Blasphemous

by Anonymous

Summary:

As a cherub, you were designed in your creator’s image, a lovely creation that should be protecting human’s lives with love and grace. But, you were a Racka sheep, often mistaken for a Satanic goat. Now, you are given a new task.

Chapter 1: New Beginning

“You have to understand, frightening humans to live is not your responsibility.”

Your eyes were casted down as Sera’s voice echoed in the courtroom, avoiding the orb replaying one of your missions. You were tasked to make a scientist continue living, as her intelligence was beyond anyone in her field and had the chance to give humans a cure to cancer. But she had fallen to depression due to her workplace undermining her abilities.

But just like your previous missions, she was afraid. Despite speaking in a soft voice, the timid gestures and even avoiding eye contact, you came off terrifying. Your horns weren’t sharp, as you nail it down to be blunt, but they were still long and your fur was between dark and light. A yin-yang like patches but somehow that makes you mistaken for a Satanic goat.

The scientist didn’t scream, unlike most, but she did cower away and begin to recite hymns and prays for the creator above to save her. Which, in turn, was your cue as you are what she is basically praying for. No means, you’re not a savior, but you are designed to steer that human to the glorious gift of life. When you succeed, you truly thought she realized that you’re a helper of the ultimate being but instead, she was forced herself into submissiveness to listen.

“Of course, we can’t punish you for doing an excellent job though!” Emily chirped.

That made you look up at the jury box above you, looking into the ever-so enthusiast Seraphim Angel’s face. The corner of her eyes crinkled as she had a wide smile, her hands were folded on the desk but when you glanced towards her sister beside her, it was the complete opposite.

Sera had an unreadable expression, but you can see her lips faltering into a frown. It was unmistakable, you were going to be demoted. Your hooves clinked together, ready to plead for a second chance, to not be thrown out of Heaven for something you couldn’t control. But Sera lifted up a hand, to stop any notions.

“As a collective, we agree that you’re unfortunately unsuitable for your heavenly duties...”

“…Buuut! Since you always abide by the rules and have no record failures, we will transfer you into a new role!” Emily interjected, finishing what the other Seraphim Angel was going to say.

Which made you freeze. Was that even allowed? To change the course of what an angel was created to do? You anxiously shifted in place as you continued to look up at the heavenly jury.

“I… Thank you?” You managed to say.

 

As you stepped out of the courtroom, you kind of absentmindedly walked into the beautiful streets of Heaven. Normally, you would fly, head back to Cherub Towne and just continue your day like normal. But you didn’t, allowing your hind legs to tremble under your weight, the two hooves making soft thumping sounds against the white pavement. You were always a ball of anxiety, once a bundle of joy reduced to fear of being turned into a fallen angel.

You paused, humanoid angels brisking passed you as they had places to be. Some of their wings brushed against you, making you shudder at the tingly feeling against your wool. But your mind was deep in thought, wondering why the humans kept mistaking your appearance for something sinister. You literally descend down in a bright light, you have a divine glow, what else do you need to be viewed as an angel?

Your little wings fluttered as a way to remind yourself of another trait of your cherubic appearance. They were dove-like, nowhere near the bat-like wings of the demonic goats down below. Yet, you were reduced to a goat when you’re a sheep, a slap in the face that the humans truly don’t care about what is within if they can’t think past your appearance.

You gulped, breaking out of your state of mind, it was not something to dwell on. You were created for the greater good, no matter how much it stings to be compared to evil, you’re a helper of mankind. When a wing slapped you in the face, that's when you realized you should probably start walking again rather than standing in the middle of a business crosswalk.

You dread going back to Cherub Towne as you know you have to talk to Deerie, your manager in C.H.E.R.U.B, about your new position in the workforce. Of course, she had a sweet smile and kind eyes, but she always made you feel unconfident when assigned a mission. Especially the solo missions.

The moment you felt soft clouds under your hooves, you frowned. Your home area was lovely, mimicking a mellow with clouds, a perfect place for angels that are designed to be small and fragile.

“Y/N, yes. I assume your trial went wonderfully, as always, yes?” That sickly honey-like voice appeared behind you.

Which made you jump, your wings flapping to make you fly off the clouds, you turned your body around to see the fawn cherub. Her tight, small smile which looks obviously adorable but the happiness never reached her eyes. No, it had a different emotion, disappointment.

“Heh… Better than last time… I think?” You muttered, your hoof going behind your neck to massage it.

You never felt so uncomfortable around another angel, but Deerie always seems to give you that gut wrenching feeling. The way her large pupils burrow deep into yours, giving the sense she was searching into your soul and finding out your weaknesses.

“Hmm yeah, you said that last thing, yeah.” the fawn cherub giggled.

Which seemed to be her cue to form a clipboard in front of you, to show all the documentations of you absent for a court trial. Underneath the reasoning for absence was a section for the writer to report if said Cherub was lying or not.

“Y/N says it went well, from my perspective, it has not.” Was written.

You frowned as you nervously glanced towards Deerie. Her face still has the sweet, judgmental expression. It was silent as you both know that the superior of the Cherubs liked taking turns in speaking, since it was fair and just. You struggled to find words that would appease the fawn cherub and yourself.

“Um… Well… I was not thrown out of Heaven so…” Was the best you can come up with.

“Hm, that’s true, yeah… But the higher ups don’t make trials all willy nilly, so… yeah…” Deerie hummed.

If you weren’t such a pushover, you would have the decency to be angry. Or at least a bit upset that you’re being reminded how you’re the only Cherub that seems to always be called upon, yet, never having a harsh punishment. That made you widen your eyes as you remembered the new task you were given. You were so lost in thought that you completely forgot about it, good thing your manager was talking to you so you can easily slip it into the conversation naturally now.

“About that. Sera and Emily had ordered me to uh… no longer attend to the humans on Earth.”

Now that seemed to make the fawn cherub tilt her head in confusion, the smile was gone but it seemed to resign in her eyes now. Of course she would be happy about your departure from C.H.E.R.U.B, but pretending she was confused and upset like a baby fawn left alone without her mom.

“Is that so? Aw, I’m so sorry… No, truly, I’m sorry for you. Must be awful to be a Cherub with no occupation now.” Deerie said.

Your eye slightly twitched when hearing that fake empathy from her, it seems you still have some self-respect than pretending that you’re okay with the fake sweet voice because you’re afraid of the consequences.

“ACTUALLY!” You loudly spoke.

Which made Deerie stiffened, causing yourself to scrunch your body as you fly in front of the fawn cherub, feeling a bit guilty for raising your soft voice into the boasted tone you once had when you were an enthusiastic angel.

“I… I mean… I’m not unemployed, just given a different role…” You mumbled, casting your eyes away from your superior.

Which made the fawn cherub easily act normal again, a gentle hoof on your shoulder as her wings flapped faster than before.

“Aw… I bet you’ll be just as great as you were before. Don’t scare anyone though, this might be your last chance to stay in Heaven.”

Your eyes widened as you looked at Deerie, her smile was more mischievous as she tried to look bit sinister. Almost like she was hoping for your downfall, just like the previous three Cherubs that were castaway from Heaven. You gulped and nodded, pretending you’re taking her advice to heart.

It was silent now, as you know the other cherub never breaks her taking turns in conversation. But you know she had more to say, so you inevitably spoke.

“Okay…”

It was enough for her to ask the question that seemed to be eating her alive apparently.

“New role, new section, yes? Do I have to monitor you still? What even is your task?”

“Taking care of humans in Heaven.”

“Taking care of humans in Heaven?” Deerie repeated in genuine confusion.

You shrugged, as you weren’t really hype about your task, since it’s really pointless to remind humans in Heaven that they are loved by the Lord and to continue living if they’re… dead already… and in the promised paradise. That made the fawn cherub giggled before flying away, probably to tell the others about your unfortunate role.

It wasn’t the best feeling as you just flew there in place, watching her silhouette disappear into the angelic blue sky. Your eyes looking down like always as you land on the soft clouds, thinking about your new job.

It wasn’t a job.

You sat down, bringing your knees to your chest. This was humiliating.

You were once a man full of pride, joy and love for the humans below and your creator above. Knowing your existence was a blessing, to genuinely be the change in the lives around you. But you ended up as an angel no one respected.

How can you do what your creator designed you to do if the other angels prohibit you from using the natural talent you have? There was no question that the Lord wasn’t a part of the decision of stopping you from your job, He made you like this, He was proud of you.

Was He?

You shook that thought out of your mind, never have you doubted your creator. Why start now? Just because of one bad day? Well… It was more like multiple bad days, but life isn’t always rainbows and cupcakes.

Despite Heaven providing that everyday… That was not the point, this must be a test.

You jumped onto your hind legs, a large smile formed your face. Yes! A test! Of course! The big G always tested His strongest soldiers, so why wouldn’t He test you?

You were giddy as you began to walk to your house. Tomorrow, you’ll be the best cherub the Seraphim Angels asked for. An angel that will make the human souls feel right at home in Heaven.

Chapter 2: Better Than the Alternative… Maybe

You instantly sprung out of bed, flying out your bedroom window.

You were ready!

How will this work? You have absolutely no clue! But that’s exciting! To see how Deerie will assign your task, for you to help the poor soul recognize their worth and how everyone in Heaven loves them!

But you had to curb your enthusiasm, since in hindsight, this really isn’t much of a job in the first place. Maybe more of a chore than anything, since the human souls in Heaven should already feel gratitude that their judgment day ended with them in the kingdom in the sky rather than the treacherous boiling pot known as Hell.

Your hooves softly landed on the cloud white concrete, looking up at the building that all the cherubs work at. It was glorious, how the polished marble just glistened, how the steady deep midnight walls rivaled the sky. This is where you belong. This is what you were built for.

You’re a cherub. No one can take that away.

Bea walked past you, startling you to fly up as she was such a tiny cherub. Barely reaching up to your waist, you chuckled to yourself for being so jumpy at a fellow co-worker just getting to work. That energy coursed through your veins again as you flew over to the bee angel. Landing so you can walk beside her.

“Bea! Good morning!”

She glanced up at you, confused at your existence, which made the smile you had drop a bit as you were expecting a greeting back.

“Oh. Have we met before?” The bee cherub asked, her voice having a southern twinge to it.

You wheeze, politely opening the front door of the C.H.E.R.U.B building so you both can just waltz in. You couldn’t believe it, you've been on missions with her before, your cubicle is literally right next to hers too.

“Y-yes… You know… Y/N?” You said, hoping that’ll spark any memories.

Bea’s wings fluttered as she pondered on the name. You couldn’t believe it, she literally can’t remember who you are, were you that forgettable? Impossible, you had been called a hazard multiple times how can she…

“I’m the cherub that kept getting sent to the Heaven’s Courtroom…” You sighed in defeat.

That definitely sparked something for Bea as she gasped before giggling.

“Oh! You!” She says as she waved a hand at you.

You waved back, albeit, awkward now as you two were already getting to your proper cubicles to see what task you have. All the enthusiasm you had just left the window since you really didn’t expect someone you work with for a millennium just forgotten who you are. She was a sweet gal though, with her pleasantries and hospitality.

You watched Bea enter her cubicle, you would go to yours if you weren’t so embarrassed about that interaction with her. What would she say when she sees you sit in your chair? Would she be embarrassed to realize that you sit next to her? Would she think that’s not your area and try to get you away?

That definitely made you nervous as you just scrunched your body, your hooves clinking against each other.

You’re starting to think that maybe it was a bad idea to arrive at work, your eyes glancing at the other cherubs arriving and heading to their appropriate cubicles. It was just one interaction but for some reason you had a sinking feeling in your stomach. Like someone was going to attack you, which made you shift in place before walking to the water station.

You couldn’t just stand there, it would make you look weird and you don’t want to bring attention to yourself anyhow. Your hooves shaked as they went to grab a foam cup, your eyes glancing around.

Was the room always this small?

Where are the vents?

Your wings opened up in an alarm, like they wanted to flap any minute for you to escape. But you had no need for that. You were safe, the room was huge not small. But you kept looking for the vents, because it felt stuffy in there.

Why does the air feel thin, was it because you’re above the clouds? One of your hooves pushed the rubber button that made the water spurt out of the nozzle, watching the cup being filled with fresh rain water.

Where are the windows?

Your head snapping at the wall where Deerie’s office should be located, a window was there but it was thick enough that you can’t fully see through it. You inhaled, it was shaky and difficult but you managed to fill your lungs with oxygen.

You don’t know why you're nervous. Maybe because you don’t know what today will bring you, the fear of the unknown is definitely getting to you. You brought the cup up to your lips, ready to take a nice sip of the cold liquid to calm your nerves.

“Y/N, yes.”

That spooked you, making you fly up and dropping your water. A small frown formed on your face since you were actually looking forward to that drink, surprisingly. Your gaze moves from the spill cup on the ground over to who spoke to you. It was Deerie, she stood silent as she stared at you, her hooves on her waist as she looked disappointed.

Not even subtle this time around, probably because you made a mess.

Wait! You made a mess in front of your manager, you squeaked and instantly went onto the light blue floor.

“I-I’m terribly sorry! I… You know, hooves and all?”

You trembled over your words, getting the napkins at the water station and hazily cleaning up the mess. But the fawn cherub cleared her throat.

“It’s so good to see you today! Yes, it really is to be greeted with your presence again.” Deerie's sickening sweet voice said.

You stay kneeling on the ground, holding a damp napkin as you look at her. You really wished she could just keep talking rather than saying short sentences, but it eases your mind a bit. As it forces you to think about your new task. She wouldn’t be in front of you if she didn’t have something to tell you, especially when she didn’t say something that would imply you shouldn’t be at work. Which was a plus, in a way. You awkwardly raised back on your hind legs, grossly clutching the moist napkin between your hooves, but you needed something else to ground you.

To leave that anxious mindset, to not overthink about your whole occupation. You try to stand straight but, when you realize you’re a head taller than Deerie, you just end up slouching to give her the security you’re not trying to overpower her.

“Heh… thank you… Um… Do I have a mission today?” You decided to ask.

Being polite was nowhere on your mind, you were focused on knowing if you actually got to do something today. To be an employee worth being proud of, not being an extra in the massive building. Deerie pressed her lips together as raised her hooves up to cover her mouth, her gaze avoiding you now.

Any attempts of keeping a smile faded. Seriously, what was the point? You knew this new task was just to make you stay in one place. Your appearance wasn’t even that scary, you’re quite adorable.

Right?

Your eyes casted down onto the floor, looking at the half cleaned mess that separated you and the fawn cherub. You had one purpose.

Just one.

“Ah… Okay…” You mumbled.

You shouldn't have come to work, that gut feeling from early was right. Disappointment isn’t a new emotion that you experienced, both from yourself and others. But to think this was going to be a fun new opportunity was wishful thinking, you truly were demoted and just meant to exist in Heaven. It sounds nice in turn, that what the humans wanted, a life of no pain, no worries.

But for an angel, that is a meaningless life, one that tells other angels you were defective. That no matter what you do, you mess everything up.

“That doesn’t mean you don’t have paperwork, hm, yeah.” Deerie broke the awkward silence, her head nodding.

“Right…”

You mumbled as you gradually made your way to your cubicle. Dumping the wet napkin into your trash bin. As you sat down, your gaze went over to Bea's chair but she’s no longer there. Which made you let out a long, somber sigh as you took a glimpse of the office.

Empty.

Everyone went to work. On Earth. Spreading joy and warmth to the wandering souls. Your hooves rested on your desk before you rested your head between them. This was something you never expected to happen, to be left behind, to be viewed as someone who can’t help fully.

Worthless.

You shook your head to get rid of that thought. Because that’s wrong, the Lord made you in His image, made you to be the best version of what you can be. You have a purpose, you can’t just ignore your nature. He would have wanted you to go on Earth, to cheer up a human that is struggling to stay on the straight and narrow.

You flew off your chair, looking around the room, no sight of Deerie. It didn’t matter where she was, you were going to prove you are WORTH going to Earth. Those Seraphim Angels don’t know what they were talking about, after all, they were both women, maybe they were just confused. Though, you know that was not true, woman or not, they were statuses beyond you. Especially when your creator basically made them His second in command, so you just trust their words.

…

Or not. This was a test, wasn’t it?

It was just like when God commands Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice, to prove Abraham's loyalty to the Lord above. How can this not be a similar situation, after all, you’re being told to NOT be a cherub. That’s simply ludicrous to deny an angel their purpose.

Your hoof was shaking as you lifted it up in front of you. You may not have an assignment but it doesn’t mean you can’t open your portal to someone in need, just a random human who is depressed, no big deal. You got this, you did this for a millennium, you can’t screw this up.

 

Well.

 

You were wrong.

Your legs dangling at the wait room, hearing the soft voices in the Heaven’s Courtroom. You really thought you could get your job back, to fulfill your destiny. But you accidentally ended up traumatizing a human, how would you know that the randomized location would take you to a place on Earth was nighttime.

The moment you stepped in when you were called, a wave of nostalgia hits you. How often have you been here?

Majority of your life? The way you’re a regular ‘felony’. You gave an awkward chuckle as you looked up, your hooves clinking against the pristine floor once more.

“Y/N” Sera greeted.

“Sera… Emily…” You nodded at the Seraphim Angels.

This will be an awkward trial.

“You do know why you’re here.”

“Yes…?” You awkwardly replied to Sera, avoiding eye contact.

“Then tell me. What made you think that you had the right to go on Earth, find a poor soul and terrified him half to death?”

Your front hooves found their way to connect together, to make that soft sound every time they make contact. Telling the truth would lead you to a punishment, lying would lead you to banishment since it was an offense to make falsehoods in confidence in a trial. But you really didn’t want to say so, it was embarrassing in the worst way.

“I… Um… Hey, at least he’s not going to commit suicide.” You argued.

Your shoulders were raised as you gave a smile that was too wide, making it come off unnatural and awkward. Which was fitting as your defense was not related to your motive, in fact, it makes the Seraphim Angels’ furrow their brow in either concern or impatience.

“That was not your job, you were tasked to maintain the wellbeing of the human souls here in Heaven. Not on Earth.” Sera spoke strongly.

Making your knees bend as you try to appear smaller, almost like a mouse than the Racka sheep you’re based off. You’re angry at yourself, the only time you had the confidence and boldest was when making a mistake, what a joke.

“I know but…” You tried to defend yourself.

But Sera raised a hand, to silence any notion that was about to spill out your mouth. You gulped, nervous about where this was leading. Were you truly going to be thrown out of Heaven for this?

Just like Lucifer.

That makes your breath quicken as you try to focus on the words leaving out of Sera’s mouth, but all you can see are the lips moving. What you can hear was your heart, it sounded like it was in your ears, you felt like you couldn’t breathe. The first fallen angel was an example to not be.

How did you forget? Lucifer was banished from Heaven for disrespecting the big G, disregarding the rules set towards him. And that's what you did. You disrespected the Seraphim Angels and went against what was set for you. You were going to be sent away, it was guaranteed, how could you be so stupid?

“Y/N.”

