The Conspicuous Stranger

[Existentially Odd]

Hael\'s lips thinned as if he disapproved of what he was hearing - or was reluctant to say what he was about to say, but he said it anyway.

"Due to your status as a supernatural refugee - whatever your powers specifically, you fall under that umbrella due to your other world residency - the Oligarchy will help you in any capacity we\'re able - we can convert your gold and silver to the relevant currency for this continent, or to another, if you plan to travel abroad.  It would depend on how much you\'ve brought and how much you want to see, of course," the fallen angel added coolly, making a few notes about what he was saying and then looking up.

"Whether you\'d require a guide," he added, almost mumbling the words before he continue in a more obvious tone.  "What powers do you possess as... a priest?"  The word was said with delicate disdain.

[realworldweirdo]

Aliquis composed his expression, and let the tension from the shocking news drain out of him. Nothing to be done, so no reason to worry. He wondered briefly how much he wanted to tell Hael about his abilities. He decided to let it all out, as there wasn\'t all that much to his abilities beyond the physical.

"In a limited sort of way, I can sense psychic presences. It\'s not very strong, but it\'s there. Half the time it\'s not even worth anything, I might as well not have it. I\'m a fully trained member of the most skilled fighting tradition on Riesaen, and I have access to a Hadramari ability." And now he was going to have to explain what exactly the Hadramari were. What a pain.

[Existentially Odd]

"Right," Hael said crisply but this time he was looking straight at Aliquis, his beautiful face uncharacteristically serene.  The oddest sensation of unprofessionalism stole over him and all the talk of celestial beings and priestly things took their toll, quite unexpectedly.

"Look," he said kindly, his voice again ululating with the promise of song and cheer, of peace and relaxation once more, as he changed tactics.  "What it comes down to is this; do you mean this world harm?  Can you walk amongst its peoples without... " his voice trailed off as he glanced down along the stranger\'s body, taking in his clothing before his gaze lifted lazily back to the man\'s charming blue eyes, "standing out, or do you need a guide?  Would that... speed things up for you?"

His perfectly shaped eyebrows lifted in what he thought was a sympathetic fashion.

[realworldweirdo]

"I never meant this world harm to begin with," Aliquis replied, trying to keep acid out of his tone. He didn\'t quite believe the sudden change in Hael\'s demeanor, but he was willing to accept it. "I doubt I\'ll be able to go unnoticed. If my currency could be exchanged, and perhaps an inconspicuous guide to keep me out of trouble..." he trailed off. "No one goes armed here, do they?"

[Existentially Odd]

"Criminals do," Hael answered mildly.  "But they carry guns, not swords or knives.  Shall we house them for you?"

[realworldweirdo]

"NO!" Aliquis yelped, taken aback. He calmed himself again and reminded himself that he was not on Riesaen, and that Hael had no idea how the rin\'atra behaved. He modulated his tone and said, more calmly, "No, no thank you. I\'ll need to carry one sword with me, wherever I go, or have it close by. The razor-sharp one, made of a single contiguous piece of metal. I have a link to it, a precious vital connection. I go into a frenzy to recover it if it gets too far from me. The rest can be stored here. It\'s not that I have to carry a weapon, it\'s just that I have to be near it."

He shuddered as he thought of what would happen if he were to frenzy in a crowd of unarmed civilians. It would be a bloodbath, especially if the Hadramari were to activate in the process. "I just need to see some of the culture, and if you prefer, I can stay among the supernatural, although I am human."

[Existentially Odd]

Hael blinked.  "Right," he said again, in the same smooth tone.  "I\'ll see what I can do," the angel smiled beatifically, closed his manilla envelope and abruptly stood up with it tucked beneath his arm once more.  As he reached his full height, his wings moved back into a wider position (no longer restricted by the chair back) with a shiver that rustled their feathers, framing him with their onyx lustre and settling with the sound of a whispery breath.  "I\'ll be right back," he bade cordially, and left the room.

When he returned fifteen minutes later, he was not nearly as cordial, and his lovely face was drawn down into a scowl.  He was also no longer carrying his folder, but Aliquis\' sword.  He\'d been to see his superior, to discuss what he\'d found out, consult with the watcher from the viewing room and to put forth the case that the disturbance of this being on Earth would be minimal, as long as he had a guide to ensure he could blend properly - obtain the right money, the right clothes.

