Katiel spent the lunch break sitting beside Lance, alternating between polite conversation and pointed glaring at the brute sitting next to Kari. She had, in all fairness, handled the situation admirably. Katiel sighed slightly, taking a bite of the food in front of him. It was pleasant, to eat once more. The food was not all that good in and of itself, but his tongue greeted it like a long-lost friend. Though the physicality of his present form had its limitations, he could not deny that he experienced a profound joy in the simple pleasures of life. The effect was ruined by Jack's proximity to Kari, however. Katiel simply did not trust him - he could see the violence running through his face. But then that was, of course, why Katiel was subject in the hierarchy of justices, rather than the hierarchy of mercies.

"So how do you know Kari?" Lance asked, looking at the man beside him with a wide-eyed interest. "I don't think I've seen you around before - you're new, right?"

"I was assigned to her as a personal guardian to make sure she wasn't killed." Katiel said, barely paying attention to the conversation. He then snapped to attention, realising what had just come out of his mouth. Lance looked at him strangely, then shrugged and dismissed it as a brush-off. Lance was used to people making fun of him at this point: this kind of sarcastic 'none of your business' was all too familiar.

"She's really something, isn't she?" Lance said, staring over at Kari wistfully. "We have a couple of classes together. Have you heard her play the piano? She's friggin' amazing. Super talented, like a prodigy or something... you're not her boyfriend, are you?"

"Nope." Katiel replied. He looked at Lance curiously, studying his face for a moment. "Are you?"

"I friggin' wish! I mean, look at her! She's pretty, talented, smart... I don't talk to her much, though. I don't think she likes me." Lance sighed. "Sucks to see her with Jack. Friggin' meat-head. How did you get him to let go, anyway? He's like, a foot taller than you are."

"The human body is a complex organism, replete with pressure points and weaknesses. You just need to know what you're doing." Katiel said. At that moment, the bell rang and he stood up without properly saying goodbye to Lance, instead keeping a very careful eye on Kari and making sure that he arrived to their next class at the same time as she did.

The bell couldn't ring soon enough for Kari who, by now, was listening to Jack talk about how firm his muscles were and how often he went to the gym and what he did at the gym. While all of that was utterly enthralling, Kari had more important matters to attend to, like talking with Katiel. When the sound of the bell came over head, Kari practically jumped out of her seat, having already taken her tray, and quickly walked away from Jack who by now was staring blankly at the back of her head, wondering where she was going. That was probably going to bite her in the ass later but at this moment, she didn't care.

She waited until she heard Katiel come up behind her, Lance following after for some reason. "That was stupid." She began curtly, not looking at Katiel. She stopped at her locker and turned sharply to face Katiel. "You could have been expelled had that gotten any worse. There are better ways to deal with someone than causing a scene." She explained, closing her eyes again to rub the bridge of her nose.

"Are you okay, Lance?" She asked after opening her eyes again.

"Y-Yeah! Perfectly fine! That guy's a friggin' pain!" Lance returned.

"Yeah, I'll say." Kari responded dryly and then turned to open her locker. "Anyway, Lance, you should get going to class. We'll be doing the same." She told him without looking, sifting through her locker to find her English book. She only had three classes left. P.E., English, and Music. Only two of which she had an interest in going to. She put her English book into her book bag and closed her locker. She turned to face Katiel to give him a sour look before making her way to the roof, where she would spend the entirety of PE.

"That was stupid. You could have been expelled had that gotten any worse. There are better ways to deal with someone than causing a scene." Katiel did not react much to this. It was to him a simple matter of course to act as he had done - he saw a grievous sin being committed and so he stopped it. Unnecessary retribution was not taken, no-one had been hurt, and the incident did not have any lasting consequences. Indeed, Kari had intervened of her own free will - so why was she now annoyed with him? He shook his head, not knowing, and followed her up to the roof. He felt a slight twinge of anxiety, skipping a class like this. Although he was not a student at the school and had never claimed to be - he merely said he was new and would be studying here - he felt that Kari, at least, should keep the integrity of her academic contract. The look in her eye made it clear that he would not dissuade her from her present course, and so instead he vowed to stick with her.

