Seeing is Believing (JNR)

[Shinigami]

((NOTE: this thread is JNR or Joiner, which means it is OPEN for anyone to post in, so please feel free to throw a character or two (or three) in to play! ))

Jahaziel was sitting on the floor at a low set table in the training room, enjoying the easy mystification of the children watching him pull cards from an old, worn tarot set. Ezekiel was at the opposite end of the room, working with some of the slightly older kids as they moved through their sword practice routines. He occationally turned his attention to Ziel from time to time, chuckling when one of the younger ones accused him of only pretending to be blind, claiming he could still see through the cloth wrapped around his eyes. The other children defended him, however, having seen his blind eyes themselves and tested him many times.

The over-excitement died down soon enough and the only sounds that filled the room where the "ooo's" and "ahhh's" as they watched Ziel's simple fortune-telling. He still knew what cards he had pulled, even if he couldn't see them. The sounds of the other children practicing, along with Kiel's gentle corrections and suggestions could also be heard.

When the footsteps that echoed through the halls reached Jahaziel's ears he knew almost instantly that Aeven had returned from delivering his message. That meant he had an excuse to escape any further requests for card readings the children may have, and while he dealt with children well enough, he couldn't be as patient with them as Ezekiel could.

Ezekiel had also sensed the girl's approach, though not quite as soon as his brother, and let the children he had been working with take a break. He turned only to see his brother tense, cards strewn about the table as if he had dropped them and his hands gripping the table's edge. Jahaziel had tensed the moment the familiar smell had reached him. He hated the smell of blood, and the worry he fealt tore at him, only thinking the worst about what may have happened. He hadn't foreseen any danger in sending the girl as his messenger, but he had never been able to completely control when or what he saw.

The moment Aeven entered the room, and Ezekiel got a look at her, he immediately rushed over, shooing the children out of the room and sending the oldest to fetch the doctor. "By the Gods, what happened?! Were you attacked on the way? Come sit down."

((ooc - okay.. I think that was kind of crappy... but hey, it's a new story line and my boys are being difficult... ))

[Maira]

Going to Earth to deliver messages had become routine. The only thing that was never routine was actually finding ther person and telling them what they needed to be told. Very few people these days actually believed in Angels, no matter what religion the supposedly followed, so when she would go to them in her Messenger Angel clothes and with her wings showing, most of them initially thought her some crazy loon. After those initial reactions things tended to either get better, or get a whole lot worse really quick depending on the nature of the message she was delivering...

Today's message was not a good message. The woman had actually gotten very upset, first for being woken out of a dead sleep, and then because Aeven had 'broken in'. Aeven didn't need to break in to most places as all it took was a little thought and the locks on the doors would flip for her. That was beside the point though, she didn't bother explaining that little detail to the woman. Instead she just delivered her message quickly and efficiently and then turned to leave before the woman could get even more upset because of the news she'd been given.

Aeven was nearly out of the bedroom when she heard the woman scream and then felt sharp blistering pain shooting through her right wing and shoulder. Apparently the woman kept a gun in her bedside table and had pulled it out when Aeven had turned to leave. Needless to say, the pain and the sight of quite a lot of blood caused Aeven to panic a bit and she ran from the woman's house and to the nearest entrance to Heaven. Even though she had to run through some very public places, Aeven was too frightened to think straight and forgot to put her wings away. Though whether it was her wings or the blood that got the most stares she wasn't sure...

When she finally made it back to Heaven and to the Arrighi House, Aeven was in shock. Out of routine more than anything else, Aeven headed for the training room where her teacher had informed her he would be waiting for her. By the time she reached the training room, Aeven was very pale and staring at nothing. She had delivered her Message and she'd made it home. That was all that mattered.

At least, that is, until Ezekiel rushed over to her and asked her what had happened. She numbly relayed the events of her delivery and then looked between Ezekiel and his brother, her teacher Jahaziel, who was sitting a short distance away. As she finished talking, Aeven said apologetically, "I'm sorry I didn't put my wings away, it just hurts really bad." At that point she finally started to feel the pain again. It was hot and searing and felt like a lightning bolt had shot through her wing and shoulder. Luckily the bullet didn't seem to have gotten lodged in any of the bones in her shoulder. Unfortunately, that meant that blood was not only on her back but her front as well. She could only imagine how she looked to Ezekiel and smelled to Jahaziel and she was more than a little embarrassed.

