Set after the Caelestis spar! Her face burned with the fury of Hell! That damned she-wolf, she had gotten lucky and landed a good and solid bite across her eye. It swelled now, keeping her watering eye shut, though it didn't keep the tear-like drops from mixing with the blood that ran down the left side of her face. The effect was that she looked to be crying tears of blood out of one eye, and Dea wasn't even completely sure she would be able to see out of it when the swelling went down. The fact that it had been Archon to break up the spat was horrifying enough. He had never seen her act violently, and she wondered how it would make him feel. Funny, she had never worried about consequences before. She ran as far and as fast as she could with only being able to hold one eye open. The whole left side of her face was a bloody mess, not to mention the other minor things that had been added to her collection of scars. It felt as though her face was on fire, and she was still pissed by the time she realized how far she had gone. Noting the rocks forming a circle around her, Dea looked around with an unsure expression on her face. An odd power moved here, and she could feel it with her soul. Dea didn't know she had one of those, but it made sense as it felt as though something moved within her. There was no threat, only that sensation of being watched, which Dea was used to by now. Laying her right side against the cool face of one of the huge boulders, Dea laid the least tender spot on her throbbing head to its surface and tried to relax. She had tried to hold her anger, but the other woman had kept pressing, Dea couldn't even really remember what happened next, she only knew she messed up somehow. For the first time in her entire life, Dea shut her one good eye and began to pray that she hadn't messed things up with Archon. "Please let him still want me with him, even though I cannot control this rage within me. Amen." She finished her prayer and curled tighter to the rock she lay beside, wanting comfort more than forgiveness. Walk, "Talk" Think

It didn't take Archon long to find Dea. As God would have it, she was drawn to the shrine Archon had found some time back. He had to deal with Caelestis and he wasn't particularly pleased with how such a mortal seemed to get under his skin. Surely God had a reason for this. He had to.

God still had a purpose for Dea, too. Archon knew this without a second thought. His heart raced thinking that she may have thought he chose Cael over her. It wasn't true, but he needed her to walk it off. He needed her to escape.

Archon found Dea curled against a rock. He approached, but kept his distance.

"You ought to rinse yourself in the pool there," Archon said, his voice somewhat stony and guarded. "Come, join me."

Archon waded into the cool waters, faint glowing ripples emanating from his form. He turned to see if Dea would come. He wouldn't force her. This conflict inside her was her own and meant to be dealt with between her and God. As Archon saw it, if she rejected him, that would be it. But if she joined him, then she would be accompanying him in front of God.

Each moment seemed to stretch on eternally until she was sure that Archon had abandoned her, though she wasn't quite sure why that was. She had been provoked into the fight and forced to defend herself against Cael's attacks, however, she supposed she could have handled the mouthy woman with a bit more couth. For the first time in her life, Dea whimpered sadly to think he would leave her over something that would have been trivial had it not been an Abaven wolf or one who seemed to know him. Her fears were soon dispelled, hearing paws stepping in the grass behind her, Dea lifted her head to make sure she wasn't being threatened. It was an answered prayer to see Archon standing there, though the distance was oddly unsettling. His voice said he was more than just physically distant, even with his invitation she could tell he was a little guarded. He had every right to be, she had been born a monster and she could only guess how much she looked the part right now. Watching for a moment as he entered the pool, Dea wondered whether she should follow him in or not. Did she deserve to? She could have easily snapped back into her old ways, eaten Cael and been done with the whole deal, but she didn't want that part of herself. It didn't fulfil her the way it did for her siblings or parents. Her mind didn't work well with that lifestyle. Dea was called for higher things. Mountains were not known for being easy to climb, she had to get back up. She hadn't been defeated, just discovered, though her rage at the moment had terrified her. Not knowing what to say, Dea stood and gave herself a moment to rid herself of the throbbing in her head and the dizzy feeling it created. Then her bright pink gaze landed on Archon in the pool with a heavy tone of conflict, but there was hope within her eyes. She wouldn't be felled by a simple rage. Without saying anything, Dea moved into the pool, dimly shimmering ripples meeting with the ones Archon made. Standing beside Archon, Dea looked at him for a moment, "You would think I would have a better temper, as smart as I am." She meant it as a joke, but a little of her own insecurity about the incident slipped out. Walk, "Talk" Think

Archon waited patiently as Dea considered her choices. He could see the events weighing heavily in her mind, but he was patient. He was gracious. He would wait for her mind to wrap around the situations that had happened and his own offer. Eventually, Dea joined him, tossing a joke his way. Archon hummed and turned to face Dea, drawing close.

