The Wrath of Semangelof, Part II

 Semangelof and his youngest brother Gabriel stood together at the edge of the Oasis, heads bowed together as if in deep, deliberate meditation or prayer. Their mouths moved together in tandem, words spoken so quickly there was no way to recognize what they were saying. The sound emanating from their lips was more of a steady humming that lulled the listener into its grasp. 

Their lips moved faster still when Semangelof started to raise his left hand. A layer of dust lifted off the ground, the particles swirling in a gentle, never-ending spiral rising higher and higher into the air. Then the air around them started to move. Sparks of light began to jump from his fingertips, reflecting a kaleidoscope of colors in the most magnificent hues of pinks, greens, and yellows, with flashes of blue and black. 

Gabriel opened his eyes and stepped back when he felt a rush of heat against his face. He couldn't believe what he saw in front of him.

Semangelof was floating in the air above the ground, palms up, head to the sky, with blue flames erupting from his crown. There was a rush of intense peace and harmony that felt like rapture, but it was gone just as soon as it started. 

"Semi!" Azrael yelled from across the grounds, snapping him out of his reverie. "What are you doing?" He looked at his older brother with concern as he moved closer to the two of them.

Semangelof scowled, irritated at his younger brother's interference. "What Azrael? What was I doing?"

"Mind manipulation," Azrael spat. "You were swirling the dust from the ground in the air with your hand while you floated in the air! There was light coming from your fingertips! I watched you! We are not to manipulate physical matter, only the metaphysical, which cannot be physically quantified."

"What's the fun in that?" Semangelof quipped, knowing it would piss Azrael off. Semangelof was the only angel who could manipulate physical matter out of energy. Other than Brahma, no other spiritual being had the gift of creation like him. This made Semangelof the pariah of his siblings. 

"You know Father says you are not to manipulate that power ever, Semi. I am obligated to tell Him you are blatantly breaking the rules," Azrael informed.

"You're only as obligated as your need for His approval, little brother," Semangelof answered with a look of disapproval, then turned away to face Gabriel again.

Dark and brooding, Azrael cared not for his light-bringer brothers, and he made sure everyone knew it whenever allowed the chance. 

"The rules exist for you to follow, too, Semangelof," Azrael spat.

Semangelof slowly looked back in the direction of Azrael, put his hand up to Gabriel as if to ask him to hold that thought, and watched his brazen younger brother stomp his way over to join them. 

"Here is the attention you ordered. Do you feel better now, Azrael?"

Azrael was larger than Semangelof, but he was slow. His movements looked labored and compulsory next to the natural fluidity that was Semangelof's gait. "I don't care for your attention, brother. I care for your righteousness."

"Why is my righteousness of any concern to you, Azrael?" he asked, one eyebrow raised while he remained focused on the energy swirling before them. 

"Because when you make decisions, the consequences have an effect on all of us!"

"Only so much as you allow them, little brother," he said, with a hint of paternal concern. 

"Semangelof, I will not be party to your conspiracies! There is a--," he started, but Semangelof interrupted him right as he was about to really get going.

"Let me stop you right there, Azrael," he sighed, placing a gentle arm around his younger brother's wide shoulders. "While I absolutely appreciate your concern, it is sorely misguided. Gabriel and I are merely practicing a ritual to perform for Father Brahma, in His honour. It's supposed to be a surprise. You don't want to ruin the surprise, do you?"

"A surprise?" Azrael repeated, a little stupidly--like he was hearing the words, but couldn't understand them in the order they were placed. 

"A surprise. For the ceremony Father Brahma's been stressing about. Gabriel and I came up with this performance to show Him we appreciate everything He created and continues to provide for us. It truly is an articulation of His magnificence, but if you tell Him before we're able to show Him our interpretation of His glory, the truth of what we know, He won't be able to understand how much we love and respect Him."

Azrael turned to look at Gabriel, who was standing there with a sad look of disappointment. Like, as usual, here was Azrael, being unreasonable and whiny, always in the way, but never enough to actually be noticed or listened to. It made him feel so unlike the rest of his brothers, and he wanted run as far as possible to get away from them all. He didn't believe them, but what else could he do? They weren't going to tell him what they were really up to. He'd have to watch them more closely. Follow them when they don't know he's watching. That's what he'll do. He'll be a spy. Then, when he finally puts the truth together for Father Brahma, he'll reveal it all and get the recognition and appreciation he truly deserves. 

Azrael smiled at his brothers in understanding, "Once again, Semi, you show why you are truly God's Favorite," and then disappeared from sight.

Semangelof

"I hate when you all say that to me," Semangelof muttered under his breath to no one in particular. 

Gabriel still heard him, "You won't ever hear me say it to you," he replied. Gabriel was a gentle, protective spirit. He didn't care too much for the way some of his archangel brothers treated Semangelof. 

Semangelof sighed. "I know, Gabriel. I appreciate you for that. I just don't understand why the others can't see it? Like, what purpose does it serve for me to have all the powers of The Most High if I can't do anything with them? He made me this way, and I'm supposed to just... what, exactly? Sit and watch Him do everything I can do, only better, and not want to master it for myself? Does that honestly make sense to anyone?"

Gabriel thought the question over a bit before he opened his mouth again to speak. "I'm sure to anyone who has truly given it a semblance of thought it doesn't make any sense to keep you from testing out and practicing your gifts. But the thing is, they're jealous of you, Semi. There's no way around it. And everyone knows it. They can't admit it to themselves because they see you as the lesser. To them you are merely a facsimile of the Most High--a damaged, sentient clone. They see it as a weakness."

"It's not my fault I can feel things..." Semangelof's voice broke off mid-sentence. "He made me this way."

"I know it's not," Gabriel supported.

"Then why do they treat me like I am doing something unnatural? How do they think Father Brahma was able to harness His gifts if He was never allowed to utilize them? Do you mean to tell me you believe He created all of this, just on the first try? Just like that?" Semangelof snapped his divine fingers and the most beautiful sound emitted from the ripple of his wings. 

"Semi, you know He's a paranoid perfectionist," Gabriel sighed. "Of course he didn't do it all on the first try. That's the story He'd like us to believe, but we archangels know better. We've been there since the very beginning. We saw what Creation takes out of Him, the way He has to focus and harness His energy for particular tasks is something He isn't used to. You can tell by the way He fumbles with it. That's why His greatest manifestations are explosions. He wants us to believe order falls naturally from the expulsions, but we know the truth."

"Speaking of 'the truth,'" Semi gave Gabriel a look. "I did it again. I saw her. Outside of the Oasis. I know where she is. It's like I can track her."

Gabriel tried to look unfazed. "Oh?"

"Yeah. All I have to do is think of her. I picture her face, and it's like I'm transported to wherever she is, but she doesn't know I'm there. I still don't know how I'm doing it, but it works. I can see her, smell her, hear her--the only thing I can't do is touch her."

"Why do you want to? Have you tried?" Gabriel asked. He looked truly interested. 

Semi laughed. "I just wanted to know if I could. It was funny because she kind of jumped when I touched her, but I couldn't feel anything. My hand just went through her shoulder." He motioned with his hand as if to penetrate Gabriel's shoulder with it, and to his surprise, it did--it faded right through his youngest brother's front and exited out his back. Both their eyes went wide and Semangelof yanked his hand back. "Just... like... that..." his voice trailed off. 

Before either could respond to what just happened, the archangel siren blared from what seemed to be within their spirits. They knew this meant an emergency archangel meeting was underway, and it was mandatory every archangel was present immediately. They flew together back to Celestial City to find out what they missed.