╰ * ❤ Esther — !

Carpe Diem

[glowdetails]

ralph russo fall 2020 in the making

[clueless-cutie]

[alreadyghostts]

make you a promise that if you fuck with me I might just change your life goddess - jaira burns

[fairylilies]

[analife]

Elie Saab // Haute Couture - Fall 2019

[loubnameron-deactivated20240914]

[malnedott]

cute shades ⭐️✨

[rai-r]

[cozy-aesthetics]

[barinenedax-deactivated20211011]

[thatmiumiu]

[clueless-cutie]

[floralls]

by Marti Gutfreund

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

{{ @stvrfallen }}

Ezra hummed along to the music playing through his earphones as he walked down the street, taking his time and enjoying the sunshine whilst keeping an eye on his little white dog as it wandered ahead of him, sniffing around and wagging his tail at every person that walked past.

He only looked away for one second and when he looked back Morrissey had taken off running, sprinting down the street and taking a sharp turn down an alleyway, barking as he went. Ezra cursed and quickly took off after him, calling his name to try to get him to stop. He stopped in his tracks when he came to the alleyway though, mismatched eyes wide.

Morrissey had found a scraped up and bloodied girl sitting in the alley, shaking so hard he could see it from where he was standing, clearly terrified. Someone must’ve been after her. 

He slowly made his way towards her as not to scare her and crouched down close to her, looking her over and speaking to her in a soft voice.

“Are you okay? Morrissey be careful, don’t hurt her. Do you need some help? Is someone after you or something?”

[stvrfallen]

She was shaking so hard she could not hear anything around her except for her own breathing. It was heavy and rough, conveying her fear in every breath as her hands trembled while she tried to push herself further into the doorway she was hidden in.

The dog came bounding down the alley as fast as lightning and it shot her into action, scrambling up from her spot to scream and spotted the man, slapping his hand away and yelling at him to get away. Terrified that he was here to take her, she tried everything in her power to get him away, even spreading her wings out wide behind her and batting them. The force blew up the trash and leaves around them into the air and out of the alley, scaring the dog into hiding behind his master.

However, she couldn’t keep up her act as the pain in her wings was too much to bear, blood dripping from the snow white feathers and they soon folded back into their resting position while she sobbed. She settled back into her corner, cowering and hiding her face while she tried to accept her fate.

❝ Stay away from me… I don’t want to die, please leave me alone. ❞

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

Ezra quickly backed up when she yelled at him to get away, watching with wide eyes when she spread her wings out. An angel? He hadn’t seen an angel in a long time, demons had been working on taking any that lived on Earth out. Was that why she was hiding in an alleyway? Were demons after her? He decided to refrain from revealing himself as a demon just in case that’s what was happening. He didn’t want to seem like a threat to her.

He quickly clipped Morrissey’s leash back onto his collar and kept the little dog behind him as the girl settled back down again. He stayed where he was, keeping his distance and crouching down again to talk to her.

“I’m not going to hurt you or kill you, it’s okay. If someone is after you hiding down here isn’t a good idea, it’s a dead end, they could easily get to you and hurt you. You have to go somewhere safer, honey. I can help, I promise I won’t hurt you. Cross my heart. I can get you somewhere safe, hide those wings for you too.”

[stvrfallen]

She could see the way he was staring at her, eyes wide and mouth open as he watched her wings spread out behind her and her hands balled into fists. He wanted her, wanted to hunt her down like she was sport and a trophy to be won. She had heard of this before, she knew angels were rare in the human world and that many, including other supernaturals hunting them down for their wings or to sell them as slaves.

Esther never thought she would end up as one of them, maybe her mother was right.

Staring at the small creature by his side, she noticed how he seemed to soften and heel at his feet, staring up at her with curious eyes and she couldn’t help the urge to reach out to it. Her trembling fingers pursued their way out of the doorway and out toward the dog who complied, stepping forward just so he was within her reach and the tip of her fingers settled on his snout. He seemed to tilt his head into her touch and licked her carefully to show he meant no harm to her.

Something inside Esther told her it was okay, that a master this gentle with a companion so soft would not think to hurt her. Another part of her told her that she did not have much choice, that should she die with him, she would live for longer than she would have hiding in her corner. So her hand left its spot on the dog and reached up to the man, the fear in her eyes still ever present and pleading for help.

❝ I don’t know where I am, I don’t know my way around this place, I barely even know the earth. They’re after me, those… things, the bad demons, not like the ones I know. They want my wings, they said they would cut them off and sell me with them, they already cut part of them so I can’t fly away just yet. I don’t want to be a slave, I don’t want to die, please… ❞

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

Ezra opened his mouth to tell the puppy to stay by his side and not go near her, not wanting him to scare her but shut it when he saw her reach out to him, letting him cautiously step forward and sniff the angel’s hand. He was glad he let him, he seemed to calm the girl down.

