I Thought You'd Be Happier to See Me

LOCATION | Some old abandoned factory in the outskirts of Aston
DATE | 6th of April 2022
TIME | Evening
ATTIRE | Elenora | Ethan | Quentin
TOPIC FOR | well I guess @Zoe & @Archibald has to go on a search
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It was still ringing in her ears as she started waking up again. Moving her hand towards her head, Elenora could feel the thick liquid running from her aching forehead where the rock had hit. It was cold around her yet, and slowly she sat up. Elenora took a deeper breath in, trying to ground herself and not let her heart rush into panic just yet. Because this was way to familiar for her. Too much. Finally after she had blinked a few times she managed to look at her watch, evening already? How many hours had she been knocked out, too many, that rock had gotten her good. She noticed how her legs were chained to the wall behind her, then looking up when she could her someone groan. Her eyes flickered around the cold abandoned place, seeing someone tied up in the other end of the room. It took her eyes a few minutes to adjust to the darkness that was roaming over the room, then it hit her. "Ethan?" She asked more confused than actually concerned - for a second at least. "Nora?" The voice replied back as Ethan turned his head towards his sister, looking from her eyes to the large bleeding wound on her forehead. Well, not because he himself was unharmed. He had taken a few shots and a baseball bat to the head. But before they could really ask each other if they were okay, footsteps came closer in towards them. Making both turn their head in the direction.

"What the hell," Elenora mumbled while watching what looked like her younger brother walking around back from the dead. Making her huff a little bit, not really buying it at first. Because what was the odds that Quentin of all people would come back. But right with the hit on her head, she wasn't even sure she could actually trust her own vision. "Quentin?" Ethan's words confirmed it. "Ethan Ethan, here to think this will work again? It won't you won't get me this time. None of you will," Quentin laughed and pulled walked closer towards Ethan at first, kicking the mountain's foot with his own, shaking his head a little. Hearing from the chains how Elenora got up on her feet. "Enough of this Nora love, you shouldn't rush up like that you might have a concussion," Quentin shook his head then walking closer towards her till he was just before her eyes. Elenora took a sharper breath in. Quentin reached out his hands and grabbed around her throat so tight that she could feel all her airways were closed, and already dizzy she could barely even fight him. Just hearing how Ethan cursed and yelled from behind Quentin.

Then it took Ethan seconds escaping the chains as he shadow jumped over just behind Quentin to force his hands of Elenora and throw him away, as the adrenalin rushed through the taller human's body. Looking at Elenora for a moment as she was now able to take a deeper breath in. His entire body was aching from standing up, but they couldn't really let Quentin get to them now could they.

Quentin however, really wasn't in the scene. Not like they were. In his head this was pretty much just an outtake from a hell he had relived so many times he barely heard what they said, it was like his mind played its own dialogue before they would attempt to get him before he could end them. And even if he knew they most likely would end up killing him, he had to try kill them before he killed them. The first times he had begged them not to. Then he had stopped begging. Quentin looked around him then grabbing a gun and aimed towards both Elenora and Ethan, not really keeping the aim steady enough for them to know which he would shoot first if he fired. So, Ethan grabbed Elenora's hand. With that a giant wave of energy washed out the room, pushed back Quentin to the other end of the building, and leaving the twins to quickly let go of each other's hands looking at each other for a second before they both fell to the ground from the energy they had used. Yet, they were still awake, just feeling drained.

It wasn’t like Zoe really knew Archie, but when she had come around Ethan’s house and seen the scene, how blood was scatted around and the dog had been locked into the bathroom, it hadn’t taken her long to find the address where she would find Elenora. But the only one she had asked was a pacing Archie that had tried to call his wife a couple of times already. That was when she knew that something bad had happened.
Both of them had worked together and retraced the steps, even though it had ended up with them getting stuck a couple of times. An hour later they were finally driving up towards an old, abandoned factory. What on earth was going on. None of them had called their family for back up yet, but there was almost an unsaid understanding when both of them turned their heads to one another and started texting people that they might need back up and where they were. Then they stepped out, just in time to see and feel the vibration from the blast that had occurred inside of the building. Without thinking about their own safety both of them rushed inside.
Archie had to stop as the first he saw was Quentin lying on the ground. No, that couldn’t be right, he, he was dead. But as Zoe screamed Ethan’s name, he turned his head and looked towards the two other lying bodies. “Nora!” he yelled, running towards her picking her up and let his hand glide over her cheek. “Hey, I’m here” he said with shaking voice, even though he tried to keep it steady had a hard time doing so.
Zoe let her hands glide over Ethan’s body to see if there was some internal bleeding before she pulled him into her arms for a moment placing a soft kiss against his temple. Now they just needed to get them out of here, but just for a moment she would like to sit there feeling that his heart was still beating, and his body was warm against hers.

Ethan could hear his name being roared like a distant echo, making his body and mind try to at least make an effort. But it felt like his entire body was trapped underneath a truck, if not from the energy drain then the amount of hits he had taken before getting here. Then he heard Elenora's name being called, making him just a little bit relieved, then he could let his sister in the hands of her husband and focus on his own healing. Ethan looked up into Zoe's eyes and tried to pull a small smile, but he was so fatigued that it was rather clear he wasn't feeling well. And with spring coming in and taking over after a long winter, fe had felt his power wash slowly away and go into a slumber.

