Happy Holidays, Greywolfheir! (Part 3)
Aziraphale and Crowley entered the woods and had not walked too far before they saw a cottage in the distance. It wasn’t very large, but it was easy to spot. The two of them left the trail and started heading towards the cottage, both planning what they would say upon arriving. The grass was short and the ground was relatively level, so it wasn’t long before they were standing before the front door. They waited for a bit, and Aziraphale raised his hand to knock.
His knuckles hadn’t even made contact before the door swung open, and a dark haired, vivacious looking woman stood there, inspecting them. “You’re here,” she said. “I thought you’d never make it. Hurry on in. We have a lot to talk about, and your soup’s gone cold.”
“Wait, huh?” Aziraphale asked, baffled by all this. “Talk about what?”
“The ineffable artifact, obviously. Isn’t that the reason you came here?”
“Hold on a second,” Crowley burst in. “We can’t go in just yet. How did you know we were coming, or that we want to talk about the artifact? Or perhaps an even more basic question: what is your name?”
She turned to look at him, and her piercing dark eyes made them edgy. “My name is Aldreda Device. I’m a practical occultist and a professional psychic. Now hurry in. We don’t have much time.”
The two of them were sitting at a table in a medium sized rectangular room. They were drinking soup from bowls while Aldreda stood nearby, flipping through the pages of a large book. They looked around the room and thought that while the cottage seemed a bit small, it was a good fit for a person who lived alone.
Their investigation was interrupted when Aldreda walked to the table and placed the book down in between them. It was opened to a specific page, and the heading at the top read “Ineffable Artifact.”
“There, that’s what you’re looking for,” Aldreda said, pointing to a large illustration.
The two looked at the picture. It depicted a sphere propped up on a stand. After a while Aziraphale said, “So this is it, then. The ineffable artifact.”
“Doesn’t seem like much to me,” Crowley muttered under his breath.
“That’s because it’s just an approximation. No one’s actually sure of what it looks like.”
Crowley threw his hands up and said, “So we’re basically back at square one, then?”
Aziraphale gave him a pointed look. Aldreda, on the other hand, said, “Not exactly. We may not know what it looks like, but that doesn’t mean we’re completely clueless. Look.” She pointed to a body of text under the illustration, which was larger than the one in Madame Thea’s book. “According to the legends, the ineffable artifact fell to the earth thousands of years ago from the heavens. It is said to be breathtakingly beautiful, and that it grants the wielder enormous amounts of power. However, it is also said that no one who has set off to find the artifact has come back successful, and some don’t even come back at all. Because of this, the ineffable artifact is shrouded with mystery to this day.”
Aziraphale and Crowley listened to this, not saying anything. After a while, Crowley turned and said, “So you still want to do this?”
“Not really,” Aziraphale said. “But what other choice do we have?”
Crowley nodded in agreement, and asked, “So where is this ineffable artifact?”
“That isn’t well known either, but it is said to be in the cave in a mountainside just south of these woods.”
“Great,” Crowley said sarcastically. “More walking long distances. Woohoo.”
Aziraphale looked at Aldreda and asked, “Why are you helping us, anyway? We don’t even know each other.”
“No, we don’t,” Aldreda said, stepping forward. “But I know you have good intentions. You are looking for this in search of a cure for the villagers. And even though a couple of them probably blame me for the disease, I’m still willing to lend you two a hand.”
“Thank you,” Aziraphale said, looking at his hands. “Really.”
“No problem,” Aldreda said before walking to a chest in the nearby right corner and opening it. “So you two are going to have a long way to travel, and you’re going to need to be adequately prepared. Do you have food, lanterns, weapons?”
“We don’t have food or weapons. I have a lantern, but I don’t know about Crowley.”
Crowley shook his head, indicating that he didn’t have one. Aldreda grabbed a lantern on a chain from the chest and handed it to him along with a piece of metal. “Here. That metal object is a firesteel. Just strike it against a rock, and you’ll get a spark to light the lantern.” She then walked over to a box in the opposite corner, grabbed two loaves of bread, and placed them on the table. “Here, it’s not much, but it’ll do.”
Aziraphale was getting a bit flustered. “Really, dear, you are too kind…”
“Just take it,” Aldreda interjected. “Trust me, you will need it. And one more thing.” She returned to the chest and reached farther inside. With an effort, she pulled out two sheathed swords and handed it to them. “Take these with you. They’ll be useful to you on your quest.”
