(no subject)

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

Date: April 15th, 2003, afternoon
Status: Public
Setting: The grounds
Summary: Duncan is bored


Duncan was feeling restless. He had planned on taking a few days off, just relaxing, doing nothing at all but eat, sleep and have some fun. 

It wasn't working out like that, though.

For one thing, the thought of those winged swordsmen wouldn't leave his head. He had dealt with demons before, so he assumed he shouldn't be too surprised by the idea of angels. Whether or not they were harmless was subject to debate, though.

He had spent part of the day before prowling the town, checking out alternatives to the hotel where he and Joe stayed and found none. He would just have to make do with that somewhat aggressive angel nearby. 

The second problem with doing nothing for more than a day was that he was getting bored. He wanted to work out, but the whole town of Lower Tadfield seemed to have not a single dojo. Well, he'd make do with that, too.

Some parts of the hotel were in sole need of renovation. It might be fun to help with the work there sometime. Right now, he was headed outside. The place where the angels had started their fencing match seemed like a good enough place to go through some martial arts patterns. They worked like meditation for him, clearing his mind and helping him reach decisions and sort his thoughts.

He put his sheathed sword on the ground and carefully covered it with his jacket, before launching himself into a complex unarmed combat pattern.

Comments

[cattygabriel]

A light grey kitten with a blue ribbon tied around its neck - loose enough to not chafe, but snug enough that it wouldn't get caught on anything - ran up, pausing at a safe distance before plopping down on its haunches and watching him inquisitively.

Its owner was some distance behind, nibbling on a Snickers bar. It had become a lunchtime routine for Gabriel now; lunch tended to consist of something like Snickers or a granola bar while spending time with the cats, particularly the attention-demanding Earl Grey. Ta-Miu was asleep in his room, preferring to spend the evenings and nights outside, though by dawn he usually woke to find her curled up at the foot of his bed.

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

Duncan was so absorbed in his drill that he did not notice the approaching cat or man as he fought his invisible opponent.

God, but it felt good, pushing himself to his limits.

He increased his speed a fraction more.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel's eyes widened as he saw Earl Grey seated in front of a man going through what appeared to be drills. The cat really had no sense of self-preservation.

"Stop!" He jogged over, rewrapping and stuffing the half-eaten chocolate bar in his jeans pocket on the way before scooping up Earl Grey. "I apologise, but my cat's rather curious, you see, and you might have accidentally hit him." It was Duncan McLeod, he noted.

As if to punctuate his point, the young cat mewed plaintively, squirming a little.

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

Duncan froze in mid-movement.

"Don't ye think th' cat would've been smart enough t' move aside before I hit it?" Duncan asked.

Then he conjured a smile on his face even though he did not appreciate being ripped out of his meditation. "I would've stayed inside, but tehre's no space for this kind of thing there. And The whole town doesn't seem to have a single gym or dojo."

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel shrugged. "This one seems to have little survival instinct."

Lower Tadfield did not seem the sort of place to have such a place, anyway. "The sort of people who would want to use such a place are probably the sort who would be staying here in the Manor anyway, and I imagine Adam has his own reasons for not adding any such training facilities. The grass served us fine the other day, though."

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Well, a man needs to keep up his shape," McLeod noted. "But you're right. The grass is quite fine - at least as long as the weather stays so nice. Who's Adam, though?"

He reached out to see if the cat would allow itself to be scratched by him.

[cattygabriel]

Earl Grey leaned forward in Gabriel's arms eagerly, sniffing the strange man's hand and stretching out his chin to be petted. Gabriel smiled fondly.

"He's friendly, don't worry. My other cat doesn't warm to everyone, though. And Adam is..." He paused. He's the Antichrist and he almost started Armageddon. And now he's trying to stop angels and demons from fighting. "Well, he's sort of in charge of the place, though Mary Hodges does the actual running of the hotel. We abide by his rules."

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"What are you, some kind of sect?" Duncan asked, petting the cat.

He was properly loosened up by now, and far from being ready to stop his work-out.

"Why would that Adam have something against people here staying in shape?"

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel laughed. "No, not really. He has nothing against health or soldiers keeping in shape, as far as I know. It's just... a sort of sensitive issue." Well, he'd already seen the angels training. "Angels and demons have been fighting for millennia, and he's trying to change the current state of things. There's nothing wrong with friendly fights, of course; we had a paintball war the other day."

Earl Grey was pressing against Duncan's hand, purring softly.

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Paintball, eh?" Duncan said. "Was Adam that kid watchin' yer friend beat up yet other friend?" He stopped scratching the cat and went through a few moves at reduced speed while talking.