You inhaled sharply as you snapped back to reality, looking at the two higher angels. Your body was trembling, it felt like your muscles were heavy as you tried to collect what you heard during your moment.

“We’re giving you a second chance.” Emily exclaimed with a smile.

You fell to your knees, taking in a deep breath as you couldn’t believe it. Truly, the Lord was on your side for sure. He really was God of second chances.

“Remember, you only have 490 chances. This is your 488 chance.”

That made you tense up.

“What? I thought… ‘Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.’?” You recited a part of Matthew 18:21-22.

Sera and Emily looked at each other. The youngest of the two gave a friendly smile, her eyes widened with joy. Making you wonder what that was about, maybe Emily had brought that up before you walked in for your trial. But Sera shook her head at her sister before looking back at you.

“Yes. But, there should be a limit for angels. We are an example, we don’t want any soul to believe their sins are forgiven just by a simple apology.”

“But through their actions!” Emily added.

“And your actions show carelessness… But…” Sera said, glancing down at your nervous expression.

“You had good intentions. You did a great job… But we can’t let you go with any form of punishment for straying away from what we set for you.”

“Oh…” Is all you said.

 

So… traumatizing a human and not following your job’s requirements was a terrible thing to have under your belt. But, at least you’re not cast into Hell!

But having a painful conversation with Deerie about your behavior felt like the punishment that was supposed to be given to you. How she spoke in short sentences, you have to say, “I know…” or “I understand…” to get her to continue her rant was exhausting.

You’re definitely never going back to Earth, at least nowhere this month. The Seraphim Angels didn’t trust you and Deerie has a close eye on you now. Meaning, you really have to talk to the humans in Heaven about being loved and stuff. But not only that, your punishment takes up time from your day to find a soul to help.

“So like, are you a ram or like a fuck up bull?”

You flinched from the use of language from the first man to be created. At first, you thought the punishment was not really a punishment. Being an assistant to Adam just sounded like community service at that point, but you can tell why now. The human was not exactly… an angel.

“No, for real, what the fuck are you?” Adam asked again.

His black gloved index finger went to poke one of your horns, making you flinch. It was so easy for Adam to continue poking it in an annoying manner, your horns were right in his face, your head barely reaching his chest.

“Please… Stop touching me…” You grumbled.

You hope that God above will keep you patient, because no way you’re going to stay polite near this man during the duration assisting him.

Chapter 3: This is Your Life Now

It was hard to describe how beautiful it was when the sun reached Heaven. The holy glow of gold and orange hits the elegant interiors made on the clouds. The pearly gates glisten and bounce off the light into certain houses of the angels. It was an equivalent to waking up to a brand new day on a farm, to stretch your limbs and do your humble duties as a farmer.

You rested peacefully on your plush mattress, your pillow soft under the weight of your head, your horns through the gaps of the wooden bars of your headboard. You wanted to sleep in, to not bother starting your new life. There really is no point if you’re not going on Earth, especially when this would be the most calm you’ll ever be.

The mornings always relax you, as you stir back to consciousness and bask in the warmth of the Lord’s sun. It was like a loving embrace from the father, to remind you He loves every fiber of your being. No worries of messing up, no spiraling thoughts.

Just the glorious sunlight and your bed.

But then your wings shot open, making you open your eyes tediously. A sudden wave of anxiety awakens within you as you realize you can mess up your second chance. You only have 2 left and you can’t waste one to just sleep a day away, they are important for you to remain in Heaven. Your body resisted your movements as you sluggishly got up, making sure your horns didn't get stuck between the bars as you sat up.

Normally when you’re excited, you can easily navigate off your bed, but any hope in you feels like they've been drained. It was hilarious in a way, an angel losing the positivity within them. But you really didn’t want to go back to Adam, that man was a slob and foul-mouth. You can clearly remember your first day as his assistant, despite it being a month ago:

 

You remembered how drained you were when Deerie chewed you out in the most tedious way possible that you opted out on flying to your next destination.

“You will assist Adam in his exertions, to be at his beck and call, WHILE attending to the human here in Heaven.” Sera’s voice echoed in your head.

Your brain short-circuited when your punishment is stated. Adam who? No last name was stated and you know that there have been billions of people named Adam since the first man.

…

The first man.

Sera and Emily wanted you to attend to THE Adam. What does he even do in Heaven anyway?

Your hooves felt the difference of the soft, plush, velvety clouds from Cherub Towne to the rough, smooth surface of the concrete of the main street of Heaven. You wished you actually had the desire to own a personal cell, would have been faster for you to just call the available number for the man you’re looking for. But alas, you were more of an old-fashioned angel, where you enjoyed living the moment of your divine life.

So, you only had the schedule that Adam had given the Seraphim Angels. You wondered why they would even want to know where that man is at all times, wasn’t he like any other human soul in Heaven? Just enjoying the rewards that he gained for dying in propriety?

Your ears flopped a bit as your head quickly went up to look at the street signs. As a cherub, you never really had time to adventure out to the villages and towns of the heavenly virtues so you were a bit lost when looking for Diligent Valley. Now, if Sera and Emily asked you where the Rainbow Mountain is on Earth, you were asked if they meant the one in Peru or China.

Heaven is your birthplace, Cherub Towne is your home. But the Earth: it’s your job, your livelihood, and your passion.

You felt like you had a special connection to the land, like you can understand why the humans found their world interesting, dangerous and worth dying and living for. Heaven will always be captivating, you can’t deny that, your creator made it just for you and fellow angels to live in a world made of hope and dreams. To always see the enchanting sunrise and sunset, to gaze at the beautiful rainbow that is known as space.

Maybe that is why you love your job. Earth gives you a new perspective on your home, to have that balance of gratitude and loyalty to what made you, you. That is why you want to go back, to see and hear the hardship, to bring back that light within a human being to guide them back to what it means to be a human.

Life is worth living to the very end.

You’ll never experience it but to get a glimpse of that from your clients, to complete your mission, it was the closest you have. It’s something you’ll forever cherish even if the people you help were afraid of you.

The cumulus clouds that surrounded the sidewalk were gradually clumping up, slowly the loose and airy appearance to be more compact, to almost look like they were solid as the concrete you’re walking on. Lenticular clouds. You paused, giving your poor, shaky legs a break.

“Why am I walking?” You asked no one.

You know why… or do you?

Your eyes narrowed as you had to remind yourself that you were too exhausted to fly because of Deerie. But walking around Heaven was far more enervating than being drained emotionally, but you believe you’re entering Diligent Valley which made your wings flutter open to lift you off the ground.

This was terrific, you just fly around, find Adam, do one task for him and then go and find a human soul to make happy. Easy peasy. Not like the original man could ask anything he couldn’t get easily in Heaven, you bet that Adam wouldn’t even be able to think of anything and leaving you to go do your task. To get back on the Seraphim Angels’ good sides again, well, more on Sera’s good side than Emily’s since that Seraphim Angel genuinely believes in you.

It was nice to have someone actually think you’re capable of your heavenly duties, you truly believe that you would have been a fallen angel a long time ago if it wasn’t for Emily’s empathy and offering you the second chances that Sera didn’t.

The angelic blue sky was gradually turning into a celestial orange as you flew above the sidewalk, looking around and trying your best to ask each angel you saw if they saw Adam. If you had to be honest to yourself, you don’t even know what the first man even looks like, you only heard the stories about the Garden of Eden. As the existence of that area was long gone when you were created by the Lord.

The day felt like it was dragging on, your gaze landing on an angel that was walking out of a gym. She was gorgeous, tan skin, buff built, if you were a sinner you would immediately be filled with dirty thoughts. That is what you assume what a sinner would do, as the demons below had no rules and self-control when it comes to a body. But instead of dirty thoughts flooding your mind, you were left empty.

Your breathing was shaky as you tried to approach her but your wings made you fly the opposite of her for a moment. Your body trembling from the faux danger in front of you, it was frustrating and pathetic as you went back and forth in flying. Which made you accidentally bump into her shoulder, making her turn in confusion from the soft contact of your attempts to escape from interacting with her. You gulped, trying to pretend you were confident as you stood straight as you flew in front of her.

“Have you seen Adam?” You asked, your voice cracking, despite this probably being the 10th angel you came across to ask that question.

You’re around the same height as her, well only because you were flying, in reality, she probably would tower over you. You tensed when she raised one of her hands up.

“Adam, who? Smith, Johnson, Wilkes…?” She started to list last names, her raspy voice was pleasant to your ears.

You stared directly at her fingers when she opened them to count the last names she was listing. You were struggling not to make your rapid breathing obvious, she was just listing a bunch of surnames too, you tried to interrupt her.

But you just fly there, your eyes getting blurry like you wanted to cry. She didn’t notice she started to use her other index to tap her fingers when opening them. The thought of stopping her rambling frightened you. What if she gets angry? What if she walks away from the rude action? Are you going to be stuck here, hearing a woman recite the names like she was Yakko singing the nation’s of the world.

Maybe after 20 minutes, she seems to trail off as she couldn’t remember any last names at that moment. You let out a long, pained-like exhale that caught her attention to no longer think about the list. This made you gain a slither of courage to lift up your hooves, they felt so heavy as they were shaking terribly.

“Ah, no… Just… just Adam. Like… The Adam? First man to be created.” You said, feeling like a broken record since you said the exact same thing to the other angels.

The tan angel looked at you, which didn’t calm you down as your body trembled with fear. Why are you so afraid of a simple interaction? Was it because she was strong enough to hurt you? But that’s not a thing in Heaven, hurting another being, maybe you’re just afraid of being seen as weird.

A cherub looking for a human soul is already weird enough, since the angels in C.H.E.R.U.B would be coming back from their missions. You hope to God He’ll give you permission to go down to Earth again, to override the decisions from Sera.

“Oh, him, yeah, I think I saw him down at the dry bar over there.” She answered, pointing over to a direction.

You believe she pointed east.

“Thank you so much.” You say gracefully, for some reason you put on an overly fancy accent as you went to bow to show your respect before flying off.

Your face started burning up as you flew as fast as you could to let the cold air cool you down. What on Earth did you even put on an accent? You definitely looked silly bowing to that angel. Why did you do that? Why did you think that was even a way to thank someone? You’re probably going to lay awake at night thinking about this now. Or did you react properly?

You shook your head, not wanting to overthink that interaction. You needed to find Adam, you already wasted a lot of daylight just finding Diligent Valley.

Now you think about it. This place reminds you of Yumthang Valley down on Earth, the golden sky being reflected on the clouds, making it look like the lovely ground in a real valley. The building being short and tall, but also, compact together like the clouds they were on. They were almost mimicking the scenery of a mountain as the skyscrapers there are parodying the highest point of the rocky structure.

Flowers were resting on some window sills but other than that, the place seemed filled with gyms, cafes, dry bars, hardware stores and office buildings. This place is meant for the diligent souls, so it wasn’t a surprise that the most time consuming and hardworking jobs would resign here.

Your wings had gotten so tired that you were slowly gliding around. You decided that it was time to land and walk around once more, it was a good thing you had regained the energy to do so. Your hooves managed to not make that iconic ‘clank’ when touching the ground, it was more of a ‘thump’. The ground was more soft too, are you on a cloud?

You glanced down, trying to decipher between the sidewalk and the clouds, but they were too far similar to tell. Not like you need to tell, there was no crime in walking on the clouds, it was similar to walking on grass in the park.

What were you doing?

You glanced around, trying to remember why you’re here. You weren’t forgetful, usually. Though, the anxiety within you makes it hard for you to not overthink every interaction you had today, which you might end up doing while trying to find Adam. Why was it so difficult to find one man?

If you were actually doing your original duties; you would easily open a portal to Earth, spawn above the human you need to help and easily leave after 5 hours. Sure, it takes a while to save a soul, but that’s the fun of it. Now, you had to find a balance to complete both your new holy duty and your assigned punishment. Though, you don’t understand why helping Adam was supposed to make you feel the consequences of your actions.

This felt like public service more than anything. You wondered why they chose Adam out of all of the higher ranking angels, the first man to ever be created was not exactly ranked as high as any of the holy court. Especially when you know he’ll make it easy, he was human after all, regardless of being the first. Not like you want it to be challenging, you just assume Sera and Emily would actually punish you. But the one thing that lingered in your mind, finding a soul to help. To find a human in Heaven that isn’t content with one part of their afterlife would be difficult.

“Adam? Adam?” You started to whisper as you passed some angels.

You would hope that one would turn at your call, so you check that was the first man and state your purpose. You should have asked for a physical description since now you’re just walking aimlessly towards the dry bar that Adam was last seen.

It seems the easiest part of your schedule was starting to get tedious.

You stopped, glancing over to a poorly dim alleyway. Looks like an employee only entrance for the bar, but your eyes narrowed as you realized there was a silhouette. You squint your eyes and tilt your head in an attempt to see the angel properly, but when you glanced up and saw a vague light shining above his horns, your blood ran cold.

Of course, you had horns, some ram-like angels had horns. But those were sharp, the end mimicking the tips of harpoons. The silhouette moves slowly as it stands straight now, their true height being revealed to be extremely tall. At least 15 feet tall, but since you were a cherub, you weren’t too sure if the measurements were correct just by eyeballing it. Especially when you've never guessed the size of things correctly.

Your legs were used to trembling under your weight, but to fully lose balance and falling on your bum was not exactly the best reaction to actual danger. The silhouette approached slowly, your blood running cold as you couldn’t think. You would normally shoot into the air and fly away like a scared bird. But the first time in forever you were paralyzed with fear, why is your brain so bad at making the best decisions?

The silhouette looks like a demon, how did one get up here? Is this how’ll you die? Your delicate heart that was used to pumping rapidly was working overtime now, genuinely believing that this was the end of the road for you, still not finding the strength or energy to run in terror. Your mouth dry and your throat strained, you couldn’t even scream for help if this demon tried to attack.

A minute longer you would have suffocated yourself due to your lack of ability to breathe properly, your lungs not cooperating with your over beating heart that could challenge one of a cheetah. You yelped when all of a sudden the silhouette revealed his wings by flapping them open like a falcon, the feathers looming a heavenly golden light.

“Ha! I fucking scared ya, didn’t I? Fucking pussy.” The strange looking angel laughed.

You slowly blinked, trying to process what just happened. This can’t possibly be an angel, especially from what he said. Your arm raising up to protect your face as this man got close, kneeling down to mock you further.

“C’mon, that was a good joke, get a sense of humor jackass.” His sharp teeth shone as he smirked.

Your eyes scanned his face, it looked odd, almost like you’re looking at a screen. Was that his real face? Your eyes soon looked down at his tunic, it had a big golden A embroidered on it, though there was an odd line in the middle of it, almost making it look like an M.

A.M?

“Eyes up here, pervert.”

That made you snapped your gaze back at the strange face, he had a smug face, he stood up again but slouched a bit so he wasn't his full height.

“Though, I understand, I’m fucking awesome. Everyone wants a piece of the dick master.”

You shuddered in disgust, the use of profanity was unnecessary and just foul. None of the angels you ever met had a vocabulary like this one, who even is he? Your creator never makes mistakes on who goes well for their afterlife but genuinely what made this certain creature holy? Your mind couldn’t dwell on the thought when you remember that you’re on a schedule and needed to find Adam, so you decided to ask this angel if they saw the first man.

“Erm… yeah… Hey, um… Have you seen Adam? No last name, because he’s the-“

“First man to be created, original dick, yeah, you’re talking to him.” Adam interrupted while placing his hands on his hips.

His back straightened out, you can hear him take a big breath of air, inhaling as much as he can so he can puff out his chest. Now, the only time you see someone do that is because they were trying to suck in a tummy to look buff or slim. The tunic covers up the angel’s physique but you can safely assume he has a potbelly now, his stance looks far too prideful, like he was trying to imply his creation was a gift to others. Which made you chuckled nervously as you didn’t want to believe him. No way this was Adam.

First man. The one in the stories that was clueless and curious?

“No.” You had said in bewilderment as you stood up.

Woah.

You looked up, your height didn’t compare to the absolute giant. You froze, intimidated by the other, convinced that he was actually 15 feet tall, though you don’t even know how tall you were. But he soon slouched, your head barely reaching his chest. What are you even going to assist Adam in if this man seemed to be capable of fighting a wild boar.

“Uh, yeah.” Adam scoffed, still having that smug tone in his voice, his celestial wings closing.

Your nose wrinkled in concern as they went UNDER his arms. That does not look comfortable. You shook your head and glanced up at the sky, noticing the orange was between a beautiful pink and a majestic purple. Meaning it was almost nighttime, you don’t have much time, making you hope Adam doesn't ask for anything today so you can use the remaining time and of the day helping a human soul.

“Okay, uh, Adam.” You started, awkwardly stepping back.

Were you really going to do this? Might as well, you made space for yourself. Was this too formal?

You didn’t question further when you kneel on one knee, an uncomfortable feeling washing you as he looks like an eagle towering over you. The fear response telling you to just bail and just let the holy jury throw you out of Heaven. But you pushed forward despite how antsy you felt, despite Adam raising a brow in disgust, you finally gave the respectable bow you were going for.

Adam flinching as your horns were besides each side of him, luckily not hitting him but still enough to concern the first created man.

“By the order of the heavenly court, I was ordered specifically by Sera and Emily to be your humble assistant. To be under your every command as you wish.”

You sort of stay there, just to allow Adam to process the news. You couldn’t see him as your head was down, but he was rubbing his chin as he examined you.

“Oh, so you’re the fucker. Sweet.” He finally responded.

Which made you flinch, he really did not need to use that word. You didn’t even have time to react when Adam quickly put his finger in front of your face and snapped it, which startled you to immediately shoot up into the air to fly away. But you paused as you can’t just run away, especially when you weren’t in danger… You think.

Your cheeks turned red from embarrassment when Adam laughed, his body shaking from how hard he was trying to not to draw attention to himself.

“Shit man! Don’t get your panties twisted.”

Your wings were still flapping, almost like a hummingbird’s, as your body was pumping adrenaline not wanting to lower your guard again. Your body shaking, no big deal, that was normal. You acted like a chihuahua all the time, but this fear felt different. Genuine. You had a bad feeling that you shouldn’t be near this man. Your eyes follow Adam as he begins to walk away, your gaze landing on a strange looking guitar on his back. You didn’t go by his side, he didn’t seem to care you weren’t following either.

You really didn’t want to be near the man. Your hooves clank together as you weigh your options. Never going to Earth, possibly being sent to Hell or assisting Adam as long until the Seraphim Angels believe you had redeemed yourself to actually perform your actual duties.

This was a punishment after all.

You sighed, knowing that the discomfort was a part of the punishment. God would want you to prove your loyalty, to help one of His children. His very first child.

That eased your mind. This was for your creator, it was in your very soul to perform selfless acts and help those in need. You were a cherub, an angel of grace and love, nothing can make you deter from your purpose. Any bumps in the road is just your Lord trying to make you the best version of you.

Plus, you really need to speed this up to do your task. Maybe you should have done that first. But there was no time to dwell on your mistakes, especially when Adam had managed to walk far away from you. Making you squeak and quickly flying over to him, landing directly in front of him. The man didn’t flinch, more annoyed by your action as he slouched and looked down at you.

