MEDIA:

The original cover for Messenger From The Sky :3

* * *

The residents of Bayloch were greeted with cloudless blue skies and a calm midsummer's breeze, which was enough to make them forget about the wrath of last night's storm. Luckily, it had passed over without causing any severe damage to the town, meaning the residents could resume their daily routines as normal without having to worry about making time for repairs.

Erin was both pleased and relieved at the same time. The town of Bayloch was small, housing a population of just over 800, which meant that it was feeble to the force of Mother Nature – an element no magician could ever hope to tame, regardless of how powerful they claimed to be.

It was a miracle no damage had been done, taking into consideration the storm's severity, but Erin was most grateful for the fact that no casualties had occurred during the tempest's vicious reign.

But the chaos had long since disappeared, making way for another blissful day, and as Erin made her way through the woods, following the route of the wide path which led to the main part of Bayloch, she took a deep breath, absorbing the fresh, intoxicating scent of summer.

She could feel the morning sun beating down on her back as she continued along her way, immersing herself in the sweet melody provided by the birds around her. Though their forms were masked by the dense foliage of the surrounding trees, she knew that they were there. A content smile played on her lips when she realised that she wasn't alone, that Mother Nature was watching over her, accompanying her on her short venture.

'What do you Mortals call this item of clothing again?'

The smile instantly faltered when she remembered the angel walking alongside her. 'It's called a trench coat,' she replied with a roll of her eyes.

Casius looked down and examined the attire he had been given to conceal his wings: a mud-coloured trench coat with a matching fedora, although Erin wasn't entirely sure why she'd lent him the hat. It wasn't as if he actually needed it.

Still, it suited him.

The angel gave an approving nod and jogged along the path in order to keep up with her naturally fast pace. 'So, what kind of task are we embarking on, Mortal?'

Erin cringed at the use of that last word. 'Yeah...can you stop calling me that?' she asked.

'Why?'

'Because it's not something normal people say.'

'Oh...' Casius looked up towards the sky, his brows furrowing. 'What should I address you as, then?'

'Just call me by my name.'

'Which is?'

Erin suddenly realised that she hadn't actually told Casius her name, despite letting him spend the night at the Library of Great Magician. She recalled how Mak had relentlessly lectured her on the wellbeing of others, and how being selfish would make her a villain instead of a hero. ("Oh, you have to take this poor, confused man in! It's your duty! Come on, what would your ancestors think of you if you were to abandon him now?")

But how had something as simple as a formal introduction slipped her mind?

Maybe it's because an angel showed up on my doorstep and barged his way into my home. Maybe it's because he asked me to teach him about our ways – which is a lot easier said than done. Or maybe...

She looked over at Casius, who appeared to be fixated by the presence of a lone butterfly hovering around him, and scowled.

Maybe it's because angels aren't meant to exist. Yet here he is, walking beside me, completely oblivious to the world around him.

'Erin,' she said at last. 'My name is Erin.'

Casius' head snapped in her direction just as the butterfly he was obsessed with flew away, its little coloured wings carrying it into the nearby foliage. 'I see. And is this what I should address you as from now on?'

'It would certainly help matters,' Erin said. She and Casius ventured further into the woodlands, keeping on course of the single path that stretched ahead. 'Oh, and one other thing,' she added. 'When we reach the centre of Bayloch, don't talk to anyone. Just keep your mouth shut and we'll be fine.'

'Understood.' Casius acknowledged her words with a slight smile. He paused for a moment, his smile faltering somewhat. 'Wait, why should I avoid conversing with other Mortals?'

Erin closed her eyes and sighed. Why did he have to keep asking questions? 'Because these so-called Mortals do not take kindly to being called Mortals,' she explained. 'And if you start going on about how you love "Mortals", people are going to think you're nuts.'

Judging from the way Casius nodded, Erin assumed the message had sunk in. 'Okay,' he said, eventually. 'That makes sense, I guess. I will not initiate conversation with anyone other than you.'

'You promise?'

