It wasn't until I woke up, that I realized I had fallen asleep. Crossing dimensions surprisingly takes a lot of energy. It may be just a few split seconds, but it'll kick your ass. The last thing I remember was laying with Chris on a couch. I could barely see a thing, because these damn vampires have to live in the pitch black. Luckily, when I woke up thing time, I had a little more light.

          There was a large stone fireplace across from the foot of the bed. It's flame burned just bright enough that I could see around the room. I looked down at the black sweater Chris had provided me with. It was a little... Girly? Slutty? Feminine, for me. What should I expect, considering it's Ghost's? I spotted my clothes sitting on a rocking chair in the corner of the room. They had been very nicely folded.

          As I got off the bed, I quickly realized I was not at full strength. Hallow Hex combined with dimensional travel and getting attacked by a demon bounty hunter will do that to you. Carefully, I made my way over to the rocking chair. I pulled off the sweater on me and laid it on the back of the chair. Then I picked up my favorite shirt, feeling comfort in something familiar amongst this new environment. It was white, of course. One sleeve was longer, while the other was barely a spaghetti trap. Just as I went to put it on, I heard the door crack open.

          Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Chris walk in. Ghost had come with him, but kept his distance. From what I've picked up, Chris really is the ring leader of this circus.

          "You're awake." Chris stated. His voice was even more muted than normal. He was probably trying to adjust to light once again. I doubt it ever gets easier.

          "I am." I lightheartedly smiled and adjusted my shirt to pull it on.

          "Before you get dressed," He stopped me, "I noticed when I carried you up here, you have a little bit of dried blood and dirt in your wings. Please, let us clean you up."

          "I do?" I questioned as I looked to my wings.

          It was hard to see much in this dim lighting. Still, I could tell he was right. A frown met my face. It is so shameful to have dirty wings! I might have left Heaven, but I can't forget regulations implanted into my head for thousands of years. Having dirty wings made me instantly feel terrible in the pit of my stomach. It probably doesn't help the whole feeling like shit thing too.

          "Yes, Sweetie." Chris said, "Roron beat you up pretty badly. It's not your fault. You're too weak to do it yourself though. Ghost is very well trained in cosmetics. I promise you'll be in good hands with him."

          I released a trapped breath, "I would be very grateful if you cleaned my wings for me."

          Ghost flashed a shy smile. He walked over to a door in the corner of the room and opened it. Inside, I saw a small bathroom. This whole cabin was very woodsy and rustic in design, with a little gothiness to it. I really liked it. It had a lot of character and comfort to it. Normally I hate new places, but this one felt okay.

          "I sent Vinny and Ryan out to get some more sage. We were out, and I figured you would appreciate having some for your crystals." Chris told me.

          "Thank you, so much. You really don't have to go to so much effort for me." I replied. My voice was still a little hoarse, but it's improving.

          "But, I want to." He smiled genuinely.

          He had more to say, yet withheld it. With a voice as worn as his was, I don't blame him for keeping his talking minimal. He's had Hallow Hex much longer than I have, so his voice is almost gone. It's a real shame too, because he has a gorgeous voice to him.

          Ghost came back from the bathroom after he was done getting some things moved around and settled. He stood in front of the doorway and folded his hands in front of himself patiently. There was something so proper about him. Proper isn't the word... I'd say more so dainty. His skin was as pale as milk against his black sweater dress and pinstriped nylons.

          "I'm ready whenever you are." He said softly.

          Chris shot me a kind look before excusing himself from the room. He was such a gentleman in many respects. I could easily see myself dating a man like him. He's made it rather clear he has intentions of perusing me, and I can't complain. It is a little embarrassing he had to see me with my wings so dirty.  They are the most important part of my appearance. I'd rather someone saw me stark naked than see me with ill wings. Thankfully, Ghost seems more than happy to help.

          He led me into that small bathroom. Ghost tapped the counter to signal for me to sit down. I couldn't help myself from noticing the rings on his hand when he did so. They were rather beautiful. Each one looked from a different time period and rather expensive. There must've been a million dollars worth of diamonds on his hand. He started to pull each one off and set them on the shelf beside the mirror.

          "Your rings are beautiful." I commented.

          He blushed, "Oh, thank you. Ricky gets me a new piece of jewelry every year on our anniversary, but he makes it a point to give me a new wedding ring every hundred years. Our 500th is in a few days, and I kind of like how I know what I'm getting, but at the same time, I don't, you know?"

          "Yeah, I get it. You two have a very sweet relationship." I replied.

          "Thanks," He snickered, "We've had our ups and downs, but I still love him more than anything in this world. The best natural remedy for stains is a little honey and a lot of coconut oil and water. Plus, a dash of pixie salt. That's all this is, but you'd be surprised how much it'll clean up your wings. I'm going to go slow, because I know you must have some open cuts under all this mess."

