Sidestory:
Tiptoe Through the Tulips

By  Chris, Cres, Dani, and Woodknot

The heat of the July sun was softened this particular weekend by a soft cover of clouds, enough to make one particular Amir Adham borderline pacified. If he wasn't going to be able to spend the weekend locked in the darkness of his room, illuminated only by the computer screen, with the air conditioning going at full blast--- at least it wasn't as miserably hot and muggy as it could have been in the great outdoors.

It was even borderline tolerable, in fact, but he wasn't about to admit it.

The tawny yellow cat at his feet was watching the crowd of people with much interest. Leo was less than concerned about the fact that his senshi had so nobly sacrificed a Saturday which had originally been dedicated to a Dark Age of Camelot marathon session. With only three hours of summer classes, and most of his friends having left Virginia Tech in favor of home, Amir had plenty of spare time on his hands. This weekend, the Roanoke Botanical Garden was having its Summer Plant Sale, and judging from the number of people who had already arrived, it was more popular than Amir would have guessed.

::There's bound to be an unawakened Angelus!:: Leo had told him enthusiastically.

"Yeah, if we want an old lady with a trowel on our team. Is there an angel of pruning?"

::Well, Amatiel was the angel of Spring, and Cathatel was the angel of gardens---::

"Ahh, forget it. OK, I'll go. How about if we ask Odilo and Azrae--- er, Leah?"

::Wonderful idea:: approved Leo.

And so, that Saturday, Amir and his Guardian were standing near the entrance to the Botanic Garden, Amir keeping an eye out for any sign of Leah and her rat, and Leo keeping his senses strained for any sign of a senshi.

"I think I see her," said Amir, catching sight of a familiar figure. "Hey! Leah! Over here!" he waved.

Leah knelt down to look at a pot of light blue Snapdragons. Some of the older women at the church she kept the grounds at had insisted on a flowerbed. Most of them had suggested common flowers that they had in the garden at home, like mums and marigolds. Where was the fun in that? Since Odilo and Leo had arranged a little party to look for more Angelus senshi during the garden's annual sale, Leah figured it would be a perfect time to buy some plants. Odilo had demanded that they arrive as soon as the park opened, and she had already picked out some Touch-Me-Nots, Mourning Bride, Lad's love, and a nice Devil-in-a-bush.

Leah turned her head as she heard someone call her name.

"Enough looking at pansies. Amir and Leo are here, so put a move on," Odilo grouched from Leah's shoulder. He had been antsy since their arrival at the gardens.

Leah glared at the rat before getting up and walking over to Amir and Leo.

"Hey," said Amir, his voice dropping to a normal tone as the pair approached. "Leah, Odilo. Nice to see you guys." He glanced around to make sure there was no one he knew hanging around. He didn't particularly want to be seen with a high-school girl at a botanic garden; his friends would be able to endlessly mine *that* for jokes. Fortunately, though, if there *was* anyone around, they would have their own explaining to do.

His voice dropped to a facetious whisper. "Leo's narrowed it down. We're looking for the Flower Senshi, our long-lost brethren. He could have sworn he had sensed Sailor Sunflower, but it was just a granny with a big hat." Amir grinned. "Seriously, though, I don't know what's better. Should we split up and keep walking circuits, or stay put and let everyone else walk circuits around us?"

Leah turned around and surveyed the botanic garden. When she first arrived she had made a circuit of the park under Odilo's orders.

"Well, if we go straight down this path we'll hit the hub of the gardens. Anyone walking around would have to pass through it at least once. How about that?"

"A much better idea than walking in endless circles," agreed Amir, surprisingly amicable. "It would get pretty hard to look sufficiently interested in the irises after we've walked past them for the thirtieth time."

::Irises bloom in the spring:: corrected Leo absentmindedly.

Amir flapped the detail away with a disinterested hand.

"Go stake out a bench for us," he suggested to Leah, Odilo, and Leo. "I'll see if I can't find us anything to eat or drink. I could've sworn I'd seen a vending cart down one of the paths. Any preferences, Leah?" he added.

Leah licked her lips. "Some water would be nice. I think it only cost a dollar," she said pulling a crumpled dollar out of her pocket and handing it to Amir. "I think the cart went that way," she nodded indicating the path immediately to their right.

Leah, along with Leo and Odilo, headed down the path to the center of the gardens. The hub of the gardens was filled of people coming and going. The nice weather and plant sale had attracted a large number of families and joggers looking to get out.

"This spot looks good," Odilo decided. The bench was under a large shade tree and had a superior view of all the paths coming into the hub. The three sat down to wait for Amir.

Leo curled up underneath the bench, positioning himself behind Leah's feet. Although there were a few dog-walkers out, he wasn't quite sure how they'd feel about a free-roaming cat on the property, and he wasn't about to risk being deported when today was such a prime chance.

