#rivers: screams out of pure emo rage

[druidshollow]

i think rivers screaming. in game. would be really cool. i think his superstructure rumbles and shakes. all of the lights flash, the rain sirens on the walls go off and the humming of the machinery intensifies to buzzing so intense you can feel the wrath in it. it becomes a roar. the walls hiss as steam escapes, the ferocity of the attack causing his systems to heat rapidly and as it peaks electricity begins running through some of the agitated neurons. as this happens the rumbling intensifies, the noise raises volume just a bit more until suddenly it all falls and all of the components that make him collapse as gravity shuts down. everything gradually powers back up and floats back into its places and you can proceed as normal but like wtf was that

aaaaaaaaaaa

[that-possumist]

Emo music appreciation post

I've been listening to sad depressive music for the better part of my life, and I've gone from the heavy industrial grinds of suicide silence to the slow mathematical sounds of american football. So I thought in this post I would share some of my favorite albums and songs in the emo spectrum. Going from heavy to smooth, I'll try to touch on more obscure stuff as everyone knows falling in reverse and black veil brides (for better or worse lol).

For the heaviest on the spectrum I'm going with ataramemashite, hajimemashite, midori desu. The debut album from midori. Its hard to find metal emo albums with substance, when I listen to albums in this side of the spectrum I look for rage and desperation. Midori makes an amazing job in this album to capture that chaotic energy on the most cathartic way possible. Although not as fast as other entries in this list, it compensates on its delivery and pure rage.

The next album on the list is a classic, and some people may find it weird that it wasn't the heaviest on the spectrum. That album being Slayers Reign of blood. The reason why its behind hajimemashite is that is not as cathartic as that album. But the speed and pure metal makes it a great experience post rage, as a way of letting out that final scream that calms you away as opposed of prolonged rage like midoris album. Amazing to play doom with too.

In my third entry we're starting leaving the screams and rage and we're starting to enter the realm of melancholic punk. And how can we talk punk without talking about Jeff Rosenstocks "We cool?". This album perfectly captures how it feels to be trapped on your situation, knowing what troubles you and how you could solve it but not being able to do shit about it, all the while your peers get successful careers and find love. Its a great trip and its great to start a crying session.

Now heading to the middle of the spectrum I'm going to place my radiohead pick for this list. I know they're not technically considered emo, but I feel I can use them as a sort of link to the more slow and mathematical things in this list. So for my radiohead pick I'll choose A moon shaped pool, their latest record. With songs like true love waits or desert island disk, it makes it the radiohead album with the most sadness packed into it, with Burn the witch being the only song that doesn't make want to cry a river.

Next in the list, I'll pick snowing-fuck your emotional bullshit. As the last fast passed emo album of the list, it gets your blood boiling and your tears flowing. With only a 12 minute runtime, makes it a quick and perfect injection of pure emo into your day.

For my two last picks I'll just combine them since they're better going blind. Those being Uboa-Origin of my depression and Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me. Those two albums will leave you horribly devastated and I wouldn't trust anyone who doesn't cry during a listening session. They both will kill your soul and make you feel horrible for hours, its great catharsis, but I wouldn't recommend them if you're really sensitive.

[chaoscontrolstheworld]

Like A Bird, My Wings Flew Away

It’s 1.30 am. I haven’t proofread this (much). I’m going to regret this when I wake up in a couple of hours, but I’ve been working on this for a good two weeks (on and off work).  So...it’s like 4665 words long. It’s about people having wings, horns, tails and being human. It’s utter trash, but I guess if you like a little angst (not much just a little, don’t worry) then I guess it’s an okay read. I won’t ask you not to hate me because, honestly, you have every right to. Enjoy, I guess...

Angels. Angels and demons. That’s what they called them. The humans that had wings, horns, and tails. Angels with their lush plumage, feathery wings coming in all manner of colors and shapes, sizes and textures. And demons with their tails and horns; colors, shapes, and sizes differing once more. There were humans too, those born without wings, horns or tails. Patton was a human. No wings, like Logan. No tail or horns, like Roman and Virgil. He’d always wished that he could fly like the angel could. But never in his life had a wish gone so horribly wrong. Wishes were fickle things. Wishes made in jealousy even more so.

