September 9th, 1999, continued
Time to go back to work. The vessel requires some bit of work to repair, and while the Elohite and Cherub attend to that, Laban-Lael has a chat with Rook, and asks him to resonate on Perry and see if he has been compromised. The angels take their leave.
Arashiel has been teaching Arabis to drive. With Arabis at the wheel, the pair makes it to Susannah's house alive. Mostly. Susannah, by now used to all manner of visitors, is told that the woman who now stood before her, Arabis, had also been the raven. Susannah accepts this with her usual unflappable calm. She is displeased that Elizabeth had been 'hit', but Rashi refuses to discuss it and so the conversation drifts on to Perry. Turns out Susannah likes him, but is unsure if he is good Soldier-husband material.
Arashiel says nothing more and they leave, heading to Perry's residence where, they soon learn after a phone call from Matt, they everyone else would meet them. Rook resonates Perry. At best, Perry would be a good husband, father and provider. He does, however, have the potential to become a Soldier of Hell and betray Elizabeth and destroy the Eason line of soldiers. Not good. Jael acts on Laban-Lael's suggestion and detunes rather coldly.
Rook, looking on, could see that Perry was bewildered and frightened and Rook was moved to pity.
On their way back to the hotel Rook asks his quiet group if there was
a hot tub. In apparent mystification (apparent? we were all shocked!), they answered that there was. Rook wants to 'hang out' and get his vessel feeling cleaner and debrief.
Of course, this means -- shopping! Arashiel decides to
have some fun with Arabis and get her some very feminine clothing, both for the swim and for the wedding. Poor Arabis . . . never go shopping with mischievous Creationers.
Debrief in the hot tub; Rook wants info on the Tapestry and expresses concern for Perry. Then the topic drifts:
Jael, pensive: "If you see the TICTOC guy, will you fly into a rage and kill him?"
Rook: "No. I want to know why this has happened. I can't learn that if I
kill him."
Jael: "I agree. We need to watch for a while."
Rook: "Yes. Now, I suggest that we each pursue essence in
whatever manner available to us so that we will be prepared."
Jael studies her toes.
Arabis announces that she would go find some fires to sit in, which got
an immediate reaction from Rook. A small discussion ensues, in which Arabis insists she will be *fine*. Rook lets her go, finally, but he is not too happy. Rashi gets another room and calls Sean over. Matt retreated to flower beds, and Jael stayed downstairs to people watch while Rook went upstairs to practice his katas. Can you find the angel who doesn't pursue Essence?
September 10th, 1999
The rehearsal dinner passes without event.
September 11th, 1999
Arashiel and Jael are inside for the wedding, while Rook, Matt and Arabis-Raven are outside. With a Gay Pride Parade one block
away, the wedding went off splendidly. Laurence made a wonderful
showing in white. Everything was beautiful.
At the reception, however, Trouble arises. One of Arashiel's attunements -- either Tapestry or Susannah or Jael -- is in danger. She heads in that direction, alerting Rook. She sees someone talking to Jael and soon, to the angels' dismay, Jael leaves the building with said person. Rook tries to get Jael's attention by throwing a fork. Unfortunately, he misses. Flying silverware. Subtle.
Anxious Rook goes Celestial and follows, passing through the crowd
quickly. Once Arashiel and Rook reached the parking lot, they cannot
find any sign of Jael. Arashiel follows her attunement and Rook
follows Rashi, to find Jael very close to the Mysterious Man, and yells for her to duck. Jael's quick reactions saved her from being stabbed. The knife wielded by Mysterious Man misses her throat, nicking her barely. Rook recognizes MM as -- Daspit. The demon Descends as the Malakite rushes him. Then another of Rashi's attunements tweaks at her. Rashi smells a set-up, and she and Rook hurry back inside, with Jael in close pursuit. Arashiel sees a pretty woman -- whom Rook ids as Victoria Strassen -- talking to Susannah. The woman is holding
open her coat and Susannah seems fascinated by whatever she sees inside. Alerted by his fellows, Matt hits Susannah with the Ethereal Song of Harmony and breaks whatever hold the jacket's interior has on her. Victoria scowls at Matt tries to leave. Thunder goes off and many in the crowd collapse, stunned. Rook hits Victoria with a Celestial Song of Forbidding to keep her from descending. He soon learns -- as he tries to hit her out in the parking lot -- that she is a human Soldier. Clang, says the Symphony. Worse -- she a *tough* Soldier. Only stunned by his blow, Victoria has the presence of mind to scream for help -- look, look, a damsel in distress! Other humans respond, and Rook is forced to retreat. Poor Arabis, who always rolls Infernal Interventions, is struck by a Calabite resonance and send her battered raven vessel plummeting into the gutter. Now one of *Jael's* attunements is in danger, so the Cherub rushes out to her and sings Healing.
Arabis shifts to her human vessel and has questions: Why did Jael follow Daspit outside? Jael, disgusted, admits to having been Balseraphed. Dammit. Meanwhile, Victoria has run across the street, and cops have been called. Rook takes the AngelVan to follow the police when they take Victoria to a station, which prompts a whole new pursuit from Jael and Arabis. Though Arabis is in favor of getting Victoria now, Jael talks the Ofanite and the Malakite out of precipitous action.
Finally, the party regroups and decides to leave.
The unhappy conclusion: "Well, we fell for that pretty handily. They pulled us each out and now I am sure they know most of our attunements, except for Matt,
perhaps. They might not know we are from Boulder and that might buy us some time." Then the angels -- by now extremely disgusted with Colorado Springs and the amount of trouble they have gone to for a *wedding* -- return the extra rental car, pile into the AngelVan, and go back north to Boulder.