“To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.” - Chamuel

Remiel didn't usually hesitate. Yet here he was, nearly 700.000 years old, at one of the Pearly Gates of Heaven and he was hesitating. It was awfully early to hesitate, he thought, and sent an unenthusiastic glare towards the guard as if it was his fault.
"Oh, zip it, Pete."
It had been a mere 80 years or so since he had decided to simplify life and retreat to Earth, and somehow those 80 years had felt a whole lot longer than that. He was truly and utterly shocked every single time he came back to Heaven of just how little actually ever changed. Nothing remotely like on Earth where something as insignificant as ten years saw groundbreaking change in all parts of the world. In every sense, really. From mindsets to fashion to technology to politics to the general climate. He had been lucky enough to take part in some very interesting years amongst humans as they discovered the power of technology and as women gained more and more rights. Here, he thought with a frown, here it was always the same. Always clean, always bright, always perfect. A disappointed click with the tongue escaped his mouth.
"Maybe one day it'll surprise me," he grumbled, any ounce of enthusiasm clearly lost somewhere amongst the clouds. He smiled casually at the guard, clearly not bothered that the other angel had witnessed his hesitant moment at the gate and decided that, sod it, it might be a good time to return home after all.

As he strolled towards the main building where the Archangels had their quarters, he marvelled at the brightness of it all. After spending years in a rather gloomy forest, he had somehow forgotten just how clean everything was up here, and felt oddly dirty for a second before shaking off the feeling. He had ditched his usual loose t-shirt and actually made an effort to dress for a change, just in case he would run into Michael or some other person that would scold him for being 'unrepresentable'. Nothing fancy like a proper suit and tie though; it had been years since he has sported such a look.
Feeling more and more optimistic as he reached the house, the morning sun felt warm and inviting and Remiel smiled at the solemn grace and wonder around him. Since Heaven never seemed to change, it only ever took a few seconds to feel at home again, and the last 80 years felt like a vivid dream of sorts. Humming to himself he opened the grand doors, fetched himself a cup of milky tea and went back out to catch the rest of the blissful morning rays.

Her naked feet carried her running through the glorious surrounding that made up the most wonderful of all the worlds and lands in the ruling dimension. Heaven. None who had visited could truly describe it when asked. With that being said, barely any of the souls bring brought there ever really got the chance of sharing the experience with someone still stuck on the solid ground of Earth. Or Hell, for that matter. The flowing shirt of her white dress fluttered after her and around her legs as well as the loose hanging hair, which reflected the bright lights in the brunette strands. She was in a strange mixture of hurry and ease. The gates had already whispered very little about the newly arrived angel. And threads fed onto to the possibilities. And yet it wasn’t entirely excitement that fueled her.

Peace gradually lowered her speed ad she got closer to the entrance of the main building, and just as she had almost come to a complete halt, she caught a glimpse of him as he exited. Her brother. One of them at least. Something in her compelled her arms to simply let go of the fruitful basket, so it fell to the ground by her feet and the ripe bearings rolling out to every which way, out of pure relief and shock. Instinctively she took a step back as if to better avoid stepping in the fall fruits around her and to avoid apples and pears to fall directly on top of her feet. However she barely seemed to be concern about it as she didn’t immediately got down to pick it all up again. The ground didn’t lay in dirt and dust. Not in the same way it did on Earth.
Hastily she looked back up and towards her brother, where as she, while lifting a bit in her skirt, stepped over the fruit and to instead walk closer to him. “You’re home,” she stated in a softened awe, matching the look in her eyes. She was clearly surprised. Remiel was the least of her close brothers and sisters who she’s think to return home. And thereby also the one she felt the least connected with, although their creational purpose rubbed rather closely up against each other. But she still cared for him. As her brother. And not much time passed before a bright smile cracked through into her lips. A warm and welcoming smile.

Remiel was actually quite the overwhelming person in the eyes of Peace - or Chamuel as the humans had chosen to call her. He was one of the few who had the largest amount of strings attached to him of all who she had met. He had connections to so mange humans, so many creatures. And she had never dared to push her visions further when looking to him because he would have so many more. More than Michael. More than Eos, even now that she has been put in a similar situation as Remiel, just dealing with the gates of Hell and not the ones of Heaven.

//kan godt mærke jeg lige skal finde den rigtige rytme til Chamuel så bær over med mig indtil da..

As he stood there on the white porch, the hot tea warming his hands and the early morning sun warming his soul Remy felt at peace for the first time in a very long time. Maybe spending years on end on Earth wasn't good for the soul, he contemplated, his back leaning on one of the majestic pillars.

The solitude was disrupted by a large thump. He opened his eyes in confusion, and raised a hand to shelter himself from the sun in order see who had had the nerve to interrupt his ... Peace. His lips parted slightly as he took in the scenery before him. It had been many years since anyone had looked at him with such genuine excitement, and the emotions in her eyes provoked a warm, surprised chuckle in his throat. Peace. Even from a distance, her overwhelming aura and light immediately had him lower his shoulders.
Of all his siblings, Chemuel was the one he had least expected to meet. In reality he couldn’t think of why. She was the only of them that spent her entire life in Heaven so she should've probably been the very first to pop up in his thoughts. He had spent a good amount of time last night making up scenarios in his head, of what to respectively tell his brothers and sisters when he would see them again, and on how to avoid a scolding from his older brothers. Yet Chemuel had not been in his mind. He knew she probably wouldn’t ask the tough questions nor would she judge him for having been away. Looking at her youthful face, he greeted her by raising a hand. His eyes studied her curiously. Her fluttering white dress had her resemble a butterfly with her fiddly hands and excitable eyes that lit up in surprise as they saw him.
You're home.
Remiel allowed himself another smile.

“Hey you,” he hummed, a certain softness in his voice. He lightly tilted his head before gracefully jumping down the little step on the porch and onto the clean ground. Her welcoming smile had his face momentarily light up. This really wasn't what he had expected to happen. Then again, he thought, Peace had always been different than the others. Not just naive but utterly gullible she was not made to roam the earth and was quite possibly one of the purest angels there were. God had never liked to let her run off, so her naiveness was entirely understandable and excusable. He understood why she was the most protected piece on the board, he thought, as he walked towards her. Loosing peace would be the end of the world.
Remy crouched down and picked up an apple before raising his eyes to once again study her. No, he thought, she really hadn't changed much either. "How've you been, early bird?"

//Eeeeh! Samme her samme her, sorry for kedeligt svar ;_;

Remiel’s humming words was that of a heavenly choir. Utterly pleasant for the ear to listen. While Peace still now could recall his fondness of a not so delighted attitude - which she was sure he must have been picking up always mingling around with the inhabitants of Earth - from his last homecoming, what felt like eons ago, he hadn’t lost that signature angelic tone. Either that or she had simply stayed in Heaven so long that she now only saw and heard thing the same way that Heaven and its pure white perfection demanded it to be captured.
“I’ve been… wonderful,” she replied with almost too little time for her to really think it through. As if it was an automatic answer. Heaven was a wonderful place. So by that account, shouldn’t the people having the joy of living there be feeling that that? Although her expression quickly changed, away from that childlike glee the sight of him had brought through in her. Her eyes lowered and her face dropped slightly, leaving her with a sense of nagging wondering. A wrinkle between her brows even decided to appear for a moment. “Except more and more prayers has been worrisome to listen to.” She lifted her head again and her eyes returned to her brother. “Even I’ve had trouble guiding some of the lost souls. And the archives have become a mess to say the least as prayers suddenly have switched in nature unexpectedly overnight.” In truth, Peace probably hadn’t been as wonderful as she first had claimed. She had spent much longer hours in The Room than ever before in past 35.000 years and it had been taking a toile on her. Something she hadn’t really noticed much of herself. New angels that had come under her wings in the prayers archive had been hard to lead with the foretold mess of things. And… she was lonely. And very possibly bored too. Only Rafael stay in Heaven and still he got called to Earth for his medicine care.

