Anael

[offthebeatenpath]

Flying, Em discovered, hadn't lost any of its thrill in the year she'd gone without. It felt every bit as wonderful and natural as it had in Duninnean, only now there was a hint of anxiety too, that she might be seen. She'd flown a few times since Halloween and the new understanding of her powers, but only at night, and usually further out from the city center, over quiet neighborhoods or wooded areas where there would be fewer people to see.

Autumn nights in England weren't exactly warm at ground level, let alone in the air, but she'd found if she bundled up, the warmth of her real clothes was just as real no matter what the projection over herself appeared to wear. So she could enjoy her flights without being too cold on her way back to the squat. Tonight she 'wore' a long, white dress trimmed in gold that matched the golden angel wings lifting her into the sky. The wings were the strangest thing, mostly because they didn't feel strange at all, as much an extension of her thought as they would be on her Knight of Swords. She wanted to fly, so they beat and she flew.

The moon was just past full, making it all the more likely someone could see her, but Em wanted to clear her head, and flying worked even better than Askani meditations sometimes. She could soar on the wind, looking down over the city, heart-free and head-quiet, no distractions, and just be for awhile.

Comments

[whispersoflove]

"It's so lovely, isn't it," Anael agreed with a warm, fond smile. There was nothing quite like flying, if you asked him, and this was easy, simple flying, it wasn't playing with the winds up where it was so cold he usually came back down a little frosty.

[offthebeatenpath]

"There's nothing like it," she agreed. One more thing being brought here had taken from her - the ability to do this whenever she wanted, without fear of who might see and not understand.

[whispersoflove]

Anael smiled when she expressed his exact sentiment, and he squeezed her hand in his. "Let me know if you grow cold." He could help, between the winds and his Grace.

[offthebeatenpath]

That just gave Em more questions, but she wasn't sure she should ask. Yet, at least. "Thanks. I'm okay for now. I'm dressed more warmly than I look."

[whispersoflove]

"You'll have to explain," Anael gently requested, but he didn't mean right now. Right now, he was happy to focus on the sensations that came with flying, and the buildings they were flying over.

[offthebeatenpath]

He was an angel. Em not only could explain, she would. But maybe later. When she wasn't savoring the feel of riding the wind, and searching the city below for the bits that looked familiar.

[whispersoflove]

Anael was content to remain silent as they flew - until he spotted the familiar market below. "We're over Camden. Where does your friend live?"

[offthebeatenpath]

Using the market as a starting point, Em found another couple of points she recognized, and used them to orient herself. "Um... down there... I think," she decided, picturing the building roof and how it should look from ground level.

[whispersoflove]

Anael looked around, and found a nice roof across from the building in question, where they could land and sit for a minute. He flew them over there, landing in an easy crouch and looking at the opposite windows. "Which floor?"

[offthebeatenpath]

When they landed, Em released hold of her power, the wings and gown disappearing as the color returned to her eyes, leaving her looking like any other young woman in coat, scarf, and gloves. "There," she said, pointing as she caught a glimpse through the window of Dutch at her computer. "On the, uh, third floor. She looks busy."

[whispersoflove]

Anael turned his gaze the way she was pointing, and peered at a young woman with blonde and black hair, busy on a computer. "She's beautiful," he remarked, crouching where he was, wings arranging themselves naturally in his back, a hint that he was more than a little used to this posture.

[offthebeatenpath]

Sitting down, Em pulled her knees up to her chest, arms wrapped around them. "Yeah, she is," Em agreed, her voice soft. She didn't mean to and had no idea why she added, "And I have no idea why she... wants to be with me."

[whispersoflove]

"You're beautiful as well," Anael replied, his soft smile holding a hint of melancholy. "And less sad than you used to be."

[offthebeatenpath]

Em started to shake her head; she knew she wasn't beautiful the way some people were. "They say time heals all wounds. But I think, I've finally resigned myself to my fate. Is that the same as less sad?"

[whispersoflove]

"Less sad is the way your love feels," Anael answered honestly, drawing his gaze away from her friend to turn his head and look at her. "I can feel it."

[offthebeatenpath]

Em rested a cheek on her knee, her head turned to look at Hani- Anael. Some kind of empathic understanding, got it. He was less in-your-face about it than Dani could be, if she believed Em needed a clue-by-four. "I like her. Maybe a lot, in time. We're just getting to know each other. But..." She sighed, her thoughts and her heart going to Pyro.

[whispersoflove]

"You'll never love anyone like you love him," Anael told her gently. "That's not a bad thing."

[offthebeatenpath]

"No, I won't. I wouldn't want to. The way I love him, that's his." It couldn't be anyone else's. "But... I feel like I'm cheating, betraying him. That I've given up, accepting I'll never go home again."

[whispersoflove]

"That's how you feel," Anael stated, a quiet prod. She knew better.

[offthebeatenpath]

"I've always had kind of a warped relationship with guilt." Just saying it like that made her heart twist, for all the times she and Pyro had to remind themselves and each other of the fact. "And I have given up hope." Hope that had been chewing up her insides for months.

"He never had anybody who loved him and only him, and I do. And he loves me, as impossible as that is to believe, he does, and I know it."

[whispersoflove]

It wasn't impossible to believe at all; it was strong and vibrant and as full of life as it had been while hope was still tearing her apart. But now guilt was tearing her apart, and Anael felt sorry for her. He held a hand out to her, an offer for physical comfort if she wanted it.

[offthebeatenpath]

As far as personal space went, Em had a much larger bubble than most people she met, and she only let a few people in, even though it left her hungry for simple physical contact a lot of the time. But there was something about Anael, maybe an angel thing, maybe just him, and she didn't pause before putting her hand in his, taking the comfort while she could have it.

"Moving on isn't fair to him," she continued after a bit. "But not moving on isn't fair to me, or to anyone else I could have feelings for." Her gaze darted to Dutch's window, where she could still be seen on the computer. More quietly, "And I can't even tell her why."

[whispersoflove]

"Why not?" Anael asked with a small frown, his hand warm and steady around Emma's.

[offthebeatenpath]

"She'll think I'm crazy? Or making it up because I don't want to be with her? Or that it's impossible?" Em closed her eyes, a soft sigh slipping free. "It is impossible, if you ask physics, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen."

[whispersoflove]

Anael did not know what had happened exactly, but he could still offer some advice. "You can tell her, without giving her all the details," Anael suggested gently. "I'm Anael, an angel of God, and I'm Hani, a student of God. Both are true."