And the Wind Became Still as Death

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Time: May 11th, around mid-afternoon
Place: Outside the Manor
Status: Public if anyone wants to be effected/notice or can be a one-shot
Summary: Raphael plays with his element


Raphael lay beneath the tree, staring up at the clear blue sky. It was a beautiful day in Lower Tadfield, the kind that would send those normally indoor-people outside to enjoy the fresh air and cool breeze.

Rising to his feet, he ruffled his feathers and slowly raised a hand to the sky. He had no powers, not anymore. His presence was weak, almost non-existent. But he was the Prince of the Power of the Air, just like his demonic counterpart. Presence or no presence, he could control his element as long as it existed around him. Air was everywhere.

A wind kicked up, swirling green leaves and dandelion tufts around him. He threw up both hands, concentrating hard. The clouds began to move in quickly, growing dark as they curled above him, covering the sky in a thick blanket. His uneven crimson locks whipped across his face.

A strike of lightning hit a few feet from him, another cracked behind in an explosive flash of white. The rain came down in torrents, soaking through his clothes and his wings and streaming from his stiff body planted in its place.

He brought a hand down, not breaking his concentration. Raphael waved it towards the sidewalk, causing a new swirl of wind to force back the flash flooding roaring onto the grounds. The angry water seemed to slap against an invisible wall, growing higher as the torrent continued to fall.

Large chunks of hail stung his face.

He brought the hand holding back the floods slowly upwards. The other hand he slowly moved down until both were clamped together in front of his face. Raphael whispered in the Angelic Tongue, drowned out by the swirling storm twisting to touchdown before him. The water was immediately sucked into it, as were the leaves and branches twisting together around him. A few feathers came loose from his wings but he held his gaze, not moving but for his clothes and hair.

Then, abruptly, he spread his hands out and the funnel separated. The clouds returned to the skies far away. The water returned to the sea. The leaves floated from the sky like snowflakes.

And Raphael dropped to his knees, breathing heavily, a satisfied grin on his face.


((•)) 

Comments

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Loki said. He was mainly dry again. "That's what some would call me. Technically, I am a jötunn, which has been misleadingly translated as giant in some literature, so I get all kinds of stupid reactions if I mention it these days."

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael gave a nod. "I understand how translations get messed up like that," he said. He motioned to the door. "Would you like to get some hot chocolate? I'd love to hear more about the world you come from."

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

"Why, do you think it's different from this one?" Loki asked, smiling.

"I'll pass on the hot chocolate - not exactly my taste. But if you're game for sitting in the bar talking over some mead - or mead and hot chocolate, I'm okay with that."

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael gave a chuckle. "Well I havent met a god before so I wouldn't know. Besides well..." He motioned to the sky, wings ruffling. "I'm fairly short for an angel myself, Gabriel and Michael are much taller than I but I suppose to a human..."

He abruptly stopped himself, realizing he was babbling. "We can see if they have mead," he finally said, cheeks coloring. He ruffled his soaked feathers again. 

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

"Don't worry," Loki said. "The bar's well equipped in that department. And I'm sure Joe will be able to conjure some hot chocolate for you, too."

He walked towards the building at an easy pace, trusting the angel to follow.

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

"Just a moment." He stopped a good distance away, then shook off, sprays of rainwaters scattering about him like tiny diamonds. His wings Poof!ed into fluffy red feather dusters comically sticking from his shoulders. Then he bounded up the steps.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

"Want me to do something about those?" Loki asked with a grin when the angel caught up to him and pointed at what Rapahel's wings had tunred into. He was reasonably sure that drying them properly with some heat applied would most probably lay the feathers flat again nicely.

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

If there was one thing Raphael loved it was having his wings groomed. He loved the feel of fingers carefully raking through the feathers, preening them, gently working the soft down... Hadassah used to groom my wings while I feel asleep too exhausted... he thought to himself. Well. That was the past anyway, time to move on.

He nodded, stretching hks wings to their full length. "I'm afraid they don't stay in very good shape, since I can't winch them in."

