{OOC} History
For all of the angels whose names humans knew and recognized, there were many, many more whose names went unsung. Meirael was one of them. There were those who fought and those who spread word, there were those who sang, those who reaped, and those who guided souls to heaven. Meirael was none of those. She was a simple healer, bringing God's warmth and grace and love to those who needed it the most. She went where she was needed, helping the ill get through that one more night so they could begin to heal on their own once more, or there to help the righteous stand on their own so they could fight another day.
When humanity fell prey to the dread disease of the Black Plague, she did what she could and what she dared. Something so momentous had to have a reason and she was loathe to touch without guidance, but this enraged the people who came to her, knowing she could give them healing but that she didn't. Her only saving grace was that only an angel could kill another angel, but she was badly beaten when she was captured and enslaved, without even a drop of strength to try to defend herself or escape.
She was often underestimated. She was no impressive fighter with a great, dark wingspan. She was no lithe beauty with pure white wings. As such, she changed hands often as the humans found bigger, better, more beautiful angels for their collections. What she was, though, was easily harmed. While she often questioned, she soon learned to keep enough of her healing abilities inside, to keep herself standing.
By the time she was bought by James Hotchner, she'd seen the worst of the world. The frigid tundra high in Russia, the scorching heat of the Arabian deserts, the horrors of the tornadoes of the American midwest - though at least then she had the comfort of an understanding master, a country doctor who appreciated her help in healing what he couldn't treat. But James Hotchner was a different matter. Always so angry, he would beat not only her but his wife and his children and none did anything against him until one day, as she was shielding young Sean from his father's wrath, the elder son, Aaron, stood between her and his father's belt.
While she continued to follow her master's orders, attempting to heal him of the cancer that was taking over his body, she began to wonder what her future would be. A human had, for once, interceded for her. It gave her a touch of hope that had been faltering for so long. As ordered, though, she gave all she could in effort to reverse the course of James Hotchner's cancer, but in the end, there was nothing she could do. He passed away in great pain, and was soon followed by his wife.
The choice was then given to her: Meirael could go with either Sean or Aaron. She chose Aaron. Not out of dislike toward Sean but out of loyalty.
His job was difficult and out of respect for her and the pain he'd seen his father put her through, she went with him from place to place, seeing crime scene after crime scene, but there were times where she could even help. When a victim was on the verge of death, she could sometimes intercede and lend a touch of her strength, to heal them just enough that when the paramedics arrived, the human would live. She hated seeing all that suffering, but she cherished the opportunity to help. When she was given to Haley and Jack at their separation, she still wondered if there would be a chance for her to aid people that way again.
The opportunity came en force when Aaron ran afoul of George Foyet. Stabbed so many times, the least Meirael could do was heal him when they visited him in the hospital - her, his ex-wife, and his son. It was the most in-depth healing she'd done in decades, but it left Aaron able to go home instead of deal with hospital living for weeks or more, but it wasn't the last time she would face Foyet's actions.
Choosing between saving Haley or Jack was the most difficult choice she'd ever had to make. She was no fighter. But when she heard Aaron's voice over the phone, telling Jack to work the case with him - to hide as he'd once hidden just for fun - she knew the choice had been made for her. She went with Jack, upstairs, but separated from him as he went into the room that had been his father's office. She went into the bedroom and waited, cringing after the gunshots that ended Haley's life.
There, she stood in the open, knowing she could be hurt, but she also knew she couldn't die. Even when Foyet stabbed her, burying the blade in her stomach, she faced him with determination. Only a man with a deep wound in his mind could do such things, she knew, so she pressed her hands against his face and she focused herself. She prayed and she tried to heal those broken thoughts but, selfishly, not his injured body. He was still weak in some ways and she needed those ways to remain intact. It would give her, or whomever came to save Jack, a chance.
How long she spent holding him that way, caught still by the attempt to mend what was shattered, she wasn't sure, but then Aaron was there. She watched as he and Foyet struggled from the bedroom, and while she could hear him beating Foyet downstairs, she went and found Jack, protecting him with her body.
She'll never know if what she did healed any of Foyet's mental scars. He died too soon after for her to find out.
