???-1: THE AFTERMATH

[alreadyhuman]

In the ruins of the city of Lust, a small creature roams the hollow streets. Though the husks of the damned still wander, any seeking easy prey are quickly convinced to seek their sustenance elsewhere by the sting of Hell Energy. Any creature that can hold energy orbs in its palm is a threat to be avoided.

A strange being. It wears concealing clothes, already marking it as an oddity, its face almost entirely concealed save for the two glowing eyes that peek out from under its hat. The style and fashion of them is direly outdated, a human affectation gifted to it long, long ago, even by the standards of Hell.

It's raining again, Vivi thinks to himself, since there's nobody to say it to. His siblings are somewhere else in Lust, if they haven't delved down to the lower levels, seeking their favored prey - machines, husks, anything that they so wish that sates their desire for violence.

Once they were meant to be....he doesn't recall, exactly, what they were meant to be. Were they meant as hope? A tithe to Heaven? A soldier that served the souls of humankind, rather than Hell? Something else altogether?

Minos is dead now, truly so. He had felt the loss in his awakening, that he was not there to greet them.

But still, they were truly free now, with no purpose at all. That meant something, didn't it?

Vivi wanders the empty city, sheltering from the rain under a rotted awning, just watching. Waiting for something interesting to happen. If he strains his senses, though, he almost thinks that he can feel the presence of something that came from Heaven...

Surely, though, that's a mistake. The last time something from Heaven had come down here, the world had ended, at least this small part of it; he had felt the rupture.

But there's nothing left here to end. So he must be imagining it.

Comments

[alreadyhuman]

"Oh. Really?" He's digesting all this. If nothing else, he's a good listener.

"Is free will not that common?" He seems a little..not disturbed, but almost startled, as if the thought had never occurred to him.

That next question, though...his eyes scrunch up. "I met some, I think...but that was a long time ago. The memories are really far away. My siblings were still asleep when stuff, um...happened." He's squinting into the darkness, half because he's trying to see further ahead, and half because he's trying very hard to remember.

It hurts his head if he thinks back too much.

"We were mostly...still being worked on then. But we were kept quiet cause they didn't want to attract any attention from up there...I remember that much." Creation is an act of God, but we can't be God, they had said like a mantra, a prayer, a blessing over their sleeping forms. Vivi had never quite understood it.

[jermastrat]

"So I've been told." He'd worked occasionally with Minos, prior to the Prime Soul's execution. Gabriel had kept him at a distance of course, strictly professional, and he could never have claimed to know him as well as the people he so cared for. But he remembered, now more than ever, how the King had responded when Gabriel descended to end his life; he'd never raised a hand against him, only his voice.

It was less than an execution, it was nothing short of murder. A murderer.

The thought was buried frantically, not allowed to speak any further.

"For mortals, it is. All of them possessed it once, before they became these mindless husks. But for beings such as you and I it's... complicated." The answer should have been no. But the blood slicked floors of Heaven's senate would be a grim and violent suggestion otherwise.

"Ah... Yes, Heaven wouldn't have- Well, if the Council had been aware of..." Why did he keep running into these fucking awful goddamn mental walls?! No he would not be reckoning with them right now, fuck this!

"It's no matter, there's nothing you need fear from 'up there', as it were, I can promise you that." He finally, finally touched down again, walking in step with Vivi. "It appears that this street is empty as well..." This really wasn't looking good for the prospects of potentially locating any still human souls, was it?

A shifting in yet another darkened alleyway drew his attention... And despite their hopeful search, his hand still drifted immediately to Justice's hilt, his back straightening.

"Or, perhaps not..." He raised his voice, calling out to the vague black shapes he could just barely make out moving in the shadows there, "Identify yourself immediately or be-"

... Let it never be said that he didn't receive a prompt and informative response. Gabriel wouldn't finish that demand, frankly he couldn't, and really didn't have to, as from the cluttered alleyway burst a veritable goddamn torrent of gibbering, drooling, twitching filth and strays, stinking of blood, with some even dragging along the scavenged remains of machines that had fallen afoul of more dangerous husks.

His response may as well have been automatic for how quickly he positioned himself in front of Vivi, both blades practically flying into his hands in the blink of an eye as the angel swore a goddamn fucking blue streak.

He should have picked the fucking kid up he should have been flying this whole time.

[alreadyhuman]

"We're just different...that makes sense, I guess. We were made for a purpose, so I guess people thought we might not need it."

