cape_kore | Video || Day 77

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Video || Day 77

[Welcome to the semi-smiling visage of Riley, Kore.]

Hey. It's me, obviously. Um, I was just thinking since there's new people arriving here and I know I haven't actually gotten to meet about half of the people currently here, maybe we could have a sort of... bake out?

I'm planning on going fishing today, so I could plan to grab enough for anyone wanting to come. I'd really like to see who's here that's willing to try to get together to figure out what exactly is going on and what we intend to do about it. We might be stuck here, but there's no reason we have to be secluded while we are.

[Except for hunters. ~~Dean, this means you.~~]

I just think we might want to start acting a little more like we're all stuck here together instead of having ulterior motives or ones that, you know, completely screw with people when they go and do things by themselves.

[This might be directed at the Doctor and anyone involved with the event that had her freaking out like any animal during an earthquake/natural disaster. She was very not happy with you.]

It may be ridiculous to ask, but, hey, why not, right? If anyone wants to come, please do. If not, that's just more fish for me.

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What, you don't have googly eyes? Big ones that jiggle when you move? [She saw that, Balthazar. Laugh, go on. You know you want to.]

It might also be because I never actually read the bible. [She kicked at the ground a little with her toe.] Sorry, Snowball, but we're not a religious family.

[He gives up and laughs, because the mental image of terrifying rings of flame pasted all over with wiggle eyes is pretty much priceless. Maybe he likes Riley because they share a similar sense of humor.]

I wouldn't worry about it, if I were you. The Bible was written for humans, by humans. Most of my brothers wouldn't consider it representative of our experiences. [He wishes he could tell her about Gabriel, for just a moment. But it might be better not to anyway.]

[Hah! She made him laugh. She felt a smug sort of satisfaction about that, kicking at the ground again and looking over at him.]

Maybe if it was written by a god, or the god, or any deity, I might hold a bit more respect for it. But when they're spouting off about things in scripture that people are holding to as a fact in a more modern civilization? I kind of just want to avoid the whole shebang.

[The angel shrugs.] Most of it is prophecy, but it's filtered through the lens of the person who wrote it down. Anyway, like I told you before, I don't want to tell you what to believe or not believe. It's not my place.

Nope. It's not. [Her parents hadn't even tried to sway her or her brothers towards one religion or the other. She'd met other shifters that were catholic, christian, pagan, and even kemetic, but her family didn't slide into any one religions. They respected and adhered to what the people they were around followed without following it themselves. It made her mostly ambivalent to them since to her, they were all just different strings from the same cloth.]

Are you in any pain? Do you need anything?

[Balthazar smiles. Some of his brethren would find that response cheeky, but all in all he'd rather spend time with mortals who can hold their own than ones who remain in awe of him.]

I'm a bit sore, but there's nothing for it but time. Thank you, though.

[He swallows more beer, licks his lips, and considers a moment. She asked about his vessel.] When I say I'm in a human vessel...this body belonged to a man--an artist--at the turn of the 20th Century. I was sent to earth on a mission, and needed a vessel to wear. I came to him because he was the only adult of the right bloodline.

An angel can't take a vessel without consent. I ended up talking with him for nearly two weeks before he said yes. I still carry his soul with me, but it's resting now. He's resting.

[That has her turning to look at him, giving his body a full looking over as she does.]

So... you're possessing him? Is that what angels do? Possess people? How long are you going to be in him? What happens to him after? And what do you mean 'right bloodline'? Balthazar... did you shag some mortal woman and this is your a billionty times great grandson?

[Well, that's a lot of questions. He opens his mouth, closes it again to decide where to start, and then begins:]

First of all, good lord no, I didn't have babies with some poor human girl. That's on the short list of Things That Get Your Wings Ripped Off by a Superior Officer. I can't explain why the genetics work the way they do. Not my department. But my vessel's bloodline goes back almost as far as the human race.

It's possession, I suppose, but it doesn't work the same way demonic possession does. And he...well, in my own world, he should by rights be given a place to rest in Heaven, but if I'm stuck here forever... [He makes a rueful shrug. He'd be very reluctant to release Levi's soul here. Anything could happen.]

Could you go around without him? I mean, if you weren't in his body, where would you be?

[He'd gotten her curious, making her wonder about the difference in mechanics in her world and his. Angels existing was one. And apparently so were demons. Good to know.]

Can you, like, talk to him? In there?

[She lifted a finger and tapped just beside his brow, light and curious.]

I suppose I'd be in trueform, blowing out the electrical and communications network, blinding anyone human who saw me for life, and possibly setting fires.

[He answers dryly, but it's a real concern. If he were removed from his vessel on his own world, he could flee to Heaven by default. Not in Kore.]

...actually, yes, but in a limited way. It's difficult, I think, for a human soul sharing form with an angel. Overwhelming. I try to keep him asleep as much as I can. I've asked him about human social customs once or twice, but I try to let him be.

And he's okay with that? Just snoozing away while you putter around? What about... other things?

[And by 'other things', she was referring to if the angel decided to get his freak on. Did the vessel's personality not really care who it was playing with when Balthazar was driving?]

He agreed to it. At the time I came to him, he felt he didn't have anything to lose, but that's a sad story.

[He raises an eyebrow at 'other things'. It's not something he's ever considered. Most angels feel a vessel saying 'yes' to possession is a blanket consent for anything else that becomes necessary, or desired.] I haven't asked about everything...

Ever thought about asking?

[It wasn't so much censure as it was genuine curiosity. Just because someone agrees to lend you something doesn't mean they'd be okay with everything you could do to it. 'Sure, Jack, you can borrow my lawnmower. Just don't chop up any dead bodies with it' seemed like something someone might not think to mention beforehand.]

