simulsimul | another thing; w/ fafnirs and skeletonenigma; cw for suicide talk

My back seats are perfect. [Skulduggery's tone is affronted.]

[Valkyrie sighs.] And how often do you sit in them again?

Just for that, you're waiting in the car.

[Valkyrie's answer is to push open the door and step out. Skulduggery follows suit, grumbling something inaudible. He settles his disguise on his skull and locks the car behind them. Valkyrie knocks on Ghastly's door.]

[Appropriately, Ghastly opens the door, given a few moments to put down his sewing and get to the door in the first place. There's a faint smile for Valkyrie before he remembers the most recent phone call from Skulduggery.]

Hello, Valkyrie.

What's this about needing a translating artifact in the dead of night?

...and who's your friend?

[An eye for Kratos.]

[Kratos does not smile at Skulduggery's offence -- on the outside, at least. He does move around the car, slower than the other two, and examining their surrounds. It doesn't look a particularly safe area ... Hmm.

[He only turns when the door opens, and inclines his head at the wary gaze he receives.]

Kratos. You're Skulduggery's brother, I take it?

[Yes, that is deliberate.]

Brother-not-brother. [Skulduggery's quick to correct this, especially now that Kratos can apparently speak perfect English.] There was a breakdown in understanding. It's a long story. May we come in?

He's an angel. [Valkyrie's grinning.] An angel from outer space.

Brother-not-brother.

[Repeated blankly. It was that or 'an angel from outer space,' and Ghastly likes to be mildly unpredictable.]

...Ghastly Bespoke.

[Introductions are safe. He nods gingerly to the -- angel from outer space -- and opens his door further.]

Because it'll be more of a headache if I don't know what you're doing.

[... The people here aren't known for their discretion, are they? Kratos shouldn't be surprised. One of them is a skeleton. There isn't much that's less discreet than that. He does not say this, however.]

Thank you.

[Kratos steps inside, gaze sliding to take in the shop, and moving only so far as to let the others in without forcing Mr Bespoke to work to have to keep track of him.]

Does he frequently use that excuse to get you involved?

[Dryly.]

Frequently.

[This said under Skulduggery's breath, with an unmistakeable trace of amusement. And to think they were having trouble communicating their own names less than a day ago.

Valkyrie heads on inside with all the offhand confidence of someone who does this a lot, and could find her way to the back room blindfolded. Skulduggery nods at Ghastly.] You can ignore her. She's utterly wrong.

[You can't be from outer space. That's just silly.]

I did mention that I don't need the artefact anymore, didn't I?

Very frequently.

[That's very considerate of the angel, if he's doing that on purpose. Ghastly shuts the door behind him and motions them through, toward the back room.]

So he's not an angel from outer space, then?

[It would really make Ghastly's day if he wasn't.]

Why did you need the artifact in the first place?

[It really doesn't sound like anyone in this room actually needs translating for. It's a shame he can't snub Skulduggery by not offering him tea any more]

[Kratos bows slightly, obeying the motion to follow Skulduggery and Valkyrie. His gaze continues to take in the surroundings in that subtle way of a warrior, and he stands behind one of the armchairs without sitting.]

When I landed last night I didn't know any of the languages here. Skulduggery assumed he would need the help.

[His face is so blank and he says it so blithely that it's hard to tell whether he means it or not.]

He's... [Skulduggery hesitates.] Presumably, he wasn't born in outer space.

[Kratos then ruins any remaining pretence completely, and Skulduggery sighs.] When you're dealing with aliens, you don't assume they'll learn your language with a few hours and a dictionary. Of course I thought I'd need the help.

Yeah, but he's not just an alien. [Valkyrie's grinning. She always feels better when she's not the one floundering with the least amount of information.] He's an angel.

Yes, but I didn't know that at the time.

[Ghastly honestly cannot tell how serious Kratos is. Last night. Last night. That has to be a new record for learning English.]

Try him on Gaeilge next, why don't you.

[He'd like to see Kratos learn that fast. Ghastly runs a hand back over his scars, thinking. Trying to figure out what the hell he's supposed to do with them, for one.]

