Winter in the East (Closed: Nuridia and Tomia)

[Tomia]

John rowed through the river in silence, feeling the tension on the boat as Aurleia's family would soon see Alex again. The river was long and windy and by the time they reached the gates John's arms began to feel a little sore. He stopped the boat when they reached the get and looked up to see a group of vultures staring down at them, looking ready to attack. John got a little uneasy but Raphael explained who they were and the vultures seemed to stand down. John nodded to Uriel. "Alright, let's get going then." John started rowing again and the boat once again began moving down the river toward Azrael.

[Nuridia]

The group rowed the boat until they reached a dock. Everybody un boarded and walked onto the dark rocky ground. It was like a forest at nighttime, with people walking about. These people however were transparent for they were spirits. They followed the vulture to the largest tree in the center of the forest, where sat an angel with four dusky wings that looked to be covered in a fine dust. He wore a long hooded robe in a dark shade between black, gray and purple and he wore a wide chain around his neck from which hung human skulls. In one hand he carried a scythe taller than he was, and his blue eyes seemed to glow out of his pale face which looked like he had never smiled in his life. "Who dares to cross into the world of the dead?!" his voice thundered throughout the space, followed by a flash of lightning. "Hey Azrael, did you miss us?" Gabriel asked, cheery as ever. The angel lifted his head up and pulled his hood back. He had long platinum blond hair in a ponytail, but his ends and bangs were tipped with onyx black. He was handsome despite his creepy aura. "Hey, you don't have to use your god voice on us." "We're not scared of it." Raphael said. Asteria understandably was a bit terrified and darted behind her mother for safety. Azrael looked at the group. His booming voice turned normal. "I use it for dramatic effect." "Hey big brother, we missed you." Uriel smiled. "It's good to see you all again." "It gets lonely with all the dead around, also I missed doing this." Azrael cracked a rare smile and pulled Gabriel into a headlock, giving him a noogie to which the redhead angel loudly protested.

[Tomia]

John rowed for what seemed like a long time until they finally reached a dock. John brought them over and anchored the boat as he and the others got out and started to walk forward. John looked around at the creepy forest around them. It reminded John of something out of a scary movie. As they walked along a man who looked like the grim reaper stepped before them and bellowed. John tensed up for a moment ready for a fight until he realized it must be Raphael's brother. Gabriel's question confirmed that and John eased up. He frowned when he saw that Asteria was scared and had ran behind Aurelia. He picked up the little girl gently and held her in his arms. "Hey, it's alright. He won't hurt you, me and your mom are here." He told her, stroking her hair to comfort her. He then watched as Azrael greeted his family. When John saw him smile he could tell he didn't smile very often.

[Nuridia]

Azrael's smiles were few and far in between, but his brothers enjoyed seeing them. "Hello uncle." Aurelia said. Azrael hugged her. "Sweetie, it's good to see you Aurelia." "You too." Aurelia smiled. She then turned around. "Asteria?" she asked, then she saw her in John's arms. "Now look what you've done, you've gone and scared my daughter." Aurelia frowned. "Hey, I'm the Grim Reaper." "It's my job to be scary, I have an image to maintain." "Marie, hello there sister." Marie waved to her brother in law. "Hi Azrael." Raphael then spoke. "Azrael, I am glad to see you." "We all are and are always happy to visit, albeit in less creepy settings." "But the main reason we came here because of...a letter you sent us." "You said that you had a surprise for us." "And don't be cryptic this time, this is serious." Raphel said firmly. He wanted to see his son, he wasn't mad at his brother but hated how he could joke about serious emotional situations. Marie walked over to Raphael to go stand beside her husband. Azrael spoke. "I understand." "I'll cut the cryptics today, seeing as this is a special occasion." "Well yes, I did find Alex." "He's been trying out his new physical body and his soul has finally fused to it, it fits like a glove." "Looks identical to his old one, except he was aged up a little bit to make up for all the time he's been dead." Raphael and Marie smiled at each other, couldn't hold back their happy tears. Aurelia started to cry in happiness as well. "Finally, after all these years." "When may we see him?" Marie asked excitedly about her son. Azrael smiled for them. "Right now of course, he's been asking about you all every day." "I told him when he was ready to go home to Earth I'd bring you here." "He can come home?" Raphael said happily. Azrael nodded. "Yep." "He's in a section of my dwellings, follow me." Azrael said, gesturing to the group. Aurelia and her family followed the quickest, Alex was coming back.

