AN: Hey all! I'm back with more for ya!
The boy looked up as the door to his cell opened and their interrogator walked in, and he laughed at her appearance, everyone whether it be on their side or not knew when one was disowned, and Ava steeled her nerves at his taunts as she gripped the Power's seal in her fingers. She knew that she was wanted, that she had someone she belonged to, and that was enough for her. It was for nobody else to know but her, and most certainly not someone by the likes of him, he was a traitor to his own race.
"They sent a disowned?" he snorted in amusement, "Is that they best they can do?"
She ignored him, turning for the instruments on the corner table, looking them over as though to select the right one for the job.
"What are you going to do, abomination?"
Ava grit her teeth and spun around, "So you know, the one who rejected me was Heaven's torturer, he may have been a bag of shit but he did teach me a few things." She grabbed his chin tightly, forcing his head back to stare at her, "I don't even need to touch you to get what I want." She nicked a cut under his chin and stepped back, nicking her own hand in return, "By the time I'm done you'll know who the abomination is."
She drew a rune on her hand and raised it, taking a deep breath, she called out the words that her father had when he tried to take his grace from her all that time ago. It was torturous enough that none of those tools were needed, it was like having your soul ripped in two, and it would have anyone screaming for mercy within the first forty seconds.
…
Iaso spared her uncle a glance and leaned forward, setting a hand on the table that Avery sat before, "Are you sure it's a good idea to let her do this?" she spared him another glance, "It's not healthy."
"It may not be, but she is the only one that gets the best results."
"It's taking advantage of a situation that shouldn't be taken advantage of."
"If you have something better in mind, archangel's daughter," Avery gave her a hard look, sparing the Messenger a look from over her shoulder, and returned to meet her gaze head on, "Then I'm all ears."
She huffed in annoyance, backing down from in ensuring argument that was sure to be had again, if her dad and Nisroc were here this would never have been allowed to pass, but then, they would have probably of gained the same results with less violent methods.
The Healer's daughter nodded once, harshly, and turned to take her uncle by the arm, "We're going to see the ancient city, but we'll be back." He knew when to put his two cents in and when not to, so he withheld from telling them that he's seen the ancient city plenty of times and let himself be dragged out into the bright sunshine outside the bustling temple.
He walked with her in silence as they passed vendors and stalls, it made him miss home somewhere deep in his heart at the sight of them, stopping to get a bowl of papaya, before continuing on their way.
"Niece," she nodded as he addressed her, his call of such a title giving way to how serious he was being, and she spared him a look of further acknowledgement, "What was that all about?"
Iaso kicked a stone, watching it bounce over the smooth stone path, "They take advantage that her real dad was Heaven's torturer." She turned to look up at him as she took a bite, "It's not fair to her. They treat her like she's nothing and expect her to work for them when they demand it."
"So, she tortures them?"
She nodded, "And every time they ask her to, she comes out of it all quiet and forlorn and they don't even care." She stopped and he stopped with her, turning to meet her gaze when she turned to him imploringly "He tortured her, Uncle Gabriel, when he met her for the first and last time, he tortured her. And now they force her to live that life, she doesn't even fight it anymore, she takes it on willingly because it's better than arguing against it." The Messenger could see that his young niece was distraught for her friend, and rightfully so, so he pulled her into a careful hug for a moment, allowing her the privacy of his shoulder to pull herself back together again.
She would cry about it later, most probably in his brother's arms, but for now she would shed a few tears and then swallow them again.
"You should tell Nisroc this."
"I don't want him to look at her differently."
"He won't." he rubbed a stray tear away and gestured for her to walk with him towards the temple of Anubis on the far-right side, "Did you know, that in heaven, Thaddeus was granted a fledgling to raise." He had known of his brother's planned visit to the ancient city for some time now and he knew that she needed the care only a parent could offer at the moment, given to her vulnerable state and her distress to her friends predicament. He told her about Sashael, about how he had been the first few months under the Power's care, clinging to him and so shy it had caused more concern then not, and how he had opened up to them all under his mindful caring, and now he was sharing top of his class with his best of friends, Akeelah.
Anubis was standing in the middle of his temple, the main chamber, staring at a portrait of himself on the wall. His arms crossed lightly, finger tapping against his lips, he turned to look at their appearance in his domain and smiled in greeting, taking in the dour mood almost instantly, he pulled the Nephilim into his side like any good older sibling would. He knew of how the others used her little partner in crime for her blood heritage, and it always rubbed her the wrong way, there was only so much one could take before they boiled over, and with the war they were currently raging the last thing they needed was the child of an archangel boiling over.
She giggled and curled her arm around his lower back, "Do think this portrait makes me look more dog then humanoid?" he felt her curls brush against his arm as she turned to look up at him incredulously, and he turned to grin down at her, winking over her shoulder to the Messenger.
"What?"
"No seriously, take a good look at it, I think it makes me look more like a dog than anything else."
"Maybe?" she smiled up at him, the distraction working for the moment, smiling innocently, "Do you ever get fleas?"
"Once!" he threw his head back in exasperation, "I got them once!" the Egyptian bent over and bit into her neck in a teasing manner, eliciting a small shriek and her to jump away from him, as best as she could with his arm keeping her in place, "But I've been more known to bite people quite a few times."
"You'd best not bite my daughter more than once though."
