Michael Pratt (under__oath) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2011-03-04 17:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-08-11, fable, michael |
I've been told that salvation lets their wings unfold
Who: Fable Morrison, Michael Pratt, and a Legionary of Andras (NPC)
When: Afternoonish
Where: The streets of Scarlet Oak to start, then home
Fable was hoping that the news was right when it said it was safe to go outside again. She’d fretted, and she’d worried, especially as she wasn’t sure the little charm Naoki had made her still worked. Still, wanting to be safe, she tied the charm around Ainsley’s neck, the baby needing the protection more than she did. They were only going to run a few errands and then right back to the house. Fable could grow her own food, but she did not have her own cow and cows didn’t produce soy milk, so therefore, errands it was.
With the baby in one arm and the diaper bag over the other shoulder, Fable headed into town. The earth elemental in her was torn between taking her time and making sure she got everything done, while the worry was making her want to rush and just get home already. Ainsley was fussing a little, and that meant everything was going to take three times as long as it normally should have. Fable was patient, but still, it wasn’t the time or the place for this. Everything she tried, the baby was still crying, pulling at the charm, at Fable’s dog tags, anything she could, like she was trying to tell Fable something.
It never occurred to her that her baby’s wolf senses might pick up something she couldn’t. Fable just chalked up the sinking feeling in her stomach to her worry, and not the fact that she could actually feel the danger coming closer to her. Ainsley was right. They weren’t alone.
Michael didn’t give a fuck if it was sunshine and butterflies or if the road was paved with death by the demons - he was going out. The man didn’t fear the stupid legionaries that came and went. They were pathetic in comparison to the demons he had came across before in his life. If humans were going to cower before these worms, then what were they going to do when the inevitable came? Probably crap themselves and pass out. He sighed while taking a corner and continued to walk down the street, minding his own damn business. He was dressed in his best clothes, all topped off with a long trench coat. Definitely not the look that people would expect from an angel, but it fit him.
He had passed by a young woman at one point with a screaming child. Honestly, what was it with parents these days and unable to calm their kids down? A roll of his eyes was all he gave to her before going on. He was too focused on avoiding the damn kid that it didn’t even hit him then. By the time he was about to take another corner, he stopped. ...it can’t be. Michael whipped his head around to see if she was still there. In the distance he could make out the young mother struggling with her child. Now that he was actually focusing on her, he could sense that angelic presence about her... and how damn familiar it was.
But before Michael could even turn on his heels, a demon had appeared within his sight and before the woman. How typical, going after the angelic ones and all. And here he had been too caught up with trying to pinpoint who she was that he didn’t even realize there was a demon coming. “You’re out of shape,” Michael muttered to himself as he finally turned on his heels. This would snap him right back into it, though.
All Fable had to do was turn her head, and then she saw it. Pure black and snarling, with the head of a raven, and it was coming towards her. For all her military connections, Fable was not a soldier. She was a mother, a caregiver, more at home in her garden than she’d ever be anywhere else. Her first instinct was to try and run, but the demon was faster than her. Always would be faster than her. Ainsley was screaming in her ear now and she couldn’t even try to shush the baby, knowing the first sound that got out of Fable’s mouth would likely be a scream.
And then the demon reached them, and it didn’t hurt Fable at all. Not at first. No, the demon reached out - and took Ainsley right out of Fable’s arms while knocking the elemental to the ground with the other fist. Fable crumpled to the ground, aware that the side of her face was now bleeding, but she didn’t focus on it. Instead she was screaming, crying now, trying to get back to her feet to get her daughter back.
The demon just laughed at her struggling, holding Ainsley close to its face and beckoning Fable to come closer. The ground lit up at the demon’s feet - a ward of some kind. Fable didn’t care what it was. Ainsley was more important than a demon’s magic.
Oh, now it was on. The second the demon snatched the child, Michael’s wings had flourished, bursting into blue flames as they took the form of proper angel wings. Even if this woman wasn’t of his blood, he wasn’t going to ignore this demon. It was going to die in exactly five minutes tops. The amount of time it took to fly from where he was to where the demon stood was a matter of seconds, but he didn’t focus on the demon. Not yet. He knew that magic that was swelling at its feet and it could kill the woman if she dared to cross it. Swooping it, he caught hold of her and flew down the street to give them enough distance.