The two of them stared, shocked. Crowley stuttered, “Wh...where did you…”
“My father was a blacksmith for some time. He gave me these before I moved out, but I don’t use them that much. You’d be able to find more use for them than I would.”
“Perhaps,” Aziraphale said. He had never used weapons before, and was unsure of what to do. “Er...how do we carry these?”
Aldreda threw two strips of cloth at them and said, “Here. Just keep them in your belt, and unsheath them when you need them. You can also keep the lantern on your belt as well.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Aziraphale said again. “We are really in -”
“Yeah, don’t mention it. Just do everyone a favor and don’t die.”
“We will, try,” Crowley said to her. He turned to Aziraphale and said, “Come on, angel.”
The two of them gave their goodbyes before walking out of the cottage and back onto the trail. Shortly afterward, a tall and lanky dark haired man walked back into the cottage. “Hey, Aldreda,” he said. “I just saw the two guys walking away from here. Were they villagers?”
“No, they were travelers,” Aldreda said. “I gave them some information as well as tools to help them in their quest.”
“I saw that. The lantern I understand, but were the swords really necessary?”
“You know that I have no use for those swords, Norman. Not when I have my bread knife with me.” Her face turned grim. “Besides, they’re definitely going to need them.”
Once again, Aziraphale and Crowley walked on the trail through the woods. There were a lot of tall trees on both sides, all of them varying in height. The sun was now directly above them in the sky, and rays of sunlight cut through the branches and trees. Occasionally a leaf would rustle, usually the result of a small woodland animal. Neither of them paid much attention, as they were too focused on getting through the woods.
Eventually they found themselves looking at an expansive prairie. Tall grass sprouted from the ground and seemed to be everywhere. In the distance, they could see some more woods.
At this point, the trail turned at a right angle and led back into the woods. Remembering what Aldreda said about the artifact being south of the woods, they stepped off the trail and started through the grass. It was difficult to walk, as the grass was waist high, but they managed.
While they walked through the grass, they started to strategize. Aziraphale started. “So how long do you think it will take to reach this mountain, anyway?”
“Hard to say when you can’t even see the mountain,” Crowley said. “Honestly, I’m not even sure what we’re going to do. That Aldreda girl said that nobody who sought out the artifact succeeded, and some didn’t even survive. Not to mention we have a pretty tight deadline. Who knows how long we will have to find it before -”
“Yes, I know,” Aziraphale said. He didn’t need to be reminded that if they didn’t hurry, the disease problem would be resolved one way or another. “I figure we should just take things one step at a time. That’s usually the best way to -”
Suddenly Crowley stuck his arm in front of Aziraphale, signaling him to halt. “Shh.”
“What is it Crowley?” Aziraphale whispered, sounding concerned.
“Didn’t you see it?” Crowley whispered back, looking around.
“See what?”
“The grass just rustled.”
Aziraphale understood what he was implying and the two of them unsheathed their swords. They stood back to back, so as to keep anyone from sneaking up on them. Now that Aziraphale was more aware, he realized that the grass was rustling. In multiple parts, as well. He had never heard of any dangerous animals lurking through the prairie, but he never actually visited the prairie on a regular basis. The two of them were tense and on guard, ready to strike.
In that moment, four small figures popped out of the grass. They were children.
“Whoa,” a boy with brown hair said, leaning closer. “Are those real?”
“Of course they’re real,” snapped a red headed girl. “Why wouldn’t they be?”
“I’ve never seen a real sword before,” a fair headed boy said. “I’ve only heard of them.”
“I’ve held a real sword before. It was heavy, but it was awesome.” A young boy with curly golden hair stepped forward. He looked up with bright eyes and said, “Hello, sirs. What brings you here?”
The two of them looked at the children and immediately put their swords away. Then, mustering the most nonchalant voice he could, Aziraphale said, “Oh, nothing much. We were just looking around. That’s all.”
But apparently the kids were not going to be satisfied by this. The one that stepped towards them said, “I don’t believe you. Adults don’t just go wandering here for no reason. And even when they do, they don’t bring swords with them. I think that you’re on some sort of mission, and don’t want to tell us because you think we’re only kids.”
The other three kids started jeering and pointing accusingly at Aziraphale. He began to look nervous, not used to dealing with kids, and said, “Well...no. It’s not that at all.”
“Then what is it?” The red headed girl asked, jabbing her finger at him.
