The Azra-El Series Ch. 14

"Ready for a picture and another interview, Ms. Blaze?" Clio asked with a grin, pulling the needle out of her butt. Whether it was a charm or not, she realized that she had fallen into Blaze's clutches and decided that she might as well make the most of it.

***

"Do you think she'll keep her word?" Blaze asked Astrid, as they watched the departing figure of Clio. After taking his picture, Clio had asked him a few more questions before the three of them had sat down to iron out the details of their deal

"It's quite likely."

"Why are you so confident? This involves you too, you know? What if she decides that I am not a worthwhile investment?" He had not liked Astrid's earlier choice of words.

Astrid looked at him strangely. "Blaze, do you think my confidence is only based on the fact that Clio thinks of you as a news goldmine?"

"Yeah... What else is there?"

"Do you not realize the charm you have on angels who you do it with?"

"Charm?" Blaze's face fell at the word. Am I really a half-Huldra?

"No, no. I don't mean it that way. Honestly, I did think it was that after our first time at Cali. I couldn't keep you off my mind for weeks. Brija seemed to be having the same symptoms, though hers didn't seem as bad as mine.

"That's why I was avoiding you over the weekend. I was testing my will. But then I realized that you had no control over my will. My desire for you was my own. So, I de-"

"Then why do you call it a charm?"

"Because it has elements of that too. It's almost like I can't think of hurting you. I mean I can hit you," she said with a whack on his shoulder, "but I don't want to hurt you. And it's different from friendship."

"Astrid..."

"Let me finish. I mentioned this to 'Lyssa, but I realized you haven't done it with her."

"You told Ely about it!?"

"Don't worry. I didn't reveal much. Why haven't you done it with her?"

"Because she is a friend."

"What is that supposed to mean? I am not?"

"Of course, you are, Astrid. But we weren't when we first did it. I guess, I intuitively knew what it meant to have 'sex' -- that's what it's called by the way," he said. "I wanted my friendship with Elyssa to be pure. If you know what I mean. I am sorry."

"No. I think I understand," she said, looking down at her painted nails and mulling over his words. "Anyway, I don't think Clio will be able to act against you out of spite or ill will, unless she feels something really strong against you."

"Hmm..." Blaze wondered. Is it just horny angels craving for sex or is there more? He had come to terms with his angelic identity and nature, and he didn't want to lose it just because he had a few similarities to the Huldra.

"Blaze... you need to know something" Astrid spoke after a while.

"Yeah?"

"I am a prospective Houri of the Malakim. I may take Priscilla's spot."

"What!" Blaze almost screamed as he stepped away from her. Has she been manipulating me this entire time?

"Listen. I may be a Malakim, but I intend to be a spy. I am not in the Malakim for their ideology, but for their power. I actually don't like them very much. I want to either reform or bring down the society from inside. We can talk about this later, but just know that I really like you and won't ever hurt you," she explained in a flurry.

Blaze went silent, unable to digest the news. But then he looked at her and saw the passion in her eyes. If even that was an act, then they—Anastasia and Elyssa included—had already lost to Astrid. But he decided to take the dive. He grabbed her shoulders and drew her close. "I trust you," he told her sincerely. "I am surrendering my doubt. If you're a double spy and out to get me, I am in your hands now," he proclaimed.

His earthen father had once told him that he should pick the people he trusted wisely, but once they were picked, he should give them the benefit of doubt unless it was clear they were against you.

"Thank you, Blaze," Astrid said, looking at him with shining hazel eyes. A warm smile sprouted on her face as she suddenly stood on her toes and kissed him tenderly, first his cheek and then pressing against his lips.

"Do they know about my condition?" he asked her softly, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"No! I would never do that to you."

oOo

The next morning, Blaze and Ely departed early to Tir.

"So, Astrid is in the Malakim," Blaze remarked, looking at Ely across the carriage.

"She told you about that?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah..."

"I've no idea about what she is thinking joining the Malakim, but I am sure she has a good reason. Her mother is a Chayot, almost the complete opposite of the Malakim. It's strange, but it is her decision. Are you still friends with her?"

"Of course. List of Blaze's Friends: Ely the great, Siof the nimble, Astrid the schemer, Rach the Pegasi whisperer, and Aahna the workhorse," he said impishly.