Logan's wings. Those beautiful, large, soft, brown wings. They were special a part of him. They were as much of him as Roman’s and Virgil’s horns and tails were a part of them. It was illegal to take an angel’s wings, as much as it was to cut off a human’s arm, yet it still happened and it was not persecuted further than the police saying that they’d ‘look for the culprits’ and that they ‘couldn’t promise anything’.

Roman grit his teeth at the thought. He wanted to be in there with Patton and Logan, not waiting out here like a dog worrying if its owner will come back or not. His heart was drumming against his ribs, vision blurry, ears ringing and then black obscured his view of the floor. Tired eyes moved up black jeans to a black and purple hoodie, finally meeting the other demon’s eyes.

“What happened?”, Virgil asked, crouching down in front of the other. Never had he seen the demon so despondent and unfocused. He’d run all the way to the hospital, fearing the worst and Roman’s condition was only making his anxiety rise.

Roman mumbled something incoherent and Virgil moved closer, hands gripping the white covered shoulders.

“I didn’t catch that, idiot”, Virgil said softly and Roman’s eyes dropped to the floor and tears began to well in his eyes, running down his cheeks in small rivers, salt water dropping onto his knees and the floor. His breathing became ragged and he began to sob, curling up a little on the plastic chair and making Virgil move back, worry clouding his features.

“What happened?”, Virgil asked, more demanding than before and Roman cried a little harder. Virgil’s fear began to well up, spreading through his bones and spearing his heart and mind. “Who…who’s in there?”

“L-Logan”, Roman managed out and Virgil slumped to the ground.

“W-what happened?”, Virgil asked, not looking at Roman.

“He…he got…don’t make me say it emo”, Roman murmured, voice wet and tearful but still holding a little heat and amusement.

“I’m going to find out eventually…I’d rather find out from you than a doctor”, Virgil said, feeling like if he kept Roman talking the other wouldn’t do anything rash.

“He…he was walking and then some people came up behind him and they…they…”, Roman broke off into silence as tears washed down his face, he gripped Virgil’s shoulder tightly and pulled the man closer into an awkward hug.

“They what?”, Virgil asked, feeling his voice crack, throat going dry and closing in on itself as the fearful feeling curled up, waiting like a spring to be set free.

“They took his wings”, Roman whispered and Virgil felt his world collapse for a second before Roman’s crying brought him back to reality. His fear broke out of its coil and ran rampant for a second, before it was replaced with other emotions, other waves that made his body shake. Fear, anger, sadness, worry, concern, disappointment, and fury. All washed over him, all took their toll on his being.

Then the doctor came and the demons practically flew into the room, doors slamming into the wall and making Patton jump, turning around with wide, bloodshot eyes. Logan didn’t move, but he didn’t have to. He knew whose eyes were roaming over his exposed back, over the twin scars that were left after his wings were gone. He kept his eyes on the window, the clouds that darkened ever so slightly like they were trying to tell him that they too felt his pain, his anguish, his disgust at the act that had befallen him.

The demon pair moved quickly and quietly, Roman taking Patton into his arms as his eyes ran over the scars. Angels healed faster than humans and demons, but the scars would never heal quite right.

Virgil felt a mix of emotions rush through him. Disgust mixing with pure unbridled rage at the prospect. Sure, humans had always been jealous of their ‘abilities’, once it had been proposed they all live separate from each other. Now everything was settled. Patton was human, through and through, and he was good to them. But now...now Virgil wasn't so sure.

If he hadn't held himself back because he was in a hospital or because Logan looked so utterly shell-shocked he would have screamed, yelled, threatened. He'd have kicked and cried and growled until he hurt someone. Because someone deserved to feel this pain. He wished he'd been there when Logan had been jumped, stripped of his beautiful feathery wings, left to bleed out and die. He wished he'd been there not to stop it but so he could punish those who did this. It was illegal but these people…these monsters would get away scot free. The look on Romans face gave the black horned man the impression the other demon was thinking the same thing. What they'd give to hurt, maim, even kill those responsible for this. 

But that wouldn’t be what Logan would want. That wouldn’t be what Patton would want. And in the end…it wouldn’t be what they wanted.

A roar ripped from the demon’s mouths causing people to scatter as their eyes glowed. Ugly snarls appearing on twisted lips, fangs causing the plump flesh to part as the enraged demons looked the doctor over.