The bloody crackle of demonic presence registers in his subconscious mind before conscious thought even crosses that threshold. What ignites in his cupped palms as a response is not the controlled, habitual worry stone of before, but pure white-hot energy. It pours forth in a blazing torrent as he pulls his hands apart, splitting the projectiles so they curve neatly around Gabriel to tear through groups of husks. Surprisingly little blood comes forth, but only because that energy seems to burn like a cauterizing flame.

Despite appearances, talking and thinking come to him only because he has spent a great deal of time doing it in his short life. Using his powers for combat, however, is an instinct that runs bone-deep.

Humans had never been able to master the control husks had over hell energy, but he is not a human. He was made for this, whether he likes it or not.

[jermastrat]

The angel only stiffened briefly as Vivi's attack snaked past him, making quick, clean work of the first wave of hell-blasted interlopers. The air stank of burned meat, the scent as familiar to Gabriel as the weight of his own sword. The fact that this came as a result from something the same general size and shape of a child though was...

Pretty relieving actually, that took a load off his mind.

"Oh, you were actually really serious about that self-defense thing, huh." Sick, he can relax a little bit now thank Christ. A good thing too, since that really had been only the initial attack, as it became immediately obvious that the silence that had followed the two of them through the city before had only been the case because all of them were right here. No he didn't care if that was hyperbole, it felt enough like it and that was all that mattered.

A tightly packed collection of filth, having learned zero lessons from the grisly demise of their front line, pushed inward towards the pair, and this time it would be Gabriel that would retaliate. Justice and Splendor swung forth, each sword eviscerating the pack in a single strike in a spectacular, theatrical spray of brilliant red blood.

And then he kept going, pushing forward in an effort to force the hungry, enraged mob away from Vivi. ... What, the kid was ranged, he needed room to work!

[alreadyhuman]

This doesn't feel familiar, exactly, but it is a tactical formation and so Vivi's hindbrain, such as it is, responds. His role is to keep firing and little more than that, so he plants his feet and keeps drawing energy out, dragging it from his surroundings and condensing it into power.

Gabriel forges ahead, no longer staying still, and he changes his tactics accordingly. Anything not within range of Gabriel's sweeping arc is bombarded with brilliant fire; the occasional straggler that manages to stumble forward after being cut with his swords doesn't get far. Vivi's eyes are wide in calculation, but it's a distant look, as if he's not really seeing what's in front of him and conscious thought is taking a back seat.

(Surely they have to run out at some point. He hopes so, anyway. It doesn't feel good to kill them, knowing they were mortal once, even though they're so far gone that destroying them is letting them rest in some modicum of peace...probably.)

[jermastrat]

So too does Gabriel adjust with the horde, sidestepping and slashing whenever one thought it might be able to sneak around him. One particularly motivated stray even tried a wild leap past Gabriel, its eyeless face locked on the delicate caster behind the angel. Perhaps it might have even made it a few more feet before Vivi would have unceremoniously demoted it from 'ambulatory menace' to 'smoldering grease stain', but that potential would remain a hypothetical as Gabriel gestured sharply, barely even bothering to look at the thing. With a wet SCLUTCH, flesh and bone split as a gleaming, light-forged axe materialized and spun through the impudent husk, leaving it neatly bisected like a hideous, man sized, gurgling flesh book.

Unlike Vivi however, Gabriel was far less conflicted. With brutal ease and cold, unthinking efficiency, without a single care in the world, he cut down beast after shambling, scrambling, screaming beast, his golden armor spattered with blood, the blue of his wings shifting to a brilliant and gleaming gold.

Were there more? He hoped not, but the deluge was not abating... and time was ticking down.

"These insipid abominations bore me." The heat in those words betrayed only a fraction of the seething rage that bubbled just beneath. He was wasting his fucking time, this was a waste of the precious few goddamn hours he had on this dead, wretched planet-

He surged forward with a snarl, his motions growing ever faster and more wild as bloodlust sparked in the back of his brain, threatening to burn like the fuse of a bomb all the way down to the powder keg he could just barely refer to as his psyche.

"Can you cast anything bigger?!" MORE.

MORE DAKKA.

[alreadyhuman]

He barely registers the words, but he can, in fact, do bigger, and so he sinks further down, pulls more energy up.

The torrent of bolts relents, but only because something larger is building up instead.