“They will, they’re not good people. Don’t care about anything but money and killing. I know where I’m going, it’s okay. I’ve lived here for years. I’ll keep you safe.”

He gently took her hand and helped her up to her feet, quickly shrugging his pin covered leather jacket off and giving it to her, glancing over to the entrance of the alleyway and back to her, watching for the people that were after her.

“I need you to put this on. Don’t worry about getting blood on it, I can wash it. It’ll cover your wings up…mostly. How far away were the demons when you last saw them? Could they be close?”

[stvrfallen]

❝ Why do they want my wings? Why would they want to sell me, I haven’t done anything to make them hate me… ❞

Trusting him, Esther slipped her hand into his and let him haul her up off the ground. She tugged on the collar of the jacket so it was snug around her tiny frame, hiding the wings on her back and the blood on her body. All that was visible was her trembling legs and bruised face.

His hand settled on her lower back to guide her along the streets and the angel was thankful for the late hour, not many people were around and those that were paid them no mind. They were too busy with their evening to give two strangers any attention. The dog bounded in front of them on high alert, sniffing and keeping a protective stance and Esther allowed herself a little smile, grateful for his protection.

Esther couldn’t help but grip onto the man’s arm, keeping herself close to him at all times as she flinched and jumped at every small sound around her. Sniffling and struggling with her words, she tried to steady her breathing to tell him the situation she was in and figure out how they would escape from it.

❝ They were running after me through different alleys, I ran through the back of a garden to try and cut them off and just hid in that doorway. I didn’t see them again but I could hear them shouting and looking for me, I don’t know where they are but they’re close… ❞

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

“Doesn’t matter that you’ve done nothing wrong, you’re an angel. You’re doing something wrong by existing in their eyes. They want your wings to display as some sick trophy. They’d sell you off so you would be killed or kept as a slave. They’re disgusting people.”

Ezra waited on her slipping the jacket on before leading her out of the alley, resting his hand on her lower back and making sure to be as gentle as he could with her, not wanting to hurt her more than she already was. He kept an eye on Morrissey in front of them and glanced around as they walked, keeping an eye out for any suspicious people.

“And no one tried to stop them and help you? Gods, it takes two seconds to help someone, it isn’t hard. Well, there’s diners and cafes nearby we could sit in for a while until they disappear, get you cleaned up in there too-”

The demon cut himself off when he looked behind him and noticed a few men following them, men he recognized. He cursed under his breath and leaned down to whisper into the girl’s ear, not wanting to risk the men hearing them.

“Change of plan. They’re behind us. Can you run? I need you to run. Give me your hand, don’t let go, okay? I’ll get you to safety, I just need you to trust me and stay with me. Ready?”

[stvrfallen]

❝ No one was around, I was lucky to get away from them, I… I had to kill one of them, I didn’t mean to I swear, I was terrified of what else they would do to me. One of them dropped his gun and I just… ❞

Esther began to tremble again and her shoulders shook as she remembered the sound of the gun going off and the feeling of the warm blood splattering on her face, how her hand ached from the recoil of the weapon and how she just took off running, covered in blood. She looked down at her hands wrapped around his arm and looked at the blood there, how it had settled in the crevices of her palm and dried up underneath her fingernails. She struggled to finish her sentence so she focused on walking and keeping her feet steady.

Freezing up as he spoke, her grip tightened on his hand when she felt it slip into her own and squeeze tightly. She could sense them behind her, walking fast to keep up with the pair and she could hear the sound of guns being loaded and knives scraping against the concrete. Esther could only nod, bracing herself and taking a deep breath in before they took off down the street, Morrissey yelping and bounding along beside them. 

She could hardly breathe, her heart threatening to burst through her chest but the mans grip on her hand made her feel like it would be okay, that they would escape and that she had finally found someone she could trust.

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

“No, that’s what they deserved. You did a good thing. You’ve probably just saved others from him now. They shouldn’t be going after little things like you.”

Ezra grabbed her hand and held on tight, glancing behind himself before taking off running with the girl, hearing the men shout and immediately start to follow them. He wasn’t too far from home, he was lucky he lived close and knew multiple ways to get back, he just had to take the longer way that went through different streets to lose them. They would get caught if they went the simple way.

He quickly led her through different alleys that went onto other streets, each time taking a quick second to look around so he knew where he was going before taking off again, glancing at the angel by his side and the little dog to make sure they were okay.

When they came up to the bottom of his street they had just about lost the men following them but he didn’t want to risk stopping. He saw the guns they had, even if it was just one of them left, he could still kill them both.

“Almost there. Just one more sprint, then we’re safe. Let’s go, come on!”

