Ever At Your Back - Reinhardt & Gabe
The Eldest Morrigan (known to most of the world as Morgan Reagan) had put some distance between herself and her living room. Her granddaughter was having a sleepover and the movie of choice was, of course, Frozen. And all the singing along that it entailed. It amused her to no end, what with her own power over the weather and whatnot. It wasn’t as…obvious or showy as Elsa’s. She couldn’t bring a snowstorm out of thin air in July or stop a raging deluge. Not without far more explaining than it was worth. But, she could nudge a blizzard into more ferocity or tame it somewhat. And she had been known to summon a cooling breeze on a hot day. And she was mistress of life and death in this valley. She had power over a great many things, but the most easily manifested was the weather. So, when her granddaughter had wished for a snowstorm so she could go sledding for her birthday, Morgan had obliged. The sky was currently pelting their cabin and the entire valley with snow. In a few moments she would command a lull in the weather so she could go and get pizza for the girls.
Quite suddenly, her awareness rippled. Her far flung wards surrounding the valley sang, ringing in her mind like a bell. The smell of singed hair briefly stung the back of her nose and her mouth tasted faintly of scorched sugar. Gabriel, an old friend of hers. And he was in trouble. This called for a change in plans.
She stood. She had been going to go and get pizza…and she still would. But she would also make a slight detour. But first…that phone call to the pizza parlor in town. Her daughter Mara (Younger Morrigan to a choice few) had taken a consensus from the girls a while ago on toppings and side snacks and whatnot, so it was a brief thing to place the order, fudging the time of arrival a bit “what with the weather and the distance, you see.” Then she went to her pantry. There, behind the jars of pickled beets and other grandmotherly wares, she kept her Magic Drink. The bottle was old and elaborate and stoppered with a cork instead of a modern screw top. Brewed with ancient knowledge by herself, it was far more potent than her more mundane Magic Drink, which was nothing more than a jug of prune juice displayed prominently on the kitchen table. Pulling the old bottle out, she brought it along.
“Girls, I’m going out head out and get the pizza.” she called as she put on her winter gear. She dressed extra warm; Gabriel might well be in need of clothes. An extra shirt went on under her barn coat, and a pair of sweat pants went around her neck as a scarf. "I’ll be back later.“
” ‘Kay Gramma!“ her granddaughter Mary (Youngest Morrigan to those knowing) waved through the living room doorway. Mara looked over and nodded-she was also aware that Something had happened, but Morgan preferred to let her stay with the girls. She waved in return and stepped out into the snowstorm.
Once out of the driveway and rumbling down the road in the old Dodge, Morgan stilled the blizzard with a flick of her fingers. Not completely, that would be uncharacteristic of a Montana winter. But enough that driving became easier. And with a bit of concentration, she zeroed in on where her wards had parted, allowing Gabriel through. She was unconcerned about who or what ever had been pursuing him; her Greater Wards were proof against all but the most powerful of beings. God tier and such. The only reason Gabriel had gotten through was because the Ward had recognized him and allowed him in. The fact that he had not tripped her Inner Ward told her that he had missed her land specifically, but he was still in the valley someplace. And within a few miles, she found out where.
It was the track of a snowmobile. Judging from the direction it came from, it belonged to her neighbor, Reinhardt Wilhelm, an immortal himself Morrigan nodded. Rein was a good man, knew his work, and was unafraid of the elements. This was good then. At least as good as if she had found him first-perhaps better even. Maybe her good hearted neighbor would be willing to take Gabriel in, seeing as how the slumber party at her house would present a problem. With that plan in mind, she turned down the snow covered path, following the snow machine’s track.
A few moments later, she could just make out the light of the snow machine’s headlamp. She blew the horn of her truck a few times to announce her presence, then gunned the engine up the final hill. She had to wrestle with it for a bit; Gabriel’s crash landing had blasted a crater into the landscape and there was snow and debris thrown up everywhere. She parked, headlights facing downward into the hole, and jumped out, leaving the engine running. Wading through the snow was difficult, but she managed, skidding down to the bottom without falling.
Well….Gabriel looked awful. Like he’d been drug facedown through Hell. Which…considering his history, wasn’t out of the question. “Hello Gabriel.” she said, kneeling next to him. He was conscious, although not strong enough to do much more than roll his eyes over to look at her. But she had a fix for that. "Drink this.” she ordered, producing her Magic Drink and passing it to him. The angel tried to reach for it and fumbled the bottle into the snowbank. Reinhardt retrieved it, pulled the cork with his mitted hands, and held the bottle to Gabriel’s lips for him to drink. Two swallows in and the blonde made a face. "I am aware that its strong, but you’ll need every last drop.“ she said. "Its a restorative-powerful, but sadly, temporary.” Gabriel blinked in acknowledgement and finished drinking without protest. "So, give it a minute to work, and when you feel strong enough, try to stand and get dressed.“ She unwound the sweat pants from around her neck and, after tugging off her outer coat, shucked out of her extra shirt. Putting her coat back on, she turned around so her back was to him. "So, my Greater Ward is ringing like a clocktower bell, but it has not been breached other than by yourself. You are safe here.”
He felt like he’d barely said her name, and then she was there. Probably not the case… more likely, he’d just passed out for a few minutes. But there she was, kneeling next to him and making all kinds of faces. He tried to reach for the bottle she offered, but none of his limbs wanted to work right. Fortunately, his ‘knight in shining armor’ was there to save the day. The bottle was lifted by large hands, uncorked, and then held to his lips. It smelled herbal and bitter… but when an Elder Goddess tells you to drink something, you do it. So he did. The taste was far worse than the smell - his body unconsciously tried to get him to stop drinking, but Morrigan’s words kept his throat muscles moving. He needed this! Needed to be able to talk to her - to tell her what was out there so she could deal with it.
The angel tried to process the fact that she was offering him clothes. But he had… Gabriel looked down at himself. Oh. Okay, yeah, no he really didn’t have any, did he? What was left was mostly just tattered rags. As promised, the power surged through him, hot and bright like a solar flare. With a groan, he tried to rise, keening sharply at the unexpected pain in his wings. His wings! Gabriel’s heart sank as he imagined the damage that had been done to them. No. No, he couldn’t think about that now. He needed to dress… needed to warn!
Gabriel didn’t even try the offered shirt. He couldn’t. There was no way he was going to be putting his wings away - not any time soon. He did pull on the pants, taking great pains to hold his wings as still as possible. Once done, he spoke. “Seraphim. Five of them. I - they swarmed me. Took out two, but my powers haven’t been the same since…” He cut off the rest, unsure how much Morrigan knew. “Couldn’t think of anywhere safer than here…” His legs started to wobble a little… or was it his imagination? “Sorry for getting you involved…” He clenched the shirt in his hands, shoulders hunching almost shamefully. Which set the pain in his wings off again, making the angel hiss. What if he’d damaged them beyond repair?! Fear even greater than what he’d felt while being attacked flooded him. What was an angel without their wings? Gabriel’s head swam. He was safe. No point in focusing on anything else right now. Safety came first. He could worry about all the rest later.
