AN: Oh my god! This week really snuck up on me. School started again for my daughter and it's been a bit of a rough start. Doesn't help that Open Office crashed on me just before I could save this chapter after fixing all the errors in it, hence why it's late. Sorry about that.
Chapter NineHere in the Garden...
Being the oldest of the Archangels, despite what the humans on Earth believed, Uriel was used to being the one who made most of the decisions before Michael was given the responsibility of being Father's stand-in. Since his birth, Uriel had watched their father create the Heavens and his small brood of firstborn angels. He could remember when it only took him a day to run from one end of Heaven to the other when Heaven was still a work in progress that Father tinkered with tirelessly while Uriel played in the glow of his glory and love. He could remember how little by little, Father would add to Heaven expanding it more and more so that it would become the vast plains it was now. He was there when Sera was created out of dust and light being pressed together, and he had been there to watch each and every one of his siblings hatch and grow.
And because of that, Uriel knew the perfect place to bring Ava. A place that they all had loved to spend time in when the most important task they had was simply finishing their reading for the day.
There were many gardens in Heaven. Most were mirror images of the ones found on Earth and enjoyed by the Winners who longed for their mortal lives. These gardens were filled with all sorts of flowers and trees and animals, all based on their habitats of course. But what most of them didn't know was there there were other gardens, private ones that only the higher-level angels could enter. Even Adam hadn't been welcomed into all of them, though he also had a small one that was his and his alone.
He own little part of recreated Eden for when he just needed silence.
The garden Uriel brought them to was not one that Adam knew. Truthfully it looked like no one had been in it for centuries, the stone benches and steps were covered with moss and some of the plants had grown wild with time. And yet, despite this, there was order in the chaos. Adam could easily see that the plants were planted in groups and the trees were strategically planted so that they weren't crowding each other. In the center of the little garden, there was a small fountain that tinkled water in a weak slow drizzle, the magic on it having waned with the years.
Nearing Adam couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be something carved into the stone of the fountain's base. At first, he assumed it was a name, but looking closer he could see it looked more like a child's crude drawing of some long-haired woman screaming something in a language Adam didn't know.
'Guess even angels drew on the walls.' Adam thought with a chuckle, recalling his own kids doing the same. "Hey? Which one of you was the artist here?"
The angels paused as Zadkiel and Jophiel walked over to look at what Adam was pointing at while the boys started to lay out a blanket on the dew-wet grass while Michael held Ava safely in his arms. For a moment neither of them could find what Adam was pointing at, but once they did, Zadkiel let out a tiny gasp while Jophiel groaned.
"Oh my!" Zadkiel said blushing in shock so brightly her face could have been a lantern.
"I had completely forgotten about that," Jophiel muttered. "Where he even learned that word, I still have no idea."
"Yah mind filling me in?" Adam asked as Jophiel rubbed her temple.
"It was back when Samael was little. Sera was both his and Michael's caretaker at the time and they... well..." Jophiel rubbed her arms uncomfortably, recalling back when the twins were small. "They often got into... disagreements. One of the times he got very angry he... carved a picture of her into the fountain with... stink lines. I think he was six centuries then."
"Yah don't say?" Adam chuckled, trying to imagine what the picture had looked like when it was new and untouched by time. "My brats did that once too ta Eve. Though they used paints and thought she wouldn't find them. Boy was she pissed when she found it. What does this say anyway?"
"It says 'Sera is a-" Raphael suddenly started to read as he had gotten curious about what they were looking at. No sooner had Raphael started to read out loud what was writing when Jophiel quickly covered his mouth, silencing him instantly.
"Raphael Hearthwing," Jophiel instantly scolded, reminding Adam all too much of Eve when she would scold the children. Her voice was loud and firm, demanding respect or face the consequences. "If you utter that word out loud, I don't care how many millennia you are, I will wash your mouth with soap and give you reflection. Understand?"
Raphael didn't seem too phased by Jophiel's 'mom' reaction, but it had Adam curious as to what word could be so awful that Jophiel would threaten her sibling with a mouthwashing and time out. Raphael however just nodded his head in understanding and waited until his oldest sister removed her hands from his mouth.
"That bad?"
"It's... a very rude word," Zadkiel explained, her cheeks still flushing gold. "One that the twins weren't supposed to hear, but... well, Gabriel accidentally let it slip when he was frustrated. "Sera was... Sera tended to be... firm with him. He had a tendency to act out when upset."
Adam could easily relate to that. In the early years after Abel was born, both he and Eve noticed how Cain's behavior changed seemingly overnight. The boy had been so proud to become a big brother, swearing up and down how he would take care of his baby brother and teach him all he knew. But as Abel learned to walk and talk, Cain seemed less and less thrilled about his new role in the family and started to act out. Sure, they would still play together as they only had each other, but often Cain would moan about having to be around his little brother.
At first, it was small things, like not doing his chores or back talking to either him or Eve. But with time it became bigger acts of defiance, from straight up refusing to do as he was asked or pushing his brother when he thought no one was looking. Eve had been the softer parent then but that was only because she would use Adam as the disciplinarian as she would be busy with Abel.
Those weren't fun times with Cain, and looking back Adam knew he messed up a few times.
He had always been too tired, too worn out from the day's work to want to listen to Eve complaining about whatever mischief Cain and Abel had gotten into for the day. All Adam wanted back then was to come home, have something to eat, and rest but instead, he would have to spend time hunting down his oldest from some stupid hiding hole he had run off to and have a 'talk'.
Though, it was rare there was any real talking that happened. It was more like Adam's hand did the talking while Cain had a nice closeup view of the ground. The worst was, sometimes it wasn't even Cain's fault. But because Adam had by then gotten used to Cain always being the one causing problems, so he would assume it was his oldest and not his youngest.
And by the time he realized it was Abel who had been naughty, it was already too late.
* * * Hazbin Hotel * * *
As Adam was focused on the stone carving, Uriel looked pleased with the little setup he and Raphael had managed to make before the healer got distracted. The blanket they had laid out was thick, soft, and most importantly wide so they all could sit comfortably on it with her. Now the question was just how did they entertain her?
Normally when they were in the garden, Uriel had watched his siblings entertain themselves. They would usually run around or fly or sing and play instruments with one another. Samael had been especially good at making games. He was the one who had introduced the idea of hide and seek to them, urging all of them to play together as a way of bonding beyond preening feathers. That or he would urge them to put on a show for one another, where they would each show off some sort of talent they had or tell fantastical stories via Azrael's shadow magic. But Ava wasn't as big as they had been when they hatched. She couldn't even walk yet from what Uriel had seen, so it wasn't like any of them could just sit back and tell her to play.
He tried to recall what his siblings had loved to play outside that didn't involve running or flying. He knew Jophiel had loved hearing either Sera or him singing, and with Gabriel, Uriel drew a complete blank. That boy had only been interested in flying and nothing else. With Ariel and Raphael, it was playing in the mud and dirt but he had a feeling Jophiel and Michael would have a fit if he allowed the little one to get dirty.