          He had a glass bowl on the side of the sink opposite of me. It was full of a slightly cloudy looking solution. Ghost took a very soft towel and wet it in the water as he was talking. He started at the top of my left wing and very gently wiped away the dirt.

          "I appreciate it." I told him.

          He simply grinned, then changed the subject as he said, "So, you and Chris?"

          It was my turn to blush then. I glanced down and replied, "We're just friends right now. Back when I was taking care of him in the hospital, he told me it was easy for me to give the pep talks because I wasn't the one going through it. I asked him if there was anything I could do to help him feel better, and he told me two things. The first, he wanted to know his friends' conditions, and the second was he wanted me to go out on a date with him. I said yes, thinking I would never see him again. Then, over the next month, I got caught up in his charm."

          "But nothing has happened?" He asked.

          "Not really. I don't know why he would want to date me. I'm... An angel, a light creature."

          Ghost playfully twisted a lock of my hair around his finger, "An angel with black hair. You're fallen, whether you want to admit it or not, and he finds that rather sexy. You could use a little makeup though, and some darker clothes, if you'd let me give you a little makeover."

          I sighed and shrugged, "Why not? I'm stuck in a cabin in the middle of a snow storm. What else do I have to do?"

          "There's the spirit! Do you have any idea where you even are?"

          "No, not really." I said.

          "Alaska." Ghost replied, "This cabin was owned by an old lady. She was close to death anyways so we didn't feel bad about killing her. Chris went out of his way to track down the daughter, hand the house over to her legally, then kill her. So, as far as the government is concerned, she's still alive and the only living here. There's a town about thirty miles away. All the people in the town knew the only woman, and we convinced them we're her sons."

          "I'm surprised you haven't just killed the whole town."

          "Wish we could, but we need them alive for a few things." He explained, which made sense.

          They were devious. They're also vampires, so why am I surprised? Maybe it's because they've been so nice to me. I believe they are creatures that give what they get. The majority of people turn them out or snub their noses at them. I don't understand why, because once you look past their brutish appearance, you'll see they have just as many emotions as any light creature or human.

          Then I thought back to two nights before. When I saw Ghost slice open Roron's throat and the demon's blood sprayed all over him. He was consumed with lust and could barely keep himself together. Neither could Ricky, and they both had to rush out of there to go have sex. That side of them is why they are seen as monsters. They have impulse problems. So far, not a single one has tried to drink from me. Even Ghost, who once had a taste of my blood, doesn't seem to have a thought about it.

          Like I mentioned earlier, Chris seems like their leader in a sense. I know on the battlefield he actually is their leader, but in their social circle he seems to be too. It's something I find a little odd, honestly. Vampires usually respect their elders before anything else. I clearly remember Chris telling me that Ghost turned him, meaning he's younger than Ghost. With Hallow Hex slowly withering him away, he's far from being the strongest amongst them.

          I can't deny though, there is still something about Chris that screams dominance. Many, many years ago, I dated a vampire. It didn't last long and he was killed awhile back. He, though, was such an amazing lover and he was only a hundredth of the creature that Chris is. As much as I shouldn't be thinking it, you know I am; I would love to feel Chris dominate me. Just imagining his tall stature towering over me as he holds my hands above my head and forces me to call him Master... fuck. I'm not in the proper company to be thinking about this.

          Right about the time Ghost got halfway down my first wing, Ricky wondered in. He wrapped his arms around his husband's waist and nicked him earlobe with a bite-kiss. Of course it healed instantly, but it got the desired effect.

          "Hey you." Ghost spoke to him.

          "Hey, pretty Princess." Ricky smiled in return, "Need any help?"

          Just as he said that, I involuntarily cried a bit. Ghost has run into the first of the few bad cuts I received during my fight with Roron. It wasn't his fault, because he can't see past all the feathers and blood.

          "Looks like it." He sighed, "Is Ryan still out?"

          "He just got back. Do you want me to go grab him?" He asked.

          "Yes, please." Ghost replied. Ricky then took off out of the room and the other sighed, "We all know how to do basic sutures and such for survival, but Ryan is the one that actually used to be a doctor. I prefer if he does it. I'm sure with you being a doctor yourself, you would prefer that as well."

          "I would, thank you." I rasped.

          Ghost continued to clean up the rest of my wing, working around the major wound. The majority of dried blood on them came from little cuts or spilled over from other parts of my body. That's why they didn't bother me that much. There were a few those that I wasn't fond of admitting needed stitches. Getting stitches on wings is not a pleasant experience. There's no fat in wings. It's all muscle, tissue, bone, veins, and skin. Very thin skin, might I add. Probably why I bled so easily when I was attacked.

          Ryan and Ricky rejoined us shortly after Ghost had finished cleaning off my left wing. He was very meticulous about it and I was rather grateful for that fact.

