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[Mikhaeil]

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Mikhaeil stepped inside the cell and closed the door taking care to make as little noise as possible. He'd much rather have stayed in the bed laying next to Xoriah with his arm securely wrapped about her waist, but circumstance denied him such priviledge. That realization had struck him with racking force, distressing yet potentially favorable. Xoriah owned his will. Nothing was possible without her consent. Although the answer seemed suddenly simple, it was bound by cursed complexities. In order to gain the freedom he sought he would have to surrender it all. If he wished to recapture his past left behind he would have to commit to that life once again in entirety. The glory of yesterday beckoned, but remained held at bay by his absence of total submission. So he'd asked for the shackles and constructed a cell in Xoriah's bedchamber to which he retreated at night while she slept. At first he'd thought to request removal of his chains when in public, however doing so partially negated the reason he wore them. To be seen freely moving about was not part of heaven's compromise.

The answer to retrieving lost senses lay in the test yet to come.

[Xoriah]

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"Are you sure you are prepared for this?" Mikhaeil regarded her intently, protectively.

Xoriah nodded, and she smiled reassuringly, but her leathery wings twitched ever-so-slightly. The tell did not escape the angel's notice.

Mikhaeil's eyes flitted to her wings, and back to meet her own gaze again. "Xoriah..."

"I want this for you, Angel. It could save you someday. Pain is temporary, as is fear. I want you to feel. Besides, I won't be causing the pain. If it works at all, I'll only be allowing it." Xoriah poured out her thoughts as sincerely as she could, reaching out to entwine her fingers with his own. The resulting rush hastened her heart, and Mikhaeil lowered his head slightly, but his expression softened.

"Very well, Mistress." His gaze was downcast, but peaceful.

"Ready then?" Xoriah asked, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm ready." Mikhaeil's gaze lifted to meet her own again. This time, she saw hope, and it brought a smile to her lips.

"I owe a few daemons a visit anyway." Her tail twitched mischievously and her smile turned impish as she handed him a rune. "Meet you there."
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Come with me where chains will never bind you...all your grief at last, at last behind you. ~Les Miserables

[Xoriah]

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"Kal Ort Por."

The darkness was tangible. Xoriah's eyes glowed brightly in the depths, but she could feel the heaviness of a dark that had never seen light within the confines of these stone walls. Within moments, she could see her way as if daylight guided her. Mikhaeil stood by her side, listening intently to the rumbles and sounds of the world beneath the surface.

Beneath the rumble of stone on stone, Xoriah heard the faint muttering growl of foe, as yet unaware of the pair's presence. "Fiends," she whispered to Mikhaeil. "Two."

The angel smiled and pulled on his gauntlets. "I know." Sometimes it was easy to forget that as a daemon hunter for centuries, he knew her own kind as well as she.

"I will need your touch, Xoriah." His eyes plead in earnest for the help that he could not demand.

"I will do what I must, Mikhaeil." The muttering growl halted abruptly, and heavy hoof-falls swiftly approached their position. Xoriah looked at the shackled angel standing before her, weaponless and barely armoured. "It is time."

One of the great arctic fiends rounded the corner, radiating cold that made her ache to the bone. Still, she sacrificed her shield to place her open palm on the back of Mikhaeil's shoulder. He wrestled valiantly, and Xoriah allowed him to fight as long as she could. A powerful blast of energy hit him square in the chest, and talons reached to rent his flesh. Xoriah lifted her kryss and impaled the great blue daemon. Without fanfare, it doubled over and crumpled at their feet.

Mikhaeil's eyes were wide. "Again!" He screamed, his servitude lost in his intent fury, charging toward the second fiend as it set its sights on him. Xoriah tended his wounds as quickly as she could while angel wrestled daemon. Her hands, she assured, were in constant contact. The daemon lashed out and screeched, and slashed its talons across Mikhaeil's chest. She cursed herself for not insisting that he carry his weapon as she drew her own blade across the throat of the great beast. It, too, fell at their feet.

Mikhaeil turned to look at her, eyes wild and triumphant as she bandaged the wound. But he did not flinch as she stitched the gaping gash. Her hopes were dashed, but his spirit soared as he spoke in shades of awe.

"I felt...you. The struggle, the battle. It wasn't just the reaction you evoke. I felt you."

It was finally abundantly clear what she must do. A third rumble from the depths approached, obviously having overheard the clash and clamor of battle. This beast dwarfed the other two, and Xoriah stood just behind Mikhaeil, who crouched into a bare-handed, defensive position. The succubus placed her palms lightly against his back, uttering a silent command with every ounce of concentration she could muster. You must feel pain as I do, Angel. As you did in the arena. As you did before you fell. This is my solemn plea.

A talon tore across Mikhaeil's bicep, and the angel winced away from the daemon instinctively with a guttural cry. With an expression of elation and wild determination, Mikhaeil screamed as he grappled and tore into the daemon, shackled and bare-fisted. Xoriah, too, screamed as she took up her weapon, seeking vengeance on the beast for every ounce of pain he had caused.

When at last it lay dead at their feet, Mikhaeil slid down into a crouching position against the wall and examined the slash across his bicep. The look in his eyes was one of wonder. His test had worked. No longer bereft of the ability to feel the battle, he lifted his gaze to meet Xoriah's.

"Mistress..." He was nearly speechless.

"I know." Xoriah smiled genuinely, beaming at his new triumph as she knelt by his side to tend his injury. “Prepare yourself, Angel. This is going to hurt a little.”
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Come with me where chains will never bind you...all your grief at last, at last behind you. ~Les Miserables