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“A man works from sun to sun, but an archangel's work is never done!”
Gabriel grinned at his own aphorism. He was one clever guy. “I am one clever guy!” he told the little platypus mock-up doll he had sitting up on the drawing board in his sunny office.
The platypus mock-up doll did not talk back. It was kind of lame that way, though it was still awesome cool looking.
Gabriel huffed in frustration. He liked designing his Father's creations, but it could be lonely work. There was no one here to laugh at his jokes. And he one funny guy!
“Gabe!” Michael was at the door, looking frantic (as he usually did – the guy needed to take a pill, seriously), and holding some kind of wriggling bundle.
“Mikey! Look what I'm working on now,” said Gabe, hopping off his stool and proffering the paper containing his latest design to his big brother. “I call it a 'kiwi.' It's a bird, but it's actually a big butt! And it's got a derpy little bill too.” Usually, Lucifer designed the birds, but anything Luci did, Gabe could do better!
“Yeah, that's great, Gabe. We could put it in Australia or something,” said Mike distractedly as the bundle he was holding listed to the side.
“You already put Platy in Australia!” Gabe pointed out, grabbing his awesome platypus mock-up doll and shoving it in the general vicinity of Michael's stupid-though-handsome face.
“OK, then, New Zealand. Gabe, I need a favor.”
Gabe drew back, suddenly suspicious. “Oh, you need a favor, Mr. 'Gabriel-did-it?'”
“Gabe-”
Gabriel threw up his hands. Talk about an under-appreciated archangel! “Look, I'm sorry about the whole Missing Link deal, but anybody could've misplaced one of those human mock-ups! There were so damned many of them, homo sapiens, homo sapiens sapiens, homo sapiens sapiens sapiens.... I've seen humans, believe me, there's not a thought in their little heads!”
“Gabriel!” exclaimed Michael, and now the wings were out. Uh-oh! Gabriel ceased his rant and glared smite-fully at his older brother. “Father wanted me to make sure Lucifer gets to Sunday dinner. But I'm also looking after this new fledgling, and I can't do both!”
“I'm sorry that you suck, Mikey,” growled Gabriel, but Michael foofed out the wings some more, now knocking down some vampire bat mock-ups from the shelf.
“I need you to watch Castiel for me,” said Michael, proffering the now madly wriggling bundle to his little brother. Gabriel snorted, but then he caught a glimpse of two of the blue-est eyes that had ever blued. Dark lashes batted at Gabe, and suddenly there he was, holding a fledgling.
“Tell Pop he totally overdid the angelic looks thing on this one!” Gabriel grumbled to Michael, but the other angel was already rushing out the door.
“I'll see you at dinner, little brother,” Michael called over his shoulder.
“How'm I supposed to work with a kid watchin' me?” grumbled Gabriel. He held the platypus mock-up doll up to the sweet-faced fledgling, and the little finally ceased wriggling. His already giant eyes widened. He reached chubby hands out for the doll, which he immediately hugged to himself, and also sort of started to gnaw on.
“Hey, at least you got good taste. Platy here, he's one of my best creations.” Castiel, who was still nomming the head, appeared to agree. “Hey, didja want to see my newest design?” Gabe balanced Castiel on his hip and brought the child over to the drawing board. “It's a kiwi. It's a bird, but it's really a giant butt!”
Castiel gnawed thoughtfully for a moment. “Butt?” he asked.
“Yeah, it's a butt!”
“Butt!” answered Castiel. He took the platypus out of his mouth and appeared to consider something. Then he pushed at a front tooth with his tongue, pushing it so it stuck out of his mouth at a weird angle. “Looth!” he bragged.
“You got a loose tooth?” asked Gabriel. “Pretty gross.”
At that, Castiel started pushing on his tooth again.
“Oh, you wanna see something?” asked Gabriel. He placed Cas down on the floor, stood up straight, put his hands on his ears, and began to turn his head around. It turned all the way around! First it faced his back, and then it came around facing front again. “Tah-dah!”
“Eww!” said Castiel appreciatively.
“Yeah, my big brother Lucifer taught me that one.”
“Gabriel?”
Gabriel whirled around, grabbing Castiel close to him. Speak of the devil! “Oh, it's you, Luci,” he said. Lucifer was another archangel: some said the most glorious of them all. He certainly gloried at sneaking up on people. “Mikey was just lookin' for you.”
Lucifer was glancing around, shifty-eyed, which was another thing he did well. “Ah, Castiel!” he said, holding out an hand towards the youngster.
Castiel didn't look terribly enthused about this, as he drew back behind Gabriel's robes. “Michael said I should watch him,” Gabriel informed Lucifer.