Suddenly she perked up again and quick on her feet, nearly tiptoeing the last bit of distance between herself and her brother, she reached him and didn’t hesitate to cup both her hands around his and the apple he had just picked up. Christmas lights were back in her eyes as she leaned closer to him, standing up on her toes, watching him deep in the eyes. “Have you gone to see Father yet?” She didn’t hide the excitement in her voice. Or the pride as she names their father. Noone actually ’saw’ God, not even his trusted creations, his children. And yes, while one could speak to him anywhere, Heaven had a special place where his most beloved - the archangels - could greet him. A closer, more direct line. It was expected for those like Remiel and Peace - was she ever to go and come back - to announce a return like this at a place like that. “You’ve been gone for a long time. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that you’re back.” For good she hoped, silently to herself. Further thinking of how ironic I was to hope for Hope to stay.

// Kedeligt? Pjat! Vi kommer igennem det her sammen..

Remiels eyebrows shot upwards, slightly sceptic towards her unhesitant reply to his question. As her brows knitted and her forehead furrowed, he tilted his head and his expressions started to mimic hers, his worry painted across his face like an open book. Come to think of it, he couldn't recall ever having seen her face troubled. At least not like this. Troubled and tired. He quickly shifted as she looked up at him and softened his facial expressions. Her words worried him. Probably much more than she thought they would. He looked apologetically at her. The thought of Peace having to deal with so much hardship everyday made him slightly uncomfortable. She had been sheltered so long that the idea of her losing some of her childlike optimism was so very troubling to him. "Yeah." A sigh escaped him. "Things are changing down there," he said, pursing his lips. "Something's happened."
Remiel tried an optimistic smile. "Tell you what though," he said, the softness returning to his voice, "I'll be here to take a bit of the load off your shoulders. We'll make it all good again," he said, assurance and determination in his face.

Remy nearly fell backwards as her quick and elegant feet suddenly closed the gap between them. He chuckled, surprised as her soft hands gently wrapped around his. Admittedly he had never really liked physical touch much, but her warmth shot through his arms and took over his body with such rapidness he nearly felt faint.

Heaven had a lot of rules and laws, as it should of course, and was built upon hundred-thousands of years of hard work, and Remy would never dream of overstepping either, not just out of respect for the history and the Angels that had helped build it, but because he firmly and fully believed in it. Some angels didn't and most of those ended up either fallen or utterly misserable one way or the other; he had seen that too often. He had seen the good that they did up here time and time again, and with all the good, he simply didn't have the need or want to second guess anything. He had been created for the purpose to help Humans in the name of God and would always proudly do so. That being said, he had also been slacking on a lot of general things these past 80 years. He had never left a good soul roaming earth or, with the help of Eos, allowed one to enter the gates of hell, but he had for a good while ignored the politics of Heaven. No, he wasn't proud of it, but it had been a necessity. After World War 2 Remiel had realised that he'd become to obsessed with 'the greater good', and had drastically taken a good step back to feel grounded and connected to Humans again. This had meant living largely as one of them, socialising and helping the ordinary every-day people around him instead of focusing on World Leaders and big organisations, and it had felt great.
"Not yet," he replied, lowering his eyes. "I wanted to take it all in first," he admitted and smiled sheepishly. And thank God he had, he thought to himself. The child-like wonder in Chamuel's eyes had been a reminder to him of his duties and of how they all once were blissfully ignorant of how much pain there were to be around them and a despondent smile found its way onto his lips. Though his first thoughts were 'I hope he will', he simply nodded. "I'm sure he will," he replied, the fluttering wings of hope slowly returning to his chest.

Happened?
In that moment Peace’s lips parted slightly as if to say something but in close to the same sense a young child’s attention span could so easily snap, her focus switched sharply and had to latch on to the next sentences that left her brother’s mouth. Whatever could be the reason for the strange and concerning occurrences that was happening on Earth was certainly of utmost priority, there should be absolutely no doubt about that. However her isolation had had its effect on her. “Wait. You’re staying this time?” The thought of him having come home and wouldn’t leave again, filled her instantly with a kind of peace of mind, which she was known to bring to others by just being near them. It made her deeply happy and her already existing smile only grew as she held her glimmering gaze at him. She wouldn’t even ruin it by asking him for how long. She knew he wouldn’t stay forever. She was ignorant on some things but she wasn’t stupid. She was an archangel herself, just like Remiel. But what was hidden under the innocent smile and excitable pure hazel eyes where veiled manipulation and stubbornness. A partly dormant part of her knew exactly what she unconsciously was doing.

Her smile faded little by little as she felt his shame - or what she dictated as shame - of not having gone to meet their Father. He smiled but she didn’t return the favor right away. Instead she looked at him with concerning eyes, empathizing with him. She didn’t judge him. She understood him fully. So as she held her gaze on him, she visibly tightened up in her jaw as she stroked his hand, which she was still holding on to. But then a new smile sprouted back. “I’ll go with you. I was about to bring him his offerings just now anyway. Don’t worry. Father is the most forgiving of all, after all,” she assured him, giving his hands a last little squeeze before finally letting go and taking a step back and then turned around, walking back to where the fruit were laying spread all over the ground, where she bended down to pick up the beautifully weaved basked.
She tugged the basked under her arm, letting it rest at her hip. “But, Ra’em El?” she said delicately as she started picking up the different kind of fruit, polishing them one by one in her white gown, though the soft fabric remained as white and clean, and placed the fruit back in the basked. “What is it that’s happening on Earth? I watch from up here but you must know better than I, right? You’re down there almost more than even Michael. You are the closest to the humans than any of us.” Placing a cluster of juicy grapes in the basked she straightened herself and looked towards Remiel in prospect of him answering her. Adjusting the placement of the basked so it didn’t pinch into her skin as much, was only a habit. She only felt the touch, not the pain of it anyway.

While waiting she even moved the basket in front of her instead, holding it with both her hands in a sort of suspension with her arms straight. “Is the reason you’ve come home because of what’s happening?”

The corners of his mouth shot up in a smile so bright it could have competed with the morning sun, lightly exposing the shallow dimples in his cheeks. He playfully nudged her hand, allowing the excitement in her beaming eyes to take over his world. Although he couldn't exactly insist that he had been outright lonely on earth, he had been isolated in a world where he had to pretend to be something he was not. Never in his wildest fantasy had he imagined going back to Heaven would make him feel this free.
"Say, I'll make this my base," he explained softly, "so I'll be around more." The words came out of his mouth before he had had time to think. If you had asked him two days ago how long he planned to stay in Heaven he probably wouldn't have given an answer, but his words made him buzz with happiness, as he realised they were true and honest.

Remiel knew that she felt when people felt unease; whether it be over a particular person or something they'd done. She was always the 'comforter', automatically trying to bring people inner peace when they were troubled. And she did it so authentically and casually that he couldn't help but smile. Shortly he wondered if he did the same to people in need of hope, but somehow
sincerely doubted it. What with the occasional grumpy attitude and that, he sometimes didn't realise just how angelic he truly was. Maybe it was something you forgot with time, or maybe he had just seen so much misery in his long life, that the idea of absolute goodness could be hard to grasp. It was easy for him to feel and see the effect of the aura of other angels, but a bit like with a perfume, it was difficult to feel his own. Looking at Chamuel he felt blinded by her aura, as her gentle fingers lightly stroked his hands.
Remy's lips parted slightly. He glanced down at the apple in his hand. Offerings. Of course. A sideway-smile prided his fase and he shook his head lightly. "Good thing I didn't eat His offerings," he mumbled, a light chuckle finding its way through his throat. That would've not been a good start to the day, he thought.
He took a moment to take her in. Her white dress fluttered around her like the wings of a butterfly and her brown hair bounced back rays of light, giving the impression that she was glowing. His tilted head straightened, and he pushed himself back up, grabbing a few fruits along the way. He mimicked her movements and polished the apple in his white shirt, before placing it in her beautiful basket.

