[video/action]

[angelofhope]

[A new face flickers onto the screen. He's spent many hundreds of years among humans, and has a tablet computer at home — navigating a smart phone is pretty simple for Remiel, the Compassion of God, who looks thoroughly unassuming in a sun-faded Led Zeppelin t-shirt and jeans. He's not even wearing shoes. But it wasn't exactly his plan to get kidnapped in the middle of gardening, all right?]

Hello! I hope this thing's actually connected to something. [He pauses.] Or I'm not crank calling on accident. Anyway. Hi. I like what you guys did with the hallways. Very interesting. I haven't seen anything that crazy since a family member rigged my older sibling's file system to keep showing her the same file.

[It takes an impressive amount of magic to do that to Barachiel, Heaven's great organizer and planner, and she really hadn't been pleased. But Sariel had had a bone to pick. And she never fights fair.

Remiel's sitting in the cafeteria, hair messy and expression pretty cheerful for an archangel who's just shown up in a different dimension than his own. The fact that he's separated from his family will take some time to sink in.]

And uh, has anyone seen a dog? White and black, friendly, about the size of a small armchair?

[Which is a slight exaggeration, but not really. Not when you're talking about an Alaskan Malamute.]

Comments

[tryingitall]

Well, I'm receiving you. Hello! [Balthazar is slightly skeptical about the Zeppelin shirt (awkward associations), but other than that he can't help but be entertained. This fellow seems more sanguine about being stuck here than most.]

No dogs that I'm aware of, sorry. He might not have been brought with you.

[angelofhope]

Hi there.

[Remiel gives Balthazar his usual bright, warm smile, though it's marred just a little by his statement. He runs a hand through his hair.]

...hopefully she can manage. The neighbors should care for her until I, ah... go back. Or am returned. Whichever it is.

[If this were any of his older brothers, he'd be doing some threatening right about now. But that's not how Remiel goes about things. So he just smiles.]

Any chance you know how I was brought here?

[tryingitall]

Don't worry too much. My understanding is that if you return to your home dimension, you return at more or less the point you left from. Chances are she'll never know you left.

[Balthazar often recognizes his own siblings over the network, but he has yet to realize he's talking to another angel, now. Actually, the man reminds him a bit of Rat thus far, mild-mannered and a bit scruffy. He'd be less at ease if he knew.]

Sorry, I haven't got a clue. I've been stuck here for a few months, myself. I can tell you you're not alone, though.

[angelofhope]

[Well, that's a relief. Beatrix gets upset if he leaves her for so much as ten minutes. The other animals in his garden could fend for themselves, but the dog he's adopted properly. He nods a little.]

That's something.

[Being alone? Not a thing angels are good at. Especially archangels, though Remiel can fare better than most after all his time on Earth.]

Can't say I've... ever been dimension-napped. But I guess I can now. Wonder if I could get that on a t-shirt. [He's not too bothered, mostly because of how ancient he is. He can wait most things out.] So no one at home would notice I've been missing?

[tryingitall]

There are thirty or forty of us, I think, although I haven't kept count. Varying species. Humans, angels, demons, gods, vampires. [He shrugs, watching for a reaction. The last person he brought the angel thing up with was decidedly skeptical. It does seem remiss not to warn people, though.]

I had some t-shirts at one point, but I wouldn't know how to print on them. I'll keep it in mind, though. And, no, we have a number of people from the same world who never missed one another when they vanished.

[video]

[quis_ut_deus]

It is.

[True to form, Michael is abrupt and not very interested in casual smalltalk with a stranger. What he is interested in is how this creature on the other end of the screen can feel both very familiar and very not.

He knows every angel in Heaven, and this isn't one of them.]

What's your name?

[video]

[angelofhope]

My name is Remiel.

[He's very disoriented, especially by all of the celestial energy he can feel in this building, otherwise he'd be similarly curious. Right now all he can focus on is: he's without his dog, he's in a strange new dimension, and he has his yo-yo. Priorities.

Remiel isn't the most subtle angel on the block. But at least his wings are shrouded and invisible to normal eyes. That's something, right?]

Do you know where we are?

[video]

[quis_ut_deus]

[Remiel. He knows the name, but not the angel himself. For all the superficial resemblance and familiar feel of him, this is not one of his siblings.

Being a fellow angel, even a foreign one, does at least make Michael more inclined to help him rather than sit back and let him fumble his way through the usual confusion of arrival. Michael hasn't contemplated the possibilities or implications of other realities very deeply before now, but Remiel's managed to pique his curiosity.]

In name only. I couldn't tell you what planet we're on or why this place has an inordinate degree of power over angels. It's called the Science Center. You're now one of an unidentified group of scientists' captives.

[video]

[angelofhope]

I've heard it mentioned that there are a small number of us here. It's a strange thing to collect. [Back home, that gets you atomized. Usually, because only very powerful Fallen can manage a feat like kidnapping an angel.] I guess we don't have any idea why we're being collected and studied?

