John left before she did, leaving her alone in the quiet for once. Ariel took a few minutes to get herself ready to go home. It was going through the motions for the sake of what was left of her sanity. She could have easily used her powers to summon all that she needed to her hands. But she didn't want to. She needed to unwind from the trauma. It was another mud monkey saved, but each took a toll on her.

Her nature was torn in two, from six thousand years of life. On the one hand, who gave a damn about the mud monkeys that ruined this paradise. They would die, one way or another, while she watched and did what she had to to continue this service of penance. On the other hand, if she truly believed the conditions of this 'penance' of hers, then another life saved was a drop in the well of the debt she owed her father and his generals.

Funny: she owed them. She never expected for any of that to happen, but she owed them for her quote-on-quote 'failures'. For her 'salvation'. Fuck them all. They had no idea what she was capable of, what she had done to survive those countless years.

At one point, Ariel looked into the mirror. This vessel was the most recent in a line of vessels that she had chosen for the four thousand years that she had served the generals. Her brown hair was combed back off her face and cut short to frame her oval gaunt face. Some grey hair grew in flecks throughout her hair, a necessary part of her disguise. Her vessel was aging again. It might not last another five years at this rate. Icy blue eyes looked back at her, ringed with shadows as part of her vessel's deterioration. Small lips opened slightly to reveal straight white teeth.

Shaking her head, she checked her pockets once last time and walked out of the hospital via the ambulance bay. For two in the afternoon in the middle of the week, it was chaos on the roads. She never drove around, instead choosing to walk around to all the places that she needed to get. Why bother with cars and pollution, when her vessel had a functional set of feet to use. Besides, the small apartment that she kept was just a twenty minute walk down the street.

Ariel closed the apartment door when a breeze ran over her neck. She looked over: the window was still open. She just shrugged and looked around. It was sparse, uncomfortably so to the eyes of any of the mortals around her. A small mat on the floor. An unused kitchen, cleaned once a week for the sake of a routine. No furniture, no food. No books. This place was simply for her rest. She didn't require extraneous belongings that she would need to give up when she would undoubtedly leave once her time was up here. She didn't need food or water. What benefits would it provide her, except to stoke those memories that she kept buried?

Sometimes, she indulged. Fruit and vegetables, mostly. They tasted so good, so sweet and clean. Alcohol, too, was awesome. She could have so much and not get inhibited by the alcohol. Gin and tonic seemed to be acceptable for a vessel of her supposed status. Apparently, women of a certain class don't shotgun beer and shots as she did thirty years ago. It helped her to blend in around her. People didn't seem to trust a woman that didn't eat or drink. With the excuse of low blood sugar today, someone tossed her a candy bar in the locker room. She promptly threw it out: far too sweet for her tastes.

Mostly, she needed nothing. Oh, the wants were endless. But this was meant to be punishment. Even though she hadn't interacted with any of her siblings in almost two millennia, she knew they were watching. Watching and reporting on her every move, making sure that she stayed within the confines of her sentence.

She scoffed for a moment as she sat down on the mat below the window, thinking about her younger brothers and sisters for the first time in a number of years. Humans thought that her kind would fly down from the skies with a prayer to help them in their hour of temptation or need. Well, some were like that. A few were like her, gifted with the powers to heal. Gabriel was their Father's messenger, or at least, he was before he disappeared. The majority of them, like Castiel and Uriel, were the warriors, who served under... him. Michael, her elder brother and the first angel ever created.

He was the general, the leader of all of the angelic missions. Not one angel had seen or heard from Father since the Fall. Michael had first and last say on everything that happened at the Citadel. He was the one that... was 'saved' her still the right term? Or was 'punished' better? Regardless, he was still one of two angels that originally held superior rank over her. Now, Ariel had been away for so long, rank was a little hazy. Still, she knew that Michael was in charge of the decision to keep her here, to remind her of everything that happened to her.

She had lovingly devoted herself in the service of her Father for all her life; she had no other choice. Being born an angel (if you wanted to get technical, she was the third archangel ever created and the first female of their kind), she rose through the ranks until she was considered to be the right hand of her brother. Where he was the sword of God, she was the healing power of God. When people called and petitioned for healing, their Father would send her to help the humans. But she would be lying if she had told anyone that she didn't miss Michael.

Michael... her beloved brother. He also brought back painful memories of her other brother... Ariel shook her head. She tried so hard not to think of him, but every time that she thought of her incarceration, she thought of his as well.

