The Fires of Summer (first draft)

When Haley wakes up it's to Axel in front of him, concern written all over his face. Haley immediately jumps to his feet, moving away from him and scowling.

"Are you okay?" Axel asks.

Haley can't stand the worry in his voice. He can't stand his voice at all. "Get the hell away from me."

Axel's ears immediately tilt downwards, but he doesn't object, just standing aside as Haley storms off to stand at the bow of the ship. He watches as the water moves in front of him, then the tears come and he doesn't try to fight them. He covers his face even though there's only two other people onboard and he feels his hot tears sink into his palms. It feels like he's young again.

For a while after falling, Haley would cry into his hands a lot. He would cry remembering everything that happened in the heavens, the wounds of being cast out still fresh both mentally and physically. He'd never felt anything like it before. Losing wings and falling are the worst things that can happen to an angel, especially an Archangel. He felt like a failure for so long, but he would comfort himself in the knowledge that he'd at least saved Michael from such a fate. Michael was beautiful and strong and so much better than him, and there was nobody more deserving of a place in the aether than him.

Now, the injustice of it all is overwhelming. Haley can't help but wonder if his entire life is just for others to manipulate and use for their own desires. First it was Michael, using him to get away with murder, and now it's Axel, using his love against him, to try hide a horrible murder. He wonders if Axel really loves him or if he just loves the concept of him. He's probably nothing like what Axel expected in the Archangel of death. He never is what people expect. He isn't brave or strong and he doesn't want anything to do with death.

Haley feels as though everything is going wrong. He wants his dads more than ever. They'd be so mad if they found out about the argument, or that Axel killed Ellamia. In fact, he's certain that they'd be on Axel's heels, deadset on killing him. Haley remembers what Axel had said to Corvus, though - that he knows a secret, that both of them can only die by their own hand. Neither of them had grabbed the bracelet off the corpse, so there's no way that Axel could be killed by someone else.

When Haley leaves his head, he suddenly starts to feel very unwell. Approaching them is a sloop. There are only a couple of people standing on deck, but one of them is none other than Prince Draco. He's an elegant man dressed in light clothing, his pink hair curling outwards prettily. He has pink wings and a pink tail and he is very tall, looking like he could easily tower above Axel. The sloop sidles up to Axel's and Axel runs to the side to face it.

Draco has a thick Gorik accent when he speaks. "Hello, nephew."

"What?" Axel hisses, clearly having no time for small talk.

"...Straight to the point, I see. I've come to bring you back to Gore for you and the pirate to be executed," Draco says matter-of-factly. He seems so serene compared to Axel, whose tail lashes viciously and who looks ready to strike. "It would be best that you surrender. If not I will force you to."

"You can try," Axel says. "I'm not backing down."

"Very well," Draco sighs. He takes to the sky and his pink wings open to reveal distracting rippling patterns all over the webbing, entrancing Haley for a moment before he realises what's happening. The two other people standing on Draco's deck throw ropes over to follow him.

Haley watches as Draco shoots down at Axel, drawing a dagger and meeting him in combat. Axel is vicious, not hesitating at all to start swinging. A man comes to block Haley's view of the fight, a sword drawn.

Haley has nothing to defend himself. He faces the man, looking for any opening in his armour that he could use, but this man is more covered than the average Sanguis guard, with spiked metal on his shoulders and a horned helmet. He only has one thing to rely on: the fact that nobody but Corvus and Axel know he's an Archangel. As far as this man knows, he can't be too injured, else there will be nobody to stand trial and to be executed.

With a deep breath Haley raises his fists, trying to remember all the times Michael trained him in unarmed combat. He's never been good at it, always better with a cutlass or a gun. That's when he spots a knife on the man's belt. If he can just get to that...

The man swings his blade at Haley's legs. Swiftly Haley steps away, feinting to the side. He reaches for the knife but the man bats his hand away, meeting him with a punch to the jaw. Haley reels, staggering backwards, his face aching heavily from the strike. It wasn't hard enough to break his bone, but the metal covering the tops of the man's fingers have at least drawn a little bit of blood. Haley runs at the man, dodges another attempted strike, and in the overwhelming speed of everything happening manages to draw the knife from the man's belt. He faces him now with a weapon, big enough to be of use against a sword but still not the best option.

Their weapons clash and Haley watches for any openings. There's vulnerable spots in the joints of the armour and a small split in it at the side where the chestplate ends. He aims a strike for it but is battered away again. This time he avoids getting hit. The man is fast and guards himself well. Haley starts to step backwards towards the railing.

The man follows him, pressing him back with haste, knowing it'll put him in a vulnerable position. Haley allows him, stopping just a short distance from the rail, giving himself a little space. The man strikes at him and Haley just about manages to dodge, bringing himself closer to the edge, but in a blink he sprints around to the other side. The man barely has time to turn around and register what's happening before he's pushed hard and, unable to balance himself when he's started falling, he topples over the side of the ship.