“You’re in my way.”

“I’m here to assist, give me a task.” You quickly stated.

You were proud of yourself that you managed to say that without stuttering or cowering away. Though, your body was screaming, your spine shaking and you tried to calm that reaction from affecting your whole body. But it gave that awkward feeling that makes your knees buckle under the uneven distribution of weight.

“Ugh… Shouldn’t assistants be a hot babe? Not a…”

Adam stared at you, which in turn, you stared back. Your eyes scrunched a bit in concern, wondering why the man stopped his sentence.

“I don’t fucking know, a goat?”

Any nerves you got from the staring disappear and are replaced with irritation. There was no mistake that Adam is human, just like his descendants after him, they can’t tell you’re a sheep.

“No, please, can you just-“

“So like, are you a ram or like a fuck up bull?”

You flinched, you were trying your best to not be bothered by the choice of language but every time those words entered your ear, you felt like you were being punched in the gut.

You trust your divine creator, your Lord, the one that can do no wrong. But did He really make Adam? Because no way in all things that are holy was this correct, this man was nowhere near the souls that entered Heaven for their virtues.

“No, for real, what the fuck are you?” Adam asked again.

His black gloved index finger went to poke one of your horns, making you flinch. It was so easy for Adam to continue poking it in an annoying manner as your horns were right in his face.

“Please… Stop touching me…” You grumbled.

You sighed when the man actually stopped, one of your hind legs shifted so you could tap your hoof against the concrete, to show your impatience. Adam had his cheeks puffed, either from stopping himself from laughing or burping, it could be either at this point.

“I’m a Racka sheep.” You stated, might as well so you’re not called a goat again.

“Okay, well racka ass out of here and get me a slushie.” Adam smirked as his awful pun, those sharp teeth showing again.

You narrowed your eyes at the request, easy, but you don’t know why he needed to say it like that. You simply nodded to acknowledge the command and begin to fly.

“Oh, and bring it to main street, I’m not going to be here waiting for you.” He informed.

Which was maybe one of the normal sentences from your interaction, making you smile as you nodded again. Though you still had that gross feeling about this guy, maybe it was the swearing that’s throwing you off. No one in Heaven had even cuss, not near you and not in any of the recorded documents and TV stations. You wondered how Adam was getting away with being so foul-mouthed.

But you zipped away, about to do the command given but paused for a moment, glancing at the sky. It was that lovely dark blue and purple, signifying the evening was gone and night had arrived. The day nearly over, you really needed to find a human soul not getting a slushie.

Note to self; help a human soul then Adam.

You puff out your chest, your arms shaking as you were getting that feeling that not prioritizing Adam’s request would go wrong. But your mind was determined to prove yourself, you had that drive to help a human here in Heaven to show your worth. To let the Seraphim Angels see your improvement, to give you the permission to go back on Earth where you can be what you were made to be.

That gave you all the motivation to fly a different direction. North. To where the most patient of souls abide.

Your wings glide through the air, relaxing you as the thin, cold air from Diligent Valley was seeping away and more of a pleasant breeze. Despite the sun no longer near the clouds, the air was warm and dry, you navigated through the sky as you glanced down at the clouds. The saucers' shape were dispersed to be more delicate and feathery, almost having a similar shape to a mare’s tail.

You can understand why the patient ones would live here, it was like being in a hot tub or sauna, calming all your nerves.

Why haven’t you visited here? You felt much better, all your worries and anxiety vaporizing from your angelic form. But, this place might be difficult to find a human soul that feels in the dumps. But as the stars light your way in the streets, you just have to take the chance. Your hooves landing on the cirrus clouds, a sudden chill courses your body as the ice crystals rival the warmth above it. You glanced around.

This was unfortunate. Not a lot of angels are walking around. You should have expected that, it WAS nighttime, most angels would head off to bed, to rest from the day they had just to do it again. You bit your lip nervously; how are you going to help someone, write a report on it and submit it all before 12 AM?

You walked, scanning every angel that walked by, easily identifying who was human. After all, they don’t lose their human forms unlike sinners in Hell. They deserve to be recognized as the person they were, an untrained eye could only mistake a humanoid angel for a human who is turned into an angel.

But your thoughts drifted to Adam. Why didn’t he look human? Your hoof gradually goes up to rub your chin, thinking of possibilities. The best you had was that your Lord was still new at transformations so the first man ended up not looking quite himself. Or maybe you weren’t as educated on what a human soul looks like when transformed into an angel, was there a possibility of them having animalistic features?

Your lips twitched, wanting to form a frown but the atmosphere in this humble location continued to ease your body. But your mind raced, as it couldn’t stop the bubbling worry away anymore. You were about to fail, on your first day no less. Your gaze managed to land on an ice cream shop. The menu was written on a chalkboard, leaning against the window from the inside.

You stepped forward and read it. They sell slushies. Didn’t Adam want a slushie? May as well buy it from here. Wait, did he tell you a flavor? Your ears twitched as you realized you never asked, now you gotta choose something random.

Your hoof went to grab the handle of the door but you paused. Raising that same hoof up to your face, noticing that it wasn’t shaking. Your body truly was relaxed, which gave you a moment to look down at your hind legs. You might look weird to the employees inside, looking through the see-through door but you were just examining your calmness. It has been forever since you were like this. Why couldn’t you go back to those days where you were just a regular cherub?

You couldn’t dwell on it, probably because of the aura of this place or because of the time-limit plaguing your mind, but you finally entered the shop. The soft, cold breeze made your wings shake to fluff up to keep themselves cozy. You glanced around the small shop, it was pretty. The walls were painted with different angles of the Jhelum River, giving the calm sensation once again.

“Greetings! How may I help you?” The angel at the cashier said, they looked androgynous so you didn’t try to pinpoint a gender.

You glanced at the machine made to process the icy beverage. You pointed at it, which was a bit awkward to you as you don’t often flex the cloven hoof to make it look like an index finger.

“Oh! What flavor would you like?” They chirped, seeing unbothered by your lack of vocalization.

It makes sense, only the most stoical souls can be here, so seeing them crack from impatience is rare.

“Um… Whatever a human man likes?” You awkwardly replied, the hoof that was pointing now moving to rub the back of your neck.

The angel raised a brow, giving a soft smile at you.

“Oh geez… I wouldn’t know, I’m not exactly… a man?”

They laughed and you awkwardly chuckled along with them. This made you examine their features more, lanky built, pointy ears and their hair spiked up but also have a mullet. Since the angel didn’t say they’re not human either, you can safely assume that they probably died in the 80s.

“Ah, sorry, I just don’t know exactly what he’ll like.” You said sheepishly as your arms fell to your sides.

“He? Like…” The angel’s eyes were widened as they pointed a finger up in the sky.

You glanced up as well, it took you a moment to understand what they were implying. Him, your creator’s son who is viewed as a savior to some and the best prophet to others. You chuckled as you shook your head at their misunderstanding but it made sense, you were vague and honestly, it wouldn’t be a stretch if someone in Heaven is doing errands for the holiest of humans.

“Oh, no! No… I’m doing this for Adam, the first man.” You said.

You don’t know why you wanted to tell them that but you just wanted to clear up any misinterpretation from your words. They titled their head, their lip twitched, did they want to frown?

“Oh.” They simply replied.

They turned their back to you to get the yellow and purple stripe cup and fill it up. Maybe Adam came here before, wouldn’t be a shock. He was one of the first humans in Heaven so he was definitely the first to visit every corner of Heaven as well. Your ear twitched, a strange sense of melancholy filled the air.

That wasn’t coming from you for once.

You eyed how that angel’s white wings twitched in an uncomfortable way. You know that type of reaction anywhere, you experienced it multiple times before and with your cherubic powers you know what is going on.

“Hey… Are you okay?” You asked, your voice lowering to a more soft, timid one than you already had.

Which made the human turned angel to turn their head to look at you over their shoulder. They had a small smile but their eyes showed a sense of exhaustion.

“Huh? Oh, yeah… Just…”

They turned the body fully as they added a lid onto the cup, you don’t know what flavor is in there but you hope that Adam doesn't complain about it.

“Adam doesn't like any of the slushies here.”

That was something you didn’t want to hear. Your lips finally managed to fall into a frown, the atmosphere unable to fully calm your anxiety. What were you supposed to do? You don’t have much time to do what you need done today. The angel seemed to be shocked you’re frowning and handed you the slushie.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to… Look, Adam is going to drink it anyway. He just likes complaining…”

“Is there a shop where he likes the slushies?” You asked, knowing it was a bit rude to look for recommendations of rival shops but you didn’t want to get on Adam’s bad side.

“We’re actually his favorite place to buy them from.” They replied.

That made your left eye twitch. God’s divine power in this area that makes people more calm than they are isn't working on you anymore. Something about that just made you question everything about what people like.

“… So… I’m going to get in trouble regardless…?” You said slowly, your hooves wanted to squeeze the cup you were holding.

“Heh…” They looked away, their expression was still calm as they looked back at you.

“And he complained to you constantly about the slushies, does he even like them!?” You asked, trying not to let your body shake.

It was nice when the heavy, sinking feeling wasn’t there, but now it’s back. What are you supposed to do? The first task he made you do was deemed to make him not like you, who does that?

“I… I think he does. Like I said, he likes complaining.” The human soul sighed.

The melancholy aura was back. Making you pause, your cherubic powers really do respond to humans regardless of what is happening it seems. Your eyes that were fixed on the slushie glanced up at the angel.

“Well… hm…”

This was unexpected. You know what to do and say to a certain human to cheer them up, after all, that's what you were born to do. To make them live their life just as planned by the big G. But this was different, this was the afterlife, what can you say that this human soul already heard. The angel was staring at you, raising a brow as they patiently waited for you to say your sentence you tried to say.

“He’s just one man, don’t let his words get to you.”

“I know.”

“No, I mean… You don’t have to be polite.”

“What?” That made the human soul look at you like you had cursed at them.

“You don’t have to take his remonstrance. I only met him once but I can assume he had said vile things to you. Timothy 2:23-25 is something that Adam is completely forgetting, meaning you must follow what Leviticus 24:19-21 and Matthew 5:38-42 says.”

You say, using one hoof to raise the cup as you were confident in what you said. But when you looked at the angel, their brow furrowed in confusion, making you sigh. Remembering that humans don’t know biblical quotes from the top of their heads.

“Adam shouldn’t be complaining so viciously and instead be patient and kind despite being in a situation he dislikes, but since he isn’t, you should argue back. In a polite way. If not, you can throw his words back at him, kick him out and refuse to serve him in the future as a consequence of his behavior.”

“We can do that here?” The human soul questioned, a bit surprised by the advice.

“Tolerance doesn’t mean you must suffer under their cruelty.” You shrugged.

They stared at you, their soft smile had twitched as they tried not to smirk.

“And here I thought I was supposed to be patient with him, I mean, that's why I’m here.”

“I mean, sure, that’s the point. But not everyone deserves your time if it’s going to make you feel…” You trailed off.

Wait…

Are you helping this soul? Did you just accidentally complete the task given to you? The angel looked confused when you had a face with realization and astonishment.

“… Uh… Oh, right. You should prioritize your own comfortability, never let people step over you all because of something you can’t change at the moment.” You ended your thought.

“Heh… Thanks… Though, I think that slushie is melting. You don’t want Adam to complain.” They said with a wink.

Which reminded you that you had to go. With a wide smile, you waved goodbye. Before stepping outside the establishment, giddy consumed your entire being. You managed to do two mandatory tasks in the limited time you had…

Well, sort of, first you need to write that report and also give Adam the beverage. Now you need to remember where he said he’ll be at, since you know he’s not at Diligent Valley anymore. You took off into the air, looking down at the clouds below, watching them shift into the classic cumulus clouds that everyone knows. You headed off to the main street of Heaven, you don’t know exactly he’ll be there but knowing what he looks like, you wouldn’t have a problem.

The night was beautiful, especially with the minimal angels walking down the street, their halos glowing. Almost like lighting beetles flying around or the stars twinkling above them. You looked for a certain glow, a golden one. Your eyes immediately find one sitting at a cafe table, it was accompanied with a black one that glowed white as you slowly landed beside the table you glanced between the two tall angels.

Adam raised a brow and the lady he was with did the same. You studied her features: her whitish pale skin, golden eyes, her white hair that is styled in a fringed bob, her black attire. She was absolutely gorgeous and your wings let the two know that as they sprung up.

“Hey fuckwad, keep it in your pants.” Adam laughed.

That made you blush from embarrassment, the lady just looked at the first man with an unamused expression but you can tell in her eyes that she found it funny as well.

“Oh uh… Here's your slushie.” You mumbled as you placed the cup onto the table.

“Really sir?”

“Shut the fuck up, Lute.” Adam immediately said to the lady.

Which you now can put a name to her face. You kind of stand there, knowing that you can’t leave without Adam’s permission, which you hope he tells you to leave so you can zip away to C.H.E.R.U.B and write that report so you can officially end your endeavors with an hour to spare.

“Anyway, what I was saying was that we can-“

“Sir!” Lute interrupted Adam, which made him mad.

“What the fuck, bitch? Who the fuck do you think-“

The lady pointed at you aggressively, which made you flinch and stumbled back a bit. She was glaring daggers at Adam, almost like she was trying to communicate something to him. The first man raised a brow as his gaze landed on you, he had an annoyed look before realization settled on his face.

“Oh shit, right. You can fuck off now.” Adam said, waving a hand at you dismissively.

You didn’t need to be told twice, immediately you were gone. You didn’t need to worry about Adam nor the report, ending your day with a plopped onto your bed barely making an effort to have the blanket on you as you slept in an instant since you were so exhausted.

 

But now… You’re awake, sitting on your bed. Trying to rub the sleep out of your eyes. You really thought after that first day that things would be more smoother, like a ship cruising on the calm waves of the ocean. But it felt like that ship was caught in an awful storm that almost tipped it over. Adam was the worst.

And you never called an angel that before.

During this month; you were nearly squashed by different types of instruments and stage equipments, humiliated in front of multiple crowds, had your horns used as fruit skewers more than once, your horns also being used as a bottle opener which led you to get soda on your wool more than one occasion and much more that you wished you could forget.

Adam really was pushing how far he can go while you are assisting him. The man even threw his halo into a flag pole to make you get it. He probably thinks it’s funny to demean you, because you doubt it was hygienic to be eating off your horns. But you can’t help but thank the man, in a cruel, twisted fate, you managed to keep finding souls with doubt and downheartedness.

So, you keep managing to write reports to give Deerie to review. Which was something, on some days you managed to write about 3 souls you helped. After all, they didn’t take like 5 hours like your missions on Earth, so it was pleasant.

You were about to fall back onto your bed until a tall bee cherub poke through your bedroom window.

“Y/N! Wake up!” Honey said in a sing-along tone, causing you to groan.

During the end of the first week, you went and asked for help, you were too afraid to approach anyone in your office though. So, you asked Honey, since she was friends to all the cherubs, so in turn, was friends with you. Making it easy to walk up and talk to someone with limited fear. You felt the weight of your bed sink next to you, making you turn your head a bit to look at the bee cherub.

“Rough day yesterday?” She asked.

“Yeah… You know how hard it was for me to not only carry a drum but other band equipment too?”

“I would say easy.” She chirped.

You just stared at her. She was such a nice gal but sometimes you wonder if she’s too enthusiastic or speaks too soon when needed to.

“Uh… No…” You softly replied, glancing at your bedroom window. It was such a lovely day, why must you waste half of it with Adam?

“… Oh… Well! It’s time to go to work! Are you excited?” Honey giggled, giving a cute expression as her eyes crinkled at the corners.

You gradually returned an awkward smile, dreading this day. Moments like these make you wish you can go on Earth to do what you were made for. You’re hoping His plan for you was not going to leave you in vain.

Chapter 4: Just a Glimpse

Notes:

What did I even write?

There was a loud, obnoxious buzzing in the office. You’re sitting in your cubicle, your eyes glancing up to the vent that was producing the noise, blowing out cold air. It was above the cubicle two rows in front of you, your mind eased at recognizing it since you remembered looking for vents before. Why were you looking for them before? It must be related to air, you think, you have never been the best at remembering when your mind is jamble with fear and worries.

You were glad that C.H.E.R.U.B had turned on the air conditioner since Heaven’s air was getting more warm than usual. The shift of the seasons becomes apparent and a bit inconvenient for a sheep like you, your wool making you overheat quicker than when it’s spring or autumn. You slowly closed your exhausted eyes, planning on just taking a nap on your desk, to enjoy the pleasant temperature as long as you can before you inevitably have to leave.

One of your ears flicked when you heard the soft sound of hooves approaching towards where you are, but you took note how they sounded, light and dainty, one from a deer. You took a big breath to calm any nerves that were forming from the logic that Deerie was going to talk to you. You love this job so much, it was your heart, it was your destiny, it was the reason why you wake up every morning. But, you know what she’ll say.

“Y/N.” The fawn cherub whispered, trying not to scare you.

Your eyes gradually opened, looking into her big pupils. She didn’t have a smile until she saw you didn’t react by flying out of your chair or trembling at the sight of her.

A genuine smile.

Your mind is sluggish from all the work you did yesterday, feeling like you hadn’t slept in eons, but your eyes widened as you straightened up in your chair. Never did you expect to see your manager give you a smile that wasn’t hiding disappointment or pity, you really didn’t know how to respond, leaving you two silent.

Right. She only talks in turns, you must say something just for her to continue her intended speech or directions. You shifted in your chair, feeling awkward at this moment, you’re just glad everyone in the office was gone. Down on Earth. Somewhere you were praying to go back to, to fulfill your purpose as intended.

“Deerie.” You simply say.

“Mhm… I’m sorry, no, truly, I am sorry but there’s no mission assigned to you today.” She replied.

There it is. The statement you heard for a month now. This department was meant for humans who are alive, not in Heaven, so you couldn’t blame them. This was brand new to them as well, so you just had to be patient for the higher ups to find a way to pinpoint humans on Heaven experiencing a small amount of doubt.

“I assumed…” You softly said, the tiredness obvious in your voice.

“No, yeah… But I bet you’ll manage to find a human in need, yeah. You’re incredibly talented in doing so.”

You gave a soft smile towards her from the short praise. It felt nice to actually be appreciated for once, it really made you realize how often the other cherubs will give you a look that says all. How they think you’re an obstacle during the group missions, how they think you are sabotaging the wellbeing of the human simply for your appearance. You shifted in your chair, a strange feeling appeared in your chest. Like a sensation that squeezed your chest but in a way you craved more of it, you didn’t dwell on it, your tired mind barely processing Deerie leaving you alone.

You glanced at your office computer, staring at the time. 10 AM. Work started at 8 AM. You have 16 hours to complete your task and assist Adam.

Adam.

You groaned as your hooves went up to your eyes, dragging down the skin to keep yourself from closing your eyelids and slamming your head against the desk. You wonder if Sera would know if you stopped participating in how you’re being disciplined, would Adam tell the Seraphim Angels?

Did you tell the first man that your assistance was because it was supposed to be a punishment for misconduct?

