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Angels could sleep, they always had despite what was said, but the majority were content not to because even if they could, they didn't need to. Naturally, Michael was one of those angels who had never slept, never felt the desire or the need, at least until recently.
She felt more tired and had started with short naps but it wasn't always enough so one day she dared to sleep through the night, a real night. Dagon did it often so she just asked her how to do it and in fact it wasn't that complicated, and it was very relaxing. Then she started to dream, it was very vague at first as if her brain didn't know how to do it but very quickly she got used to it and dreams were starting to make sense.
*
When she opened her eyes she quickly realized she was in heaven from the almost blinding white glow that enveloped her. Looking down she saw that she was wearing a simple white toga which was one of the ancient garments of heaven and her hair had fallen around her face, she touched it, it was loose, as it had been when she was created. Her dream had taken her very far back in heaven it seems.
It took her a moment to realize that someone was standing in front of her, but was also talking to her. It was an angel, of course, one she didn't seem to have seen since the war. He was clearly of high rank, but she couldn't tell which one, he seemed frustrated and scribbling on a piece of parchment.
" I swear- " he caught himself, " that angel is a pain, " he complained. " Nothing seems to interest her, she just wants to be in the water. "
What ? thought Michael.
" Who ? " she asked, however.
" Daynael, " whispered the angel, waving his hand to his right, pointing at someone with his feather without even looking up.
Michael looked in the designated direction to see, Dagon ? Her angelic self. Her heart skipped a beat, it was strange to see her like that even if she couldn't see her very well the simple fact that she was dressed in white with large white wings was surprising. It was then that Michael remembered the whole situation, it wasn't just a dream, all of this had really happened but a long time ago. And Daynael ? How could I forget that, of course all the demons changed their names, she thought.
" She's a dominion, " said Michael, not realizing it. " They're tied to the elements, I doubt she can even control herself. "
Her gaze hadn't left the redhead as she said that. The angel in front of her raised an eyebrow at her, probably surprised that she was defending this seemingly disordered angel. It's true that at that time she was also harsh with this kind of angels, in fact she was harsh and demanding with all of them...
" Perhaps, but she's spread too thin, missing important gatherings and dragging Leviel and Scyel with her. If others can do it then she should be able to do it too," replied the other angel, continuing to scrutinize his documents. He continued to mutter to himself.
The other did not become queen of the oceans, thought Michael.
" Well, there are other things I need to take care of now, " he bowed quickly, " my Prince. " Then he quickly disappeared.
Michael froze for a moment, 'my Prince', it had been a long time since anyone had called her that, she had even gotten to the point of forgetting that she was, Prince of Heaven. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and turned to Dagon Daynael, their eyes met but the redhead just looked away before quickly disappearing. Michael instinctively wanted to catch up with her, raising an arm as if to stop her but her body hadn't moved.
*
Michael woke up feeling a little disoriented and sat up in bed. It had been a long time since she had thought about that time in heaven, it had changed so much since then, it was unsettling. She had never realized that heaven was so harsh, now she did, but she felt like it had been better before. She rubbed her face before looking at Dagon next to her on her left, lying on her side with her back to her, deeply asleep.
She placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder, feeling her body rise and fall in time with her slow breathing. The angel had truly been blind for most of her life, always prioritizing work over everything else, and even though it frustrated her, she couldn't help but keep going even now. Dagon, however, had taught her to let go a little more without changing completely. She lay back against her, putting an arm around Dagon, who stirred slightly, still half asleep, and turned her head to look over her shoulder.
" Hm. "
" It's just me, " Michael whispered close to her ear, tightening her grip.
Dagon simply settled back into comfort, grabbing the brunette's arm and holding it close, and the two quickly fell back asleep.
*
The following night Michael had a similar dream and it was rumblings voice that caught her attention. Daynael was visibly being scolded while Scyel stood a meter behind her, head down.
" We told you, there are enough sea creatures ! " growled the angel in front of them, snatching scrolls from Daynael's hands.
It was Azoriel, the second in command of the dominions, Michael knew him, he was still an angel in the present time and he was still just as unpleasant, a bit like Sandalphon, she just wanted to slap them.
And Michael realized that she had indeed seen this scene but that she hadn't really 'seen' it, too focused on her own affairs, or maybe she saw sometimes, but her emotional side wasn't developed enough to understand at that moment that it was unfair. Dagon had always been ahead of her on this point obviously.
" Should we stop the sea creatures ? " Michael asked more to herself, but Gabriel, who was standing next to her, had heard her.
" That would be a shame, wouldn't it ? " he said.
" Would you like her to continue ? "
" I don't know, " he said, shrugging. " I find her creatures funny, and the oceans on Earth will be wider than expected. "
" Really ? " asked Michael, looking at him.