Reaching the roof, he took a deep breath of the sweet, cool air. He longed to spread his wings and fly, to feel the rushing air currents and the exhilarating rush of wind past his ears. But to do so would compromise his cover, and he would not risk that for a personal pleasure. It was nice just to be out here, anyway, with Kari for company.

"I find Lance's turn of phrase distasteful." he said after a few minutes of silent reflection. "Though I can appreciate his frustration, he feels the need to express it with sexual euphemisms. It's... crude. His intentions are... broadly speaking... noble, though. He seems to be infatuated with you, which means I can trust him enough should you wish to be left alone with him for whatever reason. I've yet to judge the rest of your peers in such a way yet."

A small fly was blown through the wind towards Katiel, landing with a splat upon the front of his sunglasses. He noticed it a moment later and sighed, removing them so that he could scrub the front with the corner of his sleeve. As he did so, Kari again caught a glimspe of the bright, burning white of his irises - their honest fury that momentarily eclipsed the wind and made the world seem altogether still. It lasted only a second or so, before he once more covered them with the tinted plastic.

"We shouldn't stay on the roof too long. It's out in the open, exposed... it'd be too easy for someone to drop in, or set up positions on other buildings with a good view of us. The office buildings further into the centre of town would be a problem." Katiel turned and looked to the large grey office blocks in the distance. He squinted slightly - he could not see any threat, but then even with his own keen sight finding such a small figure on such a large building would be difficult, if not impossible. "It would have been nice to be told why you were so important, but I have faith that the reason will reveal itself in time."

Kari turned sharply to face Katiel, her anger rising. "Infatuated?! Th-That...!" She began, not really knowing how to even approach the subject. "I don't care if one of my peers seems to like me. I'd rather you not analyze them like some piece of information." She continued, shaking her head.

When she noticed the light again as he took off his sunglasses, she'd could stop herself anymore. She listened to his words, although only superficially. She marched herself over to him and pointed a finger in his face.

"You... have some explaining to do." She told him as she flicked the sunglasses off his face, revealing the white hot burning irises there. "Tha-that's not normal, for anyone." She exclaimed, turning away so that he could fix it back. In truth, she couldn't stand looking at it for too long for fear she might melt in front of it. "Maybe if you explain a few things to me, we can figure out why the hell 'they' need to protect me." She continued, turning back once she figured the sunglasses were back on. "I'm not going to listen to you if you don't explain things to me. I don't take well to being lied to and I will not tolerate it." She told him firmly, turning once again to walk away.

She went down the stairs and found herself in the girl's bathroom, hiding in one of the stalls. Surely he wouldn't go in there. After all, she needed a few minutes to think. Who was this guy really? He had to be crazy because there was no way in hell someone needed her alive for any spectacular reason. She wasn't worth that sort of protection and... Protection against what? So far, she hadn't seen hide nor tail of anyone trying to do anything to her.

"I'm not lying, I just..." A cold dread washed over Katiel as Kari stormed away. Now he'd done it. He let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his thick white hair. He would leave her to cool of for a while: no doubt following her now would only serve to upset her more. He had been stupid - the morning had been so... normal, so mundane, that for just a moment he forgot there was anything to hide at all. It was... inconvenient. Not an immense problem, as from the first moment that he spoke to her the illusion was on limited time. That said, he still felt stupid.

The girl's bathroom was quiet - no-one else was in here, all being in class, so the only noise to accompany Kari's inner monologue was the constant dripping of a leaky faucet on the far end of the room. Then, the door opened with a high-pitched, drawn out creak. They really ought to oil that door.

"Nephilim...?" a voice asked the room. It was cool, well-spoken, and male. "Are you in here, Nephilim?"

