Messenger of Letters

CHAPTER 1 - Alone Again, Naturally (AKA Not Having Wings Sucked Ass)

-{May, 1909}-

"Gabriel!"

Marcus' voice rang clear through the hallway, searching for a particular golden-haired odd biologist.

"Marcus, some of us are trying to bloody sleep..." Vance emerged from his room, rubbing his face.

"Sorry, Vance." Marcus smiled apologetically. "Have you seen Gabriel?" He questioned as the tall, dark haired man leaned on the doorway.

"Can't say I have, Marcus, sorry." He shrugged, yawning. "Try the Archives. Or ask Vincent. He knows everything in this bloody place I swear." Vance yawned again, jaw popping as he did so.

"Thanks, Vance." Marcus grinned. "Get some sleep."

"You woke me up." The younger, though larger, man growled good-naturedly. "I'm going to get coffee. If I spot Gabriel, I'll keep him around until you get to him."

"Thanks!" Marcus called over his shoulder as he continued down the hallway, turning into the War room. "Oh!" He gasped when he noticed the two ladies at the table with one of the other men. "Good morning, everyone." He greeted.

The shorter blond girl, in a soft blue dress, turned to look at him. "Hello, Marcus. Good morning to you as well."

"Ah, Priscilla, it is good to see you again." He smiled. "And Isabelle, ever silent, always hunting." He laughed gently.

The taller, dark haired girl smiled mysteriously, raising her hands to sign out a few words.

"She says 'it is always a pleasure to be back among friends.'" Priscilla translated.

"I couldn't agree more, Isabelle." He nodded to her. She smiled softly, then turned back to her book. "De'van," Marcus turned to the younger, a skinny, lanky almost-boy who didn't quite fit with the elegance of the room. "Have you seen Gabriel?"

"Yes, actually." De'van turned on his chair. "He was in the Archives, last I saw 'im." He waved a hand to the hallway. "You could also try his room."

"I'll check the Archive first." Marcus agreed with an eye roll. "Thanks, De'van."

De'van hummed a 'you're welcome', Priscilla and Isabelle waving at Marcus' retreating back.

The biologist trotted down the hall, shoes tapping as he headed for the Archive, a room rather obvious in the grand scheme of things. The door labeled '7B' wasn't quite closed, but it was obviously occupied, lit from within.

"Gabriel?" Marcus questioned, knocking on the doorframe to make his presence known. "Are you in here?"

"Marcus?" The man who responded was sitting cross legged on the floor, surrounded in paper, with a happy-go-lucky grin and ink smudges all over his face. His hair, a dark, honey-brown, was ruffled and a little worked over, Gabriel obviously not having slept for a while. All the same, his golden eyes were bright and excited. "I'm here, yep! What can I do for you?" Gabriel, because of his... strange accent, said 'you' more like 'yah', but it was engaging and interesting.

"Mostly? To see if you've slept yet today."

"Of course!" Gabriel sounded like he finished, but when Marcus gave him a glare over his glasses, Gabriel looked down. "Not..."

"Get some rest." Marcus ordered.

"But Marcus, research!" Gabriel gestured to the scattering of papers around him, messy, but with an order. It was interesting to examine. Gabriel worked in such odd ways sometimes.