Well, dirtier. Her dress was already marked with stains from her supper.
When Uriel started thinking about Camael, things started to get a little hazy. He knew his temperamental sister wasn't one for tea parties or dress up or dolls, not that she didn't like pretty things, but she had always been very boisterous and ready to fright. If he was to guess her favorite toy was a stick that she would pretend was a sword. Gabriel certainly had the lumps to prove it and he was certain that he had scolded her more than a few times for hitting the others.
And himself for that matter.
As for Azrael and Zadkiel, they had always liked to...
Uriel paused for a moment. Now when he thought about it, he had no idea what they had liked to play when growing up. By the time Azrael was born, Uriel was nearing his tenth century and Father had started to groom him for more important tasks. By then he had already put away his childish pursuits, not that he had had many, and started to become more serious. And when the twins came... well, Uriel was already considered a young adult by Father.
At least when he needed him to be one. Otherwise, Father was more than happy to say that nineteen centuries hardly counted for anything compared to his own age.
But because of his duties then as well as having to prep Jophiel and the others when it became their turn, Uriel had missed out on some of his youngest siblings' fledglinghood. He had tried though, especially when the twins were born because of the damage he had seen her do with Zadkiel. He hadn't wanted a repeat of them becoming afraid of their wings or constantly following behind her like shadows. Especially after Father announced that their egg would be the last of his original angels and that those who followed after would not be the same. Sera hadn't taken that news well at all.
"Now, what did those two like the play with that you can as well, hm?" Uriel pondered as Michael settled Ava down on the blanket. Ava looked curiously around her, taking in the many bright colors and unusually shaped flowers that only grew here. "Samael was curious about flying things, I think. So maybe..."
Summoning some of his grace again, Uriel made a few butterflies made out of light appear. Ava stared wide-eyed at them for a second before letting out a squeal of joy, her small arms flapping like mad from excitement. It made Uriel chuckle as he recalled how nearly all of his brothers and sisters had done something likewise when they were little and overjoyed. It was like their bodies were too small to contain it so their happiness had to be expressed in other ways. Michael smiled softly too as Ava tried to reach for them, wondering if she had ever seen something like a butterfly before.
"I honestly blame Camael for teaching him that word," Michael could hear Jophiel grumbling behind him. "If she didn't lose her temper so easily every time Gabriel teased-"
"You do know that Samael didn't do this, right?" Raphael's voice suddenly stated calmly, cutting Jophiel off in her mild rant.
The silence that followed was almost deafening. Jophiel stood still for a moment as she watched Raphael nonchalantly rise from the ground, having lost interest in the old carving and wanting to study the little Hellborn more. Hellborns were a mystery to Heaven as the few times someone was sent to Hell to observe or investigate something, they were rarely allowed past the doors of the Heavenly Embassy.
And 'Ava' was even more so a conundrum.
Raphael hadn't had time to study the blood sample he had taken earlier though he planned to do it later that night. He wanted to observe the child more and see how she reacted to different experiences while he made mental notes to transcribe later. He was for example very curious about the hidden marking on her back. When she had been upset before, she had manifested a set of horn buds and a tail, but the aura that he could feel on her back had remained concealed. Was it because she hadn't been upset enough? Or had he not triggered them correctly to manifest? Perhaps they were still maturing and she was simply too young still.
It was fascinating, to say the least, and he wanted to learn more.
"What do you mean, Raphael?" Jophiel suddenly stopped him from walking over to the baby. Raphael looked a little irritated at her for that, baffled as to why she was asking. Did she not understand what he had said? He thought he had been very straightforward and clear about it. "Raphael. What do you by that?"
"That Samael didn't carve that into the stone."
Jophiel had to take a deep and slow breath so that she wouldn't start screaming. There was a time when she could easily talk to Raphael. A time when she needed an answer from him, she didn't need to jump through hoops and rack her brain to untangle whatever it was he was talking about and just instantly get the answer she was looking for.
She must have been out of practice because Raphael just staring at her blankly, clearly frustrated that she didn't understand him.
'Where is Ariel when you need her?!' Jophiel thought as her irritation grew with his silence. 'She always knew how to talk to him.'
Sensing their irritation though, Zadkiel quickly stepped in and tried to calm the situation. She wasn't as well versed in 'the ways of Raph' as Gabriel called it, but she had watched Ariel question Raphael many times in the past. It all came down to how the question was asked.
"Raphael, how do you know that Samael wasn't the one who carved it?" Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, Zadkiel made sure that Raph was looking at her as he spoke. It was a little hard, she knew that he didn't like looking anyone in the eyes, but she needed to be sure she had his undivided attention. That's at least what Ariel said they needed to do if it was something important.
Raphael looked exasperated as if he was being asked a rather obvious question. But at least he was focusing on her, though he was avoiding looking her in the eyes. He wasn't sure why he didn't like looking others in the eyes. They just showed too much.
"The impact groove," He stated, using his hands to demonstrate. "Sammy is left-handed. So he would hold the chisels with his left and strike it with his right, putting the deepest cut on the left. These grooves are on the right. Also, Samael couldn't spell Sera's name correctly then. He always spelled it 'Zer raw' because the letters looked the same to him."
Jophiel stared at him for a moment before she knelt down and looked closer at the carving, her finger pressing against the worn-down cuts. It was discreet, but she could feel it, the way the grooves curved to the right rather than left just as Raphael had said. An uncomfortable feeling filled her stomach as she recalled that day when she had found the carving. It had been by chance really, the artist having been smart enough to make it somewhere low where the other's would hardly look. Jophiel had been carrying some robes to be washed, the majority of them being Samael's from his little 'explorations', when a few of them slipped from her hold. She had bent down to pick them up again when the odd light color of the stone caught her attention and well...
* * * Flash Back * * *
"Samael Morningstar! What is the meaning of this?"
Samael gave a yelp of surprise when a hand suddenly grabbed him by the back of his robes. He had been sitting by himself in a small field, practicing his magic in trying to form an orb of light and making it last longer. He was certain he had almost figured out how to keep it from popping when Jophiel roughly picked him up, tugging him firmly under her arm as she marched back toward the main house.
"Huh?" The little angel cried out confused, frowning when the orb he was working on popped with a small ray of colors and streamers. He pouted angrily as all of his hard work was ruined, his concentration broken by his sister's sudden interruption. "Jojo! I almost had it."
Jophiel of course wasn't listening as she marched over to the fountain. She had been utterly shocked that Sammy could have written... that about Sera, mortified that he had even learned the word to start with. She made a mental note to scold Camael as well as she was the one that yelled it at Gabriel the last time he had riled her up.
It had been in the heat of the moment, but clearly, the damage was done.
"What have you got to say for yourself?!" Jophiel demanded as she set Samael on his feet in front of the fountain, perhaps a little rougher than needed as he stumbled.
