Fic: A History of Heaven (Gabriel/Various Angels, PG-13 for most) 9/59
For full notes and other chapters, please see the Masterpost.
Notes: In this story, before Lucifer fell, his name was Sammael. He was not Lucifer in Heaven.
There is one other canon character operating under an OC name, but I wish for his identity to remain unknown.
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Chapter word count: 2,581
Chapter Summary: God was serious when he said you can’t be on Earth without a vessel. Gabriel needs to figure out what he meant by that.
CHAPTER 9:
First Vessel
Twenty-four hours after God made His edict about angels on Earth needing vessels, a thunderous crack of displaced air shook Heaven’s foundations. Every last angel on Earth was back in the celestial plane, all at once.
Gabriel nearly fell out of the sky when three Cherubim materialized on top of him. He managed to twist and catch the much younger angels in his wings before they too plummeted to the ground below. Two angels slowly crashed into Cariel, unable to fly up fast enough to check their own fall. Michael and Sammael had been sparring together when a Seraph appeared between them, and the poor angel would have lost his head if he hadn’t promptly fallen on his back. Barachiel crashed onto Raphael’s desk, and it was only the Seraph’s good nature and fervent apologies that kept the Archangel from exploding into a rage at one of Gabriel’s choir.
When the angels settled, it was soon apparent what had happened. None of the angels on Earth had figured out how to take a vessel in the time limit God had provided, and no angel could return to Earth for at least twenty-four hours after being banished from it. God was taking this rule very seriously, enforcing it automatically instead of relying on the angels to police the planet for Him.
That had been three months ago. The angels were no closer to taking vessels than they were on the first day. Most of the angels had given up, figuring that twenty-four hours was more than enough time to do their duties, but Gabriel’s choir was seriously inconvenienced by this new rule. Even Barachiel, perhaps the most cheerful angel in existence, was showing signs of annoyance, and the less-pleasant angels like Zachariah were absolutely unbearable. Cariel was the only one of Gabriel’s angels who didn’t mind the time limits, as he was still banned from visiting Earth at all.
Gabriel made Cariel deal with Zachariah.
Gabriel had tried praying for guidance, taking time whenever he had it to find some solitude and seek revelation. God had not answered. He had even visited the Garden, and while he had found Joshua, the Cherub had not been able to give any advice.
“There has to be a way,” Gabriel muttered, stalking through some trees on Earth. He had felt drawn to this forest, but it wasn't helping him take a vessel. “Father wouldn’t have said we could if we actually couldn’t!” He scooped up a boulder and threw it in his frustration, wincing as it snapped a sapling. “Sorry,” he muttered, healing the baby tree with a wave of his hand.
“Sorry?”
Gabriel whirled about, finding himself staring down at a human. A very much alive human, staring up at him with huge blue eyes that were neither melting nor burning. He swore violently in Enochian, cloaking his grace from the human’s perception before he seared those eyes from its skull.
The human blinked and frowned, reaching up to rub at his eyes. Gabriel was invisible to him now, but the human still acted like he was there. “Hello?” he called, waving his hands in front of him, trying to reach out to Gabriel.
“Please go away,” Gabriel grumbled, stepping back and drawing his wings in tight. “I’m trying to be upset.” He winced as he realized he said that out loud, a sure way to destroy a human’s eardrums.
This human showed no signs of pain. He swiveled his head from side to side, a look of concentration on his face. “I know you’re still here. I can hear you.”
That was not how a human was supposed to react. By all means, this man should have been huddled on the ground, screaming in agony and clutching at his eyes and ears, if he hadn’t already died from being in Gabriel’s presence. The angel cocked his head to the side and stepped closer to the human, his frustration gone for the moment. In its place was a fascinated curiosity.