Once he was back on his feet, he settled the woman down and looked her in the eye. Now that they were closer, he knew this girl was one of Raziel’s. Now he definitely couldn’t walk away from this, even after the demon was dead. “Don’t go near it,” Michael commanded her calmly, yet firmly. “If you want both you and your child to live, stay here.” He wasn’t going to let go of her until she at least agreed to that. Hopefully she wasn’t too hysterical at this point.
Everything was happening too fast for Fable to keep track of. One minute she was screaming at the demon and then a man swooped in and snatched her away. Literally swooped, blue flame-like wings sprouting from his back. She’d heard rumors of angels before, but in the moment she couldn’t think about anything beyond the fact that she’d taken her daughter out today and put Ainsley in danger. What would happen if somehow she lost the baby? She’d worry about what the man was after, when she knew they were all safe. “It - it has Ainsley,” she sobbed, shaking in his arms. Still, he had a point - she couldn’t fight this herself, not without it killing her. It took her a moment, but she nodded. Yes, she’d stay here.
Ainsley was still crying, and in that moment, instinct took over. The little girl shifted into a wolf, so instead of tears, there was nothing but snarling and barking. Nothing a little baby werewolf could do, but the demon looked perplexed at it. Who knew its prey would bark back at him?
He could only imagine that Ainsley was this child, who was now barking at the demon. Michael looked over his shoulder to double check and- yup. Child was a were. Lovely. Still, he could feel that genuine fear rolling off of the woman. He had enough time in his long life to learn not to be overwhelmed by other’s emotions, but he did comprehend them. There was no denying her emotions and he knew how genuine they were. Looking back to the woman, he finally let go of her and murmured, “Wait here.”
Turning around, Michael made his way towards the demon, wings crackling as the extended to their full wingspan. The demon just laughed at him, trying to keep the wriggling wolf still. Its voice boomed out around the area, shaking the very ground the walked on, but it never fazed Michael. He merely kept walking.
“Pathetic angel! You think you can stop me?!”
Michael didn’t even give the creature the time of day, refusing to answer. Instead, he muttered a Latin phrase under his breath - Adveni, Aequitas - and then another burst of blue fire came before him. Once the fire disappeared, all that was left in place was a massive hammer made out of cast iron. It fell right into Michael’s hands, wielding it as if it was a mere feather. That was when the look on the demon’s face dropped, instantly recognizing the old hammer, and thus realized what exactly he was fucking with - a Virtue.
The demon roared out as Michael grew closer, trying to extend the ward, but it was no use. He had wings and therefore could dodge whatever was thrown at him. And while he looked old, that didn’t mean his speed was gone. Closing in on the demon, all he had to do was swing the hammer once and knocked the creature to the side, the sound thundering through the area. And before the demon could hit the ground, Michael made sure to swiftly cast a protection spell on the tiny wolf, shielding it from any harm. Walking over to the demon, he watched it squirm and roar in pain as its side burned and hissed where the hammer struck. He made no hesitation in slamming Aequitas into the demon’s head, crushing the skull and brain and thus finally killing it.
With that out of the way, he dismissed Aequitas back into its blue flames and reached down to scoop up the bitty wolf. Wriggly little thing, but he could withstand a few bites. And then he flew back to the woman, fire wings flickering away once he landed and extended the puppy out to her.
This entire scene was so surreal that all Fable could do was stare. Having never been anything close to a violent person herself, it wasn’t like she was prepared to see a fight of this magnitude. And the stranger’s wings, she’d certainly never seen anything like that. What was he? Not a were, not a demon... Angel. If Tim and Ainsley and the Morrisons were wolves, and she was an elemental, then it shouldn’t be so out there that angels existed, too. Her brain just couldn’t put two and two together in the moment, watching on in pure terror as the scene unfolded.
The adrenaline was still coursing through her veins as the demon finally fell, and Fable gave a shriek at the sight of Ainsley going down with it. It didn’t seem to hurt her though - was that magic coming from the winged stranger, too? - and Fable was crying with relief when he brought the puppy over. She gathered Ainsley in her arms, cradling her wolf!daughter close to her chest. They were safe. Ainsley was safe, and more over, it didn’t look like the baby had been hurt. Ainsley was just shaking even in puppy form, but she wouldn’t bite Fable. She knew who her mommy was.
