009 | Video | Day 115

[tryingitall]

[Balthazar appears in the feed looking bored and restless. He's run out of alcohol, in point of fact, and he's stressed about it. The cure, obviously, is conversation.]

Kore. I've decided to follow in our dear Castiel's wingprints, albeit belatedly. Believe it or not, I'm an angel of the Lord. And the handful of you who didn't already know that are welcome to ask questions.

For everyone else: did you know that the meter of 'Amazing Grace' is such that it can be sung not only to the traditional tune, but also to the tunes of both 'House of the Rising Sun' and the theme song from Gilligan's Island? [How does he know this? It may be better not to ask.]

I'll prove it if someone insists, but you'll be sorry. This vessel isn't built for singing.

Comments

[servingmichael]

[ Depending on how much attention Balthazar is paying to Angel Radio, Raphael might, just might, be snickering.

And looking completely straight faced while doing so. ]

If you manage to remember all the words, I'll be impressed.

[tryingitall]

What, to Amazing Grace? [Balthazar notes the snickering, but assumes it's just a matter of Raphael having a rare moment of amusement at a brother being silly.]

I've got the first and last verses at least, I think.

[servingmichael]

You're only missing the middle four.

[ His amusement is rare, all right. ]

[tryingitall]

So you want me to try it, then? [DARE ME?? I'LL DO IT! Balthazar's just like a six year old sometimes.]

[servingmichael]

There's an old hymnal in the church if you want to refresh yourself.

[ There's more than one, but Raphael had hidden them.

But this is almost too easy. Almost. ]

[tryingitall]

You're just trying to get me to go to Church.

What's in it for me, other than public humiliation via the network? [He's not suspicious, but he is fairly comfortable in his garden, and feeling lazy.]

[servingmichael]

I could drop it in the library.

Stopping others from asking all of us to sing?

[ Donnie at least, can sing. But Raphael hasn't had a reason to in a very long time. ]

[tryingitall]

I don't have a problem with either, really. If you're angling for a visit, I can come by.

Good point, that. Singing in our true voices would probably be too much for the buildings to handle after the quake. [He barely remembers singing at this point. Or rather, he remembers they did sing, and what it sounded like, but he couldn't tell you when, or why.]

[servingmichael]

I prefer it when I'm not sneaking to see my brothers. Or treat them as such.

[ Is that a dig at Gabriel? Is that a subtle clue that Balthazar isn't old enough to understand? Yes, to both. ]

Or at any point really.

[ He misses it - it's the one thing he won't attempt to stamp out of the younger angels. But there's only so much his passive approval will do. ]

[tryingitall]

Well, all right, you've talked me into it. I'll be by in a little while.

[After his other conversations wind down, and after the walk with Meg, perhaps. It may actually be an hour or two before he makes it, but when he arrives he knocks lightly on the Church door before entering. It's Raphael's place, now. Makes sense to be polite.]

[servingmichael]

[ The church, is repaired though the carpet is now a rich, deep green. The two front pews where recently damaged and now repaired, and the cracks in the stained glass are repaired but the colors along the former fractures are altered just slightly - most humans wouldn't notice, but Raphael is leaving his fingerprints all over.

The books however, are removed. No bibles or hymnals in the little shelves on the backs of the pews. There is one hymnal though, with a (new) green silk ribbon marking the page. ]

Come in.

[tryingitall]

[Balthazar's wings fold close against his back as he enters. He respects a church, even if he questions some of the tenets of the humans who attend such places. Such places have a life of their own, whether it's from the force of human faith or the spirit of the Creator in attendance.

Raphael's certainly made the place his own. Balthazar finds himself in approval, walking softly on the carpet.] Hello. This is pretty.

[servingmichael]

[ Raphael approves of the soft entrance, tracing a hand over the wood of one pew. ]

Thank you. You should see it with the light shining through the glass. I always liked when they did this.

[tryingitall]

[He breaks into a small, happy smile, nodding.] Stained glass is marvelous. I knew a glassblower in Chicago not long ago. An art student. She did some leaded glass as well. Remarkable work...

[He's not there to talk art, though, is he? He sits lightly in one of the pews and scoops up the hymnal.] You already marked the place for me?

[servingmichael]

How long ago is 'not long ago'?

[ He knew how quickly time passed for the humans they became fond of. ]

I did yes.

[tryingitall]

A bit over a year. While I was in hiding. I wasn't completely decadent on earth, you know. Just self-indulgent.

[He smiles faintly and shrugs, then, thinking nothing of it, he opens the hymnal to the marked page.]

[servingmichael]

No, I don't know. Castiel just declared war, in my case.

[ Which is probably why he's willing to bend - he didn't want a war and really, the reality that a little brother he loved was waging war on him hadn't really sunk in.

There's nothing there, or at least nothing that looks out of place. Nothing at all, until Balthazar actually sings the hymn. ]

[tryingitall]

Oh. [He pauses briefly, uncertain.] I'm sorry, I had forgotten.

[Then, feeling just a bit awkward, he scans the page and clears his throat. When he begins, it's with the traditional tune, just to remind himself what it's meant to sound like. True to his word, his vessel's vocal chords don't produce terribly impressive noises, but he's roughly on pitch.]

[servingmichael]

It matters less here.

[ Not 'doesn't matter' - because it does. The Host is full of Rebels and traitors, more Michael could ever understand, more than Raphael had thought, even if they didn't rebel in ways different from himself, and it mattered, mattered because they had given so much to Earth already and he was loath to give more. But it mattered less, and Raphael was going to hold onto that.

And nothing happens right away, or at least appears not to - not that Raphael's face gives anything away, he's listening to Balthazar sing, even if he's not completely on pitch or impressive, because he likes music, quiet and apprecative - but by the end of the hymn, there's a halo hanging over Balthazar's head, glowing faintly, cycling through the visible light spectrum. In bright sunlight it won't even be noticeable! ]

[tryingitall]

[Balthazar doesn't notice much until he's well into the last stanza. Then the change of colors flickering across the paper, combined with the tingle of power unfolding makes him slow, pause, glance up...

And then he finishes the last couple lines anyway, through grinning. When the notes fade, he looks at Raphael.] What, no glitter?

[servingmichael]

[ Oh Balthazar. Raphael and Gabriel are getting along, you need to step up your game. ]

It didn't do that to me.

[tryingitall]

You've got magic hymnals lying around? What happens if I sing 'Onward Christian Soldiers'?

[Tentatively, he reaches up as if to touch the colored lights.]

[servingmichael]

[ He can touch them. They might be a little warm but nothing else. ]

I don't know, do you know all the words?

[tryingitall]

Not offhand. It is going to hit me with lightning or something if I forget the lyrics? [Dropping his hand again, he raises an eyebrow at Raphael. How much trouble is he in here?]

[servingmichael]

No, it won't.

[ But it might glow brighter. And not missing words might make it glow dimmer. Get enough right and will vanish. ]

It won't harm anyone.