First Demonic Dragon

Eris emerged through the portal with Izanami trailing close behind. "I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly like this... I hope we can continue our discussion later."

Izanami's mind had been in a fog ever since the end of their conversation.

She didn't know what Eris was about to say to her... but it didn't exactly sound like it was about to be good.

And she wasn't so naive that she couldn't take a hint.

Nevertheless, she forced a smile onto her face all the same. "If that's what you'd like... but I believe I am getting the hint now. You don't need to keep pushing yourself."

Eris tilted her head in confusion. "I wasn't making hints, Izanami... Or pushing myself for that matter. I just wanted us to have an understanding..."

Izanami maintained her forced smile. "An understanding has been had. Don't worry about me and do what you need to do."

Izanami didn't exactly give Eris a choice in the matter. She promptly turned her heels and began walking away as fast as she could without giving away her inner turmoil.

Eris, who was far more emotionally in tune than most in the house, already knew her to be lying. She just didn't know what could've happened to upset her.

"Are you alright..?"

Abaddon and Lailah approached Eris hand in hand.

Eris started to speak when she noticed a small Alabama football band-aid on the side of her husband's eye.

His pants were also a tattered mess. They seemed like they might come off with a gentle breeze.

Eris was currently having some very un-saint-like thoughts. Ones that were a bit too close to whatever Thrudd had done with Behemoth last night.

"My love... Is that a band-aid on your face?" Eris tilted her head.

Abaddon pointed to Lailah. "It was this one's idea."

Lailah just nodded jovially without an ounce of shame. "I finally had a reason to do a procedure on someone in this house for once! It felt wrong not to fully capitalize on the opportunity."

Neither Eris nor Abaddon really understood why Lailah was so giddy about the opportunity to cut one of them open.

Eris just told herself that she was excited to finally put more of her medical knowledge to use.

Abaddon thought that maybe he should spend a bit more time with her so that she didn't develop an urge to cut him in other places for less than beneficial reasons.

"May I ask why you needed a Band-Aid in the first place?" Eris asked as she rubbed his cheek.

"…I fell-"

"Lucifer and Michael ambushed him when he left the house a few hours ago."

"WHAT?!"

Eris fretted over her husband like he wasn't practically indestructible. She must have circled him ten times in the span of a second.

She searched hid entire body for wounds or abrasions, and when she didn't find any, she grabbed her husband by the face instead.

"Are you alright? What did those two do to you?? Why would you leave the house?!"

Abaddon just smiled harmlessly. "You're worried a bit too much, my dear. The brothers couldn't harm me much."

His words were no mere grandstanding act. Abaddon had been in far more discomfort when he inscribed the Egoless runes in Tehom.

"My poor darling husband.." Eris kissed Abaddon on both of his cheeks.

Even with perfect control over his body, Abaddon could not stop the blush from forming or his tail from wagging.

Many men didn't like to be babied by their wives. Abaddon wasn't one of those men.

In fact, he was kind of regretting that he didn't lean into the whole 'I was attacked' thing harder.

"But why did you leave home, dear?" Eris asked again.

Now, Abaddon wasn't smiling nearly as much as before. "Oh, I just… needed to step out for a bit."

"Why?" Eris blinked.

"Erm…"

Evidently, Eris got tired of waiting for Abaddon to answer, so she grabbed him by the forehead to root around for answers herself.

Abaddon couldn't have stopped her in time even if he wanted to.

Eris saw his entire argument with Valerie from start to finish.

Her pupils trembled involuntarily, and she turned away from Abaddon without even saying a single word in response.

As she strode down the hallway, Lailah and Abbadon glanced at each other momentarily before chasing after her.

-

Valerie was inside her forge, gathering up materials by the armful with help from two of her children.

She had almost gathered everything she needed when the doors to her forge suddenly opened once again.

Looking back, she expected to find Darius or maybe even Lailah again, but instead, she found Eris standing just beyond the doors.

And judging by the unkind look on her face, Valerie already knew what this was all about.

"Y-You..." Eris began.

Valerie immediately dropped everything that she was holding. "H-Hon, let's go talk outside for a moment and.."

Eris' fists were clenched. She was shaking so badly that one might think she'd been left out in the cold.

