He had to admit: Lixi's recounting of the tale disturbed him. Not the story itself, though that was plenty disturbing, but the way that she was just able to laugh it off like it was nothing. Miah's statement about her wavering sanity rang in his head, and he was beginning to wonder just how crazy she had gotten.

Though, he supposed that she wasn't the only one who found a sort of sick pleasure in looking back on moments that he could have very easily died and managed to beat the odds. However, the seed had been planted in his mind that perhaps Lixi was not in possession of all her faculties since meeting him.

Yoake sat down next to Quar when breakfast had been served, feeling a little useless when it came the cooking. Lixi's question made her pause. "I...." she trailed off. On one hand, she'd developed a liking for Quar, and on the other hand she wanted to confront Joel about her 'purpose'. Then there was the fact that she really didn't want her ass blown up...well, that was probably going to happen anyway. And she'd never been to France anyway....

Well, things are going to catch up with me anyway. She thought. "I'll do it." Yoake said.

"No! You don't have to do this!" Quar instantly reacted, blurting out the command which was meant to protect her, but which he realized instantly sounded controlling. "That is to say... it is your choice of course... but, Yoake... please. You don't have to. You could just stay here with me. I could summon someone from the other temple here and we could use them."

"That won't work. We can't trust anyone right now Quarron... I asked Yoake to do this because I do trust her." Lixi interjected, still smiling slightly, but in a more emotionless, vacant sort of way. Miah scoffed at her admission of trust toward the demon girl, but Lixi ignored it. "I mean that Yoake. You proved your ability to handle yourself under pressure and to maintain a false front when we were in the city. I have the utmost confidence in your ability to handle yourself around the other temple, and, honestly, if you can't handle it and you end up killing Patriece for me, I certainly won't complain. Thank you, for your voluntary service. It is appreciated more than you may know."

She ate a few bites of the food set in front of her, trying her best to ignore the noisy, sloppy way with which her brother was practically inhaling his plate. It didn't take her long, however, to realize the uneasy silence and distance which seemed to hang around Martin. Lixi was still clueless as to the workings of his mind, and the fact that her story may have set him ill at ease didn't even occur to her.

"Love?" she asked quietly. The smile was gone the moment she realized things seemed amiss, replaced by a look of pure concern. "Is something bothering you?"

"You mean aside from the fact that your a fucking lunatic that's likely going to get us all killed for something that doesn't mean a damn to anyone but you?" Quar was still upset from this mornings events, and the fact that his aunt had just managed to find yet another way to take away the one good things that had happened in the last few weeks every more so than she already had had left him far beyond the point of tact.

Lixi glared at him angrily for a moment, and was about to say something in rebuke, but she was silenced by a chilling laugh from her brother, fallowed by the sound of his hands clapping slowly.

"Bravo son. Not that it shouldn't be obvious from that sea sick look on his face, but still, well done none the less. Glad to see you can at least read into people better than she that trained you." The angel smiled in a way that was part pride toward his son, and part amusement at the situation his sister had found herself in with her human. Lixi grew silent, and stared down at the table in front of her to hide the disgrace behind her eyes. "Oh come now Lixiani. Don't mope. Things are moving ahead according to your plan regardless of your questionable sanity or how anyone else perceives it. Finish your breakfast like a good girl and we'll talk after. I have something to tell you anyway. Right now, everyone should just... eat." He smiled still as he rushed to finish the rest of his breakfast, keeping a pensive eye on his sister all the while. She didn't eat anything else, but hadn't really expected her too.

Martin sighed in futility. Like father, like son, he thought, and for once Vulture was eagerly inclined to agree. I wonder if its a trait of their father or a trait of their mother that bestows them this possessive temperament.

I'mma say its their dad.
Oh? And why do you say that?
'Cuz Lixi ain't that bad.
Oh isn't she now? She clings to you like you belong to her. You just don't notice it as much because you have that perplexing carnal attachment to her.

He felt crowded. Crowded in his head, crowded outside his head. Everyone wanted his opinion to change without ever really asking what he really thought. He hated choosing sides. He hated choices. It was so much easier when he was just given a set of orders and that was it. When he had one alliance that he needed to keep. When the lines were clear-cut. He supposed that this was why people became televangelists.

What burned him the most was the way he treated Lixi like a daughter rather than a sister. Like a good girl? Seriously? And the way she just seemed to roll over and take it. It wasn't the Lixi he knew. Even if it would mean more yelling, he hated watching her just take orders from a jerk like Miah.

