[center][h2]Angel to Angel[/h2]
Pit’s [@Yankee] & Sandalphon’s [@Lugubrious]
Word Count: 2765 (+3 exp)
Location: Dystopiascape - Midgar[/center]
There was no way that Pit would be getting to sleep anytime soon. After returning from Split Mountain, he felt… electric. It was hard to say if it was a good or bad energy that coursed through him. He was feeling so many, well, [i]feelings[/i] at once, making for the weird emotional cocktail he was experiencing. He was glad that he’d found Skyworld (and Midna had even promised to take him back to the mountain), but upset he couldn’t get there right away. His worry for Palutena was ever present, but now it was accompanied by hope that he’d see her again soon. He was anxious to finish the Seeker’s mission here in Midgar so he could run off to Skyworld, and he also felt a little guilty over feeling that in the first place. His duty to his goddess and his promise to help the people of Midgar were not at odds though - Palutena had charged him with protecting humanity, her people, so that was what he’d do. 

But man… he really wanted to visit home!

As the night went on, meals were eaten, good news received and teammates arrived in one piece, Pit’s anxious energy slowly diminished. He was still far from sleep though, and the laps around the hideout weren’t helping. 

It was inevitable that the angel would find himself in front of Sandalphon. He had been curious about her since their first brief meeting that morning, and since she was still awake at this time of night…

Pit sat near to her at the same table, just studying her at first since she was still working. He still felt the weird “energy” from her - unlike a human or a psychic. She also didn’t “feel” the same as himself or Pittoo. She had a halo, a mark of the divine, but she didn’t have wings. And since he was watching her instead of what she was doing (he could barely follow along anyway, not enough photos), he also noticed that she hadn’t blinked even once! It was weird. 

“...If you cannot reach Executor, I’d recommend finding and asking Yvangelista himself. Despite his lofty station, he cares for the people and is the pinnacle of what you might call ‘reasonable authority’…fine, but be mindful.”

“...Without drawing attention, single out a single specimen and capture it for study…yes, a ‘live dissection’ may be necessary. I’m sending you the details of some contacts in the City of Glass. Notify me once it’s delivered and keep me informed about what they find…”

“...Providing you both finish your missions in a timely manner, I don’t see any harm. As for the specifics, I’m afraid I’m not well-versed in such matters, but I believe Sector 08 is known for its trendiness…flowers are more typical, as I understand it, but that could also work…well, malls are likely not open at this hour, but you may be able to find her one at a night market…”

With all the patience of a kid waiting around for an adult to be finished with work, that is to say not much, Pit eventually gave in and spoke up.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Um, Sandalphon? I have a question."[/color]

The archangel quickly glanced his way, her lime-green pupils momentarily freezing in the form of question marks before reverting to their typical power symbols. Sandalphon wasn’t one to wear her heart on her sleeve, but the sudden movement and the slight raise of her eyebrows suggested that she’d been so focused that Pit might have actually managed to startle her. After a brief moment though, she glanced back at her screens, quickly tapping on a couple of them to mute herself.

Then she was ready. “How may I help you?” she asked the young angel.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"If you're really, really busy I'll leave you to it,"[/color] he said, like he hadn't just interrupted her in the first place. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"but I was wondering if you're actually an angel?"[/color]

His voice teetered on the verge of whispering due to the hour, but didn't quite get there. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"'Cause I’ve never met another angel before, just heard about them. Besides Pittoo I mean, and I don't think he really counts as [i]another[/i] angel. And you have your halo-"[/color] Pit lifted his hand and waved it above his own head about where his would sit, if he had one. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"-so I wanted to know!"[/color]

He certainly hadn't missed the way her pupils flickered, and he leaned a little closer to her with his own eyes wide. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Are you a [i]robot[/i] angel?"[/color]

After a brief moment to make sure that Pit didn’t have any more questions -he wasn’t the only one in her ears at the moment, after all- Sandalphon chose her words methodically. “It’s no trouble. I’m capable of internalizing multiple conversation sources at once, and I can type fast enough so that I need only speak to you. As for me…” She paused for a brief moment, hammering the backspace key with her right ring finger before her text cursor blasted off again. “I am not a machine of any kind, though this comparison has been drawn before. In my world, I am indeed an angel. However, I have learned that there are many kinds of angels in the World of Light. For instance, the Sankta of the Lateran Church in Sector 01, who are comparable to ordinary people. Within the Hierarchy of Laguna are abominations that assume angelic shapes. So I should clarify that in my world, angels like myself are actually a type of dragon.” With that she stopped typing for a moment, flexing her slender fingers as she gave them a brief rest.

