"So you and Juliet," says Amariah. "Why do you call her Juliet? I did attend human school a little and now I'm wondering... Also, in case you were wondering, Shell Bell and her Sherlock are the cutest thing of all time."

"Oh, a while ago I threw a rock at her window and then recited the opening lines of the balcony scene because it seemed hilarious at the time. It hasn't stopped seeming hilarious yet, and she likes the name. The fact that one of her is dating one of me is, I admit, a fascinating piece of information."

"Until you showed up I thought Kas and his alts were the only repeats, since Golden's husband is unique and the other Sherlock I met besides you and Shell Bell's didn't have a Bell of any sort, but maybe Sherlocks are interdimensionally popular among Bells too," says Amariah. "So you like Juliet but you're not dating her? Yet?"

"That's about the size of it."

"Doesn't she know you like her? Why hasn't she jumped you yet? You're cute." Pause. "Is it the parasitized soul thing, is that freaking her out?"

"It may very well be," he says. "Vampires and Slayers are not exactly traditional allies; there was a certain amount of distrust when we first met. Distrust and crossbow bolts. And she certainly knows I like her, but she has not expressed any interest in return since I mentioned it."

"Huh. I'd sleep with you except - my problem isn't that your soul's got a parasite, it's that it's got you in the way of it, and Path'd be sitting in a corner with nothing to do, and unoccupied daemons do not pleasing encounters make."

"Sweet Jovah singing," mutters Angela.

"Relax. If it's any consolation, Golden and her husband, totally monogamous," says Amariah to her counterpart reassuringly. "You can hang out on that end of the spectrum and I'll be over here hitting on cute boys trying to figure out what to do with my Path."

"Would it work out any better if we threw your boyfriend in the mix?" he inquires.

"You know, it would," says Amariah brightly. "We can suggest it when they're done with Micaiah. ...Angela. Angela, Micaiah will be just like you left him, okay, this doesn't represent a fundamental personality change."

"I believe you, I'm just - adjusting," says Angela. "It's very strange to be called Angela in this context. Back home it's a polite thing to call a female angel, like 'ma'am' for mortals. I feel like you're being very formal."

"I look forward to hearing his answer," Sherlock says cheerfully.

"I am not really finding it likely that he'll turn down the proposition," says Amariah. "While we wait, let's talk protection spells - I can conjure up many of the materials I'll need on the spot, but some of them I'll want to get from Bar before we leave, like the tea tree oil, and you know better than I do what sorts of threats Juliet's up against." And she starts listing protective blessings and enchantments and tattoos she can do.

Angela half-listens, and also adds an entry to the guestbook about who she has met today and what has been discussed.

Sherlock happily offers opinions and information. Physical protections are the highest priority, but that doesn't mean other protections should be neglected, as long as he thinks they're reasonably likely to transfer well.

Amariah writes down notes. "She might veto the tattoos," she says. "Kas has a bayleaf, but he doesn't mind being marked up and he definitely doesn't mind it hurting. I cursed him with cluster headaches a while ago as a present and he complains when I suppress them because I'm worried Petaal's going to crash her cloudpine if one strikes at the wrong moment."

"Is that something I'll have to find a way to live with too?" Angela asks. "Or - no. Oh, Jovah's good, he took care of it already." She smiles.

"...Your god handled your boyfriend being a masochist for you already?"

Angela taps the Kiss in her arm. "I mentioned that Jovah chose us for each other. There's the colors, but many people's Kisses also hurt when they're active. Mine doesn't. Micaiah's does, especially when I sing." Pause. "He makes the most curious faces sometimes..."

"Oh. Convenient!" says Amariah approvingly. "And yeah, I absolutely hear you about the faces."

Sherlock laughs. "I really must meet this person," he remarks. "Both of him."

"There's a bunch running around. There's ours, there's Stella's, there's the one Stella put on an asteroid and Shell Bell shot so she could take his stuff."

"Yes, he was in the guestbook. I don't remember Shell Bell mentioning anything about shooting him, however."

"She didn't write it down, but she told me about it. When she was resource-collecting, she found that one, he recognized her as one of Stella, and he said she could have his guns if she shot him with one of them. And she was like, '...okaaaaay...' and she shot him and took his stuff." Amariah shrugs. "He was all right, it turned out, Kas is always very excited to see him when they run into each other, but don't assume you can collect arbitrary injuries here - he shows up in his dreams when he's asleep, not through doors."