The unknown male began to walk - gentle, tapping footsteps letting Kari know that he was wearing formal working shoes. They stopped for a moment, silence surveying the bathroom, before there was the loud, unmistakable bang of a cubicle door being kicked from its hinges. The door fell to the tiled floor with a hideous crash, and then there was silence once more. Then, more footsteps. Then, another violent crash. The footsteps were coming closer now, more fevered. Kick, bang, step step step. Kick, bang, step step step. This went on for a little while before the footsteps reached the last cubicle on the row, which Kari was hiding inside. She could see under the door two black shoes, now scuffed and damaged.

"There you are Neͮͬ̑͜p̋̾͋͒ͫ̊̊͏hͭ͑i̵̾͗͊̚l͂̎̂͛ͣį̔mͦ̚͘..." the voice chimed happily, a sadistic glee hanging on to each syllable of the sentence. A moment later, the door flew open as it too was removed from its hinges, to reveal a gaunt, pale man with sleek black hair standing on the other side. He was wearing a formal suit and looked almost like a teacher, save for an immediately noticeable difference - the large metal thing clutched in his right hand. He raised the gun, aiming it squarely at Kari's head. A pale finger placed itself gently on the trigger.

In a split-second, the man went from standing upright, triumphant, to being lain in a crumpled heap on his side. Katiel had tackled the man to the ground and landed a few quick strikes on the man's head. He whirled around furiously, glasses now forgotten as the burning light of his eyes flickered with a violent power.

"RUN!" he shouted at Kari.

After trying her best not to cry out in fear as the man made his way, busting doors down, to her cubicle. Nephilim? What the hell did that mean? Why was this bastard looking for her? For a split moment, she thought it was Katiel but... even he couldn't change that quickly and she knew what he was wearing. The same exact geddup as the night before.

Her body froze as the man stood in front of her stall. His voice set her on edge, something about it didn't feel natural. It felt hollow and cold even if the way he said it implied happiness. She jumped, her hands sprawled out to touched the sides of the stall as if by holding it, she could get away. She swallowed as the gun was raised, her eyes fixated on the barrel of he gun. Before anything could happen however, a flash of light went past her and the gun was gone. Every moment seemed to have slowed down immensely. What felt like minutes was mere seconds. She looked down to see Katiel, his eyes burning and flickering as if they were a flame.

A few seconds later, she registered what he'd said and did as he'd asked, running to the door. However, she stopped at the door and turned to look at Katiel. "B-Be careful..." She stammered, swallowing.

Kari's next move was to run to the office and let them know there was a shooter in the building. At first, the office lady just kind of looked at her but then her words registered and the woman was moving as if the building was on fire, trying to get the cops that were around campus to get into action as quickly as possible. Kari let out a small sigh as she let her exhausted body fall into one of the waiting chairs. This was the only thing she could do for Katiel. Part of her felt bad for leaving him and part of her throught it was better that way. Why did she trust him so much anyway? She'd only just met him and since then he's been telling her about these dangers that were after her and now here she was, shaking because she'd nearly lost her life just a few moments ago. She barely even remembered the run to the office, it was all a blur as her mind went tunnel vision for the main office.

The man fell limp, his temple cracked beneath the weight of Katiel's hands. The illusion beginning to fade, a scarred, burned texture returned to the man's skin. His eyes bleached yellow again, and his hair receded, only to be replaced with bony spires that protruded wickedly from his skull. Katiel stood, covered in blood, and took a moment to compose himself. He could not be sure that Kari was out of the building, nor could he know whether there were more assailants. Likely they had been tailing her, waiting for her to be alone... he needed to get back to her, quickly. But he could not simply let the demon lie there. The less questions asked, the better... he would need to dispose of the body. It was a good thing he had been trained for this eventuality.

He took a small match-book out of his back pocket, rolled up his sleeve, and struck it alight against the skin of his forearm. The tiny flame was gentle, blue. It calmed him to know that it was there. He held the thing to his clothing, and at once the foul, stinking blood upon them ignited and was gone - Katiel's eyebrows nearly being singed off in the process. He then looked to the demonic body and threw the match upon it - just like the blood, the thing caught fire quickly. He was glad the old tricks still worked.

