Fallen Defense

Leonardo watches as the final rays of light begin to vanish along the horizon. He nods to his men before setting off along the path. A young man with sandy blonde hair walks up to him.

"Permission to speak sir..." Leonardo nods to the boy. "Why do you hate them so much? The angels I mean. They seem nice to me..."

"It's not them I hate, it's her. I can barely even stand the thought of her. She's sarcastic, rude, and from what I hear, she never follows orders. How she ever rose through the ranks eludes me. There's a reason why we formed this alliance. We either team up and succeed, or we fight alone and die. Honestly, I think..." He cuts off and scowls seeing Evelyn walking up the path. "Look who decided to join us. What are you doing here?"

"I figured you guy missed me." She smirks and tosses her raven black hair over her shoulder. Leonardo rolls his eyes.

"More like Cedric sent you after us." He places his hand over a strange mark on the left side of his neck. It glows slightly.

"Whatever. We have a class B to hunt down and kill today. Let's get this show on the road! Try and keep up if you can." Her cloak blows back and the tattoos on her back begin to glow. Wings begin to emerge from her skin and spread out to a ten foot span. They are made up of feathers of the deepest shade of ebony. She crouches down and kicks off ground into air. Leonardo grabs her ankle and slams her back on the ground.

"Flying is way too noticeable. We will continue on foot." He steps over her and continues walking down the path. Evelyn lets out a low growl and reaches for the swords on each side of her waist. A woman with silver hair and matching wings places a hand on her shoulder and shakes head. Evelyn sighs and lets go of the hilts.

"Coming pixie?" Leonardo smirks and calls over his shoulder. A man beside him snickers and smirks at Evelyn. She jumps to her feet and tries to charge at him. Again the woman stops her. She walks ahead of group in silence for about a mile then stops. She closes her eyes and tilts head to side. "That would be the demon we're hunting. Keep moving." He motions for men to get into position.

"No shit Sherlock, but I'm trying to figure out it's location. It sounds like it's...thirty Degrees west...in A cavern?" She bites lip focusing.

"Wrong. Out-smarted by one of them. How sad. The one we are hunting is using a lesser demon to throw you off. But, nice try princess." Leonardo draws a heavy sword from his back and stares ahead of the group. "It's ten miles ahead of us. Keep walking."

After another long walk of silence, a cave comes into view. A throaty roar echoes from its walls. At first all that can be seen is glowing red eyes. Slowly it emerges. Bent and broken horn protrude from the top of its fur covered head. The demon stands on its goat like hind legs and towers over the group. Its skin is thick and scaly. Sharp fangs hang out of a blood stained mouth. Alex, the young boy steps back slightly in fear. Joseph, one of the older members of Leo's group puts a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. Evelyn grins and pulls out blades and rushing to attack the beast. It swings at her with a massive clawed hand. Leo pulls her back and the claws just brush past her face. Her eyes go wide.

"What are you thinking? You do not just rush something like that! Now listen closely if you want to survive this! Without throwing a little tantrum, I want you to fly up about, say, twenty feet up. We will distract it, when I signal, come spiraling down. If you angle your blades just right, we should be able to take it down in one strike." Leo doesn't even turn to look at her. A breeze blows, causing a few strands of white hair to blow loose from the knot at the nape of his neck. He finally looks at her, golden eyes blazing with power. She narrows her own purple eyes before kicking off ground. He charges forward slashing at demon at lightning speeds. Leads it forward away from cave. "Now Evelyn!" She comes spiraling down with blades stretched out ahead of her. The blades connect with their target and the demon's head rolls off it's shoulder. Black blood sprays up into the air coating Evelyn. She groans and lands with a thud beside Leo. He nods to her.

"Happy now?" She wipes her face with disgust.

"Very. You look better with the blood of your enemies covering you." He stoops down and picks up the head. "That was easy for a class B. Let's go boys. Our little angel friend just might earn a promotion for this kill."

"Unlikely." Evelyn rolls eyes. "At least there were no casualties."

"Well, none except that sexy top of yours. You'll never get that blood out!" Leo lets out a hearty laugh and gathers up gear. Signals for men to go ahead. "Now put a smile on that pretty face or they won't give you that promotion."

"What do you care human? We just met. I don't need your help and I never will." She spreads wings open and lifts off heading back towards the academy. Upon arrival, she sees Leo leaning against the door waiting for her. "How?... Actually, you know what? I don't care."

"You asked why I cared. I just want to see someone get what they deserve regardless of who they are or how long I've known them. Fourteen years ago, you saved a boy being attacked by a swarm of demons. You protected him with just the sword on your back. A young girl against blood thirsty monsters. I guess I was trying to do something nice to repay you for that day. Without you, I would most likely be dead. I do hold some control around the academy now. I may be the commander of the Eagles, but the Night Slashers respect me. If you choose to refuse the promotion, that's up to you. Don't say I didn't try."

"It was my duty to protect those in need. Think nothing of it." She pushes past him and shoves the heavy wooden doors open. He grabs her arm.

"Well if you ever change your mind about us, or at least my team, I would love to have you as one of us. You could be second in command. You are better than anyone we have already. That's saying something." He shrugs and walks off, disappearing into the dim lit hallway. She glares after him.

"I'd rather die."