Night descended and the moonlight illuminated Hibriel’s pale crystalline skin. His sleeping face was incredibly mesmerizing; like a cherry blossom in early spring, gentle and beautiful. 

Yet this beauty’s brows curled tightly together creating slight wrinkles on his forehead. In his slumber he let out a pained groan and for some unknown reason warm translucent droplets ran down his well defined features, leaving wet stains behind. What exactly transpired in Hibriel’s subconscious was a flood of numerous tattered images that had no direct connection whatsoever. 

Images of dreams prior, images of his childhood and scraps of memories that weren’t his own that battered him like the torrential waves of the sea. This night tormented his mind over and over with a tsunami of information about events of multiple timeframes that were hard to pin onto a specific timeframe. 

Lashes trembling, he opened his lashes revealing a cold blue like the icy rivers in winter although they now contained traces of a yellow, faint like a daffodil's petals. Its  shape resembled a 4 pointed star —whereas it faded as quickly as a melting snowflake. 

A slight redness still visible on the rims of his lower lids, he blinked to clear his vision, still blurry from sleep. 

«My head…is buzzing…» Hibriel brushed over his face with cold fingers massaging his temples. 

The sun hadn't risen completely yet when he woke from his short slumber. He looked upwards; the starry sky had been tinted the color of lavender. The early morning was peaceful, birds started twittering and thine ears were still able to perceive the chirr of grasshoppers. 

A day in the mortal realm has come to pass; however for Hibriel it was barely one third of a normal day in the heavenly realm. He was fascinated by the fact that time passed differently within each sphere. Nonetheless he stood up intending to move on.

He stretched his limbs and trotted along the forest path randomly choosing a direction. 

A few wild flowers grew along the way that emerged from the ground only recently after the thick layers of snow melted into water. Small insects nibbled on the pollen stuffing their bellies full before flying away. Hibriel crouched down watching them for a while with great interest before moving along the trail further into the forest. 

Trees lined the way on every side, some shorter, some taller and before long they grew sparse in number —a clearing was up ahead.

The path widened and transitioned over into a meadow covered with snowdrop flowers. A beautiful sight to behold. 

Hibriel stepped forward with a gentle smile on his face as the refreshing breeze of early spring fluttered through his hair. 

He squatted for a closer look at the young blooms; losing himself in the clear white of the oval petals hanging down like dew drops. 

Flowers were short lived creations; as fast as they grew they wilted and new other flowers would grow in their stead. Of course some species had longer lifespans, their blooms lasting for months but others lasted mere moments before dissipating into the endless void. Fleeting like the seasons. Hibriel picked up one of the flowers and an oppressive melancholy washed over him. 

«… If this sight could only last forever.»

The smile on his lips contained a sad node, he felt just like a flower, like he himself was merely a fleeting existence in the world he lived in. 

Is this what it felt like to be lonely? Even amongst all the countless Angeli he stood out; not only his personality but also his countenance differed somewhat from others.

Lifting his gaze, he gently put the snowdrop into the chest pocket of his jacket. Hibriel stood up and continued his amble stroll across the meadow. 

He took the scenery in, trying to burn every bit of it into his memory, when he faltered in his steps.

Up ahead stood a tall figure on a slope facing away from him —a human. His silhouette was hit by the first rays of sunlight, which perfectly lined his well toned body creating a sight so alluring —so unreal— it drew his gaze in.

Hibriel was stunned.

He didn’t expect to see a human this deep inside the forest. But it wasn’t only the sight of this human that stunned him but his silhouette seemed somehow mysterious yet so familiar as if he had encountered it long long ago. A silhouette he found rather captivating whilst standing in the warm rays of light. 

Hibriel voiced an audible gasp. 

The figure, that stood only a few meters away, suddenly turned and his austere gaze fixated on Hibriel. Hibriel stared back into those aquamarine irises that seemed to completely swallow anything in their vicinity, unyielding like the tides of the ocean. Those unyielding eyes bore holes into him —questioning where this stranger might have come from. 

The Angeli was beyond flustered and stood motionless on the spot still staring. 

“How long are you planning on standing there, boring holes into my eyes?”, a deep, clear voice reverberated on the open meadow. 

Hibriel’s eyes widened, he was dubstruck as he noticed how long he had been standing there staring and uttering not a single syllable. 

With a shaky voice he answered to the man standing across from him: “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to…It was just unexpected to see another person here.”

“Hmmm, so then what exactly might you be doing here? After all, barely anyone ventures this deep into this forest, it is one of the largest in the country you know?”

