Attitude

Gabriel had been almost human for four years now. Four years since his plan to unleash Hell on Earth had failed, Lucifer had stripped him of his wings and God had kicked him from the theological society into the street. His second sight was almost nonexistent now. Which had proved near fatal many times because of all the half-demons that had wanted revenge on him, his reduced reflexes had made it all the easier.

Three years since he'd pulled himself from poverty and gotten a terrible job at a nice grocery store that barely kept the roof over his head patched and food stocked among other things. Only a few of the half-angels still wanted to associate with him now and most had lost patience with his barely changed attitude.

As he walked along a smoggy, Los Angeles street that minutes ago had bustled with people and vehicles, his sixth sense flared. Briefly, the streetlights flickered as the three half-demons, their eyes flashing red, melted out of the shadows to surround him. One was middle-aged with greying-blond hair and tanned-skin, the other two were twins black-haired, light-green eyed and pale-skinned.

The middle-aged one sneered, "Look everyone it's Gabriel, the useless hand of God." as his purple-scaled and bladed tail lashed in glee.

While he flinched at the reminder, the twins laughed at him. "You're pathetic, Gabriel. No wonder your precious Loki didn't want you. He knew you'd be a failure."

'They do like mocking me about Loki don't they ? You would think they'd have gotten bored with it by now. I wonder what Loki is doing now. Likely not about to get beaten half to death.'

Even with his slowed reflexes, he managed to dodge the first punch, but a dark-blue tail wrapped around his legs and pulled them from under him. With a grunt he crashed to the sidewalk, his vision blurred and pain lanced through him as his head cracked against the grey cement.

Once again, he found himself curling up while his wing stumps strained trying to curl nonexistent wings to protect himself. A foot slammed into his back and sent him sprawling on his stomach. The oldest looking half-demon kicked him in the face. An explosion of agony and a spurt of hot blood as his nose smashed before his stomach roiled. Disgusting as it was he forced himself to swallow the bile, he wasn't going to give them the pleasure of seeing him vomit. Even swallowing the bile, which had little to do with breathing, made the shards of his nose jar.

'If they're going to kill me why don't they do it already ? Well, besides pure spite, of course.'

Loki's warm, soothing voice called, "Actually, Beasts, I already have a lover and he is far more accomplished than Gabriel. Step away from the disgraced creature, now, and I swear that I will spare you."

The twin on his left mocked Loki. "Spare us ? Spare us, ha ! Whatever is a mere trickster going to do to stop us ? You're even weaker and more useless than Gabriel." That said just before the twin stomped on his thigh, an unintentional cry leaving his lips when the bone snapped.

Painfully, and making his stomach roil again, he turned his head to see Loki silhouetted on top of a building across the street. It seemed like slow motion as Loki stepped off the building, the black-leather long coat that he wore rippled as the God of Mischief landed in a perfect crouch. Loki icily stated, "You chose poorly."

Something bright zipped across the street before a bright-emerald fire turned the middle-aged half-demon to ash without even a second to scream. A faint gurgle from his left and he rolled his neck to see Loki's lover, Fandral, finish decapitating the too daring twin. Another flash of emerald-fire engulfed the remaining twin before Loki strode across the street towards himself and Fandral.

He blinked tears out of his eyes as the Asgardian Prince crouched in front of him. Faint concern and slight pity mingled as the black-haired man said, "Time has not been kind to you, Gabriel and I only have a single healing stone. Fandral, have you any ?"

Fandral replied, "I have three, when we're done I should have two."

'What reason do they have to help me ? I watched Loki nearly every time he came here, whether he knew it or not, yet they don't care about that. They're going to help anyway, I don't deserve this after what I tried to do.'

Loki reached into a coat pocket and pulled out a flat, smooth grey-stone then raised it to crush the stone in a fine dust over his nose. A cracking of bones that made him wince as the dust turned into dark-blue, healing energy when it touched the wound. Another wince as Fandral's stone healed his thigh, then both Asgardians took his hands and pulled him up.

The younger blond scratched at his goatee'd chin, then Fandral asked, "Do you have a place to stay, Gabriel ?"

Slowly, he nodded and responded, "An apartment a few streets down from here."

Really, it shouldn't have surprised him when the Asgardians said they would escort him home. Knowing that they were going to see his apartment with its chipping, brown-paint on the door, the water-stained walls and ceiling and the almost moldy and suspisciously stained carpet made him ashamed.

Reluctantly, he started toward the very loftily and ironically named Crystal Palace Apartment Complex and apartment #55 in particular. 'It just goes to show how far I have fallen. Please, just don't let the patch above the door break again when I open said door.' All too soon, they stood before his door which he slowly opened.

In disbelief, Loki exclaimed, "You live...here, Gabriel !?"

Beside him, he saw Fandral's eyebrows rise in equal, if not greater even, disbelief. 'Ah, they aren't used to seeing such blatant poverty are they ? After all, I don't believe that Asgard has anything approaching nearly this state.'

Of course, at just that second, the patch broke dousing the carpet in front of the door. There would be more water-stains leading off into the kitchenette and down the hallway to his bedroom. Hugely embarrassed, he laid his head in his hands wishing that the day would finally be over.

A second passed before Loki murmured, "Norns be praised, so there will be a use for this after all. Surely, you could trade or sell this for a room somewhere, could you not ?"

Then one of Loki's hands took his and pulled it down to place something in it. When he opened his eyes it was to see a cloak brooch shaped like a stag's head - its head and antlers of silver, the eyes of deepest emerald - nestled in his palm.

Grateful tears sprang to Gabriel's eyes, he whispered, "T-thank-you, Loki, Fandral. There are not enough words in any tongue to express my sentiment. This will acquire me far more than enough money for a single room. I should be able to repair most of the damage, if not all of it, with the rest."

Fandral smiled at him and said, "You are most welcome, Gabriel. May Urd remember your feats, Verdandi smile upon you and Skuld guide your path."

He blinked, wiping away the tears as he watched them walk back down the hallway, arm-in-arm, before Loki teleported them away. Enlightenment struck him as he stared at where they had stood.

'That is what I should have done before. I should have gone out and truly helped others, instead of just giving advice. The old, haughty, Gabriel is gone and with the new day comes a new, far more caring, Gabriel. After I fix up the apartment I'll take a shelter-less person in or buy them new clothes or some such.'

Feeling far happier than he had in many years, he smiled as he closed his apartment door. It was time to find a pawn shop.