(no subject)

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

Date: 18 May, evening
Location: Bar
Status: Public
Summary: This is all so frustrating... I need a drink


Nothing, nothing, nothing! There were lots of different creatures around here that weren't Terran Barbarians, but none of them had given him the slightest opening yet. Well, he had learned to be patient over the past millennia.

Still, there were times when he needed some distraction from his fruitless search for a way home. The bar was likely to be a good place to go looking for it. He'd see if they had some decent wine.

He entered the bar and quickly looked around. There didn't seem to be any guests yet, but the grey-haired man with the cane, whome he had encountered back when that Raphael had arrived here, was busy behind the counter.

"Wine," he ordered as he walked up to him. "Red, dry." Then he waited to see what, exactly, the man would serve him.

Comments

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

Joe smiled at the new guest. He had caught a fleeting glimpse of him before, and McLeod had told him a little about their subsequent talk.

"Certainly," he answered to the order and carefully poured a glass of the best dry red wine he had at hand.

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

He sampled the wine and nodded appreciatively.

As he settled on a stool at the bar, he indicated the room with a gesture. "Not much patronage tonight?"

If this is not okah let me know and I will delete it :3

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael had wanted to apologize to Joe for leaving his bar in such a mess. In all honesty he had no excuse for the empty bottles -some shattered- and blood smudged all over the floor. So he would just come right out and say he was wrong and hope that the man would forgive him.

It was worth a try anyway.

As he approached however he became aware that he recognized the other man from before. When he hacked off his wings... For a moment he considered returning later but what if there wasn't another opportunity?

"Hello, Atlan," he said with a warm smile. He turned to Joe, shame suddenly on his expression. "Hello, Joe. Erm, can I... can I get a hot chocolate?" Raphael's cheeks were burning but he was not going to leave until he properly apologized to Joe.

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

Joe smiled at the new guest and turned to reach for a cup. Finally his bar was filling up a little!

"Certainly," he said and quickly and efficiently prepared the drink before depositing it in Raphael's reach. "How are you?"

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

He swallowed some of the warm beverage, immediately feeling relaxed as the taste of chocolate coated his tongue. Mm... "I'm okay, there was something I needed to speak with you about but I can see you are already talking to someone. I can wait." He smiled gratefully at him as he took another sip.

Mmmm...

Hot chocolate, he decided, was much better than all that alcohol. And he didn't even throw up afterwards.

[quickneatuntrac.livejournal.com]

He could well imagine getting used to spending his evenings in Joe's bar here. The man himself was pleasant enough company, with all the professional curiosity of a bartender and the decency to not let it show if he realised he was being lied-to in answer.

He wasn't the first guest tonight. Two men were already lounging at the counter. Or well, one was lounging. The other looked like he was just as likely to bolt and run as he was to actually finish his drink.

"Same as last night, Joe," he ordered as he nodded to the two other men. He wasn't overly interested in trying out any liquor at the moment. Hewas fealing beat-up enough in the mornings as it was. Coke would suit him just fine for now.

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Joe told Raphael as he poured a glass for the latest arrival. Oh yes, hisbar was filling up very nicely now. "I'm here for everyone. I can easily distribute my attention between three guests."

He put the glass on the counter for the other man to pick up. "There you go, Mike."

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

Atlan glanced at the newcomer. He was a short man who looked rather like one of the barbarians. He probably was one, but it probably couldn't hurt to keep an eye on him as well.

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael was seriously considering returning to speak with Joe another time, but he would not be a coward. Not anymore. Closing his eyes for a moment he thought of the small blue flower and the lesson he had learned from it.

I will have Faith... I will grow and do my best... A gardener never forgets his flowers, even when he has to prune them.

... It is then that they are stronger...

"Joe... I wanted to apologize for the mess I left in your bar. I had lost control and well... I was wrong in doing such a thing. And you..." He turned to Murdoc. "I apologize for the other night. I wasn't in my right mind. I hope you will both forgive me." 

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael nearly choked on his swallow of chocolate. He hadn't been expecting such a question. He stiffened and tried to think of an excuse to change the subject, but then...

