He returned to the godless lands and felt...Fury and rage were words too small for what he felt. His anger filled him like a fire, and for moths he had felt nothing but the all consuming hate that carried him now. He had followed the scent of his brother and that… creature’s offspring to the cold north where he now waited, jaws clenched to be received. He recalled bitterly his last meeting with Gabriel, how he had warned them, told him and Uriel not to trust him. Had they listened?! No! They were far too convinced of the vile serpent’s innocence, and look at what had happened. Pulling his lip back from his fangs he stood and sucked in as much air as he could. “GABRIEL!” he bellowed, scattering birds into flight, his booming voice echoing through the trees and sending animals fleeing for miles. If he fled or even though of trying to escape he would run him down and slaughter anyone who tried to stop him. Madness consumed him without His light to guide him to solace, his heart hammered furiously as the need for blood consumed him. Speaking  Thinking You

FEAR NO EVIL The harried whispers of feathers brushing against one another turned to a cacophony of violent wing beats as birds took explosively to the air. His name echoed over the horizon, bellowed in rage by a brother long scorned. -he gnashed his terrible teeth, and he roared his terrible roar- Pale auds pressed tight to his skull, the herald dared not move for fear his heart may burst from his chest. Raphael. His beloved brother sought him in fury and anguish. Would he tear his retribution from Gabriel's chest, as Michael had torn it from his pliant visage? The icy rush of fear raced up his limbs, coalescing in his spine until it gathered neatly into his lungs. Breath came in short gasps through aching ribs. It was all his fault. Though Samael had been the one to rend His head from His shoulders, each and every one of them knew if was, in fact, Gabriel's doing. In the end, he had been the driving force in so much of Samael's defiance. Had he coddled him during his youth? What of the rampant tales of adventure and grandeur? Perhaps he had been to forthcoming with affection and reassurance. Whatever the cause, in the end, Gabriel had allowed this. The golden titan lifted his head. Narrow shoulders would square against the eminent brutality that Raphael would rain down upon him. Heavenly wrath would smite him here and now. Before he could do right by the Lord. It was not hard to track down his brother. Leaden silence had fallen like a blanket over the lands for miles all around. All that was needed was to arrive at the epicentre. Thus, the herald stood before the light bringer. Empty gaze stared out from deadened sockets, perfect marbles of sea foam hardened against predictable violence. Didn't it always end this way? speech

A snarl ripped through him as his brother approached, his fur bristled to make the behemoth larger than he already was. “What have youdone ?!” He spat, keeping his distance from the ochre male out of his own fear for what he might do if he came any closer. “I warned you! I told you!” He rumbled furiously “Look at what he has done because you refused to listen to me!” His voice rose as the entirety of the situation came to him with each word. Anger coursed through him until white hot fury blinded him, hot breath escaped him in puffs visible in the chill air of the north. His muscles tensed as he felt the drive to charge forward, sink his jaws into his flesh, rip him apart and… And… As his eyes lingered over the disfiguring scars on his brother’s face his anger began to dissipate. Michael, The Sword of His Glory had done that to Gabriel, and as realization of what had driven him to forgive Lucifer dawned on him his anger began to fade. He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “All is lost.” He rumbled and then hung his head. He looked back at his brother, his eyes cold with resolve but absent of mindless fury.  “ Have you signed a covenant with the serpent?” He asked interrogatingly.  “Do you stand by him still after what he’s done?” He needed an answer, needed to know that his brother was not truly gone, lost from the world and doomed to damnation. He watched his brother, hoping  against hope, but bracing himself for the devastation of betrayal. Speaking  Thinking You

FEAR NO EVIL A snarl pierced his eardrums, scraping and clawing at his auds the entire way down. "What have you done?!" his brother demanded, vocals twisted by the rage burning in his chest. The herald couldn't form the words upon his tongue to explain. There was so much to say, and his brother wouldn't want to hear any of it. "I warned you! I told you!" he roared, each word raising a violent ringing in his sensitive ears. He was right, of course. On all counts. Raphael had warned him of Samael's nature, and that he would bring destruction to their lives. Which he had. The Lord was slain, and the world reeled with the loss of Him. “Look at what he has done because you refused to listen to me!” He saw it clearly now, the foolishness of his actions. With Raphael here once more, standing before him, a beacon of light found its way into his heart. "It was not refusal, brother." He whispered, auds low against his skull. "It was love, and sentiment. I am blind in more ways than one," his skull tilted to incline his snout away from Raphael's wrath. "I see only the sweet boy that I raised alongside his siblings, and felt only love in my heart. After what we'd done, how could I not be ashamed for commiting atrocities in His name to a boy I had loved so?" Why was he speaking? Raphael cared not for his deflections or excuses. Like Michael had, once, there was ire dripping from his jaws. The thought returned again, that Raphael might choose to rend his sins into his flesh, just like Michael. The harsh sound of breath wheezing past parched lips met his ears. Another chapter of his verbal onslaught? “All is lost.” Raphael spoke mournfully, his previous rage tempered into something softer. “Have you signed a covenant with the serpent?” he asked, sonorous vocals reverberating through Gabriel's skull. The herald shook his head weakly. "I was given many an opportunity, but I never accepted. It felt.." the golden titan searched for the right words. To give voice to the sensation that had nagged at the back of his mind each time Samael had offered him kindness and love. "inappropriate." On whose part, exactly, he left out. “Do you stand by him still after what he’s done?” Raphael continued in his harsh tone, and the herald could feel his eyes boring into his pelt. Gabriel hesitated. He had lingered on the fringes of his brother's family group, but he didn't fit with them. Not anymore. Not after this. With Father's death a fresh wound, he couldn't bring himself to enjoy the spoils of patricide. "I don't think I can, brother. To lose His light leaves me aimless, without guidance." he murmured in reply, pointing his snout in the direction from which Raphael's voice sounded. "Why did this have to happen?" he pleaded, auds drooping, brows drawn. speech

