[c] See The Good In You, ----> Personal Plot

[Pippa Harvard]

The coffee shop was quiet that day. At this awkward hour, only the employed who took a short break to grab some liquid energy would slip in and out of the doors. It was neither lunch nor dinner, and with the time nearing 4pm, Pippa felt rather awkward sat where she was. Still unemployed, she was not so worried about the time as much as her attire. Though simple as far as two-piece suits go, she felt stifled and unsure. She wasn't told what she was expected to wear - especially to an interview in a coffee shop. Though it all struck her as rather odd, her friend Kevin insisted that if it was an interview, dressing up wouldn't hurt her.

'Damn his advice.' she cursed mentally as she put a piece of paper down on the small, round wooden table. Slipping a pencil from her purse, she began to doodle on it. With a major in art and a minor in psychology, she began to rethink what it could have been useful for. 'Anything with people, I guess' Kevin had said again 'or advertising? Look into that'. She muttered to herself that she had tried. She was looking for something to get her through graduate school. But with no real subject in mind after rethinking her 'career' in art, Pippa was left in a sort of personal limbo with no real way to go.

That's when this job interview came up. 'Judge of people' sounded strange, but psychology could help there, right? Either way, it wouldn't hurt. She nibbled on the pencil eraser and waited for the clock to strike 4. It would suck if this guy she was meant to meet didn't show.

[uriel angelus]

His outfit was crisp and clean, professional as always with an extra ounce of rigidity as he attempted to maintain a hard-lining, human guise. For this job, he needed the worker to be as unbiased as possible- which meant a cynical human who had a good sense of moral character. He had no hard time finding such individuals- even with the angels and demons warring at their doors, this generation refused to recognize their God. It was astounding. Many humans were now under his employ, in the guise of interviewers for political office in this time of war with a ridiculous amount of pay. It was just one of the many ways that Uriel pretended at playing fair, never once acknowledging that his blatant manipulation of people negated the unbiased effect that it resulted in the selection of new recruits.

He straightened his tie as he entered the cafe, clearing his throat as his eyes narrowed in on the newest human hopeful. Pippa Harvard, unemployed and desperate. He recognized her aura immediately and centered on it, using it to guide him to her table- even though the task wouldn't be too hard for even a human in this dead traffic. He held out his hand for her to shake, the stiffness and the callousness of his fingertips a tad daunting, his eyes cold and calculating and he sized her up. She seemed nervous, but not too unconfident, and he could almost feel her determination radiating from her body.

"Ms. Harvard?" he asserted, his voice lead and oak, "My name is Uriel. I am here to interview you, as per our arrangement. May we begin?"

He pulled himself a chair, waving away the anxious clerk who had been hoping for his custom. He was not too fond of eating, since he didn't need it, and was focused on too much else today. This interview was too important.

[Pippa Harvard]

A wind swept through the open windows and fluttered Pippa's doodle page. She smacked the paper down with her palm to keep it from flying away. As she did, she glanced around. Her eyes fell on a man walking into the coffee shop with purposeful movements. Pippa took a second to take him in, a daunting man who looked like he had a bad day or something and dressed formally. This would not be fun. If the stony face didn't scare her, his hand trusting forward made her shift. Yet she did not hesitate to put a small hand in his and shake it firmly before letting go. His hands were rough and cold - not as one would expect a pencil-pusher's to be. An imaginative mind briefly considered what odd extra curricular this man would be doing to get tough hands and for some reason, her mind settled on horse-riding or DIY.

"Pippa Harvard... but I guess you knew that since you recognized me. So yeah, we can start." Pippa shifted her gaze from his to looking down at her doodle sheet which her fingers began to immaculately fold and slip away into her handbag. She was evidently far from embarrassed about what may seem like a childish activity. But drawing was a filler when the world was quiet. Some would plug their ears to music, but not Pippa. Her taste in music was rather indiscriminate.This lead to her not feeling greatly passionate about any particular song or genre. Colours filled that 'void' rather comfortably.

She then looked up and met Uriel's eyes again. 'Uriel... there's one name I haven't come across yet.' She smiled politely at Uriel to show she was waiting for him to begin. There was a slight clenching in her chest. She didn't like interviews. 'Damn you again, Kevin', she thought. She tried to distract herself momentarily from that nervous reaction by observing Uriel's rather unanimated face. 'He'd look cute if he didn't look like he was smelling something really bad right now.' Pippa now cursed herself. But she fought back her laughter well. Giggling wouldn't be a very good first impression, especially when there seemed to be no reason for it. Explaining that she thought he looked like a pin was poking him uncomfortably wouldn't be a good idea either.