Now that he thought about it, it made sense there are a lot of different kinds of angels. There were a lot of different kinds of everything, from humans to other species, so it would be weird if angels were the same in every world. Actually, hadn’t Viridi said something similar at one point to him? Either way he didn't think about it for long, because of the last thing Sandalphon said. It should have been impossible for Pit's eyes to get any bigger, but they did.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"You're a [i]dragon[/i] angel? No way!"[/color]

Pit stood up and his eyes darted over her form anew, looking for any draconic traits he might have missed. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"What kind of dragon things can you do? Breathe fire?! Do you have a tail?"[/color]

Unfortunately for Pit, there were no draconic traits to be found, just a very tall and tired-looking businesswoman. If Sandalphon had been any more emotive, she might have been amused by Pit’s innocent earnestness. “I cannot breathe fire. In fact, my elemental affinity is water. When I gather enough draconic energy to shapeshift into Heavenly Wings, I do have a tail, however. In that form I gain much more maneuverability and offensive power, able to debilitate targets with various afflictions. Unfortunately you were not present today when I took that form in battle…” She paused for a moment as she received a handful of file, which meticulously stored in the correct directory. “When fighting, I’m able to accrue more draconic energy if I can fight in Concentration Protocol, instead of healing. If you do well protecting our allies in battle tomorrow, I’ll be able to show you Heavenly Wings sooner.”

Though she probably hadn't meant it that way, Pit took her words as a challenge. Or perhaps a charge. A shapeshifting dragon angel! Who [i]wouldn't[/i] want to see that? And if it came with the bonus of Sandalphon needing to heal less because less people were getting hurt, then all the better!

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"You can definitely count on me for that! I'll be doing my best."[/color] Just like he always did, really. Maybe even more than his best, so they could settle everything as quickly as possible. [i]I shouldn't keep thinking like that,[/i] he knew. Hopefully he wouldn't be distracted tomorrow, but he was sure that waking up tomorrow after some rest, he'd be able to focus.

Sandalphon nodded. “I will expect great things from you then.”

For now he still had more questions for the other angel, and since she didn't seem to mind them at the moment, Pit kept asking them.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Can you fly when you go dragon mode?"[/color]

It seemed that Pit’s curiosity wasn’t sated quite yet. Though Sandalphon didn’t mind either way, she wanted to offer motivation, not necessarily fulfillment. “Tomorrow, you’ll be able to see for yourself.” 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Awww come on..."[/color]

It was a half-hearted complaint. Pit wasn't really disappointed in the answer, if anything Sandalphon's simple strategy for motivation worked on him like a charm. Still, at least Pit was pretty sure she was flightless in the form she took now - something they had in common. He was smiling, and he opened his mouth to continue questioning her but after attending to something, Sandalphon turned the tables. 

“I happen to have a question of my own. I happen to have a great interest in theology. Angels are oftentimes the executors of a divine will. For instance, I serve the goddess Illia, and by extension the Illian Church. I would be interested in a synopsis of your own faith.”

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Uh, 'syn-op-sis'...?"[/color] Pit sounded the word out and cocked his head to the side. [i]Context clues, Pit,[/i] he recalled Palutena advising him in the past. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"...oh! You want to hear about Lady Palutena?"[/color]

Though she knew that she’d imbibed all the coffee she’d been given by Giovanna, Sandalphon couldn’t suppress the urge to reach out, pull over, and peer into the mug, just in case any dregs remained. Her pupils flickered slightly. This probably wouldn’t be enough. She glanced back over at Pit. “Yes, please,” came her belated reply.

Poor Sandalphon couldn't have known what she was in for with a request like that. Pit's smile grew wider, and if he wasn't already standing he would have jumped out of his seat at the chance to talk about the most important person not only in his life, but in his entire home world. From the get go it was clear that he was quite passionate about the subject.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Lady Palutena is amazing! She's super strong and kind, and she knows pretty much everything. She's the Goddess of Light, Guardian of Humanity, and the ruler of all Angel Land! That's where we come from, our "universe" I guess.

