13529/Angelic intervention

Angelic intervention
Date of Scene:	20 June 2021
Location:	St. Peter's Church - Manhattan
Synopsis:	Looking for small print in divine contracts
Cast of Characters:	Hellequin, Castiel, Willow Rosenberg

---

Hellequin has posed:
This is an ordinary, normal day at St. Peter's Church in Manhattan. The only difference within the church itself is that the part being the main altar has been closed to visitors, a single red velvet cordon keeping the tourists away.

The space behing the main altar is a large semi-circular corridor where smaller altars dedicated to specific saints. In front of the altar decicated to St. Louis, saint patron of France, is a lone man. He's kneeling on one knee, directly on the hard stone floor, head bowed, right hand on his heart. For those acquainted with Medieval iconography, it would remind them of the typical prayer stance of those past ages. His low voice can be heard, though the words seem also to be from another age and in an antique language.

"Fader oure that art in heven
halwed be thi name;
come thi kyngdom
fulfild by thi wil
in heven as in erthe;
oure ech-day bred
yef us to day,
and foryeve us oure dettes
as we foryeveth to our detoures;
and ne led us nought in temptacion,
bote delivere us of evel.
So be it."

Castiel has posed:
Castiel hasn't heard that one in a while. He'd been at a nearby coffee shop, eating a bit of coffee cake, which did not taste at all like coffee, much to his surprise. He was informed by the waitress, named 'Flo', that it was meant to be served with coffee, rather than having that flavoring. By those standards, then, it was a success, if a bit dry.

The old-fashioned prayer draws his attention, his mind always attuned to the divine celestial frequencies. Mostly it was just background noise, but something unusual would jump out and grab his attention. In a moment, he had simply disappeared, leaving behind a healthy tip as he appears in the aisle between the pews and finds himself taking in Hellequin, <<I did not know anyone still spoke that language>> he says in Ye Olde English

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Now just by chance, Willow enters the Cathedral. Not to pray, just to think. After all she was pagan first, and Jewish second. She didn't come close to Roman Catholic, not by a long stretch.

But she could use the peace and quiet to think.

She entered near the back, and almost didn't see the two men talking quietly. In fact, she almost left.. until she realized she knew both of them. Quietly, she sat down in the middle of the pews and listened.

Hellequin has posed:
"You should not interrupt a man praying God, regardles of the language he uses," comes the same low voice, the man slowly rising to his feet, deliberately. When he finally turns to face Castiel, Henri - the Hellequin by nightime - seems a bit taken aback.

It is the presence of Castiel, a man he doesn't know while at the same time looking familiar, or the presence of Willow, the witch he came to know in the recent weeks. His eyes fall on her as she sits down, and contrary to the first time they met, Henri is not casting any menacing look at her, maybe quite the opposite.

Then his eyes return on Castiel. There is something about this man, and it's not magic or evil. Something else, something he didn't feel in a long time, a /very/ long time. Not since he last...

Shaking the old memories away, his eyes always on Castiel, Hellequin bows his head in a very respectful manner. Kneeling he was tempted to do, until he remembered that it can only be done before God or king.

"Pray be the Lord," he says in his low voice, "I am ready, may Heaven be granted to my soul."

Castiel has posed:
Castiel runs a hand back through his hair, "Ah. Yes. That's....that's very nice, I'm sure you're well on your way. Heaven will be awfully glad to have you on their team. I mean, our team, I guess, although I'm currently on assignment and don't tend to get up to Heaven much anymore."

"So, you seem to be in some kind of trouble. Are you having a crisis? Oh, I am Castiel. It is nice to meet you," he says, then looks back over his shoulder where Willow is keeping low. "And you as well, miss."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
*meep*

So much for keeping a low profile. In order to not make them yell across the Cathedral floor, Willow rearranges her position, and makes her way to the front of the church.

"I didn't mean to spy on you." Though it was weird. Almost prophetic. Or maybe fate.

Hellequin has posed:
Both eyebrows raised in surprise, Henri seems to visibly relax just a bit. Most people would just laugh at Castiel mentioning visiting Heaven, but the Hellequin knows better.

He also knows that angels speak in a booming voice, frown a lot, and point fingers. They are God's right hands, aren't they? They also have wings, and this one doesn't have visible wings. All of this makes Henri tilt his head, considering the man before him for a moment. These /are/ strange times indeed, where angels look just like humans!

"I am not in trouble," Henri replies slowly, as if trying to make sure he isn't. "Or am I? Because you are here, this must mean that my mission is over."

Looking at Willow as she approaches, Henri invites her to join them if she so desires, and what he says next is adressed to both Castiel and her.