Gabriel liked to consider himself a bit of an expert on humans. As far as the Archangels went, he knew the most. Some of his choir might know more, but even counting them his knowledge was extensive. This human, he could tell from a careful study, was a bit smaller than the average adult male. He was middle-aged, perhaps about twenty or twenty-five years old. Probably earlier than that-he had a bit of facial hair, but thin and sparse. New. It dusted his pale cheeks, which were covered in freckles. The man’s eyes were the same pale blue as the morning sky, set over a nose that turned up at the end and a wide, wide mouth. He had curly copper-colored hair that was tied back from his face with a strip of hide, and he was covered from his neck to his feet with similar animal skins. His hands were bare, with more of those freckles across the back. One was curled around a wooden bow. A stone knife hung from his belt, and stone-tipped arrows were in a quiver slung over his back.
All in all, he wasn’t that unusual of a human for this area. The hair color was a bit odd, but he was hardly the only red-headed human. His only truly defining feature was his complete lack of injury from Gabriel’s unfiltered grace.
“You can hear me?” Gabriel risked asking, keeping his voice a whisper just in case. The man cocked his head to the side and grinned.
“Knew you were still here. What are you? Are you a god?”
“I… am a messenger.” God did not want the humans exposed to the story of Heaven yet. He felt they were still so young, so inexperienced. Angels had been instructed to keep their stories to themselves for now, to wait for His word before sharing His Word. “My name is Gabriel.”
“Gabriel,” the human repeated. Gabriel felt no stroke of power when the human spoke his name, unlike when his brothers did, but he did feel a thrill of selfish pleasure race along his wings. A human knew his name! He was speaking with a human, the very first angel to ever do so! “I’m called Vindonnus.”
“Vindonnus.” Gabriel stepped even closer, shrinking his presence so he was closer in size to the human. He reached out, still invisible, and touched his hand to Vindonnus’ cheek. The human startled, stepping back.
“Was that you?”
“Yes. Did I scare you?”
“I can’t see you.” Vindonnus reached up, waving his hand through Gabriel’s arm unintentionally. The angel bit back a laugh at the gesture. “I saw you before. That light…”
“You saw the light?”
“Yes.”
“Did it hurt?” Gabriel leaned in close again, peering intently at those blue eyes. Vindonnus didn’t appear injured. Gabriel couldn't sense any damage to this man's body.
The human shook his head. “It didn't hurt at all. Was it supposed to?”
“Yes, actually,” Gabriel stepped back, flexing his wings. “Every human who has ever seen the light of an… of a messenger has been blinded.”
“Not me,” Vindonnus said with a grin. “Does that make me special?”
“You have no idea.” Gabriel cocked his head to the side, contemplating this human. “Vindonnus… may I try something?”
“You are the god-messenger,” Vindonnus said, as if that gave Gabriel permission.
“I'm going to show you the light again.” Gabriel brushed his fingers over Vindonnus' eyes. “If it starts to hurt, close your eyes immediately and tell me. Do you understand?”
Vindonnus nodded. He flexed his fingers over the smooth wood of his bow and grinned vaguely in Gabriel's direction.
Here goes nothing, Gabriel thought to himself, gingerly releasing his hold on his grace. As his presence unfurled, Vindonnus blinked in the brilliant glow, but the man did not close his eyes for long. His mouth dropped open, his bow dropped from his fingers, and his knees dropped to the ground.
“You are…!”
The man reached for Gabriel, and Gabriel reached back, unfurling his wings as his fingers brushed Vindonnus'. He wrapped his hand around the human's, hardening his grace so the human had something solid to touch, and Vindonnus suddenly gripped tight, squeezing. His hold was weaker than a new fledgling's, but Gabriel laughed in delight. He was touching a human! A man who was looking directly at him, speaking with him, sharing his presence without boiling or exploding. Was this what Father meant when He said humans and angels were meant to work together?
“You shine like the sun,” Vindonnus whispered, his voice as reverent as the awe in his eyes. “You burn like a fire. You are… you are… you are magnificent! And you say you are not a god!?”
