She sat atop the turret, legs curls up under her, arms grasping the metal edges of the dome. A sudden wind blew up across her face, heated and mixed with charred debris from the fire that raged below. The feathers lining her back, such a deep black that they reflected the flames like glass, fluttered nervously as she arched her head.

A crow cried to her left as she peered over the turret nervously, stretching her wings out to hold her balance. She could see a line of humans, small as ants, running frantically through the fire while dodging piles of crumbling steps and burning platforms.

As they ran for their lives, they oozed a certain, familiar scent; the smell of bitter almonds and sweat.

The crow to her left screeched again as she took in a long breath, pausing shortly while she shifted through the odors floating around her.

She knew that smell as fear.

There was something peculiar lingering below in the inferno. A bold scent, one she didn’t quite recognize, was hiding within the cacophony. The demon glared down into the flames, narrowing her eyes to tiny slits as she combed through the frantic rush of humans.

The crow to her left flew up at her face, scratching her pale skin as it tried to get her attention.

“Shut up, Hu!” She hissed as she smacked the bird away. Hu, a crow sporting feathers the color of black alabaster, frantically tried to regain its balance as it fell past the turret. Catching a warm current, the bird shifted upright and glided back to the demon’s shoulder, gently touching down on her cold, white flesh. Through a hole cut into each of Hu’s wings, to distinguish it from the countless other crows circling around London, was a strand of purple lace.

The demon perked up suddenly; her eyes, filled with two colorless pupils, locked onto an object racing along the east side of Engel. She crouched down onto the heated metal roof of the turret, wrapping both tattered wings around her body. If one were to look towards the towers of the castle, they would see nothing but outstretching blackness.

The moving object, apparently human by the girth and speed of its steps, stopped its sprint towards the front gate. Fai leaned forward, her fingernails digging into the rusted metal for stability as she peered through the soot and ash that had accumulated in the depth around her. She had a hard time, even with her impeccable vision, to distinguish whether the human had seen her or not.

Ai, She finally replied, Oi’ll be there in a lit’le bit--

Fai jumped in surprise as the steeple to her left, mere feet away, crumbled under the strength and fatality of the fire. Debris, composed of burning bricks and wood, crashed into the tower below she perched on, scratching and clawing at her exposed wings as it fell to the earth. Screaming as a few feathers were engulfed in flame, she flapped her entire right wing furiously to distinguish the pain. Hu, hovering around her head, tried to kick and claw at the burning wing in an attempt to help her.

Fai snorted in frustration as she peered back down into the inferno. The human she had been stalking was gone; in his place lay the collapsed tower that had stood next to her seconds ago.

Her heart ached as she straightened up. Her mentor was dead, she was wounded, and countless of her kind had been slaughtered during the raid. Her superiors had underestimated the strength of the Engel Organization, they had failed to heed the warning of the Berkley family.

“Hu, start ‘ome.” She ordered as she stretched both wings wide. She could see the rest of her kind flying away towards the city, away from the carnage against Engel and the Berkley family. They, too, had been summoned back, forced against their will to retreat. Fai had been taught, since the moment she was reborn, that her kind were too proud and dignified to give ground to any human enemy. Somehow, someone in the higher ranks had messed up.

“Heh, follow ’im.” Another crow, this one a crystal white, appeared out from behind her. It cried out as it took off with the others, the red lace tired to its back flapping wildly in the wind.

Fai stood upright at the edge of the turret, her colorless eyes searching the landscape below. That male human has failed to reappear, the smell of it had been too muffled by the dying flames around her.

“Bloody fuck.” Fai muttered as she turned towards the city of London. With one solid kick, she was airborne, both massive wings pumping steady on either side. She rounded the east side of the castle, sniffing the air for signs of her mentor’s remains. She could smell him underneath the rubble, charred and burnt beyond recognition. A long cry escaped her throat as she soared upwards, away from the death of her teacher and true confidante.

An deafening explosion rocked her body as she gradually rose into the air. For a second, she was too dazed to move, and started to fall helplessly out of the sky. The cold rush of air shook her awake just as her entire right wing burst into a mass of flames. A howl, raw and inhuman, escaped from her throat as she struggled to maintain her distance from the ground. Behind the smell of her own flesh burning, she became aware of the human‘s scent; she could almost sense him smiling, watching triumphantly while she fell towards the wooden rooftops of London. As Fai started to loose consciousness, she twisted sideways and caught a glimpse of the dark-haired human. She was right all along; he was smiling.