“Uh, yes. Michael.” A million thoughts whirled by behind Lucifer's eyes, probably about 95% of them not good. “He told me you were quite busy, and I should watch over Castiel instead.”
“He did?”
“He did.”
Gabe narrowed his eyes. “When?”
“Just now! We talked it over a good long time, perhaps half an hour!”
“How did you manage that?” asked Gabriel, who loved his big brother, but didn't trust him farther than a feather's width. “Mikey just left.”
“Just, well, you know, time differentials and all that.” Lucifer reached out for Castiel again, and Gabriel noticed something shiny glinting behind his brother's back back.
“Luci, what's with the angel blade?” asked Gabriel, now standing between Luci and Castiel.
“What angel blade?”
“That angel blade!”
Seeing that he was caught sword-handed, Lucifer held up the offending blade. “Oh, this old thing?” He gave it a twirl. “Well, you know how it tends to have a mind of its own sometimes?”
“No. No I don't.”
The door flew open, and now several giant squid models that had been sitting on the high shelves toppled over. “Dammit!” said Gabriel. He hated it when people fucked with his squids.
“Lucifer,” thundered Raphael, who now stood in the doorway, fizzling with static electricity. Raph had electrical power. It was awfully cool to look at, but more than one of his brothers had ended up with scorched robes when he was mad. And he seemed awfully mad right now.
“Raph, cut that out!” Gabe scolded. “Ben Franklin's not gonna discover electricity for another century or two!”
“Lucifer, you messed up my buttes!” Raphael wailed. “Again!”
“I just made them more ... aesthetic,” said Lucifer.
“Wait, Luci messed up your butt?” Gabe had to ask.
“Butt!” hollered Castiel.
“My buttes!” wailed Raphael. “Arizona is a disaster! You twisted my lovely formations into all those dreadful arches.”
“Quit being such a tight ass, Raph,” said Luci.
“Ass!” giggled Castiel, who seemed to be getting quite a kick over the donnybrook.
Raphael lunged at Lucifer, who grinned and shoved him away with a wingtip. Raphael countered with a bolt of lightning at Lucifer, who slammed his little brother against the wall with a telekinetic whammy.
Gabriel began quietly backing off his two quarreling big brothers. He knew from bad experience where this was going to lead. “C'mon, Cassie. Let's ditch these two bozos and go for a walk, OK?” he whispered. Moving stealthily, he opened up one of the wide windows and slipped out of his studio, placing Cas down on the ground. The little fledgling immediately threw off the blanket, flapped his dark wings, and began to rapidly toddle off.
“Wait a minute, junior!” said Gabe, who managed to yank on a wing and restrain the kid as Raphael and Lucifer continued pummeling each other back inside. “So, you wanna hoof it? Getting a bit confined there, were you? What if we go for a walk in the Garden? I can show you some cool stuff.”
There was a loud boom. Gabe crouched down, tucking Castiel inside his wings, as several windows were blown out and broken glass few everywhere.
“Yep, sounds like time for a walk,” said Gabe, who stood and grabbed Cas's chubby hand and began to walk rapidly along the path away from his studio, and towards his Father's garden.
The Heavenly skies were dark. Tiny stars twinkled against the void of the vast night sky. Far overhead, a shooting star trailed past. Gabe and Castiel stopped to trace its arc against the blackness.
“Hope it's not somebody we know,” muttered Gabe. He turned to Castiel. “Well, you gonna make a wish?” he asked.
Cas nodded enthusiastically and then shut his eyes very tight in concentration.
“Ok, you wished for something good?” The little angel nodded again. “All right, let's see what's happening in the Garden.” They walked up over a small rise and came upon an elderly angel fussing over a marvelous cabinet festooned with all manner of buttons and levers and blinking dials.
“Hey, Joshua,” said Gabe. “Brought a friend along on a tour.”
Joshua slowly turned around, spotted Castiel, and then, smiling, crouched down. “Well, hello there, little brother! And what's your name?”
Castiel immediately retreated to the safety behind Gabriel's legs. “Ah, you don't gotta be scared, Cassie,” said Gabe. “This is Joshua! He oversees Pop's Garden.”
“You got here at a really good time, you two! I was just about to initiate the dawn.”
“Hey, you hear that, Cassie? This is gonna be swell.”
“Might be good if I had someone to help me with the levers!” Joshua mused, rubbing his grey beard in thought. “It's a big job!”
“Whaddya think?” Gabriel asked his young charge. Cas's head finally popped out from behind Gabe's robes, and he peeped curiously at Joshua's awesome control box, which was festooned with many knobs and dials and buttons and whatcha-jiggies. His eyes went wide, and he looked up at Gabriel, and then reached out his arms.