“I serve God. I do not presume to be Him.” Gabriel concentrated on dimming his grace without concealing it entirely. When Vindonnus stopped blinking so rapidly, Gabriel held himself in check. The man's reverence was slowly becoming supplanted by a curiosity Gabriel could empathize with. His blue eyes roved over Gabriel's form. What must he look like to this human, a being of light and celestial intent?
“What is on your back?” Vindonnus asked, pointing.
Gabriel twisted slightly to look, flexing his wings. “My wings?”
“You have wings? Like a bird? Can you fly?”
So many questions! Gabriel had to laugh again, gently tugging Vindonnus' hand to pull him to his feet again. He had to be very careful with this human. His strength was much greater than the human body could endure. “Yes, wings, like a bird. And yes, I can fly, though I won't. Not here. Too many humans around. They might get hurt.”
“I'm not hurt.” Vindonnus stepped in close to Gabriel, watching the angel warily. He reached a hand toward Gabriel's wings but waited for Gabriel to nod approval before laying his fingers flat against Gabriel's largest left wing.
Gabriel shivered at the touch, his wing trembling as he felt a jolt of something. Like an electric spark, it leapt from Vindonnus' hand through his feathers, racing through his grace to fizz against his spirit below. “Wow,” he said, at the same time Vindonnus did, and then they both laughed and looked away.
“Is this… new for you too?” Vindonnus asked. “Meeting a human? You said you've blinded all the others?”
“Not me personally!” Gabriel was quick to reassure Vindonnus. “My brothers. But… yes. This is the first time I've ever spoken with a human.”
“I've never met a god-messenger before,” Vindonnus said, redundantly, in Gabriel's mind. “Do you have a message for me?”
“Er… no. No, not really. I was just… here.” Gabriel flexed his wings and tucked them back, not sure if he wanted Vindonnus to touch them again just yet. “You came to me, remember?”
“Do you live in the forest?” Vindonnus walked around Gabriel, coming to stop in front of him. He was curious, yes, but his eyes still shown with awe at the celestial being before him.
Gabriel shook his head. “I live… with my Father. In Paradise.” He wasn’t positive what Vindonnus believed, but just about every human had some idea of a perfect afterlife. It was close enough to Heaven for the human to understand. “I’m just visiting the forest.”
“You wanted to be upset. That’s what you said earlier.”
“Yes.” Now that Vindonnus was standing still again, Gabriel circled around him. He didn’t need to, but it made the man grin to see his gestures repeated. “How are you understanding me? I’m not speaking your language.”
“You haven’t said anything not in my language.”
“I’m speaking in my language,” Gabriel argued. He shifted his thoughts into Vindonnus’ language and spoke again. “Now I’m speaking in yours.”
“They sound the same to me.”
Maybe it was a fluke of Vindonnus’ nature, that he could understand the language of angels, just like he could stand in Gabriel’s presence without any pain. Maybe Vindonnus was just special, utterly special. Maybe Vindonnus was meant to be a vessel.
“Vindonnus?” Gabriel reached out again, touching Vindonnus’ red curls, pushing a stray one out of his face. “Can I try something else?”
“You are the god-messenger,” Vindonnus answered with a grin. “What are you going to try this time?”
“My Father said an-messengers can take vessels to walk among humans without hurting them. I already don’t hurt you. Can I try to take you as my vessel?”
“Will you give me back?”
“Yes,” Gabriel answered. If I can, he added to himself.
Vindonnus nodded, the trust evident in his pale eyes. “I would like to be your vessel, yes.”
At the man’s Yes, the air around him shimmered, a golden bridge jumping from the man’s soul to Gabriel’s spirit. Vindonnus did not seem to see this change, but Gabriel touched it and suddenly knew. He closed his eyes and poured himself through the bridge, flowing easily into the human, filling his fleshy body with the grace and power of an Archangel.
When Gabriel opened his eyes again, the world felt soft and muted. Colors were less vibrant, shadows loomed deeper, sounds were muffled. His whole body tingled with sensations, the sensation of touch so much stronger, and a curl of red hair hung in his face.
