(no subject)

[ineffable-angel.livejournal.com]

Date: April 23, 2001
Setting: Lhasa, Tibet
Status: Private - Ellie, Aziraphale, Asmodeus
Summary: Now that we've landed...



"On to Gyantse, Shigatse, Lhatse, Tingri, Rongbuk, Nyalam, Zhangmu... are we interested in going to Kathmandu? It is, after all, in Nepal, but as it's a very natural progression west it may be beneficial to look there..." Musing, the angel pored over maps and brochures even as young would-be guides clustered around them, offering to take their suitcases or handbags in exchange for a small sum back to their hotel - which, of course, they did not have one and, if they started searching at once, would not need one.

It stood to reason, judging by the small bags each carried, that they weren't particularly wealthy passengers, and therefore unlikely to attract too much attention being out and about, but still.

"Where first, do you suppose?" Aziraphale asked thoughtfully. "Search 'round here for a bit or go off to one of the further west cities?"

Comments

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

Ellie glanced around the room and wrinkled her nose slightly. It wasn't that she objected to luxury, but she preferred it to be somewhat less overdone. Banishing a few of the more kitchsy items to the ether with a wave--"I'll put them back before we leave," she promised Aziraphale--she set about putting away the few things she'd brought with her.

"I'll be honest with you, I'll be very surprised if we actually find her," she confessed after a moment. "Or if she stays put long enough to listen without frying us both where we stand. Those ham-handed idiots both sides have been sending at her have taught her to attack immortals on sight and then run. From what I gathered, Mictain hadn't even made any threatening moves when she blasted him, although I'd trust the big dolt's word on that about as far as I could throw him."

[ineffable-angel.livejournal.com]

There was a careful, studied silence around the angel, as he kept his back turned, kneeling by his own case.

"That's true," he said finally, and stood, folding a pair of trousers as he went. "Ellie," Aziraphale continued, carefully considering each word before he spoke it, "I wasn't sure we'd find her either, or that it would be easy or simple. I still have my doubts, greatly so, and I was worried you'd put too much faith in this trip."

The trousers he placed on the bed, for the moment. "If not this one, then another, though. And the influx of demonic activity -" the dresser shook as he opened a drawer and slammed it shut, intentionally, to scare off any listeners, like the one he could feel prickling, too near for his tastes "- at least says we're in the right spot."

[aeshma-daeva.livejournal.com]

Asmodeus jumped back slightly, startled by the slamming of the drawer. What he’d heard though was neither invaluable nor was it totally worthless. He knew that the girl didn’t trust anyone and that the buffoons that both sides had been sending against her often had only one brain cell to share amongst them. This was nothing new to him. Yet he stood still, retracting his aura and strained his ears to catch any other important information. He wanted to know why these two were here looking for the girl. Why a succubus and an angel were working together. And why couldn’t he sense the succubus when he first located the angel. Hopefully, all his questions would be answered shortly. If not, well, he had time to learn them if he needed to know at a later time.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

Ellie startled a bit at the drawer-slamming, and looked at Aziraphale questioningly, wondering if he was just picking up on the same uncomfortable vibes as she was, or if he sensed something more. "I'm still not a hundred percent certain it's really her," she added after a moment. "The timing's right, but that's hardly a guarantee. I hope I can at least get a look at her, see whether there's any resemblance. On either side."

[aeshma-daeva.livejournal.com]

Asmodeus looked startled at the revelation. He was aware that a demon could have children, but by the feel of the child the father was definitely an angel. Why a demon would fall in love with a bogey he had no idea. Might even be the angel in the room, but Asmodeus rather doubted it. The angel acted too gay to be interested in a succubi.

[ineffable-angel.livejournal.com]

Leaning over, he turned on a very, very conveniently placed radio, which crooned an Elvis song, just loud enough to ruin an eavesdropper's ability to hear them - from a distance.

"Actually, it's not the timing that reassures me," the angel continued, casually, flicking momentary glances at the door. He waited for comprehension to dawn, helped along by the small flask of holy water he slipped into a jacket pocket, and then took Ellie's hand, guiding her to the closet and passing her a shirt to hang up, and closing the door as she stepped in. "It's good, but it's more the blonde hair. Unusual, around here, but with the tourism industry gaining speed I suppose not so uncommon."

"Don't you agree?" he asked the empty room, just as he swung open the door to the hall and stepped out.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

Puzzled by the radio (which was about as much an antique as Elvis himself) and Aziraphale's strange gestures, Ellie opened her mouth to ask what the angel was doing, but shut it again when she caught sight of the flask. Clearly, whatever was making her feel so ill at ease, Aziraphale had identified it as a threat--though if it was a demon, it wasn't like any she had encountered before; not one of the Fallen and not a Fiend, either. And closer than she had assumed, apparently, which was not at all reassuring.

She didn't stop to ask questions, but followed his lead, though she had to stifle an indignant squeak when he shut the closet door on her. Not that she'd never hidden in a closet before, in a pinch; but it felt unseemly somehow, letting the angel take risks for her sake, even if he was a Principality. It called to mind the fight in the Manor greenhouse some time before, as well as a much older memory, one she immediately kicked to the back of her mind and buried again.

Promising herself she wouldn't stay cowering in here if it turned into real trouble, she peered anxiously through the narrow space between the closet doors as the angel flung open the door to the room.

[aeshma-daeva.livejournal.com]

When he heard the radio click on and Elvis start crooning that was the end of his eavesdropping. He slid into the shadows becoming as immaterial as them and quickly took off before the Principality even flung open the door. He didn’t have enough information to go on, but he’d find it all out later. Right now, he’d have to find the child and see if he could talk to her.

[ineffable-angel.livejournal.com]

The presence dissipated, and Aziraphale immediately felt foolish, peering up and down the hallway when it was clear there was no one there anymore. That is, of course, barring the odd servant, one of which who stood there, looking curiously at him.

"It's, er, perfectly all right... there was a bee," he explained, trying in vain to straighten his clothing. "A really... big one."

Uncomprehending, the man shrugged at him, and walked off, even as Aziraphale made a vague mental note to look up 'Tibetan Bumblebees' or lack thereof.

It was obvious that there was no one still there, but Aziraphale still looked, trying very desperately to seem as if he was innocently exploring the premises, which included one very dirty janitor's closet that was nearby.

He trudged back to the room, feeling awkward and paranoid, and walked around, sorting out the few misplaced items and shutting off the radio before opening the closet door.

"I apologize for that, my dear."

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"It's all right," Ellie said, stepping out of the closet with relief. "You're more sensitive about some things than I am, I know. What was it, do you think?"