[uriel angelus]

With a stiff smile, he reached within his suit jacket and pulled out a file that he had instructed Celestial to make for him- intricately detailed, it laid out a structured outline of Pippa's life, with small notations of her qualifications for the job. It made no difference to the archangel that the file he pulled was obviously much to large for his jacket; he had stored it in another dimension and simply had pulled it from the jacket for the look of the thing. He didn't want to lie to the poor human, but he wasn't about to let the importance of his being slip from her mind, either. If Uriel had one weakness, it was his need for control and respect... and he found that he most quickly gained both by slyly revealing his position and the nature of his existance.

"You are aware that this job requires you to do extensive, moral research on a person's background?" he asked absentmindedly as he flipped through the myriad of papers that he himself had already scrutinized throughougly the night before, "It says here that you came from a good family. I assume this means that you were instructed on how to judge a person's moral character?"

He awaited politely for her answered, and then moved on methodically to the next sheet of paper in his oddly massive stack.

"It also says that you are a current student at DU, and moved here from Chicago to attend there. This would be the Denver University, am I correct? Are you housed in the dorms, or in your own living accomidations? The second would be preferable... as in these times it's important for one to be wary of everyone they meet, least they be a bad influence..."

His voice trailed off as his brow furrowed. Yes, if she had a roomate who was enlisted to the wrong side, his unbiased recruiter could be turned unwittingly biased against him. He had to make sure that no outside influences could turn skew her judgement... or the whole point of him blatantly keeping her in the dark would become senseless lying... at the very thought of which, Uriel shuddered.

[Pippa Harvard]

Pippa gave a wide-eyed look at the file. 'Okay. Freaky. The guy has a massive suit pocket? That thing must have weighed a lot! How come it didn't rip through?! Creepy man. Creeeeepy man!' But her smile stayed polite and her eyes stayed on his. She seemed unaffected by his stoic expression, more by his questions them selves. She shifted and gave herself a moment before answering - something that she was taught was a good idea in an interview to avoid saying unnecessary things.

"Yes, I read the job description." She looked at him a moment. "My family is great. I know how to keep myself safe, yeah. I'd like to think I'm good at judging people." then she stopped and looked at Uriel scrutinisingly "that's if you consider my moral character up to scratch." There was something about the judge of moral character part that made Pippa wonder what stopped it from being personal to it being objective. Are morals every objective?

"I stayed in the dorms, but without a rommate at the Denver University for two years, then moved out to the apartment I stay in now in my third year. No bad influences there..." she bit her tongue, but only momentarily "not that everyone in the dorms are bad influences." Pippa being Pippa had to add that in and defend the friends she did have in university. Of course, she didn't associate with the dregs of society, but she didn't like the presumptuous attitude Uriel was giving.

[uriel angelus]

"Good. You do your homework. You're not just an impulsive little twit of a girl who saw the notice for money and showed up. That would be a first this week," Uriel quipped in what he hoped was a light-hearted tone. Dominick and Celestial were forever harping on him for the way that he treated others; Dominick in his good cheer and Celestial in her overly analytic ways.

"But thinking that you are good at judging people might not be enough. We don't want just anyone running for these...offices, you know. So how about a little test?"

He leaned back in his chair, grasping for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. He didn't care that he was inside of a cafe- and he knew that the managers wouldn't dare admonish him for his vices. They were well aware of his purposes, for the most part, and knew enough to leave him well enough alone when he wanted to. So, in the middle of the cafe, he lit up his Turkish Royals- an Earth brand that he indulged in time to time because they had been discontinued. Such a bad planning mistake.

"You never know where bad influences lurk," he chastised in response to her comment about the roommates at DU, "For instance, would you consider me a bad or a good influence? You want the job? Here's your test- judge me, Pippa Harvard."

He leaned back with his smoke, his brow raised condescendingly, like an instructor waiting to be impressed- which, for the most part, he was. Not many people could impress the Judge Angel, and he wasn't about to take on any more staff that didn't meet his rigid standards. This nervous woman in front of him had a lot of hoops to jump through if she really wanted a job.

