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[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Date: April 8th, 2000
Setting: Manor Grounds
Status: Semi-Private (Uriel and Luna -- Complete)
Summary: Challenge thread. Luna encounters a special bird.

Flying, Uriel had noticed, served as a good way to take out his frustrations. Still pained about his loss of Pestilence, it felt good to be able to concentrate on merely flying, the motions of wings and feathers taking his attention away from his grief. He also didn't want to face anybody right now, and not assuming a human form seemed like a good way to avoid anyone. Of course, Wednesday probably would start talking to any raven he encountered, but he could easily stay clear of his brother.

Of course, he wasn't completely alone. Horus was there most of the time, not asking what was wrong and why he was in a bird form, just flying with him like it had been the most natural thing in the world. It felt good to be able to just fly with someone without needing to explain himself or his emotions.

It still hurt so very badly, though.

Circling a bit closer to the ground, he was sorely tempted to croak, "Nevermore!" However, he didn't do that. He didn't want to talk. At all.

He would not talk.

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[radishesncorks.livejournal.com]

Luna needed to get a breath of fresh air after working in the musty library for so long. She walked past the reception desk, nodding at the blonde man who was, well, manning the desk, and into the Manor grounds.

Flopping herself down on the ground, she watched the clouds go by for a bit before noticing a raven wheeling above her. She didn't know why, but it seemed sorrowful. And familiar? Standing up and shielding her eyes from the sun, she felt that she knew this bird somehow. Or at least seen him before, somewhere.

Upon closer examination, the raven reminded her of those creatures... Demons? No. Angels! That was it. The feel of him reminded her of an angel. Hmm.

"Hello?" she called up to the raven.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Somebody called for him. Looking down, he saw a somewhat familiar-looking human girl standing on the ground. Her aura -- a soul aura, of course, making him the tiniest bit uncomfortable -- held a hint of magic to it; a witch, then. But there was something about her...

Oh, yes. April first, wasn't it? Destruction and his "little" tricks. This girl had been for a while unable to do anything but moo. Although he was now far from the mani mood of the day, he had to admit that he could see the amusement in it. Wednesday wasn't a stupid man by any means.

He landed on the ground, looking up at the girl, cocking his head to one side a bit cautiously. He didn't know whether he should change into his human form. On one hand, it definitely would make it easier to communicate with the girl; on the other hand, he didn't want to communicate with anyone. That was one of the main reasons why he was in a bird form at the moment. But, he supposed, he would eventually have to face others in human form -- Wednesday probably wouldn't be beyond forcing him to transform if nothing else. But he didn't want to look like Pestilence's lady love...

Unable to decide, he simply stood on the ground for a while, staring at the girl. Then he voiced as best as he could with a raven's voice, "Good evening."

[radishesncorks.livejournal.com]

"Good evening," greeted Luna cheerily. "I was just wondering if we've met before, because you seem familiar somehow. And it's not very polite to force someone out of their Animagus form."

She wanted to add And you feel like one of those beings called angels, but decided not to. She could be wrong afterall. Sitting down again, and studying the raven closely, Luna suddenly asked, "Why are you so sad?"

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Animaugs form? Well, that was what she'd think, wasn't it. She didn't know any better.

As the girl continued talking, however, he grew rather uneasy. To properly talk he would have to change into a human, and even aside from that, he did not know whether he wanted to talk about it at all. With anyone, leave alone a curious little witch.

However, it still hurt. And he had heard that talking could help with such pain...

In the end it took him only a second to change his form. Sitting on the ground next to the girl, he looked at her with serious emerald eyes, wondering whether she really even wanted to know.

"I loved somebody," he finally said quietly, his eyes wandering to the sky before returning to the girl again. "And they left me."

[radishesncorks.livejournal.com]

Luna was not surprised when the raven changed into a human, well, a human-shaped being. And now she recognized the angel. He had been in the restaurant on April Fool's, and inwardly she giggled as she remembered that day.

"That is sad," said Luna quietly. "Would you like a hug?" she continued, half-kneeling on the grassy ground and holding her arms out.

"Do you want to talk about it? If you don't want to, that's okay too," said Luna gently, although she had no experience in the matters of love at all. Unless you counted that sort of little crush she had in fourth year.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Uriel somehow managed to smile faintly. "I think," he said, "I think I do need a hug." He might have been unfamiliar with close contact with other beings, but at the moment he really did need some, or rather any, form of comfort.

"I -- I don't think I'm ready to talk about it to anyone," he said then. "It's too soon." Perhaps it would always be too soon; eventually, htough, he would have to talk about it. But not yet. Just... not yet.

[radishesncorks.livejournal.com]

When Uriel agreed to a hug, Luna reached over and hugged him firmly and gently, trying to pour as much reassurance into the hug as she could.

Undeterred by his reluctance to talk, she said, "Well, then never mind. Why don't we watch the clouds? I find that watching interesting clouds always makes me happier. Like that cloud, see? It looks like you. Well, I meant the raven-you. And that one looks like a mushroom." Luna pointed at the sky at the clouds in question, alternating between looking at the sky and at Uriel.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, the hug really seemed to help. Not much, of course -- the pain he was in couldn't be healed by just one hug -- but he did feel a little bit better. Good enough to look up to the sky and search for the clouds she had mentioned, anyway.

