"What'cha doing?"
"AH!" Madison shrieked, clutching her chest while Darius giggled. The angel was the size of a person, this time; his neon-coloured fur and swirling, intricate patterns shining like a spotlight under the evening sky.
"Bloody hell, warn a girl next time, will ya'?" Madison panted, as she leaned against the wall beneath the rest of the apartment building. The concrete was dusty and cold beneath her paws.
"Sorry, sorry," Darius chuckled, "But, seriously, what'cha doing?"
"Sneaking out," Madison said, casually.
"Wait- say what, now?"
"I'm joking," Madison nudged his side. She nodded towards the man standing by a corner, chatting away on his flip-phone, "I told my Dad I'm going out."
"So, that's your old man, huh?" Darius scratched his head, "I feel like it's not really a good idea to let a ten-year-old wander alone outside at night...?"
"Meh," Madison shrugged, stretching her limbs. Technically, she never did really go out on her own, at this age, but... "He knows I know my way around. As long as I, uh, don't leave town. And- and, uh, get back before midnight.
The angel looked at her, incredulously, "You didn't want Akeidat wandering out alone."
"They're wandering in the adult world," Madison dismissed, "Emails and taxes are scarier than any evening street."
A memory among many, surfaced amidst the sights and smells of the all-too-familiar neighbourhood. Eight-year-old Madison was terrified of being alone, convinced that potential kidnappers or murderers or thieves were everywhere, waiting to strike from the shadows. She'd refused to even attend any of her new after-school classes- not that she really comprehended what those were, in the first place- if it meant her parents wouldn't be there to pick her up and protect her, afterwards.
Alehis had put an end to her begging when he told her to just buck up and get a hold of herself; because she was a big girl, already, and all she needed was a bit of self-confidence. A big girl didn't cry.
Maybe it just took some practice, moreso than confidence. The first few months had her return home in frightened tears after so much as hearing a rustle in the leaves- but Madison wasn't scared, anymore. She rather enjoyed the adventure. Long walks in the night had grown into one of her favourite past-times.
"...Huh," Darius replied, oblivious to her reminiscing. He hovered along as Madison began walking, "Where are we going, then?"
She shrugged again.
"Very eloquent," he deadpanned. Madison grinned in response, and stuck her tongue out. Darius let out a short laugh, loud and bright.
As they wandered, Madison swung around a lamppost as she surveyed her route. She'd been wanting to do this since she first woke up in the past. Since that first car ride as her father drove her home- and everywhere she looked, she saw memories, and ghosts.
That shop's where she used to buy snacks if she got hungry on her way home. That barber's where she always got her fur trimmed. That food court got replaced by a more fancy restaurant when she was thirteen. They never quite got the noodles how she liked them. Under the twilight sky, everything was bathed in dark blue, cohesive like a painting with intention behind its colour palette.
Round the corner. The other side of this block. Across this little storm drain; and there it was. The source of some of her favourite childhood memories.
"Ahh, the playground!" Madison rushed towards and around the plastic fortress, paws along the grooves of every surface. She came to a stop by the pole of a swing-set, "Loved this place. Used to spend ages playing around, here."
Hours of playing pretend in the fortress filled her memory; with sticks as her lightsabers, and the wall of rollable numbers as the console in her spaceship. Didn't she use to get upset, when there were other kids around to mess with the numbers?
Yeeesh, she thought, little her was a bit of a bad sport, wasn't she?
A growth spurt meant she got too big and heavy for the equipment when she was eleven, even though the age limit was supposed to be twelve. She remembered crying about it, and her parents getting her ice-cream as consolation, afterwards.
"How do I-?" she sat upon the seat, gripping the chains in her paws, while backing up with her hooves, the ground crunching beneath her as she did so, "Do I just lift my legs, or-"
She swung forwards.
"Wah-hee!" Madison cried in delight, as she was flung up, the wind brushing past her snout. Ah, now she remembered. Madison bent her knees inwards, going down, and then stretched her hooves outwards, going up.
"You're having fun," Darius mused, leaning against a wall, his arms crossed.