His eyes widened hearing his name spoken like that, and he blinked at the surprise. He reflected on the meaning of his name, wondering why it had been given to him. Thunder. Humans had obviously forgotten the origins, but he still remembered when he had heard it the first time, shocked at how quickly it had taken the Human world by storm. He knew that some of the original angels didn't exactly resonate with their given names, and wondered how Chamuel felt about hers. Qmuʼ El. Raised by God. He remembered Michael once telling him that he suspected her name being from Ḥammu'El and not Qmu' El, but the idea of her given name meaning Wrath of God had him uneasy and he had dismissed the idea as soon as he had heard it. His thought-tsunami was interrupted and his head perked up curiously as she spoke to him. An annoyed hum escaped him.
"I think it's to do with Lilith. Lucifer seems to have disappeared," he explained, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Not entirely sure yet, but I think Michael knows a bit more about it than I do." Remiel clicked his tongue, annoyed at the prospect of not knowing what was going on. Her question had his face soften up. "Partly yes," he said with a light smile. "But I think it was time for me to return none the less." He reached out, the palms of his hands facing the sky, gesturing for her to let him carry the woven basket.

The mentioning of Lilith and Lucifer - no, the sheer mentioning of their names had a rather complex emotion graze her faintly freckled face. An expression of both fright and the deep-seated hatred for the both of them. And even that hatred had slithers in the personal side of things as well as the genetic distaste. It was in their blot, a part of them, so feel this repulsed by the mere thought. Any bigger sinners were hard to find and the ones Peace herself did in fact know about were all the direct spawn of the hellish duo. And while the thought of them - or apparently only Lilith - being up to something shouldn’t come to much of a surprise considering, it still choked her to hear about. And as if she had simply mirrored her brother, her brows got pushed strenuously together, wrinkling her forehead a smidgen. “Disappeared?” In some sense it made sense. Had Lucifer died, she was sure Heaven would know about it, but then again… “How can he have disappeared?! He’s had his freedom,” which clearly was beyond her understanding. “But there has always been kept such a good eye on him and his actions.” The frown had somewhat smooth over into something more perplexed. “And you say you think Lilith has a hand in play with it? I’d never thought that demonic.. woman would’ve such schemes up her sleeve.”
Peace sighed deeply and worrisome. She didn’t like this. Not one bit. She thought she had done her job to the fullest as she was sure everyone of her siblings thought too. She was convinced that her siblings were as efficient as they were expected to be. As to not disappoint their Father. For just a moment she closed her eyes and bowed her head not more than a few degrees. She didn’t pray but she took the moment to send her thoughts to the humans at Earth. Then at the time she opened them again they looked just a slight bit more glossy until she blinked again and she returned to look at Remiel. His light smile astonish being able to bring the corners of her own mouth up and into careful one. It truly was a case of not being able to see into one self, because Remiel had the natural ability to reawaken that very brittle part of any creature of the light; hope.

Fleetingly her eyes fell down to his hand as he held them out to her before she grabbed the basked by the edges and walked that extra step to him before allowing him what he had offered. But just as she had placed the basket in his care, and her own arms were free, she grabbed a shiny- and ripe-looking apple from the top of the now scarcely disarranged display which before her clumsily act of pure excitement from before, had been more beautifully arranged. In truth hadn’t God ever shown much distinctions towards whether or not his offering were a mess, so although it wasn’t as meticulously align it didn’t matter.
“I can only agree with you. You’ve been away for a pretty long time. How long has it been exactly? In years on Earth. I remember time being so more different there than here or in Hell,” she decided to ask while the curiosity started to triumph over her concern and pure delight. She had been sheltered in Heaven, yes, but she had been both on Earth and in Hell before so at the very least, she had some feel for the different. But not enough. However before she let even more questions out she remembered what had to be done first and her smile brightened. “Come. Let’s go.” In a spin, she turned around and began to walk. At first she lead him with her until she instead had arrived to walk by Remiel’s side. Surely he still remembered to way to that place. Not even tens of thousands of years away from Heaven would make an angel forget. She didn’t doubt that for a second!

“… I’ve always believed that you loved Earth more than you did home,” she softly stated as they walked and as she gently grabbed the apple with both her hands. One on each half. Perfectly and elegantly placed for the moment she like breaking of a piece of chocolate from a bar, ripped the apple in two halves. “Well, do you?” She looked back up at him with the added question. She even nonchalantly raised her nearest hand with one of the apple halves, up to his face to feed him a bite of the juicy fruit. And shortly thereafter she took a bite herself of the other half. He had hinted about a craving after all which she saw no reason in not letting him have. “How is Earth? How is it, driving in one of those cars? Or flying without your wings in those big metal bird? Does the food there taste different?” She had never felt as close to Remiel for some reason. Jealousy, most definitely. But even then there had always been a strange disconnect between them. This already felt a bit strange. He was a stranger and someone very familiar to her all at the same time.

Remy smiled softly as his little sisters confusion and nodded slowly to what she said which was theoretically correct. "Yes, but he also had a very important job of keeping order in Hell and a shift of power like this always leads to confusion, lack of order and to many creatures wandering out of the gates of Hell," he replied, his brows furrowing slightly as he spoke, as he realised the gravity of his words. He assumed that this chaos was indeed something she had been feeling in The Room quite a lot, and he understood her frustration and shock at all the emotions surrounding it. "I hope Eos is alright," he murmured, mentally noting down that he'd have to open his vision sooner rather than later to look for her. Or talk to Michael who seemed to always know what everyone else were doing.

"Oh, it's been what? Eighty human years?" He replied, looking sideways as he counted the years in his mind. "Time is weird down there, yeah," he agreed, but couldn't help a weak smile. He had experienced some really memorable eras, he thought to himself, and had thoroughly enjoyed the speed of which humans and life on earth evolved. Technology had been wild, he thought, and both cars and planes had been extraordinary. He followed her silently until she seemed to slow down and instead walk next to him, a light chuckle escaping his lips as she spoke again. He turned his head slightly to look at her, as she looked back at him. As he was considering how to reply he joyfully took a bite of the perfectly juicy apple - as perfect as anything in Heaven really - and chewed a little before he spoke.

"I don't know," he replied, not entirely sure if there was an a straight answer at all. "I don't think I necessarily love Earth more. Nothing really beats Heaven," he admitted, and tilted his head slightly as he spoke. "But there's something very rewarding in physically seeing the changes we make." His look seemed unfocused as he thought deeper about the reason he might prefer Earth. "And their fragile minds need hope more than we do up here," he offered. "Quite a lot more. So I suppose I feel useful which is nice." His former puzzled face completely lit up at her next question. And he couldn't help but send her a dazzling smile, letting out a small whistle. "Oh, Chamu, the cars are amazing!" He shuffled the woven basket on the other side of him, and his walk seemed a tad more bouncy and excited than before. "I don't like the aeroplanes, though. You can't even feel the air brushing past your face or grib you tight and lead you whereever it wants so what's the point really? But the cars! Oh and the music! So different from the Romans or the Victorian Era. Man, the 70's were really something extraordinary, and the humans are starting to enjoy themselves it's quite something." The broad smile seemed to dominate his entire face now. "The food is very different. Sometimes it doesn't taste good at all," he chuckled, showing his tongue is a grimace. He stopped himself from babbling further, nearly feeling out of breath wishing he could show her everything, as something in her voice caught up with him and made him pause to stop and look at her.
""When's the last time you've been?" He asked, a bit surprised at the very simple questions. Surely she had been to taste the food, he thought, his eyes furrowing lightly. It wasn't that long ago was it?

Eos. That was right. Peace hadn’t seen anything to her sister for many years. Many more than she had waited for a visit from any of her brothers like the one Remiel had bestowed upon her that perfect morning. Her thoughts had often found its way down to the gates of hell, especially in the current times. Because… in a way… she just felt a bit more connected to Eos, despite the much larger distance. As well as the impossibility of them meeting. Eos not allowed to leave Hell. And Peace not allowed to leave Heaven. “So do I, brother. So do I.” She’d remember to pray for Eos later. And for Remiel too. To a comfortable homecoming.

