been waiting for the glory ((open, nexus_crossings))

[tryingitall]

Balthazar's vessel was an artist. Not a famous one, certainly not a wealthy one, but one of those sorts who cannot help but do what he does. Every now and again, he searches the Nexus' galleries and museums on the off-chance there is some world where the man succeeded and earned the recognition the angel feels he was due.

The human soul is within him, still, sleeping, waiting for a well-earned Heavenly reward. He'd wake it up to see if he found his work somewhere.

No such luck today, but the angel has found a sculpture he admires and bought it for one of his safehouses back in his own world. It will be shipped later in the week, and for now he's taking a break, sipping a margarita on the patio of a Tex-Mex restaurant that bears the sign 'Nacho Mama's' in bright pink neon.

He's not interested in the food, but a really good margarita is nothing to be missed. This is his third, and the staff is starting to look deeply concerned by the volume of tequila he has consumed this afternoon.

"It's all right," he tells the waitress as she comes by to check on him, and there is no hint he's even tipsy. "I'm just very fond of lime."

"You, um, must have a high tolerance," she says. "The bartender keeps asking me if he should cut you off."

"Oh, I see. Tell him I could clear out every bit of liquor in the place and still keep my feet. It takes real work to get an angel drunk."

"That explains it," she says weakly, and leaves him be, although it really doesn't explain it, because since when do angels get drunk??

The Nexus is rough on people, ontologically.

Comments

[tryingitall]

"It's less fun than you'd think," he says, glancing over at Palmer and smirking as he recognizes him. "It takes a concentrated effort to get more than a bit buzzed. And the expense? Don't get me started. On the whole, it's better to be a lightweight and be able to get as sloshed as you want on a sip of champagne."

Although, it's nice to be able to try a wide variety of liquors and appreciate the flavors.

"I remember you, but yes, it's been a while. I'm all right. There's always some disaster imminent in my world, but I've escaped the worst thus far. And you? Join me, if you like. Tequila goes well with company."

[readvondaniken]

"I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm pretty lightly built, but I can drink a good bit before it starts hitting me hard. Maybe that's just as well. I usually ain't much of a drinker - you've seen my poison of choice."

Palmer nods when Balthazar comments that he recognizes him. Even if he's a little snarky, Palmer's glad to see him, too.

"I've been doing pretty well. We had a rough winter, but you've probably heard all about that from people who aren't me." Palmer smiles as he comes forward. "Don't mind if I take you up on that offer. I like drinking with company. Your world sounds like a rough kinda place. But then again, so's mine - though I'm guessing it's a different flavor of disaster."

[tryingitall]

"Indeed. Actually, I'd heard you were selling a wider variety now. Remind me to drop by later."

Balthazar doesn't really make a habit of smoking marijuana, but he does enjoy it from time to time, and it's always good to keep tabs on one's dealer.

"I was shut out all winter, but I think I'm just as glad I missed it. I'm not a tremendous fan of the cold. It doesn't hurt me, but it just isn't comfortable."

He laughs. "We've dodged the Apocalypse once in my world. I suppose we'll see how many times we can get lucky."

It's not the happiest of laughs, actually, and he downs the rest of his margarita in a gulp afterward, but his smile is still pleasant enough.

[readvondaniken]

"You've heard correctly. I've expanded my business since you met me. Thirty-five strains of weed on sale, and I'm working with one of the Lokis to add magic into the mix."

Palmer laughs as he sips his own drink. He wants to make it last, himself. He's one to savor his alcohol rather than gulp it down.

"Don't mind if you do stop by one of these days. Tell you what, 'cause you're a friend of mine, I'll give you a discount next time you stop by. Half off."

Palmer knows a good customer when he sees one, and besides, he's taken a genuine liking to Balthazar. It pays to keep your allies close in a place like the Nexus, which is always shifting and uncertain by nature. He's a businessman, but he tries to balance business and friendship carefully.

"Tell me about it. The cold was far from the worst part, actually - you don't work in an Antarctic research station without getting used to snow and ice." Turning serious for a moment, Palmer shows Balthazar the patched-up tears the Fallen left on his clothes. "The cold didn't do this."