"Kinda the point of a playground, ain't it?" Madison quipped back, lightheartedly. She lowered her hooves, skidding to a stop, and leaned against the backrest. She felt Darius sit on the other swing next to her.
"Why this place?" he asked, sounding curious.
Madison tilted her head up, to look at the sky. Night, now. If she had to guess, that row of stars at the edge of her vision was probably Orion's Belt, "You're gonna think I'm weird, but I really just missed mucking about in playgrounds."
And, well. Having the energy to muck about in playgrounds, too. Even now, thrumming along in the marrow of her bones, she could feel the excited buzz of whatever had made actual-child-Madison the imaginative role-player she was.
If only her head wasn't as weary as it was in the present. The disconnect between mind and body felt strange, on both parts. Her body wanted to go, go, go. Her brain just wanted to take advantage of whatever rest it could get. Supply exceeded demand. Or was it the other way around? She didn't know. Either way, she was still tired.
"I don't think it's weird," Darius said, "Playgrounds are fun."
"Heh," Madison snorted, "Unfortunately, they ain't made for my big grown-up bod; and if you're not a parent, there's no way to go down a slide without looking like a, uh, a creep."
Darius made a sort of half-shrug-noise-tilting-head-thing, "Playgrounds for adults kind of exist. Theme parks, waterparks, obstacle courses, what-have-you. Slides, too."
"I guess," she shrugged again, lightly swinging. Just some simple rocking, rather than the arches she'd done earlier, "Can never find the time, though- and they're all so intense."
Not to mention spending money to buy a ticket, and all the planning she'd have to do- commute, food, dates and times, the weather; even just the thought of all that action made Madison feel as though her bones were made of lead. Better to just stay home, than spend so much effort on something that might not even go the way she planned.
"So," she said instead, sending him a cheeky look, "What do you like to do for fun?"
"Me?!" Darius blinked in surprise, "Well, I, uh..."
"...You, uh, you don't, um, have to say anything if you don't want to?"
"No, no, it's not that! I just, eh-heh-heh," Darius scratched his neck, "I just, heh. Don't. Have any. Hobbies, that is."
Madison raised an incredulous eyebrow, "Seriously?"
"Well, it's just like what you said," he gestured a paw limply at her, "Can never find the time."
She stopped swinging. The chains were too cold beneath Madison's fingers. She stood up from the swing, and pointed at the sky.
"Orion's Belt," she began. Then she moved her finger to a cluster of stars a little ways to the side, "The Pleiades- also known as the Seven Sisters. I think. They look like 'em, anyway- God, I wish I had my modern phone with the, uh, star-tracker app."
"Huh?" Darius tilted his head, his bright, golden halo phasing through the chain as he did so. Madison snickered at the sight.
"You need a hobby. I'm sharing mine with you- stargazing, baby!" she explained, her arms wide. She took it as an opportunity to point at a few more, "Not many stars in a light-polluted area like this; but a few still pop up, every now and then. Used to nag my Dad to, uh, bring me outside the city for stargazing nights."
"Might be a little too late for me, Mads," he replied, chuckling, "Honestly, I'm not even really that smart."
"Aw, come on, Dare," she offered him her paw to help him up, but the angel just elected to stand on his own. She thought nothing more of it, and tucked her paws behind her back, "I'm not smart, either. Just, uh, just enough of a nerd. That doesn't mean I stop caring."
She looked up at the sky, "I mean, I, uh, literally can't bring myself to stop caring, even if I tried."
And believe her, she's tried.
The angel's wings flapped lightly behind him, fluttering out of the swing seat to her side. Madison looked back at him with a smirk, before running over to the plastic fortress, climbing the ladder rungs to the highest part of the playground. Which, granted, was not much; only about a head taller than the average adult, but it made for a suitable vantage point.
"We're all made of stardust, y'know," Madison breathed, nesting her head between her arms, and her arms resting on the guard rails. Cold, metallic, and hollow beneath the plastic casing. She traced a small circle on the surface absentmindedly, the shuffles and shings ringing in her ears as she spoke. Darius stood on the exterior, quietly leaning back on the structure, "Well, us mortals, at least. Dunno how, uh, dunno how you angels work. But the atoms that make us are the same atoms that made the stars. And the Earth, this playground, everything."