Would he even care if you don’t arrive?

You let out a long, fatigue sigh as your hind hooves clanked onto the office floor. If you manage to find Adam, then you’ll help him, but today will only be about the human soul. You will not seek him out like you did the past few days, it took too much time out of your day.

As you walked towards the door, to exit the building to start your duty, your wings fluttered open to remind you that you could fly out the window. But you hesitated when you saw something white falling to the floor from the corner of your eye, causing you to turn your head to look at it.

Feathers.

“Oh no…” You whispered to yourself.

You reached down, picking up a feather from the 3 that fell. You examined it, light and delicate, but also covered in gray specks of dust.

When was the last time you took care of your wings?

When you looked at the window that was used by the cherubs to fly out quickly you felt dread. Wondering what would have happened if you tiredly flew out rather than walking to the door. In fact, now that you think about it, you haven't flown today so far. Maybe your body knew that your wings were off limits, you had to remember to clean them later. You don’t want them to get irritated later on, the feathers would eventually dig into your skin uncomfortably, possibly making cuts on you accidentally and getting an infection from the dirt the feathers carried.

You shook your head from thinking about it. Your wings are the least of your worries but how are you going to get things done quickly without being able to fly?

 

Now you understand why flying was the best thing ever created. You had to place your hooves on your knees, wheezing and inhaling slowly to catch your breath. You wished you had a wristwatch but you can assume it took you approximately 30 to an hour walking to main street from the C.H.E.R.U.B building. Your ears twitch with each time you suck in air, not liking the sound nor the pain in your lungs trying to adjust from lack of oxygen to an excessive amount of it.

For sure, you’re going to preen your wings the moment you get home because walking is something you only do when you’re deep in thought or when your wings are tired.

Now what were you doing?

You saw shadows pass you by, making you glanced up at the angels flying towards their destination. Must be nice being able to just… FLY. You scowled as you looked at your wings, blaming them for being unkempt despite it being your responsibility to maintain your hygiene. But, that wasn’t why you were here, you were here to find human souls.

…

That sounds weird. Looking for human souls. What are you? Azrael?

You shuddered, remembering seeing him in the holy jury before during one of your trials. 4,000 wings and four faces was something you didn’t expect, though, you saw other angels with 20 or more eyes so it wasn’t much of a surprise.

When you finally catch your breath, your gaze cast down onto the large apartment buildings. You saw the majority of humanoid angels walk in and out of that building before, your best chance finding someone without needing to fly around aimlessly. Your wings fluttered weakly, reminding you that you can’t fly, making you groan. You just glad you made the right choice in not finding Adam, especially when walking is your only transportation at the moment.

Unlike your humble home in Cherub Towne, the apartment complex you walked in was gorgeous. The ceiling was so high, allowing angels to walk freely in the facility. Your eyes sparkled at the lavish wimborne white walls, appreciating how smooth it was as the gold accent made the lobby look like the entrance of a fancy restaurant rather than a residence. You wondered if they once had chandeliers hanging on the ceiling before realizing it was a hazard.

Lovely paintings of heavenly figures were placed on the wall, proudly showing the residence of people who lended a hand in the creation of the building. You noticed a wall dedicated for golden, tiny lockers, you assumed that was for mail. But you were just in awe by the fanciness of this place, there were even lamps next to pillars to light the long hallway. Nothing prepared you, albeit, you didn’t have expectations to begin with.

Your eyes landed on a Principality Angel, their appearance was human in nature but their halo was more stylized, four orbs slowly rotating around it.

Your eyes were glued on it, entertained by it. Not because of the four orbs moving… Well, it was practically that but it was a physical indicator that the angel was scanning the space of the complex, making sure everyone was safe and sound. You always wonder if you can befriend an angel of that rank, both of your fields were based on protecting humanity, so it was some common ground. They were technically the bosses of your manager, Deerie.

Maybe that is why they never task you with a human soul in Heaven, unlike cherubs, principality angels don’t travel to Earth but make up for it by protecting the souls in Heaven as well. So, it was understandable why they didn’t send a cherub to do the job when they can just easily handle the issue themselves?

That was their purpose.

That finally made you look away from the angel’s halo, a familiar wave of emotion washed over you. It was heavy, so heavy your lips fell into a frown, you never label the feeling. Denying that you were feeling something negative, you were born into this realm to be a type of light, a guide to understanding love and acceptance. There was no way you were feeling one of the deadly sins, the one that was forgotten, even in Hell as it never gains its own ring.

An angel’s wings accidentally bumped into your arm, snapping you out of the thought process.

Right, you were just standing in the lobby, you glimpse over to look through the glass doors to see how they designed the resting areas. The tipping-tapping of your hooves seemed to bring you joy, almost like a reaction a human would get when they can hear their precious pet entering a room.

You managed to find the indoor gym, humming as you remember the apartments down on Earth. Only a few had the privilege to give such luxury, though the rent would be costly. You wished you were in an apartment building on Earth, trying to calm a frightened human just so you can get to the real problem that you can soothe. You couldn’t believe you missed the way a human would scream at your presence, maybe because it was an emotion you can sympathize with.

You just stand there, glancing around the gym at all the fit and well built angels managing their bodies in a way they like, flawlessly doing the routines they are used to. The fear rising in your chest as you tried to figure out what to do, knowing that some of the gym goers are humans but you don’t know what to say to them.

What if they don’t have a problem and get offended that you thought they did? What if they make you look ridiculous for asking? What if they don’t understand your intentions?

You bit the inside of your cheek, trying to build up the courage to approach a random angel and ask if they, or one of their friends, was having doubt about Heaven or felt like they didn’t deserve the paradise they were in.

“Holy shit, is that a Chupacabra!?”

That made you jump, not even processing who even said that, your initial reaction was to fly away from the danger. Since your brain recognizes you’re one of the animals, that creature mentioned, would attack. But your wings only gave you a few inches off before you landed straight onto the ground, pain immediately followed as did your chin and chest took most damage. Of course, it wasn’t that painful but it was something you would like to avoid if possible. How did you forget that your wings were out of commission?

Your ear twitched when you heard laughter, your gaze looking at the angels working out. The gym goers there either didn’t look, staring at you with concern or looking passed you with an annoyed expression. Your cheeks heats up from the embarrassment that form, not liking the eyes that were on you. You wanted to ignore the glares by slowly turning your head towards the angel that frightened you while standing up.

“Oh, priceless! I didn’t thought that would fucking work!” Adam snickered.

Of course it was Adam.

You weren’t even purposely looking for him and somehow you bumped into him, just your luck, when you ARE looking for him you just can’t find him swiftly. He had a smug expression as he looked at you, his hands on his hips. You wheezed as you saw his wings under his arms again, for real, is that even comfortable?

Wait.

Why was Adam at a gym? You've been around the first man for a whole month already and never ONCE saw him do any physical activity, probably because he was reaping the rewards of having an assistant, but still. Never have you seen him do anything remotely related to heavy lifting or running. You slowly raised a shaky hoof, not mentally prepared to talk nor be near Adam just yet.

“W-what… Um… Wait… You aren’t… Uh… This is a place… Hm…” You fumbled over your words.

Why must he catch you off guard? You were literally preparing yourself to talk to someone here in the gym, not the first man. Your brain racks around the words but your body just trembles as you feel like you’re making a fool of yourself. You didn’t noticed the smirk forming on Adam’s lips nor when he went to move behind you, blocking the view of the other angels there.

“Since you’re already here, I got something that you can do for me.” He said softly, his hands next to your shoulders but quite not touching them.

It was instincts, making your way out the gym and beginning to follow Adam as he gradually walked around you to take the lead as he knew you’re not leaving anywhere else now.

“Follow.” Adam simply said as he gestured to you to stay near.

You didn’t really acknowledge the shift of tone when he spoke, how he walked slowly just so your significantly smaller legs could catch up. Your eyes never look up as you seem to have tunnel vision now, only looking at the hands that sometimes get in your view to make you turn a corner or at the golden wings on Adam’s back to stay on the first man’s trail.

Only when Adam placed his hands on your shoulders to turn you sideways to walk through a doorway is when you regain a sense of wariness.

…

Did Adam just herded you into his apartment room?

You slightly turned your head, looking at the doorway, your horns wouldn’t have let you in this room if the first man didn’t ushered you in. You literally couldn’t believe how easy it was for Adam to lead you somewhere.

That is worrying.

“I got somewhere to be, got a lot of babes to visit, and I don’t want to waste my precious time on cleaning this shithole. Like, why the fuck would I do that?” Adam spoke as you walked further into the home.

It was decent, definitely bigger than your own home somehow. Then again, a giant like Adam needs elbow room, your nose wrinkling as your hoof immediately steps onto a bag on the floor. The bag looked like it was for cheese puffs, you glanced around as you realized you were walking into the living room.

It was like a pigsty, although the pig cherubs were far cleaner than this. It was like the first man used his entire apartment as a trash can, was it really that hard to walk to a bin to dispose of his filth?

“Don’t fucking snoop around while I’m gone because I swear to God, I know how to slaughter a sheep like you.”

That made you tense up at the threat, your head snapping towards where Adam’s voice was, but he was nowhere in your peripheral vision. Only when you hear the front door closing is when you let out a sigh of relief. Even though you didn’t want to be in Adam’s apartment to be his… maid? Butler? House cleaner? Whatever, this is not what an assistant does. You’re just glad you’re alone once again.

You don’t know why you were surprised, your hoof picking up a crushed can of soda. Adam never really wants you near, the only time he does is for lifting up band equipment or your horns being used for something unhygienic.

Speaking of unhygienic, you glanced at your wings. They needed to be preened, washed and fluffed. You sighed as you know that you really ARE going to take care of them at the end of the day. You glanced up, looking at the ceiling.

“Is this really what you planned for me, God?” You softly asked.

A question you held back from speaking, since you knew the answer. He knows everything, He knows what is entailed for you and you just had to listen. To never stray, yet, you wonder why you are being punished by being yourself. But as always, no one answered.

Didn’t He make you to be like this?

Why? Why would He create something as beautiful as you to be shunned by your fellow angels. Even humans don’t want to interact with you.

Was this a mistake?

…

Were you a mistake?

 

You sighed. Closing the front door of Adam’s apartment room, you couldn’t believe you actually cleaned his entire home. At first, you wanted to just pick up the garbage and leave, but the first man was just disgusting. How does anyone live like that? Adam was definitely lucky black moss didn’t form from all the tomato sauces, drinks and broth spilling and straining the floor and lower part of the walls. What did you expect from a slob anyhow?

All you know is that you wasted 5 hours deep cleaning that place. Not just the living room, but all the rooms. Clothes you found on the floor were just thrown hazardously on Adam’s bed, just so you can honor the request to not ‘snoop’ around. You didn’t know where the first man even put anything so you were glad you didn’t have to open cabinets, drawers and cupboards just to put things away.

You were alarmed when you heard a door close behind you, so you slowly turned your head anxiously until your eyes landed on an angel. He just stood there, his hand on the doorknob of his own apartment. You both just ended up staring at each other, which makes you nervous as you don’t know why this angel isn’t walking away. You didn’t even do anything out of the ordinary but you feel like you’re being judged.

He looked human, skinny, his skin was brown close to what a boulder opal is, nothing too special about his hairstyle as it was too short to be personalized just yet. You think the staring contest had lasted for a minute but it felt longer, his expression looks like the gears in his head were turning as his eyes shifted between you and Adam’s apartment now.

“Oh, I thought he was only into chicks.”

You never felt so disgusted in your life before, to think, that what the angel was thinking about while staring at you. You being gay. You never cared about a human’s sexuality, that’s their own thing, it doesn’t relate to your job nor life, but to be labeled as a homosexual just from a quick glance just made your stomach churned, feeling like it was twisting in an attempt to not throw up. Furthermore, with Adam?!

No self respecting male would ever want to get with that man, he was repulsive, a jerk, foul-mouthed and overall the worst companion to have. You subconsciously took a step back as you cringed at the thought of being in any type of relationship with Adam. You don’t even know how he managed to find some ladies that tolerate him for even a night.

“Oh, never mind.” The angel mumbled as he noticed your expression.

“Yeah, I was just here to clean his room.” You managed to spit out.

Were you angry? Your body was shaking like you were frightened but it seemed different, like you wanted to do something. You don’t know what, but something to take those words away, this shouldn’t be making you feel like this. It was just a sentence, it didn’t mean anything. Except, it did, you were about to storm off but the angel raised his hands up which made you freeze as you thought he was gonna hit you. Which was silly, violence was not allowed in Heaven. He was doing it more in a defensive manner.

“Hey man! I only ever saw ladies leaving from there, not my fault that I thought you were there for the same as them.”

You narrowed your eyes, the fear and the other emotion was definitely mixing now. You refuse to think it’s anger that is guiding you, maybe annoyance. Yeah, you’re probably annoyed.

“I’m literally a sheep.” You say, almost like that was an arguing point.

Which made the angel shrug, “You know, some people that’s into that stuff.”

You shuddered, completely forgetting about those types of people. Though, some humans turn into animalistic angels, which you learned when helping a female spider get through the grief of her twin brother not being there with her. It was strange learning that, you wonder why that happens, since the majority of humans would just look like themselves but with wings and a halo when becoming an angel.

“Just… no.” Is all you can say.

“My bad.”

That when you felt it. That familiar melancholic aura, you didn’t even try to activate your cherubic powers, to know who was behind the sadness. You raised a brow as the male angel began to walk away, you didn’t really want to walk up to him and ask what was up. It would be awkward, especially with the interaction that literally happened a second ago. But, it would be wrong to ignore this feeling, did you accidentally upset him?

You hesitated as you began to follow him to the stairs, he seemed to notice you were walking the same direction when he was at the turn of the spiral steps. You wanted to hold your tongue, look away and pretend you were leaving the building as well. But that wasn’t why you were there.

“Hey, uh.”

The angel stopped mid-step, glancing over to you. You guys were midway to another floor, your hooves clinked together as you thought about what to say.

“Uh, hey.” The angel said in response, probably to show he acknowledged you, possibly so you can continue with what you’ll say.

“I’m sorry if I was uh… harsh?” Is what you started with.

There wasn’t much you can say without using your cherubic powers, something you use sparsely and even then you don’t want to invade someone’s personal life by looking for the reason why they feel that way. Of course, it’s quicker than talking to them, but it just felt right. To give the human a choice to speak their mind.

The angel seemed confused, which made you look away. You guess the melancholy feeling was not caused by you, which was comforting but now you have to figure out what else it can be.

“Huh? Oh, don’t worry about that, you did nothing wrong.”

“Heh… Alright… Um…”

Why must God make it so hard for you to talk to people? You were designed for this yet you were trembling like you wanted to run away. What else can you say? Most problems like this were easy to guess, just a simple glance at them, ask a couple questions and analyze how they react. But all you saw was this angel leaving his apartment and walking down the stairs. Nothing there was caused to be upset, maybe it was where he was going?

The angel was about to walk down the stairs again, which made you quickly speak to keep him there.

“Oh! Uh…! Um… Hi.”

“…Hi?” The angel said, a bit weirded out now.

This was awkward. You gave a smile, to hide how you were panicking, you can always find another angel to help, but that would take a while. Here’s one in front of you, it should be easy. You’re a pro at this, well, you should be.

“Is… Is there something you need?” The angel hesitantly says.

Oh no, are you looking like a creep? This is awful, that was the last thing you wanted to appear as. You nodded though, since technically you do need something, but it just made the angel frown.

“Okay… What do you need?”

“Are you… Erm… I want to know if you’re okay.”

Yeah, this was the most awkward thing you've ever done. Well, maybe not, you did do an accent while bowing to an angel before. You doubt you’ll ever forget that. The human soul tilted his head as he looked at your appearance, he was trying to figure out what type of angel you were as he realized you weren’t the human type.

“Are you a principality angel?” He asked.

That made you stand straight. No one mistaken you for that ranking before, probably because you were always on Earth. But you didn’t blame him, like you thought before, principality angels handle the souls here. But you weren’t one, even if it was faltering to be mistaken for a ranking you respect a lot, you had to clarify, to honor your own purpose.

“Oh no, no, no! I’m a cherub!” You proudly said, placing a hoof on your chest.

“Hm? I thought you guys were supposed to be down on Earth right now.”

You laughed, your ears flattened against the side of your head. Oh, you wish you were down on Earth, enjoying the more dense air, the sun reflecting areas that aren’t in Heaven. Like grass, dirt, rocks, trees, lakes, rivers, ponds, caves and even buildings that weren’t lavish but built with stone, clay and wood. To feel the gentle air, choke when you smell the terrible smoke of cigarettes or fire, to listen to a human explain how lost they got.

Something about those experiences was intriguing. Despite some of it being negative, it was appealing to feel different emotions left and right while trying to use your cherubic powers. Anger, dejected, disgusted, envy, pride, anxiety, downheartedness and joy. Why wouldn’t you want to be down there?

You bit your lip as you tried not to say anything bad, not like you will, it was something you struggled with to express your negative feelings. Despite earlier, which is why you don’t want to react like that, not if you want to help this human.

“Heh… I mean, they are. I’m not.”

“Why?” The angel immediately questioned.

You tensed up, not wanting to mention to this soul that you transferred to a new role, banned from going to Earth and that along with that you’re supposed to be an assistant to the first man. You opened your mouth to speak but you didn’t have a chance to say anything since the male angel spoke again.

“Shaking things up, huh?” He smirked.

There’s that feeling again. But it was mixed with jealousy now, which made you tilt your head. Why would he be jealous now? You said nothing, he was the one that made a statement.

“I mean, you can say that.” You replied.

You gradually followed the angel as he continued to walk down the stairs again.

“I feel ya, I sometimes wish I can do something else than just… you know, wandering around.” He chuckled, showing like he was making a joke.

But the energy was off, almost like he was making light of his own situation. This was great! Well, not great, this man was feeling like he was just existing in Heaven with no purpose, but great that you can help him now. But how can you do it without being weird or being TOO invasive.

“Oh, that sounds wonderful, not needing to work or worry about anything.” You said.

“Heh… yeah…”

That definitely was not the response you expected, you narrowed your eyes as you two made it to the ground floor. Man, your legs hurt badly, how do humans do this everyday?

“You must have been thrilled to learn that you had an apartment reserved for you and DON’T have to pay rent!” You mentioned with a small smile.

The angel glanced at you and sighed as he walked towards the front doors of the building, you continued to follow as it seemed like he wasn’t bothered by it.

“And how food is easily accessible, how you don’t need to wake up early for work, you -“

“Leave my family behind, all my friends…” He interrupted with a mumble.

“Oh, well… You’ll see them again.” You optimistically say.

“That IF their judgment day went well. Even then, there isn’t much for us to do here.”

“Are you kidding?!” You said, offended.

Heaven was a paradise, filled with fun activities, vacation spots and warmth that the Heavenly Father gives every morning. It was a place of tranquility, a land where danger can’t touch them.

“I’m not, the stuff we did on Earth isn't here.”

