Dancing In The Void

Constantine threw the warm fluffy pillow on top of his head and moaned sorely.

Three full seconds of silence passed before he pulled his head out from underneath and looked around the room, his eyes still halfway closed from the thin crusty buildup. Still sensitive to the morning light however, as the flashing rays of sun that were invading the room made him bury his face back into the pillow. Another three seconds of silence and a dry gasp for air later, Constantine was sitting up straight on the couch. One hand held him from falling back onto the comfy bed and the other rubbed his eyes. He looked around the room again, this time able to see more than just a blur. He was laying on Katherine’s long, extendable wood-coloured couch, to his right farther off was the ordinary coffee table from the other day, with a single blue flower in the center as a decoration and a few cups neatly arranged around the edges. On his right was the door that led further to the kitchen and one behind him that opened into the enormous main hallway. Constantine yawned as he got out of bed and put on a simple pair of wooly slippers. He grabbed one of the many available bathrobes that Katherine for some reason owned, the one that he got stuck with was a black one with goofy red skulls and yellow eyes. He then quietly walked towards the kitchen where he prepared some coffee. Then he leaned on the counter, staring at the trees that were softly moving in the wind. His mind was still asleep, when the ding of the coffee maker finally woke him up. He pulled out a coal-colored mug from a cupboard above him and poured himself some much needed coffee. As he took a sip, he heard gentle footsteps quietly approaching from behind the door to his left.

“Oh, h-hi.” Uriel said in a low voice, clearly also still somewhat asleep.

“Morning Uriel, had a good sleep last night?” He took another tiny sip.

She nodded once with a yawn, then climbed up on the counter and slid close to Constantine, careful with her wings so she didn't accidentally open them and fling him into a wall or hit him on the head.

“Coffee?” He raised his mug towards her and smiled kindly.

Uriel nodded her head to the right and grabbed it, taking a big gulp.

“I hated this drink at first, but now, I see why you people like it so much. Especially in the morning.” The echo in her voice was still heard even when she whispered or spoke in a gentle tone.

“Oh yes.” Constantine poured himself another cup. “It really perks you up. How’s Niko?” He asked, now slightly enthusiastic.

“Probably still sleeping.”

“And Katherine?”

“...Still sleeping.” She responded gloomily.

Both of them lowered their heads and drank from their coffees in silence for a minute or two before Constantine finally opened his mouth.

“How long has it been, three days already?” He sighed.

“Today makes four… I pray to god she wakes up soon, Constantine.” Uriel’s wings and arms began trembling after she put down her coffee. “I still think about the way she screamed that night. How she cried out in agony after Nikolai injected her with that red liquid.”

“She finally stopped around three didn't she? I don't think any of us got to sleep that night, especially Evan.”

“I’m worried, Constantine, I feel so helpless to assist her.”

“Calm down Uriel, she will wake up soon. I’m also worried. I was hoping she would wake up the next day and we could leave soon but…”

“Leave? Why leave?” Uriel said curiously, getting off the counter and going into the living room.

“Well...” Constantine began as he followed her inside and sat on the couch. Uriel chose the armchair. “I was worried the other demon would come here. If one knows this place the other should as well. I was talking to Nikolai too the other day, what exactly was that guy doing here? If he was looking for you then…”

“I do not know. I’m sorry.” Uriel scratched away at some of the dry blood that was on her robe.

“Why do you keep wearing that thing? You should let us clean it up.” Constantine smiled.

“I-I don’t have anything else to wear?” She said, her cheeks turning red as an apple before she quickly looked away.

“Bull-...nonsense. Katherine is about as tall as you… even though she’s shorter by maybe twenty centimeters. I’m pretty sure she has some clothes you can borrow. Ah, but wait, doesn’t Evan sleep in her room?”

“He’s in the armchair beside the giant bed in which Kath sleeps, the main bedroom you called it? He was taking care of her and I think he fell asleep. Oh and you know Nikolai sleeps downstairs across the hallway from this room.”

“Great!” Constantine got up and grabbed her right hand. “Come on, let's get you something more suitable for an angel.” Uriel’s pale face became an unnatural shade of red as she was being dragged up the stairs by Constantine.

The mansion was indeed massive, the hallway was about the size of an ordinary room and the staircase took up more than half of it. The floor was made out of polished oak and the steps and handrails out of mahogany. Additionally there were some old decorative paintings hung on the walls, two of which in particular caught Constantine’s eye as he passed. One depicted a beautiful victorian age lady wearing a bright yellow dress in front of a tall stone door on an empty field, while the other was of a steampunk gentleman with blond hair, a half-mask made of metal over his face and a long bronze hook reaching from his elbow instead of a left arm. Most of the others depicted wars in ancient eras.

