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Jezreel shifts from foot to foot, waiting for Fury to be ready to go...
Fury jingles her keys. "If you're ready, le'z go, chica."
Jezreel turns to Michnelion and politely says, "Goodbye, sir... See you
this afternoon." Then she follows Fury out the door.
[Fury]
She heads out to her motorcycle, grabbing the helmet and tossing it to Jez. "You'll need
this more than I do."
The young Seraph looks puzzled by this statement, but she obediently
puts on the helmet. "Ready," she says once its on.
[Fury]
The motorcycle roars to life as soon as Fury's made sure that Jezreel is
sufficiently attached, and soon the streets are whizzing by at a rate that
doesn't quite seem safe. In a few minutes, though, they're pulling up
outside her mother's house.
As you first pull out, Jezreel tightens her hold on your waist, but as
soon as she realizes that you really have your balance and that she's not
going anywhere, the grip loosens to only what is necessary to keep herself
safe. In just a few minutes, she is laughing with exhilaration...
Fury turns to Jezreel and looks a little abashed. "I'm sorry," she says,
"I've gotten so used to it... that was probably a little fast. If you're
used to cars, it'll seem that way for a while. If you'd like, I'll slow
down next time..."
"Don't be sorry," Jezreel says, still grinning. "That was great!
Almost as good as walking barefoot in the surf watching the sunrise over the
sea..."
Once she is sure that the bike has fully stopped, Jezreel climbs off
and darts up to the door. She reaches into her backpack and pulls out her
keys to unlock the door.
"Please come in," she says, remembering her manners just before she
steps into the house.
As she walks in, Jezreel flips on the living room lights (assuming that
they are off) and yells out, "Mom? You home?"
After turning on the lights, Jezreel recognizes a certain stillness to the
house. As she proceeds to the kitchen to see if her mother left a note to
her, she and Fury hear Dodai's voice spiral down the stairwell.
"Yes, I'm home, where have you been?" Dodai comes down the stairs to see
what Jezreel is up to.
Looking a bit bewildered by the question (after all, her mother had
given her permission to go in the first place), Jezreel nevertheless answers
honestly and without hesitation. "I've been at the police station for most
of the night. But there was a disturbance at Science World which
Michnelion wanted me to help investigate, so I was there for a while. But
then we went back to the station again to discuss the situation and to
interrogate a prisoner."
Dodai nods.
After only a moment's hesitation, Jezreel admits to her mother, "I ran
into Father at Science World too," And before her mother can nag at her,
she adds, "I've already reported that to Phalgus, so that's taken care
of..." For just an instant, Jezreel realizes with both relief and
disappointment, that her Mother's presence at home is proof of just one
more thing that her Father had lied to her about.
Then wanting to change the subject both in her own thoughts and with
her
Mother and also wanting get on with her own Assignment, Jezreel says,
"There's an all Angel meeting at the Destiny tether at noon. Fury is going
to give me a lift there, but I wanted to let you know about it because
Michnelion said that Judgement requests your presence."
[Dodai]
"Ah, that shouldn't be a problem."
[Jezreel]
With that she turns to Fury and says, "Just let me page Damien's
protector. Then I'll change and we can be on our way..."
That said, Jezreel belatedly realizes she has utterly failed to
introduce Fury to her mother... Glancing somewhat guiltily at her mother,
Jezreel says, "Oh, sorry... Mother, this is Xery, who calls herself Fury.
Fury, this is my mother, Dodai, Mercurian of Children..."
"Pleased to meet you, Fury," says Dodai, sweetly and in a manner that
could only be described as more human than human, i.e. classic Mercurian.
Dodai turns to Jezreel and says, "Well, you're lucky I'm even here. I
had received an emergency call from Offa, servitor of Animals," she says,
almost an aside to Fury.
For half a second, Jezreel looks relieved. The news that Dodai really
*was* out of town gives her hope for the briefest instant, but then it
sinks in that the reason had nothing to do with her Father's pronouncements
of an upcoming incursion by Hell, and the expression fades back into a
disappointed frown.
Turning back to Jezreel, "there was a problem up by Stanley Park and Offa
needed help with it.
Jezreel nods because she feels her mother is expecting some kind of
reaction...
Then, I received a message
requesting my presence in Heaven, hence the hair," she says, running her
fingers through her mussed hair. "But, it's just easier to go through
Blandine's Tower some days, you know?"
"No, Mom," Jezreel says completely honestly, since she's never had the
opportunity to ascend to Heaven via that route before, "I don't know. But
I understand..."
Then curiosity sets in... "What was the emergency? What help did
Animals
need to request from children? Did everything turn out all right? Is Offa
okay?"
