Zyrai has a minion!

Zenith the Radiate

Zyrai was young for an angel but no less eager to do her part as Guide than those with a century under their wings. She adored the legendary Skyedancer and when the time came to choose a specialty, she did not hesitate to ask for an assignment with children.

There was only one assignment open. Without hesitation (for her youth made her just a little reckless) she agreed to take the post. Her enthusiasm was both encouraged and sometimes brought under control by her dearest friend and constant companion Zenith. He knew all the best routes from Subeta to Heaven and could sense any lurking evils that would try to lure an angel-to-be off the path of righteousness.

She was to be the Guide of abandoned children. Some of these had run away from home, seeking to escape abuse. Others had lost their parents or guardians and been forgotten. All were in desperate need of a friend, though they were not always on the brink of death. Zyrai would appear to them, a golden vision of perfection like a personal sun rising in the lives of those youths that had seen far too much of rain and turbulent storms.

She would serve as the imaginary friend of a little girl sleeping in the ditch at the side of a road, living on rain water and whatever she could dig from the trash. She lent courage to a boy whose drunk father had abandoned him at a diner that had gone out of business thirty years before the child's birth. Whatever a child needed, she would grant within her powers and when illness or the harshness of the elements proved too much, she would sink to her knees and allow the small soul to ride her across the sky to a better place that knew no hunger or misery.

It pained her to see suffering of any kind and she could not tolerate abuse. She'd gotten into quite a bit of trouble once, coming to the aid of a boy who was months away from his final hour. He'd been set on by a gang of cyclists that had more booze in their heads than brains. The boy was only seven years old and had been living on the streets since the death of his grandmother, working what odd jobs he could find to keep bread in the belly of his younger sister. He was used to fending for himself.

She'd taken a substantial form, an action forbidden where live humans...particularly adults...were involved. The men mistook the fiery being as some sort of demon conjured up by the boy they'd beaten nearly senseless. They ran blindly into the night, screaming and cursing, their precious bikes forgotten in their hurry to get away.

The boy wasn't afraid. He placed a trembling hand on her mane, leaning heavily against her as he led her to his little sister. The girl had earned the pity of an older girl, winning a prize of two strawberry cupcakes with thick pink frosting. She gave the whole one to her brother, insisting that the angel must have the half of her own share. Zyrai was so touched by this gesture that she ignored the warning in her head that told her not to interfere with human affairs. She stayed with the children. She acted as their guide through the dangerous streets and brought them to places where kind-hearted souls lived. Eventually, her actions led them to the attention of a young couple unable to have children of their own. They took the two children in to raise as their own. The little girl (quite a talented crafter by nature) presented her with a rag doll that looked very much like her as they said their tearful good-byes.

Zyrai got quite the lecture from the Superior Angel in charge of her Guide Unit...but her intentions had been good and she hadn't *technically* been recognized by the men to whom she'd revealed herself. After all, they had been very drunk.

To this day, Zyrai will never pass up a strawberry-flavored treat and she's acquired quite the collection of legeica toys in honor of Little Zy, the doll that is an eternal reminder of the power of one good deed.

Profile Code by: Johnny_673
Edited by: Chrysariel
Story by: Pureflower
Overlay Recolor by: Necolasa
Pegasus by: Parker West Pixabay
Gold Corners: yopriceville gallery
Background by: geralt Pixabay
Name Art by: Chrysariel