Elenora on the other hand had the upper hand of her finally having gotten out of the more down months that the winter and autumn season had haunted her with. Besides she only had one larger wound where Ethan had serveral. So, her eyes flickered trying to dart in the direction of the sound of Archie's voice, till she saw him, feeling how her entire being rested by the touch of his hand against her cheek. Her body feeling heavy almost as if she had been drugged, but she relaxed there knowing both Archie and Zoe was here. "I'm okay," she tried to assure Archie with a faint voice, but even if her head felt like it was about to fall off from the hit, and her body was unable to move. She was her best definition of being okay. "Quentin?" She pressed her brows a bit together trying to see if she could spot him, but she wasn't really at strength enough to hold her head more than few inches up.

A laugh came from Quentin, it echoed in the big hall followed by a few coughs as he rolled over and made it slowly to his feet. "Woo, damn it you two I didn't think you would be able to pull a stunt like that," he let the bright smile light up on his lips, but he didn't really see the werewolf nor Archie there. Completely fixated on the version of the nightmare that played in his head, in that version it was just himself, Elenora and Ethan still.

Her hands glided over his pale skin, and it was a good thing that she was so focused on her boyfriend, that she hadn’t even noticed the coughing and complaining human over in the other side of the rundown factory. Mostly because she knew just how much the months and longer days were draining Ethan. Which was why she quickly conjuring her own darkness and started feeding him the energy that was within her. It was dangerous yes, but it would also make it easier for her to get him out of here.
Archie on the other hand just had to help Elenora up on her feet again, letting his eyes follow back to the body of the man that should be dead. He didn’t like it, not the way that he was talking or behaving. Stepping behind Elenora he placed a hand on her shoulders. “His been in hell Elenora, I, I think he believes that he is still there.” A thunder was heard outside, and he turned his head towards the entrance as the light from the lightning that had struck down in the distance. “Quentin, I thought I told you not to draw to much attention towards yourself” a very soft voice left the figure, telling the others that didn’t know who it was, that it was a woman. Then the blond witch walked towards Quentin and slowly guided him up on his feet. “Darling, look at yourself, your bleeding” she whispered, not really minding the people that was standing behind her. Her fingers gently glided over his skin and healed up the wound that had formed at the side of his forehead. “You’re not back, we got out” she told him again, knowing herself just how hard it was differentiate between being back, and then thinking you were still in hell, going over the next stage to get out.

Ethan noticed the shift of energies around him, and he would lie if he said he didn't appreciate having the darkness filling up the energy he had lost. His powers could finally manifest in the things that was playing to his advantage. The time of day being night, the darkness they were in from the place having very few lights to. So, as he heard another set of voices, he pushed all thoughts of his well being aside and forced himself to his best ability to stand up - not that anyone liked seeing the mountain trying to get back on his feet. His eyes only shifted for a short moment towards Elenora and Archie, happy to see his sister on her feet.

Elenora took a sharper breath in, looking shortly to the side at Archie as he mentioned Quentin had been in Hell. She could sense something dark about the energy he was wearing, hell explained the behavior, his actions. And she took a deeper breath in watching the blonde witch. Elenora had no idea who the woman was, or how she knew Quentin. However, it seemed like Quentin turned his eyes towards the woman and gave her his full attention. Not that any of it stopped her from being overwhelmed by the fact that Quentin had returned. No, she hadn't wished death on him, nor being dragged to hell - it didn't mean she knew how to handle him being alive again. It wasn't like they had had any sweet reunion.

It took Quentin a few breaths and keeping his eyes locked with Olivia's still he returned back to the land of the living, looking around him for a moment and blinked a couple of times. He noticed how dry his mouth was as he clicked his tongue, then taking his eyes off Olivia, seeing Elenora, Archie, Ethan and some stranger he wasn't sure who was, but how she kept herself close to Ethan, he made his own theories. Yet, he didn't say a thing as his eyes travelled back to Elenora, then grabbing onto Olivia's hand, using his new power to create an illusion as if they had disappeared, to actually disappear. Because another greater force was coming closer by the second, and no being escaped from Hell had any intention of being near once the Archangel of death showed up. Elenora closed her eyes for a second breathing out when Quentin was gone, because it meant her body could relax from fearing having to go up against him again.

Elenora moved her hand up towards her wound as she felt the ache had stopped, even if the blood was pretty much still painted on her forehead the wound had healed up with a speed that was beyond humanly possible. Even the headache was gone which caught most by a surprise, and she looked towards Ethan where he before had had this mark from the baseball bat - now it was gone. "The wound is healed," she mumbled to herself knowing the mumble wasn't really that low.

