voice;

[paterelohim]

[With how much Chuck loves doing video post, the fact that he's sticking to voice should be the first red flag. The choked tone in his voice is another.]

Fred- Winifred Burkle. Has anyone seen her?

Her NV's offline, she isn't answering it.

[There's a long, sunken silence.]

I think... she's gone.

I want to say she'll probably be back, but I just don't know- I haven't seen it yet. God, what's the point of seeing the future if it doesn't help?

Anyway, I just- thought everyone who knows her should know. She's out.

Comments

[paterelohim]

[He takes it and immediately knocks some back like he's getting paid for it.]

It doesn't like our side of the world. It never has.

[servingfather]

[Pours him another one while sipping at his own.]

It gives less than it takes some weeks.

[paterelohim]

Most weeks.

[He still remembers Balthazar. Zachariah.

What the Core has done to Anna.]

You heard that kid post, right?

[servingfather]

Lots of downtime in between new arrivals weeks.

[Michael can never forget his brothers either.

And it wasn't entirely the Core's fault on that one.]

Which one? There's so many kids posting.

[paterelohim]

The one who said his mom got killed by a hot psycho redhead.

[Sip.]

[servingfather]

No.

[Pause.]

You think it's Anna? [It's asked as if Michael already knows the answer to the question.]

[paterelohim]

I don't know. It's worth asking, probably. The kid must've seen her face.

[He shakes his head, looking haunted. Quietly horrified.]

He looked so... disturbed. Destroyed, you know?

[Chuck bites his lip so hard it hurts, and stares deeply into his glass. There's so much pain around here, so much hurt.]

[servingfather]

There's nothing to gain by asking him. We both know Anna has been less-than-stable since her last trip home.

[His fault and he knows it, which is why he's downing the rest of his drink.]

Would it help if I sent flowers? Or maybe showed up with food of some sort?

[A serious question. What is the protocol for dealing with "sorry my crazy sister killed your mother because I fucked with her head" aftermath?]

[paterelohim]

[He knows it's serious, which is why he gives it a minute of serious thought.]

He's having a memorial thing tomorrow. I think you could just give your condolences, and- use the chance to read his mind.

Then we'll know for sure.

[servingfather]

[Slouches into the couch and heaves a sigh while scrubbing at his face. Did you think you'd ever see him do something so human?]

If I know for sure then I'll have to confront her. It might push her further over the edge and then I'll have to kill her. [Again. And Michael actually doesn't want to do it.]

[paterelohim]

[It warms and hurts his heart at once to see. He slumps a little in his chair tiredly.]

So what? You're just gonna let her kill more people?

[servingfather]

[There's a long pause because he wants so much to turn a blind eye to this but he knows he has to do something. Michael has to take responsibility for his actions.]

No. I'll go to the memorial service.

[paterelohim]

[Chuck nods mutely. Not really sure what to say, he snaps at the hellpuppy and points at Michael, prompting Vonnegut to go over and lay his drooling head on Michael's lap.]

You probably shouldn't mention that you know her.

[servingfather]

[He accepts the hellpuppy's intrusion on his personal space, even lays a hand on Vonnegut's head, idly scratching.]

Yes because I'm going to say that the psycho red-head is my sister and I'm sorry she killed his mother.

[paterelohim]

[An utterly humorless snort.]

Hey, man, I'm never surprised at what you guys will say.

[He does give Michael a small... not really a smile, but a look at least in acknowledgement of his developing (gasp!) social skills. Meanwhile, Vonnegut is snorting softly and moving against Michael's hand, eyes closing contentedly.]

[servingfather]

I might not have ever attended a memorial service but I promised Anna that I would protect her, even if it means lying to keep her from being picked up for murder.

[If anyone's going to deal with their sister, it'll be them. He goes for one of those ears, scratching deeply but not unpleasantly.]

[paterelohim]

[He watches Michael scratch the hellhound's ears almost hypnotically, listening to the dog's happy rumble like he's mesmerizing him. His answer is deceptively soft and deeply-felt.]

What else is family for?

[servingfather]

Depends on which family you're looking at. The Winchesters are very self-sacrificing for each other while mine is nothing like it.

[Sure they might fight and kill for each other but there are so few willing to sacrifice everything for another.]

[paterelohim]

I don't know. Ever ask Zachariah what he'd be willing to do for you? Not what orders he would have followed, but what kind of fire he'd willingly walk into just to save you.

[He grips his glass tighter.]

Balthazar would have laid down his life for Cas. Rachel, too. At certain points Cas would've died to save some of his brothers.

What about you and Raphael?