AN: I'm sorry! I just wanted to explore this a bit more! This ties up the sadness!
The loss of the Morningstar had hit the flock of archangels hardest out of everyone, even their Father, they had been the closest to him, knew him the best out of everyone. So, it was no big surprise, in the wake of his demise, that they closed ranks. Their Captains took control of their flocks, leading and delegating in their absence, and they rallied around their broken little fledgling with the same empty hearts and watery eyes.
The little fledgling was a broken little mess, often more times than not she would curl herself around one of the surviving archangels and stay there until moving on to the next, not a word had been spoken since the day they had lit the funeral pyre and bid him into eternal sleep with their Uncle, The Void. It was like her voice had gone with him, her smile, the shine in her eyes, the laughter that used to ring for them all to hear had been silenced.
His leaving her had not been willing, and deep down they knew that she knew that, but it did nothing to stop the pain that dug into her little form. There had been so much loss that those little eyes had laid witness to; her guardian being dragged from her side to the prisons and as he was tortured, as they imprisoned themselves in what would become a tomb for many of them, the loss of friends, the loss of the flock she had been 'born' into, and now this. She had bounced back from it all, on a trigger, and this was the final blow to know her precarious house of cards over.
They had swiftly moved passed the first stage of grief; denial. When she spent most of her days curled in his blankets, swallowed by the empty bed, in the spot that would forever smell like he did, staring blankly at the door as though he would come walking around the corner. Smiling as he usually was, chuckling at her being in the bed there, and apologizing for playing such a cruel joke on her, leaving her waiting for him to come back for her and read her stories before sleep and he'd hug her and tickle her belly and tell her everything was okay. There was more then once that one of them had to bring her something to eat, anything, so long as she ate it, it could be a meal of nothing but peaches for all they cared. She'd turn them away, stare not breaking, waiting for her passed master to return to her side once more.
Silence had fallen over the Villa in the wake of his loss, and then his precession into their afterlife of eternal sleep with The Void, they all walked like lost souls without direction, the only thing that brought them together, that kept them from being swallowed by the darkness was the little fledgling who had lost too much, and they worried that this was the time she would not come back from.
After the denial, had come the anger.
It had been a mistake, an error in their judgement, not hearing the fledgling coming down the hall as silent as she was, wrapped in the blanket from their brothers bed, and the Healer had consoled the Messenger in his grief.
"It was not your fault, Gabriel."
"He jumped in for me, Raph, if I hadn't of been so distracted, he wouldn't have jumped in between us."
The Healer squeezed his hand, not seeing the way their oldest brother's head turned, nor the fledgling standing in the shadows of the hall, he did not see the way their oldest brother raised his hand to stop them, and thus made no thought on the matter as he spoke on.
"He would have jumped before a blade for you a thousand times."
There was a small gasp, it was finally the driving force that had him turning from his depressed Messenger, and the both of them turned to spot the fledgling up and about for the first time in weeks. Her eyes skimmed right over the Healer, staring straight at the Messenger, and all the pain she felt was let lose for them all to share in. It was the look of one who had lost so much, and was barely hanging on by a thread, about to drop into the nothingness at the betrayal to the heart.
"You did it…. You…. You took Luci from me?"
"Little nugget—"
His voice choked when the fledgling shook her head, curls matted down from the amount of sleep she slept, from the lack of bathing that she allowed them to help her with. Nothing was the same without the Morningstar there to do it. She took a step back, more tears glistening like raindrops to the windows of her broken soul, "He's gone 'cause of you!" her own voice choked, a sob tearing at the 'you' in her statement, and the two she wasn't staring at sat on the edge of their seats as if both wanted to get up for her but weren't sure if she would allow it.
"I—I…" tears finally fell from the windows of her soul, streaking painfully down her reddened face, ands he rubbed a fist angrily over her face, "I hate you!"
Before anything could be done, she turned and bolted, undoubtedly back to his bedroom, back to the spot in the bed that smelled like him, surrounded by pillows that smelled like him, back to everything that was their lost brother.
