Work Text:
It starts as it ends, with a garden.
ineffable adjective
/inˈefəb(ə)l/
: incapable of being expressed in words : indescribable
- ineffable joy/beauty
: Unspeakable
- Ineffable disgust
: Not to be uttered : Taboo
- the ineffable name of Jehovah
6000 BDP. (Before the Day of Pact)
The Beginning.
The angel watched over the wall; below were two humans scouring away into the sandy dunes, a far cry from their exiled paradise.
A giant owlcat came prowling up the limestone walls before meeting beside the angel. Their form morphed slowly, revealing a tall dark being with long raven-locks, giant black wings and purple eyes with vertical slits for pupils.
“Well, it didn’t go down very well, I suppose.” The dark entity mumbled, watching the two mortals scurry away even faster.
“Yes, yes, it did!” The angel pointed out, the wind tousling their long hair and robes.
The anomaly remained silent, watching the mortals disappear into the dunes. “Quite an overreaction if you were to ask me.”
“It’s probably bad…” She turned to the other companion on the wall, looking at her expectantly while her green hair continued to flow. “A… Ark—”
“It is, Agathe.”
“Agathe.” She repeated quickly. “‘Cause then, you wouldn’t have to tempt them with the secret of knowledge. You’re a demon, right?”
“I suppose it makes us all wonder what the Almighty is planning.”
“It isn’t for us to think about Their great plan; it isn’t for us to understand; it’s ineffable.”
“The great plan is ineffable?” Agathe turned to the green-haired angel, eyebrow quirked “The great plan is beyond our understanding?”
“Of course!” She responded, turning back to the sandy dunes beyond where they were. “The Almighty is—”
Thunder crackled through the sky, drops of water meeting the ground in a warning, followed by the intense patter of raindrops as the sky turned dark. Agathe looked up, blinking carefully at the rain when she saw white feathers rise in the corner of her eye. Agathe froze upon seeing the angel had raised their wing for her.
A hesitant foot stepped slowly to the side, followed by another until she was covered beneath the soft white feathers. “And you are?” Agathe suddenly interjected.
The angel blinked at Agathe, tilting their head to the side. “W-what— Oh, I’m Coco.”
5500 BDP.
Northern Zozah
“I just don’t understand how this happened, Agathe!” Coco blubblered while flying through the sky with quick haste. “The Star Keeper apparently gave magic away to a maiden!”
“Must you always assume the worst?” Agathe grumbled, their feet landing on soft grass walking to wherever the pull of miracles felt strongest. “How did this even begin?”
Coco sighed, stepping on silver roots; she stilled and started following the wood. “The Star Keeper fell in love with this maiden, and suddenly they revealed magic.”
Their flowy robes tousled from the harsh winds that welcomed the forest. Coco made no delay, rushing straight to the source.
“And I assume under the wrong hands, it’ll ‘fall to evil’?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I— Oh.”
The angel and the demon came to a stop. There was a giant silver tree in the middle of a small clearing, followed by the figure and robes of the Star Keeper just below it, kneeling in sorrow while it looked like he was holding something.
Small cries could be heard as Agathe and Coco stood deathly still.
“Oh.” Agathe echoed, feeling Coco drag her to a nearby boulder to watch the Star Keeper stand up with a small child holding onto a star, the two slowly disappearing from the tree. With the view now unobstructed, the demon and angel could see the faint silhouette of a woman encased in the tree.
2603 BDP.
Northern Zozah.
“You just have to draw the final spell circle right, and then the spell should work, Thristas.” Agathe pointed; her voice was low while her free hand adjusted her dark dress with a long grumble.
The dark witch nodded, dragging the body to the centre of the spell circle, followed by the sounds of his footsteps running off to the final spell in the open spot on the ground.
Agathe looked up at the silverwood maiden encased by their own intertwined branches, eyes becoming weary and heavy. ‘I am sorry, ’ she thought, her hand gently reaching up to where she presumed the foot may be.
“Mistress Agathe?”
