1564/Pork Bellies and the Future

Pork Bellies and the Future
Date of Scene:	23 July 2017
Location:	Angela's Loft - Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis:	Alice and Angela have a quiet dinner at Angela's place
Thanks to:	Alice!
Cast of Characters:	Ahadiel, Wu

---

Ahadiel has posed:
    So, Angela promised Alice a nice, home cooked meal. And Alice mentioned Fenzhengrou, so... well, Angela is pretty familiar with about all forms of cuisine, but that was a little bit of a struggle for her to remember. After all, when you've been around for twelve thousand years, recipes can be a bit hard to dig out of your gray matter.

    Still, she's in the loft cooking up a storm, singing to herself as she gets the meal ready. Her eyes flicker to the clock, watching the time as her song is a wordless melody, but her pitch is, of course, perfect.

Wu has posed:
    At precisely the time indicated, not a second sooner or later, there is a tapping at the door. There's no secret to this, of course. The trick is to be in the neighbourhood five minutes early, outside the door two minutes early, and tap at the door right on time. It's just ... who does that?
    Alice does apparently.
    "Ms. Davis?" her muffled voice comes in through the door. "Do I have the right address?"

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela hits the intercom buzzer, her voice sounding a bit crackly with static as she says, "You do, if you're Alice!" There's a soft sparkly laugh through the intercom, and then, "I'll be right down!"

    And after a few moments, the door opens to reveal Angela standing there, looking fashionable as always, though a bit mussed up from cooking, "Come on in! I'm glad you could make it. I mean, not that I didn't think you would, but I'm familiar with how a policewoman's schedule can make things difficult."

Wu has posed:
    "You've been working," Alice comments. "I hope you haven't gone to any great lengths for me. I'm a low-maintenance guest; not very fussy, and not prone to being demanding."
    Alice has a fabric shopping bag in her hand. One that looks like it might weigh quite a bit.
    "As to police work, I have some privileges that an actual Gotham cop wouldn't have. One of those is working pretty much on my own clock, barring any emergency crime scene calls. I creatively told my supervisor that I was 'fostering informant relations'. Sounds sufficiently impressive that he didn't ask.

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela smiles a bit, "So, what should I inform you of?" She chuckles, "We can take a few minutes down here if you wanted to see what I've been working on... I actually live on the second floor. The nice thing about existing as long as I have. Creative savings and interest being accrued." With that, she gestures around, a fair number of blades of various kinds on the wall, plus the half-finished statue of course.

Wu has posed:
    Alices's eyes wander over the blades, picking out, almost as if expecting it, the actual antique blade. Well, one of them. The jian. The bronze one. Her eyebrow lifts.
    "That blade has a history," she says quietly as she clutches her pendant of Guanyin. "A rather bloody one."
    She turns and looks at some of the reproductions, but her eyes occasionally stray back to the jian thoughtfully."
    "Your workmanship," she finally pronounces, with gravity befitting a pronouncement of a doctor talking of a diagnosis, "is without par. One might believe that you'd studied under some of the ancient masters." Impish glow in the eyes. "Or taught them."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela smiles, "Studied under, actually. I tried to be a good student and learned what I could. But I have learned from quite a few of the old masters, back in the day." She hmmms at the jian, then looks back at Alice and just nods a bit, silently agreeing with her assessment on the blade.

    Then she smiles a little, "Actually, after dinner, you can partake of my gallery if you like. This is just... well, work displays, for the most part. My private gallery is where I keep the rare items I've collected over the years." And that's a LOT of years...

Wu has posed:
    "How many ghosts will I see on those?" Alice wonders aloud. Then smiles. "You know, there's a reason why I avoid museums most times. That feeling of weight people have when they see things? That's the ghosts piling down on them."
    Is she speaking metaphorically or literally? Hard to tell.
    "But that sounds lovely, I must confess. Ghosts or no, the old stuff tends to be better made than modern crap. When you could only make one sword per month, you tended to do the job right. Especialy when your name was on the tang."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela smiles faintly, "I don't often have ghost problems here. Quite often I can help them go on their way." She shrugs a bit, and leads the way upstairs, then blinks, "Oh, dear..." Her walk turns into a sprint... and there's a faint smell of something burning from above.

