(no subject)

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Time: April 27, the evening
Place: Library
Status: Public
Summary: Rose needs to return a certan book

Rose held the book in one hand, her fingers covering the teeth marks. Really, she didn't need a guest passing her noticing the marks and asking about them. It would be hard enough to explain things to Gabriel, the librarian.

Especially as I can't say 'sorry, I transformed and then the wind blew the book from the branch I had placed it on and I had to catch it and well...'.

The piece of red feather was still in her hair above her right ear. She didn't need a bookmark at the moment as she was done with this book and seriously doubted the librarian would ever hand her a book again, but she wanted to keep the beautiful feather.

Far too soon for Rose's liking she reached the library door. She inhaled deeply, knocked on the door and entered, her body language nearly as telling as if she had walked in as Cloud with drooping ears and her tail between her legs...

Comments

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel was seated at his desk, fingers absentmindedly tapping out a staccato rhythm against the wood as he tried to focus on Victorian Demonology. His thoughts kept turning to his brother, though; he wanted to return to Room 110 to check on Raphael, but he had a job.

He looked up at Rose's entrance. "Good evening, Rose." He tilted his head curiously at her posture. "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose couldn't help swallowing once before she held the book out to Gabriel with a trembling hand. He was much, much stronger than herself after all, and if he got the wrong idea... Or the right one, depending on who you ask...

"I... I'm through with the book. But there was an accident and now it's damaged. I'll pay for the repair, just tell me how much it'll be and I'll pay it as soon as I have that much."

She knew she was babbling but she couldn't help it.

[cattygabriel]

"Calm down," Gabriel smiled, taking the book curiously. "You can't have ripped it apart - oh my. Did you get into a fight with a dog?" He grinned at her, then frowned, looking at her closely; he had thought the red thing in her hair had been a bow of some sort, but it was clearly a feather from Raphael's wings. He'd have known that colour anywhere.

"Where did you get that feather?" he asked quietly.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Calming down was easier said than done when you weren't sure how a very powerful being would react next. Thankfully the librarian thought of an explanation himself and before Rose could think of a wording that wouldn't be too much of a lie - this angel was a nice guy after all - he'd already found something else to concentrate on.

Not that that would have made Rose any more comfortable. She hadn't even thought about how the angels might react to her having the feather of an angel. Could it be forbidden?

"Um... I was there this morning when the injured angel arrived. We got him to room 110 and when the others didn't need me anymore I started to clean up the blood and the bits of feather he'd left everywhere. I dumped all of those bits in the trash can save for this one. The colour's just so beautiful and I'm using the feather as a bookmark now."

Rose now wondered if maybe she shouldn't have just deposited the bits of feathers in the trash can. Maybe that was considered rude, those beings being angels and all...

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel winced. "Blood and bits of feather? Just how bad was his condition?"

She had simply tossed the feathers in the trash? Still, it sounded like they hadn't been in good condition; on the other hand, Raphael was already weakened because a demon had taken advantage of him.

He studied her face for a moment. "Our feathers are... well, it's not like, say, a strand of hair for humans. Sometimes residual powers still linger in them, and they can be traced back to the individual angel. You should probably ask Raphael if he minds you keeping it. Meanwhile, would you mind if I bless it? I don't want it to fall into the wrong hands and be used to harm him; my power should mask his. I promise you, it won't do any harm."

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"Very bad. He lost a lot of blood and the others didn't seem to be sure he'd survive. And he didn't seem that coherent to me, always worried more about his bunny than about himself."

Rose unconsciously rubbed her forearms where said bunny had left bloody scratches this morning, trying to escape the werewolf. The scratches were healing nicely but sometimes they itched a bit.

"And I'm sorry, I didn't know that."

She took the feather out of her hair and held it out to Gabriel.

"I'll go see him when he's had some time to recover. And I don't want him to be harmed, so please, do whatever you have to do to it."

Then she thought of something else.

"What about those bits of feathers? Should I show you which trash can I put them in?"

[cattygabriel]

"That sounds like Raphael." He gave her a wry grin, taking the feather and concentrating on it. It glowed blue-white for a moment before he handed it back to Rose, satisfied that his power masked any lingering traces of Raphael's aura. With Beelzebub around, he wasn't taking chances.

What could he do about a rubbish bin full of bits of Raphael's feathers, though? Bless them all?

"Yes, please."

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose took the feather and put it back in her hair. She shook her head once to make sure the feather wouldn't simply drop down and then smiled at Gabriel.

"Thank you. Do you have time right now for me to show you the trash can or would you prefer me to come by again later?"

[cattygabriel]

"I think I have time now," Gabriel left the book on the desk and moved towards the door, holding it open for her. "I apologise for the bother, but you saw Raphael when he arrived; he's stil not very strong and I don't dare run the risk of any demon taking advantage."

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"I don't mind, really."

Rose walked out the door, waiting for Gabriel to follow, before she made her way to the stairs, to lead him downstairs and out towards the trash cans.

"I hope he'll get better soon. But wouldn't Adam protect him if he were attacked here?"