He was beginning to wonder if there was such a thing as a family that got along.

But this wasn't even about him and Lixi anymore. This was about Yaoke and her choice. Truthfully, he wanted her to go for it. Not just because it was convenient that she remained one of the few of their team that hadn't gotten on Patriece's bad side, but because he derived a selfish pleasure from envisioning Yaoke walk through that arch. If Patriece's treatment of him had been harsh and he was just slightly damned, then he couldn't imagine how she would treat the half-demon. He wondered who would win in a fight.

He took a deep breath before speaking, gathering his thoughts into a quasi-coherent sentence instead of the rant that he'd been composing in his head. Digging through his pockets to find his cigarettes and lighter gave him more time to process.

"Awright," he said once he had one held between his lips. "If you ladies are done hissin' at each other, how about we move on?" Flick. Light. "I'm tired uh goin' around in circles and this fighting ain't doing nothing." A trail of smoke left his mouth before he addressed Yaoke personally. "Look, its up to you. Don't let these nutcases tell you what you're supposed to do. You ain't supposed to do nothin' you don't wanna, got it?"

Lixi had been sitting and silently cursing at her brother in her head, though she kept it well to herself. When Martin spoke up, everything of what he said cut into, but his word choice in reference to them, 'nutcases', felt like a knife in her heart. Quar is right... Joel is right...

"Quar... is there a pen and paper nearby?" she spoke very, very quietly when she opened her mouth to let the question slip passed her lips, but Quar heard it of course. The silence in the room was as thick and heavy as the tension.

Quar patted Yoake's leg, then stood without saying anything, and ducked out of the kitchen for a few minutes before returning with small square wicker basket in shape of a box, complete with a lid that was held on by a few pieces of leather cord. Inside Lixi found a plain, but fine and elegant stationary, and a few different writing implements. "There's one in most of the rooms. Keep it if it helps you." The words seemed simple enough, but Lixi understood it was his small admission of understanding that she needed to pen her words to make them make sense to herself. She'd lost her notebook on the rooftop, and hadn't been able to collect herself since then. It was what she'd been thinking about when she asked him for these, and he'd managed to glimpse that in the open moment in which she spoke.

Lixi nodded and retrieved a page, then silently penned a letter to Crowley.

"My dearest friend,

Please accept my sincerest apologies for the way things have transpired, and for the violent note we last spoke on. I pray we will see each other again once this is done that I may apologize in person.

I don't know what you have been told of our plans, but thus far all I know of yours is training Adja, and that you are aware of the threat of the destroyer. Any additional information that you wish to share with us via the messenger or letter will be safe. Martin is able to communicate with me in an out of body way, which you are well aware of. Joel is unable to see my mind so long as I am there, so I will be in that other worldly state until it is necessary for me to wake to put our plans into action.

As for what I know, Yoake and I were unable to learn much in IronCity as it is now completely overrun with demons. The angels have been ripped apart, save for a few. One of them was my brother, Quar's father. He has returned with me, though I am unsure of how long he will stay. Things are made complicated by his presence, despite the help he may be able to provide. The only information I did come back with is something that needs to be shared with the Mayhir siblings, and with them alone, so do forgive me for not writing it. another letter enclosed is for Adja alone. I trust you will deliver it confidentially.

Thank you for all you have done, and are doing, for myself, for our new friends, and for the world that doesn't even know of your existence.

See you on the other side Allister.

Lixi"

A second piece of paper was quickly scrawled out with a very brief note to Adja about seeing her father in IronCity, and as to what was said about how the siblings must find a way to work together for it to work as well as what Vulture was to do and how they must trust her as well. It ended with Lixi telling her that Martin would be able to provide her more details, either of his own knowledge or by asking Lixi should she require it. The letter to Adja she folded carefully and put into one of the heavy envelopes within the basket, then sealed it shut and wrote 'Adja' upon the front.

"Here. This is a letter to Crowley detailing what needs said. If anyone on this side cares to write one or just add to this one, feel free. Yoake, if you choose to go, that would be wonderful, as I'm sure you can answer questions a letter cannot. If you choose not to, then Quar, do what you must, bring someone here, and seal all the correspondence shut with Crowley's temple seal, instruct that none but him should open it." Lixi lay the letters down, and grabbed a half dozen sheets of paper or so, as well as an envelope and a pen from the basket, then stood. "I need to be alone. Discuss what ever you like, do what needs done. It's been a while since I've seen the pyramids, and as I recall, they're only a 15 minute walk. I'll be on the hill that overlooks them. And yes, Quar, I know to where hijaab and where to find it. I'll be back in an hour." She lay a hand gingerly on Martin's shoulder, half afraid that he'd be put off by her gesture that was meant to be affectionate. "Martin, you may wish to prepare for what we need to do. We could be out for some time, so if nothing else, taking measures to make yourself comfortable for a few hours may help." She leaned in and quietly whispered to him. "I've said this to much, but it is true none the less. I'm sorry you're in this mess. I do love you." In a single fluid motion that took her no longer to enact than it did for her to exhale, she stood turned, and headed out the door.

