white noise [open]

[RILEY PRESTON ELLIS]

Riley walked down one of the many paths that wove throughout the forest. He wondered how many people were in the forest right at this moment. If he had vampire speed he would attempt to find out, but seeing as he didn’t he was stuck wth wondering. It was a warm night, the stars shone brightly, and there was a breeze so soft that it barely pricked his skin. He had come to the forest to get away from everything in the city. He was feeling overwhelmed lately and wanted to do nothing but walk and clear his head. If he did happen to run into someone tonight, he would welcome them as a distraction. But he doubted that he would come across anyone unless they were going to try to feed on him or try to kill him. Riley figured he could take care of himself though now that he was a demon and was a lot harder to kill. Before when he was just a firetamer, he was easy to kill. And when Remy had killed him, he had not only been easy to kill, but he hadn’t even fought back. He was caught by surprise and too stupid and excited to buy Issy’s ring to realize what exactly was going on.

He stopped at a fork in the path and decided to take the path to the left, further into the forest. The trees started to thicken and his walking path became harder to move through. A stick broke behind him and he stopped. It was probably nothing, but Riley felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. It could be anything from a supernatural to an animal like a bear or mountain lion. He stayed as still as possible and waited for something to happen, hoping the God that he wasn’t going to have to fight someone. He was really not in the mood to fight with someone. Riley was more into not hurting people now than he had been before. He just wanted to be left alone most of the time now.

[DARBY GRACE ELLIS]

It wasn’t often that Darby wandered into the woods by herself. Sure, the girl spent a lot of time on her own, but it was normally when she was reading in her room. She often didn’t adventure on her own, simply because she didn’t know what she’d run in to. If she was going somewhere she was unsure of, she’d get Ry to go with her because she knew nothing bad could happen when he was around. But he had had things to do today and Darby had had the sudden urge to get out of the city. She was in the mood to be surrounded by grass and trees and the logical place seemed to be the forest.

Things had started out nicely. Darby packed a lunch, brought a book, and planned on just relaxing in the sun. What better way to soak up some nature? Things had started out that way, too. Darby had found a spot a hidden from the path where sun filtered nicely through the tree leaves and she had curled up there with her book, relatively undisturbed other than a noise here and there. It wasn’t until she heard a louder noise that she looked up and saw that there was someone else enjoying the spring weather as well and the firetamer felt herself go pale.

It wasn’t because there were other people here. No, Darby knew this wasn’t her forest. Of course there’d be other people walking too. It was who she saw. She could’ve sworn the person who just walked by was her cousin, Riley. But that was impossible. A hunter had killed him a while back. Darby had attended his funeral and everything. And yet, it was a spitting image of him. It took her mind a few seconds to process everything before she put her book down on the blanket and started following the stranger.

Now typical Darby would’ve never done that. If she would’ve thought about it, she would’ve just sat on the blanket and decided that she was making stuff up. But she didn’t give herself time to think about it and the next thing she knew, she was practically stalking him. Darby should’ve called out to him, but she also didn’t want to make a mistake. All she needed was a closer look to tell herself it wasn’t him and then she’d go back to her blanket. Before that happened though, Darby stepped on a stick, alerting the stranger of her presence. Oh god. What was she supposed to do now? If it wasn't Riley, she was going to look really dumb. And what if it was him?

[RILEY PRESTON ELLIS]

He didn’t know that there was a certain someone lurking in the woods with him or else he would have made himself invisible. Darby followed him quietly, so quietly that he hadn’t heard her. He heard something though he did turn around and that’s when he saw his cousin. He stopped dead for a moment before realizing that it was Darby and she was in the middle of the woods. Riley turned invisible to her, something he was glad he was able to do now that he was a demon. What the hell was she doing in the middle of the woods? She of all people knew how dangerous it was to be out here in the middle of the day, much less in the middle of the night. Riley cursed under his breath and stalked towards her. For a moment he hessitated, not really wanting to have to be there in front of her.

But he did. He was a few feet away from her with a glaring look on his face that could have scared a child away. “What the hell are you doing out here?” he demanded. Riley walked closer to her and found that he wanted to shake her and tell her to go home right away. There were hundreds of things in these woods that could get to her and he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if something happened to her now after already failing at being her guardian angel—not that she or any of the other Ellis’ would know that… at least not for a long while.

Riley still needed to get the courage to confront his family about the whole ordeal. But Riley was bad with those things. He knew that his family was upset after his death, Damon and Calan worst of all. But after what he had been through and what he did he didn’t want his family to look down on him. He had one job as a guardian angel and he fucked it all up by killing Tobias. Now Darby was left without him and the only person protecting her and doing a decent job of it was Ryden. Darby needed someone like him in her life and Riley knew how much that guy loved his cousin. He had seen the look in his eye when he was looking at Darby. He knew that look. So he knew he could trust Ryden.

But when they weren’t together there was no one. Another guardian angel hadn’t been sent her way and she was unprotected as far as Riley was concerned. He did his best at it, but he knew he was a worthless angel.