[tryingitall]

"One of the Lokis. Good lord, there shouldn't be more than one of those in any one place, I'm sure." He looks thoughtful. "I'm going to have to check up on that. My brother was using that identity as an alias for the longest time."

None of the Nexus Lokis are Gabriel, sadly for Balthazar. He'll be disappointed, but he has to check, at least.

He smiles at the discount offer. "Aren't you sweet! I'll be sure to visit, then."

He cranes his neck to get a look at the rips in Palmer's clothing. "Oh dear. Did something bite you?" He's being a bit facetious.

[readvondaniken]

"We've got three of them, at least, by my counting. None of them are your brother, I'm pretty sure, 'cause they've already had a brother named Thor. Though they are tricky people, and I wouldn't put using an alias anywhere past them."

Palmer's mood brightens again when Balthazar accepts his offer. He reckons he's got himself a repeat customer now, and it's a good idea to keep an eye on those.

"Don't mind if you stop by. I'll have my freshest stock for you."

"Not bitten, scratched. There were unfriendly aliens who took advantage of the winter - they robbed anything they could, and wounded or killed anybody in their way. We have a ceasefire now, but they attacked me when I was on a salvaging mission."

[tryingitall]

The angel laughs a little. "No, no, my brother would have been using Loki's identity as cover. He was very clever. I'm not sure you'd be able to know the difference. I'm not sure I would, in fact, unless he told me himself. The other archangels never found him in that guise."

He grins at the offer. "Isn't is supposed to be the dankest stock? Mind you, I'm not clear on what the definition of dankness is, but I know what I like."

"Ah, yes. The Fallen or whatever they call themselves. I did hear about that." He frowns a little. Had he been here in the Winter, he would have fought them on principle, but a cease-fire is probably the best thing right now.

[readvondaniken]

"I'm a little careful around shapeshifters, for personal reasons. Almost got torn apart or eaten or worse by some monster that was pretending to be a dog. That's how I wound up here in the first place - it cornered me, I hid in a closet, and I must've taken a wrong turn at Narnia or somethin', 'cause here I am." Palmer can't help but enjoy the story, a little, as horrible as it is. At least he got away.

When Balthazar grins at his offer, Palmer nods. He's a businessman, and not above haggling for a better deal in his favor, but Balthazar is a friend. "Yeah. Dank's a good word for it."

Palmer can't disagree. As much as he dislikes the Fallen getting away unchallenged, there's nothing anyone can really do about it, and the Guardians are there if they cause trouble. "Yeah - we've got a ceasefire with them now, but a ceasefire ain't the same as peace. Still, I don't think any meetings or treaties are coming any time soon. And we still don't really have a clue what they're up to - I mean, I'm guessing the territory had a lot to do with it, but other than that we don't know. I don't trust them."

[tryingitall]

"They're a whole separate thing on my world, shapeshifters," he says. "A race of monsters unto themselves. Although I think they only take humanoid forms for the most part. For the dogs-that-aren't-dogs, you have to go to skinwalkers."

"The taxonomy of the supernatural on my world is extensive. If you ever feel like learning about more things that might want to eat your juicy bits, I'll take you on a field trip."

That's...probably not advisable, Palmer. Balthazar wouldn't let anyone in his care get killed, but it might be a rough ride.

"Sounds as though the focus ought to be bracing for the next Winter," he tells Palmer mildly, regarding the Fallen. "If they're staying to their territory now but they weren't so much last time around."

[readvondaniken]

Palmer doesn't think his Thing is any of those creatures. "My one's an alien. You know, from outer space."

"I'll think about your offer. I've had enough of people trying to kill or eat me for a while, but I'd like to visit another world sometime. Assuming I'll be under your protection. I'm not leaving the Nexus just to become someone's side dish."

Palmer's seriously considering the offer. Coward he may be, but sensible he is not, being under an angel's protection is provoking his curiosity.

"Between you and me, I hope they're satisfied with what they got out of us this time. Didn't promise not to try and grab more territory, so that's why I'm still careful. Blaze seems to think her team can handle them if they try to start anything again. They lost the element of furprise, and I think they know that. But yeah, we don't know if Reynard will go any easier on us next year, either, and we don't have any truce with him."