"I did what I was tasked with, eradicated unrepentants, miscreants, magic users..." On that, he pauses, frowning, "But it seems everything is different now. I see /good/ witches, and demon roots into Slayers. I see people with little... hrm, /genes/ that make them look like Satan's children, still they are of spotless devotion. Maybe I eradicated everything that was truely evil, and what is left is..." His voice trails off, then he adds. "But there are still evil, that needs to be uprooted without mercy." So yes, one can say the Hellequin is a bit lost in the 21st Century.

Castiel has posed:
Castiel shakes his head, "I have nothing to do with your mission. I am merely an angel on business of his own, who happened to be nearby. I had not heard the Lord's prayer in that tongue in centuries. Certainly not anywhere in America," he says.

"I did not think you were spying. I thought you were shy," he says to Willow. "You do not need to be shy with me. I am a friend," he says, turning back towards Hellequin, "Good and evil have nothing to do with genes. Only behavior. Even those who do evil are often merely astray. Humans are sinners by nature. It's part of the 'whole schmozz' as a friend once put it to me."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow would have to agree with Castiel.

"You're being challenged to think for yourself. You can kill anyone if you have God telling you to, but." And here she has had the same sort of things floating through her head. "Maybe God wants you to look at the situation and choose."

After all, by rights, Spike should not be alive. Probably Thomas. And she, herself, had fallen in love with a demon. Though, perhaps, that one wasn't a good choice. He really was a demon.

Hellequin has posed:
"Whole. Schmozz," Henri repeats, tho the words make no sense to him. This isn't the first thing words or actions make no sense to him, so he shrugs it off.

"And so I was told," Henri replies, remembering his encouter with Nightcrawler, "Some have mute ants genes," he says, although he never really understood that either, not even the right word for mutants.

Now it seems clear to the Hellequin that Castiel the angel wasn't sent to bring him to Heaven. As the notion slowly sinks in, a frown appears on his otherwise nice features. So, this is not the end. Noone came to relieve him of duty! Aren't eight hundred years on the job enough?

"Fiat voluntas tua!" echoes around, a mix of submission to the divine will, and a hint of dejection. At Willow's words, Henri takes a moment to do exactly what she suggested, and /think/. This all goes back to the free will behaviour that Castiel also mentioned. "Oui!" he says, sounding a bit exasperated, "But /judging/ is not my task, Willow. You see? Now it seems that I /do/ need to judge, and this is His role, not mine." As he speaks, Henri starts pacing before St. Louis' altar, "It is all a matter of measure, yes. There is still very bad and very good people, and demons. They only... not look the same as before."

Then he stops, looking Castiel from head to toe, smiling oh so faintly. "And must I say, angels don't look the same either."

Castiel has posed:
Castiel looks down at himself, "Ah. Yes. I am using a human host. But, if you would like a confirmation..." he says. And he tilts his head back and for a moment pure white light radiates from him, and the silhouette of massive wings spreads from his back, casting off a powerful aura of love and strength that rolls over both of the 'mortals', even if Helle doesn't really qualify.

Then he draws the light back into himself and he nods to Willow, "Perhaps. What God wants can be difficult to discern. What you want does, as well. Trying to be true to yourself and to do good in the world - I do not think more can be expected of anyone."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
At first Willow really did not know how to react to him, Jewish people had angels, yes, but usually they were to be feared. And would not resurrect until the end of times.

"But isn't that pushing the buck to someone else. You aren't caring about anything that you are charged to do. For that, doesn't it seem.." And she thinks. "It doesn't make you holier-than-thou. It makes you worse. Is it true that someone who goes through life, with its challenges, is better than you because you have no moral compass?"

To be fair, Willow was having trouble herself.

Hellequin has posed:
No, he didn't need a confirmation, but geez (forget the pun) did he get one! The display of angelic power almost brings Henri to his knees - another habit that seems to be lost in the 21st Century. But instead, he just steps back - oh, not afraid, but in pure awe before the angel. Of course, most people could find him amusing - or plainly ridicule - with all his antics with rosaries, statues, prayers and devotion. But most people - well, like in, none at all - come from a time where God was in every words and gestures and when science was almost inexistant. Someone like Castiel might remember those long gone days and recognize a fervent devot in Henri, not just a weirdo with a French accent.

"I thank you for this," Henri says, "I was never granted such an angelic visitation before."