Peace had cringed by the mentioning of just how long her brother had been gone for. But far from as much as she did the moment, he spit out her name. Or rather; a nickname. “Chamu?!” she burst out with a visible dear little wrinkle on her nose, turning her head towards him within seconds. But one would only have to wait for a moment longer, before that little wrinkle smoothed again and being so kind as to leave a chuckle on her lips. When had he ever called her that? “You really have been spending a long time among the humans, huh. Picking up on their love for name-changing and name-giving.” She gently shook her head. Such things as nick-names were a very foreign thing to her, although Chamuel in and of itself was a so-called nick-name. Something the humans had given her. Like the one he had been plastered with; Remiel. But she had never really been exposed to any other of those cutesy shortenings of her name, which ultimately was what had taken her my surprise. After all, prayers to her or any other angel were never said with anything but their ‘proper’ names. Besides, she wasn’t so sur that she liked that one. Chamu. Sounded like something you’d name a mouse. However, she couldn’t even bring herself to think of souring the mood. Not when he was talking and telling with passion of a child in a candy store. She adored it too much. As did her curiosity. The thrill he sensed from the talk of the cars. The music. How he hinted at the shift changes of it out through the eras.
“It… it sounds so nice,” she then for some reason heard herself say. Almost dreaming. “Everything.” Mostly. Who’d live in a world where food could taste bad? But nonetheless did the face he pulled regarding it, make the chuckle from before grow into more of an actual laugh. One that came all the way from her stomach. “I’ve heard snippets of the music from Earth from when taking personal care of prayers. Some has it playing to calm themselves, I’ve noticed. Oh! And Gabriel always brings me stuff! He has brought CD’s before. A shame there aren’t any way to play them here.”

The question – hers, in some way, sent right back to her – didn’t show the true mellowing of her to the outside world. However, the bite she took of her apple half came across as more aggressive than the last one. Her hazel eyes turned back forward and away from Remiel. And the smile had slowly, but surely, faded in, hidden by a contemplating façade as she thought back. “I haven’t been for a long time. Not since the indicent. It must be roughly 105.000 years ago now, counted as on Earth,” she explained a tad bit too monotone to be completely nonchalant and thereby prove that she wasn’t still affected by that time. Her head tilted slightly forward, her face falling into gentle, yet sorrowed folds. Inviting a saddened smile. “Father hasn’t allowed me passage back on Earth since then. Says that he needs me up here in Heaven.” She sighed, removing the beginning cloud around her. It wasn’t fair. It really wasn’t. All of her other brothers and sisters, even the ones who were not born with angelhood, were granted free travel to Earth. But not her. It wasn’t safe. What an actual laugh. An archangel, not safe on Earth.

Remiel automatically halted their walk, and stiffened up with a puzzled expression on his face. Chamu?! Chamuel's light chuckle and unimpressed little wrinkle on her nose had him burst out in laughter. Where on Earth had that come from? He mirrored her light headshake and as his laughter faded he scratched his forehead, slightly embarrassed of just how much he had forgotten. Or learnt. Og ignored. "I..." He couldn't help another small snicker. "Apologies, Sister." His boyish smile fell back on his lips as some of his former energy slowly seemed to return to his body and push out the rather moody Angel he'd been for at least few years. He could only agree with her statement about humans and their love for name changing - as well as the fact that he'd taking a liking for it. He had. Changing people's names seemed personal and fun to him, and he loved when other people made personalised version of his names, to use as an emotional bridge between them. He understod how someone might not like that, just as he had found swearwords utterly fascinating and joyful, and most angels very clearly didn't. "At least I didn't get started on all the swearwords," he pointed out, as he started moving his legs again, a new energetic bounce in his walk.

Remiel couldn't help another light laugh as the sound of hers. He couldn't recall ever actually hearing her laugh like that; properly. Not at anything he'd said anyway. They never talked much before this - Chamuel had never been a big part of the things he was tasked to do, and truth be told he had never realised that she was even interested in what happened outside of her little heavenly bubble. His laugh built with hers. He stopped himself short of calling Gabriel, Gabbie, and managed to not skip a beat as he spoke. "Gabriel brought you CD's but no CD player?" He asked, baffled by the stupidity of it all. His favourite thing about humans was the music. Not the slow, harmonic chanting they used to do back when Chamuel had last been on earth, but the proper music that made them all dance, laugh, sweat and forget about all their worries for a second. He'd never been surrounded by as much hope and desire as when in the middle of a bar with dancing, singing humans. The thought made his eyes lighten and a warm breeze hugged him and made his fine hair dance around his head. "The music is the best part," he admitted, his voice sounding dreamy, suddenly yearning for the 40's and 50's. He made a mental note of brining her an iPad and a set of headphones, when his eyebrows furrowed. Was there even WiFi in Heaven? Surely there had to be WiFi right?

Remiel nearly spat out the air in his lungs. "A hundred and five thousand years!?" He exclaimed though a surprised cough. No wonder she knew nothing! His widened eyes fell back into his mild featured face as her sorrow shone through her voice, and he tilted his head, feeling bad for having even talked about Earth with her. His eyebrows furrowed and he gently put his hand on her shoulder. "You haven't missed that much," he tried half-heartedly. "It's wet and miserable most of the time. And you get served burnt food." He knew she wouldn't believe him, not after hearing him gush about humans for the past few minutes, but thought it worth a try. His face turned into sideways smile and his eyes squinted lightly, as he regarded her sadly.

Swearwords?! This time it was Peace’s turn to stop up for a moment. Had he had the chance of looking back towards her in that instance, he would have just about seen how mortified his reveal had left her. Never would she have thought… Surely not any of her precious brothers and sister would have let themselves get as corrupted as to enjoy such things as swearwords. And yet, he had given her hints that he at the very least at rather a larger amount of knowledge about the Earthly - and Hellish - act of cussing. She had been on the verge of turning all pale by that simple fact. As well as the calm take on it. Much had changed about Remiel, she finally noticed for good, and she suddenly wasn’t so sure that she saw the changes as anything possible. Had his holy glow faded since the last time? Or was it only her eyes deceiving her in that fleeting moment of doubt?
Quickly she ran the few steps back up to his side, which she had lost. She decided not to confront him with this, however, it didn’t take a detective to find the remainder of disappointment in the smooth cleavages of her face. Their Father would handle it. It wasn’t in her place to judge her brother like that. God would already know about it and since Remiel was there, home, Peace could then only guess that he hadn’t sinned horribly.
Again, Peace shook her head, this time as an answer rather than in resign. “I don’t think a CD-player would be able to be used here in Heaven. Not as I’m sure it’s intended on Earth. It’s electro… electronics is what it’s called isn’t it?” She turned to look up at him, the question hovering in her eyes. “The only electricity you’ll find in Heaven are the beautiful lightning strikes you and Michael used to create together. But it is alright. I hold the CDs dear to me, even if I don’t have a way of playing them. They are a gift. Small pieces of Earth.” A chuckle forced its way out again. “That way I don’t feel left out, is what Gabriel told me.” The chuckle, however fake or forced it might have been, it did still leave a small, genuine smile on her rose lips.

Remiel’s abrupt outburst nearly startled the guiding archangel. She hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. It wasn’t that long, was it? They had both lived much, much longer than a thousand hundred years. Him even longer than her. Silently she calmed down, though, averting her eyes away from his, as they closed in on the grand off white tower leading to the archangels personal ‘meeting place’, where they talked and greeted the great Father. “It isn’t only the name-calling or the swearwords you have picked up through your time on Earth. Now you’re also lying, my beloved brother. I’m starting to fear more and more for you. Lying is a sin and even if it wasn’t; no one likes a liar,” she said, her attention turned straight forward, but even from a side profile, her furrow was visible. It almost looked like she was pouting with how sweet her features were instead of anything as stern as Michael and Eos could showcase.
“But I appreciate what you’re trying to do. I want to be free to travel Earth like any other, but I stand by Father’s decision to keep me here. God knows everything and thereby God knows best.” She curved an arm around her head to then collect all her hair and pulled it all over one shoulder, freeing a space of her neck to breathe and suck up some of the morning sunshine.

Remiel's warm eyes locked with hers and he couldn't help but smile a little. Her innocence was as refreshing as it was worrysome and it made him feel young again, like before Earth had been populated with Humans and they'd only had each other and their faith to keep them company. Even back then he had been wandering Earth, exploring its beauty and marveled at the animals. He nodded as a reply to her question about electronics and his entire face lit up with joy as he fondly remembered playing with lightnings with Michael. Before everyone had gotten so serious and sombre, he thought, a light chuckle escaping his lips. "That's very nice of him," he offered with a gentle smile and nodded to himself. "I'll think of a way to allow you to listen to them one day. It's very different music from when you last went. They've invented very funny instruments." His eyes lit up again and he turned towards her. "Maybe I could bring you an instrument?" He said but had to squint lightly at the thought of Chamuel with an instrument like a guitar or a bass. Maybe a piano. He nodded. A piano would suit her very well.