Kind of morbid… Constantine thought to himself. No matter, the two of them quickly reached Katherine’s empty bedroom, and he began exploring through her wardrobes, in a suitably tactful manner of course.

“How about these ones? They seem like they’d look good on you.” Constantine held up a pair of black jeans and showed it to Uriel.

“Oooh those are very pretty, but why are they ripped over here?” Uriel grabbed them and inspected them closer.

“Oh those things are just how the jeans are made so they look good, they’re not actually ripped.”

“So .. they make clothes purposely torn for looks? Odd. I'm assuming the purpose of this strip of leather is also looks?” The jeans had a long gray leather chain attached from the front of the left thigh going back and connecting slightly below where the tailbone should be.

“Yes, I’d assume so.” Constantine went back to the wardrobe and began searching again. “You see Uriel…” He started saying while throwing clothes out of the apparel. “...A while ago I wasn’t the kind of guy that got excited about appearances and such, especially clothes. Its just that Nikolai really enjoys going shopping and you know how girls are… eventually it became a hobby we shared.”

“I actually don’t know how girls are... “ She whispered to herself.

“Hmm?”

“N-nothing.”

“How about this one, it's even got a low cut back so you can wear it without worrying about your wings.” Almost instinctively Uriel flapped her immense silver wings with a hint of joy. Constantine then threw her the shirt and she examined it. It was a simple shirt, with a long red cross on the front and the silhouette of a bird perched on its left side.

“I-I love it! But what bird is this?”

Constantine got closer and concluded that the bird was in fact:

“A crow. I’m pretty sure that’s a crow.” He then turned his head and his gaze met Uriel’s snow-white faded eyes. Constantine blushed and quickly moved away. “That should be enough. I’m gonna go outside, when you’re done changing I’ll be waiting.”

When she was alone, Uriel softly giggled once to herself. It was so unusual for her to receive clothing such as these, but she greatly appreciated such a thoughtful gift.

Evan was now sitting next to Nikolai on the couch in the main living room. She was flipping through the channels on the enormous tv in front of them and he was resting his head on his right hand, still halfway asleep. The coffee cup in front of him was untouched and getting colder. The early morning news still spoke about the strange incident that occurred a few days ago and how the bodies and the car were never found leaving the police stumped, but tensions were presumed low and blamed on the halloween parades. Nikolai jumped up happily from the couch when Constantine descended the stairs and gave him a tight warm hug. She was wearing a more casual attire, without her eyepatch or glove, only a black undershirt and some blue short pants. Constantine looked at her, her clear pallid eye and her long black hair made her irresistible, even if she had a bad case of morning hair. Unable to hold himself back, he kissed her fiercely.

“Good morning, Hani. How are you on this fine morning? Also didn’t you sleep downstairs last I checked?“

“I’m feeling great, and yes I did sleep downstairs, but I woke up early and so did Uriel and she wanted to find some new clothes so we bothered some of Kat’s. Speaking of… how is she?” He asked, his voice trembling with worry.

“She started tossing and mumbling last night but aside from that no change.” She sighed and went back to the couch, scooting over so Constantine had room to sit.

“Mornin’ Evan.”

“Hrhrmrhm.” He grumbled back.

“Hadn’t had his coffee yet.” said Nikolai. “Even though I made it for him and its… right there… getting colder.”

“Fuck you too. I’m just too tired to try and wake up.” He wiped his face and then sat up straight, greeting Constantine with a nod. The three then sat quietly looking at the television, Nikolai curled up on top of Constantine’s chest on the left side of the couch, with Evan sprawled lazily across the other side. After a few minutes Evan crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it lazily at Nikolai’s head. She turned to him with a false look of anger on her face and kicked him in the thigh, hard. Then they went back to listening to the tv.

“Hey guys…” Uriel’s soft voice echoed out in her unnatural manner from the hallway. “How do I look?” Her voice continued as she floated into the living room. Thankfully there was no door separating the two places.

Uriel looked stunning. The jeans perfectly fit and shaped her, deepening the curves of her legs, thighs and backside while the simplicity of the cross and crow shirt made her face and body stand out a lot more. She was lithe and maidenly, yet with a slightly noticeable definition of muscle, especially around her chest and shoulders.

“I hope Katherine doesn't mind that I used one of her hairpins.” She said with worry while rubbing the yellow hairpin that held her blue hair in place on the right side of her head.

Constantine was floored, not expecting his fashion sense to work so well for Uriel. Evan was also floored, but for more easy to imagine reasons that had to do with how tight Uriel’s new jeans were. Nikolai quickly began saying how gorgeous and pretty she was and how she loved her new look. Uriel’s cheeks became redder and redder with each passing compliment. Finally, their amusing soiree was interrupted by Katherine’s scream resounding through the house, as her mind escaped the shadows burst forth through her nightmares.