Neutral Omens

The Metatron gave him a slightly startled look, and opened his mouth as if to say something, then gave the rest of the room a look and apparently decided against it, instead looking down at the pretzel he was now twirling between him fingers. "Of course," he said, sounding unhappy. "I wouldn't have particularly thought that you would."

Twirl, distracted stare, twirl.

"But..." Another look at the room, and a shake of the head. "Perhaps we could talk about that aspect later? Things seem to be trying to be cheerful here."

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"Oh, I'm sorry," said Adam forlornly. "I didn't know it'd bother you so much."

He looked around the room as well. "Everyone does seem to be pretty happy, huh? I know I am. Sometimes I think I have the best friends in the whole world."

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At that, the Metatron shot him a sharp look. "Truly?" He looked at the pretzel he was holding again. "But I don't doubt that it was unintentional on your part. Whether it was intentional elsewhere..." He frowned slightly.

"That's well, I suppose." He hesitated, perhaps concerned about what it might mean. "Having a support network to... encourage you? Tell you when you've definitely made a mistake?" There was more than the usual note of query in the last one.

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Adam rolled his eyes slightly. Well, if he was going to have to be literal...

"Actually, some part of me knew, but I wasn't listenin' to it at the moment. It's not polite goin' around knowin' stuff all the time, so I don't - just when I hafta. Does that help?"

The Metatron's questions got an odd look at first. "I never thought about it that way. They're just there to be my friends. Like I'm their friend in return. I dunno if they'd tell me when I've made a mistake, 'cause most times they wouldn't know, but they sure tell me when they're not happy with somethin' I'm doin'. Usually by hittin' me or throwin' stuff at me." He grinned. Adam liked having uncomplicated friends.

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Pepper had been weaving her way through the party, making sure that everyone was having a good time and finding everything they needed. She had helped herself to some of the food that was put out, grabbed a slice of cake, and continued to check the room for Adam to be certain that the birthday boy was having fun, and that he hadn't slipped away to change those ridiculous shorts.

She eventually noticed him talking to a face that looked vaguely familiar, a face that she remembered being very severe with a final-sounding voice. She smirked. Cosmic Megatron. And when she edged closer and heard Adam making comments about his friends (not bad remarks but it was all the same at this point. You had to be tormented on your birthday, it was a rule), she realized that it was her job, nay her duty, to prove him right about all of them. She creeped up behind him silently, raised the water gun to the proper level and squeezed the plastic trigger -

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A distinctive splooshing sound made Adam turn and he nearly doubled over laughing. As he'd intended, the water gun backfired and splashed her instead, but not with just one measly squirt of water. It had to be gallons. She was completely drenched from head to toe, red hair dripping in her surprised eyes.

Gasping for breath, he managed, "That's what you get for sneakin' up on people." Adam was about to mention that with her white shirt, people could now see about as much of her as they could of him, but his jaw snapped shut in the interests of self-preservation before he could make the observation.

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He nodded, looking down slightly. "Somewhat, yes." He wondered if that could apply... well, elsewhere, and then told himself sharply that that sort of thing was foolish, and to try to stop worrying about that. Things would sort themselves out.

...Probably.

"I think I see..." He didn't quite, about friends, but the sight when he looked up at the splooshing sounds made it slightly more explicable. "Oh, dear. Er... would you like a towel, perhaps?" He miracled one in any case- fairly plain, although the edges looked slightly more metallic than yellow usually did.

"Sneaking up on people can be fun?" he asked, blinking, having had much experience with that before, either.

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Pepper coughed up water like she'd just been dragged under by the ocean tide. Oh, that was just wrong. Not on. She was going to murder him for that. Just not right now since she was water-blinded and makng puddles on the floor. "Oh, you bastard!" she yelled, although she was having a hard time not laughing. She'd sort of brought it upon herself, after all.

The Metatron seemed a nice enough fellow, what with how he had offered her a towel. She took it from him with a deeply grateful, "thanks," before registering his question. Pepper patted her face dry and began wringing her hair out on the floor before responding. "Well, it's usually fun, 'less you've got him for a best friend," she tried to explain. Then she looked down at herself.

With an indignant shriek she held the towel in front of her chest, her jaw dropped in quivering shock. "You..." she hissed finally, her eyes glaring with such concentrated fury that she thought she might blow something up with a mere stare. "You won't be makin' it to your next birthday, Adam Young, I promise you that."

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Adam coloured slightly and just laughed harder. He tried to give his best innocent look, but couldn't quite manage. "Don't be gettin' all mad at me. You're the one goin' around squirtin' poor birthday boys who already have the humiliation of wearin' rugby shorts indoors. Can't complain if it gets turned around on you. You didn't hafta pull the trigger." Or wear a white shirt when playing with a water gun, he thought. Fortunately his brain intervened again before he could say that or he really wouldn't make it to his next birthday.

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Oh, so that was the proper excuse, was it? "Well, you wouldn'ta had to wear the rugby shorts if there was an easier way to distract you," Pepper shot back. "Besides, it got you kissed an' everythin', so clearly showin' off your backside does you some good." There. See how red he turned now.