    Looks like the chef got a bit too distracted playing a guide downstairs, as she quickly pulls the wok off the heat, watching the food inside with concern. "Haven't tried making this since... hrm. 1894 or so, I think. I was doing some work in Shanghai at the time."

Wu has posed:
    Alice's nostrils flare as she takes a breath. "Hmm... Sichuan style, maybe west Hubei style, pork bellies. Interesting. Someone has been working very hard and making me feel very guilty now." The tone is chiding, but ritual. "Oh, that reminds me, I brought a few things." She sets her shopping bag down on a chair for ease of access. First out, a second cloth bag filled with smaller plastic bags of fruit: apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, and tomatoes. Second out a carton of little, single-serving yoghurt cups. Finally two bottles of very expensive Maotai.
    "I had a few things lying around I thought you might like," she lies smoothly.

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela grins, "Very observant! And yes, well, there was a reason I asked... fortunately, looks like I got back just in time." She then looks over towards Alice, and blinks a bit in surprise. Her lips then curl into a more genuine smile, "Maotai? Really? It's been a while since I had any of that." Her eyes dance a bit, "To be honest, I'm not sure if it was that or my age that makes me unable to remember the rest of the evening the /last/ time I had it."

Wu has posed:
    "It was the Maotai, I guarantee," Alice says dryly. "The weak stuff is 50. This ... uh ... isn't the weak stuff."
    Left unmentioned is the hurried trip to Hong Kong to get the bottles. Also left unmentioned is her boss' unawareness that she was in Hong Kong for a few hours...
    "I couldn't come empty-handed," she continues, shrugging a little sheepishly. "It's my little way of saying 'thank you'."
    She sits down to let Angela do her thing with the food, trying to avoid being a distraction.

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela laughs a bit, "Well, it was pretty good at knocking /me/ flat, and that isn't easy." She then starts plating the dinner, glancing over her shoulder at Alice, "Well, you're most welcome. You just seemed like you needed a break, which I'm more than happy to provide. And not just because I adored how you dealt with that stupid boy from the other night." Her eyes sparkle a bit, and then she brings over the plates, setting one down in front of Alice and keeping one for herself, "And voila."

Wu has posed:
    Any mystical sight Angela might have would note that Alice is being exceptionally polite. Only basic protection hexes in her vest, probably a permanent implant, and the guns having only the routine aiming enchantments. The bullets themselves... unenchanted. No extra enchantments detectable, although her pocket seems to be holding a few things in it. And, of course, there's her Guanyin pendant glowing brightly in the spiritual realm, but again, seemingly permanent. The string, at least, doesn't appear to be the kind that would permit easy removal of the pendant.
    Alice picks up a pair of chopsticks and starts picking out pieces of taro, first, then the pork, alternating between the two.
    "You said," she muses between bites, "that it wasn't just how I dealt with that boy?"

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela sits down across from Alice, and smiles a bit, "Well, it was mostly that... but more the fact you just seem like a good person. Or at least, you're not a /bad/ person. These days, that counts for a lot." She uses chopsticks as well, and she's been talking in Cantonese with Alice the entire time.

    Angela then smiles, "And I have to admit, I was a little... intrigued, by your magic. It's not a style that I've typically seen. Even when I was visiting Shanghai and Hong Kong. Though if people sensed what I was, they might have been laying a bit low." After all, she does have a license plate on her car that reads 'SM1T3'

Wu has posed:
    Alice lays the chopsticks down on the rest for a moment as she ponders.
    "The magic style is an ancient one. Originally Daoist in origin, but it's built up over the years. I'm ... mostly Buddhist, but you'll find the Chinese are far more practical about religion than westerners. You can be devoutly Buddhist AND Daoist at the same time. And you can mix and match, just recalling what each side thinks of the other's figures."
    She picks up the chopsticks again, selects a succulent bit, mulls over it while chewing.
    "My mother was the more traditional style of 'witch' for want of a better word," she finally continues. "Capes and flowing costumes and flashy magic. She's dead for it." Stated flatly and without any discernible emotion unless you look at her troubled eyes. "There are people who go after we mystical types for a variety of reasons."
    Another bite. Another dead time.
    "My father," she finally continues, "was my role model anyway. A cop, and a good one. And above all a devious son of a bitch. He did what he did through deviousness and surprise. So when this happened," she indicates her hair, "I knew I had to be like him: devious, subtle, invisible to most eyes. So I studied and found the ancient arts of imbuing items with magic. That way I don't stand out when doing my stuff."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela nods, listening intently as her eyes never leave Alice's, and she hmms, "And that's why you jumped so much when I complemented you the other night." She smiles a touch, "It's a rather inventive style, I have to say. I find it very interesting." Her fingers absently find a piece of paper, folding it nimbly into an origami shape. A little pig, actually... appropriate considering it's porkbelly for dinner.