That said, Henri starts pacing again, something Willow asked making him think. It's not the first time she points what seems to be the obvious at him. "I was told to do it, I did not question His will," he explains, "But you have a point, like it says in the song: The times they are a changing." Ah so he listens to music! "I was explained what to do," he adds, then offering a guenine smile for once, adding, "Next time, I will ask to be allowed to read the small print!"

Castiel has posed:
Castiel doesn't know precisely about Helle's mission. He has had his place in empowering agents of God's will on Earth, but this was not one of them. If he had been, Hellequin might have gotten a more nuanced sense of mission. Or perhaps not. Even Castiel had become more enlightened in the modern world than once he had been.

"I cannot say what the Lord may have said to you. But he has said that Judgment belongs to Him alone. That has not changed, nor will it ever," he says. "Yes, times have changed. Sometimes missions do, too. The Lord's will has become more difficult to hear in modern times. His voice has grown distant, by His own choosing. We must do the best we can on our own, for now."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Bob Dylan." Willow smiles. "He wrote it on the civil rights movement, and anti-war movements. And.." She frowns as she finishes, "..and they've gotten more convoluted since."

She looks between the two men. "Everything has become harder. Life is harder. At least you got a mission." Not her.

Hellequin has posed:
"A very nice song," Henri concurs, "Just like Eve of Destruction. Still, I remain partial to the viola."Beat. "Fine, I cannot lie. Twisted Sisters as well."

Musical tastes would make for a very nice conversation, but something Castiel mentioned earlier is still lingering in Henri's mind. Looking at the angel, he wonders.

"You said you are on /assigment/," Hellequin says, "What kind of assigment, if I may ask?"

Indeed, what kinds of assignment can an angel have? Sooooo many possibilities. Henri could think of some, but feels that his notion of angelic tasks might also be a tad antiquated, so he doesn't chance to guess what it can be.

Castiel has posed:
Castiel sighs, "Preventing the Apocalypse. Which I have done. A few times," he says. "But there seems to be no end of endings, no surfeit of swansongs. I must forever beat back the tide, but the ocean is vast and undaunted," he says.

"In other words - I'm not really sure anymore. So I just try to do good and hope it's enough now."

At Willow's seeming sadness, he approaches and will hesitantly offer his hand on her shoulder. "I am sorry that you have suffered. It is not your fault. Well. Maybe some of it is. But that doesn't make it any easier."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Twisted Sister? Henri?? Boggle!

As Castiel reaches for her she shrugs. "I'm.. Trying to figure out things."

Hellequin has posed:
Henri tilts his head, considering Castiel's description of his assignment. "How can you prevent something that is to be?" Indeed, it's clear to Henri that the Apocalypse will come, since it is announced in the scriptures. Or.... is it a case of an angel not believing in scriptures? Wonders won't cease, so the Hellequin doesn't push.

"It seems that the lot of us is all trying to figure out things," Henri comments on what Willow just said, which complement what Castiel also hinted at. "What is it that you are trying to discern, Willow?"

Castiel has posed:
Castiel can hear the thought, because that's part of what he does, "Some plans can change. And not every Apocalypse is created equal." Also, yeah, he didn't believe in the Scriptures and generally thought God was doing a lousy job, but he didn't seem to be doing anything lately. Castiel suspected God being absent from the throne wasn't exactly the kind of thing Helle would want to hear aout.

"Trying to figure things out is the human condition," he sighs. "If I can help, though, I will." he says simply.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"This is some belief that God doesn't know who will take the final throne, therefore, He doesn't want it to happen. Another theory is without the constant fighting between heaven and hell they will cease to exist."

Willow has a few more examples but keeps it to herself.

"Me? Just.. nothing. You'd find it boring."

Hellequin has posed:
"Ah yes," Henri replies to Castiel, "Many called the First World War the Apocalypse, only to apply it next to the Second World War. So you are right, there have been, and will be many small apocalypse before the real one." And Castiel is absolutly right that someone from the Medieval times would not take it lightly to be told anything bad about God.

"Willow, trust me when I tell you that killing miscreants for over seven hundred years /is/ boring, and I doubt what you can say be as boring."

Castiel has posed:
Castiel shakes his head, "We are not bored," he says. He raises an eyebrow about the 'killing miscreants' thing. He suspects this fellow's measure of miscreant might be...broad. But he has enough problems on his plate without interrogating this devout stranger's history. There were enough demons out there to keep all of them busy.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
When an angel of the lord (even if she wasn't a follower), and a man who was self professed to killing miscreants for 700 hundred years ask..

"Everything I do seems to not be enough. I get it, Buffy is the Slayer. But there has to be something that is mine?" Which really isn't the whole of it, but that as far as Willow is going to admit to herself. "Anyway. I should be going now."