AN ANGEL'S EYES WERE THE COLOUR OF PURE GOLD.

In sunlight the unnatural color of their eyes resembled pools of molten amber, gleaming with a metallic glint, and in all honesty, it added to the angelic element of their appearances.

When an angel descended, however, their eyes morphed into the shade of something they loved the most about the planet.

And in Stella's case, as soon as she set foot on earth, her eyes morphed into the brightest, most lush shades of green. For among the beauties that earth had to offer, despite being the angel of the sky, it was Earth's nature that was by far her favorite.

As the angel of the sky, Stella had helped create wondrous sights. Whether it was turning sunsets and sunrises into shades of orange, pink and blue, or bringing out rainbows after storms- it was simply meddling and playing with the light that brought colors into the sky- something that Stella enjoyed doing, because she could tell that earthlings loved it.

Altering the skies at night was even better, because Stella absolutely adored messing with the atmosphere to make it seem like the stars twinkled, and she'd often try to remove as much interference as she could, for the distant planets to shine, even above bustling cities.

And oh, the poles- the poles had the most remarkably delightful skies- for they had the aurorae. The warmth of the solar wind only tickled her skin, but oh, did she love it when they warped into blankets of glowing streaks in the skies above the earth, swirling around her fingertips.

But, despite what the skies had to offer- Stella loved earth's nature the most.

It thrived and flourished- completely unaffected by the invasions of darkness- it grew and regrew across the planet with such lush, fresh shades of wondrous green, even under the faintest rays of the sun, or the deepest trenches in the seas.

Ultimately- it was what made the earth, earth.

And the earth, of course, loved Stella just as much.

The moment her bare foot touched the soil, a faint thrum of life bloomed from its spot.

The blades of grass near her feet seemed crisper with glistening dew, the littered flower buds seemed to droop less- and even the excited twitter of the fauna paused.

Stella smiled.

Even as she tucked her wings into hiding, a breath of the fresh, crisp air- rich with so much oxygen and the faint scents of scattered flowers and petrichor- reminded her of why Earth was one of her favorite planets.

Despite all this, she could feel herself dimming.

Her mind was slowing, her strength and energy were dwindling, her connection with the angels back in heaven seemed to wane and even her senses were fading.

Now she had only five of them, the same ones that humans possessed- even if they were much sharper.

There was a difference between a descent and a mere patrol of the skies, and Stella had only happened to come across Axel when she was on patrol- equipped with all her senses. That was why she could save him without much effort and she thanked the stars for it.

Even though she might not be able to do that again.

Even though her brothers too, were skeptical about it.

Aspen had initially frowned a little at her when she told him about her plan.

After a few seconds of her speaking, however, he had smiled, patted her hair, and told her to bring him back trinkets from the earth. Their food, preferably.

Stella had smacked the back of his head for that, to which Aspen had gasped in mock outrage.

"They have chocolate," he had told her dramatically, throwing his hands out in the air as his wings unconsciously fluffed up in excitement, "and Star, believe me when I say that it is the most divine thing you will ever taste. You had better bring some back for me, or you'll never hear the end of it."

Rain, the ever-stoic looking angel, had simply stared at her blankly with a steely unblinking look, before he told her to be careful, to which Stella nodded dutifully.

And Lucien was... well Lucien. He was blunt, and he could be irritating- but he was her best friend, and as much as it pained her to admit, he was right.

She had interfered with the transaction of a soul, for which there would be consequences that she wouldn't know of.

Being the angel of the stars didn't mean she could completely interpret them, but there were multiple possibilities at the moment- and it was true that she opened the door to a lot of unpleasant ones as well.

"You can make your own decisions," Lucien had muttered, just before her descent, "and I don't have a say in it. I still have a bad feeling about this one- so please, please for the love of stars, be watchful of those that surround you, Stella."

"Alright, alright" she dismisses the fact that the look of worry on his face resembled the one that made a brief appearance on Elisabel's at her parting, "Farewell, Lucien!"

The earth seemed a little happier with her presence, so there didn't seem to be anything to worry about. Even it had been a few seconds.

Her eyes drifted above to the canopy of the tiny little clearing she had landed in, looking at the curious birds that had stopped their song to peer down at her and the little butterflies that were already fluttering around her hair.

Ah well, it was good to be optimistic, she told herself, picking up a flower and tucking it under a strand of hair.

Besides, it was time to make Axel remember her.

"Ah hello, traitor."

The person nearly jumps, startled. In the darkness of the room that they had been summoned to, the features of the figure seated on the chair could barely be made out, but to the person, it was obvious that a certain pair of eyes were boring holes into their skull.

The figure in the seat gestures mockingly towards the chair. "Do take a seat, traitor."