Katiel picked up the gun, and examined it. He was hoping that it had been modified in some way, but alas it was a standard service pistol. He turned it over for a moment, thinking what to do with it. Neither he, nor the assassin, had fingerprints - one of the more minor differences in physiology between humans and his kin. Which meant that the gun was probably clean, and untraceable. There was no sense leaving it though, so he slipped it gently inside his jacket pocket and did his best to conceal it as he left the bathroom and went to find Kari. Hopefully she was not too shaken by the experience.

Kari sat in the main office, rubbing her hands together, shaking. She couldn't get the image of the gun in her face out of her head... All she could think of in that moment was that she was going to die... She swallowed shakily, looking around at the people in the main office, all yelling and running around, trying to figure out both what happened and what to do about it.

With a shaky breath, Kari stood, attempting to leave when a woman appeared in front of her, telling her to sit down.

"But I want to go outside! I need a breath of fresh air!" She yelled, her voice sharp and a bit too high, clearly a sign of her nerves.

"No... No you don't." She replied, her voice dark and hollow. Suddenly, a knife found it's way from the woman's back and was headed for Kari. Without another though, she ducked, trying to roll away as best she could, though all she could managed was rolling herself into the desk in front of her, hitting her head. She rubbed her head for a moment, before looking up to see the woman grinning as she came in for another attempt.

Closing her eyes, Kari screamed.

"KATIEL!"

In the span of a single second, there was an almighty bang and Kari felt a sickeningly warm liquid spread over her body. This was quickly followed by two more bangs and fresh splashes of blood as holes opened up in the woman's head and torso. The sight of the woman was something Kari had never been confronted before - it was not like an action movie or a television show, which leant towards a red stain upon a clean white shirt. The calibre of the bullet was enough to cause wounds that could only be described as 'gaping'. The deed done, Katiel lowered his arm and put the smoking gun away again. He walked over to the body and with a forceful kick shunted it across to the other side of the room, away from Kari - a crimson trail left behind it on the floor. Like the man previously, the woman's body soon changed into the genderless, scarred thing that betrayed what she really was.

"Kari - Kari, it's ok. I'm here, and I'm not going to let them hurt you." Katiel said, kneeling beside Kari and placing one hand on her shoulder. The smell of the blood on her was awful, but he didn't mind so much - his duty would always have ended this way eventually, and he felt a strange relief to have done with it sooner rather than later. "Kari, you don't have to watch anything if you don't want to, but I'm going to clean up now and take you home."

Katiel lit another blue match, and underwent the same process of burning away any trace of the demonic body - leaving behind only scattered ashes, a smashed-up room, and the unmistakable smell of gun-smoke. He felt a warm flush rise in his cheeks, and a verse from the book of Ezekiel flutter into mind. I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them. Katiel smiled to himself for just a moment, then turned back to the matter at hand. Putting Kari's arm over his shoulders, he helped lead her away from the scene and the school, starting off in the direction of her home.

Kari was basically mute by now. She had no words, she could only shake in mute fear at the things going on in front of her. What just happened? One second, she the barrel of gun in her face and then nothing. The next she was sitting in a office with a knife coming for when suddenly it was gone, a spurt of blood in it's place. The woman had several holes in her and although Kari had watched Katiel with the... inhuman looking thing, she still couldn't get the image of the woman's face out of her head. The way her eyes had looked the moment she realized what had happened, the way she fell... Kari had every reason to believe at that point that the woman was completely human... or not? She didn't know but regardless, the woman's face pressed on her mind.

She didn't even really register Katiel at all at this point, she simply let him lead her home, nevermind that school had yet to end and it would be hours before her mother got home. Once there were about half to her apartment, Kari stopped, pulling away from Katiel. She stopped at the bridge, the water flowing quietly under the bridge. "Explain everything to me. Now. Or so help me, I will jump." She threatened, motioning to the water over the side of the bridge. "That's a big enough drop that I'd probably die... So... I need you to explain everything that you know to me right now." She continued, glaring at Katiel.