Gabriel lifted a hand to brush the curl away, jumping when he saw his hand. Pale and solid, dotted with freckles, with callouses across the fingers and palms and short, blunt nails. A human hand. Touching human hair, that was attached to a human head… that he was looking out of!
“I have a body!”
Gabriel’s voice sounded distorted to his ears, not like Vindonnus’ voice at all and certainly not like his own. He could feel the sound in his throat and pressed his hand to it experimentally. A pulse throbbed against his fingers--his pulse. He had a pulse! A heartbeat! He had a heart!
Was this what a vessel felt like? Hair, face, skin, clothes? Gabriel turned, and dry leaves crunched beneath his feet. He took a breath (He was breathing!) through his nose (He had a nose!) and he smelled. The forest was full of scents, a loamy earth, fresh growth, pine, peat, musk… so many scents that Gabriel was somehow cataloguing. Vindonnus’ mind had to be helping him, because Gabriel didn’t know how else he could distinguish between the smell of a tree and the smell of an animal.
Frowning (He had a mouth! He could frown!), Gabriel looked inward for any trace of Vindonnus. He found the man’s soul nestled within him, cradled and protected by Gabriel’s fiery spirit. The soul was calm, inert, like it was sleeping. That was concerning: souls never slept. The bodies that carried them might, but the soul itself was always switched on.
Gabriel prodded gently at Vindonnus’ soul. It stirred beneath his grace, flickering weakly against Gabriel.
Did it work?
The soul even sounded sleepy, but it was coherent, and Gabriel could relax. He hadn’t flattened this human with his presence. I think so. I seem to be controlling your body.
Feels weird, Vindonnus declared, twitching away from Gabriel’s grace. Hot. Bright. Gonna sleep again… His soul was already fading back to the inert state.
That must be a method of self-preservation, Gabriel decided. The soul switched off so it wouldn’t risk being burnt out by the close presence of the angel. He smoothed over the soul with his grace and let it rest. What to do now?
Next...
Notes: In this story, before Lucifer fell, his name was Sammael. He was not Lucifer in Heaven.
There is one other canon character operating under an OC name, but I wish for his identity to remain unknown.
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Chapter word count: 2,581
Chapter Summary: God was serious when he said you can’t be on Earth without a vessel. Gabriel needs to figure out what he meant by that.
CHAPTER 9:
First Vessel
Twenty-four hours after God made His edict about angels on Earth needing vessels, a thunderous crack of displaced air shook Heaven’s foundations. Every last angel on Earth was back in the celestial plane, all at once.
Gabriel nearly fell out of the sky when three Cherubim materialized on top of him. He managed to twist and catch the much younger angels in his wings before they too plummeted to the ground below. Two angels slowly crashed into Cariel, unable to fly up fast enough to check their own fall. Michael and Sammael had been sparring together when a Seraph appeared between them, and the poor angel would have lost his head if he hadn’t promptly fallen on his back. Barachiel crashed onto Raphael’s desk, and it was only the Seraph’s good nature and fervent apologies that kept the Archangel from exploding into a rage at one of Gabriel’s choir.
When the angels settled, it was soon apparent what had happened. None of the angels on Earth had figured out how to take a vessel in the time limit God had provided, and no angel could return to Earth for at least twenty-four hours after being banished from it. God was taking this rule very seriously, enforcing it automatically instead of relying on the angels to police the planet for Him.
That had been three months ago. The angels were no closer to taking vessels than they were on the first day. Most of the angels had given up, figuring that twenty-four hours was more than enough time to do their duties, but Gabriel’s choir was seriously inconvenienced by this new rule. Even Barachiel, perhaps the most cheerful angel in existence, was showing signs of annoyance, and the less-pleasant angels like Zachariah were absolutely unbearable. Cariel was the only one of Gabriel’s angels who didn’t mind the time limits, as he was still banned from visiting Earth at all.