It didn’t take long before she got him back to the land of the living and a soft smile spread over Olivia’s lips, waiting for him to take it all in before they could finally get out of there. She wanted to reprimand him, but for now she just closed her hand closer around him and as they ran into the woods, she murmured a small spell that made them teleport away. The last thing they needed was someone taking them back where they belonged. They had fought hard to be here, no way she was going without a fight, she deserved to be alive much like anyone else. Funny how she was now running away with the man that had put her there in the first place. But that was how fate could surprise you.

Zoe that was supporting Ethan could feel how the back of her hair started to rise. Which was weird, because she had encountered angels before, and she knew that normally they would give off a more harmonic aura, but this one, it made her want to take a couple of steps back. Much like when she had still been a young pup and had met Damian for the first time. And as her dark eyes looked towards Archie, she could see that he was reacting the same way, even as they weren’t exactly the same feeling that had spread in his chest, because Archie had met old angels, Eden being one of them. But there was something about this one that made him aware that they should prepare for what was to come, almost as if he knew that something would be revealed now, something that none of them had prepared for.

One that however knew something had been up before anyone else, was the woman sitting in the car directing Jamie where to drive. She had gotten the vision a couple of hours ago, but she hadn’t truly understood it before later. She had no idea why Azrael was interfering with this, but if he was here, she wanted to be a part of it. She wanted to know why, and how he kept appearing and disappearing all the time. Something had to happen in heavens, or else her mother wouldn’t have been as much away as she had been lately. Not with everything else that was happening around in these parts.

Ethan could feel it. The darkness, the taste of death that came closer even for an archangel. Well, once you had spent so much time with an Archangel as Ethan had spent having Michael as a mentor then finding out he was his father. Then you got used to the archangels. But this was different because he had never met the archangel of death before. Elenora however couldn't help but pull a little smile, because she knew Azrael or at least had gotten to know her uncle last year. "Azrael," she exhaled his name a little as the light brightened up the room as the archangel appeared in the factory. Elenora took the light in feeling how it already empowered her as if no damage had been done. The archangel looked towards the four and let out a sigh. "Oh why am I not surprised?" He let out a sigh, one would have possibly thought he was the oldest and grumpiest of the archangels, when in reality he was the youngest. But Azrael was tired of cleaning up after his siblings all the time, and it should be Michael here telling his children what had happened, but well here was uncle Azrael at it again.

Elenora took a sharper breath in knowing where he darted at. Not that she actually had done that much trouble while he had been around, but it was also only really Michael and Azrael who knew the range of damage Calvin had done back then, and Azrael who had undone it. "What brings you?" She wondered not really afraid to talk to him, where Ethan just looked over at his sister form the corner of his eye, letting her do the talking. Had it been their father he wouldn't have minded saying something, but this was very different. Azrael exhaled and took a few steps closer towards them, "seems like my theory stands correct, and your father should be the one bringing these news, but who on earth knows where he is these days," Azrael did a small shrug, knowing he or they could simply just send a prayer - but well Azrael didn't really want to talk to his siblings, so why sent for them? When he himself knew more about balance of the universe than his older brother anyways.

"Congratulation, you have activated your full potential," he placed his hands in his pockets and looked from Elenora to Ethan, then back at Elenora. "That blast of combined energy and moment of complete balance, that all of you felt. It was all you two, you are the balance of the universe," he felt like a teacher trying to hold a lection, and if anything Azrael was not and never wanted to teach anyone anything. "Positive and negative forces - your powers, they've always been their and you've always been able to use parts of it, but now, it has become you - an eternal source of yin and yang," he gestured first to Ethan,  "Yin is stronger and more abundant than Yang," then he looked over towards Elenora again,  "but Yang is more obvious and active. There is more water on earth than fire, for example, but fire phenomena such as lightning are more exciting and attract more attention," he looked behind him then, taking notice to the energy that had once been in here. Something that shouldn't be here. "It's a lot to process, but well, at least you will have the rest of eternity to do so," he looked back at them again.

It would be safe to say as the archangel started speaking, everyone stopped and listen. But as he went on it was clear to see, at least in both Zoe and Archie’s facial expression, that they had no idea what the hell was going on. Nor did they understand was being told, but maybe it didn’t matter because it wasn’t them that this was about. Ethan and Elenora. Yin and Yang? Zoe blinked a little she had heard stories, when Damian had been married to a beautiful Japanese woman, she had often spoken about this, angels that people later took in as a sort of religion. Buddhism and so forth. But she had never thought that it was real. She licked her lips and let her eyes flicker towards Ethan and placed her hand in his, because other than that, she didn’t really know what else she could do.
Archie was just as lost in all of this, he just stood there looking at the Archangel that had just told them a lot of things that he, if he was begin completely honest, had no idea what the hell meant. And before he could ask, he heard a car stop outside and a woman voice saying something and in came. Jamie and - wait, was that Sariel?
“Azrael, what on earth do you think you’re doing” Sariel sighed as she walked towards him lifting a brow “You can’t just drop things like that in an abandoned factory when they had just been attacked and kidnapped, what on earth were you thinking?” she huffed and gave the angel a hand against the back of his head, only a light one, almost as if a mother was reprimanded her child or a girlfriend that was telling their boyfriend off.