Bright blue eyes looked up confused at her as his oversized wings wrapped slightly tighter around himself. He had seen Jophiel scolding Gabriel and Camael plenty of times before and had even been lightly scolded by her before too, but this was the first time he was on the receiving end of her ire. It was honestly a little scary.
Despite turning five centuries a few decades back, Samael hadn't been blessed with the same growth spurt that Michael had. Michael had grown a little taller, about half a head more in height whereas Samael had barely managed to grow three inches more in height. He could still fit the robes he had been given when he was born, which Sera just seemed to love as he was 'adorable' in them, much to his annoyance, but accepted because what else could he do? If he tried to wear the same robes Michael robe, it would look like he was wearing a lining sheet.
"Well?" Jophiel snapped, her arms crossed across her chest as she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for an answer. Samael just looked more and more confused at her, still unsure what she was talking about. 'He's pretending that he doesn't know so that I won't scold him. I know he's little but if I don't nip this right away, he's going to yell it at Sera in anger then then she'll...' Jophiel shook her head, not wanting to think of how Sera might punish her baby brother for calling her a rude name. "Samael I'm waiting."
"What I do?" His eyes were pricking with tears, the bright blue eyes watering before her. "Jojo, I don't..."
Either because her patience was wearing thin or she chose to believe Samael when he said that he didn't know what she was talking about, Jophiel knelt down and pointed at the fountain's base angrily. It wasn't unrealistic when it came to Samael. He could easily get distracted when he found something new to catch his attention and could forget what he had been doing instantly. Confused Samael bent over and tried to see what Jophiel was referring to. At first, he couldn't see what it was but as he kept looking, Samael finally saw the picture and started to giggle.
Apparently, it had been the wrong thing to do because the moment Jophiel heard him giggle, she lost it.
"Samael Morningstar, this is not a laughing matter!" Her sudden yell made Samael jump in fright his wings quickly moving to shield him. He still hadn't gotten them completely under control. "Why would you write something like that? We all told both you and Michael that word is not okay to say."
"Write?" Samael looked confused again and looked closer at the drawing before he saw the words. Jophiel figured he had probably forgotten because a second later Samael immediately looked at her with wide shocked eyes. "It wasn't me!"
Mentally Jophiel felt herself groaning. She wasn't surprised that he would deny it, not when he knew this was going to get him in a lot of trouble. But she was willing to give him a chance to confess since at the very least he had been smart enough to write the word in their language and not common because if Sera read it she would certainly lose it. The caretaker angel might not be able to understand what the word meant exactly but she did know it was incredibly rude from Uriel's reaction to it.
"Samael, be honest with me," She told him firmly, gently taking his hands in her own. Maybe she reassured him that she could understand it was done in anger or frustration he would confess to it and say sorry. That should be alright, right? It would show that he understood what he did was wrong and that he could learn from his mistakes. "I know that sometimes you and Sera can become disa-mad-" She noticed his look of confusion at the word and reminded herself to use simpler words. "that you two can get mad at each other. And I know Sera can be a little... much sometimes, but this not okay to do, Sammy."
"But I didn't do it, Jojo," Samael insisted, his eyes pleading for her to believe him. "It wasn't me."
Jophiel let out a little sigh before deciding to take a firmer approach.
"Samael. You shouldn't lie," Jophiel watched calmly as Samael started to cry in frustration, upset that she didn't believe him. "Now, if you tell me the truth and say sorry, then that's that and we'll clean this up-" 'Somehow...' "- but if you lie to me again then you're just going to be in more trouble."
"But I am! I didn't do it!" Samael yelled as the tears in his eyes finally started to fall down his cheeks. His emotions were running amok as he grew more and more upset that she didn't believe him, just like Sera sometimes did. He tried to pull away from her but Jophiel held on firmly to his hands, preventing him. Struggling slightly in her hold, Samael started to try and beat his wings to get free. "Jojo, let go! I didn't do it! Honest!"
"Samael, stop that," Jophiel didn't let go as Samael whined in her hold. "Sammy, you need to-OW!"
Without either realizing it, Samael's magic had started to flare, creating a little burst of light in his hands that zapped Jophiel into releasing him. It wasn't really painful, more it had surprised her, like getting a static shock from someone passing by. Flexing her fingers slightly to get the feeling back into them, Jophiel took a few slow deep breaths so that she wouldn't snap at Samael who looked horrified at her. She knew it wasn't on purpose, that like Azrael and Zadkiel and Michael, he was still learning how to control his grace and it was acting out of his emotions. He hadn't meant to do it, but at the same time, he wasn't admitting to vandalizing the fountain...
"Jojo, I'm sorr-" Samael started to say when two strong arms circled him and quickly picked him up. It happened so fast that he gave a little yelp of surprise, his arms instinctively wrapping around her neck so that he wouldn't fall. Not that Jophiel would ever allow that to happen. "Jojo, please. I-"
"I think you need some time to reflect a bit," Jophiel said sternly, though her hands still hugged him gently to her. She didn't want him to think he was in trouble for hurting her, that wasn't his fault, but lying... "Come on. We'll use my room."
"But Jojo I-!" Samael protested before whimpering into her shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"I know, Sammy. I'm not mad. Just..." She sighed before gently rubbing his back. "I just wish you would tell me the truth. Lying will just get you in more trouble."
Samael didn't say anything as he buried his face into her shoulder, a small whimper rippling through his body as Jophiel headed back towards her own room, the laundry forgotten. She'd have to ask Ariel to take care of it as Sera was busy with something else with Uriel and Father. Normally reflection was something that was supposed to happen in one's own room, but since Michael and Samael still resided in the Aviary, she figured it was better to use her room where she could supervise him instead of locking him in the Aviary completely alone.
About halfway there, the pair ran into Gabriel and Michael. Michael looked an absolute frightful mess with twigs and leaves sticking out of his wings left and right. If Jophiel was to guess, Gabriel had probably had a flying lesson with the older twin which had probably gone about as well as any of them could expect. Gabriel was trying to cheer Michael up when he saw them.
"Hey, Jophiel. Hey Sammy," Gabriel greeted with a smile only for it to falter when he saw Samael hiding his face in the crook of Jophiel's neck and Jophiel didn't exactly look very happy herself. "Hey... is everything okay?"
"Sammy just tried," Jophiel explained, telling the small white lie but giving Gabriel a pointed look that he understood all too well. She knew it was sort of hypocritical given she punishing Samael for lying and now she was, but she had only said that so that Samael wouldn't feel embarrassed about being called out. "I'm gonna take him to my room for a bit to rest."
"Me too," Michael instantly called out, already reaching for Sammy. They were all working on separating the twins a bit more, to help them develop some independence from one another, or rather for Michael to not be so dependent on being around Sammy. Samael was handling it pretty well. " I wanna come too."