"What's up with the silly epithets?"

"Well I am the Blazing Fury. Shouldn't all my friends have cool titles too?"

"I doubt Aahna will be too impressed."

oOo

ENERGY PHYSICS, Edna Khatri, their physics teacher wrote down on the blackboard that morning. The middle-aged angel was unlike any other physics teacher Blaze had ever known; she was sprightly.

Below it, she wrote the first of the four precepts of Energy Physics. Energy can neither be destroyed nor created, but it can be exchanged between the physical universe and Avast.

"Anyone care to define the Avast for me?"

Blaze closed his book on The Imperial Wars and spoke out without bothering to raise his hand. "If we take the physical universe we live in as a plane with 3 dimensions, 4 if you consider time, then the Avast is an additional dimension unobservable to normal beings. In fact, it could be multiple dimensions forming a plane inaccessible to our physical bodies.

"Either way, we only have access to Avast through our consciousness and the Anja. At least that is the hypothesis with the most scientific consensus." Blaze usually didn't care about first year physics class, but the Avast was intriguing and something he had only learned about after coming to Azra-El.

"Ms. Blaze! You finally found something of interest in my class?" Edna quipped, and Blaze smiled back wryly. "But you're correct. Avast is a dimension or a plane, potentially in a primordial state of energy," she said, bringing her hands together and forming a golden ball of pure energy, spiking and sparkling like a spherical nebula.

"It is the primary source of the world energy," she continued, slowly drawing it back into her body in two writhing flares. "As angels the external energy you draw is mostly the world energy from the physical world, but archangels can draw energy from the Avast itself."

"What's the difference between internal and external energy?" Aahna interjected.

"Internal energy is the processed energy inside the body of living things, which can be manipulated by sentient beings. It is the sum of energy you obtain through your Anja, food and other supplements. External energy is the unprocessed energy you draw from the universe and the Avast.

"The Anja and the body require time to process this energy into internal energy. Using external energy is not intuitive and takes practice. Those details are outside the scope of today's lecture," Edna explained, as Aahna vigorously jotted down her notes.

The rest of the lecture was an explanation of the four precepts of Energy Physics. They were essentially the laws of thermodynamics but with a few changes due to the open nature of the system between the world and Avast.

oOo

Rebecca travelled back to Varan after Blaze's departure on Monday. She had the day off and could've chosen to stay with her mother, but she wanted the day to herself. She'd even bought a sunbathing chaise for the occasion.

After exiting the carriage and flying over the stream near their cottage, she spotted a familiar creature skirting along the edges of the wild dog territory, sniffing the air. Rebecca hovered over the otter. The animal raised its head at her, chattering in apparent recognition.

"Why can't you go find some fish instead?" she asked the otter. "You will get caught at some point, if you keep this up."

The otter chirped at her and pointed in the direction of the dogs with her nose.

"I am not going to help you steal from the dogs," Rebecca laughed and flew back to the house.

Sky, locked up in the coop, squawked happily at her approach. Rebecca let him out, and the bird gave her a happy love nip before darting around the garden like a prancing rooster, enjoying his freedom and territory.

Though winter had set in, the sky was clear, and the afternoon sun brought a pleasant warmth to the cottage. The angel quickly discarded her clothes and took a quick dip in the pool. She placed her new sunbathing chair in the open and lay her wet body down.

The water evaporating from her skin was a pleasant contrast to the sun's heat, and with her hair and limbs splayed out, she drifted into a pleasant slumber.

A clamor woke her up from a dream involving Jie Er and Blaze in a bathtub. She sat up groggily and turned towards the bird making a ruckus near the outer walls of the cottage.

The squawks and screeches were drowned out by excited barking. The image of the otter flashed across Rebecca's mind. She instantly manifested her wings and jumped on top of the wall. Sky followed her and perched at her feet.

The pack had formed a semicircle around the otter, cornering him against the wall. The largest of the dogs was slowly walking towards the otter, teeth bared and a constant growl escaping her mouth. The otter seemed to be watching, with a scrunched body and muscles tensing under its coat as her head swayed from side to side, constantly looking for a route of escape.

