Eversion- Ever Rising Book 1-under editing!

Chapter 17

I was walking alone on the recently created Earth. Father had just filled it with creatures, thousands of them. The forest I was walking in was hot and humid, what humans would later call a rainforest. Storm clouds were gathering, about to pour down the daily rainfall.

All kinds of colorful bird surrounded me. Bright reds, vivid greens, deep blues, and hundreds of other colors blossomed from their feathers. Beautiful. I had thought. How does He do it, so many colors?

One of the birds landed on my shoulder. A deep teal parrot, with a striking yellow chest. I ran my finger over it, smiling as he nudged my finger further down to the center of his back.

"You like that, don't you?" I asked, continuing to stroke him lightly.

"You shouldn't talk to animals." A voice sounded from behind me. "They're too stupid to understand."

I turned to the voice's owner. "How would you know, Azazel? They seem plenty smart to me."

Azazel brushed his hand absentmindedly through his unkempt platinum hair, ruffling it further.

"Honestly, you're quoting Ariel? She's so obsessed with these creatures, she can't see the end of her own wings," he said.

I glared at him. "Perhaps it is her destiny. We all have one, and it's high time for you to discover yours."

Azazel snorted. "Destiny, destiny, destiny! That's all anyone wants to talk about."

I tilted my head, accidentally hitting the parrot and causing it to fly away. "Don't you want to find your destiny? To figure out why you were created?"

The soon-to-be-Fallen angel shrugged. "I just want to find my own way. My own path. Don't you?"

I shook my head. "I will follow the path the Lord set out for me, thanks," I said dryly.

Azazel shrugged again as I turned away. He said something that I would only later come to understand.

"Suit yourself," he had muttered, so low I could scarcely hear it.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He responded. "Hey, want to go for a fly?"

He changed the subject. He's hiding something. My mind whispered.

I pushed the thought away. Surely not. Azazel is too open. He's not up to anything.

"Sure," I said.

We walked deeper into the forest, to where a wide river flowed. Large enough to split up the forest in a wide gap, it would give us room to take off.

"Hey, Michael?" I turned to Azazel.

"Ye-" I was interrupted by a spatter of mud, right across the face.

"You're it!" He shouted, and shot off into the air with a laugh.

I wiped the mud from my face and grasped a handful for myself from the bank. "Get back here!" I said, grinning as I launched myself after him.

"You'll have to catch me first!" He called from somewhere in the trees.

I shook my head, laughing, and dove after his voice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I shook myself awake in the present. I hated those dreams. Just tiny glimpses of the past, just enough to remind me of what happened.