"Oh no, buddy," Gabriel quickly picked Michael up, tickling his side. "You and I are gonna take a bath remember? You crashed into a tree and need all the sap out of your feathers."
"But-!"
Michael whined but Gabriel was already rushing past Jophiel and Samael, the two oldest siblings sharing a look that said both said 'thanks' and 'We'll talk about it later'. Jophiel kept rubbing Samael's back gently as Gabriel took Michael away while Michael looked woefully after the two. Once they were out of sight, Samael let out a tiny sob into her shoulder, his wings trying to cocoon himself against her shoulder, mumbling 'sorry' every once in a while.
* * * * Flash Back Ends * * * *
Jophiel wanted to slap her past self. Even after making Samael sit in a cover to reflect, he never stopped saying he hadn't done it and in the end, he ended up becoming so exhausted from crying and pleading that he ended up being tucked into her bed for a nap instead.
And of course, he wouldn't admit to it because he hadn't done it.
Guilt pooled in her stomach as she recalled how she kept insisting he say sorry, how she had been a little sterner with him for a while after. She had been so sure he had done it because of how his relationship was with Sera. They were always arguing back then. Heck, they had never stopped. Whenever Sera tried to rein him in, Samael would pull as hard as he could away from her. He would rant at times about things being unfair or whine about not understanding why things were the way they were and how many things were unfair.
So she had been so sure that he had done it, that she didn't bother looking deeper into it. It was hardly a wonder that he had been so upset after.
But the more she thought about it, actually thought about it Raphael was right. Samael wasn't the best speller for the longest time, it was one of the reasons he hated writing reports when he was older. And he often mixed up the letters because many of them looked the same, with only a few variations between them, so he didn't spell anyone's names right for a long time. Like 'Gayberal' and 'Uree' and 'Jofel' and... And 'Zeraw'. Samael didn't start spelling her name right until he was about nine when his handwriting had gotten better.
"But if Samael didn't do it..." Jophiel muttered as she looked at the carving again. Most of them were right-handed, but it was a childish drawing, crude in its style and dimensions. She was sure that Azrael wouldn't have done it, and Zadkiel wouldn't have dared to. So that meant it had to be-
* * * Hazbin Hotel * * *
"Michael Eveningstar! You have some explaining to do!"
Michael froze in horror at hearing his full name, something that rarely ever happened for any of them. Even more so when it was his full name and Jophiel was the one yelling it. Looking at Uriel, Michael watched as he mouthed a confused 'What did you do?' only to be met with an equally puzzled shrug. Ava had given a small jump of surprise and then quickly crawled from the sound. Turning around nervously, Michael was met with an angry glare from his oldest sister, her usually soft-hued cheeks flashing a rose gold.
"What did I do?" Michael asked, looking utterly confused. Jophiel didn't say anything, only pointed angrily at the fountain. Getting up, Michael slowly made his way over to the fountain while Uriel gently rubbed Ava's back, doing his best to keep her calm. Looking confused, Michael just stared at the fountain in confusion. "I don't follow."
"She's referring to the nice work of art you did of Sera, Birdbrain." Adam answered, grinning a little too much for Michael's liking.
"What are you...?" Adam's grin grew as he pointed towards the underside of the fountain, making Michael kneel down to see what it was that had gotten Jophiel so upset. For a second, he wasn't sure what he was looking at, seeing only old moss and gray stone before realization dawned on him. "Oh."
"Oh? OH?! Is that all you have to say?" Jophiel looked ready to smack him upside the head. "Michael, why would you-?"
* * * Hazbin Hotel * * *
Somewhere else in the garden...
The greenhouse had been the last thing added to the garden before the siblings had all become too busy to spend their spare time enjoying its serenity. Within its crystal clear walls were many plants that never got approved for Eden, all well taken care of and watered to perfection. Some were small, like a small bulbous flower that shaped like a purple glowing pumpkin, to massive, like a willow tree that grew water berries. The reason that the plants thrived at all was thanks to a young woman who looked like she was in her early twenties. She was tall and thin, with soft wavy dark chocolate hair and rich forest green eyes. She was dressed in a well-worn green toga that stopped at her knees, her mint green wings folded strategically around her to shield her from the amplified sun glaring through the glass as she finished pruning the last of the plants for the day. The bush she was working on looked like a crossing between a cactus or brier bush and a Venus flytrap with a brilliant black iridescent fruit growing in its center. The fruit was made to look appetizing but was very venomous. It was meant to lure prey in for the plant to devour, which was probably the reason its design was rejected. But by cutting the fruit off, the plant wouldn't try to overtake its bed, strangling the others in its wake.
"There, that should do it," Wiping her brow, Ariel cracked her back loudly before rising to her feet. "That ought to do it."
Brushing off her hands on her clothes, Ariel gathered her gardening tools and calmly walked out of the greenhouse, taking care to lock the door. It was a habit she had taken up after one plant had managed to escape into the garden and had become a massive problem for them for years by growing over the protective walls of Heaven.
Thankfully they had managed to cull the damn thing before anything managed to make its way in from outside. That would have been a disaster.
Now that she was finished with her daily gardening, Ariel felt her mood slightly sour. She knew she was pushing her work off for her hobby but she honestly hated it. Known to the mortal followers of her father's faith as 'God's Lioness', Ariel's domain involved protecting nature, be it animals or plants. It had been an honor back when her father had given her that task, after all, she loved nature deeply and her favorite pastime was studying all the different creatures and things.
But as time passed on Earth, Ariel found herself growing more and more apathetic towards humanity due to their lack of respect towards the gifts she and her siblings had given them.
She had watched as humans drifted away from the backbreaking work of farming that Adam and Eve had started to the industrial air, poisoning the land, sky, and water with their smog and slug. She had seen the enslavement of creatures that were meant to be free like the war elephants of the Roman statesman Hannibal or bear-baiting. Even the dogs, who were loyal to humanity were at times mistreated for dog fights, and for what?! Entertainment.
It made it hard for her to care for the humans when they cared so little for themselves.
Still, it was her job to protect and care for the flora and fauna of Earth and so she would have to do her best. Even if it was with lackluster enthusiasm.
Making her way back to the garden's entrance, Ariel allowed a few last moments of serenity to fill her being. Back before all of them had been given their different tasks, this garden had been their favorite. She and her siblings would often spend hours upon hours just basking in the sunlight and enjoying each other's company with either song or dance or games or preening circles. Now, they were lucky if they all managed to eat somewhat near each other once a day in silence without some cherub or angel fluttering up to them with some sort of message or other.
When they all had gotten less and less free time, the garden had slowly fallen into ruin from neglect. It hadn't been until one day when Ariel simply couldn't stand being near anyone that she had rediscovered it while hiding from everyone that she remembered the peace she had always felt there. Sure, she was sad to see it so dilapidated but it wasn't something she couldn't fix with a little magic and elbow grease.