“Well...okay, fine it is.” Aziraphale flinched as the children continued yelling. “But what we’re doing is dangerous. Kids like you could get hurt.” When this didn’t placate them, he turned to Crowley, “What do we do? They won’t listen.”
Crowley held his hands up, instructing them to be silent. When the noise died down, he looked at them and said, “So you want to know what we’re up to, huh?” A collective affirmation. “Okay, very well. I’ll tell you. Angel and I are going on a quest to find a mysterious artifact.”
The kids started getting excited. “What kind of artifact?” the brown haired one asked.
“Yeah, can it transform things and make people fly?” asked the red headed girl.
Crowley smiled to himself before saying, “The ineffable artifact.”
The four children gave a collective gasp. Whispers of shock and excitement could be heard from the kids.
“Crowley,” Aziraphale scolded. “You can’t just tell them that. They might not even know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, we know about the ineffable artifact,” the golden haired one said, appearing to be the leader of the four. “We overheard some church officials talking about it the other day. Apparently it’s a big deal, and Father Francis won’t shut up about it. Naturally, since we’re kids, they assume that we have no idea what they’re talking about and don’t pay attention to us while discussing things. Using that, we were able to gather a significant amount of information.”
Aziraphale frowned at the thought of the kids eavesdropping, but Crowley seemed unfazed by it. “Okay, then. Do you know where it is?”
“Yeah. It’s just over that way. We can accompany you, if you’d like.”
Hearing this, Aziraphale was about to politely decline, but Crowley was faster and said, “Yeah, that would be great. Feel free.”
The four kids gave a cheer of excitement, and the leader said, “Awesome. We should probably introduce ourselves first. We are all called the Them.”
“The Them?” Aziraphale asked, confused.
“The Them,” he confirmed. “I’m Adam. The redheaded girl is who we call Pepper.” He leaned in and whispered, “Her real name is Penne, but if you want to live, don’t call her that.” Adam ignored the glare Pepper sent his way and continued speaking. “The brown haired one is Ben, and the light haired one is Wymont.” The two of them waved upon being introduced.
The two waved back, and Crowley said, “Well, then, you’re the experts. Lead the way.”
So the Them started walking while Aziraphale and Crowley followed in the background. Making sure to be quiet, Aziraphale whispered, “Why did you tell them they could follow us?”
“Well they seemed so eager to. I figured why not?” Crowley said, shrugging. “Besides, you heard them. They know how to get to the artifact. We could use a guide.”
“Yeah, but they’re only children. What if they get hurt?”
Pepper turned around to face them and said, “We are not, as you say, ‘just children.’ We are capable of looking out for ourselves. Am I right?” She addressed the question to the others.
The other three boys confirmed this, and Aziraphale stopped talking. They walked on in silence for a bit, the Them chatting amongst themselves.
Seemingly out of the blue, Crowley asked, “So what brings you all out here?”
Adam said, “We like to hang out here. It’s nice. There’s a lot of space, and no adults telling you to stop goofing around and making so much noise.”
“True,” Crowley said. “What do you usually do out here, anyway?”
“Oh, you know. We run around, play hide and seek, make up our own games.”
Crowley nodded wordlessly and asked, “And how did you all get to know each other?”
“Oh that was a couple years ago,” Adam said, sounding reflective. “Pepper was out doing some chores when she happened to oversee Ben, Wymont, and I playing some game. She said that she could beat all three of us, and we took up the challenge. We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon playing together, and we’ve been hanging out ever since.”
“I got in trouble that day,” Pepper said irritably. “My mom lectured me on how playing games with boys wasn’t lady like, and didn’t let me go out the next day. How unfair.”
“That’s understandable,” Crowley said. “I would’ve been upset, too.”
“See? He agrees with me,” Pepper exclaimed, jabbing Ben in the ribs.
“Ow,” Ben said, more out of surprise than anything. “I said I was sorry already.”
Crowley smiled and continued talking with them for a bit more. Aziraphale watched the exchange curiously, wondering how Crowley managed to converse with the children so easily. Eventually the conversation reached a lull, and the five continued walking in silence for a bit longer. Before long, the woods were only a short distance away, and the trees were much easier to see.
When they were only a couple feet away from the entrance, the Them stopped, and Aziraphale and Crowley didn’t even realize that until they walked past them. They both turned around, and Aziraphale asked, “What’s going on? Why are you all stopping?”
“This is as far as we can go,” Adam said. “You two must continue on without us.”
