Uriel, having been dismissed from the Palace, made his way back to the Archangels' territory. The messenger angel flicked his wings anxiously, and then his stomach rolled. –Wings.– Having watched the Ruler rip the wings from Michael's back, hearing the screams of the Seraphim, it was all too much. He knew he needed to get to the Archangels' territory near the battlegrounds, but the heaviness in his chest slowed him down.
The young messenger angel continued on toward the battlegrounds, trying to ignore the dread building in his thoughts. Uriel had long resented the way the Ruler treated him as an errand boy, using him to deliver the messages that He Himself could not be bothered to give. But after Uriel was involved in the rallying of the Archs that had beaten the Seraphim that had always made the effort to treat him well, he had growing bitterness toward the Ruler.
"URIEL! Friend! Wait!"
The red-haired angel turned, seeing the Archangels Samael and Azrael making their way toward him. He flicked his wings again anxiously, wondering what the Twin Archs could possibly want from him. Uriel twisted the ring he wore on his thumb, his anxieties building as Samael and Azrael stepped closer. "Greetings, Archangel Samael, Archangel Azrael. Is there something I can help you with?" Uriel tried his best to speak formally and politely, even though talking to these men was one of the last things he wanted to do.
Azrael grinned wickedly at the shorter messenger. "Of course, Uriel. We're going back to our territory, and know the Ruler sent you there as well. We have a victory to celebrate, and we want you to join us!"
Uriel's grey eyes shifted downward, not wanting to look at the other men. His eyes trained on Samael's shin guards, the messenger angel sputtered. "I…I need to bring the Archangel Orion to the Ruler, I cannot join you tonight for your…celebrations."
Samael laughed. "Don't worry about your little missions, friend. Orion will be joining us tonight, all of the Archangels will be. You can talk to him at the festivities. You will liven up the party, you're the reason we have cause to celebrate, after all!"
The messenger angel lost his color, his skin looking incredibly pale next to his fiery red hair. He could not think of a way to get out of the Twin Archs' invitation, especially as they insisted on travelling with him. Uriel flicked his wings again.
Azrael cuffed Uriel on the shoulder heavily, causing the shorter angel to wince. Samael nodded at his brother, and Azrael responded in turn. They dashed at Uriel, picking the man up between them, hoisting Uriel onto their shoulders. Uriel, suddenly sitting on Samael's left shoulder and Azrael's right, tried not to panic as his feet left the ground. The Twin Archs stepped between the realms, taking Uriel with them as they travelled to the battlegrounds.
The battlegrounds were vibrant with the Archangels celebrating their victory over the Seraphim. It quickly became obvious to Uriel that one of the Twin Archs had realm-travelled to their territory after Michael's Fall to alert their friends of the news. From his place on the shoulders of the Twins, Uriel could see the other eleven Archangels; it seemed that all of the Archs had come out to share in the glory of Samael and Azrael's defeat of Michael.
Wine glasses clinked, and the men shouted as the celebrations grew more raucous. As Azrael and Samael approached, the shouting grew louder. The Twin Archangels raised their free hands, pumping their fists. "Brothers, friends! We have returned with the man responsible for our victory! The one who brought us to our battle! To Uriel!" Samael shouted, his voice filled with pride.
"URIEL!" The men raised their drinks and their voices as Azrael and Samael stepped between the realms, leaving Uriel behind to catch himself as they disappeared. Uriel flared his wings out to save himself, making him look like he had purposely risen above the crowd. –They did that on purpose,– Uriel thought irritably as he descended to his feet, folding his wings behind his back.
The messenger angel passed through the throng of chanting Archangels, trying to find where the Twin Archs had realm-traveled to. He didn't want to be here, and Samael and Azrael had left him alone with the riotous Archangels in the battlefield. Wine and whiskey were passed to Uriel from either side, and no Arch would accept his refusal of drinks to celebrate. As more drinks were passed to the messenger, the more his vision and thoughts blurred, and he was finding it more difficult to make his way steadily to the Twin Archs, who were still ignoring him in favor of chatting with a pair of female Archangels, Ariel and Haniel.
A silver-haired man with black eyes approached Uriel, handing the messenger a bottle of red wine. Uriel tried to refuse, but the Arch insisted that he celebrate with him. Uriel tried to be a good guest to the Archangels, and sighed, drinking from the bottle. "Th-thank you, sir." Uriel hiccupped, trying to gather his wits about him. "I-I-I came here looking for the Archangel Orion, do you know him?"
The silver-haired Archangel chuckled, taking the bottle from Uriel and taking a long drink from it. "You've found him, brother. What can I do for you?"
Uriel looked up at Orion, noticing that he slightly resembled Zerachiel. He hiccupped again, and Orion smirked, seemingly amused by how quickly Uriel had become intoxicated at the festivities. "Yeah, the big…guy…Ruler! He wants to see," Uriel grabbed Orion's arm to steady himself. "He wants you to…new mission with th-the Twin Archs."
Orion shouted over to Samael, trying to get the man's attention. Samael came over to his fellow Arch, trying to see what Orion wanted. "Orion! How are you enjoying the festivities? A lot to celebrate after the Ruler sent us on our first mission in decades, and we took down that brat Michael! Can you believe a Seraphim went on a sinning spree and we actually got to bring him back?"
Samael threw his arm around Orion, and both men took a drink from the wine bottles they held. "You got lucky the Ruler picked you and your brother, I would die to have such an opportunity! But then this fellow here tells me the Ruler wants me for something, but he's not making much sense."
The pair of Archangels looked at Uriel, who had sat in the grass and was drinking from a bottle of whiskey that another Arch had handed him. Samael nudged Uriel with his foot, and the messenger angel simply swatted the air at him. "Go to the Ruler or don't, I don't care, I did my job. Leave me alone."
Samael and Orion shared a glance, and then joined Uriel in the grass, the three men drinking their evening away.