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[thefirstfallen]

It took him most of a day to gain the composure and strength - both mental and physical - to sit up and place his feet on the floor. His aching limbs protested every subtle move, but he ignored it. So, it was a rebirth. He wasn't particularly sure that he deserved such an honor. He rose to his feet and clicked his nails together in a sharp, loud sound, hearing the reverb in the room, getting better bearing of his surroundings. He ran his hand along the side of the bed, easing his way slowly to the door. Downstairs, he could hear the hushed voices of his pupil and Azrael. He could tell that they were keeping their voices down for his benefit.

He summoned a simple set of clothes onto himself, and walked stiffly down the stairs, taking his time. His blond hair covered most of his face, but he didn't mind overmuch. The point was that he was up and out of bed. To hell with appearance. He turned and made his way to the sitting room, holding himself up with the arch of the doorway. The stiffness of his joints prevented him from walking farther. It was reminiscent of his first day in human form, though it wasn't through weight and clumsiness of the body that kept him from maintaining a fluid movement and straight posture, it was sheer weakness and soreness.

Azrael's head rose once he saw Raziel in the doorway and smiled, before patting Ariel on the shoulder and taking his silent leave, leaving the way he usually did -- hooded and through the shadows. Raziel leaned his back against the doorway, and sighed. "The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life," he quoted scripture, and sighed. "Why did you do this for me?"

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[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

"Azrael and I?" Ariel rose to meet his mentor, unsure of what to say, or how to act. The last time they'd been face to face, he'd been unpardonably blunt and harsh. He was astonished that this being still wanted to speak to him. "Because we wanted to save you," he finally said simply. His life would have been too different without Raziel, and it would have been the rankest, most appalling betrayal to simply let him die. They were both unworthy of that.

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"I am not entirely certain I deserved the saving hand, Ariel, especially when it was your hand that pulled me up and out of the ruins," Raziel said as he let his wings appear after pushing off the doorway, silvery-blue and not unlike the color of his eyes, which had irises and pupils - something to which Ariel was likely also unfamiliar. But it was clear that this creature still had no sense of sight. "But I appreciate it, nevertheless." He settled in the window seat, his double set of wings trailing like a long cape down onto the floor, stiff but still clearly large enough to hold his weight.

"I would like to apologize for all the harm I've caused you. It was diabolical, to put you through the pain of your own living Hell. To break you and build you up time and again. To know that I've done that to countless souls rests heavily with me, but to you... What kind of friend and teacher am I?" His tone was flat, as he kept his composure, but every word was truth.

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

The apology was heartfelt, and he'd have been able to tell that even without this newfound power over truth. "I forgave you before, and I forgive you now." His tone was quiet, almost peaceful. The discussion with Azrael had helped. So had speaking with Ikuko, though he hadn't told her specifics. And the mere fact of seeing his teacher and friend in this lighter form was ... delightful.

Ariel shook his head. "You might not have been the most considerate friend," he said, hoping that sounded tactful enough. "But you saved me in your own way. And you were as good a teacher as any have ever been." He spread his arms wide before realizing the futility of the gesture. "I feel as right as I've ever been."

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"And what a road you've traveled to get to this point. You should have ascended two hundred years ago. My folly is your misfortune," came the reply on the heels of Ariel's exclamation. "It was utter foolishness to treat it as a game. If I'd only allowed myself the clarity..." He took an unnecessary sigh, before shaking his head and smiling under the curtain of gold hair. "The past cannot be undone, but we can pave a road, you and I, from the ruinous and twisted path I've blazed, into truth, should we see fit." He tipped his head up and turned to face Ariel, chuckling faintly, "I may be without my abilities, and may be bound to this reality, friend, but I don't see any better place for us than you in Heaven, and I to Earth, to teach all that desire to learn."

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

"I see fit," Ariel replied gently, smiling. "You look much better than you did after Azrael and I finished with our business, if I might say so." Just because he was technically no longer the pupil, there was no reason to offer such disrespect as he had before. Besides, here was a being he might truly be able to respect.

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"Horseshit, Ariel," He chuckled, "Better than mostly dead could still be considered pitiable by all accounts. I would not suggest the sensation, if you ever decide to try and be reborn from the ashes of your former self." He stretched his wings slowly, careful not to brush them against anything, for concern they might knock down some valuable. He also stretched his arms over his head. "How do you find your new station, then? I do hope I haven't burdened you too greatly. Being a prince, saint, and a creature of many orders other than Arch would make for a rough transition, I'd assume."

