Middle of Nowhere*, population: 72 (if you count the raccoons too)

[emberlight]

To say Uriel's place is off the beaten path is an understatement. Relying on the traditional means of transportation, one would have to leave the main interstate in favor of lesser traveled highways, turn off the highway onto a local road that hasn't been repaved in years, then leave the road for a dirt path that winds past railroad tracks, through fields of rice and corn, and over a couple small creeks. Other houses can be glimpsed through the trees on occasion, but to call the area a town would be something of a joke. It isn't a town so much as a general store and a scant handful of farmsteads scattered across the landscape. Time has not simply passed this place by, it almost seems to run backwards, the open fields and old homesteads a long-lost relic in a world full of concrete and glass metropolises. There is a sense of community about the area though, of people banding together for companionship in the otherwise-deserted countryside.

Uriel's place clearly needs work, but also shows sign of recent renovations. The wood siding is old and worn, white paint cracked and flaking away, but all the truly damaged pieces have been pulled away and replaced. Rusted fencing sits in a pile to the side, having been removed in favor of wide open spaces. The plants are growing wild, hydrangeas and wild rose bushes growing in an untamed riot around the porch, ancient mimosa and pecan trees surrounding the house, but the dead underbrush has been cleared away and there's not a single weed** to be found. The crumbling cement walkway leading to the house has been filled in with gravel, rotting wood on the porch torn out and replaced, the railing mended and repainted.

Inside, the house consists primarily of a single, large open space cluttered with an odd collection of old furniture and mismatched rugs. Books are stacked nigh unto everywhere, holy texts in nearly every language ever spoken, history books, classical literature, an assortment of how-to guides and even a few illustrated children's stories. At the back of the open room there are stairs leading up to what is presumably an attic, and a door that leads to an addition - not new, but certainly not part of the original plan - that houses a small kitchenette and the only bathroom.

Though crosses and signs have long since been torn down, broken stained glass windows replaced with heavy textured glass, the pews and pulpit inside removed, it retains something - an undefinable air or spirit - of the small church it once was. Perhaps that is why Uriel was drawn to it, damaged faith coming to rest where faith gathers no more.

If you are looking for him, he can be found on the front porch swing, looking relaxed in dirt-stained jeans and a white T-shirt, glass of iced tea in hand, absent-mindedly watching a pair of feral kittens as they race across the limbs of an old mimosa tree.


* Yes, it exists. No, it isn't called "Middle of Nowhere". The kittens were terribly cute. The raccoons were also terribly cute, but tended to be a pain in the ass.
** Well, there's always the kudzu, but good luck*** getting rid of that.
*** Actually, Uriel's gardening skills seem to quell even the kudzu. Poor angel has something of a black thumb. If the roses and hydrangeas weren't quite so stubbornly of the opinion "we were here first, you can sod off", they probably wouldn't last long either.

Comments

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel has always been a wanderer and nature-lover, and if he ever feels like pausing in his wanderings to stay somewhere for a while, he prefers small towns, and the more isolated the better. He abhors cities, with their noise and pollution and the way everyone is always hurrying, to their jobs or schools or trysts, thinking of work and money and sex and more work. Angels have no place there.

Uriel's presence is so much weaker than what he remembers, and his heart aches. He hesitates for a moment, wondering if turning up at Uriel's door will cause the other archangel pleasure or pain. Uriel had seemed happy enough to see him recently, though. Decision made, he adjusts his backpack and walks down a tiny dirt track, because 'road' would be laying it on thick.

Uriel seems content enough, and he smiles. "Hello, Uriel."

[divine-tempest.livejournal.com]

Towns really don't get much smaller than this one, unless one is willing to call a shack in the middle of the woods a town.  Work is definitely on everyone's mind here; planting and harvesting crops is never an easy task.  But it is an honest sort of work, without the stress and vindictiveness of nine-to-five jobs, and the thoughts Gabriel might touch here are nothing like the thoughts of those in the cities.