"It really looks like a mushroom, yes," he admitted, nodding a bit. He even managed a shaky smile. He could remember watching clouds before, only then it had been in the company of --

No. Don't think about him. Not now. There would be definitely enough time for pain later.

"That one, however," he said, pointing at another cloud, "looks rather much like a steaming cauldron, don't you think? And there's an obvious little frog right next to it."

His eye caught another cloud with an obvious form, and he shivered. A big, white cloud-rat was crossing the sky. Just as he was about to turn his gaze away, however, the winds tore the figure apart.

[radishesncorks.livejournal.com]

"Hmm, yeah, it does sort of look like a cauldron, except that it's lacking the fire. And that is definitely a frog." said Luna decisively.

"Oooh, and that's a nice... darn. The wind blew it away." Shrugging, she continued, "It was a nice dog, too." Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Uriel's shiver, and said, "Are you cold? I know the wind's kind of big, and it is getting near sunset and everything. I could probably Transfigure a sweater out of something..." she trailed off uncertainly.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Uriel smiled faintly at the girl's kindness. 'A dog. Yes, a dog. That's exactly what it was,' he told himself. Aloud he said, "Thank you for your kind offer, but I don't think I'll need to bother you." With that said, he miracled himself a sweater -- mostly to "explain" his shiver, of course. He didn't feel coldness or warmth any more than he usually did. "It is getting quite late, though; on that you are definitely right."

[radishesncorks.livejournal.com]

"You're good at wandless magic," said Luna, smiling back at him. "And that green matches your eyes."

"Oooh, that's a cute little horsey (http://www.cloudgazing.com/Horsey.jpg). And that (http://www.cloudgazing.com/Angel_Cloud.jpg) looks like you that day in the restaurant just before you fell down." You could hear the great big smile on Luna's face.

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

"Thank you." Uriel looked at the clouds and laughed a bit. "What's this?" he asked, his voice as close to playful as he could manage at the moment. "You have already seen me on the sky in two different forms and I'm yet to find anything that even resembles you -- unless you count that frog, of course."

[radishesncorks.livejournal.com]

"Mmm," said Luna non-committedly. "I look like a frog? That's nice. Wrackspurts are scared of frogs, so they don't tend to hang around frogs that much," she continued brightly.

"Maybe you were meant to be in the sky then, and the sky is calling you home. It misses you."

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Uriel smiled faintly. It wasn't until now that he realized that his words could be taken as an insult. Fortunately the girl didn't seem to be too offended.

At the girl's next words, however, he sighed. Yes, he was meant to be in the sky, wasn't he? Heaven was calling for him -- maybe not by the clouds, but in his heart. Perhaps it would be the best to simply leave. At least there he wouldn't have to worry about running into Pestilence.

But then again, what would that solve? Nothing, nothing at all. He would still be alone -- even more so, as Wednesday was in the Manor. In Heaven he would have nobody. Well, aside from Him, of course, but Him he could feel even down there. At least here he would know when something happened. Up in Heaven... According to what he'd heard, it was all just chaos as a result of Michael's Fall. That was not something he wanted to think about.

Yet still... He sighed. It wasn't easy for him anywhere, was it.

"Perhaps you're right," he said quietly to the girl, gazing up at the sky. "Perhaps the sky is calling me." Although if that was the case, he shuddered to think what the dagger (http://www.cloudgazing.com/Dagger.jpg) he saw up there meant.

[radishesncorks.livejournal.com]

"I think it's because of your wings. The sky loves to be flown in," said Luna seriously.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, which was only broken by their pointing out interesting clouds to one another. Then, as fire painted the sky (http://www.cloudgazing.com/The_Phoenix.jpg), and shadows lengthened, Luna gave a small sigh and said, "Well I'd better be going in. There are some things I need to do before the sun sets completely. Nothing to do with you, you understand," she added quickly, "just Arthimancy that needs to be done within a specific time frame."

Standing and Vanishing the grass stains on her skirt, she looked at Uriel before stooping down to give him a hug that was as bone-crushing as she could*. Straightening up again, Luna said, almost urgently, "Be well."

Blowing a kiss to the sky, Luna turned and walked back into the Manor.

*Which, to tell the truth, wasn't very.

[ooc: sorry for modding Uriel - if you mind, I'll just delete this or something.]

[bipolar-uriel.livejournal.com]

Uriel found himself actually enjoying this little moment of peace. Sure, he was still hurt, and upset and angry, too, but he could also enjoy the peace. He didn't say a word as the girl announced her need to return inside, merely smiled slightly.

"You too," he answered quietly to her last words, still feeling the hug. He sat there, watching her, until she disappeared into the Manor.

Then he concentrated for a moment, transformed, and answered the sky's call.

[OOC: Don't worry, dear. I don't mind a bit.]