Now she lives with Aaron and Jack in the small house Aaron bought after selling the other. Both she and Jack go to crime scenes from time to time, but her job there is to keep Jack from seeing too much of the brutality life can hold. She knows she's only kept as a slave because freedom is too big a risk. But she also trusts that when the risk is no more, she'll see freedom again.
When humanity fell prey to the dread disease of the Black Plague, she did what she could and what she dared. Something so momentous had to have a reason and she was loathe to touch without guidance, but this enraged the people who came to her, knowing she could give them healing but that she didn't. Her only saving grace was that only an angel could kill another angel, but she was badly beaten when she was captured and enslaved, without even a drop of strength to try to defend herself or escape.
She was often underestimated. She was no impressive fighter with a great, dark wingspan. She was no lithe beauty with pure white wings. As such, she changed hands often as the humans found bigger, better, more beautiful angels for their collections. What she was, though, was easily harmed. While she often questioned, she soon learned to keep enough of her healing abilities inside, to keep herself standing.
By the time she was bought by James Hotchner, she'd seen the worst of the world. The frigid tundra high in Russia, the scorching heat of the Arabian deserts, the horrors of the tornadoes of the American midwest - though at least then she had the comfort of an understanding master, a country doctor who appreciated her help in healing what he couldn't treat. But James Hotchner was a different matter. Always so angry, he would beat not only her but his wife and his children and none did anything against him until one day, as she was shielding young Sean from his father's wrath, the elder son, Aaron, stood between her and his father's belt.
While she continued to follow her master's orders, attempting to heal him of the cancer that was taking over his body, she began to wonder what her future would be. A human had, for once, interceded for her. It gave her a touch of hope that had been faltering for so long. As ordered, though, she gave all she could in effort to reverse the course of James Hotchner's cancer, but in the end, there was nothing she could do. He passed away in great pain, and was soon followed by his wife.
The choice was then given to her: Meirael could go with either Sean or Aaron. She chose Aaron. Not out of dislike toward Sean but out of loyalty.
His job was difficult and out of respect for her and the pain he'd seen his father put her through, she went with him from place to place, seeing crime scene after crime scene, but there were times where she could even help. When a victim was on the verge of death, she could sometimes intercede and lend a touch of her strength, to heal them just enough that when the paramedics arrived, the human would live. She hated seeing all that suffering, but she cherished the opportunity to help. When she was given to Haley and Jack at their separation, she still wondered if there would be a chance for her to aid people that way again.
The opportunity came en force when Aaron ran afoul of George Foyet. Stabbed so many times, the least Meirael could do was heal him when they visited him in the hospital - her, his ex-wife, and his son. It was the most in-depth healing she'd done in decades, but it left Aaron able to go home instead of deal with hospital living for weeks or more, but it wasn't the last time she would face Foyet's actions.
Choosing between saving Haley or Jack was the most difficult choice she'd ever had to make. She was no fighter. But when she heard Aaron's voice over the phone, telling Jack to work the case with him - to hide as he'd once hidden just for fun - she knew the choice had been made for her. She went with Jack, upstairs, but separated from him as he went into the room that had been his father's office. She went into the bedroom and waited, cringing after the gunshots that ended Haley's life.
There, she stood in the open, knowing she could be hurt, but she also knew she couldn't die. Even when Foyet stabbed her, burying the blade in her stomach, she faced him with determination. Only a man with a deep wound in his mind could do such things, she knew, so she pressed her hands against his face and she focused herself. She prayed and she tried to heal those broken thoughts but, selfishly, not his injured body. He was still weak in some ways and she needed those ways to remain intact. It would give her, or whomever came to save Jack, a chance.
How long she spent holding him that way, caught still by the attempt to mend what was shattered, she wasn't sure, but then Aaron was there. She watched as he and Foyet struggled from the bedroom, and while she could hear him beating Foyet downstairs, she went and found Jack, protecting him with her body.
She'll never know if what she did healed any of Foyet's mental scars. He died too soon after for her to find out.
Now she lives with Aaron and Jack in the small house Aaron bought after selling the other. Both she and Jack go to crime scenes from time to time, but her job there is to keep Jack from seeing too much of the brutality life can hold. She knows she's only kept as a slave because freedom is too big a risk. But she also trusts that when the risk is no more, she'll see freedom again.