"That thing wasn't human and if you expect me to follow you, I'm going to need some answers. Some good answers." She told him, her voice calm and even despite her earlier encounter. She'd had time to think and now she was acting on it. "I hate swimming around in the dark. So tell me... What is a Nephilim and why did he call me that?" She asked, her eyes narrowing. She stood, unmoving, wanting nothing more than information from this man before she completely trusted him, if she even could afterwards. This all felt like some weird dream, one she just couldn't wake up from. But she wasn't that gullible. She wasn't going to sit by and watch things happen in front of her without having a clear understanding of why. She was human after all.

Katiel was slightly taken aback. He hadn't been expecting this drastic a reaction... then again, humans were strange, fragile things. He looked to the water below - it was freezing cold, and if Kari fell in she would have no hope of swimming away. If the fall didn't break her bones on impact, she'd die of hypothermia pretty quickly... suffice it to say that this was not the outcome Katiel wanted from the situation. The new information Kari had just given him helped put things in perspective, too. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again and began to speak in a slow, clear, authoritative tone.

"I'll try to make this as simple and understandable as I can, because I know it will be a lot for you to take in. My name is Katiel, and I am an angel assigned to act as your guardian until such time as I am told that the threat to your life has passed. The two people who attempted to kill you today were demons - angels, like myself, who chose to rebel against God rather than serve him. They cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be bargained with, they simply wish to see the ultimate destruction of humankind. They have deemed that killing you will bring them one step closer to that goal." Katiel removed his glasses, once more giving Kari the view of his tempestuous, transcendent glowing eyes. "I am part of what is called the ministry of Justice. I was, from my creation, trained to act as a soldier in the heavenly host. The least among the many servants of the almighty."

Katiel's voice shook with passion as he said that final word. He paused for a moment, considering.

"The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown." Katiel began, quoting scripture from memory. He had a good head for this sort of thing. "Nephilim are the offspring of angels and human women. If you say that the demons called you by that name, then that describes your own birth. Demons are foul liars, but there's nothing to gain from them telling you that you are, if you are not. Which makes sense: I could tell there was something special about you."

Katiel offered a hand to Kari, trying to get her to step away from the bridge.

"We shouldn't stay here. There may be more around."

Kari blinked, still unmoving. Angels and demons? Really? Honestly? Angels... and demons? She felt her knees go weak as she collapsed to the ground, having put the last of her strength into demanding more information. It was a hell of a lot to process, more than she could possibly try at this point. But... Her dad was an angel? It would explain a lot considering his absence. But still... She had to wonder about her mother. Why hadn't she told Kari? Was she just trying to hide it from her or was she trying to protect her? Kari didn't know... Something she might have to ask her mother...

She closed her eyes as another wave of fear passed over her. It was understandable... She'd nearly died twice. Just the shock alone was making it hard for her to even see clearly... or... were those tears? Kari lifted a hand to feel a strange wetness on her cheeks. "I... I can't get up..." She spoke through shaky breaths, looking away from Katiel, embarrassed by how exactly human she really was. Half of an angel or not, Kari still felt very much like a human. She was scared, she was hurt, and she was confused, all human error...

"I'm scared..." She cried, her voice a mere whisper as she pulled her hands to cover her face. Her body shook with her tears, shuddering slightly. Suddenly, as if hit by a sudden wave of anger, she lifted her head, glaring at Katiel. "Make it stop!" She screamed. She stood quickly and ran after Katiel, throwing punches at his chest, and rather hard at that. As hard as an 18 year old female could manage anyway.

After a few moments of anger, she fell against him, pulling her arms around his neck. "Make it... stop..." She murmured, her voice trailing off as her anger seemed to die away. This whole ordeal was hitting her hard, as it should...