Hell is alive, thriving, a giant organism in itself, and even his greatest efforts barely tickle its veins. He dips his hands in pure energy as if scooping water from a wellspring, and is dimly surprised his fingers do not simply melt from the heat. It's more spiritual than physical, though often in Hell these two things are the same. Greed's hot sand scorches the manifestation of the soul, creating physical pain that is also spiritual pain.

But it won't give up its bounty for any mindless creature, any simple ask. Hell curls around his patchwork soul and whispers What will you give me?, and Vivi falls deep into the cavernous unmapped depths of his own uncharted heart.

What do you feel?
Abandonment, loneliness, guilt...all bitter tastes, but not the right ones for heat. But he knows heat, behind those emotions, usually tempered by logic, by the struggle to understand:
Why was I left behind? Why did you leave me incomplete, without purpose, without guidance...

What am I supposed to do now?

A brilliant, scouring light blasts forth, indiscriminate and wild. To Gabriel there is no pain, only a strange warmth; it simply passes through him, leaving the ashen taste of Vivi's deeply hidden emotions, that resentment and anger and deep-held pain, to linger for a moment before blowing away in the faint breeze of the energy's passing.

The crowd of slavering husks is simply annihilated in the face of it. As light and fire fades, Vivi sits down hard, forcibly thrust back into himself and dizzied by the force of it, but there are, at least, no more enemies to worry about.

The street in front of them is soot-black, any details now scorched beyond recognition.

[jermastrat]

Anger was an emotion he was all too familiar with, and indeed the traces of it carried on the wave of that odd, warm energy only served to fan the flames higher. Had it not been for the other two, he'd not have noticed anything particularly strange about the spell at all, aside from the sheer unmitigated power behind it, of course.

For a moment, Gabriel turned his head to just watch the seemingly winded boy, whatever was going through his head perfectly obscured by the helm of course. Nothing was said, and nothing was immediately done, as something was clearly being turned over and over mentally.

It lasted only a few seconds, before the angel turned entirely, briefly scanning the area for something to wipe his blades on.

"Yes, something like that, that was perfect." There was a glow in those words that had been absent before, something approaching the warmth of a pleased mentor. He approached, and then knelt before Vivi to examine him closer, just to ensure the boy hadn't managed to damage anything during that honestly really fucking sick explosion.

"Are you alright?" The concern wasn't powerful, but it was still very much there. Oh, someone just developed a bit of newfound respect for his charge, it seemed. "Vivi, you may simply nod or shake your head, if you must."

[alreadyhuman]

He rubs his eyes, feeling that strange hot tingle in them even though nothing's wrong with his vision. It takes him a moment to respond to Gabriel's words; the outside world trickles in slowly as he wakes from his trance, like blood, or rain.

"I'm...okay. Just tired." He wobbles to his feet nevertheless, testing out his range of motion - he still has some reserves left, that's good. He feels emptied out, like a cup without liquid, but the cup is still there and real and solid.

(He turns towards the warmth like a flower towards the sun (if flowers do indeed still exist anywhere, in Hell or otherwise). He isn't immune to positive reassurance, to being told he's doing well.)

"It's not too bad...I'm only a little drained."

[jermastrat]

"Do not overexert yourself. The danger is gone, you must take time to rest." It was as if he'd simply flipped a switch, all the rage and battle fervor gone in the blink of an eye, replaced with a tone as even and soft as a prayer. Where all that emotion had gone, well... Chances were good it was never actually gone to begin with.

But for now, for a moment, the angel actually embodied that once so plentiful love it was said The Father once had. Perhaps He did, but the memory of His glory was so clouded and faded now, he couldn't quite be sure if this too had only been so much propaganda.

"Just for a moment." Just to be sure. As much as he would have liked to have told Vivi to stay here until he felt whole again, he couldn't be sure how long that would be. And truly, truly, the last thing he wanted was to flicker out and die here in Lust upon an empty street, before the greasy remains of lowly fucking vermin.

[alreadyhuman]

"Okay."

He sits down again, for a moment. A few minutes tick by before he stands up again, this time much less wobbly. A faint shimmer, like a heat haze, surrounds him as he continues to draw power from his surroundings simply to rejuvenate his internal storage.

He's built durably enough, at least. Though no doubt a sword or the claws and projectiles of demons could tear through him much like paper.

"You're in a hurry, right? We should go. I don't...think I'll find anything here." He seems saddened by that admission, but he seems determined not to let it get to him.