[Tomia]

John waved in greeting to Azrael. He wasn't happy that he scared Asteria but he didn't seem to have done it on purpose. He listened to the conversation between Raphael and Azrael and could tell Raphael was very serious about seeing his son. He was relieved to hear that Alex had actually come back and could return to Earth. He held Aurelia's hand with his free one as she started to cry in happiness, very glad for her that she would see her brother again. He let go when they started to walk to see Alex as Aurelia and her parent speeded ahead and John couldn't follow her with Asteria in his arms. He walked with Sam, Eric, and Asteria to finally meet Aurelia's brother.

[Nuridia]

They walked through the halls of a castle, the corridors were long and the stairs steep and winding. For Aurelia and her family, the minutes it took each felt like an eternity. Finally they made it to a wooden door painted green, Raphael's color. "Well he looks a bit older, so the age he would be now." "But besides that, he's still very much Alex." Azrael said. "Are you sure you're all ready for this, this is a huge thing?" Marie nodded. "I don't care what he looks like, I'll recognize the child I gave birth to." "A mother knows, parents know." The pregnant woman said, holding Raphael's hand. Azrael nodded, turned to the door and rapped on it. "Alexander, your family is here to see you." "They've waited for three years, and I know you've missed them too." "Are you going to keep them waiting any longer?" There was silence and then a male voice, French accented like Aurelia and Marie's. "Really?" "They're all here?" he asked in surprise. Marie felt tears leak out when she heard her son's voice. "It's his voice." "Raphy, our baby." There was also happiness in Alex's voice as he finally opened the door. He looked exactly like the picture that Aurelia showed Mary and David, but he was a little bit older to match his twin sister's age. He had black hair just above shoulder length that he kept tied back in a ponytail and he wore a light blue shirt over a camo hoodie and jeans, the same outfit he had on when he died. He looked nearly identical to a young Raphael, minus the wings. He had Marie's smile but no freckles. His eyes widened upon seeing his family. There was a terse silence but then Alex's eyes welled with tears, seeing his family after so long. Aurelia and her family started to cry too. "Mom, Dad?" Alex said, in happiness and surprise and shock. He then turned to Aurelia. "Sis?" Marie couldn't restrain herself and hugged him first. "My little boy, we've missed you so much!" Marie wept. Alex threw his arms around his mother and cried. Raphael then went and hugged his son, not wanting to let go so Aurelia hugged him at the same time, they were all crying.

[Tomia]

John and the others followed Azrael through the winding corridors of his castle. As John walked begin Aurelia and her family carrying Asteria, he could tell they were very anxious to see Alex. John wanted to meet him as well, after how much Aurelia told him about him. He was also a little nervous. Alex clearly meant a whole lot to Aurelia and John felt like he needed to get Alex to like him. They finally reached a room and when Azrael called through the door John heard a male voice speak in a French accent and knew it must be Alex. When he opened the door John recognized him from the pictures Aurelia had shown him. John watched as Aurelia and her parents greeted him in one large hug. He stayed back with the others and simply watched them. Letting the family have their moment together.

[Nuridia]