His superior had suggested Hael do it.  Hael had laughed it off, and discussed what he felt to be genuine options for such a task - only to have the order reinforced.  Apparently, the angel had a rapport with Aliquis now, and it would be his task to oversee the man\'s visit to this plane, and assist him in every way necessary, until he left satisfied.  It was preposterous, Hael wanted nothing to do with a priest - any sort of priest! - after his fascination with just such a being had caused his untimely descent from God\'s right hand, to Earth, where their sinful lust had been indulged.  A Catholic priest of course, not one from this Riesaen, but it amounted to the same thing; a man in robes.

There\'d been no shifting his superior\'s mind, however, and so Aliquis\' guide he would be, much to his consternation.  He walked in and held the sword out towards him.  "This is the sword you need, I take it?" he asked briskly.

[realworldweirdo]

Aliquis felt his dai-sword approach, and was thus warned just before the door opened. He\'d focused on the bond he had with it while left alone in the room, which felt like a cave with no mouth when the door was closed. Without companionship in the enclosed space, it was disorienting and claustrophobic. Upon observing Hael\'s expression, Aliquis considered the option that perhaps he had been better off in the room alone.

"Yes, that\'s the proper sword. Thank you, very much." More tentatively, he asked "Has a guide been arranged?"

[Existentially Odd]

If it were possible, Hael\'s face only looked grimmer, his gaze shifting to somewhere above the foreigner, rather than looking directly at him.

"Yes it has.  Me.  I\'ve been ordered to assist you in any and every way I can, until you feel you have enough knowledge to return to your plane.  I was thinking we might begin here, in this city.  First, we should secure you a base of operations - what are your sleep cycles like?" he asked briskly, his hands sliding behind his back so that he was grasping his own fist.

He was still looking through Aquilis, and it seemed an odd thing, considering.  His tone was also business-like and unemotional, declaring that he could be professional about his role, even if he didn\'t like it.  His attitude was somewhat militant in approach, in fact.

[realworldweirdo]

Aliquis was used to being around people charged with unpleasant tasks; he had grown up in the most militant of the three doe\'rin guilds in Eastern Riesaen. Therefore, he could tell that Hael\'s expression was one of stoic and steadfast determination to do something unpleasant. It didn\'t take a trained priest or warrior to tell that. Aliquis had been deliberately baiting him during most of the interview, and now he had been assigned to guide him around the city for an unspecified amount of time. That wasn\'t at all to his liking; Hael had obviously flinched when he first mentioned being a priest, and had gotten only more agitated each time it had been mentioned.

There was no way he\'d get the kind of information he wanted out of Hael. Besides, the angel wasn\'t even technically from Earth, just as Aidan and Kiat\'Ara weren\'t technically from Riesaen. He had been charged to spend time with natives from Earth, and he wasn\'t about to be escorted around by a celestial here. It was bad enough he was shepherded around his own plane by Aidan in the manner he was. He thought for a moment, letting Hael wait in that tense pose while he created a plan for himself.

"My sleep cycles are that of any human, though I\'m able to shift them for convenience faster than most. As for a base of operations, you\'d know that better than I. There is the small matter of getting me a different guide, however. As pleasant as you have been, unfortunately my directions are to spend time with the natives of this world... which you are not. It would be inappropriate for me to spend my time here in your company."

Not to mention cruel, he thought, running his left thumb over the smooth hilt of his sword. I wonder how Aidan would respond to the presence of priests, other than his own doe\'rin and Aeth. Being told to forever leave the celestial homes and safeguard Riesaen... he never speaks of it himself.

[Existentially Odd]

Despite his own arguments to the same end (against his superior), Hael now resented the fact that Aliquis seemed offended enough by his presence to argue his company.  The hide of him!  His hands went to his hips and he frowned at the foreigner.

"I won\'t impede your interactions with the humans," he defended.  "I have a glamour that hides my wings, no-one can see them and I walk among them freely.  Besides, I\'ve observed them for eons even if I\'ve only lived among them for a short while by comparison.  I\'m an excellent guide," he asserted, lifting his chin in a manner that suggested Aliquis shouldn\'t dare argue with him.

[realworldweirdo]

"I suppose if you insist, there\'s little enough I can do," he replied warily. Something had changed, and this time he couldn\'t read it. "So let\'s get on with our work. Let\'s see what we can do about getting me into different clothes, and some money. Is there anything we can use to disguise my sword? I can\'t wait to get out of your interrogation room. Is this where you do most of your work?" He moved towards where he had repeatedly seen Hael come through the door, prompting quick action. He was Sword Guild trained; he was used to action, and lots of it.

