The Devil is a Part-Timer

"I just prefer to be left alone. Truth be told, most angels are idiots", Auriel simply replied, smiling lightly, before getting more serious again.
"Maybe you're just not seeing through my strategy", the angel simply stated, stopping herself from adding more. Better not let this demon know how much magic she had left. It was rather unlikely, but that girl could have saved enough magic to actually pose a real threat to her. Plus, she wasn't really one for picking fights withot a very good reason. It was probably for the best if she just remained calm.

Azriel laughed. "At least we agree there!"
True, that was an option. But even though most of their magic was depleted, if things got serious, it'd still be four against one. "So, what, hoping I'd run off to find Lucifer so you can follow? Or were you planning to wait until we got together and jump you?", Azriel asked, still grinning. "You seem really attached to him. I wouldn't have guessed he had an even tinier angel girlfriend before he switched sides!" What was the name Lucifer had given her yesterday? Auriel? Part of her wondered how the angels would react if she just called her that. But Azriel couldn't give away everything, at least not yet before she knew more about her. Playing was fun, but the safety of her General and her King came first.

"Who said I wanted to find that idiot? I was simply curious whether or not you had seen him", Auriel said, blushing a little. She quickly turned her head, hoping the demon wouldn't notice. Just until she continued talking though.
"I am most certainly not attached to him! Nor was I his girlfriend or anything, what gave you the idea I could ever fall for such a selfish idiot?!", she shouted angrily, still blushing though. Dammit, she really had to gain better control of not showing her emotions that easily.
The angel took a deep breath and crossed her arms, avoiding to look at the demon girl. "I was simply one of his fellow angels, that's all. Nothing more.", she added with a bitter tone in her voice. She knew the demon most likely had noticed this was a lie, but it probably was what Lucifer would say. If he had actually cared about her the way she thought he did he wouldn't have left her behind just like that.

Azriel raised an eyebrow at Auriel's rant. "... Sure. Say, little one, are all angels such bad liars, or is it just you?" The first sentence, she might've actually believed, but the rest...
Either the tiny angel did have feelings for Lucifer, or she utterly despised him - And both were an attachment meaning a lot of history together. And her dogs looked mostly confused, which they rarely did about simple anger. Part of Azriel wished she'd used some magic to get her heightened senses. Too late for that now, though. Maybe next time.
But at least it was something to ask Lucifer about, later today or maybe tomorrow. No matter which one was true, this really promised to be interesting.

"Shut up", Auriel simply said, before turning around to leave. She already felt all the emotions she had locked away coming back and she definetely didn't want to start crying in front of this demon she had just met. So without saying another word, she just began walking back home.
As soon as she was out of sight though, she couldn't help it, she just felt the tears running down her cheeks. She had told herself so often not to cry ever again because of him, yet here she was. Apparently, she was an even bigger idiot than he was. Who would still cry over someone who hadn't even told her that he liked her after all those years? It was stupid. Lucifer probably had already forgotten her.
After a while the angel felt herself cool down again and wiped the tears away. She opened the door to her apartment and just let herself fall onto the couch, sighing deeply. Maybe it was for the best if she didn't find the fallen angel after all. Who knew how she would react?

When the tiny angel turned to leave, Lux stood up as well. He'd been focused on her for a while now, so she was probably even more emotional than she had let on. Damn, Azriel wished she could harness angels' emotions as well, the little one there would make an amazing supply.
Lux even barked after her a few times, and it took a light growl from Azriel to stop her dog from following her. Despite his size, he was probably the least threatening canid Azriel had ever seen, but he was part of her pack now.
But now, it was time to head towards the forest. She couldn't switch to her wolfen form, not without using far too much of her magical energy, but at least she could run free at all, as could her dogs. Off the normal paths, of course, and her prey in this world were only deer, but it was better than nothing.

A few hours later - after she'd cleaned off the deer blood in a small stream - Azriel returned, though she didn't go home just yet. First was the Devil's Castle; Alciel would want to know about the second meeting with the angel, and she'd love to hear Lucifer's story.