Gabriel hoisted him up on a hip and approached the control box. Joshua fussed with some dials, and hit a couple of buttons. “It's all set. Now we just need to pull that lever!”
“That one?” asked Gabe.
“That one!”
Cas gripped the handle of the shiny brass lever in his little hands.
“On my mark!” said Joshua. “One – two – three!”
Cas pulled down with all his might.
Suddenly, the horizon went from deep maroon to a vermilion. As they watched, a band of orange brightened to yellow, and then, as the stars faded one by one, the entire sky burnished to a bright powder blue.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Gabe asked a gaping Castiel.
“Thank you for the help, little brother!” said Joshua.
Gabriel set Castiel down again and grabbed his hand. “We were going for a little walk, if that's OK?”
“Looks like a good day for it,” said Joshua. “But, well … you know how our Father is about … the Tree?”
“Yeah, we’ll give the Tree a wide berth. Thanks, Josh!”
Joshua smiled, and after Castiel waved a cautious bye-bye, he and Gabriel proceeded into the garden. “There’s some cool sh- I mean, stuff in here, Cassie,” Gabriel told him. There was some spirited chirping coming from the trees nearby. “I don’t wanna stroke his ego even more, but here’s some birds Luci designed. They’re not bad.” They stopped and peered up at some colorful tropical birds squawking in the low branches.
An especially lovely parrot with rainbow-hued wings darted overhead. Cas peered up in wonder, and then tentatively raised his own small, dark wings, frowning back at them. “Yeah, kiddo, they got wings, just like you. And you’re gonna fly some day, just like they're doing.”
A butterfly landed on Castiel's nose, and he stared at it, cross-eyed. “Oh, yeah, the insects. Don't wanna brag, but I've had a hand in this. Look at this guy here!” Gabriel reached out and plucked up what looked like a bit of twig with a leaf. Castiel watched in wonder as the leaf twitched and then hopped right off Gabriel's hand. “Yep, pretty good camouflage, if I do say myself,” said Gabriel proudly.
Castiel bent down to examine the flowers, and the little bees buzzing around there. The colorful parrot swooped down, evidently intent on plucking a tasty lunch, but Gabriel waved it off. “Hey, I'm tryin' to instill some natural history here, buddy!” he called. The parrot squawked and flew off. Castiel, meanwhile, was chasing after some butterflies, eagerly flapping his own wings. But he stopped short when a rather large snake slunk out of the foliage, raised it's great head, opened it's slimy jaws and hissed at him.
Gabriel came running, but Castiel stood his ground. He arched up his dark wings and hissed right back, which seemed to flummox the snake. Gabriel had picked up a big stick, which he waved at the serpent. “Hey, get back to your tree, ya big bully!” He waved the stick, and the snake harrumphed and oozed on back into the bushes. “Yeah, stay away from my baby bro!”
Gabriel turned to Castiel. “Sorry, kiddo. That's Luci's snake. He's cool, but he can be sort of a jerk. Like our brother!”
They had now reached a fork in the road. One path led upwards, towards a marvelous tree: the most grand in all the garden, laden with delicious-looking shiny red apples. The other path led down towards a babbling brook.
Cas began to toddle on the upward for, but Gabriel held him back. “Not today! That leads to the Tree. Luci's snake likes to hang out in the branches up there. And frankly, the Old Man is a little fussy about it. We’ll give it a wide berth.”
Cas pointed towards the tree, but Gabriel tugged him down towards the little stream. “Come on, I’ll show you something really cool down here.” The walked down towards the bank, and were greeted with a number of small fish leaping out, splashing water. Castiel was intrigued. “C’mere, kid, this is awesome,” said Gabe, who was crouching down near the water. Castiel followed him. “Now, be careful, and don’t step on this guy!” Gabriel added as a slick little fish waddled up onto the bank. Castiel squatted down and gasped. It was an odd little fish, covered in mud, with funny little stubby legs.
“I called this a mudskipper,” said Gabe. “I thought it was cool, getting him rolling around, covering everyone with mud. But then Dad said he had big plans for him. Yeah, you can pet him!” Cas reached over a tentative hand and gently petted the little mudskipper. The little creature leaned into him gratefully, and Castiel giggled at feel of the cool, wet mud.
Just then, the annoying parrot (which must have been following them) swooped once more overhead. Cas stood up and pointed. “Yeah, that’s your buddy again,” said Gabriel, shielding his eyes to watch the multi-hued bird. “Luci must’ve given him his ego. Anyway-“ He turned just in time to see Castiel running down the bank, his wings unfurled, chasing after the parrot. “Hey, Castiel! Don’t run!” He wasn’t quite sure why he was yelling, but it seemed like something that an adult should do with a child.