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

It oddly set him more at ease to hear some of his teacher's former acerbic wit was still there. Still, he shook his head. "I've barely begun, but I find the work ..." He shook his head, sighing as he searched for an adjective, but it wasn't a tired sound. "I find it exhilarating. I feel an enormous sense of peace, so far." He wanted to speak of the distrust he was faced with in some quarters, but decided against it; there was no need to burden this creature further, never mind him.

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"As well you ought." Raziel tucked his wings back once more and stood, still sore, but the stretch helped. "And what of Nemo's? Have you decided what you intend to do with the store? You really haven't the time to run the dusty old place with all that's already under your belt. And... a woman. You still are seeing that young thing with the infectiously charming personality, aren't you?"

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

"I intend to be a frequent visitor, but as regards ownership, I figured I'd speak to your friend Aziraphale in the near future. I do, however, want him to continue to engage young Chelsea. Best to keep her under a watchful eye if her interest in demonology persists." Ariel shook his head, but only blushed faintly when he mentioned Iku. "Miss Ikuko, yes, we've continued to keep company. I just spoke to her earlier today, as a matter of fact."

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"Shame, leaving Zira with such piteous help," Raziel mused, but decided that should the principality wish, he'd just hire other people. Raziel actually assumed Zira would simply move into the back room and make the store a home for himself. It suited him well. "Still, I suppose it's better than the alternative of making a nuisance of myself under the foot of my older brother." He made his way into the kitchen to start up the kettle.

"I hope that's going well for you, the romancing bit." He mentioned, almost offhandedly.

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

He might have been an angel now, but he would always somewhat be an 18th century gentleman. He blushed harder, but his tone was even. "I'd say things are going well, thank you. My first project with what little free time I'll have is to learn Japanese. Her English is good, but she's clearly more comfortable in her native tongue." He couldn't help a surreptitious smile at the thought of Iku's face when he greeted her in flawless Japanese.

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"Ah, so you're smitten," teased Raziel, leaning against the counter with his wings disappeared and out of the way. "It's really a good thing to see you in high spirits, despite the last time we truly spoke. I have been... reconciling my past, piece by piece. I said it to Azrael when I first awoke; it all seems like a hazy sort of dream to me. But I couldn't easily forget that discussion. You had a right to call me on it, mind, but your tact, as usual, is well..." He waved a hand dismissively. "Yours."

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

Instantly Ariel shook his head, belatedly realizing it was unseen. "No, no. I don't regret telling you what I was seeing, but I handled it in an unpardonably disrespectful manner. No," he added, voice softer, "you didn't deserve that. I hope you'll accept that apology on my part." The information might have been imperative for the fallen angel to hear, but the way he'd said it - in his face, sharp, angry - had been ill-chosen. "Whatever you were, you did some things for me which were entirely to my benefit. Even grudging altruism should be repaid in kind. Speaking of," he added belatedly. "Are you quite fit enough to go through a minor spell at the moment?"

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"After a cup of tea, I will be," replied Raziel, who knew that the hot steam and liquid would help ease his tense joints and tendons. "As for forgiveness, I believe your reasons were fair. You have mine. Stupidity on both our parts, I feel; I lied to you about Helena and Danielle and more, and you don't know when to keep your mouth shut." He meant the latter as nothing but a joke, and it shone as only that. "What spell are you considering, then?"

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

Ariel was able to take it as a joke, and he simply smiled. With the question, though, he answered quickly. "I intend to re-establish your powers to summon and teleport. To have you lack those is cruel and unusual, and it was never my intention to usurp such powers from you. It was never my intention to usurp any powers from you. I expected duplication, not transference."

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"I've got the former, I would be nude now if it were not for that," pointed out the fallen angel, "which I entirely believe is to dear Azrael's credit. And I was expecting transference. I felt it as soon as I returned to my proper form, that I'd been losing them the entire time. And since there was no turning back at the time, I decided rather to keep you in the dark to it, simply because you would have backed down from it. Asked for a different way. It simply wouldn't have done either of us any good to make you aware of it." He tapped his talons on the countertop. "If you have the ability to reestablish the powers I once had, even in part, let it be teleportation and my link to ethereal knowledge. It as if I've been left as a young man, you see. I know only what I've learned, not what I knew. It's rather unnerving."