His radar-like ears flicked in all directions, and he concentrated on the passers-by. He could feel Amir's presence disappear as he left them on his quest for refreshments, and the realization was rather comforting. He was afraid that his proximity to Leah would dull his senshi-sensitivity.

::Good summer so far?:: he asked, settling in the shade, alert. ::No unpleasant run-ins recently?::

"Yes, my summer has been fairly pleasant with a fair lack of run-ins," she said with a slight smile. "Mostly I've been getting ready for college, what about you?"

::Prowling around a lot. After his last slew of finals, he just slept a bunch, and I decided to give him a little time off while I went and looked on my own. But he's had enough time to vegetate; it's time for him to face his senshi duties again:: replied Leo. ::It was a little difficult to pry him away from his computer. The great outdoors are hardly his idea of a good place to be. Said it would be too hot today. I asked him what his desert ancestors would've said about him::

A smile cracked across Leo's face-- or as close to a smile as a cat could approximate.

::Odilo, life treating you well? I take it Leah's more manageable than Amir?::

"Hardly. All I have to say is thank goodness baseball season is over. Do you know what it's like in a dugout? Having to constantly dodge cleats and getting spit on. I don't see the intrigue in hitting a ball of string with a big stick," Odilo crawled on to the bench slats and snorted. "Stubborn as she is, it is amazing I get her to do anything," he sighed and looked Leah, "but she a good enough senshi, I guess."

"And you're a good enough guardian, Odilo. Leo, do you have any idea who we are looking for?"

Leo shook his head, rather sadly.

::No specifics:: he said unhappily. ::But so many of the senshi seemed to have chosen the same general time and place to be reborn, it seems impossible that we've collected all of our own. There were so many more Angelus in the past, but currently, our numbers seem to be rather on the skimpy side... especially compared to what I've seen of some of the other teams.:: He frowned. ::It makes me think that perhaps I've missed out on the rebirth of a large portion of the Angelus... whether they've been reborn elsewhere, or at a different time, or even have yet to be born. I don't know. But I'm still holding onto hope, and with all the people coming here today, perhaps we'll get lucky and find someone. Leah, a lot of them seem to be around your age. I know you're attuned differently than we are, but have you noticed anything about any fellow students that might be a bit odd? I haven't found anyone else at Fleming yet, but have you or Odilo taken a good peek around North Cross for any possibles?::

"I am pretty sure there are no senshi in my grade, but in the other grades I'm not so sure. Sometimes when the halls were crowded I could vaguely sense another senshi in the area or maybe two. I don't think either is an angelus, or at least not our kind," she said shaking her head.

"Yes," Odilo nodded vigorously, "I am certain that there was a Grigori on that campus. I could never pinpoint exactly who though."

Leo seemed a little disturbed. Perhaps they'd end up with an enemy instead of a sleeping ally. He hadn't come here angling for a fight---but they did need to be prepared.

::What happens if we run into... someone else?:: he queried uncertainly, looking up at Odilo through the slats in the bench. ::Do we let them leave, so they don't distract us from our primary mission today--- or do we act?::

Odilo looked thoughtful for a second--or at least as thoughtful as a rat can look and replied, "Well, since finding our own was the primary goal maybe we should avoid confrontation till we find our senshi. A fight might scare off any unawakened Angelus. However, if a fight is provoked, I think we should fight." Odilo flicked his tail, "Then again, a fight right out of the gate for a new senshi might be a good introduction to their powers. Lord knows Leah could use the practice," he said with a snort that won a nasty glare from Leah.

Leo's mirth echoed in Leah's and Odilo's heads.

::Wouldn't that be something!:: he remarked, amused by his own thoughts. ::Greeting a newly-awakened one-of-our-own with a display of getting our tails beaten!:: His voice was only half-joking when he added, ::If anything *does* happen, Leah, dear, do us a favor and don't embarrass us.::

The words didn't come out quite as he had hoped for them to, but that was one of the difficulties of telepathy.

"The only one who is going to get his tail kicked is Odilo," Leah remarked, clearly not amused. "If we fight I'll be ready. You don't have to worry about me embarrassing anyone."

Odilo nodded, "Yes, yes, you'll do well enough, but against how many? If the numbers come to five on you and Amir and a new senshi will you be ready for those odds?"

"It would be difficult for anyone to defend against those odds. The situation would play a big part though." Leah looked down at her hands, "Maybe we should cross that bridge when we come to it."

Odilo turned to Leo, "Is Amir ready for a fight?"

Leo made a dismissive gesture with his paw, whose effect was completely lost, given his position beneath the other two. ::Amir is *capable*:: he replied slowly, ::But it's hard to get him to take it seriously. You know, it's hard to give him incentive to really give it his best shot. Like, for instance, if a horde of raging Romanus senshi decided to start a fight within earshot of his computer, he'd stomp them all in half a minute to keep them from damaging his precious, rather than protecting the apartment complex. Perhaps the fear of looking stupid might give him a little inspiration to fight seriously, if worst comes to worst today. Still, it doesn't hurt to be mentally prepared for all the options.::

Odilo nodded and turned to Leah, "Do you have anything to eat on you? I am hungry."