[DARBY GRACE ELLIS]

Oh god. All of this had been a mistake. Darby should’ve known better and honestly, she did. It was just the one time she didn’t follow her instincts and she found herself in trouble. Who cared if she thought she saw her cousin? Darby shouldn’t have even investigated it. She should’ve let the person have their peace because she doubted anybody would want someone to follow them through the woods, especially if they were just trying to enjoy the peace and quiet. What in the world had she been thinking? Maybe this newfound confidence (even though it was only a little smidgen of confidence) wasn’t a good thing for the little firetamer after all.

Things went from bad to worse the moment she realized how angry Riley was. The glare on his face would’ve been enough for Darby, but add in the yelling and she was full out frightened. Darby hated yelling. Despised it. It didn’t matter if she was being yelled at or if it was directed at someone else; she just never did well with raised voices. They made her basically shut down and fold in on herself. She wanted nothing to do with anyone once someone was angry. With Riley’s anger and yelling being directed towards Darby, she wanted to do nothing but sit down and cry. It was ridiculous. She was 19, almost 20 years old, and she still couldn’t handle it.

“I-I’m s-sorry, Riley,” Darby stammered, shrinking away from her cousin. She didn’t think he’d hurt her. She really didn’t. The firetamer just didn’t want to be near all this yelling. She wanted to leave, to not be here at all. And honestly, Darby didn’t want to start crying in front of Riley. She had never been very close to Riley, despite the fact that they were cousins and rather close in age. To be fair though, she really didn’t associate with most of her family simply because she was shy. Still, she didn’t want Riley to think she was a big baby because that was a concern for her.

But she couldn’t think of anything else to say to Riley. Or to be honest, she knew what she wanted to say. Darby wanted to know why Riley was still alive, or even how. He had been dead. She saw it with her own eyes. And she had to assume that no one else in the family knew he was still alive or she would’ve heard it by now. So why? What hadn’t he told anyone he was back? All these questions were bubbling in Darby’s brain but as soon as they reached her lips, they died. She couldn’t bring herself to ask, not when he already looked so angry.

[RILEY PRESTON ELLIS]

Riley looked at his cousin with furious eyes. He couldn’t understand why she would come out here all by herself when she knew good and well that she wasn’t safe out here. Even he wasn’t safe. But Darby wasn’t a fighter and she’d get taken so easily and not know what hit her and he never wanted that to happen to her. All he wanted for her now was her safety. He should probably get her out of here, but where the hell would they go? He still couldn’t show himself to show that he was still here. He knew his death had devastated his family, but he couldn’t face their disappointment. And where would he take Darby that could keep her out of harms way but also keep him out of his family’s view? The woods, which just so happened to be where they were. Except it was unsafe. He would only be able to keep her this way for so long. He wasn’t the greatest fighter and he no longer had fire on his side.

When she stammered out an apology, he realized he had scared her. Riley’s face went soft and he stepped towards her. He forgot that she hated it when people yelled. He hushed his voice when he spoke again. “No, I’m sorry Darbs.” He looked at her now with kind eyes and reached out to her. “I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just—“ he paused for a moment and asked, “Why are you even out here anyways?” He looked at her now with confusion instead of anger. Even though there was a good chance she could get killed she still came out here. But why? There were plenty of possibilities to choose from including why he had come as well. He had just wanted some peace and quiet and instead he got a little family reunion.

Riley then realized she was probably wondering why he hadn’t told everyone that he was still alive. He bit his lip and cleared his throat. He took a deep breath and as if he could hear her thoughts said, “I know you’re probably wondering how or why I’m here…” He looked at her as if to confirm that that was in fact what she was thinking. He kept going even though he was unsure. “I, uh, I became a guardian angel, Darbs.” He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the ground. “But I’m not a guardian anymore.” He didn’t mention the fact that he was her guardian because it wasn’t really necessary. If she asked he wouldn’t lie, but he was pretty sure that was going to be the last question on her mind.

He wished Jules were with him. Even though it had been a little awkward between them after that first night of being together they were still good friends and Julian would make him feel less awkward and more at ease about this whole thing. But he was alone now and even though Riley used to not be the kind of guy to feel awkward in any situation this was much different. He was basicaly coming back from the dead and how could he explain something like that without getting a bunch of different questions. Darby was a quiet girl but he was sure she’d be curious enough about what happened that she’d ask. And he was willing to answer her questions. He just didn’t want her to show disappointment in him. that would break his heart.

[DARBY GRACE ELLIS]

There was a part of Darby that was afraid her cousin would still be mad at her despite the apology. It wasn’t like ‘I’m sorry’ was the most apologetic thing she could’ve said and she knew firetamers had tempers. Well, Riley might not be one of those anymore, not when he was somehow back from the dead, but hot tempers was something the Ellis family was famous for. It’s not like Riley would suddenly stop being an Ellis and that Darby’s stammering would be a good enough explanation for him. But the girl really wasn’t sure if she could deal with anymore yelling. She had already kind of reached her limit and he hadn’t even said much to her yet.

