From The Depths (a nihachu fallen angel au)

"Blood for the blood god"

It had been a week since or so since Niki had first arrived at the picturesque, glossy, hobbit-hole like home of Wilbur- the musician, Techno- the warrior, Philza- the survivor, and Tommy: the child.

She recounted the notable events that jumped out at her since arriving. For one, Wilbur sparring with Techno had been... an experience. This was how she'd donned him the nickname 'warrior', but he himself had also labelled this... persona? Mood? Mode? 'The blood god'. This was memorable to say the least and techno was very open with the idea of him being an anarchist warrior who longed for blood- despite Niki being the same age as him and not knowing what anarchism even was.

It had been a cold and misty morning, barely the break of day, when Techno shattered the silence of dawn like brittle glass with the words:
"Wilbur,"
"...yes..." will had yawned back- he had spent all night writing something: he didn't tell her what it was, but he did keep glancing at his sleek, gorgeous, guitar and she swore she could hear beautiful chords drifting from the sitting room into her bedroom which she had been allowed to decorate a corner of, since she had to share it- anyway,back to Techno and Wilbur.

"Wilbur I crave violence."
No sooner that Techno had snorted that then Will leapt out of bed, brunet hair fluffed and messy, eyes glinting with a mischievous spark that Niki had never seen before, disregarding that Phil had told him not to mess it up since he had a guest staying with him and Philza liked to look presentable1 although Wilbur, not so much.

The smile crept into his face and he ran, grinning, towards his wardrobe. Gently placing his hands onto the handles he whispered to a confused, tired, and slightly startled Niki (who had been sleeping in Wilbur's surprisingly large and spacious room, that smelt like oak trees and pine needles, where she stayed on a camp bed that barely fit her with the new wings that sprouted from her back; no matter how pretty they were, getting clothes on was a struggle- Niki had had to cut holes in the back to stick her wings through.

He whispered, "don't worry, this is safe and it won't hurt either of us,"
Niki sprung up from her makeshift 'bedroom' and frantically asked,
"'Either of us?' I'm not a part of whatever you're doing are you?"
Will recognised the sleepy confusion and understood the feeling of being woken up to someone saying disturbing like: 'this won't hurt either of us' and now he contemplated it, maybe that want the best thing to say to someone who's just woken up....

His mistake

He took responsibility

She still looked guilty for not trusting him to not hurt her.

"Don't be too alarmed, it's safe, me and techno are just going to have a fight with these,"
With an enormous flourish, Wilbur drew out two carved wooden sticks that barely resembled actual swords but that was obviously what they were referencing. This must be the undertone of oak she'd smelt earlier.

Then disaster struck: Will whipped around fast to face them, too fast, and hit his antlers on the door which had began to drift shut a few moments before from the breeze techno opening the door had created and crash. An ice pack, comfort from Niki, and a hug from Phil later, Wilbur stood up, tentatively placed a hand on his sturdy, majestic antlers and realised that he was fine.
"Crisis averted." He grinned sarcastically.
"Are you ok? You sounded really hurt," Niki whispered kindly,
"I'm alright yeah, I did really hurt though, I've got a banging headache now."
"Still sparring techno?"
"Hell yeah."

Ten minutes later Techno and Wilbur stood face to face, glaring at eachother, a smirk growing on Wilbur's face and the Techno's ears twitched in anticipation for their battle. It was as if he needed to release the energy inside of him, he obviously hadn't been allowed outside much since whatever happened to them a few weeks ago- Niki theorised it was something to do with his blinded eye but she couldn't be sure ....

The battle began. Swords clashed on swords, the sound of roughly cut oak onto its own replica of rich, cream coloured log.
Parry, block, jab.
Jab, parry, block.
Swipe.
Clash.
Then all of a sudden- smack.
"OW!"
Niki grasped at her face in shock and pain.
"NIKI! WHAT HAPPENED ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Wilbur yelled, dropping his sword and running over to her in confusion.
"I- I think techno let go of his sword but it's not his fault, I was standing to close and- and- I- and- I...."
She ran inside.

Wilbur came to and sat next to her
"Hey, are you feeling ok from that?" His voice was kind and concerned, like he really cared,
"Well, it stings a lot but honestly, it's fine."
"Move your hand."
"No really, it just stings a bit"
He placed her hand on hers and hesitantly, she removed it.

The bruise was already blossoming like a dark flower or galaxy in the sky and Wilbur sighed, his empathetic gaze understanding how she felt and caring for her, wanting her to be safe when from outside they turned to hear Techno's snorting voice yell
"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD,"

They both burst out laughing.

She reminisced of that afternoon a week or so later, In the present now. It was strange to think that that was the first physical contact she'd had with him- and how soft his hand was against hers and how gentle the touch. Niki was sitting next to him by the fireplace. He was strumming his guitar calmly and the golden glow of the fire illuminated a fatigued smile on their faces. It was long last midnight (and they'd spent all day wandering around the woods and hiking up nearby hills) and they both grew weary. Niki felt herself slipping into sleep, it's a insidious grasp creeping in on her until she slumped over- onto Wilbur's shoulder. He barely noticed however because a few moments later he fell asleep as well. Resting his head on hers. So there that day ended: high of them asleep my the dying fire, with her head on his shoulder.

I hope you like this chapter!
I swear I'm not doing romance for the sake of romance and I am not a shipper. Most of this was written at 12;10 am on a Monday to don't mind any mistakes :() stay pog <33