Where were you two walking? You didn’t realize you were exiting main street, it wasn’t frightening as you were willingly following him. Seems like he was heading to the area that mimics a park, your eyes landing on ducks that were swimming in water that the cloud exposed, to personate a pond.

“I mean… You really don’t need to do the same stuff… They probably would grow out of that by the time they arrive here.”

You said to comfort the angel, but it only made him frown. You felt a strong wave of sadness coming from the human soul, did you really just make this man more upset than before? You were just telling him the obvious. Humans change, they’re never the same after years of living, they even change in the afterlife. That should be something to be happy about, that his friends and family will be more aligned to the life of Heaven.

“…”

“You know, they would have more knowledge, be more mature, you know?” You added, hoping it would make him happy.

“Yeah… Meaning we’ll have nothing in common anymore.”

That made you frown from the words the male angel said. You didn’t think about that, you both stopped in front of the pond, your gaze landing on the human soul. He looks young, probably 20 the oldest, 17 the youngest. Your own feelings were matching the melancholy of the angel.

“Your family will always be with you, no matter what.” You replied.

“Yeah, I assume, but my friends would definitely not.”

“But they’re your friends.”

“And people change and grow apart.”

This is a new situation. This is similar to humans on Earth but you know this human isn’t going to self harm. He can’t, you assume he can’t. He was in Heaven, he was already dead, there was nowhere else he could go.

But Hell.

You shuddered. That was something you don’t want to think about, it was a fate no angel wants. To be a fallen angel.

“I guess that’s true.”

Is what you said. There was no point in arguing, humans were complicated. Your mind wandered to Adam, he was a mystery for sure, an ignorant guy who still enjoyed the rewards of Heaven. Maybe humans can’t fall, maybe this was just a form of grieving. Maybe you have to find another angel to help, there is nothing you can do.

“Heh, guess that’s life, huh?” He said with a smile as he glanced at you.

Huh…

That feeling was disappearing. Was the angel feeling a bit better?

“More like the afterlife.” You clarified.

That made the male angel playfully roll his eyes, shaking his head as he didn’t like your attempt at a joke. This felt familiar, almost like your missions on Earth.

“This is the worst it can get, huh? Just me thinking about the people I left behind?”

“Yeah.” You simply replied.

“This truly is Heaven.”

You giggled, the angel said it sarcastically but it made you laugh. To think, this human used to worry about things much worse than that. How Earth had him alarm about death in every corner, how he had to protect himself, his friends and family in certain scenarios. Now he is here, the only thing he can be fearful about is people he knew not wanting to be with him.

“It’s stupid. To worry about my friends not wanting to be my friends, right?”

That lingered in the air for a moment, your mind thinking about it. The only angel you can call a friend is Honey, other than that, you don’t really have worries about drifting apart with your friendships. It may not be something big as poverty or wars but it was still damaging to the human physique.

“No, it’s only natural to worry.”

“Hm…”

It was silent. Your eyes looking over to the horizon, the sky was no longer vibrant and blue but the beautiful orange of the sunset. You didn’t think you wasted that much time today, wasting most of your afternoon cleaning. But it was calming, knowing you actually had time to spare after this. It was nice to just chat with someone in a calm setting. You were relaxed, any nerves you had took a backseat as you two gradually ended up sitting near the pond.

The ducks swimming, some getting close to the edge of the cloud where you two were. The pond reflects the beauty of the sky. It was like those spirits of ducks were floating in a rainbow than water stored in a cloud. You wish you could do this more, you softly smile as you feel the negative aura disappear. The angel next to you seemed to no longer be upset.

“My friends would definitely enjoy this.”

You nodded, you may not know who his friends are but you have no doubt that any human wouldn’t find this moment dull or uneventful. It was just pleasant. A small piece of Earth in Heaven.

“… I gotta go.” The male angel soon said as he stood up.

You remain seated, looking up as the man dusts himself off.

“Nice talking to you. You helped a lot.”

He waved goodbye as he left. You remained silent, that small smile still on your face. You feel like you didn’t do much, not like it was bad. You didn’t even give advice, which made you furrow your brow. How did you help? Just by listening?

Humans truly were complicated.

 

You groaned as you woke up, your mind drowsy as you scanned your area.

When did you fall asleep?

You remembered writing your report and sending it to Deerie to be assorted into the database. You probably forgot you were exhausted before having to go and find a human to help. Especially when cleaning Adam’s apartment you are kind of forced to keep your mind awake. You wanted to just go home to take a quick nap before trying to find another human soul to get two reports in for the day rather than one.

But it seemed like your body craved sleep so badly that you slept longer than needed. You carefully turn to your side, making sure your horns didn’t get stuck into the wall or between the bars of the headboard. Your eyes staring at your clock.

6 AM.

You think you went to take a nap at 7 PM, that was almost 11 hours of sleep. You sighed as your eyes closed again, exhaustion consuming you again. But you started to heat up in your bed. Curse this summer air and your warm wool. You threw the covers off you and tried to get some cool air to surround you. But only the humidity had touched your body, making you uncomfortable, so your only choice was to sit up.

Your wings opened, fluttering as they were getting ready for the day as well. That until you heard feathers falling out, snapping your eyes wide open to look to your sides.

Right.

You forgot to preen them.

Fear flooded your mind immediately as you shifted on your bed, the creaking of your mattress was heard as you stared in terror at the pile of feathers that had fallen since you were asleep. The warm sunlight didn’t even calm you this time around, your mind thinking about how your wings will be bald if you keep neglecting them as long as you did.

Your hooves immediately reach over to your back, struggling to feel your wings as they shift away from your touch. Why must they naturally react to pull away when you try to preen them? This probably will take an hour as your arm sockets don’t help you from getting all loose feathers. That's why you take showers to finish the job.

You were getting frustrated as you growled, accidentally leaning so far that you ended up falling on your side onto your bed. Why must your wings be so small, hard to reach and overall needing to be taken care of.

“Y/N! Time to wake up!” Honey chirped as she popped her head into your bedroom’s window.

You would be annoyed and frustrated to start your day, but instead, you are ecstatic to see the bee cherub. She can help you with your wings!

After all, it’s socially acceptable for friends to bond through preening, especially when they can reach the shoulders of the wings with no hassle. You sat up straight and looked at Honey, she did the same as she noticed your eyes sparkling with hope. That made her smile as she hopped into your bedroom through your window.

“Wow! Today must be your day!” She giggled.

“Yeah, sure, hey, can you help me out?” You said quickly.

You know it was rude to not greet her, not to initiate small talk before asking for a favor. But your mind was racing at the thoughts of your wings being ruined by your poor choice of time management. Work starts at 8 in the morning, you need the hour you have to take a shower. A proper one, not one that is you hastily scrubbing the surfaces you can reach.

“Oh, sure! Whatever you need I can do! Give you corn! Bring honey! Grow corn for you! Make honey! Grow a garden! Make popcorn for you! Drizzle honey on that popcorn!”

You raised your brow at the things Honey listed, you opened your mouth wanting to question it but decided against it. You don’t want to understand her thinking, not today at least, you had a bigger problem.

“Uh, no! I don’t need… I just want your help in grooming my wings” You say.

You slowly turn your back towards her, pointing at the scruffy and ruffled feathers, you couldn’t see her expression but you did feel your bed sink next to you. Making you know Honey sat down, she knows you can see her worried expression. Her eyes glanced between the two little, dove-like wings on your back.

You slightly sway your hind legs back and forth as you wait, hoping the whole one hour you would have wasted would take about 30 minutes or less now you got someone else doing it.

But you yelped in pain and snapped your head to look over your shoulder. Your eyes widen when you see a pile of feathers in Honey’s hands, your wings fluttering as it processes the scolding-like pain spreading through them. You think tears were prickling in the corner of your eyes from the sudden action of the bee cherub.

“What do I do with these?” She asked with a sweet smile.

Her eyes scanning around your room. Your mind went blank as you tried to figure out why she’s acting like this was normal. She literally ripped out good feathers, albeit you can see some bad ones too, but that wasn’t the point.

Has she never done this before?!

That when you saw it as she slightly bent down to place your feathers on the floor. Her wings weren’t bird-like.

How in the world have you forgotten that?!

“Honey, you know, I think I can do this by mysELF-!” You tried to say before yelping as Honey pulled put more feathers.

 

“Damn, they fuck your shit up!” Adam hollered.

You stood there at his apartment’s door, arms crossed as the first man couldn’t help himself as he laughed at your wings. They refused to close against your back, as they were raw and in pain from the bee cherub’s help. You know she meant well, but now you can’t fly regardless because you had bald patches at some places.

You were just glad she didn’t accidentally take out any of your primary feathers or you would have been permanently grounded. But nevertheless, you were sore and grumpy having to walk once again.

“Do you need any assistance today, Adam?” You grumbled.

Now that you know where he lives, it makes it incredibly easy now to just ask him right away so you don’t have to waste so much time by going on a wild goose chase.

“Uhh…” Adam narrowed his eyes.

The hallway was warm, the cold air from the first man’s breezing out and touching your wool. It was nice, yet awful at the same time, as it reached your wings. They fluttered in alarmed as the tenderness made it feel like they were being attacked, your body trembled from the feeling, but you were used to shaking so it was out of the ordinary for you.

You can see Adam glancing over his shoulder like he was thinking of something, you wish that he knew that he didn’t need to ALWAYS give you something to do.

You wondered if Adam trashed all your work you did yesterday. Your eyes looking at what Adam could be looking at.

“Fuck it, I don’t feel like doing it anyhow.” He soon said as he gestured you to get inside.

You nodded and tried to but seemed to be stopped by an unknown force. You paused and tried again, it felt like you were hitting something but your body was only touching air. Adam watches with an unamused expression as kept trying the same method.

“Hey, dumbass.”

You looked up at Adam, who in turn, raised up a hand to point at his horns. You kind of stared a bit, processing the gesture until you blushed from embarrassment.

Right, your horns.

You cleared your throat and turned sideways to step in with no issues.

“… I’m used to doors being wide enough for them.”

“And here I thought you were being a smartass.” Adam sarcastically says.

You chuckled awkwardly as you just looked around the apartment.

Huh.

It’s still clean. You walked over to the kitchen, not noticing Adam went over to the living room. You scanned around the area, trying to see if he had messed anything up. But it was squeaky clean, even the dishes you left on the drying rack were still here. You would assume the first man would have dinner here, not like Adam has a job in Heaven.

Your ears perked up when you heard whistling, then someone patting their knees, that seemed to intrigued you. Making you walk over to the living room where Adam was.

…

You frowned as you realized that the first man called you over like a dog. And you listened.

“Now you’re done being a creep, do my paperwork for me.” Adam smirked as he plopped down on his couch.

Adam had a job? Color you surprised, you really thought he didn’t. You assumed he was like one of those human souls that just spent their days enjoying every sensation and surprises Heaven reaps. Then again, you remembered he was in Diligent Valley… for some reason.

He pointed at the coffee table that was in the middle of the room, making you walk over to see a pile of documents on it.

Alright! Something you know!

Your field LOVES paperwork, being organized was a key trait ALL cherubs have. Even Honey knows how to keep things in order, despite her ditziness and clumsiness, it was something you were born to do!

Your wings rapidly fluttered like a hummingbird from how excited you were.

“Geez, don’t get a boner…” Adam said, killing any joy you had.

Your ears grew red as you looked over your shoulder to stare at the first man.

“You know, just because my wings are reacting does NOT mean I’m experiencing sexual gratification.” You informed him.

“Oh, paaardon…. I didn’t know wing boners are more acceptable, please excuse my poor knowledge on this shit!” Adam jokingly says.

You slowly turned your head back towards the coffee table, not liking how sarcastic or mocking Adam can be. You prefer when your task from him makes you far away from him. But it seems like the first man wants to be in the same room as you as you work.

Lucky you…

You plopped your rump down onto the floor, making it easy for you to reach the papers without needing to have your head down. Your eyes scan the words on the important documents.

…

One of your eyebrows raised as you were confused.

“What?”

“What?” Adam repeated as he opened a bag of chips.

The papers were too vague, not helpful in any way for you to know what is even going on. You didn’t bother to look over your shoulder to ask your question.

“When ascending, have you lost any type of equipment?” Was the only thing you read out loud, since it was the only one that made sense.

“Nah.” Adam answered.

“… Adam, I think it’s easier if you do this yourself. It sounds like you’re making a report on what you did during your work.” You said, slightly turning your body to gesture at the paperwork.

“Hmm… nah. You’re my assistant, you’re supposed to do the boring shit, not me.”

“Yeah but…”

“Make me sound fucking awesome though. When you get to the bullshit that says, ‘total’ or ‘amount’ or some stupid shit like that.”

Total?

You glanced at the confusing papers. In fact, there was a section where Adam had to… You don’t even know what he is supposed to do.

‘How many were natural born?’

‘How many were high status, if any?’

‘Any destruction?’

‘How many attacked?’

‘Any injuries to your body?’

‘How many were sent with you?’

‘Any losts?’

What are you even supposed to put?

“What even is your job?” You squinted at Adam.

He was eating chips as he stared at you; it must be boring entertainment looking at you processed the documents.

The first man stopped mid-chew though as he looked away for a second. You wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn't care what the place he works at is called. He wasn’t nervous but he did seem peeved you asked.

“Fuck, does that matter? Just make shit up or something.” He mumbled defensively.

That was new. He normally acts like he is better than you. You guess you caught him off guard.

“C’mon, I can’t lie on this. You need your superiors to know your honest work, to properly thank you, so they can do their own job correctly.”

“If I want someone to bitch about how I do things, I’ll get one of my shitty ex-wives.”

You frowned and looked away, you felt like the bad guy all of a sudden. It wasn’t your fault he brought up something that he doesn't like talking about but it doesn’t make the guilt go away. You just wanted to do things how it should be done, to be properly filed into the database.

It shouldn’t be that difficult to say where he works nor Adam doing this by himself. You sighed and readjusted yourself in front of the table again, grabbing the pen there as you got ready to write whatever.

“… Can you at least tell me your job? Would be easy to… make stuff up… if I know the profession.”

…

There was a bag rustling through the silence, probably because Adam was still eating his chips.

“Hm, meatpacker.”

“Meatpacker?” You echoed in surprise.

Cherubs normally stay away from the location in Heaven that have domestic and wild animals. It gets awkward when the animal-like angels near the animal they’re based off. Especially when cherubs still have some animalistic instincts so it definitely raises the question if cherubs are more like the animal spirits than an angel.

Meat in Heaven exists, the Lord above doesn't mind as long as everyone follows the rules. Which is honoring the life about to be consumed, that the animal was killed in a humane way and to thank God for allowing them to eat the animal. Of course, on certain days His children can’t eat certain types of meat and they must honor that request.

But Adam? Being a slaughterhouse worker?

Now you think about it; it makes sense.

“So… this is asking about what you kill?”

“Yeah.” Adam smirked.

Your ears flattened, even your sore wings closed from the smirk. It just… felt wrong, like there was something sinister behind that smile. Maybe you’re only reacting like this because you share the biology of the animals being prepared to be eaten.

Yeah, that must be it. You’re just afraid, it’s just you being you. There was nothing more to it. There was no hidden meaning. It made you remember Adam’s threat yesterday, which made you chuckle nervously. It made sense now, the first man was just helping his community by providing meat.

These documents are just recording the kills Adam had, that's all.

Chapter 5: A Day to Forget

It was scorching.

You groaned and threw the covers off you. It was dark out, the Lord hadn't blessed Heaven with his divine warmth of the Sun just yet and for some reason it felt like you were in a blazing inferno.

That made you snapped your eyes open, fear quickly consumed you while trying to sit up on your bed, which you immediately fell back down because of your horns hitting the bed frame. You made another attempt that was more successful to look around your room.

Still in Heaven.

You sighed, for a moment, you thought you were casted down in Hell. Your stomach squeezed itself, churning and making that uncomfortable feeling of your stomach acid raising; like you were about to vomit.

Great, you’re sick.

You assumed you were, you can feel the disgusting, wet feeling of sweat sticking against your back, wool and vest.

It’s not like you needed clothes. Cherubs that were based on animals had the privilege to go ‘nude’, they just needed to wear a bow or something to be classified as ‘clothed’ to other angels. But really, your wool was enough as clothing as it covered your bare skin from being viewed.

The same wool that was, frankly, getting uncomfortable. First, your wings gave you trouble, now your wool. Summer really was not your season. Every year, every blessed year you had to deal with this issue.

If you didn’t have wool, the heat wouldn’t be trapped between the coarse, curly and bushy fibers, you would be fine, but no; you were created with this beautiful, soft and warm wool.

Perfect for winter, terrible for summer.

And just like every year, you dread to walk around with just your wool, since you were so comfortable in wearing just a vest and bowtie.

Now you have to wear just a bowtie.

You groaned as you shrugged off the soaked vest and threw it to the floor, your ears twitching at the soft sound it made when it landed. For some reason, it reminded you of something. Something that happened every summer, what was that?

You narrowed your eyes to look around your dark room. It involves dropping to the floor, not with a lot of force but still. What was it?

You shuddered, you can’t remember but you do remember the fear. Like that means anything. You’re terrified by an angel walking by when you didn’t know they were behind you so it was probably nothing.

You felt gross.

Sitting on your damp mattress lets you know that you have to wash your bedsheets now. You wonder why you don’t have an air conditioner; it has to relate to that thing you can’t remember.

Whatever it was. You need a shower.

 

“I really believe if we turn C.H.E.R.U.B into a beehive, we would have more work done.” The bee cherub chirped.

You and Honey were walking together to the building where you work, after a while, you grew accustomed to walking on your skinny sheep legs. You’re starting to understand why certain humans wake up early in the morning to go on a run or walk. It was nice. The same burning in your muscles was not as troublesome as 2 weeks ago when your wings were not groomed.

Well, it would be if it wasn’t so hot. You tugged on your bow uncomfortable, trying to get more of the cold, thin air around you. But the humidity was preventing it, it doesn’t help that walking heats up your body way too much.

“Huh, I wonder what’s happening over there?” Honey suddenly stopped.

Prompting you to stop as well since you were following her. Your eyes landed at what the bee cherub was referring to.

A flock of sheep cherubs.

“Huh… I wonder too…” You mumbled.

Almost like instincts, you waddled over, your hooves leaving the safety of the sidewalk and onto the clouds. Something within you told you that you HAVE to be with them, like all of a sudden you’re thinking about the safety in numbers. You shook your head at how uncomfortably warmer it got when you approached the rest of your kind, they were mumbling to each other as they waited around.

“Y/N?” Honey shouted.

You turned your head over to where you left the confused bee cherub, she’s wondering why you suddenly left her side when you normally would just follow her and listen to her nonsense.

“Uh, go on without me! I’m going to figure out what’s happening here!” You shouted back.

Which she nodded, her attention still on you as she gradually began to walk. Almost like she didn’t want to leave your side just yet but she eventually opened her wings and buzzed away.