Jamie almost ran after Sariel who stormed towards the archangel, well he had tried to figure out what this was all about since the moment he had gotten in the car and been told to just hit the speeder and go. Jamie made a small shrug to Archie, then smelling the blood from Ethan and Elenora, pressing his brows a bit together, what on Earth had happened here? Elenora had no idea what was going on really and she had given up keeping tabs on what Azrael talked about and just leaned her head against Archie's shoulder.

Azrael looked towards Sariel - it was Sariel, he knew that - but she looked to different, and before he even had a chance to say anything she hit him on the back of his head, "ouch," he said looking a bit deadpan for a moment. "Oh I'm sorry. Next time I will invite them over for tea, and we will have a little heart to heart about it, and ending with I do not have the time," Azrael argued and kept his eyes on the hybrid. "I was just about to offer to teleport them home, but here you come and play all almighty - so now maybe I don't even want to," the archangel crossed his arms a little bit. Okay, he had gotten grumpy from looking after Uriel, who was like a hopeless little child who did not understanding simple things because well this other persona had showed up. Fucking Joel. "So I'm sorry or what ever for putting this over your heads like this and all, but really - let it sink in and give me a call if you have questions - because apparently I am everyone's service angel." he rolled his eyes a little bit, "and what is up with this even?" he grabbed her face squeezing cheeks a little together with his hand, turning it side to side with a gentle motion. Clearly talking about how she had changed appearance, looking older.

Archie put an arm around Elenora and pulled her closer, for a moment he just wondered if they should walk to the car and drive home, letting Sariel and Azrael hatch this out themselves, but since everyone didn’t seem to move and just stood there looking at them, he did the same.

“Oh, stop being such a baby?” she clicked her tongue and crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised a brow. “Clearly you have plenty of time if you can stand there and start behaving as if you are misjudged teenager, that was my job, remember?” she shook her head and then looked over her shoulder towards Elenora and Archie giving them an apologetic smile, not everyone could handle how Azrael could sometimes behave, there was after all a reason why Jamie and him had almost started a row last time they had met, if it hadn’t been for the fact that Sariel had sent him away. Not that she thought he was still annoyed by that.
“Oh shut up with your whining, if you didn’t want to be it, you would just go back to your cabin and not stand here and jus-“ a small squeak left her as he grabbed her chin and started moving her head so he could look at her. “Oi, stop that” she tried to push of his hand “I grew up, that what’s up” she huffed looking him square in his eyes. Something that only few dared to do, that she knew. But to her Azrael had never been Azrael the Archangel of death. No, he was her savour, her safe haven and her friend. And right now that man that everyone would ask how long they had been married.

"Oh please, try having my job for one day and see if you will talk to me again like that," he pointed out looking at Sariel. "For the record," he added as she pushed his hand away from her face, "I would very much prefer to be in my cabin thank you very much miss all grown up. But not all of us has the luxury of just going home and sleep in for the next day," Azrael pointed out.

Jamie rolled his eyes at Azrael, but had learned from last time not to even try go up against the archangel because Sariel had defended the archangel back then, and well who was he to say anything to, what on earth that thing he watched play out was? So, instead he just walked towards Archie and Nora, placed a hand on Archie's shoulder. "I have the car out back, let's get out of here." He knew that Azrael could teleport Sariel once they were done talking - or then he wouldn't mind driving back. And right now everyone looked like they would rather be anywhere else than here. Elenora let out a little sigh, because well yeah, it wasn't like she wanted the walking reminder of the memories she had that was combined with her meetings with Azrael. And Ethan, well Ethan just stared at the archangel and the hybrid not really thinking too much of what was going on around him. "Let's go home," she mumbled a little bit looking towards Archie then giving Jamie a small nod.

“Oh please, try having my job for one day and see if you will talk to me like that again” she repeated his sentence in a mock way shaking her head. “What did you do, watch some kind of soap opera and took the cheesiest line known to mankind?” she asked lifting her brow, now she knew that his job was demanding and that he had a lot of things that was affecting him as a person. The choices he had to make, and the things that had been taken away from him because of who he was. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe that his job was hard, or that she didn’t believe him when he told her that he had to pick up the slack from everyone else. She was so occupied with the man standing in front of her, that she didn’t even realize that the others were starting to walk out to the car, maybe she should have known that they would leave. But if she was being honest, she had come here also for the reason of seeing him again, knowing that now that their days from the cabin was over, there wouldn’t come a period of time where she would once again be with him. Also, that her time were running short know that she was bonded with a mortal man.

Zoe nodded towards Jamie as he spoke about having a car out back. If she could get away, she wouldn’t mind it, mostly because she hadn’t even dealt with the archangel and she was already tired. Even though it was entertaining to watch how the small hybrid wasn’t holding back her punches and she was rather vocal about the fact that she didn’t care about his rank or not.
Archie letting out a sigh as he felt his brother’s hand on his shoulder, then nodding towards Elenora. “Yes, let’s go home” he whispered, looking towards Zoe that nodded once again, knowing already what he was going to ask. “I have a car out back as well, come let’s get you home” she said softly and started walking out with the others.