"Well that was eventful. Quarron, son, if you would be so kind as to tell me where to find suitable clothing, I'll fallow her in 15 minutes or so." Miah had finished his meal, and stood after he was sure Lixi was out of sight of the room.

"She won't actually go to the pyramids. She hates them." The tone in Quars voice was somewhere between authoritative and protective.

"I'm very well aware of that son. Beautiful thing about a damaged mind. Easy to see into no matter how guarded she thinks she is." Miah pulled a piece of wood off a rough part of the table and picked his teeth with it.

"Do you know how to get there? The mixing of the old and new streets in Cairo can be very confusing. Lixi get's lost every time she's here." Quar had thought about protesting to let his aunt have solitude, but the more he thought about it, the more he was happy to have his father leave.

"Why on earth would I need the streets. Removed from my company or not, I am still what I am." Maih scoffed loudly at the idea of walking across a town without need, but it turned to a slight chuckle as he though of his sister wandering aimlessly through the human masses trying to blend in.

"I can't allow that. You jeopardize all of us by flying. It is.." he grew quiet when Miah laughed loudly at his statement

"I forget that your only knowledge of angels comes from weaker, lesser, form of us, who's barely an angel at all really. For one, produce and disguising a pair of wings is instantaneous for those of us who are not so disgraced. We also are quite capable of preventing humans from seeing us at all. It's how we're able to play the silent guardians that watch over people unseen, or the messengers that appear as not but a burning tree. Trust me, I'll be far less noticeable in flight than I would be on the streets. I'll retrieve her, and have her back with in that hour she wants you to believe she'd be back in." Miah smiled widely as he headed for the door. Quar called the direction to the room where suitable over garments were kept for anyone leaving the compound, as well as the door, happy to see the angel go. Jeremiah hesitated by the door however, and glanced back at Martin. "Unless you have anything to say about it, that is. Wordsmith that you are and all." he laughed coldly at his own humor. "Not that I'm complaining, what you said worked beautiful for my cause."

Martin regretted his words the moment they left his mouth. In truth, his insults had been directed at Quar and Miah since they were the source of the bickering. But the words fit for Lixi as well, and it was moments like this one where he wished he were capable of a little more tact. Vulture laughed pleasantly in his head.

Ooh, well done.
Just shut up already. I don't wanna hear your shit.

And when Lixi returned briefly with her instructions, her profession of love for him seemed out of obligation, apologetic, self-convinced. She was angry at him for what he's said, and he knew that with that one word he'd completely blown it.

His self-hatred turned to just regular hatred when Miah congratulated him. It echoed just exactly what Vulture had said to him and quite frankly it pissed him off.

"Look, jerk," he said, shaking the ashes away with a flick of his thumb. "I get that you don't like me. All I'm askin' here is that you shut your yap and be fucking civil for two seconds. I fucked things up. I don't need your help. So next time I do you a fucking favor, leave it at a goddamn 'thank you.'"

He stared down at the blank paper, contemplating adding his own. There were things he wanted to say to Adja, but he was never the kind of person who wrote things down. They seemed impersonal on paper. But at this moment, he was without any kind of communication and going back to Paris was a deathwish.

His letter to Adja was short, and written rather illegibly in a heavy hand, and labeled in that same heavy illegible scrawl as "Sis." Fearing that eyes would pry, he hid it beneath the others. He considered writing one to Crowley as well: telling him that he hates him a bit less now that he'd met Miah, but if he ever hurt his sister he would hunt him down and put his flabby ass six feet under. He thought better of it.

"Oh! Why my apologies Martin." Miah was chuckling still as he turned away. Over his shoulder he called a sarcastic final two words with taunting joviality. "Thank you!"

He moved slowly through the compound, feeling ahead for his younger sibling, though he was confident she'd long since left. Slowly he dressed in attire suitable to his surroundings, then shot up into the clouds in the blink of an eye. Lixi wasn't hard to find at all. He'd known exactly where she was going before she ever even left after all. Quar must have been right about her getting lost every time, however, as it took her almost doubly as long to get there as it probably should have.

