Snowblind IC Inbox

[godsspeed]

@whatisthis

This device is meant to be a means of long-distance communication. It seems remarkably impractical.

Regardless, if you leave me a 'message' I will do my best to respond.

Comments

[nursetemple]

Yeah, see, I wasn't sure how - how you communicate with Him, when you're down here on Earth.

[She takes a moment, composing herself, biting the inside of her lip as she tries to find the words she wants to use to explain it. It could be an easy one, she could just explain the usual - the Hail Mary's and the Our Fathers' and the Glory Be's. But it wouldn't really explain how she prays.]

I do follow the rosary template, but... I also like to just. Talk to Him. Is that wrong? Church was very strict on prayers, but for myself, I've always been a little more creative with them. I thought maybe He'd be more interested in hearing about life than just the same litanies.

[godsspeed]

Intent matters more than the words used. Many of the structures began as someone "just talking" a long time ago. All are heard and appreciated, if not answered.

[ His tone is apologetic, and possibly a little bit melancholy as well. There was a time when Heaven used to intervene - not often, but regularly, to save the deserving and punish the wicked. It wasn't a better time, necessarily, but it was simpler, and had felt much more like doing God's work than ignoring all the prayers that billowed up from below. Why else would He have made His angels able to hear any plea or message made out to them?

He hesitates, then adds; ]

I think it's... good. To speak for the sake of speaking, not obligation or need.

[nursetemple]

I can't say that He's talked back to me, that's for sure.

[And why would he? She's never done anything to grant His attention; she's barely an example of a good Christian girl, after all. She might be doing something good with her life, but it's not like she's followed His principles as much as her mother wanted her to.]

Do you know if He hears us anyway? Even when it feels like we're praying to no one, sometimes?

[godsspeed]

[ Castiel hesitates slightly. Some time ago the answer would have been 'yes, of course' with no second thought given, but now he isn't so sure. It eats away at him - to have doubt is one of the greatest crimes an angel can commit, but what Anna and Uriel had to say about their Father's long silence and whether Michael and Raphael were truly speaking for Him stick in his mind. ]

No. I don't know, not for sure. It is... not often that he speaks to us, either. [ This isn't something he should be saying. Revealing the workings of Heaven isn't forbidden exactly, but only because it simply isn't done, not without good reason. It is true, though, and it's never been in Castiel's nature to lie - though perhaps his motivations for sharing this much are a little selfish. From her questions, it seems like Claire may well come very close to understanding what he's going through. It's not fair to burden a human with reaffirming an angel's faith, but in the moment he can't help himself. ]

But... all angels can hear prayers, if we listen for them. I can't imagine there's anything we can do that he can't.