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Ok, so I was nervous. I haven’t done this before, I haven’t even seen it done because by very definition it is a private thing, a tradition as old as the ancient tongue and as the blood I carried and, as such, dictated how this should work. Heyel had told us, myself and my brothers, just how such a tradition worked and I understood, or at least I thought I did, yet he’d never said anything about feeling so….worried? What if I did it damn wrong? What if she said no? Then again, we already lived together, we already had sons together, wasn’t this a logical step? Honestly with my track record for getting things right I was hardly inclined to feel confident at all about what I had in mind. Andromeda isn’t from such a family, maybe she doesn’t have the same….pressure upon her to be a certain way, to do certain things and hell, if it was up to me I’d probably just ask her outright and yet, I suppose Running the Night has some mildly romantic qualities- if I get it right. I turned another circle upon the plain of Diveen, the full moon above lighting the ground below, bathing it in an ethereal glow and highlighting every white hair upon my pelt as the first touches of winter within the air tangled against my pelt. It did not make me feel any more confident, in fact, it only reminded me of the last time Stella and I did anything together, alone- she got pregnant. I groaned as I paced, wearing a path through the grass as my powerful, towering form moved silently, restlessly atop it. I will never regret my sons, yet truly they were also proof of the fact that not only did I know where to put it, thank you very much Ava, but that I’d also violated the laws of the Art- and was about to do so again.

We don’t father children and we don’t take mates, not before we retire and yet…..to be imprinted to Stella was not enough, not for me. She was my soul, she was everything….everything and the thought of not being tied to her in every way was irritating. Maybe I am the jealous type, maybe the thought of not having Andromeda belong to me in every sense of the word caused some kind of infliction upon myself, but what can I say? I have an inability not to feel completely. That is my curse, passed from my Mother and inflamed by my Fathers, hell, I don’t know what it is Heyel has…energy? I feel everything so profoundly, so deeply and the thought of Andromeda ever not being- mine is one I cannot even begin to fathom. So I intend to make her mine in body, soul and heart. I’d already taken care of the first two and yet, the soul part hadn’t been a choice that either of us made- this would be and that terrified me. What if she said no? What if she didn’t understand how our tradition worked? What if she didn’t want to ‘dance’? I sighed again, weight shifting uncomfortably before I made my way towards the feather lined den we shared, breathing in the scents of my family as I drew close, a tiny smile touching my handsome face a moment. Guardian, Starfall, Meryl and my Stella. I moved to step inside, reaching for my imprint, pressing my muzzle into her fur to rouse her. The boys were old enough, they could stay alone for a few hours and Meryl would be with them.

"Stella? Stella wake up I…..I want to…show you something."

I was never very good a whispering, though I made an effort in that moment, tongue brushing over my jaws in slight anticipation and nervous energy before I shifted, moving back out and onto the plain to sit outside the den and wait for her to join me, violet blue gaze turned skyward, watching the stars above. Was Zeivah there? Could she see? Were Lucifer and Kael watching too? They’d laugh at me I knew, for loving a girl, for wanting to do this the right away despite fighting against Heyel on every other tradition we seemed to have. Lucifer would have teased me, Kael would have just laughed, he always laughed….I only knew them as pups I never…never got to know them as adults, maybe they would have been different. I felt that same familiar ache within my broad chest, shifting again with discomfort, forcing such thoughts away from my mind. What’s dead is gone, I shouldn’t even think of it or them. Assassins weren’t supposed to do that. I think we’re not supposed to feel at all- which makes me the worst candidate ever. I sighed again, waiting for Stella to sit beside me, attempting my usual, easy if not slightly permanently agitated demeanour before I turned towards her.

"Stella, have you ever heard of, Running the Night? It’s very old, it’s something Angels do and I know you’re not an Angel but it’s important….to me and I’d like for us to try, don’t worry, I’ll tell you what to do and everything and I promise t does have a point to it."

I tried for a smile, if not a slightly, shaky, nervous one…



AZRAEL

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"6 years ~ No Mate ~ Soul of Andromeda ~ Heyel x Zeivah ~ 41in 177lbs ~ Sire of Starfall & Guardian ~ Diveen "