"Completely understandable. Just... don't wait too long, dear. He'll know that something's on your mind."

Aziraphale takes a sip from his beveled glass while Balthazar elaborates, his eyes bright with concern. He never worked with the Raphael on his world, but having answered to other archangels over the years, he has a good sense of what is typical behavior for them. Generosity to one's enemies is not one of them.

"He sounds desperate," he remarks softly. "Has he explained why he's so determined to start the Apocalypse? It was already thwarted once, wasn't it? Gabriel and Beelzebub took that to mean that God didn't want it, after all... they weren't happy about it, mind you, but they ultimately accepted it."

As for Balthazar's conflicted feelings, Aziraphale gives him a sympathetic look. "Sometimes it's not so much about what's right as about what you can actually do to help. Neither Crowley or I had the power to stop the Apocalypse outright, which is why we helped raise the anti-christ... or thought we were, anyway. Can you help in a similar way? Ease Castiel's burden somehow?"