His heart was pounding and his chest and legs hurt at this point, but they were almost there and he just had to push himself, the poor girl was worse off than him. Squeezing her hand, he ran up the street with her by his side to his house, throwing the gate open and pulling her up to the door, quickly unlocking it and getting her and Morrissey inside. He didn’t even let himself catch a breath for a moment, immediately locking the door and going around the room and pulling the curtains shut just in case they came near the house and saw them. Only then he let himself calm down and catch his breath.

[stvrfallen]

Following his lead as the fled down the streets, her legs threatening to buckle underneath her but she refused to give up, refused to die so she kept running. She was almost throwing herself through the alleys, ducking and diving around corners and sprinting up hills. Esther could hear them getting further and further away, the sounds of them yelling and shouting fading into the distance as they reach the final stretch. 

The last run was the hardest, her legs ached and her wing was bleeding underneath the jacket but she had to make it otherwise they would die, both of them would be shot down and hunted if they didn’t finish this stretch. Finally, they reached the door and threw themselves inside the house, Esther immediately collapsing to the ground. She sobbed and wailed in pain as her scraped knees and palms hit the floor hard and the jacket slipped from her shoulders, her wings stretching out wide to attempt to ease the pain.

The blood spilled from the tear close to her shoulders, rolling down her collarbone and pooling on the floor as she whimper, trying hard to stand up but collapsing onto the ground again. Morrissey was by her side, whimpering and sniffing her hair before barking up at his master as he hopped around on his feet to grab his attention.

❝ Please, help me… ❞ 

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

Ezra made himself catch his breath rather quickly, and though his chest and legs still hurt he went straight over to the girl and helped her up.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ve got you. Let’s get you cleaned up, c’mon.”

He quickly caught her before her legs collapsed under her again, lifting her and carrying her through to his kitchen, flipping the light switch with his elbow and sitting her on one of the counters as he went about getting everything he needed to patch her up. Once he had collected everything he needed he sat all the supplies at her side and started to gently clean the blood off of her skin, bandaging any cuts as he went along. Thankfully, nothing was so bad that she needed stitches. She was lucky. Not many angels could survive encounters with demons, nevermind get away without even needing stitches. She did have a few deep cuts, but it was nothing that wasn’t easily taking care of.

“Are you okay? How are you doing? Told you I would keep you safe, didn’t I? I don’t think I caught your name, love. I’m Ezra.”

[stvrfallen]

Reaching out to him, she dug her hands into his shirt and whimpered as she was carried into the kitchen. She was grateful for how gentle he was with her, carefully placing her down on the counter as he went about cleaning her wounds. Her hands were still trembling as were her wings, a few pale feathers falling to the floor beneath them which made her heart ache, an angels wings and feathers were there most prized possession. They were nothing without them, just another fallen creature and to see them peel from her like a snake shedding its skin broke her.

❝ T-thank you, thank you for saving my life, thank you to your puppy too, he’s a brave little thing… I-I’m Esther, Esther Cassiopea Sol. ❞    

Esther sniffled but her head lifted up to look at him as he spoke, tilting her head as she finally got a good look at him. He was so wonderfully strange, he had works of art all over his skin that made her too curious and she hadn’t even realised her bloody hand had reached out to trace the small heart on his cheek. She rubbed it softly but gasped when she pulled her finger back to find the drawing had stayed on his cheek. It hadn’t even smudged.

It had fascinated her so much she hadn’t even felt the tear in her wing being stitched up and bandaged, in fact, it no longer hurt her.

❝ What did you use to draw the pictures on your body? It stays on so well, it’s like it’s in your skin… ❞    

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

“It’s okay, I wasn’t going to just leave you there. I don’t like what those monsters do, it isn’t right. God, I hope they didn’t recognise me…he is, he’s very brave. He’s been through a lot, poor thing. Found him almost frozen to death on the street one night, I just had to take him in. His name is Morrissey. Oh, pretty. Suits you.”

He continued to work on fixing her up as she looked over all his tattoos, only looking up when he went to wipe the now dried blood off of her face and realised she had been looking, his cheeks turning a peachy colour. He let her touch the little tattoo on his cheek and smiled when she gasped, going back to finishing fixing her up. He laughed when she spoke, stepping back and sitting everything to the side now that he was finished.

“That’s because it is in my skin. You don’t have tattoos where you come from? It’s ink, it gets injected into your skin with needles. It hurts, but it’s worth it. You thought I got up every morning and drew all these on? That would take the whole day, love, maybe more.”

[stvrfallen]

❝ I’ve never met such evil people, why would they hate me just for what I am? I had no choice in it, I was born this way... Oh, poor little puppy, had someone just left him there? That’s so cruel. I’m glad you were there to save him, you seem to like doing that, don’t you? We don’t have anything like what the Earth has where I’m from, I come from the stars so I’ve never seen these before. Oh, that sounds dangerous, are you sure it’s safe?... ❞

Looking up and down his body, she studied each of the different pictures on his body and found herself in a trance. They were so intricate and vibrant, they made him stand out as if he were a walking canvas just ready to be painted, she had never seen anyone like him on her time on earth.