Azrael shook his head, "a few years away from me and you think you suddenly can just speak to me however you want? That shapeshifter of yours haven't done you any favors," he knew that wasn't true, he had seen plenty of things in Sariel that had grown simply because of the relationship with Jamie - but perhaps there was a sense of jealousy hidden below the surface, of never having been able to help her reach that. Azrael did as a matter of fact notice how everyone was heading towards their cars, but he didn't look at them, he only kept her eyes on Sariel.

Elenora looked shortly at Sariel and Azrael just starring at each other as if they had their own contest going on. Well, she would get further explanation from Azrael another day, right now she just wanted to get back home with her husband and get some well deserved rest. "Sounds good by now," Ethan let out a sigh, still recovering but faster than what his normal healing otherwise had been. And he knew alongside the forces Zoe had empowered him with, it would only take a minute more or two.

"What, you wouldn't go with your little boyfriend?" Azrael asked once the people had left narrowing his eyes a little bit further. "Or you simply just missed me this much and thought it was better using tonight as an excuse rather than having to search me out yourself?" He knew he sounded unfair, maybe he was. But there was something untold about their story that just kept making him bump heads with her.

There was something so; she couldn’t even put a finger on it. For such a long time, maybe for far longer than she could remember, she had loved Azrael. And not in the sense that she might should. No, she had loved him; she had been crushing on him like those horrible girls in the movies that Katelyn so often made her see. It hadn’t been fair; she understood that now because he had been her guardian, and there could never be a blur in the lines because of that.
But now, she didn’t feel anything because of the sealed mate mark.

Her eyes narrowed as he commented on the fact that she hadn’t gone with Jamie. “What? By the heavens” she clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Azrael, what is going on?” If anything, she was getting more concerned than anything at this point. Her hand reached out but stopped before it could take his cheek. She did that all the time when she knew something was bothering Jamie, and in the deepest chambers of her heart, she knew that it wouldn’t be right to do it to Azrael, even though so much of her wanted to.

Zoe helped Ethan into the car; maybe she used more energy and time on it than was needed. But when you found your boyfriend lying like that, could you blame a woman for being concerned?
She looked towards Jamie and Archie and found comfort in the small nod that he made.
Archie, not really caring if Jamie got annoyed by both him and Elenora sitting in the back, did so anyway. So he could pull her into his arms and place a soft kiss against her temple. “So, Azrael and Sariel, what the hell is the story there?” he asked, looking towards Jamie, a little weirded out by the fact that Jamie had just decided to leave her there. It made him wonder, wonder if something else had happened.

"Nothing?" He pressed his brows together and then clicked his tongue. "Nothing is going on," he pointed out, looking at her hand shortly as it almost made way to his cheek. "You moved on, you don't need me anymore, so," Azrael nodded a little bit, okay - so that was the thing hiding underneath that stern tone and expression. Well of course, Eden had died, Sariel had taken off without a word to pursue her own life of whatever, and now she didn't need him anymore. But just like he had been Sariel's only company for so many years, she had been his too - so well it did feel like some slap across the face that she had just moved on and found some other people to spend her time with. Even if he was happy for her overall, there was a dark place in his heart where he was utterly jealous.

Jamie took a look shortly over his shoulder, making sure that both of them were comfortable or as comfortable as one could be before started driving. His hands grabbed the wheel a little tighter when Archie asked about the story of Sariel and Azrael. Elenora narrowed her eyes a little bit, because she did remember some things that Azrael had told her back when she had been in recovery, just to ease her mind. There had been stories, but it was first now she realized a good hold of them had to be about Sariel. "It's complicated, last time I tried to get between an argument of those two, I was asked to leave it alone, so -" Jamie took a sharper breath in, "the two of them has lived under the same roof for what five-hundred years give or take, he took care of her. So, it's all just very complicated, everything is fucking complicated," he exhaled a little frustrated, not really because of the matter with Sariel and Azrael, no this frustration went further than that right back to not even more than few days ago where he had seen McKenna - or he had seen Hope again. Which had just made things very odd around the house, because his mind couldn't really figure out how to think nor feel about it.

She was stunned. That wasn’t an emotion that Sariel often found herself in very often, if at all. Mostly because she saw most things coming before they would have an impact, and if she hadn’t been able to see it, she was angrier and more upset than actually stunned. Without thinking about it, her hand found the collarbone where Jamie’s name was standing, not that you could see it, as the cuts from the magical knife that Theo had cut her with were still covering it up. Then it hit her; it hit her so hard that she couldn’t even keep herself from saying it out loud. “Are you jealous? Why?” she asked, not understanding. She had always been the chain around his ankle, the reason why he couldn’t go back to the one he loved, right? That was how that had been, the job he had never asked for but had decided to uphold because her mother had asked.
“I thought you would be happy that I was gone, so you could live your life as you wanted without having me to hold you back”, she whispered, still not understanding why he was jealous and of what.

Archie wasn’t buying it.
When had Jamie done anything people had told him to? Something else was going on, and now that it seemed that Elenora was somewhat all right, even though it was still a great shock, he couldn’t really hold himself back. “Okay, what are you not telling me?” he wanted to know, his fingers almost on their own accord, pushing some hair of Elenora’s behind her ear.