Alien angel from outer space. ... Right. You can sit, Kratos. There aren't any threats here, and if there were it'd be the host's responsibility to get up first.

[He hates you, Skulduggery.]

Tea?

I would appreciate it, thank you.

[Kratos is at least cognizant enough not to remark about the lack of needing food or drink, though given Skulduggery it's probably not entirely unusual. He does move around the chair to sit, straight-backed and resting his elbows on his knees.]

Skulduggery inferred we would need your help, and that my presence here may well be cataclysmic. Given some of the decorations I've seen about, I'm inclined to agree.

[Very deadpan.]

[Skulduggery nods, but doesn't take a seat himself.] You should have seen him when he first saw an angel ornament. I thought he was having a stroke.

[Valkyrie laughs.] What, you don't like being exonerated?

If I found myself on a planet where skeletons were used as decorations for a global holiday, I doubt I'd be much happier.

But skeletons are already used as decorations for --

No they're not. [Ahem.] Ghastly, leaving aside how the mortal world at large would react, can you imagine the fights that would break out between Sanctuaries? Ireland's already on shaky ground with everything that's happened recently. The last thing Corrival needs to deal with is explaining the existence of angels.

[Ghastly puts the kettle on. The kettle is easy. He knows what to do with tea. Tea is not angels.]

[He shakes his head at Skulduggery.]

I'm not convinced I'm on solid ground. You're right. No public angels.

[This with a helplessly stern look at Kratos.]

You've already solved the language issue. What... else brings you here?

[Angel. In his house.]

Not particularly, no.

[This is grave and in answer to Valkyrie. Being worshipped is -- well. It's happened. He hadn't liked the idea beforehand and he still doesn't like it after the fact.]

I'm not sure about Skulduggery, but for me -- I command a ...

[Car planet makes his mouth pull up in amusement, but he opts not to use the phrase in light of Mr Bespoke's daze.]

... ship of explorers. This is the first planet where we've found life-forms able to communicate with us, let alone ones that are human, so I came down to investigate. It would be a pity to have to leave before we discover answers, but if our presence is truly so much of a danger, then we can.

[It's not something Skulduggery had brought up, yet, beyond 'chaos and cataclysm'. Perhaps they could use the help. Perhaps the angels would be more harm than not. It's difficult to tell, without Kratos meeting a few more people. ... How odd, though, that a detective and his brother-not-brother should be the people who decide such a thing.

[No less odd than an exiled knight, a half-elven commander and two half-elves from Heimdall being the saviours of Aselia.]

Skulduggery insisted we come to you first and foremost.

[Skulduggery gestures at Kratos, in a listen-to-him-he's-got-this sort of way, and then adds:] They're a danger, but they could also help us. We haven't figured out what to do about Darquesse when she arrives. It might help to have some angels on our side.

[It takes everything Valkyrie has not to flinch.] Sure. Neat and tidy solutions have never blown up in our faces before.

[A deep, slightly pained breath.]

Exactly how many angels are currently in orbit around Earth?

[Ghastly hates that this is a real question that he's having to ask.]

I'm sure it could help. We're just going to have to be very careful about it. Most sorcerers probably won't care as much, but when it comes to everyone else...

[He'd pay actual money to avoid being the one breaking the news. He pours hot water into a teapot and sighs again.]

[Ah, yes. Darquesse. Skulduggery had asked about her, back when Kratos hadn't been able to ask questions in return, but Kratos does recall his tone. These words compound the idea that she's a threat. And then there's his student, the girl with the very large mana, like Mithos ...

[Kratos's thoughtful gaze lingers, for just a moment, on Valkyrie before returning to Ghastly.]

A few hundred thousand, perhaps. I would prefer if they weren't obliged to fight. It would set them back. But if we must, then we can, particularly if it involves those ... evil gods Skulduggery mentioned. Is Darquesse one of them? I wasn't able to ask, before.

[There's a peculiar resonance in the way he says the name, unintentionally there; like he's slower in shaping the sounds than he is with the rest of his words, because these sounds have power, and when he says the word the power becomes audible. Like it did when he spoke Origin's name, for the oath. Like Mithos, like Sheena, when they spoke the names of the spirits in pact or summoning, and a corresponding pulse of mana in response.