[jermastrat]

Gabriel was more than familiar with the idea of sacrificing defense for offense, after all Heaven too contained their fair share of glass cannons. It wouldn't be the first time he'd entered combat with such, so whatever annoyance that might have conceivably existed at the idea of playing 'baby sitter' was promptly thrown away at the realization that so long as Gabriel was mindful of Vivi's limitations... He could almost be considered 'indispensable' now.

It certainly helped elevate the little guy from 'atonement' to 'companion' in a matter of seconds, roughly as long as it took for Vivi to cast that all consuming fireball.

Of course it was noted the precise amount of time it took for Vivi to regain his strength (impressively short, extremely efficient), and that information was neatly filed away for later.

"I am running on a bit of a tight schedule, yes. And it seems you're correct; I don't think there's anyone else left to find here." There was, if nothing else, a slight note of sympathy in his voice that did well to soften the tone and diminish what would have otherwise sounded abrupt and pushy. He was trying.

For as little as he actually may have felt for most of the souls in Hell, Vivi clearly didn't share that sentiment. There was no reason to be unnecessarily cruel.

"The entrance to the next level isn't far, if you can fly anyway." Which, you know... One of them here was clearly better suited to that than the other. Look, time was of the essence and he really didn't want Vivi wearing himself out trying to keep up in the air when he could be using that energy to nuke things.

"I can of course carry you easily. Time is of the essence after all and walking is time consuming." Emphasis on the consuming bit. It was almost a question! Almost 'may I carry you'! It effectively was if... lacking in any indication that he would take any other answer.

... Sorry Vivi.

[alreadyhuman]

It's clear that Gabriel doesn't show as much sentiment for the denizens of Hell as he does; he thinks that makes sense. He's an angel, after all. Heaven and Hell are separated for a reason.

They make a strange pair, he can't help but think. A creation of Hell's sinners, protected by someone made in Heaven. The world has turned upside-down in more ways than one. But he's not ungrateful for that respite from the cruelty and pain he's been born into, a pulsating, malicious realm that delights in punishment. It's a small, bright taste of kindness. He can't help but want to give it back tenfold.

"You want to carry me?" He blinks, clearly startled by the offer but not particularly offended. "Um, if it's not too much trouble...I don't mind." He's quite light, after all.

"I won't get in the way of your swords or anything, right?"

[jermastrat]

Most would call this kindness 'scraps'. Meager, meted out like a miser trying to hoard pennies. It would have been a somewhat correct statement, if only because those hungry little scraps were only what he could manage to scrape together. Sharing those little pieces of empathy when he could manage it. Perhaps it wasn't surprising that the creation of a sinner would still find himself fed by it, after all, it'd still been more than enough for the Ferryman. Hell was cruel, kindness so often nothing more than a distant dream or a bitter joke.

Even crumbs were better than nothing. Gabriel knew this. It was all he had to give Vivi, and he did it without hesitation nor second thought. The boy deserved at least that much.

"I wouldn't make the suggestion if I didn't." The tone was unintentionally brisk, and it contrasted with the relative gentleness that it was spoken with. In a rush, but still trying to show a manner of patience.

"Of course it isn't too much trouble, I don't even need my swords for most of profane trash that wanders here. ... Present company excluded." Granted, if they came across another hoard of that size he'd certainly have to put him down.

Somewhere with a good vantage point over the battle field specifically, he'd plenty of plans to ensure a safe and most importantly, swift arrival at whatever level V1 had managed to progress to. He knelt, gesturing towards himself. No he wasn't going to just snatch him up, he wasn't quite that rude.

Though granted, the instant Vivi might accept that offer, the sudden upwards motion of the angel taking flight might be a little, kinda, maybe obscenely fast. No, really, he wasn't kidding about that tight schedule. He was holding on tight to Vivi, with the absolute expectation that Vivi would do very much the same, sooner rather than later.

[alreadyhuman]

Even if it's a mere crumb, those crumbs are real, real enough to matter to a soul as starved as Vivi's. Those brusque scraps of kindness and consideration are his siblings' method of showing care as well, like Vivi is some strange baby bird they're not quite sure how to take care of but feel some responsibility for.

Vivi obediently clambers onto Gabriel, holding on tightly to his armor and making sure his hat can be pinned by at least one hand. He knows enough about being flown around that it makes things easier if he clings to the sturdier parts, though he wonderingly notes that Gabriel is nowhere near as frail-feeling as his siblings are. Heavy materials would make it harder for them to fly, after all.

