Denial and Bargaining

Who: Isobel and Star
Where: The beach
When: Afternoon

Isobel had gone over the books, the plan, everything she could think of. Harlow’s advice had been valuable, more valuable than what she had found in what she’d gotten from the bookstore. Now she was standing on the beach, wind whipping at her hair and she looked out at the shoreline. She wasn’t afraid of things normally and she wasn’t that afraid of what she wanted to do. The worry that she might make things worse though? That was what weighed heavily on her mind and had her pausing. The pause wasn’t long though and she looked up towards the sky, the fluffy blue clouds drifting along. “Mourning Star?” she called, feeling somewhat silly at calling out to thin air. “I... request your presence.”

"Hello, dear." Star said, standing next to the girl. It was as abrupt as usual, one second not there, the second there like she'd been there the whole time. Her long black hair was pulled back, and she was wearing a short black dress. "I was wondering when you were finally going to get around to this."

Isobel was loathe to admit it but the woman caught her off guard and she actually took a startled step back and stared. It was one thing to know of something, of someone, logically. It was another to be fully confronted with it. She opened her mouth to say something, closed it, then tried again. She was rarely ever this speechless. “You’re a kind of deity then?” she ended up asking, which was probably rather rude.

"I prefer 'entity'." Star told her. "'Deity' implies a godlike presence and I'm not for that at all. I'm just a presence." she explained, not finding it rude. It was hardly the first time she'd been faced with that question. "But, you called?"

This was it. Pulling back her composure, Isobel regarded the Mourning Star seriously. "I did. Thank you for answering. I would like bring to you a case for two of my protected, Emmit and Harlow." Isobel was very specific in stating that the fallen and ascended were hers and she looked the other woman (entity, she reminded herself) square in the eye. She wasn't afraid of the Star. She was afraid for Emmit but that fear didn't show in her features. Whether the Star could pick up on it anyway, Isobel didn't know.

"Generally speaking, dear, your calling should focus on humanity." Star pointed out. "But speak anyhow, what is it you've got for your case." she invited, taking the opportunity to sit down, figuring this would be a while.

"Emmit and Harlow are mortal now," the angel said. "And being both fallen and ascended of their kind means that they're hunted by both sides now. They're in constant danger so with my personal calling, they fall under me two-fold." It was different than just explaining this to Harlow. There was a very great possibility that just now she could've crossed a line and in an instant could probably be turned into some bug but Isobel was going forward anyway. "They're good at what they do. You'll never find a more dedicated team to doing this whole karma calling, but it's not enough if half of their time spent on what could be doing their duties for you is spent looking over their shoulders and unable to use old contacts or resources. They're both old for humans. They'll die of old age soon if they don't get killed first. Then they'll be of no use to you."

"Mortal and human are not the same thing." Star said, not sounding annoyed or anything, just pointing out the logistics. "You're meant to help humanity. So far you haven't fallen behind on that, but if you overly focus on those two, it could happen." she added, also not a threat, merely a statement. "I am pleased to see someone of your disposition helping them, and wanting to advocate for their cause, that's very sweet of you. Nicely progressive." she continued, sounding proud. "So far they seem fairly protected. They haven't had to do active battle with anyone on either side. You might want to have slightly more faith in them. You're correct, they're very dedicated, and do very good work. They're efficient, they work well together. They deserve the benefit of the doubt, and not to be treated like children incapable of defending themselves." Star looked out at the water. "It's not about use." she said. "Why don't you come to your real question?" she proposed. "What is it you want?"

"They're humans with mortal lifespans. They have no shapeshifting ability, no supernatural ability. They don't read as an angel or a demon any more. I know they can handle themselves, but it doesn't mean they can use some extra back up. Not just me. I want to ask for some perks for them. Make them tougher stock. Even if you're like that with the other fallen and ascended, the fact that you feel they make a good team and do good work means that they stick out. So why not make them your very best. I'm betting there's a pretty high casualty rate for those like them. Those who go mad, those who can't quite get on board and those who are killed by their former comrades. So why not make them a sure thing." She wasn't asking for longer lifespans. She wasn't asking for them to be turned back into angel and demon respectively. She was just looking to give them extra weapons and if that meant she could have more time with Emmit, then that was good, that would be wonderful, but an immortal life was too selfish on her part to ask.

"Isobel," Star said, turning her gaze back on the angel. "One of us knows what truly defines humanity and one of us does not. You trying to berate me into agreeing that they are human is not going to work, and frankly, arguing with someone like me is rather childish and speaks volumes about your character that I don't believe you'd be proud of. They aren't human, end of story. They're a Fallen Angel, and an Ascended Demon. There is no human element. As for supernatural abilities, they do, actually, they can see where karmic scales lean. But that's neither here nor there. They are as they are meant to be. Emmit even has an extra perk, due to the wishes granted. If you want to seek out better perks for them--do research elsewhere. Talk to some witches, do leg work in other ways. I'm not handing out gifts for people who haven't even asked for them for starters, and beyond that--they get what everyone gets. It wouldn't be very balanced of me if I started tipping the scales, now would it?" Star sighed. "I understand you're upset, and that you seem to have good intentions here, but you're just going to have to face the idea that your and Emmit's time is going to be limited. Possibly very limited. Enjoy what you have. Cherish what you've got in front of you, don't waste your life wishing for something better."

And that took the wind right out of Isobel's sails. She was rarely one to berate or to come off argumentative but it had crossed her mind that this was all possibly a very bad idea. The whole situation had her feeling off balanced, doing something reckless all so she could buy more time. Time. Meeting the Star's eyes again she nodded. "Thank you for hearing me out." Did Isobel actually expect it to work? She wasn't entirely sure. There was little information to go on anyway. "I do have one more question. Is there really no way for Harlow to get her wings back?"

"You're welcome." Star told her, getting back to her feet. She brushed sand off of the seat of her dress, before she addressed Isobel's question. "I'm afraid not." she said. "Harlow's already spoken about it before, but there isn't a way to do it through me. I don't know of anything that would do so otherwise, either. Though it's very nice of you to ask. I know how important they are for her, but she's also made huge strides as a person dealing with her ascension, and everything to do with that. She'll be okay. She's got support. So does he. So do you. You'll be okay if you let yourself be okay."

Nodding, Isobel took a step back as Star stood. "I'll work on that," she promised. If advice was given, Isobel would take it into consideration, especially as the advice given hit close to home. "And I'll value the time I do have left. So thank you, again. I'm sure you have many other important matters to deal with." There were so many things she wanted to ask still. What exactly was she. Was the world outside the loops okay. How long would things last the way they were here. She didn't say any of them though. She'd gotten the answer that she needed and it wasn't her place to take up more of her time.

Star reached out to pat Isobel's shoulder. "Don't think of it as time left. Think of it as starting a new life." she advised. "Have a good rest of the day, dear. Don't let that darkness eat you up." she added before she was gone.