[Pippa Harvard]

Her politeness dwindled and nearly fell away after Uriel started to talk more. He did much better when he was more formal and had less... candour if you will. This was irritating and she did not take it well. To see that smug expression on his face when he picked out his packet of cigarettes and lit one. She thought of the money that came with this job and was bargaining with sticking through this ludicrous interview. She knew she had to make a decision. She needed this job.

"You want to be judged? Okay..." She smiled again and leaned over the counter. "There's more to this job than you've told me and I won't get it until I ask. You're the kind of guy who won't give a straight answer, but you won't lie to me. You like to prod and annoy and you do so much better flaunting whatever power you have that opening your mouth. The only people who could possibly like what's coming out of it are probably the idiots you hate." She had made assumptions, but she really wanted to spew something to shut him up. Furthermore...

"Smoking's illegal in coffeeshops." She simply stood, plucked the cigarette from his lips and slammed it down onto the laminated table menu. She gave him a bitterly polite smile as she did that. Then she took it to the trashcan and tossed it in. But surprisingly, she didn't return to the table. She gave the woman behind the counter a friendly wave and left out of the door. Working at McDonalds would be better than sticking with this freak. She felt better once outside and though she was burning to see the look on his face, she didn't. She simply went towards the nearest bus stop. Ice cream and a movie was on the agenda tonight.

[uriel angelus]

He was at the bus stop, nonchalantly leaning against the pole, the cigarette she had thrown away hanging lazily from his formally clenched mouth. He was smiling grimly, his arms crossed against his taut chest with his legs crossed primly to support him.

"So, you didn't lie to me. You are a good judge of character," he nodded, no chuckle not even lightening this accusation against himself, "And you also have the commendable tendancy to go with your gut on judgment with people. To you, I'm something new and that is an area in your moral judgement that you don't know how to truly handle. And so you get out. Very good.. just like Joseph went faced with tempation so many years ago. And he was the best judge of character of them all."

He looked up dreamily with his woodland eyes as the bus pulled up to greet them, her steaming and him calm as a lake before a storm.

"And now for a test of your sense of judgement," he spoke behind a generous cloud of smoke, "You could get on that bus now, and never see me again. Retreat back to the university, with all of it's bills and all of it's hardships- to an apartment that's going to fall around your ears at any moment, if the rent doesn't slip you up first. Or you can take those tested skills of yours and become something that is meaningful to this world- to the world that is itself falling down around you, without your help. You might see this job as an inteviewer as meager- I see it as meaningful. You see it as inane, I see it as integral. If we don't know who's running the war around us, then how can we really be at peace? Be a part of choosing that peace, Pippa Harvard."

He held his hand out to her, not as a lover, but as a manager does for a cordial handshake. There was nothing in his makeup that would welcome love... not after what Gaea had done to him...

"Or you could get on that bus, and never hear from me again"

His caramel eyes shone with answers of the decades, with final salvation and with eternal damnation. His was an imposing figure, but also that of opportunity. Now all that was left to wonder was... what would Pippa see?

[Pippa Harvard]

Pippa hid her surprise quite well when she saw him at the bus stop. Oh how she wished she had seen him rushing past to give the air that he had appeared there before her. Pippa of course, didn't know that he didn't go jogging past in his full suit, but one doesn't assume supernaturalism. Though she tried to ignore him, she still graced his annoying words with answers. "I tend not to lie, thanks." She listened to his seemingly arcane and bizarre judgement. Now he sounded like a religious fanatic. That was not fun. "I don't see how you can ask anyone to work for you to pass judgement on others. It's like the lion telling off the cheetah for being carnivorous. Exactly what do you consider 'good' anyway? Some unique interpretation of the bible?" Pippa was jabbing, trying to provoke some mention of religion. She had to know his stance. These were, of course, very human reactions to Uriel's words. Not to mention his name did bug her a lot.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a whelp with nowhere to go. I have a family who still supports me. If I wanted to never see you again, I could head home. I could get a restraining order. I could kick you in the nuts and hope the pain in your groin will stop you from showing up again. Or I can get on this bus. My apartment will not leave me unless I want it too." She looked at him and his hand. Then she paused.