" Yes, " said Gabriel, nodding. " That's why it'll be called the blue planet. "
The leader of the Dominions, Tsadkiel, passed by, and Michael stopped him without hesitation.
" How many did she do ? " she asked him.
" Excuse me ? "
" How many aquatic animals have been created ? " she specified.
" Hmm, about 300,000, " he replied, looking at his ledger.
" Why stop ? It's not many. "
" According to the floor above, it's enough for the entire body of water on Earth. "
" At least 8 million land species are expected. Let her do it. "
" According to the plans- "
Fuck the plans ! she thought.
" I told you to let her do, " she repeated more sharply.
The black-haired angel may have been the leader of the Dominions, but Michael still held a commanding position. He swallowed hard before nodding.
" Alright, " he said before walking away.
" Is everything okay, Michael ? " asked Gabriel.
" We were so conditioned... " she muttered to herself, no matter what she said or did, it wouldn't change anything.
" What ? What do you mean ? " Gabriel asked her, his voice and image beginning to fade.
*
Michael woke up alone this time, feeling sick, vaguely remembering that discussion, or rather, that non-discussion. The Dominion, Tsadkiel, had certainly passed close, but she had never stopped him, had never ordered him to let Dagon Daynael do what she wanted. She just hadn't thought anything of it. Had there been very few new sea creatures after that...
She quickly got ready for her day in heaven, but it kept running through her head all day. These dreams had prompted her to remember the past, to remember Dagon Daynael. She had a free spirit like most of the Dominions. She loved nature, especially the ocean, of course, and she needed it to be happy. Michael realized how much she must be suffering in hell, far from the water, even though she had never complained about it.
All she could think about was tonight. She wanted to sleep again, to dream again. She needed to see everything she had missed. And that's what happened.
*
Daynael was miserable and it showed. She just wandered around aimlessly, organizing where the creatures she had created would be. At least she had something to do, even if she didn't seem as happy as she had been before. Michael had learned that she was forbidden from working on new projects, in fact, she wasn't even allowed near water anymore. She was supposedly too distracted, but that seemed normal for a water-related angel, right ? Why they were complaining about an angel so dedicated to her work was beyond her.
She saw her in front of a floating sphere of Earth and had to place the species one by one in the different bodies of water they would inhabit. She couldn't help herself and approached her, she had to talk to her. She saw her up close, the upper parts of her arms dotted with freckles, her beautiful red hair tied in a loose fishtail braid, the tops of her temples speckled with very fine golden scales that Michael had taken for a normal mark from afar. She was very beautiful, not that Michael didn't find her beautiful as a demon.
" How's it going ? "
The red-haired angel visibly tensed when she heard her. She glanced at her out of the corner of her eye but didn't turn her head. Michael wanted to hit her forehead, their relationship was absolutely not the same. Of course, Daynael was impressed, perhaps even worried, that an Archangel, the Prince no less, would come and speak to her directly, she hadn't yet developed her provocative side.
" Good, " replied the Dominion, but Michael heard the truth behind that simple word.
Her voice wasn't as broken as Dagon's, which was to be expected, the fall could cause a lot of physical damage.
" Tell me about it, " continued Michael.
" What ? "
" Your creatures. You made most of them, didn't you ? "
" You really want to know ? " asked Daynael, clearly surprised because why would the Prince of Heaven be interested in something as insignificant as her work ?
She turned her head to look deep into her with silvery blue eyes. Michael smiled inwardly at this, her eyes hadn't changed.
" I'd love to, " assured Michael, trying to speak as calmly as possible, she had to be careful with her tone.
Daynael obviously hesitated, but talking about her projects was her passion, it didn't take much pushing to get her to talk about them. It was already the case in the present tense, and it must have been even more so in the past. And that's what she ended up doing, talking about all the creatures, their characteristics, their habitat, why some were in clear water and others in salt water, etc. In fact, Michael already knew most of it thanks to Dagon, who had already told her almost everything, but she simply wanted to listen, which no one else seemed to do. She realized that Daynael had been a much better angel than she was.
The brunette spotted Lucifer out of the corner of her eye, talking with some angels who had now become the princes of the different circles of hell, glancing at Daynael with interest. Of course, he must have known she was aspiring to something else, she was already in her "recruitment" choices, she knew that. Michael didn't say anything, just looked at him before focusing again on the redhead's words. She knew it was going to happen anyway. And without it she would never meet Dagon, never the bold and proud demon she had become, never her partner...
*
Michael had a smile on her face when she woke up, half happy, half sad. She wished it were real, she wished she had understood sooner. She thought back to Azoriel confiscating Daynael, Leviel, and Scyel's documents. She was sure they were still somewhere in heaven he must have given them to Tsadkiel.