This wasn't the first time she'd been roughed up for delivering Messages from the Seer seated not far away from her, but it was deffinately the first time she'd gotten shot at. Because of that, her already healthy dislike of guns was growing to a dark steady hatred for the metal contraptions.

[Shinigami]

Jahaziel scowled as Aeven relayed her story, furious that someone would pull a gun on a mere child. He hadn't thought the woman would have reacted that way, or he would have requested another messenger who was trained for the unexpected. Ezekiel was just as horrified that she'd been shot at. He had been against Aeven being Ziel's messenger from the beginning, but back then he had convinced himself that he was just being too over-protective of the girl. He led her to sit on the table as he gave a glance over her wings. "Don't worry about that. Such things can be forgiven in light of the circumstances. Why on earth did you come here first?"

As the girl sat down Jahaziel shifted to sit at the table off to her side, giving her as much room as the fairly small table would allow as he heard the rushed footsteps of the doctor hurrying down the hall. Once she entered the room she shooed Ezekiel away and attempted to hint to Jahaziel that he should move as well, but Ziel stubbornly stayed put. Staying close was his way of showing his concern, even if it wasn't to faun over her like Ezekiel had.

The children had gathered back at the door, little curious gossips trying to figure out what had happened and what kind of shape Aeven was in. Ezekiel waved them away once more, quietly threatening to send Jahaziel after them if he caught them trying to listen in, before closing the door. His brother, of course, had caught that little threat, but ignored it to instead pay attention to any sounds of discomfort to pain as the doctor examined his student.

((ooc - a little blah, but it's there. ))

[Demeter]

They'd sent for her. All because some stupid mortal had gone and shot a messenger. She wasn't the healer on duty but the others were out of the house dealing with some other problem. Salut didn't care that she held the layers of nearly sheer fabric that made up her skirt above her knees as she rushed down the hallway. Stupid mortals and their stupid guns.

Salut skidded into the room that the young trainee had told her about, kit flapping against her thigh. She shooed away the angels crowding around the messenger and sat next to her. She stripped away the clothing around the wound, careful to preserve the girl's modesty, and felt around the edges of the wound. "Exit wound," she muttered to herself before pushing out of the chair and circling around the back. "Entry wound, through and through. Stupid mortals."

Salut opened her kit and pulled out some gauze and called for a dish of water to clean the wound. She sat down and patted the girl's knee. "It looks worse then it is. The bullet passed through cleanly, which is a bit of a miracle. It'll scar, most likely, but the wound shouldn't cause any problems with normal, daily functions. You will have to take it easy for a few days." When she told the angel to take it easy, Salut glanced up and stared. She'd had plenty of angels try to return to normal activity after being wounded only to end up worse. She'd also been know to sedate unruly patients because they didn't follow instructions.

Salut thanked the trainee who delivered her bowl of hot water and dipped the gauze into the water. She gently cleaned up the area around the wound, front and back, before bandaging the injuries. While she cleaned and bandaged, Salut spoke to the young angel, asking her name and just how she'd been injured by the stupid mortal with the stupid handgun. "Now, I'm willing to leave off a sling if you promise to keep the arm as motionless as possible." Salut glanced at the two who'd been seated next to the angel. She'd heard about them and seeing them in passing but she'd never really had to interact with the two. "I'm going to assume that one, if not both, of you is acting as her mentor. Please see that she does take it easy. I'd hate to have to sediate her or rescrict her movement."

While she waited for a response, Salut packed up her kit and then gently eased Aeven's clothing back over her shoulder.

[Maira]

Aeven let herself be led to the table that was still scattered with Tarot cards but she made sure to move them out of the way before sitting down. She didn't want to get blood on Jahaziel's cards, he wouldn't be pleased.

When Ezekiel asked her why she had come to the training room first she looked at him confused before answering, "I needed to report that the Message had been delivered and Jahaziel told me he'd be here." The whole fact that she'd been shot didn't even come into her logic, she'd just needed to finish what she'd started. Anything to keep her mind off the pain.