"Welcome home, my son." Raphael said, hugging his son through his tears. "I've missed you so much, so much has happened while you were gone from us." "And now you're back." "I missed you too Dad." "All you guys." Alex said, crying himself. He then turned to his family and looked at his mother. "Mom, you're pregnant?" he said surprised. Marie nodded. "How'd that happen?" Marie pointed to her husband at that question. Alex chuckled. "You two haven't changed, have you?" "Boy or girl?" he asked. "Girl." Marie said. "You're going to have a new little sister." "You have a niece too." Alex was clearly surprised at that news and turned to Aurelia, whom he pulled into a big hug. "God, I missed you sis."' he said. "Wait, I have a niece?" Aurelia nodded, still hugging her brother. "Her name's Asteria, you're going to love her." "She's right there." She gestured to Asteria in John's arms. Alex looked from the baby and John to Aurelia. "You have a baby?" "Who's the guy who did this?" "What's his name so I can kick his ass?" he said. He was like Raphael, he didn't want to think about his sister having sex. Aurelia chuckled. "Alex, calm down." "Asteria is adopted." "Oh." Alex said, calming down. "But I do have a boyfriend." Aurelia added. "Not another werewolf I hope." Alex thought about Falan in distaste. "No, not a werewolf." "But he is a good guy, I'm sure you'll like him." Aurelia said about John.

[Tomia]

John watched Alex hug Aurelia, seeing how much they missed each other. When Aurelia told him that she had a child Alex gave a reaction that John thought was very similar to Raphael. Alex was clearly just as protective of Aurelia. John heard his comment about werewolves and could tell he was thinking about Falan. Eric frowned a little at Alex's comment. He understood why Alex felt that way, but Eric never liked to be grouped in with people like Falan. When Aurelia started talking about him he smiled and figured he should introduce himself. He walked up to Alex and offered his free hand to him in greeting. "It's nice to finally meet you Alex. My name's John. That's my brother Eric and my cousin Sam." He said indicating to the two who waved in greeting. "You know I'm glad I finally got to meet you, the way Aurelia talks about you it's like meeting a celebrity." He said with a smile. "And this is your niece, Asteria." He said indicating the girl in his arms. "I'm sure all this must be a little shocking to you and all. I'm sure we'll be able to catch you up though."

[Nuridia]

Alex chuckled at John's words. "Well that's very nice of you to say, it's nice to meet you as well John." "Eric, Sam." "Any friend of Aurelia's is a friend of mine, I hope I'll get to know all of you." "And how's this little cutie?" Alex smiled, tickling Asteria and making the little girl laugh. He then turned to Aurelia. "So, how's Mom's pregnancy doing?" Aurelia spoke to her brother. "Well, she's two months along and it's a girl." "Her pregnancy's been pretty difficult for just one little baby." Raphael put a hand on his wife's stomach to run a little checkup. It glowed green for a bit and then Raphael pulled his hand away in shock. "Raph, honey?" "Is there something wrong with the baby?" Marie asked worriedly. "No love, nothing's wrong." "I'm just surprised I didn't sense it before." "Sense what before?" Aurelia asked her father. "Well in addition to our son arriving home, instead of one squirmy baby we have two squirmy babies." "Twins." Marie's eyes widened. "Twins, again?!" "Well that would explain why the pregnancy was so hard, but how did we not sense the other baby before?" "Well it turns out that baby two was hiding behind baby one this whole time." Raphael said. "We're having another set of twins." Marie spoke up. "Is it a boy/girl set like Aurelia and Alex were?" the redhead asked. Raphael shook his head. "This is a set of two girls." "Oh geez, I have three pretty sisters I'll have to beat the monkeys off of." Alex sighed, but he was actually happy about the situation.

[Tomia]

John smiled back at Alex and grinned when he started tickling Asteria, enjoying hearing her laugh. Alex certainly seemed nice, he reminded John a lot of Aurelia. He was really surprised when Raphael said Marie would be having twins. "Really? Wow, so that's why Marie's been having so much trouble." John was actually relieved at the news. He had been worried that soenthing was wrong. "Congratulations you guys, I'm really happy for you." John heard Alex's comment. "Well two." He mumbled under his breath. R wasn't sure if Alex had figured out that John was the one dating Aurelia but considering how protective he seems of his sisters John figured it wasn't a smart idea to bring it up.

[Nuridia]

Marie and Raphael smiled at John's statement. "Now if only they could he happy about it and stop wrestling each other while they're inside my body." "Then we can all be happy." "God I feel fat." Marie frowned, she was just cheery two seconds ago. "Jesus Christ, Mom's having another mood swing." Aurelia sighed. Raphael frowned. "That means I may end up having one later on thin the day." Raphael hugged his wife.mwho threw her arms around him to comfort them both. Meanwhile, Alex had caught John's comment. Angels had super hearing after all. And he put it together with the description Aurelia gave and why he was holding her child. "So, I take it that you're Aurelia's new man?" Alex asked John.