But angels are built differently, it seems.

In acceleration, too. It's faster than he's ever been flown before. He can't help but squeak in alarm, initially, as the angel takes off incredibly fast.

He really must have somewhere to be.

[jermastrat]

It would not be the first time Gabriel had carried someone, though the diminutive size of his cargo was something new. He braced a hand against Vivi's back when he heard the little noise, ensuring now that both arms would be firmly holding the boy. Reducing speed wasn't an option after all, but he could always adjust his grip.

The city sped by like a blur, one might almost imagine they were less flying and more shifting through the entire level of Lust. Somewhere in the howling wind of it all, Gabriel had seen fit to tuck his head down just a little.

"Close your eyes." He wasn't slowing down. And he knew what kind of effect that might have on someone unused to it. Cruelty was, as ever, pointless, and he couldn't just allow himself to keep going without attempting to offer some kind of assistance.

"We'll be arriving within the next layer soon, and I fear our destination lies past that. The shift between these realms may prove uncomfortable for you witness at these speeds."

[alreadyhuman]

After the initial fright has worn off, he looks to his heart's content - as much as he can look, at this speed. He's never seen Lust from quite this height or speed before, and it's a novel experience.

"Oh! Okay." Thankfully for Gabriel, Vivi's curiosity is overridden by the fact that Gabriel seems to know what he's doing and he should listen. He dutifully closes his eyes, though he does open his other senses regardless - he wants to know if he'll feel the same thing Gabriel does as they both shift through, or if it'll be different for him since he isn't an angel.

[jermastrat]

The comedy of ignorance: Gabriel would never know that Vivi could have certainly taken the sight, and Vivi would never know either. As far as he was concerned, the amicable little construct would probably get whatever the construct equivalent was of motion sickness and.... he didn't know, explode? Surely, he wouldn't be able to handle it.

It doesn't take long to reach, and then pass through Gluttony either, and while their stay there wasn't long, it would still leave a lasting impression for all those with noses to smell it.

By the time they had reached Wrath however, the speed would drop. Perhaps unsurprising considering the pounding rain and wailing winds, and Gabriel gave absolutely no indication that it could possibly be anything else as he spiraled for a moment overhead, taking stock of the spinning whirlpool that lead to the next layer.

"We need to stop here for a time." It came abruptly, and naturally he expected no argument from Vivi. It wasn't out of some authoritarian sense that he would not be disobeyed... He just didn't expect it. The boy had been so agreeable thus far, arguing didn't quite seem to be in his nature at all. A good thing too; he had no desire to explain the reason why. His body ached in a way it never had before, the first touches of a soul deep exhaustion starting to tug at him.

Slowly, he'd touch down upon the docks before the old Ferryman's empty shack, Gabriel taking a moment to compose himself and disguise the sound of heavy breathing.

"We will continue shortly I... Just need to examine a few things..."

[alreadyhuman]

He dutifully covers his eyes as they shift layers, though when he's not doing that he's clearly looking his fill. To someone who has never experienced anything but the abandoned city he woke up in, it's a new and novel thing.

As expected, Vivi doesn't argue - partially because there's no reason to, but also because he can hear Gabriel's breathing faltering. He wriggles out of Gabriel's grip, examining the water curiously. He keeps one hand firmly clamped around his hat as he leans over to watch its movements.

He wonders if he should ask if Gabriel's okay. He doesn't sound okay, but maybe that's just what angels are like. Even Heaven has people who get tired, it seems...though in Hell just about everyone and everything seems tired except Hell itself.

"It's nice here," he says, despite everything. "I like the rain."

[jermastrat]

"Be careful upon the docks." That much he wouldn't really have to explain; the constant rain had turned them slick and dangerous, and the roiling sea beneath was black and endless. The thrashing, mindless husks that fought for a chance to breach the surface were by far the most dangerous feature of Wrath however, and while Gabriel wished to simply enter the shack to rest, he couldn't in good faith leave Vivi out here unattended.

No longer out of a concern that the boy couldn't defend himself, but simply out of concern for what might happen should he lose his footing. After all, the Ferryman had nearly perished in much that same fashion, and the soul had been nothing short of exemplary.

So, there he stood for a time, letting the rain beat down with the door before him open. Vivi liked the rain, and who knew when he'd ever get a chance to visit this place again? Eventually, he did move inside, if only to get out of the torrential downpour. Still wasn't keen on letting the other out of his sight though.