[cattygabriel]

"I think so," Gabriel said, following her. "Michael and I certainly would. But that's if it's a direct attack; I'm worried that a powerful demon could find his feather and somehow use it to harm or weaken him. And even if we were able to be next to Raphael at all times, I doubt he'd allow it."

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry. I didn't know leaving the feathers around could endanger him. I would have gone fetch you or Michael if I'd known."

Rose really hadn't wanted to endanger the red-haired angel. He hadn't harmed her and she wished him well.

"Why wouldn't he want you there with him? Aren't you his p... family? And shouldn't family be where you go when you're in need of help?"

Unless you're too proud or want to proove something.

She hoped Gabriel hadn't noticed her slight stumble with the words. She'd very nearly said 'pack', probably because she missed her own so much.

[cattygabriel]

"It's alright," Gabriel smiled, lifting the lid of a trash can and making a face at the smell. He had good senses, after all.

"He is like a brother, yes, and he knows we'll help him. It's just that everyone needs a few moments to themself every now and then, no matter how close you are to someone."

He glanced at her curiously. She'd nearly said something else before catching herself and saying 'family', and family seemed to be important to her.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

The concept of needing to get away from family was foreign to Rose. She'd give a lot to be able to be with her pack again, snuggle up against her twin, chase Shadow a bit, guard the sheep, mark the territory...

She squashed the homesickness ferosciously, knowing she'd start to howl in stress if she let those thoughts continue.

"He should be happy his family is with him," Rose mumbled, noticing the sadness in her voice but not being able to help it. At least the angel could spend time with his 'brothers', he would be stupid not to do so.

[cattygabriel]

"He is. We've missed each other," Gabriel murmured. "And we'd never want to leave our Father's Presence. Did you put the feathers in a trash bag or simply tip them in?"

He looked at her curiously. "You miss your family, don't you? Do you mind if I ask why you're here alone?"

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"I put them in a trash bag. I didn't want them to be blown away by the wind and get strewn all over the lawn. It should be the trash bag directly on top, it was the last one I dumped in there after cleaning up."

There was, of course, always the possibility that someone else had put something in the trash can in the meantime. But at least when she'd left the trash can the bag with the feathers had been on top.

"And yes, I miss my family. I came to England to visit some distant relatives and decided to travel for a while. And now I'm working here to get the money I need for the flight back."

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel nodded, lifting the top trash bag out, putting it on the ground and kneeling to undo the knot. It did indeed contain familiar fiery feathers, and he smiled in relief.

He looked up at her. "You can't ask your family for help?"

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

'You can't ask your family for help?', the angel asked. And Rose faltered for a moment because she couldn't help remembering that her family hadn't wanted her to return. At least not at the moment. But she there had been no way she could have stayed with that London pack. And she just missed her own pack so much. But of course she couldn't tell Gabriel that. So she settled for another truth.

"How am I supposed to ever be considered the adult I am if I first go off travelling and then phonecall my family when I don't have enough money and ask them to help me out?

Besides, working here isn't that bad, so I don't need them to rescue me."

She grinned at the angel, partially to hide that she still was terribly homesick. And that she was afraid, her pack leaders would simply tell her to go back to the London pack if she called. No, it was way better to show up on the farm in person...

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel nodded, smiling back. "Understandable, and admirable."

He turned his attention to the bag of feathers; he could sense the lingering trace of Raphael's aura. "This is going to be the holiest trash ever," he joked, placing his hands on top of the feathers and closing his eyes as he blessed them. His blessing washed over the feathers, his aura now blotting out Raphael's. The feathers glowed faintly for a brief moment.

"There." His shoulders slumped slightly, a few tiny beads of sweat glistening on his forehead; this would have been far less tiring if he hadn't had to heal Raphael and extract demonic poison from the wound that morning.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"That might be because not every household shelters an angel. Or several of them."

And the most important part was that now the other angel would be safe. Hopefully he'd get well again soon.

But now Gabriel looked... well, a bit tired.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked, her concern apparent in her voice.

[cattygabriel]

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," Gabriel smiled. "It's just... Raphael's the Healer, not me, and this morning it took quite a bit of energy to heal him and extract demonic poison from a rather large wound. I presume you saw the wound across his stomach and chest; it was infected. I can heal wounds to some extent, but it takes more out of me, so I was already somewhat tired."

He took a deep breath, standing up and replacing the bag in the trash. "Thank you for being so understanding about this."

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"I hope he gets better soon. I'll go and visit him to ask about keeping the feather in a few days. I promise I won't just leave it lying around somewhere."

Rose turned away from the trash can to go back inside, assuming that Gabriel wouldn't want to linger. She didn't know about his nose but hers was perfectly able to smell the stink coming from the trash. Not the feathers, probably, though there was an underlying tone of dried blood, but the rest.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel nodded, replacing the lid and following her, thankful to be away from the stench. "Thank you, again."

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"You're welcome, really."

They made their way back into the lobby and Rose remembered the book. She didn't really want to have to answer many questions, but on the other hand it had been her who caused the damage...

She bit her lower lip, thinking about the problem.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel glanced at the girl curiously. "Are you alright?"