Neutral Omens

It was surely a coincidence that Adam happened to be walking through the lobby at that moment. He nodded to the angel and spoke neutrally.

"Hullo, Raguel. Welcome to Tadfield. You all right?"

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The Antichrist. Well, Raguel supposed that was to be expected.

“Hello Adam Young,” he answered politely. “Thank you. I am. I do find manipulating a corporeal body rather more difficult in practice than in theory, however.” His gaze was frank and unconcerned in its appraisal of the being before him. Whatever thoughts flickered behind his new face did not mark it.

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"Well," said Adam, "people usu'ly have more time to get used to it. And I only ask 'cause you're bleedin'." He pointed to Raguel's forehead.

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“That is true.”

Raguel put a hand to his brow and his hand came away sticky with red and damp with water. “Oh,” he replied, in a tone that said how strange. “I am also dripping all over your floor.” The puddle that had accumulated beneath him to run backwards up over his feet and back into the sodden legs of his trousers where it evaporated properly a moment later. The cut stopped bleeding.

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The boy smiled. "That's one way to do it, I guess."

Then he glanced over his shoulder and grew serious again. "Uriel can assign you a room and you're welcome to stay as long as you like. But nobody hurts anybody 'round here, no matter what their orders, or they've gotta talk to me. You only get one warnin'."

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Raguel’s eyes flickered.

“I understand,” he said. Neutrally. An interesting idea. “I have not come to cause trouble. I simply wish to look after my own.”

And this was true, as far as it went. And Raguel knew that Adam knew it.

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

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"Well, I'm lookin' after 'em, too," said Adam with a curt nod. "See you 'round."

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“In your fashion,” Raguel replied. He negotiated the muscles in his neck into returning the nod, somewhat less sharply. “But I do understand.” He paused for a long moment and then added, awkwardly. “See you.”

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Uriel glanced towards the door, then paled drastically. Her fingers tightened around her pencil enough to break it.

Raguel. Raguel had arrived. And she just knew he had arrived for her.

Suddenly she felt an overwhelming urge to hide under the desk, but she bravely resisted it. After all, it wouldn't do for an archangel to behave in such a childish way. Loki would have been ashamed of her. She had to be brave for Loki's sake -- and for Bran's sake, too.

Somehow, she managed to make herself smile. This was almost as big a wonder as that she didn't faint right away.

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It was strange to see Uriel like this. Female. Pregnant. Raguel noted her smile dispassionately, but when he spoke his voice was not unkind.

“You had to know I would be sent eventually, Uriel.”

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Uriel sighed. "I guess I did," she replied, unable to resist the urge to hug herself. "I just wished..." She sighed. "It doesn't matter, anyway. What are you going to do?"

She eyed Raguel warily. In her opinion, she had done nothing wrong -- well, nothing deserving of a punishment, anyway. Raguel's orders, however, might tell otherwise. She wouldn't Fall, or she would have already, but... Falling wasn't the only punishment available in Heaven.

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“To observe, for now,” he answered. “I am here for some of the others as well, though your situation is the most pressing. Heaven is concerned about certain details and I was ordered to discover the state of affairs here and report back.” A smile touched his lips, faint and barely there. “The entire situation is somewhat outside of my usual duties. Counsel will have to be taken; you know how it is.” His eyes traced the line of Uriel’s arms across her body and the smile, such as it was, disappeared.

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"What details?" Uriel asked warily, one hand sliding down onto her stomach. If they wanted to know the identity of the baby's father, well, they could want. She wouldn't tell, not if she had any other choice. "What is it they need to know?"

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"My question exactly." Said Bast, from the stairway. She was just coming downstairs to show Uriel her new form but with both Adam and the new guy - Raguel? - there she was half-tempted to run back upstairs again.

It was a bit annoying when her mouth decided to take charge all by itself.

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“Uriel...” Raguel began, then stopped as his eyes flicked up to the woman on the stairs. Not angel or demon, but not human either; one of those they called ‘gods’.

“Your question?" he asked her, emphasis balanced equally on both words, the expression in his eyes politely quizzical.

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She grinned, but there was something not-quite tabby-cat about it.

"What I mean is," she said, coming down the last few steps and throwing a smile to Uriel before looking up at the newcomer, "Is anything your people need to know going to harm Uriel and her kid? Because if the answer happened to be yeah, then since she's in charge, you're gonna have one cranky kitty on your hands, okay?"