Haley quickly turns to where Axel is fighting. Axel has his sleeve rolled up, and where he usually has one cut to use his blood magic there's multiple. Draco is staggering in front of him, bleeding all over, until he manages to land one solid hit on Axel's arm. Axel cries out in pain, stepping backwards, but then he clenches his fist and more wounds begin to open on his body, cuts littering his face and blood dripping from his mouth and nose. Draco drops to the ground but he doesn't stop.

Very suddenly he realises Axel is going to die if he keeps on going like this. He thinks for a moment that maybe he's okay with that. Maybe he should let Axel die here from his own magic, and finally be free of him. Axel starts to cough, his body trembling. He looks so pathetic. Haley remembers that little boy, begging and crying for mercy.

He snaps out of it, feeling sick. He runs towards Axel, grabbing his bloodsoaked body and holding him up before he can fall. "Stop, Axel!"

Axel looks at him and opens his mouth to speak. The blood stops pouring out of his nose and mouth, but he's not in a good state. He goes limp in Haley's arms.

Haley looks down at Draco. If he's anything like his brother, he won't be able to die from another man's attack.

"Hey!" Haley calls across to the single man remaining on Draco's deck. "Come get your captain and leave!"

Haley drags Axel to the railing opposite the other sloop, propping him up against it. He murmurs a prayer to his brother Raphael, feeling Axel's cut forehead. He's not losing any heat. Haley watches first as the enemy comes to collect Draco, and when they're gone and their sloop starts to sail away, he finally rushes down below deck. He rummages around in the belongings of the people that had fled the ship. At first he doesn't find anything, but then he stumbles across one bed with a leather case hanging from the side of it. When he looks in the case he sees various medical supplies, much like the insides of the bag Keaberos carries.

He brings it above deck and pours out the contents. There's a small vial with a name on it written in Gorik, and below it a little note that says 'use a small amount to clean wounds'. Haley opens the cap and takes off Axel's jacket and then, with difficulty, his shirt. He pours some of the ointment on the shirt, then takes it to all of Axel's injuries, wiping them free of blood, though some start to well up again. He's covered in injuries, some deeper than others, all looking very bad. Bruises cover his skin and Haley worries that he's bleeding internally. With no healing magic there's nothing he can do about it.

He takes the bandage roll and starts to wrap as much of Axel's body as he can. Blood begins to seep into the wrap, painting him white and red. Haley doesn't stop until he's reached every spot that he possibly can, binding down all sorts of flowers along the way.

Haley isn't very strong, but when he picks up Axel he realises just how light the man is. He knew the flower disease could make one waste away, but this much?

The bond tugs at Haley hard. It feels so wrong to be holding the severely injured body of his mate. His mind screams at him that this should never have happened, that he should've stopped him immediately, that he could never just let Axel die. And he knows. He knows deep down that his head is right, that he hesitated and it could cost Axel his life, but he can't find it in him to regret it, as wrong as it feels. Axel has taken so much from him, why shouldn't he pay?

Haley diverts his thoughts before they go down that route. He doesn't want to linger on things like that. As he walks to the captain's quarters he notices that they seem to have lost the person Axel had been holding hostage. They must have jumped at the opportunity to get off the ship. He carries Axel through to the captain's quarters and lays him down on the bed, then Haley fetches the changeling's shirt and jacket and puts them down on the desk. He stands over Axel for a little while, and he finds himself quietly willing death away from him. He feels so powerless. Up in the aether he simply wouldn't have written down Axel's name, and the man would've lived without further question. If it only happened once, he wouldn't have gotten in trouble for it.

His mind travels back to Axel as a child. He'd been so small, so different, with a round little face and that scar that seemed too big for him at the time. His hair had been the same rat's nest as always and he only had a couple of ear piercings, nothing like his adorned face now. He cried like the world was ending, with his whole chest, tears running down his cheeks and his sobs so loud. Looking at Axel now, Haley can still see a bit of that scared kid. Deep down, through all of his hard exterior, there is something fierce and wild, but beneath that is just fear. Fear that the world is going to finally catch up with him, that Haley is going to leave him and never come back, that he's never going to see his child. There's a fear that's followed him since he first found himself on those streets, all alone with nobody to trust.

At least, that's what Haley thinks.

Haley can't bring himself to move away from Axel for a while. He stays and watches every rise and fall of his chest, afraid that it's just going to stop, and then he'll be on his own.

When he finally manages to pry himself away, he goes upstairs and takes the wheel, seeing as there's nobody else to do it. His sense of direction is all he has to guide him along the waters of Aldelis. He sails day and night, eventually managing to get to the side of Miria, the trees all along its coastline guiding him. He won't take Axel away from his home, but he has one stop along the way, someone that he has to see, and so he sets sail for Moosewater, feeling so incredibly heavy.