You weren’t the tallest sheep there, but your horns definitely gave an advantage when it came walking past the other sheep cherubs. You don’t recognize anyone as you look left to right, not until a hoof touched your shoulder. Your wings shot open but you couldn’t take off flying since your wings still have missing patches, though they were growing back just not as fast as you hoped. Once you turned around, you looked at a light lavender lamb cherub, her wool imitating a long dress: Rachel.

“Y/N, bless your heart, I thought you went missing.”

You knew her from a few years back. When you both were on the same floor, but she got transferred to the highest floor as her pureheartness had saved so many humans in record time. Were you friends? You don’t know.

The other cherubs assumed, but you just think it was the sheep mentality. The need to stick together.

“Uh, no… I… wait, why do you think that?”

“Well… I haven’t seen you on Earth and…”

Your mind drifted off as soon she mentioned Earth. You couldn’t help it, you were banned from going down there for 2 months now. The first thing you imagine was Hungary, the dry summer was the best, it didn’t make you sweat, maybe thirsty but never to the point where your sweat glands have to release the gross moisture that gets stuck in your wool. It was a beautiful place, made exactly for your type of sheep breed.

Well, Racka sheeps are resilient in any climate on Earth, it’s just the summers you must worry about. And in Heaven… Well, you get to experience the lovely heat that gets trapped in the clouds.

You think of Russia, how you would love some of that cold winter air breezing past your body, the best way to combat this terrible weather in Heaven. To wiggle your nose from the uncomfortable frostbite that you would lazily rub against your scarf to warm it back up. Though, you know that at this current time, Russia is experiencing summer just like the rest of the northern hemisphere.

Maybe Greenland would be a great place to go during this time. Their summers feel like spring, so it would just be a nice environment to adventure around. Admire the icy waterfall, watch the surviving snow slowly melt into the ground as the green grass can finally reveal itself after hiding all winter. And the best part, smelling the air. How the wet dirt would reach your nose, not nearly mud yet but the aroma would be different from dry soil.

Your mind soon wanders back to Heaven, you begin to wonder about the place where the most patient souls abide, is that the same pleasant warmth? Or is it blazing, burning like… well, you can’t compare it to the boiling pot down below but still wonder if it was like a volcano over there.

“Y/N? Are you listening?” Rachel says, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Oh uh… sorry, I…”

“If you are just going to ignore me, then say so, I don’t want to waste my breath any longer for someone who-“

“No, no! I’m sorry! I was… I was thinking about how nice some winter air would be right now.”

She narrowed her eyes before nodding enthusiastically, “Quite! I can’t stand how unpleasantly hot it got around here. It doesn’t help that we're all here in a group.”

“Why are we in a group?” You asked.

“You didn’t hear?” Beau huffed.

You squeaked and looked down, you didn’t notice the short sheep standing next to Rachel. You knew him too, just not as well as Rachel, once again it was the sheep mentality. You just know him when seeing random sheeps forming a flock.

Honestly, it never happened that much. Especially like this. Except for once a year, all the sheep cherubs are in one flock. You’re just trying to remember why.

“Uh, no, I just saw all you guys here and piled in.”

“Daniel called us here.”

Daniel?

You glanced at Rachel.

“The lion.” She clarified.

“Oh!”

Was that really his name? You could have sworn it was Lambert, since he seemed to always protect the sheep cherubs the most, you wouldn’t be surprised he actually DON’T have a name.

But then again, you never interact with him. He was gentle, sweet, timid; absolutely, the complete opposite of what a lion would be.

Sheepish, is what you can describe it best.

“But why we are we-“ You were about to say something until you were interrupted.

“Alright, everyone!”

Everyone’s heads turned to the volumest, baritone voice. Sure enough, in front of the flock was the lion cherub.

“I know it’s an hour before our shifts will begin but for today, all sheep cherubs will be with me until 8 PM!”

The sheep cherubs began to grumble and mumble with each other, wondering what was going on that only a certain type of cherubs would be removed from work today. But your only concern is how unease you were by everyone being clump together in a warm ball of wool. You really wanted to rip the forsaken thing off your skin at this moment, but you groaned when the flock began to follow the lion cherub.

Of course, you followed as well, casually bumping and apologizing to the cherubs near you. You all got to a small building: it was not going to fit all of you.

You raised a brow. It looked familiar, your ear twitching at the structure.

Right, that’s a type of shed that you see at a farm. Your ear twitched nervously as you had this sinking feeling, you glanced around to see if anyone else in the group felt the same but they all just looked bored.

Maybe it's just your anxiety.

You nervously watched the lion cherub guide a sheep cherub into the wood doors, stopping another one that tried to go in before closing the door.

“I assume it’s a wellness check?” Beau said.

You glanced his way then back at the shed. That would make sense: if the wellness checks were operated in this shed. No, they all have it on a certain floor in C.H.E.R.U.B. But you have this weird sense of deja vu, like you've been here before, you just forgot what it was.

It was definitely taking forever though, there were about ten thousand in this flock, possibly more. Hard to tell. Maybe an hour or two, you can feel Rachel leaning against your arm.

Gross, she’s all sweaty. You winced and turned your head away from her, feeling that muggy and damp air around her.

“My legs are tired… how much longer?” She complained.

You tensed when you felt Beau leaning against you now too, except the other side. You sighed and glanced around, realizing all the other cherubs are leaning against each other.

Hm. You guess all that walking actually helped you in something for once, since you were standing straight still.

You guess today you will just be standing here. You gradually look up at the blue sky, noticing the light blue swirl that mixes with it. You wonder if you can catch a glimpse of God up there, you assume you’re bound to see Him flying by. You’re going to be there for 13 hours so there is no way you can miss Him.

Maybe then, He can answer your questions.

 

Your ear twitched, your eyes drowsy as you opened up, did you fall asleep? You wouldn’t fault yourself, it was so warm and boring that you had no choice but to do so. Rachel and Beau are still leaning against you: asleep.

It was convenient that you and the other sheep cherubs could sleep standing up, not like you want to, but you can. Your eyes looking up at the sky again, the blue still prominent, you assume it’s the afternoon now. Your mind was so fuzzy as it readjusted from taking a nap to being awake, you wonder if God passed by when you slept. You feel gross, everything is moist and warm. How longer do you have to wait?

“There the fuck you are!”

That made you tensed up, instantly knowing who that voice belongs to. Rachel and Beau were startled awake from Adam’s voice and followed the same action you did: turning around to look at the first man.

You were still out of it to even process Adam walking past the cherubs, majority of them moving away in alarm, only when he grabbed your wrist is when you realized what was happening. It wasn’t a tight nor aggressive grip, it was a grip people used to make sure they don’t lose someone in a crowd. Though, you were alert and made a light squeak noise as your legs were forced to walk. You slightly looked behind you and saw Rachel and Beau standing there confused before they ran the opposite direction.

You really didn’t think after two months of being the first man’s assistant that Adam would actually be the one looking for you for once.

He really must have something that he prefers you doing than him, which is funny in a way, because you can view this as Adam being desperate enough to avoid work. You just hummed sleepily as you looked forward again, allowing your hoof to slide down to take your wrist's place; Now holding Adam’s hand, you were led out from the middle of the flock.

Honestly, you’re glad you’re leaving. For once, you thank the Lord for being the first man’s assistant, you bet the other cherubs are upset you get to leave early. That’s until you heard a lion roar, alarming you to look over your shoulder.

Daniel never did that before.

Adam raised a brow and stopped as well, prompting him to let go of your hoof. The lion cherub rushed over, the anger on his face honestly scared you, you tried to hide behind Adam but Daniel managed to scooped you up in his paws. You squeaked, not used to being held, especially in a hasty manner. You were in a daze as it happened so fast, your hooves immediately touching the clouds again as you placed back into the group of sheep, next to some random employees you had never seen before.

One of the cherubs placed a hoof on your shoulder, “Are you okay?”

“Uh…” Is all that came out, since you were just confused.

The air left your lungs as someone hugged you from behind. Gross, their sweat and yours are pushing against your skin making you a tad irritated.

“Oh thank the Heavens!” Rachel says behind you.

“What the…”

Why is everyone acting like you were in danger? Sheep mentality really is strong, you wish the cherubs cared this much when you lost your job. Or when the non-sheep cherubs start acting like you're an obstacle in making a human happy. Why now do they care when you were constantly left behind?

“Pardon! But none of these sheep can leave. Seraphim Angels’ orders.” The lion cherub informed Adam.

You tried to pry Rachel’s arms off you as you tried to pay attention to Daniel and Adam. You’re not nosy, it's just that in terms, you have to listen to both of them and you have to see if the first man will leave or not.

“Okay? Fuck I care about them. I’m only here for that shithead.” Adam pointed at you.

“Rachel, get off me.” You gritted your teeth, turning your attention away from the conversation to the female cherub.

“And let you get kidnapped? No!”

“Getting kidnapped isn’t a thing in Heaven!” You said to her.

Yeah, this really is the work of the animalistic part of the brain. You wonder why your creation gave you all that part if you’re going to have a higher consciousness than an actual sheep. Honestly, it was annoying, not like you’re shaming your Lord, oh Heaven no, you’re just curious.

“… Hm… I guess you’re right…” She soon mumbled and let you go.

Already too late, you’re soaking in her perspiration, making you shudder in disgust. At least you weren’t that warm because of the moisture but it was still gross.

“That isn’t a good enough reason, sir. Frankly, nothing you have is more important enough than this.”

“Do you know who the fuck you’re talking to?!”

Right, Adam and Daniel. You turn your attention back to them. The lion cherub looks unamused by the first man’s scowl, Daniel even had his arms crossed as he stood his ground.

“Sera would be on my side on this.” Adam said, crossing his own arms.

You tried not to giggle, since it looked like the first man was pouting. Acting like a spoiled child who heard no for the first time and resorting to calling their mother. Honestly, you only ever saw him acting high and mighty, and also a jerk. You started to realize that you really need a backbone, maybe then, your horns would be left alone.

But you noticed the lion cherub faltered at the statement though, probably weighing his options in this situation. He rolled his eyes and let his arms fall to his side.

“If something happens to him, that’s on you. Not me.”

Your brow furrowed, not expecting Daniel to give up so easily. Almost like he wanted to use you as a learning experience. And the fact he made it sound like you’re going to get hurt if you leave the flock made you nervous, wondering what was so important that made you all wait outside a shed.

Rachel gently touched your shoulder, “You’re not really going with him, are you?”

“I’m his assistant, so…” You trailed off and shrugged.

Adam had a wide grin as you didn’t hesitate to walk over to his side, acting like he won a fight that wasn’t really worth it. You felt embarrassed when the first man suddenly gave the lion cherub the middle finger as you two walked away.

That was unnecessary.

“That bastard has no idea what the fuck he’s talking about.” Adam mumbled.

You wondered what they talked about when you were preoccupied, maybe Daniel told him why you’re there. Would be great to know that, you couldn’t blame Rachel for being worried but you wished she didn’t distract you.

“C’mon fucker, I’m not walking all the way there.”

“Uh… I can’t…” You tried to speak but Adam already took off.

Welp. You opened your wings and looked at them. The places where Honey ripped out were still noticeable, tiny little tufts of feathers at least covered your skin and filled in the empty spaces at the bottom of the wings. But they weren’t fit to fly.

Ironic, you’re earthbound.

Why must everything remind you of what you can’t do? What others think of you, what your existence means?

Why couldn’t you just be a normal cherub?

 

“Why the fuck did you walk here?! You got those shitty ass wings there! Use them!” Adam shouted at you.

Your ear twitched in annoyance. You managed to catch up to the first man, albeit, 15 minutes late but you managed to find him standing in main street. How impatient can this guy be? Angels normally would wait for hours for another, the reason why you and those other cherubs could wait at the shed for 13 hours if needed.

“They’re out of order.” You simply say, opening them up for Adam to see.

He glanced at them and rolled his eyes, “Bullshit, feathers are feathers.”

You sighed, no point in arguing, especially when you couldn’t catch your breath. It got too hot, walking really made it worse, you shook your head uncomfortably as you tried to get some of the warm sweat to slide down faster. You hope that some type of breeze would happen because right now, you’re burning up in your wool.

“Keep up this time.”

Was what you heard out of Adam before following him again. Why must today of all days be this humid? Your attention was caught by the first man waving an arm, trying to get someone’s attention. Soon enough, an angel slowly went to land in front of him.

What was her name again? Lute, yeah.

She really was pretty, her golden eyes were piercing, her wings remind you of a swan as they couldn’t quite close behind her back. She had a stern look, one of a soldier, her attention on Adam: she had a sense of pride, like she was honored to be in front of Adam… until she glanced down at you.

“Why is he here?” She scoffed.

You slowly cowered behind Adam, it sounded like she was angry, but you can’t quite tell. Because you rarely saw her, since the first man dismissed you the moment she made an appearance. Leaving them both to talk alone.

You assume she was his girlfriend, after all, they seem to spend more of their days together. Adam gave Lute a toothy smile, showing those sharp fangs on his face. A face you still don’t think is real, because it is far too demon-like and the Lord above wouldn’t let His children arrive looking like a threat.

“Sir, you can’t be serious.” Her face morphed into an unamused expression.

“Hey, less work for me, huh?”

“Are you fuc…” She trailed off and glanced at you.

She soon pulled Adam by the collar of his robe, moving to the side so you can’t hear them talk. Your ear twitched, trying to listen in. You aren’t eavesdropping if it’s about you.

You tugged at your wool uncomfortably, the reminder of the heat came back. You wonder what Rachel and Beau are doing, are they really still standing there? Or did they finally get to go inside that shed? What was even in that shed?

Your eyes shifted away, no longer looking at the wings of Adam and Lute, questioning what today was. It was a Saturday, you softly smiled as you were excited for Sunday, you don’t work on Sundays. Well, everyone doesn't work on Sunday but it was amazing to have a day off, you love spending it worshiping the Lord and thanking him for your creation.

You huffed, trying to get cool by shaking your body like a dog trying to get water off them. Only, you’re doing that to get the sweat underneath your wool to rise to the surface so you can cool off. If you were an actual sheep, you wouldn’t be sweating, you would actually be suffering under the heat but you were glad that you were just a cherub based on a sheep.

“Hey, short dick, let’s go.” Adam soon said towards you, gesturing to follow.

Why must there be so much walking? You held back a groan, not wanting the first man to assume it was out of frustration than how unease you are.

You didn’t even bother to acknowledge the insult towards you, only focused on the way everything burns. But your eyes definitely noticed when the light blue concrete gradually became golden. You paused and raised your head up to look around.

Only higher angels were allowed here.

“Woah, uh…” You said, backing up.

“What now?” Lute spoke, as she turned around.

Adam did the same, having a bored yet annoyed expression. You glanced between the two, wondering why they’re not fazed going into a restricted area. From what you remember, Adam said he was a slaughterhouse worker; a meatpacker, butcher, a meat worker and that job isn’t exactly… a high level job. For Lute, you don’t even know what she does.

The first man smirked and looked over to the other angel, “Hey, watch this.”

Lute raised a brow but she seemed intrigued about what Adam was about to do, you’re just confused because what can the first man possibly do in this moment?

Adam soon lowered himself, extending his hand out and made a, ‘come here’ gesture. You just stare, did Adam really assume that you would start walking again just by that. Honestly, you were offended by that, just because you’re obedient doesn’t mean you're some pet that follows every command.

He soon frowned and stood up, glancing at Lute who chuckled at the failed attempt. Which he definitely didn’t like because he walked over you with a grumble. You slowly turned your head, not wanting to hit Adam with your horns, but you just making sure no higher up angels were watching.

“C’mon buddy, move.”

That caught your attention. Your eyes glancing over to Adam, it was strange when he talked like that, but you preferred that over the aggressive swearing and insults. You watched the first man slowly raise a hand to place it behind your head, making you freeze.

Okay, he’s petting you. That isn’t humiliating at all.

“Gross, you’re fucking wet.” Adam grumbled.

There was the guy you know, which made you want to pull away but he gently cupped your chin. Your mind went blank as you were beyond confused but went along with it as he guided you to move forward until you were walking in front of the two. In the corner of your eyes, you can see the black gloved hands, making you assume to keep walking forward.

“Quite impressive, sir.”

That made the gears turn in your head.

…

Adam just used a method when needing to herd an actual sheep on you. You felt your already heated face flushed from embarrassment. It was already concerning that you can’t really control the obedience within you but having someone else witness you being treated like an animal made you want to throw up.

Or maybe you want to throw up because of the scorching weather. It wasn’t helping how Adam’s body heat trapped the uncomfortable warmth around your skin. Almost like your blood was boiling as you three walked somewhere in this faculty.

“I still believe we don’t need him.” Lute filled the air.

“Eh, these tiny bastards are like ants. Why waste my precious time carrying crap when I got this guy.”

Adam’s hands rested on your shoulders, slightly shaking you. You pressed your lips together, you can feel the bile in your stomach rattling around uncomfortably, if he shook you longer you probably would have thrown up.

“He looks pale, sir.”

“What? Nah, he’s fine.”

You just nodded, not really caring about what is going on. You didn’t even bother to look at your surroundings until you realized you’re outside again. Your eyes looked around, the clouds looked… different.

Not like Heaven isn’t constantly filled with different types of clouds that signify a new area but you don’t know if you can classify them as clouds. Even your hooves were making a soft clunk noise, almost like you were walking on concrete. You wondered why this was available for higher angels, it doesn’t seem appealing to be in, like you’re walking into a cave. Maybe it is a cave, which would explain why you can feel a chill breeze.

You shuddered, finally, your skin can feel something more than heat. You didn’t know you closed your eyes until your ears twitched at the sounds of wings flapping.

There were a lot of angels here. You tried to walk out the cave but your back hit Adam’s chest.

“Woah, huh?” You mumbled.

Adam didn’t say anything, just that he grabbed your shoulders. Strangely, it was comforting as he gave a light squeeze to keep you still.

The angels there were wearing the same uniform as Lute, but they all had demon-like faces, almost like Adam. Your eyes glanced around, trying to get your brain to fully comprehend your surroundings. Nimbostratus clouds, that is what you assume, since the walls were gray. You don’t think Heaven actually has real materials found on Earth; dirt, sand, clay, rocks and gemstones were something you don’t see growing in clouds.

That's what you thought, until a pickaxe was shoved into your hooves, you yelped as the weight was far more than you can carry naturally. It dropped to the floor and your back bent so you don’t fall with it.

“If any of you ladies need me, I’ll be at the Swirl O’Frost ice cream shop.” Adam chirped.

Your ears flattened as you watched the first man walk away. Great. That's why he wanted you.

That's what you figured, but not this, you expected it to be laundry or something. Not straight up working in a mine, your eyes landed on Lute. Her arms were crossed as she narrowed your eyes.

“Like ants, he said.” She shook her head in disappointment.

You glanced at the pickaxe. You assumed she was mocking your strength, something you didn’t care for. Then you look at the other angels that were mining for something.

“What… What are we doing?”

You can tell Lute doesn't like you at this moment, her eyes rolling as she tsked. Almost like she was stuck babysitting you, which made you feel inferior, your cheeks red from embarrassment once more. It wasn’t your fault that you had no idea what was going on, you sort of zoned out when walking here, your body temperature was against you because of the humidity. But now you’re feeling better, the cold air that fills the cave did wonders as it got trapped in your wool. No longer you feel like you’re going to die from a heat stroke.

