Michael's arrival

[lost_wings]

Date: June 15
Time: Around noon
Location: The Manor
Status: Public
Summary: Michael needs somewhere to stay.


He still wasn't sure if this was a good idea.

Sure, he didn't have that much of a choice, given his relatively defenseless state and the amount of enemies he had managed to gather over the years. Still, he would have much rather been home.

Though then, given that he couldn't just fly back right now, he supposed this was less of a leap than actually pretending to be a human.

Sighing, he walked toward the doors of the manor. Hopefully this wouldn't end in disaster.

Comments

[featheredhugs]

Raphael had been writing in his notebook perched atop a tree with Waffles and a very sleepy Pudge.

Was that...?
It was.
He would know that Presence anywhere.

He leaped down, notebook in one hand, pen in the other. "Michael!" he called.

[lost_wings]

Michael turned to look. There was no way he could have mistaken that voice. "Raphael!"

A small part of him wanted to run off just based on that. There was no reason for Raphael to see him like this. However, he decided not to flee. Seeing an old friend would hopefully make him feel better about this whole mess.

Hopefully.

[featheredhugs]

"Brother." If he noticed that there was anything different, it didn't show. "what brings you here?" He chuckled. "Sorry, I've accumulated a bit of a zoo while I was here. This is Waffles, the owl is Pudge... and the pup that's about to lick your face off is Pancake."

[lost_wings]

"Get it away from me!" Sorry, Raphael, he wasn't quite in the state of mind for civilized discussion right now. Michael backed away from said puppy. Lick his face off? Raphael was already threatening him!

[featheredhugs]

Raphael knew that reaction when he saw one and immediately scooped up the animal. "I'm very sorry, she just gets excited and wants to be friends with everyone. It's very good to see you again, brother. Sorry about Pancake." The pup whimpered, looking at Michael with sad eyes that said Don't you want to pet me?

[lost_wings]

"Just... keep it away from me." Calm down, Michael. Raphael's holding it back, see? "I've seen enough puppies for a few lifetimes." Okay, so perhaps 'puppy' wasn't the best term to use, but it wasn't entirely untrue, either.

[featheredhugs]

Raphael decided not to ask. Instead, he gave Pancake a treat and draped the long sleeve of his cloak over it so that Michael wouldn't have to see her. "I'll make sure she stays away from you." He immediately realized he needed to warn Rose that his brother seemed to be disliking dogs right now. It was none of his business why, and if Michael wanted to tell him then it would be his choice.

Right now, Raphael was glad to see him. He smiled warmly at him. "What brings you here? Care to join me for something to eat?"

[lost_wings]

"I... wouldn't be opposed." Okay. The beast was out of sight, and he supposed Raphael could control it. Hopefully. "Why would anyone be here? I need somewhere to stay."

[featheredhugs]

"Then you have come to the right place. This is a Safe House for anyone who needs one. Some stay longer than others but all are welcome. Provided you don't try to kill anyone, of course. It is a safe place, after all."

He felt Pancake starting to full asleep snugged in his arm.

[lost_wings]

"Great." He sighed, then hesitated before saying anything else. This was Raphael, of course he could trust Raphael, but he was also a soldier. A soldier didn't survive long if they went screaming their weaknesses to the skies at the first opportunity. "I... kind of need that right now."

He did trust Raphael.

[featheredhugs]

Raphael nodded, the pup's movement in his arms confirming she was a sleep. He would keep her tucked away until he had a chance to put her in his room.

"The most dangerous thing here are some people without their coffee. If you like, I can introduce you to someone who can get you a room of your own? And then we can have some food and catch up."

He didn't even seem to notice that Michael was anything other than his older brother.

[lost_wings]

"That sounds good." He sighed. "I think there's a lot of catching up to do."

[featheredhugs]

"well, come on then," he said, moving towards the manor door.

[lost_wings]

Michael followed, still wary in case the beast decided to make a reappearance.

[featheredhugs]

He moved inside, waiting for Michael to follow. He motioned to the desk. "That's where you'll check in."

[lost_wings]

"Right." Michael walked up to the desk, looking for someone to talk to.