"You have nothing to worry about fighting an insolent mortal," he said, eyeing her wound. "But you need to look after your own safety too."

He smiled a bit, tucking his chin to look into Dea's eyes.

"After all, you're becoming a Fallen Angel, aren't you?"

Archon moved to clean Dea's wound lightly. Since she had been laying, the blood had become mostly congealed. It would need a good soak and some herbs. They would have to look for the herbs later.

"Rinse your face in the water. Maybe God will be appeased by the blood you spilled for him."

His humming response calmed her inner storm better than words, coupled with the fact that he came closer, it was as though she had been wrapped in a soothing balm. Then came his response, the second part making her laugh, though the action had her wincing a bit. Returning his gaze and grinning despite the pain it caused, she responded in the only way she knew how. "I am already a Fallen Angel, I am only proving myself right at this point." Her voice came as she tilted her head down, allowing him to gently clean her wound. It was something she would have never allowed another to do, but Archon held her trust. It wasn't an easy thing to gain, and she wondered at it for a moment. Her eyes had closed as he attempted to clear the debris from her eye, and while it stung, Dea found the action warming her. Glancing at him, she gave a lopsided grin and sat down so that she could lay the left side of her face in the pool. Blue waters were stained red, then almost black as the blood in her coat began to let go and sink into the water. There was more than she thought, and soon a black cloud with red edges spread about her head, looking like a rose for a moment before shifting to become an indistinguishable cloud. "There was more on my face than I thought..." She mused, half to herself and half to Archon. The more she kept her face in the water, the better she felt, hoping to have a clean wound so that she could avoid infection. To lose her eye would be tragic, so she hoped to take every action necessary to decrease the possibility. Walk, "Talk" Think

Archon hummed at Dea's declaration of already being a fallen angel. To truly become one of them, she would need to give herself, body and soul, to God. Archon was, however, pleased to her of her verbal commitment even after such a dispute and he allowed the corners of his maw to turn upwards as he finished the task of cleaning her wound.

Dea then dipped her face in the pool and Archon watched silently as the bloodstained water bloomed around her face. She made a comment about there being more blood than she had thought and Archon once again replied with a hum at first.

"It would be an honor to earn a scar in the name of God," he mused a moment later, mostly to himself. He thought of what God had wanted to come from this. Had the conflict been to teach Cae a lesson? Dea? Both of them? Or perhaps even Archon.

"You will stand by God as a member of the Band of Fallen Angels, then," he said decidedly, coming close enough to the woman to lower his voice to a rumbling whisper.

"I would be pleased to have you by my side as well."

His approving hum set her nerves at ease, reassuring and comforting her better than words would have been able to. She kept her head tilted and her eye closed so that he might finish cleaning it faster, though she never once flinched away from the searing, stinging pain that lanced up into her cranium with each stroke of his tongue.

She caught his soft musings as she swayed her face in the water, further cleansing it and soothing her aches for the moment. No doubt the pain would return, but she would bear it. Dea couldn't abide anyone speaking ill of Archon, or the Abraxas by extension. When Archon spoke next she widened her gaze, wondering just what he meant by his whispered declaration. Chills spread over her frame and her heart quickened, though she only showed a smile as she looked at him. Lifting her head from the water, Dea gave a soft, approving hum of her own before making her reply.

"My place is by your side, I will go where you go. This new God pulls me to you, I believe, and the Band of Fallen Angels." Her smile grew, though a slight wince escaped as her wound stung once again. Lowering her head once more, she rinsed the garish mark once again and let out a soft and thoughtful hum, "Who else would be part of the band?" She wondered aloud to Archon, curiosity getting the better of her and desperately needing a distraction from the burn in her eyes and face.