And while magic would have solved it all quicker, Ariel liked the feeling of dirt beneath her fingers.
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"You never asked!"
Ariel froze. It had been a long time since she had last heard either Michael or Jophiel arguing. Yelling, sure, Michael did it often when he needed to silence an argument that was getting out of hand, for him to be arguing with Jophiel... that wasn't something that happened often. Slowly making her way over, Ariel was surprised to find that it wasn't just Michael and Jophiel who had returned to the garden but Zadkiel, Raphael, and Uriel as well. It made her smile for a moment as she couldn't help but think all they needed were Gabriel, Camael, and Azrael and the whole gaggle of siblings would be here once more in the garden just like they had back in the good old days.
'No... not all of us. Never all of us,' she thought sadly before plastering a smile on her face once more. 'No use for wishful thinking. It never helped before.'
* * * Hazbin Hotel * * *
Adam was biting his tongue hard to keep from laughing out loud.
In all the years he had known Michael after returning to Heaven, the Archangel had always been a proverbial pain in his ass. Sure, it didn't help that he and Lucifer looked the same despite their height differences, but Michael was always an irritating stickler when it came to rules and order. And fuck if Heaven didn't have a crap load of them!
The first many years after Adam was given his wings, Michael had been quick to push him off onto Sera, telling her that she needed to show Adam the ropes of being an angel and only to call on them as needed. Adam had been utterly confused back then as to everything going on and also a little insulted that he was just dismissed so quickly by the clone of his demise.
After all, Lucifer had said Michael was-
'Fucker probably lied about it back then too. Well most of it anyways,' Adam mentally scuffed before smirking at the scene before him. 'It's like watching Brabal and his wife arguing about whose fault it was that the lambs escaped.'
Michael was certainly looking flustered as Jophiel ripped into him. The moment he recognized the old carving he had made millennia ago, Jophiel practically pounced down his throat, ranting and raving. She looked distraught about something, but he had no idea what it was.
Well, beyond the word he had decided to use but that was hardly a reason to over-react like this! He was starting to get worried for a minute that she would forget that he wasn't a child anymore or the company they were in and just grab him for a good smacking. That was the last thing Michael wanted Adam to see. He'd have to kill the First Man then because there was no chance in Heaven he'd keep his big mouth shut over that.
"This entire time!" Jophiel snapped at him as she paced back and forth. "This entire time it was you who did it!"
"Listen Jophiel, I know it wasn't nice but I was five and upset," Michael tried to defend himself, his ears and cheeks starting to flush more and more with embarrassment. He could already see Adam trying poorly not to smirk, the prick. "I don't see why you're this upset."
"Because I thought it was Sammy who did it!" Jophiel yelled. She was about to continue when she heard the frightened whine from Ava as Uriel tried to calm her. It was enough to make Jophiel calm down enough to take several deep breaths to calm herself. "I thought... I was sure back then that it was Samael because they were always butting heads and I thought he didn't want to admit it and..."
She groaned loudly as she held her head in shame. She hadn't meant to get so riled up or to scare Ava.
"Just... why did you do it? You liked Sera back then." Jophiel asked, looking pleading at him.
The silence between them was almost deafening.
"Because I was mad at her," Michael answered, still not understanding why she was upset. "I was mad that she was insisting that we couldn't do our lessons together and she was always hounding him about one thing or another. He was always scared of being alone and I just... I wanted to let off some steam I guess. Why? It was so long ago, why does it matter?"
Adam huffed. Sometimes these angels could be so God damn dense. Maybe Lucifer had been right back in Eden when he would sit with him and Lilith and vent his frustrations. How it was frustrating that none of them would listen to him, take him seriously, or how they would all treat him like a little fledgling.
Not that either of them had understood what that meant back then.
Growing bored of watching the angels' melodrama unfold, Adam looked over at Ava who was looking confused at the pair while Uriel gently tried to calm her when he noticed another angel joining them.
Now when Adam had arrived in Heaven after his death, he had been introduced to all of God's angels, or at least the important ones. He had known Uriel from the garden though they had never spoken to one another. It was only when God would visit with some new blessing to the garden for Adam or Lilith to name that he sometimes saw the angel standing behind him, carrying said blessings. The rest of them he had only caught a glimpse of when he and Eve were banished to Earth.
So to say it was awkward suddenly becoming the first Winner in Heaven wasn't too far off. By then they were all busy and while Gabriel would stop by for a chat whenever he could, the others seemed so wrapped up in their own worlds that there was no room for anyone else. Most of them were practically unapproachable, like Michael or Raphael. It had taken a couple of centuries short of a millennium for Adam to figure Raphael out and accept that the guy just didn't like talking to people, which made it kind of weird that he was called 'God's Healer'. Others just tended to get overwhelmed making time for him like Jophiel or Azrael who was busy trying to inspire humanity for the better or lead lost souls to their final destination. Camael he spoke with every once in a while, but it was always in a business sort of way regarding his girls.
Not that she knew they were Exterminators, that was a secret between him, his girls, and Sera. Camel just thought the lot of them were training to be an extra defense for Heaven's Army. Which was sort of true. They just weren't the backup.
But out of all the angels, Ariel was the one he knew the least.
Which was weird cause she was, for all intents and purposes, a very beautiful woman. Unlike her siblings, she tanned skin, almost brown instead of alabaster white. She also seemed to care more about her appearance than Jophiel did. God's beauty indeed, she might have been in the beginning but over the years as their workload grew and grew she had clearly stopped giving a damn about her appearance. Ariel seemed to care with her hair set in a messy bun and ordained with little bits of greenery. At least when he looked at her, he could see the Protector of Nature, with her green tunic and Greek sandals made of vines. She at least looked put together.
Not to mention she had a great pair of knockers on her that neither Jophiel nor Zadkiel had. Camael had some nice tits too but Adam knew better than to look at them unless he wanted to eat his spare ribs as smoothies through a straw.
That woman had a mean left hook and an even worse one on her right.
"Well, this is a surprise," Ariel greeted calmly, her voice melodious and calm, reminding Adam instantly of a small steam passing a bank of peddles. "I thought I was the only one who still visited this garden. Did I forget a meeting?"
Adam watched as all the siblings, except for Raphael, turned to look surprised at Ariel. None of them had expected her to be there and Uriel immediately shifted his wings to try and cover Ava, pretending he was preening his wings. Looking at him now, Adam was annoyed to see that the stuck-up jerk's wings were just like his clothes. Annoyingly pristine and clean, the white back feathers almost reflected the light like a mirror.
Unfortunately for him, it seemed Ava wasn't interested in remaining a secret to this archangel either as let out a first a soft coo before babbling excitedly.
Apparently, Uriel felt the noise was enough to allow the proverbial cat out of the bag as he tried to lower his wings only to give a small yelp. Ava had grabbed a hold of his feathers, yanking them hard to cover herself and hide. For a second, Adam thought maybe she was shy of Ariel as it was starting to become a lot of new faces for a baby to be exposed to in one day. But then they all heard her giggle loudly as she uncovered herself before hiding behind them once more.