Leah pulled a pack of semi-squished crackers out of her pocket. They were the buttered kind one usually finds at seafood restaurants. She opened the plastic and set the package down carefully on the bench but still managed to spill a little cracker dust. Odilo picked up a piece and started to nibble.

"Would you like any Leo?" Leah said politely looking under the bench.

Amir stood in line as patiently as he could. There was a small family in front of him, and a two-year-old boy was having an immense difficulty choosing between a lemon ice and a cherry ice. He was a little surprised that the boy's parents would let him have something so early in the day--- but seeing that he himself was in the mood for a cherry ice, he didn't feel he quite had the right to criticize.

"The red one or the yellow one, hon?" his mother was saying encouragingly, and the vendor looked remarkably patient. It was probably a prerequisite for the job.

Just then, a little girl of about ten years old bustled past the people in line with a series of "'scuse me"s and "comin' through"s, her sister tugging her arm rather impatiently in an effort to get her to come back. Little Sister was obviously not going to let this happen; in fact, she almost pushed Big Sister away in order to get to the front of the line. Little Sister had a bush of gray hair and was dressed in mud stained overalls and a bright red Mossimo t-shirt, providing a sharp contrast to Older Sister, who, though only slightly taller, had a much more impeccable sense of fashion. She looked entirely out of place at a botanical garden, of all places - dressed completely in varying shades of gray, she seemed to be ready for a business meeting, not a sunny morning in the middle of summertime - she wore latex gloves, a turtleneck and a long skirt that touched her ankles, as well as sandals that were better for an office job than anything else.

"RAEN," Little Sister cried, shortening her sister's name for convenience. "Lemme go!" She made several attempts at wriggling from her sister's grasp, but Big Sister (whose name was actually Eraen, incidentally) was unrelenting. She tightened her grip around Little Sister's wrist, unwilling to allow the ten-year-old to cause a scene. "Kilierra," she said, her voice dangerously quiet and her pale face contorting slightly. "No. We can't make fools of ourselves, not in public."

Little Sister, or Kilierra, made a noise. "To HELL with looking good, Raen!" she said, using the word Mama had said never to use. She decided to use the patented 'Whine-to-get-what-you-want' trick, just to tick Eraen off. "I jus' wanna get some ice creeeeeam..."

Eraen rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said, digging through the foot-and-a-half long side pack that was draped over her right shoulder for some money, which she shoved into her sister's hand rather unceremoniously. "But I'm going to sit over there, where I can get some work done," she said, putting a lot of stress on 'work'. With that, the yellow-haired Eraen stomped off to sit on a bench, her back to the long line. She removed something from the side pack and set to whatever 'work' she had to get done.

Kilierra growled. "Damn that girl," she muttered, shoving the money into her pocket as she waited. "Constantly obsessing over that laptop. She's going to get put away for acting like that..." she muttered, removing the daisy that was tucked behind her ear and twirling it between her small fingers.

She added one more thing to herself before stepping forward when the line moved. With a small snort and a slight rock back on her heels, she muttered, "She'd better not procreate. I'd have to take the kids."

Leah's crumpled dollar was a little damp in his hand, and Amir concentrated on it, trying hard not to stare at the indecisive family ahead, or at the dysfunctional sisters behind. As one-half of the sister duo stomped away to sit, he wondered vaguely who would come to a garden to work. He snuck a glance out of the corner of his eye, pretending to be intent on watching an elderly pair feeding popcorn to pigeons, and wondered vaguely if little ten-year-old girls thought it made them look cool to use that kind of language. Heck, even his little brothers, Omar and Bekir, knew better than to take that kind of tack with him. He wondered vaguely why the blonde-haired girl even tried to debate it. If he was in her situation, a nice light bop on the head would fix the whining.

Amir snuck a furtive glance at Kilierra, who stood directly behind him. She caught his eye, however, so he flashed her a grin.

"Let me guess. After you get your ice cream, you're going to go to work, too?" he asked, poking gentle fun at the words Eraen had spoken when she had flounced away.

Kilierra snorted slightly, pushing a lock of light hair behind her ear. "Are you kidding? Not that sort of thing. She's addicted to that stupid laptop, it's like her best friend or something. Unless she was talking about wiping the world free of bacteria with a huge wave of disinfectant, or something." She tossed an awkward glance at him before taking both hands out of her pockets and smoothing the front of her overalls, then rocking back on her heels slightly to stare up -way, way up - at him.

"You talk like that's a bad thing," remarked Amir tolerantly, then hastened to add, "The laptop-thing, not the bacteria-thing." He added in a conspiratorial voice, "My friends had to surgically remove me from my computer to get me here, too. But it's kind of nice, actually, so I don't really mind. Of course, I won't tell *them* that."

