Gabe probably wouldn't be quite so understanding once he actually met Fletcher and spent more than a few minutes with him. Then again, Skulduggery could easily picture Gabe defending the last Teleporter through thick and thin. The Archangel's endless mounds of patience had always been a source of confusion and fascination for Skulduggery. There was patient - which Skulduggery certainly was - and then there was the angelic patience of a saint.
... Which, now that Skulduggery thought about it, really explained everything.
"You'll question; he won't let go," Skulduggery pointed out, ignoring Gabe's earlier comment. "You haven't so much as mentioned the skeleton part yet. Fletcher wouldn't stop mentioning it for hours. I think he believed the more he claimed it couldn't exist, the greater the chance it wouldn't."
Skulduggery might have been more careful about standing to see who was coming in, but he was fairly sure he'd recognized the way the door was violently shoved open. It may have been a bit of a far-fetched thought, but it turned out to be correct, because Valkyrie was walking purposefully into the church when Skulduggery turned. She froze when she saw him.
To say he had missed her would have been an understatement. Skulduggery just hadn't allowed those feelings any time in his consciousness while the question of ever seeing her again was still up in the air. Fruitless feelings of frustration would have done absolutely nothing at Landel's to help him escape, and they certainly wouldn't have helped with the Faceless Ones. Now that they'd leaked through the cracks before he could do anything, Skulduggery wasn't too surprised to find that they had mellowed into a strange mixture of guilt and sadness. And for the first time in a while, they came without even a slight hint of anger.
Neither of them said anything, the silence between them slowly lengthening into minutes. Skulduggery still didn't have any idea what to say when Ghastly, Tanith, and Fletcher then filed slowly in after her. Nothing continued to be said by anyone.
Skulduggery took note of the water Valkyrie was carrying, and the hesitant - perhaps even wary - way in which they all looked at him. He nodded slowly, wondering if even revealing his original skull would be a little too much at this point. Part of him knew they needed to get through this reunion quickly, because Gabe still needed their help, but another part of him inexplicably wanted to just stay in this moment forever.
"I'm back," he said simply, spreading his arms slightly to the sides. He didn't deserve to be, but he was. "And not crazy, I promise." Maybe slightly delirious, but that was only to be expected. "I take it things have gone downhill without me?"
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... Which, now that Skulduggery thought about it, really explained everything.
"You'll question; he won't let go," Skulduggery pointed out, ignoring Gabe's earlier comment. "You haven't so much as mentioned the skeleton part yet. Fletcher wouldn't stop mentioning it for hours. I think he believed the more he claimed it couldn't exist, the greater the chance it wouldn't."
Skulduggery might have been more careful about standing to see who was coming in, but he was fairly sure he'd recognized the way the door was violently shoved open. It may have been a bit of a far-fetched thought, but it turned out to be correct, because Valkyrie was walking purposefully into the church when Skulduggery turned. She froze when she saw him.
To say he had missed her would have been an understatement. Skulduggery just hadn't allowed those feelings any time in his consciousness while the question of ever seeing her again was still up in the air. Fruitless feelings of frustration would have done absolutely nothing at Landel's to help him escape, and they certainly wouldn't have helped with the Faceless Ones. Now that they'd leaked through the cracks before he could do anything, Skulduggery wasn't too surprised to find that they had mellowed into a strange mixture of guilt and sadness. And for the first time in a while, they came without even a slight hint of anger.
Neither of them said anything, the silence between them slowly lengthening into minutes. Skulduggery still didn't have any idea what to say when Ghastly, Tanith, and Fletcher then filed slowly in after her. Nothing continued to be said by anyone.
Skulduggery took note of the water Valkyrie was carrying, and the hesitant - perhaps even wary - way in which they all looked at him. He nodded slowly, wondering if even revealing his original skull would be a little too much at this point. Part of him knew they needed to get through this reunion quickly, because Gabe still needed their help, but another part of him inexplicably wanted to just stay in this moment forever.
"I'm back," he said simply, spreading his arms slightly to the sides. He didn't deserve to be, but he was. "And not crazy, I promise." Maybe slightly delirious, but that was only to be expected. "I take it things have gone downhill without me?"