"You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you." Katiel whispered in Kari's ear as she clasped her arms around him, more quotations coming to his mind. It was all he could do, in a situation like this - he barely knew the girl, and so replaced his own words of comfort with words he knew so very well. "It is the Lord who goes before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed."

Kari was, quite clearly, worn out and in no condition to travel. The bridge they stood on was not in a crowded area, and the occasional passer-by was not so frequent as to make Katiel scared that the two of them would be seen together. He looked at her for a moment sympathetically, before he put his arms around her and held her to him tightly. Katiel was obviously quite strong - though he initially looked somewhat thin, Kari could feel the strength of his arms. A moment later, two great white wings had burst from his back. They shimmered like silver, and loose feathers were shed from them in that first instant like a splash of cool, crystal-clear water across hot sand. It was almost as if the wings were ethereal - they seemed almost not-there, as if the sight of them was simply a trick of the light bounding off an energy field. But they were strong, too, and fit for purpose. Tongues of fire lingered at the spot on the ground where the pair had been standing, Katiel bursting into the sky with immense speed.

He looked down at Kari, wary not to drop her and doing his best to make the trip as comfortable as possible. He soared through the air, back toward Kari's apartment building.

What a load of crap...

Kari, still not able to speak much more let the angel carry her back to her apartment. She wasn't even in much of a mood to notice the beauty of his wings, she was more irritated by it all in the end. Though, to be fair, the flight was quick... and frightening. For a girl that was already scared half to death, it was a bit much for her heart and the moment his feet touched the ground, Kari was up and stumbling up the stairs to her room. Not a single word to Katiel, not a single word to anyone or anything.

In a few hours her mother would come home... Tomorrow, class would go on like it always had. As if this whole thing were a dream. It kind of made her angry that she almost didn't want it to be a dream. All of that just to wake up angry and upset. She sat down on her bed, staring down at the floor. The scenes from the day playing over and over in her mind. the woman, the gun, the knife, Katiel talking to her on the bridge. His words as they left.

God isn't there for me. You are. Idiot.

She rolled her eyes and fell against her bed. Not wanting to talk to Katiel, even if he entered the house, she turned over her sheets and slipped inside her bed without changing. It took a while, but after much tossing and turning, she managed to let sleep take a hold of her.

---

"I'm off!" Melissa called out from the door. She smiled as she heard the familiar voice of Bill from the supply closet.

"Alright. You be careful now, Mel!" He told her, yelling so that she'd hear him. "Why do they always make you close up?"

Mel shrugged and continued out the door and to her car. It was late now and her daughter was probably either asleep, online, or playing games. The latter two probably true. She grinned to herself, chuckling at the thought of her daughter asleep with the controller in her hands. It had happened once or twice, the game still playing as the little avatar Mario slept on the screen.

She drove, trying to get home within the best time she could manage. She wanted to get to bed so that she could possibly get up by the time Kari was headed out for school. It was always her goal even though sometimes it didn't really work out that way. Especially when shit like this happens...

She stopped her car on a dime, the wheels screeched as she came within inches of hitting the woman standing in the middle of the road. Mel raised a brow, at first confused, and then lowered it, her expression turning into a scowl. She glared at the woman, clearly unhappy with what the woman had made her do. She rolled down her window and yelled at her, "You know! If you're looking to kill yourself, there are quicker and easier ways that don't have to make me feel like a killer! Bitch!" She screamed, uncaring of the woman's circumstances. She had no sympathy for people like this.

What she wasn't expecting was the woman's gun and the ominous sounding voice that came out of her mouth.

"Where is the N̓̉̈́̂͘e̊̇̓̍̎p̈́͂̍̇̕h̐͌͐̀̚ȉ̈́̓́͠l̀̍͂̈́̇i̛͋̄̑͛m̉̉̂̋͝?"