His eyes crinkled with amusement.

The gray-haired girl chortled slightly and tugged at a lock of her hair. "Well, it is a bad thing when one can't even do decent stuff with it. I mean, all she does is type. And type, and type... she doesn't even use the internet or anything. She types about genetics, and genetics, and genetics, and some more genetics..." She threw her arms up in the air with an exasperated sigh. "I don't mean to insult you or anyone else who takes a great interest in computers, but she literally has no life."

Kilierra giggled slightly at the comment about surgical removal from a computer and replied with, "If it were Eraen - my sister, that is - she'd go through all the trouble to make sure the tools were clean first. By the time she'd be over, she'd've forgotten the 'surgery' in totality." She grinned up at him and added, "It is nice. The sun is a refreshing change from indoors, despite it not being my most favorite situation in which to be." With a huge smile, she pointed at the moving line and about seven feet of distance between the man before her and the rest of the line.

"C'mon," she said, ushering him forward gently, "or I'll be gettin' my ice cream before you."

"H'm," replied Amir, and quickly moved forward. The obnoxiously indecisive child had finally selected the cherry ice, it seemed, and his parents were probably regretting the decision, judging by the long red stains that had already formed down the front of his shirt. All that stood between himself and his mission was a man in a golf shirt and khaki shorts who was ordering three sets of ice cream cones in a most businesslike sort of way.

He'd certainly had enough time to figure out what *he* wanted by now, and was wasting no time going about it.

"So if your thing isn't genetics, and your thing isn't computers, what *is* your thing?" asked Amir genially, continuing to pass the time. It wasn't half-bad, talking to a kid. It was better than the alternative, which was guessing how much of a cherry ice would actually make it into a certain somebody's mouth. "*My* thing is computers, anyhow. Computers, and video games, and stuff. When I lived in the dorms my first year, I had five computers-- really good ones, too, that I built myself-- all networked together and I charged the other guys to come play games on them. Really cool, and it helped me pay for all those computer parts. Difficult to get sleep, though. Had to shoo everyone out of my room around three or four in the morning, but I swear, some of those guys were worse addicts than I was." He grinned at the memory, and then added in a secretive voice, "And I'll tell you my other weakness... I've got, like, ten Joe Cool pennants and posters and stuff plastered all over my walls. Vintage, most of 'em. I'm a sucker for Snoopy. But at least it's better than genetics."

Kilierra pressed her lips into a thin line while thinking of an answer to his question, unsure of how to explain her primary interest. She had decided a minute ago that she liked this guy, for no apparently good reason, so she really saw no harm in telling him. "Well, a lot of kids at school think I'm really aggressive because I used to compete with kids twice my size for kicks-" -here she rolled her eyes- "-but after realizing that it wasn't getting me anywhere, I stopped and started writing. Think it poses less of a hazard to my health to just stick to novels, having weird dreams and talking to nonexistent imaginary friends who take the shapes of elves and angels." She smiled, eyes twinkling, and grinned at the thought of him having a Snoopy costume on with nothing but his face showing. With a low chuckle, she answered, "I doubt I'd ever get paid for my writing, but Snoopy's real cute. I don't really have any interests like that, for things in particular, but I like my books, and I like my randomly collected stuffed animals, and that's enough for me - though, you're right, Snoopy is about five million times more fun than genetics." She grinned again, and with a small laugh added, "Sorry. I just find the notion that you like Snoopy rather amusing." She looked up at him from her tiny stature of four-foot-ten. "Maybe it's just the fact that I'm so short in comparison to you."

Staring ahead at the line, the ten-year-old sighed. "So, what d'you bet that kid's going to be back in line in the next minute? He's going to drop it, just watch," she said, referring to and pointing at the already half-melted cherry ice that already was leaving a puddle of bright red at Cherry Ice Boy's feet. As if on cue, Cherry Ice Boy, who was about to walk away with his parents, promptly dropped the cherry ice and proceeded to burst into whining tears. With a grin and a shake of her head, Kilierra turned away from the sight of Cherry Ice Boy's parents duly getting back in line to purchase him another, half-amused and half-bothered that this kid probably got everything he wanted just via crying about it.

"Ahh, well, chase your dreams, h'm, and maybe they'll get you somewhere?" suggested Amir amicably. "If not, you'll at least have a better time of it than the alternative-- like, say, explaining to strangers why your big sister wears surgical gloves to type on a laptop in the middle of a public park." He gave Kilierra a wicked, mischievous grin.

The man ahead of him paid the vendor and walked away with his order, and it was Amir's turn. He dug around in his wallet for enough to cover Leah's bottle of water, and a cherry ice for himself. He hadn't come here *wanting* a cherry ice, but it now looked like it was a good idea.

His hands full, he said, "Catch ya later; have fun!" and disappeared down the path that led to the bench where he had left his comrades.

