Everything was quiet. No one from the family had come to him. It was unbearably lonely. The soft sounds of the tall grass, dried by autumn, surrounded him. The tall strands brushed against his flanks and tickled his underbelly. The golden man blended beautifully with the dried brush. Thick fog had claimed the land, cold in his nose and lungs. Fortunately, sight was already lacking in the male. He navigated the land as easily as before. Delicate steps pulled him through the plains. He had heard that the winds sometimes whispered secrets. So far, there were no secrets here. That was fine. Chiselled crown would tip back, and a sonorous call would roll from between parted lips. It was time to call the family to him. Just one sibling to join his travel of the day, that was all he needed. "Gabriel" Thoughts "Others" IF YOU HAVE NIGHTMARES WE'LL DANCE ON THE BED

Since running into Samael she was hurting more and more. She felt so uncertain of the path she walked on, and it felt like she was tottering. On one side, the light, the majority of her family… on the other side the so called darkness, the minority of her family, her brother… She didn’t know what to believe anymore. What was right…? What was wrong…? Her heart gave a pang in her chest. The maiden had tried distracting herself by looking for herbs… she had found a good collection of lavender and taken a sprig to wear behind her ear.

It helped to calm her a little… but Shri could tell that Uriel was not quite herself after her interaction with Lucifer. The mourning dove kept a watch over the maiden in the air, at least until another of their siblings was spotted. Shri winged on ahead, dropping down next to Gabriel before speaking up.

“Brother, pray tell, do you wish for company? I’m sure Uriel could use some.” The dove glanced in the direction she had come from. “She hasn’t been herself…” Though Shri didn’t say why.

The soft sounds of air rushing through feathers was accompanied by a familiar voice. The gentle lyrics of Shri reached his auds not long after he called for his family. "Brother, pray tell, do you wish for company? I’m sure Uriel could use some." The bird said, landing not too far away. He hummed affirmatively, pausing to speak with the bird. "That is why I called, yes." He replied without malice, smiling warmly. Of course, he wasn't looking in the bird's direction, so it most likely didn't come off as kindly as he'd intended. "She hasn’t been herself…" The dove added, and piqued the heralds interest instantly. "Oh? Do tell." The male said quietly, hoping he may be able to ease his young sister's worries. He hated when they were out of sorts, and even more so when it was due to something that could be easily remedied. "Gabriel" Thoughts "Others" IF YOU HAVE NIGHTMARES WE'LL DANCE ON THE BED

Shri shifted a little, her wingbeats coming a bit faster now. “I… I am not sure that I can say, brother.” Shri said softly. “I do not wish for you, or any of our siblings to be sore with her.” The dove knew that it was better not to lie to the herald, but she worried what might become of Uriel if the others found out about her interactions with Lucifer. “We ran into the fallen…” Shri’s voice was quiet. “I was not present while they spoke… but I found Uriel later in tears…” The dove was quick to add something else. “He had not harmed her. She is fine… physically at least.”

But Shri hadn’t expected Uriel to take notice of her absence… or to respond to her brother’s call in this state. Yet the she-wolf was coming closer, at an angle as she looked up to Gabriel and her companion. “Having a talk without me, you two?” She asked with a half-hearted chuckle. She was trying to put on a brave face before Gabriel, but knowing Shri she’d already begun to express her concerns to the herald… But even still Uriel didn’t shy away. She didn’t really believe one of her siblings would hurt her for talking with their brother.

I WAS JUST AN ONLY CHILD OF THE UNIVERSE Anxiety was evident in the rapid beating of Shri's wings. This wasn't going to be good, was it? “I… I am not sure that I can say, brother.” The bird said softly, tentatively. “I do not wish for you, or any of our siblings to be sore with her.” Excuses fell like candy from her beak, drawing the wary attention of the titan. "Shri, you know I will never hurt her." He promised quietly. Waited for her to speak. The dove knew that he was trustworthy, far from the sanctimony of Michael or the cold calculations of Raphael. “We ran into the fallen…” She said. Ah, there it was. The inevitable. “I was not present while they spoke… but I found Uriel later in tears…” Auds would swivel, and snout would snap to focus his blank gaze on the general direction of the bird. “He had not harmed her. She is fine… physically at least.” She attempted to reassure him. Now his alabaster ears tipped back, lips peeling back for a flash of anger. Crunching snow beneath large paws. The familiar aroma of his sister, closing in. “Having a talk without me, you two?” She joked. Gabriel could hear the emptiness in her voice. The herald nosed in her general direction, seeking to nuzzle her affectionately beneath the chin. He would then attempt to smooth his tongue between her ears, doling out his usual levels of motherly tenderness. "That we are, Uri." He rumbled warmly, smiling just a little. He sighed, knowing there was no way to ignore what had occurred here. "I hear you ran into Lucifer, and that you were quite upset afterwards." He said, vocals soft. Hopefully she wouldn't shut down or deny him. The herald was only seeking to help his little sister through this, as it was a quite emotional encounter. He remembered his own first encounter with their Fallen brother. "Did he say something that upset you?" Walk "Talk" Think

Uriel allowed Gabriel to do his usual actions, welcoming his touch and affections once she had slowed to a stop. Her ears were lowered a bit, a sigh passing her lips as he spoke. So she was right. She glanced to where the dove had been, but found she had settled down a short distance from them. As suspected Shri had told of their meeting... And she shivered a little.