"You again?", the fallen angel asked. At least this time, Lux didn't jump on him; he only took a few steps towards the kid and whined softly. "What's up with your mutt?"
"Eh, I'm guessing he's mad at you."
"He-- What? Why?" Lucifer looked from the dog to Azriel and back.
The demon ignored him and turned to Alciel and Maou instead. "I saw the tiny angel - Auriel, was it? - again. Seems like she knows Urushihara's in this world, but I don't think she knows anything else." Only then did she turn back to the angel. "So, what's up with the two of you?"
Lucifer immediately looked away. Not shifty at all. "Eh, nothing, really."
"You'd think a demon general was a better liar... My general, my liege?" Azriel shifted her position so she was kneeling in front of the two older demons. As much fun as it promised to be, she still needed their permission. "May I make them meet?"
"What?! Why?! NO! Ashiya, Maou, say no!" As serious as her request had sounded, Lucifer freaking out made Azriel grin.
Alciel furrowed his brows. "Why would you want to do that?"
"Well, my General, first, I think it would be fun to watch them." Not the best reason, but these two were maybe the only beings in existence Azriel didn't like lying to. "Also, if she does want to meet him, Auriel would be in our debt. I know it may be dangerous, but at least she hasn't attacked me so far. So either she doesn't want to fight, or doesn't dare taking on even one demon, so me and a demon general would be fairly safe; and she claimed no other angels are looking for her, although that may of course have been a lie."
"Hmm."
Lucifer stared at Alciel. "Don't tell me you're actually considering this! I'm not even supposed to leave the house, right?!"
Azriel, meanwhile, waited patiently for the answer.

After a while the angel decided to take a shower. Maybe it'd help her relax a bit. Since she didn't have any work left today and her fridge was almost empty, it would probably the best choice to go shopping after.
Sighing again she got up and walked into the bathroom to come back out refreshed after quite some time. It didn't really help clear her mind though, she still could only think about the fallen angel. She just still couldn't find a good explanation why he left her. She had been so sure her really liked her and returned her feelings. But then again, it was probably just foolish of her to think that such a high rank angel could've actually fallen for a simple girl like her. Maybe he didn't even see her as a friend and that's why for him it had been perfectly normal to just leave. Auriel sighed again. All this thinking would get her nowhere. After all the only one who knew and could tell her the truth was Lucifer himself and she slowly started to doubt that she actually still wanted to meet him. Maybe it was for the best to just stay away and maybe try to find someone new.
After shaking her head to shake off her thoughts, which didn't really work, she got ready to go outside again and get some food supplies.

Azriel eagerly awaited a response. For a moment, Maou and Alciel talked in hushed voices; Azriel was tempted to use some magic so that she could eavesdrop, but this was a talk between her general and her king.
Finally, Alciel addressed her again. "Very well, Asuka. You may facilitate a meeting. However, you will be responsible for the outcome. Make sure the angel doesn't find out about our stronghold, and you will need to bring Lucifer back alive."
Azriel nodded. "Yes, my General. I will come back once I have a time and date."
Lucifer, meanwhile, looked completely defeated as Azriel took her leave.

It wasn't the best plan, perhaps, but the next morning she and her dogs went to the place they'd met Auriel twice before. The school nearby was nice, and it was as good a place as any to wait for the tiny angel. And at least she could spend some time playing fetch with her pack.

The rest of the day went by rather quietly without much happening but leaving Auriel with her thoughts. As much as she tried not to think about it, she couldn't stop. In the end she fell into an uneasy sleep on her couch.

When her alarm went off the next morning she didn't feel like getting up at all. For a second she thought about calling the library pretending to be sick, but then decided against it. She was paid by hours she actually worked and could use the money. And besides, maybe it'd distract her a bit. Groaning she got up and ready for work before leaving her apartment with a heavy sigh. She took her usual route to the library, but suddenly stopped walking when she recognized a familiar face. Seemed like the demon girl was here again too. For a moment Auriel thought about trying to hide, but the girl probably already had noticed her, so she didn't really have much choice, especially since she had to get to work that way.

Once she noticed the angel, Azriel stopped throwing the stick. When Aya brought it to her, she just kept it in hand, fidgeting around with it a little bit. "What, little one, not gonna ask me if I'm stalking you this time?", she asked and walked towards Auriel. "Shame, today you'd have been right." By now, Azriel and Auriel were face to face, which meant quite a bit of looking down for Azriel. This angel really was tiny! "I was gonna offer you a favor. On your way to work, I guess? When will you get off?"
Her dogs had followed her, of course. The eyes of all three of them were focused on the stick, but even so, they could react pretty quickly if need be. Not that Azriel thought they'd have to - There were a bunch of people around, so she doubted Auriel would attack even if she got startled. And even then, it'd just scare the humans enough for Azriel to recharge some magic. Not much to be worried about.