“It’s okay, sweetie, Mommy’s got you,” Fable kept saying over and over, running her hands over the wolf’s fur. It was likely now that Ainsley wouldn’t shift back until she fell asleep, whenever that happened, but the last thing Fable was worried about right now was if someone could see her walking down the street with a baby wolf in her arms. After a minute, she looked back up at the man, now sans wings, and wiped at her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered, and then said it again, stronger, “Thank you so much. It would have killed her.” And in turn, the loss of Ainsley would have destroyed Fable. Another few sniffles got out as she tried to get her emotions under control. “I don’t even know your name.”
At first, Michael simply stood there and watched the mother cling onto her child... puppy... whatever. He had spent many years helping out mothers due to Cecilia’s wards. Injustice and pregnancy went hand-in-hand back in the day. It was different now, but Michael tried not to dwell on it. Too many unwanted memories. But being thanked? That struck an odd chord in him. He couldn’t remember the last time he was thanked for anything. Humans were such selfish creatures to begin with. Then again, mothers had to be selfless to raise a child properly, so perhaps there was hope with this one.
...oh, and you know, there was also the fact she had strong angelic blood in her, thanks to his twin. He’d get to that eventually.
“Michael,” he finally gave her his name after a pause. No point in hiding it now, seeing she saw him in full-blown angel mode and all. Speaking of which, his eyes noticed that she was still bleeding from the head and thus brought a gentle hand to the side. He worked his magic quickly, a blue light glow from his palm as he healed up the wound and cast a soothing spell over her to ease the pain. With that out of the way, he dropped his hand back to his side and raised an eyebrow slightly. “And you are?” Hopefully she was the one that got away from his vigil. There was only one Redleaf that wasn’t back home and he prayed it was her. Michael needed to get his shit in line.
Why wouldn’t Fable thank him? He’d saved Ainsley’s life, and probably her own, and to top it off, he just did something to her to make it so she stopped bleeding. The wound didn’t even hurt anymore, and she lifted a hand to her face to double check. No wound, and even most of the blood that had been on her cheek was gone too. The only white witch she’d ever met was Naoki, and even then she hadn’t really seen him at work, and just had the little charm he’d made. The magic must have been long gone from it now, and it was laying on the sidewalk by the demon, torn from Ainsley’s neck when she’d shifted.
Half in shock, she kept Ainsley close, hand dropping so she could keep stroking the wolf’s fur. When her daughter fell asleep, she’d have the little baby back again, and there was a change of clothes waiting in the diaper bag. Wherever the diaper bag had gone to, anyway. “Fable,” she said, “Fable Morrison. This is my daughter Ainsley.” Her last name had been changed for years now, and it had been ages since she’d introduced herself as a Redleaf.
His lips twitched up for a split second when she finally revealed her name. Didn’t matter if she introduced herself as a Redleaf or not - he knew she was a part of his bloodline. Knowing that she was indeed the one that left and not just another random one put Michael at ease. He’d sleep better tonight. But now he was in quite the pickle. Typically, he would have nodded and walked off after something like this. But now? He couldn’t. Raziel forced him to promise to look after his family. This girl was almost killed because of a demon. Shit, if he let her go, who knew what would happen. He couldn’t do that. He had his honor and word to keep.
“Fable,” he murmured the name. “Of course it is...” A few steps closer to her and Michael looked over the girl quickly. She seemed fine, except from her emotions that were still shaking. He’d have to deal with that. Being an empath sucked on and off. “Where were you headed to?” Anyone would have asked if she needed assistance, but not Michael. He was following whether she liked it or not. That would probably provoke a series of questions from her that he may or may not answer. Depended on what she asked. One thing was for sure: the streets were not the prime location to reveal to someone about their lineage. Maybe some tea would work nicely over that.
She stared at him for a second, trying to figure out why he knew her name. She’d never met another Fable before, so had he been looking for her or something? But, those wings - he was an angel, and Michael had saved their lives. Fable refused to believe that he meant them any harm, otherwise he could have just let the demon finish them off. That thought just had her shaking even more, but in her mind, it was understandable. She’d never witnessed anything like this before in her entire life.
