driftfleet | { so have a little mingle }

[He's quick to kneel down and start collecting any wayward clothing.]

No, here — Let me —

I'll wash it for you. Sorry. Um.

... [He squints at the fuzzy edges around the... kid? Teenager? He looks young.]

So... Are you usually, uh... A little blurry around the edges, or?

If I am, it just means your resonance isn't up to snuff. I'm surprised you can see me at all.

[He reaches out and tugs at the elaborate white robe Sam's pulled off the floor.]

You can sweep. This is irreplaceable, and I don't even know you.

[Like hell he's going to risk letting some stranger mess up Sorey's clothes. The Shepherd's garb especially is important!]

Right, okay. Yeah, you - go ahead with that.

[As he helps recollect the poor fallen pile, he ventures for a question.]

Resonance?

What would that make you? Ghost? Reaper? ... Imaginary friend?

[100% serious question.]

[s i g h here we go again.]

I'm a seraph. And before you ask, no, not an angel. Or a ghost. Seraph.

... Interesting.

[He looks totally caught by the new information, focused and curious.]

Seraph definitely has a different meaning in my world, then.

Do you mind expanding more? On Seraphs.

[It's a pleasant surprise that he's getting a question and not an argument or assumption, which has happened enough that he actually relaxes somewhat, shaking the salt out of the laundry and setting it all in a pile.]

"Things which cannot be seen or explained, such as gods, spirits, or supernatural phenomena are revered by the people as seraphim." That's what humans call us where I'm from. The most basic definition is elemental spirit.

[He brightens a bit, though he's still making an effort to clean up the salt.]

... That's definitely new for me — well, I mean, I'm familiar with elemental spirits in the sense of the 16th century works by Paracelsus, but I'm betting that's not what you were going for.

You mind telling me more about your kind?

[8D it's cool that you're not trying to murder me

that's usually how these meetings go back home]

[Well, it's not like he minds, but... it's surprisingly difficult to define yourself with specifics. If Sorey were here, he'd probably spout off another ten paragraphs from the Celestial Records or something...]

Hmm... as I said, we're elemental. Each seraph is connected to a specific natural element, the most common being earth, wind, fire, and water. I'm a water seraph, which is why I was able to-

[He lifts the robe into the air with one hand, and the other is raised to call forth a small burst of light. Water swirls to life, creating a bubble around the robe, swishing it about like it's inside a washing machine.]

-do that. Though I imagine it looks different for you than it does for me.

[Oh. Neat. So helpful, those powers. It would be so nice to clean clothes that way, so Dean can't do something offensive to his clothing. Like iron it with beer. He nods, though he looks just as curious as before the explanation.]

Looks different how?

Maybe not you specifically, though you did say I look... blurry. Most mortals can't see seraphim, or hear our voice. A seraphic arte like this would look like water appeared out of nowhere and started washing enchanted clothes.

[He closes a hand into a fist around the robe and pulls it out of the water; once it's free, the sphere dissolves as if it was never there, and the robe looks slightly damp instead of soaked like it should. He hangs it up and goes for the next pile of salted clothing.]

... I see...

[He rubs his chin, thoughtful.]

Must be how often I interact with gods and ghosts and everything inbetween.

[He's just a supernatural magnet, okay. See: him as a six month old.

Crazy shit, man.]

...That... would likely explain it, yes. Humans with natural resonance to begin with have a better chance of seeing seraphim the longer they're in proximity, or so I've been told.

[Interesting. Maybe this guy's similar to Sorey and Rose in that sense?]

I see... I guess that would make sense; I've been surrounded by the supernatural since I was pretty much a baby, and then some. [A soft chuckle. Not only that, but he ended up having powers of his own for a while; if he still has them, has the power to tap into them... he's not sure. He'd be terrified to try it again. Would rather throw himself into a fire, unless the world — or Dean, but fat chance — needed it from him.] I'd honestly be more surprised if I couldn't see you, in that case.

It's the same situation as Sorey, then. He's human, but since he grew up in a seraphim village with me, his resonance developed since we were children.

[It's kind of comforting to know that there are others like that.]

I see. That'd make sense, then.

... I'm Sam, by the way. Sam Winchester.

[He puts out a hand; can you shake hands? Yes? :'D]

You're, um...?

[Give him a second, he's just gonna blink in surprise at that hand, first. He can, sure, but he usually doesn't. People in his world are shy about trying to touch the seraphim most of the time.

Kinda refreshing, actually, even if it's a little irreverent. He accepts the hand.]

Mikleo.

[He gives the hand a firm shake; he's reminded of his first time meeting Cas, of the eagerness he found in meeting an angel. Nothing'll ever come close, and nothing will ever match the way his faith was punched in the gut then, but it's always nice to feel like that again. Meeting a new supernatural thing, something not to hunt, but to be enthused around.]

... Sorry again for the clothes.

[He smiles thinly.]

I'm guessing Earth isn't your usual world? Well, okay, I'm just guessing there based on my own experience. So I'm probably jumping the gun, but...

No, it's a fair assumption. I'd never even heard of Earth before I came here, and even now, I can't say I know much about it. There have been some conflicting stories.

[Sometimes there are supernatural elements, sometimes those are all fiction... granted, that's the case with a few people in his world, but it's pretty rare. The seraphim aren't that far removed from human history to be considered make-believe.]

Ah, yes. The joys of multiple universes.

Have you found anyone from a similar world yet? Or someone with similar supernatural beings?

There's someone on this ship who said seraphim were similar to beings on his world- ageless immortals known as Ainur, or Holy Ones. Others have spoken of spirits of some kind, but none of them are all that comparable.

[It's not intended as a brag, but seraphim are pretty unique, in his (biased) opinion.]

I mostly hear the "angel" parallel, but I don't even really know what that means.

Mmm. That would make sense.

[He nods.]

Where I'm from, they're soldiers of our god, capable of all sorts of abilities -- they can make themselves invisible, smite people, perform miracles, hear prayers... They're a holy sort of being, made from grace. But they also have to gain the consent of a person to possess their body, in order to walk the earth.

For us, though, they, um. They can be real... dicks. One of my best friends is an angel, but a lot of them also think humans aren't worth a second glance; "hairless apes", they liked to call us.

I've had a lot of bad run-ins.

[Haha.]

I see... that explains the attack.

[Yeah, he's not forgetting any time soon. Though he doesn't sound angry about it anymore. At least it was only salt?]

If angels are servants of a god, then the seraphim definitely aren't like angels. For humans, we'd be more like the gods themselves, I guess? There are churches and shrines devoted to seraphim, and people pray and offer gifts in exchange for their blessings. And we can dwell inside a Shepherd's body, but that's more complicated than just asking permission.

[A-ahaha... ha...

Sheepishly:]

... Actually, I thought you were definitely a ghost.

[8'D he waggles the shut-off EMF machine.]

[....

....

Well, it's not like he's the first... still, Mikleo can't help sighing.]

Why salt, out of curiosity? I've never heard of that method before.

[Back home you just smack them with seraphic artes until they're purified.]

[oh no don't ask him--]

Well actually, salt's been around as a way to purify for a long time -- in religion and in supernatural folklore. The idea is that salt is a natural element from the earth and was even used as an antiseptic; it's been used to combat demonic forces and to chase off witches, as a ward against evil or something not truly cleansed. For ghosts, it's essentially effective because they're unnaturally trapped in the veil between the living and the dead.

But for demons, it's likely... um...

I mean -- anyway. Salt rings are really helpful for protection, for hunters.

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