[Tomia]

John watched as Marie's mood changed very quickly. Aurelia seemed to be right, she was having a mood swing. He realized she wasn't actually upset, or at least wouldn't be permanently, it was just the pregnancy talking. Still John felt like he should comfort her. "You're not fat Marie. You look great." He told the pregnant woman. John was then a little surprised to hear Alex's comment. He didn't think he would hear him. John had forgotten that angels and half angels could hear a lot better than humans. "Well ya, I guess you could say that. We've been dating for a little more than two months now. I love her a lot, Asteria too, and things have been going really well." He told Aurelia's brother.

[Nuridia]

Marie heard John's comment and then Raphael spoke. "He's right Mimi, you're far from fat." he told his wife. "You're actually very sexy." Marie finally smiled and kissed Raphael. "Thanks Raphy love." "And thank you too John." she told her daughter's boyfriend. Aurelia was happy her family and boyfriend were getting along. She watched Marie and Raphael hold hands, she never met two people more in love than her parents were. Aurelia hoped that she and John would have a true love like that. Alex was surprised at John's words but decided that if they dated for two months he was doing something right. And he accepted the child, which a lot of young guys wouldn't do. "Well, that's great." Alex told John. "My sister and niece clearly love you, and you seem like a nice enough guy." "He is." Aurelia said, walking over to John and holding his hand. "My sister means a lot to me." Alex said about Aurelia. "I love her a lot, and I want to make sure she has a nice guy especially now that she has a kid." "We can talk more later, maybe in some place less dreary." Alex trend to Azrael. "I appreciate everything you've done Uncle Az, I really do." "We all do." Aurelia's family nodded in agreement. "But when do you think we can return to Earth?" Alex asked.

[Tomia]

John smiled at Marie and nodded. "No problem." He told the pregnant woman. He turned to Alex. He was a little nervous at how the half angel would react at the news. He knew he was protective of Aurelia, and knew Aurelia would care a lot about what he thought. He was relieved when Alex seemed to approve. He smiled when he felt Aurelia walk up next to him and take his hand, and kissed her cheek. He nodded to Alex. "You're right to are about her so much, she's awesome. Aurelia and Asteria mean a lot to me too. I just want to do my best to make them happy." He nodded when Alex said they could talk later. He wasn't exactly disappointed at the prospect of going back to Earth, neither were Sam or Eric. Aurelia's uncle seemed like a nice guy, but he certainly lived in a creepy place.

[Nuridia]

"I don't think we'll be going back to Earth just yet." Raphael said. "Mother will want us to at least spend the night, and we'd like to spend some time with her." "Alex hadn't seen his grandmother in so long." Marie nodded in agreement with her husband and everybody gave Azrael a hug before he directed them the path that would lead them out of Sheol. "Big brother, won't you come too?" Michael asked the reaper angel. "Mother misses you, and you don't come up nearly enough."

[Tomia]

John nodded to Raphael. "I can understand that. I'm sure you guys want to spend as much time with your mother as possible. We can stay the night no problem. Besides it must be getting late anyway. One night won't be a problem. Hey, is there a way we can tell our parents we're staying? I figure phones don't work here and I don't want them to worry." He walked with Aurelia and the others to leave as Aurelia and her family said goodbye to Azrael. He heard them try to convince him to come with them, he decided to try to help. "Ya Azrael I'm sure your mother wants to see you."

[Nuridia]

"We can contact them through divination, a crystal ball, a mirror, a bowl of water." "Any clear, reflective surface will do." Azrael said. "But there's also a working telephone in the front lobby where Amie is." He thought about his brother's pleadings and sighed. "Fine, I'll go with you." he said, unsuccessfully hiding a small smile. "But mainly to see Mother." "We missed you too." Raphael smiled back at his brother.