"What are you doing here?" Lixi grumbled angrily at her brother as she set the small bundle of cloth she'd wrapped the writing supplies and piece of fresh fruit in down in the sand. "I said I wanted to be alone."

"Sorry Lixi. There was just something I needed to tell you." Miah's smile was beyond discomforting to Lixi as he crossed the few yards between them and took her by the shoulders. She answered him only with a raised eyebrow, so he continued. "I'm supposed to tell you that he forgives you."

"HA! Who? Father? Michael? God? Yeah right. How much a fool do you take me for Jeremiah?" Lixi shoved him back harshly, but his hands held firmly to her shoulders, keeping them in the stance they were.

"No, sister. No one from heaven. The one that fallowed you out." As Miah expected, his words stopped her from fighting him any further. "Samathael asked me to tell you, that he forgives you..."

------

Quar was silent for a while after Miah left. He felt bad for Martin more than anything right then. His guilt and regret wasn't exactly hidden after all.

"Hey man, it wasn't your fault. You can't help that you got caught up in some family bullshit. Trust me, she knows you were just trying to help the situation. She'll get over the rest. Lixi knows enough about the way people act and react to sort things out. It's just taking her longer to process stuff lately. As long as that man that I'm supposed to believe is my father doesn't make things to much worse... well... lets just not worry about that till they come back." his own words made him realize just how bad of an idea letting Jeremiah go after Lixi may have been, but then again, maybe it would do them both some good. "I guess what's most important now is getting a final decision on if we need an outside messenger or not. Yoake? I know you said you'd go, so if you still feel that you should, I won't argue. Just know that their are options. Tell me what you want me to do, and it will be taken care of."

Yoake held the letters in her hand, ready to slip them into her hoodie pocket. "I still intend to go," She said. "Though...I'll probably come back here. The weather's nice, and something's telling me this Patriece woman is the type of person I like the LEAST; vain and stupid." What she didn't voice was that she wasn't looking forward to meeting Adja again. The woman had made it quite obvious that she didn't like her. Then agian, Miah hadn't exactly hidden his opinion of her either. Why is it I always attract people who act like assholes?

Martin shoved his regret aside, figuring that he would have plenty of opportunities to reflect on his stupid choice of words later when other things weren't so pressing. He supposed Quar was right: she would get over it. Whatever it was that Miah had to say to her... well if it concerned him at all then it would probably just reinforce what he already knew about his acidic personality. If it didn't concern him, then that was that. Life moves on; c'est la vie.

Now his focus was on Yaoke. He took one last breath of smoke before putting it out on the sole of his shoe. He was still imagining Patriece's reaction to their half-demon ambassador.

"Well, since you're pretty set on going, I got one thing I want you to do for me when you get there." He leaned in close, sharing with her the greasiest of smiles. "Remember the face Her-Royal-Frenchness makes when you walk through that door. When you get back to Cairo, tell me what it looks like. I wanna know if the plastic in her face breaks from havin' to show too much emotion in one week."

Quar was silent for a while. He hated the idea of her going, more than he himself had even realized. This is silly. He reminded himself. She'll be back. She made it back from a hell mouth, Paris may be pretentious, but at least it's not hell.

"Right then. I suppose this means there's work to be done. Yoake, if there is anything you'd wish to take with you, perhaps now would be a time to go gather it? If not, I promise I will makesure your room here is untouched, so your belongings will be safe. I'll head to the courtyard to prepare the passage for you. You can meet me there when you're ready, or just walk there with me now if you would prefer." It was back to business, and Quar had to admit, he was rather grateful for the monotony of this part at least. "Martin, if you require anything, you of course no to freely ask. I'll be in the courtyard till I see Yoake off, then I'll return here to clean up. Is there anywhere in particular I could tell my aunt to look for you at when she returns?" He stood and began meandering his way to the door slowly.

There was the request for cheap whiskey on the tip of his tongue, but he made the wise decision that what he and Lixi were about to do would require his full concentration. Draining the remainder of the bottle of whiskey that he was sure still resided beneath the table in Crowley's study would have to wait until a time when sobriety was unnecessary.

He'd been told to get comfortable, and to him that meant taking the last chance he would have in quite awhile to smoke one more cigarette.

