I am alive! Love you guys x 

Love was not something Bonnie saw often. She tried to find it in the small moments between strangers in her work that sat more close together than others, or couples on the street whose attached hands swung between them. She looked for it in the smiles of woman with longing eyes and the blushes of men that had been complimented, but she very rarely saw it.

It felt as though she'd been waiting years to witness a true moment, one like she had felt when she was a child with the girls she referred to as sisters —that love she knew was real. Not romantic, but more grounding than anything she had felt before. After so much time it was natural to believe that perhaps it wasn't something so easily found like the thousands of books would have her believe, maybe it was just something invented to make people believe in more than themselves or be happy with a life not truly fulfilled. She had come to terms with that in a way, even when her heart thudded at the brush of skin by a certain dark haired man, she never truly thought that her view would change.

But as Gremory's figure rushed into the darkness, colliding with the person who had just stepped out...

She understood.

She knew what poets meant when they described the way someones eyes shone as they gazed upon their person. She could feel the air move with the two of them as their arms wrapped around eachother, their choked breaths shaking her bones and making her unable to move. It was in delicate touch of their fingertips as they shakily skimmed one anothers features, disbelief and astonishment chuckling from their lungs.

Her eyes turned misty as Gremory's sobbed, his lips releasing the others with a laugh as their foreheads pressed against one another, a wave of relief washing over both of their scrunched limbs.

It knocked the breath from her. It was so beautiful that she didn't dare come closer, didn't dare interupt something so pure. So perfect.

A warmth spread over to her, so different form the dark clouds above them that roared with thunder. Even as tiny droplets of rain began to fall onto her cheeks, she wasn't cold. There was magic here, more than daemons and gods could conjure. Her soul blossomed inside of her as she watched her friends smile widen.

Even Kimaris had stopped running forward, giving the two men time to bask in one anothers presence and let their tears flow. He glanced over his shoulder at her, and had she not known it was raining, she might have believed their were tears slipping from his eyes. The gentle bend of his lips made her own smile widen, and her hand raised the tiniest fraction before she remembered the rules.

They couldn't touch.

Kimaris broke their eye contact with a downturn of his brows and he began to walk forward towards the blubbering couple whose lips had found one another again. Bonnie followed a few steps behind, ears prickling with words as they got closer.

"I do not know how this has happened or whether I have finally lost my mind," The voice cried out, hands pressing into Gremory's cheeks.

"I am here, this isn't a trick I swear to you. I'm so sorry it's taken me so long—"

"Hush, do not dare. I do not know how you have beaten gods and banishments but you cannot apologise for it when you have defied the very rules of our kind to be here. I won't allow it."

"I promised you I would find a way," Gremory's voice shook as he brought the others fingers to his lips. "My life would not continue until I did. I swear I have tried every moment—."

"I know, my soul, I know. Do not fret," He pressed a hand into Gremory's hair. "I knew the minute we touched, do not forget what I feel."

"I suppose I'll change my mind on the reunion hug after being reminded of that. And while you're at it do you think you could turn off the music."

Kimaris deep and humour filled tone broke the gaze between the two lovers, and the person Bonnie could only assume was Amdusias stepped out form behind Gremory's shoulders, his eyes wide as he saw who had spoken with their hand pointed towards the sky.

The painting did not do his features justice. They were intriguing but beautiful in the most uncommon way. His wrists could not have been thicker than that of a teens, and cloaked in a uniform that looked like woven strands of gold. The thread continued down his legs and wrapped around his feet, while also travelling upwards around his neck and then into his hair, pulling back the thick dreads that reminded her of the thunderous clouds above them. His large teeth outnumbered his lips, but his cheeks were full of colour and kept his mouth from opening to wide. If they hadn't perhaps his mouth would have split from being too happy.

"Khem-oor!" He squealed, his arms wrapping around the much taller man as his sandalled feet swung out behind him. "I can't believe you're here! The gods must be playing a joke—there's almost a grin on your lips!"