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

Loki slightly raised an eyebrow at the display of fully spread wings.

"Let's go inside first, before we're drawing a crowd," he suggested. Oh, but sparing a bit of warmth for wet feathers was such a handy and easy way of collecing some gratitude. Gratitude went a long way towards loyalty.

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Good point. He folded his poofy wings against his back, he had tried his best to stay away from humans or places where he could be recognized. While he hadn't seen a television or newspaper in awhile he was fairly certain that the crime scene left behind at his clinic wasn't unnoticed by the media.

He nodded again and followed.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

Loki led the way to the bar and, once again, held open the door. He was getting into a habit of that, these days, it seemed. He seemed to be forever holding doors for people.

That was just as well. He wasn't planning on appearing as much of a threat to anyone - not just yet. These small things were just what he needed to put people at ease.

He gestured to a barstool. With those wings, sitting in a chair would be difficult for the man for sure.

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael flopped onto the stool, carefully moving so his wings wouldnt unbalance him. "So what brings you to the manor?" he asked.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

"Joe, the usual," Loki said in the barman's direction before he answered Raphael.

"Mainly, I wanted to get away from my fellow gods," he said. "If they found me I'd be back in chains with venom dripping in my eyes before I knew it. Thank you very much, I'd rather not."

He moved behind the angel and heated up his hands to just below the point where he would have run danger of hurting the being - or so he hoped.

Carefully, he started pulling them over the moist wings, practically ironing the feathers in place where they were supposed to be.

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

Joe poured Loki his mead and set down the cup in easy reach. Then he looked at the red-winged angel the other man was busy grooming.

"Red wine like Gabriel?" he asked.

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael let out a low purr, feeling the warmth seep into his wings. Next time he decided to mess with the weather, best have a raincoat handy.

Looking over a Joe he chuckled. "No, I don't drink. Alcohol, I mean. Do you have hot chocolate perhaps?" he asked. "If not I won't mind a Root Beer or lemonade."

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

"I can do hot chocolate," Joe promised and filed the other drinks as information on this particular guest.

"You look better than last time we met," he stated as he moved back anf orth behind the counter, preparing the hot drink.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

"There," Loki said as Raphael's wings were lying flat again.

"Now all you need is a haircut, really."

He moved around the angel and sat on the stool across from him.

"Joe, do you have any idea of what happened to the other guy with my name?" he asked as he caught sight of the singed stool behind the counter and was reminded of their barfight.

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

"No," Joe admitted. "He hasn't been here in weeks. I guess he left the hotel."

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael smiled gratefully. "Yes, thank you for your help in all that. If you hadn't found me out there who knows what would have happened."

His cheeks colored as he raked his fingers through his uneven hair. "Yeah, I uhm... hacked it short." He didn't mention anything beyond that.

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

"It is certainly more practical that way," Joe noted diplomatically as he settled himself on his own stool.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

Loki cocked his head slightly as he listened.

"Care to fill me in?" he suggested finally. "I seem to be somewhat underinformed here."

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael tried not to fidget. "I was having a hard time and got frustrated with things beyond my control. I hacked off my braid with a knife. Nearly cut off my wings too." He chewed on his lip. The scars; he knew, were still there, hidden beneath the soft crimson feathers.

"Fortunately my wings seem to be okay. My hair however..." He raked his fingers through it again. "Is a bit of a mess."

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

"You met before, apparently," Loki elaborated what he had meant. "Under less than comfortable circumstances I gather?"

He, personally, saw nothing wrong with the angel's hair, but then again where he came from, hacking off hair with a knife was simply what one did when it grew too long.

"I'd only singe your hair if I tried something," he said anyway. "But maybe there's a hair stylist in town?"

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

A... A stylist...? He chuckled and shook his head. "It's alright, it'll grow back in time." He swallowed some hot chocolate, letting out a deep purr of contentment. Yum.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

"So," Loki said, "What are your plans here? Have you come to join Michael?"

After all, Michael had been rather forthcoming about ending the world and all...