Though he is not the force he was in Heaven, neither is Uriel quite the wraith he was when he last spoke to Gabriel.  It seems that hard work and country living agree with him quite well.  He looks away from the kittens, smiling when he recognizes the voice.  "Gabriel!  I never expected to see you here."  Actually, he didn't expect to have any visitors except, possibly, Lucifer to whom he had extended an invitation earlier.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel breathes in deeply. The air is clean and clear, and there is a strange sense of contentment in this place, so unlike the stress of cities. He can't help but smile wider.

Uriel looks much better than he did the last time Gabriel saw him, and he feels relieved.

"Likewise," he responds. "Although if it's too much of an inconvenience...," he lets it hang. He is looking forward to some rest, but it's Uriel's call.

[divine-tempest.livejournal.com]

"No, not at all!"  Sliding out of the swing, he motions Gabriel to the front door.  "Would you like anything to drink?  Water?  Iced tea?"

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel steps up onto the porch and walks towards the door. "Whichever you're having, as long as it's cold," he shrugs, grinning. "Could I use the washroom, though? I'd like to freshen up first."

Cleanliness, after all, is next to Godliness.

[divine-tempest.livejournal.com]

"Iced tea it is then," he says with a smile.  "If you will follow me."  Nudging the front door open, Uriel steps inside, pausing long enough to hold the screen door open for Gabriel.

Clearly, the cleaning and organization has not extended to the inside of the house.  Carefully winding his way through cluttered furniture and stacks of books, he seems oblivious to the chaos as he leads Gabriel to the back of the house.  The washroom he shows him to is hardly worthy of the name, a tiny area that would make even the cheapest of hotel bathrooms seem lavish.  Remembering Lucifer's much more luxurious accommodations, he frowns.  "Not exactly spacious, I know.  I hope you do not mind."

[cattygabriel]

"Thank you," Gabriel inclines his head, following the other archangel. He's more amused than anything else by the clutter, and mildly excited by the sight of the books; he's been travelling among humans for millennia, after all, and has seen worse. Besides, he prefers clutter to the impersonal, Spartan style of decor that seems to be in vogue now.

He smiles, shrugging. "It's better than what passed for hygiene among the Norse. I like the place, in fact; it looks lived-in and cosy."

[divine-tempest.livejournal.com]

Uriel experiences a brief moment of confusion followed by a pang of jealousy; the memories from his former host are fragmented at best and most of what he knows has been learned from the aforementioned books rather than experience.  Burying the emotions, he keeps smiling for Gabriel.  "Above all, it is peaceful.  It gives me time to reflect and renew my spirit."  He relaxes upon speaking, letting that peace supplant the darker emotions that threatened to take hold of his heart.  "If you will excuse me, I should let you clean up.  I shall be back with your tea in a moment."

So sorry for the delay!  Life conspires against me and I lost the heart for character journals for a while.  Good luck with your exams, I know you will do wonderfully! =D

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel nods as Uriel leaves, turning the faucet on and scrubbing his hands, splashing the icy cold water onto his face. He runs a wet hand through his hair, staring at his reflection in the speckled mirror, and wonders about Uriel's place in the Plan, if he will ever enter Heaven again.

Perhaps it is unjust, but... I do not question Him.


No problem! <3 *hugs* Thank you!

[grace-descends.livejournal.com]

Lucifer had finally found the time to pull himself away from all of his duties to take Uriel up on his invitation. However, as inviting as a little R&R was sounding, the promise of quiet just wasn't quite enough with the way things were proceeding lately. No, he wanted to drop all the formalities and expectations of him as the Lightbringer and Devil, even just for an evening.

For that reason, there's a rather unusual-looking little* black snake curled around one of the pecan** tree branches. He has his head stretched out, swaying slightly as he tries to scope out the area and locate his favorite little firefly angel.

*'Little' was entirely relative. Certainly he was small for the species but still large enough to enjoy a healthy kitten snack, should the mood strike him. Thankfully for the kittens, he liked cats a little too much to snack on them.
**He had contemplated the mimosa tree but aforementioned kittens had staked claim to it by the time he had arrived and he wasn't entirely sure he could wrestle it away without someone getting eaten in the process.

