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Michael was awakened by the feeling of a sudden movement in the bed.
Usually, Dagon still slept glued to her. Whether she was sleeping on her stomach with her head resting on her chest or stomach, whether they were face to face or in a spooning position, the demon always had a hand around her waist. But not this time.
She turned around to see that Dagon looked very uncomfortable. She was on her back, agitated and her breathing was ragged. Her jaw was so clenched Michael could almost hear her teeth grinding.
A nightmare.
Michael sat up and leaned slightly over her, she hesitated for a moment before squeezing her shoulder to try to wake her not too abruptly but the demoness was still caught in her nightmare. It was the first time that this had happened and the brunette didn't really know what to do. Was it a good idea to wake up a demon in the middle of a nightmare ?
She didn't want to leave her in this state either so she placed a hand on her cheek, hoping to perhaps soothe her with her angelic aura. The redhead was enjoying her touch and always asked for more if she had the chance, maybe it could work.
It did not work.
" Dag- " she began.
Dagon woke up suddenly, clawing at the air and Michael's forearm in the process, who gasped, before firmly grabbing her upper arms to pinning her against the mattress. The angel groaned in pain as she felt the claws dig into her flesh. She was so surprised that she didn't have time to react.
She stared at Dagon, the whites of her eyes were completely black, bringing out her silvery blue irises, she now showed off two rows of sharp, shiny fangs that reached almost up to her ears and her wings were spread menacingly. At least, one was deployed, the other was half folded. She really looked like a demon ready to kill.
" Dagon ! Stop ! " exclaimed Michael, shocked. " You're hurting me. "
She tried to free herself and stay as calm as possible but with every movement she made, the claws dug deeper into her arms. She could feel her heart beating heavily in her chest. No, she wouldn't be afraid of Dagon, she trusted her. This reaction was only the cause of the nightmare.
" Please, it's me, " she tried again.
After few second, her voice seemed to bring Dagon back to her senses as the wide opening of her mouth returned to its normal size. Her eyes returned to their usual color and she instantly let go of her arms when she realized what she was doing. She quickly got out of bed and stepped back, nearly falling before leaning against the opposite wall and sliding to the floor.
" Fuck it ! " she growled as she saw her claws and fingers covered in golden liquid. She wiped them furiously against her pants and her wings were folded around her as if to protect herself from the outside.
Michael didn't wait to get up and join her, kneeling in front of her. She had told herself, she wasn't afraid of her and wouldn't let her face this alone.
" Dagon, hey hey, look at me, " said the angel, holding out her hand towards her face, which she could vaguely see through the pile of feathers.
As soon as her fingers touched her cheek, the demoness turned her head.
" I didn't want... " she whispered.
She felt miserable, she didn't want, she really didn't want Michael to see her like that one day. And even less so in this situation, she was ashamed. She had hurt the only person she cared about and blamed herself for it.
" I know, " replied the brunette.
" I’m sorry, I almost… " Dagon clenched her hands so tightly she could feel her claws digging into her palms. " Maybe you should leave. "
" I know, please stop that, " Michael grabbed her hands so she would stop hurting herself. " It's just an accident, everything is fine, look, I'm already healing, I promise everything is fine. And I'm not going anywhere. "
The four cuts on her arm were already starting to close on their own and would probably be completely closed the next day. However, Dagon still couldn't look her in the eyes.
" Do you want to talk about it ? " asked Michael.
" I'd rather not. "
Of course she had nightmares about her Fall, Michael wasn't stupid, few things could scare or anger a demon like that. Anyway, she didn't insist, she didn't want to make her any more uncomfortable than she already was. If Dagon didn't want to talk, she wouldn't force her, but she would be there to listen if necessary.
" Okay, " said the angel, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. " Come, " she added as she got up, dragging her with her towards the bed. " Sit down. "
The duke complied, feeling too guilty to resist or retaliate in any way. Michael moved in behind her, as calmly as possible, to analyze the two feathery appendages.
" Your wings really need some grooming you know... " she said.
" Hmm, probably, " replied the redhead in a low voice.
" Can I ? " asked Michael and Dagon just nodded, she trusted her enough for that and she owed it to her.
It was the first time Michael saw the demon's wings. The feathers were thick and black with blue highlights, there were even a few small scales on the part connected to her back. Her hand touched the joint of the left wing which no longer really held and Dagon flinched.
" You know it's dislocated, don't you ? " said Michael.
" It doesn't matter, " replied the demoness. " It’s not like we’ll use them in hell. "
" Let me fix you up and fix them up a little. You'll feel better afterwards, believe me, " the brunette told her.
Dagon chuckled dryly.
" I hurt you but you heal me, it doesn't make sense, " she muttered.
" Take this as my way of making you understand that I'm not mad at you, " replied Michael, pulling down the demon's top which was torn now anyway.
She first performed a small miracle on the dislocated wing to put it back in place and the sound of bone crunching made her wince. Then she carefully began to realign and straighten all the feathers on her right wing, removing the twisted and broken ones and there were many of them. She was much more careful when caring for the left wing.
Michael hadn't done this in a while, the angels had stopped helping each other with grooming several millennia ago. It had become something too intimate to share apparently. The last person who helped her with this was Gabriel and that was about five thousand years ago, she had missed it.
She hadn't told her right away that she was finished, she just still wanted to take the opportunity to touch these feathers which she found magnificent. She passed her hand over the sensitive skin between the wings, making Dagon shiver, who had visibly relaxed under the angel's caresses.
" There you go, I'm done, " said Michael, gently massaging her shoulder. " How do you feel now ? "
" Better I guess... thank you, " muttered Dagon, making her wings disappear.
" Hug ? " offered Michael in a low voice.
Dagon looked at her over her shoulder without saying anything, then leaned back to lean against the angel's chest. Michael rested her cheek against the mass of red hair and wrapped her hands around her waist to embrace her. The demoness moved one of her hands up to the brunette's forearm, touching the injured area and Michael felt that she was using a miracle to speed up the healing.
" ... sorry... " repeated Dagon, bringing the arm closer to her face to hold it against her cheek.
" It’s okay, " Michael whispered into her hair.
Dagon felt a source of soothing heat and as she opened one eye slightly, she saw two large white wings surrounding them. She fell back to sleep very quickly after that, without having any nightmares and with her hand still wrapped around the angel's forearm.