And then, to his horror, Castiel flapped his wings and took flight.
“Cassie! Wait, you can’t fly yet!” Gabe yelled after him. He was going to take to the air himself, except that fledgling banked and flew right into the forest, where the trees were too dense for Gabriel to follow along. “Cassie! This ain't funny! Come back!” Cursing, Gabriel headed on foot into the forest after Castiel, following the sound of wings flapping overhead. He stumbled over roots, and got caught in brambles, and finally halted when the sound of wingbeats abruptly stopped.
“Cassie? Where are you, kid? C’mon, we don’t have time for hide and seek!” He heard rustling up overhead, and walked a bit farther. And then he came upon a very unwelcome site: it was the Tree. Gabriel actually gulped. Castiel would never go up in that Tree, would he? He looked around, hoping the serpent wasn't hanging around here too.
“Cassie?” The rustling sound came from directly over his head. Oh no! “Cassie, you need to get out of there! This is the Tree! Pop gets real nutso about it.” He peered up overhead, trying to see into the dense tangle of branches.
There was a the sound of small branches breaking. Gabriel saw a blur of motion up in the canopy. And then, abruptly, something dropped down, right into his arms.
“Cassie!” said Gabriel, who was too relieved to be mad. “You’re gonna give me a heart attack. You know what Tree that is? You didn’t eat any of the-“
Just at that moment, something else fell down and bonked Gabriel right on the head. He blinked, cursing, and then, rubbing his head, leaned over to pick it up.
It was a shiny red apple. With a really big bite taken out of one side.
Gabriel drew in his wings. “Cassie,” he whispered, “did you eat this?”
Castiel opened his mouth very wide, and Gabriel was afforded a very unwelcome glance of half-chewed apple. “Shit.”
“Lucifer? Michael? Raphael?” came a very familiar voice as well as the sound of footsteps on the path.
“Cheezits!” exclaimed Gabriel, who tucked the apple behind his back and pulled Castiel close just as his Father shuffled into view.
The old man was unshaven, and still wearing his dressing gown. He squinted at Gabriel and exclaimed, “Michael?”
“Uh, no, Dad.”
“Raphael?”
“No, it’s Gabriel, actually.”
His Father blinked and squinted at Gabriel. “I’m looking for my glasses. I think Lucifer stole them again.”
“Well, he tends to do that.”
“You're coming to Sunday dinner, aren't you? I want all five of my archangels there!”
“There's four of us, Pop,” Gabriel reminded him.
“Four? I thought there were five?”
“No, just us four.”
That seemed to throw the Lord for a loop. “Hrm. Could have sworn it was five of you. Is Uriel an archangel?”
Gabriel smirked. “He thinks he is.”
“And who have we here?” He asked cheerily, bending down to peer at the fledgling.
“Yeah, I'm watching-”
“Castiel, is it?” asked his Father, patting the boy affectionately on the head while Castiel nodded, close mouthed. “Ah, look at the apple cheeks on this one! I bet you're a little scamp. Well, you pay close attention to your brother, Michael-”
“Gabriel.”
“-and you'll be an archangel too some day!” He bid goodbye to Gabriel, and wandered off down the path, muttering about finding his glasses.
Gabriel waited until the old man was out of earshot until he finally relaxed. “Whew, that was close,” he said. He held up the apple, then shrugged and tossed it away. “Thanks for not squealing, Cassie.” He peered at Castiel. “So, uh, now I guess you have the knowledge of good and evil? How does it feel?”
Castiel swallowed the remains of the apple in his mouth, and emitted a healthy belch.
Gabriel rubbed his chin in thought. Maybe it would be better to get the kid away from Heaven for a while? “So you wanna exercise the wings, huh? I think I got a place.”
Castiel soared.
Castiel banked.
Castiel dove.
Castiel pitched and yawed.
At last, Castiel alit.
Gabriel looked up from his copy of The Heavenly Tattler. “Having fun?” he asked, taking a sip of Margarita.
“Uh-huh!” Castiel assured him.
Gabriel leaned over and made sure that the fishing pole he had tied to his chair was still secure, and then tugged on the belt around Castiel's waist the line was attached to. “You need more line, kiddo, or you OK?” he offered.
“OK!” declared Castiel, who had become uncharacteristically chatty.
“Wanna go again?”
“Uh-huh!”
“Well, you just go ahead, I'll enjoy the sunset,” said Gabe.
At that, Castiel gleefully ran along and jumped off the edge of the sheer cliff near where Gabriel had set up his lawn chair. The little angel squealed, happily bobbing and weaving with his small wings in the gusty air currents of the small canyon in the middle of the peaceful, red desert.