Gabriel made Cariel deal with Zachariah.
Gabriel had tried praying for guidance, taking time whenever he had it to find some solitude and seek revelation. God had not answered. He had even visited the Garden, and while he had found Joshua, the Cherub had not been able to give any advice.
“There has to be a way,” Gabriel muttered, stalking through some trees on Earth. He had felt drawn to this forest, but it wasn't helping him take a vessel. “Father wouldn’t have said we could if we actually couldn’t!” He scooped up a boulder and threw it in his frustration, wincing as it snapped a sapling. “Sorry,” he muttered, healing the baby tree with a wave of his hand.
“Sorry?”
Gabriel whirled about, finding himself staring down at a human. A very much alive human, staring up at him with huge blue eyes that were neither melting nor burning. He swore violently in Enochian, cloaking his grace from the human’s perception before he seared those eyes from its skull.
The human blinked and frowned, reaching up to rub at his eyes. Gabriel was invisible to him now, but the human still acted like he was there. “Hello?” he called, waving his hands in front of him, trying to reach out to Gabriel.
“Please go away,” Gabriel grumbled, stepping back and drawing his wings in tight. “I’m trying to be upset.” He winced as he realized he said that out loud, a sure way to destroy a human’s eardrums.
This human showed no signs of pain. He swiveled his head from side to side, a look of concentration on his face. “I know you’re still here. I can hear you.”
That was not how a human was supposed to react. By all means, this man should have been huddled on the ground, screaming in agony and clutching at his eyes and ears, if he hadn’t already died from being in Gabriel’s presence. The angel cocked his head to the side and stepped closer to the human, his frustration gone for the moment. In its place was a fascinated curiosity.
Gabriel liked to consider himself a bit of an expert on humans. As far as the Archangels went, he knew the most. Some of his choir might know more, but even counting them his knowledge was extensive. This human, he could tell from a careful study, was a bit smaller than the average adult male. He was middle-aged, perhaps about twenty or twenty-five years old. Probably earlier than that-he had a bit of facial hair, but thin and sparse. New. It dusted his pale cheeks, which were covered in freckles. The man’s eyes were the same pale blue as the morning sky, set over a nose that turned up at the end and a wide, wide mouth. He had curly copper-colored hair that was tied back from his face with a strip of hide, and he was covered from his neck to his feet with similar animal skins. His hands were bare, with more of those freckles across the back. One was curled around a wooden bow. A stone knife hung from his belt, and stone-tipped arrows were in a quiver slung over his back.
All in all, he wasn’t that unusual of a human for this area. The hair color was a bit odd, but he was hardly the only red-headed human. His only truly defining feature was his complete lack of injury from Gabriel’s unfiltered grace.
“You can hear me?” Gabriel risked asking, keeping his voice a whisper just in case. The man cocked his head to the side and grinned.
“Knew you were still here. What are you? Are you a god?”
“I… am a messenger.” God did not want the humans exposed to the story of Heaven yet. He felt they were still so young, so inexperienced. Angels had been instructed to keep their stories to themselves for now, to wait for His word before sharing His Word. “My name is Gabriel.”
“Gabriel,” the human repeated. Gabriel felt no stroke of power when the human spoke his name, unlike when his brothers did, but he did feel a thrill of selfish pleasure race along his wings. A human knew his name! He was speaking with a human, the very first angel to ever do so! “I’m called Vindonnus.”
“Vindonnus.” Gabriel stepped even closer, shrinking his presence so he was closer in size to the human. He reached out, still invisible, and touched his hand to Vindonnus’ cheek. The human startled, stepping back.
“Was that you?”
“Yes. Did I scare you?”
“I can’t see you.” Vindonnus reached up, waving his hand through Gabriel’s arm unintentionally. The angel bit back a laugh at the gesture. “I saw you before. That light…”
“You saw the light?”
“Yes.”
