Gabriel carried the picnic basket that Mary had brought him yesterday. Cat paced around his legs, staring up at him.

"Time to go." He lowered the basket and Cat jumped into it. Then he looked up at the sky, squinting. "Looks like they'll have a busy weekend." Then he smiled at Cat. "Well, we'll miss it."

He spread his wings, took a step forward, and was gone.

[And now Gabriel and Cat are gone from Fandom!]

The church was full of birds. Evil, noisy, strange-looking birds, who made Cat hide under a pew and hiss when anything approached. Gabriel tried to scare them off by playing the trumpet, causing even more noise.

The church was open, but it wasn't a place for silent prayer today.

Gabriel opened his eyes. Whatever some people might think, there was a huge difference between angels and vultures. He let out a displeased noise aimed at Cat, and then another one at God. Neither seemed to be listening.

[I'll be away until Tuesday evening. Until then Gabriel is a vulture.]

Gabriel had to admit that this Easter had been a surprisingly good one. Well, at least the ending, but that was the most important part, especially when it came to Easter.

Karal had been right. It almost made him laugh. Mortals tended to get things messed up, but the boy saw clearly a lot of the time. Maybe his god was really giving him a hint or two, and he certainly seemed intent on listening.

"Perhaps you have just stopped listening." It was the last words Danyel's mother had told him. Now, he had listened, to a mortal boy serving a strange god. Gabriel stretched his wings out, then folded them again, and made them fade into invisibility. The right thing to do, but he wasn't going to make a habit of it.

After Danyel had defeated Pyriel, Anakin and Karal had agreed on wiping the boy's memories of the weekend. Gabriel hadn't seen the point, but he had left the decision to the mortals. Maybe they had been right. Humans had a tendency not to deal well with too much death.

And the boy, they hade learnt - some people could appearantly read minds - had a grandmother, which saved the boy from the orphanage. Although Gabriel had a feeling that Karal would not have accepted that option, so he was quite pleased about the grandmother. Helping the Nephilim was one thing, having a kid around all the time was another. But perhaps Mary would have helped. Mary's had a history of taking on strange kids after all.

He took a bite out of his donut and sipped his coffee. Not that he needed to food anymore, but that wasn't important. Cat stared up at him, purring.

[Gabriel is now and angel again! Not that it will make much difference and most people won't notice anything. He won't have visible wings unless specifically stated. He might just possibly be in a slightly better mood.

So much thanks to vkandis_son, remember5th and sith_happened for taking part in this plot! You deserve all the pie you can eat! And more pie and donuts to vkandis_son for doing most of the planning, and without whom this plot would not have happened.]

"I hate this place," Gabriel said, looking up at the sky. "The City of Angels. Hah! As if!" He kicked a beer can littering the sidewalk, sending it flying across the street. "Did we really have to pay that taxi driver to get here?" he asked Karal. "I mean, we could have just walked off." Then he turned his head, sniffing. Even with the useless sense of smell of a mortal, he could feel it. "That's smoke, isn't it?"

( Smoke? )

[Preplayed with the wonderful vkandis_son. NFI, NFB, OOC always welcome.]

The Cat prowled the aisle of the church as Gabriel sat on the altar, drinking a cup of cold coffee and chewing on a dry donut. "Want another mouse?" he asked the small predator as she crouched, making a sudden attack at a piece of paper. Cat paid him no attention, her eyes only on her target. Gabriel snorted, then emptied the cup.


( The church doors were flung open... )

[Preplayed with vkandis_son. NFI, broadcast fine, OOC always welcome.]

Stepping out of the shadows, the stranger's head turned slowly, his black eyes taking in the surroundings. Then he took another step and his eyes turned normal, but there was still a lack of warmth. With a sudden, too fast movement, almost like a bird, he took position on a nearby bench.

[Open only to those who know who they are, please!]

He was dying. Gabriel had crawled out of bed, woken up by nightmares where he had been afflicted by every known epidemic through history, while God himself had laughed at him. Having unbolted the door, he had collapsed on the floor, too tired and uncertain what to do next. He looked up at the ceiling. "You really, really, think I deserve this?"

[For someone who will come to Gabriel's rescue]