"There was an injured animal that needed healing, and she needed
someone to calm it down long enough for her to heal it."
Jezreel nods...
[OOGM: Perry forgets if Corporeal Song of Healing requires *physical*
contact, if so, then Offa needed Dodai to be there *physically*, as in
a vessel, in order to heal the animal.]
[Chary]
OOC: Yeppers. It does require physical contact. Good call,
Perry... :)
Perry OOGM: thank you, thank you
[Jezreel]
And then the did about Heaven really clicks, "And why were you
needed in Heaven?" A dutiful Servant of Revelation, it never occurs to
Jezreel to add 'if you don't mind my asking' after her string of rapid-fire
questions.
At this her mother's face scrunches up a little (Fury recognizes this a
worry). "Well, I had thought it was message from an old friend of
mine, but when I arrived, she wasn't there. I'd been waiting for a
while when you came home and woke me up."
"That seems strange," Jezreel says, not knowing what else to say. "No
one else there knew where she was?"
[Dodai]
"No, no one had even heard that she was planning on meeting me."
"Do you need help looking for her?" Jezreel asks. "I have a few hours
before I have to be at the meeting; Michnelion said I was free until then?"
[Dodai]
"No, I'll just head back up to Heaven and have someone send her a message
for me, to double check it was actually her who contacted me."
"Alright then," Jezreel says before heading off to make her phone
call...
After Dodai answers her, Jezreel says, "I have to make a phone
call..." With that she starts heading towards the kitchen phone until a
discrete clearing of Dodai's throat reminds her to add, "Please excuse me
for a minute."
As Jezreel exits the room, Dodai shakes her head fondly, half wondering
if it will take until Armageddon for her daughter to pick up the basics of
social courtesy...
[Perry OOC: ha ha ha :]
[Chary]
OOC: I'm not sure I like the sound of the GM chuckling after I mention
Armageddon... :)
[Perry: Oh, come now, if we take 2.5 years to play out 26 hours . . .]
[Chary]
OOC: True, true... course, how do I know you're not planning Armageddon in
the next five minutes, eh? :P
[Perry]
OOGM: True . . .
Once in the kitchen, Jezreel picks up the phone, pulls out the piece of
paper Michnelion gave her, and dials the number for Damien's
caretaker... Remembering that Michnelion said the number was for a pager,
she idly wonders if its a standard pager where you just punch the numbers
in or if it's one of those new ones where you can leave a message... Half
hoping for the former, as the phone rings, Jezreel nevertheless begins
mentally rehearsing what to say after the beep if a message is required.
The automated message says, "You have reached 555-7867, please enter
your numberic message. When you have finished, hit the pound key."
[Jezreel]
Breathing a small sigh of relief that she doesn't have to compose a
message for the machine, Jezreel keys in the phone number (including area
code) to her own line in her room rather than the main phone line which is
mostly her mother's. When she is done she dutifully hits the pound key...
"Message sent."
Jezreel hangs up the phone and heads back into the living room.
"Okay," she tells Fury, "I paged for Damien. Now I just have to wait for
his call. Do you mind if I change before we head out again?"
Fury looks down at herself almost self-consciously, fully conscious of the
grime that must be caking her clothes. "Sure," she says, "go ahead."
"Thanks," the young Seraph says, "I'll be back in a few minutes..."
With
that, Jezreel runs up the stairs to her room. Once there she digs in her
closet for a clean pair of blue jeans and rummages through her drawers for
a new T-shirt. She selects another of her favorite ones, a black T-shirt
with a white line drawing of Albert Einstein. The caption reads, ""If you
are out to describe truth, leave elegance to the tailor. --A. Einstein."
Stripping out of her dirty clothes, Jezreel carefully leaves her dirty
clothes in the hamper. Then she decides to hop in for a quick
shower. Fury did not seem to be in too much of a hurry, and she herself
had been in too much of a hurry to see the sunrise to take one this
morning. Besides, if she is going to meet the rest of the Angels in the
city, both of her parents would expect her to be presentable -- Dodai
because she would want her daughter to make a good impression, Cosam
(Jezreel's thoughts catch here), Cozbi because he still values cleanliness
and neatness of appearance.
After washing up, Jezreel dresses quickly and brushes her hair. While
she's here, Jezreel takes a second to quickly check her e-mail to see if
Damien might have sent her a message that way. As her computer boots up,
she almost absently remembers the new one which Michnelion sent home with
her mother. Grinning at the thought of playing with the new system,
Jezreel bounds back down the stairs not more than fifteen minutes later,
scrubbed, but not looking appreciably different than she did when she
headed up the stairs.