“What?” Aziraphale sounded incredulous. “Why is that?”
“The field is where we belong, and we are not to leave the field. We also do not need to have our parents yelling at us for going out too far.”
“Understandable,” Aziraphale said, although he was secretly relieved.
Adam smiled at them. “Farewell, sirs. Hopefully you will find the ineffable artifact.”
Pepper, Ben, and Wymont also waved, saying things like “Good luck” and “Don’t die.”
Aziraphale and Crowley waved back before turning around and heading into the woods. The Them stood there watching for a moment, not saying anything.
After a while, Pepper broke the silence. “I don’t get why you said we couldn’t leave the field. You haven’t had a problem with it before.”
“Hmmm, you’re right,” Adam said, looking down speculatively. “Perhaps I should’ve phrased that differently. It’s not that we can’t leave the field.” He then looked up at the trees. “It’s that we can’t enter the woods.”
Aziraphale and Crowley entered the woods and looked at their surroundings. The first thing they noticed was that there were lots of trees. They seemed to stretch out in all directions, and each one was so tall, it was difficult to see the top. The ground was smoothed over, as if no one had walked over it in a long time. There wasn’t a visible trail to walk on, but the trees had enough space in between to pass by. The two searched for a good route to take.
“Hm, this doesn’t look too bad,” Aziraphale said. “It’s quiet and peaceful. Lots of trees.”
“True,” Crowley said. He walked up to one of the trees and studied it carefully.
Aziraphale noticed this and asked, “Is something wrong, dear?”
“Angel, does something about this tree seem - I don’t know - off to you?”
“No, it looks like an ordinary tree to me,” Aziraphale said. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Crowley nodded, and they started walking forward. As they went farther into the woods, they encountered more trees, all of them being equally spaced away from each other. There were no sounds at all aside from their footsteps, and the air was completely still. The atmosphere was off putting, giving off the air that something was not quite right.
Once the silence became overwhelming, Crowley broke it by saying, “How long have we been walking?”
“Patience, dear,” Aziraphale said. “This is a large forest.”
“Don’t ‘dear’ me, angel. I feel like we’ve been walking in circles.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, haven’t we passed this tree before?” Crowley gestured to the tree next to him.
Aziraphale stepped forward to inspect it carefully. “I’m not sure. It does look similar.”
“I’m telling you, angel, it’s the exact same tree. We’ve been walking in circles over and over and haven’t even realized it until now.”
“That’s not possible. We never made any turns. None at all.”
Crowley squinted, deep in thought. He then gestured to Aziraphale, “Here, angel, inspect this tree and take note of all the details.”
Aziraphale walked forward and did as he asked. The tree didn’t look very spectacular. The bark was brown and covered with ridges. There was a thin branch that was just high enough for him to reach. Once he committed it all to memory, he walked over to where Crowley was, only for him to not be there. He walked forward a bit and saw him carefully inspecting another tree. Crowley stared at the intricacies of one tree before moving onto another one and repeating the process. His brow was wrinkled, and he appeared to be mulling over the situation.
“Crowley?” Aziraphale asked, walking forward a few steps. “What’s wrong?”
“Angel, did you take the time to look at all the trees, and I mean really look?”
“Of course I did,” Aziraphale said, turning to point. “It was right over - wait. I thought the tree was farther down that way. Why is..?” Aziraphale stalked over to an adjacent tree and looked. He then looked at the tree next to it, and the one after that. He then stepped back and said in a breathless tone, “Oh dear.”
“‘Oh dear’ is an understatement,” Crowley said. “Angel, this is more serious than we thought. We’ve been passing the same tree over and over - not because we’re going in circles - but because every tree in this cursed forest is the same.”
Aziraphale was freaked out by this, but he managed to calm himself down. “Now dear, be reasonable. Some trees just happen to look similar.”
“Yeah, similar, but not identical.”
“Right, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change that.”
“Angel, what do you think you’re doing?”
But Aziraphale wasn’t listening. He had taken his sword out of the sheath and was leveling it at the tree. With one swift movement, he made a slash mark in the bark.
“See?” Aziraphale said. “Now we know that we’ve passed this tree already.”
However, this didn’t put Crowley at ease. If anything, it made him more distressed. “Angel, you need to see this.”
“What is it now?” Aziraphale asked. He walked over to Crowley, who was staring at the tree with growing horror. “Did you see something else?”