Reaching out eagerly, Esther pulled his hand toward herself so she could get a closer look at the ones that covered his fingers and palms. Tilting his hand from side to side, she finally allowed a small laugh as she began to settle down and the situation no longer seemed as bad as the angel believed.

❝ I don’t know what to do now, I can’t go back out there, they’ll find me if they don’t track me back here, angels leave scents apparently. You said they are cruel and want to kill us for sport, like it’s a game to them. That they hate our kind and like to cut off our wings and keep us as slaves. Why do you think differently?... I know what you are, so why would you choose to save me? ❞    

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

{{ @stvrfallen }}

Ezra hummed along to the music playing through his earphones as he walked down the street, taking his time and enjoying the sunshine whilst keeping an eye on his little white dog as it wandered ahead of him, sniffing around and wagging his tail at every person that walked past.

He only looked away for one second and when he looked back Morrissey had taken off running, sprinting down the street and taking a sharp turn down an alleyway, barking as he went. Ezra cursed and quickly took off after him, calling his name to try to get him to stop. He stopped in his tracks when he came to the alleyway though, mismatched eyes wide.

Morrissey had found a scraped up and bloodied girl sitting in the alley, shaking so hard he could see it from where he was standing, clearly terrified. Someone must’ve been after her. 

He slowly made his way towards her as not to scare her and crouched down close to her, looking her over and speaking to her in a soft voice.

“Are you okay? Morrissey be careful, don’t hurt her. Do you need some help? Is someone after you or something?”

[stvrfallen]

She was shaking so hard she could not hear anything around her except for her own breathing. It was heavy and rough, conveying her fear in every breath as her hands trembled while she tried to push herself further into the doorway she was hidden in.

The dog came bounding down the alley as fast as lightning and it shot her into action, scrambling up from her spot to scream and spotted the man, slapping his hand away and yelling at him to get away. Terrified that he was here to take her, she tried everything in her power to get him away, even spreading her wings out wide behind her and batting them. The force blew up the trash and leaves around them into the air and out of the alley, scaring the dog into hiding behind his master.

However, she couldn’t keep up her act as the pain in her wings was too much to bear, blood dripping from the snow white feathers and they soon folded back into their resting position while she sobbed. She settled back into her corner, cowering and hiding her face while she tried to accept her fate.

❝ Stay away from me… I don’t want to die, please leave me alone. ❞

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

Ezra quickly backed up when she yelled at him to get away, watching with wide eyes when she spread her wings out. An angel? He hadn’t seen an angel in a long time, demons had been working on taking any that lived on Earth out. Was that why she was hiding in an alleyway? Were demons after her? He decided to refrain from revealing himself as a demon just in case that’s what was happening. He didn’t want to seem like a threat to her.

He quickly clipped Morrissey’s leash back onto his collar and kept the little dog behind him as the girl settled back down again. He stayed where he was, keeping his distance and crouching down again to talk to her.

“I’m not going to hurt you or kill you, it’s okay. If someone is after you hiding down here isn’t a good idea, it’s a dead end, they could easily get to you and hurt you. You have to go somewhere safer, honey. I can help, I promise I won’t hurt you. Cross my heart. I can get you somewhere safe, hide those wings for you too.”

[stvrfallen]

She could see the way he was staring at her, eyes wide and mouth open as he watched her wings spread out behind her and her hands balled into fists. He wanted her, wanted to hunt her down like she was sport and a trophy to be won. She had heard of this before, she knew angels were rare in the human world and that many, including other supernaturals hunting them down for their wings or to sell them as slaves.

Esther never thought she would end up as one of them, maybe her mother was right.

Staring at the small creature by his side, she noticed how he seemed to soften and heel at his feet, staring up at her with curious eyes and she couldn’t help the urge to reach out to it. Her trembling fingers pursued their way out of the doorway and out toward the dog who complied, stepping forward just so he was within her reach and the tip of her fingers settled on his snout. He seemed to tilt his head into her touch and licked her carefully to show he meant no harm to her.

Something inside Esther told her it was okay, that a master this gentle with a companion so soft would not think to hurt her. Another part of her told her that she did not have much choice, that should she die with him, she would live for longer than she would have hiding in her corner. So her hand left its spot on the dog and reached up to the man, the fear in her eyes still ever present and pleading for help.

