010; accidental video/action; early hours of day 75

[afallenstar]

[ Of course she's been trying to leave since the moment she had been taken, but it hasn't worked. Each and every attempt had been completely unsuccessful, with literally no effect whatsoever.

Until, that is, when one attempt finally does work.

The feed kicks in with enough time to show little more than white light, almost like there's a problem with the video, and there's the faint sound of wings. It fades fast though, along with the light, and it's replaced with the slightly dishevelled looking face of one missing angel. She's out of breath, a little dizzy and definitely disoriented, but the one thing she does before anything else is drop a hand over the communicator. It's black for a few seconds while she fumbles with the buttons, and then the feed cuts out.

Welcome back to Kore, Anna. ]

Comments

[afallenstar]

He can definitely keep that one.

[ Family is family, but most families don't kill and torture their own quite so rampantly as the angels do. She's still wary, even these days, and regardless of how well they're getting on, how much things seem to be improving, she can't let her guard down.

She doesn't know everything that's coming for her, if she ever gets sent home, but she knows enough. ]

And leave you two on your own? Not a chance. I'm amazed the house is still intact.

[ And she really grins at that, family fear be damned, because despite everything else she's back. She's back here, with them, and it's not home - but honestly home isn't all that preferable anyway. ]

I'll make you a deal, I'll avoid a vanishing act if you promise the same.

[tryingitall]

[Sometimes, Balthazar tries to look at the Host objectively, analyze and convince himself why the concept of them all as siblings doesn't work in the way human relationships do. But feelings tend to overrule that, and in the end he's left with a lot of devotion he doesn't know what to do with.

But Anna's safe for now, and joking makes everything better.]

Oh, come now, we're not that bad. Anyway, if we broke everything, Gabriel could theoretically fix it. [He leans back in his seat, releasing some lingering tension in a small sigh. This is okay. Things are okay.]

Deal. I'm not going anywhere. I've got a question for you, though.

[afallenstar]

Theoretically, but I wouldn't expect that much out of him.

[ And oh, how fond it sounds when she says that. There's no denying that there's a special place in her heart for Balthazar and Gabriel. After all, they all ran. They all left, to get out and make some semblance of a different life for themselves. They all made it, too, for different amounts of time, but for a little while there they'd all made it.

Life has a way of getting in the way of that, and they all share a different fate too but well...no one likes to think much about that. ]

If you're going to ask me if I remember anything useful, rest assured it's still a no.

[tryingitall]

[Balthazar chuckles softly and shakes his head. He's not getting in between Gabriel and Anna, not even for just a friendly bickering match.]

No, no...possibly it's better you don't remember what happened. [His expression clouds briefly, but it's not long before the sparkle of mischief is back.] There's this fellow who goes by Ghoul around, you see. He sounded very concerned about your absence.

[afallenstar]

[ Well that's certainly one way of looking at the memory loss, one that she hadn't actually considered before.

...Not that it's going to stop her from letting Raphael try to do what he can about it, because regardless of how unpleasant it might be they're still her memories, and she still wants them back.

But it's hard to dwell on that too long when Balthazar continues, and that look combined with the mention of Ghoul certainly brings her out of any consideration about missing memories that might have been happening. Anna's good at hiding her emotions, but not so much when she's been caught by surprise, and Balthazar definitely has that element to his advantage.

She clears her throat quickly, sits up a little straighter and replaces that look of surprise with an attempt at something more neutral as she nods. ]

I...know him yes. We're- [ What exactly? Complicated? That's hardly the answer she wants to give over. ] Acquainted.

[ So smooth, Anna. So, so smooth. ]

[tryingitall]

[She would be wise not to tell him 'it's complicated'. He'd immediately start calling Ghoul her Facebook friend.]

Acquainted! Excellent. That's how all good friendships begin. [He really, really wants to tease her about this. But if he milks it for too much now, she might get touchy later, so he relents and squeezes her shoulder gently.]

He seems all right as far as I can tell. Genuinely concerned about you, at least.

[hung_garian]

[Which Gabriel takes as his cue to make his return. They seem to have got their Emotions out of the way, at least as much as they're likely to. Besides, he'd hate to miss an opportunity to tease Anna.]

Well, we're all genuinely concerned about Anna, what with the terrible life choices and the hideous fashion sense and all that.