"Funny," he replied, lowering him back down to the ground and rolling his eyes. "Remind me of that the next time I have to fly somewhere to help you."

Amdusias chuckled, refusing to let go of the man as he forced his arms to return the hug. "I know you won't partake in our peoples sign of connection, so perhaps you'll endulge me in the human ritual."

Kimaris sighed, but there was barely a moments hesitation before he wrapped his arms around his friend, and Bonnie's heart lurched in her chest at the relieved way his features softened. Above them the thunder quietened although the dark clouds remained, and Bonnie wiped a hand over her forehead as the rain came to a halt.

"I know how much it must have taken for you to come here Khem-oor, I won't forget it."

Although his head was stuffed into a chest, Bonnie heard the muffled words, and it was clear Kimaris knew she could as he lifted his eyes to hers over the head of Amdusias, a shy glaze covering them.

"Like I also won't forget that you owe me a good few bottles of Ambrosia," Amdusias stated, pulling himself from the embrace. "I've heard your wine collection might suffice seeing as there hasn't been bottles of that for a few millenia."

KImaris actually laughed. "I see the Abyss hasn't damaged your wit."

"A thousand years in there couldn't make me forget that."

Some of the laughter evaporated from the air at his words, a slightly solemn tone trickling in towards the end. Kimaris' hand that still lay upon his friend squeezed, and they shared a breath.

"You know my gift hasn't withered in the time I've been down there either," He stated factually. "And so, are you going to tell me who the lovely maiden is behind me that seems to have turned that steel-like-soul soft?"

She tried not to notice the bashful slip of Kimaris' features as he stumbled over an explanation. Luckily, Gremory had found his voice and moved closer to her, still careful to keep some distance between them as Amdusias turned to look. It was then she saw the gold lines, illuminated against the dark colour where the whites of his eyes should be. She'd almost forgotten he wasn't human.

"This is Bonnie," Gremory introduced, barely letting his eyes stray from Amdusias' apporaching figure, as though afraid he would disappear. "She's the one who summoned you, we couldn't have done it without her."

Bonnie tried to let her smile come easily, but there was something that unnerved her about the way Amdusias was looking at her, his unblinking stare burrowing itself into her skin. Gremory was babbling about how they had met, his voice high with excitement but she could barely hear him, something in her chest was gnawing at her, clawing its way up her throat. Why was she reacting like this?

"Bonnie..." Amdusias murmured, his head tilting to one side. "Where do you come from Bonnie?"

"G-Glasgow."

His eyes squinted harder, and he stepped up to her barely a foot away.

"Where do you truly come from, Bonnie?"

"I-I don't know what you mean."

Kimaris frowned at the shake in her voice, stepping closer almost in defence. His gaze flickered from Bonnie to Amdusias.

"She's a human, Amdusias. Maybe a Scarlet Woman at most knowing what she can do, but she's from this earth," Gremory interjected, trying to sound light.

"I'd like to hear her say it," he retorted, barely listening to his soulmate. "if it's true then there's no reason she wouldn't."

The tiny droplets of rain began to fall again as he inched closer, and Bonnie's feet itched to run.

"I-I'm a human, from Scotland," she quivered out, swallowing the bubble of a scream choking her. "I don't know exactly why I'm able to do things, but that's all I am."

His expression did not let up. "Then take my hand."

She stared at his outreached boney hand, his woven gold spreading over his fingertips as though reaching out for her too.

"Don't be scared," Kimaris said from beside her, although the ease that had wrapped around his body had returned to a rigor. "Amdusias can see with touch, it's just the way he gets to know someone."

"I don't know if this is needed, Si," Gremory said quietly, a hand hovering over Amdusias' shoulder. "Bonnie has nothing to hide—"

"Then she doesn't have a reason not to, do you—Bonnie."

The truth.

This is why her body wanted her to flee, why his eyes had made her fear him. He knew that she was hiding something, and whether she wanted to or not, something was begging her not to let him know. She took a step back and all three faces frowned.

"Bonnie?" Gremory's confused whisper made her throat swell.