The verbal jab felt like a stab to his stomach and he lowered his eyes. Maybe he shouldn't have been that excited that Chamuel was the first angel he met on his way home. Eos would have never judged him, not like this. Nor would Alessio. Nor would Gabriel. The disappointment flashed in her bright eyes and she turned her head and his eyebrows furrowed, hurt by her reaction.
A light flash of anger echoed in his dark eyes and he forced himself to look away from her and towards the elegant tower in front of them to conceal his skepticism. God knows everything and thereby God knows best. He had told himself this his entire 700.000 year old life and he still firmly believed it. It didn't make it all easier though. Some of the things he had done in the name of God were still haunting him every time he took a breath and no matter how many times he had set foot in that tower it didn't seem to go away. Eden had once told him that it was a cruel fate for an Angel to have such heavy Demons and as he halted his walk to take it all in, he could only agree. The muscle in his jaw twitched as his face tightened and he had to focus on breathing through his nose to not let the memories overcome him as they had started to do more often than usual. One of the reasons he'd decided to come home had been in hopes of tackling the bad thoughts. His face softened up as he looked at the tower. Hopefully it would work. "It wasn't a lie," he mumbled under his breath, but not really focusing on the conversation anymore. "It was a version of the truth."

Remiel forced himself to lower his shoulders and loosen up his muscles in order to shoo away any dark thoughts that had momentarily overtaken his mind. "Maybe one day He will change his mind," he said, his voice a little bit flat. He felt bad for her, but those feelings had been clouded by a slight annoyance at her judgemental look from earlier. She didn't know what life was like, he told himself, so she could hardly judge. She had never been sent to Earth with orders that would kill a little bit of her soul. She had never seen what they did. With those thoughts he started walking again, sternly heading for the tower with his mind set to be the best version of himself that he possibly could. He knew that God would understand and forgive. He always did. But Remy didn't.

The silence settled between the two siblings. Peace and Eos were not the ones least alike. It was her and Remiel. And that distance had surely grown with his absence and his openness to everything new. Even though discomfort wasn’t thought to exist in Heaven, the silence was heavy and awkward. Weighing down on her anyway. She could take him for his spoken words as much as she wanted, but every little atmospheric changed had always affected her a lot. He hadn’t taken her judgement as a scold rather than a lesson or a right-doer. And she understood why. She didn’t blind herself completely. But she would not apologise either. She had only commented on it for his own good. Enough angels had fallen and she didn’t wish for him to do as well if he kept his sinful acts up. However small. Because she had yet to know that those small sins weren’t of importance to Heaven. She had been told the opposite and hadn’t experienced anything different.

Reaching the tower, Peace stepped forward and towards a half-human tall and squared stone post. Stone of the same kind who Moses had once written down the ten commandments, marble. She placed her half-eaten apple half on a small spaced platform that was still horizontally flat before it slanted down. A gentle sigh first billed and then left her body, making sure to have all the unclean and undetermined thoughts leave together with her breathing out, before she let her wings break through her back. The low cut of her white dress gave the exact space, that all three pairs needed to sprout and spread and then folded. She reached a hand towards the slanted stone piece and elegantly placed her hand on the sleek surface. Like wet clays her hand fell into an indent and the calming white light of Heaven shun from her palm as she unlocked the tower entrance.
Just, it wasn’t exactly a door, that opened up for them to then travel up many, many stairs. Instead the white light from her hand spread to surround, not just her, but her brother as well, and when the light dimmed again, they stood in another marbled walled - and floored - room high above in the tower. Teleported and granted access. The room they were in, was not where they greeting God. It was more like a waiting room. But the sense of pure holiness was still very strong. Too strong for even some lower ranked angels to stay for too long. Demons, strong enough to find way into Heaven, would parish in an instance.

Peace pulled her hand from the stone post and the indentation of her hand naturally disappeared, smoothing out the surface as if it had only been like that. She finally turned her eyes to Remiel. “You should go alone. But don’t worry; I’ll be waiting here,” she said softly, barely getting the questioning tone across because if he needed her with him, she would still go. She stepped closer to him, taking over the basket of fruits from him again and only left him with a beautiful ripe pear. He didn’t need to take care of the full load of the offerings. He could take that as a person one. The pear was a symbol of herself, so even if he chose to indeed go in alone, she’d be with him in some way or another. They were different, yes, but they were still of the same blood. Something she, at least, praised highly.

Remiel's former bounce had completely disappeared from his walk and as they came closer to the entrance he walked slower, guilt seemingly weighing him down. He had never gone this long without visiting the room before and its entire presence shone heavenly and divinely upon them. A feeling he had forgotten. It made him wonder whether or not the door would grant him access this time; another thought that had never found its way to his brain. It wasn't often anymore that new feelings appeared, how could they after 700.000 years in this world, but right now he couldn't think of having ever felt this strange mix of guilt, awe and wonder altogether. The silence didn't feel awkward anymore. It felt appropriate. As she put her delicate hand on the marble a flash of regret took over his eyes and his lips parted as to ask her for a moment - a moment he never got, before the world lit up in the most divine light and surrounded them completely. He gasped.

As he turned to her to accept the beautifully flawless pear, his entire face overwhelmed with emotion, his eyes locked with hers as a silent thank you, allowing the light to gently reflect in his watery eyes. Not a trace left of whatever darkness that had been consuming his soul by the absence of this. This astonishing light. This brilliant perfection. This absolute purpose. This. He could feel his aura flickering slightly before shining brighter and lighter than it had done in many years. Finally he drew a breath and turned away from her.

Remiel entered through an open arch, loosing his breath as his widened eyes gazed at the grand hall in pure astonishment. He understood then, why Humans had built their churches to mirror this hall of God to feel closer to Him. Upon entering ones eyes immediately felt drawn to the towering heights above. It was less bright that he recalled, grey shadows allowing contrast to the golden beams of light that came from windows somewhere above him. It made the room feel heavy. Heavy but safe. The heaviness somehow made him feel lighter as he started to walk down towards the center of the hall and towards the centrepiece of a beautifully, intricately decorated circular altar, gently lit up in a golden shower of holy light. Surrounded by a low pillared rail following the soft curve of the room with an even lower marble kneeler attached to it.
Remiel lowered his gaze in awe. His eyes teared up as he reached it and he gently placed his hand on top of the rail letting the warmth take over his body as he looked up towards the warmth above him and a tear gently made its way down his cheek.
Once that first tear broke free, the rest followed in a silent, unbroken stream, leaving wet marks on the polished marble floor under him. His throat felt swollen and he stuttered as he tried to speak the words in his head, failing to push out anything other than an unrecognisable, barely audible mutter.

He looked back up, facing heaven and finally let go of everything. His wings pushed against his white shirt, and he only just managed to pull it over his head before they folded out, freeing themselves with a gush of wind. The golden light hit the bushy feathers and seemed to fill up his entire body, accepting him. Claiming him.

It was with a heavy heart, that Peace stood by her own words and let Remiel enter the Hall on his own. The vision of his back as he became slightly backlit by white and warmth would show to be enough to bring tear back to her eyes. She watched him silently and unmoving until she could no longer see him as the doorway of pure light shallowed him and let him inside.
She knew how the Hall looked like. It was imagery she would never forget. But still, there had before, long ago, when the angels were keener on staying in Heaven rather than wandering the Earth, been talk about how it was different from each archangel’s eye. She had never dared to ask. It had just always felt too personal.
She blinked her eyes dry again as she looked away from the trance-inducing light. She was worried for her brother. The soundless thanks he had given her just before he had gone in had sounded sorrowful underneath the surge of what she could only guess to have been relief. Relief of reuniting with his grace. She doubted any angel would ever feel fully at home on Earth. Remiel’s homecoming had only strengthened that belief.

