Date

Ylfa stood in the entryway, tying a short coat around her neck, her tail swaying in a slow, happy rhythm beneath her skirt as she beamed at Jere behind her. The wind outside rustled softly against the walls - playful, not biting - and the midday sun poured down in warm sheets. The morning had vanished in a blink, swept past in quiet excitement and unspoken anticipation.

She finished the knot and rested her hand on the door handle, her smile bright enough to replace any number of words.

“Are you ready?”

Jere nodded. It was a pointless question - he was always ready to follow her anywhere - but skipping it would have made the moment feel incomplete. So he nodded, and she opened the door.

They stepped into the sunlight together. Ylfa stretched her arms high and drew in a deep breath of air so crisp it almost sparkled. Jere stepped up beside her, his presence an anchor, and she shot him a grin.

“I’ve been looking forward to this.”

He returned her smile before turning away slightly. With a quiet hiss, the plates of his back unlocked and slid apart. His wings emerged in a smooth, mechanical rippling - black feathers aligning themselves with uncanny precision until both spans stood proud and gleaming. Ylfa moved behind him and looped her arms around his neck, pressing close. Her voice brushed his ear.

“Okay, I’m holding on.”

Jere nodded. With a powerful downward beat, they shot into the air.

Wind howled around them, tugging at Ylfa’s coat and threatening her balance, but her arms held strong. His ion engines kicked in with a shrill metallic scream, and the surrounding air chilled as they climbed. Higher and higher until Jere eased into a sweeping arc, levelling out smoothly.

Below them, the world sprawled endlessly - patchwork fields, forests, rivers, and distant towns forming a landscape like some enormous, chaotic quilt. Ylfa laughed into the rushing air, and Jere slowed to let her enjoy the view. She leaned up until her mouth was beside his ear, grinning wildly.

“This is so cool!”

He laughed. He was accustomed to flying, but he understood perfectly - the wonder, the thrill, the intoxicating freedom. Up here, among the clouds, an Angel could almost forget that hundreds of meters below were people who would kill them on sight if given the chance.

He turned his head just enough to catch her gaze, a daring grin spreading across his face.

“Hold on tight.”

She tightened her grip. The wail of his engines faded, his wings folded, and he tipped forward.

They dropped.

Air clawed past them, the ground rushing up in a blur. Ylfa’s chest tightened with a spike of instinctive fear, but she didn’t loosen her grip. She knew - better than anyone - that she was safe as long as she held her Angel.

The forest surged up toward them. At the last moment, Jere’s wings snapped open with a violent crack of air, and they pulled up sharply. Treetops whipped past only meters below their feet.

The hills and valleys became his playground.

He dove and twisted, darted between clusters of trees, rolled through pockets of rising birds, and let his slipstream send leaves spiralling into chaos. Wind battered Ylfa from all sides, flattening her ears and whipping her tail into a frenzy, but she was laughing - breathless, exhilarated, half unable to breathe and loving every second.

He rolled again, the tips of his wings slicing through a few tree crowns before his engines reignited and they rocketed skyward once more.

When they finally settled into a gentle cruise, Ylfa managed to breathe enough to laugh properly.

“That was awesome! Again!”

Jere grinned and obliged. They fell into a rhythm - dives, climbs, rolls, soaring glides - trying to make up for every moment they’d lost over the past weeks.

Eventually he levelled out again, cruising steadily. Mischief began to spark in Ylfa’s eyes. She leaned up to his ear, her voice lilting.

“Hey, let’s visit a human town and go shopping.”

Jere blinked, surprised, then caught the impish glint on her face and returned it with a grin of his own. His processors screamed objections - danger, risk, exposure - but he silenced them. He realised, with a jolt of quiet pride, that he was doing exactly what some of the songs on his MP3 player encouraged: following his heart.

He grinned, delighted at his steadily growing humanity, then ignited the engines in a sharp burst and rocketed into the distance.

The first town they came across dissolved into chaos the moment they touched down. People screamed and scattered, doors slammed, and the lively chatter of the street vanished as if erased by a single breath. Jere added a dramatic - but completely pointless - final flap of his wings that kicked dust spiraling through the air before his feathers folded neatly away. Ylfa slipped off his back, took his hand, and led him down the suddenly empty street.

The transformation was stark. A minute ago, the town had been full of laughter and midday bustle. Now it felt like a ghost settlement.

Ylfa sidled closer until her shoulder brushed his, walking in perfect step with him.

“So,” she murmured, “what do you wanna do here?”

He gave her a sideways glance.
“I thought this was your idea.”

She giggled.
“Oh, I suppose it was, wasn’t it?”

She grinned, eyes glinting.

“Alright, then let’s do the things we can’t do in the village.”

“Like?” he asked.

“Well, for starters,” she said, leaning in conspiratorially, “I’d like to eat in an actual restaurant.”

He smiled and nodded.
“I’ll follow you then.”

“Perfect! Then let’s try this place right here.”

She pointed at a restaurant barely a few paces away. Faces peered from the windows - only to vanish instantly when she raised her hand. Jere smiled at the simplicity of the choice and followed her eager steps.