Not really. It just seems like once someone's handed you the reins to their body and the safekeeping of their soul, there's not much more to ask.

I did make it clear I was taking him to war, when I claimed this vessel, and that he wouldn't be coming back to his life as he knew it. [He's thinking about it now, though. Wondering if he shouldn't be a bit less wanton with some of the things he's been doing. It's an uncomfortable idea.]

And then I left Heaven and nothing seemed to matter at all any more.

That was... kind of a long time ago, Balthazar. Did he know he'd be signing up for this long of a tour?

[Again, she wasn't really trying to scold or be nitpicky, she just wasn't sure how the whole thing worked. If some celestial being had come up to her and said, 'Hey, can I hijack your body and soul for a couple years', she would have wanted a time reference. Allowing someone (or something) to use her body didn't mean she was giving up her life completely and she had to wonder if the host actually knew what was going on around him and how long it had been.

But Balthazar seemed to actually be considering all this as thought it was completely new to him. It made her kind of sad because she didn't think he'd done anything maliciously, but regardless of intent, it was still a little irresponsible.]

[Irresponsible is his middle name, at least if you ask the other angels. But then, he bets none of them have ever thought about this, either.]

No one did. I didn't know. I can't read the future, only revisit the past. [He looks at the ground, curling both hands around the can of beer.] The thing is, Riley, there's nothing I can do about it, not now, maybe not ever. I can't release him here: without a vessel I'd hurt people. And if I ever get home, if I even remember this place and this conversation...I don't actually have long to live.

So, should I even try? 'Hello, sorry, is it all right that I've been dragging your body around for a century? No? Too bad.'

[He brought up a valid point, and if he'd been riding along in the guy for over a hundred years, the poor thing might not have a clue what had happened to the world since 2013 was a lot different from 1913. But something he'd said caught her attention.]

Wait, what do you mean you don't have long to live? Why not? Is there an expiry date on angels?

[1908, to be precise, but yes. If Levi ever were released, it would be a whole new world. A very confusing new world.]

Nnno...it's difficult to explain, but a number of people from my world are here, and they're from a bit further advanced in the timeline than I am. They've told me a risk I've taken is going to turn out badly for me.

[He's certainly not going to tell her Castiel's going to kill him. He's not sure he wants to even say that out loud.]

[She thinks that over for a small while, hands in her lap and fingers playing idly together.]

So, angels can die? And you know you're going to? I can sort of see why you wouldn't be in a hurry to get out of here.

[One hand lifts to rest on his knee, giving it a light squeeze.]

I'm sorry, Balthazar. That has to be a pretty crappy situation to be in.

[It sounded sucky to her. She liked him. He was funny, crass, but with that sort of proper tone and manners that made his behavior that much funnier. So she offered comfort the best way she knew how; through physical contact. She leaned against his side, her head moving to rest on his shoulder.]

There are only one or two things that can kill an angel, but yes. We can die. I've seen too much of it happen over the centuries. [He leans back a little, eyes closing. It's a pose that should look like he's simply enjoying the sun, but somehow it comes across as terribly morose.

He doesn't react to the touch on his knee, but he notices.] I'm trying not to think about it too much. All I can do is enjoy what I've got here and now.

[And then she's leaning against him. That prompts his eyes to open again, blinking mildly down at her. There's a flicker of a smile, and he tilts his head to rest his chin in her hair.]

All the more reason for me to keep coming over to bug you and steal you off for runs while we go around mooning all the cameras.

[Slowly, quietly, she began a quiet rumbling in her chest; a muted purring in her attempt to comfort him.]

We'll just have to hope the place doesn't run out of beer for you.

[That had a few other questions popping up in her head, but she set them aside for now, intent on trying to make Balthazar feel better, and perhaps herself at hearing that he had a somewhat doomed existence.]

[He chuckles, and sighs, settling into the contact. Touch is a different experience, in a vessel, than it is from angel to angel. More soothing, in fact. It takes him a moment to notice the purr.] I can live without alcohol. Don't tell anyone I said that. But another run some day would be wonderful.

[He's quiet for a moment, then adds:] Are you aware you're purring, love? Not to embarrass you; I quite like it. But the jaguar transformation wasn't a one time thing, was it?

Any time you're up for it, I'd love to have you on a run. I hope we never have to admit your dirty little secret. [She was smiling, amused that he found it to be something worth hiding, even if only as a joke.

She laughs softly, a sound that makes the purr stutter.] No, it wasn't. It's also not something I go around making a point of sharing since most people don't believe in anything not human and the ones that do like to kill them. But, since you're an angel and all, it kind of feels a little bit like species solidarity.

[Even if they were both completely different species from completely different worlds, she had a feeling he'd know what she meant.]

[Species solidarity. That's strangely touching, and he smiles, nudging his chin lightly against her head.] I'll take that.

Don't worry, though. I'll keep the secret, but no one's going to try to kill you here. You're far from the only not-human. [He's quiet for a moment, listening to the purr, then something occurs to him. He laughs softly and reaches for the chain of his necklace.]

And here I've been wearing this thing for a year and a half. [He usually wears the pendant tucked into his shirt, but when he pulls it out it becomes clear it's some sort of cast metal charm of either a leopard or a jaguar. Heavily stylized, it's hard to tell which type of cat it is.]

I've met two others, but I've heard about the hunter and I'm not keen on getting on his radar. I don't know how stab happy he is. Or she. I don't even know who it is.

[She was liking just sitting there, sharing each other's company and taking comfort in it. But he moved and pulled something out of his shirt and she tipped her head up, curious. Looking at the pendant, she let out a short laugh, a hand coming up to trace what were obviously feline features.]

Where'd you get that?

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