The Messenger stared in shock at the hallway, eyes staring at the spot she had just bolted from, and a sob tore from him too. He hunched over, burying his face in his hands, and his shoulders shook with the force of them. He had lost his older brother because of his carelessness and now he had lost the one thing that he had left them to care for in his demise.
Michael sighed sadly, shaking his head, looking down over his crossed arms.
"I wish he were here."
"We all do, older brother." The Healer was watching the spot that the fledgling had bolted from as well, with saddened eyes, feeling her pain as though it were his own. "His loss has touched many."
"He would know how to fix this."
"If he were not gone, nothing would need fixing."
After the anger, came the bargaining.
The oldest archangel had walked in on her begging their Uncle Death to bring him back, it broke his already broken heart into pieces, when the lithe man had to deny her request, it was with a grim denial, saddened at her loss, which was rare from Death. He was in ornately fond of the fledgling that His Brother had introduced Him to.
They caught sight of her waiting there, on the steps of the throne room, for Death to come and visit, and every time he did, she would beg him to make an exception, to bring him back.
Or take her with him.
Bargaining had passed straight into Depression, and it hit hard, perhaps the hardest out of them all.
She slept most of the day away, curled up in his bed, surrounded by things that smelled like him. She hadn't let them bath her in nearly a week, refusing to get out of the bed that needed changing and washing in itself. She barely ate, barely drank, all she did was sleep.
When she wasn't sleeping, she was staring at the wall, the doorway, the wall, back and forth and back and forth.
It was the Healer that came to her, the others having had to return to their duties though they loath to leave her in this state, they could put it off no longer. He would sit on the edge of the bed, not minding the greasy curls that slicked his fingers as he ran them through her messy hair, begging her silently to come back to them, to grieve with them, let them in to help her at least learn to grow passed this. To know there was no forgetting him, but to live on, live on for him.
He was the one that walked in on her crying, and he'd sit next to her on the bed, as silent as ever, brushing his fingers through her greasy curls.
When the tears came, hot and endless, Raphael knew they were for her too, somewhere deep down in herself, for the child becoming the adult, for pain entering her world without the decency to knock first.
The numbness of his loss had passed, and the pain would hit her out of nowhere, harsh and unforgiving, doubling her over and taking control, racking her little worn frame with sobs so heavy they were like mini earthquakes. 'Where are you?' She would cry out in her silent way 'Where have you gone?' Of course, there was never any answer, not really, just silence and more sobs.
As The Healer, he knew that crying was a healthy release, the best way to express emotions one could not put into words they did not know how to speak, but for his dear little fledgling, it was a habit now. There were countless days, as he stayed behind to care for their fledgling while his Virtues ran things at the Infirmary for him in his absence, that he sat beside her as she just cried because that was all her little body could hope to do. That blue feeling washed in like an unwanted wave, knocking her sandcastles flat. She sat and stared at the doorway, more tears flowing, sobs silent against the air in the room. She let them fall, not raising a hand to stop them. They splashed down on the pillow in a rain-like pattern and soaked in leaving dark splotches on the dark blue pillowcase.
He became concerned when it seemed as though she was not going to pull through this stage and called on the only one, he would trust to help in this situation, and Rahael had met him in silence during one of her naps, in the doorway to the late Morningstar's room. He offered soft condolences, and he thanked him in kind, gesturing to the sleeping fledgling.
Rahael had only needed to look into her eyes for a moment before pulling him aside, he'd said "Depression. It is the unseen, silent, unheard killer. It's the pain that's too much to cope with, too hard to deal with and so misunderstood. You can't escape it no matter how hard you try, because it follows you around like a black shadow that's on the inside, eating at you." He'd asked him how to combat this unseen enemy "The solution to depression is to treat the person with compassion rather than telling them that their brain is defective. Love her, deeply, and show her that there is still love in the world, that there is reasons worth living on for, that his loss, though sorrowful, is not the end of him. Stay with her, it is an internal battle she must fight on her own, and though this blow has been a strong one, I have no doubts it will be overcome, so stay with her. When the battle is won, she will be exhausted, and she will need another to latch onto to carry her until she is strong enough to carry herself again. Let her know she is not alone, no matter what her mind tells her, she is never alone."