Breathing to chase away the tears, she knocked her head against the wall to bring herself back to reality. She had been away from home for so long without any chance of a respite. She was most likely never going to see the Citadel again. She laughed at herself. Her Father certainly held all the cards when it came to her, but she never expected to learn what he told her right before the Fall. That she was... no, she refused to think about it.

The shadowy presence at the back of her mind made itself known. It felt like a comfort, an old friend. It had been with her for a long time, tamped down and secured. Imagine having a presence locked away that you wish to access, to be a part of you. But, if you did, you would unleash your darker side, the worst parts of your self brought into the world. For Ariel, it was impossible no matter how much she wanted to. The punishment would be too great.

When Michael left her in this place, he told her that she would be completely removed from the Citadel and its capabilities, including the ability to talk to him directly. He said he would have his soldiers check on her from time to time, and to check on her progress. If they noticed any unusual use of powers, they would come to check on her. Early on, Ariel found out that it meant any use of her powers outside of changing vessels. That mean that, soon, one of the warriors would knock on her door and demand an explanation worthy of Michael's consideration to not end up on the Table.

She was so lost in her mind, that she did not hear the door open, nor the footsteps toward her that stopped two feet behind her. She did, however, hear the voice. "Ariel." That single word, spoken with a voice so familiar, caused tears nearly to come to Ariel's eyes as she turned to gaze up at him from the mat.

Castiel stood in front of her, as stoic as ever. He had chosen the vessel of a tax accountant, but Ariel could see through that to his true form. His wings, pure white for the moment, were tucked neatly behind his back. His black hair and blue eyes shone stoically. It was no secret that he was meant to be her mate, a long time ago. Her Father had arranged it when they were both younger, and they had learned to love each other.

However, when she was rescued, the love was missing from his face. There was only disgust and disdain from him, like so many of her siblings. Their arrangement had been cancelled for the sake of the bloodlines. She was too impure, not strong enough. There would be no guarantee of a good match, according to the Council.

Ariel rose slowly, standing before him. She wiped away the tears and stared at him. "Castiel." She held her hands behind her back, hiding the tremor. "I assume you are here on Michael's behalf."

Castiel tilted his head. "Yes. Michael has deemed the terms of your service complete. Your penance is over, pending a visit before the Council."

Ariel didn't know what to do. The words weren't making sense. Her mind blanked. "My... penance is... over?" She blinked over and over. Her knees started to feel weak.

Castiel didn't notice any of this. In a casual tone, he reached into his pocket. "I have been ordered to give you these. You are to wear them until the Council comes together for your case."

She looked down to his hands, and ice began to run down her spine. Five pieces of leather, simply etched with multiple Enochian sigils. Two sets of shackles and a collar, meant to restraint her powers. Essentially, she would be trapped in her vessel with no powers. She wanted to laugh unbearably. They must be so frightened of her, what she was able to do.

With shaky hands, Ariel grabbed the collar and secured it to her neck. The shadowy presence immediately shrunk back to the deepest part of her mind. Immediately, she felt weaker. Her Grace were just out of her grasp. Pain filled her from the vessel's deterioration. Her knees gave out and she fell to the floor. Gasping, she had no choice but to offer her wrists. "Do it!"

Castiel secured the shackles to her wrists, each little knot cutting off more and more of her Grace. They worked together to secure the shackles to her ankles. Ariel gasped and cried at the sudden loss of it all. She was so weak, she could barely stand. She wanted her friend. She wanted to go away. Make it stop, make it stop! God, she was going insane! This was true punishment! What had she done to deserve this?

She didn't notice that Castiel knelt next to her. She did hear his voice. "Ariel. You have deserved so much punishment for what you did during your Fall. But, your punishment is over. You're coming home. Now, stand up and face me."

Ariel wanted to stab the righteous tone of voice out of her ears. She wanted to stay curled up on the floor, wanted to die. She made no movement from the floor. All she did was breathe, trying to get the pain under control.

Castiel reached out a hand. "Ariel, it is time to come home."

Ariel glared up at him. "Give me a minute." It took everything she had to stand once more and grab his hand.

A light slowly enveloped both of them, filling them with warmth. Ariel closed her eyes, and let the vertigo take over as they catapulted through the ceiling and into the sky. The mist of the clouds stuck to the face of her vessel. It felt like the trip took five minutes as they zoomed through thousands of miles of sky, wind, and cloud to come... home...