I've seen your flag on the marble arch

[tryingitall]

Balthazar, when seen around the Nexus, is usually obnoxiously upbeat and cheerful. Downright perky, even. He's a gregarious angel, a little mouthy, but quick to joke and slow to judge. His reward for being peculiar by his kind's standards has been spectacular: the love of his life, a built-in family, and a number of like-minded friends, some angelic and some not. If he just stayed in the Nexus and ignored his own world forever, he'd easily be content with what he has.

The multiverse isn't that simple, though. He's still in contact with his home and at least one of his brothers, and there's still a war going on there. As much as he wishes he could stay on the sidelines of it completely, he knows, rationally, that that isn't a possibility. Not forever.

Right now, he's seated at a cafe table with the dregs of a bottle of Glenmorangie, which he is classlessly swigging straight out of the bottle. There's a bag from a pet store beside him, but in his lap there's a notebook, and he's scribbling in it, with a fine sepia pen. No one save another angel is likely to be able to read his notes; they're in Enochian.

"I have too many questions to ask, I think," he says, adding a flourish to one of the sigils on his page. "What would you do if your family was divided, violently, and at war? How can you reassure a brother with the weight of the world on his shoulders? Why does history repeat itself?"

He takes another gulp of Scotch. "At what point does remaining a neutral party in a war become just...irresponsibly letting shit happen to the innocent?"

"There are dozens of people I could ask for help, but what exactly would I ask them to help me with?" Pause. "Well, that one's rhetorical, I suppose."

"Would someone like to bring me another bottle of liquor? This one's almost out."

Comments

[tryingitall]

He wasn't quite expecting her to sit in his lap, but he doesn't object, either. "Oh, I didn't mean it that way. With the right tools, a human can handle an angel, or demons, or monsters. But it's my family and I'm not keen on dragging anyone outside the family into it."

"Honestly, I don't want to get Lucifer and his lot involved, either, although there's a bit more of an excuse with them."

But the stakes for them would be high. Very, very high.

[sweetcandygirl]

"Hey!" Harley gently taps Balthazar's nose. "I will have you know I consider you family. You are that drunk handsy uncle who I always get the best gifts from."

"Does he know you are having problems? You can still talk to him about things... right?"

[tryingitall]

He sputters at the nose-boop, and laughs out loud. "That makes me sound like an absolute pervert, darling, but I'll take it anyway."

His smile softens. "I suppose uncle works, though. Beelzebub has certainly adopted you in some capacity."

He hums and nods. "Not only can I, I rather think I must talk to him, without too much delay. I'm just still trying to decide how to deal with what's happening. It needs to be my decision, for a number of reasons."

[sweetcandygirl]

"Little known secret. You are a pervert." Harley grins in response.

"I am sure he would be glad to be a listening board, to help you sort out whatever you need to sort out. Sometimes you just need to have someone there you understands you..."

It is what Harley misses the most these days.

[tryingitall]

He sticks his tongue out at her good-naturedly, but doesn't deny the accusation. It's fair.

Sobering, he turns the flask over in his hands and nods a little. "He would. And I should do that. But...it's hard to explain, a bit, but it's very difficult, when talking with another angel--to keep myself separate. To keep track of what I want, rather than what I think they want me to want. Especially him, because I truly am in love. But I'm not built for individuality. I'm still learning it."

He looks up at her again. "Does that make any sense? I've tried to explain it before but I feel like I never quite get the point fully across. It's not like unlearning a habit, it's like unlearning how to breathe oxygen."

[sweetcandygirl]

"Maybe you need a third person in the room. Not really there to be part of the conversation or discussion. But a human that would keep you focused on what you want, instead of what you might think another angel would want."

"Sometimes you just need to feel like you are speaking for yourself. And I get that."