[tryingitall]

"Those I don't think we have," Balthazar says, regarding aliens. "Our Father used astronomical distances as His quarantine method for each planet. At least, that's what Raphael told me. There shouldn't be any way for aliens to reach Earth unless they cross dimensions to do so, in my universe."

He's kinda glad, too, if they're out there eating people. Sounds like trouble.

He laughs softly. "I would not let you become someone's side dish. You'd just have to stick with me and not wander off."

"Reynard, yes." He looks thoughtful. "I spoke to him at the Yule Party, you know. He didn't strike me as particularly vicious, but he did have a lot of questions and an odd sense of humor."

[readvondaniken]

Palmer approves of the fact that there aren't alien invasions in Balthazar's universe. The monster population sounds like an issue by itself.

"A lot of people were blaming what happened with the Winter and with the Fallen on him. Now, I don't know Reynard - never met the guy - so I don't know what is and isn't true. The impression I've got is that Reynard was pretty much on his own side. Sometimes he helped Pelsor and sometimes he helped us. I was thinking less vicious, more seeing things as a kind of chess game. Watching us and the Fallen fight."

Palmer isn't as angry at Reynard as some others, but he has some distaste for the idea of treating people like objects. He's of the opinion that the seasonal spirits aren't to be trusted, though he'd never say that to their faces.

"I wouldn't mind visiting your world sometime, then. It'd give me something to do besides watch the shop." The mechanic smiles. "I'll stay with you, don't worry."

[tryingitall]

"Sometimes very, very old beings are hard to comprehend," Balthazar says. "I may be the exception the prove the rule, there. But I'm older than the human race and most of the other life on the planet. Once you've seen not only people, not only nations and civilizations, but entire species rise and fall...it's harder to feel sympathy for a human who's only missed a few meals."

"Not impossible, though. If I'd never had a vessel I might care less about mortal beings, but having seen a few things through his eyes gives a different perspective on existence."

"We can arrange that sometime," he says. "I'll have to make sure I'm not top on the most-wanted list before I go bringing people for visits, but it could be fun."

[readvondaniken]

"Reynard's the winter spirit, so I'm guessin' he's a lot older than I am. I'm not gonna go yell at him or anything - he's probably hiding, anyway - but I reckon I'll be staying out of his way. Hopefully he's had his fun and will go easier on us next winter." He sighs. "It all was very convenient for Pelsor, between you and me, with the Anti-Violence Field down and the storm trapping everyone so we couldn't grab our things and run away. A little too convenient, honestly."

He's not about to blame anyone, but Blaze's explanation that the Fallen followed her through didn't explain how they knew what to do once they got there, how they organized themselves so quickly, or how they knew the fields and PINpoints were down. Either she was that quick on her feet or she had help.

"Most wanted list?" Palmer gives a smile. "Oh, you sound like my kinda guy. The roguish type. I won't judge - I'm one myself."

[tryingitall]

"The Winter spirit. Honestly, that could make him as old as the human race, as old as planet Earth itself, or even older if you extend the definition of Winter beyond a simple change in weather produced regularly by the tilt of a planetary axis." Balthazar shrugs helplessly. "The Fates used to answer to Heaven, where I come from, but they were there before angels were. These types of beings are not to be trifled with, not so much because they're tricky and vengeful, but because they are part of the fabric of reality."

"Pull on the wrong thread and you can unravel a great big patch of the universe."

He laughs and gives Palmer a mock-salute. "Other angels on my world aren't my fans, because I left Heaven. I'm not a soldier in good standing. I'm not fallen either, mind. Just sort of...semi-retired. That, and I stole a few things."

[readvondaniken]

"That's the sense I've got. Reynard ain't good or bad, necessarily. He's just Reynard, and he just is. His moral code, whatever it is, ain't mine. Can't say I'd trust him, though, part of the fabric of reality or not, and as I said I think I'm gonna try and stay out of his way from now on." He can't run from Winter, though, which he knows full well. "

From what he heard during Winter and afterward, Palmer has the sense that human lives (and probably Fallen lives, too, though he knows very little about Reynard's interactions with them) aren't the biggest priority for Reynard North.

Palmer smirks in response, but playfully. "I used to be a thief. What kind of things did you steal?"