Waiting in silence alone in the anteroom her bare feet carefully walked over the marble flooring, not even creating the smallest of claps from the lightness of her steps. She walked to a small fountain carved either directly from the same slap of stone the wall had been made of or added later on. She gently placed the generous fruit basket to the side upon a bench-like step also by the wall before closing the distance completely between her and the fountain. She didn’t need to bend down to reach the water in it. It was at the close to perfect height for the female angel. Water started drizzling from a small, carved figure holding a water jug, as soon as she placed her hands on either side of the bowl and that became the only actual sound in the room. The calming sound of clean, holy water dripping into the basin.

Another droplet met with the water in the stone bowl. One of more salty components, which for just a seconded clouded and then cleared out. She was crying. It was nothing new. Peace cried often. She cried for people. For angels and humans. Yet this surprised her as she hadn’t noticed the choking in her top throat before that one tear.
The one tear wasn’t the only one, she realised. Many tears were rolling over her cheeks without the need of a blink or two. In an instant she turned her head towards the archway of opaque light, towards Remiel. He was the one crying. These weren’t only her tears. And the releasing feeling in her chest wasn’t only hers. “…What has Earth done to you, brother?” she heard herself whisper as she simply didn’t do anything to stop the tears or bothered to wipe any of them away. They all dried up immediately as they landed on her white attire. And those who fell to the floor by her feet blended into the marble structure.

// ..omg... mit hjerte... det var et smukt svar!

If you ever were to ask him how long he had stayed in the light for, he couldn't have given an answer. It could have been mere seconds, it could have been hours and it could have been days. When the divine light dulled, his cheeks were sticky from the salty tears and he had to draw in a shaky breath. As shaky as his hands and his body and he frantically grasped at the marble rail to steady himself, unsure of whether his weak legs would hold him if he attempted to stand. He finally started feeling the hard impact of the kneeler on his sore knees and groaned loudly as he tried to move, rolling sideways so that he could sit down properly, as he tried to figure out how he felt.
Empty but whole.
Weak but strong.
Light. He felt light as a feather. Thinking of feathers made him turn his head to inspect his wings and found to his surprise that they seemed whiter and less fluffy than usual. Stronger. Instinctively he straightened his back and raised a wing to shelter his eyes from the bright light above him, admiring the way the rays played with his feathers. New. He felt new. Slowly gaining back his strength, he flicked his wings backwards in an attempt to help his balance, as he carefully pushed himself back up on the sole of his feet whilst he held onto the rail behind him. With a muted grunt he took a wobbly step. Remy breathed in through his nose.
"Right," he mumbled, trying to encourage himself. Another step. And another. And slowly, slower than he could recall he had ever been, the pain in his legs dulled and his balance came back. He felt like he could sleep for years. Years. He had done that once, he recalled soberly, after the Black Death. Stayed in Heaven and just regained his strength after all the horrors he had seen; all the loss of Hope in the world and all the Demonic auras that had sieved onto him. Much the same feeling of exhaustion fell over him now, but it didn't feel dangerous or bad. It felt homely and like a snug blanked wrapped around him. He glanced back at the altar, wondering if this was how he had always seen the room, or if he had simply forgotten the way it sometimes seemed to change to fit ones needs, before finally staggering through the arch towards the aura of his sister.
He supported himself by hanging onto the wall as his sensitive eyes tried to find her in the caved room. The air was thick. Then he saw her, her eyes wet with a gentle stream of tears trailing down her cheeks.

Remy stumbled forwards, not really understanding what had happened to her. "Oh my, Peace," he called out, his voice still a little heavy with emotions, as he reached her and put a protective hand on her shoulder - a hand that also allowed him to keep his balance on these oddly weak legs of his. "Are you hurt, sister?" As he touched her he felt that the sorrow wasn't painful for her ad her warmth hit him gently in his stomach.

//Gav dig ikke så meget at spille på, though! Kan ellers kun sige i lige måde xx

The sound of his mournful voice pieced through the veil of silence like a pointy needle to a balloon and instantly the deafening sense of stillness, which had kept the archangel company for the however long time her brother had stayed in his Father’s presence, dissolved and brought with it a soaring relief. Had her eye not already been turned to the archway they would have not hesitated with finding him as he reappeared from the opaque light. Not only without a shirt on but like a renewed man. Peace had always thought that angels were their most beautiful when they let their wings out, just like how his was now. Ivory white and smooth feathers reflecting more natural nuances than hers and yet only a noticeable difference to her when compared side by side.
She immediately saw him stumble and walked towards him to meet him on the way to her, desperate hands ready to catch him, if he needed, ready to steady him further if the hand on her shoulder wouldn’t be enough. One hand moved to his chest and the other to his other upper arm. She didn’t trust his down posture quite yet. She hurryingly, yet calmly shook her head before looking up at him, hazel eyes still glossy but surprisingly lacking any kinds of redness or puffiness. “No. I’m not. But you are,” she confidently pointed out, her gaze seeing the residue of his tears on his cheeks. “Or have been. You have been hurting for so long, hasn’t you? I could feel it. And it must have… overwhelmed me.” She managed to break out a small smile before her expression retracted back to the pure worry she felt for her brother. For Heaven. Or the whole World as a whole.

Her jaw tightened as she felt the urge to embrace him, her fingertips unconsciously grazing his exposed and flawless skin. Would he even let her do such a thing? She could still not shake the feeling which they had been left with just before arriving inside the tower. But maybe whatever had opened her brother up and had him spill everything inside the other room, had made him better understand?
She didn’t hug him in the end. But instead she dared remove her hands from him, remove the support, to instead cup his head in between them. “How can you love something that hurt you? I just… I just don’t understand,” she admitted as her brow furrowed, leaving her with much of the same resemblance as a perplexed puppy dog. Peace loved and care for Earth as much as her siblings. As much as God himself, she would even claim. But why did it always seem that her siblings loved Earth even more than Heaven? She wanted to know. She was as curious at heart as anyone else, only kept under a certain amount of control through her strong sense of duty. Did Remiel perhaps pity her? Was that why he had shown irritation towards what she had said earlier? Feel sorry for her? He had said she wasn’t missing out - a different version of the truth, as he had insisted, but maybe that was exactly what she did, stuck there in Heaven.
It was so strange how the realization of the potential hardship Remiel had been through made led to this growing doubt inside her.

// Yea, men det var tydeligvis nok for mig at arbejde ud fra, anyway! No worries ~~

You have been hurting for so long, haven't you?
Remiel furrowed his eyebrows, regarding at her with a puzzled look on his face. Her hands were warm against his bare skin. Had he? It hadn't been an obvious pain but perhaps it had hurt regardless. Being away from home. Being away from the Holy Heavens. He had never thought he had been away from God, always a devout and devoted follower, praying every evening and every morning but clearly something had kept him away from the heavenly lights. World War 2 had been the roughest war he'd ever seen and for some reason he had not had the same urge to come back home.
Maybe it had been his punishment for all of the horrors he had helped cause even if in the end the result should have felt worth it - they had after all won the war. The casualties had been massive and he had not wanted to forget; feeling that if he simply went back to Heaven, he would, just like he had done so many times before, forget how much a human life meant. It was so easy to loose track and that had been his way of remembering every person that had been lost during every long, hard, miserable battle.
"Perhaps I have," he replied, his voice still a little coarse from the emotions. He gave her shoulder a gentle nudge, relieved that she wasn't hurt but had been crying for him. An overwhelming gesture that shooed away some of the nagging annoyance he had felt earlier. Maybe in the end, he thought, she was the lucky one. Sheltered from the horrors, permanently surrounded by purity and light as they had been for many years after their creation, bathing in the holiness of heaven. He regarded her softly, her purity and naivity reminding him of how he had been when he was younger and had yet to be exposed to the reality of the world. Remiel thought he understood then, why their Father had decided to keep Peace here. Peace was the most holy and pure feeling in the world, even more important than Hope he thought, and was to be kept as pure and uncorrupted.