Seeing the outfit her daughter has chosen, Dodai sighs and again
mentally
considers burning it, but she decides not to make an issue of it in front
of their guest...
"Mom?" Jezreel asks, not catching her mother's sigh at her appearance,
"Where'd you put that computer that Michnelion sent home?" Then realizing
she's ignoring Fury, Jezreel turns to her guest and adds, "Michnelion gave
Damien and I a new system to help in our new Assignment, but Damien didn't
think his dad would let him use it because off all the trouble he is in, so
Mom brought it home for us to use here..."
OOC: I had almost forgotten about Jezreel's spiffy new toy... See what
cool things you can find when you actually read the backlogs :)
And the phone rings.
Computer momentarily forgotten as she anticipates that this must be
Damien
(or at least his protector), Jezreel darts for the stairs, calling, "I'll
get it!" over her shoulder as an afterthought.
Once again, Dodai finds herself shaking her head at her daughter's
manners. Some things, she worries, may be a long cause. She casts an
apologetic glance at Fury, shrugging her shoulders as if to say, 'What can
I do?'
Fury grins. "Kids will be kids. Be glad you never had me when I was her age."
Dodai chuckles good-naturedly. I honestly don't think I ever *was*
that
age," she says. Then she nods. "But I can see the wisdom that Christopher
had in granting my request for a child of my own. I understand much better
now what humans go through in raising their own children..."
As soon as Jezreel gets to the phone, she answers it. "Hello?"
Breathing
hard, she takes a few deep breaths before remembering how Dodai had
instructed her to answer the phone. Belatedly she adds, "Mercury
residence, Jezreel speaking."
"Hello, I just received a page from your number," comes a feminine voice
with an American accent.
"Yes, ma'am," Jezreel says politely, "That was me -- I mean I," she
amends as the grammar lessons sink in. "I am trying to reach Damien
Morris. Michnelion gave me this number. He said it would reach Damien's
protector. Are you she?"
"Hold on just a minute, if you would." Darla pulls the phone down and
cups her hand over the receiver.
"Yes, ma'am," Jezreel says politely, "I'll hold."
"Damien," she says, looking at the boy straight in the eye. "There's a
young sounding lady by the name of Jezreel on the line who'd like to
speak with you. That okay?"
[Jezreel]
OOC: Look, Damien gets to interact with us again :)
"Oh, yeah, hand it over!" Damien says. He sounds eager to talk to
Jezreel.
(OOC: Sorry about the delay, guys; miscellaneous things got overwhelming
for the last couple of weeks. I have had a fresh new root canal, though!)
Once Damien is on the phone, Jezreel says, "Hi, Damien... It's
Jezreel. Look, there's a meeting for all Heaven-allied people in the city,
and Michnelion would like you to be there..." Suddenly, Jezreel flushes,
feeling as embarrassed as any other eleven year old girl asking a boy on a
date for the first time.
"Honestly," she stammers out, "I'd like you to be there too. Can
you come?" The last question comes out in a rush.
The red in Jezreel's face deepens, and she paces nervously as she
waits what seems to be forever for Damien to answer....
[Damien]
"OK," Damien says, the customary note of confusion
creeping back into his voice. "Is this like a bungee jumping thing
or something? What time and where is it?""
Jezreel chuckles at that. "Nothing like that," she says...
"The meeting's at the Destiny tether at noon," Jezreel says
quickly. Then, realizing as an afterthought that Damien might not even
know what a Tether is let alone where the Destiny Tether is, she adds,
"That's in the basement of the biggest library at the University of B.C....
And I'll explain about Tethers in person when you get there, okay?"
[Damien]
"Yeah, OK, you'll tell me later. Should I bring my Dad, or
just Darla?"
[Jezreel]
I think a moment, not really sure how to answer. Finally, I go
with my gut. "Just Darla, I think," I say, "If you can arrange it..."
Damien adds, "My Dad still doesn't know anything about...
you know. Who you people really are."
[Jezreel]
I nod, not really connecting the fact that Damien can't hear me
over the phone. I know I *should* tell him to keep it that way, that the
War is supposed to be a well-kept secret. But the part of me which so
wants to Serve Revelation makes a lie of the words before I can even form
them, and I refuse to speak them.
"That's understandable," the young Seraph says
carefully. "Knowledge of the War is carefully controlled."
---
Jezreel finishes her conversation with Damien, even remembering to
politely say goodbye before hanging up. Then she bounds back down the
stairs. "Okay," she tells Fury while still gasping for breath. "Damien'll
be there. Darla had already been planning on taking him."
"So, what's next?"
"I was planning to go buy some snacks for the meeting," says Dodai, "But,
I'm sure that there's something better you all could do."
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