"Hearing judgement is annoying. I hope you know how annoying it is. I may want the money..." she carefully avoided the word 'need' "but I have some things I don't want to be... like annoying." She looked at him straight in the eye. Then she plucked out his cigarette again and tossed it to a nearby bin. "And you're really good at being annoying." Bu really, Pippa can deal with annoying. Something in her told her that the only reason he would be so insistent was that whoever he worked for needed more on their side. she saw an opportunity indeed. "I'm not shaking any hands unless I see a contract. And unless I can amend it, I doubt we'll meet again, Mr Uriel." She then glanced at the bus. If Uriel answered in time and in a manner she liked, she would let it go. If he continued to ramble, she would walk out on him mid-sentence. What could he do anyway?

[uriel angelus]

"Let's just say.... I can trust your judgement of what is good, because I can trust my own judgment of what is good. Is that satisfactory?" he raised his eyebrow at her, knowing that his true reason for his moral compass- namely, that he was THE moral compass, without human bias or sentimentality- was not going to be any more satisfactory to her than his vague answers were. He was an angel, and he could tell instinctively that she would be skeptic, which was good for this job. He needed people who didn't follow blindly, who knew true logic... who knew judgment. And this Pippa knew how to judge.

"I doubt that you kicking me would do much for your situation, Miss Harvard," he chuckled despite himself, wondering what her face would look like when she tried to kick him, and instead would find him several feet in the air and far away from harm's reach, "It brings you no closer to the realization of any of your dreams. I, however, hold the purse strings that can"

He looked at her, staring at his outstretched hand like an enraged child. The bargaining was beginning to wear on his nerves, but he had to remind himself that she couldn't help it. She was only human.

"Contract? It's a sad generation that requires a contract to verfiy the truth of the employers words... but have it as you will, Miss Harvard. What exactly would you be demanding in this.... document?" he asked with sarcastic, condesending amusement.

[Pippa Harvard]

((T-T Sorry... Pippa's running away again. I can't stop her))

"I'm more worried about your idea of good." she said, eyeing the smoking, provoking man who should have a sock in his mouth. But he was right, she probably wouldn't be able to kick him. But she did have pepper spray... though misuse of that would lead to a fine she couldn't handle right now. Then she sighed. "Why so sure that you're the only one with money I can earn?" Again, her mind wandered to other options, at least a few temporary ones. "You're not very good with motivation." Of course, in a university, one gets an eclectic group of friends with various interests. Motivation theory was vaguely interesting to Pippa, especially Maslow's pyramid. Basic and easy to understand.

"You're obviously not very good at your job either. Go google 'contract' and once you figure out what that is, we can talk. in fact, if there's someone else I can talk to, that would be better." She turned to the bus and raised her hand to the bus driver, then stepped into the bus. she spoke to Uriel as she paid for the bus ticket. "I don't know how you work. But I want a promise... of what's expected of me, of how much and what I get from it. And when I can get the hell out if you decide to screw around. Have a nice day." She waved and then turned away to go sit down. Uriel had hr contact details from her application.

[uriel angelus]

Sure, he had her contact details. But with everything that he was dealing with- Belial's imminent labor, Michael's restlessness, Gabriel's lover, the war in general- how was he going to find time to conact her after this? He smoothly stepped up into the train without the smallest complaint from the driver- he knew better, as did much of this city. They had already seen what Raphael could do, after having him as the main doctor of the city for most of the war, and they weren't about to rise the wrath of his older, more judgemental rank-brother.

"And you are not so good at the listening, Miss Harvard," he countered, "Which wears my patience."

He looked at her, dissapointed briefly by her need for 'motiviation'. Wasn't doing the world some good enough motivation for people these days? It had been for Moses, it had been for Dominick... all of his servants worked for the good of the cause. He never stopped to think about the monetary value of things, as money was something he could readily influence, and so found it to be the major weakness of humans. But, ah, it couldn't be helped, could it?

"Would room and board at one of my own suites be enough, motivation, Miss Harvard? A generous enough salary to cover your class tuition until you so decide to... as you say, 'get the hell out'? he smirked.

He spread his hands in a gentlemanly sign of generousity, the formality and woodenness never leaving the undertone of his light, backwoods brogue.