[roseheerkens]

Raphael's scent and his footsteps announced his presence to Rose even before she saw him. Her friend's arrival made her smile happily. She could also smell a dog and a stranger and was already curious. It looked like Raphael knew the stranger, liked him.

"Hello and welcome, sir. Hello Raphael."

Her eyes went to Raphael and then back to the stranger. She'd have to get to know the source of the dog scent later, now it looked like she had work to do.

"My name is Rose Heerkens, how can I be of assistance?"

[lost_wings]

"Uh. I need a room." He shouldn't have felt this awkward, really. But then, everything was still somewhat awkward.

[featheredhugs]

"This is my brother, Michael," Raphael said. "Rose is one of the many friends I have made here at the manor. She's like family to me."

[lost_wings]

"I'm glad to hear that." He managed a smile. Raphael deserved to have plenty of friends. Especially since Michael himself was still not going to be the best possible company.

[roseheerkens]

Rose smiled even wider at the newcomer once Raphael introduced him as his brother.

"Welcome to Lower Tadfield, Michael. It's nice to meet you.

What type of room would you like? Big, small, kingsized bed, smaller bed, bathroom with a shower or with a tub?"

[lost_wings]

"...Anything's fine." It wasn't like he was going to be comfortable anyway, stuck in this form as he was.

[roseheerkens]

Well, of course she could have given him just any of the free rooms, but he didn't look or smell all that confident and comfortable, so maybe he wouldn't want to be very far from Raphasel? They seemed close after all.

"Then how about a room that's just diagonally across from Raphael's room?"

Room 102 was the closest free room to Raphael's (and also directly across from her own room, but the young man didn't seem like she would mind having him there).

[lost_wings]

"That sounds great." Michael tried not to sound too relieved. He wasn't a child or something.

[roseheerkens]

Rose kept smiling at the young man in a friendly way.

"Alright, then room number 102 it will be. Here, fill in this form please and then I'll show you to your room."

She handed over the check in form as well as a pen.

[lost_wings]

Well, the form certainly wasn't too complicated, though it still had more space than he needed -- as far as names went, he supposed he did have several titles, but really the reasonable way was to just keep it to Michael.

Supernatural abilities. Yes, he did have those. Specifying them was another matter, especially under the current circumstances, though he supposed "angelic" would hopefully suffice. He was sure he'd be told if that wasn't quite enough information.

Check on the rules, date, and signature. He handed the form back to her. "Is this sufficient?"

[roseheerkens]

Rose looked through Michael's entries and smiled.

"Yes, this is just fine."

She filed the form away and got the key to room 102 for the new guest. Handing it to him she asked

"Would you like me to show you to your room?"

[lost_wings]

"Ah. I suppose Raphael can show me." He glanced over to Raphael in question.

[featheredhugs]

"Of course," he said, nodding.

[lost_wings]

"Thank you." Michael smiled a bit.

[roseheerkens]

Rose smiled encouragingly at both of them.

"That's fine with me. Just one more thing: you have a sign on your door handle. One side is for when you don't wan't to be disturbed. The other side says you want your room cleaned. If that sign is on the handle, staff will enter your room, clean up and put the sign on the inner door handle. You also can write a note and put it somewhere noticeable, in case you'd like to have just part of your room cleaned or if there are things staff mustn't touch during cleaning.

And don't hesitate to come to me if you have any questions."

She reckoned it was much more likely the young guest would ask Raphael but she wanted him to know that he could ask her too.

[featheredhugs]

"She's really great about help," Raphael assured Michael. He smiled. "She's family to me."

[lost_wings]

"That's good to hear," Michael replied. And it was. It was good to know Raphael had people to keep him company down here.

He wondered how long he would stay around.

[featheredhugs]

"Come on, I'll show you to your room, if you're ready."

[lost_wings]

"Thank you. That would be very kind of you."

[featheredhugs]

"Let's go then," he smiled.

[lost_wings]

"Let's." Okay, this was good. Being with Raphael was good. It reminded him of good things, and that was exactly what he needed right now.