When the healer finally rushed in, Aeven flinched at the woman's touch. Her hands were small and delicate like the rest of her but Aeven was rather jumpy at that moment and a fly landing on her probably would have made her flinch. She watched as the doctor shooed Ezekiel away and tried to make Jahaziel leave too. When her mentor wouldn't leave the table, Aeven was comforted. He didn't normally show much emotion toward her, and the fact that he was staying close showed he felt something.

The doctor did her thing, prodding gently here, wiping away some blood there with only minimal gasps or moans of pain from Aeven. She had her patched up and cleaned up relatively quickly and Aeven was very grateful. She had discovered on the long run home that she deffinately did -not- do well with the sight of blood. When told she had to take it easy for a while and to keep her arm as still as possible, Aeven nodded in understanding.

Once the blood was cleaned up, Aeven felt the shock start to wear off and she slowly came back to herself. When the healer basically told Jahaziel and Ezekiel to make sure she behaved, at risk of sedation, Aeven actually cracked a smile and answered before they could, "I promise, I'll behave myself as much as I can." As she said this, the doctor slipped her robe back up over her shoulder and she realized for the first time that the it had been partially removed to clean the wounds in her shoulder and wing. At that thought, even being partially unclothed in front of either of the twins, Aeven felt her cheeks begin to flame.

Why -hadn't- she just gone to the healers' rooms first? Oh well, it was already in the past. No use fretting over something like that. At least that's what she kept telling herself to try and get her cheeks a lighter, more natural shade of pink.

[Shinigami]

Ezekiel watched the healer like a hawk, intent to know just how bad the wound was and to make sure the woman was being gentle with Aeven. He had seen the healer around, though it had been a while since he'd been in a position in the army to potentially need one. The head healer he had known from experiance to be a little rough when treating his patients, but this woman was careful and considerate.

Kiel released a breath when he heard the bullet had gone clean through. At least the doctor wouldn't have to pull a bullet out, but he was saddened that a girl so young would most likely carry such a scar. Jahaziel listened closely and relaxed a bit when he didn't hear any sounds of great pain or distress. Ziel wasn't the most affectionate of people, and he knew others believed him to be truely cold hearted, but the girl had potential as a seer, and during their lessons she had been growing on him. She was certainly more tolerable than anyone else they had tried to convince him to teach. He also honed in on the healer's voice. It was one he hadn't heard often enough before and he was trying to commit the sound to memory to identify her later.

Once Aeven declared that she would behave herself Ezekiel reassured the healer he would make sure of it. "Don't worry. I won't be allowing her near the training rooms until she's healed enough. I won't have her hurting herself trying to help the little ones."

Jahaziel placed his hand over Aeven's, mostly to signal to the others that it was her he was talking directly to and not all present. "Would you prefer to delay your seers exercises as well? While they don't call for much movement, if any at all, visions can be quite unpredictable."

[Demeter]

Salut nodded to the twin angels, confident that they could keep the young girl from over-working her wounded arm and wing. "Very well then, I will return in three days to check on the injury. Barring anything infectous, it should be healed by then."

Salut turned back to the younger angel, Aeven. "Besure to keep the bandages dry when bathing. If the pain gets to be to much, and I assure that one the adrenile wears off, that will hurt, just come by the healer wing. Just ask for Salut." She gave her name freely and secured her cloth bound kit to the wide leather belt around her waist.

Salut bowed to the twin angels. "Thank you for having a care for her. I know to many who'd leave her to care for herself." With a little finger wave, Salut hiked up her skirts, not as high as when she'd rushed into the room, because the swirling fabric made walking a bit difficult. She skipped down the hall and headed for her room where she would record the injury.

[Maira]

The obvious concern in Ezekiel's eyes as he looked at her while he told Salut that he would make sure she stayed out of the training rooms until she was healed turned up the corner of Aeven's mouth in a smile. It had been very rare for her growing up for anybody to show much concern for her well-being and to have it from one of her teachers was better than nothing.