"No." Uriel said simply. "But that didn't make facing him any easier, Gabe... It's hard to see him as a monster... As fallen... He's our brother..." Emotion began to overwhelm her again. "He might have sinned in Father's eyes but..." She looked down, furrowing her brow as she remembered Samael's warnings.

"I guess I just feel sorry things have to be this way " A half truth. "I want everyone to be happy again... To stop the fighting. Father... He loves all if us, doesn't he? Why does he have to be different? Is it because our brother has more love to give...?" Her words were quiet, and not once did she call Samael by his fallen name. To do so was damning him... And she still cared for her sibling. 

She pressed into Gabe with a whine. "Brother... I feel so lost... And it hurts. It hurts so much..."

I WAS JUST AN ONLY CHILD OF THE UNIVERSE His sister seemed so dejected, and quieter than usual. When she spoke, she sounded broken. It was unbearable to listen to. "No." There was substance behind the objection, and Gabriel didn't doubt her. "But that didn't make facing him any easier, Gabe... It's hard to see him as a monster... As fallen... He's our brother..." The herald felt his heart breaking for his baby sister, knowing just how deeply she felt all this. While the others might call him soft, he knew that Uriel felt much more deeply than he could ever dream of. "He might have sinned in Father's eyes but..." "But..?" He knew better than to let her speak half truths. Gabriel would never harm another of his siblings again, he had made that vow a long time ago. Of course, Uriel didn't know that for certain. Their Father would destroy him for making such promises. "I guess I just feel sorry things have to be this way." She continued. He listened, waiting for her to finish. The golden male wanted to hear everything she had to say, and understand her feelings. "I want everyone to be happy again... To stop the fighting. Father... He loves all if us, doesn't he? Why does he have to be different? Is it because our brother has more love to give...?" Everything came tumbling out in a rush, and Gabriel had to take a moment to process it all. Her smaller form pressed tightly against him, and he let his haunches drop lightly onto the ground. Tucking his sister under his chin, he made soft shushing sounds to soothe her. "Brother... I feel so lost... And it hurts. It hurts so much..." She all but wept, in a voice softer than a whisper. He sighed heavily, trying his best to wrap her up in his body as much as possible. "I know it hurts, my dear." He crooned softly, eyes sliding closed. "Our Father loves us all, but he set out some rules to be followed, and to let those who break the rules stand without consequence would not make him our Lord." Explaining this hurt him, but he only wanted to make her feel better. He had broken rules, by conversing actively with their Fallen brother. He sinned by nature of existing, for his love of men. "It brings me great sorrow to see how our family has been broken by Lucifer's actions. Eventually, everything will settle down, and our family will be able to rebuild. To love the Fallen is inevitable, as he was your brother and mine. I will never fault you for your love of our Fallen brother, know that, my dear." He said quietly, hoping it would soothe her. He couldn't tell her that he had done far worse than simply talk with Samael, he had comforted him just as he was with Uriel now. What did that make him, if Uriel thought it made her a sinner? Walk "Talk" Think

"I will never call him that, Gabe..." Uriel whispered, pressed into her brother's coat. Her heart clenched in her chest, her mind swimming with doubts and hurt. She still felt uncertain of their Father's rules... Rules that divided them... And yet it was all she had ever known. She felt they were right, that they were law at the same time. Nothing was black and white... But rather a muddied gray that no one was able to see the truth clearly.

"I won't fight." She continued, trying to reassure herself with her brother's words. "Not any of our siblings. I suppose that should be natural... My interest has always been in tending to hurts rather than creating them. I... I believe things can be solved without shedding blood." She drew away from Gabriel, watching him with her green eyes.

"I won't damn him... Even if the others get mad at me for it, Gabriel. I don't damn our brother, his children, the females he wed..." Uriel looked down at the ground. 

"I hope I can trust you, brother..." Her words were sad. She was giving him a lot of information, though just what he made of it she didn't know.

"I... I'm going to look for him again sometime. I'm sure he and his family will need medicine..." She adverted her gaze. 

"Are we traitors to our family...?" She asked suddenly, body quivering. The more nervous and worked up she got the more she spoke. "...I..." She squeezed her eyes tightly closed. "What if our Lord Father made an error? What if he was..." She trailed off, instinctively taking a step back as she swallowed the lump in her throatm