“Kid's a natural,” muttered Gabriel, as he pored over his magazine. Something caught his eye, and he looked out over the cliff, to just catch a glimpse of that same annoying parrot that had been flying around the Garden.
Gabriel was up out of his lawn chair. “Hey, how the hell did you get out of the Garden?” he cried, but the parrot flitted off out of sight.
“A-ha!” came an unfortunately familiar voice just behind Gabriel's back. He turned. His brother, Raphael, had crept up behind him, and was glaring at him so fiercely that the electricity was crackling around his head. “You're here to wreck my buttes!” he stormed.
“I don't care about your butt,” Gabe grumbled.
“Butt!” yelled Castiel, from somewhere off the cliff.
“The kid wanted to fly, so we're hanging here. Is that a crime?” asked Gabriel, who hoped that this would not come to blows.
“I'm telling Father!” Raphael taunted.
“Telling him what, exactly?”
“You're obviously jealous of me, because I'm a better designer.”
“I designed the platypus!”
“You stay away from my canyons, my buttes, my … everything!”
“Raph, calm down, dude,” said Gabriel, who backed off, holding up his hands.
“I spent eons designing this corner of the world. This area is mine! All mine!” And suddenly, something glinted in Raphael's hand.
“Raph! Put down the angel sword, buddy.”
But just as it seemed Raph was going to smite him, who should appear but Michael, standing between them, looking annoyed. “Where's Lucifer?” he demanded, looking back and forth between his two little brothers.
“Luci?” asked Gabriel. “On earth?”
“Lucifer?” stormed Raphael. “Are you in this together, Gabriel?”
“I thought you were supposed to be lookin' for Luci,” Gabe told Michael. “While I'm watchin' the chick!” He grabbed up his fishing pole, but was stunned to see that somehow, the line that was connected to Castiel had broken. “Oh no!” he wailed. “Hey, Cassie!” He rushed to the edge of the canyon, yelling for the fledgling. “Cassie, where are you?” He scanned the canyon, but failed to catch sight of him.
“Lucifer stole Father's glasses,” Michael was telling Raphael. “He was headed this way last I saw him.”
“You're going to spoil my work!” Raphael retorted. “This canyon is perfect!”
“I just want to find Dad's glasses. Raph-” But Michael was cut off as Raphael hurled a bolt of smiting electricity his way. Michael dodged, but the ground beneath Gabriel's feet gave way, and he found himself tumbling down into the canyon. Fortunately, halfway down, Gabe remembered he was an angel, and struck out his wings, turning the fall into a graceful glide. “Damn, I spilled my margarita!” he muttered, looking at his sadly empty glass.
“Cut it out, Raphael!” hollered Michael up above. “See what you did?” He aimed a bolt of power at Raphael, and managed to break off yet more of the cliff.
“You're ruining it!” Raphael cried, aiming another strike at Michael, which yielded yet more falling boulders.
Down below, Gabriel ducked out of the way of the oncoming landslide. “Cassie, you here, kiddo?” he yelled. He dodged and dove as Raphael and Michael continued to argue and wreck destruction on the land.
Suddenly a small figure darted into Gabriel's view. Gabriel grabbed him and dove down to the bottom of the canyon, where he managed to hide under an outcropping. “Cassie?” he asked. “What happened?”
“Looth!” the child confessed as the echoes of the conflagration overhead thundered in the canyon.
“Yeah, I know you got a loose tooth, kiddo. You showed me.”
Castiel shook his head. “Birdie!”
“You wanted to follow the pretty bird?” asked Gabriel, remembering that fucking parrot.
“Uh-huh. Looth!”
“What does the bird have to do-” But then a large chunk of the cliffside came crashing down right outside of where Gabriel and Castiel huddled. “I think we need to scram, kid, before this turns into another Atlantis. You ready.”
“Uh-huh!”
Gabriel gripped his little brother tightly and took to the air, pumping as hard as he could with all six of his magnificent wings. At last, he soared overhead, and they took a final look at the mess. The small canyon had turned into a massive hole in the ground – it went on for miles!
“That's one pretty grand canyon,” he told Castiel. He had another idea. “We're heading north.”
“I didn't know you were in the middle of a dinner party,” Gabriel confessed as the host led him and Castiel over to an assemblage of gods sitting at picnic tables outside in the sunshine, where they were all drinking and laughing and having a generally splendid time. A pair of giant wolves romped around, feeding on table scraps, and small children were at play.
“You are always welcome at my table, Gabriel!” laughed the genial man with the eyepatch. “Now, you must tell me, who is our young guest?”
As he had been confronted with multiple strangers, young Castiel had gone into his most shy mode, holding tight to Gabriel's robe.
“This is my baby bro,” said Gabriel, running his fingers through Castiel's dark hair.