After Ezekiel had spoke, she felt Jahaziel's hand on hers and she turned to look at her mentor as he spoke quietly and seriously. Even though he couldn't see it, Aeven's small smile grew larger and she answered, "If I'm barred from the training rooms and barred from my lessons I think I would go stir-crazy. Please don't make me give up my lessons just because of a hole in my shoulder." Her tone was light but her request was sincere. She may not, in her opinion, be very good at her seer skills yet she really did enjoy learning to control and hone them. She didn't have any ambitions that she woudl ever compete with Jahaziel's skill but she hoped that she would at least manage to make him proud of her eventually.

When the healer, Salut, informed her that she was to go to the healer's wing if she started hurting badly, Aeven just nodded in answer. The pain was already starting to make itself known again and she knew that before the day was finished she would be seeking out Salut for some sort of pain relief. Before she was able to say anything along those lines, Aeven got to witness the odd sight of the healer skipping out of the room. She didn't think she'd ever seen a grown woman skip before...

[Shinigami]

The corner of Jahaziel's mouth turned up a bit as he heard Aeven mention she would go "stir-crazy" if she was barred from the training rooms and her seer training. He was quite impressed with her. Most young ones would have used it as an excuse to laze about for a while as they healed, getting simpathy or pity from whoever they could. The seers exercises were mostly meditative anyway, but if that resulted in a vision then she could end up jarring her shoulder. It all depended on how her body reacted to a vision. He would just have to keep an eye on her... so to speak.

Ezekiel and Jahaziel took note of the healers name as she spoke with Aeven about going to her for any pain problems. Of course, both brothers would make sure the girl went to the healer wing if she started to feel any pain. They both nodded to Salut as she got ready to take her leave, and when she left, skipping, Kiel had quite the amused expression on his face. Ziel had his head cocked to the side, confused at first by the odd rhythm to the healers steps until he realized she was, in fact, skipping down the hall.

Once the sound of Salut's skipping had fadded Jahaziel patted Aeven's hand to get her attention once more. "Would you like to rest first, or do you think you're up to doing today's excersizes already?"

Ezekiel didn't think there was any question in it. "How could you even ask that, Ziel? She should at least rest a bit first.." Ziel bristled at being mildly reprimanded by his own brother. After all, it was usually the other way around, and it was Aeven's decision. It's not like he would allow her to hurt herself, after all.

[Maira]

After the sound of the skipping healer dissappeared down the hall, Aeven turned her attention back to Jahaziel when he spoke. She didn't even have time to answer before Ezekiel butted in and pretty much told his twin that she needed to rest. Much as she liked and admired her fighting instructor, Aeven couldn't help but bristle at his words. It was her body and she would decide when she needed rest!

Instead of loosing her temper though, Aeven said quietly, "I need something to eat to settle my nerves and my stomach but then I should be fine to start the lesson Jahaziel." And to stave off Ezekiel telling her not to, Aeven turned and smiled softly at him before saying, "If I need to stop, I will stop. Thank you for worrying but I'm really not good enough at Seeing yet for you to worry that I'll go into some seizing fit with a huge vision or something. I'll be fine." She hoped that was enough to convince him but before he could object she hopped off the table, forced herself not to wobble, then walked out of the room in search of food.

((ooc: feel free to have her show up wherever Jahaziel gives her lessons, i had no idea so i thought i'd leave it to you hehe.))

[Demeter]

(ooc: Salut won't shut up. She's just up there, in my head, chittering away at me.)

Salut sat in her little office, which doubled as her exam room, and wrote down, in Aeven's file, about her injury and the subsequent treatment. She didn't think that it would take the girl long to heal but it still needed to be written down. She'd pulled Aeven's file from the record room and was busy writing down the account of the incident as she heard it.

Once she was finished, Salut glanced around the tiny room that was given to her when she became a healer for the family. She's wasn't even close to being allowed a larger room. She was still close to the bottom of ladder and then meant a small room. She supposed that it did help that plenty of the residence, family or not, requested her when they needed medical attention. Nearly all of the children would come to her when they needed fixing.

Salut spin around in her old-fashioned wooden swiviel chair and thought about Aeven. She was one of the house members that Salut had very little to do with. She imagined that because Aeven was favored by Ezekiel and Jahaziel she afforded the attention of the head healer. A man who preferred to be in and out as quickly as possible.