“Errands,” she managed to get out, shaking her head. She’d almost gotten her infant daughter - as well as herself - killed because she decided to run out for a few things. This was definitely not one of her prouder moments. “It can all wait, I’m just going to take her home...” And stay there. Possibly for forever.
Michael barely sympathized for humans - seriously, they didn’t deserve it half the time - but when it came to mothers, he had a soft spot for them. Pregnant women and mothers were Cecilia’s wards and in turn Michael tended to look out for them as well. The amount of injustice there was for such wards blew him away. He liked to think that somewhere Cecilia was smiling over what he had just done. Fable’s desire to simply go home was understandable. A familiar surrounding would put the two of them at ease... and maybe then he could introduce himself there properly instead of on the streets. “Then I’ll escort you back,” Michael insisted while staying by her side. The firmness in his words made it quite clear that he couldn’t be persuaded. Hopefully she would appreciate the offer. Besides, Fable was well protected now that she had an angel by her side.
At this point, Fable didn’t have the slightest clue why Michael was doing what he was doing. All she knew was that she was beyond grateful for the help, and that she probably shouldn’t drive in the state she was in. The Morrisons didn’t live far and she could probably manage to walk - but like hell she was going to do that while there were demons about, because even with Michael’s escort she didn’t want to meet another one of those things. “I would appreciate that, thank you,” she said, managing something that might have been a smile as she got back to her feet. Ainsley squirmed in her arms, wanting to be set down, but Fable held on. Just because she was still in puppy form didn’t meant she got to go out and play, not after what had just happened. “Shh, Ainsley, it’s okay,” she murmured to the baby. “We’ll be home soon.” She glanced up at Michael. “My car is right over there.” It never occurred to her that letting a stranger drive her car might be a bad thing.
With a simple, quiet nod, Michael began heading in the direction of her car. There were no issues with driving her back, especially when they obviously needed to talk. He couldn’t just drop her off and then fly away like that was it. He needed to let her know she was obviously a target amongst demons and why she was... and why he knew. The only struggle inside of him that moment was debating whether to tell her on the ride over or once they reached her house. Also means the child has angelic blood, as well. Not nearly as strong as Fable’s, seeing it grew weaker with each generation, but it was still there. The child was as much his responsibility as it was Fable’s at this point. Raziel would have wanted it that way. Once at her car, he paused and realized he was lacking one thing. “Keys?” Just because he was an angel didn’t mean he could perform miracles like unlocking car doors.
She didn’t know what could possibly be going through Michael’s mind, and her thoughts were so jumbled it was hard to make sense of them all. Could she get a hold of Naoki and have him bless the house? Could white magic repel a demon? Could she herself learn how to do that? When Michael spoke again, Fable blinked, then shifted Ainsley a little so she could reach into her purse. “Here,” she said, a little weakly, passing her keys over. With the baby still in wolf form, there was no way she’d ever get Ainsley into her car seat, so Fable climbed into the passenger side with Ainsley still snuggled in her lap. Hopefully Michael was a safe driver... hell, it didn’t matter. He was an angel. She trusted him.
Keys in hand, Michael slipped into the car with Fable and got the engine running. Of course he was a safe driver - he was a virtue of justice. That meant obeying the rules and one thing the humans got right were laws for driving. Even if something did happen, Michael would be quick with his white magic and do whatever it took to keep Fable and her baby safe. He assumed Fable would tell him what direction to go in, so for the mean time, he just drove until she said something. While he enjoyed the silence, the emotions coming from both Fable and Ainsley were enough to drive him crazy. Not her fault, he knew that, but he had to remind himself that sometimes silence after trauma wasn’t the best place for humans. Maybe some ice breakers would work. “You been here long?” He glanced over to Fable while he spoke dryly. “In town, that is.”