There are actually a lot of gods in Angel Land. Way more than there are angels. Which is like, shouldn't it be called God Land instead? I never thought about that. Anyway, Palutena is the greatest of them all! She can do so many amazing things! Like- what'd she call it? Like-"[/color]

He broke off on a tangent, describing her teleportation, telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, hard-light constructs, summoning, transformation, and a whole host of other abilities without actually giving name to them. Complete with vaguely reenacting them when possible, of course. He didn't pause at all, though it was likely that with Sandalphon's own abilities she wouldn't need the break to process all of what Pit was telling her.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"But you know, none of that is really why she's the best. Lady Palutena really cares about people! Most of the other gods don't care about anyone but themselves! And there's always at least one trying to destroy the world. But Lady Palutena, she's always putting other people first. She hardly even uses her army unless she really needs them - did I mention she has an entire army of centurions? Luckily she doesn't have to do everything by herself. She has me!"[/color]

Here, Pit swelled up with pride. He rested his fists on his hips and puffed out his chest.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I'm the captain of her royal bodyguard and do pretty much everything for her! She always helps me out though, gives me advice and stuff like that. She's probably the best goddess ever..."[/color]

It seemed that Pit was finally winding down. His voice took on a slightly more somber tone. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"...it's been really weird going so long without hearing her voice. But I'm sure she's fine."[/color]

After that he tapped a finger against his chin, thinking about what else he could say about her.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"...and she takes her coffee with cream and two sugars!"[/color]

Sandalphon waited a moment to make sure that Pit had exhausted everything he wanted to say about his goddess, but not so long that he could think up more. “Quite the shower of praise. This Palutena sounds like a very special lady,” she summarized once given the chance to. “Not just for the quality of her character, either. In our land of Grastaea, our goddess Illia has been gone for a thousand years. Throughout all those lifetimes, the bond between humans and dragons -known as Dragalia- has endured, along with the Illian church. Difficult as it has been. To have one’s deity present and visible in the world is quite the blessing.” She paused for a moment. “I’m sure it must be difficult for you to be without her. May you find your goddess again soon.”

Pit was glad that Sandalphon could see how awesome Palutena was. Between that and her indulging him so far, he was coming to like her a lot. He wasn't even jealous that she was part dragon and thus objectively cooler than a regular angel like him. When she wished him a speedy reunion with Palutena, his smile softened. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Thank you."[/color]

There was a short moment of quiet where it looked like Pit was finished talking with his fellow angel, but that wasn't the case.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"...did you ever meet Illia before she disappeared?"[/color]

It took longer than usual for Sandalphon to answer. “...No. I was not alive during that time. My existence dates back only several centuries, to the time of the Empyrean War. Even then, I can recall very little of that time.”

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Oh."[/color] That struck Pit as rather sad. If his own goddess were to disappear like that, though he would never ever want it to happen, he would prefer to keep his good memories of her rather than never have known her in the first place.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Well I'm sure she was really cool too,"[/color] he offered. She had to have been if she inspired her church enough that it still followed her a thousand years later after she'd left. Strong faith like that was respectable. Though maybe lonely too. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Hey, I'll introduce you to Lady Palutena when we find her! I bet she'd like to meet you. She knows about other worlds, maybe she even knows about yours?"[/color]

“Maybe.” Sandalphon did not sound convinced, but then again, she didn’t sound like anything but ‘exhausted’ at the moment. “If we do meet, I would very much like to sit down and have a coffee with her.”

Her response seemed to please Pit all the same. He didn't launch into another question, just stretched his arms over his head and his wings out wide. He had burnt off a lot of his extra energy talking with (and at) Sandalphon, so he was about ready for sleep.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Do you want a refill by the way?"[/color] His gaze flicked to her screen-like eyes and the dark circles beneath them. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Or I guess you're gonna head to bed soon?"[/color]

Sandalphon shook her head. “I can't afford to sleep just yet. I assume you wouldn't know how to use the machine? Don't worry then, I can get more in a minute. Thank you.” In the dark room, the gentle light of her halo was almost soporific, contrasting the harsher light of her divine screens.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I'm not as medieval as I look! I can work a coffee machine,"[/color] he said. As long as it wasn't some really high tech one where he'd need to read the instructions at least. Still she insisted it was fine, so Pit left her to resume her work. He could still hear her tapping away as he wandered out of the main room. 

As Pit looked for a comfy place to curl up, preferably one of the top bunk beds he'd used the night before, he ran into only one other soul still awake; that of the Twilight Princess headed in the opposite direction. She stopped to let him know that the Virgin Victory was actually nearby and how it might be "a better option than the mountain top" before she left to go check on its crew. That fortunate piece of news swept away most of the rest of his lingering doubts. He slept easily after that, and was sure to wake up raring to go tomorrow.