“Well, do you have a name, young warrior?” asked the big man, who crouched down to address Castiel.
“Ca-the-el,” Cas whispered.
“Now,” said the big man. “That's no way to say your name. You must say it so all will hear. Let me demonstrate!” He stood up, placed his hands on his hips, and roared, “ODIN ALL FATHER!” so loud that the silverware rattled.
Several of the party guests cheered and clinked their beer glasses.
“All right, now you try!” Odin told Castiel, plucking the boy up and holding him up high. “Loud as you can say it.”
“Ca-the-el?” said the same.
“I think you can do better.”
“C'mon, Cassie,” Gabriel urged.
Castiel took in some air, and then said, in a somewhat louder voice, “Ca-the-el!”
“One more time, my boy,” Odin told him.
With a look of fierce determination, Castiel squared his shoulders, flapped his wings, took a very deep breath and then boomed, “CA-THE-EL!” in a voice so loud and thunderous that several wine glasses shattered right in people's hands.
Odin's party guests cheered and applauded. Castiel, when at last he was returned to the ground, puffed up his wings proudly.
“Hey, you got a voice on ya, kiddo!” said Gabriel, poking a finger in one ear where he thought he might have busted an eardrum.
“Come, and let me introduce you to some of the other boys,” said Odin, who took Castiel's hand and led him and Gabriel over to where a sat two gods all dressed up in lovely silk and glittering golden jewelry. They had between them much more than the usual allotment of arms, so they were buttering bread and smoking a cigar and pouring wine and wiping their son's chin all at the same time. As for the little son, he had the body of a boy and the head of a little elephant. “These are my good friends, Shiva and Kali, and their son, Ganesha!”
“We must destroy!” declared Shiva.
“Also, we brought paneer,” said Kali.
“Very thoughtful,” boomed Odin.
Little Ganesha wriggled down from the bench and tooted his trunk at Castiel.
“Are you going to play, dear?” inquired Kali. “Don't get your good head dusty. Shiva, darling, can you get his play head out of the bag?”
“Shiva despises dust!” declared Shiva, who held up what looked like a diaper bag on his lap. While Castiel and Gabriel watched, amazed, he plucked off little Ganesha's elephant head and popped on a human head.
“Is that good and stuck tight, dear?” asked Kali.
“Yes, Mummy!” said Ganesha.
Gabriel and Castiel exchanged a glance. “Well, there's one trick even I can't do!” Gabriel confessed.
“Oh, and here's my little one now,” said Odin, who welcomed over a little blond boy who had been running around with the wolves.
He was a real chip off the old block. The boy stood tall, thrust the little hammer he’d been carrying up in the air and shouted, “THOR ODINSON.” Lightning crackled and thunder crashed. It was all very impressive.
Castiel, not to be outdone, flared up his little wings and yelled, “CA-THE-EL!” Which left many plates rattling and beer spilled.
Ganesha hopped up on his tiptoes, opened his mouth, and roared like a bull elephant, which actually caused a few tables to collapse, and greatly impressed his new friends. He waved a hand, and was holding a small but gorgeous little jeweled saber. Castiel gasped, furrowed his brow, and managed to manifest a tiny angel sword of his own. The two happily sparred for a while.
“Now, boys, no weaponry near the table!” Odin warned. So the trio of boys ran off to play fetch with the wolves.
A huge spider skittered up towards the table. “This is my friend, Anansi, all the way from Ghana!” said Odin, patting him on the back.
“Nancy!” said Gabriel. “It's been years. How are ya, buddy?”
The spider folded itself into the form of a human man and offered a hand to shake. “I am well, my friend.”
“Would you care for some paneer?” inquired Kali.
“My lady won't rest until you're stuffed!” warned Shiva.
“Have you met my boy, Ntikuma?” asked Anansi, holding out a hand to display a tiny wriggling spider. Gabriel held out his hand. The little spider ran around and around, and then, fixing a little silk thread on Gabriel’s palm, hopped off and twisted and twisted in the wind. He twisted until he turned into the shape of a small boy.
“Ntikuma!” Thor yelled out. “Come and play with us!”
The boy detached himself from the thread and ran to play with Thor and Ganesha and little Castiel, who seemed to be having the time of his life.
And so the party continued, with many good friends and delicious food and lively conversation. At one point, several of Odin's warriors brought out a great hog impaled on a spit. Odin called over little Thor, and as the guests gathered around, the little Odinson called on the lightning to flash barbecue the meat. It was delicious.
Some time later, as the party was finally winding down, Odin sat with Gabriel, marveling over one of his sketches. “An eight legged horse! This is a marvel, Gabriel,” said Odin, puffing on his cigar. “And you designed this?”