They deserved to know...

Letting out the breath he realized he had been holding he stared down at his cup. "I was once an angel," he said. "The Archangel of Healing. I owned a clinic in Upper Tadfield and one day a... a young boy came in. His sister... I had been treating her for Cancer and she had suddenly died." The memory was strong in his mind and became more vivid with each word that passed from his lips.

"He had a gun, and when I tried to talk him down a Hellbeast attacked. The boy... A shot rang out and he had... had..." Raphael forced the words out of his mouth. "He had taken his own life. Had destroyed himself." He clenched his eyes shut, hands grasping he counter ledge, suddenly feeling as if he were there again, reliving it.

"He destroyed himself... And I... I was drawn here." He opened his eyes and shifted his gaze to Joe, realizing his own vision was blurry from tears he thought he had run out of a long time ago. "Joe found me outside in the rain. He brought me inside. Duncan and Rose and Atlan... They came too. I would not have survived the night if it weren't for them."

He closed his eyes again, the words still ringing in his ears.

[quickneatuntrac.livejournal.com]

The angel bit must be some kind of metaphor. But two could play that game.

"I fear," he told the man, "I used to work for the other side."

Not that anyone would believe him if he openly confessed to his former profession. With interest he noticed the man's strong reaction, though.

"I myself do not approve of suicide either, however," he stated, inwardly grinning at the thought of why he didn't, but keeping his face seriously calm to the outside.

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael gave a shrug, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He felt a bit vulnerable having shared his story. "Can I have another one, Joe?" he asked. At this rate he was going to drink his body weight in chocolate.

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

"Of course," Joe said as he poured another cup for the angel. "As far as I'm concerned, a guy's life is hie own affair. Who'd I be to tell him he can't end it if he really wants to?"

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

Atlan grinned. "I'm a kind of angel as well," he said, knowing fully well that it was most likely safe to say such things, since no one was going to believe them anyway. "At least I come from up there." He pointed up.

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

This seemed to interest Raphael. "Heaven?" he asked. "Is that why you're trying to find a way home? Did you... Did you lose your wings...?"

[quickneatuntrac.livejournal.com]

At the same time as the redhead, Murdoc blurted out: "Up there? From the ceiling? The attic?" he chuckled.

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael sipped his hot chocolate, mind niggling at something...

"Wait..."
The night he had hacked away his wings... He had been in such pain he hadn't been able to grasp the vital details.

"That's why you were looking for a space ship?" Raphael looked at the man. If he were an angel he'd sense a Presence. And he clearly was not a demon. So up there would mean...

"Atlan... Are you from another world?"

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael tilted his head at Atlan. "I need a Presence," he said quietly, shifting uncomfortably. "Which I no longer seem to have. Wings would have helped too, but... Well, you saw what happened to them..."

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

"We should have a talk about what precisely a 'presence' is made of," Atlan suggested. "In peace and quiet, some day."

Some day soon, that was.

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

Raphael looked surprised but he nodded. "Alright," he said, smiling gently.

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

Atlan nodded at the red-head. "Contact me when you have some time to spare."

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

"I will," he promised. He released the edge of his robe that he realized he had been scrunching in his nervousness. "I'll be bafk in a couple hours to help with clean-up. I'll let my brothers know I'll be here, one of them will probably want to watch."

They don't trust me... He gave his head a shake. Now was not the time to wallow in misery, not when he had an opportunity to help.

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

"If they want to come and watch they better come to help," Joe commented. "I don't mind a helping hand, but I won't have that hand gawked at."

This is Raphael's last post here :3

[halosphere.livejournal.com]

They're just trying to protect me, he thought feebly. But he gave a smile and put his money, with a generous tip, on the counter. "I'll come by in a few hours," he told him, cheeks coloring in shame as his mind whirled with what he had done here. He turned and left quickly.

[josephdawson.livejournal.com]

Joe shook his head slightly as he put the money away. At some point he'd had to take that one aside and talk to him in private. Something did seem to be seriously wrong about him.

He shook off that particular train of thought and looked at his remaining guests. "Anything else I can do for you?" he asked.