[ OT ] Sunday Free Write : The Elder Gods Edition

[ WP ] Everyone has a guardian angel, but yours is killed by a demon. Fortunately it takes pity on you, and becomes the first guardian demon. 
 
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 As Donnie waited for the train, he kept his eyes on the ground and ignored the glares from people on the platform. He already knew they were judging him, coming up with their own reasons for why he was different. It was obvious in the way they curled their lips in distaste, the way the lady next to him shifted just a bit further away than normal. 
 
 When the train doors dinged open and he found an empty seat at the back, he slumped down as far as possible. Only now, they peered from behind newspapers, over the top of their collars. He locked eyes with a man a few seats away. The man was older and slightly dishevelled with a dirty jacket over his shoulders and thick stubble on his chin. He may as well have been homeless, yet he had the same yellow aura around his body as everyone else on the train. And thus he was accepted. 
 
 Donnie was the only one without that aura. He didn ’ t know how he ’ d lost his glow. His mother and father had been adamant that he had an aura until age five, but now he was fourteen, and each day when he looked in the mirror he saw nothing but plain air around his frame. The absence of a guardian. 
 
 The train screeched to a stop at Narkiua Station. Donnie waited for the others to get off and then hopped out just before the doors closed, keeping to himself as he made his way home. When he finally stepped inside the safety of his house, he let out a sigh, hung his bag and jacket up and walked into the kitchen. His mother and father weren ’ t home for another two hours, which he didn ’ t mind. Although they had come to accept him, the tension was still there during conversations. He couldn ’ t blame them. It must be tough having a son who was different. 
 
 Donnie reached for the fridge door but froze. His eyes were pinned to the wall where a shadow had lingered a second ago. He surveyed the room, it was empty besides the furniture, so he shook his head clear and continued on. 
 
 Upstairs in his room, he set his food on the oak desk in the corner and then plonked down on his bed. From underneath the pillow's, he pulled out a feather which glowed with guardian aura. He passed the glowing feather between his hands. 
 
 “ Every day you look at that damn thing and make me feel terrible, kid. ” 
 
 Donnie shot up, slamming against his room wall. On his desk was a short black demon with grey bat wings. The demon held his sandwich with small paws and chomped on it with laborious bites. He ’ d heard about the demons like this at school. While not dangerous, they could be conniving. 
 
 “ W- What do you want? ” Donnie asked. 
 
 “ A holiday, maybe a good back massage, ” the demon said, pausing to burp, “ but this ain ’ t about me kid. It ’ s about what you need. ” 
 
 “ You ’ re a demon, ” Donnie said. 
 
 “ And you ’ re a human. Glad, we ’ re on the same page. ” The demon opened his mouth wider than Donnie expected it could go, and flicked the last half of the down its throat before licking its lips. “ So, here ’ s my offer. ” 
 
 The demon hopped off the desk and floated to the edge of Donnie ’ s bed. “ I ’ m in search of a human to guard and you ’ re in search of a guardian. You get the glow you want, I get to show the world I ’ m a good guy, and we all live happily ever after. ” 
 
 “ B- But you ’ re a dem- ” 
 
 “ Yes, yes, I ’ m a demon, very perceptive. Deal or not? ” 
 
 “ You ’ re a bad guy, ” Donnie whispered. 
 
 “ Hey, kid, you don ’ t even know me. Have I done anything bad to you? ” The demon ’ s eyes lingered on the feather in Donnie ’ s hand and then back up to his face. 
 
 Donnie was too busy thinking to notice. “ You did eat my sandwich... ” 
 
 The demon snapped stamped his foot down and a brand new one appeared on the plate behind. “ There you go, now we ’ re even. So, what do you say, let ’ s work together? ” 
 
 “ What ’ s in it for you? ” Donnie asked. 
 
 The demon mulled the question over. “ You ever have people think one way about you, but you just know they ’ re wrong? ” 
 
 Donnie raised his eyebrows at the demon ’ s words. He ’ d felt that way almost every day. He nodded. 
 
 “ I want to prove that demons can be good too, and I think you have something you want to prove to the world. Maybe we can help each other out? ” 
 
 Donnie stared at the golden feather in his hand, and then slid it back underneath his pillow. The demon frowned as he watched the object disappear under the folds of fabric, but was smiling when Donnie looked back up. 
 
 “ How do I know this isn ’ t a trap? ” Donnie asked. 
 
 The demon held up his paws. “ Look, I ’ ll even tell you my real name. ” 
 
 Donnie looked up in surprise. Knowing the name of a demon gave you complete control over it. The guardian would be powerless. “ You ’ re that desperate? ” 
 
 “ It ’ s something I ’ ve been thinking about for a long time, ” the Demon said. 
 
 “ As long as we both know that I make the rules, ” Donnie said. The demon nodded. Donnie took a moment to think and then finally held out a hand. “ I ’ m Donnie Smith. ” 
 
 The demon clasped the boy ’ s finger with his small black nails and grinned. “ Greeting ’ s master, Gaap at your service. ”