    Then Angela hmms a bit, "Sorry, but when you've been around as long as I have, seeing something new from humanity is a little bit of a novelty." Her lips curl again, "And I really like your attitude. It's a nice attitude." Probably because it reminds her of her.

Wu has posed:
    "To defend," Alice repeats from the night before. "That's the pact I swore, and to avenge if life is scorned and damage done." She presses her lips together, shaking her head. "But I'm really not a 'good person' in the sense that most people would think of one. I don't really like humanity much. Here and there there are individual people I like, but in aggregate they're ... a disappointment."
    Interesting. 'They' when referring to humanity. As if she's apart. She doesn't appear to be aware of this tell either.
    "But ... a job is a job. I'm The Wu. I protect humanity, or avenge it, as the case may be. I'm not cruel--unless I have to be--but I'm not kind either."
    Another shake of the head.
    "And I'm definitely not 'good'. Just dogged."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela smiles a little, "Oh, humanity has a lot of good to it. You figured out the Name was really a thing, and started believing in Her without any sort of proof. Honestly, that's what made me have second thoughts about humanity's worth... just the fact you can all have Faith."

    Angela doesn't eat that much, but she hrmms, "Maybe not good, but you're not bad, either. That much I can tell." She gets a wry look, "You remind me a bit of me... from when I was younger. Much younger. Like the first time I met... ah, well." She blushes suddenly, and hey, there's some food left on her plate! Let's focus on that!

Wu has posed:
    "Lucifer?" Alice asks with a maliciously amused grin on her face. "Gabriel? Michael? You set your sights on God's right-hand man?"
    Blushing angels are a rarity in her line of work. Gotta milk the chance for all you can.
    "I have an idea," she continues, eyes dancing with merriment. "If you crack open one of those bottles you can blame the blushing on the booze. It gives me less ammunition."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela doesn't need to be asked twice, cracking a bottle and pouring a pair of glasses, "Okay, you really want to know?" She smiles and raises her glass to clink it against Alice's, then takes a deep swallow of the Maotai. Then she mmms at the flavor, as it's been a while, before she gives Alice a wry expression, "Actually, it was Ares. I was /much/ younger back then." Her lips quirk a bit, "So was he, really. Wasn't exactly... allowed, really. But..." Her eyes shift a bit sideways, then she can't help but laugh.

Wu has posed:
    "Ares." It's just flat with disbelief. "You and ... Ares." There's that malicious humour look again. Only this one is the mother of all malicious deadpan. "I'll have to mention you next time I see him," she says flatly, no hint of a joke in her face or voice.
    The eyes, though. They're howling with laughter as she drops that bombshell.
    "It might be a fun little blast from the past, don't you think?"
    She raises her cup again, then empties it in a smooth, practiced movement.
    "But I wouldn't be so embarrassed. He's actually a pretty decent guy. I could see someone falling for him."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela blushes again, "I didn't /fall/ for him... it was... ah." She considers, then smiles wryly, "Okay, maybe it was a little bit of mutual attraction since we both had similar jobs back then."

    Angela then continues, "Actually, I found out that he's in town, he... sought me out." She then finishes the glass rather quickly at that, as she's still looking a bit unsettled about that detail as well. Though she's not entirely sure /why/. "I mean, we see each other once every fifty or hundred years or so, we get together and have some fun... last time was 1942, in Paris. Killing Nazis under the full moon."