The angel bobbed his head and placed a hand across his chest. 'I promise,' he confirmed.

'Lovely.'

Even Erin couldn't resist a smile as the pair continued upon their task, hiking in blissful silence. Relief washed over her when she noticed the determined look plastered across the angel's face and heard him repeating her words under his breath.

It appeared as though he was finally starting to listen to her.

What could possibly go wrong now? she wondered.

* * *

'Okay, let's see. Bread, milk, potatoes, jam...' Erin scanned through the ingredients on her shopping list. '...and fruit.' She glanced round at Casius, who was peering over her shoulder, and managed a slight smile. 'We're nearly done here,' she said. 'We've just got one thing left to purchase and then we can head home.'

The angel more than matched her smile. 'So, this is what you call shopping? Simply selecting and purchasing the appropriate necessities needed to survive.'

Erin pocketed the list and shrugged. 'Sure, I guess. Mind you, we don't just buy necessities. Some people invest in luxuries if they can afford it.'

The pair proceeded through the centre of Bayloch, which was flooding with shoppers and commuters all looking for something to buy. They pushed through the crowds and past the collection of stalls that were set up, enabling bystanders to look at and purchase everyday goods, such as food and clothes.

'What kind of luxuries are you referring to?' Casius asked as they approached a wide stall manned by a short, pudgy-faced man whose bald head glistened in the presense of the morning sun. Various selections of fruit sat in wooden boxes out front, allowing customers to pick from the organised chain of goods. Erin got to work, seizing apples, oranges, strawberries and even lemons, which she then placed into a brown paper bag.

'I don't know,' she said. 'Jewellery, fine materials such as silk or fur, and even meat. Those are just some of the luxuries to note.'

'I see.'

Once she was done selecting the goods, Erin got the attention of the stall holder and handed him the bag containing the fruit. Whilst he got to work, taking out each individual piece of fruit and counting up the total charge, Erin noticed Casius eying a bunch of bananas a couple of yards away. She couldn't help staring when she saw how he was acting, his dark eyes bubbling with curiosity as he examined the line of fruit.

He's almost like a child, she realised.

'Here you go, ma'am.' The stall owner offered a pleasant smile. In his hands was the bag, which he held out to her. 'Your total comes to 125 aurum.'

'Right.' Erin reached into her pocket and took out a small sack, which she opened up. She emptied the contents into her hand and counted up the necessary amount of aurum coins, which she then handed to the stall owner in exchange for the bag. 'Thank you much,' she said, allowing a smile of her own to creep forth.

The stall owner nodded, pocketing the coins. 'Bye-bye now,' he said, waving her off. 'Have a nice day.'

'You, too.'

Hugging the bag of fruit against her chest, alongside everything else she had bought, Erin turned and made her way over to where Casius was. When she saw him groping the bananas he had previously been eying, her face darkened and she reached out with her free hand, seizing him by the arm.

'Don't squeeze them!' she hissed, pulling him away from the stall and back into the crowds.

'So, have we concluded our little quest?' Casius asked, his eyes wandering to the collection of paper bags in Erin's arms.

The magus nodded. 'Yup. Now we can head home.' She soon found herself struggling with the packed goods she had purchased. The multiple bags each threatened to slip through her hands, forcing her to adjust her grip every few moments or so. 'Hey...can you carry a few of these?' she asked.

'Of course.' Casius reached out, accepting whatever bags Erin gave him and clutching them to his chest.

'So, has this little outing taught you anything? You know, besides people purchasing goods and stuff?'

Casius nodded. 'Oh, certainly. Judging from this experience alone, I have come to learn that Mortals, much like angels, each hold a different occupation. Those people behind the...what do you call them?'

'Stalls?'

'Yes, that's right. Stalls. Those people behind the stalls appeared as though their sole purpose was to assist the Mortals who were intent on buying their products.' A wide grin spread across his face and he closed his eyes. 'In the Divine Empire, we angels house a similar system. However, there are some slight changes that may take me a while to—'

'Casius, watch where you're going!'

'Oomph!'

