V1 watches him drift off to sleep, wings fading into nothing, his breathing slowly evening out. It should have pursued that degree in psychology, it thinks, dipping its hand into the mug of tea. Not that it can absorb it like it does with fuel, but it does like the temperature.
The door to the room flies open. V1 checks Gabriel quickly—still fast asleep, and no wonder—before facing V2. The red machine stands in the doorway, leg still outstretched, half in her combat stance but too shocked to move.
Slowly, she pulls out her phone.
‘Uh, sunshine? Found them,’ she says as quietly as she can manage (which is, not very). ‘Yeah, they’re in my dorm—’
‘Our dorm,’ signs V1.
‘I’m kicking you out,’ says V2. Then, spoken into the phone, ‘Yeah, don’t worry about it. They’re both fine for now. Won’t be once I’m done with them, though.’ She hangs up.
V2 tucks her phone back into her pocket.
‘So you find him,’ she says. ‘And instead of leaving us a message, you disappear, have us embarrass ourselves by asking around campus, and meanwhile you’re here—glutting yourself on angel puss—’
‘Woah, and I thought he was supposed to be the Catholic one.’
V2 almost reaches for the nearest thing to throw—a book on a shelf—but stops herself at the last minute.
‘Listen to me, asshole.’ She places her hand on a wall in an attempt to look casual but the cracks that form beneath her palm betray her. ‘We are five days away from our one and only chance to achieve Mirage’s dream. If I see you wasting time railing angels with severe anger issues I will find you and I will crucify you. I’ll crucify him too.’
‘Sweet. Second death threat within the hour.’
V1 dodges to the side to avoid the wrench she throws at it. The tool hits the opposite wall and slides to the bed, landing near Gabriel’s feet. V2 pulls out a second wrench from her jacket.
‘Take this seriously,’ she growls. ‘We are barely competent. I need us to be at the top of our game. Get back to practice.’
V1 stands. ‘Give me a moment. I’ll leave him a note.’
That is enough to make V2 stop in her tracks.
‘What happened with the two of you?’
V1 ignores the question, too busy scribbling on a yellow sticky note. It thinks quickly before slapping the note on top of Gabriel’s helmet. The angel shifts in his sleep but otherwise stays where he is.
‘I was joking about the sex thing,’ says V2.
V1 shrugs, shutting the door behind the two of them as they start down the corridor.
‘I don’t think that could fix him,’ murmurs V2. ‘If anything you’re going to make him worse.’
V1 shrugs again. ‘We’ll see.’
~~~
Two planned tracks, only one semi-competent. Like it or not, with the limited time they have, Mirage makes them start on the second song.
‘No sheets,’ she says. ‘I’m sure this one is burned into your memories.’
She plays a few notes on her keyboard. V2 shudders and V1 flinches, remembering. The song that had ended in disaster at that show so many years ago.
‘Well, let’s go,’ says Mirage, crisp. ‘One, two, three, four—‘
The door swings open. Gabriel stands in the doorway, looking more ruffled than usual but otherwise well-rested. Mirage checks her watch and for good measure looks outside at the streetlamps piercing through the darkness that lies over the campus.
‘Shouldn’t you be sleeping?’
Gabriel pretends to be checking out the ceiling fan. ‘I… have gotten enough rest this afternoon.’
V2 shoots V1 a look. Mirage flexes her wrists.
‘Come in here. I need your feedback later.’
And he does, perching on a stool in his usual corner, cupping his chin with his hands. Mirage walks back to her keyboard and signals for the others to begin.
They sound decent, but only that. V1 drums mechanically, only focusing on not getting anything wrong. V2 plays softer than usual, too afraid of breaking any strings. Mirage herself looks defeated, looking more at her fingers than at her usual imaginary audience.
When the music comes to a stop, Gabriel stands up. Mirage follows suit immediately, nervous energy thrumming through her shell.
‘Is something wrong?’
‘No. On the contrary,’ says Gabriel. ‘I could pick out no mistakes.’
Mirage sighs in relief, but V2 turns a knob on her instrument.
‘However?’
Gabriel carefully avoids her gaze. ‘You sounded better the first time I heard you.’
Mirage’s shoulders slump. The others watch her cautiously, waiting—
She sighs once more. ‘You’re right. What made that difference…’
Her voice trails off as she begins to pace, muttering inaudibly to herself.
‘Is it the acoustics?’ V1 hears her say when she walks past the drum set. It taps its fingers on the rim of the snare, then realises that Gabriel is staring directly at it. It holds out its hands in a ‘what?’ gesture, only for him to quickly turn to the left, pretending to stare out the window.
‘Get to the point.’ V2 sets down her guitar, arms crossed, addressing Gabriel. The archangel looks like a cornered animal, crossing his ankles to hide the tapping of his feet. That catches Mirage’s attention as well, and she tilts her head, confused.
‘Do you want something?’
Gabriel pretends to cough into his hand. ‘I… yes, actually.’
V2 scoffs. ‘Now was that so difficult?’
‘I need to find someone,’ says Gabriel, still looking out the window. ‘Those yearbooks I borrowed… I must ask you to look through them.’
His gaze darts quickly between the three of them. ‘I am looking for a blue skeleton.’
V2 freezes in place, turning slowly to face V1, who shakes its head, exasperated. Finally she slaps her knees, laughing.
‘Oh, man. Was that why you disappeared? Because you were trying to look through twenty-odd years of yearbooks for one Husk in particular? Oh my God,’ says V2, poking Mirage in the side with her elbow. The girl sighs and pats V2 on the back, avoiding her fluttering wings. ‘We can scan through all of those in two hours. You with your flesh-and-blood body…oh my God.’ She continues to laugh, being out of a breath not a concern for her. ‘You could have just asked. This is nothing to us.’
Gabriel looks around helplessly, gaze landing squarely on V1. V1 signs, ‘Good work.’ and Gabriel shudders, choosing to look at Mirage instead.
Mirage’s shoulders relax considerably. ‘I’m just glad you didn’t disappear on us.’
Gabriel looks like he is about to say something but stops himself at the last moment, instead changing the topic. ‘Are you performing this Friday?’
And that shakes the bravado out of V2. Gabriel pulls out a notepad and scribbles something on it. ‘I can make it at that time. I will make sure to show my support. Thank you,’ he says, bowing slightly. ‘This is the least I can do to repay you.’
Oh, he’s so… cringe? No, sincerity is never a bad thing. V1 searches in its database, looking for a word to use, and comes up empty.
It does feel… strangely happy.
Mirage stands up straight, giving V2 a reassuring pat on the shoulder. ‘Alright, back to business. We’re getting the notes right. What’s missing?’
‘I think it sounds stiff,’ says Gabriel, sounding less strained than before.
‘Of course,’ says Mirage. ‘That’s what happens when you use live performers. There’s the emotional factor… now that I think of it, isn’t that the point of music?’
She shakes her head, signals to V1. ‘Let’s try again. And I hate to say this, but… with feeling, this time.’
uh yeah first mid-week update
fun fact i was an orchestra kid. i have never been in a band so i'm just kinda making shit up for these guys. i'm not sure how different it is from orchestra except with fewer members (and that isn't necessarily true all of the time). yah