lt_safe_house | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Date: May 2, early evening
Location: Raphael's room (110)
Status: Public - Complete
Summary: Rose still hasn't asked Raphael about keeping his feather

Rose stood in front of Raphael's door, the fiery red feather in her hair above her left ear. She still hadn't asked the angel if he minded her having his feather because she hadn't wanted to disturb his recovery. And then the nightmares had happened.

She shuddered and her right thigh throbbed a bit. The wounds were healing nicely but it would take a few days until she wouldn't feel them anymore. Thanks to Raphael only her thigh hurt and she didn't have to put her left arm in a sling.

Rose took another deep breath and knocked on the door.

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"I could show you better than I could tell you." He moved closer and curled his wing to her. Raphael then reached over and pulled back a few feathers. Tiny red embers, like glistening rubies, were shimmering at the roots. "Its the Holy Fire," he explained. "I have no powers anymore but theres a tiny bit of residual energy in my wings. In an emergency I could sacrifice a wing to heal someone, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that." He smiled at her, compassion in his eyes. "It won't be in the feather you have, so dont worry about it burnint your hair. Did Gabriel seal it? I can sense his aura in it."

Rose watched those dots of red - Holy Fire - with wide eyes. She unconsciously reached out one hand to touch the wings and drew it back as soon as she noticed.

"I really hope you never have to sacrifice one of these beautiful wings."

Her other hand went to the feather in her hair.

"Gabriel blessed it the day you arrived. I met him in the evening and he told me that you were weakened by your injuries and that it would be dangerous to have feathers with your aura in them lying around. So he blessed this feather and the bits of feathers in the trash bin."

He let his wings stretch further. "Its alright, you can pet my wings if you want." He probably should be a bit more careful who he let touch his wings, but he knew Rose wouldn't hurt him.

He chuckled slightly. "Holy trash? There's a new one." His eyes showed a glint of sadness, however. He had been such a mess when he arrived. He remembered the faces, the concern... His brothers force-feeding him even. What had Gabriel thought upon finding so many of his younger brother's feathers shed away?

"Thank you for that," he finally said, smiling warmly.

She needed no further invitation. Her fingers brushed the upper edge of the wing before she let her hand glide down to stroke the feathers.

"Yes, the holiest bit of trash ever I suppose. Now I know I should just have asked one of you angels about the bits of feathers..."

Rose's voice trailed of while she was threading her fingers through Raphael's feathers. It wasn't quite like grooming one of her pack mates but it was as close as she could get here and it felt nice.

Raphael loved to have his wings groomed, and a low purr escaped his throat before he could stop it. His cheeks colored a bit. "Sorry," he said, but he made no move to pull his wings away.

"You didnt do anything wrong," Raphael said. "Most people just don't know about angel feathers and... and uhm..." He trailed off into another deep purr, his treacherous wing pressing into her touch.

A smile tugged at Rose's lips as she heard Raphael purr. She knew all too well how good a grooming could feel. So she continued threading her fingers through the soft feathers.

"It's alright, it's a bit like grooming one of my pack mates, my family, you know. Just that feathers feel different in my fingers than fur would. But I like it. I miss it."

That last admission was only a whisper. But how she missed curling up next to Storm and feeling him groom her fur enthusiastically...

Raphael's purr grew louder and more rhythmatic, closing his eyes and feeling as if he would melt into goo right then and there...

...until he fell out of his chair into a heap on the carpet.

Blinking a few times he stared up at Rose, making no move to stand back up. Instead he chuckled and yawned widely, stretching out his wings before curling up into one. He held out his other wing to her. "Snuggle?" he offered. After all, naps were best taken when there were plenty to cuddle.

Rose smiled fondly down at Raphael. It had been really cute, seeing him relax so much he dropped to the floor. And he didn't seem hurt, which had been a concern of hers.

She rubbed the edge of the offered wing gently.

"How about this: I groom this wing as well and then, if you don't mind, you get a furry, warm cushion..."

Cuddling was so much better in fur form. Not that she wasn't flexible in her two-legged form as well, but she was just more used to it as Cloud. Having the children lie in the grass, all snuggled into one big pile would have looked a lot more suspicious than said pile being made of adolescent farmdogs...

"No objections here," he purred. "I'd be more than happy to return the favor. Would you like to be brushed?"

Rose's smile transformed into a full-blown grin. If someone knocked on the door, Cloud would just have to hide in the bathroom or something...

"No objections here either. It's been a while since someone beside myself groomed my fur..."

She set to grooming the second wing, still gentle despite her eagerness to be groomed as well. Only when she was sure she hadn't left out a single feather she slipped off her shoes and clothes and changed into Cloud. Cloud looked at Raphael, tail wagging.

Raphael grinned and moved to lock his door. If someone had walked in he would have claimed the animal as his own and no one would have batted an eyelash, but it was for Rose's comfort that he did that. Anyway, he wasn't sure how his friend would feel about him stating Cloud was "his", regardless of the reason. Pulling a soft brush from the dresser he flopped onto the bed and patted the comforter. "Come on up, Cloud," he smiled.

Cloud waited for Raphael to settle and then jumped up on the bed, lying down across the angel's legs, stretching her body to its full length so the brush would have access to every bit of fur. She wagged her tail and waited for the grooming to start.

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