Daisuke seated himself in the chair, a pitiful grin on his face as he listened to the elder man lying in the couch before him. Wiz's little white had cocked to the side and he let out an endearing, soft "kyu."

"Getting old is never easy," Daiki muttered, his face scrunched in pain. "Dark must be laughing. I don't blame him."

Daisuke smiled. "No, he's worried. He cares about you." Then, as an afterthought, "Dark has become unusually serious lately. He doesn't even tease me very much."

"I see."

Somewhere in the recesses of the mind, far from the living, breathing world, a dark angel sat in everlasting silence. He stirred at the sound of his name being mentioned, opening his amethyst eyes to the twilight that surrounded him. On a good day, it was tolerable. On a good day, he could see the beauty in the fading gold hues and the majesty of the encroaching darkness that filled this phantom realm. Sometimes he could even feel a calm breeze, a mere breath of wind that passed from the living world and through his long, violet locks.

But this was not one of those days.

He closed his eyes, letting the voices in the distance fade, no longer wanting to hear their trivial words. Now, the approaching darkness had finally reached him and encased his mind in a memory so ancient and forgotten, he almost didn't recognize it. The golden glow lingered, painfully, as if to mock the dark angel of his even darker fate. The dead calm reminded him of a celestial grave, littered with crying stars, their heavenly lights dimmed by his grief and pain.

All because of the snow.

A/N: It's about time I paid tribute to one of my favorite angels =)

A brief prologue, if you will. I was inspired on a return journey from the mountains this afternoon, and after recapping some of the DN angel episodes, I can't resist how perfectly it will all fit. If this little intro didn't hint at it, I'll tell you outright: This is not going to be a happy/wholesome story. The best kind ^_^