Azrael was a man of many things, he had the ability to rule and control - understand emotions to a level most people even couldn't begin to wrap their minds around. And yet, finding himself enslaved by those emotions, to a feeling he so utterly hated and had banned himself for ever tabbing onto again - he was standing here, feeling how it felt like to have betrayed his own promise. He had promised never to fall for someone again, not after how he lost Katana - he had promised himself never to go down a path that would make such feelings come alive. Yet here he was. Why? He couldn't explain. "Oh please you never held me back, you were the only person that even mattered to me, the only thing that kept me from not falling completely apart - really think I wouldn't just have dropped you off at Remiel's or Uriel's if it wasn't because I loved spending my time with you?" Azrael lashed a bit out looking Sariel directly in the eyes, daring stepping one step closer.

Jamie took a longer and sharper breath in. Why did Archie always have to poke around the right places? "It was just seeing McKenna again - Hope - it stirred things up, okay? I haven't been able to stop thinking about her," he was annoyed by it, because he didn't find it fair at all to Sariel. Far from. Because he loved her, but it didn't mean he could shake away the fact that the person he had thought he had been meant to live the rest of his life with and had lost, suddenly stood by his doorstep one day. It felt like everything had just been shifted around, making him utterly confused. "I'm sure if anyone understands that feeling, it will be you guys - so, just let it - its just very complicated," he let out a sigh and felt his entire body tense up. Of course it wasn't the same situation, yet some aspects were, and it had been so hard to resist. Perhaps he was jealous of that in some way, that he had needed to resist what every impulse of his had wanted. And he perhaps was not being fair in his way of speaking, but it was rather clear that he was very frustrated about all of it. Elenora couldn't really deny that she could understand what Jamie was going through, she had never been able to move on - and Jamie had tried, despite all of it - he had tried and then his past came knocking on his door.

She blinked, and for a moment, she could see a future she had never seen before, and then it was gone. Not nearly enough for her to make out what would happen if she took a step toward him. The equation, however, had changed. Because the sealed mark had dimmed other desires, if not removed them, completely. There was only Jamie, but that didn’t take the love away. Now, did it?
Then it hit her. Because I loved spending time with you.
Tears started sliding down her cheeks before she even understood why. He took a step closer, and so did she. Her hand found his neck, and she could have sworn she saw and felt how his lips felt against hers for a moment. It would be like to feel his arms find their way around her waist and pull her closer. But the moment was gone, and instead, she pulled him into a hug. She was burring her face in the nape of his neck. “Now this complicates things, wouldn’t you say” she whispered, keeping her eyes closed almost, hoping that it would ease the pain that was forming in her heart. But it didn’t.

Archie didn’t say anything as Jamie said he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. His eyes darted towards the window and saw the scenery glide past the car. Then he guided his eyes towards Elenora, whom he pulled towards him, placing an arm around her shoulders. He did not really care that she might need to have her seatbelt on; this was how he wanted them to sit right now.
“You should talk with Sariel about it, and then maybe find Hope and talk with her again”, Archie voiced her opinion. “I’m not saying that it isn’t complicated, but life is too short not to go where your heart is leading you”, he mumbled; maybe he should be more tactful, but life really was too short to not do what you wanted, instead of staying because you felt obligated to.

It wasn't because he wanted to make her cry, far from. It was actually the last thing he wanted to do, yet he appreciated the emotion that she was showing, watching her take a daring step closer to him. Azrael knew she was bonded to Jamie, he knew that, he knew how the witches curse worked - so no, he wasn't going to even try work against it. But she pulled him into a hug, and his arms snaked their way around her, pulling her closer towards him, almost feeling like he couldn't breath for just a second. Just a moment. But it was nice, standing here in a way they hadn't. With their emotions on their sleeves. "It does, it truly does," he mumbled a little bit and took a sharper breath in.

Jamie shook his head a little bit, fighting his thoughts for a moment. "We do nothing but talk about it really - seems like she is just waiting for me to tell her its over, and I haven't even processed it," he mumbled a little bit and let out a sigh. Elenora rested her hand just above Archie's knee, listening to Jamie's frustration, hell, she could almost feel the crippling negativity and worry coming form him. But the comfort of Archie pushed all of that away, making her able to just shake what just had happened off by listening to what ever Jamie said. "I will find something out, I always do," Jamie mumbled a little bit taking a swing further into town heading down the road towards the apartments where Nora and Archie lived. Jamie also had another factor in this Russian roulette to care about and that was how all of this would affect Jasmine in the end.

It was like coming home. How could it feel anything but that? She had known him almost her entire life. He had been there through the bad and the good; they had shared more than a lifetime together if you looked at it through human eyes. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for him, and right now, she was pretty sure there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her.
But right now, that didn’t make any of this any easier. She pulled out of the embrace with a small sigh and gave him a small smile.  
“You always had the worse timing”, she mumbled and shook her head. “I met my mother, started hanging out with her other children, so – well, I think I finally grew up” she gave him a warmer smile, knowing she had come so far after she had left their shelter. After she had finally managed to look the people she had hated for so long in the eye and then realised that the hate she was harbouring wasn’t justified. “Did you know Joseph Blackwood is my father?” she told him, trying to get the conversation onto something else. “I finally sat my mother down and made her talk about it; I guess she was justified to keep me away from that mess” she licked her lips, not that she didn’t have a knack for finding trouble. A mark on her forehead backed that statement up, even though her hair did a good job hiding it away; besides, it was almost faded now, but it had taken much magical energy.

