Backstory fic, "Set In Motion"
Yeah, it's kind of rushed. I wrote it quickly to get the idea out of my head, pretty much, but figured it might make for good self-reference. Plus a friend requested a feel-good fic so. Hope you enjoy despite the obvious signs of hasty writing!
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Enoch had expected, when he was first taken from Earth, that angels would live slightly differently from humans. The female angels being his peers and superiors, he'd taken in stride. It wasn't too much to ask of him, to change that sort of belief, especially when dealing with God's messengers and servants directly, when they had demonstrable power over him and this was a fact of day to day life.
The frequency at which they bathed was also a difference he could easily get used to. Or would, if the fact that angels of both sexes bathed together wasn't so jarring.
Enoch tried not to look at the female angels as he slipped into the water, grateful for the surface clouding produced by the heat and cleaning agents. At least he had something not quite so awkward to look at.
He was painfully aware of the stares he was getting for his behavior. He was the outsider, the newcomer, the one who had gawked at the sight of a female angel on the Council for a moment. It was that exact angel, speaking with Gabriel, who he saw gesture at him from the corner of his eye. It was clear she didn't realize he'd seen that.
Gabriel, however, seemed to notice the way he uncomfortably shifted his focus away and said loud enough for him to hear. "Give him time. He will become used to our ways."
At least he had someone looking out for him. It made him feel a bit better, but he wanted to put some more distance between himself and the angel he'd offended all the same. He started wading closer to the corner of the bathing pool.
Something solid and soft bumped against his leg, and Enoch stepped back, startled. Through the clouding, he just barely made out a ripple of movement before the angel causing it broke the surface, silvery-white hair falling the wrong way and obscuring his face.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, parting the curtain of hair with both hands. "I didn't mean to bump into you." He paused, looking at Enoch with eyes that grew bright and inquisitive as he took in the sight of the human before him. "Um…you're Enoch, right? The human?"
Enoch nodded.
The angel smiled, pushing his hair to its proper place. "I'm Armaros."
"It's good to meet you." Like the angel that had come to take him, Lucifel, Armaros seemed…more human in his inflection and speech. Enoch relaxed in the absence of the usual reserved angelic attitude.
"Yeah. You, too… Um, can I ask you a question?"
"All right."
In exchange for breaking the ice, nobody seemed to mind that Enoch and Armaros were a little late for their respective duties that day.
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Enoch had expected, when he was first taken from Earth, that angels would live slightly differently from humans. The female angels being his peers and superiors, he'd taken in stride. It wasn't too much to ask of him, to change that sort of belief, especially when dealing with God's messengers and servants directly, when they had demonstrable power over him and this was a fact of day to day life.
The frequency at which they bathed was also a difference he could easily get used to. Or would, if the fact that angels of both sexes bathed together wasn't so jarring.
Enoch tried not to look at the female angels as he slipped into the water, grateful for the surface clouding produced by the heat and cleaning agents. At least he had something not quite so awkward to look at.
He was painfully aware of the stares he was getting for his behavior. He was the outsider, the newcomer, the one who had gawked at the sight of a female angel on the Council for a moment. It was that exact angel, speaking with Gabriel, who he saw gesture at him from the corner of his eye. It was clear she didn't realize he'd seen that.
Gabriel, however, seemed to notice the way he uncomfortably shifted his focus away and said loud enough for him to hear. "Give him time. He will become used to our ways."
At least he had someone looking out for him. It made him feel a bit better, but he wanted to put some more distance between himself and the angel he'd offended all the same. He started wading closer to the corner of the bathing pool.
Something solid and soft bumped against his leg, and Enoch stepped back, startled. Through the clouding, he just barely made out a ripple of movement before the angel causing it broke the surface, silvery-white hair falling the wrong way and obscuring his face.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, parting the curtain of hair with both hands. "I didn't mean to bump into you." He paused, looking at Enoch with eyes that grew bright and inquisitive as he took in the sight of the human before him. "Um…you're Enoch, right? The human?"
Enoch nodded.
The angel smiled, pushing his hair to its proper place. "I'm Armaros."
"It's good to meet you." Like the angel that had come to take him, Lucifel, Armaros seemed…more human in his inflection and speech. Enoch relaxed in the absence of the usual reserved angelic attitude.
"Yeah. You, too… Um, can I ask you a question?"
"All right."
In exchange for breaking the ice, nobody seemed to mind that Enoch and Armaros were a little late for their respective duties that day.