He ignored Hael\'s statements about observing humans from afar completely. He\'d met Aidan, who had similarly watched from afar for countless years. Despite his centuries of interaction with humans, he was still not able to fully understand human lives and motivations. Then again, Aidan admitted that his avatar aspects clouded his view of mortals with a certain attitude. Still, the hybrid had created the rin\'atra and trained the mou\'rin, and Kiat\'Ara had created a successful theocracy that covered two-thirds of Western Riesaen.

[Existentially Odd]

Hael blinked at the rapid-fire commentary coming out of the blonde\'s mouth and instantly regretted his arguing the point of sticking with the guy.  It was likely to be a long night, even if he claimed he followed a normal mortal\'s sleep routines (he hadn\'t mentioned how his body clock was doing with the planar shift, though; for all the angel knew, it was midday in Riesaen).

The business of them organising to leave the Chambers was not a quick job - or at least, it wasn\'t one that Hael wished to rush.  He was methodical in his approach, taking Aliquis on a tour of various levels of the old hotel building as they went to various places for the tasks they needed accomplished.  The first stop was the vault, where a wily goblin exchanged Aliquis\' gold and silver for a hefty amount of American dollars - which they then banked until such time as he would need it.

After the vault came the armoury, where they procured a magical scabbard that Aliquis could wear comfortably and have his trusted sword concealed.  It\'s glamour was quite similar to the one concealing Hael\'s wings - or so the chatty attendant pointed out, but the angel gave him a look (from above his imposingly folded arms) that shut him up fairly quickly about that.

When they were finished in the armoury, they went up in the elevator to Hael\'s suite, in an effort to find some clothes that would fit Aliquis.  If they had to go out clothes shopping they could, but the angel would prefer to avoid that at all costs - even if his wings were glamoured invisible, closely-arranged clothes racks tended to be his undoing and he got a lot of strange looks whenever he tried to squeeze in and around such devices.

"You can have the suite next door," he was telling Aliquis as he opened his door with his swipecard, then gestured for the visitor to follow him in, "the hotel\'s sparsely populated and I\'ve got the key coming your way.  We\'ll just see if we can find you anything that will fit you before we head out onto the street, though," he declared, looking Aliquis over in such a way as to insinuate he doubted the smaller-framed man would measure up to his clothes - and not just because of the wing adjustments in his shirts.

He said nothing, though, as he closed the door behind the two of them and gestured at the settee nearby.  "Leave your stuff there while we look, if you like," he offered, preparing to lead the way through to the bedroom (it was a typical hotel room, really, with an entertaining are as a front room, a hall that led past the combined bathroom/toilet and out to a spacious bedroom with a king-sized bed).  Apart from the built-in closet full of clothes, there were no personal touches added to the suite, though a bible with a marker poking out of it sat on the glass coffee table in front of the two seater couch.

[realworldweirdo]

Aliquis gritted his teeth and allowed himself to be dragged through the endless processes involved in getting stabilized. There were several new types of beings he encountered, but none of them human. Hael never answered his questions, no matter how many he asked, and after several attempts he gave up on trying to be social. After all, he\'d merely been trying to start conversation. He was fully awake and active; there was no reason that he shouldn\'t be. He\'d left Riesaen just after sunrise, in order to be as fully prepared as possible. It was night here, which led him to think that perhaps Hael was irritable partially due to the late hour.

He\'s worse than Lysande, he thought irritably.

The moment when he was instructed to sheathe his sword in the enchanted scabbard, he hesitated. Sacred metals, icefire in particular, did NOT like magical containment. There was a small chance the entire thing could explode in a rain of lightning and kill them all. He decided to ignore that chance, and sheathed his sword without incident. From there on, it was a trip to Hael\'s room to try on clothes - none of which fit by a wide margin, due to his much more muscular build and shorter frame - and being shown how to operate a key on Earth. He observed it all carefully, learning everything he could.

"We\'re going to have to buy clothes for me," Aliquis finally declared. "If I lose the cassock and my sword stays concealed, do you think we\'ll attract too much attention? Tell people I\'m in a play or something. This is ridiculous."

[Existentially Odd]

Hael raised his eyebrows.  "They have plays where you\'re from?" he queried, but had another question to follow that one.  "Do you want something to eat before we head out?  You\'re likely hungry by now," he observed, ready to ring the kitchens and have some food sent up - twenty-four hour room service was one of the perks of living in the Chambers, he had to admit.