“What do you mean you can’t find any DNA? What are you talking about?”, Roman screamed at the man, who cowered behind his clipboard at the red horned man. Roman’s forked tongue slipped out briefly, scales rising on his sharp cheekbones. Virgil looked on from behind, just as furious with the doctor if not more. “What do you mean you can’t give him prosthetics?”

“I-I mean it. The…there’s no way for us to f-find any linking DNA a-and the cuts…they…they weren’t properly executed. We don’t have the technology for prosthetic wings and even if we gave him prosthetic wings we couldn’t do anything. The nerve endings are…well, they’re damaged beyond all repair”, the doctor said, swallowing and closing his eyes in fear. Roman grabbed the man’s collar, eyes filled with the fury of a million people, and pushed the doctor against the wall. He bared his fangs at the cowering human, small wings drawn close to his body inside his coat as he let out a whimper. Virgil grasped roman’s shoulder gently, his own scales shimmering black under the fluorescent lights of the hospital. Red eyes met purple and Roman drew in a deep breath, tail flickering around behind him as he released the angel. The doctor dropped and scrambled up against the wall under the duo’s narrowed gazes. Virgil tsked, while Roman sighed and took a step back. The doctor stood and hurried away down the otherwise deserted hall, small wings flapping under his coat out of fear.

The doors slammed shut behind him and Roman’s breathing grew erratic. The red-eyed man snarled and pulled back his arm, drawing his hand into a tight fist before unleashing the pent-up anger on the wall in front of him. The sensation of pain flooding his system and jarring him from his anger inflicted state. Virgil dropped next to him as he clasped his hand close, growling as tears of frustration began to bead at the corners of his eyes.

“Why can’t I…why couldn’t I do anything?”, Roman asked, voice soft and broken as Virgil rested his head on the top of his hand, sighing into his hoodie sleeve.

“We weren’t there”, Virgil said simply causing Roman to let out a choked sob.

“I wish I had been…I wish…I wish it’d been me”, Roman growled and Virgil nodded, gently applying a little pressure to Roman’s white-clad shoulder.

“I wish I’d been me, too. But we weren’t there and there’s nothing we could have done”, Virgil muttered as Roman slumped, body giving into the exhaustion the anger had caused.

“It should’ve been me. Why wasn’t it me? What did Logan ever do to deserve this?”

“Nothing. It’s the same answer you’ll get if you ask if anything could’ve been done to stop it from happening. Nothing. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t Patton’s fault. It wasn’t Logan’s fault. It wasn’t my fault. None of us could have done something different to stop this from happening and you know it. So”, Virgil said, standing and walking until he was in front of Roman. He pushed his left hand into the pocket of his hoodie and pushed the other towards his fellow demon. “Are we going to comfort Logan, or wallow in our own misery?”

Roman let out a dark chuckle before taking his hand and pulling himself up. The glowing had died down when he had begun to cry, but a shimmer of red was still present as he looked at his long-time nemesis.

“When did you get so sensible?”

“I’ve been hanging out with the pocket protector”, Virgil replied and Roman let a small smirk slip onto his face.

The pair walked back to the room in silence, fluorescent lights flickering a little overhead as the made their way to a room that was sure to haunt their nightmares. They trudged along, shoes thudding softly on the white and blue tiled floor, eyes running over the patterns. Roman stopped and looked next to him, causing Virgil to stop as well. The black horned demon looked up and Roman tiled his head back in an indication to Logan’s room door, the door that Virgil had just passed. Virgil nodded and turned taking a few steps and stopping, hand reaching out to push the glass and wood object open. The pair drew in a collective breath and Virgil pushed the door open, almost immediately regretting it as Patton’s head snapped up, eyes wide in fear as he quickly shielded Logan’s back from them. He blinked a bit before realising who they were and drawing back, shaking slightly. Logan still looked out of it, eyes and face devoid of any and all emotion. He didn’t look back at them, choosing instead to stare out of the window as a bird flew past. His red, bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks had dried, the flush his face had held earlier faded to pale unassuming peach.

It hurt. It hurt them so much to see him like this. It hurt to see him look so broken, so disparaging and cold. It pained them that they couldn’t do anything to help him. They couldn’t do anything to help. They just had to sit there and watch. All they could do now was comfort him. Comfort and calm. They couldn’t fix him. They could never fix him and as much as it pained them to think about it they knew they couldn’t have done anything differently to help him.