Salut chewed on the lid to her pen. And then there was the two ancient twins. Good-looking men for sure but Salut wasn't about to tremble in their presence. Plenty of people in the house looked up to the two with awe and fear. She knew that plenty of the healers and healer apprentices would hurry past them with their eyes downcast. In Salut's mind, just because they were older and more powerful then most in the house didn't mean that they should get special treatment. They bled the same as everyone else.

Salut was pulled from her thoughts when her door burst open following an urgent knock. A couple of the older warriors hurried in, carrying their worried commrade. Salut took one look at the long jagged wound that wound it's was down the man's chest. She glanced up at the men who'd brought the injured angel in. "What happened?" she asked as she directed them to lay the wounded angel on the table.

"Well, we were just practicing, miss, just a bit of sparring-"

"Sparring? really? she asked with a raised eyebrow. I wouldn't expect this wound from a sparring session," she said while run her fingers along the bloody edge of the wound. "Send for some apprentices.

One of the men hurried out the room. Another used his thumb to idicate the man next to him. "These two were fighting. Over a woman."

Salut muttered as she pulled her kit out of the drawer she'd stuffed it into. "Figures"

[Shinigami]

Jahaziel couldn't help but sit a bit straighter with a hint of a haughty smirk on his lips when Aeven refused Ezekiel's call for her to rest. He did enjoy it so when he got his way, and while he would have agreed to whatever answer Aeven had given, the fact that she disagreed with his brother (who had disagreed with him) made him at least -feel- as though he'd gotten his way. He could feel his brother's gaze on him, and he knew the man was scowling a bit, but he refused to let it ruin his mild victory.

As Aeven stood both brothers tensed. Ezekiel made an aborted motion to help her steady herself, but he knew the girl was strong and would probably be a little stubborn about being alright. Jahaziel waited, tensed and at the ready to shoot a hand out to steady her if it seemed she needed it, but he smiled and nodded to himself as she managed to do it on her own. However, the moment she was out of hearing range Kiel grumbled at his brother. "You know she should rest. She's just barely over her shock at being shot, and trust me, that can be a very painful wound."

Ziel scoffed. "You think I don't know that? I may have never been shot, brother, but I've known the pain of deep wounds before. I don't intend to force her into doing her exercises. If she is in pain we will stop and I'll send her straight back to Salut. I'm no monster."

The short answering reprimand worked in making Ezekiel feel a slight bit guilty for accusing his brother of being cruel. He helped as Jahaziel gathered up his scattered tarot cards and saw him out of the training room as he headed back towards their quarters. Ezekiel ushered the hovering children back in, determined to go over a few last things before he officially released the children to themselves for the day.

Jahaziel made his way back to their quaters, heading straight for the small "meditation room" (as others often called it) that was adjacent to the common room the twins shared. It was the room he settled in when he wanted to think or try to call up the future outcomes of specific events, those few visions that didn't come to him randomly. He also used it as the exercise room when working with Aeven. It was quiet with no other way to get to it but from the brothers' quarters. He settled himself on the floor, placing his cards off to the side, and tried to releave the buzz of excitement from his mind and clear his head.

He was eager to see how much Aeven still wanted to do her exercises after completing the task of getting something to eat with the use of only one arm. Plus, she would probably be aching by then.

[Maira]

Her food had been good and filling, it steadied her nerves like she though, and it utterly exhausted her... Her shoulder was hurting now, throbbing actually, as was her wing and she thought that a visit to Salut wasn't totally uncalled for. After that, she would go to her lessons wth Jahaziel, but only when she was sure the pain was under control and she could concentrate.

As she made her way through the House, Aeven let her mind wander as her feet automatically took her to the Healer wing. It wasn't long before she found herself in a familiar, if not often frequented, hallway and she was about to knock on the door she thought belonged to Salut when a man flung it open from the inside and rushed off with Salut's voice calling instructions after him.

Warily, Aeven took a few steps inside, knocking on the door as she did, and asked, "Salut? Can I get something for my shoulder?" The she saw the blood. She didn't even notice the man the blood was coming from and all over, she just saw the blood. Before she even had time to back out of the room, Aeven felt her world start to spin and then it went black. She didn't even feel it as she crumpled to the floor in a heap, landing on her wounded shoulder and wing.