Kilierra grinned and, stepping up, ordered a mint-chocolate chip ice cream cone for herself and a lemon ice for her older sister, knowing that, despite denial she'd certainly get, Eraen would enjoy it. It matched her hair, after all, and things that matched Eraen's hair were generally considered as being good. She took a lick of the ice cream in one hand, and a tiny lick of the lemon ice in her other, and, using her teeth, somehow managed to retrieve the money from her pocket and mutter a mouth-full "thank you" before turning and finally emerging from that nearly endless line.

Kilierra couldn't help but be awed somewhat by the strange fulfilling sense she had after having that conversation. Confused by the strange tingling that something colossal was about to happen that sat in her stomach, and that the man who had just walked away had more in common with herself than she was prepared to admit, she slowly walked to her sister's side, contemplating the feeling while licking mint-flavored drips of melting ice cream that touched her cone-filled fist.

Eraen was deeply immersed in stem cell theory when a small hand waved something yellow in her face and, mouth full, muttered "Heaws yow ice kweam." Taking it somewhat reluctantly and adjusting her latex rubber gloves on her hands, Eraen stared at her younger sister doubtfully. "What... is /this/?" She said, her voice quiet but hard. Kilierra, through licks of a mint-chocolate-chip cone, muttered something about 'Yemen mice', and Eraen blinked. "Mice?"

"Ice," Kilierra barked, her face still covered in melting mint ice cream. "Lemon ice. You love the stuff, remember?" Eraen was incredulous. "You can't be serious. This was... bought from some stand, you imbecile. I can't eat this..."

It was the younger one's turn to look at her sibling in disbelief. "Of course you can. Look, I'm eating mine, and I'm not contracting the Plague. I think it's safe to say that you won't get anything worse than a mild case of brain freeze," Kilierra said, matter-of-factly.

Eraen was still skeptical when she took a slow, incredibly reluctant taste of the yellow confection, and her sister watched her closely as she did, waiting for the verdict. A moment passed by with Eraen contemplating the cool flavor of lemon on a hot day, and Kilierra just staring at her. Eraen swallowed, Kilierra blinked, and the younger one asked, "So? Are you going to live?"

Somehow, some way, the pale, delicate little sliver of a girl managed to smile very slightly, only enough that Kilierra could notice from this close up. "I think so." With that, she took another taste, and Kilierra took her turn to smile. "You like it?"

Eraen smiled a little more, though still not enough to be seen from a distance. "I do."

Leo was carefully lapping up the dry crumbs Leah had given him when Amir came back at a half-jog. He gave her the bottled water she'd requested-- along with her crumpled dollar.

"It's on me," he explained. He had taken two spoons for his cherry ice; he now took a small spoonful of it and offered it to Leo.

::It's a little early for that---:: he remarked, but accepted it anyways. Amir wasn't paying attention, anyways.

"So," he said brightly to Leah and Odilo. "Let me guess. You discovered five missing Angelus, all being held captive by the evil Romanus senshi and rescued them before I managed to get back? No fair hogging all the fun while I'm gone."

Leah smiled and shook her head, "Hardly, all's quiet on the home front." Leah put the dollar back in her pocket and took a drink of the water, "Thanks for the water." She poured some water in the bottle cap and gave it to Odilo. He took the cap between his forepaw and gulped the water before giving it back to Leah for more. "What about you? Did you spot any Angelus or thwart any Graikos?"

"You should've seen 'em," said Amir, a humorous glint in his eye. "There were fifty Graikos in front of me in line... and none of 'em knew what they wanted. So I was very helpful in assisting them to pick out stuff, and they were so grateful, they pledged their undying loyalty to myself and my cause."

He stretched his legs out comfortably, sprawling his feet in front of him, watching the passers-by as they trickled slowly past. His sharp, dark eyes flickered intently from face to face as he absentmindedly scraped at the ice with his spoon.

"Good day for a walk, huh, Bruce?" Ian asked his dog. Bruce just wagged his tail, and smiled a toothy canine smile.

"Ian, why are you talking to him?" asked Clare. "He can't understand you like I can, you know."

"I know, Clare, I know, but I've always talked to Bruce. It makes him happy. Isn't that right, huh, boy?" The Rottweiler looked up at him again, and wagged his tail.

"Yes, but… he's a dog!" whispered Ian's guardian into his ear. "He's so big, he could just eat me in one bite… I don't trust dogs."

"And you, Clare, are a talking weasel," he jokingly admonished. "That makes Bruce the most normal one of us, at least he doesn't transform like I do, or isn't an ancient Saint like you are. Anyway, in the week that you've known him, he hasn't done a thing to you but lick you."

Clare shuddered. "Please, don't remind me."