Thristas’ voice cut through her trance, making the demon look back at them. “What is it?” The raven-haired woman asked monotonely. “Are you ready to cast the spell?”
Thristas nodded, glancing down at the corpse, ready and limp right in the middle of the entire ring. “Aye, just step out of the circle just in case—”
A strong, sharp, streamlined gust of wind shot through the silverwood forest. Catching them both off guard. Agathe wasted no time, shooting forward into the woods. “Just finish the spell, Thristas!”
Bursts of fire and wind spread throughout the forest; Agathe could see the witch’s form. Their clothes were a mix of beige and green, along with the familiar sight of green hair. She stopped her pen before it could stain on paper. “Coco?—” Agathe coughed as a gust of wind shot at her gut, sending her flying to the nearby silverwood tree. The force had been so strong her brimmed hat had gotten knocked out of her head
“I’ve got you now, dark witch!” She yelled out, approaching Agathe slowly; her hands had a pen and paper. “And I won’t let you destroy this forest just to—” She paused upon catching Agathe's purple owlcat eyes, her hand immediately taking off her own brimmed hat. “Agathe?!”
“Coco,” Agathe grumbled back, her hand gently taking out wooden sticks and silver leaves from her long raven curls. “My word, what are you doing here?”
“How about I ask you that first?!” Coco shot back, gesturing wildly to the silverwood forest.
“Why, they sent me to assist the dark witch. Now tell me what you are doing here?”
“They sent me to stop the dark witch!”
The angel and the demon paused, staring blankly at each other before making a shared groan.
“Why are you helping the dark witch?!” The angel huffed, glancing around the forest with a long, exhausted glare. “Since when do you help these people?!”
Agathe rolled her eyes, leaning back against the silverwood tree’s trunk. “Well, obviously I wouldn’t dare help them fully!” She shot back. “I was attempting to sabotage their attempts!”
“You should’ve made it clearer!”
“Coco, stop!” Agathe shouted, pushing herself up to grip the angel’s shoulders. “If you’re here yelling at me, and I’m here yelling at you.”
“Then who’s watching Thristas…?” Coco finished, her eyes going as wide as saucers.
The ground shook violently, a surge of black filling the area, trees turning as dark as the void as death spread through the area. Agathe gripped Coco’s wrist, “And that was the sabotage part!” She yelled out, dragging them towards safety.
“By killing the entire forest?!”
512 BDP.
The Kingdom of Dadah.
“Hello, Coco,” Agathe mumbled behind Coco, stepping to the side as the angel came to face them.
“Oh, Agathe!” She beamed, ignoring the crowd of mortals around them. Her green and white brimmed hat created an area of space around them. “What’re you doing here?” Coco murmured, noting the new dark attire.
Agathe sighed, crossing her arms with a long hum. “It would be an endless story if I had told you.” She glanced around the group of people. “Now then, what could be occurring right now?”
Coco hummed, pointing at the mountains. “The king says he’ll be raising his mountains.” She glanced back at the population of the kingdom before them. “He’ll be abandoning his people while at it.”
“Even the animals and children?” Agathe turned to the angel for once; her face looked concerned. “You can not abandon the animals and children.”
“Yes, they are abandoning the animals and children as well.”
Agathe pinched the bridge of her nose. “No wonder they had sent me to try and tempt him to death.”
“You guys also wanted to kill him as well?” Coco gaped; she looked at Agathe as if she had grown another head altogether. “Can’t believe the king is that hated. But not to worry, after he falls from grace, the Almighty will create a rainbow and declare that They shall never bring upon cruelty as this forevermore.”
“How kind.”
“We can’t judge the Almighty, Agathe. Their plans are—”
Agathe rolled her eyes at the green-haired angel, an unamused frown on her face. “Are you going to say ‘ineffable’ angel?”
Mountains rose as if they were weightless; in the grand spectacle, farmland started to break apart while the king’s people could only stare in horror. Agathe sighed, slipping back into the crowd to try and find her way above, while Coco looked like she was ready to pop her wings open when suddenly
CRASH!
