As uncomfortable as he continued to feel in her presence, Orias had to admit she wasn’t all that bad company.  Hell, he knew of many demons he’d prefer not to be this close to.  There was also the fact that she was extremely easy on the eyes.  When Juniper giggled and then hid her wings, he relaxed a little bit more.<br/><br/>“Were you even alive during the war?” Juniper asked.  “Or am I older than you?”<br/><br/>Not knowing the significance of her questions, Orias answered them anyway.  “You’re definitely older than me, for I only know about the war through stories.”  Seeing no reason to deny her request, he then assisted the fallen angel with her bracelet.  She seemed genuinely happy when they managed to fix it, too.  The mentoring demon soon recognized that a blind man could see why Zuureth was so drawn to her.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center">&gt; &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt; &gt;&lt; &lt; &lt; &lt; &lt; &lt;​</div><br/>A week or so later, and Orias had metaphorically been tearing his hair out, while they waited for Zuureth’s return.  How much longer should they wait, before going out themselves to search for him?  He knew the destination wasn’t close by, but still, he should be back by now.  As if to answer his unspoken question, Zuureth stumbled through the door, then soon after collapsed in Orias’s arms, who had paid no attention to the wide open door.  Juniper had the presence of mind to close and lock it from any prying eyes, human or demon.<br/><br/>He dutifully followed her instructions of where to take his obviously wounded comrade, with no questions or protests.  The angel seemed confident when she said, “I’ll heal him.”  Orias watched her with a keen interest as she focused on his friend’s wounds while laying her hands on him.  He was so focused on Zuureth that it surprised him when Juniper returned to the bedroom wielding a knife.  When did she leave?  Orias had no answer for that question.  Quickly informing her of his intention to stay, he said no more as he watched with reverence at her powers and the return of the shimmering gold.<br/><br/>When Juniper’s blood mixed with Zuureth’s, his injuries appeared to transfer to her.  Orias would never have believed it if he hadn’t seen it for himself.  It was then that he finally realized that Zuureth was right about how very valuable she was.  The elder demon reflected on the scummy demons who threatened them and demanded the angel be turned over to them, until Zuureth set them straight.  They probably had no clue how powerful she was.  Come to think of it, the two of them also had no clue about her power, until they saw it for themselves.  Although Zuureth remained unconscious, missing out on his own miraculous healing.<br/><br/>Heaven.  Zuureth had never been there, of course, nor would he ever be dropping by for a visit anytime soon.  But the voice he heard, or dreamt of hearing, was too angelic for it to belong to anyone or anything else.  He couldn’t tell if he was dead or just dreaming, but whichever it was, he wished it would never stop.<br/><br/>To Orias, Juniper seemed satisfied with what she’d done.  All of Zuureth’s wounds were completely healed, though the angel looked beyond exhaustion.  Her collapse onto the bed confirmed this, while she also pointed out, “He should be alright now.”  Damned if she wasn’t right, though the passed out demon remained that way for the time being.  Zuureth’s savior then inquired about the names and why did the task fall upon him.  Ordinarily, the demon woulda gladly told the angel to go fuck herself.  But she did just save his apprentice, and he therefore felt compelled to answer her.<br/><br/>Orias sighed audibly before beginning his story.  “Zuureth had been partying with two women, a blonde and a brunette.  One of them had struck a deal with our Dark Prince, then reneged on it.  He was with them last, so he knows what they look like,” he explained, while pulling up a chair.  He thought how odd, though by no means disturbing, it looked to see a demon and an angel lying next to each other, but said nothing about it.  “We were on their trail, until he let them get away.  Though to be fair, he knew nothing about them or us.  With having one so close to being returned, only for her to escape, well. . .”  His voice trailed off prior to his continuation.  “Let’s just say that didn’t sit to well with Him.  I was sent to mentor and inform Zuureth what was required of him, orders coming directly from the top.”<br/><br/>The demon grinned at the memory of bringing all of this to Zuureth’s attention not too long ago.  “As it turned out, both women had made their own bargains with our Lord.  Zuureth and I found out the brunette’s name was Bridget, though we never learned the blonde’s name, not that any of that truly mattered then as now,” he stated.  Leaning forward, Orias pointed at his unconscious pupil.  “If you look at the inside of his right ankle, Juniper, and the outside of his left wrist, you’ll see no tattoos.  That’s on account of Z. successfully sending them back to face Lucifer.  He musta nailed his target, too.  See the empty space on his right shoulder?  And once all those names are cleared from his body, he’ll be free.  Until then, it’s him and me on the hunt,” he concluded.  Only now did he realize he actually called her by her name.<br/><br/>Orias chose to leave out the part about the fountain pen.  As amazing as he thought the tool was, since he’d seen for himself its true power, he at times thought it was a farfetched and ridiculous story.  Right now was one of those times.  Besides, who knew what Juniper would think of such a tall tale?  One might need to see the pen in action in order to believe the lore, because when not poking or stabbing and sending the hunted back to their Dark Lord, it wrote like an ordinary fountain pen.<br/><br/>While these thoughts and others raced through Orias’s mind, he and Juniper’s attention were drawn to a stirring Zuureth, who simply blinked at his mentor.  Shortly after, he realized someone was lying next to him on the bed.  Turning to his left, the angel stared back at him with wide eyes.  “You,” he managed to force in a hoarse voice.  “It was you.  You saved me.  Why?”  Those eight words seemed to sap what little there was of his energy, as he slipped back into a deep sleep.  The tattoo of her name over his heart gently pulsated.