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Isabella is generally referred to as: promising.
Angels in general are a breed apart. Of course they've all got lovely voices, they've all got classical music training and know the masses and prayers, they're all blessed winged creatures -
But that doesn't mean they're all smart, or all good, even (Isabella was taken to see Windy Point, once, or what's left of it, and of course she sees the scars on Galo Mountain every year at the Gloria; there stood angels who were not good). And Isabella is smart and good.
Isabella is always the first to volunteer for an intercession. She likes them. She'll call down weather, plead for seeds, pray a shower of medicine to fall from the sky, and she will get what she asks for, and she loves nothing more than to dive from hours aloft in prayer and clasp the hands of the people she helped and go home to the Eyrie to take on her next assignment. When there are none - when there is the right amount of rain and sun in the province, when there is no plague and no famine - she studies. She studies a bit of everything, but she fancies herself particularly a historian, investigating the accounts of Archangels' reigns past. From books, mostly, although once she wrangled herself a year in Cedar Hills to assist the Archangel Linus, and when she is in the Eyrie she closely follows the leader of the host there, the former term-lapsed Archangel Delilah.
She tried to get in with the other living former Archangel, too, Alleluia the oracle who served as Delilah's interim while the latter's wing recovered from an injury, but after a few hours' conversation Alleluia said that she could not accept Isabella as even a temporary acolyte and sent her to Peninnah instead. Isabella learned a lot from Peninnah, but she's confused about why Alleluia turned her down personally only to send her to another oracle, after such a prolonged interview. Particularly since Sinai is in her own province; what was the point in sending her all the way to Gaza?
But the instruction came from an oracle, and oracles' words more often than not come from Jovah. She went to Gaza, learned from Peninnah, and went home.
Now she is back at the Eyrie, and the first thing she wants to do is let Delilah know that she's back. Her wings aren't so tired that she can't immediately fly to the Corinnis or the outskirts of Semorrah or anywhere and accomplish something. Failing that, she'd love to sign up for harmonies again now that she's home and wants to know what she ought to schedule around.
Delilah is with her husband Noah, and a visitor. He doesn't seem like a petitioner, and he doesn't look like an Edori, although the fact that he and Noah are talking in Edori suggests that he might be an adopted one. (There are hardly any Edori of either sort left; most of them live in Ysral, now.) Isabella waits patiently outside the door for the host leader's attention.
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jovahs_heiress
Nathaniel continues to look worried.
"I don't belong here," he says softly.
"I don't belong here," he says softly.
jovahs_heiress
"You do until the Gloria. You're with the choir," says Isabella. "Would you like to stay here longer than that?"
He stares at her, as though looking for the catch.
"It's really nice here," says Micaiah. "And Isabella's the nicest part. She'll keep you safe."
Nathaniel looks doubtful.
"It's really nice here," says Micaiah. "And Isabella's the nicest part. She'll keep you safe."
Nathaniel looks doubtful.
jovahs_heiress
"The choir disbands after the Gloria and only operates six months of the year, to prepare for it, with new auditions every time. But after the Gloria, there are places you could go - places where no one will mind if I want to put one little boy there and say to bill the Eyrie for his keep," Isabella says. "There's the Gabriel school. I have friends who might let you stay with them. I could ask Alleluia or Peninnah to take you on as an acolyte, once you're a little older. The only problem," she says, "is that your parents currently expect to have you back after the Gloria. If you don't want to go back to them, then someone who can tell them no has to have a reason to do that. And I can't do that by myself. I have to answer to Delilah, who leads the host, who's in charge of Bethel. But you could stay here or somewhere just as nice, for as long as you needed, if you would explain to Delilah with me why."
"I'm afraid," Nathaniel whispers.
Micaiah looks torn.
Then he says, "I could come along. And—tell her what he's like."
"I'm not supposed to make trouble," Nathaniel says quietly. "If I don't make trouble then everything's fine."
"Yeah," says Micaiah, "but is it?"
Slowly, Nathaniel shakes his head.
"Yeah," says Micaiah, "but is it?"
Slowly, Nathaniel shakes his head.
jovahs_heiress
Isabella is so tempted to fly back to Semorrah and call a thunderbolt down anyway.
(No. There are servants there. They might not even know. That music room was soundproofed. Nathaniel still has the full use of all his limbs. And Judith leapt at the chance to send her son away and pressed a sandwich into his hand without so much as asking for Isabella's name.)