Screams wrung out from the people; Coco looked over to find the king of Dadah dead on the ground, a trail of magic leaving the air.
0 ADP. (After the Day of the Pact.)
Central Zozah.
Agathe and Coco watched over the cliff as the witches in pointed hats came upon the rest of the witches or the mad lords and kings, some without struggle and others with futile battles, a final chance to glory and songs.
"You must be here to smugly grin at the poor witches?" Agathe suddenly asked; the angel and demon were perched on a hill above as the chaos descended. "Heaven must have helped, haven't they? Take back what they stole from your people?"
Coco quirked an eyebrow and glanced back at the darkly dressed demon before glancing back at the scene of thousands getting their memories wiped. "I'm not here to talk about the policies the rest of heaven are up to, Agathe—"
"Oh, I changed it. My name is Agott now."
“Ah, well, Agott.” Coco corrected herself, her eyes trained on the battlefield, a chaos of many with their memories taken or thousands that bent the knee without hesitation. “Did you, uh, ever meet him? The one they’ve been calling the Wise?”
“Bright young man.” Agott murmured, perching more carefully upon the cliff, her gaze snapping towards the middle-aged man in a grey outfit and navy blue cloak. “Showed him all the kingdoms in the world, They wanted me to tempt him into stopping his plans.” Bursts of fire lit the sky like a horrifying spectacle while the water around practically threatened to flood the plains. “What could he have said to start this war?”
“Magic should be regulated.”
“I see, that will do it.”
53 ADP.
The Great Hall.
The witches of the new era had decided that their hometown should be reach the heavens like the King of Dadah did, or hide away in caves like the City of Romonon, instead, they had created a gigantic air bubble below the sea. Coco walked through the busy streets, she had swapped out her brimmed hat with the new brimless pointed caps to keep up with the times,
She stepped into the dining hall buzzing with energy and chatter as witches from all parts of the underwater city had begun their lunch. After getting to a table, she placed her tray beside a figure clad in black and purple, out of instinct she turned towards the figure, the angel’s golden eyes widening in recognition.
“Agathe— Agott!” She called out, watching the demon turn to her with her eyebrows raised up.
Agott looked completely different then she was fifty-three years ago, her long raven hair cut short enough to look like a man, defining her curls even more while her purple owlcat eyes had a pair of black-tinted glasses covering them, even her outfit had a new look, purple shirt and black trousers.
“I can’t believe I’d run into you here.” Coco took a seat besides Agott. “Still a demon, right?”
The demon sat straight, turning back to the angel with a befuddled, irritated look, “What type of stupid question is that? ‘Still a demon’ What else am I going to be? A torchstag?” Agott felt the way Coco silenced herself and went back into her drink.
“In the Great Hall long?” The angel in white took a sip of her drink as well.
The demon continued to drink, lingering in the silence for a second longer before shaking their head. “I am only here for a quick temptation.” She took another sip, ignoring her meal as a whole. “How about you?”
“I wanted to stop by the street-vendors.” Coco explained, elbows on the table and her index raised up while she looked at Agott. “I heard a lot of incredible things about this new food, Pointed-Cap Pastries is what they’re called.”
“I've never eaten those 'pastries'.” She took another drink her words slipping her mouth without any notice.
Green eyes beamed up at the remark, she leaned forward towards the demon with a grin. “Well let me tempt you to— Oh!”
She watched Agott turn straight at her, their faces were centimeters apart with how far Coco was leaning. The angel blushed and jerked back. “Thats, your job actually, sorry.”
Agott could only stare, feeling the flush creep up to her neck as she idly take another sip of her drink.
594 ADP.
Ezrest.
Coco has an odd situation this century. Her wrists and legs chained up and shackled to the wall, left to rot in this dungeon until her alleged execution. Her gold eyes flittering to the small window, light barely shining through as crowds passed with pitchforks and torches.
She turned away from the sight and the sound of screams from the nobles. “Animals.” She whispered lowly.
