Audience - Laurence Nimith

[holyspirits]

Comments

[outdistanced]

[ gabriel.......gabriel........ ]

Oh. Good.

[ that's a relief. ]

No occasion. Elysia just asked me to make some bouquets for whoever I wanted to.

[holyspirits]

Oh, there's the motive. [ kind of teasing. ] It's a nice thought. I don't think anybody's given me flowers before.

[ and they seem both amused and a little touched. ]

Actually though I'm glad you're here. Speaking of occasions... [ reaching under the bar, they are coming back with a cupcake! and they stick a candle in it and light the flame. ]

Birthday delivery.

[outdistanced]

Hey, the bouquets were her idea, but I picked who to make them for. [ HUFFS. ] Someone else could probably make it better, but... I'm glad you like it.

[ blinks in surprise when they pull out a cupcake though? ]

How did you...? I didn't even tell anyone my birthday was today.

[holyspirits]

Who cares if somebody could've made it better? They didn't, you did. That deserves the acknowledgement, I think. [ they seem pretty straightforward about that and they're putting the bouquet into the vase with some water to set on the bar counter. color...

anyway. yeah. ]

Call it a special delivery from God. [ a pause. ] Pretty sure they got really into the idea of birthdays because the Angels celebrated theirs a little while ago and decided it's a thing for everybody. So I'm the messenger with instructions of "if they come, acknowledge them."

[ fitting for someone named gabriel, they guess. ]

[outdistanced]

[ he's just a little flustered about it, that's all. and the cupcake?? dumb. ]

So they wanted a birthday, too? That's kind of funny, actually. I never thought a god would care about things like that.

...Thanks.

[holyspirits]

I think... God wants to be better, and do things differently than they have. That means acknowledging people more. It is a little funny though, you're right. People say God is good and merciful and powerful, but there are plenty of gods who ignore people. I think that's why they really believe in their project.

[ a gesture to the candle. ]

Make a wish.

[outdistanced]

[ tilts head. ]

Not everyone here even believes in this god, though.

[ hmmm. it takes a minute, but he manages to think of something, nods to himself, and blows the candle out. ]

...I haven't actually done that in years.

[holyspirits]

They probably know that, and I also don't blame people for not believing. Not like I really believe in them half the time either. But maybe that just means they have to work harder to be a god worth believing in.

[ once the candle's blown out, they reach forward to pull it out so he may enjoy his cupcake. ]

It's one of those small things we take for granted, right? Even if it's a dumb little tradition, it has to count for something.

[outdistanced]

You don't? Aren't you an angel, too? I thought that was their whole thing.

[ not that he disagrees with the god thing. it'd be nice if a god was worth believing in, but shouldn't angels already believe?

accepts this cupcake... still a little bemused about it but it's... nice. ]

I guess so. They say it's too childish, after a while, so no one really bothers. And if this redemption thing works out, maybe I won't even need a wish. [ ... ] What would you wish for? If it were your birthday.

[holyspirits]

No. The Angels and I are a little different. I'm not sure what I am to God, but I asked for the bartending gig when I heard about the trial. Seemed like something I'd be okay at, plus gives them a little back-up when they need it.

I don't know if there's really anything wrong with being childish sometimes. Maybe it's not so bad to hold onto something a little less serious. But I hope it works out for you. The redemption. [ they look at the extinguished candle in their fingers. the urge to go "i wish i was a little bit taller, i wish i was a baller, i wish i had a girl who looked good, i would call her" is very strong, but that's not a real answer and gabriel seems to think someone like laurence would respond better to a honest answer. ]

If I had a wish? [ ... ] I don't know. Maybe for clarity? Or maybe... something that I know is impossible, but it's a wish regardless. Sometimes it's better to make those big wishes anyway. Just in case.

[outdistanced]

You glow like they did, though.

[ what's up with that ]

...Thanks. [ for hoping it works out, but he's sure they'd say the same to everyone else, too, which they should. ] And I guess it is fine once in a while... just not something I would've thought of.

Clarity? About what?

[holyspirits]

Might just be because I'm fully integrated here and you guys aren't. The Angels get special permission for their jobs. Maybe I'll ask someday.

[ they shrug. ] I wouldn't think it's something people too much stock in, so... can't blame you. And just clarity about anything. Questions I have, things I want to do, what I should be doing. Stuff like that.

[outdistanced]

Well, that's not fair. How're we supposed to know if you actually like our flower bouquets like this? [ teasing, ]

I think some people just really want to believe it. [ he's curious, though... ] What do you want to do? Besides bartending in heaven for a bunch of freaks.

[holyspirits]

[ it's teasing, but there's a little honesty in the response: ] It's probably one of the nicest things anybody's done for me in a while.

[ moving on though. ]

There's also nothing wrong with believing in it either. Sometimes believing is the only thing that keeps you going. [ laurence can't see their face, but he can probably gauge that there's some kind of smile there. ] That... is a very deep question that I'm not is entirely appropriate to answer for what's meant to be a light conversation. [ a pause. ] And maybe I want to learn more about you guys while you're here.

[outdistanced]

[ well the sheer honesty startles him into silence but gabriel moves on so fast... ]

You could probably write motivational posters with stuff like that. [ it's a little soft, though. ] Fine, fine. I'll ask again later.

Even though you may never see us again after this?

[holyspirits]

[ yeah, that's the trick of it. you drop a bomb and then run away from it. ]

Ha, ha. I'll keep that in mind if I need to make a career switch. [ no note about laurence asking again though, so it seems gabriel won't encourage or stop him from that. ]

Even if I may never see you again after this, you're still here right now. That's what's important to me.

[outdistanced]

[ this is a very ty character trait i gotta say. ]

...You're really one of those "live in the moment" kinds of people, aren't you?

[holyspirits]

[ you have no proof this is ty.......... ]

I'm trying to be. But I wasn't always, no. First I spent way too long thinking about the past, and then I spent way too long thinking about the future. So now I'm here.

[outdistanced]

[ 🧐 ]

...I think I can understand that. It's hard not to think about those things, sometimes.

[holyspirits]

Tell me about it. I can say I'm trying all I want, but actually doing it has been... challenging's a good word, I guess. I think I like focusing on everyone else's pasts and futures more than my own right now.

[outdistanced]

I guess we do make for an easy distraction. We're all a bunch of weirdos, aren't we?

[holyspirits]

I dunno, man. I kind of like that you're all a bunch of weirdos. Keeps things interesting. [ kind of a joke, but. ] If I had an option to leave early, I don't think I'd take it.

[outdistanced]

That interesting, huh? I can't believe you wouldn't be interesting too if you're taking a job like this, but maybe that's just because all our worlds are so different?

[holyspirits]

I think you're all kinda underestimating what things were like before I ended up here. That interesting. [ but they ponder on this. ] I don't know if I would consider myself interesting though. Less than the Angels for sure, but you've got a point about different worlds. Most people never even considered that a possibility.

[outdistanced]

Most of my life in the Tower hasn't been that special, either. The whole point is to live like normal people, after all.

[ it's just that recent events have changed that. can't keep going on like usual anymore. ]

I'd hardly even considered leaving home, let alone thinking about entirely different worlds. It sounds like something out of one of those books Iris always liked - just some crazy fantasy stuff.