When Quar reached the door, he lingered for a long moment. Yoake seemed pensive to him, and he understood why. So much was changing, and moving so quickly, most of it requiring her to make choices in a matter that she shouldn't have been forced to be part of in the first place.

"Well then, Yoake, I will head to the yard. It seems like you could use some time to process all that's been happening. Take your time, come find me whenever you're ready and we can proceed. Martin, Likewise, if you need anything, please, feel free to ask." With out another word, Quar slipped out the door and headed for the yard of arches

Cigarettes did nothing for his nerves. Well, they did something to them, but it was hardly at all productive. He was both looking forward to getting a chance to try his newly discovered abilities and not looking forward to it. His last out-of-body experience had involved a lot of preparation on Crowley's part and he'd thought his heart was going to explode in the process. Crowley had scoffed at his mentioning Lixi as his teacher, and he wasn't sure if Quar knew much of what he was doing, either.

Oh, stop worrying. There aren't that many things that could go wrong.

He thought she was being uncharicteristically helpful and thought to question it. Then he realized that leaving his body meant that she would be in control of it and that of course she would be eager to get things going.

You promised, remember, he responded. Whatever happens, you don't do shit. You get control, you leave Lixi and her fucked up family alone. Got it? Or I will find a way to get rid of you if it kills me.

She was silent for a moment, but she returned as loud as ever. We shall see.

At her acidic form of compliance, he grimaced. He knew he couldn't get a 'yes' or 'no' out of her, no matter how hard he tried. Taking one last drag of smoke, he followed Quar out into the courtyard. Lixi wasn't there to talk to, and Yaoke had too much to think about and would probably do very little to ease his nerves. As he approached Quar in the yard, he couldn't hide how ill at ease he was. He understood that the man-boy had an uncanny knack for figuring out what people were thinking. He wouldn't have needed it.

"So... how much you know about this astral shit," he asked.

Yoake smiled at Martin's request. "Don't worry, I will." She told him before she got up to leave and slipped the letters in her hoodie pocket. She nodded to Quar. "Right. I just want to drop off my backpack before I go, so it doesn't get in the way." She also didn't mention that she really wanted to get something on that hadn't been drenched in the crash in the bay the night before.

As she headed up to her room she took several deep breaths to calm herself down. This is all freaking crazy. She thought, then berated herself. Girl, you're the embodiment of crazy. There's no one in their right mind who'd try and create a demon/human hybrid. When she got to her room she changed out of the hoodie and jeans and into a Fullmetal Alchemist t-shirt and black jeans. She slipped the letters into her back pocket before heading down to the courtyard where Quar was waiting with the portal. "Okay, I'm ready...I think."

Quar studied Martin's face quietly for what was probably an agonizingly long while. His own emotions on this whole affair were beginning to skew his judgement, but he could still catch glimpses of Crowley's brutal ritual that ripped him from his body, and of how it concerned him from the pain it caused in comparison to his aunt's gentle method of drawing him out.

"If you were able to get back in your body after what Crowley did to you, which, clearly, you seem to have been, then you are perfectly capable of getting out of it on your own, it just will take some practice. Crowley's ritual that he did was usually used as a method of torture, or as a curse, to those who are unaware or incapable of recovering control of their bodies. It's called the 'spiritum invisibilem' which roughly means, the invisible soul. As you've seen, it rips the soul from the body completely, severing all ties of the soul to the body. This leaves the body open for total control by a possessing spirit, which could be placed in the body at that point without any resistance from it's original owner, or even to be used as a puppet by another more skilled astral wanderer who could temporarily control the vacant body. Your body will keep living for as long as it can much like someone in a coma, and is totally unguarded to outside influence, while the soul is left to wander in that invisible, ghost like state, unable to affect the physical world."

Quar turned his back to Martin and began preparing the archway as he continued speaking. The act of opening a portal was so routine for him that it took little concentration for the majority of it. "You see, when you get out of your body on your own, a slight bond, like never ending rope of energy, remains to link you to your body. If your body were injured, or disturbed while you were out of it, you would sense it, and be able to quickly return with little to no effort.