"I leave the contracts up to my employees, Miss Harvard. You get whatever you need, provided you aren't greedy. You may leave whenever you so desire, provided that business remains confidential and you do not leave without notice. I expect nothing but diligence from you, in the eight-hour day that I expect for you to devote to reviewing these applicants for office. You can even choose which eight hours of the day would be most amiable for your schedule. You see, Miss Harvard, I am not the only man in town who would pay you. I'm not even the only man who would pay you generously. But I am the only one not tied down by certain... guidelines. I can give you certainties in this world that are soon to dissapear. Certainly everyone likes a little certainty, hmm Miss Harvard?"

[Pippa Harvard]

"Wearing at your patience? Good. Mine's long gone," she said with disdain. She never did raise her voice, though she frowned at him. Now and then her face would go to a serious, but haughty look whenever she thought of shutting him up somehow. But of course, she isn't violent, though she may want to 'kill' the irritant in front of her, that was just an over-used and underestimated hollow threat.

Motivation to her went beyond money and benefits. She knew that people referred that as the most basic things. Beyond that was being treated well, feeling secure and so on. So far neither was really being felt. She knew the money was fine, but that's not all she wanted. Especially if she had to deal with Uriel. And yet, at the same time, she knew she was being extra harsh on him because her defenses were up. There was something annoying but curious about his smirk.

"Sounds like a better deal than I'd believe." She felt a bit creeped out at the offer of the apartment. "Hold onto that place. I have my own." She thought of the little place she had and painstakingly accumulated enough 'stuff' to make it feel cosy and homey. She did't want to up and leave just yet. Maybe when everything in the apartment breaks, she'll ask Uriel about that offer.

[uriel angelus]

Uriel sighed, and shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket. Oh, she was worth it all right. He had already discerned that before this interview- he had enough information about not only her life, but the lives of every single person that she had touched, to help him make a lifetime of decisions about her. Now, it was just a matter of taking that golden stubbornness, that wonderful resilience to backing down, and getting past that so that he could have that kind of moral wall on his side. Unfortunately, he was terrible with dealing with humans. He was beginning to wonder whether or not he should have allowed Dominick to take care of this little tid-bit of business, instead of doing it himself... but he had wanted it to be personal, and they were a bit too far in to restart and have a do-over with the lycan.

"Have any place you wish, Miss Harvard," he exhaled irritably, "It was simply offered for emphasis. I didn't bring a contract because you make the contract- ask for what you want, and it will be given to you- as long as you do the job that is asked of you. It's as simlple ans straightforward as that. What more could you want?"

He leaned forward, his perception of humans' "bubbles" completely nonexistant. He wanted to gauge her reaction, he wanted to get her to see how important this job was. The fact that his nose was only several inches from her face- the fact that his hot, strangely sweet breath was so close that Pippa could probably smell it, the fact that he was so close she could probably see the golden flecks that shone in the caramel of his eyes didn't register with him at all.

"You came highly recommended for his job, Miss Harvard, and it is a job that is highly influential. You could change the world for the better. You can feel that, and that is why you haven't completely turned me down. You already told me you know that there is something more to this than just what I am telling you- why turn down the opportunity to be a part of it, when you, in your heart, know what this could mean not only for you, but for the politics of the world as a whole?" he murmured.

[Pippa Harvard]

"Having my own contract sounds good..." Pippa muttered sadly. She knew she needed this job, and the bargaining power made her feel like she was sure she'd get what she needed for this job. Pippa wasn't one to ask too much, simply because she wouldn't know what to do with too much. She just needed money and a job. She wanted to know she wouldn't lose the job...

Part of her wanted to avoid Uriel aga- 'Wait-what's-he-doing?!' Pippa thought frantically as he started to lean forward. She wasn't very good with reacting fast in situations like this and simply yelped very softly and stepped back. What looked like a twitch of her arm was a really well suppressed urge to slap him right across the face. He was far too close.

Regaining her composure, Pippa's expression returned to her frown. She then put her hand on his chest and gently pushed him back to an upright position while stepping forward. "Listen, high-and-mighty-man, I may have a feeling what this job is, but I'm not sure... but it looks like I'm going to have to learn on the job, don't I?" There was her confirmation that she would take the job. She didn't seem happy, but she understood the opportunity this held. "Tell me where I have to turn up and when. We'll talk about my contract then... and I want it on paper." Of course, Pippa still believed this was in the controls of human laws.

((won't be going into the contract thing, since I don't really know how they work. Just assuming she'd want one to ensure she gets what she bargained for.))