“Just dig, if you find anything that looks like iron, throw it in the cart.”

That was informative. But you were more distracted by Lute pulling a mask and putting it over her face. Your eyes widened when it looked exactly like the other angels in the cave. Your mind tried to process it, over all, she looks more appealing somehow. You watched her quickly grab a pickaxe of her own and flew away.

Iron, huh?

Your eyes now looking at the ladies hard at work, striking the walls that seemed to be exactly like stone. Making you question, does Heaven really have the materials found on Earth? Why didn’t you know that?

Maybe because it was in an area only higher up angels are at. Which made you wonder if you should be here, it seems like Lute should, she looked exactly like these angels. Your eyes narrowed as you leaned against your pickaxe, now you think about it, what type of angels are these?

You know from Dominions Angels to Powers, but the features of the women here are nowhere near either type. They’re humanoid, of course, but when you tried to use your cherubic powers to get a vibe of their emotions, nothing came. Meaning they’re not human.

“No slacking on the job!” Lute barked.

Making you tensed up, your gaze landed on the angel, she was flying above you. Her mask was shifted into a scowl, you shuffled in place as you realized she meant you.

“I can’t really…” You started off.

But she landed in front of you, making you squeak.

“Under Adam’s orders, you are to do his job. Meaning, I will be in charge of you to make sure you don’t fuck this up.” She added.

Your ears flattened against your head. Not used to hearing profanity from Lute’s voice, normally she tries to hold back from that when you’re near. Unlike Adam, that made you terrified for your soul. It meant she was truly angry at you for not instantly mining the walls for iron. Which you doubt exists in Heaven.

“Oh okay, understood ma’am.” You squeaked.

Your hooves swiftly wrapped around the handle of the pickaxe again, normally, you wouldn’t use your cherubic powers for tasks like this. They were meant to be used to help humans, to make it look like you’re a being of internal knowledge, that everything you said is true and they can’t doubt the messenger from God.

But here you were using it just to pick just a tool, making it light as a feather and throwing it over your shoulder. Lute raised a brow, probably wondering why you acted like the pickaxe was heavy the first time.

“Now, go.” She pointed in a random direction, giving you an area to work at.

 

Honestly, beside being a sheep and a male, you can fit right in with these angels. After all, you were black and white and even had horns. Of course, they don’t really have horns but it was a part of their uniform, so in terms, they have to have them all the time. And you always have these horns, which was strange, none of the other rams or sheep have horns. Was it because it was the only way your creator can make people know what type of breed of sheep you were?

Your body was so sore, even your cherubic powers can’t stop the exhaustion in your muscles. You don’t know how long you were there hacking away at the wall but you can assume for an hour or two. You’re starting to wish you were still waiting in the flock, for God knows what, than grabbing stones that were silvery and rough. Iron was really the best way to describe what they were, but they shine despite the lack of light. More divine.

The worst part about this is that your body was burning again. The once cold air no longer exists as you move, even when you near the other angels they were warm. Exercise is becoming your worst enemy it seems, just when you are getting used to it. You didn’t question why you’re collecting the iron or why all these angels were collecting the iron inside this area. You just wanted to throw up.

You drop your pickaxe so you can place your hooves on your knees. That sickly feeling rises against you, you can feel your mouth watering and not in a good way. You swallow, shuddering as you can feel something crawling its way out your stomach. You suck in through your teeth, trying not to let your body win.

“Status?” A voice said.

You groaned from the pain in your stomach and slowly raised your head to look at who spoke to you. Lute, without her mask. Her signature frown still there, her brow knitted together in a permanent annoyance.

“Tired.”

“You look more than tired.” She stated.

Which was true; you were exhausted, sick, overheating and over all can’t focus your eyesight anymore.

It felt like you were going to pass over.

“I’m… I’m fine…” You stuttered out.

You didn’t want to look like you can’t do this. Especially when the angels around you looked determined and nowhere near stopping from their work. Whatever type of angel they were, they were really strong and resilient. Maybe they’re archangels? That was the closest type of angel you can think of, since they remind you of Micheal.

“Don’t try to be a martyr. Take a break.”

You immediately fell to your knees and wheezed, taking the break you desperately needed. You tugged at your wool again, wanting to rip it off your skin. Lute shook her head as she watched your pathetic display in relegating your body heat. She placed her hands on her hips and leaned a bit forward just so she can talk to you properly.

“I swear, if you’re just pretending to get out of working.”

“No… no…” You coughed, bringing a hoof up to your mouth.

God did not create suffering but the way everything burns, your body trembling as it fights against your stomach feels like you’re being tortured. You felt nauseous, your vision blurred as you tried to breathe. You’re definitely boiling and you know it was your wool fault.

“Shit, don’t throw up here.”

Not like you want to vomit, you know that will sting and hurt your throat. Your stomach squeezed as a hand grabbed your arm and lifted you up, you were dragged away from the mine. You can’t believe you let out a whimper but you couldn’t help it as you just felt awful. You were so close to mumbling prayers under your breath to let God take away your pain.

“This is why we don’t have other people here. But no, Adam just had to just test the limits. I told him, ‘it’s a bad idea, sir, it’s too risky’ but no. He would rather let us get in trouble than do the one simple thing Sera wants.” Lute complained.

You have no clue what she is even talking about, your eyes blinked separately as they tried to regain the ability to see. A hoof immediately clasping over your mouth, to stop the bile from escaping. You doubt you’ll ever forget this moment, everything about this was just awful. You squeaked as Lute threw you into an empty room.

“Stay.” She ordered, emphasizing it by pointing her finger at the ground aggressively.

You nodded slowly, trying to not move too much as you can test your own body from thinking you're being shaken. You’re like a shaken can of soda, anything can set you off from spilling the contents inside you. She left immediately, you wonder where, but your eyes just tried to focus in the room you’re in.

It looks like a room where a secretary or an assistant would be at.

Ironic.

You gradually walked over to the desk, leaning against it and trying to breathe. Your lungs couldn’t properly fill, hitching as it felt like you had too much air but too little at the same time. It was like you were losing your mind, are you having a panic attack?

No, you were just burning up, your body just didn’t know how to respond but to panic.

Can angels die?

You wheezed, you turned around, making your back face the door just so you can rest your head. You were too preoccupied with your stomach that you didn’t know your head was throbbing from everything. After a while, your ears twitched when you heard the door open slowly, you wanted to turn your head, to see who it was. To explain why you’re here, since you’re still in an area that you’re not allowed in. But you didn’t, since your horns could knock over the computer that was there.

You whimpered when you heard the door squeak a little too loud as it was closing.

“Shit…”

Adam. It was just Adam. You relaxed, almost glad to know it was the first man, probably because you didn’t want to get in trouble. Kind of the reason why you were here, if you didn’t go down on Earth on that day you wouldn't be assigned to Adam. You would just be at C.H.E.R.U.B.’s headquarters and questioning your life. You wished you followed orders, you wished you didn’t think they could be tested.

You wished the Lord above told you what was going on. Why did your life lead this way, to understand His plan, because He made you this way for a reason. You look different from an actual cherub, shunned by majority, blamed for something you can’t control.

Your thinking was cut short when you heard Adam’s footsteps approaching, your ear twitching since he was moving tediously. Was he trying to scare you? Sounds like something he would do, your head lifting off the desk, to finally have access to move your head. You wanted to let the man know that you know he’s there, that any attempt of frightening you was in vain. But when you turned your head, you froze.

Adam also froze when you looked at him: No, at the razor in his hand.

Your brain quickly processed it, ignoring the pain you felt as it tried to enter flight mode. Now you understand why you felt off today, why the sheep cherubs was waiting outside a shed. A shearing shed.

Today was shearing day.

The worst day every cherub of your kind hates. There was never a set date, since all the angels know how a sheep cherub feels about their wool being cut off. It was humiliating, no amount of comfort would make you want to get rid of your wool. No matter how much it makes you sweat, how you almost entered a heat sickness, heat stroke or whatever else that involves too much heat. You’re not letting anyone touch you with a sharp object near your body.

“Hey buddy…” Adam calmly says.

Your eyes shooting around the room, that sweet tone was used by Daniel, to ease the cherubs like you in. But now you know WHAT is happening, you’re not letting it happen and Adam notices that too.

He lunged at you a moment too late as you began to run away. It wasn’t difficult, just move to the side to let the man hit the desk before you can run straight to the door. You yelped as you fell down, you hissed as the pain in your stomach got worse, Adam grabbing your legs and trying to pull you close.

“It’s just wool!” You heard Adam grunted out.

You struggled against his grip, God knows how horrible you feel. Thrashing around just warms your muscles up more, making your stomach churned because of your movements, but your body and mind want to get away. No matter what. Which ended with you kicking Adam in the face with your hind legs.

“Fuck!” He yelled, letting go of your legs to bring a hand to his face, trying to conceal the pain you gave him.

That made you freeze. Hurting another angel was not allowed. Your body trembles as you look around the room, waiting to see if you would instantly be banished, to feel your body fall out the sky and down to Hell. You were breathing hard, either from fear or exhaustion, you didn’t attempt calming it down. Especially when nothing was happening.

You wondered why you were still there. Was hurting another angel not that big of a deal all of a sudden? Your gaze landed on Adam, he rubbed his face before slowly glaring at you.

Now knowing hitting someone does not instantly send you to Hell, what stops Adam from getting revenge?

Your eyes widened before squeaking, you scramble to get up, running to the door. The moment you opened the door to escape, you paused, Lute stood there like she expected you to run out. She immediately kicked your hind legs so you could drop to the floor. How much more pain are you going to feel today? You yelp as Lute roughly grabs your horns, trying to keep you down.

“Let go of his fucking horns! You don’t grab their damn horns!” Adam shouted.

“And why not?!” Lute shouted back.

She yelped and dug her heels into the pristine floor as you tried to fight back.

“I thought this fucker was sick!” She growled.

Lute was trying her best for you to not hit her with your horns, her hands struggling to keep you stable. Your arms keep you steady as you begin to kick your legs wildly, making sure Adam doesn't try to do anything from behind you.

“Use your thighs! Use your fucking thighs!” Adam instructed.

That made you pause, beyond baffled by what you heard. You didn’t even know Lute let go of your horns as you turned to look at Adam, he seemed to be demonstrating what he meant. He had his knees together while his feet were apart, you made a face, wondering what he was even doing. But you froze when your head snapped forward, Lute’s hands were holding your horns again but from behind, her legs straddling your shoulders as she tightly held you in place.

“Fuck yeah! That’s my girl!” Adam said as you can hear him approach.

You were just stunned. Especially when you heard them high five. Were they really celebrating?

“Alright, sir, he’s all yours now.”

Your eyes widened and you tried to run, but Lute just squeezed her legs harder, forcing to stay on all fours. You would feel humiliated if you didn’t feel hands on your back, you tried bucking but Adam wasn’t standing there.

“See that Lute? Motherfucker trying to kick me! Look, look, he already hit me in my face now he’s trying to do it again.”

“You’ll survive sir.”

“You don’t fucking care, my beautiful face could had been mangle and you don’t care. You’re fucking cruel.”

You tried to turn your head to the side but it gradually moved back due to Lute nudging your horn away from her. Making you unable to see what was going on beyond your shoulders. But that hand on your back stayed, gently petting you. The two angels seemed to fall silent, which made you nervous. You flinched when you heard the buzzing of the razor, you squirmed a bit, trying one last effort of escaping.

But Lute was persistent in her hold, she definitely was a strong angel, you doubt she’s using any of her angelic powers. Which made you think you should use your cherubic powers to throw her off, but you never use your powers for selfish gain, especially when it could harm Lute. So, you finally gave in, allowing them to shave off your wool.

“There ya go buddy, see, you’re alright.” Adam said softly.

You shivered, it was strange hearing that from the first man, hearing him comfort you. Your stomach walls squeezed, you assume it’s because you’re burning up and still needing to throw up. You flinched again when you felt the teeth of the razor touched the skin of your back, you inhaled slowly as you could a soft breeze passed your flesh, the weight on your back leaving.

Your ear twitches when you hear something drop to the floor, making you know that he took a strip of wool off. You choked a bit, feeling hands gently lift up your wings to continue shearing the wool around the delicate appendages. One of the hands was more dainty than the other hand, so you assumed that one belonged to Lute. But the one that belonged to Adam seemed to absentmindedly rub against the tufts of feathers that were still growing in, making you shudder as his thumb swipe over a sensitive spot. That felt nice, soothing in a way.

“You’re surprisingly good at this, sir.” Lute spoke.

“What the fuck that supposed to mean?!” Adam snapped.

You bit your lip, not wanting to laugh but a chuckle did leave your throat. You were on Lute’s side, the only angel you know that can shear the sheep, at least the sheep cherubs, was Daniel. Or was it Lambert? You’re too embarrassed to ask that lion his name after seeing him around for a good millennia.

“It just looks like a thing you wouldn’t find appealing.” Lute answered.

“Bitch, I was forced to do this when I was alive. But this is better than a sharp ass rock. He’s lucky I know how to do this.”

“If you didn’t take him away, he wouldn’t need your assistance.”

It fell silent again, but your back was cold now. You can still hear the buzzing of the razor. Maybe they’re glaring at each other, you couldn’t tell, but you did hear the buzzing being muffled. Almost like he was moving it around to signal Lute something, you can tell he was signaling since they were too silent.

Lute slowly got off you, making you sigh as you were about to get on twos. Until Adam kicked one of your hind legs, making you unbalanced and fall over to your side. The wind knocked out your lungs as you just glanced over to the two, Lute had her arms crossed and still had that frown, Adam just had a smirk.

“Was that necessary?” You finally spoke after a while.

It felt weird to talk now, especially when you straight up went non-verbal when trying to get away and when Adam sheared off the wool off your back. Lute was about to answer but Adam raised a hand to stop her from speaking.

“You kick me, I kick you. I think that’s only fair, huh?”

You slowly turn onto your back to think about it. You kicked Adam by accident, this was on purpose, But in Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:44-45, you remembered that an eye for an eye was fine, as long it was in fair judgment. So you guess it was fine, you squeaked when you felt the teeth of the razor touch your chest, making you snap back to reality.

“Shit, did I cut you?” Adam asked, glancing at Lute who seemed to be scanning your chest.

This was weird.

“No, no, let me just.”

You sat up and looked at the razor. You never want to touch that thing but to get out of this awkward situation, you just grabbed the little tool out of Adam’s hand which seemed to surprise him.

“I can do it myself.” You mumbled, avoiding their gazes.

“You heard him, sir. Frankly, we wasted too much time.” Lute said.

You slightly looked at her white boots as she stepped away. Sighing as you felt a bit better not having an audience, really, that lion cherub is the only one you trust seeing you with no wool. Especially when you weren’t treated like an actual sheep.

“Are you sure you can do it yourself?”

That startled you, making you notice Adam was still there. Your eyes looking over to the hallway, watching Lute walk away from the scene. You slightly looked back at the first man, he had a brow raised and looked uninterested. At least, he was trying to, because someone who doesn’t care wouldn’t ask.

“Yeah… I’m not an actual sheep.” You managed to say.

You wanted to say it. You don’t want to be treated like an animal that was the last thing you wanted when interacting with others. It felt dehumanizing, you deserve to feel like an equal.

“Well, no shit, but like… You bastards refused to cut your wool so like...” Adam shrugged.

Was he trying to be nice? It looks awkward on him, especially when he looks around, acting like he doesn't care. You held the razor and looked at it as it continued to buzz. You don’t want Adam touching you, not now at least. It felt weird to let him do so, your back made sense, you can’t reach it. But your torso? Yeah, no.

“I got it.” Is all you said as you finally stood up.

He nodded, you two awkwardly standing there.

“Do you want your wool?”

“Uh… no…”

Adam immediately went to collect the discarded wool, making you step back, making sure the razor didn't touch you as you hold it in both hooves.

“Well, since you’re a weak ass pussy, you can go now.” The first man said, waving a hand to dismiss you.

“Um… Why are you taking my wool?”

“You don’t want it.”

Is all he said as he began to walk away where Lute went. You slowly blinked as you just processed what happened today, you glanced at the razor and turned it off. No way you’re shaving off the rest of your wool. At least not here, you’re not allowed here.

Chapter 6: Another Feel to Fight

“Y/N! It’s time to…” Honey began to say.

But her sentence trailed off as she stared at you, she paused midway through your window.

Today, you decided to wake up early. Before the sun can even shine it’s holy ray of light across Heaven. Only because you had to get dressed, unlike before, you have no wool. No wool means you HAVE to wear pants. You wore a classic heavenly robe for a week but you got sick of it.

It just doesn’t feel nice against your skin. Nothing does; shirts, pants, shorts, vests, robes, clouds, blankets, pillows and even your own hooves and wings.

It just felt so bizarre and unnatural that you could feel your flesh. You always have some type of layer of wool over you, making it less likely for something to graze your skin so easily.

But here you are, sitting naked in the middle of your bedroom floor.

“Oh dear!” Honey squeaked, immediately covering her eyes.

“I know…” You mumbled.

“Why are you naked?!” She exclaimed.

“I just can’t find anything-!”

“Just put on a robe!” She interrupted.

You sighed and glanced over to your closet. You had no choice, no matter how much you’re uncomfortable with that smoothness rubbing against your skin, sliding around and tickling you in a way that makes you itchy, you just had to endure it. But you just couldn’t, so instead, you lean over to grab your bed sheet and lazily threw it over your lap before falling over to lay on the floor.

The soft thump of your body got Honey’s attention, she slowly lowered her hands from her eyes, a bit wary that she’ll see you with nothing still. But when she only saw you moping on the ground, she gave a concerned frown before jumping through your window properly to slowly walk over to you.

“Are you okay?” She gently said.

You just laid there, just processing what to say or think. The bee cherub slowly sat down, crossing her legs and adjusted her overall skirt to cover her knees.

“Is this really about your clothes?”

That somehow struck a nerve, your eyes felt like they were burning, your throat tightening: almost like you wanted to cry. You couldn't really move your head anymore since Honey was sitting next to your head. Why must your horns always restrict you?

“Well… yeah.” You said, closing your eyes, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to escape despite you not being sad.

“Why not grow back your wool back?”

Your eyes slowly opened again just to look at Honey, your vision slightly fuzzy as she was nearly out of your eyesight. You glared at her, that was literally the most obvious thing a sheep can do. You felt patronized being asked that, you clearly would had done that if it wasn’t for one thing:

There’s no grass in Heaven.

Real grass.

It was one thing the sheep cherub had been disadvantaged with the species they’re based off. Since it means it’s required for them to go to Earth if they want to grow back their wool; just like real sheep.

It was a thing that no cherub complained about, after all, you would travel there no matter what. To fulfill the purpose your creation had made you to do.