Wu has posed:
    Alice raises an eyebrow in casual surprise. "You slaughtered some people for old time's sake, did you?" she asks. "Or..." Her eyes narrow. Go analytical. "He wasn't the Ares you remember. He was more considered. More careful. More ... responsible?"
    

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela looks a bit offronted at that, "No, we killed some Nazis for being total rotten bastards who were the epitome of cruelty, and frankly deserved it." She shakes her head, "We didn't kill anyone the other day, just... talked. A lot. Though he's, yes, much more considerate... er, considered. And responsible. It's not... what I expected." She does have a faint smile as she says that, though she might not even know that she has it.

Wu has posed:
    Alice raises her glass for another toast and then, as Angela starts to drink, casually asks, "So he's a good sexual partner then, is he?" Her face as she downs her own is innocence personified. "I have to admit I was wondering about that when I saw him with his shirt off." An amused pursing of the lips. "It's a natural thought!" she says defensively.

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela laughs a bit, "Oh, he was pretty good, that's true enough. But before he was always... hrm, impatient? Not quite the right word, but as I said, he's definitely different now than he used to be." She can't hide the speculative look she gets about that, then smiles wryly, "It's a pretty nice view, that's for sure."

Wu has posed:
    "He did pretty well with this too," Alice says, gesturing down at her belly. Then, apparently realizing what that gesture looked like, adding, "When the namahage got past my last layer of defenses and raked my bowels as he died."
    Beat.
    "It's complicated."
    Alice toys with the last piece of her food, then puts down the chopsticks.
    "He is very good to have at your back in a fight," she says quietly. "I would have still finished my task without his help, but I came out of it with only a few small scars instead of many because he kept the others off my back while I finished the ogre."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela nods, "There's no one better to have at your back in a fight." She looks wryly at Alice, "Though there's a lot of these superhero types that are pretty good too. Ran into them in the park today, we stopped an attempt to kidnap parkgoers." She frowns, as there's probably some webcam footage of her in full angelic regalia smashing the daylights out of AIM troopers. "I don't think they were expecting to see someone like me."

Wu has posed:
    "I ... try to avoid the spandex contingent," Alice says carefully. "First, they're really not in my mandate. Second, I'm not sure how much I can trust them; a lot of them seem pretty dilettantish. It's like they're going out and playing at cops and robbers, not taking things seriously."
    She downs her third shot; it begins to show on her face.
    "Look at people like that Stark man. The equipment he's got? He's filled to the brim with money. And what does he do with it? He wears a ludicrously expensive robot suit and punches things. He's getting a kick out of punching society's victims instead of, you know, helping society stop victimizing them in the first place."
    This may be the closest Angela has seen to Alice's true face now as she continues.
    "And here in Gotham we have this 'bat' craze. A whole family of people who obviously have more money than I will ever see. That fancy suit the father figure has would BUY MY HOME -- the one I rent for a huge chunk of my salary. He's obviously monied. That money could be put into social programs and improved law enforcement to ensure the programs succeed. Instead it's put toward literally punching the poor."
    She slams the glass down on the table, having apparently misjudged its height.
    "No, I'm not friends with team spandex, really. Except Wanda maybe."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela nods, "That's a good part of my misgivings with them as well. Still, they did good work today in the Park. There was this one that made little portals in the air, and another one, a blonde that had this scream she did... very effective." She shrugs, "I'm not all that familiar with the 'spandex contingent' myself, but I can definitely see why you'd have misgivings. To be frank, I think that's a reason I've never really introduced myself to them."

    She shakes her head, pouring another glass, then she smiles over at Alice, "I think if I were more public in my profile, I'd have all sorts of mortals asking dumb questions. 'Which religion is the right one?' 'Bless me!' 'Put in a good word for me upstairs' etcetera." She sighs and sips her drink, "It's not like that at /all/, and I shudder to think about those that believe it."

Wu has posed:
    "Well clearly," Alice says, calming herself, detached mask slipping back into place, "Tathagata has given us the truth. The right religion has been known since long before Christ learned Buddhism in India." She sips from her fourth glass, being a bit more careful now with consumption, apparently, since letting loose too much. And the mask is holding. Deadpan. Eyes neutral. Is she joking or serious?
    "Eventually we will all follow the difficult path to Enlightenment and removal from the wheel of Samsara. Then will all know the truth."
    OK, a sparkle in the eye there slips out.