[He breezes back in, apparently trying to balance the three drinks the human way. Any success he has is limited at best, but he manages not to spill anything. With as little ceremony as is physically possible, he plonks Anna's cocoa down on the table in front of her, then passes Balthazar his tea before retreating back to his corner. Next time he might consider using a tray.]

I haven't missed the girl talk, have I? You know me, there's nothing I like better than a good gossip session.

['Missed', he says, as if he hasn't been listening the whole time. What is privacy?]

[afallenstar]

[ See, the problem is that the 'genuinely concerned' part of Balthazar's sentence prompts the start of a smile veering dangerously close to 'big' and 'dumb' when Gabriel makes his entrance, and of course it would be right at that very moment. She's well versed in the dry look that she directs at Gabriel, but shifts up to take the cocoa quickly and mumbled a thank you against the rim.

...No, she's definitely not using the drink as an excuse to give herself a few seconds head start on how to approach this. Not at all. Definitely not. ]

So you liked him?

[ No. Wait. Goddamnit, that wasn't what she'd been going for, and the momentary hesitation shows as much. With a quick frown and a shake of her head, she pauses again just short of actually saying anything, takes a breath and then starts over. ]

I just meant- well, you see. He's become somewhat...important to me, over the time we've been here.

[ 'Important', she says, as if it can really be summed up that casually. ]

[tryingitall]

Thank you! [Balthazar practically chirps at Gabriel, and doesn't even react to the accusation of 'girl talk'. He's enjoying this way too much.]

Well, he didn't seem like my type. [He tells Anna, eyes sparkling.] But who am I to judge?

Truly, though, I haven't spoken to him enough to make an educated judgment, but so far, so good. [He glances at Gabriel to see what he's making of all this.]

[hung_garian]

That's probably for the best. Last thing I want is you crazy kids bickering all night over who Romeo thinks is prettier.

[As for his opinion... well. He stirs his drink with one finger, considering.]

Obviously I hate him on principle, that's my fraternal duty, but I'm not actually sure who this guy is, so if you want any more detail than that you'll have to wait. If it's any help, I probably made fun of him if we ever did speak.

[Gabriel just pretend you are not here, seriously. You're not helping. Leave the conversation.]

[afallenstar]

If it's any help, I'd rather you didn't speak to him. [ She's just going to pointedly raise eyebrows at Gabriel for a moment, and though Balthazar gets a look shot his way too for good measure, it's clear where she thinks most of the risk lies here. ]

I promise you guys, Castiel has already pulled the overprotective big brother card. He doesn't need another two breathing down his neck.

[ She rolls her eyes a little before she sips her drink, just to demonstrate just how utterly ridiculous she thinks the behaviour is. But they've kind of won already, the little fond smile isn't going away any time soon and she just gives an oh so casual shrug. ] ...I'm going to tell him, soon. About, the angel deal. I actually wanted to bring it up with you two first.

[tryingitall]

Wait, is it my fraternal duty to hate him, too? I thought all I had to do was threaten to damage his dangly bits if he ever breaks Anna's heart. [Balthazar looks genuinely inquisitive about this point of honor, but it should be noted he hasn't done any of the above as of yet. There may still be time to stop him.]

Cas threatened him? [There's a ghost of a frown, some sort of irritation or bad feeling he doesn't dare frame in words, even in his own head. He shrugs to dismiss it, determinedly.] For what it's worth, I'm not making a public announcement, but I've given a few friends notice that I'm one of the winged set. I don't mind.

[hung_garian]

That's the bare minimum. If you were a really good brother - like I am - you'd threaten to rip off all his extremities if he so much as breathed wrong. Trust me, Balthazar. I'm the human expert here, aren't I?

[Well - no, he's not, not with Anna in the room, but her input doesn't count on this matter. She's biased.]

There's a few people who know about me, too. Not sure how, since I sure as fuck didn't tell 'em, but apparently word spreads. So, y'know, if you were thinking about blowing my cover, I guess someone's already got that covered. You might wanna mention it to him before he finds out on his own though 'cause, uh, finding out your snuggle buddy's a different species than you thought tends to be an even messier reveal if you have to hear it off the grapevine.

[afallenstar]

No, no he's really not. Don't you listen to him, Balth. [ She quickly points between the two of them, entertained enough to still be smiling but with the I'm Serious Here eyebrows raised for good measure. ] You leave him alone. He's a decent guy. He's sweet. Put up with more drama from you lot than he should have.

