"What was that.", Gabriel had dragged him all the way back to his office after the confrontation down on Earth, passed stunned messengers in the halls of the Aerie, and had slammed the door behind him, "What in our Father's Holy Name was that?"

Zaveriel looked defiant, his head inclined slightly to show as such, refusing to quell in the rage of an Archangel, he had his rights and knew he was in such a manner. He did not have to follow foolish orders and he would never step on the line for the likes of that lowly seraph and his two humans. He would see himself fall to a sword first before he ever stood in the line of fire for them.

"I stand by what I said.", his tone was flat, harder then it usually was, and filled with so much resilience, "I will not throw myself to the sword for them. Ever. Even if you order it."

"That is stepping out of place."

He stepped forward, poking a finger harshly into the Messengers chest, "No. It is me taking control." He poked him again, glaring with a fire unseen before, his anger clear on his features "Control that you left me when you ran away. You can come back and pretend that everything's just fine as much as you want, but deep down you know its not. That traitor turned his back on us and would more than willingly meet us on the end of his blade at his preconceived notion of the greater good then he would the other way around."

"Mind yourself."

"Look around you, Gabriel."

It was the first time the younger had called him by his true name, typically it was a variation of it, a nickname, or a jokesters title, but this threw him off guard. His eyes widened in surprise, as the young messenger stepped back and waved his arms around, as though gesturing to the world.

"Look at what you all have done to us." Zaveriel was on a roll now, they could ignore it all they wanted, but it would never change a thing, it would never be quite right again, "You've broken us all!" he made a gesture to his right side, despite it just being the two of them in the room, as if making a gesture for something to be seen, "Look at the fledglings who lay awake at night because of the fears that haunt their minds. Look at the scars they bare. From a war that they had no place being in." he gestured next to his left, "Do you even see? See the damage you Archangels have caused. We are broken because of you. We were forced into a war that we had not asked for because of your infighting. You can rebuild all you want but it doesn't fix the broken people."

His gusto was slowly leaving him, his chest heaving as tension slowly began to fade, but still he stood there stubbornly. Staring at his master, waiting for him to say something, and Gabriel knew there was nothing he could say to deny such accusations. It was all true, and they knew it to be, they had broken their family nearly beyond repair, because of their infighting. There were still fledglings who fled at the sight of them, the number who didn't he could count on one hand and it was even less when you subtracted the fledgling that lived in their flock now, it was an accusation they were all guilty to.

"I know."

There was no apology that could mend what they had broken, and it was true, they could rebuild all they wanted, but there would always be a piece that was still out of line. Still busted. Still broken. And it was no one else's fault but their own. So, he didn't bother with apologies. He didn't bother to try and rebuff for the tone. He stepped around the young messenger and fell heavily into one of the chairs behind him, taking his head in his hands, heaving a shuttering breath when he heard the other sit next to him.

"I know."

He knew it to be true, in different ways, they were all still a little broken.