❝ I don’t know where I am, I don’t know my way around this place, I barely even know the earth. They’re after me, those… things, the bad demons, not like the ones I know. They want my wings, they said they would cut them off and sell me with them, they already cut part of them so I can’t fly away just yet. I don’t want to be a slave, I don’t want to die, please… ❞

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

Ezra opened his mouth to tell the puppy to stay by his side and not go near her, not wanting him to scare her but shut it when he saw her reach out to him, letting him cautiously step forward and sniff the angel’s hand. He was glad he let him, he seemed to calm the girl down.

“They will, they’re not good people. Don’t care about anything but money and killing. I know where I’m going, it’s okay. I’ve lived here for years. I’ll keep you safe.”

He gently took her hand and helped her up to her feet, quickly shrugging his pin covered leather jacket off and giving it to her, glancing over to the entrance of the alleyway and back to her, watching for the people that were after her.

“I need you to put this on. Don’t worry about getting blood on it, I can wash it. It’ll cover your wings up…mostly. How far away were the demons when you last saw them? Could they be close?”

[stvrfallen]

❝ Why do they want my wings? Why would they want to sell me, I haven’t done anything to make them hate me… ❞

Trusting him, Esther slipped her hand into his and let him haul her up off the ground. She tugged on the collar of the jacket so it was snug around her tiny frame, hiding the wings on her back and the blood on her body. All that was visible was her trembling legs and bruised face.

His hand settled on her lower back to guide her along the streets and the angel was thankful for the late hour, not many people were around and those that were paid them no mind. They were too busy with their evening to give two strangers any attention. The dog bounded in front of them on high alert, sniffing and keeping a protective stance and Esther allowed herself a little smile, grateful for his protection.

Esther couldn’t help but grip onto the man’s arm, keeping herself close to him at all times as she flinched and jumped at every small sound around her. Sniffling and struggling with her words, she tried to steady her breathing to tell him the situation she was in and figure out how they would escape from it.

❝ They were running after me through different alleys, I ran through the back of a garden to try and cut them off and just hid in that doorway. I didn’t see them again but I could hear them shouting and looking for me, I don’t know where they are but they’re close… ❞

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

“Doesn’t matter that you’ve done nothing wrong, you’re an angel. You’re doing something wrong by existing in their eyes. They want your wings to display as some sick trophy. They’d sell you off so you would be killed or kept as a slave. They’re disgusting people.”

Ezra waited on her slipping the jacket on before leading her out of the alley, resting his hand on her lower back and making sure to be as gentle as he could with her, not wanting to hurt her more than she already was. He kept an eye on Morrissey in front of them and glanced around as they walked, keeping an eye out for any suspicious people.

“And no one tried to stop them and help you? Gods, it takes two seconds to help someone, it isn’t hard. Well, there’s diners and cafes nearby we could sit in for a while until they disappear, get you cleaned up in there too-”

The demon cut himself off when he looked behind him and noticed a few men following them, men he recognized. He cursed under his breath and leaned down to whisper into the girl’s ear, not wanting to risk the men hearing them.

“Change of plan. They’re behind us. Can you run? I need you to run. Give me your hand, don’t let go, okay? I’ll get you to safety, I just need you to trust me and stay with me. Ready?”

[stvrfallen]

❝ No one was around, I was lucky to get away from them, I… I had to kill one of them, I didn’t mean to I swear, I was terrified of what else they would do to me. One of them dropped his gun and I just… ❞

Esther began to tremble again and her shoulders shook as she remembered the sound of the gun going off and the feeling of the warm blood splattering on her face, how her hand ached from the recoil of the weapon and how she just took off running, covered in blood. She looked down at her hands wrapped around his arm and looked at the blood there, how it had settled in the crevices of her palm and dried up underneath her fingernails. She struggled to finish her sentence so she focused on walking and keeping her feet steady.

Freezing up as he spoke, her grip tightened on his hand when she felt it slip into her own and squeeze tightly. She could sense them behind her, walking fast to keep up with the pair and she could hear the sound of guns being loaded and knives scraping against the concrete. Esther could only nod, bracing herself and taking a deep breath in before they took off down the street, Morrissey yelping and bounding along beside them. 

She could hardly breathe, her heart threatening to burst through her chest but the mans grip on her hand made her feel like it would be okay, that they would escape and that she had finally found someone she could trust.

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

“No, that’s what they deserved. You did a good thing. You’ve probably just saved others from him now. They shouldn’t be going after little things like you.”

Ezra grabbed her hand and held on tight, glancing behind himself before taking off running with the girl, hearing the men shout and immediately start to follow them. He wasn’t too far from home, he was lucky he lived close and knew multiple ways to get back, he just had to take the longer way that went through different streets to lose them. They would get caught if they went the simple way.

He quickly led her through different alleys that went onto other streets, each time taking a quick second to look around so he knew where he was going before taking off again, glancing at the angel by his side and the little dog to make sure they were okay.