Erin sighed when Casius failed to make use of her warning and bumped into a young woman, causing her to topple back. She tripped over the tattered hems of her own dress, and the single bag she had been carrying hit the ground, causing half a dozen apples and pears to spill across the floor. Shooting Casius a look of disapproval, Erin thrust the rest of the bags into his arms before tending to the woman, whose backside had endured the full brunt of the fall.

'I'm so sorry about that!' she exclaimed, offering her hand. The magus' features softened when she caught a glimpse of the pained, dazed expression plastered across the poor woman's face. 'Are you okay?'

The woman sat up and managed a weak smile when she saw the girl and the strangely-dressed man standing before her. 'O-oh, yes. Thank you.' She accepted Erin's hand and allowed her to hoist her up. 'I'm so sorry,' she said, brushing herself down. 'I wasn't—'

'You have no reason to apologise,' Erin interjected, a little harsher than intended. 'My friend here wasn't watching where he was going...' She looked back at Casius, who was wearing his usual blank expression, and shook her head. 'Be a gentleman and pick up her goods.'

'A gentleman?' Casius caught sight of the sour look slowly etching its way onto Erin's face and nodded. 'Oh, right. Of course. Many apologies.'

Dropping the multiple goods, he set to work, picking up the woman's purchases and slipping them back into her bag, Erin took a moment to examine the young lass from head to toe, searching for any possible injuries, but when she saw that the most she had sustained were a few grazed cuts on her hands, she gave a sigh of relief.

'I can't apologise enough,' she said, though she stopped when she noticed the smirk pulling at said lass' lips. 'What is it?'

'Ohh, nothing.' The woman giggled. 'I was just wondering whether you and him are an item?' She nodded in Casius' direction.

'W-what?' Erin exclaimed, her face flushing scarlet. 'No! O-of course we're not an item! Why would you ask such a thing?'

The woman's smirk broadened even further when she saw just how embarrassed Erin was. 'Because you look so sweet together.'

'W-we're just acquaintances. That's all!'

'Ohh. So, is this refined young man available?'

Erin opened her mouth to respond when Casius stood up, offering the woman her bag. 'What is an item?' he asked.

No! Don't ask her that, you bloody great idiot!

But it was too late. Before Erin could butt in, the woman took back her goods and said, 'An item is a way of defining two people who are involved.'

Casius blinked. 'Sexually?'

'Uh...'

Erin felt both her soul and her heart plummet, though she suppressed the urge to smack Casius for saying something so crude to a stranger. Instead, she clutched at the folds of her cloak, secretly wishing that the material would engulf her, and bowed her head in an attempt to conceal her own embarrassment.

'I must say,' Casius continued, pointing towards the woman's head, 'that your head shape is quite odd. It reminds me of a coconut I saw back in—'

Before he could finish his sentence, however, the woman screamed and lashed out with her hand, catching an oblivious Casius against the cheek. After deeming him a "disrespectful oaf", she stormed off, barging past the two of them and disappearing back into the crowd. When she dared look up, Erin noticed the red handprint etched across the angel's face where the woman's hand had made contact.

'Now what in great Cupid's spirit was that?' Casius asked, placing a tender hand against the side of his face.

'N-nothing.' Erin reached for the hood of her cloak and pulled it up over her head. Then she reached down, snatched up the bags and hugged them against her chest. 'We'd best be heading back home...' she muttered.

'That was quite an overreaction. I had no idea Mortals were so quick to resort to such violent—'

'Let's go!'

'Of course.' Upon gathering the rest of the goods, Casius made a hasty retreat, following after the flustered magus. It didn't take him long to catch up to Erin, who suddenly wanted nothing more than to return home and forget all about this chaotic journey.

How could things have gone so wrong? she wondered.

* * * *

Well, it was never going to go well. I mean, how can you expect an angel with hardly any knowledge of "Mortals" to blend in like a normal person without causing a little bit of havoc in the process?

Any thoughts on Erin and Casius' relationship so far? :3

If you enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to vote!