[Kratos's brow crinkles, and this time he does not look toward Valkyrie.]

[Valkyrie squints at Kratos. Is it just her imagination, or is his gaze lingering on her a little longer than the others?

Skulduggery notices it too, and says nothing.] They're not all like Kratos. [This, he feels, is important to note for Ghastly. Less important to note is how they all look much more like angels.] There's only one other I've met, and that was on a phone call.

[Valkyrie snaps to attention. It's a movement that's impossible to miss, even when one isn't an observant skeleton. She takes a breath, shudders, and rubs her arms, like she's just a little cold and that's all.]

...No, [says Skulduggery,] Darquesse isn't one of them. Darquesse is someone many of our Sensitives have seen destroying the world sometime in the future. Valkyrie, would you like a coat?

Hm? No. I'm fine.

[There's something about the way Kratos says Darquesse that just unnerves Ghastly.]

[He resists the urge to shudder and stares at the teapot instead. Steep faster. Steep faster.]

The Faceless Ones aren't a... current problem.

[But they have been, and Ghastly is not enough of an optimist to think that's not going to come up again somehow.]

For now. I just want to know what the risks are. I-- assume we're not going to have a few hundred thousand angels descend at once.

[A half-turn, to Skulduggery.]

Not all like Kratos?

Most angels are -- lifeless beings. They had the capacity for emotional reasoning taken from them. That's why we're out here; I'm trying to prompt them into reclaiming their --

[He considers, searching for the right word in this new language. It's not that he doesn't have options. It's that there are, like the radio transmissions, so many.]

Their hearts, I suppose, through the glory of discovery. But even the ones who have begun to do so wouldn't reveal themselves without orders. The one Skulduggery met was my brother, back on Aselia.

[Skulduggery adds to Kratos's answer.] There are two of them back at my house, guarding a teleportation pad. That's all. We won't need to worry about a few hundred thousand angels descending at once. As for other risks, we can't be the only ones who've noticed something is strange. If Kratos's descent didn't raise an alarm anywhere, there are always strong Sensitives having prophetic dreams they choose not to ignore.

[Valkyrie seems to shift out of a trance.] -- wait, did you say a teleportation pad?

And as Kratos's descent was powerful enough to crack the street, I think we can assume someone somewhere noticed it.

Reclaiming their hearts through the glory of discovery. That's... no small order.

[If Ghastly even understands what that means. He's going to focus on this instead of the teleportation pad. Teleporters: not new. Just assume it's a small, flattened teleporter.]

[Sure. That's great.]

--If someone else has noticed in any detail, you'd think we'd have heard yelling about it by now. Loudly. At a distance. Blaming you.

No. It isn't.

[Kratos says it simply, as if it's only to be expected that he, an angel, should be taking on something that isn't a small order.]

It took me most of the night to get to my ship and back. A teleportation pad simplifies egress.

[Someone else's night has been very long. Someone else's night involved being woken and receiving reports from various people, including a couple of Sensitives and Finbar Wrong, who rambled for about ten minutes on pretty sparkly wings that Corrival thought belonged to some kind of exotic magical butterfly, or faery, until the word 'angel' was mentioned.

[Which is why Skulduggery's phone rings. Angrily. Persistently. So does Ghastly's. Both ring at once. Corrival has two hands and ten fingers, after all.

[Kratos pauses. Is there a kind of magic here which can manipulate spacetime too? That seemed ... coincidental.]

Where is your ship? If it's in orbit, wouldn't someone have spotted it?

[Valkyrie, who hasn't seen Kratos's wings, doesn't yet understand how fast he can traverse distance. Skulduggery's about to answer her when his phone rings. Seconds later, so does Ghastly's.]

That's odd. Why is he calling you? Did you become one of the Elders when I wasn't looking? [Skulduggery takes his phone out as he says this, and his next words are for Corrival, who he knows is the caller without needing the caller ID.] Hello, Grand Mage. What have you heard?

another thing; w/ fafnirs and skeletonenigma; cw for suicide talk

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