Before Rebecca could react, the dog lunged at the otter. She nimbly dodged to the right and tried to scurry out of the way. But the other dogs had closed in, their mouths low to the ground and blocking her escape. Realizing that there was no way out, the otter stood on its hind legs and bared its fangs at the leader.

That action sealed the deal for Rebecca. "HEY!" she screamed, pulling out her spear. Her voice boomed and snapped the dogs out of their bloodlust.

The pack leader snapped its head towards Rebecca as she jumped down heavily in front of the otter, swiping her spear over the dog's head. The dog yelped and jumped back but not before Rebecca buffeted the mutt with a strong flap of her wings, sending it tumbling backwards. "Get the HELA AWAY FROM MY HOUSE, you mutts," she screamed.

Sky chose that exact moment to land beside Rebecca. He opened his wings wide, and his blue and white crown stood proudly upon his head. Opening his sharp beak, he screeched threateningly.

The dogs took one look at the pair before whimpering and fleeing with their tails tucked between their legs.

Rebecca briefly watched them flee before turning to the otter, assuming she would scamper away in fear. Instead, the otter lowered its head and cautiously began to approach her, making sure to keep as far away from the Quetzal as possible.

Sky wrapped a wing around Rebecca's leg and growled possessively.

The otter measured the bird for a moment before jumping into the nearby bush. Coming out with a rabbit foot in its mouth, she carefully inched towards the bird and placed the leg in front of him as an offering before quickly scurrying back.

Sky took one sniff at the leg and saw red. He lunged at the otter.

"Oi!" Rebecca shrieked, grabbing the bird's tail before he could take a snap at the otter.

The otter skipped into the grass and disappeared out of sight.

Rebecca sighed and picked up the hefty bird. "I guess that's that, huh Sky?" she said snuggling the bird against her breast. He was fluffy, warm and made a good pillow. Sky squawked towards the grass and cooed at Rebecca. Though he hadn't liked the older angels at first, he had grown attached to them in Blaze's absence.

Jumping back into their garden, she let Sky go as her thoughts once again returned to the dream she just had. She lay down on the chair and spread her legs, fingers slowly creeping down her stomach. Could I pleasure myself? She wondered. She always had Blaze or Jie Er to do it for her.

Her mind began to play the scene from her dream. Jie Er was lying in a bathtub and she was on top of her, kissing her on the lips as Blaze approached her from behind.

But just as she was about to push a finger into her wetness, imagining Blaze thrusting inside her, Sky once again began angrily squawking at the wall.

"What now!" she screamed in frustration. An otter's chirp came in response to Sky's squawks.

Rebecca went back out and Sky followed her as before. The otter stood in the safety of the grass and squeaked at Sky, pointing towards the dirt patch in front of the wall. A large freshly caught river fish lay flopped on the grass.

Sky waddled over to the fish and sniffed, giving it an appraising look.

Seeing the bird take a bite out of her offering, the otter shuffled towards Rebecca, unsurely glancing at the ill-tempered bird. Sky gave the otter a snide look before grabbing the fish and flying back into the house.

Rebecca stared at the scene dumbstruck. "I never thought I'd see the day when a Quetzal would be bribed with a fish," she said looking dazedly at the otter at her feet. She kneeled and pet her head. "You're the smartest little thing that I've met."

The otter closed its eyes and cooed at her before jumping into her arms with a squeak.

"And looks like I've been bribed by your cuteness," she said, looking at the otter cuddled in her arms.

***

Frolicking in the water, Rebecca heard the flap of wings and saw Jie Er land beside the pool. "Becky! You're back! How was the trip? Was Blaze Er well received?" Jie Er asked. The otter, who had chirped and rushed forward when she saw the pool, was currently hiding underwater. "What is that smell?" Jie Er sniffed, wrinkling her nose.

Rebecca pointed at the fish carcass near her chair.

"You're eating raw fish?" Jie Er joked.

"Umm... Jie Er, we may have a third child in the house," Rebecca answered, lifting the otter out of the water. The otter curled up cutely and cooed at the older angel.

Jie Er raised a brow at Rebecca. "There better be a good story behind this," she said with a hand on her hip.

Rebecca narrated her little incident while the otter scurried into Jie Er's arms, squeaking and chirping sweetly, leaving Jie Er defenseless against her charms.

