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[blessedarethebookmakers]

[he has done this a few times by now, and for some reason is feeling less than enthusiastic about it. Perhaps it's the rain, or the ghosts outside that give him cold chills whenever they go past. Or perhaps he's just tired. He's been practicing more lately, though hasn't seem to have gotten much better.

He somehow manages to keep his expression friendly and open as he faces the mirror, white wings standing out against the gray light coming in behind him]

Hello... My name is Aziraphale, or Mr. Fell, if you prefer. I would like to welcome everyone who has newly arrived-- and I don't envy you having to brave the beastly weather to get here. Still, the clouds will soon part as they say.

I know that many of you must be weary or frightened, or even dare I say, angry, at the situation you have found yourselves thrust into. But if we all work together and combine our efforts and talents, I'm sure that we'll have the Corrosion beaten back in no time. So keep a stiff upper lip and keep moving forward.

And of course, if you need anything, my door is open in the hours listed or by previous appointment.

Comments

[blessedarethebookmakers]

Oopsy-daisy~! [he staggers away from the room and down the hall] You know, I believe I will. We can listen to some Pochini... and have a barking good time. Because Pochini. Do you get it? Pooch?

[az_shrimp_horny]

Shit...

[She mutters as she tries to keep him on his feet.]

Oh yeah [She forces a chuckle] I get it. That's great, bud.

[This was far less fun than when she was stumbling home with someone. She suddenly feels really bad for everyone who ever had to deal with her when she was plastered...

Finally making it to his door, she tried to see if it was open. If not, she'd just knock and hope Crowley was home.]

Here we are, bud. Soon you'll be in your cloud sleeping this off.

[blessedarethebookmakers]

Mmmmmmm. What a lovely thought.

[he pushes open the door]

Yoohoooo! Crowleyyy~! Are you home, dearest?

[serpentinthegarden]

[ As it turned out he was at home. When summoned he appeared to lean on the door frame entry into the kitchen, looking darkly sulky with a drink of scotch in one hand and a pack of ice in the other for a sizable bruise and recently torn corner of his lip. The icepack was abandoned on the nearest counter when he noticed the state of the angel. ]

You're drunk.

[ He glanced past the angel to the presumed reason why. ]

Oh hi, Eleanor.

[ Obviously her being here explained that one! ]

Fun night?

[blessedarethebookmakers]

[the state of the angel is nothing right now, but it will definitely be something as he registers what exactly he's seeing. His wings, which had been out for balance, come to his back as his feathers bristle]

Who the hell did that? [it had been a someone definitely. Someone who had dared to hurt Crowley when his body was frighteningly mortal. White anger seared through him]

[az_shrimp_horny]

Whoa!

[The very sober Eleanor let go and stepped out of the way as Aziraphale pulled free of her arm. She hadn't expected his wings to move so quickly, so she ducks a little on reflex.

Recovering, she straightened and stared at Crowley. She'd seen him at the mingle thing, so she knew he hadn't gone out on a mission. Which means it had to be an apprentice.]

Yeah, he is. What the fuck happened to you?

[serpentinthegarden]

[ If the Heavens had opened up and the very light of God herself had shown down on him he wouldn't have been as terrified as he was right in this one moment. The fury of Aziraphale surprised him and as stupid as it was he very nearly took a step back when the angel advanced towards him. ] Didn't get his name. Not a big fan of demons apparently...

[blessedarethebookmakers]

So he hit you. Simply because of that. When you are hardly the most demonic-- in fact he should feel fortunate!

[his expression twisted]

Ungrateful beast. They all are. Given as many chances as they wish and yet over and over they prefer to act with greed with lust with wrath pushing each other down for no reason but to further their own pathetic goals.

[as he spoke he manifested, beams white light coming from the flight feathers of his now flared wings and shivering around his form, his clothes turning pure white even as a splinteringly white halo appeared behind his head and he spoke with voices like three of him speaking at once]

Do they really deserve the Almighty's grace? Do they really deserve her love and all the things she gives them? Do they?!

[az_shrimp_horny]

[Thanks for remembering there was a human in the room, dude. Eleanor gasped, horrified by Aziraphale's fury. She recoiled from him, staring in shock.]