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela grins, and winks at Alice, "I'll drink to that." She then finishes that glass, setting down the now empty vessel as she sighs, "Though, no one has gotten it completely right yet. The important thing is not /what/ you have faith in, it's that you HAVE faith." She chuckles, "But there's people out there with so many misconceptions, I'm afraid of what it would break if they actually knew..."

Wu has posed:
    Alice leans back and sighs. "I keep faith, but it is hard sometimes," she admits. "If I were Christian I would have lost faith ... well, when this happened." Again her hair. "When my mother died," she clarifies. "As a Buddhist it's easier to keep faith; life is suffering after all. But even there it's sometimes hard because Karma just seems to take so long to come into effect. Sometimes I feel like taking my karma to run over someone's dogma."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela snickers at the joke, "Yes, well... before neither of us are able to stand, I should probably show you my art collection. Because I did promise." She gets to her feet, not nearly as hammered as she sounds, at least from the way she moves, and smiles at Alice, "It's right through here if you want to take the full tour."

Wu has posed:
    Alice pours herself another tumbler of the Maotai, downs it, does that half-grunt, half-cough of approval, then ... doesn't stand up. She instead pulls out a sheaf of rice papers painstakingly covered in calligraphy, selects one, crumples it, and eats it.
    The impact is immediate as her hazed-over eyes and slightly askew seated position vanish; she's back to being in full control of her faculties.
    "Ancient Chinese secret," she says ironically, with a wink, as she stands up.
    "I'd love to take the full tour." She holds out another rice paper. "Would you care for one?"

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela smiles slightly, "That's alright, I don't metabolize liquor, really. It's only a vessel." She gestures at herself, then leads the way towards the other room, opening the door...
    And it's almost like you stepped into a museum. Art is on display everywhere. The majority of the room is taken up with various glassed-in stands, artifacts of all sorts of ages on display, along with a brief note on the creator and the year, approximately. There's Sumerian cuneform tablets, Egyptian hieroglyphs, even a little helicopter-esque contraption with the note 'DaVinci'.
    The walls, for the most part, have various paintings hanging from them. The most notable being one showing a fiery redhead with black feathered wings and matching leather armor. The armor appears functional, a golden halo crowning the obvious angel depicted there.

Wu has posed:
    Alice reflexively clutches at her Guanyin jade, then equally quickly drops it, as if electrocuted. Her skin goes a little pale. "A lot of history..." she mumbles to herself. "So much weight." She shakes her head as if clearing it, blinking vigorously as if momentarily blinded.
    "If I had any doubts about you," she says, her voice dropping that almost omnipresent tinge of irony, "this room pretty much dispels the last shreds of it." She gestures to the angel image. "You, I presume?"

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela gives Alice a concerned look, "Are you alright?" Her eyes flash a bit of amber for a moment, though the worry appears genuine, then she smiles, "Well, it is a bit of challenge of faith." She gestures towards the portrait, "Yes, that's me. DaVinci asked me who I really was... normally I'd make something up, but he was so brilliant..." She sounds almost wistful, continuing, "So I told him the truth, and he wanted to make a painting of me." She glances back towards Alice, "I try to keep it a little organized, but I found that some of the pieces blend better together on display, regardless of their dates."

Wu has posed:
    "I'm fine. Just ... there's a lot of detritus attached to old things, and this room has a lot of old things. Spiritual echoes, if you will. I wasn't quite expecting so much. It was like a flash bulb going off in my face." Alice smiles reassuringly. It's a bit sickly still. "Personally I've never understood the appeal of arranging things chronologically. I mean if you're a scholar, sure, but a museum--and this is a museum, even if it's a personal one--is better suited as a narrative."
    She observes the works quietly for a while, letting them sink in. "I think," she finally says, "that if I had lived alongside human civilization the one man I'd want to have met would be Li Bai. I'd want to have met him twice: once the idealistic Li Bai and once the Li Bai after he wrote "The Road to Shu". I think seeing both of him would be ... instructive."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela smiles a little, continuing to speak to Alice (as she always does) in perfect Cantonese, "I never met him, but I did read his works. Amazing poet." She hmms, "There's so much that I have seen, sometimes, it's almost like my life began with humanity, twelve thousand years ago." She sounds a bit wistful, glancing over towards her portrait for a moment, then back towards Alice.