In a blink the guard watching her fell completely still halfway into his walk, the flickering flames froze as if iced over. “Animals don’t kill eachother with clever contraptions, angel, only mortals do that.”
She gasped at the lovely, familiar voice. “Agott…” Turning around to find the darkly-dressed demon sitting on one of the benches. “Oh… stars…” Coco did a once over on her companion’s brand new commonfolk-style of a suit, eyeing her up and down before looking back into black-tinted glasses.
“What could have possibly happened that led to you getting locked up in the castle dungeons?” Agott grumbled, leaning her head on the humid stone wall. “I thought you were opening a tailoring shop in Kalhn.”
“Well I was…” Coco tried to scratch the back of her head only for the shackles to halt her movements. “I got hungry and you can’t get good Mulberry pies in anywhere other than Ezrest.”
The purple-eyed demon stared at the angel like she was the biggest fool there ever was. And frankly, she might just be the biggest fool there ever was. “So you traversed halfway through the peninsula, during a civil war, just to have a small meal? Dressed like that?”
“News about Ezrest doesnt travel as fast as it should be, alright?”
A long exhausted groan escaped Agott’s lips from Coco’s words. “Why haven’t you used your miracles to go home in a snap?”
Coco chuckled awkwardly, leaning her head on nothing. “I got reprimanded last month.” She mumbled. “They said I did too many unimportant miracles.”
“Of course you did…” Agott huffed. At the snap of her fingers the shackles on Coco’s wrists and ankles broke apart, freeing the angel in white.
She took a breath once free, her hands checking on her wrists. “I have to thank you for the uh, rescue.”
Agott let out a sharp breath and abruptly stood up, pointing accusatorily at Coco. “Do not say that. If my people hear that I rescued an angel I’ll be the one in trouble, and my people do not send strong reprimands.”
“Well, anyway, I… really am grateful.” Coco sighed, looking at Agott again. “What if I buy you lunch?”
Silence fell between the angel and demon.
She scrunched her face and did a once-over at Coco’s dress. “Looking like that?”
Coco huffed and snapped her fingers, switching from a nice green dress to a much more casual beige dress with green accents. She patted down wrinkles and followed Agott out the dungeon while time continued frozen.
“What is for lunch?”
“Say, would you like some Mulberry pies?”
“Always, angel.”
784 ADP.
Tower of Tomes.
The biting cold raged on with how high they were while the two supernatural deities could only stand side-by-side, their wings beating against the harsh gusts of air. “I have been thinking for a long while.” Agott kept her gaze steady on the stretched horizon ahead. The two were in the usual clothes of a witch, save for the pair of wings stabilising them both mid air. “In many ways, we have a lot in common, you and me.”
“We may have both started off as angels,” Coco looked down at the tower just below their feet. “But you are fallen.”
Agott rolled her eyes beneath her sunglasses. “I did not fall, angel.” She grumbled. “I just sauntered vaguely downwards.” She groaned at her distraction and dug into her belt bag. “I have a favour to ask of you.”
“What?” Coco adjusted her hat, making sure it wasn’t blown away by the wind.
“For if it all goes pear-shaped.” The demon handed out a small folded piece of paper to the angel in lighter colours. “I wrote it down.” She explained while Coco gingerly took the piece. “Walls have ears— no, trees have ears, the tower has ears.”
The angel unfolded the paper, freezing dead in her tracks as she read the words.
Holy Water
Her hand shook the longer she held the paper, it were as if she was holding hellfire itself. “Out of the question.” Golden eyes glared back at black-tinted glasses with all the righteous fury and terror she could muster up.
“Why not?” The demon’s voice felt unusually naive. “I only need the insurance, if things do go wrong.”
“It will destroy you!” Coco fumed, giving the paper back at Agott. “I am not giving you a way out, Agott!”
“That’s not what I wanted, just insurance.” Agott grumbled back, shoving the paper at Coco’s hands again.
“I’m not an idiot, Agott.” The angel shot back, crumpling the paper. “Do you know how much trouble I’d be in if…” She looked up at the sky then back at Agott multiple times. “If they knew that I was… fraternising with the enemy? It’s completely out of the question!”