Ian chuckled as he walked down the path. About two and a half weeks ago, he never would have dreamed of having this conversation, let alone the fact that he was having it with a reborn Saint in the form of a weasel. `Two and a half weeks since my whole world turned inside out,' he thought. `Two and a half weeks of Claire, of being a Senshi, of finding out I'm Gabriel. It's certainly been interesting.' Ian continued on this train of thought as he walked Bruce through the Roanoke Botanical Gardens, with Clare sitting on his shoulders, her tail wrapped around his neck. Two and a half weeks ago, Ian had been just a normal guy, slightly absorbed by certain paintings of the Annunciation, but normal nevertheless. Then, in an Italian monastery, he met up with a weasel with a mission -- Find him & tell him God's plan for him. She gave him his mission, and unlocked the powers hiding within his soul. After that, she hardly left his side. Admittedly, it was very hard hiding her on a tour bus for a week, not to mention getting her through the airport, but somehow they had managed. Grace of God, Clare said. Ian tended to believe that statement. They had flown back to the States, and headed to Maryland. Ian went up to Baltimore to see his parents, and to get his dog back, since they had taken care of him for the six weeks that he had been gone. After spending a week with them, he was finally back in Roanoke with his dog, his guardian Clare, and a new focus.

"If you must take that… creature for a walk," Clare had said to them half an hour earlier, "then take me along, and let's go somewhere where there are many people. God willing, we'll find some of the other Angelus."

So, Ian threw on a pair of shades, grabbed Bruce's leash, and boogied out of his house, with dog and Clare in tow. Ian chose to walk down to the Botanical Center, there were always lots of people there, and it was a nice place to walk your dog. Ian was wearing what he was almost always wearing, a rayon button up shirt, done in swirls of red today, a pair of cargo shorts & a set of sandals. His soft brown hair was swept back & gelled in place.

`It is a good day to take your dog for a walk, or rather, have your dog take you for a walk,' he thought. Bruce was massive, and outweighed Ian by at least 25 pounds. Still, he was gentle as a puppy, and Ian just couldn't see why Clare disliked him so much. Suddenly, Clare tensed on his shoulder. "Ian!" she hissed into his ear. "Ian, I feel something!"

"What do you mean you feel something?" asked Ian.

"I feel an Angelus… at least one, if not more… But I can't tell just where, but I can feel it. It's like the feeling that I got when you came into that library. Just keep walking, just keep walking."

Ian kept walking down the path, a little worried. What would he say to them? What would they be like? What if he and Clare had to awaken them? What if they weren't really Angelus, but one of the Fallen Ones? These thoughts ran around in his head, and, if his sunglasses hadn't been hiding them from view, it would have been apparent that he was distressed - his eyes kept shifting rapidly from blue to hazel and back again. "Lord, help me," he thought, as he walked ever onward to his destiny.

Leah yawned lazily and stretched. She searched the napkin for any blank space she had missed. The napkin was completely covered in tic tac toe and hangman games the four had been playing for the last hour. Leah got up and threw it in the trash. "Well it looks like that's it for hangman." She slumped back down on the bench and looked at her watch with a grimace, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. We have been here for hours and haven't felt hide nor hair of anyone." She turned to Amir, "I don't know about you but my legs are going to sleep."

Amir was studying the back of his arm; he had long since given up scrutinizing every person who walked by. There had been more than one who had returned his stare, making him feel rather guilty, as though he had been caught doing something bad.

"I don't know about you, but I think I just got two shades darker," he remarked in amusement; genetics had seen to it that his skin was already duskier than most others here today. "Either that, or I'm going to get melanoma, and all in the line of duty--"

Leo made an impatient noise, his attention still fixed on the flow of people. The throng had only increased as the hours passed, and the early-bird plant lovers had been joined by those gardeners who preferred to sleep in during the weekend.

"Feh," sniffed Amir. "So much for sympathy from your end." He stood up and stretched his limbs, glancing downward at his feline guardian, a little disappointed that Leo was too preoccupied to pick up the banter.

"Can't you tell where they are?" Ian asked Clare.

"No, I can't pinpoint it like that... I wish that I could. I just know that someone's here." said the weasel whispering into his ear.

Ian sighed and kept walking through the gardens. There certainly were an awful lot of people here today, any one of them could be an Angelus -- kids with ice-cream, old ladies with flowerpots, street mimes, other people walking their dogs, and apparently in one case, an Arabic guy and a white haired girl taking their cat out for a walk. "Hmm... that's odd. Who takes a cat on a walk?" Ian said to himself. "Then again, who takes a weasel for a walk?" Ian chuckled.

Bruce suddenly tensed, and started pulling at his leash. "Bruce, whoa! Calm down, calm down!" The Rottweiller started barking at something under a nearby tree. "Bruce, it's just a cat. You like cats, remember? Bruce?"

"I knew we shouldn't have taken him along," Clare said. Bruce suddenly ran down the path, towards the couple sitting under the tree, dragging Clare and Ian with him, barking all the way.

Amir's arms were still wrapped around the back of his head in mid-stretch when he heard the far-off bark of a dog down the path. He turned and grinned at Leo.

