♙

He paused to look to his surroundings. “Although I am here to discuss with your king, there is not much I must do at the moment. Would you have some time perhaps for tea?”

"This way, my lord." Israfil fell into step beside his king, leading him without walking in front of him. "If it is not too audacious of me to ask, may I inquire what is it you wish to discuss with the demon king?"

Karson hissed a laugh through his teeth. “We’ll be heading back to my place then. You okay with that?”

"Your home? I do wonder why, but I would be honoured to see it."

"Gla—-ad you asked!" He hooked an arm around his, his smile beaming bright. It was enthusiastic enough to be almost threatening. "You’re about to see a world you’ve only seen in your dreams."

"A-alright then..." he hoped he wasn't making a big mistake.

"But besides that," the king shook his head slowly. "How have you been?" 

"I have been well, my king. All thanks to you." Israfil lifted his head, but only after the moment it took to compose his overjoyed expression into something more calm "And how fare you, my lord? And her majesty, as well?"

"Oh." Doesn’t that face just exude excitement. “If you wanna know, it’s better to read a book.”

"...Uh, I meant your world, then?"

"Really?" Swiftly, he grabbed Isra’s wrist, rolling up the demons sleeve. Xath could tell the difference between Fallen Angel’s and demons. He didn’t know how, he just could.

"Well, I..." He tried to snatch his wrist away from the angel, finding the grip tighter that he expected. "It's...a scar from my past." Well, it wasn't a lie.

"Then tell me Demon. Are you honest?”

"Yes, I am. I would not lie."

"You mean my world or the world I physically live in?”

"The...one you live in?"

"Well yours sounds pretty foreign to mine, too. So I guess it all evens out."

"Oh really? How interesting. I'm curious, what is your world like?"

That slipped him up a second. It was the first time anyone had ever called his name ‘pretty.’ “For—it’s…not where I come from. Not the normal spelling, at least.”

"Oh, I see. Names like yours aren't common among angels, you see, or demons for that matter, that's why it sounds foreign to my ears."

"Being nice is overrated."

"Well, at least you're honest. I think being honest is better than being nice, really."

"No, I’m human. Of course I am, idiot."

"I'm sorry, it's just...every angel I used to know always acted nice, even if they weren't. And you, well."

"Is—rafil. Israfeel. Yeah I’m sticking with Isra." Maybe he was being a little dramatic with his lip movements and the difficulty with them, but it was a tad easier to speak the shortened version than the long. It wasn’t so filling either. "My name is Karson. With a ‘K.’ Call me whatever you want but late to dinner."

"Karson...what a pretty name. Is it foreign?"