          Ghost threw a handful of rags into the laundry hamper in the corner of the bathroom as he said, "I'm going to go grab some clean towels."

          "We'll be here." Ryan spoke through a sigh.

          Considering most the counter space had been taken up by Ghost, he was forced to make Ricky hold his suture kit. Ricky fell back against the wall and said nothing when Ryan wordlessly handed it to him. It seems these two are used to this. Ryan looked down my wing. It was mostly clean now except for one patch of blood. I'm sure that gave it away.

          Part of me greatly wanted to stop him from operating under such little lighting. It was just ingrained into my brain to do so. I had to keep reminding myself that vampires can see in pitch black as if it were the middle of a summer day.

          "I'm going to try my best to do this without having to pluck any of your feathers, but no promises." He stated.

          A terrible shaking feeling took hold of my stomach and rattled up my spine. I swallowed my pride the best I could, which actually was very little. "It doesn't hurt to have feathers plucked most the time but... They don't really grow back." I replied, "At least, not without angel dust, and I'm fresh out." I laughed nervously.

          He murmured, "I know. Don't worry. It looks like I'm going to be able to get in here without having to sacrifice any feathers. You do have beautiful wings."

          "Thank you." I very softly said.

          Right now, I didn't feel like I did. I know Ryan was just trying to make me feel better about it too. He took his time in putting the stitches through as to be careful. I've seen plenty of doctors of many species and it's very rare to see one take as much care as he does. He is one of the few whom sees what he does as an art. I'd like to think I was one of those doctors, but who the Hell knows. Every doctor wants to think they're fabulous.

          "All done." He told me, "It's too hard for me to see right now if you have any bad cuts on the other wing. Come get me if Ghost finds any more."

          "Thank you, very much." I responded.

          He flashed me a smile and grabbed his kit from Ricky. Ghost happened to return in that moment and slipped past Ryan in the doorway. He moved some things around, including me, to do my right wing. Wings are no different than another limb, and of course the dominant one took the most damage. It didn't take long before he ran across bad damage. I guess I didn't realize it in the moment, how badly I got.

          Ryan had to return pretty quickly. Poor bastard must've not even been halfway down the hallway before Ricky told him to come back. He just stayed this time. It made this bathroom a little cramped, but I can't complain now, can I? They are taking their time and best efforts to fix me up. Ryan ended up putting three sets of stitches in my right wing.

          "Don't stretch your wings for at least a week and a half. Your wings need to remain in a resting state for these to heal properly." He said.

          "It's not like I'll be flying anytime soon. Have you looked outside?" I asked, hearing those vicious winds whistle against the house.

          He half-laughed as he walked out the door. Ryan seemed a little more closed off from the others. He was more of the type that didn't want to be seen or heard. Most vampires have that aloof nature to them, but not as much as he does. He seems to be happy with his life either way.

          Ghost finally finished up cleaning my wings. He covered every inch of every feather from where my wings arched at the top, all the way to where they tapered off at the bottom. From front to back as well. I felt so much better. Even just having all that dirt and dried blood removed from my wings made me feel a lot healthier. Ghost took some time to clean up everything. The last thing he did was put all his rings back on.

          As he did so, he nicely said, "Well, now that we've got those pretty wings cleaned up, why don't we fix up everything else?"

          Ricky raised his eyebrow, "Everything else?"

          "Mhm," He perked, "I figure if he's going to live with dark creatures, we should make him look the part. Plus he has a man to land and could use my special touch."

          He rolled his eyes playfully, "You ladies have fun. I'm going to hunting with the guys. Do you want me to bring you anything back."

          "Hmm, I better not. I need to lose a few pounds so I look really good for our anniversary dinner." Ghost sang the last part and leaned into Ricky, giving him a kiss.

          "You look beautiful just the way you are." Ricky replied.

          "Shush." He put his finger over Ricky's lips, "I don't want to hear it. I love you, and be safe. Are you taking Chris with you?"

          "Probably. I love you too, my little graveyard baby." Ricky gave him another kiss before leaving.

          "Graveyard baby?" I asked curiously.

          Ghost broke out of his trance of love. He diverted his eyes from me as he wiped away his smeared lipstick with the edge of his thumb. "Um, you don't want to know. C'mon, let's go back to my room. All my makeup is there."

          I already know he has a social disease and he's a blood whore. What could possibly be worse than that? I can only imagine Ricky calls him graveyard baby because it has some story of significance to it. You don't get a pet name like that for no reason. If he wants to keep it private, who am I to intrude on their relationship?

          Ghost took me by the hand and lead me out of the room. At first, I didn't understand him having to grab my hand. Then I remembered as we hit the hallway, this place is pitch black. There were a few low burning lanterns strewn about. Not enough that I could confidently see where I was going though. When we reached Ghost and Ricky's shared bedroom, I was relieved to be met with a little more light. It was also goth as fuck in here. They really weren't doing any justice to any vampire stereotypes.

