Zed sipped at his mediocre coffee as he made his way down the street. He grimaced at the taste of the practically stale bean water, if it could even be called that at this point. He sighed and wondered for a moment why he was going along with the plans of the crazy woman that interrupted his sleep. He noticed the eyes drinking in his form and rolled his eyes, he had no interest in the beings of Midland.
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the rectangular card that contained the woman's information and the address she wanted him to meet her at. Checking his watch he made his way to the appointed destination.
When he arrived it didn’t look like much, and he was a bit annoyed that the woman would tell him to meet him at a pet shop of all places.
“AHHHHH!!!!” He heard a loud crash. “Ness I’m sorry!!”
Zed watched as a tall dark haired man dragged the eccentric woman out of the shop with a cold look. They froze when they saw him standing there, quietly watching their antics.
“Oh! It’s Zed!” The man released her and she popped up as if nothing happened. “I’m so glad you decided to come!”
“Zed this is Ness! Ness this is Zed!”
“Nestrio.” Nestrio corrected, as he preferred it if strangers didn’t call him by a nickname.
“Zed.” Zed responded and nodded his head confirmation.
Then there was a pause, however, the pause lasted quite a bit and became an unbearable silence. Until, Nkauj Ntuab broke it excitedly, “Alright, alright calm down, I know you’re eager to talk it out.” Nkauj Ntuab shrank at the eyes that pierced her form. “Well, now that we’re all here we can go to the community social! I’m sure everyone wants to get to know you!”
Without minding her existence, Nestrio returns to his post and Zed begins walking away. Nkauj Ntuab, with a flustered face, grabs Zed by the collar and Nestio by his long hair before they can get far. “You’re both going and you’re gonna like it.” With that, Nestrio locked up the shop and followed Nkauj Ntuab reluctantly.
As they followed her, Zed couldn’t help but peek at Nestrio. He was decently attractive. Tall, sharp eyes, definitely his type but you didn’t hear that from him.
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Zed and Nestrio were surprised at the sheer amount of people at the community social. Although, it did feel like everyone began holding their breath when they arrived. Nkauj Ntuab, who had brought them, suddenly disappeared into the crowd leaving them alone and in awkward silence. Ness noticed the stiff stance the angel had taken, and wondered if he was uncomfortable with the people. He himself couldn’t care less and merely ignored them. “Do you want to get food? I looks less crowded there.” Zed said nothing and headed towards the indicated direction, letting out a groan of relief.
The two sat in relative silence while being eyed by the community as they ate. Nestrio looked at the angel seated next to him. He looked very different from what he assumed angels to look like. Black hair, black eyes, and a rich skin color. He was still very angelic but definitely seemed to have an attitude, and an arrogant look etched permanently on his features.
“Hey! Hey!” They heard from a distance. They looked up to see Nkauj Ntuab dragging a couple over. “Hey Ness, look who I found!” Ness noticed it was the nice couple that he worked for. He owed them a lot and greeted them with a bow. Zed found the gesture a bit strange as he was sure there was no such custom in Misotopia.
“Oh my, it’s great to see you again Nestrio.” The woman greeted. “Still quite the proper one then?”
“I’m sorry, it is a habit.” Nestrio lamented.
“Ah, so you must be the angel that Nkauj Ntuab is telling everyone about!” The man stated happily.
Zed paused at being addressed before responding, “Yes, my name is Zed. Pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m happy to see you two getting along so well. A lot of people have been worried about you two meeting each other.” the man continued.
That seemed odd to Zed, “Why?” he asked, allowing his face to match his confusion.
“Everyone thought a demon and angel would immediately begin fighting with one another but here you two are enjoying a meal together! Amazing!” The man said happily.
Zed froze, “A demon!?” He thought to himself as his eyes found the ever calm Nestrio listening to the Satyr’s wife. He only ever heard rumors about demons and had never seen one before. He thought they were unattractive beasts with barely a scrap of common sense. He felt is face heat up a bit remembering when he assessed the man.
It was then that Nestrio turned Zed’s way that he stood up and rushed, “ I’m going to go get more water.” He felt his face cool down, but his ears were still burning.
Nestrio observed the angel’s sudden action and curiously asked the elder man, “ What just happened?”
“ I’m not quite sure myself, I just mentioned that it was amazing to see both of you eating together.” stated the Satyr.
Nestrio glanced at the retreating back of Zed, “Just because we were eating together?” A moment’s pause then it had occurred to him, that maybe angels don’t like demons after all. Slightly disappointed, Nestrio returned to his conversation with the couple who then led him around; introducing him to various people.
Zed, however returned to the empty table, wondering where everyone went. He soon felt a tap on his shoulder and heard giggles behind his back. It was a group of 5 midlanders who were crowding him. They were all fairly short and seemed very eager to speak.
Before they can even open their mouths, Nkauj Ntaub yelled across the street, “ Hey Zed, come over here!”
Zed used this perfect opportunity to side step the Midlanders and jog towards the voice. As he slowed to a stop, be was greeted by Nkauj Ntuab’s overly-excited face.
“ Hey friends, this is the angel I was talking about! You know, the one who lives on the hill!”
Zed was swarmed by creatures who bombarded him with questions and requests; it was then that his eye strayed to the tall figure in the distance, who seemed less bothered by the Midlanders. Remembering how the couple and the demon had left him, he shook his head and turned his nose up, and focused on the conversations on hand.
On the other hand, Nestrio wandered around with the old couple; meeting their friends and learning about business. He tried to focus on the what the midlanders were saying, but kept getting distracted by the movement at the corner of his eyes.
The angel was towering over some midlanders as he casually spoke down at them; head tilted up and all. It was obvious to the demon that the angel was stuck up, and had no intention of interacting with midlanders. So he decidedly ignored Zed.
After and hour or so, Nestrio decided to return to the shop, to tend to the animals.
Zed watched along with everyone else as Nestrio grew large demonic wings and flew away. A few moments later, Zed grew tired of the company of Midlanders and decided to retire for the night. Bidding others good night, he headed home glancing at the sky; unconsciously focused on the direction that the demon had flown.
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