A World Like That

Chapter IX

-Dantalion-

After hanging out with Ariel for a second day, he was beginning to amass quite a collection of fruit and other objects from Earth. Along with the pine cone, he had several pears, a coconut, a large pink flower, a honeycomb from a beehive, and a beetle with an iridescent shell lined up along the wall of his chamber. The honeycomb had been a pleasant surprise. Honey was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted, and it took some effort not to eat the rest of the honeycomb all in one sitting.

Ariel had also helped him put together a makeshift basket with the leaves from large palm fronds so he could bring all of his souvenirs back to Hell. Ariel had been much faster at weaving a basket than he had been when he'd repaired Ariel's basket.

Today, he waited for Ariel in a field full of pear trees. This field was backed up to a small forest, so they could hide if either their angel or demon friends appeared. He hated that they had to think about things like this, but he knew Ariel in particular needed to be cautious.

He couldn't help but smile when he saw the blond angel headed his way. He waved, and when Ariel got close enough to land, he saw that Ariel was smiling too.

"I brought something for you to try," Ariel called out. "I think you'll like it."

Curious, he strained to see what was in Ariel's basket, excited about the surprise waiting for him.

"What did you bring me?"

Ariel sat next to him and lifted two gold goblets and a bottle filled with a dark red substance out of the basket. "Have you ever had wine?"

He shook his head. "What's that?"

"It's made out of a fruit called grapes. They're purple and look like balls growing in a bunch," Ariel explained as he opened the bottle. "I'll have to find some another day so I can show you what they look like."

He watched as Ariel poured the red liquid into the goblets and then took the one that was offered to him. He took a small sip, not knowing what to expect. The liquid did have a hint of the familiar sweet taste he had come to associate with fruit, but it was slightly bitter too.

"It's like my food and your food combined," he said, taking another sip.

"You like it?"

"I do." He tipped his head back and began gulping down the rest of the liquid.

"Don't drink it that fast!" Ariel warned, grabbing his forearm.

He stopped. "Why?"

"Because...you'll get dizzy. And it can make you sick if you drink too much of it."

Puzzled, he looked at the small amount of liquid left in the goblet. "That sounds like poison."

"It kind of is. It's like poison, but fun."

"That makes no sense, Ari."

"It's fun if you do it in moderation. You'll see."

"I don't know if I should trust you after that explanation, but it tastes good, so give me some more," he said, holding out his goblet. "I promise I'll drink it slower."

Ariel poured him some more, and then took a sip of his own. "You don't have anything like this down in Hell?"

"No."

"So what do you do for fun? Hell doesn't seem like a very fun place."

He flashed a smile, showing his razor sharp teeth. "You mean torturing sinners and then throwing them into a river of blood isn't your idea of fun?"