Witness to the arc toward the sun [open]

[wildmage_daine]

Daine's not sure how to feel about all the spring in the air. It's hard to be happy about another reminder of how long she's been stuck here - long enough for days to noticeably lengthen and snow to melt.

The People are excited about it, though, and their enthusiasm is catching. And it's nice to be able to make her rounds without having to worry about frostbite in her charges. Spring is far less cruel a season to be a stray in. Once the foliage fills out a bit more, it'll be that much easier for her to tuck herself away while she does her work, so that's another small consolation.

The local animals have learned the routine by now. If they're ill or injured, they make their way to the Ramble (if they can) and wait for her there. Today, it was a squirrel who hadn't been quite fast enough escaping from a hawk, and a pigeon with a mangled foot. That last had taken some time, and now she's eating her third granola bar while she walks around the rest of the park, checking for any too ill or injured to get to the Ramble.

Well, it's more of a double-check. If there had truly been anyone that badly off in the Park, she'd have noticed right away. But it can't hurt to make a sweep, listening closely on the off chance that there's anyone out there too weak to have caught her attention. It's a lovely day for a walk, after all.

Comments

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel has been making a very concerted effort not to do any thinking or worrying about the TARDIS, what she thinks of him, or their fight. Which is why it's completely reasonable that instead of going to the park nearest his apartment, he's decided to venture out to central park. The lawn he finds himself on isn't far from where the TARDIS is parked, but really, he couldn't care less.

He jogs backward and shakes a bright blue ball up for Scout to see before tossing it for the happy dog to fetch. They run to meet each other, and Scout gives him the ball back. This continues on, neither dog nor man seeming to run out of energy for the activity.

About the time that Daine arrives nearby, Gabriel tosses the ball a little too hard. It bounces up off of the green and shoots down the nearest pathway, followed shortly by Scout, panting and smiling, then Gabriel, laughing and apologizing to passerby as he maneuvers around them. He barely avoids running into Daine, and his eyebrows shoot up as he realizes just who it is. He slows long enough to say "Daine! One second!" before continuing his pursuit.

Not long later, all three (man, dog, and ball) return, Scout proudly carrying the runaway toy, and Gabriel just a little short of breath. "Hi."

[wildmage_daine]

Daine is so focused on her search for weak and quiet minds that she doesn't register Scout's bright spark until the dog buzzes past her. He tosses a cheerful greeting over his shoulder as he tears off after - a ball, from the sounds of it, and a moment later, there's Gabriel.

She blinks at the angel's retreating back, brow furrowed, and wonders if it's really the angel's back at all. Maybe that body really belongs to someone else, and he's just... borrowing it, like Sam said. Borrowing without any intent to return it. She's not entirely sure that she believes him, though. He obviously wasn't lying on purpose, as the Rift wasn't allowing that, but she was able to say a few things about her gods that were more her best guess than the definite truth. Maybe Sam was just best guessing about angels.

That would only cover the human vessel thing, though. It's harder for her to see how Sam could've been genuinely mistaken about Gabriel killing his brother over and over, and she can't imagine what Sam could've done to deserve such a thing. But she can't rule deserving it out, either. What would she have done to those bandits if she'd had more power, time, and presence of mind? What would she have done to Ozorne if they hadn't been interrupted? How does being torn apart by hyenas rank against watching someone hurt your family?

She gives her head a brisk little shake as they return, then drops into a crouch to greet Scout properly. "Hullo," she says to Gabriel before raising an eyebrow at the dog. "I hope you're not making a habit of haring off like that," she says sternly, and Scout has the decency to look abashed for a moment before Daine gives in and pets him.

[has_a_horn]

"My fault. I threw the ball too hard and it went squirrely." He wasn't kidding when he said he spoils animals. Scout could probably get away with a great many things before Gabriel thinks to throw a harsh word in his direction. They've more or less worked out living arrangements and routines, and it all seems to be working very well.

He pushes his hair back and huffs out a breath, blind to any doubts Daine may be having about him. "I left my bag back over there," he nods to his right where the green is, "Care to join us?"

[wildmage_daine]

Gabriel and Scout are on the same page there, and Daine smiles to hear the dog confirm that he's very pleased with his new master. A quick check reassures her that he's in good health, which doesn't surprise her, given Gabriel's abilities on that front. Whatever Sam's said, the angel is good to his dog.

She hesitates for a moment while she considers the offer, as much concerned about finishing her rounds as she is a bit dubious about Gabriel... then decides that stopping for a little while won't hurt. She could use the breather after the work she's already done, and if she's comfortable and stationary, she can still check the park about as well as she could on foot.

As for Gabriel... he doesn't have any reason to be vexed with her that she can think of, and if anything Sam has said is really true, it'd probably be best to keep it that way.

