Ah. This, now, this was more what Gabe had imagined and hoped for when Skul had first mentioned China Sorrows as a collector. Surprise flickered across the Archangel's face, followed by gratification and then a more genuine smile than he'd offered China since the very first--before she'd used her power in him.

Her power was ingrained, after all. She used it badly, but she wasn't damned yet. Maybe this was his chance to make a difference in her mentality. Maybe that's what the clarity he could sense in her mind was for--to keep her power in check. It wasn't working, if so, because he could tell it was still the same passive level it had been the last two times they'd met, but it was possible.

There were certain things he wasn't about to talk about, but this was a better start than the other times.

"Actually, it's very similar to this one," he said, tapping his cards closed. "Not all our laws of magic and metaphysics are the same, but more than I thought would be. Earth, in general, seems nearly identical--save the exact people on it, and the history of the more clandestine communities. Do you have a nine, Skul?" He wasn't sure. The others didn't have anything he wanted, or at least nothing he could divine; statistically this was his best chance for another pair. Not a good one, but still.