Before Valerie could attempt to touch her, she pulled away.

She hurled a small, burlap bag filled with seeds at Valerie's chest. She barely had the presence of mind to catch them.

Eris opened and closed her mouth several times as she fought for something to say.

She couldn't think of anything.

A single tear fell down her cheek in a painful display that ended Valerie's heart.

Eris quickly turned tail and ran out of the room, sniffling as if she'd just come down with the flu.

She ran right past Abaddon and Lailah, who were standing right behind her the whole time, hoping that things wouldn't go as badly as they thought.

They were wrong.

Lailah chased after her and attempted to keep her from crying.

Abaddon remained frozen in place, staring at a heartbroken Valerie.

"Kids, can you... give your mother and I a moment alone, please?" Abaddon asked in a deep voice.

Gabbrielle and Straga glanced at each other awkwardly as if they were both wondering if leaving their parents alone would make things better or worse.

"Kids." Abaddon repeated.

Straga and Gabbrielle nodded weakly. The two wandered out while hand in hand, clearly wondering if they were making the right decision.

When the doors shut again, Valerie fell to her knees. Abaddon just barely caught her as she fell.

"...I know I should have said something when I was planning to leave. But I just couldn't. I knew from the minute that even one of you looked at me that the best interest of the universe would no longer be my priority... I thought I was doing the selfless thing." Valerie said in a hushed whispering voice.

Abaddon rubbed his wife's back as she trembled in his grasp. She held onto him for dear life.

"...Why did you assume that we wouldn't let you go?" He asked.

Valerie bit her lip awkwardly. "....Because if the shoe had been on the other foot, I don't think that I would have been able to just let any of you walk away."

'Think' was an understatement. Valerie knew she wouldn't have done it. Even when Abaddon first left all those centuries ago, she had been the one to throw the biggest tantrum.

Abaddon fell silent as he rested his lips on the top of Valerie's head.

"...I will not lie to you and say that we would have allowed you to go. You are the love of my life and one of the greatest gifts I could have ever received. I will not be without you. No matter the reason or cause."

"Abaddon.."

"But, I would never not help you if you told me that there was something you just felt you had to do. I would exhaust every resource, search every corner of the universe, and sacrifice everything that I have to bring you whatever you needed."

Valerie smiled wryly. "And if there existed no other way..?"

"I wouldn't accept it... And obviously, there existed another way, but our daughter just so happened to discover it first." Abaddon grumbled.

Valerie merely giggled. "She is more talented than either of us could have expected... but that's not a bad thing. It means we've done an exceptional parenting job."

Abaddon smiled wryly. It was hard to take credit for Gabbrielle sometimes. For most of her childhood, it felt like she had raised herself.

Valerie lifted her head and stared at Abaddon with tearful eyes. "They're going to despise me."

"They're going to feel hurt by your choice, yes." Abaddon admitted. "But the important thing is that you'll at least be around to earn their forgiveness."

Valerie nodded, still feeling impossibly guilty.

She looked down again and realized that her husband was a bit closer to naked than usual. (Not that she was complaining.)

There was also a strangely familiar scent wafting off of him that she couldn't quite place...

"...Your clothes are all torn up."

"...So they are."

"And you smell like blood a little bit."

"It's not mine, I promise."

Valerie looked up at her husband with a confused face. "...Did something happen to you when you left?"

Abaddon opened and closed his mouth like a fish as he racked his brain for an answer.

"Wellll..."

"Were you in a fight with someone?" Valerie grabbed his face.

"I just had a little chit-chat."

"A chit-chat with who!?"

"The important thing here is... I realized that you were right. Indifference will be the death of me. The death of us all. I should-"

"Spare me the philosophical bullshit right now and tell me who hit you!" Valerie shook her husband by the horns.

"L-Later! I promise! You've got enough going on right now."

"Like wha-"

*Bang!*

The doors to Valerie's forge suddenly came sailing inward. Along with a gust of icy cold air.

Standing outside the door, ominous and frightening, was a very large and very irate Sif.

Her voice was deep, disturbing, and demonic.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Make. Her. Cry..?"

Valerie let out a small squeal and hid behind Abaddon.