Riley surprised her though. She watched his face soften and him take a step towards her, apologizing as he did so. Darby didn’t think he needed to apologize. She had scared him, after all, and it was only logical that he’d react by yelling. The firetamer really didn’t have it in her to argue with him though. She really had never been good at disagreeing with people and she didn’t want to push him, not when he had already been so upset a couple of moments earlier. Besides, he was asking a question and she felt obligated to answer it. “I-I just wanted to get out of the city,” she explained, turning slightly to point a ways down the path “I was closer to the edge of the forest. Reading.” It sounded dumb now, but that really was what she had been doing.

Then, almost as if reading her mind, Riley started to answer the questions that Darby hadn’t had the courage to ask. Guardian angel made sense. At least it explained why he was still alive. But Darbs had no clue what her cousin could’ve done to not be one anymore. Her cousin was a good guy – even if she didn’t know him too well she knew that at the very least – and she couldn’t imagine him doing anything. Then again, it wasn’t like you had to be a bad person to be cast out of heaven. Look at Ryden, for example. Darby didn’t know a single person who was sweeter and more deserving to be an angel than him and yet he had been kicked out of heaven. So whatever Riley had done, it didn’t necessarily have to be awful but she still wasn’t going to ask about it. If he had wanted her to know, he would’ve said something.

Instead, she focused on something she thought she could ask him. “W-why haven’t you t-told anyone you’re alive?” she asked, thinking it might still be trying to pry but she was genuinely curious. Darby doubted she was the first Ellis that Riley would’ve wanted to see. There were so many others he had been closer to and yet here she was. “Damon’s b-been a wreck. He misses you,” Darby added, not really sure if it was helpful or not but she wanted Riley to realize he had been missed. She was probably the closest to Damon out of all her cousins and even then it still wasn’t a great bond, but she remembered seeing how upset he was at the funeral and how not-Damon he had been since then. It was hardly fair for Darby to know Riley was alive when Damon was suffering like that.

[RILEY PRESTON ELLIS]

Looking out for Darby had become his life at one point in time. His job description was to literally protect her from any harm or emotional distress—okay, that last part was sort of written to make sure nothing ever hurt her emotionally because he didn’t want her to have to go through what he did. And if Ryden ever hurt her in any way, he would have to kill him and he wouldn’t feel bad about it at all. But Riley knew that hurting Darby was impossible for Ryden to do. He had seen the way he took care of her and the way he looked at his cousin when she wasn’t looking. They were completely perfect for each other in every way possible and Riley was happy for her. He wished he could have that; he longed for it ever since Issy’s death. He knew he could never get her or her love back though and occasionally watching Ryden and Darby hurt him more than he realized. But he had soon gotten over that. Riley didn’t want to dwell on all of the shitty cards life had dealt him. He wanted to move forward and explore the new things in his life.

But there was a part of him that would always watch out for his younger cousin. Just because he didn’t have the title Guardian Angel didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do everything in his power to try to protect her. She was obviously in danger if she was in the middle of the woods, which were always crowded with supernaturals that could harm her. He wanted nothing more than to make sure she was safe and he hadn’t meant to make her upset. Riley never wanted to make her cry or make her feel as if she couldn’t trust him because she could. He had a bond with her now that would never go away, even if she had no realization of it.

Riley put his hands lightly on her shoulders and nodded at her as if he understood her—well he did understand. Recently Riley felt like he wanted to get out of the city more and more. It was the exact reason he was here tonight in the woods. “Yeah, me too,” he said telling her what he was thinking. Riley dropped his hands and shoved them into his pockets, clenching his fists. “You should go somewhere…not in the forest to read. Like the library or something. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” Riley tried to smile a little, but knew something was on her mind. She was, after all, talking to her presumably dead relative.

So he had told her everything that happened, leaving out some minor details. Her question in return was logical. The two hadn’t been close when he was alive, but dying had made him realize what he was missing out on. Now that she knew of him being alive (sort of) then perhaps they could somehow get closer than they used to be. Being closer to her could mean being more proactive at keeping her safe, but he didn’t really know how she’d react to him wanting to suddenly be closer to her. He could at least give it a shot though.

“I couldn’t—I can’t, Darby. I just can’t.” Riley couldn’t begin to explain how much he had originally wanted to go back to his family and tell them everything was okay because he was still on earth. But after falling from grace he couldn’t bear to see the disappointment on his family’s faces. So he had remained invisible to them and even though Julian had advised him that he should reveal himself to his family he just wasn’t ready still. Even though he knew his family missed him, especially Damon, every time he thought about going to his family he felt sick to his stomach. And hearing Darby say that Damon missed him only made his heart heavy and his stomach drop to the floor. He nodded and held tears from escaping. He didn’t want to seem vulnerable. But Damon had always been a sensitive spot for Riley. Knowing how much Damon missed him only made him feel that much worse.

“I know. He’ll be the first I tell…when I’m ready. But I don’t know how long that’ll be.” Riley sighed a little. He knew she probably wouldn’t be able to help him, but he wanted to ask anyway. “Do you think telling him would just make things worse or do you think going to him would make things better?” If Darby could convince him that telling Damon would make things better for him, then he’d probably go to him sooner. Riley didn’t want to be selfish when it came to his brother. He would literally do anything for his brother.