"You don't need to ask," Michael assured Corrival as he picked his way carefully over to the armchair. "On either count. I have photographs."
He sounded proud of that. He was proud of that. Angels didn't usually have a need for cameras. They didn't usually have a need to learn anything, either - at least, not 'learn' by the definitions of humans. It wasn't the same sort of accomplishment as if a human learned how to use a camera from scratch. But Michael was proud nonetheless, and that pride fueled his 'angelic healing' as he reached out and touched the Grand Mage's forehead.
"I'm good," said Valkyrie as she came back into the room, holding up her phone. "All good. No classes this morning. My parents are driving over to pick me up so I don't miss the rest. See? I'm being good." She slumped back onto the sofa next to Fletcher. "And, of course, the people who would care are all still asleep."
Fletcher looked at her. "What am I, chopped liver?"
"You dropped out of school. What do you care?"
With Corrival taken care of, Michael reached down and scratched the Labrador between the ears. Rafe's being-wide ache transferred between the two of them, surged, and then quickly dissipated.
"Emotional damages?" Erskine didn't make even the slightest effort to move from his spot. His headache was gone, but that only made his exhaustion all the more obvious, and it showed in his tone. "What emotional damages? Tortured to within an inch of your life and you're dancing through the daises, but when I collapse on top of you in a drunken stupor, you're emotionally damaged?"
Behind the makeshift fort, the black cat was bristling in Skulduggery's lap. Skulduggery, in subconscious reaction to it, started stroking again. He was still fast asleep, didn't have any idea what he was doing, but his whole body had curled deeper into the armchair to form a more protective shell around Gabe.
Michael made them his next stop, tapping Skulduggery gratefully on the forehead and then lingering for an extra moment over Gabe. He'd wanted to follow Raphael over. He'd known it wasn't a good idea, but hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since; hadn't been able to stop from feeling like he'd made a mistake. Now he knew he hadn't, but it didn't make those few months without Gabriel's comforting presence any easier to endure.
no subject
He sounded proud of that. He was proud of that. Angels didn't usually have a need for cameras. They didn't usually have a need to learn anything, either - at least, not 'learn' by the definitions of humans. It wasn't the same sort of accomplishment as if a human learned how to use a camera from scratch. But Michael was proud nonetheless, and that pride fueled his 'angelic healing' as he reached out and touched the Grand Mage's forehead.
"I'm good," said Valkyrie as she came back into the room, holding up her phone. "All good. No classes this morning. My parents are driving over to pick me up so I don't miss the rest. See? I'm being good." She slumped back onto the sofa next to Fletcher. "And, of course, the people who would care are all still asleep."
Fletcher looked at her. "What am I, chopped liver?"
"You dropped out of school. What do you care?"
With Corrival taken care of, Michael reached down and scratched the Labrador between the ears. Rafe's being-wide ache transferred between the two of them, surged, and then quickly dissipated.
"Emotional damages?" Erskine didn't make even the slightest effort to move from his spot. His headache was gone, but that only made his exhaustion all the more obvious, and it showed in his tone. "What emotional damages? Tortured to within an inch of your life and you're dancing through the daises, but when I collapse on top of you in a drunken stupor, you're emotionally damaged?"
Behind the makeshift fort, the black cat was bristling in Skulduggery's lap. Skulduggery, in subconscious reaction to it, started stroking again. He was still fast asleep, didn't have any idea what he was doing, but his whole body had curled deeper into the armchair to form a more protective shell around Gabe.
Michael made them his next stop, tapping Skulduggery gratefully on the forehead and then lingering for an extra moment over Gabe. He'd wanted to follow Raphael over. He'd known it wasn't a good idea, but hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since; hadn't been able to stop from feeling like he'd made a mistake. Now he knew he hadn't, but it didn't make those few months without Gabriel's comforting presence any easier to endure.