“Did it hurt?” Gabriel leaned in close again, peering intently at those blue eyes. Vindonnus didn’t appear injured. Gabriel couldn't sense any damage to this man's body.
The human shook his head. “It didn't hurt at all. Was it supposed to?”
“Yes, actually,” Gabriel stepped back, flexing his wings. “Every human who has ever seen the light of an… of a messenger has been blinded.”
“Not me,” Vindonnus said with a grin. “Does that make me special?”
“You have no idea.” Gabriel cocked his head to the side, contemplating this human. “Vindonnus… may I try something?”
“You are the god-messenger,” Vindonnus said, as if that gave Gabriel permission.
“I'm going to show you the light again.” Gabriel brushed his fingers over Vindonnus' eyes. “If it starts to hurt, close your eyes immediately and tell me. Do you understand?”
Vindonnus nodded. He flexed his fingers over the smooth wood of his bow and grinned vaguely in Gabriel's direction.
Here goes nothing, Gabriel thought to himself, gingerly releasing his hold on his grace. As his presence unfurled, Vindonnus blinked in the brilliant glow, but the man did not close his eyes for long. His mouth dropped open, his bow dropped from his fingers, and his knees dropped to the ground.
“You are…!”
The man reached for Gabriel, and Gabriel reached back, unfurling his wings as his fingers brushed Vindonnus'. He wrapped his hand around the human's, hardening his grace so the human had something solid to touch, and Vindonnus suddenly gripped tight, squeezing. His hold was weaker than a new fledgling's, but Gabriel laughed in delight. He was touching a human! A man who was looking directly at him, speaking with him, sharing his presence without boiling or exploding. Was this what Father meant when He said humans and angels were meant to work together?
“You shine like the sun,” Vindonnus whispered, his voice as reverent as the awe in his eyes. “You burn like a fire. You are… you are… you are magnificent! And you say you are not a god!?”
“I serve God. I do not presume to be Him.” Gabriel concentrated on dimming his grace without concealing it entirely. When Vindonnus stopped blinking so rapidly, Gabriel held himself in check. The man's reverence was slowly becoming supplanted by a curiosity Gabriel could empathize with. His blue eyes roved over Gabriel's form. What must he look like to this human, a being of light and celestial intent?
“What is on your back?” Vindonnus asked, pointing.
Gabriel twisted slightly to look, flexing his wings. “My wings?”
“You have wings? Like a bird? Can you fly?”
So many questions! Gabriel had to laugh again, gently tugging Vindonnus' hand to pull him to his feet again. He had to be very careful with this human. His strength was much greater than the human body could endure. “Yes, wings, like a bird. And yes, I can fly, though I won't. Not here. Too many humans around. They might get hurt.”
“I'm not hurt.” Vindonnus stepped in close to Gabriel, watching the angel warily. He reached a hand toward Gabriel's wings but waited for Gabriel to nod approval before laying his fingers flat against Gabriel's largest left wing.
Gabriel shivered at the touch, his wing trembling as he felt a jolt of something. Like an electric spark, it leapt from Vindonnus' hand through his feathers, racing through his grace to fizz against his spirit below. “Wow,” he said, at the same time Vindonnus did, and then they both laughed and looked away.
“Is this… new for you too?” Vindonnus asked. “Meeting a human? You said you've blinded all the others?”
“Not me personally!” Gabriel was quick to reassure Vindonnus. “My brothers. But… yes. This is the first time I've ever spoken with a human.”
“I've never met a god-messenger before,” Vindonnus said, redundantly, in Gabriel's mind. “Do you have a message for me?”
“Er… no. No, not really. I was just… here.” Gabriel flexed his wings and tucked them back, not sure if he wanted Vindonnus to touch them again just yet. “You came to me, remember?”
“Do you live in the forest?” Vindonnus walked around Gabriel, coming to stop in front of him. He was curious, yes, but his eyes still shown with awe at the celestial being before him.