Archie folded his lips and tried to take a few calm breaths. He couldn’t even begin to grasp how it must feel to know someone would walk away from you without having happened. Which he would guess it would feel like when you could see into the future. All the things you knew would happen but couldn’t do much about because you were bound to the law of the very fabric of circumstances. Like his death, if it hadn’t happened, someone else would have had to die, and so on. Even the most minor thing could have a more significant effect, which was why it was so dangerous to tamper with, even if you wanted to.
“Just don’t forget that you have friends and family around you”, he added, knowing that Jamie would figure things out, but that didn’t mean he had to do it alone.

"What? I have perfect timing - and deep down you know it," he took a deeper breath in, sounding all knowingly when the truth was, he knew nothing. Not on this at least, it took him by a surprise how settled it felt - like things were meant to be, and perhaps he should be guilty on the area. He wasn't. He didn't regret looking into her eyes in admiration, and wanted in that moment to actually kiss her and then perhaps they could go back to the mountains just be the two of them - or was that some sort of wishful thinking? Mate-bonds were created by bits of the soul weren't they? Manifested by powerful magic yes, but with his soul manipulation and perhaps the blessing from his father, perhaps he could, he could break it. Was that foolish of him to think that she would even go with him if it was an option, maybe selfish - but well, for this, for her - he would allow himself to be selfish if it came down to that. Azrael blinked a little bit realizing he had been lost in his own thoughts, waking up to the words my father, theorizing quickly that she had mentioned her father by name or the like, he clicked his tongue a little bit, chose not to say anything. "I never met your father, not like in person, but two of my brothers have," he after all did know who her father was, but it was more new information after he had returned back here. After he had talked to Michael again. "What is troubling you?" He then asked always been able to see past the cover up of masks.

Elenora and Archie of course had known how McKenna and their children's death had affected Jamie back then, the weeks, months he had spent in their guest room, yet feeling like having a ghost as a roommate, there but also not really present. Then she had known how he had become after Archie had died, how she herself had become, becoming the possibly worst versions of themselves - she had seen it, but they had made it this far. "Just let us know if you need something," she added after Archie and exhaled a little bit. Jamie clicked his tongue a little bit, still hating this. He really did hate this, because he knew Sariel knew something he didn't. At least a possible outcome, no matter how he wanted to prove to her that he was committed to her - it seemed like she didn't fully believed him. Perhaps it was his own crazy thoughts messing up everything, his own overthinking creating a monster out of a situation that wasn't that bad. "I will remember that, thank you, there you are," he parked the car and exhaled. Then placing his elbow on the top of the seat and look over his arm to look at Archie and Elenora. Not knowing if he should ask what even had happened or to leave it alone, wanting nothing more than to escape the unwanted spotlight.

She nodded when he mentioned he hadn’t had the ’pleasure’ of meeting her birth father. Maybe she would never get the pleasure herself; who knew. She had the feeling that it wouldn’t be as the little girl had hoped it would turn out, all her early fantasies of how it would be if her mother and father came back for her and took her away. But that had never happened, and instead, she had slowly turned bitter until the bitter had turned to hate and so forth.
A sadder smile formed on her lips. “Only cursed with the sight of seeing the future”, she murmured, knowing it didn’t give him much to go on. She tried to force a smile, a smile she quickly removed because she knew that he wouldn’t be able to look right past it. “It’s been a few hectic months,” she said with a smaller voice closing her eyes for a moment and breathing in; some part of her wanted to tell him everything that had happened, show him what had been done to her skin, but a part of her didn’t dare. “How long do you. have before you have to go again?” she asked, feeling the sadness form in her facial features.

Archie nodded to underline the statement that Elenora had said. Not that he thought his stubborn brother would actually come if he needed anything, they hadn’t even talked properly since the whole thing with Theo, other than there had been a ‘briefing’ where he had informed them what had happened. They needed to find a way to make sure it wouldn’t again. That constant bubble that he lived in, trying to deal with everything himself, it made Archie anxious. But he also knew that it didn’t help to force the issue, so as they parked the car, he reached out and placed a warm hand against Jamie’s shoulder. “I’m sure things will turn out as they were supposed to, don’t worry”, he added, squeezing the shoulder before he got out of the car and helped Nora afterwards, not that she actually needed it, but he liked to.