"So, what did you decide to name her?" Jie Er sighed, brushing the otter's forehead. The otter chose that exact moment to wiggle out of Jie Er's arms and jump into the water with a splash.

"Splash?"

oOo

Blaze strutted towards a fuming Siofra, after their ninth match ended in a draw. Blaze had been dual wielding a wide bladed epee and a dagger, continuing his decision of being a jack of all trades.

This time he'd been cautious and prolonged the match into a drawn-out bout, lasting for over ten minutes of constant aerial battle. Over the past couple of weeks, training and sparring with each other had began to show a marked improvement in their skills.

Siofra's agility had forced him to improve upon his aerial maneuvers, while his increasing ability to keep up with her made her learn how to anticipate, dodge and counter his movements.

Towards the end, when both their reserves were beginning to run out, Blaze got the chance to perform a move that had been on his mind since his visit to Saket. The Blazing Pirouette, he called it despite there being nothing blazing about it.

Siofra had been forced to put some distance between them after one of their clashes and he picked the chance to shoot up into air. Not wanting to give him room to dive bomb her, she went after him. With wings wide open, he started spinning his body as he turned around and descended towards her, slowly closing his wings and increasing his angular velocity as he neared her.

The pixie immediately realized the potential behind the move and flitted away to dodge, but it had already been too late. Blaze opened his arms and spun to win.

However, he failed to accurately judge the effect the shorter dagger could have on his balance. His body tilted to the side and though the epee struck against her shield, the dagger missed by a few inches. It put him even more off balance and he floundered past the pixie.

Siofra could've used the chance to finish him, but she had seen him use his flexibility to make attacks from the weirdest of positions. So, she hesitated, and it cost her the match. Blaze veered away from her and they fought for a few more minutes before declaring it a draw.

"It's a draw, Siof! What are you so mad about?" he walked up to her and tickled her sides to cheer her up.

"Stop that!" she shouted. "You were using my weapons. Drawing that match was worse than losing against your glaive. You weren't even trying to win, except when you did that stupid spinning move. I shouldn't have hesitated!" she said angrily, kicking a loose pebble and making it skip across the field.

"That's the whole point isn't it? It's at a match between friends. Hopefully you will learn from it," he tried to console her. She wasn't usually that riled up about losing.

"I think I am becoming complacent because of you!" she screamed, but then realized what she had said and froze like a deer in the headlights.

Blaze might've been a little angry at that statement if he hadn't interacted with her mother. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, lightly brushing her bushy orange hair. "Siof, your mother spoke to me while I was at Saket, so I can imagine where that outburst came from.

"I don't care about what other people say and I really, really want to be your friend. If you think our friendship makes you complacent, you just have to keep that in mind and try harder," he told her sincerely.

oOo

Elyssa took Blaze and Siofra out to town for lunch that weekend and after having some delicious kebabs at a Zara'ard themed restaurant, Blaze picked up that week's edition of the Aranyan weekly.

The shopkeeper who had been reading the newspaper herself, took one look at him and gave him a free copy. Pictures of Princess Ila and him were featured on the front page.

PRINCESS ILA AND THE BLAZING FURY PUT ON A SHOW FOR THE REGNBAGE

...if princess Ila's dance was deeply moving, then the Blazing Fury's duet with Countess Edla Marigold's daughter Astrid was enthralling. As many angels who were present would agree, it was filled with the passion and desire of youth...

...The Blazing Fury has a hidden majesty that lets her stand on an equal footing beside Elyssa Marigold, but that is not to say that she is prideful or arrogant. She prefers anonymity and it was quite the challenge to get a personal interview...

When asked about upcoming under-sixty Martial tournament, the Fury was modest, even though she has already defeated a fourth year Houri. She expressed that she was too young and inexperienced for the tournament.

As for her ancestry, her mother seems to be as publicity shy as her daughter. I wasn't able to confirm, but the name Lokra suggests their ancestors migrated from the border towns of Angalnebo and Xian.

- Clio Elen Mousa, Reporter.

"That's quite the article. She didn't shy away from putting you on a pedestal," Ely commented as she finished reading it over his shoulder.

Blaze nodded dumbly. Clio had somehow managed to put a positive spin even on his lust filled dance.