And he did exactly as he was told, the Healer was at her side night and day, bringing her peach slices in the morning that always went untouched and uneaten, cool water that went undrunk, new robes that went unchanged into, and he'd sit there either brushing fingers through her greasy curls or reading to her in the soft silence of the room.
He was reading when he saw it, and dared not turn too much to alert her that he witnessed it, but a hand poked out from under the blanket and reached for a peach slice laying on the plate next to her, sneaking back under the blanket, and he smiled when he heard the soft sound of the fruit's flesh being bitten into, and read on to keep himself and her preoccupied.
He was brushing his fingers through her curls absentmindedly one day following that, lost in his thoughts, when the small voice called out to him, "Big bear?"
Pulled immediately from his thoughts, he turned to the one who had called to him so softly, smiling at her in the gentlest way he knew. Her eyes were still puffy, still a bit more sad then they should be, but she was looking at him and that was more progress then they'd had all these weeks long.
"Hello, little bear."
"Big bear…" she looks at the doorway again and he feels his heart sink just slightly, "He's really gone?" he hates this more then he can express in words "Yes, little bear, but he loves you so much. Always."
"I miss him, big bear."
"We miss him too, little bear."
She looks back up at him, and he feels hope come back to him again, "Can we miss him together?" he smiles at her, brushing his knuckles over her temple, "Yes, we can miss him together." He smiles even still when her little fingers curl around his, "Do you want to take a bath?" he can feel light returning when she gives him the faintest of nods, and he's quick in lifting her into his arms before she can rescind her decision.
The fledgling curls around him as he finally lifts her from her cocoon that's been made in the bed of his late brother, her chin resting on his shoulder, hanging limply in his hold, as he carries them out of the room and down the hall for the washroom. One of his shirts already hang on a heated rock, hoping to have gotten her into the bath some time ago, and she allows him to set her down so he can strip her and then strip himself to his under clothes.
"Lavender soap, yes?"
She nods, reaching back up for him when he draws nearer and he takes her into his arms with ease, wadding out into the water under it circles his knees and he sits them there, her between his legs, her little hands resting lightly on his knees.
He lathers up a cloth with the lavender scented soap and rubs it softly down her back, over her shoulders and down her arm, up under it, and he smiles at the slight smile it pulls through the dark tones that overtaken their bright fledgling when he rubs at her armpit. Circling over her belly gently, and then on to the next arm, another slight smile cracks through when he rubs under that arm too, and he takes it as a miles progress. She lifts her legs up, propped up on his knee for her him to rub them down too, getting to her little feet, and smiles at the faint shuffle he gains when he washes between her little toes.
The archangel hands her the cloth to wash at her own privates, turning away when she stands to do so, only looking back when she settles back down against him, and he cups water up into her curls until their matted with clean water and not grease and grime that has gathered there from her last bath. He lightly massages the lavender soap into her curls, making sure to get every strand he can reach, massaging from the front all the way across to the back until her curls are a large sudsy mess under his fingers. He guides her back, a gentle hand cupping the back of her neck, to lay in the warm water in order for him to rinse the soap out.
Bubbles float around them then, as the washing has been completed, and they just sit there in the water together.
"I miss him, big bear, I miss him really bad."
He curls his arms around her, hugging her back to his chest, "We all miss him, little bear, there is not a day that goes by that we do not miss him." He rests his chin on her dripping curls, "Though perhaps not as much as you do. He loved you so much. He adored you. He would want you to live on for him."
"It's hard though, big bear."
"We will take small steps. There is no need to rush into anything. Just small little steps. In his memory."
Her fingers curl around his, "I can do that." She shifts slightly, looking up at him with shadowed little eyes, but he can see it, no matter how faint it may be, that little spark in her eyes, "Can I come with you tomorrow?", he smiles, it's asked in the same manner it had been asked in the very first time the question had crossed her lips.
