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Post by Herbert von Krolock on Nov 8, 2008 22:57:08 GMT -5
"I'm hurrying as much as I can!" said Herbert, and after he pulled on the cloak, he crossed to Aziraphale and put a protective arm around him.
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Post by NPC on Nov 8, 2008 23:38:32 GMT -5
*Aziraphale smiled a little at Herbert, then squared his shoulders, facing the messenger.*
"You are prepared?" *it asked.*
*Aziraphale nodded.*
"Yes, as much as we ever be."
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Post by Herbert von Krolock on Nov 8, 2008 23:44:18 GMT -5
Herbert pulled up the hood of the cloak and gave the messenger a look that clearly said "Bring it."
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Post by NPC on Nov 8, 2008 23:54:54 GMT -5
*It gave Herbert a withering look and turned to the door.*
"Follow me."
*Then down the stairs, and out into the sunlight of the street.*
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Post by Herbert von Krolock on Nov 9, 2008 0:03:20 GMT -5
He paused at the threshold, inhaling sharply even though he didn't need to.
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Post by Aziraphale on Nov 12, 2008 16:35:00 GMT -5
*And then they were outside- but only for a moment. Something pulled and changed and shifted, and suddenly they weren't in any recognizable place at all. They were walking, yes, but instead of a Paris street at midday, there was endless expanse of space- with stars and galaxies twinkling in the distance. Aziraphale hadn't used this route in ages, but once her got his bearings, he didn't look shocked at all. The other angel walked on ahead of them, hardly acknowledging their existence.*
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Post by Herbert von Krolock on Nov 12, 2008 16:39:09 GMT -5
Herbert, on the other hand, looked about ready to vomit.
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Post by Aziraphale on Nov 12, 2008 16:47:13 GMT -5
*Aziraphale took his hand gently.*
"It's all right."
*They walked for an impossible to judge amount of time, when things began to change again. When you looked up, you weren't sure whether it was black sky or clean, impossibly white walls that you were looking at. As they kept going, the walls took over more and more, until they were in a silent, sterile looking hallway with doors on either side. Still, they walked on.*
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Post by Herbert von Krolock on Nov 12, 2008 17:07:42 GMT -5
The problem with the hallway was that all of the angles, as far as Herbert could see, tended to fade into more blackness and stars if he looked at them long enough. Had he been able to see them properly, he would have noticed that they all somehow added up to more than ninety degrees despite looking like perfect right angles. An angel's mind could comprehend this. A near-human's couldn't, and so the angles and the kind of psychic construct that created the illusion simply didn't exist for it.
The hallway opened up into a large, open area with a pool of water in the center, in which a large, perfectly spherical ball of gold floated and turned. Presumably there were walls and a ceiling, but they had the same distressing fading effect as the hallway before had, and so Herbert concentrated on the ball instead.
Occasionally, angels would walk by, looking almost human but somehow simultaneously lighter and more solid, their faces blank but not unintelligent, looking like different races of humans and yet somehow all the same. They managed to make Herbert feel rather small and plain in comparison, in spite of his own exquisitely, almost girlishly beautiful features and nearly six-and-a-half-foot height.
Herbert glanced at Aziraphale again to make sure he hadn't changed, and he saw the same sweet round face and blue eyes as always, the same little folds at the corners of his mouth, the same unruly mop of curls the color of dark honey, the small furrow between his brows, his plump build.
He found he preferred this by far over the other angels.
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Post by Aziraphale on Nov 13, 2008 15:32:12 GMT -5
*It was completely silent, and if he had been breathing, it would have resounded loudly in his ears. Under the quiet, though, if you listened hard enough, was something akin to the ringing you hear if it's quiet enough. But this was different. It was almost music; a sort of minor key chiming.
It had all been so long long since he'd been there that he'd nearly forgotten it, and the otherness was a little disconcerting. Which made him even more uncomfortable.*
"We're nearly there," *he whispered to Herbert.*
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Post by Herbert von Krolock on Nov 13, 2008 15:35:08 GMT -5
Herbert pulled back his hood again. He was terrified out of his wits, and more than a little concerned that any minute now he would burst into flames, but he knew that the stakes were far higher for Aziraphale.
He had to be strong for his angel's sake.
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Post by Aziraphale on Nov 13, 2008 15:39:52 GMT -5
*They finally came to a door in the wall which the messenger led them through.
It looked like a human court room. Almost. It was too silent. The faces of the others in the room were indistinct and cold. The air in the room seemed alive with- something. Anticipation, perhaps. Maybe hunger.*
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Post by Herbert von Krolock on Nov 13, 2008 15:42:19 GMT -5
Herbert pulled off the cloak and gloves and held them close to his front.
"I imagine we're entitled to a barrister, at least," he said expectantly. His voice hadn't been very loud, but it carried unexpectedly in the silence.
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Post by Aziraphale on Nov 14, 2008 17:30:02 GMT -5
"That's not how it works here," *he whispered, and gestured to a pair of seats in the middle of the room.*
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Post by Herbert von Krolock on Nov 15, 2008 18:42:42 GMT -5
He looked around at the impassive faces of the angels assembled around the courtroom. They were like clones, almost...
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