'Is she...?' Adam blinked before he started to snicker.
* * * Hazbin Hotel * * *
When the wings closed around Charlie, she had first been confused. Normally when Daddy did this, she was covered in a shield of crimson red feathers that she loved to snuggle into. She wasn't sure why, but they always made her feel safe and loved, especially when she was cuddling between Mommy and Daddy, listening to Mommy's heart beat.
Mommy's heart beat was the best sound in the world.
But this time, instead of a ball of red lined feathers, she found herself covered with pale pastel green. But maybe that wasn't so strange, after all Uriel wasn't Daddy so maybe his wings were different.
Suddenly, Charlie remembered the game Daddy would always play with her when he covered her with his wings like this. It was Mommy's favorite game too, Peek-a-Boo. He would always let her hide behind his feathers and then she'd surprise Mommy by appearing and disappearing again and again. Sometimes Mommy did it too, which was just mind blowing as she didn't use magic the same way Daddy did.
Giggling, she firmly grabbed the feathers in front of her and pulled the wing over her head, disappearing from sight before she pulled it down with a loud 'OO!'. Charlie laughed loudly as she saw their confused faces, thinking that she had somehow unlocked the secret to disappearing. Why else would they be confused? She did it three more times before she was surprised to find the new lady looking very closely at her. Cooing, Charlie tried to reach out and grab one of the twigs in her hair, but the woman moved slightly out of the way, bring them just out of reach. It made Charlie pout a little as it was the same thing Mommy did when she had shinies in her hair.
* * * Hazbin Hotel * * *
Adam was trying hard now not to burst out laughing. It was almost comical for him that a bunch of angels that had been around before time itself was a thing, that had never seen a simple game of peek-a-boo before. It made him wonder if this was how he and Eve had looked like when they were struggling to figure out being parents for the first time with Cain. They had only discovered that he looked the game when Eve had gotten covered with some of their fur blankets she was hanging them out to air out. Apparently, seeing his mother shriek out of surprise and getting covered with a wolf's skin was hilarious to the six-month-old and soon it became the go-to game when bonding with him until he could walk.
And if Adam had thought Gabriel and Michael were awkward about the little girl, Ariel was clearly trying to win first prize. For an angel that protected nature and its blessing, Adam would have thought she'd have some idea of how to act around a child. After all, what were children but feral little beasts that walked around on two legs? Adam was at least certain a few of his brats might have fit in with the wolves with how wild they could get sometimes. But Ariel was looking at Ava as if she was expecting the little girl to suddenly rip Uriel's wings off and lunge at her throat. She certainly had jumped half a meter in the air, her wings twitching to flap when Ava had yelled out at her, trying her best to say 'Boo' if Adam were to guess.
Still, she was trying to smile at her, even if it looked painfully forced. Adam watched as Uriel gently urged Ariel closer, speaking that weird ass language they all liked to speak together. Back in the garden, Lucifer had tried to teach Lilith and him the language too but they soon accepted that it was just too complicated for them to fully understand. It didn't help that some words could mean a dozen different things all depending on the pitch and stress placed on it. Adam could even recall Lucifer trying to teach them how to say 'You are pretty' to each other and Adam had excitedly said it to both Lilith and Lucifer, only for Lucifer to grimace in horror. It had taken several days before he managed to explain to them that Adam had butchered the pronunciation so badly, that he had said 'You are Godly like' instead. After that, they just kept it to some melodies when they would spend time together in the garden.
'What the...'
Adam was suddenly torn from his muses as he watched Ariel awkwardly reach out and pat Ava's head. It wasn't that she was touching her that was weird, but how she was. When Adam had seen the others touching Ava, be it comforting or holding, they were generally gentle. Sure they had no clue about what they were doing and would hold her uncomfortably until Adam corrected them, but their touch was for the most part soft and reassuring. Ariel however looked almost mechanical, like those strange wind-up toys mortals had for their children. It looked more like she was getting an animal rather than a child.
'They are all really fucking clueless,' Adam thought with a shack of his head and calmly headed over to the pair to save Ava before the 'pets' would become too harsh. The little one was already looking confused as she felt herself being bopped on the head a few times like a dog. Ava looked just as baffled as Adam did, giving Uriel a questioning look as if to ask him 'What was that for?'.
"Ariel, she's not a-"
Adam froze for a second, sniffing the air. There was an odd odor in the air, damp and earthy with a musky sour note. At first, he thought maybe it was one of the plants that surrounded them, their scents being foreign and not always mingling well together, and Adam knew that some flowers, despite their beauty could smell like a month-old rancid meat. Taking a few deeper sniffs, Adam eyes Ava suspiciously and took her from Uriel, ignoring the angel's light protest. Once more, Adam lifted the squirming infant to sniff at her rear before visually checking the diaper she wore.
'No, she's still clean,' Adam thought only chuckling a little as he cradled her in his arms and was greeted with a happy smile. 'Well... mostly clean anyway."
The yellow dress she was wearing was covered with food and juice stains, and while they had wiped her face down a little, there were still a few stains from the carrots around her mouth. It was obvious to anyone with a lick of sense that she needed a bath, and the only reason Adam hadn't suggested it was because his experience told him it was best to do that before bedtime-
That was a bucket of ice to his stomach. Bedtime. He still hadn't had a chance to talk to Sera about Ava and what to do to return her. There wasn't a chance now to return her to Hell without her parents noticing she had been missing. Not unless they were piss-poor parents that didn't give to fucks about her... And he certainly couldn't return her during the night time, that would be suicide as far as he was concerned. Who knew what shit liked to lurk in the darkness of Hell when the daytime was already filled with unhinged lunatics!
'Okay, focus. One issue at a time,' Adam thought as he kept sniffing at Ava.
Maybe she had touched something? It was possible since babies were always so damn curious. But at the same time, what could she have touched that none of them saw, they were six fully grown angels for fucks sake! That had to be more than enough eyes to watch her every second right?
Then again, Philomena and Gabriel had managed to lose Ava within an hour of having her so maybe Adam shouldn't set the bar too high. They all seemed to want to try and limbo under it.
'Okay, so her hands are fine, she doesn't need a change,' Giving up trying to be discreet, Adam finally just dug his nose into the golden locks and sniffed hard. Ava shrieked with laughter when he did this, her tiny hands reaching out towards Michael in a silent plea for help. 'Hmmm, nope. Just that classic baby smell. Can't fucking believe I still remember that.'
Despite this, he was still smelling something that made his nose hairs curl in disgust. It was close too, he just couldn't put a finger on where was coming from. Ignoring Ava's calls to Michael, Adam started to walk around the small clearing, sniffing at the different flowers and trees, trying to find what it was that gave off the foal odder. He tried to look closely at a translucent rose that reminded him of glass only to find it surprisingly had a very sharp scent like that of burnt pepper. Then he wandered to a silver-barked willow-like tree with periwinkle leaves that looked like tiny cups stacked on top of one another, but it had a surprisingly fresh smell that reminded Adam of soap mixed with seaweed.