(No. There are servants there. They might not even know. That music room was soundproofed. Nathaniel still has the full use of all his limbs. And Judith leapt at the chance to send her son away and pressed a sandwich into his hand without so much as asking for Isabella's name.)
"Are you sure she can keep me safe?" Nathaniel asks Micaiah.
"Surest I've ever been," he says readily.
Nathaniel nods.
Nathaniel looks shocked.
Micaiah grins.
Nathaniel's look of shock turns to one of wistfulness.
Micaiah grins.
Nathaniel's look of shock turns to one of wistfulness.
jovahs_heiress
"We don't throw those around when we don't need to," she says. "But I do know how."
"Okay," says Nathaniel, apparently deciding this is sufficient protection.
jovahs_heiress
"Do you want to see if Delilah is available now," Isabella says, "or would you rather wait a day or two?"
Nathaniel wavers.
"I say now," says Micaiah.
"I say now," says Micaiah.
jovahs_heiress
"I'll go see if she has time now," suggests Isabella, "and leave you two to get to know each other a bit?"
The boys look at each other warily.
Nathaniel nods first.
Then Micaiah does too.
Nathaniel nods first.
Then Micaiah does too.
jovahs_heiress
Isabella pecks Micaiah on the temple as she withdraws, and leaves them be while she strides through the halls in search of Delilah.
Delilah is busy, but Noah, who is not, says that she'll be available in another ten minutes. Isabella thanks the former angelico and heads back to fetch Micaiah and Nathaniel and see how they're doing.
Delilah is busy, but Noah, who is not, says that she'll be available in another ten minutes. Isabella thanks the former angelico and heads back to fetch Micaiah and Nathaniel and see how they're doing.
They're sitting side by side on the edge of her bed; Micaiah has his shirt off to show Nathaniel some of his scars.
Nathaniel does not seem very surprised.
Nathaniel does not seem very surprised.
jovahs_heiress
Isabella's seen Micaiah with his shirt off before and the sight isn't exactly new to her either, but she's never drawn her attention particularly to the scars - and she's been making a background assumption that scars are probably something Edori in general accumulate through harsh living conditions and that Micaiah in particular could have added to by pickpocketing violent people. But no. Of course at least some of them are from the sort of source that will leave Nathaniel utterly unsurprised.
"Delilah will be able to see us in a few minutes," she says.
"Delilah will be able to see us in a few minutes," she says.
"Okay," says Micaiah. He puts his shirt back on.
jovahs_heiress
Isabella leads them at a sedate pace to the offices where Delilah is - she's catching up with one of her daughters, who'd been to Cedar Hills for a month. Once the angel Bethany sweeps grandly away, her black-edged white feathers spread like sails behind her and looking identical to her mother's, the trio can go in.
"Hi, Isabella, Micaiah - who's this?" Delilah asks.
"This is Nathaniel. It turns out," Isabella says carefully, "that he's Micaiah's brother."
"Hi, Isabella, Micaiah - who's this?" Delilah asks.
"This is Nathaniel. It turns out," Isabella says carefully, "that he's Micaiah's brother."
Nathaniel looks nervous. But then, Nathaniel frequently does.
jovahs_heiress
"You know Micaiah was adopted by the Manderras, but I don't think he told you why. You can guess from Nathaniel's age that their parents were in fact still alive at the time; he's not the orphaned angelica Rachel -"
"Isabella, the historical references aren't actually helpful."
"Sorry. But, Micaiah ran away. And he had reasons. And it occurred to me just the other day that he might have siblings - and I found that he did. I've put Nathaniel in Baruch's children's choir for now but that will only hold until the Gloria, and it doesn't give me an excuse to bar visitation if they take it into their heads to visit."
Delilah glances gravely between Micaiah and Nathaniel, clearly expecting elaboration.
"Isabella, the historical references aren't actually helpful."
"Sorry. But, Micaiah ran away. And he had reasons. And it occurred to me just the other day that he might have siblings - and I found that he did. I've put Nathaniel in Baruch's children's choir for now but that will only hold until the Gloria, and it doesn't give me an excuse to bar visitation if they take it into their heads to visit."
Delilah glances gravely between Micaiah and Nathaniel, clearly expecting elaboration.
"Our father," Micaiah says quietly, clearly having trouble with the phrase, "likes to hurt his kids. He used to beat me, and then he used to burn me."