There, a spark of magic, this one soft and honey-smooth instead of burning, now his fingers stopped burning. The whole breaking of dimensions had one upside, and that was how much more easily his magic flowed. No more potions and rituals and hiding behind Ripper for him, not now that Chaos was a driving force. And they’d said he’d regret a specialization, ha! Ethan didn’t regret a single bloody thing.
“Special, huh? I’ll take that,” he said, grinning back at the stranger. Oh, he was wearing glamours, cool. Major ones, too, not the sort that could hide scrapes and bruises, the kind that hid entire parts of a self. Was there a way to break those? Ethan made a mental note to find out. “Not that you’re particularly ordinary yourself, are you? I mean…” His gaze drifted upward, trying to guess where the man had descended from.Could hefly?
“Mm?” An apology, now that was a rare thing, even when it came with a side of laughing-at. “Oh, that. It’s fine—I can handle myself.” He smiled brightly. “Maybe you can swoop in and rescue me next time, though! Wouldn’t mind that, and well…” He leaned backwards over the railing to look down into the alleyway—upside down, right side up, one could see movement either way, right? Dark, boring, empty at the moment. The stranger himself was much more interesting “Always bound to be a next time. Tell me your name and I’ll be sure to scream it.”
“Special,” he repeated, this time agreeing to the boy’s perceptive assessment of his less than ordinary circumstances. He was hardly hiding the curiosity in his eyes, his whole current existence rather, much like a young bird with thirst for knowledge fluttering on the edge before his maiden voyage. It’s quite adorable, really, and so the archangel felt it’s only appropriate to tease a little Grace into his voice as he revealed his name.
“Gabriel.”
It was just enough taste to keep the boy on his toes and wanting more. Still smiling, he added, “There’s no need to scream it, boy. I will hear you just fine.”
“Besides, I’m sure we both know screaming around here will only attract the less favourable parts of the city—like that demon who was chasing you? I do hope he won’t be missed by either kith or kin.” Giving the boy a second regard, he asked, “What could you possibly have done to have pissed it off that badly?”