Roman buried his face into his pillow, makeup smearing slightly as the tears began to seep out from between mascara clad eyelashes and shimmer covered eyelids. He’d scream if he knew it wouldn’t upset Logan, but the noise would indeed upset Logan and he didn’t want to upset the man. It’d been a couple of months since he’d returned and every time Roman saw him he wanted to find those stupid humans and tear them apart. A lot of the time the three would find Logan just staring out of the window, eyes full of longing as sparrows and crows danced through the skies in intricate patterns. They’d give anything to see him happy again. To see him whole again. To see him as more than a broken mess caused by greed and a lust for power. It tore at their hearts to see him like this, but they couldn’t do anything and they had to accept that they would most likely never receive closure.

Roman growled and turned over, tears leaking from his eyes and trailing down puffy red cheeks as his anger rose, coming out of him in short bursts of breath. He was completely enthralled in his own pain, so much so that he never noticed his door opening and someone taking a seat on the side of his bed, the bed dipping to accommodate for the extra weight it was not used to supporting.

“Roman?”, a voice asked and Roman’s illusion of pain and hatred shattered as he looked over at the one that had caused him to spiral into such a state. The angel that their little group had accepted, flaws and all. Their angel. Their broken and scarred angel. Logan looked at him with a small bit of happiness, mostly due to the fact the other had stopped pulling at his hair and the frustration had melted off his body the instant he had spoken to the demon.

“Wh…what are you doing in here?”, Roman asked, voice cracking a little as hiccups began to pop from his mouth, breathing shaky and hands furious in their relentless scrubbing of his cheeks.

“I thought you could use some company. But if you’d prefer I can leave”, Logan said with a hint of a smile playing on his lips. If Roman hadn’t known Logan was an angel, he’d have definitely known by those words. Calm, soothing and soft. A skill many angels had inherited which made them excellent in caregiving. No matter what they said, if they said it like that it’d be calming. Logan could be rattling off how tomatoes shouldn’t be classified as vegetables and it’d be the most calming thing on the planet to hear.

“No. I…sorry, I just…I was thinking and…”, Roman paused and Logan let out a soft chuckle.

“You can actually do that?”, the angel said softly and Roman let a small smile cross his own lips. To make a joke at his expense was the most Logan thing he’d seen the angel do in days.

“Hey…that was mean. But yes…I was thinking about…about…”, Roman tried to form the words, but Logan’s expectant eyes looked so soft and innocent, like a deer in a forest.

“I know. You were thinking about them…my…my attackers. Virgil was thinking about the same thing earlier”, Logan said, eyes showing a little hurt before they moved to Roman’s bedspread. Logan’s fingers gathered a little of the blanket, twisting it in his hands and balling it up until his knuckles turned white from exertion.

“I…I want them hurt. I want them hurt so badly for this”, Roman choked out, running a hand across his eyes and smearing more of his beloved makeup across his face.

“I know. I want them found and locked up. If they did this to me…I can only imagine they’ve done it to others”, Logan said and Roman sat up, eyes slightly wide at Logan’s words. This man, this angel, was more concerned about the other people his attackers may possibly hurt then his own revenge.

“You…you don’t want them hurt?”, Roman questioned, voicing his concern and queries out loud.

“I do, but I am more concerned for the overall wellbeing of my fellow angels and demons. Who knows if they’ve tried to do this to others”, Logan said, eyes full of sadness and a little anger. Roman let his mouth fall open a little before he swallowed and shuffled forward, resting a hand on Logan’s shoulder and regretting it as the wingless angel shied away from his touch, eyes going wide and breathing stopping at the sudden contact.

“I’m sorry. Lo, I’m so sorry. Hey, calm down”, Roman said softly and Logan seemed to take on the apology and advice, shoulders dropping and relaxing as his breathing stuttered but calmed nonetheless.

“I apologise, Roman. I should be getting used to things, but it appears I still fear what I cannot control”, Logan said, taking his glasses off and hunching over as he rubbed his eyes. He sighed and Roman let a hand stray to the side of Logan’s body, allowing the man to see it before it moved closer to his leg. Logan sighed and took the hand in his, smiling a little as he rubbed a thumb over the dramatic man’s knuckles. The demon sighed heavily at the feeling and turned his hand slowly, gripping the angel’s in his own with the kind of gentleness one would expect from a loved one.