When they came up to the bottom of his street they had just about lost the men following them but he didn’t want to risk stopping. He saw the guns they had, even if it was just one of them left, he could still kill them both.

“Almost there. Just one more sprint, then we’re safe. Let’s go, come on!”

His heart was pounding and his chest and legs hurt at this point, but they were almost there and he just had to push himself, the poor girl was worse off than him. Squeezing her hand, he ran up the street with her by his side to his house, throwing the gate open and pulling her up to the door, quickly unlocking it and getting her and Morrissey inside. He didn’t even let himself catch a breath for a moment, immediately locking the door and going around the room and pulling the curtains shut just in case they came near the house and saw them. Only then he let himself calm down and catch his breath.

[stvrfallen]

Following his lead as the fled down the streets, her legs threatening to buckle underneath her but she refused to give up, refused to die so she kept running. She was almost throwing herself through the alleys, ducking and diving around corners and sprinting up hills. Esther could hear them getting further and further away, the sounds of them yelling and shouting fading into the distance as they reach the final stretch. 

The last run was the hardest, her legs ached and her wing was bleeding underneath the jacket but she had to make it otherwise they would die, both of them would be shot down and hunted if they didn’t finish this stretch. Finally, they reached the door and threw themselves inside the house, Esther immediately collapsing to the ground. She sobbed and wailed in pain as her scraped knees and palms hit the floor hard and the jacket slipped from her shoulders, her wings stretching out wide to attempt to ease the pain.

The blood spilled from the tear close to her shoulders, rolling down her collarbone and pooling on the floor as she whimper, trying hard to stand up but collapsing onto the ground again. Morrissey was by her side, whimpering and sniffing her hair before barking up at his master as he hopped around on his feet to grab his attention.

❝ Please, help me… ❞ 

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

Ezra made himself catch his breath rather quickly, and though his chest and legs still hurt he went straight over to the girl and helped her up.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ve got you. Let’s get you cleaned up, c’mon.”

He quickly caught her before her legs collapsed under her again, lifting her and carrying her through to his kitchen, flipping the light switch with his elbow and sitting her on one of the counters as he went about getting everything he needed to patch her up. Once he had collected everything he needed he sat all the supplies at her side and started to gently clean the blood off of her skin, bandaging any cuts as he went along. Thankfully, nothing was so bad that she needed stitches. She was lucky. Not many angels could survive encounters with demons, nevermind get away without even needing stitches. She did have a few deep cuts, but it was nothing that wasn’t easily taking care of.

“Are you okay? How are you doing? Told you I would keep you safe, didn’t I? I don’t think I caught your name, love. I’m Ezra.”

[stvrfallen]

Reaching out to him, she dug her hands into his shirt and whimpered as she was carried into the kitchen. She was grateful for how gentle he was with her, carefully placing her down on the counter as he went about cleaning her wounds. Her hands were still trembling as were her wings, a few pale feathers falling to the floor beneath them which made her heart ache, an angels wings and feathers were there most prized possession. They were nothing without them, just another fallen creature and to see them peel from her like a snake shedding its skin broke her.

❝ T-thank you, thank you for saving my life, thank you to your puppy too, he’s a brave little thing... I-I’m Esther, Esther Cassiopea Sol. ❞    

Esther sniffled but her head lifted up to look at him as he spoke, tilting her head as she finally got a good look at him. He was so wonderfully strange, he had works of art all over his skin that made her too curious and she hadn’t even realised her bloody hand had reached out to trace the small heart on his cheek. She rubbed it softly but gasped when she pulled her finger back to find the drawing had stayed on his cheek. It hadn’t even smudged.

It had fascinated her so much she hadn’t even felt the tear in her wing being stitched up and bandaged, in fact, it no longer hurt her.

❝ What did you use to draw the pictures on your body? It stays on so well, it’s like it’s in your skin... ❞    

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

{{ @stvrfallen }}

Ezra hummed along to the music playing through his earphones as he walked down the street, taking his time and enjoying the sunshine whilst keeping an eye on his little white dog as it wandered ahead of him, sniffing around and wagging his tail at every person that walked past.

He only looked away for one second and when he looked back Morrissey had taken off running, sprinting down the street and taking a sharp turn down an alleyway, barking as he went. Ezra cursed and quickly took off after him, calling his name to try to get him to stop. He stopped in his tracks when he came to the alleyway though, mismatched eyes wide.

Morrissey had found a scraped up and bloodied girl sitting in the alley, shaking so hard he could see it from where he was standing, clearly terrified. Someone must’ve been after her. 

He slowly made his way towards her as not to scare her and crouched down close to her, looking her over and speaking to her in a soft voice.

“Are you okay? Morrissey be careful, don’t hurt her. Do you need some help? Is someone after you or something?”