Of course she had noticed the angel. Auriel stopped herself from rolling her eyes and just keep walking and instead stopped in front of her. "A favor? Don't think I wanna owe you one", Auriel replied, looking up at the demon whil crossing here arms. "But you're right, I'm on my way to work", she then added, walking around the girl and the dogs, continueing to head for the library. In fact she was still early, so there wouldn't be any problem in staying and talking to the demon more, but it was like she had said. She simply didn't wanna owe this demon girl. If they'd know each other better and if she knew, she could trust her, then sure, maybe that would've been an option. But as long as she didn't know about her true intentions and way of life, no way she'd trust the black-haired enough to wanna owe her.

"Scared of the big bad demon?", Azriel asked, following the angel. "Not that I can blame ya." It was probably a good thing she didn't agree too quickly. Hesitation most likely meant she'd actually do a favor in return, instead of just taking the one Azriel had to offer.
After a few steps, the demon stopped. "Oh well. Suit yourself then, Auriel." Hopefully, that'd have an effect on her. Azriel had given the angel's name just a little bit more weight than the rest of the sentence, and now she was curiously watching Auriel for her reaction.

Instead of replying Auriel just raised an eyebrow and faced the demon with a rather bored look before focusing on her way to work again. She only stopped when the demon mentioned her name. "How do you know my name? I don't recall telling you", she said coldly whil turning around, her eyes narrowed. Then the angel relaxed a bit and crossed her arms. "Don't tell me you've run into another angel or demon after all?", she added smiling slightly. "Not that I expected you to tell me the truth aynway."

At least the name had the effect Azriel had hoped for. The demon laughed, this was almost too easy!
"Take a wild guess, little one", she said. "He seemed to recognize your description immediately. Kind of impressive for someone who's just a 'fellow angel', with no attachment whatsoever."
Now Azriel only had to get the tiny angel to come back here later tonight, but so far, everything seemed to be going well. "So... Assuming mostly normal working ours... Back here at 7PM?" She smirked and turned away; after all, Azriel had work to do, too.
She did walk a bit more slowly than normal, though, to stay within earshot a tad longer, just in case Auriel said something important.

Auriel sighed, but gave in anyway. "Actually, I only gotta work til 4 pm. Not gonna wait for ya", she simply replied before heading to the library. So apparently Lucifer hadn't forgotten about her. Which brought her beack to her first question, why he had left. And even though she was sure she had convinced herself she didn't wanna see him after all, she knew that her curiosity would win after all. She wasn't sure if Azriel would actually let them meet, but after admitting that she had met the fallen angel, she'd probably at least have some information or whatever. This favor seemed to be rather important to her after all if she was willing to just grant it someone she just met. An angel nonetheless.

Azriel just raised her hand without turning around, sort of like a goodbye-wave. Four might cut it close, but it should be doable if nothing went wrong with her shoot.

"C'mon guys, we gotta hurry!", she told her dogs right after she finished. It had taken a little bit longer than she'd hoped, but nothing could change that now. Not that the dogs needed any verbal orders - They would've kept pace with Azriel anyway, as she sprinted towards the subway. Right now, she would've loved her wolf shape, but no use thinking about that now.
"Oi, Urushihara, hurry up!", were the first words Azriel said when she entered the Devil's Castle. Ashiya looked up from whatever he was doing, but Lucifer didn't seem to feel like getting up at all.
So, Azriel just looked at her general, who sighed. "Do what you must."
Grinning, Azriel just grabbed the little angel and threw him over her should. "Wha-- Stop! Let me DOWN!" With his full power, Lucifer could've obliterated Azriel without a problem. But now, he was pretty easy to handle.
"Then stop acting like a child." Azriel set Lucifer down again, who, grumbling, put on his shoes. "Hurry up, we're running late."

Most of the time, Azriel had to drag Lucifer to make him keep her pace, but in the end, they made it with some time to spare. Azriel leaned against the wall fencing of the school, Lucifer standing next to her, looking like he'd give everything to be somewhere else. Aya and Sayu simply sat next to their leader; Lux, on the other hand, seemed to have completely forgotten yesterday. Azriel had to give him sharp looks every now and then to stop him from jumping up Lucifer, so instead, he just sat before him, basically begging to be pet.