As for Lixi, and how she removed you from your body, well, that's another matter all together. You see, angels are not physical beings at all. The body you see, that you touch, that you..." Quar quirked his head and grimiced uncomfortably as his words got away from his mind and the awkward images of Martin's memories of Lixi and her body invaded. "right... anyway, that body isn't real. It's manufactured. Each angel existed long before they were ever given a physical body. That's why they look so strange in their "natural" form. They were something so peculiar that the ancient races would fear and obey them almost instantly due to the primitive man's ignorance and lack of reason, so, the strange, graceful, inhuman shape served them well. Younger angels who have been given their earthly bodies in more recent times don't look like that. My aunt is just very, very old. For example, an angel first sent to earth in ancient Greece will most likely look like a great bronze titan, or one of the gods of the pantheon. They mimic that which will get them them the greatest response. Or at least so I am to understand from what information Crowley has on them. My aunt, well, she won't tell me anything of it. Likewise, I'm unsure of how she can remove someone from their body with so little effort or how it affects your soul and body in the process. I myself do not care for astral traveling, it feels strange and very uncomfortable to me the entire while, so almost all of my knowledge is theoretic from my studies. I hope it has helped you, however."

He stopped speaking and closed his eyes for a moment, then began a quiet chant to finish the process of opening the door. It was significantly more difficult than he'd been expecting. Patriece must have tried to change the locks, but it would matter little. He did pause to make one more comment though, stemmed largely from a brief thought he'd picked up in Martin's mind sometime earlier in their stay.

"I have to open this now. Patriece has tried to much things up, but she's not terribly good at this aspect of it, so it won't take long to fix. One last thing though, Martin. The Lixi you see in the astral, that's the one you should keep in your mind. That's the real her. None of the physical bullshit. That's who she is."

His chanting resumed as he lit a bundle of dried, hearty, herbs, and began gesturing in front of the portal with them. Slowly, gradually, the portal opened. Once it the dark, ominous space was ready, Quar poked his head through, and took a few steps in just to make sure it came out where it needed. Surely, a rather bored looking young French girl in the typical pre-revolution upper class attire was waiting at the other side. He called briefly to the girl to go tell Crowley a messenger from the Egyptian temple would be coming to him shortly, then re-emerged on the Cairo side, and flopped down in the sand beside it. The effort it had taken to break Patriece's warding had left him rather exhausted.

As soon as Yoake appeared int he yard, however, he hopped quickly back to his feet and greeted her with a warm smile, open arms, and a soft kiss. The portal is open, and young women in a formal gray ballgown will be waiting on the other side to take you directly to Crowley. Speak to no one but him.

Martin let this process. It should not have been such a huge surprise that the process that Crowley used to pull him out was meant for torture. It had certainly felt like it. And as if he hadn't already concluded by Crowley's attitude towards him that he was not well-liked, this only served to reinforce the rather soul-crushing feeling that one of the few people that they could actually trust had a vendetta against him.

Well, someone didn't like him very much. Business as usual. It was becoming a common theme in his life. But that didn't mean that he wasn't angry about it.

How Quar described astral traveling made sense, sort of. Of course, it was all unbelievable to him, and if he thought about it hard enough he managed very little more than a headache. Though he was sure that Quar was putting it in the simplest terms he could, it just wasn't an easy concept to grasp.

He figured that if he was going to go forward with this plan, he was going to have to put his trust in Lixi. Wavering though her sanity may be, he would have to trust her.

Yoake smiled softly and poked Quar's nose. "Hopefully it won't take me very long." She said. "If it does....then I guess I'll just be bored out of my mind."

She stepped up to the portal and waved to the two men before stepping through. One minute she was walking through the sands of Egypt, the next her feet were hitting soft carpet over marble floors. Just as Lixi had said, it was as if Yoake was stepping into the next room, only now she was in Paris, France. When she emerged, the woman Quar had said would meet her there was waiting. She bowed her head only slightly in greeting. "I'm here as a messenger, and I've got a few letters to deliver from the Egypt temple." She said as an introduction.

Quar watched as the girl he'd grown so fond of disapeared up the cold stone stairs that lead to the marble hall of the Parisian temple. A heavy sigh left his lips as the stone slowly rematerialized in the archway, first as a light hazy fog, like dust in the air, which gradually thickened until it was solid sandstone once again.

"I'll know when they reopen it to let her back through. Until then, there is little point to the two of us standing out here in the sun. Particularly you, what with your attire and all. Why don't we go wait to see if the angels come back in Crowley's sitting room. It will likely be the first place my aunt would go if they do." He began walking without waiting for Martin's response.

-----

On the other side of the portal, the young servant girl nodded, but didn't speak to Yoake. The women didn't bother to hide the fact that she was blatantly staring at the half demon in complete fear and shock, and was actually trembling a little as she lead her silently to the roof top. Once they reached it, she simply pointed to a table where Crowley and Adja sat in silence as Patriece prattled on in her usual fashion as the three ate breakfast. As soon as Yoake was shown where to go, the servant women practically ran back down the steps.