Gabriel shook his head. “I live… with my Father. In Paradise.” He wasn’t positive what Vindonnus believed, but just about every human had some idea of a perfect afterlife. It was close enough to Heaven for the human to understand. “I’m just visiting the forest.”
“You wanted to be upset. That’s what you said earlier.”
“Yes.” Now that Vindonnus was standing still again, Gabriel circled around him. He didn’t need to, but it made the man grin to see his gestures repeated. “How are you understanding me? I’m not speaking your language.”
“You haven’t said anything not in my language.”
“I’m speaking in my language,” Gabriel argued. He shifted his thoughts into Vindonnus’ language and spoke again. “Now I’m speaking in yours.”
“They sound the same to me.”
Maybe it was a fluke of Vindonnus’ nature, that he could understand the language of angels, just like he could stand in Gabriel’s presence without any pain. Maybe Vindonnus was just special, utterly special. Maybe Vindonnus was meant to be a vessel.
“Vindonnus?” Gabriel reached out again, touching Vindonnus’ red curls, pushing a stray one out of his face. “Can I try something else?”
“You are the god-messenger,” Vindonnus answered with a grin. “What are you going to try this time?”
“My Father said an-messengers can take vessels to walk among humans without hurting them. I already don’t hurt you. Can I try to take you as my vessel?”
“Will you give me back?”
“Yes,” Gabriel answered. If I can, he added to himself.
Vindonnus nodded, the trust evident in his pale eyes. “I would like to be your vessel, yes.”
At the man’s Yes, the air around him shimmered, a golden bridge jumping from the man’s soul to Gabriel’s spirit. Vindonnus did not seem to see this change, but Gabriel touched it and suddenly knew. He closed his eyes and poured himself through the bridge, flowing easily into the human, filling his fleshy body with the grace and power of an Archangel.
When Gabriel opened his eyes again, the world felt soft and muted. Colors were less vibrant, shadows loomed deeper, sounds were muffled. His whole body tingled with sensations, the sensation of touch so much stronger, and a curl of red hair hung in his face.
Gabriel lifted a hand to brush the curl away, jumping when he saw his hand. Pale and solid, dotted with freckles, with callouses across the fingers and palms and short, blunt nails. A human hand. Touching human hair, that was attached to a human head… that he was looking out of!
“I have a body!”
Gabriel’s voice sounded distorted to his ears, not like Vindonnus’ voice at all and certainly not like his own. He could feel the sound in his throat and pressed his hand to it experimentally. A pulse throbbed against his fingers--his pulse. He had a pulse! A heartbeat! He had a heart!
Was this what a vessel felt like? Hair, face, skin, clothes? Gabriel turned, and dry leaves crunched beneath his feet. He took a breath (He was breathing!) through his nose (He had a nose!) and he smelled. The forest was full of scents, a loamy earth, fresh growth, pine, peat, musk… so many scents that Gabriel was somehow cataloguing. Vindonnus’ mind had to be helping him, because Gabriel didn’t know how else he could distinguish between the smell of a tree and the smell of an animal.
Frowning (He had a mouth! He could frown!), Gabriel looked inward for any trace of Vindonnus. He found the man’s soul nestled within him, cradled and protected by Gabriel’s fiery spirit. The soul was calm, inert, like it was sleeping. That was concerning: souls never slept. The bodies that carried them might, but the soul itself was always switched on.
Gabriel prodded gently at Vindonnus’ soul. It stirred beneath his grace, flickering weakly against Gabriel.
Did it work?
The soul even sounded sleepy, but it was coherent, and Gabriel could relax. He hadn’t flattened this human with his presence. I think so. I seem to be controlling your body.
Feels weird, Vindonnus declared, twitching away from Gabriel’s grace. Hot. Bright. Gonna sleep again… His soul was already fading back to the inert state.
That must be a method of self-preservation, Gabriel decided. The soul switched off so it wouldn’t risk being burnt out by the close presence of the angel. He smoothed over the soul with his grace and let it rest. What to do now?
Next...