Most of he day went by quietly, just some annoying kids came in, like most of the days. When her shift ended, Auriel sighed heavily. Somehow she felt way too exhausted for that meeting with the demon, not to meantion who she might've brought along. No use crying about it no though, there was simply no other way back home unless she wanted an extra hour of walking. She gathered her things and waved goodbye, deep in tought, before she left the library.
When she arrived near the school, she recognized the 2 demons immediatly. She stopped walking for a second, hesitating to come closer, but then took a deep breath and joined them. Lucifer didn't seem all too happy to see her again, but neither did Auriel, so he had to go through this. "Hey", he simply greeted her, avoiding eye contact.
"Hey?", the angel replied quietly, feeling the anger welling up inside her. She tried to remain calm, she really did, but she just couldn't help it.
"HEY?! That's all you gotta say?! Do you have any idea of what you've done? Aside from betraying your kin and taking hundreds of lives?! Have you lost your mind?! Becoming a freakin demon?!", she almost screamed, the anger was clearly audible in her voice. Lucifer seemed like he wanted to reply something, but Auriel wasn't finished.
"I know you felt bored in Heaven and no, I don't think it was a good idea to join Satan, but more important is that you didn't say a word! Don't you think I would've wanted to know?! I'm aware that I don't know how you feel about this, but I thought we were friends. I thought you'd trust me enough to let me know before you just disappear! Can you imagine how I felt when I had to find out from another angel?! All the time I thought you'd come back, that you were just on a mission or something! All the other angels called me crazy! Imagine my surprise when I was told you became one of Satans generals! You goddamn idiot! Why did you even leave in the first place?! And WHY didn't you tell me?! WHY?!"
It was silent for a short while, before Auriel kept on in a more quiet voice. "You know what? I don't care anymore. I really thought I'd want to know, but I don't. It doesn't matter anyway. Nothing's going to change the fact you just left me." Auriel felt the tears welling up again, but somehow managed to hold them back while just looking to the ground. It was like she said after all, his reasons wouldn't change the fact he had left her just like that.

Well. Azriel had expected a scene, considering how Auriel had reacted yesterday, but this even surpassed her expectations. Part of her wanted to act offended about Auriel's demon comment, but this was too interesting to interrupt. So, she only took her eyes off it to signal her dogs not to step in. Maou and Alciel had told her to bring Lucifer back alive, and that was all she was going to do.
Once Auriel had finished, Azriel let out a long whistle. "Seems like you messed up big time, Lucifer."
His head whipped around. "How about you help me out a little, Azriel?!"
Lux next to her whined softly - HE did want to help out both of them - but Azriel just shrugged. "I don't see what for, it's your own damn fault, after all."
"Then what do you expect me to do?!"
Azriel rolled her eyes and took a swift step away from the wall. Even in her human form, she was still fast, so Lucifer had barely any time to react when she grabbed the back of his neck and basically threw him downwards, making him land on his hands and knees. That'd probably leave a scrape. Whoops. "Apologize."
"Ow! What the hell was that for?!"
"Quit your whining. Your a bloody demon general, how about you act like it." Then, she nodded in Auriel's direction.

Auriel had expected the demon to not step in or, if she did, to be on Lucifers side, so was taken aback a bit out of surprise. Especially since Lucifer certainly was of higher rank than that girl. But then again, she was talking about demons, not angels.
She then realized the fallen angle was still on the ground and shook her head. "Nevermind. It's not like it'd help in any way after all", she simply stated, crossing her arms.
"C'mon, you can't be serious! Are you really still that mad?" - "I said nevermind." - "Fine. I'm sorry", Lucifer said, getting up off the ground. Auriel blinked a few times in surprise before sighing. She didn't really expect him to say it at all, but somehow it actually did make her feel better. "You're still an idiot", she replied, still avoiding eye contact. To be honest, she did feel kinda sorry for yelling at him like that, but she just had to get it out. No way this would be a teary reunion though, not to mention she'd never admit she still had feelings for him. Hearing him apologize made her wonder though if he actually cared for her in a way.

Lux was still whining ever so softly, so Azriel put one of her hands on his head. That big heart of his could easily get him in trouble over at Ente Isla, but even so, there was no way Azriel would leave anyone from her pack behind. However, his reaction did make her curious... And enhanced senses didn't cost that much magic...
It took her a moment to untangle Lucifer's and Auriel's smell, since she wasn't used to either of them. First things she noticed was the faint smell of blood - Lucifer's, obviously. Maybe she shouldn't have thrown him so hard, but oh well. He'd heal in time.
She kind of missed her wolf snout, but that would be too noticeable, and too expensive. So Azriel would have to make do with what she could get, even if that meant not being able to distinguish all the emotions that easily. At least it wouldn't feel like having her nose burned away by Auriel's holiness this way.
Hm. It was all a bit hazy, but aside from Auriel's anger - that much was apparent even without wolf senses - there was some sadness, too. Lucifer didn't seem to pick up on it, though; he looked back at Azriel. "There, can we go back now?"
Azriel facepalmed. "Lucifer, you sound like an immature brat. Don't ask me, idiot. I'm not the one you betrayed." At least not this time. How could someone so dense - and so much without goals or ideals - become demon general? Azriel was glad it had been Alciel she'd sworn fealty to, not Lucifer. Alciel wasn't the type of person to change his mind about who he wanted to be loyal to every couple of years.
For now, though, Azriel should focus on Auriel, to see how she'd interpret Lucifer's words. Hopefully, she'd just assume Azriel was of a higher rank; that'd be the least problematic option. But she might guess that Lucifer was mostly powerless, which could prove dangerous, or that he and Azriel weren't the only demons here. Or she might think Azriel and Lucifer were in some sort of relationship, although that thought almost made Azriel laugh.