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He did turn redder. "I dun't think it's my backside everyone's lookin' at."

Ellie, Beelzebub, Pepper... he hadn't realized that his birthday would be quite so... charged.

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She cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. Pepper probably should have felt guilty for embarrassing him, but it wasn't like she'd done it in front of everyone, and she really didn't think the Metatron was going to hold it against them. Besides, white shirt. He deserved it, dammit, birthday or no. "Really? What are they lookin' at then, you think?" Her eyes twinkled just a little off-color and she smirked.

Pulling the towel away just a bit to see the damage, she made her decision. "I'm going upstairs to change. You have fun with everyone starin' at you." She turned briefly toward the Metatron with a grin. "Nice to meet you proper. Hope you like the party." With that, she spun on her heel and headed to the door, tossing the water gun back over her shoulder and trusting that Adam would catch it.

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With a wry expression, Adam caught the water gun and set it down on the food table, turning apologetically back to the Metatron. He hadn't meant to exchange innuendo in front of an angel. Running his hand through his hair, Adam said, "Sorry, 'bout that. What were you sayin'?"

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"Er. Is that... how things generally tend to be?" The Metatron looked somewhat chargined now, possibly due to the conversation. "It's... different."

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"Um, how things tend to be?" asked Adam, puzzled. "I guess the only thing I can say 'bout how things tend to be is interestin'. You never quite know what's gonna happen next. Gotta keep your eyes open."

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"Is anything likely to be generally damaging to one's mental health? Aside from, I suppose, how the world seems to tend to be these days."

Not that he'd be initially too worried, if it was going to offer him good cake, but if it was going to upset the lines so there was no idea where they'd been, it could be quite concerning. The situation still didn't seem to quite call for that conversation yet, though, and he filed it away for future note.

There was probably another conversation that he should start, though. "On another note, though... I realise things seem to have changed a little... Is there something I could do? A job, I mean. I'm not saying that it isn't nice being here, but something to do other than wandering would be nice."

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Adam had to shift mental gears again. Talking to the Metatron wasn't like talking to anyone else and he often found him difficult to understand.

"Prob'ly not too damagin' unless it'd break you to see an angel an' a demon kissin'. Or have dif'rent coloured frogs jumpin' about. Or see a fighter jet on the lawn or a police box in the lobby. Or find the antichrist walkin' around in tiny shorts." He smiled disparagingly.

"As for jobs, Uriel and Remus are doin' your old job at reception. Is there anythin' else you'd be interested in? Pep could use some help gardenin' and Wens could use some help in the kitchen and waiterin'. Harry needs help in cleanin' the rooms, and since Mr. Wednesday left, we have no maitre d' for the restaurant. It'd also be nice to have an entertainment director to arrange fun stuff for people to do. Any of that sound good?"

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"Ah." The Metatron hesitated, then, for reasons of expediency, said, "All the best to them, I'm sure." He paused, and added, "So they were... Whose are they? The multi-coloured frogs. I don't think I know many who like those. And, er, there's probably nothing wrong with... those shorts if you like them." He would, of course, have much preferred not to have seen Adam in them, but if that was the fashion these days, it wasn't up to him. "At least it's warm, presently."

He considered the options. "Perhaps gardening? It would be a change from... indoors mostly, I presume. Naturally, I would be happy to help elsewhere if asked. Er. Who might Pep be?"

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"Which them?" grinned Adam insouciantly. "The frogs were from Delirium, and, er," he flushed and tugged on the shorts again, "these are only 'cause me and Brian and Shadow were havin' some sport on the lawn. I wasn't expectin' to get pulled into a party. Normally my clothes are a lot more... coverin'."

"Gardenin' would be great. There are a lot of acres to keep up. Pep is actually Pepper. She's one of my best friends. I think you met her once, or saw her anyway, but you were kinda busy at the time, so maybe you didn't notice. Red hair. Human. Was eleven at the time. You and her might make a good team since you got enough patience for both and she knows what she's doin'."

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The Metatron stared. Surely Adam hadn't just suggested... "Er, that duo," he said vaguely, and went on. "Delirium? I don't think we've met yet. What should I be looking out for?"

He thought for a moment. "I think I recall a face. Rather vaguely, though. Er..." He turned to look at the door. "Would that have been her earlier, perhaps?"

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"There are a coupla angel and demon duos now," Adam laughed. "And you can't really miss Delirium. She's very... colourful. Got eyes dif'rent colours and her hair and clothes tend to change colour a lot, too. She looks young and don't make much sense when she talks."

Then he looked a bit startled. "Er, yes. Of course. That was Pepper. Sorry, I'm gettin' a bit distracted here..."

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"I wouldn't blame you," the Metatron said, a slight hint of worry in his voice. "Er..." He reached for something to fiddle with. "Things will work out, I'm sure," he said, more to himself than Adam. "Is Delirium... all right, then?"

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