"All right," she says, giving Scout one last vigorous scrub with her fingers before straightening. "Thanks. Have you been here long?"

[has_a_horn]

"A little while. I think it may be time we took a break from the running and jumping." He looks down at Scout, who looks back up at him with the toy still in his mouth, ready to play. He chuckles. "Or maybe I'll take a break from the running and jumping."

"Just over there." He nods his head in the direction of where they'd been, and is relieved to see that his bag hasn't been nabbed by someone while he was off chasing Scout. "What about you? Just having a walk, or have you got business?"

[wildmage_daine]

"A bit of both," she says as she ambles toward the bag. "There's a spot in the Ramble where the People go if they're ill or hurt, so I can tend to them." It's near the TARDIS, actually, though not too near. Daine's been torn between wanting to take advantage of the ship's unnoticeable-ness while she's working (and therefore too distracted to keep an eye out for interlopers, herself) and not wanting to be a bother. Plus, she's plenty familiar with Andrew's intellectual curiosity about her magic. In small doses, it's not a problem, but she's hesitant to announce what she's up to to the TARDIS and the Doctor in case they end up wanting to watch and take notes or somesuch.

Anyway. "I've already taken care of the ones who were there, but I was just checking the rest of the park for anyone too weak to make it that far." With a somewhat sheepish smile, she adds, "It should only take me a minute to finish checking, if you don't mind waiting." It feels a bit rude to check out of the conversation so soon, even just briefly, but surely it'd be better to do a thorough job and be done with it than be half-distracted the whole time.

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel isn't terribly surprised that she's got something else going on in the park, so he nods to her request as he reaches his bag and sits down. "Sure, do whatever you gotta do." Scout circles around Daine's feet once before galloping over to drop the ball at Gabriel's feet. He obliges by throwing it a short distance before digging into the bag.

He pulls out a bottle of water, has a drink, sets it aside, then pulls out a small tupperware container filled with pink cookies. As he waits for Daine, Gabriel pulls off the cover of the container, then turns the lid upside down and pours some water inside. When Scout comes back with the ball, he happily abandons it in favor of lapping up some of the water from the makeshift dish.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine sits down as well, legs crossed, hands resting in her lap, and shuts her eyes. It doesn't take long for her to sink into a meditative state. Scout's panting is loud in her ears, and she gently pushes the sound aside before turning her focus to the northern half of the park. The southern part's been covered well enough already.

The animals know what she's up to, so she doesn't have to stop for pleasantries. It's just as well, as most of them are terribly busy. Some go out of their way to make things easier for her, though; most of the flocks have one bird who speaks for everyone, sending her a little thread of reassurance if her help isn't needed. Others just pause for a moment in acknowledgement as she brushes by before going about their business. If Daine had gone to public school in this universe, she might compare the whole process to taking attendance... only in a very big classroom, and with some students hiding under their desks.

As she'd expected, all is well in the northern half, too. Daine comes back to herself not a moment too soon; she's only just blinked her eyes open when Scout puts his damp little chin on her knee. "Excuse you," she murmurs to him, lifting a hand to ruffle his fur. To Gabriel, she adds, "Everyone's fine. Busy, but healthy." She can't help being pleased; at least she can say she's done the local animals some good since she's been here.

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel watches idly as Daine goes into her meditative roll-taking. If he didn't know what she was up to, he could probably sense some of what is going on, but not to the extent that her powers seem to actually stretch. It's pretty interesting, and he's sure that the animals in the park appreciate it.

"Good, busy is good. Cookie?" He holds out the small container to offer up the pink cookies to her. Scout lifts his nose to sniff at the container and Gabriel lifts it a bit higher, not to place it out of his reach, but to make the point that they aren't dog treats. "No, not you."

[wildmage_daine]

"Well, it is spring. And thanks," she says, taking a cookie with a grateful smile. Just talking to the People isn't very taxing, but healing is hungry work.

"How's Scout settling in?" She knows what the dog thinks, but it'd be nice to hear how Gabriel feels they're getting along.

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel chuckles at her comment and takes a cookie for himself. He shoves it into his mouth and munches on it as he considers her question. "Great. He has the run of the place." He reaches out a hand to get Scout's attention, and Scout turns around, submitting for scratches. "Maybe you should ask him, but I think we're getting along fine."

He raises his eyes back up at Daine. "Would be nice for him to have some other dogs to play with. I'm sure he'd like to see Molly and Sarge again." There have been some opportunities for play with other dogs. There are a couple poeple in the neighborhood...but Gabriel would also like to see the two dogs again (especially if accompanied by Daine).

[wildmage_daine]

"That'd be nice," she agrees. "I'm sure Sarge and Molly would love it, especially now that it's getting warmer. Being stuck indoors doesn't feel like such a luxury anymore." At least Shadow is still content to wander the base, though once it gets really warm, she'll have to bring him out for some sunshine.