This time, instead of answering, Crowley merely pointed at the bark of the tree. Aziraphale looked at it and saw a long horizontal slit, identical to the one he made on the other tree. He stumbled back a few steps, running into the tree behind. “No no no,” he said, shaking his head. “This cannot be happening.”
“You bet it is, look.” Crowley pointed to all the other trees in the row, and every single one of them had the same slit in the same place. He then tried to take on a casual tone but failed. “Well, remember when I said that all the trees were the same? Well, guess I was correct.”
Aziraphale put his hands to his head, trying to make sense of what was going on. He started pacing back and forth, muttering, “Okay, perfect. We’re trapped in some sort of magic woods that has multitudes of trees and only one at the same time. We - we can deal with this.”
Nearby, Crowley was walking around as well. He circled the trees, walked up and down between the rows, and sometimes just stepped in place.
“Don’t worry, it’s okay,” Aziraphale said, his voice starting to rise in pitch. “We can figure this out. It’s just woods, after all. No need to panic. No, none at all.”
He was so busy talking that he didn’t notice that Crowley had come to a complete halt until he bumped into him. Aziraphale stumbled back a few steps, and the impact seemed to help clear his mind. He saw Crowley sprawled on the ground, and rushed over to him. “Crowley, dear, are you okay?”
Crowley didn’t respond, too wrapped up in his own thoughts. Even after Aziraphale helped him up, he still said nothing. Once he righted himself, he started sprinting the way they originally came. About a dozen trees down, he stopped abruptly, turned back, and yelled “Come on, angel!” before taking off to the right.
“Crowley - what?” Aziraphale spluttered out before running after him, making sure to sheath his sword again. Eventually he caught up with him, and Aziraphale yelled, “Where are you going? We’re just going to get more lost.”
“Just follow me,” Crowley said, turning around another tree.
Aziraphale stumbled as he struggled to stop in time and continued running alongside Crowley. His breathing was beginning to get labored, and his muscles ached, but the last thing he wanted was for the two of them to get separated in this forest.
This continued on for some time, the two of them running between rows of trees with Crowley making the occasional sporadic turn. Aziraphale was starting to have doubts and would’ve questioned this plan a long time ago if Crowley didn’t look so convinced that this was the right way. After making what was hopefully the final turn, the two of them raced forward. The trees zoomed past them, and the slit on each one motivated them to keep persevering.
On and on they went, placing one foot in front of the other, determined to make it to the end.
The two of them burst out of the woods and came to a stop, tired and out of breath. They stood there for a moment, taking deep breaths of air, before finally Crowley said, “Well, that was something.”
“Yeah,” Aziraphale said, straightening up. He looked around and saw they were in a grassy field, similar to the one before. “Oh, man. Don’t tell me we came out the way we entered.”
Crowley took a few steps forward, looked around, and said, “No, this isn’t the same. The grass is a lot shorter. And look, you can’t see the trees in the distance.”
“You’re right,” Aziraphale said, stepping forward. “Well, then, let us go on.”
Crowley nodded wordlessly and they set off across the field. The air was still, and the sun rays seemed to beat down on them. While Aziraphale fanned himself in an attempt to cool down, Crowley didn’t seemed fazed by the heat at all. After running so much in the woods, it was nice to just go along at a leisurely pace.
While walking, Aziraphale turned over the solution to the woods trial in his mind. He looked over and asked, “So how did you know where to go?”
In response, Crowley raised an eyebrow and asked, “You don’t know?”
Aziraphale huffed, and the two continued walking on silently. It wasn’t long before they came across a river. The current appeared to be calm, and the water was clear enough to see the bottom. On top of that, the river didn’t appear to be too deep, and was narrow enough to wade across safely. However, after what they just went through, neither of them were eager to take on another physical challenge yet.
“I’m think we should take a short break,” Crowley said. “What do you think?”
Aziraphale was about to protest that they still had a long way to go, but he felt winded as well. He said, “I agree. Let’s rest a little.”
With that, they both placed their bags on the ground and sat down. Crowley was lying down on the grass with his knees up. Meanwhile, Aziraphale sat with his knees to his chest, appearing to be deep in thought.
I just don’t get it, he thought to himself. How was he able to figure out how to get through the woods? All the trees looked identical, and the ground didn’t offer any hints either. How did he…?
While he was thinking through this, Crowley happened to sit up and spot the look on his face. He recognized that look from the many times he’d been around Aziraphale, and debated whether he should say something. On one hand, he didn’t want to interrupt and risk getting snapped at. On the other hand, he could tell that Aziraphale was upset by something.