“Hey, thanks, All Father!” said Gabriel, leaning back and blowing on his own cigar. “But Daddy put the kibosh on it.”
“Oh!” asked Odin, raising an eyebrow. He leaned close to Gabriel, and spoke in low tones. “You wouldn’t want to make a custom, would you?”
“We’d have to figure out a way to sneak it out, but yeah.” The eight-legged horse had been one of his favorites. But Michael had threatened to put it in Australia. Just like all his good designs!
“Then consider it a commission!” said Odin, rolling up the plans. “Now, I’ve been meaning to bring this up for a while. You know, my pantheon has been looking for a Trickster. I’ve tried to fill the role myself, but it’s getting to be too much. I talked to Anansi about it, and he mentioned you.”
Gabriel actually blushed. “Oh, no, Odin. Hey, thanks, I’m real grateful. But I got a job.”
Odin scratched his beard. “Well, I’m not certain that you’re being utilized to your full potential. In my humble opinion.”
Gabriel thought back about his conversation with Odin that afternoon, and realized he'd probably been complaining rather a lot. “Naw, I know I bitch, but it’s a good gig, working for my Dad-“ Both men looked up as suddenly two ravens descended from the sky, squawking and flapping generally making a fuss.
“Huginn, Muninn, what can be the matter?” Odin asked as they alit on his broad shoulders. “An intruder, you say?”
Gabriel was already up on his feet. “Oh, not you again!” he yelled at the colorfully feathered parrot that had been such a nuisance all day. The bird had swooped in and now hovered over where the boys were playing.
“Thor! Get that bird, son!” ordered Odin.
Ganesha flourished his small jeweled sword and tried to slash at the bird, but it flew up out of his reach just in time.
Ntikune wove a silken web and threw it at the bird, but it somehow broke through.
And then Castiel grabbed Thor and flew up high, but the parrot soared faster. Thor raised his hammer and sent a bolt of lightning straight at the bird. The bird dodged at the last moment, but it ended up with badly singed tail feathers.
And then it was gone.
“That guy is a menace!” grumbled Gabriel as Castiel alit, bringing Thor back to the ground.
“You know that bird?” asked Odin.
“It followed us from the Garden. A real trouble-maker.”
Castiel let out a wide yawn.
“Huh, looks like we might need to get somebody home now,” said Gabriel, putting a hand through Castiel's dark hair.
“No!” opined Castiel, who was rubbing his eyes at the same time.
“Noooooo!” whined his new friends.
Odin crouched down beside Castiel. “Now, you can come back any time, young man. But I’ll give you a treat before you go – would you like to see the World Tree?”
“Uh-huh!” Castiel yawned.
Odin took Castiel by the hand and led him and Gabriel and the rest of the children down the path to a very grand ash tree beside a burbling spring. Though everybody craned their necks to look upwards to the top, it was impossible to see from the ground, as the highest branches seemed to reach right up into the heavens.
There was a squeaking and cranking and clanking coming from the foot of the tree. A great bronze mechanical head was situated there, just above the spring. The eyes blinked open, and looked around.
“Greetings, Mimir!” said Odin.
“Who have you brought before me today, All Father?”
Odin put a hand on Castiel's shoulder. “This is our new friend, the angel, Castiel.”
Mimir squeaked and squealed, and his eyes rolled around to regard Castiel. “Castiel the Seraph. Good tidings to you, O burning one.”
“H'lo?” ventured Castiel, who had gotten shy again.
“Would you care for your fortune?” inquired Mimir, his great metal jaw biting out the words.
Castiel cast wide eyes at Gabriel.
“I don't see why not, little bro. But it's your decision.”
Castiel looked back at Mimir, nodding his head.
“Come forward, and gaze into the pond, young seraph,” said Mimir. “There, if your heart is true, an image will appear to you.”
Biting his lip, Castiel dropped Odin's hand and then stepped forward a few steps, just to the edge of the pond, where he knelt down and gazed into the still waters.
Odin leaned over towards Gabriel. “It's said that in Mimir's enchanted pond, one can see the face of their one true love,” he whispered.
Gabriel scoffed quietly. “Angels don't have true loves!” he protested.
But Odin just smiled. Castiel rose from the side of the pond and came running back to Odin and Gabriel, his eyes wide.
“Did you see something in the pond?” Gabriel asked.
Cas nodded enthusiastically, and opened his mouth to speak.
“Now!” said Odin, holding up a finger. “You keep that to yourself. It's your secret.”
Gabriel looked puzzled, but Cas nodded even more vigorously.
“Odin, we gotta jet. The old man wants me back for Sunday dinner, or there will be Hell to pay. Literally.”