She didn’t know that what exactly Michael’s classification was, only that she trusted him not to get them hurt and knew he’d get them home safely. Her head was spinning, if only because this was so much to take in at once - and no one could blame her for that. Fable petted Ainsley’s fur, trying to keep the little wolf calm, knowing that if she could get the baby to sleep eventually, she’d turn back into a little girl again. “I’m sorry?” It took a moment for what he’d said to actually register. “Um, not really. I moved here a few months ago, after she was born.” Fable would have come sooner, but though she was stubborn, she knew better than to attempt to move across the country when nine months pregnant. “Are you... from around here?” She didn’t believe heaven was in any way attached to Scarlet Oak, no. But she was curious, and talk helped keep her from thinking about other things right now.
Only a few months ago? Michael had been in Scarlet Oak for far longer and yet he hadn’t bumped into her? Or even sensed her? Well, at least now he knew where she wondered off to the last time he visited California. She was here and safe now. He’d make sure of that. His eyes glanced over to her for a second in response to her question. Oh, the lies he had to make up to explain that one. He mostly told people he was from England, only due to the accent he picked up from spending so many years there. Though Michael was anything but English and that was quite evident in his little display he showed with the demon. He couldn’t tell Fable the same story he told everyone else who inquired about his hometown. Explaining this would be harder than he thought and the car wasn’t exactly the place he wanted to be having it. Might as well put a dent in it while the topic is up... “No,” he finally replied. “I’m not from here or any place you would know of, really.” And he prayed she didn’t ask if he was from heaven. Stupid humans and their imagined places... “I don’t typically ramble on with my life story to just anyone, Fable, but you’re an exception.”
“Oh.” Well, she hadn’t really expected a straightforward answer, given what he was. Angels could have been from heaven, sure, but Fable wasn’t exactly sure she believed in that anymore. What kind of god would take her husband away from her, when Tim hadn’t been doing anything wrong? Only defending his country, and trying to take care of his family at the same time. Michael’s accent said he wasn’t a native, and she was just curious. The question itself had been mostly innocent. “I’m sorry... I don’t mean to pry. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I’ll try not to ask too much.” Out of habit, she rocked the baby back and forth, keeping her eyes on the road. “We’re this road on the left, here. Second house on the right.”
“No need for apologies,” Michael reassured her, even if his voice sounded more jaded than apologetic. Really, it wasn’t her fault. And Michael was certain she was about to ask more questions when they reached her house. He wasn’t going to let her go without tell her. She had a right to know. After taking a left, Michael slowly came up to the house that Fable claimed as hers. It seemed nice on the outside. Not exactly his style, but his twin would have approved of it. Turning the engine off, Michael sighed and stared at the home for a moment before looking back to Fable. “Would it be too much trouble for me to come along? I believe you and I need to have a little chat before I leave.” He didn’t mean to intrude, but this really couldn’t wait any longer.
Fable simply nodded. It felt like she should apologize, though she wasn’t sure what exactly for. Inconveniencing him, for sure - but it wasn’t like she’d asked be attacked by a demon, right? She couldn’t be faulted for that. The house wasn’t exactly her style either, seeing as it was technically the Morrisons’ and not actually her own, but it would do for now. It was a roof over their head and a family that loved them. She climbed out of the car, still cradling Ainsley, and glanced around the yard. “If you would like,” she said, “we’re the only ones home. I can put on some tea or something.” Tea would be good right now, and she probably had some chamomile in the cabinet. Anything soothing would be a bonus.
Michael was happy to hear that Fable had no issues with him staying for a chat. “Tea would be lovely,” he remarked while exiting the car. He liked to think Fable got the tea-drinking thing from himself instead of Raziel, which caused a quick quirk up in his lips before settling back to a stoic expression. Fable still came off tense and he knew it wouldn’t be long until she realized she had nothing to worry about. Michael couldn’t be her direct guardian angel, but he would definitely do his best. While walking across the lawn, he took his time with following her, busy investigating the area. He brought up a hand and murmured a gentle chant. White light glowed from his palm and within seconds he finished the ward that was then placed upon the house. At least Fable would benefit from the perks of an angel’s white magic. That out of the way, he kept closer to the young girl, waiting to step inside with her.