Every single plant he turned to had a surprising scent, from familiar ones like cinnamon, lavender, sage, sandalwood, and saffron, to unusual scents he would never have thought a plant could give like fresh melted snow, wet ash and wet wool drying in the sun. It made Adam ponder if this garden was where they had gotten the idea for the different scents all the plants had or if it was just a random coincidence. There was even one plant that looked very beautiful with rainbow-like petals, golden glittery rimes, and chrome stems that Adam thought might have been the source, but he had to practically stick his nose down into its buds. Which he instantly regretted as it stunk of butyric acid. But still, despite his wandering about with the air with the angels following in tow, Adam couldn't find the source of the smell that was getting worse and worse.
"Adam?" Jophiel finally asked as Adam once more checked Ava who whined as she reached for Michael. "What exactly are you doing?"
"I'm trying to figure out where the fuck-" Adam growled only to jerk when Zadkiel yanked Ava out of his hands and covered the little one's ears, her usually gentle and doll-like face twisting into a disapproving scowl. "Sorry, but seriously you all don't smell that?"
"Smell what?" A voice asked curiously behind him.
"Yeah, there's this odder that I-" Adam growled as he turned around only to freeze as he came face to face with a very puzzled-looking Ariel. "Oh, you have got to be shitting me!"
When Adam had seen Ariel from afar, he had thought he was gazing upon an ethereal beauty who was neatly dressed with sun-kissed skin. But now as he came face to face with Ariel and looked at her, actually looked at her, Adam discovered he had been mistaken. He had been wrong.
Dead wrong.
To start with her skin was not tanned as he first assumed, but rather she had what he had called back in his mortal life a dirt tan. He wasn't sure if she had tripped or just been gardening very aggressively but her arms and legs were stained brown from the spoil and her face was smeared from her swiping away sweat, hiding what might be pure white skin beneath it. Her hair as well had been an illusion from a distance. He had thought she had set it in a messy bun with natural hair ornaments to decorate it and accentuate her connection with nature. In reality, it was a tangled rat's nest of matted unkempt hair that seemed to have latched on to anything and everything she had walked past as it filled with twigs, leaves, and what Adam was hoping was an old spider's web.
'Is her hair even brown?!' Adam thought in horror as he realized the only reason her hair wasn't limp with grease was because of a thick layer of dust covering it. 'Fucking Hell! Even her goddamn wings are a total mess.'
"What?" Ariel asked innocently as she noticed Adam's look of horror aimed at her. Adam opened his mouth to say something but at that moment he was hit with a full whiff of the smell and instantly started to turn green. Before anyone knew what was happening, Adam twisted around and started to gag loudly. "Goodness, Adam are you alright?
Adam had to push her away from him, grimacing as he fought to keep his food down. One would have thought that being dead and in Heaven, it would mean leaving all Earthly things behind. Wealth? Too heavy. Just let the proverbial vulture fight over it. Illness? Absolutely! That was a problem for the breathing folks. But hygiene? Apparently, God felt they were important enough to bring with you through the pearly Gates.
"Christ on a stick, Ariel! What the actual fuck?" Adam demanded as he struggled to make his gag reflex calm down. Once he was positive he wasn't about to vomit anymore, Adam stared in shock at the others who stood around Ariel, completely unaffected. "Do you guys not smell that?"
"Smell?" Jophiel asked, lifting her head a little high to sniff the air. At least, Adam thought she was smelling the air as the arch angels didn't exactly have visible noses as far as he knew.
"I don't smell anything odd," Uriel answered as well, peering over at Zadkiel who was gently bouncing Ava in her arms, mimicking what she had seen Adam do a few times, while she in turn tried to grasp her long lavender hair. "You, Zadkiel?"
"I think maybe the iscoss might be in bloom," Zadkiel sniffed the air for a second, not finding anything too unusual in the air. "But they tend to smell like new rain-"
"They don't bloom for another four months," Ariel explained calmly, tapping a finger against her cheek lightly. Adam stared in horror as he watched the spot slightly darken with dirt the way a lady's cheek would whiten with powder. "So it can't be that.-"
"Are you all kidding me? Don't none of us seriously notice it?" Adam growled only to be met with blank looks by all of the angels except Zadkiel and Michael who were looking at Ava. Ava was trying to take Zadkiel's hair hostage in her tiny fingers but failed as Zadkiel gently tinkled her tummy making her giggle. In the end, Ava settled for capturing her hand and babbled away. Frustrated and in disbelief, Adam pointed firmly at Ariel before uttering probably the rudest phrase anyone had ever uttered to an angel in the history of time.
"Bitch stinks like she rolled in something dead!" The look of shock and disbelief on everyone's faces would have been comical if it wasn't for the fact they were either completely unaware or in absolute denial. "For fuck sake look at her!?"
Ariel just stared in confusion as each of her siblings slowly turned to look at her. She didn't think there was anything wrong with her appearance, though maybe she should have washed her hands after gardening and not wiped it on her old tunic, but then again the garment was so old that it hardly mattered. Now when she thought about it, when had she last picked out a different outfit? When had she even put on a different one than this specific one? She was certain she wore it yesterday... and the day before that... possibly even the day before that as well. But she had been working in the gardens or checking on her many creatures which was dirty work, so it was sort of pointless for her to change into something that would just get dirty again, right? Surely even Adam could understand this, having worked hard his mortal life churning soil and caring for livestock.
And yet as her siblings looked at her, truly looked at her, she could feel their eyes becoming more and more scrupulous.
"Ariel..." Jophiel was the first to speak, gently pulling at one of the mint-colored wings as she studied her feathers. Glancing back, Ariel noticed they might look a little messy but she didn't think they were terrible. She hardly flew anywhere anyway, using her grace instead to open portals to where she needed to be or walk. It was a great way of avoiding others when she didn't feel like meeting them. "You're wings, sister. When have you last preened them?"
Ariel paused, thinking for a moment as she tried to remember.
"I think it was... Saturday?" She answered as she mulled it over in her head, the uncertainty of her answer almost frighteningly calm. "Maybe Monday... I've been busy-"
Michael frowned as he looked at his sister's wings as well. It was hard to believe just two days of not preening had gotten her wings into such a woeful state. The barbules of her feathers hadn't been zipped properly in some place for so long, it looked like they had predominately curled. Not to mention he was certain he could see more than a few loose feathers trapped in her plumage.
"Ariel it's Wednesday," Uriel gaped as he ran a hand through her feathers as well, mortified that he pulled away several loose feathers that were tangled together. "Are you saying you haven't preened your feathers for four days?"
