Quote:
Originally Posted by ladyarcana55
"Who are you?"
She asks, her eyes still on the spectacle before her.
"I'm still surprised the Guardians of the Marches haven't stepped in yet..."
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The angel laughs like a delighted child. "Who do you think I am?" She flaps white feathered wings for emphasis.
"Ah. My apologies. This is information we need as well. We have reason to believe that Hell is trying to use the Ethereals to start another Purity Crusade."
"'We'?" It's slightly less funny now—if the wings aren't doing it, what will? "Well, depending on what you find in there, you could head that off. The Asgaardians would throw me out in a heartbeat, but you dear human, they'd gladly let you play with them."
"But they know I am a Soldier of Gabriel"
"Not if you're disguised!"
"Yes, you mentioned...So how? What will my disguise be?"
The angel thinks on that a second. "Well, the Valkyries would be especially provoked if you went as one of them, so hmm..."
“Hmm...pity more humans don't have lucid dreaming. I could disguise myself as a human who happened upon them"
"It does stretch things a little bit...but they're warriors...fighting men. They'll overlook a lot for a female."
"Oh, were you told what happened?"
"That Odin and his men are loose on the ground? Yes, and we're betting a spy inside their camp could tell us where they are."
"I'm worried. The human view of Odin has changed ever since his worship had been taken up by racist extremist. And other groups who use his worship as an excuse for violence"
"Right." She's mildly puzzled. "That's why we need him back up here ASAP. Step one, find where he and his vessels" she makes a pun on 'vassals', "are at. And send someone there to bring them home."
"But here is my main question...Laurence was the one who created their vessels. Can he not track them or give us the means to?"
She tries to find that funny. "Other than being the busiest Archangel in the Host? We already have angels on the ground looking--we just need to know where to point them." Something's slightly fishy about how she says that--not a lie exactly, but a dancing around the facts without much grace or skill.
"I didn't say HE had to do it, just whether he can allow us to do it. We already have an idea of where they may be. Right now, the others are busy trying to keep a demon from capturing Artemis"
"It's not that easy to track a vessel...but you wouldn't know that. They're built to blend in."
Sunae nods.
"If you can get in the middle of that huddle we're betting that that's Odin they're cheering on. And you can see where they are, read the visuals like only a local can." The angel's thoughts go back to the initial problem. "Hm...a female warrior? Or... someone they wouldn't take seriously...?"
"But then...why 'someone'? Why not something?"
"It's a dream. How about one of those bikini armor girls I'm always seeing in young men's dreams?...Some thing? Like what?"
"A dog...or a small animal. And I don't do bikinis, thank you"
"No Xena for you then. Big dog I assume?"
"Here's what I am thinking...what if the Headless Horseman, or someone like that, ran through very quickly? While they are looking around I doubt they would notice a bird fly by or a rabbit run through"
"Could you see what you needed to...a hawk! They love hawks, but they won't try to capture one."
"Okay...then who will provide the distraction?"
"No need. Fly in there. They'll raise an arm and offer food. Make like a hawk."
"Assuming they don't see through it"
"Let's do it" She nods and waves her arms at Sunae, then raises one arm with the forearm level.
Sunae finds that she is now a lovely hawk. She nods, then flies off to the camp, making a circle far above them at first so she can get an idea of where she needs to go.
An angel over there on the volcano looks up, visually tracking the bird, but his companion tells him to stop.
Soaring over the camp Sunae sees that the Asgaardian warriors are playing warrior games, acting like an ordinary bronze-age army at camp. Closer to the center it's mostly more ordinary games, but there's one huddle. Whatever they're looking at, it's quite small, but they're yelling and cheering at the little thing.
Sunae flies lower, clearly intending to land near this group. One fellow raises a leather-gloved hand to provide a perch. It's totally normal to him that a hawk is flying around, and he reaches into his bag for a chunk of jerky to give to the dream-bird. Happily hawks have very sharp eyes, so it's not too hard to see what they're looking at once she's landed. It's a scrying mirror. And in it they can see what Odin and the boys are doing.
Deftly maintaining the hawk illusion, Sunae lands on the man's arm, squawks and takes the jerky. She starts eating it as she looks. The jerky is edible but tough; she tears at it and eats the pieces. She tries to see what they are seeing, to get a clue on where they are at.
Six blonde men populate a gathering of otherwise heterogeneous people. They stand out for their hair, their beards, and their leathers. The gathering is a raucous affair. There's a pit in the center with a pair of dogs eying each other.
Aha...Sunae thinks, s
o Glen was right...but where exactly...
The humans are shouting, egging them on...even the blondes are shouting in English.
She can't stay for too much longer without gathering suspicion. So once she is done eating, she takes off.
It takes a hawk's eye to see it, but in one corner you can see outside. There's a hill, a sliver of stars, and some grounds lights. Somebody nearby has lit up their lawn.
Okay...that helps. She flies off and makes a large circle back to her contact. She can't let them see where she is going.
As Sunae flies away the scene in the mirror shifts for just a second. There's another blonde man, shorter and thinner than the others but still bearded, drinking another guy under the table. The boys in the Marches are cheering him on too.
Is that Odin? Regardless she got what she needed, and if she stays any longer it could be bad.
If it is, he's lost a bit of weight, to say nothing of height. Uh-oh...
Sunae returns to her contact, who takes her gladly on one arm, and morphs her back to human form with a smooth motion, careful to do so out of sight the Asgaardians "Well...it looks like we are on the right track to finding his men. They are looking at a scrying mirror and cheering everyone on. But I don't think I saw Odin. And a scrying mirror...did they know? Was this planned?"
"Naaah...maybe. Do they normally carry a diviner with their army? No Odin--that's bad."
"How much of this was planned, if that's the case? And who thought it up? They couldn't have known the slaughter god was going to be released..."
"Very good questions."
Maybe that was a happy coincidence..."
"Hmmmm, maybe you should talk to the Swordsman yourself. That wasn't our plan, but..."
"It's interesting that the slaughter god was being controlled by a demon...and it's interesting that a demon shows up to follow Artemis...Who?"
"Where are they?"
"They are at a dog fight."
"So it's perfect for them. Blood, violence and alcohol"
"We think we know where to go. We just need to retrieve Artemis and destroy the demon following her."
The angel of dreams ordinarily prides herself on following disparate threads of thought, but this one got away from her. "Who...who?"
"The Swordsman?"
"Ah--I believe Laurence is letting Hamael handle this. Something about knowing someone who knows you. Take a moment to brief the Sword, then maybe you should wake up and tell...you are sleeping near where you can tell the right people, aren't you?"
"Yes. But I don't feel I need to brief anyone. If you already know about The Hunt, then they know everything they need to know"
The angel is impatient again. "I am Josephine, Friend of Dreams, and you don't trust me right now. Laurence needs to know what you saw so he can back you if you need it. He's also the General--there is no 'need to know' with him."
"I don't care who he is. Eighteen generations of Soldiers have pledged to Serve under Gabriel's banner, not his. And after my last encounter with him, there is no way in Fire's Heart will I accept his authority." Her anger as she says that is visible but controlled.
"I see." It's as chilly as she can get, which isn't very. "I will relay what you have told me, and hope that should you need help we can still get it to you on time."
"If the others choose to ask, then so be it." She pauses. "And thank you." Sunae looks back over to the group “Thank you for confirming a few things and bringing other things to light..."
"Thank you for your service." It's meant to be warm and sincere but only almost rises to it.
Sunae nods and walks away trying to wake up