She looked up in time to see the glow coming from his hand, about to wave him inside after her, and she blinked. White magic, maybe? Like she’d seen Naoki doing with his charms weeks ago, on a larger scale. Was Michael warding the house? There was so much about magic that Fable just didn’t know yet. Upstairs she could hear a tiny flutter of Yoko realizing she was back in the house, and she could tell the dove was already worried. After a moment, she found her voice again. “Please, come in. Kitchen’s right this way.” Though her daughter was still in her wolf form, Ainsley was starting to drift off a little now and she set the little puppy down in her playpen, still within sight from the kitchen doorway. Getting down all the stuff to start tea was a little reassuring, filling a pot with water and setting it on the stove to boil while she busied herself with mugs. “Do you have a favorite kind of tea?” she asked. “I have plenty to choose from.” And it was all hers too, not the Morrisons’.
After she gestured for him to come in, Michael stepped inside the house and took a second to familiarize himself with his surroundings. He had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time he stepped into the place. “Roobois, if you have it.” Michael wasn’t picky, nor was it really the time to be picky. Leaning against the nearby wall, he watched Fable work about in the kitchen while he tried to find his words. How exactly was one suppose to go about this without spooking the hell out of the poor mortal? Cecilia would have been better with this, he knew that. Cecilia would have loved her. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on such thoughts for they only saddened Michael. Once he flicked them away, he spoke up, “Do you remember grandfather at all? A man by the name of Raziel?” Michael didn’t know how old Fable was when his twin died, but if she remembered him even in the slightest, then perhaps it would be easier to break in the news.
She nodded, taking down a small tin of looseleaf Roobois tea, setting it down alongside the mugs. While the water boiled, she found two small mesh balls and filled them with tea; looseleaf was always better than the plain Lipton stuff, in her opinion. Pity she’d yet to find a decent tea store here in Michigan yet, though the stuff she’d had with Venus had been pretty good. When Michael finally spoke, Fable looked over at him, a little startled. “A little,” she said. “I was young when he died - six or seven years old, if that.” She paused, thankful the kettle started to whistle so she had a moment to collect her thoughts before talking again. Filling each cup up with water, she also grabbed a honey bear and the sugar bowl to the cabinet and brought both over to the table. “....How did you know my grandfather’s name?”
For a moment, Michael pondered which was worse: losing someone you barely knew or someone you knew too well. He knew Fable would have loved Raziel if he was still around and vice versa. His twin was softer around the edges with more smiles on his face. He had a reason to smile. He had a family. Michael made his way over to the table, pulling a seat out for Fable before taking one himself. At first he didn’t respond to Fable and instead focused on putting the right amount of sugar into his cup of tea. Holding the cup in his hand, he took in the rich scent of the tea, then looked to Fable. “I’m sure either your mother or father still have a picture of him lying around. We never acted a like, but we could certainly pass off as one another.” Getting his point across was more difficult than he imagined, all sorts of memories and emotions tingling inside the angel. “He was my twin brother, which yes, also means he was like me.” Hopefully she was bright enough to know what he meant by that.
She took the seat he offered her, reaching over for the honey in her own tea. Fable never added milk to hers, liking just the little touch of sweetness the honey added. It took a moment for what Michael said to sink in, and she just stared at him, trying to place his face in her memory. She’d met her grandfather a handful of times, and she knew for a fact that her father had pictures laying around the house. Michael could probably see the realization creep into her face when she put two and two together, and realized he was telling the truth. Fable didn’t doubt that Michael was an angel, having seen his wings for herself. “I didn’t know,” she finally said, hands clenched around her teacup. “He never said... or if he did, I was too little.” And that, of course, meant that she was part angel, too. The granddaughter of an angel, actually. Knowing her family, and the personalities of each one of them... it all made sense. They were good people, if a little misguided at times.
He didn’t need to just watch the realization, for he felt it far better. It was times like these when he wished her could switch his empathy off. Fable’s emotions felt so private and personal and in a way he always felt like he was invading. Still, he remained quiet and waited for her to say something before saying something himself. “You weren’t suppose to know,” Michael reassured her. Raziel would have been the last person to mention that, always been the calmer and quieter of the twins. “It was for your safety that you didn’t know. We never wanted you or your family intertwined with our battle against the demons.” Michael paused while recalling the memories, the thought obviously paining him and actually making his face twitch out of the apathetic stare he had been holding since he first crossed paths with her. “He died trying to protect your family and he made me swear that I would do the same after he died, but that’s easier said than done. Demons hunted us down like dogs and I lost track of your family for a while. Been hiding here for some time with a couple trips back out to Redding to double check on all of you. But demons don’t just hunt down pure angels. They like to kill anything that has the slightest trace of angelic blood... that includes both you and your daughter.” He paused to take a sip of the tea, humming quietly to himself in approval, then brought his eyes back to Fable. “I’m not trying to scare you. I’m trying to help you.” And I’ve had too many people die on me. I can’t lose another one.