[cattygabriel]

"Yes, he was," Gabriel answered. "Although I wouldn't phrase it quite that way. Michael may be a little brash or rough at times, but he's no bully."

He watched Duncan go through his moves for a few moments, biting his lip. The man would have to find out sooner or later, if he was to stay here. "I'm glad you heeded my message."

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Huh?" Duncan froze. "I didna get any messages from ye. I jus' came because I'd heard it was a nice place t' spend an extended holiday."

He looked at the man from narrowed eyes. "An' ye don't need to be a bully t' be a bad teacher."

[cattygabriel]

"You did get a message from me, Duncan McLeod, but not regarding holiday destinations."

Earl Grey shifted in his arms, and he let the kitten jump out of his arms and proceed to sniff Duncan's feet.

"And he's far from being a bad teacher, too. He's trained almost the entire Heavenly Host, and there's a reason he's the Warrior and their leader. Don't tell him I said so, though," Gabriel grinned. "There's a reason he's a little rough with Aziraphael, which I don't agree with, but he'll train him well."

[cattygabriel]

"I do not want your worship. It wouldn't be right. And you certainly have the right to look me in the face, regardless of your own deeds. I bowed to humans when they were first created, after all." Lucifer did not, though. Gabriel held Duncan's gaze. "I am indeed an angel, and my name is Gabriel. I'm the Messenger, hence my ability to find people. And thank you for the advice. I'll see if Lower Tadfield sells any."

Gabriel doubted he'd need a mobile phone to call anyone in the Manor, mostly because he wasn't sure the other angels knew what one was, but he was hoping to resume his travels among humans eventually; it looked as though he should probably look into mobile phones after all. He did have an idea of how they worked - he was patron saint of telecommunications, after all - but had never actually used one.

Sorry! I didn't realise there was an answer starting at the front again!

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

Duncan raised his eyebrows slightly at the information. If he thought the idea of fencing against an angel would put him off, Gabriel was very much mistaken.

"Well, let's go find the other guy then. Lead the way, I'm following."

No problem <3

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel paused for a moment, closing his eyes and letting his senses reach out, his function come into use. For a moment, he seemed to be glowing slightly, or perhaps it was simply the sunlight against pale skin and a white T-shirt. I need to find Michael. And he knew where Michael was.

"He's in the recreational room." He began to walk towards the room, turning back to check that Duncan was following.

Should we start a new thread with Michael?

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

As Duncan followed, he wondered if the angels had an Aura that he just didn't get a Buzz from. Of course he could just ask Gabriel about the exact manner in which he knew where the other angel was, but he wasn't quite sure how curious he wanted to see.

He walked in silence.

Never fear - Michael will come to you! xD;

[angelofawesome.livejournal.com]

Michael was indeed in the recreational room, running on a treadmill. Oh, the grounds were lovely, yes, but he was trying to keep focused (and not get lost), which meant being indoors was better right now.

The only indication he had any idea that anyone was talking about him was his sneezing fit.

In his superhero costume?

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel paused in the doorway and knocked on the door. "Michael? Are we interrupting?"

He's not telling me but I wouldn't be surprised if he owns one

[angelofawesome.livejournal.com]

Michael's response was slightly out of breath as he had been running quite awhile, but he was still cheerful. "Nope! C'mon in!"

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

Duncan entered the room after Gabriel and took in Michael. It wasn't quite fair to challenge a manwho had just exhausted himself on the treadmill, was it?

xDDD I hope he doesn't wear his underwear on the outside. ;)

[cattygabriel]

"Out of curiosity, how long have you been here?" Gabriel asked. "This is Duncan McLeod, by the way; you probably remember meeting him while training Aziraphael?"

neveeeer xDD;

[angelofawesome.livejournal.com]

"Oh, it's..." he glanced down at the timer. Three hours. Maybe next time he ought to miracle himself normal human stamina too. "... been a bit, yeah, but I'm okay, why? And yeah, I remember you..."

Michael tried to think of what he'd called him. "Something McSomething. Naggypants. It's okay. Aziraphael's wing is sore but he's on the road to kicking butt, and that's all that matters!"

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Duncan growled.

"And it's Duncan McLeod. Glad to see that at least one syllable stuck." He hestiated slightly. If the other was exhausted already, a fight would be terribly unfair. "I was going to invite you to a little practice bout," he grinned, "but I think I better amend that invitation to unclude the words 'once you've rested a bit'."

[angelofawesome.livejournal.com]

Michael rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes I get it, you don't like the way I teach, get over it would you? Besides Aziraphael got me a fruit basket so I know he's feeling pretty good."

He regarded the swordsman as he kept running on the treadmill. "You know, usually I like bouts, but if I beat you you'll be complaining that I cheated and nagging me about it for the next couple centuries."