006/Audio/Late Day 79

[tryingitall]

I've had a thought, Kore--because I do that, occasionally, when I'm not too busy drinking. We've had a lot of new arrivals turn up injured lately, and also a number of re-arrivals with nasty wounds. What about a few of us volunteering as a quick-response group for these occasions? A welcoming committee for the bruised and bleeding, as it were.

I don't know whether the infirmary is equipped for overnight stays, so someone will have to inform me. I'm afraid to go look. If not, maybe some sort of temporary shelter would be appropriate, as well.

...

...And on a completely unrelated note, could the person who's been painting murals of birds around town pretty please come forward? I want to shake your hand.

Comments

[primogen_vampirate]

And, if I may ask, what did you--and the others--do that warranted this desertion?

Or should I ask what was done to you?

[tryingitall]

It's not my place to explain for the others.

[He's quiet for a moment, studying the stars again. At length he answers with a question:] Do you have family, Doctor Barrett? Here or anywhere else. Brothers? Sisters?

[primogen_vampirate]

[The transition surprises her somewhat. Her eyebrows pucker for a moment and she scowls.

But there's no harm in answering honestly, is there?]

No. I've been quite on my own since I was...oh...thirteen.

[tryingitall]

That makes it harder to explain. [Slowly he wanders over to one of the pylons and half-sits on the edge, one foot touching the ground.]

All of the Host call one another brother or sister. We're made to care about one another. Unfortunately, we're also made to fight. After a while, I noticed we were doing a lot of fighting amongst ourselves. Killing one another.

The grand plan of Creation, according to the orders that filtered down from the archangels--from God, or so we thought--was for an end to the fighting on the earth. No one seemed to have a good plan to end the conflict in Heaven. The best answer anyone could give me was that once Michael had defeated Lucifer for good, there would be no more to argue about. The more of us died, though, the less I believed that.

I decided if the plan was to watch my siblings kill each other until either dissension was stamped out or there was no one left to dissent, then fuck it.

[primogen_vampirate]

Sounds a bit like Kindred politics, actually.

[She moves to an adjacent pylon, perching herself on it.]

The difference being that most of us have come to view each other as enemies, rather than blood.

[For a moment, she's silent, contemplating it all.]

When I was two years old, I had a brother named Mark who died. It was common back then for children to die. My mother dressed me him in his clothes and started to call me Mark and scammed a lot of money out of my paternal grandmother because of it. I suppose, you might say my view on family is somewhat...demented.

But soldiers? Politics? Generals who don't know what the hell they're doing? That much I can understand.

[tryingitall]

As far as I can tell, on my world vampires are quite cliquish. There are nests and covens and the like, but no overarching hierarchical structure. But I haven't known many.

[He listens to her story with an expression somewhere between sympathy and curiosity. For all that he's attached to his own family, he hasn't had much experience with the way humans grow up. Even an odd example is intriguing. He nods at her conclusion.]

Angels are soldiers with a biological imperative to obey. By the time circumstances push us to the point where we can't or won't obey any longer...

[Shrug.] Perhaps it's a kind of psychological break that makes us run, or a change in what makes us what we are. Castiel and I certainly mucked things up.

I've never done much of anything useful on my own. Trying to care for the people here, angels and otherwise, is a small thing and possibly quite futile, but I don't know what else to do.

[primogen_vampirate]

Understandable. At least in the case of Castiel.

[She folds her arms.]

But what about the others? Raphael? Lucifer? I don't know Catholicism well, but I know it well enough.

[tryingitall]

[He gives a small, uncertain grimace.] Lucifer was the first to Fall. He doesn't like humans, and frankly I wouldn't trust him to be friendly with any human-shaped creature, vampires included.

Raphael, on the other hand, hasn't run away, but I'm not sure that means he's not broken. He does approve of physicians, though.

[primogen_vampirate]

My life is complete. I've the approval of an arch-angel.

[She glances up at the sky a moment.]

It's strange to think that characters from the stories I heard as a child are more real than paper.

[tryingitall]

[Balthazar laughs softly.] I didn't necessarily mean that. But truly, it's better to have his approval than not. Archangels are fierce. They're terrifying when they're angry.

[Sobering, he nods.] Maybe everything is real somewhere, at some point in time. But we may not exist in the world you come from. I have no way to know that.

[primogen_vampirate]

As I've learned the hard way, back home, once you give something a Name, it exists.

