Raphael raised an eyebrow when he heard that.

"...hm." he mumbled. "I see." he said, as he finished up with Sariel.

"All right, I've done all I can do." he told her, the tree above them dropping some more water onto her, but this time it was more like a light shower. With that, she felt invigorated, and nowhere near as sore.

"And it looked like the tree has given a final push." he commented further.

"You should be good." he finished, as he helped his sister to her feet.

"Not 100%, but good."

Jake looked over towards Sariel and, instinctively, flicked his tongue out, which caused him to recoil immensely.

"Woah!" he exclaimed.

"I should have prepared myself more for that." he muttered. Sariel had been here a few times in the past, so much so that Jake did recognise her... but he was ALWAYS taken off-guard by her mana, how strong and potent it was.

"Right." he then mumbled.

"I assume you don't have an appointment." he commented.

"That being said, if one such as YOURSELF is here, then it must be important, so I'll let him know you're on your way up." he finished, pressing the button which opened the door for her to enter.

"..." Jake was silent as he saw the tiny orb of mana that was offered to him. He reached out and accepted it, allowing it to permeate into his skin, and then spread out throughout his entire body.

And as it did so, he felt an immense feeling of calmness wash over him.

"...oh..." he murmured.

"Wow..." he said.

"Wow, this... feels SO relaxing." he commented further, before looking at her.

"Also, yeah. You're good at reading people." he told her.

Jake gave her a thumbs-up in response.

"You got it." he responded.

"Thanks a million." he added in a slightly dreamy tone, showing her mana really WAS working, but it hadn't gotten to the point of him feeling 'high' yet. He was still essentially on Cloud Nine, so to speak.

She headed into the building proper, and was walking for about a minute, before she turned a corner and saw Azazel standing in the distance. He was already looking in her direction, and when he saw her, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Hello again, Miss Sariel." he greeted her when she was close enough for conversation.

"What brings you HERE?" he asked.

Azazel was silent for a moment, before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Faaaantastic." he muttered. "We JUST finished dealing with something major here." he said further, before then quickly stepping out of her way.

"Well, I shan't hold you up any longer." he then told her.

"I'm sure that Agent Sharp has been notified that you are on your way... or, most certainly, has noticed your mana signature, and is expecting your arrival anyway..." he then added.

"So don't let me stand in your way." he went on, before pausing.

"...not that I could stand in ANY of your ways..." he then said quietly.

"I'll try!" Azazel called back, as he felt a little flutter in his chest.

His halo fragment glowed slightly in his repaired horn, as ancient memories came flooding back. Memories of when he was an angel. Foggy memories of brief interactions with her, positive feelings associated with them, and feelings of unrequited love started to bubble up within him.

He then shook his head, however, and lightly slapped his cheek.

"No, Azazel. No, damn it." he murmured to himself under his breath.

"Your past is history. It's done. It's a life you can never go back to." he told himself further. "Concentrate on your present, and your future. Your damn wife and child." he then hissed.

With that, he just sighed quietly, and continued on to where he had been headed.

Meanwhile, the rest of Sariel's journey went uninterrupted, and when she arrived at Arryn's receptionist area, she saw the door to Hal's office was already open, and Hal was already leaning against the doorframe.

"Easier this way." he told her. "Come in." he said, turning and heading into the office.

"..." Hal was silent as she asked that, before groaning.

"Right. Well, it's been a nightmare to finally get this place running at full steam again, but I've managed it. We've all managed it." he told her. "I still need to find a way to get Aedan and Jordan back to who they once were, but this place is back to full capacity again." he said.

"Since then, I've been swamped with some paperwork that got backed up, but I've organised it, I'm making my way through it, I have a plan, I have a roadmap, and things are fine." he continued.

"I'm just glad that things are back to SOME semblance of normalcy here." he then said.

"...however, I get the sense that that might be turned on it's side once again." he muttered. "Good thing I've not been stressed out, actually, come to think of it." he realised.

"Anyway... what's going on?" he asked her.

Hal was silent for a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"Firstly, it shouldn't surprise me that her father would have notes about that." he said. "Should have thought about that earlier." he muttered. "I'll need to get Azazel or Cain to sift through them, if they aren't already." he reasoned.

"And secondly, how I am... in relation to what I am?" he then asked. "What an odd thing to ask out of nowhere..." he muttered.

"But I feel fine." he said. "I haven't felt any... hatred for humanity, haven't felt the need to spitefully make people realise the devil is in the details, and that sort of thing." he told her.

"Why...?" he then inquired.

"The fact that you feel the need to ask, and clarify that it IS relevant concerns me greatly." he admitted.

"I beg your pardon?" Hal asked. "Charlie actually ATTACKED you!?" he exclaimed.

"I'm afraid so." Sariel responded.

Hal leaned back in his chair, a look of utter disbelief in his eyes as he heard that. He stared off into space for a few seconds, before looking back to her and leaning forward a little.

"Well, I take full responsibility for his actions." he told her. "I will compensate and reimburse you for any damages you have sustained in this." he assured her further, shaking his head.

"What happened to him after the attack?" he asked.

"And how badly did he hurt you, or others, or damage his surroundings?" he inquired further.

Hal leaned on his desk and buried his eyes in his hands.

"Uuuuugh." he let out, in a drawn-out groan. "This is embarrassing." he said. "I recommended him to you, and he has to go and do THIS." he growled, clearly unimpressed.

"And for the record, I would be a LOT more angry if he'd killed someone, or actually managed to permanently injure you." he quickly clarified to her. "Just so you know." he stated.

"Well, all that's left is to properly subdue him, make sure your insurance is referred to ME, so I can pay for the damages, and state that I will do anything to help recuperate your losses." he told her.

"Because he's going to face the Triad for this, and they do NOT take kindly to lycans acting like this."