[Tomia]

John nodded to Azrael. "Okay cool, I guess I'll call them when we get back to the lobby then." He gave a small smile when Azrael agreed to come with them and followed the others back to the lobby. Once they got there John walked to the phone and called his mom to let her know they would be staying for the night. "Hey mom? Hey, we're still in heaven. We found Aurelia's brother and everything but Raphael's mother wants us to stay over for the night so we won't be back until morning. Okay, love you, bye." John then hung up and walked back to the group as they got ready to leave.

[Nuridia]

"Well now that we have that little thing taken care of." Azrael said when John called his parents. "You think we should tell John's parents about the twins Raphy?" Marie asked her husband. "Which set?" Raphael joked, reaching out to feel his wife's pregnant stomach and felt two kicks, one a little harder than the other. "That's the one who didn't get a chance to say hello before." Raphael laughed when he felt his unborn children move. His smile turned into a frown though when he saw that Marie's face looked a bit pained when the girls kicked as hard as they did. "Be gentle with Mommy, she loves you you know." "Can you be good for her sake?" Aurelia and Alex smiled as their father spoke to the unborn twins their mother was carrying. The twins kicked again, but it was softer, maybe one of apology and their movements had calmed a bit. "Thanks." Raphael told the babies, kissing his wife's forehead. "Well love, they listen to you." Marie told her husband, hugging him. "Their Daddy's voice seems to calm them." the pregnant redhead said to Raphael.

[Tomia]

John smiled at Raphael's joke but looked a little worried when Marie seemed in pain from the babies' kicks. He listened to Raphael speak to the unborn twin girls an wondered in that moment if they could actually hear him. "Well I guess they listened." John said with a smile. "Well, I guess we should be heading back right? Kira is probably waiting for us."

[Nuridia]

"I guess they did." "They always listen to Raphy." Marie smiled. "But sometimes I wonder, I know this sounds crazy but they kick me so much." "Sometimes I wonder if they like me?" the pregnant woman questioned. Raphael looked at his wife as they went the way Azrael pointed to get out of Sheol. "My love, of course they like you." "You're their mother, they love you." "They're probably just a little rougher because they have to share a womb, it's a small place for two people you know." "Unfortunately this probably means they'll fight like cats and dogs when they grow up." Raphael said. Marie put a hand on her stomach and felt the babies kick, but this one wasn't hard. It was like a kick of greeting, like they were apologizing to her, and confirmi that they did love her. "It's okay babies, I understand." Marie told her unborn twins. "Mama loves you." "Maybe you're right Raphy." she smiled to her husband. "I hoped they won't fight, I hope they'll get along like their big brother and sister do." Marie said about Aurelia and Alex.

[Tomia]

As the group walked out of Sheol John heard Marie wonder if the babies would like her. "Of course they'll like you Marie. Them kicking doesn't mean they won't like you. You're a great mom and those girls are definitely going to love you. I'm sure they'll get along just fine too. I mean ya they'll probably fight but that's siblings do. I'm sure they'll love each a lot just like Aurelia and Alex." He told Marie as they walked out of Sheol.

[Nuridia]

"I hope you're all right." Marie said, as she felt her womb and the twin girls forming inside of it. Aurelia smiled and sighed a bit. "Now I have to get an extra present because there's going to be two new babies." she told John as they finally reached the gate. Azrael unlocked it, and the ground seemed to spit them out as they were launched into the air after the opening lurched. Everybody seemed to land mostly safely, Aurelia caught Asteria and Raphael caught Marie, they used their wings to fly and break their fall.

[Tomia]

John smiled at Aurelia's comment. "Ya, I guess you do. It's not so bad though. I'll help you pick it out if you want. You could also get another of what you bought for the first one. I'm sure they'll soon get used to getting two of things." When they reached the gate John, Sam, and Eric were surprised when they were shot out into the air back towards Kira's house. John turned into an eagle and when he saw that Aurelia had Asteria he landed onto the group safely. Sam being very nimble managed to land on the ground rather gracefully. Eric on the other hand wasn't as lucky. He was startled by being shot into the air and didn't land on his feet. He landed roughly hitting the ground hard. He wasn't seriously hurt or anything, just a little bruised and embarrassed.