Agott slowly turned towards Coco, her jaw clenching and fist tightening against sharp owlcat claws. “Fraternising?!”
“It's not what I wanted to call it.”
“I have lots of other people to fraternise with, Angel!”
She watched her perch on the tip of the tower while she flapped her wings away from Agott. Coco rolled her eyes while distancing from the demon. “Of course you do.”
“I don’t need you!” Agott lashed out, her dark pointed had slowly revealing its brim as the glasses slid down to reveal purple glaring at gold with a hint of betrayal.
“And the feeling’s mutual!” Coco turned around away from Agott, throwing the crumpled paper elsewhere while flying off.
1277 ADP.
Noz.
The beast tore through the streets of Noz, a handful of the witches were already doing the best they could. The biting chill of the snow was what made Coco’s magic falter, heaven and their strict rules! Any lazuli of a miracle would send her to the ends of the world as it is.
Then the beast turned towards the angel, dragging their rear leg against the snow before charging straight at her, naturally Coco jumps to the slide only for its horns to stab straight through her shoulder, ichor coming out as she gets dragged along the beast’s path.
She glanced at the protruding horn. “W-what?!” She coughed out, her free hand gripping onto the snow. As she gets dragged through the snow, Coco spots a familiar brimmed figure in black and purple heading straight towards her.
In that instant, gone was the white powder of snow and the snowfall sky, only the dark alleyways of Noz.
“Angel?”
Coco woke in a blurry haze, propping her free hand up, and meeting Agott’s face looking straight down at her. “Agott…?” gold eyes turned to find her head had been laying down on her lap. Silence fell between the angel and demon when she suddenly pointed an accusatory finger at the raven-haired brimcap. “Did you send the beast after us?! No beast could hurt an angel unless they’re from hell!”
Agott retracted her hands from Coco, shaking her head at the accusation. “You know that I would do no such thing.” She looked at the beast still ravaging Noz, followed by the group of witches trying to subdue the creature. “One of my people must have sent it to try and do something to you.”
The demon slowly stood up, her arms grabbing Coco, wrapping her arm around her shoulder as she slowly dragged them both out the alleyway on the opposite end.
Coco looked at the focused Agott, trying to note any physical differences she had gotten or shifted into during their centuries apart. She breathed a slow breath. “That was very kind of you.”
“Shut up.”
1295 ADP.
Kalhn.
Agott and Coco sat on the garden bench, checking their surroundings for any sign of surveillance. “Alright, swap back, angel.” She held out her hand which the angel eagerly took, in a blink they had gone from disgusing themselves as one another to their true bodies.
Agott slowly eased her shirt’s collar while leaning back against the bench. She turned her gaze straight to Coco. “Nearly twenty-five lazuli, really, Coco?”
“I thought It would help the witches regain second wind for the valence leech.” The angel shot back, standing still and properly on the bench compared to the demon. “Why would our sides even want that thing to succeed?”
The demon sighed softly, looking at the angel and their face, there always seemed to be this glow around her. “The mortals already handled the situation.” She mumbled. “And I believe they will leave us alone after that bit.”
Silence hung peacefully between the two only for Agott to break it once more.
“If you ask me, both sides will use this as breathing space,” She broke her gaze on Coco to focus on the lush overhangs of the garden. “Before the big one.”
“Which big one?”
“All of us, against all of them.”
“Heaven and Hell against… humanity?”
“Right.” The raven-haired demon sighed, “Time to leave the garden,” She turned her body towards Coco with a small smile. "Let me… tempt you to lunch?”
The green-haired angel let out a soft chuckle as she followed Agott. “Temptation accomplished.” They traversed through the lush, wide garden buzzing with life from soft trees to vibrant plants. “What about the Minstrels?” She suggested out of the blue. “I think a table for two just came up for free, must have been a miracle.”
Agott chuckled and smiled at the thought. “It surely must be one miracle only an angel can do.”