"I'm still getting used to Daemon customs but maybe we just take a second—" She took another step back, her hands coming up in front of her in surrender but also protection, and while she decided exactly what to do she tried to ignore the hurt features of the people she had become closest to. "I'm just not sure I'm comfortable with—"

Before she could move, Amdusias' hand shot up and connected with hers, their palms pressed into one another as though magnets had dragged them there. Her body froze as a shock like pulse ran through her and it was impossible for her to pull away. Kimaris gave a noice of disapproval but stopped his approach when he saw the way the light began to blossom from between their skin. With a zap Amdusias ripped his hand from hers, a whisp of smoke drifting up from his signed hand and his chest heaved as he looked at it in shock.

She tried to think of something to say, her mind spiralling with thoughts and premonitions as she felt her blood run cold, but before she could come up with anything Amdusias' hard eyes were back on her, the most human expression she has seen yet coating his face.

Fear.

"It can't be," he whispered, stumbling back, pushing away the outstretched arms of Gremory. "You're who he spoke of."

Immediately Kimaris' head snapped up in panic, grabbing onto Amdusias' shaking shoulders. "What are you talking about Amdusias? Who spoke of her?"

"You don't know what you've done." His head shook in panic as he looked to Gremory. "You can't be here, you have to go! You should never have brought her!"

"Amdusias—wait!" Gremory called as the man began to stumble away from them and back towards the opening of the mound. The air had begun to whip around them and the sky had returned to it's dark colour, the thunder continuing it's serenade much louder than before. "Amdusias what's wrong?"

"I knew there had to be a reason he would unbind me, but I never thought it could be—no, no, no." His ramblings echoed around them as he looked up at the sky, blinking at the evergrowing cloud. "This is what he wanted, he knew you'd call for me. You have to break the summoning before it's too late."

Gremory shook his head immediately, anguish pooling in his eyes. "No, I won't do that. We can tie you to Bonnie, we can keep you on this realm—"

"There isn't time Grem! You have to!"

He put his arms around Gremory, pulling him in for a kiss that lasted a mere second compared to their previous ones, and Gremory's confusion shone through as his tears began to fall.

"Bonnie, get back to the summoning ring." Kimaris's deep voice broke through her mask of panic, bringing her back inot her body. She followed his darting eyes to the mound behind Gremory and Amdusias, and she saw what was pooling out of it.

Smoke... and black tar.

"Is that...?" she whispered, the smell that had infilitrated every waking moment she'd had since that first night flooding over the previously peaceful field. Demons.

"Bonnie, NOW!" Kimaris yelled, running towards his friend who was too wrapped up in his tears to notice what was growing behind them.

Her feet took off and she ran towards the circle which was still intact, ignoring the way her body felt as though it might crumble.

"I've just got you back," Gremory cried, clutching on to Amdusias who was shaking his head and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I can't lose you!"

"You'll find me again," he stated, confidence making his words unshaking. "I know you will, my love."

"Gremory!" Kimaris' gutteral cry echoed across the field , making his head look up and notice the creatures that had begun to rise from the darkness only a few metres from them. "We need to close it!"

Bonnie could see how desperate Gremory looked, how his head almost swivelled fully around to try and grasp what was happening, but it was like he couldn't function.

Kimaris yelled something at him before turning to look back at Bonnie, his hair lifting around him in the storm.

"BONNIE YOU HAVE TO SHUT IT NOW!"

She looked at her friend whose legs were crumbling out from under him and then back at the growing mass which has begun to sprout arms and legs. They were coming.

For a moment she hesitated, wondering whether they could take them all, but when she saw Kimaris stand tall and shoot one of his arrows forward, oblitaring a figure which was almost immediately smothered by another, she knew she had no choice.

"I'm so sorry, Gremory," she whispered, hoping he could hear her and would forgive her. For all of it.

"NOW BONNIE!"

With a choked cry, she lifted the cover off of the flame and let the wind take out the flame that was still burning in one full sweep. She tried not to listen to the gut wrenching cry of Gremory as the light went out, and Amdusias faded into thing air.