[Her anger is palpable at that. So palpable, in fact, that a glimmer rises off of her skin. The older than old part of Mina's person, the simmering power just below the surface, rises now, filling the air with something terrifying.

It's the Queen. The Fae trying to get out, trying to take control. She can't of course. Mina's will is strong and the Queen's hold on her is weakened by thirds. But she's rattling in her cage.]

[tryingitall]

[That's unsettling indeed, but also intriguing. Balthazar blinks at her slowly, then very deliberately turns his gaze seaward, listening to the currents of power circulating around her. Wondering if acknowledging the exotic energy will tip the balance and give it too much strength.

He's quiet for a moment, weighing his options, and chooses to say nothing. But it's a safe bet he'll have questions later.]

That's true. [He answers calmly.] But it doesn't have to exist alongside you. Reality is clever that way.

[primogen_vampirate]

[Mina's lips curl into a wicked little smile. Is that Mina or the Queen? Difficult to tell, but after a moment, the glow fades.

She is herself again. Unpretty and unadorned.]

Perhaps the reality you come from. And if so, I know an entire vampire principality that envies you.

[tryingitall]

[He looks back at her with a wry smile, feeling the delicate moment pass.] Well, I'm not going to apologize for existing, either. But this isn't what I wanted to talk about with you to begin with.

As I said, organization isn't my strong suit, but I have done a fair amount of triage on the battlefield, for humans and for angels. I wasn't trying to be especially ambitious, but if you'll tell me what it was you had in mind before, I'm curious, and perhaps we can work out some compromise?

[primogen_vampirate]

I come from the military. I wanted files with baseline information on everyone here. I wanted to know everyone's bloodtype, medical history, and special medical needs.

Apparently, that was considered too intrusive.

[tryingitall]

[He rubs his chin thoughtfully, taking a long moment to respond.]

There are a lot of secrets here. I could tell you anything you wanted to know about my vessel, of course. Type B, history of alcoholism, hepatorenal syndrome--which is under control because I'm living in this body right now--et cetera. But that wouldn't tell you much about what to do for a truly injured angel.

And then of course there are the mutants, and a few shape-shifting types, some of which have dealt with persecution. I see the problem. There's some basic cooperation, but we truly don't trust one another.

[primogen_vampirate]

We're going to have to trust one another. The alternative is...unpleasant.

And that's my attempt at being diplomatic, darling.

[tryingitall]

[That earns a soft laugh from him, and a nod of acknowledgment.] Fair enough. Unfortunately, trust is earned rather than gifted by default.

Anna was talking about...coming out of the cloister, so to speak. As an angel. I assume you already knew. I thought I would join her, and of course Cas and Samandriel have been less than discreet, and Raphael isn't bothering to hide at all. [He's still hesitant to speak for Loki.]

I'm not sure whether us being open will make things better or worse. If we all pulled together as a town, maybe that would help.

[primogen_vampirate]

I confessed what I was to the entire town.

No one seemed to care much.

[She shrugs.]

I suppose I'm hardly the model for taking a leap of faith.

[tryingitall]

No, I suppose they're pretty blase by now, although I do find I get asked about Heaven more frequently than I like. I left there for a reason.

[But she doesn't want to hear him whine.] I suppose the bottom line is are you willing to let me consult you on this, or have you lost patience for good?

[primogen_vampirate]

[She sighs softly.]

I'm willing. But I won't be making any attempts to herd the cats again. Once bitten, twice shy and all that. I don't suffer fools. That's just not in my constitution.

[tryingitall]

[He nods, subtly pleased.] I can deal with the cats and the fools, then. I just want a bare-minimum arrangement in place for emergencies.

Thank you. Clearly we've gotten off on the wrong foot--and I dare say we may be doomed to butt heads still. I'm grateful that you're a pragmatist.

[primogen_vampirate]

A doctor has to be. Hoping for a cure never actually saved anyone's life.

And I do take my oaths very seriously.

[She pauses.]

If I'm going to handle emergency situations however, I would appreciate it if you taught Castiel the difference between "unmentionables" and "naked."

[tryingitall]

[He does a slow blink, then a grin spreads across his face.]

I'll make the attempt, certainly, but that sounds like a story I should hear about.

[primogen_vampirate]

I imagine it's about what it sounds like.

My kitchen will never quite recover from the shock. Like the echoes of a supernatural event.

[She shrugs.]

I was only trying to help. He looked damaged. How was I supposed to know he was a bloody angel? Without a grasp on the English language.