"Well, I won't stop you. You're free to do whatever you want", Auriel stated, though it hurt a bit he wanted to get away as fast as possible. But then again, this was Lucifer she was talking about. "Idiot...", she murmured, barely audible.
"Though...I kind of wonder if there are other demons around? Or is it just you two? Living together?", the angel asked, now rather curious about how close they actually were. She kinda doubte they were a couple, the way they treated each other, but imagining those two living together felt rather weird. She didn't need to ask about angels, she was sure if they had come across them, they probably wouldn't be in such good shape. Aside from herself and her mother she couldn't recall any angel that wouldn't try to kill them the moment they recognized them. And, truth be told, every angel recognized Lucifer. After all, he used to be one of the strongest in Heaven. Looking at him now made Auriel feel kinda sorry for him again, he'd lost so much of his power. Not that this was her problem.

"What? No no no!" Azriel actually started laughing now. "Believe me, I really don't want to live with that guy. I got three dogs to take care of, I don't need a bratty angel on top of that. Helped him get his place, though."
That little distraction was all it took for Lux to actually jump on Lucifer, knocking him right back to the ground again. Whatever the big softie saw in the fallen angel, but now, he was busy licking Lucifer's face, tail wagging and softly whining. "But I guess Lux would love having him around. No other demons either, by the way, guess I'm stuck with you two angels."
Lucifer was struggling to get out from under the dog, but considering he was almost twice his weight, that was easier said than done. It was kind of comical, seeing the former general, one of the strongest demons in existence, being kept in check by a cuddly dog. "Hey, Azriel! Get him off!" Lucifer kept trying to push Lux away, but the dog didn't even budge. He probably interpreted it as a weird form of cuddling, too.
Azriel waited just a moment longer before gesturing towards Lux. Obediently, the big dog stepped down from Lucifer, allowing him to get back up.

"Well then...good luck doing whatever it is you're doing here", Auriel replied, holding back her laugh. She did have quite a bunch of other questions but they were either ones she didn't wanna ask in front of the demon girl or questions she probably wouldn't get an honest answer for. Plus, it felt kinda odd to be that close to Lucifer again and she wanted to get out of this weird situation. After all, he seemed to wanna get away too. "See ya around, I guess", she added after a while, turning around to leave.

Lucifer tried brushing off some of the dirt. "Satisfied now?", he asked, glaring daggers at Azriel. "Then we can finally go back?"
She just shrugged, picked the smaller demon up and lugged him over her shoulder. "What the-- Let me down!"
"Act like a child, get treated like a child." When Lucifer refused to hold still, Azriel sighed. "And hold still, or I'll drop you on your head." She even pretended to let him go, giving her a very unthreatening yelp from the angel before she caught him again. At least now he resigned to being carried, although he probably regretted his whining by now. Good.
Azriel raised one hand to wave goodbye to Auriel before making her way back towards the Devil's Castle, careful to make sure Auriel wasn't following. Once she was certain of that, she also turned off her wolf sense, to conserve as much magic as possible.

"How'd it go?"
Maou had returned sometime during the meeting. Azriel took off her shoes and dropped Lucifer on the tatami mats, not very gently, but at least not on his head, either. "Well, the little angel was pretty pissed at Urushihara for leaving. Not entirely for switching sides, mind you. For not telling her first." Lucifer grumbled something, but it was too quiet to properly make out. "She got him to apologize, though."

Auriel watched the scene before her, blinking a few times in surprise. When Azriel started walking, so did the angel, slightly smiling whe she was sure none of the demons could see it. After they were completely out of sight, she sighed and shook her head a little. Sure felt good that she finally could let out her anger, though that probably didn't really help her relationship with Lucifer. For some reason she just hoped he'd forgive her for her outburst even though it seemed rather justified. Not that she'd ever admit to him that she hoped they'd be friends again, but maybe that's what he wanted to. Hopefully.

Back in her apartment Auriel just let herself fall onto the couch, closing her eyes. This day certainly had turned out different than she had expected. She was wondering what the demons were doing now and she just realized she still didn't know what they were up to in this world.