Somewhere in a forest...

Papaki sat in a high branch, his legs dangling over the edge and the wind ruffling through the three feathers that stuck out his hair. He absent mindedly grabbed a leaf and shreaded it with his eight stubby red fingers. His eyes were closed, concealing their yellowness and the fact they lacked pupils and irises.
The sun had risen a few hours ago and the air was still crisp. Papaki opened his eyes and smiled, spreading out his short arms and feeling the cold wind on hir bear skin. He was in a good mood, which was rare as he was usually narked at whatever had woken him, but he felt refreshed and ready to do whatever needed done.
He suddenly froze, having heard movement down the path below him. He quickly created a glamour around him and peered out over the side of the branch at whoever was coming his way.

Nightmare walked along the path, glaring at the ground. She had yet to adjust to the fact that she was dead. The black feathers on her wings rustled quietly in the breeze, like the leaves on the trees. The Angel kicked out at a stone, wondering how exactly she could gain revenge on those that had killed her.

Papaki watched from his perch in the trees. He sniffed the air, and knew emediatelly that the woman was not human. Or at least not anymore.
The wings were also a small clue to that, but no matter, it all added up to the same. Papaki stared with his yellow almond eyes and tilted his head. Unfortunatelly for him, he miscalculated the distance between the branch and his dog like snout, and hit his black nose off the rough bark, sending little splinters of wood down to the ground belonw. He mentally whacked himself round the head, but stayed as still as he possibly could.

Nightmare stopped, looking left and right, and then upwards after the small shards of wood had fallen at her feet. Pushing up lightly with one foot, she flapped her great wings once, trying to find the source of the wood splinters.

Papaki froze, now kicking himself mentally, willing his glamour not to falter. He stared into the woman's eyes, not daring to breath.

Nightmare gazed at the little red creature before her, contemplating it. She scowled, turning her back. She wasn't interested, not at that moment.

Papaki let out a long breath as the woman turned her back. He'd never seen anyone like her before. He suddenly realised that he wanted to know more about her, wanted to know what she was. Maybe she was a God or genie like him. Maybe they were alike.
He took a deep breath, and cleared his through loudly.

Nightmare, raising one eyebrow, looked back over her shoulder as the little red creature coughed. Her wings waved gently back and forth, keeping her aloft.
"Yes?" She asked, slightly irritated.

"Euh..." Papaki wondered how to begin.
He relaxed slightly, but averted his gaze, embarrassed.
"Who...," he started, then hesitated, "What are you?"

"I'm dead," Nightmare replied shortly, wondering what on Earth this little creature was and who he thought he was to ask her that kind of question. SHe was actually surprised that the little red being could see her at all.

A spirit of the Underworld...
Papaki realised he was staring and looked away, not too sure what to say next.
"Euh..." he hesitated, "Sorry to ask such questions, but how come you're here?"

"You're guess is as good as mine at the moment," Nightmare muttered grumpily. She hated being dead. "Question is, how can you see me? Humans are too blind to see me."

A grin spread across Papaki's red face.
"Do I look human to you?" he asked, "No, I'm a Pipitsu, a Genie of Nature. I have Indian American origines but travel a lot which explains why I'm here. I'm Papaki by the way."
He was about to extend a hand for a handshake (a human tradition he still didn't understand) but stopped himself. After all, the woman infront of him wasn't hunam, was she.

"I know you don't look human, but there are still people who think that Angels can only be dead." Nightmare retorted, rolling her eyes.

Angel...
"So," Papaki said in his cheerful way, "What're you doing here?"
He twisted round and sat cross-legged on the branch, his tail hanging down behind him.

"Plotting," Nightmare said, not wanting to say more.

"Oh," said the Pipintu, "And... euh, against who, may I ask."
He scratched the top of his head, making sure to miss the three feathers sticking out from his jet black hair. His yellow eyes studdied the winged woman in front of him as he wondered what could have led her to such a thirst for revenge...

"Against the people who killed me," Nightmare said fiercely. "The Milita..."

Papaki tilted his head to the side, his yellow eyes shining.
A spirit of the Underworld... he thought, Maybe that's what she is...
"Who's that?" he asked, the name 'Milita' not sounding any familiar bells.

"The non-human haters." Nightmare said, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the ground. Her fists clenched as the dead angel remembered the things she had been put through with them. "They keep you just on the brink of life so that they can run experiments on you to take down the rest of your race."

Papaki made a mental note to stay as far away as possible from those people. He'd never hated human kind. Having been made to protect the whole of nature, they were under his protection, but he supposed he would have to bend his own morals to escape this Milita if he ever encoultered them.
He bent forwards, resembling an eager child being handed a bar of chocolate.
"If you don't mind me asking," he said, liking his lips with a crimson tong, "what did they do to you?"

Nightmare's aggressive stance softened into one of sadness.
"I don't want to talk about it."

Papaki sat back quickly, ashamed of how eager he was to learn about these people. He closed his yellow eyes for a few seconds, taking deep breaths to steady himself.
Opening them again, he asked gingerly:
"So... where are you going now?"

"Wreaking havoc on humankind," Nightmare said vaguely before she whipped round to see a silver-haired man running through the trees, barely moving to dodge them. He was looking around desperately, trying to spot someone. He stopped dead as he caught sight of Nightmare, his silver eyes slightly disbelieving.

Papaki jumped down from the tree, landing in an agile stance on the ground beside Nightmare. He straightened, brushing the dust from his red skin and peered at the newcommer. The feathers on his head rippled in the wind and he glanced at the fallen angel, wondering what she would do.