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Raguel's gaze, frankly apraising, traveled slowly over the woman from head to foot and back to her face.

"Okay."

((Woo, not very talkative, is he? >.<))

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((*Grins* I think Bast can make up for that. Just to be clear - is this raguel from Murder Mysteries? ))

Bast stared at him with that disconcerting look that cats can have but rarely appear on human faces. When she didn't get a rise out of him, she turned to Uriel.

"You okay there, Uri?" She asked, tilting her head to one side.

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Uriel gave Bast a weak smile, grateful for her intervention. "I suppose so," she replied. However, the fact that she was still hugging herself with one arm with her other hand placed protectively on her stomach told quite clearly she wasn't completely all right.

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Bast smiled back, but there was something still very serious in her gaze. Ignoring Adam and the other archangel, she leant over the desk and gave Uriel an awkward hug. She looked like she needed it.

"Don't you go slipping off to la-la land now, okay?" She said quietly, only enough for her friend to to hear. "What I said to tall-dark-and-stone-faced is true. They wanna mess with you, they have to come though me, right?"

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The hug was the best thing that had happened to her in ages, really. It was a welcome reminder that even though it often seemed like that, maybe she wasn't entirely alone in this mess after all. That, and it was much more comforting than hugging herself.

"I'll try my best not to," Uriel said softly, and meant it. "...And thank you. Really."

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Bast purred slightly. "That's good, 'coz if you went funny on me now I'd turn and make ribbons of Raguel's face, then I'd be in deep litter with Adam, heh."

She straightened, and added, "So where you gonna stick him? I can get Chicago to keep an eye on him, if you want."

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Raguel's expression perhaps could have been described less as stone-faced and more as relaxed; open, but empty. Only the glitter and movement of his eyes betrayed his interest in the scene before him.

He remained quietly in the background as the two female-shaped beings exchanged words and gestures of companionship and comfort. Uriel's pleasure at the other's touch did not escape his notice, and his brows creased inward slightly.

“‘Stick me?’” he asked when the words spoken were no longer intended to be private. “Ah, yes. The Antichrist said that you would ‘assign me a room’.”

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"Yes, of course." Uriel gathered herself again. "There are several empty rooms in the Manor, it seems. Is there any person in particular close to whom you would like a room -- or, perhaps, somebody you'd rather stay away from?"

This she could do. It was all in the papers; there was even a little map of the rooms. This didn't really require her to think.

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Raguel shook his head once.

"You may choose; I trust your judgment," he told her. A strange thing to say, considering that it was he who was here to pass judgment upon her.

Eventually. But it could wait for now.

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Uriel quickly picked a room on the map that appeared to be far enough from any hostile demons (and, not-so-coincidentally, herself). Handing him the key, she told him his room number, immediately forgetting it afterwards as usual. If she hadn't had all the papers, she would have been quite lost, really.

"Is there anything else I can help you with right now?" she asked, doing her best to smile.

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“No,” Raguel said. “Not just now.” He bent his head and caught Uriel's eyes with his, waiting until he had her full gaze.

“But we will speak again soon, Uriel,” he said softly. “As you know we must.”

There was command in his voice.

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"Yes," Uriel said with a bit of a sigh in her voice, "I know."

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“Is there a time which would be convenient for you?” he pressed, not ungently. "This evening perhaps, or tomorrow morning?”

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Bast, who had been saying quiet through this exchange, merely watching Raguel with her cat-ike eyes, added quietly to Uriel, "I can be there if that's okay - I don't even have to be noticable if you want."

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Just as quietly, Uriel replied, "I would appreciate that."

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Uriel shrugged. "Whenever's fine with me; it's not like I'm usually very busy," she replied. "How about this evening? I can usually be found here." After all, the sooner it was over, the better.

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Raguel was silent a moment.

"Perhaps somewhere more private," he suggested, his eyes flicking to the other woman who stood nearby, sharing the occasional soft word with Uriel.

"We may meet in the room to which you just assigned me, or in yours if that would be more comfortable for you."

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"I would prefer my room," replied Uriel, who was not at all sure she could find Raguel's room. "So... this evening?"

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Bast gave Raguel another long look, then turned and disappeared around the corner.

A moment or too later, a small brown housecat came stepping along quietly, and, curling her tail about her hindquaters, sat down at the foot of the desk and proceeded to wash her ears.

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