"Are you sure you want to?" he rubs a hand over her belly soothingly, "We can take another day's rest if you want?"
"No." she shakes her head, leaning back into him further, "I want to go see."
"We can do that."
…
Oren smiles at his first appearance back in the Infirmary after the loss of his archangel brother, his eyes straying to the fledgling and staying there, but he keeps quite when his commander shakes his head in silent denial to question it. Little Akeelah clings to him, peeking out at everything from where she's burrowed into his neck and shoulder, and every set of eyes she meets smiles back at her in greeting.
"How has everything been in my absence?"
Rahael had said that it was best to make everything seem as normal as possible, not to act like anything was wrong, and thus they would do as he said to. This was more progress then he could ever have asked for and he wasn't going to have come three steps forward only to have to take five more backwards.
"As well as can be expected.", Oren falls into step with him as he gets to walk among his patients after his long period away, healers greet him softly as he passes them, "Zaves has been in here at least twice for playing with Holy Fire again." Theres a hint of exasperation in his Captain's tone and it makes him smile, he can feel the smile that barely lights the fledglings face against the side of his neck. "It's been rather cut and dry, nothing too big, nothing too bad."
Raphael nods, adjusting his hold on the fledgling he carries on his left arm, "How badly was he burnt?"
"Not too bad." He shakes his head, "Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if he went from here straight back to what he was trying to accomplish." Oren glances at him in amusement, "I honestly have no idea on how you two manage to keep him under control."
"A swift and sharp kick to the bottom never hurt anyone."
Oren laughs at the expression that overtakes him, and they fall into companionable silence as they walk through the beds, eyes stray to the fledgling that hasn't been seen among them just as long as their archangel hasn't, but the Virtue Captain shakes his head and silences any questions that could be had to it.
They stay there the entire day, and she stays awake for it, smiling a small smile at those she knows.
Oren and the Virtues return them in kind.
…
Michael bundles her close to him, taking the progress that's being made in stride, and steps up the final stone step to his training fields. Those nearest him seemingly come to a pause at the sight of the piece that has been missing for quite some time, and he gives them a sharp nod, they return to their training at once.
He knows that there are five sets of eyes that have locked onto him, and more importantly, the bundle he carries with him. They have asked on their beloved Baby Power ever day he comes empty handed since the day of the burning of the Morningstar's pyre, and every day he returns with the same response, much to their ever-living sadness.
They come to stand next to the Captain first, Nisroc shares a glance with him, and he nods a quick nod of affirmation. He bends at the knee, so that his eyes may meet those of the fledgling that he's been friends with for as long as he can think of, and leans forward to kiss her on the forehead, "Hoo-ha, Baby Power." The Archangel smiles at the message, and wonders if she knows what it means, "Hoo-ha, Nis." They had given a single chant of the parting message of sorrow and growth at the burning of his pyre. She leans forward, only just, and kisses him on the nose before retreating back to her bundle in the oldest archangel's arms, "I love you, Nis." He smiles, caressing her cheek with his hand, "I love you, too, Baby Power."
The three of them make their rounds, as they usual do, among the training warriors. Paul kisses her on the cheek when they pass, and Titus leans low to press their foreheads together, their eyes meet and it hurts him more then ever to see the sadness that haunts them, if he could take it from her, he would in a wing beat, "Hoo-ha, Baby Power." She kisses his nose like she did to Nisroc, "Hoo-ha, 'Tus." He smiles at her, leaning back, brushing his lips over her temple as he does, "It'll get better, Baby Power, you'll see."
They walk over to the archers shooting their aim at the targets, Puriel meets them there, caressing both her cheeks in his hands, "Hoo-ha, Baby Power." She gives him a ghost of her former smile and it melts his heart at the sight of it, they will get it back again, it will be their next mission, "Hoo-ha, Puri." He smiles at her, "We are all here for you, Baby Power, always." He locks eyes with his Captain as he looks away, and they share a nod, they will get that smile back if it the last mission they ever accomplish.