[Now that he's really thinking about it, the Science Center is lucky that Remiel was taken. There would be scorch marks if Uriel were involved.]

video;

[unionjackass]

No dog, sorry. I'll gladly keep a lookout and ah-- I guess you're new! Welcome, anyway.

video;

[angelofhope]

Thank you! I appreciate it. [Both for keeping an eye out, and for welcoming him. Remiel is unsure if this place is good for a dog, from the looks of things he's seen so far.] Her name is Beatrix; she's very friendly. She'll lick the skin right off of you.

video;

[unionjackass]

If she's as big as an armchair I don't doubt it! You seem pleasant enough yourself. Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances; I know I as well as everyone else wants to go home.

video;

[angelofhope]

Oh, nothing to apologize for. It wasn't either of our ideas. [Well, that he knows of, but England is very gregarious for a kidnapper who can 'nap an archangel.] Name's Remiel. Have you been here long?

Video

[labyrinthrunner]

[The video is wobbly as a young girl around 16 years of age pops on. She looks excited. At least, the half of her face you can see looks excited.]

You have a dog? Is he friendly? I had Merlin... and then there was Ambrosia in the Labyrinth who looked just like Merlin, but neither of them are here with me.

Video

[angelofhope]

[Remiel nods, smiling warmly.]

That's right! Her name is Beatrix. Merlin's a great name for a dog, though. [He's going to keep that one in mind.] I found her wandering through the neighborhood a while back, and no one ever came to claim her. So she's mine, now.

Re: Video

[labyrinthrunner]

Well, if I see here, I'll let you know. I hope she came over with you. I wish one of my friends were here.

[She looks sad as she says it.] They were all so helpful in the Labyrinth. Maybe they'd be helpful here too.

Video

[angelofhope]

I'm sorry they didn't. If Beatrix shows up, I'm sure she'd love to play. [And he is, genuinely. Compassion is hard-wired into him.] Did you say Labyrinth?

Video

[cinereoargenteus]

Ain't smelled any dogs here. Heck, ain't smelled any animals here besides me.

[And possibly some wolves, but that could have just been his nose playing into his longing for ghome.]

Good luck with halls. I suggest making marks on the walls.

Video

[angelofhope]

Marks? Is that your method? [That could be sound, unless everything including the marks shifts.] I think I'll be okay. Getting lost isn't that much of a problem for me.

[He shakes his head slightly.]

Let me know if you smell anything? She's friendly. Likes to play fetch and everything.

[One of Remiel's brothers would probably be demanding what this boy is, to have a nose like that. But not Remiel.]

[cinereoargenteus]

Yep. Would use my nose, but this place does not follow the rules. Smells just disappear like they were never there.

[He snaps off a smart-looking salute with his right paw, even managing to make it look only half-sarcastic.]

Will let you know, sir.

[angelofhope]

Not surprised, after seeing the way the rest of the place acts.

[It's intriguing and part of him wants to figure it out, but he's not really sure where to start.]

How fast does it change? On a daily basis, I mean. I take it you've been here awhile.

[action]

[massenergies]

[ Someone just so happens to be hungry. She doesn't know how long its been since she's actually eaten anything, but things have been happening so fast that she's forgotten that she was hungry to begin with.

At least until her stomach reminded her, which woke her from a deep sleep. Not a comfortable sleep, though, she'd fallen asleep at a desk in one of the labs, trying to logic out her arrival (among other things).

So, Jane enters the cafeteria, a little blurry eyed and only half paying attention until she hears him ask about his dog at the tail end of the transmission. This makes her stop and squint at him before approaching, brushing her hair back so she doesn't look like she just woke up drooling on a table.

(There wasn't any drool this time, promise). ]

Just arrived, right? [ Her smile is friendly enough, but she has ulterior motives. Mostly she just wants to see where he's from, and if he's human. Seems to be a mix of 50/50 around here so far. ] I'm Jane Foster. Just arrived two days ago.

[action]

[angelofhope]

[Remiel glances up from his phone, setting it on the table when Jane approaches him. Though he's still piecing his situation together, his smile is warm. He can't really help it; it's in his nature.]

Yeah, that's right. Hi, Jane. It's good to meet you. [He holds out a hand. They don't have dirt on them anymore, thankfully.] I'm Remiel.

[action]

[massenergies]

[ She grasps his hand for a firm shake before tucking some hair behind her ears. Her hunger has fallen to the wayside for the moment. ]

Nice to meet you, Remiel. [ She's still semi-sleepy, since lab naps never seem to satisfy the body's need for real sleep, so she sits down beside him without a second thought. ] You said you were looking for your dog? I haven't actually seen one around here, but this place is so huge I can't say I've even seen half of it yet.

[action]

[angelofhope]

[He doesn't mind, smile remaining.]

Beatrix. She's an Alaskan Malamute. Kinda hard to miss, usually, so it's weird not knowing if she's around or not. [While Remiel can selfishly wish she was here, as a taste of home, he would feel better if she wasn't. This really isn't a good place for a dog.] I tried to check the place out a few minutes ago. Normally I get around pretty quick. [Understatement.] But those hallways are something else.