          He sat me down at his vanity. It was stacked with makeup cases. How much does he need? He did have a face full of heavy eyeshadow and overdrawn lips. It honestly didn't surprise me. Plus that cleavage of his has to be some kind of special effects makeup. I know for a fact he was born male, and guys don't just grow tits. Chris said he was trained in cosmetics, so I guess it's no surprise.

          I have worn makeup before and I do enjoy the way I look with it. When I worked at the hospital though, I couldn't. It's not like I could have access to any when I was living in the sanctuary. Plus, no one would even see me. I don't know what the point of makeup is if you can't show it off. That's obviously why Ghost does it. He loves to look like a fabulous undead princess. Ricky absolutely eats it up. If he can do that for himself, maybe he can get Chris to fall for me that hard.

          Surprise, surprise; I'm admitting it to myself. I think I really like Chris. I've been playing around with the idea of dating him and I could easily see myself on his arm. The way Ghost was intently putting makeup on me, like he was a painter painting a canvas, I'd like to hope I look good. He didn't do a whole lot. Just enough to make me look eviler. He put a pale foundation on me and a messy black smoky eye.

          "The dark side looks good on you." He smirked as we both looked in the mirror.

          "I guess it does..." I panned, still taking in this image.

          It felt odd, yet... right. It felt right.

          "And if I did a good enough job, you'll have the dark side on you tonight in a whole different way." Ghost muttered while walking over to his dresser.

          My breath must've gotten caught in my throat when he said that. Yeah, I talked about it earlier, but it felt a little different coming from someone else's mouth. I'm not a prude even if I'm an angel. Well, fallen angel. That's besides the point. My point being, I would have no problem sleeping with a man on the first date. I'd also have no problem sleeping with one on the hundredth date. I'm flexible. In more than one meaning of the term, too.

          Ghost let out a frustrated huff and moved over to his closet. He continued to go through things, but seemed to be coming up short. After enough shuffling through his and Ricky's clothes, he began to walk for the door. He told me to stay where I was while he went off to God knows where. I sat quietly and patiently until he came back with some clothes.

           He grabbed measuring tape off of his dresser and checked it against my back. I assume he was measuring the length of my wings were they met my back. Ghost fished around in his dresser for a few things. In a matter of ten minutes and the aid of scissors, he cut enough space in the back of a sweater for my wings.

          "This was Josh's back when he was a little younger... thinner..." He muttered as if it was taboo, "Anyways, it should fit you better than any of my clothes would. He said you can keep it too, since it doesn't fit him anymore. The jeans are his too, and again don't fit him anymore."

          "Thanks." I softly said.

          He batted me towards a bathroom down the hall. "Go change. They're going to be back any minute."

          I sighed to myself. His personality was growing on me, even if it did change a lot. One minute he can be grinding on Ricky's leg and the next he'll be acting like a middle school girl. It was endearing, nonetheless. I got changed quickly into a pair of black jeans and a hooded black sweater. It was loosely knit and had a little wear in it. That kind of added to the aesthetic. I liked it.

          Just as I walked out of the bathroom, I heard the door downstairs open. Ghost rushed over to me and yanked me towards the staircase.

          "Hang on. Stay here." He told me. Ghost rushed down the staircase and I could hear their conversation from here, "I got Angelo all cleaned up like you asked."

          "Thank you," Chris replied, "Where is he?"

          "Upstairs. I was actually just about to bring him down, but I wanted you to know I got him a change of clothes that were a little warmer for here and all." He said.

          "That's fine. I just want to see him." Chris responded and a blissful smile met my face.

          Really? He wanted to see me? I guess he really does like me, more than I thought. Ghost took a few steps back up to the stairs so I could see him better. He signaled for me to walk down, and I began to. Then he stopped me halfway down the stairs. He pulled the hood up on my sweater and adjusted my hair a little.

          "There. Perfect." He beamed.

          I took in a breath for courage and continued down the stairs. Chris stood at the end, waiting on me. He wasn't exactly expecting the me he was going to see. Shock swept across his face. I couldn't tell if it was good or bad, so I found myself hanging my head in embarrassment.

          Chris set his index finger under my chin and lifted my face to look at his. "You look absolutely gorgeous."

          My cheeks burned, "Thank you. It was, um, Ghost. He, uh, did my makeup and everything."

          "I love it." He smiled largely, revealing his fangs, "Can we go somewhere more private?"

          "What did you have in mind?" I muttered.

          Chris leaned into me and whispered, "My bedroom, Angel."

          Fuck, that just killed me a little inside. In a good way, I mean. His sexiness just escalated massively and I wanted to feel him in any way possible. I guess Ghost wasn't kidding when he insinuated he was going to get me laid tonight...