Yoake sighed as thee girl dissapeared down the stairs. She could tell that the girl was afraid of her and wasn't making any attempt to hide it. She could've at least tried to act normally. Yoake thought, a little bit insulted. She wondered if it would be considered impolite to interrupt their meal...to be honest, she wasn't entirely sure of European customs. After all, she'd only ever been in England, and that...well, she really didn't want to relive those memories. They were still a tad too fresh and way too painful. Okay, now I feel stupid.

Martin generally forgot on occasion that it was unbearably hot in Egypt. By comparison of the off-and-on fever that he often felt when Vulture surfaced, it was about on par. At least there was the chance of a breeze out in the open air, but when it came down to it, Quar had a point.

He could tell that he was upset. Hell, it was hard not to notice how upset the kid was. He felt he probably shouldn't be the one to judge their relationship, considering that he was head-over-heels for his aunt and they weren't exactly following the lines of reason themselves. It was difficult, however, not to look at Quar and think "he's young. He'll get over it." It was another one of those things that made his head hurt, so he did what he did best and stopped thinking about it.

Quietly, and being very sure that his presence was as minimal as possible, he followed back inside.

---

On the one hand, it had to have been one of the most fulfilling breakfasts she'd ever had (increased in part by her tendency to frequently forget to eat). On the other hand, it had been interrupted, marked very suddenly by the presence of a familiar and tainted creature meandering through the passageways. At first, Adja thought that her brother had returned and did not look forward to the inevitable reunion when Patriece found him back in Paris.

But then... no, that wasn't right. This didn't feel like him. It didn't reek of duality the same way he did. No, whoever was heading towards them was fairly sure of their personality. And of the people that she knew to possess such a trait... well, that only left one person.

She sighed, just as Yaoke entered her view. She was hoping that the girl could be someone that would just... stay out of sight. She'd been accepted for the most part in Cairo, but... this was not Cairo. People were more judgmental in Paris, and Adja was no exception.

Of course, the only thing she could do was hide her face with her hands and hope that she wouldn't come her way. It was much like a high school cafeteria.

Yoake repressed a sigh. I just see how amazingly well this is going to go. She thought as she approached the table.

"Pardon me, please," She said as politely as she could. "But, I've got something for Mr. Crowley and Adja from the Cairo temple." She slid the letters out of her back pocket.

Quar was in his own world the entire way back to the sitting room, and even once they were there, he paid little attention to Martin beyond absently telling him which of the antique cabinets was secretly concealing a modern mini fridge with cold refreshments in it. His mind was still reeling from the events of the entire day, and the week for that matter. Deciding now might be a good time to meditate, he took a seat on one of the cushions in the middle of the room, and closed his eyes quietly to do so.

So deep was Quar in his meditation that he felt certain only a few moments had passed when he became aware of the familiar, chaotic presence of his aunt on the periphery of his perceptions. "She's going to be coming through the front entrance of the compound in a few moments. Left out of this door, right at the end of this hall, then another right at the end of that one and you'll be in the little garden at the entrance. I'll be here a while." His words were curt, but far more polite than the 'go away and let me alone' that they heavily implied.

Of course, Quar was right. As he was giving Martin the directions, Lixi was limping her way up the street toward the Thelema compound, completely draped in her now disheveled black covering. Her hands, which she had hidden beneath the fabric were caked in dried blood. With a little effort, she pushed the compounds little wooden walk in door beside the big garage door open, and slipped quickly through, bolting it behind her. As soon as she was safely within it's warded walls, she quickly stripped of the thin, darkly dyed, muslin and let it flutter to the sands as she rushed toward the small fountain in the corner of the petiet greeting garden. she fell to her knees upon reaching it and let her body drape forward over it's cement side as her hands plunged under it's cool surface.

-----

Crowley and Patriece both looked up simultaneously when Yoake began to speak. Patrieces eyes went wide, which was quicky fallowed by her nose being turned up in the air so far a that it may as well have been a sharks fin atop her head. She opened her mouth and inhaled a large sharp breath as though she were about to go on a sizable tant, or perhaps just throw another of her tantrums, but was silenced beefore she could speak a word by Crowley's perceptive interception of her reactions.