He cleared his throat and asked, “Angel? Is something wrong?”
Aziraphale looked up as if only noticing him now. “Huh? No, I’m just tired, that’s all.”
Crowley wasn’t convinced and leaned forward slightly. “Angel, I can tell something is bothering you. So what is it?”
“Well it’s not something you would understand,” Aziraphale snapped.
Crowley straightened back up and said in a muted tone, “I see.” He then lay back down again, spreading out his arms and legs.
Aziraphale got up. “We’ve been resting too long. We need to keep going.”
Crowley did not reply. Aziraphale walked over to the side of the river. He sat down and slowly lowered his legs into the water. When he discovered that it was not too cold, he jumped in. The water level was slightly lower than his shoulders, making it shallow enough to walk in safely. He could see some plants on the bottom of the river, but they didn’t get in his way. He started wading across, thinking about what he just said to Crowley.
But he wouldn’t understand, Aziraphale thought, attempting to justify himself. He would just laugh or roll his eyes, thinking that I was getting upset over nothing.
He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Crowley watching him, the fact that the water was now up to his neck, or that his boots were becoming increasingly heavy.
Crowley was sitting on the bank of the river, thinking about what Aziraphale said to him. He had known that there was a chance that Aziraphale would get snippy, but he didn’t think that he would say something like that. He tried not to get too upset; after all, this was a hard time for both of them, and Aziraphale most likely only lashed out because of stress. But another voice in his head kept saying otherwise.
He looked up and saw that Aziraphale was already half way across the river. He appeared to be stomping more than walking, as if crushing some unknown vermin. Look at him, Crowley thought to himself. Walking across the river as if it owed him money. And he says I’m the one with problems. He sat there with his knees drawn up, watching as Aziraphale crossed the river.
Something caught his eye, and upon further inspection, he noticed that the water level seemed to have risen. It didn’t take long before he realized that the water wasn’t getting higher, but Aziraphale was sinking downward. He thought that the river must be deeper at the center and was about to return to lying down with something else came to his attention. Aziraphale was moving in a labored and sluggish way, as if something was weighing him down. Originally Crowley thought that he was just having a temper tantrum, but then suspected that something else was going on instead. He was about to call out when he saw Aziraphale suddenly disappear beneath the surface.
“Angel!” Crowley shouted. He rushed over to the river edge and stuck his feet into the water. Something lashed around his ankle, and he saw that it was a plant. He let out a yelp and sliced at it with his sword. The plant withered and died, the leaf around his ankle going slack. He looked down at the bottom of the river and saw all of the sea plants, which now looked much more threatening. Holding his sword in his hand, he jumped into the river. Plants started trying to wrap themselves around his ankles, but he slashed at them with his sword. He made his way over to the center of the river, making sure to take quick steps to make it harder for the plants to grab him.
Shortly afterward, he reached the spot where Aziraphale went under. Crowley tried to search for Aziraphale through the surface of the water. However, the water was almost up to his chin, and he had to be careful to not get water into his mouth. He then realized that this was getting him nowhere, and simply stuck his face into the water, trying to see if he could find his friend. What he saw shocked him to the core.
Aziraphale was lying on the bottom of the river, completely unconscious. A whole bunch of the plants were wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso, keeping him pinned down. Crowley resurfaced for a moment in order to regain his bearings. Then he turned his face skyward and took a deep breath of air, filling his lungs, before holding his breath and diving under.
While underwater, he squatted down, being wary of plants trying to grab him. He grabbed a clump of plants that were tangled around Aziraphale’s arm and began pulling at them. This was, unfortunately, a harder task that he originally thought. Despite their frail appearance, the plants were tough to tear. On top of that, any plants that were torn away were soon replaced by new plants.
Crowley decided that if he was going to free Aziraphale in time, he was going to have to work faster. He held his sword out and was aiming when it occurred to him that he could accidentally slice Aziraphale while doing this. His sword arm slackened for a moment, but then he decided that accidentally cutting Aziraphale was nowhere near as bad as having him drown. He raised his sword up again and, apologizing in advance, started cutting away at all the plants. The sword is a lot more effective, clearing away more plants at a time. However, there were still a lot of plants left, and he didn’t know how much longer Aziraphale could last.
Come on angel. Stay with me, he thought while grabbing at what felt like the hundredth plant clump. I need you to be strong. Stay with me.
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