"Don't call me that," the person mutters daringly, before biting their tongue at the sudden spur of bravery. Stupid, stupid-

"Oh, but you are a traitor," the figure's deep voice betrays thin, bitter amusement, but it is obvious that it was anything but amusement that was the reason for this meeting. "To them, you are."

The person clenches their trembling hands into fists underneath the table, gulping.

"So," the figure leans forward, "do enlighten me of what happened?"

"I-" the person clears their throat, "The Falcon is alive."

The figure remains silent. It wasn't comfortable, anticipating silence, but a bone-chilling, tense silence.

The person drops their gaze downwards to their white, clenched knuckles. To them, this silence was all the more unnerving. Though they were terrified of the figure, they had always tried to conceal their fear- pointless as it was.

"How?"

The person bristles in the chair that they were seated in.

"I-I don't know how- he called for help and-"

"The question I have for you," the figure's voice drops to a low, menacing rumble making the person shrink away slightly, "is, why was that man alive enough to call for help?"

"I-I don't know."

"Hmm," the figure's tone is as mocking as it is foreboding, "you don't know. You don't know that the fact that he is still alive has foiled all plans that were to follow? You don't know that you failed to carry out orders that I gave you? And you don't know how much I am raging, do you?"

Another spur of stupid bravery has words tumbling out of the person's mouth.

"I don't answer to you."

"Oh?" the figure's voice drops lower, dripping with danger, "You think you're funny, don't you?"

The person gulps.

"You know what I do to people who disobey me?"

"N-No, I do not."

The figure's teeth glint in a dark menacing smile. "Precisely. Would you like me to demonstrate?"

The person can only manage a quivering shake of the head. "No. I am sorry."

"Then listen here, and listen closely," the figure leans forward, peering at the person in the chair, his words a mere whisper, but with a promise of death dripping from his words.

"I want The Falcon dead. I want him dead four days ago. If you don't make use of those hands of yours to fix this mess you've made without being discovered, I will cut them off and shove them so far up your ass, that you will feel it when I rip your heart out of your chest. Is that understood?"

"Y-Yes."

"And this time," the figure's eyes survey the person with scary scrutiny, "be wary of the help he has. Plan it out and execute it at snail's pace, make sure they don't discover you till you are absolutely certain that things will go your way- and don't. dare. mess it up." The figure enunciates the last words with a dark glare. "Is that clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good," the figure rises from the seat, as the person resists the urge to cower back. For a few seconds, another silence sets in the room- before words are heard once more.

"I can provide assistance whenever required; you know how to contact me. If things are going well, good- but if I get an inkling of a hint that you're screwing things up again-"

A hand suddenly latches out in the dark, grabbing the person's wrist, squeezing it with a force that's enough to make it bruise.

"-You'll hear from me."

"I understand," the person complies with a shaky nod.

"Adequate," the figure's lips curve upwards into a dangerous smile, as he surveys the person's nearly shaking form before he speaks.

"It seems that we have come to an agreement. Until next time, traitor."

Axel glared at the tiny wooden table angrily. "I don't like how this is going."

Nothing. They had come up with nothing so far. Not a single new lead- although there was a tiny amount of recovered DNA on the scrap of the T-shirt.

Gale sighs tiredly from beside him, taking his glasses off and setting them down on the table as he pushes his laptop away.

Corban gives Gale a wary look. "No luck?"

"No luck," Gale shakes his head, fiddling with the sleeves of his sweater. "It's the same, 'no match' or 'you are not authorized to view this information.' I'm going to have to break down the algorithm and trace it back to see why this message keeps popping up."

"So, they've messed with our systems too," Bea muses, her manicured nails tapping the table, as she frowns.

"No need to state the obvious, Beatrix."

"No need to be a bitch, Axel," Bea mocks, with a sneer.

"Oh I'm sorry, does it bother you that I'm mad that a motherfucker shot me?" Axel gives Bea a sarcastic smile. "Too bad."

She snorts, leaning back in her chair. "Okay, continue to play the victim card. Some hitman you are."

"Says the spy that got caught when she was undercover-"

"If I buy you two something to eat," Gale says suddenly, "will you stop bickering?"

They stop, eyeing him with suspicion.

"Well fuck if I know," Bea says after a pause, slapping a five-dollar bill on the table, "but be a darl' and do it anyway Reynolds."

"Gladly," Gale mutters, snatching it off the table, as he rises from the table.

Axel snorts at his retreating back. "Poor guy probably thinks we actually have it out for each other."

Bea smirks, leaning back in her chair and stretching her legs underneath the table. "Eh. It's some good ol' banter, that's all. Corban gets it, right Boss?"