[Demeter]

Salut leaned over her examining table that was full of injured angel and stared at the crumpled form of Aeven. She sighed at the sight and motioned for one of her apprentices to take the girl into Salut's bedroom and lay her out on the bed. She intructed that some apprentices to wake the girl with the smelling salts she kept on her bedroom shelves. She sent another off for the girl's mentors. It was one thing for a warrior angel to get a little woozey when she saw her own blood...it was another, rather disconcerting, thing for a warrior angel to faint at the sight of blood that was not her own.

Salut finished stitching up the wounded man on her table, cleaned up the wound, and covered him with a sheet. He'd probably wake up in a while with a raging headache. She cleaned her hands and arms and quickly changed into the spare set of skirts and a floaty top she kept in the front room and entered her bedroom.

She looked at Aeven and then over her shoulder when the twins spilled into her office. She turned around to look at them, leaning against the doorway. "Nothing is wrong with her, though she probably caused her wound to start bleeding again with that little stunt. Gentlemen, your friend here faints at the sight of blood."

[Shinigami]

Once his mind had finally settled and cleared itself of the daily events Jahaziel was struck with a sense of slight panic and overwhelmed with worry. He knew instantly they weren't his feelings, so they had to be Ezekiel's. Ziel hurried through the halls, almost running into more than a few servants on his way back to the training wing. He almost collided with Kiel as he exited the training room, but his brother caught him by the arms.

Ezekiel had just released the children from their training when someone came rushing into the room. They caught his attention quickly telling him that Aeven had collapsed in Salut's office. His eyes widened, panicking for an instant, worried over what might have happened to the young girl. As he followed the messenger out Jahaziel nearly collided with him, but he caught him at the elbows and held him back.

"What-" was all Jahaziel was able to get out before Ezekiel cut him off. "Aeven collapsed when she went to see Salut. Come on." While his voice sounded calm, inside Kiel was freaking out, and he showed it as he practically hauled Ziel to the healer's wing. Once they got threw the door Jahaziel jerked his arm away and silently hissed at his brother, but they both were worried at the sight of the young Aeven out cold. They both opened their mouths to ask if she was alright, but Salut cut them off.

Jahaziel sighed in relief, but tried to mask it as a sigh of annoyance. Aeven was being trained as a battle Angel wasn't she? How had she survived so long in her training if she fainted at the sight of blood? Ezekiel let out a breath as well, but he stepped forward as Aeven woke. "You're going for the record today, aren't you?"

[Demeter]

Salut chuckled at how Kiel greeted Aeven. She turned to the blind twin. "If you would just step over this way." she asked him. She been around long enough to know that Jahziel was able to get around on his own and she didn't think a few steps would be much of a challenge. "I have one of the Arrighi younger sons laid out on my table with a rather nasty gash across his chest. She walked right in while I had half my hand in his rather messy chest trying to make sure that everything besides his skin had remained intact."

Salut glanced at her wounded patient then back at Jahziel. "I don't hesitate to guess that it's at sights such as a man nearly cut in half or her own blood." Salut walked back into the bedroom and sat down next to Aeven. "Hey, hows the shoulder?"

[Maira]

Aeven was not feeling well at all when she finally woke up. Her arm and shoulder were even more sore than they were before and she really just wanted to go back to sleep. Instead, she was going to have to wake up and actually answer questions from the twins and the healer. With a soft groan, Aeven sat up and then blushed at Ezekiel's question. "Record for what?"

She noticed Salut taking Jahaziel a short distance away but she couldn't hear what they were saying so she just focussed on Ezekiel and she mumbled sheepishly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to faint.... That's never happened to me before"

Then Salut came back and asked how her shoulder was and Aeven just looked at her a moment before answering, "Did I land on it? It hurts like crazy... It was hurting before I came, but now it really hurts."

[Shinigami]

Ezekiel had a small smile on his face, glad that Aeven didn't seem too out of it as she sat up. She seemed quite embarrassed about fainting, which wasn't surprising. Kiel was a little shocked that she had fainted at the sight of blood, but he had heard Salut informing Ziel of just how much blood she had gotten an eye full of. "The record for how many times you can give my brother and I a heart attack today. And don't worry about it. You've never seen something like that before, so there was no way to tell how you'd react."