"Sounds like everyone's brought their pets today," he remarked lightly. "Hey, remember that foul little Chihuahua that came by here about two hours ago and tried to---"

But he cut himself short in mid-sentence, realizing that the barks were rapidly getting closer and closer. Leo's radar ears had swiveled forward, and every hair was standing on end, every muscle taut, as he crouched, ready to spring to safety at a moment's notice.

No, he had *not* forgotten that foul little Chihuahua from earlier---

As Bruce bounded forward, Leo let out an angry hiss and it was as though a yellow flash had streaked up the conveniently nearby tree which was shading their bench. Amir stepped sideways in front of Leah and Odilo, to give them time to get her Guardian out of the way.

He knew that terriers were ratters, but wasn't about to bet that this one wouldn't go after anything that moved.

Taking the hint, Leah tried putting Odilo into her shorts pocket which he angrily clawed out. "Leah! Stop it! Can't you tell he is one of us!" Odilo whispered with exasperation.

"Well, I could if he didn't have that stupid dog with him! I can't stand dogs! Tell me the dogs not his guardian."

"If it was his guardian I think he would have shut up by now," Odilo looked at the still barking dog and its owner who was frantically trying to calm him down. He leaned toward Leo who was running to Amir, "Are you picking up what I'm getting?"

Ian hurriedly tried to make Bruce shut up, but he was having more than a little trouble. What confused him, though, was the fact that Bruce wasn't barking at the cat, but at the girl. Finally Bruce tried one final lunge at the female, and Ian tackled him to the ground, throwing a very startled Clare off of his shoulder and in-between the girl with the rat, and the guy with the cat, and knocking his sun glasses to the ground. Ian stared Bruce in the eyes and said, "NO! BAD DOG!" and flicked his nose. Shockingly, it was successful. Bruce suddenly stopped barking, and though he remained wary of the girl, was happy to merely watch her from where he sat, giving off the occasional growl. "Wow, it worked..." said Ian, as he stood up and dusted his clothes off. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry. Bruce has never acted this way. I'm so sorry. I'll take him to the vet tomorrow. I'm so sorry. Umm... well, I guess I'd better introduce myself, so you'll have a name to go with the intense dislike, and for when you file the lawsuit. I'm Ian, you've met Bruce," he said, waving his hand at the dog, "and the ferret is Clare. Clare? Oh dear Lord, where's Clare?" he said, frantically looking around.

"I'm right here, thank you very much, and I'm a weasel, not a ferret," she said, sitting up on her hind legs. Ian just stood and stared at her, his eye-colors switching sides a couple of times in confusion. "Don't worry," she said, preening. "We're among friends."

Leo was still bristling from the tree branch, although he had calmed considerably after Bruce had quieted. He moved into a sitting position onto the branch and began to groom his fur back down in place, licking himself rather intensively, as he collected himself once more. Obviously, he was greatly disturbed by having been forced to flee, and Amir knew better than to try and talk to him before he was ready--- new senshi or not.

Instead, showing little surprise at Clare's speech, he inclined his head in a graceful acknowledgment of her presence. "Nice to meet you, Clare," he said. "Amir." And turning to Ian, he added, "I don't know about lawsuits... but you might want to bring along some catnip as a peace offering at some point in the future."

There was a sparkle of humor in his eye that belied the stern words, although he was rather concerned for Leo's lost dignity.

Ian stood blinking at the scene before him, a look of mixed amazement and horror crossing his face. He put his hand to his forehead, and said, "Oh, no... Not only did my dog try to attack you, but you're Angelus as well. What a great first impression I must make. I swear, these past three weeks have been nothing but lunacy. Pure, unbridled lunacy. I'm so very sorry," he repeated to the cat. "I'll make it up to you, I promise..." He nervously ran his fingers back through his hair, and mumbled, "Salmon, I'll buy you a salmon..."

Clare smiled up at Ian and said, "Just be happy you've found them. You managed to terrify half of them first, and throw me at them in the process, but you've found them." Clare took a good look at Bruce. "Well, what do you know, maybe that dog actually is a Godsend..." The weasel scurried up the bench, and looked up at the girl and her rat, her eyes sparkling, "Ian's a little stunned for formalities, so I'll ask -- What is your name, dear, and the name of your guardian?"

"My name is Leah," she said while walking to the back of the bench, a move to get something between her and the dog. The rat climbed out of the pocket and with a little help from Leah, was placed next to Clare.

"I'm Odilo. Don't worry about us," Odilo said with a glance at Leo and Leah who were clearly keeping a wary eye on the dog. "Leah doesn't get along well with dogs and of course Leo is a cat." With a smirk he added, "Isn't this nice? We have a dog, a cat, and two rodents. Anyway, which senshi do we have the pleasure of meeting?"