He almost sighed as he stepped inside.

Most of the tables had been tipped onto their sides like shields, the cowering shapes of humans tucked behind them. A few brave - or frozen - ones remained upright. Ylfa ignored every single one of them, striding to the counter.

The waiter looked as though he might faint at any second, but somehow held his ground as the pair approached. Jere had already scanned the entire menu twice; still, he waited for Ylfa to order, because he would eat whatever she chose.

She smacked her palm down on the counter, grinning like she had just discovered her new favourite game.

“Two of your best steaks, thank you very much.”

The waiter didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Meeting the gaze of not one but two living nightmares was an experience he hoped never to repeat in any lifetime. It wasn’t until Ylfa banged on the counter again that he jolted back into his body.

“Hello? Anybody home?”

He squeaked, “Two steaks! On it!” and sprinted away - to relay the order, whip the chefs into a panic, and possibly change his pants.

Ylfa turned to Jere with a shrug and pointed at one of the few upright tables.

“Want to sit down?”

He smiled.
“Sure.”

They sat. And then the waiting began.

No one else in the restaurant dared to twitch. Anxiety hovered mid-air. People held their breath as the two supposed demons laughed with each other, exchanged jokes neither fully understood, and talked about love like it was the most natural thing in the world.

When the food finally came out, the customers felt both relieved and horrified - relieved that the monsters weren’t about to massacre them, horrified that they were going to witness whatever happened next.

But nothing happened. Nothing except them eating, talking, laughing more, and finishing their meal like two ordinary lovers on a date.

A seed of doubt began sprouting among the onlookers. Could this really be the same pair whose names were spoken with dread? The most dangerous beings alive? And they’d come all this way… for lunch?

Absurd.

And yet the moment they stood to leave, Ylfa tossed a small gemstone onto the counter as payment. A tip, even. Jere took her hand, and they walked out into the sunlight without so much as a raised voice or a shadow of threat.

So the customers watched, stunned into silence, as the pair strolled down the street hand in hand - as if the world were perfectly normal.

Ylfa giggled, bumping her shoulder into Jere’s as they walked down the dusty road. She looked up at him with eyes sparkling in youthful joy.

“That was hilarious,” she laughed. “Did you see everyone else in there? They were practically soiling themselves!”

He grinned, though he doubted she’d noticed the more subtle shift beneath all that fear. What had begun as sheer terror had, by the time they left, curdled into confusion. Curiosity. The kind of bewilderment that tended to bloom into rumours - most of which would be wildly inaccurate.

Not that either of them cared. They’d left the human world behind; they were only visiting. And they’d leave again soon, once Ylfa crossed off the short list of places she wanted to see. Jere’s processors had already compiled a ranked list of likely destinations based on her habits.

So he was ready when she tugged on his hand to lead him onward.
Or so he thought.

“Let’s find a clothes store!”

That surprised him. It hadn’t even made the bottom of his list - after all, they had a tailor in the village. But she clearly had something specific in mind. He nodded as she dragged him along, and it didn’t take long before they found one: sitting on a corner, big glass windows showcasing wooden mannequins wearing something that made his heart stutter.

Swimsuits.

Ylfa caught his expression instantly and burst into laughter.

“Come on, they don’t sell these in the village, and I want to go swimming.”
She pushed the door open, nudging him through with a grin that promised mischief.
“And I expect you to join me.”

He walked into what could only be described as a man’s dream and nightmare all at once. A crowded store - though all the customers had huddled into a single terrified corner - filled wall-to-wall with swimwear of every shape, size, and level of modesty. Ylfa strode in as though she owned the place, heading straight for the women’s two-piece section, leaving Jere no option but to trail behind like a nervous puppy.

He kept his eyes firmly on her tail - swishing happily - until she stopped, planted her hands on her hips, and stared at a display.

“What do you think?”

She was pointing at a white two-piece bikini: a loose, draped fabric top with short sleeves and exposed shoulders, a simple but elegant pair of bottoms with extra hip straps, and a semi-transparent mesh miniskirt to complete the set.

Jere’s processors immediately began generating a simulation of her wearing it. He cancelled it before completion - and then nodded as if his entire system wasn’t overheating.

“I like it. I think you’d look very…”
He searched, baffled by how hard the word suddenly was to find.
“… sexy in it.”

Her grin widened, catching the genuine flickers on his face.

“You think so? That was easy. I’ll get it then.”

His heart hammered, excitement rushing through him. The idea of seeing her in that outfit thrilled him more than seeing her without anything at all - and the realization made him smile.

Then she turned to him with a wicked look.

“What about you?”

“I’ll be alright,” he attempted.

She was having none of it. She grabbed his wrist and towed him toward the men’s section. Choice was clearly not part of the process. Moments later - after she’d thrown a small gemstone at a frightened clerk who still somehow failed to dodge the slow-moving projectile - they stepped out of the store again.

Ylfa spun lightly on her heel, graceful as ever, and beamed.

“Okay, let’s go swimming!”

Jere smiled, a pair of swimming trunks tucked under his arm, the sun high and warm above them - bright enough to tan even synthetic skin.