His legs already felt stronger and he was about to take a step back as she removed her supportive hands, when she suddenly gently placed her delicate fingers on his face. Funny how Earth had made physical contact a little weird for him - humans put a lot of emotions into physical touch and he had taken that on a little - and her fingers on his face made him shutter a little from the surprising intimacy. Her question had him mirror her furrowed eyebrows. "Oh Peace," he mumbled, his voice nearing a whisper. "They were made for us to protect. How could I not?" It wasn't a question really as much as it was a confession. He adored humans, he really did, even if half of the time they kept messing stuff up and made it hard to love them, but he would always come across humans that reinstated his love for them and reminded him of their potential. They loved to fully and lived such short lives and yet managed to create the most amazing wonders. "There is nothing more fulfilling than seeing them lower their shoulders and let their eyes light up by the mere presence our auras," he said, his eyes glowing softly by the thought as he studied her face. He gently put a hand on hers, still firmly in place on his cheeks. "They need us," he said with a smile that nearly felt sad. Nostalgic maybe. "And I need them."

“I… I…” She knew that already. And yet she still couldn’t quite understand. Her hazel eyes wandered desperately around his face while slightly sucking her cheeks in. The strong emotions which she had felt with her beloved brother inside the chamber was still very much affecting her overall emotional state. Even she could feel it and was fairly aware of it. It was nearly impossible for her to not be from how her heart ached, be it a pretty faint ache. It hurt her that she didn’t get it fully. She understood how the humans and other creatures living on Earth were to be protected, were to be loved and cherished and while Chamuel had never hated the humans to any degree - not even after what they had done to her, had she felt the slightest bit of hatred towards them - or ever had the thought of following Lucifer in his fall, she just didn’t share the same attachment. She had never had an actual opportunity to develop such a thing. She had watch over them from above which made the feelings she had towards them very different from those who walked among them for years on end.
Abruptly the lost expression in her eyes changed completely and turned into determination. “I want to see it too,” she declared with a voice that seem to have forgotten how close to God’s Hall they were standing, considering how preposterous a statement it was. But… God would still have heard her had she been whispering soundlessly in the pits of Hell. “With my own eyes and not through my projections. I want to listen to their music in the same moment as they play it. Listen to it with my own very ears. And I want to taste their bad-tasting foods with my own tongue.”

Mixing into the determination in her eyes came plead and joined forces as her gaze didn’t waver away from Remiel’s. Her hands still held his face, if not a tad bit more solidly the before. She was completely bare there in front of him. She had somehow thrown her many, many years of duty and sense of higher cause to the side to let him see exactly what was underneath the proud and unquestioning daughter of God. Curiosity. Almost childish! She stepped a step closer to him, rose to stand on her bare toes to better match his height so she wouldn’t have to compromise the placement of her arms and hands too much. “When you go back, take me with you,” she finally said, this time with a tone as if she lacked enough air to get it the sound through her throat. “Father made it so I can’t teleport like you. I can’t go to Earth alone.” Truth was, she couldn’t go even if Remiel brought her with her through teleportation. God was mighty and keeping her in Heaven was no difficult task, surely. And the gates wouldn’t allow her exit, although they always opened up for her, when she neared.
But, oh, how she dreamed of walking the Earth once again. She bit her lip and slanted her head. “And I want to help. I’m of rank too. I can do more than organising the prayers. I can fight the evil too.” It was no use. This hadn’t been the first time she had asked for something similar, only then she had never thought she’d ever beg Remiel of this, which was strange. He brought with him hope wherever he went. Surely she would’ve felt more hopeful for her request to be accepted near him. Right?

It was hard to keep the genuine sympathy out of his compassionate eyes as he listened to her sorrowful, longing voice. I wan't to see it too. He couldn't hold it against her, the longing for Earth. How could he when he himself had spent so many years walking it, seeing it evolve, following the developments, rises and falls of so many creatures - even before the humans had been created. He loved it all deeply and always had. The different seasons. The smells. Every leaf, every twig, every seemingly insignificant little beetle. Though he couldn't take credit for the Great vision of God he did feel he had helped build and maintain the little planet, and he was endlessly proud of it whenever he walked there.
Her eagerness surprised him though. She had always been so devout and genuine in the faith in their Father's wish to keep her there, always uttering things like 'it's the word of God and God knows all' and what not. He straightened as she stood on her toes, looking at her in absolute wonder. How had he never seen this side of her? Was he really that detached from his near family. They had only been a handful of them to begin with and he had always felt closer to the other few Archangels than other ancient created angels - of course how could he not. They were made to harmonise. Yet he had never truly known Chamuel. Not until now, he felt.

She begged him. Remy blinked, surprised at the pain he felt at her request. It should have been the easiest thing in the world to agree to. She deserved to see what the rest of them did - he firmly believed that - but it was not his decision to make. However much he wished it was. He could not go against the word of God. His eyes filled with pain for her. Apologetically he raised his hands to place on her wrists. He pushed downwards, gently but firmly removing her hands off his face, cupping them in his own, placing a little kiss on them. He held her gaze, his own face sorrowful from not being able to help her in this wish of hers.
"It's not for me to do," he whispered apologetically, afraid that his voice would tremble and betray him if he spoke louder. He hadn't expected to feel this amount of pain upon his return but his entire body hurt for her. He couldn't help, he knew that. The gates would not open for her if God didn't want her to leave Heaven. I can fight the evil too. He nodded slowly, hoping she would understand and not loose hope. "I know that," he replied. He did. No angel got ranked Archangel if they couldn't fight evil. He was not one to question God and the decision to keep her in Heaven, it was not in his blood to do so, although he could only be happy that it wasn't him that had been chosen for that. "Maybe you do that best up here," he tried, tilting his head a little, although truly he could only feel bad for her. He would have loved to tell her that they could go together to Earth. He would even have loved to show her all its little wonders, making sure she would be safe and with guidance in hopes of easing her into all the negatives, but he could never justify giving anyone false hope. Never. "When did you last request Earthly passage?" He asked her, trying an optimistic smile. Maybe, he thought, just maybe their Father would grant it to her, now that he had returned. She could go visit Earth with Michael and Remiel could take over the organisation of prayers and the archives for a while. He truly wouldn't mind and knew that God knew. He did know everything after all.

From the very moment his hands grabbed her arms, Chamuel knew that she has sadly lost the battle and the excitement which had ultimately been built up from the moment she had admitted to want to experience life on Earth again to her begging and pleading, all began to face pretty quickly from her eyes from that point on. For a very short second she felt herself try and resit him moving her hands away from his face, a feeling she wanted to hold on to but… she couldn’t. She had known it was a losing battle from the start, so naturally her stubbornness never flourished enough to settle. She gracefully landed back down on the heel of her feed and her eyes finally lowered from him and down to her hands which he blessed with a kiss. This time it was him holding her hands in such a comforting way. And she calmed. But not without it leaving hurt in her presence.

It was as if all the energy seeped out of her as he spoke. As he rejected her. As he restated her duty. Her shoulder, which nearly had fused together with her neck and ears, so much her body had tensed up in blind hopefulness, sank back down to normal, proper posture and her torso, which she had had filled to the brim with the clean Heavenly air punctured. He’d even be able to feel her hands become slightly heavier in his as she relaxed. What else had she expected? She felt like a fool and the though managed to bring out a sombre smile.
“Of course. I knew that. I apologise for my silly request, brother. I don’t know what came over me just then. I must’ve began to feel left out. You talking about Earth with such joy .. I just..” She never went on and finished her sentence but by the soft and clearly forcefully controlled one of her voice, it wouldn’t take a genius to guess what she had tried to convey. She looked back up at him and presented her smile a grade bigger now, although it had trouble reaching her eyes properly. “Please don’t hold it against me. I’m only afffected by your return,” she said instead before pulling her hands out of his cupping hold and took the first step backwards to distance herself from him again. “I’m sure Father wouldn’t be please with me if I fell to my knees screaming for you to bring me. You’re right. My fight is from up here. Who else would be doing what I do if I were to leave.” It was harder than she originally thought it would be to revert back into the other more preferable side of herself. The fully obedient side that understood that she didn’t actually need to understand anything else than what was needed of her. God was good. God kept her in Heaven for a reason. She twirled around herself and walked to the basket of fruits on the bench platform by the small fountain. The water drippings had come to a hold and she could just about see a reflexion of Remiel’s beautiful figure as she turned her gaze towards it before picking the basket.