The trio makes their way to the newest squads, the young trainees bow to their commander and return to their training, Abraxos steps away to meet at his side, caressing both cheeks like Puriel had moments before, and presses their foreheads together like Titus had, "Hoo-ha, Baby Power." She smiles at him, kissing him softly on the nose, "Hoo-ha, Abe." He smiles at her gently, kissing her on the nose in the same fashion she had kissed his, "We love you, Baby Power, never doubt that place you hold in all our hearts."
They came to a stop on front of the oldest class, where another stands in place of Nisroc, and he turns at their approach, smiling warmly at the sight of the fledgling in his arms. Michael huffs in exasperation as Haniel wraps his arms around him, smooshing himself up against the fledgling, but lets it go over his head at the soft slight giggle it elicits from her, he presses their cheeks together, "Hoo-ha, Baby Power." She giggles softly at his closeness, at his squishing his cheek to hers, "Hoo-ha, Hani." He smiles at her voice, winking at his captain, Nisroc has his arms crossed and has raised an eyebrow at him, "I know the cloud seems never ending, but the sun will shine again, Baby Sister, you just have to watch for it."
"I miss him, Hani."
She sniffles and he kisses her quick on the lips, it catches her off guard, and there's not another sniffle.
"We all miss him, baby sister, you are not alone in that pain.", he brushes his nose over her cheek, "Let's share the pain together, okay?"
Michael smiles when he feels her nod against him and reminds himself that this is why he puts up with Haniel's craziness.
(Though he's not fooling anyone, and they all know how much he cares for the wildcard Power)
…
Their progression comes in small steps, just like the Healer had said it would, and it takes her some more time to build up the courage to speak to the Messenger again. She catches him off guard, in his office, when she enters unannounced and unguided.
"I don't hate you, Gabe."
He stares at her for a moment, like a fool, and then nods, "I'm sorry for what I did."
"It wasn't your fault."
She steps closer, and soon stands close enough for her to be lifted to sit on his desk, her toes curling into the top of his thighs.
"He was really good at protecting people."
"The absolute best there ever was."
They share a smile, and she leans forward, curling her arms around his neck as she falls from his desk into his lap, he hugs her back, and they both cry against each other at their shared pain.
…
The laughter returns just as slowly as everything else did, when the Healer snorts awake under her, her fingers curling flower petals into his hair and he watches her for a moment before reaching up a hand to slowly feel at his head. Honestly, the amount of petals she's weaved into his curls as he slept blissfully unaware leaves him astounded.
"Have you been doing this the entire time?"
She smiles, those smiles had returned a week ago, a small giggle follows, they returned shortly after the smiles did.
"You know I must punish you now?"
The fledgling giggles again, fingers falling out of his hair, and giggle harder when he tugs her down over his head to lay on his chest instead. He waists no time, digging the fingers of his right hand into her belly, as his left curls around her waist to keep her in place. She shrieks, falling into raging laughter, head pressing back into his chest as she tries in vain to wiggle out from under him.
"Is that the joyous laughter of a fledgling that I hear?"
Michael's joined them, and he smiles at the fledgling predicament and her calling for him to help, he happily agrees to aid her, and sits at his brothers head, lifting one of her little arms, and digs two fingers into the smooth under surface.
She squeals brightly, the darkness that had shadowed her eyes swallowed by the delighted light that fills them now, tugging at her arm in his captivity and wiggling under the Healer's grip on her waist.
"Why, if you weren't in the position you are, I would have given this spot a bit of kisses."
He only says it for the bright squeal it elicits at the mere mention of it, but his brother smiles up at him, "I'd be happy to do it for you, turn her for me?"
"Oh, do you see this teamwork, little star?"
The oldest twists her carefully so that the Healer may bury his face into her underarm and she screams in laughter, the sadness defeated by the delighted shrieks they pull from her.
"Oh, oh oh!" the Messenger runs into view, "I want her belly! I call dibs on it!"
He falls between the Healer's legs and burrows into the shaking tummy surface, she screams again, blinking back tears of joy, and from his place in The Void, they know their brother is smiling in his eternal sleep at the knowledge that his fledgling was left in caring hands.