As Gabriel answered he felt overcome with relief. He was not lost. Raphael's features softened considerably as he approached his brother in calm strides, making a note to grind his paws in the slush so his brother could hear his approach. “You have always been a gentle soul.” He said, his tone understanding, a complete change from the hatred that had rippled through him moments before. “Even now, the vile demon’s cunning and lies seek to tear us apart. Had I not been so righteous of heart he may have tempted me to the same madness he placed on Michael. “ He stopped, less than a foot away from his brother, and reached out to nose at his neck affectionately. “Even with the actions of the hell master, I believe this too is part of His plan.” Raphel spoke softly, his deep voice like a quelling storm. “He has always sent us tests of our faith, with these we face the final test, and must discover his light within ourselves.” He closed his eyes, letting the wind carry his fur. “He watches us now eternally, we have a duty to see that his memory and light does not fade from this world thanks to the actions of a heathen snake.” Hesitantly he lapped comfortingly at his brother’s forehead. “He targeted you because you are gentle and easily swayed to his lies.” He explained. “I failed to protect you from him once, but I will not fail again, I swear it upon His name.” Speaking Thinking You

FEAR NO EVIL Shh, shh, shh, Raphael's light footfalls fell upon the melting snow. Approaching. Did he seek to land his ire upon Gabriel, as he had so feared? Svelte form tensed, awaiting the first blow's fall. “You have always been a gentle soul.” his brother finally murmured, the thunderous boom that had previously tumbled thoughtlessly from his jaws even softer than before. “Even now, the vile demon’s cunning and lies seek to tear us apart. Had I not been so righteous of heart he may have tempted me to the same madness he placed on Michael." the honesty with which the light bringer spoke warmed Gabriel, and the tension dared ebb from his muscles. Soft breaths ruffled the fur along the side of his neck moments before Raphael's cold nose met with his flesh. The tender ministrations were a blessing upon his tormented soul. “Even with the actions of the hell master, I believe this too is part of His plan.” Raphael spoke very softly into the fur of his neck. Could it be? Had their Father ascended to his rightful place on high? “He has always sent us tests of our faith, with these we face the final test, and must discover His light within ourselves.” the wash of hot breath over his skin and fur brought with it the comfort of family that he missed so deeply. “He watches us now eternally, we have a duty to see that His memory and light does not fade from this world thanks to the actions of a heathen snake.” it still struck a chord within the herald to hear Samael spoken of so cruelly, even though his actions betrayed the sins that he wore so readily. As he had mentioned, he loved his Fallen brother, no matter what. Those feather soft breaths drifted up the slope of his neck, billowing over the short hairs of his forehead. Eyelids fluttered closed as Raphael offered a few gentle swipes of his tongue over the space between his brows. “He targeted you because you are gentle and easily swayed to his lies.” he explained quietly. It made sense. The love that the herald held in his heart couldn't be swayed by sin or hellfire, as he had displayed over the years. Had Samael really taken advantage of him? “I failed to protect you from him once, but I will not fail again, I swear it upon His name.” A soft breath huffed past inky lips. Was that a laugh? Hard to say. "I may be a gullible fool, brother, but I am no lamb to shephed anymore. From now on, we shall work together to spread the gospel and His good will across this land. Doesn't that sound wondrous?" he offered quietly, lashes flickering apart as his sightless gaze was revealed once more to the open air. He returned an affectionate nibble to the area around his brother's throat, bared as it was from his affections. speech

“it does, my brother.” He said in a low but comforting purr. He dropped his chin onto his brothers neck and gave a slow sigh as the last of his anger faded. He could still scent the faint scent of the heathen on his brother’s fur, yet it was mingled with another scent and noticeably female. His eyes closed slowly; Gabriel had mentioned the vile creature had spawned hadn’t he? “Let us leave this place and travel south where the weather is fair. Leave Lucifer’s brood behind and together we will carry out our mission to save this world and spread our Father’s glory.” He spoke softly against his brother’s fur, knowing that it would take more than a few sweet words to sway his brother from abandoning the whelps The Lord of Flies had dropped on him. He was prepared to wait and coax him as much as he could until he was ready to carry on his new life with a new purpose. Speaking Thinking You

The sword swept through the woods like a bat out of hell. His anger had been riled. Dual colored eyes had landed on the sight of the father slain with none other than the demons scent upon the scene. The heathen land had been the death of their ways. Everything they knew was now destroyed. Gabriel, Raphael and those that were of loyal blood would need to band together. Though gabriel had made it clear where his loyalties lay. He slept in the serpents bed, allowed him to poison the land.

The sound of Raphael's anger had drawn him here, reverberating through the woods. He had seen some of the serpents spawn from a distance, they would hunt them together.

As he came upon the scene his hackles were raised in his own anger. He came upon the scene and was less than pleased. Raphael coddled Gabriel like a babe. "Do you not blame him brother? Do you not know he needs the devil and feeds him strength? The father is dead because he would not listen to reason, when I cleansed him he was to stay away from Lucifer, yet the demon's scent clings upon him still." his paws stopped behind Raphael. His eyes bore into gabriel angrily. His tail swayed at his ankles as he fought to keep the neutral expression upon his face, though anger was winning out.

The words his brother said had been heard but he wanted to hear Raphael's explanation for not smiting the reason the lord had been slain.