Claire let her eyes skim up and down the burly man before her, lingering on the spikey plant in a plastic pot cradled in his hands. “Normally, I’d have pushed you out the door by now, but you’re making a compelling argument with the bribery.”

Mike grinned, holding out the potted plant. “I thought this might work.”

Claire accepted the pot, trying to keep a stern look, but could feel her face twitch with a smile. Anyway, he knew she was teasing. Mostly.

She walked into her dimly lit apartment with a sigh. It was Friday, it had been a long week, and all she wanted to do was relax and have a nice, quiet evening in. She shrugged out of her coat and dropped her purse by the front door, then walked further into the apartment. She flicked on the lights, and saw her own reflection staring at her from the dark window. She shook her head as she approached the window, closing the curtain on her tired face.

She went back to her purse, dug out her phone, and opened up her music. What did she want to listen to tonight? she mused, as she entered the kitchen. She leaned against the counter, scrolling through her phone. Classical? She was too tired for that. Rock music from the 80s? It was too lively. She finally settled on an electropop duo from Ohio; it was the right blend of melancholic and upbeat for her current mood.

“She’s finally down for a nap,” Marie said with a sigh, sinking into the couch cushions.

“I didn’t know it was possible for anything to have that much energy,” Liam groaned, rubbing his eyes. “I knew she would have a weird sleep cycle, but I never imagined anything like this.”

Marie’s eyes widened. “I know! She had me up at 5am this morning, crying because she was so hungry. Sometimes,” she said, sliding a glance at Liam, “I just think she’s bored, or wants to prove she can boss us around.”

Theirs was a peaceful forest, until the Briar Witch arrived. One day, the clearing near the center had of the woods been open, the stream running alongside it clear and giving. The next, there was a little cottage surrounded by large hedges, encircling the clearing and damming the cheerful brook, diverting the water away from the citizens of the forest to instead grow and nourish the prickly bushes. For these were no ordinary hedges, but oversized, vicious plants, with jagged thorns and creeping vines.

At first, the creatures of the forest were curious. Who was this new being, with her small den and unusual vegetation? The mice were the first to investigate the new arrival, and were horrified by what they discovered.

Gabriel took in a deep breath. Not that he needed to breathe; he just knew humans did so before they had to complete an important task, and he was about to interact with humans again after several centuries and, you know, when in Rome. Another human phrase, that he didn’t quite understand, but knew this was the right context.

He gave himself one more moment, then stepped down from the astral plane, into a dimly lit apartment.

“Mary!” He cried, his voice ringing with angelic power, “I bear a message for you from the Almighty above!” He unfurled his majestic wings for affect, then glanced around. Usually humans would be crying in awe from his presence, but it took him a moment to even find the human he was looking for in all the clutter.