"Patriece! If you wish to keep your position in this temple, the next words out of your mouth had best be a warm welcome to Yoake. She is a guest at our Cairo temple and therefor all of our locations." once Patrieces mouth was closed and it was clear they would have a much desired break from her innane yammerings, he turned to Yoake and gestured to the empty seat at their table, despite his awareness of Adja's reaction. Civility and peaceable aquiescence were simply in his nature, and he had no quarrels with the half demon what so ever. "Yoake, please, join us. You have news from Ciaro you say? How are things there? Clearly you made it back safely, what of Lixi? What of IronCity? Please, do tell me all about it."

Thank you Crowley! Yoake thought in silent thanks, glad that the thin woman was shut up. "Things there are fine, if empty. Lixi's...er, she's having family troubles." She replied, taking the seat offered. "While we were in IronCity, we met up with her brother, who ended up getting dragged back to Cairo with us. And trust me; if IronCity wasn't pretty before, now it's a freaking war zone. When Lixi and I got there demons and angels were battling it out, and it looked like the demons were winning. I honestly think there are more dead angels than living ones there now, if there are any still alive there."

Upon finally arriving to the entrance that Quar had directed him to, Martin was beginning to wonder if he should ever allow Lixi to leave his sight. Rather, that would be what he was wondering if his first thought hadn't been so loud. So loud, in fact, that it had escaped his brain and made its way out of his mouth before the other ones could stop it.

That thought was a very defiant "SHIT!"

He rushed to the fountain and immediately sank to his knees next to her, but stopped himself from pulling her closely. Through the dark muslin, he couldn't tell what parts of her were wounds and which ones were just soaked in blood.

"Tell me where that bastard is and I'll kill im.," he said, balling his hands into fists. He'd forgotten how quickly angels healed, and he didn't care to be quite honest. Even if he was aware now that Lixi was losing her mind, that didn't mean anything when she was obviously severely injured. He stopped. "No wait. Show me the wounds first. Then tell me where he is so I can kill im."

---

Oddly enough, Adja felt herself siding with Patriece. However, she held her distaste for the visitor inward. She had already made it very clear to Yaoke how she felt about her. Doing much more would have just been hostile, needlessly so.

Worst, though, her presence reminded her of the work that needed to be done. Sure, she'd been learning to master her gifts, but she was hardly anywhere near the skill that she needed to withstand Joel, or even do what he wanted her to. She imagined he was getting impatient, and no amount of training could prepare her for a spontaneous kidnapping. And with Yaoke's description of what she had once considered her home, she had a sudden bout of failing confidence.

"I... don't suppose you saw, or heard anything about my father, did you?" She had a rather childish theory that as long as he stayed alive, she would still have a fighting chance. It had absolutely no merit whatsoever, and even if he was still alive there wasn't any guarantee that he would be when she got there. But to her he was a symbol of hope: that if he could survive still, that she would have a fighting chance.

Martin's words almost made her scoff a little as Lixi tried to remind herself that he was only looking out for her. "I'm fine, love. This isn't all my blood. And it wasn't Miah. I mean, it was, but it wasn't his fault. He's still actively an angel, so when he left the warded protectiong of the compound, the higher ups were able to find him. They came to retrieve him while we were talking. He stabbed me in the leg to make it look like he'd been strugling to escape, and told me to slice him up in return, bad enough that they'd have to let me get away to tend to him. So..." she drew a ragged breath stared down into the water.

The blood that filled the fountain now, that scrubbed off her hands, conjured images of its origin. The dark angelic blood that spewed from her brothers neck tainted the water like a poison, just as the memory poisoned her mind for the moment with the sound of his gurgling scream, and the shock in his eyes from just how viscious the attack had been. She hadn't needed any prompting to run when she realized just how badly she'd hurt him. That much brutality had never been intended, but it had happened, just as naturally after his attack as if she'd actually been fighting for her life with some horrific enemy.

"...Martin... i.. I really hurt him..." she stared in silence for a few more minutes, thinking back over all of what Miah had been saying to her before the other angel had arrived. What he claimed to have read in Martin's thoughts came to mind, and asking him about it now seemed as good a distraction from the blood in the water as any. "Love... are you afraid of me? He said you were. Said he read it in your thoughts. That you were going to jump ship next time a door was opened to state side. It's not true... is it?"

----

Crowley nodded quietly at Yoake's tale, but said nothing more so as not to inturupt Adja's question or it's answer. His devotion to her made him feel terrible for the discomfort he was aiding in causing her by his good natured acceptance of all kinds. Instead, he quietly took the letters Yoake held out, and glanced at the envelopes. Before opening the one adressed to himself, he handed Adja the one labled to her, as well as the one marjed 'sis'.