"You know the future is constant, we've talked about this- its only a product of what can happen and is possibly happening, it only becomes the way you see it if you think to much about it or try to interfere,"  Azrael reminded her running a lock of hair behind her ear with a soft movement. Not that he had the same powers like her, but always knowing when to bring a soul to crossover when their time had seem to come, knowing more than most people did about hell and the souls sent their -it was a curse too. "Don't change the subject, the subject is you - and I'm not going to leave before you tell me what is going on, " he returned back his attention on her and not on when he had to leave, because since when had he ever left when he had been told to. Azrael had been on his own for so long he barely followed the rules of his father, the only time he wasn't selfish was when it came to his siblings - most of his siblings that were.

Jamie clicked his tongue once again. This time was different, he had found a home and to suddenly rip it apart to try rebuilt it. How many times could you do that even? Jamie nodded a little bit. "We will talk about it some other day, take care Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard. I won't be taxi driver for just everyone," he gave them a small wink to mask the hardship of what was happening around him, as Archie stepped out of the car and turned to help Elenora out. Elenora let out a small sigh, but let Archie help her out of the car, letting one arm around him to keep herself steady whilst they watched Jamie drive off down the street, "that is going to be messy, isn't it?" She sighed a little bit. Jamie deserved some peace, hell they all did, but something in her knew it would take some time before Jamie would get his.

She looked away as he reminded her about her visions; well, she had been right about her mother's death, hadn’t she? Not that she had told anyone; how foolish of her. Maybe that was the reason why she had decided she wanted to be a better person because after meeting her siblings, she knew they hadn’t deserved her wish, and she was afraid of what would happen if her secret one day would be revealed.  
“I –“ she let out a soft breath before finally turning her eyes toward Azrael, giving him a sad smile. “There is this side of me that is just waiting for him to leave me, not because he doesn’t love me – but because there is someone else out there he is destined to be with, and the weird part of it, I’m not even sad because of it, I’m just grateful that I got the time I got with him, but he is fighting so hard because he doesn’t want to disappoint or hurt me” she licked her lips, and pulled the jacket off the left side and then pulled down the blouse so Azrael could see what had happened to her mate mark, how it had been cut and then branded. Not even letting herself grow up had managed to remove the potent remedies that had done it. Then she lifted the clothes back in place; “his brother did that to me,” she mumbled, and then as if she knew what he would do, she grabbed his wrist and lifted a brow. “I’m fine; I’ve been through worse”, she added; nothing would be as painful when her wings had rotted away, and the giant scars it had left on her back constantly reminded her of the fact that she would always be more darkness than holiness.

“Thank you, kindly, good sir,” he winked and then closed the door, his arms folded around her shoulder as he walked with her toward the apartment complex. He let out a soft sigh as Elenora said that it would be messy. “McKenna – Hope..” he shook his head a little “You know how he looked at her, and even though they fought a lot, there was this pure love between them” he licked his lips. “Not that I’m questioning his love for Sariel, but I’m not sure he will ever look at another woman like he looked at Hope”, he whispered, opening the apartment and letting them in. “Yes, it’s going to be messy”, he concluded as he took off his shoes and jacket that had all been thrown on in haste when Zoe had shown up.

Azrael listened carefully, knowing it wasn't his place to judge, but well, he did anyways. This wasn't how love was supposed to  be was it? To just sit around and wait for things to blow over or hope that it was just a phase. "Sounds like you both are trying to hold onto what could be instead of realizing perhaps, it's been a good ride. And that you both have learned things from this, and learning isn't really a bad thing," he knew he perhaps didn't even help with his words, part of him hoped he did. "Follow your heart, okay, it will tell you what you need to know, even if you already do know," Azrael had seen people fall apart, get together and all the other aspects of that for so many life times. "Life is too precious to not live it on full speed, and you've already wasted so many years sitting in my cabin where you could have been out exploring the world," he had to admit. Fall in love, meet friends and get to know the world she was going to live in for hopefully many years to come. But he had never showed it to her, because of his own selfish behavior.

Then he saw what had happened to the mate mark, and let his finger out to brush his over the skin was cut and branded. Making him take a deeper breath in, wanting to find the person and make them pay for this - which shouldn't be hard with his resources. Even easier when she mentioned that his brother had done it. Now, Azrael knew who Jamie's family was. Because he had looked into it - protective? Perhaps. "And you deserve far better than that," Azrael pointed out and kept his eyes on Sariel's.

Elenora let out a smaller sigh, then letting Archie guide them back towards the apartment complex while listening. "I know what you mean," Nora responded to knowing that they didn't question what Jamie felt for Sariel either. It was a complicated mess, selfish enough to happy she wasn't the one having to make a choice like that - because even if it wasn't spoken, she knew Jamie had a choice to make with himself. She took her own jacket off, surprised that she didn't even feel sore despite the blood that indicated the attacks on her arms and of course her forehead. "It's a matter of time, and them figuring out who they are now compared to back then, not that I mean for Sariel and Jamie to be doomed. I just don't think you can stop love that, maybe delay it for a little while - but not stop it," perhaps it was mostly in her own experience she talked from, and conversations she had been having with Jamie in the past, after they both had the loss of their better half to relate to.
She moved her eyes to the mirror making a face of the blood on her face and let out a sigh. She knew she had to at least text her siblings about Quentin being back, at least Frederik and Griffin. Perhaps Julianne deserved to know in person. But not today.