(Untitled)

[gilded_voice]

Date: March 18, 2003(?)
Status: Public (Gabriel, Phanuel) [Complete]
Setting: Tadfield Manor, restaurant
Summary: Dinner.

Comments

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel's stomach rumbled, and he started before realising what it was. Oh yes. These bodies could be quite demanding. He hadn't eaten anything the whole day.

He set aside the books and after a quick check to ensure that the place was tidy, left the library, waving his hand to make sure there were no traces of dust on his T-shirt and jeans.

Gabriel slowly pushed open the door of the restaurant, looking around for a small table near a window, when he caught sight of a head of reddish brown hair. He frowned faintly, trying to place the aura. Phanuel.

He walked softly towards the table and smiled. "Good evening, Phanuel."

[cattygabriel]

"And so do I," Gabriel responded softly. "Today's Irish have held on to quite a bit of their culture, but it certainly can't compare with the golden age of Eire."

He reached for the pepper shaker. "The White Cliffs of Dover? They're indeed beautiful." He was reminded of a poem* he had read once, some years ago. "As an English poet once said of them, the cliffs of England stand/ Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay."

*The poem, Dover Beach, is by Matthew Arnold.

[gilded_voice]

"No," Phanuel agreed. "But there's nothing to say that what people make today can't be magnificent in its own right."

He nodded. "Possibly best admired from a distance, though," he said with some wryness, and returned to the pie.

[cattygabriel]

"True," Gabriel conceded. "Still, I feel sad sometimes, thinking about all those ancient civilisations I wandered amongst, whose descendants know so little about their own history, their ancestors' way of life."

He picked up on the wry tone. "Why? Did you accidentally smash into them while flying, or something of the sort?" he grinned.

Really, he shouldn't tease Phanuel about such things. After all, he himself had crashed into a tree only a few days ago, and Uriel could bear witness to that. He smiled; in retrospect, it was quite funny, but at the time he'd been terribly embarrassed.

[gilded_voice]

"I don't think that that's anything but understandable," Phanuel said, with an attempt at a smile.

He shook his head and swallowed. "Not to date, and I'd prefer to avoid doing so," he said (or if he had, wasn't about to admit to it). "Of course, it'd all be all right, but it wouldn't be quite the same, would it?"

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel shrugged. "I met a Babylonian goddess when I arrived, and it reminded me how much I missed the Middle East."

He burst out laughing. "By 'it', are you referring to yourself or the cliffs? I'm sure we could have you healed, but the cliff would be another matter."

[gilded_voice]

Phanuel blinked. "A Babylonian goddess? What was she doing here?" he asked, mildly bothered. He really was out of sorts if he hadn't noticed that. He'd have to improve his perception if he wanted things to stay quiet.

"The cliffs, naturally," he answered, suppressing irritation. "It wouldn't improve the area at all, I'm sure."

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel smiled at the memory. "Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love, war, sex and fertility, is actually quite easy to talk to, and very endearing." He chewed some pasta thoughtfully. "You know, I don't believe I ever actually asked her what she was doing here. It didn't crop up. But she does own a conglomerate of businesses, so perhaps she either wanted to open an outlet here or simply take a break from work."

He laughed again. "Indeed. The outline of an angel, wings and arms spread, in the cliffs would be quite the tourist attraction, though." The mental image was enough to make him laugh again, as he took another mouthful, and he started to choke suddenly.

[gilded_voice]

The image of the kind of business Phanuel imagined Ishtar would be working in didn't quite seem to fit what he'd seen of Lower Tadfield, and he stared at nothing in particular for a moment before shaking it off. "It does seem to be a good place for a break," he said. "Not quite where I would have expected, but it'd certainly be a change, wouldn't it?"

The image didn't appeal to Phanuel quite as much, but he smiled- at least, until Gabriel began choking. "Gabriel!" He got to his feet, trying to remember what to do. Surely it was simply, but-

He shook himself. There was no time to dither about. Hoping that he wasn't about to do Gabriel some serious damage, he banged him on the back.

[cattygabriel]

Phanuel banged him on the back a few times, and the offending piece of pasta was dislodged. Gabriel took a few deep, welcome breaths. Perhaps a fully functioning respiratory system had been a bad idea.

Well. This was embarrassing. First he crashed into a tree in front of Uriel, and then he choked while having dinner with Phanuel. He was beginning to wonder if he should avoid other angels and simply hide out in the library.

Willing away a blush, he smiled weakly. "Thank you, Phanuel. Being discorporated over dinner would be extremely embarrassing, to say the least."

[gilded_voice]

"I should say," Phanuel said, giving him a concerned look- he doubted it was anything serious, but he wouldn't have expected it. He picked up the pitcher and refilled Gabriel's glass. "Have a drink," he suggested.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel took a few tentative sips before drinking deeply. "Thank you," he repeated. "I don't question His will, but sometimes I do wonder why the human airway is so close to the digestive tract."

[gilded_voice]

"I've wondered that at times myself," Phanuel said, seating himself again now that Gabriel no longer seemed in danger. "My personal belief is that it might have been meant to lead some to learn not to talk while eating, but that's simply my own interpretation."

He gave Gabriel a somewhat strange look, but said nothing more, choosing instead to finish off the vegetables. Gabriel's choice of form was his own concern.

[cattygabriel]

"Perhaps," Gabriel smiled, picking up his fork again. He noted the look but didn't say anything.

As an angel who was merely in a mortal corporation for a while, he could manipulate it so that such problems didn't occur. But to him, however embarrassing or painful the human body could be, it was all part of the strange yet wonderful experience of living. He loved feeling and experiencing what humans did. After all, He must have had a reason for making things the way they were.

He finished the pasta, and wondered whether to order dessert; he hadn't had anything else the whole day, and although delicious, the pasta had come in a relatively small serving. Dessert when he wasn't full yet didn't equal Gluttony, did it?

Decision made, he looked at Phanuel. "Would you like dessert?"

[gilded_voice]

He'd been more puzzled that Gabriel should choose to be corporate in that way- that was another thing he hadn't been expecting. He was going to have to do some revision of his expectations, he decided, and considered the idea of dessert. He hadn't been planning on it, but… "Dessert sounds good," he said, and smiled.

[cattygabriel]

The waiter appeared, took away their plates and brought the dessert menus. Gabriel handed one to Phanuel and scanned his own.

"The tiramisu sounds interesting," he eventually decided.