Gathering Post

[londoncallingmods]

The best thing about London was that there was always something to do, no matter what your interests were. This weekend there was a jazz festival in Bloomsbury, an ale festival that would take you through a drunken train tour of the city, an African culture festival near Covent Garden, and several movie screenings, parties, and other pockets of fun.

Tourists were flooding in from all over, and many Londoners were slipping off to, or coming back from, their latest trips to Barcelona, Paris, or Ibiza. The weather was warm, and it had been fairly dry and sunny lately- Really, it was the perfect place to be right now. ...At least that's what anyone who wasn't heading off to some tropical wonderland would tell you at least.

As day faded into evening, bars came alive and shop windows lit up, inviting in tourists and locals alike. The city buzzed well into the night, calming only briefly in the morning, before bursting back into life again.

(Have your pup be anywhere in the city you like. This GP is intended to take place over the course of Sat and Sun, but will be open all week long! Remember to add your pup's tag after you tag in!)

Comments

[sauntereddownward]

"No, dear boy, I'm someone much, much older," he replied.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Seems hard to believe. Will's older than I can even really fathom," Fin noted, looking thoughtful. "Massive age difference between us, actually. ...I try not to worry about it too much."

[sauntereddownward]

"The fae were men once, long long ago. Men and women driven from east of Eden, driven beneath the ground and beyond the veil to their own realms," Crowley said. "They say every time a baby laughs for the first time a new fairy is born¹.

1. He had never checked the accuracy of this.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I think their world would be significantly overpopulated if that were true," Fin replied, shaking his head a little. "If you're not one of them though, what are you?"

[sauntereddownward]

"Ah, there are more things on earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your whatever. Heaven and Hell have been at work...well, nearly always," he chuckled.

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin raised a brow, not completely certain what the other man meant- Sure, he could place the quote... But what exactly was this man saying?

[sauntereddownward]

Crowley watched him puzzle and puzzle and then shook his head.

"You're a bit thick," he chuckled. "I work for the great downstairs. The hot place. The pit. But I've been on Earth since the Beginning and I'm quite used to it here. Good climate. Excellent wine."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I don't believe in devils and demons," Fin replied, shaking his head. "Fae are a mad enough concept, honestly."

[sauntereddownward]

"Whether you believe or not, the fact is that I'm sitting here talking to you," Crowley said, half amused and half bored with something so trite as atheism. An unfortunate biproduct of technology, he thought. The name of God was now spelled iOS.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Anyone can speak. I could tell you I'm the patron saint of flan, but that doesn't make it true," Fin countered, pressing for some sort of proof.

[sauntereddownward]

Crowley hummed softly, tucked his cigarette between his lips and snapped his fingers. The blind man's eyes were instantly healed, the world sharply in focus. He let Fin look at him for a moment so he could take in the black hair, the flawless skin, high cheekbones, sunglasses and cigarette.

And then he snapped his fingers again and returned the young actor to his natural state.

"The thing is, all I did was tell the truth," he said. "I just pointed out it was silly to put the tree there, tell them about it, and then forbid it. He's omniscient...He knew what would happen."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin wasn't listening though- He was in shock. His vision had been so clear and crisp, and then in an instant it was gone again.

"...How did you do that?"

[sauntereddownward]

"I can do anything, dear boy. Or nearly anything. I was once an angel, you know. Not for a long time, though...but I do still have the benefits package," Crowley answered.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Could you make it permanent?" Fin asked quietly.

[sauntereddownward]

Crowley was quiet for a moment. He could feel the weight of Aziraphale's disapproving glare even without him here.

"I could," he finally replied. "Is it worth your soul and eternal damnation?"

He was hardly trying to sell such a deal.

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin was silent for a long moment, then shook his head.

"No," he said softly.

[sauntereddownward]

"I thought not," Crowley replied. He wondered briefly if he'd done a Good Thing but then decided being honest wasn't necessarily good.

"Can't your faerie do it?" he asked.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Not for any great length of time, no. The most he managed was a day," Fin explained.

[sauntereddownward]

"Unfortunate," Crowley said. "That's not unusual, though. The power of the fae is often limited by their rules and customs."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I suppose that must be it. ...He managed a whole day once though," Fin said. "That was lovely. ...I'd forgotten just how colourful the world is."

[sauntereddownward]

"It is rather beautiful. Pity you can't see it," Crowley said dryly. He stubbed out his cigarette and immediately lit another, his lighter chinking open and then closed again.

"Perhaps he'll do it again for you. Perhaps, for the right price, when you're out of debt and all, maybe I'll offer you a day. For the right price, of course."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I'm not certain I could stand another solitary day- It's too hard to dive back into darkness," Fin admitted. "Each time the world goes dark, it's more painful than the last."

[sauntereddownward]

"Is there nothing the doctors can do? They've come a long way since leeches and exorcisms," the demon replied.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"They restored some of my sight, but... Um, I went through some trauma and malnourishment that reversed the progress they made," Fin explained, looking uneasy as he recalled what had happened. "It's not something they think they can do again. There's too much scarring now."

[sauntereddownward]

"And yet you manage to find your way home," Crowley said. "Rather remarkable how resilient your lot is. Admirable, really."