She already has asked Scout how things are going, but she supposes there's no harm in doing so again - and aloud, for Gabriel's benefit. "What do you think, young sir?" she asks the dog, pausing to listen to his answer. It's much the same as what she's already heard, if a little more in depth, and with the addition of some enthusiasm for the idea of playing with Sarge and Molly again. And then she learns something rather surprising. Who's this 'Seth' character?

She wouldn't have pegged Gabriel as having a sometimes-roommate of the two-legger variety, given how cagey he can be. Part of the reason she'd figured he wanted a dog was because a human companion wouldn't suit him as well. At least dogs can't go spilling your secrets to anyone they meet (excepting Daine). Raising her eyebrows at Gabriel, she asks, "Who's Seth?" It's sort of her business, since Scout's welfare is indirectly involved. Not that the dog has anything bad to say about Seth, either, but she's curious, shut up.

[has_a_horn]

"Seth?" For a second, he's thrown off. Who knew that the little dog could give away that much information. He looks down at Scout and reaches out to scratch the dog behind the ears. "Maybe I should have named him spy instead, hm?" He smirks, and flicks his gaze up to Daine. He's joking around here. He doubts that he'll have to worry much about the information Scout can convey to Daine.

"Seth has a useful power, your rebels captured him and were forcing him to use it." He really hopes that he's giving her fresh information about the rebels. He'd hate for her to have known about Seth's imprisonment without saying anything. "I ran into him after he escaped, he's stayed with me off and on since then."

[wildmage_daine]

"He didn't think it was a secret," she says in Scout's defense. She could also say that she didn't mean to pry, which is half-true: Scout volunteered the fact that Seth was around without any real cajoling from her. She didn't have to ask Gabriel about it, though... but at least she did ask Gabriel instead of silently quizzing the dog over his head.

His answer isn't very reassuring, and she frowns deeply. Topher had said the rebels were up to such things, but she hadn't been sure she believed him (he'd lied about being a god, after all). Frankly, Gabriel hasn't sold himself as an honest sort, either, so how much is his word worth? Is anyone here who they say they are?

Sometimes, she really hates this stupid city. If the island had a proper wilderness, she'd move there in a heartbeat and be done with everyone. Excepting Aly. Aly could come, too.

"They're not my rebels," she says, because nothing in this dratted universe is hers. Brow furrowing, she adds, "What sort of power?" Part of her is wondering just how useful if could be if it took so long for him to use it to escape, and part of her is wondering if it's at all similar to hers. She'd still like to think the rebels couldn't hold her.

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel frowns at the question. It's in his best interest here to keep Seth's secrets, since the guy is staying with him and in the position to be of use. He needs Seth to trust him, so unless Daine is going to offer up some more incentive, he'll keep this one to himself. "Like I said. Useful. But not anymore. He's strictly below the radar these days." Not really true, but does that matter in this conversation? Not likely.

He shrugs. "I'm a good roommate for under the radar." To put it mildly. If he doesn't want to found, chances are he's not going to be found. While Seth is under his roof, he likes to think that the kid is safe. "I like the company. He's sharp. Scout's great, but not much of a conversationalist." Hearing his name, the dog's ears perk up and he turns to face Gabriel. Gabriel shifts his attention to the dog for a moment, smiling and reaching out a hand to scratch him between the ears. "He's good with Scout; no problem there."

[wildmage_daine]

Daine lets out a faint snort. She hasn't forgotten how blithely Gabriel talked about the Hulk, so she's not sure whether to be annoyed by his current dodging or begrudgingly pleased that he's capable of discretion where other folk are concerned, after all. She hadn't thought keeping other people's secrets was really in his wheelhouse.

Or maybe he's just extending his caginess about himself over to Seth, now, since he's apparently taken the other man under his wing(s). And maybe she should be annoyed because she's still far from certain that said caginess extends to anyone else. She doesn't know Seth, but she's fair certain Bruce is just as deserving of having his secret kept as any other two-legger. For all she knows, Gabriel's told Seth all about her.

"Well, don't go telling your new roommate about me," she says flatly, more so she'll have an excuse to be angry if he does than because she actually believes he'll keep quiet just because she asked him to. "And there's nothing wrong with Scout's conversational skills," she adds for the dog's sake.

[has_a_horn]

"My doggie conversation skills then." he allows.

There's definitely a difference between his attitude towards Seth's secrets versus Bruce's. Seth had worked on his sympathy and then immediately after that presented himself as a valuable asset. The combination makes him protective of Seth's secrets in a way he never was of Bruce's. And come on. As far as Gabriel is concerned, everyone in the world knows that Bruce Banner is the Hulk. He's the Hulk.

"He knows where Scout came from. I haven't mentioned your conversation skills."