“Safe journeys, you two!” said Odin. “And remember what I said, Gabriel!”
“I will, Odin. Thanks!”
Gabriel carefully laid the tiny angel in his bed. “There ya go, pal. You sleep tight!”
“Noooo,” whined Castiel, though he was yawning and rubbing his eyes.
“Hey, you have a pretty good day, right?” said Gabriel, sitting down on the bed next to him. You got to meet some new folks, like big bro Josh and Uncle Odin. And you got to fly down on the earth. And … ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” Gabriel scratched his head at that one. “And got to look in Mimir's pond. That head dude freaks me out a little, actually.”
“Looth....” muttered Castiel.
“Well, I'm sure your tooth will pop out pretty soon,” Gabriel told him. But Castiel was already snoring. Grinning, Gabe gave him a little kiss on the forehead, and then tiptoed out of the room. He paused at the door.
“Gabriel, you-”
Gabriel turned to Michael, a finger at his lips. “Shh! Just got the kid down for a nap.”
Michael looked past Gabriel into the room. “How did you get him to sleep? He's usually bouncing off the walls!”
“Just used the old noodle,” said Gabriel, pointing to his head. Yet another archangel appeared in the hallway.
“You two-!” began Raphael, but his brothers both shushed him, pointing to the young angel asleep in the room.
“You two are late for Sunday dinner!” whispered Raphael. “Father is beside himself.”
“Where is Lucifer?” asked Michael.
“I thought you were supposed to get Lucifer!” said Gabriel, shutting Castiel's door. And then the three archangels headed down the hall, quarreling all the while. “You guys smell something burning?” Gabe asked, but he was ignored.
It was dark in Castiel's room, and the little angel snored.
No one noticed the bird that alit on his windowsill. It was a colorful bird, but right now, it was too dark to see color.
The bird regarded the sleeping fledgling.
It flapped its wings and flipped its tail.
The tips of its tail feathers were burnt.
It hopped off the windowsill, and took one, two, three steps towards his bed. The last steps were not bird steps, but man steps.
Lucifer paused over the bed, and took out a polished sword, which glinted in the moonlight.
A quick slash, and he'd cut his own palm. One-two-three drops of blood fell out, into his palm.
He held his palm over the sleeping child.
“CA-THE-EL!”
Castiel was up, covers flung off, wings spread wide, shrieking with the sounds of one hundred celestial trumpets.
“CA-THE-EL!”
The ground trembled. The windows shattered.
“CA-THE-EL!”
The door flew open, and Gabriel rushed into the room.
“LOOTH!” shouted Cas, pointing at the intruder.
“Luci, what do you think you're doin'?” demanded Gabriel.
“Nothing! I'm doing nothing at all.”
“If it's nothin', why do you need a sword?”
Lucifer held up his sword, and glared at Gabriel, who glared back. And then Gabriel, too, was holding a sword.
“Lucifer!”
The brothers whirled around to see their Father standing there. He had changed from his dressing gown to a natty white suit.
“Late for dinner again,” fussed the old man.
“But, Da-ad,” whined Lucifer. And then he cried out as his father grabbed him by the ear and hauled him off.
“We are going to have one meal – one meal! - where we all sit down like a family. That's all I ask. Is that too much?” his Father grumbled as he dragged Lucifer off to dinner. “I want all seven of you with me.”
“There's only four of us!” Lucifer protested.
Gabriel stood and watched them walk walk back down the hall, Lucifer whining all the time about the unfairness of existence.
“Looth,” stated Castiel.
“Loose. Luci. You were talking about my brother,” said Gabriel, putting away his sword.
“Looth!” said Castiel, who rummaged around in his mouth and plucked out a somewhat slobbery front tooth.
“Or not. Well, OK.” Gabriel gazed around Castiel's nursery. It was a mess, with broken glass everywhere.
He spotted something on the floor. Frowning, he bent down and picked it up.
It was a colorful feather. But it had been badly singed. He twirled it between his fingers.
“Bad bird,” said Castiel.
Gabriel considered this for a while. “Yeah.” He tucked away the feather. “Yeah. Let's keep that under our hats for now, all right?” He held out his arms, and Castiel jumped into them. “Tell ya what, your crib is kind of a mess, why don't you bunk with me for now, Cassie?” Gabriel let him down on the floor.
“Uh-huh!” assented Cas, grinning a now gap-toothed grin.
And so, gripping tightly to his brother's hand, Gabriel walked from the room. “What we'll do, we'll take this tooth, and we'll leave it under your pillow, right? And then the tooth fairy, which I have just invented, right now, will come and leave you some money. Sound like a good deal?”
“Uh-huh!”
Gabe grinned. “This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!”