“You have no reason to be sorry. I was the one who touched without asking, you should feel no need to be apologetic. I am sorry I forgot my place once more, truly it is unbecoming of a prince”, Roman muttered and Logan let out a small huff of laughter, a bright smile appearing on his lips at the demon’s words.

“And what, perchance, are you the prince of?”

“Why the prince of demons”, Roman said, a smile lighting up his own face. Glittering white teeth brought together to form a dazzling grin that had Logan smiling back.

“I believe Virgil would find that statement incorrect for a variety of reasons, but I am glad to see you so joyful once more”, Logan said, head turning to look back at Roman, eyes calm and soft as the light of the situation sunk in. Roman chuckled a little before watching as the wingless angel stood and brushed off his pants, turning and smiling before moving to the door to exit the room. He stopped at the door and looked back, eyes dancing with a happiness Roman had once thought to be completely extinguished. “Take care of yourself Roman. And…don’t do anything rash, oh prince of demons.”

Roman smiled softly as the door closed behind his friend. He laid back on the bed and wiped some of the smeared makeup off his face with one hand, no doubt smearing more over his face as he did so. He closed his eyes and pictured the four of them, without Logan’s wings. It was weird but somehow calming. He accepted that Logan no longer held the power of flight, but the idea bugged him more than he liked to admit. He was settling back into his fantasy; the four of them just enjoying an average day when the world went dark around them and Logan’s scream cut through the air like shattering glass. Feathers rained down around him, bloody, brown and beautifully familiar before scars and cuts flashed through his mind and he awoke, panting in his bed. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed, biting his lip as he forced the tears away. What he wouldn’t give for those wings to be back.

The days passed, turning into weeks, then into months. It was around the one-year anniversary of the fateful event that made Logan human, or more human than an angel, that something happened.

The front door slammed shut with enough force to rattle the small paintings on the wall and Patton almost dropped his glass of water onto the carpet. Virgil skulked in, a little bloody and bruised, eyes glowing a fierce indigo purple and right horn chipped. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, but he pulled them out when he entered the living room. He faced the three, who sat comfortably on the couch watching him with wide eyes. Virgil walked closer to them, dropped to crouch in front of Logan and pulled Logan’s left hand towards him. He placed his own left hand in Logan’s, breath coming out in short puffs and eyes lingering on Logan’s hand as his blood smeared on the angel’s skin. He opened his hand, released what he had been carrying and pulled both of his hands back, waiting and watching from his hunched position as Logan looked at his hand. A beautiful brown feather lay in his hand, a little mussed and crumpled from the journey in Virgil’s pocket, but it brought tears to his eyes to see the object. It was small, no bigger than a centimetre, but it was oh so soft and delicate. It had a little dried blood on it but he knew it was his. It was like looking at his own finger. The patterns, non-existent to non-angels, stood out to him like molten gold in a dark room.

Logan stifled a sob with his hand as tears came to his eyes. Virgil sighed softly, finally regaining his breath and gave Logan a small smile. Patton and Roman looked at the exchange with interest and worry, the latter clouding their minds and faces as Logan began to cry silently, hot tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Saw some punks in an alley talking big game about getting a pair of wings. Beat them up enough to get more details and took this from them. Wasn’t sure if it was yours, but it looked close enough to be yours so…yeah”, Virgil said, giving Logan a small smile as the other uncovered his mouth, smiling wide as he pulled the tattered feather close to his chest, both hands held protectively over the small piece of him. He cried happily, smiling widely at Virgil as strings of ‘thank you’s sprung from his mouth. Virgil nodded a little before huffing out a breath as Logan landed on top of him, hands clasping each other as he hugged the demon. The demon let out a shaky sigh as his equally shaky hands wrapped around Logan’s quaking body, feather forgotten between them as the Logan poured out emotions, happiness and sadness mixing in a tortured soul.

“You chipped your horn”, Roman muttered and Virgil grunted a little, pushing his bruised body back into the couch. The TV flickered in front of them, images of demons, angels, and humans flashing across the screen in a multitude of colors. “You think it was worth it?”, Roman asked and Virgil frowned, eyes narrowing at the screen.

