Ok so I realize this is also short, and I'm sorry. They'll get longer as the story develops, I promise.
Obi rolled his eyes in frustration. Even now, when Raffe was FINALLY cooperating, he was finding ways to be difficult. He had decided that there was urgent information that needed to be shared with Obi immediately, when in fact it was just to inform him of angelic grooming standards, apparently.
And did I mention that it's the middle of the night? I wonder how many different ways he could kill me...
As Raffe blabbed about how preening another's feathers was apparently a mating ritual while managing to whisper as if he was giving away some kind of ancient secret (which he probably was, but Obi wished it could be a HELPFUL ancient secret), Obi tried to focus. He really did. But it was three O'clock in the morning, and it was highly unlikely that Raffe was speaking in any sort of code.
I wonder if he's gotten Penryn to "preen his feathers" yet... Oh wait... he doesn't HAVE feathers anymore.
At that thought, Obi felt awful, but his frayed nerves went against his better judgement and he snickered. He couldn't help it, it was THREE A.M. Apparently Raffe had been in the middle of some kind of revelation about how intimate a gesture this was, and he looked highly offended that Obi had laughed.
"So you wanted to know all the secrets of my race, to understand what makes us tick, and yet you ridicule one of our most sacred customs? Do you honestly think that you... you..." Raffe's eyes were cold and uncompromising like the chilly air of a winter morning as he spit out the next word. "MONKEYS! You monkeys have ANYTHING that even compares to the trust of letting another preen the wings that you depend on for flight?"
"I'm sorry, Raffe. I have had a LONG day, and I was just imagining my men defeating an army of angels by getting out beauty products and preening the feathers of these soldiers."
Raffe gave him a startled look, followed by a chuckle. "Well, I suppose this could be rather unhelpful information, but I do need a bit of time to make sure I can trust you. And to be fair, they could open one of those beauty parlors you see on television. 'The Angelic Feathers Spa', I can see it now."
Obi snorted. Now he was picturing angels in curlers and cucumber masks.
"Raffe, would you mind horribly if we continued this sometime tomorrow? I'm tired, and I suspect that Penryn is missing you." He said this last part with a sly smile, and Raffe looked startled.
"What do you mean by that? I don't understand." The angel in front of him now had a stony look on his face. Obi simply smiled and left the room.
I SO called that. Maybe it was because Penryn started a fight after another woman flirted with him. I wonder if angels and humans can even get married? Is that a thing? I wonder if they have kids, would they be like little cherubs? I definitely need sleep.
Ok so omg Obi might have been a little bit of a jerk in this one but I bet you'd be crabby too if an archangel woke you up at three in the morning to talk about angelic mating rituals. But Obi TOTALLY ships Raffryn cause yolo. Shhh I know that's a terrible excuse don't judge me.