that he wanted to be a part of their son’s life.

Something to discuss a different time, though. “He won’t always be with me. He needs to learn how to handle being away from me. And he needs to learn how to make friends.”

“Angels don’t need human friends.”

“Nephilim are half human. And humans need friends to be happy. Besides… if Angels don’t need friends, then why did you and some of the others take human lovers?”

“The key word, my precious prophet, is lovers. We don’t make friends with humans, but we can grow infatuated with them. The Sins are powerful, you know.”

Ugh. He knew all about how Seleno claimed some of his brethren were overcome with the seven deadly sins on occasion. It was the main reason for their divorce, after all.

“Hey, Eli!” Finally, his husband was here. Elijah smiled as Gabriel came up to him, holding an umbrella. He ducked under the roof they were taking cover underneath, and squeezed his eyes shut, wincing. “Ugh, fuck. Should have realized sooner.”

Seleno snickered quietly, and Elijah elbowed him.

Gabriel stuck out his hand blindly. “Hi! I’m Gabriel Etherford. I’m Elijah’s husband. You must be Nephie’s dad!”

“My hand would burn your skin like acid,” Seleno warned.

“Oh, right.” Grabriel quickly pulled his hand back. He opened his eyes, looking off to the side. “It’s nice to meet you!”

“I find it to be a pleasure as well. Elijah was just telling me about how Nephie and your son are going to be attending a summer camp?”

“Yup! Two weeks of fun and learning to love nature.”

“Important things for children.”

“I went there every summer as a kid. It’s a great place, always willing to make accommodations for special kids. They’re excited to meet Nephie and make him feel as comfortable as possible there.”

“Exactly!” Elijah interrupted, before Gabriel could keep going. “So you don’t have to worry about him. And you definitely don’t have to check up on him or Jude.”

“I promise, prophet.” Promises didn’t mean a thing to Seleno. “Now, I know standing out in the rain isn’t good for humans, so how about we retreat to that little coffee shop over there? I would love to sit and chat with you both some more, if you’ll have me.”

So that was how he was going to keep up his tradition of buying two cups of coffee every time he met up with him. Elijah sighed as Gabriel agreed.

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hjhjhsdjhds killing myself emotionally w part 4 of the Daniel/Elijah miniarc for Camp Uonder

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me: oh i should work on the next part of the Daniel-Elijah miniarc for Camp Uonder, Seleno.

me, instead skipping to the last part, Nephie, and hurting myself: w hy

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Elijah & Daniel from my story Camp Uonder !

Elijah Etherford- Nephie's mom, Seleno's ex-husband, Gabriel's husband, Jude's stepfather

Daniel Mallory- Seleno's first human friend, currently missing, suspected to be dead