[divine-tempest.livejournal.com]

Having decided lounging on the porch definitely constitutes sloth and that his time would be better served in more active pursuits, Uriel has moved on to the gardens just a few steps away from the shade of the pecan trees.  Though "garden" may be stretching it a bit, as its currently little more than a bare patch of well-tilled dirt with nothing more than a scraggly kudzu vine vainly trying to resist the influence of Uriel's less than stellar gardening skills.  He doesn't seem to mind much though, pushing dirt up against the vine's roots and murmuring encouraging words to it.

[grace-descends.livejournal.com]

He's pleased he doesn't have to look far, carefully descending the trunk (after determining attempting to drop on Uriel as he passed beneath would involve him to go airborne and significantly further away from the angel as he would like) of the tree and slithering across ground to try to make his way up to that defiant little weed kudzu. However, even with all his grace he can't exactly be subtle, a full four feet of smooth, shiny black scales with the strip of red down the sides.

[divine-tempest.livejournal.com]

(Who's the cutest little snake?  You're the cutest little snake!  Yes you are!  You're a snake!  *ahem* Now that we're done with that...)

Maybe it's a faint rustle of leaves or movement at the edge of his vision that catches his attention, or perhaps it is nothing more than well-timed coincidence that prompts him to turn his head to see the snake creeping up on him.  Though he startles, he doesn't jerk away or otherwise indulge in hysterics.  Despite all his reading, it seems he missed the part where red and black means dangerous.

"Oh!  And where did you come from?  You most certainly are not the pretty little green snake I usually find in the garden."  He stares at the snake intently but keeps his hands to himself, having long-since learned that movement of any kind tends to startle the local wildlife.

[grace-descends.livejournal.com]

This out-of-place snake might seem a little more determined than most of the local wild life, even getting close enough to touch in his trek for the plant. He finally lazily pulls himself into a half-coil near the kudzu, staking claim as his sunning spot, regardless of whether or not it would actually work as one.

As far as he was concerned, any spot right in the middle of Uriel's work was an acceptable sunning spot.

[divine-tempest.livejournal.com]

Uriel frowns for a moment, debating on whether or not to attempt to shoo the snake away.  Ultimately deciding to let nature be, he stands and dusts his hands off on his pants before moving farther down the garden to where the kudzu has sent off a spindly little runner-vine in vague hopes of survival.

[grace-descends.livejournal.com]

This... was not what he was going for. The moment Uriel starts walking away he uncoils and quickly slithers out, fully intending to get under Uriel's feet to trip him up. It certainly wasn't entirely normal snake behavior, but sometimes sacrifices of subtlety had to be made for the sake of the overall goal.

[divine-tempest.livejournal.com]

Uriel stumbles but doesn't fall - he has a bit more grace* than that, after all.  "Excuse me.  I didn't notice..."  Realizing he is talking to a snake and that his words are falling on deaf ears, so to speak, he trails off into silence.  After a moment or two spent in perplexed thought, he comes to the conclusion that the snake has staked claim to the garden and does not care for his presence.  Careful to avoid stepping on her again, he takes a couple tentative steps toward the shade of the pecan trees.


* No pun intended.  Mostly.

[grace-descends.livejournal.com]

The snake immediately follows him, trying to slither over his shoe and wrap around the back of his ankle. It certainly moves quick, going very still and flicking out his tongue as he contemplates how next to proceed. It was peculiar being back in this form but he had no doubt that with enough persistence he'll get what he wants.

[divine-tempest.livejournal.com]

He stops suddenly, at a complete loss as to how to proceed with the snake wrapped around his ankle.  Frustrated, he sits down at the base of the tree and glares at her.  "You are a most vexing creature."

[grace-descends.livejournal.com]

A slight constriction and it coils around his leg a couple more times, creeping up his calf before settling on resting its head against his shin, tongue flicking out. Lucifer can't help but feel a keen since of amused triumph at his victory.

[divine-tempest.livejournal.com]

Startled, Uriel starts to reach for the snake as she begins to constrict but stops when she goes still.  He lets his hand hover for a moment then slowly lowers it to the level of her head much as he would with the kittens.  "Vexing, but pretty," he says, admiring that vivid red streak down her side.

He's very glad Lucifer isn't around to see this.  Talking to the kittens is one thing, but being tripped up by a snake?  As much grief as his brother has given him for other awkward moments, he would probably never let him live this down.