Aziraphale, bud, I-

[As soon as those beams of light started shining, she cried out, throwing an arm over her eyes and stumbling backwards into whatever piece of furniture was behind her. She didn't know what was going on but she sure as shit was glad that rage wasn't directed at her.]

[serpentinthegarden]

[ The holy light was blinding to demons as well but it didn't chill the bones like that tripled voice of vengeance... It was usually the one angels used just before smiting. ] Aziraphale... come on. [ He smiled lopsidedly trying to fake a lighthearted mood even as he had to shield his eyes from that blinding glow with a raised arm. ] They aren't so bad. They also know mercy, generosity... [ A brief moment of trying not to choke over the word. ] Love. And... and, yeah I probably deserved it. Came on too strong and scared the guy. [ Nose scrunch of is anything getting through that halo of yours? ] It's not a big deal. You want to turn down the light show now?

[blessedarethebookmakers]

[The words did reach him. All of them did. That a demon would have more faith... but then he always had, hadn't he? And a more genuine one at that. Wasn't Aziraphale the proud one? The unforgiving one? And there was definitely wrath and greed in there too.

And also a fair amount of just being a fool.

He was meant to shepherd and guide and, well it was a bit of his fault they were in this mess to begin with. If he'd stuck to his duty well then he could have dissuaded them from eating the blasted thing. But he hadn't and they had and now he was having an asinine reaction over what was either a strike out of fear or anger or whatever it was, Crowley was a demon and they couldn't be blamed.

Should be forgiven.

Aziraphale sighed and did, letting go of it all. The white light spread out from him like a ripple, healing what he had harmed and what had been harmed.]

Right. Well. If you say it's not a big deal, I suppose it isn't. Happens. Doesn't it. [a faint smile] Anyway, thank you, Eleanor for the escort-- And...well... sweet dreams, I suppose.

[to both of them, he means]

Toodle-pip.

[he snaps his fingers and transports himself to the castle. It's the only place he can think of to go. The shred of cloud is still there, blessedly egg free. He has just enough energy to move it into a more private corner before throwing himself on it and letting the darkness claim him.

It was better for him here.

In the silence]

[az_shrimp_horny]

[Well... that was a thing.

When the light returned to normal, Eleanor lowered her arm. She blinked the spots from her eyes, frowning as she looked around the room. He was gone... wait. If he could just snap his fingers why the fuck did he need her help to begin with?! Shaking her head, she pushed herself off of the wall she'd fallen against, careful not to knock anything else over.]

What. The fuck. Was that?!

[serpentinthegarden]

[ That might have been his reaction if Aziraphale had just walked out of the hallway and into the bedroom not... teleported himself to where ever he had just gone. Just stood back, calmly looked at the situation and said, 'that was a thing'. But the angel was gone, off to hide where ever the hell that was and... suddenly the scotch in his hand was the most disgusting thing in the entire Kingdom. He roared with demonic fury as he took the glass and threw it against the nearest wall, shattering it on impact. ]

How the Heaven am I supposed to know!?!

[ The only thing he knew was that he had said the wrong things, again! Why did it always end up this way?! ]

You were with him, did something happen?!

[az_shrimp_horny]

[Eleanor was already on edge after that terrifying display of angelic fury. So when Crowley let loose with his own flavor of rage, she yelped and shielded her face from the flying shards of glass. There was an overwhelming urge to cower in fear from the furious demon. She'd seen what he could do when properly motivated... and nearly paid dearly for it. But no, she wouldn't bend to his rage. She'd dealt with angry demons before. She'd walked through hell and lived to tell the tale. Granted, she'd really only seen what seemed to be the middle management level of hell, but it still counted.

She also had the confidence of a person who had done nothing wrong.... for once. Dropping her arm, she stood tall, taking a step towards Crowley. If he wanted to yell at her, she'd fucking give it right back.]

He was already drunk when I got there! I was trying to help him! He was going on about being useless, and customer service, and being a terrible angel and shit like that. I tried to get him to stop drinking and come home to sleep it off!

[She pointed a finger at Crowley, though she didn't dare actually poke him in the chest.]

I may be a shitty person, but I'm not a shitty friend so you'd better aim that anger somewhere else.