Wu has posed:
    Alice laughs of a sudden at the glance. "My life is much simpler. It began only 34 years ago or so. I've met ... let's see ... one celebrity of note? Stephen Strange. Oh, and Wanda. The Scarlet Witch. That's about it for celebrities until, well, you. And Michael. And John ... Ares. And those last three only in the past month or so."
    She sighs and rolls her neck, an audible snap coming from it. "I'm sure that I've met others who in the future will be spoken of in hushed, reverent voices. But I have no idea about it, which is the pity. It would be nice to meet Li Bai KNOWING how important he became."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela blinks at the mention of Michael, and then she smiles a little wryly, "Yes, I suppose it would be. It's so odd to see how people live on after they pass. You would think I'd have a better chance of knowing it more often than not, to understand the brilliance that people have... but there's so much brilliance out there in the world. People just need to see it in themselves."
    She then hmms, "I'm... familiar with Stephen Strange. He actually summoned me the other day." She doesn't sound, well, terribly impressed, "Interesting man, but he has little understanding of angels. He actually thought I was /fallen/." Her nose wrinkles in distaste at the thought.

Wu has posed:
    "It's not a mistake I would make, for naturally as a Daoist I believe you're an Immortal Master and as a Buddhist you're an Arhat. There's none of the 'fallen' notion in my view of things." She shrugs, visibly favouring one shoulder. "I've never quite understood the Abrahamic model of things. It seems unnecessarily complicated."
    Yeah, this coming from someone whose beliefs include an uncountable infinite of Hells alone...
    "Mostly," she decides, "I just muddle through trying to do the best I can with an eye toward eventually breaking free of the wheel of Samsara.

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela laughs softly, and looks over at Alice, "I think I might have mentioned before, but no mortal has really gotten it right yet. Though there are philsophies that have come close." She pauses, and looks over at Alice with a wry expression, "Did you want to see me? As I truly am?"

Wu has posed:
    The expression is deadpan. The voice flatly neutral. The eyes dancing with mischief. "Is this a come-on?" Alice asks.
    Beat.
    She starts laughing. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. The charm I swallowed stops the physical degradation of wine, but doesn't stop the emotional impact. It took me a long time to figure that one out!"
    Still chuckling she waves self-effacingly. "I'd love to see you as you really are. Just let me get something ready in case my mind snaps at the sight."
    She roots in her pocket and pulls out her sheaf of rice papers again, deftly selecting one and crumpling it, holding it at the ready for quick consumption.
    "Reveal away. I think I'm ready."
    Famous last words.

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela smiles, "Not a come on at all, I just... felt you deserved to see it." She lets Alice get her paper, then she closes her eyes.
    First, there's a hint of a wordless choir singing, though the source is impossible to discern. Then there's a golden shimmer around Angela, as if she were being viewed through a filter or some kind... which, in a way, she just might be.
    Then, wings sprout from her back, massive, black and feathered as they stretch out behind her. Her eyes glow with a brilliant amber hue as her hair grows longer, flowing around her as if it were aflame. The clothing is gone, replaced with black leather armor, Enochian runes etched in silver. Notably, the scabbard at her side is empty, though still worn, though there is no halo. Possibly because the angel prefers not to manifest everything.
    And when she speaks, she still sounds like Angela, just... perfected. As if you could take out every imperfect timbre in a voice and give it a blissfully perfect pitch, her eyes gazing at Alice, "So..." She trails off, but gives Alice a wry smile, head tilting just a bit.

Wu has posed:
    "Well..." Alice says slowly as she takes in the transformation. "I won't be needing the charm. Either you're holding back or some of my books need a few margin notes."
    While visibly impressed, she's also visibly curious, eyes raking over Angela's form, taking in details. You can almost see the little gremlin in her head trying to sort out impressions, notes, ideas, thoughts, facts, and file them away.
    "Enochian..." she murmurs, trying to read the runes, succeeding, possibly to Angela's surprise, at one of them: avenge. Of course the one Enochian word she knows is that, right?
    "It's very showy, very impressive. If you came after me in that, it would be very, very intimidating. Except for the missing sword."
    She nods in the direction of the scabbard. "You really have retired, like Ares?"