[stvrfallen]

She was shaking so hard she could not hear anything around her except for her own breathing. It was heavy and rough, conveying her fear in every breath as her hands trembled while she tried to push herself further into the doorway she was hidden in.

The dog came bounding down the alley as fast as lightning and it shot her into action, scrambling up from her spot to scream and spotted the man, slapping his hand away and yelling at him to get away. Terrified that he was here to take her, she tried everything in her power to get him away, even spreading her wings out wide behind her and batting them. The force blew up the trash and leaves around them into the air and out of the alley, scaring the dog into hiding behind his master.

However, she couldn’t keep up her act as the pain in her wings was too much to bear, blood dripping from the snow white feathers and they soon folded back into their resting position while she sobbed. She settled back into her corner, cowering and hiding her face while she tried to accept her fate.

❝ Stay away from me… I don’t want to die, please leave me alone. ❞

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

Ezra quickly backed up when she yelled at him to get away, watching with wide eyes when she spread her wings out. An angel? He hadn’t seen an angel in a long time, demons had been working on taking any that lived on Earth out. Was that why she was hiding in an alleyway? Were demons after her? He decided to refrain from revealing himself as a demon just in case that’s what was happening. He didn’t want to seem like a threat to her.

He quickly clipped Morrissey’s leash back onto his collar and kept the little dog behind him as the girl settled back down again. He stayed where he was, keeping his distance and crouching down again to talk to her.

“I’m not going to hurt you or kill you, it’s okay. If someone is after you hiding down here isn’t a good idea, it’s a dead end, they could easily get to you and hurt you. You have to go somewhere safer, honey. I can help, I promise I won’t hurt you. Cross my heart. I can get you somewhere safe, hide those wings for you too.”

[stvrfallen]

She could see the way he was staring at her, eyes wide and mouth open as he watched her wings spread out behind her and her hands balled into fists. He wanted her, wanted to hunt her down like she was sport and a trophy to be won. She had heard of this before, she knew angels were rare in the human world and that many, including other supernaturals hunting them down for their wings or to sell them as slaves.

Esther never thought she would end up as one of them, maybe her mother was right.

Staring at the small creature by his side, she noticed how he seemed to soften and heel at his feet, staring up at her with curious eyes and she couldn’t help the urge to reach out to it. Her trembling fingers pursued their way out of the doorway and out toward the dog who complied, stepping forward just so he was within her reach and the tip of her fingers settled on his snout. He seemed to tilt his head into her touch and licked her carefully to show he meant no harm to her.

Something inside Esther told her it was okay, that a master this gentle with a companion so soft would not think to hurt her. Another part of her told her that she did not have much choice, that should she die with him, she would live for longer than she would have hiding in her corner. So her hand left its spot on the dog and reached up to the man, the fear in her eyes still ever present and pleading for help.

❝ I don’t know where I am, I don’t know my way around this place, I barely even know the earth. They’re after me, those… things, the bad demons, not like the ones I know. They want my wings, they said they would cut them off and sell me with them, they already cut part of them so I can’t fly away just yet. I don’t want to be a slave, I don’t want to die, please… ❞

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

Ezra opened his mouth to tell the puppy to stay by his side and not go near her, not wanting him to scare her but shut it when he saw her reach out to him, letting him cautiously step forward and sniff the angel’s hand. He was glad he let him, he seemed to calm the girl down.

“They will, they’re not good people. Don’t care about anything but money and killing. I know where I’m going, it’s okay. I’ve lived here for years. I’ll keep you safe.”

He gently took her hand and helped her up to her feet, quickly shrugging his pin covered leather jacket off and giving it to her, glancing over to the entrance of the alleyway and back to her, watching for the people that were after her.

“I need you to put this on. Don’t worry about getting blood on it, I can wash it. It’ll cover your wings up…mostly. How far away were the demons when you last saw them? Could they be close?”

[stvrfallen]

❝ Why do they want my wings? Why would they want to sell me, I haven’t done anything to make them hate me… ❞

Trusting him, Esther slipped her hand into his and let him haul her up off the ground. She tugged on the collar of the jacket so it was snug around her tiny frame, hiding the wings on her back and the blood on her body. All that was visible was her trembling legs and bruised face.

His hand settled on her lower back to guide her along the streets and the angel was thankful for the late hour, not many people were around and those that were paid them no mind. They were too busy with their evening to give two strangers any attention. The dog bounded in front of them on high alert, sniffing and keeping a protective stance and Esther allowed herself a little smile, grateful for his protection.

Esther couldn’t help but grip onto the man’s arm, keeping herself close to him at all times as she flinched and jumped at every small sound around her. Sniffling and struggling with her words, she tried to steady her breathing to tell him the situation she was in and figure out how they would escape from it.