This time, Katiel did not wait in the trees outside Kari's house. Yesterday an imp had dived at him... He was expecting far worse tonight if he let the girl alone. He entered the empty house after Kari, not bothering to stop the girl from going to bed. The day had been difficult to say the least... She would need her strength for whatever found them tomorrow. While Kari made herself comfortable in bed, Katiel spent time looking around the house, gun drawn, for potential threats and improvised weapons. There were some good, sharp knives in the kitchen which could come in handy in a pinch. No guns in the house- he hasn't expected there to be, but it was problematic all the same. He had fired his own weapon three times, which meant it had... At most... Seven bullets left in it. He would need to search for something else tomorrow.

He sighed, walking quietly to Kari's room. He sat silently at the foot of her bed. If Kari's mother questioned his presence he would have to think quickly... But he wasn't willing to let Kari sleep alone. There was no telling what would happen if he did.

With a broken arm and a gun wound in her right shoulder, Melissa found herself lying on the side of the road, several miles away from her car. She was in the brush, but she knew the woman wouldn't take too long to find her. After all, she didn't seem normal. All Melissa could do was hope, it was all she had left at this point. Pulling out her phone, she pressed a button and a signal was sent out to the nearest police station. Soon, cop cars could be heard in the distance.

She heard the woman's footsteps, or what she assumed to be the woman's footsteps walking around on the road and just as they came closer, they stopped. And then... nothing... soon the cops were on her and helping her out of the ditch. An ambulance was called and Melissa was rushed to the hospital. When questions were asked, she honestly didn't know if they would believe was she told them.

---

Kari woke to the sounds of her phone ringing. When she opened her eyes, she saw Katiel sitting on the end of her bed, staring and brooding.

"M-Morning..." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she reached for her phone. She let her eyes adjust for a moment, trying to see the number. It was unfamiliar to her. "H-Hello?" She answered, still mostly asleep.

A few seconds later...

"What?!" She called out, sitting up suddenly. "I'll be there soon." She finished, hanging up the phone. Soon, she was up and racing around to change, not really noticing Katiel was still there. After changing, she turned to see Katiel still on her bed. "S-Sorry... I'm just... I need to go." She told him, already turned to leave. She could feel her hands shaking, her heart was racing. Why was her mother in the hospital? Why?

Katiel followed Kari, still lost in thought. He was trying to piece together the events of the preceding day, and was having a hard time doing it... Kari was nephilim, but no angel had been so inclined to breed in the last six millennia or so. Which implied something particularly foul, which Katiel barely wished to consider... yet, to him, it seemed that was the most likely explanation. It was... not crippling. Though he found his former kin foul in the extreme and knew they were beyond redemption, the human element never ceased to surprise him in these situations. Kari would need to be watched, though. He did wonder why this information was not given to him, but he supposed that there had to be a reason, either for Kari's sake or his own. Nothing happened without a reason.

Soon, they reached the hospital.

- - - - -

"I will do so, of course, but I do not understand your reasoning, limited as I am." a voice assented passionately, the noise echoing with the booming power of a thousand simultaneous thunderclaps. The creature to whom the voice belonged was an immense thing of whirling motion and fire, as large as a star and several orders more glorious. Yet even this mighty thing was dwarfed in majesty by the shrouded figure standing miles below.

"They'll soon need the help, and I have ordained no other angels for this task. They may not be Seraphim, but my blessing will seek them nonetheless. Katiel is a rightfully distrustful soul, and he would never accept it on the word of an equal lest they be lying to him. You know the boy: tell him I wish him well, and give him the bowl." the still, small voice said. With each word, reality pulsed. When this figure spoke, nature groaned, the very atoms of the air longing for fulfilment in those precious breaths. "More importantly, tell Kari I love her. It may not mean much to her now, but I wish her to hear those words."

- - - - -

Katiel held the door of the hospital open for Kari. He was unsure of quite how visitation in such places worked, the rules being so inconsistent from country to country and hospital to hospital. Yet he stood dutifully by, always scanning his surroundings for trouble. He hadn't the time to scope this place out - it was vulnerable. Anyone of these helpers could be in disguise.