They both turned to look over their shoulders at the new voice, smiling at the sight of the Healer standing next to the Messenger, leaning heavily on his staff. He smiled at the godling, nodding in greeting, and opened his arms for his daughter. Iaso smiled, her troubles forgotten for a moment, as she rushed forward to hug her father closely. He hugged her just as close, resting his chin on her curls, and pulled away only slightly to peer at her face, and concern set over his features, "What is the matter?" he rubbed the pad of his thumb under her right eye, "You've been crying."
There was no hesitation, she told him everything, with all of them there to lay witness to the actions that were placed upon an innocent Nephilim such as Ava Browne, and he shushed her, pulling her back into his embrace when her emotions overtook her. He turned to the one on his right, the Captain who had wanted to so meet his daughter, "Iaso, come, this is Oren, he wanted to meet you quite terribly so."
"Hello Little Healer," the Virtue kissed the back of her hand in greeting, and she smiled to him at the action. He passed his young daughter over to his Captain and turned to his brother, "Gabriel, show me to this captive. I must agree, little miss Ava should not be doing such things."
The Messenger nodded, guiding his brother out of the temple, the Healer turned to look over his shoulder, "I will be back Anubis." He spared the portrait a look, "And it does make you look more like a dog." Anubis barked a laugh and waved them away, turning as a servant came up for his attention.
…
"Avery?" the older boy looked up at the sound of his name, bowing to the archangel in his presence, "Semyaza's boy, right?"
"Yes sir."
The Archangel raised his hand, bringing the boy back to his feet again, Avery nodded and stepped down from the head table to greet him in person. Behind him, the others slowly approached, he noted Iaso deep in conversation with another man, her smile was as dazzling as the stars, and the conversation seemed to be a good one.
"Show me where this boy is." Raphael tightened his grip on his staff, "I will gather the information you need. There is no need for torture."
Avery nodded at the gentle command of one of the gentlest of archangels, and led him to the door where they kept their captured prisoners, he rolled up his sleeves and tapped the door with the end of his staff.
"Give me two minutes with the child, I will get you what you desire."
No one denied an angel, especially a Nephilim, and doubly especially so for an archangel's order and the nephilim boy knocked on the door. It was thrown open, Ava looked enraged, though her eyes were filled with tears, "I'm done! You hear me! Done! Find another way to gather your intel!" she pushed through them and walked off. They watched her go, her shoulders quivering as if she were silently crying, Raphael turned over his shoulder, "Oren, go fetch Nisroc." The Captain behind him gave a soft whine, "Yes you may return here afterwards." There was a soft flutter of wings and he was gone, he heard his daughter give a sad sigh, "He'll come back."
"Like I said," The Archangel walked in on his own violation, "Two minutes."
He closed the door behind him, sighing at the sneering remarks from the young man chained to the chair. They all heard the rattling of the chains, a muffled protest, and a sharp resounding whap. Two minutes to the exact mark that he said, the door opened, the Archangel stepped out fixing his sleeves in silence. They all peered in at the captive, eyebrows raising at the fellow Nephilim chained inside the room sniffling miserably and rubbing at his bottom pitifully.
Iaso looked up at her uncle, "Did he?"
Her uncle, Gabriel, grimaced and nodded, "Oh, he did, and with his staff too." There came a low whistle behind them, "Ouch."
The Healer turned to spare the boy a look from over his shoulder, "And I will be telling your father about this, Avon."
"No!" the outcast held up a hand in protest, "Don't tell my da—"
The Healer shut the door before he could finish his protest. He relayed the information he gathered to the nephilim in charge, and Iaso turned to look up at her uncle, "He wouldn't…..To me?"
Oren returned, curling an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side, "I remember the first time he ever did that to me." He shook his head in sympathy, "Didn't sit right for a week, let me tell you, poor kid." He smiled down to the nephilim he had pressed to his side, "He would never with you though. Not with the staff anyway. Just," he poked her in the side, "Don't give him a reason to." She nodded seriously, watching her father talk to Avery on whatever was gained from his version of interrogation.
…
Ava kicked a rather large rock out of her way, bent over with her hand buried in her pockets, grumbling under her breath about the unfairness of it all. The words he managed had cut deep, and she twirled the seal of her new guardian between her fingers.
"Mind if I join you?", arms curled around her waist and pulled her back into a strong chest behind her, "You seem to have much on your mind."
"Who even called you!"
"A little birdie, you could say," he rested his chin on top of her head, "Told me you had some things on your mind."
"They look at me like I'm dumb! Like…Like I'm useless!"
"You are far from useless."
"I just…I don't like what they make me do…"
"Then why do you allow them to force you?"
"I don't know….I just wanna be useful…..You know…What else am I good for?"
"You have many good qualities to share then allowing them to force you to torture people."
"How did you know?" she turned to look up at him and he smiled down at her, kissing her nose lightly, "That little birdie told me a bit more then you'd think." She turned in his arms, hugging herself tightly to his chest, "You're the best, Nis." His arms tightened around her, pulling her in close, "Don't let them bring you to tears, my little one," he wiped under her eyes, bushing away the sight of the tears, "They are not worth it."
She leaned forward against his chest, listening to the thrum of his grace beating under his skin, he rubbed a large hand down the side of her head. Seeing that the tension was not going to leave her willingly, the Power stuck to his next tactic, pinching her sides lightly until she jumped, and he smiled down at her when she turned to look up at him.
"Show me the ancient city, my little one, I've never seen it in the way you have?"
Ava clutched at his tunic with both hands, "You want me to show you around?"
"Who else would I ask?"
"Oh, my Granddad!" she tugged him forward, "Yes! Of course, I'll show you around!"