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela smiles, and nods at the Enochian, looking pleased. At the mention of retired, she says, "After humanity... when they discovered a belief in the Name, even if it was incomplete... I..." She pauses, then sounds a bit ashamed, "For nine thousand years of my existence, I never thought much of humanity. Brutal, primitive, little better than talking monkeys. But you all had something inside you I never saw until that moment." She pauses, looking up at the ceiling, then she meets Alice's gaze with her amber eyes, "Faith. When I saw that, I told Gabriel I could no longer discharge my duty in good conscience. He... didn't understand, took my sword but bade me keep the scabbard as a reminder, then I was transferred to Creation." With that, she smiles, "Where I have served for the last three thousand years."

Wu has posed:
    "I think faith is both our strength and our weakness, personally. I say this as a person with faith in two major faith groupings." Her hand reaches for her jade amulet again, thoughtlessly, then stops as she remembers the last time she did that. "I doubt I would continue down the path I'm on without faith. I wouldn't have the strength to, to put it bluntly," she says. "On the other hand ... is this necessarily a bad thing. I'm relying on belief in something I have no first-hand knowledge of to give me the strength to do something. What happens when, inevitably, I'm proved wrong?"
    She gestures Angela's way.
    "I mean someone like you, or like Michael, or like Ares -- this all fits in the model that's in my head already. Ares wouldn't have, however, if I'd been, say, a Catholic monk. What happens when I'm faced with something that shakes or crushes my faith?"

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela smiles, "It's easier to know the Name exists when you can /hear/ it. But when you can't..." Her wings enfold around her, the haze shimmering again as the chorus in the background fades away, and eventually it's just Angela standing there again, her clothes none the worse for wear. "Knowing She exists and believing She exists are two entirely different things."

Wu has posed:
    Alice's face grows a sly grin. "Of course, arrogance like ours exceeds even the Creator. Because naturally my Buddhist side says that your Name is just a bodhisattva trying to point us to the obvious fact that nothing, including She, exists."
    Alice seems to have mastered the art of capitalizing spoken words.
    "I anxiously await the lifetime when I learn this and achieve oblivion. And by anxiously awaiting this I miss the point entirely. Who says the Chinese don't do irony?"

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela chuckles, "I wouldn't go that far. Most demons are horribly arrogant, far worse than humans or angels." She shakes her head, "It doesn't matter too much what you believe in, just that you do." She smiles wryly, "But I suppose giving you too much information would be a spoiler, wouldn't it."

Wu has posed:
    "I have no pride," Alice lies with a cheerful grin. "If you can give me a fast track to Nibbana, I'll gladly take it. Suffering is HARD!"
    Yes, ladies and gentleman, here you have the famous Buddhist stoicism. Give it a round of applause!
    "Seriously, even if you did give me a 'spoiler' there's a good chance I wouldn't accept it. Delusion is as powerful a force as Faith."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela laughs at Alice's joke, "Is that like, 'what did the Buddhist say to the hot dog vendor?'"
    She pauses, then says, "Make me one with everything." Her lips curl into a slight grin, as she shakes her head, "I couldn't really spoil anything without a common frame of reference, in any case."

Wu has posed:
    "And," Alice agrees, "for that common frame of reference to happen, I would have to accept that my frame of references is wrong. And that won't happen without a huge shake-up in my faith. Like I said: strength and weakness both."
    Again the shoulder-favouring shrug. "Really, in the end, I muddle through. When I get my next shot at it, I muddle through again, hopefully this time slightly less of a muddle. Eventually I'll get it right. It may take a few million passes. Or a few million million."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela chuckles quietly, "Eh, you people do okay. An acquaintance once told me that you all get the same thing. A lifetime." She smiles, "Beyond that, well, I can't really say."
    She hmms, and guides Alice through the displays, letting her explore at her own pace. "Any questions?" Her head turns and looks at the other woman, brow arching slightly.

