For a short moment all Michael did was tilt his head and peer at the outstretched hand. He supposed that had to be the half-human element in action. Before Jack had time to lose his nerve he took his hand and gave it the sort of handshake one might expect from the former General of Heaven's forces: firm, unrelenting, and without any of Jack's squirming. He took care not to crush his fingers, though.
Michael withdrew his hand and then snapped his fingers again. This time, it summoned to the table what had passed for a pizza at the real Jaci's Little Red Wagon diner. The human side of Jack ate, he remembered that.
"He'd either try to kill you or imprison you," he said, blunt as ever. "Lying to the Winchesters rarely ends well for anyone, but considering the consequences of speaking the truth, I don't see an alternative."
An adult approving of Jack's lie. Perhaps that would bring the boy some measure of peace.
"Late twenties, amiable yet withdrawn, and brimming with magic? That would be one and the same. She lives in Solvunn, as I do. Lucifer is in Thorne. Be mindful when you visit Nocwich or the Horizon, but you have little chance of running into him within the Free Cities.
"How does one such as you lose their powers several times? Was it something to do with the other version of me? I never did meet my alternate."
Though he wondered what that other Michael had been like—why his Father had made more than one of him, what traits were common between them—what inspired a flicker of real curiosity was Jack. He had never anticipated meeting a nephilim of his nature, had no point of reference for what one might be like, and, at the bottom of it all, was endeared despite himself. It had been a very long time since he'd been around a (half-)angel as new as Jack.
no subject
Michael withdrew his hand and then snapped his fingers again. This time, it summoned to the table what had passed for a pizza at the real Jaci's Little Red Wagon diner. The human side of Jack ate, he remembered that.
"He'd either try to kill you or imprison you," he said, blunt as ever. "Lying to the Winchesters rarely ends well for anyone, but considering the consequences of speaking the truth, I don't see an alternative."
An adult approving of Jack's lie. Perhaps that would bring the boy some measure of peace.
"Late twenties, amiable yet withdrawn, and brimming with magic? That would be one and the same. She lives in Solvunn, as I do. Lucifer is in Thorne. Be mindful when you visit Nocwich or the Horizon, but you have little chance of running into him within the Free Cities.
"How does one such as you lose their powers several times? Was it something to do with the other version of me? I never did meet my alternate."
Though he wondered what that other Michael had been like—why his Father had made more than one of him, what traits were common between them—what inspired a flicker of real curiosity was Jack. He had never anticipated meeting a nephilim of his nature, had no point of reference for what one might be like, and, at the bottom of it all, was endeared despite himself. It had been a very long time since he'd been around a (half-)angel as new as Jack.