Back in heaven, she made sure she was alone and not followed, she wandered through the different corridors of heaven, changing floors without being seen and managed, after making several mistakes, to find Tsadkiel's office, to enter it and lock it behind her.
" Alright, where did you put that " she muttered to herself.
She searched every piece of furniture, every drawer, they had a lot more supplies than her floor, which was normal, they took care of a lot of details. She searched among the oldest documents she could find, luckily everything was perfectly sorted by era, however she found nothing. It demoralized her, she was sitting on the floor surrounded by all these documents and none of them were the right ones, she wanted so much to find this file. It was then that she thought, this document was an abandoned file so it must be in the archives, she grumbled to herself before quickly tidying the office and went out towards the archives. And she was not mistaken, even if it took her several hours to find it.
" Finally. "
She opened it, finding hundreds of sketches and descriptions of fish and other marine mammals. Some crustacean projects were proposed by the angel Scyel, whom she now knew as the demon Scylla, Dagon's second-in-command. A few proposals came from Leviel, who later became Leviathan. But all the other documents came from Dagon, all rejected. The reason ? Inadequate. It was bullshit, most of the sketches resembled creatures that already existed or could have existed, even if she had made a few whimsical deviations on some. She closed the file and made it disappear into a pocket dimension with a snap of her fingers. Now she had one more detail to sort out, or rather two, then she could be reunited with her precious demon.
*
When Dagon returned to the apartment they often shared on earth, she saw Michael sitting at the living room table, upright, clearly waiting for her. She looked up at her, and the demon panicked for a moment.
" I didn't do anything, " she defended herself.
Michael huffed a laugh. " I know. "
The brunette stood up to approach her and take one of her hands, her other hand moved to her cheek on which she caressed the fine scales, she found her truly beautiful. She leaned down to kiss her tenderly. The redhead may have been a little surprised by her reaction but hey, who was she to complain about a kiss from her angel ?
" Is today my birthday ? " asked Dagon against her lips.
" Come, " Michael tightened her grip on her hand and guided them to the middle of the room.
" Are we going somewhere ? "
" Yes, I have something to show you, " said the angel.
The two teleported, Dagon had her eyes closed because of the light beam and when she felt the ground beneath her feet again she also felt a cool breeze caress her face. When she opened them again she saw that they were in rather steep mountains. Michael led the way, still holding her hand to pull her with her to the top of one of the hills overlooking an immense green plain similar to wild steppes on which were two immense watercourses, really large.
" There, " said Michael, nodding her head down the hill.
" Those are lakes, " Dagon pointed out, tilting her head to the side. " Wait, where are we ? "
" Escalles. "
" Oh, France, " Dagon concluded before frowning. " I didn't know there were lakes here. I know every body of water on earth, even the artificial ones. "
" I had them made, " said Michael. " They're for you. No humans will be able to come. "
" You know, if I want water, I have all the oceans on the planet. "
Michael gave her a gentle poke on the forehead. " To create more aquatic creatures, " she clarified.
" Every animal creation is strictly monitored, " Dagon said almost sadly.
The angel rolled her eyes and conjured the stack of documents she'd stolen from Tsadkiel and placed them in her hands. " Not here. "
Dagon stared at the pile in her hands. Of course, she recognized her projects, but she didn't think she'd ever see them again. She flipped through a few pages before looking up at Michael, questioning.
" How ? "
" It doesn't matter. It's yours. "
Dagon turned her silver gaze toward the two large bodies of water. " Is this really for me ? "
" Absolutely, " assured the brunette. " For what you couldn't create in the past. "
" It's really... Thanks but... Why ? " Dagon seemed almost embarrassed.
I should have seen, I should have helped you, encouraged you, and I ignored you, thought Michael.
" You deserve it, " she said simply.
" Tell that to God-"
Michael pulled her into a hug, interrupting her. " You deserve it, " she repeated.
I'm sorry, she thought.
Dagon leaned back against her, settling against her neck, accepting the gift, the hug, and the whole situation, really. All Michael wanted to do was cuddle her, kiss her, anything just to make Dagon feel good. She felt like she had failed miserably as a prince, she was supposed to protect the angels, help them, advise them, guide them... yeah she felt like crap.
She felt a surge of faith, however, when she felt the demon cuddle her closer, tightening her arms around her. Dagon loved her despite her mistakes and ignorance, and for that alone, Michael felt rather victorious. She placed a kiss on the top of her beloved red head.
" The largest is salt water, the other is clear water, " continued Michael. " You certainly won't be able to make the largest creatures, but for the others, you have free rein. "
" Thank you, I really appreciate it, " Dagon told her, her head leaning against her shoulder.
" I owe you that much. "
" Hm ? Why ? "
" For nothing, " said Michael, shaking her head before taking Dagon's hand again to walk towards the water. " Come on. "
She couldn't change the past, but she could make some effort for the present.