"I suppose..." Ariel pondered as she muttered. "I'm certain it was after Pope Pius was chosen..."
"The seventh?" Zadkiel asked as her head was jerked slightly to the side when Ava finally managed to grasp some of her hair. She smiled softly at the child before gently untangling her fingers from her hair and tapped the small black nose in reprimand. "But that was months ago that the mortals chose him."
"Seventh? We have a seventh now?"
Adam wasn't sure who was more shocked. God's Lioness when she learned that she was behind on information regarding their father's human realm, or the siblings when they realized she was referring to a completely different Pius. The whole mess was starting to give Adam a headache.
"Yes, the seventh. Who are you eluding to, Sister." Zadkiel pleaded in her soft tone, fearing she wouldn't like the answer. Ariel had always been a bit like Raphael when it came to her interests and obsessions but she had never been this out of tune when it came to current events. 'Maybe she's thinking of the sixth? That was the last pope. Yes, surely that's who she-'
"When did Pius the second die?" Ariel asked looking at Michael pleadingly for an answer.
"He... he died in the fourteen... Ariel that was nearly four centuries ago!" Michael yelled mortified. "Are you telling me you haven't preened your wings for the last four hundred years?!"
"I suppose so," Ariel shrugged only to wince at the chorus of disbelieving and disapproving 'Ariel' that surrounded her. "Well, when you say it like that, it does sound bad but-"
As Ariel started to ramble some nonsensical excuse out, Adam couldn't help but notice the absolutely distorted expression that crossed Uriel's face. He knew that expression all too well. It was the expression of guilt. The guilt of being too wound up in his own world to notice anything around him and the guilt of neglecting his siblings.
"Uriel's my eldest brother, Adam,'He recalled Lucifer telling him once as they along with Lilith lay in the garden of Eden, looking at the night sky. Lucifer had just told them how the stars were made which had led to a quick introduction of his siblings. "Whenever Sera's too busy with other things, he's always stepping up and helping us. He's the one that taught me magic."
Adam could still hear the joy and pride in the young voice as the young angel rolled over in the grass, his wings unfolding before covering both humans in a feathery blanket.
"He sounds wonderful." Lilith had whispered back, her then golden eyes half-lidded as she grew more and more tired.
"He is," Lucifer smiled as he reached out and gently stroked Lilith's hair before turning to do the same to Adam. "He's the best big brother there is. He always knows just what to do if one of us is sad or hurt. He just knows everything."
Adam was starting to wonder if the version he had been told off in Eden was just the rose-tinted eyes of a child looking at their family. From what he was gathering from all of this, Ariel's wing had been in a piss-poor state due to her indifference, and for four hundred years, none of them had noticed despite supposedly eating their meals together.
The eldest angel looked heartbroken that his second sister was so apathetic to her self-care. True as a child she had easily been distracted by her interests, running off here and there to study whatever new plant or beast she had found or heard of. Unlike Jophiel and Sera who had been very aware of their appearance, Ariel's interest in her looks had always been at the bottom of her list. He could still remember as a fledgling how he and Sera would have to chase her down and then grab her to preen her feathers or bathe her. Sera had always complained about it then, grumbling about how they would run out of robes before a cycle was done with how often Ariel returned from playing covered in dirt or mud or Father only knew what. It hadn't helped when Raphael joined nearly a year later, joining Ariel on her expectations with as little care for his appearance as she had.
But this... this was inexcusable.
How had they not smelled the stench she was covered in? How had they missed her neglected feathers and mangled hair? Her skin was brown from dirt for goodness sake and who knew how long that had-
"Ariel..." Uriel took a deep breath as he readied himself for something he was certain he did not wish to truly hear. "When was the last time you washed?"
"This morning, before we shared a meal," Ariel answered calmly as she looked at her hands. "Why are you asking?"
"Ariel, please. Don't play semantics with me," Uriel stressed firmly as he took a firm hold of her shoulder, forcing her to look into his rose-colored eyes. "I'm going to ask you again, Ariel Meadowlark. When was the last time you properly bathed?"
There was a pregnant pause as Ariel pondered for a moment, slowly counting with her fingers with one hand as she used the duodecimal system, her thumb delicately tapping each knuckle as she mumbled wordlessly under her breath. Ava had grown bored of trying to pull Zadkiel's hair and was now trying to get Michael's attention, whining softly to him.
"Well, let's see... I think..." Ariel's thumb kept dancing back and forth, tapping her knuckles as she tried to recall when she finally asked. "Umm... when was Babylon again?"
The silence that followed was palpable.
AN: Oh man am I having fun giving these guys their own special set of issues. I also gave them different 'last names' because nothing says "You're in trouble" then when the full name gets called.
The inspiration for Ariel's... lack of bathing is sort of inspired by my adoptive brothers who decided one summer to see who could go the longest without bathing. This didn't end well for any of them as one of them left a body outline my the rug and my adoptive mother lost it. A quick thing to know si when I say adopted, I lived with a family friend my last year of Highschool so I could finish it since my parents had to go back to Denmark. They were very kind to me and as a result I like referring to them as my adoptive family, even if it wasn't official.
Other little fun facts:
Butyric acid is a butanoic acide that is colorless and stinks. Specifically it's what gives vomit it's infamous odder. Funny enough, it's also called 'butter acid' in Denmark. I had a chemistry teacher who had a massive bottle of it and pulled a mean time on the students he hated when we had to show we understood how to smell things during chemistry. For my younger readers who hadn't have chemistry yet, you never stick her head over chemical vials to smell them as you run the risk of getting chemicals into your eyes and nose. You instead use your hand and waft the scent towards you.
The doudecimal system is a count system where on a single hand you can count to twelve. This is done dividing each finger up into three parts divided by the knuckle. So for example, the finger tip is 1, the middle of the same finger is 2, and the bottom of the same finger is 3. As a math teacher, I always loved the idea that there are different ways of counting, although some of them can get pretty mind-effing. Just to date myself here, but as a kid in the 90's, my dad introduced my sister and I to a game called RAMA, based on a book from the same name. It's about a spaceship called Rama, sci-fi stuff that's all I'll say or else I'll ramble. Point is, on the ship there are these octapus like aliens called octaspiders and they use a 8 counting system. As I kid, I HATED their riddle because I could not understand how they did math, at all. As an adult I now 'sort of ' get it. It works as a number system where we only have the number 0 to 7 (so 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7). This means when we get to, we're already over in the double digits, so 8 = 10, 9 = 11, 10 = 12, and so on and so on.
Do not ask me if I ever solved that game because I had to cheat the ever living heck out of it and this was a time where game guides were unheard of, so it took my dad hunting it down before we had a chance.
The coolest thing about the game though was that the creator of Rama, Arthur C. Clark was involved with the game's development and even appeared in the games ending or death cut scenes, and for an old game it's still actually very nice to look at. You can find game plays of it on Youtube and if you like scifi books, it's a great series to read.