[ But Balthazar and Gabriel's comments do sober her slightly, because she's not exactly outing everyone by telling Ghoul what she is, but it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. -you mean the way your Mina friend deduced me after some careless comments from your mouth? But don't worry, we're getting there. [ She hadn't ever gotten around to berating Gabriel for that, what with how complicated things got shortly after. Voice loss is one hell of a distraction. ]

See, I'm telling him because me and Castiel. We thought that maybe coming clean could...help restore some order in the town. We're not asking you two to do it as well, we'll keep you under the radar, but something needs to change. People are getting more reckless. They're going to get everyone killed.

[tryingitall]

I think we ought to consider the possibility that none of us are as subtle, individually, as we'd like to think we are. [Balthazar shakes his head, smiling faintly. God knows he's tried not to blow anyone's cover but his own, but he can't promise he's been successfully discreet.] Which means, collectively, the fact that we all know one another is a giant red flag.

[Balthazar nods slightly at Anna's conclusion.] That, and there's no guarantee new people won't be as anxious to escape, or more so. I'm not sure knowing we're stuck here too will help with that, though. I'm happy to come clean in any case, but once we do...all bets are off if that leads to people casting spells on us or demanding favors.

[hung_garian]

Sorry. [He doesn't sound sorry. Or as if he cares at all. Woops.] Raphael and Lucifer aren't bothering to hide it, and a few people know about Castiel too. I doubt it'll be long before people start figuring it out, especially if the good Doctor Barrett keeps up her mildly obsessive quest to find out what I am. Might as well get it out now, skip some of the dramatic reveals and accusations of lying down the road.

[A shrug. He's been hiding his identity long enough that it's habit-forming, but he has no real reason to hide here. At least for the time being, the only people he really doesn't want to know about it are their captors, but he's pretty sure they knew from the moment they dragged him here, if not earlier. And yes, he's aware that he should be using the past tense for Lucifer. Don't call him on it.]

Knowing we're stuck here too might get them to cut out that idiotic crap the newbies do when they think everyone else was just too dumb to walk out. And if they think they can get favours out of us just cause we got wings they can bite me. Unless they want sexual favours, in which case I suppose they can bite me anyway - in pre-approved areas, that is.

[afallenstar]

That's...really what we were thinking. I'm all for trying to go home, really, but when it comes to getting people hurt, getting them killed- [ She just shrugs a little, a little hunched up as she picks at one of her nails. Not at all nervously, of course. Not a chance. The idea of coming clean terrifies her, she can't really hide that much, but it's a good idea. It's a smart idea, and if it helps keep even one person here safe, it's worth it, right?

...She's on the fence about that right now, but she's going to do it anyway. ]

It won't all go down well, I know. Some people are...resistant to the idea here. It could do something though, and I'm kind of at a loss here. People are going to start dying soon, and I really do like some of them here in the alive state.

[ After a moment she just rubs at the back of her neck slightly, glancing at the other two, and then quickly adds. ] I won't be naming names. I won't give them a list, that's not what we're trying to do here. It might...lead people to make the conclusion for themselves, though. They're not totally oblivious.

[tryingitall]

Anna. You don't have to handle this on your own. [Balthazar scolds her gently.] Make whatever announcement you want. I'll stand with you.

As long as you're aware that there will be people with questions. Most of them won't be nice questions, either. [He sighs, tilting his head against the back of the couch and closing his eyes.]

As to whether it will make anybody think twice about doing stupid things to get out...that sort of depends on whether they believe us, doesn't it?

[hung_garian]

I don't care who knows. There's no Apocalypse here, what does it matter? If they can figure it out, good for them. Give 'em a shiny gold star and everyone goes away happy.

[He shakes his head, apparently unimpressed by all of this tact and diplomacy nonsense. He does care who knows, of course. Hiding his identity has been one of his priorities for centuries, and that's not easily put aside, even if 'coming out' back home hadn't had all those rather unpleasant consequences. But honestly, it isn't as important here. It could lead to a couple of arguments, especially if there are any people with strong feelings about religion around, but he's not exactly opposed to arguments. If tradition is the only real reason to keep up the pretence, it's not worth making a fuss over.]

And if they're rude, smite 'em where they stand. That'll prove you're for real and get rid of a complete pain in the ass - two birds with one stone. I'm not seeing a problem here.