But you were banned from going down from there. You even tried to form a portal to Earth, not like you wanted to disobey again, you just wanted to sneak some grass so you can grow a nice thin layer of wool. But nothing, the Seraphim Angels actually took that ability away from you. You didn’t even think that was possible, none of your other cherubic powers went away so it made you think that you still had the ability to make a portal to Earth.

So now, you’re the only sheep in Heaven without wool. It was humiliating.

You tensed up when you felt something rough and fuzzy touching your bare shoulder, making you look down. Honey’s hand was resting there, albeit, awkwardly as she sat next to your head. But, you can tell she was trying to comfort you. Which you really didn’t need at the moment, you just needed clothes that wouldn’t feel weird on your body.

“Unless you can bring me back grass from one of your assignments, there’s no chance that my wool will grow back.”

“Huh?” Honey slowly blinked.

You swore that her eyelids did not sync up when blinking, almost like a frog would do.

“Sheep.” You simply say, hoping that will rack her brain to understand what you said.

You two fell into silence, only because Honey was thinking about the statement made. You could have easily said, “Grass grows my wool!”

Or

“You know, as a sheep I need grass.” but you didn’t speak up. You were too mentally exhausted to explain that anatomy, especially when your mind was racing with other thoughts.

This just makes you think about what you’ll do today, C.H.E.R.U.B isn’t really helpful on your end when it comes to getting a mission, meaning you have to find a human soul once again. At this point, you should have gotten used to this, but honestly you just got so fed up with it. You rarely deal with frustration and when you do, you never know what to do.

“What does being a sheep have to do with this?”

That made you inhale sharply as a frown formed onto your face. Why couldn’t the angels around you understand your predicament? Of course, your problems weren’t as severe as others but it would be nice for someone to acknowledge you and comfort you through your issue. You don’t know when Honey started to lay next to you or how long you two laid there. But it wasn’t comforting.

You weren’t alone. But you were lonely.

Being in a flock could possibly help your troubles, you remember when Rachal and Beau were your coworkers on the same floor. It made you wish you actually got to know Beau, he was such an intelligent guy when you used to join the group of sheep that was the same level as you. But, they all got promoted, moving up floors away from you. The more you think about shearing day, the more it makes you realize you don’t belong.

You were literally pulled away from a group that should make you feel like you belong. If the sheep mentality wasn’t engraved in your own kind, they probably wouldn’t care that Adam redirected you somewhere else.

You analyzed your ceiling, zoning Honey out as she started talking about some of her missions on Earth. You don’t know why she chose that as a subject to talk about, possibly trying to remedy your aching heart. But nothing really can fix that, only going back and resting your hooves on the dirt would help.

You wonder what type of wood the ridge beams were made of. Was it really wood or imitation? You wonder could Heaven feel so hot when you had wool but so cold when you don’t?

You would have more spiraling thoughts if it wasn’t for a long piece of red fabric landing on your face, startling to sit up. The fabric slowly drops onto your lap. It was your undone bowtie.

“C’mon Y/N, we’re going to be late if we just lay here!” Honey spoke.

“Right.” You replied, completely forgetting about work.

You stared at the bowtie, something you wouldn’t wear with your… skin exposed. It’s just awkward. You frowned and looked around for your robe instead, you yelped since the bee cherub seemed to have the same idea. Throwing the robe onto your horns, it hung there like you were a coat rack, making you frown as you grabbed it.

“Turn around.” You mumbled.

No piece of clothing can go through your head, so you have to put your robe up like some type of skirt. Honey turned around and swayed a bit, humming to herself.

“You know, you have gotten more and more unenthusiastic about waking up.”

You shrugged, even though she couldn’t see, as you stepped a hoof through the neck hole of your divine robe.

“And well… It’s strange. Seeing a cherub… sad?” She says, almost like she wants to say something more descriptive but doesn't know how to phrase it.

“What do you mean? You gotten sad when you learn why snakes have no arms.” You hastily said as you pulled up the fabric over your waist.

“That’s different. It was just for a moment, you… you just stayed sad…”

You paused when you had an arm passed through an arm hole. You never really thought someone would notice the smallest of change in you, especially when you had tried to hide the apparent sadness and frustration. Maybe that's why you’re still being punished, you’re acting like you haven’t learned anything.

In terms, you didn’t. Humans might be complicated but you know how to navigate through their problems. Especially when it is just a rinse and repeat with grief, that all the souls can worry about in Heaven. No one can complain about a paradise that caters to your every need.

“I-“ You tried to speak but got interrupted.

“You know, now I think about it. This is the most we hang out.”

You finally had your robe on, you smoothed it over your skin. Your nose scrunched up in annoyance as you feel this type of fuzz but this uneven smoothness. You can’t describe it but it was driving you nuts since you can feel it brush over your skin like it is supposed to be doing that. Your wings were muffled as it fluttered in frustration, making you realize you didn’t properly pop them out of the wing holes.

“Were we even friends before this? I mean… You said we were but I literally didn’t know who you were. I just felt bad that I didn’t remember and went along with what you were saying.”

You already had a frown on your face but it deepened into disappointment when Honey admits to not remembering you. At least Rachel had a vague idea about you. That day when you went to ask for help from the bee cherub, you truly thought she knew you. So much for her being friends with all cherubs.

“We’re friends.”

You grumbled as you turned your head to look over your shoulder as you reached over to your back, your hooves tugged down at the fabric and tried to free your wings.

“Yeah, that's what I thought.” Honey said, turning on her heels to look at you.

You didn’t even tell her to turn around just yet, you would have never been that confident enough to see if someone finished applying their clothing on their body. But now it’s embarrassing as she just watches you struggle with your wings, her face has a wide smile as she just stares. You huffed, finally being able to have your dove-like wings free from the tenuous fabric, making you glad you didn’t accidentally rip the robe by tugging so much.

But the moment your wings make an appearance, Honey’s eyes widened with excitement, almost like she just had an idea.

“I just remembered! Since you're so sad, why don’t I preen your wings? I heard it soothes the body!”

 

You never ran so fast in your life, that was the last thing you wanted from Honey. No hate to her kind hearted soul but the last time she did that was a disaster, not only that, you barely grew back the feathers you lost.

“Y/N! It will just take a second!” The bee cherub cheerily called out to you.

Honey was having the time of her life, chasing after you as she thought you were playing a friendly game before allowing her to pluck your feathers out. But for you: you were stricken with fear.

Your heart was beating like crazy as you flew past multiple angels, entering the main street. You couldn’t care about arriving to work early, that was not on your mind. Instead, you felt like a coyote was after you as you kept flying, trying to lose Honey in the crowd. It should be easy since you two were quite small compared to the angels walking by.

You glanced over your shoulder, frantically scanning to make sure that your friend was not right on your tail. Making you unaware when someone raises their arms up and immediately grabbing you by the torso midair, making you yelp. It was unexpected, you fell limp as you gave up immediately.

“Just the man I was looking for!” Adam exclaimed.

You slowly blinked as you were pulled down to stand on the concrete, your hooves making a loud clunk noise since Adam didn’t want to hold you anymore.

“You were looking for me?” You questioned, it was far too early for the first man to want anything.

“Yes. Well, no. But you know what I mean.”

“Y/N! Where are you?!” Honey’s voice was heard.

Making you tense up, it sounded so close and you could only think about the pain you’ll endure if the bee cherub finds you. Adam seemed to slightly glanced in the direction of Honey’s yell, confused as he raised a brow. He opened his mouth to speak but you quickly scattered behind Adam, using him as a shield of some sort.

“What the fuck?” He quickly says.

His big, golden wings opened up in alarm, nearly hitting you. You squeaked and ducked, though, your horns definitely grazed Adam’s wings as you can see some golden feathers fell down to the floor.

“What the Hell are you doing?!” Adam barked as he turned around to face you.

His wings were still open, a few angels made a noise as they were nearly hit by them as they walked by. Clearly, they weren’t annoyed, possibly because Adam did this enough to be ignored by his random outbursts.

“Hiding!”

You weren’t thinking properly, you probably look like an idiot in front of the first man, but your brain truly believes Honey was a threat at this moment.

Especially when you can recall the terrible sharp pain coursing through your wings and back when the bee cherub pulled out your poor wings, how you were immobilized for a good few months. You didn’t want that again, instead, it seemed like an angry Adam was less scarier to you.

Which was surprising in the sense, after all, you tried your best to stay on his good side. Because this man looks like a demon, the way he disregarded speaking with kindness and care, how he truly thinks everyone around him was just to cater to his needs. But, you could only think about yourself since an angel’s greatest gift was their wings.

So, your eyes quickly searched for a hiding spot.

“What can you possibly hide from?” Adam grumbled, seeming unamused as he crossed his arms.

Your gaze eyes Adam’s wings. It was the craziest idea that popped into your mind.

“Y/N!”

You tensed up, you didn’t have time to weigh your options if this idea was great, you just instantly acted. You quickly ran up to Adam, alarming him when you pressed your back against and grabbed his wings to wrap around you to hide in them.

They completely cover you, even your horns. It was a relief that the first man’s wings were large enough to do so. You freeze when you hear someone landing in front of Adam.

“Hello!” Honey said.

“Uh.” Adam replied, he seemed to be in a daze. Probably because he was trying to understand what was even going on.

“Have you seen Y/N?”

“Wh-“

“Because I believe you’re the man he hates!”

You slowly blinked when you heard that, you were expecting her to straight up tell Adam that. Maybe you should stop telling her your negative thoughts since it seems she doesn’t know how to keep it to herself. But you froze when Adam’s wings fluffed up in annoyance, if you would have looked up to see his enraged gaze looking down at you but your horns prevented that. Because if you did, your horns probably would hit the man’s golden wings.

“Motherfucker…”

You can hear a wheeze that came out of Honey, she definitely having the same reaction you did when you first heard Adam swear. Since you got used to it, you wanted to giggle at the innocent response almost like the bee cherub was a child learning Santa doesn’t exist. Funny but you probably shouldn’t laugh. Especially when Honey could hear you behind the wings.

“Um… So no?” The bee cherub said, her voice more soft and delicate.

That honestly made you think it was cute, though, you can hear a hint of fear. That shouldn’t have made you feel guilty for making Honey look for you, but you really just want your feathers to be left alone. You have to remember to apologize to her later.

“Is he your fuckbuddy or something?”

You don’t know how, but you and Honey both made a noise of disgust. Adam’s wings fluffing up, which made you pressed your back closer to his body in alarm. You can bet he had a smirk on his face after saying that, his mind was something you don’t even want to know because it was so full of sin that you’re confused on how he was even in Heaven.

“Um… I’ll just go…” Honey said, it sounded like she was shrinking herself to look small.

Making you feel even more bad. You didn’t want her to have an inch of what you feel when near this man.

After a minute, Adam immediately had his wings closed and rest under his arms: which you still think looks uncomfortable.

“You owe me now.” He said, having a grin that shows off his fangs.

“Ah..ha…” You nervously chuckled.

 

Honestly, Adam’s statement probably meant nothing. You were his assistant, you were there to help him regardless, so owing him something was worthless. You wonder if Deerie would recognize your absence this morning, but you didn’t dwell on it as your ears flattened against your head when a loud buzz echoed off the mono bass.

“What the Hell was that!” The first man yelled.

You were sitting in front of the stage, holding a clipboard, you just watched Adam glared at the bassist.

“I thought we’re following my lead.” The angel scoffed as he looked at Adam.

“When do we even follow your fucking lead?!”

Adam’s wings open up, making you glanced at them, the golden hue being emphasized with the dim lights. It reminded you of the sun in a way, there was no sign of impurity as it reflected some of that light onto your face. Giving you an illusion of what a human feels when seeing an archangel, maybe that is why you weren’t feeling fear while the two yelled at each other.

It was comforting, like you can feel your creator’s presence through Adam.

“I bet everyone would prefer to hear what I wrote than your overdone musicals!” The bassist shouted.

Which snapped you back into the moment, you never know how to intervene during these moments. You were just here to carry the entire set on the stage for the band, listen and pretend you like the loud music. You preferred to have your eardrums but Adam wanted you to fully experience the intensity of the song, which you hate.

“Guys, I don’t think-“

“Listen here bastard!” Adam snapped.

You wheezed and flew over, like you said before, you don’t know how to stop this. You noticed the growing tension of this band for a while but you normally ignored it, as you were too focused on your back hurting from carrying the drums.

“Guys, we don’t have time for this, your next show is in 2 hours-“

“That sounds like enough time to find a new bassist.” Adam growled as he gave the bassist a death stare.

“What?!” You, the bassist and the drummer said.

Which made you look at the angel on the drumset, not expecting him to speak up at this moment.

“You’re kicking me out of the band?!” The bassist shouted.

“Yeah, jackass. Now fuck off or I show you what Hell looks like!”

“Adam, we can’t possibly just-“ The drummer tried to add his own opinion but the first man cut him off.

“Shut the fuck up!”

The bassist scoffed as he pulled the strap of his guitar over his head and roughly shoved them into your arms. A squeak left your lips as you didn’t expect it, making you land unexpectedly due to the weight of the red bass.

“Fine, good luck finding an angel who will deal with this crap.” The angel grumbles.

That made you widen your eyes from the profanity, as you never heard the bassist swear before. Not like you haven’t heard swearing, Adam introduced your virgin ears to a dictionary of new words, but it was just surprising to someone who never spoke them before to say one.

The shock soon wears off when a gentle hand rests on your shoulder, the weight of the hand causing the fabric of your robe to press firmly against your skin, making you hissed before looking up where the hand is connected to: Adam.

“Is the bass heavy for you?” He asked, his voice dropping to a soft tone.

Which makes you slowly blink as you weren’t used to it, you cleared your throat as you looked at the bass in your hooves, it felt like bricks. If you used your cherubic powers it would be light as a feather, but you never use it for your personal gain, you wanted to tell the truth to the first man but you also don’t want to look weak in front of him.

“Nah.” You lied.

“Good, because your dumbass should be able to carry it.” Adam replied, his voice back to the harshness you know.

You sighed, you assumed the split of kindness was a ploy to make fun of you. That made you glad that you didn’t fall for it, you mentally apologizing to the Lord for your fib, since you know it was a terrible thing to do.

“Now, Y/N, go find me a new bassist.”

“Huh?” You said, your head turning to look at Adam.

“Did I stutter? It’s your job to do that type of shit for me.”

“Right….”

 

You don’t know how you were supposed to find anyone in an hour for Adam’s gig. You pulled the sleeve of your robe up to look at the pretend wristwatch you were wearing. Because honestly, you were so confused, you already wasted 30 minutes looking around Diligent Valley for an angel that knows how to play the bass.

“What am I even doing…” You mumbled to yourself.

Even if you find someone, how would they know what to do the moment they step on that stage? Did Adam expect them to just KNOW? That this new bassist would play the most perfect notes? It would be like throwing a pig off a cliff and hopes it flies, it wasn’t going to happen.

You glanced up to the sky, it was the evening so the marvelous blue was still covering the baskness of the world. Though, you can see a drizzle of lavender and orange, signifying that night was approaching.

You couldn’t believe that you wasted the majority of your time with Adam and his band. You never liked the music they played, it was rough and harsh against your soft ears. You were used to pop and classical, even a dash of alternative music but never metal and rock.

Maybe if the lyrics weren’t too… crude, you would enjoy it but that wasn’t your concern at the moment. Your eyes scan the area now, watching angels walking by and heading home. Your eyes widen when you remember that you didn’t help anyone today.

“Oh buttersticks!” You said under your breath, stomping a hoof in anger, that was the closest you were to cussing.

Your ears flopped and twitched as you have to find a bassist as well under the hour you have. Or maybe less than that since you did stand here for a good moment.

But you stand there, taking a deep breath, calming down any nerves you have. Your eyes fluttered closed as you focused on your cherubic powers, trying to find that familiar melancholy feeling. Your body soon shook, your anxiety rising when you felt nothing, no one nearby who needed help.

Your eyes opened again, a soft frown on your face as you slowly walked back to the bandshell that Adam will perform at.

You wished you felt someone in need, but it seemed everyone was fine.

Everyone but you.

You entered through the back, you can hear the soft thumps of the drums, making you know that the angel there was still practicing. Albeit, it was more soft, like he was just playing whatever his heart desires. It was like it mimicked a heartbeat, slow, rhythmic yet calming.

“So?”

You glanced up, watching Adam approach you with a raised brow. Your ears pressed firmly against your head as you were disappointed in yourself. It's been a while since you felt like you failed a mission, the ones you used to get made you so proud.

Your heart arched, almost like a nostalgic feeling as it reminded you when you went to court for the first time: hearing that your appearance threatened the human to stay alive.

“Sorry…” You mumbled under your breath.

“Fuck!” Adam yelled, stomping his foot as he glanced at the drummer.

“Hey, you shouldn’t have got rid of Mi-“ The drummer tries to say.

“Who the fuck ask you?!” The first man said, his wings opening up so he can look more threatening.

Your eyes narrowed when a ray of light hit your face, making you look at the wings in front of you.

You wondered if you’re overreacting. Your sadness was unnecessary, at least that what you told yourself, since you believed your creator would be dismayed by your sudden hopelessness. You sighed as Adam looked at you now.

“Whelp, I guess you’re the new bassist, congratulations!”

You tensed up.

You must have heard that wrong.

“Pardon me?”

“Remember, follow MY lead.” Adam said, unfazed by your confusion, he even shoved that heavy guitar back in your hooves.

“Oof.”

Unprepared, you actually fell onto your bottom. You were taken aback by this, you never touched a string instrument in your life.

“Huh? Wait! I-“ You tried to say something but Adam grabbed his own guitar, making you realize he was serious.

“Welcome to the band, pipsqueak.” The drummer said with a chuckle.

“I fucking wish it was you that I kick out.” Adam snapped at the drummer.

You were alerted by the first man’s quick response to the angel on drums, it wasn’t even anything that could peeved Adam. At least, that's what you think, you don’t know the history of any of these guys that were in the band. The first man refused to fill in the gaps of what was written in the Bible and now.

“Y/N, I swear to…” Adam trailed off.

You stared at him, noticing him looking up. You did the same in confusion, wondering what he could be looking at, but all you see is cobwebs and dusty banisters of the bandshell.

“Oh, you get the fucking idea.” He soon said, making you snapped your attention back at him.

You assumed he was about to use the Lord’s name in vain but stopped.

…

Wait…

Your head immediately snapped back up at the ceiling. Did Adam sense God passing by?!

This was your chance! To fix everything that was done by Sera, to finally be free of Adam!

But gleefully hop before skittering towards the back door. No more will you feel like a failure! No more questions that will have no answers! Your creator was here and you can have peace, knowledge in why you were created.

“Hey, where you’re going!”

You yelped, feeling the back of your robe being pulled back. You kept trying to go to the door, you needed to stop God from flying away, you needed to talk to him.

“Let me go!”

“Fuck no! The show is about to start shithead!”

With that, you were dragged away, your hooves clinking and clanking as they tried to bury themselves into the wooden boards. You want to refuse, this was your only chance.

And you lost it.

Your body was limp, you used your cherubic powers just so the bass in your hooves left like nothing. You had no choice but to play.

It's not like you hadn’t played a role you disliked before.