❝ They were running after me through different alleys, I ran through the back of a garden to try and cut them off and just hid in that doorway. I didn’t see them again but I could hear them shouting and looking for me, I don’t know where they are but they’re close… ❞

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

“Doesn’t matter that you’ve done nothing wrong, you’re an angel. You’re doing something wrong by existing in their eyes. They want your wings to display as some sick trophy. They’d sell you off so you would be killed or kept as a slave. They’re disgusting people.”

Ezra waited on her slipping the jacket on before leading her out of the alley, resting his hand on her lower back and making sure to be as gentle as he could with her, not wanting to hurt her more than she already was. He kept an eye on Morrissey in front of them and glanced around as they walked, keeping an eye out for any suspicious people.

“And no one tried to stop them and help you? Gods, it takes two seconds to help someone, it isn’t hard. Well, there’s diners and cafes nearby we could sit in for a while until they disappear, get you cleaned up in there too-”

The demon cut himself off when he looked behind him and noticed a few men following them, men he recognized. He cursed under his breath and leaned down to whisper into the girl’s ear, not wanting to risk the men hearing them.

“Change of plan. They’re behind us. Can you run? I need you to run. Give me your hand, don’t let go, okay? I’ll get you to safety, I just need you to trust me and stay with me. Ready?”

[stvrfallen]

❝ No one was around, I was lucky to get away from them, I… I had to kill one of them, I didn’t mean to I swear, I was terrified of what else they would do to me. One of them dropped his gun and I just… ❞

Esther began to tremble again and her shoulders shook as she remembered the sound of the gun going off and the feeling of the warm blood splattering on her face, how her hand ached from the recoil of the weapon and how she just took off running, covered in blood. She looked down at her hands wrapped around his arm and looked at the blood there, how it had settled in the crevices of her palm and dried up underneath her fingernails. She struggled to finish her sentence so she focused on walking and keeping her feet steady.

Freezing up as he spoke, her grip tightened on his hand when she felt it slip into her own and squeeze tightly. She could sense them behind her, walking fast to keep up with the pair and she could hear the sound of guns being loaded and knives scraping against the concrete. Esther could only nod, bracing herself and taking a deep breath in before they took off down the street, Morrissey yelping and bounding along beside them. 

She could hardly breathe, her heart threatening to burst through her chest but the mans grip on her hand made her feel like it would be okay, that they would escape and that she had finally found someone she could trust.

[hhopeless-romvnticc]

“No, that’s what they deserved. You did a good thing. You’ve probably just saved others from him now. They shouldn’t be going after little things like you.”

Ezra grabbed her hand and held on tight, glancing behind himself before taking off running with the girl, hearing the men shout and immediately start to follow them. He wasn’t too far from home, he was lucky he lived close and knew multiple ways to get back, he just had to take the longer way that went through different streets to lose them. They would get caught if they went the simple way.

He quickly led her through different alleys that went onto other streets, each time taking a quick second to look around so he knew where he was going before taking off again, glancing at the angel by his side and the little dog to make sure they were okay.

When they came up to the bottom of his street they had just about lost the men following them but he didn’t want to risk stopping. He saw the guns they had, even if it was just one of them left, he could still kill them both.

“Almost there. Just one more sprint, then we’re safe. Let’s go, come on!”

His heart was pounding and his chest and legs hurt at this point, but they were almost there and he just had to push himself, the poor girl was worse off than him. Squeezing her hand, he ran up the street with her by his side to his house, throwing the gate open and pulling her up to the door, quickly unlocking it and getting her and Morrissey inside. He didn’t even let himself catch a breath for a moment, immediately locking the door and going around the room and pulling the curtains shut just in case they came near the house and saw them. Only then he let himself calm down and catch his breath.

[stvrfallen]

Following his lead as the fled down the streets, her legs threatening to buckle underneath her but she refused to give up, refused to die so she kept running. She was almost throwing herself through the alleys, ducking and diving around corners and sprinting up hills. Esther could hear them getting further and further away, the sounds of them yelling and shouting fading into the distance as they reach the final stretch. 

The last run was the hardest, her legs ached and her wing was bleeding underneath the jacket but she had to make it otherwise they would die, both of them would be shot down and hunted if they didn’t finish this stretch. Finally, they reached the door and threw themselves inside the house, Esther immediately collapsing to the ground. She sobbed and wailed in pain as her scraped knees and palms hit the floor hard and the jacket slipped from her shoulders, her wings stretching out wide to attempt to ease the pain.

The blood spilled from the tear close to her shoulders, rolling down her collarbone and pooling on the floor as she whimper, trying hard to stand up but collapsing onto the ground again. Morrissey was by her side, whimpering and sniffing her hair before barking up at his master as he hopped around on his feet to grab his attention.

❝ Please, help me... ❞ 

[sukooks]

archive moodboard for @lzghtning