She sighed, "Honestly, I wouldn't, uh, even care if we ever find life out there, or not. As long as we get to- to see more of the stars."
"Really?" Darius questioned, "Doesn't it scare you, all those unknowns? How vast it all is? We have no idea what's out there. What's next. And if we're alone, we're alone."
"I think," she shrugged, "That just... makes it feel more cosy, y'know? Like. Having your own cottage in, uh, a big, unexplored forest."
"...Huh?"
"Man, I am- I am not explaining my thoughts that well, am I?" Madison chuckled, wryly.
"Oh, sure you are!" Darius encouraged, "You- you have a nice way with words. It's poetic."
"Well, yeah," She snorted, "Kinda my job, having a nice way with words. All the better to sell you a second-rate product with, my dear."
"Well, you're selling me on needing a hobby," he replied, earnestly.
Madison stopped her circling finger, limply grabbing the rail, instead. She tried to ignore the pain in her chest. One, two, three, four, five seconds passed.
"Welp, it's getting real late," she finally yawned, stretching. She pat the cold surface of the guard rails, then weighed her options. She lost her appetite for sliding down. Ladder it was, then, "I'll, uh, I'll- just be- uh. Heading back in."
"Wait, wait, wait," Darius called. Madison turned around, an ear raised.
"Just... wanted to say," he continued, fidgeting with his fingers, "I think you're cooler than you give yourself credit for."
Madison stared at the angel, her eyes wide.
"Oh," she replied, blankly. Then, managing a small smile, "Um. Thank you."
Quietly, the two trekked down the street, back to where Madison and her parents lived. Above, the clouds began to gather, and the sky was empty once more.
She lingered by one of the stores. It was the sort of store that just- kind of sold everything. The shelves were armed with anything from novelty mugs to graphic tees to bread. The floor was tiled with terracotta, sand between the cracks, and the walls were cheap concrete. Rather than any proper air-conditioning, a fan hung from the ceiling, blowing cold air throughout the store and beyond the non-existent front wall.
"Man, I wish I had my money," she said aloud, pointing at one of the shelves inside. Within it, for sale, were boxes and kits for Monopoly, Scrabble, Connect-Four, and the like. Darius stepped behind her, peering over head, "Do angels play any board games?"
"Well, I've uh..." he paused. Madison looked up at him.
"Yeah?"
"I've... eh-heh-heh," he grimaced again, stepping back to rock on his hooves, "I know the general rules for a lot of them. Never- hah-hah, never had anyone else to play with, though."
He sighed, staring at the shelves with a strange sort of wistfulness.
Well, that was just sad. But Madison couldn't say she didn't relate. Until she met the game-obsessed Akeidat, the most experience she had with board games was playing online chess against a computer every once in a blue moon. Did solitaire count? Solitaire was more of a card game, wasn't it?
Her tail had always been on the shorter side, even as an adult- more akin to a rabbit's than a ferret's- but she wished it was longer so she could twine it comfortingly around his. In reality, it stiffly fanned behind her as she thought. Maybe she didn't have the spending power of an adult, and maybe Darius was kind of an incorporeal entity that couldn't physically touch anything, but that didn't mean she couldn't do something, did it?
"Follow me home," Madison beckoned, moving on from the store, "I've got an idea."
The angel did a double-take, "Is that okay?"
"'Course," Madison replied, stepping over a puddle on the sidewalk, "Why not?"
"You didn't want me in there, before."
Madison paused.
"Well," she continued. Swallowed saliva. Parsed her words, before coming up with something that technically wasn't a lie, "I didn't really know you that well, before. Stranger danger, y'know?"
Well. She mused. She still didn't really know him that well, now; but the whole point of this was getting to know the angel better, wasn't it?
The small elevator of the apartment building creaked uneasily as she rode it up. Madison's fur pricked slightly upwards. Didn't she use to have nightmares as a kid, of being trapped in the tiny space and slowly running out of air? She did, didn't she? God, she hadn't thought about that in ages.
