Chapter Text
Vaggie was worried and tired. Charlie hadn’t been sleeping, or if she had, not in their bed. She’d tried talking to her but Charlie had just brushed her off. She’d caught the other woman zoning out whenever she wasn’t on her phone, and she could see a tremor in Charlie’s steps that scared her.
Vaggie could remember vividly the last dissociative episode Charlie had had. Charlie had been out of it for three days. Vaggie nearly called Lucifer herself before Charlie had come back to her. Razzle had been almost as frantic and became Charlie’s shadow for two weeks.
It had been four days since Charlie had changed. She -along with the others in the Hotel- knew it involved the King, Alastor, and Doe. The Sin of Sloth had been summoned after some kind of crash on the roof. According to Husk it had been where Charlie had been practicing magic with Lucifer.
Vaggie had assumed the worst, but when she tried to check on Charlie, she’d been brushed off. Lucifer had isolated himself, rarely coming downstairs and only when everyone else seemed busy. Niffty became their source of information on him while Husk worked in the kitchen to keep easy food on demand.
She dropped into ‘her’ armchair in the library. It seemed like when things began to settle, they shifted again. She was tired of having to jump and catch up whenever something happened. She was worried about Charlie. She was terrified of why the Morningstars and Alastor were being distant. She was upset that Charlie wouldn’t talk to her. She…
“Pulling your hair out, ain’t gonna fix anything.” Husk’s low timber made her blink and realize how she was spiraling. She looked over at the usual grumpy drunk and was surprised.
“You can read?” She winced at the glare she received in reply. “Sorry, just, never mind.”
“Go pick a fight with Carmine.” He grumbled and whether he meant it as an insult or suggestion, Vaggie wasn’t sure. It wasn’t a bad idea.
She hadn’t had much of a chance to spar since her Fall. She still practiced her stances, but without a real opponent that fought back she knew she was rusty. The memory of the Carmine daughters trapping her made her flush. She prided herself on being aware of her environment, even with the loss of her eye, but they’d proved her wrong. “Thanks Husk,” she tossed over to the male as she stood up to leave. “Tell Charlie I went out.”
“Doubt she notices.” She heard Husk grumble and felt guilt twine across her heart. Even if she couldn’t find a sparring partner with the Carmines, she’d come back with a clearer head. She’d come back with some idea of how to help.
Besides that, the Carmine sisters still owed her a knife.
… …
Michael sat down, endeavoring to keep his face as blank as possible. He preferred the dangerous missions he once went on to maneuvaring the mess left behind by the High Seraphim and First Man. He wasn’t able to hide in his rooms without someone searching for him. Most of the time, it didn’t bother him. He felt guilt at what his negligence had created and did want to atone for it. Just not by sitting in the middle seat of discussions. He missed when he was simply a figurehead. Because now he had to deal with the demands and responsibilities of an audience that he simply wanted to ignore. He’d spent years away from people, he could easily go and hide. If not for Raphael taking the letter from Lucifer, he would.
Gatinha kept his hands occupied. The small kitten alternated between rubbing his fingers for small pets and biting them. Occasionally, she would climb to his chest and give a glare towards Raph. Even she was annoyed at his sibling taking Heylel’s letter from him.
The side walls of the chamber were decorated with new tapestries. A few of them depicted the rise of the Rebellion and the fall of his brother. But most, luckily, depicted moments from the prior eras, created by the many Souls that filled Heaven.
Raph sat to Michael’s right, a stack of evidence and random statements in front of them. They’d been at this for hours, with only their most recent break being to get food and rest for a bit.
“While it is difficult, we must consider the issue of the Trial,” Gabriel said.
“Not this again,” Jerahmeel grumbled. Michael sighed, eyes darting from her to Gabriel.
“As I’ve said, the others have again suggested a public Trial,” Gabriel said. “They wish to see and hear High Seraphim’s crimes.”
Michael shook his head. “No, we’ve already agreed. She is guilty and will face Judgment.”
“We cannot claim the matter settled.” Uriel spoke up, rubbing her temples around her blindfold. “The Souls of Heaven demand proof. If they don’t have it, who is to start the whisper of us being compliant with her?” She made an illusion of scales tipping rapidly back and forth before waving it away. “Will we demand obedience from them and subjugate those who ask questions? Will we become like the High Seraphim?”
“I can see how that might happen,” Jerahmeel said truthfully. “But given it’s been dealt with-”
“Dealt with would mean the contract would be broken,” Uriel snapped. Even through her blindfold Michael could feel her glare. “Even if we deal with one, the First Man is still free. The contract remains in place.” She added, getting nods and silence from all of them.
“Uriel is right,” Azrael spoke up for the first time. “Besides, we all agreed to do our own searches for him. If Adam missing is still a problem, then it’s only our fault.”
“If this is so difficult to accept,” Gabriel smiled at all of them. “Perhaps we should make use of the Guardians we can trust?”
Michael wished he could laugh as he watched Uriel flush and settle back down. He looked over to Raph, hoping he wasn’t alone in the thought. The Healer was biting their lip, eyes alight with amusement as they watched the game.
“Is it really so urgent?” Jerahmeel asked finally, “if Adam is hiding, shouldn’t we be thankful?”
Uriel pounced. “I don’t think it’s fair to have you be against it. When it was you who was so quick to sentence the Seraphim.”
Jerahmeel shrugged. “There’s no reason to compare a certainty to an uncertainty,” she said. “But even I’ll admit, it would be irresponsible to leave Adam’s whereabouts unknown.”
Jerahmeel was either a genius or stupid, to call them all irresponsible after everything they’d done. Still, Michael could see how uneasy it made everyone to know the First Man was missing and unknown. He could interrogate the Guardians, to try and find something. But they were already under watch and hadn’t shown any evidence of knowing the whereabouts of the First Man or his Guardian.
So he sat, saying nothing and waiting for the meeting to end.
“Moving on from what can’t be fixed. We’ve gotten a letter from Lucifer.” The Energies around them all shifted at Raph’s announcement. Michael felt his shoulders relax as the sharper emotions settled into soothing ones. “He said he’ll be hosting a ceremony to introduce Princess Dowan to Hell and would be happy to see us. Obviously, we all can’t go, but we should figure out who can. It’s to be held in two weeks.”