[serpentinthegarden]

[ But this time he wasn't under the mind altering effects of a full moon. When she wagged her finger and him and spoke back he quietly backed down. He wasn't mad at Eleanor anyway. He was confused, his jaw hurt, and nothing was going his way... ]

Useless, customer service... and then some loud mouthed demon had to go and rub that in.

[ That wasn't exactly the way it had happened but it was the way he saw it. ]

I've never seen him do that. Not in six thousand years!

[az_shrimp_horny]

[The moment he backed down, she dropped her hand and sagged against the nearest piece of wall or furniture. This was not how she'd expected her evening to go and she was fucking tired. She wiped a hand over her face with a sigh.]

I don't know, Crowley. Something's really eating him. He was too blitzed to make much sense but I think there's something really wrong.

[Lowering her hand, she gave him a worried look]

I don't think it's your fault. I mean... he seemed less pissed at the guy who socked you and more at all of humanity. [She paused] Never? Seriously?

[serpentinthegarden]

Never. [ He confirmed but then he had missed out on that whole battle for Heaven thing... He must have used that flaming sword for something? ] Fuck... [ Crowley found a chair to slid into as he briefly buried his head in his hands. ]

[az_shrimp_horny]

[Eleanor felt for the pair. They were two of her closest friends in this place and both of them were hurting. She might not be able to help Aziraphale, but she wasn't about to just peace out and ditch Crowley.

Crossing towards him, she put a hand on his shoulder.]

Hey. He'll be okay, right? He just needs to sleep off the booze. Once his head's clear things will be better.

[Fuck she hoped so. Because she honestly had no idea what she was talking about. But she had to say something!]

[serpentinthegarden]

[ Even if that was a lie it was a good one. ]

Yea...

[ He said somewhat uncertainly but then the word grew more firm with confidence as he did want to believe that. ]

Yea, you're right. Just needs to sleep it off. He'll feel better in the morning.

[ He looked up at Eleanor realizing he needed to do one of those un-demon-like things right about now. ]

Thank you for trying to see him back safely.. and uh, sorry?

[ For terrifying the living daylights out of you. That wasn't entirely his doing but some one needed to say it. ]

[az_shrimp_horny]

[She smiled a little. It was definitely forced, her eyes still full of worry for the angel.]

You're welcome. And thanks... Though I don't blame you. I know how much he means to you.

[Part of her wanted to give him a hug, but she didn't think it would be wanted or have the intended effect. So she settled for giving his shoulder a squeeze before letting her hand drop.]

He's so worried about taking care of everyone else that sometimes he might need a little help taking care of himself. Good thing he's got us for that.

[She shrugged.]

But, uh, I should probably go. Unless you want some company for a while.

[serpentinthegarden]

Nah, go.

[ He spoke as he stood up from the chair to pace. An action not meant as an escape from her touch, which actually wasn't a terrible thing, he might have gone for the hug right now, but he was going to be very bad company tonight. ]

I'll be fine. And... we can look out for that idiot more tomorrow.

[az_shrimp_horny]

[He didn't look fine... but she didn't expect him to really tell her if he wasn't. She took a step towards the door, but hesitated. Fuck it. She didn't know if he'd like it or if he'd throw her across the room or something, but the urge to hug was too strong. Maybe she needed one... maybe she just wanted to show him some kind of comfort. Who the fuck knew. But she turned, giving him a tight lipped smile.]

Sure thing. We've both got his back.

[She crossed the room and, before Crowley had a chance to argue, wrapped her arms around his waist for a quick hug.]

I know how much you care about him. He'll be all right.

[serpentinthegarden]

[ Eleanor wasn't thrown across the room but she was hissed at in true Tsundere demon fashion even if a wing might have folded around her briefly. It wasn't a hug returned... that would be denied. ] Yea... yea... yea... One for all and all for one, Musketeers stuff... [ Then much softer and barely audible. ] Thanks.

[az_shrimp_horny]

[She knows better than to press her luck and force Crowley into a proper hug. But the wing fold was noticed. Nodding, she gives him a small smile.]

You're welcome.

[Right. Enough of the feelings and shit. She tucks her hands in her pockets and heads for the door.]

If I can help let me know. See you around, Crowley.