Chamuel sighed lightly. “I can’t seem to recall. I might have stopped completely many years ago since Father never gave me much answers.” She dared not accuse God of outright ignoring her request. God just had his strange ways of letting his replies across. “It might have been when I visited Earth last. Why?” She turned her body about halfway back towards Remiel to look at him with the same confusion as her question. He should know that it was as hollow act as the one she had attempted with him just then.

One would think that he would have learnt to cope with it after 700.000 years, but hopelessness always hit him like a somewhat physical punch in the stomach. Knowing that he himself caused it made it all the heavier. Chamuel’s entire body, open like a book as always, showed every defeat. Her body, seconds ago all tensed in excitement, collapsed in front of him; as did her beautifully angelical face as his words made the light in her eyes flicker and dull down. Her hands turned heavy in his and he nearly let out a pained whimper for her. Remiel silently cursed himself. His own stubbornness in not wanting to spark hope where there might be none had spiralled and in turn done the exact opposite. His perked wings slowly lowered themselves. The ivory white feathers reached the marble floor and weakly rested along it, hanging loosely.

I apologise for my silly request, brother.
“No, no. It wasn’t silly,” he assured her quickly, overlapping with her own voice as she finished her sentence. “It isn’t. Please, do not apologise to me, sister.”
Her monotony shattered his heart as she stepped back from him, pulling her hands out of his with those rehearsed words that suddenly felt anything but authentic and true. “I would never,” he replied in a breathless whisper. How could he hold anything against her at all? He was still shocked that he hadn’t noticed it before, this side of her. Truthfully it scared him so much that he could hardly think. It reminded him of himself and how the doubt had consumed him after Maelle’s fall. How easy it had been for Lucifer to start planting more doubt and more thoughts and how he had been so blinded by his own feeling of unjust that he had followed his brother. At least for a bit. Uriel had helped him back and Remiel had spent years paying for the dark thoughts in genuine repentance and had never looked back. He knew how easy it could be and how ignorance didn’t help – this ignorance and childish curiosity could easily let her astray on Earth. Maybe that was why God didn’t allow her to go there.

“Ask him again,” he urged her, his voice a little too emotional that what would have been entirely proper nearly making it sound like he was begging her. “He – He does listen.” He knew that this time it was him that was overstepping the boundaries between them. They had never been close.
Remiel had never told any of his siblings that he had been so close to following Lucifer. He didn’t know if any of them knew and if they did, they had never put words to it – for that he was grateful as it wasn’t a reminder he would want to carry around. It was heavy enough to carry as it was. God had taken him back. He had listened to him and helped purify him again. He had not asked questions. He had simply listened. His jaw tightened sharply. It was not for him to urge her to go to Earth but he couldn't help it. He so desperately wanted her to gain back whatever hope he had taken from her.

It was peculiar, this almost lack of awareness of the doubt inside Peace. Because it wasn’t doubt in the same sense of what Remiel felt, if it was doubt at all. It was jealousy which she kept ever so suppressed that she didn’t even notice it at all. It was jealousy of her siblings. Jealousy of the humans. However, until Lucifer Chamuel had never really felt low on her Father’s love and she would never ever dream of sympathizing with her treacherous brother, he deserved the fall as well as his kin deserved the divine punishment. And yet, similar values were still edged in her smallest of crevices, molding in a similar image as Lucifer. As her other brothers and sisters…

Her brother’s words took a visibly back and she looked silently at him with wide eyes, blinking rather astonished a couple of times. His words were the exact truth, she believed to strongly and so innate - God listened - and yet she had not expected him to sound so… vulnerable. So weak. So exposed. She was so used to the polished granite walls of Michael or of Gabriel or the collectability of Raphael. And her empathy catching on to every little spark in the atmosphere oozing from him, she had been close to be at loss of breath hadn’t she hardened from her original soft clay creational form. Finally after a little while her face softened, her shoulders dropped back to a lightness. The look in her eyes turning more admirable as they watched him.
Her head then leaned vaguely back in a diagonal angle before continuing in a tiny curve forward and she lowered her gaze for a bit. “I know. I would never distrust that. Father listens to all. That's what makes him great and kind. I just worry about this feeling of it being wrong of me to ask of him. As if the only guidance really I need is to realize that I already know it answer,” she admitted, her voice still seeming meek and purposely sweet as she already automatically was repenting for simply having ask such a thing of her brother. In a way, she had just asked him to go against God. And it made her feel somewhat horrible to her stomach. She should know better.

Gently she lifted her chin and eyes right back to him, not being able to hide the lingering plead from before but trying hard to change it to a plead of forgiveness than a plead of escort, not knowing how well she succeeded in it. But on her way back up to his face, her gaze found the gem hanging by his chest and her expression immediately changed again. Every bit of sorrow that might have been present dissolved to instead showcase a much more childlike bafflement before breaking out in a smile that instantly reached her eyes as well. “You still have it?” she pointed out, moving her eyes from the teal, ocean polished stone to his eyes. That stone was older than humankind. Her first gift to her siblings. Nothing more than a simple stone. No magic. No blessings. Nothing more than a shiny and smooth surface which had pleased her enough to bring back from Earth. From her first ever trip to it.
She only knew of one other that still kept it on their person, like Remiel revealed to do as well. Brighter rosy hues forced its way into her cheeks as knowing this somehow brought warmth through her.

It was easy to forget just how different they all were; all these archangels that had been created so very long ago. In every possibly sense. Most prominently, in their faith. Devoutness deviating so drastically from one another. He had never in his life doubted how faithful his sister was; on the contrary it had often annoyed him how black and white she thought life to be. He couldn’t help but let go of a mild chuckle at her first few words. He knew she knew. It was what they’d all been told after all, that God listened, and surely they all had stories proving just that. It could be hard to remember though, and easy to feel lost and alone in ones thoughts.
“Stop that,” he whispered softly, nearly overlapping his own hopeful words with her fragile voice. “Stop worrying,” he urged her. He had already forgotten and forgiven; who was he to judge her? Today of all days. “You could never be wrong to ask. If you believe your time has come, perhaps it has, sister, but there’s no need to put it all on your own shoulders. He might know our wishes but we don’t always know His. Sometimes you need to say the words out loud.” He had a strange urge to reach out for her, to reassure her. Or perhaps it was him who needed the reassuring touch of family, but they had never been like that before, and he felt a little awkward wanting it so badly. Instead he grabbed a hold of the wall next to him, supporting himself as he slowly went on his knees; dumping himself on the ground, so that he could sit and lean back onto the wall. With a light flick of his wings, they fell into position around him, casually dragging along the floor. He let out a relieved sigh. His legs clearly still felt weak and with the warmth starting to fill his body again, it made him feel a little drowsy.

Remy regarded her change of expressions with slightly furrowed eyebrows and a puzzled pout. He had been around Earth for so long, that this rapid change of mood had him a little confused. Humans, although emotional, were easily predictable in most scenarios. He saw every little movement in every corner of her face; and God, we’re there many little movements. It was overwhelming trying to read her. She seemed to change her mood every other second. The hyper-empathic archangel of Hope had to bite his cheek to focus. Why was she suddenly staring at him with Christmas lights in her eyes? Was it something he’d said?
You still have it?
The question had him even more baffled than her ecstatic smile, and he reached for his cheek, gliding his hand across his face; lost in thoughts. He followed her eyes, pushing his chin back a little to look down before he realized what she had meant. Almost automatically he let his hand drop from his cheek to the simple, polished pebble that always hung around his neck on a dark leather string. A few years ago it had broken and he had sat in front of a forest lake, bathing in a late summer sunset to change the string with Uriel. Usually, the pendant was tugged underneath his shirt for protection, but now it hung exposed and very visible on his naked chest.
Of course! The stone.
It was easy to forget, after so many hundred thousand years, how he had even come in possession of the simple gem. To Remiel, it had simply become part of him. A family token of sorts. Something he would reach for when feeling lost and in need of ... well. Peace.
The confusion quickly softened and turned to light embarrassment from the sheer intimacy of the situation.
“Always,” he replied in a hum. Her flushed cheeks had his own face heat up, leaving his cheeks peachy.

» You promised you would always come back, why didn't you come back?
» Long way ahead (England) - Lucian (xxx)
» We're coming for it
» Hit the road, Jack
» What will I get to see at the end of this road | Eric