“It’ll grow back. Logan’s wings won’t”, Virgil said and Roman growled softly. It was an unspoken rule that they never mentioned Logan’s lack of wings around the house. Virgil pulled a hand out and thumbed the chipped tip of his horn softly.

“It might not”, Roman said in a snarky tone, causing Virgil to sigh and look at him for a second.

“Well, then it’ll be worth it, won’t it? You saw how happy he was. I found that piece of him he thought he would never see again. You’d have done the same thing if you were in my shoes, don’t try and deny it”, Virgil grumbled softly and Roman nodded a little.

“True. I too would have allowed them to take one of my horns had I the knowledge it would cause Logan happiness”, Roman muttered, putting a hand under his chin and watching the screen flicker absentmindedly.

“It’s only a chip and it’ll grow back. If I had to sacrifice my entire horn to get him to give us that smile again…I’d have done it”, Virgil said.

“Oh, undoubtedly”, Roman agreed, nodding along with the conclusion.

“He never smiles like that…it was worth it…wasn’t it”, Virgil said and Roman sighed before nodding and looking at the other demon.

“It was. But…don’t go looking for trouble again. I know you went looking for them. There’s no way you’d have found them without looking for them. Don’t go looking for trouble, at least not without me with you. I’d rather be there and know that we’d go down together, defending Logan’s honour, than know you got your tail cut off and died at the scene because you were stupid enough to go after an angel wing dealer”, Roman murmured into his hand. Virgil let out an amused huff before curling in on himself, narrowing his eyes at the TV. “How long have you been looking?”, Roman asked startling the black and purple clad man. Virgil had to settle his heart a little before he answered.

“I…about six months. I’ve been all around looking for dealers but…my horns are a bit too big to hide under my hoodie and my eyes light up whenever they mention de-winging another angel”, Virgil said tilting his head forward and allowing Roman to run a hand over the bumpy, shining black horns that poked out of his hair. Roman’s horns were much bigger, but Virgil had been trying his hardest to fit in with the de-wingers and it hadn’t worked out well, especially with the nasty biological trait he had inherited which was his glowing eyes. As far as demons went it was standard for his eyes to light up like a LED on steroids when he was angry. As helpful as it could be it could also be a pain, especially when he was trying to go undercover with people he hated.

“I’ll come with you next time. My acting skills should help out”, Roman said softly and Virgil nodded, pulling his head away and letting it rest on his knees. He moved a hand up to stroke his horns; black and shiny curving outwards and inwards with consecutive bumps unlike Roman’s horns. Roman held the classic red horns that most devils and demons were depicted with; sleek, matte red that curved forward, up and back while also curving outwards like Virgil’s. Horns were like bones in the way that they could be mended, but also like teeth in the way that they could regrow. Some demons were luck that they could regrown sections in seconds, some were unlucky in the way that they had to regrow both their horns from the ground up and in these cases, it could take months. Virgil was a rather lucky individual as he didn’t have to fully regrow his horns, unlike Roman, but like Roman it would take at least a week for them to regrow back to their full glory.

“Don’t even think about it. I dug my grave and I intend to lay in it”, Virgil muttered causing roman to let out a breathy chuckle.

“Oh please, as if you think I’d take no as an answer”, Roman said and Virgil let a small smile grace his lips. Sometimes he was glad this man was so stubborn.

Together it took them a year to find Logan’s wings, a couple of months later they got the police to arrest the people responsible for Logan’s pain, but not after beating them to hell and back first. The criminals were dragged away bloody and bruised, teeth missing and bones broken as the demons watched on in silence. They shared a small, devious smile as they wiped the blood from their knuckles onto their pants. Roman nodded as they headed back to the house, chuckling along the way. They arrived at the house in time to witness a frantic looking Patton who immediately asked them if they had anything to do with Logan’s attackers being sent to jail. They responded ‘no’, but a hearty pinch to their ears and Patton dragging them up to Logan’s room convinced them to say ‘yes’. So, they moved into Logan’s room and spilled their secret lives of living within a criminal de-winger circle in order to catch Logan’s attackers. After a couple minutes of their bespectacled friends yelling at them and Logan giving them each a well-deserved slap the two broke down into tears and hugged the demon pair close. Never in the horned men’s lives had they been as glad to be alive as they were right now, embraced with friendly arms by those they aimed to protect.