"I don't particularly care for dogs either, Leah. Ian," Clare said, turning back to him, "has God given you the strength to be able to speak yet, or do you want me to tell them?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, smiling and stroking his soul patch. "I guess I'd better tell them, Clare. Well, I'm Gabriel Knight, Archangelus Senshi of Water, Communication, Vengeance, and a few other things I can never remember." Ian bowed ever so slightly to the five before him. "It's nice to meet you. And you are?"

Leah gave a one-sided smile and replied, "Salior Azrael, Archangelus Senshi of Death. It is always a pleasure to meet more Angelus and you're no exception." She turned to Amir, "I leave the pleasure of introducing yourself up to you."

"Ariel, Senshi of Earth," said Amir. "And water, and wind, and curing disease, and doling out punishment, and controlling demons," he added, almost as an afterthought. He flashed a grin at the newcomer. "All-around-useful. And that's Leo--" he added, indicating the furiously grooming feline. "So... yeah." He glanced over at Leah. "If you cut out all the boring parts, this was actually pretty painless, h'm? It's nice to run into someone who already knows what's going on, as opposed to trying to convince someone with no clue."

Ian laughed at this. "Certainly are quite a few things, aren't you? I think I've got Dreams and Life, somewhere in me, too. Never can quite remember... I've only actually known about all of this for about six weeks. It's certainly been an interesting month and a half," he said, picking Clare back up, and placing her on his shoulder. "Thankfully Clare's been here to guide me," Ian said while stroking her soft head. "I guess my next question is, how many of us are there? How vast the multitude of Heaven's army?"

Amir made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort. "Heaven's army isn't as vast as it could be," he replied. "I get the feeling we're pretty well outnumbered. But let's see-- ohh, there's Seraphiel-the-Racially-Confused, for starters. And there used to be Nathanael, who was a pretty good kid." His expression sobered. "But an Astronomia went a bit psycho in the middle of a temporary truce, and that was the end of that."

He suddenly became very interested in watching Leo on the branch. It seemed as though the grooming was having its effect; the licks weren't quite as rough and frantic anymore.

Nathanel's death had hit him harder than he would have liked to admit. Out of all the Angelus, he had been the only one at the scene--and he had been the only one who could've prevented it.

Ian looked at Amir, sensing the change in his mood, and at Leah and Odilo, who didn't quite know what to say. Finally, he broke the silence when he softly recited:

"A poor torn heart, a tattered heart,
That sat it down to rest,
Nor noticed that the ebbing day
Flowed silver to the west,
Nor noticed night did soft descend
Nor constellation burn,
Intent upon the vision
Of latitudes unknown.

"The angels, happening that way,
This dusty heart espied;
Tenderly took it up from toil
And carried it to God.
There,--sandals for the barefoot;
There,--gathered from the gales,
Do the blue havens by the hand
Lead the wandering sails.

Ian sighed and said, "It's the English major in me. When I don't know what to say, I say things already said. Sorry if it wasn't appropriate..." he let his voice trail off. He scratched Clare's chin, in the moment of silence that followed. "Some are lost before I even got the chance to meet them... Hopefully, I'll know the rest of you for a very long time."

"Amen to that," Leah muttered quietly, eyes to the ground. With a significant glance at Amir she added, "Sometimes things happen and there is nothing we can do about them. If we dwell on them too much we're as good as dead, especially in this business. Live while your alive gentlemen, live while you're alive."

Odilo beckoned to Leah and she obliging picked him up. "It has been lovely, but it is getting late," Odilo said bringing the groups attention to the now darkening sky. "I'm sure the gardens will be closing soon, and I doubt we'll find anyone else tonight. Leo, Clare," he said nodding to them respectively, "let's get our senshi together again soon. I'll talk to you two later." Leah waved goodbye to Ian and Amir and started down the path.

Ian waved goodbye to Leah, and walked up to Amir, picking his shades up off of the ground on the way. "It's good to know its not just Clare and me against the world. It's also been good meeting you two, and your guardians. Leo, I am truly sorry for Bruce's behavior today. I'll make it up to you, and Bruce won't be getting any treats for the next few days," Ian apologized, looking at the now docile dog and shaking his head.

"It has been a pleasure," said Clare from her vantage point around Ian's neck. "Leo, we should have a talk sometime soon about dogs, and guardians' duties, and the situation at hand. May God watch over you, and keep you safe until we meet again."

"Knowing how Clare works, I'll see you in a few days. I might want your phone number, though, just so I can call if I need to." Ian stuck his hand out to Amir in friendship, and smiled amiably, his eyes sparkling in the final few rays of the sun, having finally settled down to hazel on the left, and blue on the right.

Amir grasped Ian's hand amicably and gave him a firm handshake-- not too girly, and not bone-crunchingly I've-got-something-to-prove, either. "Catch you later."

Leo sat in the tree until they were safely out of sight, before jumping down to the ground and landing neatly beside Amir.

"Come on, Leo," said Amir, heading towards a different exit. "Now that that's out of the way, I've got some important stuff I need to do... I haven't checked my email all day."

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