He sat down on the edge of the bed. He hated talking down at his students, after all, and being closer to eye level usually allowed some to feel less nervous. Now he was quite adamint on convincing his brother that Aeven needed to rest today. She could work on her seer exercises another day.

Jahaziel had stepped back into the other room, following Salut's voice. He had been rushed in by Kiel, so he hadn't had the chance to really notice much about the room, but now he could smell it, the oder of blood. There was a good deal of it, and it made his stomach lurch a bit before he got it under control. No wonder the poor girl had fainted. "What the hell were those boys up to now? They've had their sensless fights in the past, but this is rediculous."

He sensed Salut walk past him, back to the room Aeven was in, and followed her to the doorway. Ziel could feel his brother's eyes on him, and he knew why he was being stared at. Aeven wouldn't be training in anything today.

[Maira]

Aeven was already blushing so when Ezekiel teased her about how many times she'd give him and Jahaziel a heart attack in one day she blushed even more. Then as he kept talking about how she didn't need to feel bad about fainting, Aeven nodded and stayed silent over all.

When Jahaziel came back in the room she said to him softly, "I don't think today would be a good day to do my lessons after all, sorry." Then she got up off the bed and slowly walked toward the door. The smell of blood greeted her before she reached the door so she hurried to avert her eyes from what she knew was out in the main room and hurried to the door that led to the hallway. From there, she hurried back to her own room as quickly as her sore shoulder and wing would allow.

*****

It had been just over a week since her run in with the lady with the gun and Aeven's shoulder and wing were doing remarkably well. Still, she wasn't completely back to her prior abilities and the kids were taking advantage of her rare weakness. "Hey guys! This is supposed to be a defense class, not a beat-up-the-teacher class!" she called out as she dropped her bow staff and held up her hands in defeat. She was laughing and so were the young angels crowded around her.

She had just reached out to tousle the hair of the nearest boy when she heard loud noises from outside of the training room. Her hand dropped to her side as she listened. "You guys stay here a minute, I'm gonna go check on something real quick," she told the students before walking over to the door.

The sight that greeted Aeven when she pulled open the door, was enough to make her stomach lurch and she quickly shut it, pressing her back against it once she had. There had been warriors running in the hall, some of them familiary, a good portion of them not, and most of themcovered with some amount of blood. After a few deep breaths, Aeven was able to bring her brain back to functioning and she turned and brought the bar down across the double doors to the training room. It was heavy and strained her injured shoulder but there was no way she was letting anything happen to these children.

When she turned back to the children she saw their confused and scared faces and she just told them, "There are fighters in the hallway, ones not from our House, and they are attacking the House. I don't want you guys to be scared, this room is very safe." And in her mind she was hoping to all the gods that Ezekiel or Jahaziel, or preferably both, would hurry and join her in taking care of the children. If anybody broke in before either of them arrived she wasn't sure that she could protect the children with her shoulder injured like it was.

[Demeter]

Salut heard the warning klaxon about the same time as she heard the screaming in the halls. She wrenched opened her own door and quickly shut it again. Warriors were in the hallways but they wore the crest of a different family. Salut leaned back against the door, arms braced against the frame. She was a healer, not a fighter. She knew how to the use the many sharp tools used in her profession but she still couldn't defend her self with them.

When a thump sounded against her door, Salut squeaked and squeezed her eyes shut. Healers should be one of the things safe during an attack. Everyone needed healers. So was this total annihaltion or just a hostile takeover. Salut didn't take the time to ponder when some started kicked at her door. She spun the flimsy lock around headed for the bedroom. Maybe she could hide under the bed or something...

She just scooted under the bed when her shattered inward. She could hear the screaming and thumping feet in the healer's hallway. When a hand reached under her bed and gripped her ankle she added her voice to the screaming. When the warrior hauled her out from beneath the bed, she used her free foot to kick him. She got a good, square kick in but he kept his grip on her ankle.

"Little bitch,' he growled out. And he hauled her up. "Oh, you're a pretty one."