Wu has posed:
    "Only one," Alice says after careful thought and consideration as she looks over the display. "Why?"
    She sweeps her arm to cover the items on one wall.
    "This is all human stuff. You're collecting it like it's of value. But ... it's all a mayfly's existence to you. Blink. You and I meet. Blink. I'm decrepit and close to death. Blink. My great grandchildren are graduating college. Blink. My descendants of fifteen generations ... You get the idea."
    She turns to face Angela. "Is there nothing of angelic beings worthy of this degree of veneration? I find it hard to believe."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela laughs softly, "There is much that is worthy... but it isn't kept /here/." She smiles at Alice, "The Silver City keeps many things that mortals could not handle viewing... and as far as keeping mementos..." She pauses, and looks at the ceiling, away from Alice.
    "Even though I don't age, I don't recall everything that happened over twelve thousand years. I couldn't even tell you how old I am, or the day I was born." She smiles wryly, "I /remember/ it, but it isn't as though calendars were all that popular back then. And... I like keeping reminders of things that I have seen, or experienced firsthand."

Wu has posed:
    There's a pause as Alice takes that it. Then a single nod as she accepts it and files it away for future reference.
    "I have no memories I particularly wish to commemorate," she says, "but I can understand the drive to remember things that have special meaning." She chuckles a little. "You would probably find my home disturbingly empty, despite it being cramped and filled to the brim. I have very little that is decorative beyond incidentally so and nothing that is there only for decoration. It just doesn't suit me for some reason. A psychiatrist would probably have all kinds of explanations for this, but the truth is that at some level I'm probably just a little bit broken."
    Brief smile.
    "Or I'm neurotic and imagining things. One of the two."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela smiles slightly, "Everyone is broken to some degree. If people were perfect, they wouldn't really be a point to existence, would there?" She chuckles and extends a hand towards Alice, "But... I think you're my kind of broken. Glad I managed to meet you, Alice."

Wu has posed:
    "I too," Alice says, extending her hand in return, "am glad to have met you. It is pleasant speaking with the knowledgeable, even when they expose one's own ignorance. Perhaps especially when."
    She nods at the painting. THE painting. "Seeing your true form was also a revelation. It's somehow comforting to know that even the Immortals have problems that are understandable to we mortals."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela laughs softly, "Who wants to live forever, anyway?" She smiles, "It can be... draining, at times. But when you get to a certain point, it's comforting to know that there are others with similar points of views."

Wu has posed:
    "Who wants to live forever?" Alice asks, somewhat startled. "Well ... I do."
    Beat.
    Polite chuckling starts. "I'm sorry, that's just my knee-jerk reaction to that question. It usually takes aback the person asking it. I'm not sure making an Angel of Vengeance be taken aback is wise, however. You may seek revenge."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela snickers, "Still retired. I only really start smiting again when it's a case of definite evil. Nazis. Demons. Things like that." She smiles and shrugs, "Living forever... well, it's interesting. As far as humanity has gone, and how far it can go. The potential is really great."

Wu has posed:
    "Would we have that potential without death and Samsara, though?" Alice wonders aloud. "It is that endless renewal that drives our enlightenment both as a people and as individuals. Our minds, as they are now at any rate, would otherwise sink to intense conservatism and static living."

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela nods, "Exactly." She smiles, "It's like the case of Eden, after all." She shrugs a little, "But that gets a little tricky to talk about."

Wu has posed:
    "So perhaps immortality, while being a gift, is one of those gifts that have a price," Alice says. "Like the gift of enlightenment usually means holding back from Nibanna and buddhahood because you want to help others along out of compassion. I sometimes think the bodhisattva are possibly the most pity-worthy creatures of creation."
    Alice looks at Angela. "Thank you," she says, "for sharing this with me. I will, of course, not mention anything to anybody without permission. Some day I will have to return the favour somehow; sadly, however, for now, I must go back to the mundane parts of my life. Specifically I have reports I need to fill for my boss in Hong Kong. Because now I have twice the reportage!"

Ahadiel has posed:
    Angela laughs softly, "You are always welcome here. If you need any help... well, don't hesitate to let me know. I might be able to lend some manner of assistance." She nods and then adds, "And, I do appreciate your discretion. Thank you."