"It used to be a river, a long time ago." Before whatever calamity happened in the mortal world that caused its banks to swell to an unfathomably large ocean. "What do you know of the Ocean Styx, Vivi?" ... Yes, he'd ask this time, rather than simply assume ignorance.

[alreadyhuman]

The heat that Vivi generates instinctively does little to stop him from getting wet, but it does keep him from slipping into the water by accident. He looks his fill, and then finally retreats into the shack. He begins to steam as soon as he's not getting rained on, drying out more or less on instinct.

"The souls of the dead sleep there," he says, "or they used to. Now they're all crushed together into some kinda big...thing. That's all I know...it used to be peaceful once, but it's not any more." He tilts his head in thought. "But it's Hell, so maybe they only looked at peace?"

He looks out at the open door, enjoying the relative quiet, the sound of the endless rain. "It's still kinda peaceful, though. Even if it's sad. I can hear them crying, sometimes."

[jermastrat]

"The souls of the wrathful. In life they gave themselves over to anger and allowed their passions to consume them. In death, they fight among each other for air, and for passage upon the ferry." It once gave the appearance of peace, if nothing else. The bodies at the surface now roiled and writhed amongst each other, pushing each one down beneath the surface in a desperate, selfish bid to reach land.

"Beneath lies the sullen, those who repressed their rage and never once sought to quell it. They simply sink to the bottom, remaining there for all eternity." It wasn't a kind story, nothing in Hell ever really was, save for Limbo. Even then it was still punishment of a kind though.

How many among them regretted it, he wondered? Gabriel shut out that crying, Vivi's mention of them almost serving to amplify the sound to him.

"Those who have submitted to wrath found no joy in the Father nor their fellow man, choosing violence and hatred over the beauty gifted to them by virtue of being given life. Their lack of gratitude remains, as ever, unforgiven." Even with the Council gone, even with Hell fast approaching it's own destruction. It all felt so... terribly pointless.

"... Perhaps it will see true peace soon enough." And oh, how tired those words sounded. He... needed to sit down for a moment, sinking into a nearby chair beside a long dead fireplace.

[alreadyhuman]

"Oh." He looks out at the rain, watching for movement in the water.

Vivi glances at Gabriel, how tired he seems to be...

Even angels get tired. He looks at the fireplace, at the scattered remains of a small woodpile long abandoned, and dutifully collects them. He casts them into the fireplace, setting them alight and warming the cabin just a little.

"The Father doesn't sound like he's very good with mistakes." It's a purely innocent observation. It's not as if he's been given any theological grounding. "Is all of Heaven like that?"

[jermastrat]

This wasn't what Gabriel was used to. Frustration and anxiety bubbled beneath that bone deep exhaustion, well aware of how alien this sensation was, and what its continued growth meant. Twenty four hours, before the lingering embers flickered and died. And him with it. He shouldn't be in here, he was wasting time.

He had to conserve energy, he had to linger here for just a while, just a little bit... To hope that he'd regain anything at all was futile, but...

"No- No He... There is an expectation of perfection, but-" But what? But what? To say forgiveness was possible would be a lie, he'd just said it himself after all. "It's... If He were..." If He were here, would it have been any different? Oh, Gabriel remembered Lucifer, how could he not remember his brother? If He were here, it would be all the same. "... If He were here... Perhaps He could have been swayed now." But it was far, far too late for that. The truth sat so bitter on his tongue, and his voice wavered faintly. No, he didn't believe that even were He here, his decision could be changed. But to admit that was a step too far for Gabriel.

He did at least have one thing he could hold on to: "... Heaven used to be."

[alreadyhuman]

Vivi doesn't really have much experience with frustrations and sorrows beyond his own. Certainly, he feels for the souls of the damned, but part of that is the lingering feelings of the souls that have been woven together to give him life. It's a different thing entirely to see someone struggling and hurting in front of you.

And he is a creature born of Hell, after all. He feels that bubbling, roiling conflict, the taste of which Hell adores, albeit faintly. The sense of pressure building, that something is off.

He knows he's said something that's hurt Gabriel. He's not sure how, or why...

He shuffles over to Gabriel's chair, plopping himself down beside it. He reaches over to hold the angel's hand with his own small one.

"Can you tell me about it? Um, Heaven, I mean." It's not a place he'll be able to see, he thinks. But maybe Gabriel will feel better, if he talks about it.