“I…”, Hibrel was stumped, he had no idea how to answer.

The man saw his predicament, to him it was pretty obvious what must have transpired. He grinned as his thoughts wandered through possible scenarios on how the blonde stranger might have ended up here. In the end he burst out laughing. A wonderful laugh.

“Let me guess you are a foreigner who got lost after taking a stroll? Don’t worry I also got lost the first time I came here.” His tone was joyous and the lingering warmth his smile radiated struck Hibriel’s cords, his face flushed red. 

Hibriel noticed his cheeks warming up in embarrassment and some unknown warm feeling rose up within him —aside from it he was flustered beyond saving; the dark haired man hit the nail on the spot. 

He was indeed lost. —Not like he would admit it.

“N- No….I…yes I just went on a stroll and decided to come here because it’s such a nice place to be ..in spring….” He wasn’t even able to believe his own words as he tried making up this excuse. 

The stranger looked at him quizzically. Hibriel looked back. For a while they just eyed one another both at a loss for words. 

"Vincent", the man said with the corner of his lips upturned, “Vincent Lemin, that's my name in case you were curious.”

A breeze fluttered through their hair, Vincent was a gentle man or maybe it was just that Hibriel seemed so otherworldly he couldn’t help it wanting to get to know more about this stranger. 

“Would you mind telling me yours?”

“Oh sorry. Of course, my name. Hibriel Leucos, that is what you can call me.” Hibriel made his last name up on a whim. He needed a full name to fit into human society anyway so he thought of something fitting and just altered the name of a flower species to fit him. 

He really loved flowers and also tended to the Divine Archives small garden, which made him think of the Leucospermum, a flower that had the shape of a needle pillow, he had raised once before. As to why this flower in specific he couldn’t say, maybe it was the colour of the sun reminding him of it. 

“I see an uncommon name. I am here for work so if you wouldn’t mind keeping me company for a while I could bring you back to the village later?” Vincent made him the offer knowing that Hibrel would probably not make it back on his own. 

Hibriel smiled helplessly and agreed with a hum. 

Vincent turned towards the sunlight and the view in front of him fiddling around with the device he had unpacked from the medium sized case he brought with him. It was a camera, an old model to boot; it still used film rolls that needed development afterward. Vincent assembled and set up the stand placing the vintage camera on top. The view from this slope was incredible and perfect to visualize in a picture, the still low standing sun, the cliff and the mixture of trees and animals were a good composition. Vincent looked ahead, turning the camera into the perfect angle to capture the sight. Hibriel observed him with great interest, he was curious as to what Vincent might’ve been doing there so he went over to take a look. 

He leaned slightly forward and saw the camera in front of Vincent and his eyes lit up, shining like clear gems. He knew the device although he had only seen it depicted within books before. 

Vincent eyed him casually with a glance to the side; Hibriel, completely absorbed by the sight in front of him, didn't even notice that Vincent stopped in his actions. 

Vincent cleared his throat. “I’m trying to work here.”

Hibriel shrieked back. “Sorry! I did not mean to interrupt!”

He took a step back to give Vincent some space; he only knew him for half an hour or so after all. 

Vincent shifted his focus back to his camera but he still responded to Hibriel’s curiosity. “You must know I am a photographer and my work is mostly focused on nature and wildlife. So I hope you don’t take it personally that I shooed you off  a moment ago.” 

«A photographer… I see… » Hibriel found this to be very interesting information. He saw a lot of pictures in books and always wondered how they came to be, who made them and how; so seeing it first hand was even more baffling. 

“So…How exactly does this camera work?” Hibriel asked with interest. 

Vincent was startled by the innocent question. Vincent thought Hibriel was a really odd person being this unworldly and unconcerned —yes so featherbrained and naive. Somehow it woke a warm comfort in his heart. «How cute.» 

“You kinda remind me of a bird I once saw. A very naive bird that easily trusted strangers because it barely had any natural enemies.” He did not know why he said those words but they just left Vincent's mouth as a flat remark. 

Hibriel faced Vincent in disbelief, his mouth hung slightly open and eyebrows hanging low. He knew better than anyone that his knowledge was limited though that made him even more curious about the world. 

With his voice draped in sarcasm he answered: “Thanks.” 

He might be naive but not stupid. 

Vincent found his response amusing, offering a low chuckle. 

“If you want to know, then watch.”

And so Hibriel focused all his attention on Vincent and his camera.