Finally, they reached the door to her parents' home. Her father wasn't downstairs; he must've gone inside. The door felt less daunting than it had in the day; the giant entrance and imposing walls, in the glow of fluorescent, buzzing ceiling lights, looked nothing more than an ordinary door.
She twisted the knob- ah. Right. Locked, and she didn't have a key. She grumbled, and just sort of leaned forwards, resting her forehead on the door. Goddamnit, there was a lot less mobility one had as a child, wasn't there?
Feeling as though the Earth had gained more mass and gravity had strengthened, Madison hefted her paw up, pressed the doorbell, and waited.
"You okay?" Darius asked.
Madison clicked her tongue, "Just, uh. I just miss having my own key. And my own apartment."
She sighed. Her apartment was far too quiet in the present. Nobody would be there to hold her paw when she returned home. But now, in the past, it seemed too crowded, and restrictive. One was too dark, cold, and empty; and the other was filled with strobing lights. God-fucking-damnit, why couldn't she ever just be happy with something?!
The door opened with a click.
"Hey, there, little star," her father greeted, "How was stargazing?"
"It was cool," Madison nodded, stepping inside with a smile. She loved this about her father; Alehis and her may not have always gotten along, but he did seem to more-or-less approve of her interest in space.
At the start, at least. Later on, it was accusations at her of being too obsessed, attached, and childish, and both he and her mother pushing her to move on.
She never quite forgot the betrayed twist in her stomach when her family congratulated her on being accepted to study marketing.
"Saw the Pleiades, and Orion's Belt, I think..." She elaborated. Her gaze flickered towards Darius, and her mouth ran before she could really think about it, "Y'know, the Pleiades are also known as the, uh, the Seven Sisters? They're associated with, um, these nymphs, who-"
"If only you knew as much about math as you do about fairies," Alehis ruffled her head-fur, before walking off. They weren't fairies, they were nymphs! There was a very clear difference, wasn't there? Distantly, his voice trailed, "Sleep early, yeah? Don't wanna be late for school, do you?"
"Um," Madison sighed, then called back to his retreating form, "Yeah, got it!"
The door to her parents' room slammed shut. Madison let out a puff of air, then looked at Darius- right, her idea.
She flapped her fingers in a 'come here,' gesture, and Darius quietly followed behind, as she clambered up the stairs to her room.
"Nice room," Commented Darius, awkwardly. Madison waved a paw at the bed, and he sat, watching her dig through her things. She wondered how that worked; the angel could pass through walls and couldn't pick things up, but he could walk on the ground and sit on things. Was he just pretending to do those things and had been floating all the while? Was he affected by the Earth's pull? The planet was constantly rotating and hurdling through the depths of space; if he was floating in a vacuum, why didn't he appear to be constantly drifting at a certain direction?
"Got it!" Madison announced, an empty, unused sketchbook in her paws. She planted it flat on the bed, then sifted through her bag for her pencil case. Darius peered over her, curiously, as she drew a small grid on one of the pages.
"Tic-tac-toe," she twisted the pencil in her fingers. Hm. The lead was too easy to break, but it wasn't like Primary-School-Madison had any pens, handy. Then again, though, she could probably find some, either in her parents' room, or just in the cupboard downstairs, "You wanna play?"
Darius swayed his tail, "How?"
"I draw the board, you tell me what, uh, what moves you wanna make, and I'll do 'em for you," she explained, tapping the pencil on the sketchbook as she spoke, "So. Probably can't do stuff that needs secrecy, like poker, or mahjong, but it's something, right?"
"Madison, this is-!" The angel paused, his paws curling inwards. Madison tilted her head at him, curiously, "You- you're sure? Wouldn't you want to spend your time- I dunno, enjoying your second childhood?"
"Aren't you supposed to have fun, for once in your life?" Madison retorted, chuckling, "'Sides, I think cheaply-improvised games made of nothing but paper and some pocket lint are a kid thing, too."
At that, Darius beamed, literally. The entire room was bathed in a bright, golden glow; she could've been looking straight at the sun, for all she knew, "Thank you. Thank you so much! I'd love to play!"
Madison returned the smile, a little more mutedly. Oh, come on. Any old Tom, Dick, and Harry could come up with something like this, "Game on, Dare."