Corban simply rolls his eyes, flipping the page of the newspaper he was reading. "Shut up, Bea. I'm still disappointed that you couldn't come to help when we asked-"

"I've already apologized," she groans, "There was a party. And what do you do at a party? You have fun. Unlike this little shit, you don't decide to take a walk in the middle of the night to look at the sky. Besides, didn't you have like two other people from the unit with you?"

"The least you could've done was pick up the phone," Corban glares at her.

"We've been over this," Bea waves a dismissive hand, "My phone was on silent, and we were at a party. Did you really expect me to pick up?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely."

Bea rolls her eyes.

"I was dancing right in the middle of a whole crowd of people," she says, as her eyes sweep across the tiny coffee shop, "and past the music and their cheers, I couldn't hear anything."

"You? Dancing in front of people?" Axel snorts, "pfft, yeah right."

"Well, I was," Bea shrugs, still not meeting their eyes, "I was- well, drunk. You can't blame me."

"Jeez Beatrix," Corban says, looking up from the newspaper he was reading, once more. "We know the real reason you didn't pick up. Just admit it, already."

Bea blinks, jerking her head back before she crosses her arms across her chest. "And what would that be?"

"You were getting laid," Axel rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee, "we know. Don't deny it."

"I-" Bea blinks again before her stiff posture eases in the slightest and she rubs her head.

"Right," she rolls her eyes, "it's that obvious, huh?"

"You're the horniest shit I know, so yes."

"Fuck off," a dark blush covers her face, as she leans back, rubbing her leather bracelet clad wrists.

Axel shrugs with a teasing smirk, but a sudden buzz from his pants had him pausing.

Not because it was his phone, or gun, or any of the other devices that he was using.

It was coming from the snow-white feather, peeking out of his pocket.

Yes, it was something he carried around with him- because of some subconscious thought that would urge him to do it, but apart from the faint tingling that he'd feel against his fingertips every time he touched it, there was nothing else that was odd. But now, he had felt a clear buzz- he was sure of it.

Axel frowned down at it. The fuck?

Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the jingle of the bell of the tiny café, as the door opened.

The energy from the feather pulsed harder. It twitched in its position in his pocket, and Axel could've sworn that it was glowing a tad bit brighter.

He didn't notice the sudden quiet that had fallen upon the coffee shop, neither did he notice where everyone's attention was now directed.

The feather twitched again. And again. And again. Almost as if it was struggling to get out of the confines of his pocket.

He was so focused on the feather, that he barely heard someone clearing their throat.

"Damn," he could faintly hear Bea say, but his attention was focused on the feather that was nearly vibrating in his pocket.

"Yes?" he could hear Corban say in the background, after he cleared his throat, "Can we help you, miss?"

"Forgive me," Axel freezes at the voice, "I really don't mean to impose, but I was hoping I could talk to your friend?"

That voice. Axel doesn't lift his eyes from where they were frozen, but there's something so familiar- yet unfamiliar about her voice. And this time, he was a hundred percent sure that the feather was glowing and- and it wasn't a mere figment of his imagination.

"Miss," there's slight impatience in Corban's tone this time, but he remains polite as ever, "I- now isn't exactly the best time, and I'm not sure he knows you because he doesn't seem to be paying much attention-"

"I assure you, that your friend is acquainted with me," her voice sounds like tinkling streams, with a metallic melodic ring to it, and Axel knows that he's heard it somewhere- though he can't seem to figure out where it's from. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Look, Miss," Axel says, rubbing his forehead with closed eyes- to force whatever part of his brain that was conjuring odd imaginations, to shut down, "I'm not sure I know you-"

"You do." He can hear the smile in her voice as she speaks, and fuck if that didn't make her sound more pleasant than she already did, but he dismisses the thought quickly because that wasn't what he was supposed to be focusing on at the moment.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair, before he opens his mouth to speak as he finally looks up at her-

-and then, Axel sees Stella for the first time all over again.

The light of the evening sun sets a golden glow across her features, and even as she tilts her head to the side when their eyes meet, the smile on her lips only grows at the sight of his recognition.

And Axel can't speak. He can only stare.

Sunshine hair. That's the first coherent thought that he can muster, and it's true.

She had hair that tumbled down her shoulder in graceful waves, and they were the most beautiful shade of gold, with a reddish, coppery tinge that made it glow, just like the rays of the sun.

And oh, it glowed- how it glowed. He had barely been conscious when he had seen her last, or he was sure he would've remembered that about her.

The emerald eyes looking back at him were soft- and it was almost like the greens of lush fields and thriving forests- and all other shades of green were swirling in those eyes, framed by the thick eyelashes of the same sunshine gold.

If he had found her beautiful under the faint light of the stars, it was the biggest understatement to exist, because absolutely nothing could render him speechless the way she just did.

"Axel," she says finally, the gentle soft smile still on her face, "how have you been?"

Thank you for