Fable might have been in shock, and that response was completely understandable, given what Michael was telling her. It wasn’t every day you found out that you were angelic blooded, after all, and not just a little - very angelic blooded. Still, she noticed that twitch in Michael’s face, that this wasn’t easy for him either. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Raziel had died to protect them - it suddenly made a lot more sense, why her father had always been so anti-violence, all the protests. “You protected us, that means so much,” she told him, trying to keep her voice steady and almost succeeding. “I don’t remember much about how he died, Grandpa Raziel. I’m sorry.” Had Michael been there? Maybe. Then the next thing he said sank in, and though he didn’t mean it, those words did scare her. “They’ll come back for me.” And for the baby, too. In that moment she wished Tim was here, Tim would have kept them safe even if Michael hadn’t been here. How could she do this on her own? She didn’t think it fair to ask Michael to hover over them, even if he wasn’t a guardian angel.
“No need to apologize.” He said it more as a command than for sympathy. In his mind, it was better off that less people knew how Raziel died. Michael was all for sticking to the truth of events, but in that case he wasn’t keen on walking around and saying his twin was slaughtered by demons. Whatever the Redleaf family said about Raziel’s death was their own business, but he doubted all of them knew the truth. The fear that rang through Fable’s voice almost made Michael roll his eyes. Good god, she takes after him, too. He wondered for a moment if she had an affinity towards earth like Raziel. Another time he could ask that. “They’re not going to be sitting outside your doorstep. Certainly not with the permanent ward I just placed up on your house. You’re safe here. If it makes you feel better, I have a bigger target on my head than you do.” Which worked out, seeing he had far more fighting experience when it came to demons. “Though if you feel unsafe for whatever reason,” Michael searched through his pockets to pull out his business card for the university and place it on the table, “then get a hold of me.” On it were various phone numbers along with his email. Michael felt silly for using this as a means of communication, but how else was he suppose to know if something was wrong? “I won’t let anything happen to you, Fable. Or to your daughter or anyone close to you. If you need car rides, someone to stay by your side or night, or even just to check in...” One hand left his tea mug and reached over to rest against hers. It was the best he could do when it came to being emotional. Cecilia always did this. “I’m here.”
If anything else, Fable wanted to remember her grandfather, so that way she could tell Michael more about him and what she knew. Maybe she did have a picture tucked away somewhere, she’d have to go look. Having no idea that Raziel had a connection to the earth the same as she did, she didn’t know to ask about that, if that was where her elementalism came from. Shit, there was so much Fable could ask and hadn’t, too much information to try and process at once. What she did know was that she and the baby were safe, there was a ward on the house, and nothing was going to get them in here. It was the best she could ask for in the moment. She nodded at Michael’s words, reaching over to squeeze his hand. Fable needed that tether more than she was admitting in the moment. “I will,” she promised. “Trust me, I appreciate it. And if there’s anything I can do to help you in return...” Except fight demons, Fable couldn’t do that. Care for his garden maybe? Hell if she knew anymore.
Looked like touching her hand did better than Michael anticipated. Her emotions washed over him and he actually found himself smiling a bit. There wasn’t much a mortal human could do for an angel, unless she wanted a job as his secretary at the university. Michael had his responsibilities and was prone to carry them out alone. Made him more bitter and cynical in the end, but he liked it that way. And yet there he was with his grand-niece, actually happy that he was able to help her out in some way today. “Careful what you say,” Michael assured her, pulling his hand back to hold his tea cup with both hands, “I might actually take it into consideration.” He wasn’t as gentle and nurturing as his brother had been, but he knew Fable would learn quickly that her great-uncle was as dry and sarcastic as they came. He meant it in a good way, though; Michael not have been smiling while he drank his tea, but inside he was happy of how the events turned out for the day.