They reappeared midair, high above Weston.  He'd spread his wings as he 'ported, so he held them aloft, the heat of his body keeping her warm, a solid heat against her back, butt and thighs, and a thick, solid bar around her waist.  The sunset, as he hovered there, was glorious, a blaze of scarlet and orange, gold, mint and violet fading into deeper and deeper purple and midnight blue, darkening into the inky black of night, and with the stars beginning to appear like a million pinpricks of silvery jewels laid on velvet.  His deep voice whispered into her head {{The sunset above Weston.}}

"Incredible," Victoria said as they flew in the skies. "Now I know that I shouldn't teleport so much...I miss sights like this.."

  {{I usually fly.  It's soothing, peaceful, and it doesn't hurt anyone to do it as much as I like.}}  He hovered until the sky had completely turned black, stars spangling the velvet of night like jewels, and then simply soared, still holding her against him, letting her feel the wind kiss her body as it kissed his own.  {{There is nothing judgmental about a sunset, or the wind, or the clouds.  I love that.}}

"And up here you must feel free of the burdens that you might have...not worrying about anything except the random airplane.."

  {{I don't even worry about airplanes unless I go above the clouds.  They rarely fly low enough to be a hazard.  Birds, clouds, and winds don't care if I look like a hellspawned monster.  Which, really, I am.  Even if I do have a human heart, I can't change what I am.  And I'm apparently too stubborn to give up and just let something else up and eat me.  Dad told me I had a true warrior's soul, but I had a warrior's curse too, in that a true warrior often walks alone, because they fight horrible odds, no matter the personal cost, because it is needed.}}  He kited them across the sky, occasionally brushing her cheek to get her to look this way and that.  From high above, Weston was beautiful and idyllic.  There was no crime from up here, no hatred, no petty spitefulness.  Only the shimmer of lights and velvet blackness making beautiful patterns.

"I know a little something or too about walking alone...my path as the Protector of the Realm requires me to stand alone against monstrous creatures...abominations who would just as soon tear this dimension apart than do anything..."

  She got several almost disorienting flashes of memory.  {{Things.  I've seen them.  Lived among them.  Dodged them and watched them eat. They don't belong here.  Technically, *I* don't belong here anymore.}}  She felt his chest move for the first time since he'd 'ported them in a deep sigh, and he added {{Sorry.  I keep forgetting to breathe anymore, since I don't have to.}}

Victoria looked back at him for a moment.

"You don't...breathe? As for what you are..that doesn't matter. You've chosen a path that hardly anyone like that would have chosen. And with the way you escaped from the Lower Planes...perhaps others will escape as well..."

  He shook his head, and said {{Unless they have really loyal friends, I doubt it.  They'd have to get Sealed away INTO Hell before Mortal Death, then be rescued after being . . . awakened . . . to what they were.}}

Victoria nodded.

"We had...and still do...hope for a way out of hell for those souls that don't deserve to be there."

{{Oh, I could take them out of Hell now, if I wanted.  Might get into some seriously nasty fights, but I could do it.  Now that I'm here, well, I could go back if I wanted, and get back here.  I just have no desire to go back to Hell.}}  He settled them atop a skyscraper, letting her stand on her own feet as he set her down, then morphed to his humanform.

Victoria looked out over the skyline of Weston.

"I appreciate you letting me in to see the different facets of your life, Andy. The truth is....Adri is a good teacher...but I....um...well, it's hard to share things with her without getting some kind of 300 year ago speech.."

  Andy chuckled, and said "I'm only 28 now.  So you only can have up to twenty years ago with me, and very unlikely to get that much."  He sat on the edge of the building with blithe disregard for the fact that a good stiff breeze could blow him off.

Victoria chuckled at Andy's comment, and then briefly observed him as he sat on the perch of the building.

"So....what's next for you. Andy? Any long term plans?"

  He chuckled, and said "Try to get used to this world again.  Retrain the new reflexes I acquired while in Hell.  To grab and rip out the throat if something or someone sneaks up behind me is probably NOT the best reaction to do without even thinking anymore."  He tilted his head at her, and said "Hardest part will be getting my friends not to freak the next time I get blown to bloody mist."

"That will take some getting used to," Victoria said, still looking at the skyline.

"I've hardly had any friends ever since I first began this leg of my life. Would it be imposing too much if I were to ask you...to maybe be my friend? I know my people skills aren't the greatest.."

  That actually got a boyish grin that was surprisingly sweet.  "I'm more than willing for that, Victoria.  I don't exactly have a ton of friends myself.  And as you saw, the ones I DO have are all just as strange, in different ways, as I am."  He reached over, and caught her arm lightly, tugging her (although not forcing) over to sit on his thigh.  He radiated heat, which explained why he could sit there in jeans and a t-shirt in the middle of a December night and not even seem to notice it.

Victoria smiled as she sat down with Andy, looking out over the skyline of Weston.

"You know...I think I'm going to be for a long time.." she said, but no regret was found in her voice.

  "I don't really notice hot and cold anymore much either, so you have to remind me if you feel hot or cold.  Ten years in Hell really changes a person.  Mostly in physical ways.  Mostly."  He leaned her against him, so that she was warm enough.

"I feel fine, Andy. In fact, very comfortable at this moment," Victoria said, leaning against him.

  He smiled, and wrapped his arms around her waist, then said quietly "You feel good in my arms.  The kind of good I always wished for.  Not that I really figured I'd ever have to worry about it again.  Most women hear 'Demon' and they're running for the hills, and even the ones that don't run, would generally say 'ain't touching THAT'.  My 'true' form, the Demonshape, isn't precisely a sexy hunk of male."

"Not to bolster my ego, Andy, but I'm not most women," Victoria said with a slight smile.