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

Ariel understood - how strange! - and couldn't help but marvel at the creature's resilience. "Your courage was unchanged," he commented before closing his eyes and trying to search within himself, to see if he could tap into these new tools at his disposal.

"Teleportation is child's play," Ariel finally replied. "However, apparently the most I can do is give you the ability to re-learn all you knew." His tone was apologetic. "To reopen the passages, so to speak. I wish I could do more."

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"All that I knew, you say, are you sure you could trust me with that?" joked Raziel, who took the kettle off the burner as soon as it started to whistle, and poured it onto the waiting bag of tea in its cup. He considered it for a moment. Well, it was better than being particularly mundane. And learning, to him, was like setting up a line of dominoes before him, and then tipping over one. It was always a chain reaction, and he often could lead himself through decades of learning without thinking much about it except in retrospect. "Ariel, the fact that you can and wish to is more than I would ask of you. I appreciate the gesture, all the same. I'll agree to it, on the condition that you stop feeling so damned cut up about it."

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

"You didn't beat the Catholic guilt out of me," Ariel replied wryly, hoping Raziel would laugh. "But honestly, I feel it's the least I could do. And if I didn't trust you, I trust Azrael. He was the one who told me what to do, after all. It's his magic that's wrought this miracle."

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

Of course Raziel laughed, a bit more brightly than Ariel would have ever heard, "Ah, that damned busybody," he said with a shake of his head as he added honey to his tea, stirring it and letting it steep, holding his hand over the cup's brim. "I still think the two of you are daft for not letting me simply slip away into whatever aether one goes when they've been thrown entirely out of this system."

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

"Ah, but you knew I was a bit off." Ariel shook a finger, unable to stop the faint smile. "You, sir, took that risk." This light-heartedness was unbelievable, unprecedented. It was still a bit strange, but at the same time, it was so very welcome. Hopefully it would continue, especially after his teacher had the beginnings of power back.

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"Have I ever once said in earnest that I was sane?" He took a sip of his tea, disposing of the bag once he found the strength was to his liking. "I half think I was created to have a screw loose at all times. It suits, I think, brilliance and madness have always gone together." He shook his head as he took another sip of tea. Oh, but that was good. "And you only follow on my heels as being just as mad and brilliant. Cheers to that."

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

For once, that was all right with him. "Mad or sane, I know I've never seen the world the same way as other humans." Ariel watched his teacher's movements, and even in little things like the way he held a teacup, he could see more peace. Gone were the white knuckles and sheer sense of panic. "Was it you who helped whomever coin that old saw about the fine line between genius and madness?" If not, he ought to have.

[thefirstfallen.insanejournal.com]

"I'm not sure, but it's entirely possible that I had a hand in its conception." He closed his eyes as he inhaled the steam of the tea, easing away the tension and soreness with the simple act of enjoying a cuppa. He turned his head to Ariel, and smiled faintly. "You've always been meant for something other than a menial existence. Seventh son of a seventh son and all that, the way you felt it in your soul when you set out so long ago. You were never fully a part of the race, but a simple spectator who believed the human race was a rigged one." And at times, Ariel would have been correct. He paused to listen to his pupil and could hear that he was less fidgety, less frantic than he'd ever been. His tone also seemed to suggest a deep peace, and with that, Raziel was set at ease as well.

"Speaking of rigged races, I do believe that Azrael knows far more about what is, was, and could be than he lets on. There's no reason he'd bring me out of my twisted shell. He has no qualms about crossing off names of his brothers." He went back to his tea momentarily to consider it. "Am I to play your conscience now? Your adviser?"

[defectedfromgod.insanejournal.com]

"I wish I knew, but at the same time, it's not in my makeup to play politics." Ariel shook his head. "If Azrael has some sort of deeper plan, I'm not about to go gallivanting off and stick my nose where it may get chopped off. At the risk of more hubris, that's not my fate." He looked over at the old fallen angel, and sighed. This time it was faintly weary. "Azrael and I were arguing at cross purposes recently. He was very leery of allowing me the full extent of the power I now have, and kept claiming it wasn't personal. However, I think he was afraid of you, more than of me. And it might have been a major reason he decided to do ..." He gestured fruitlessly. "This."