Waiting For The End
MONTHS
The Itch

The first month following his possession of his True Vessel, Gabriel finds himself absorbed in the study of the intricate knot of soul and divinity that was Laufey. It lays cushioned and wrapped as close to the center of his Grace as he can get without causing the divinity to 'infect' his power. All he wants to do is protect this oddity until he can figure it out, and burning the soul out of existence is the exact opposite of that.

In the second month of his possession, the Messenger visits Zechariah in the Temple. He brings great news, and leaves with the old man's voice. It is much later that he realizes that the act was one made out of spite and rage, and not because it had been part of his Father's great plan. He wouldn't change his reaction in the slightest, even if Father were to command otherwise.

In the third month Gabriel returns to Heaven, wondering and worrying in turns. He's not sure what is causing the minor changes and fluctuations to his Grace, and so he feels he needs the time to meditate on it. Worrying that it is the Pagan's soul that is causing the imbalance, he leaves the Vessel in the care of another angel and focuses on himself.

Two months of agonizing meditation and discussion with his brothers leaves him feeling himself again. It also leaves him with a feeling of despair growing in him; while he had been attending to his duties on Earth, Michael and Raphael had heard the pleas from a soul in the pit. As they rescued the worthy soul, their caged brother had spat invectives and abuse at them; Gabriel's heart broke to hear about it, but the words had very obviously struck a cord deep within Michael. It was all his older brother seemed to think about these days.

The fifth month sees Gabriel wearing Laufey's form again, and a visit to another family in another town, about yet another child. While he had been announcing the births of kings and prophets for as long as there had been Man, the sheer number of them of late was... unusual. He knoww more about his Father's plans than the majority of the Host, but he doesn't know everything. Not that that had hindered the observation that something big was going to be going down; the sheer number of children he had announced in the last year was only one of several signs. Michael's renewed obsession with Lucifer is another.

He spends the sixth and seventh months getting very very VERY drunk. There had been a Pagan woman, one of the Greco-Romans if he recalls properly, who had been able to sense Laufey's divinity despite how deep it had been buried. Surprisingly, all that she had done was to smile conspiratorially at him before inviting him to a party on Olympus.

It is an ususual situation to be sure, but there was something just so fascinating about the party. He introduces himself as Nál, and it doesn't seem like anyone else can feel Laufey curled up with him in the Vessel. The party is unlike any other thing that he had seen before, let alone participated in. There is dancing and drinking, loving and laughing, and in this case a good bout of fighting, feuding and fucking.

The rigid form of angelic society does not leave any openings for such chaos. Everything has to be perfect in form and execution; it must follow some invisible and predestined path. To be able to jump away from the path was something that had been given to humans and pagans, and utterly left out of the angels themselves. Over the course of his 'pagan adventure', Gabriel finds himself wanting nothing more than the glorious freedom and free will provided by the pagans.

He also finds it utterly terrifying.

It is a relief in the eighth month for him to be called upon to do his duty. There is yet another woman having a very special child. His Father requires his presence more strongly for this child than any of the others he had announced, and it feels good to have order and direction again. His relief washes away almost as soon as it comes about. The message itself is almost horrifying to behold, and suddenly not knowing his Father's plan seems to be a blessing.

Still, Gabriel did as he had been bid, and went to deliver the good news to Mary.

The ninth and tenth months are spent watching over and guiding Mary and Joseph. If they were needed somewhere, it was his duty to make sure they got there, and to make sure that they stayed safe. News of the christ child would have spread quickly but for Gabriel's intervention.

The eleventh month is spent whispering into the ears of kings, and turning their eyes up to the stars. In turn, Gabriel spends the twelfth month partying it up with the gods of the local pantheon. It is in that moment that he realizes that he has stopped thinking of his body as a Vessel; instead he finds himself considering it his own physical form.

On the 365th day after Laufey had said 'yes', Gabriel wishes for a body of his own and a life outside the confines of Heaven.

The thirteenth month began with the divinity cloaked in his Grace stirring.

lol. so APPARENTLY I got a head of myself tonight. I COMPLETELY FORGOT that this one was already written and just needed to be uploaded here. since it's like. already on AO3 and tumblr. itch is an a+
(you'll probably get the next one tomorrow or when I am SUPER DRUNK tonight. maybe.)