The Angel stood silently behind his younger brother. He was going to push him off of the log, sprawling face-first into the cold snow, but before he got a chance to even raise his arms, a suddenly feeling of foreboding came over him. His body stiffened, but it wasn't from the cold.

Slowly, he turned to face the western side of the snow-covered forest, where the trees had begun to thicken in their numbers. He stood, gazing at a certain tree, as if mesmerized by it. The tree was a tall old pine, with blueish green needles, which stood in bright contrast to the dark green pines around it. The branches sighed and creaked with the weight of the newly fallen snow, occasionally sending small curtains of what he liked to call "snow dust" into the air.

For a while, the Angel stood there, staring at the blue pine, the occasional vapor of his breath the only thing to hinder his view. A squirrel climbed up the old pine in quick, seemingly spastic movements. He could see its' bushy tail bobbing as it moved. The squirrel moved too close to one of the snow-laden branches, and sent a small avalanche of snow cascading upon it. The squirrel stood shivering in the middle of the small heap, then shook off the snow, and the Angel could see the bushy tail bobbing away.

Next to him, his brother stirred on the rock, and the axe slipped out of his hands. Stefan opened his eyes, straightened up, and yawned. He wondered where he was, and then suffered a brief moment of panic, remembering that he was supposed to be chopping wood for the fire places, not being sure how much time he had left before Rosiel decided to check up on him, to make sure he hadn't "chopped off your own fucking head by accident", as his older brother frequently told him. He had gripped the handle of the axe, and stood up, looking around, when he saw that Rosiel was already standing next to him.

But, his brother's attention wasn't on him. He was staring far out into the woods. Rosiel seemed to be fixated on a single pine tree, the tree that Stefan had named The Blue Tree. It was what made Rosiel buy the plot of land in the first place. Stefan had argued and argued, saying that they probably wouldn't get any business out here, in the middle of nowhere. Rosiel had stated that he didn't mind. He had also been staring fixedly at the same tree at the time.

Stefan guessed that there was something his brother liked about The Blue Tree, although aside from the fact that someone obviously planted it there, there wasn't much that was special about it. Rosiel didn't seem to care for any of the other pines or plants around the small town, and Stefan had hung around the tree for close to an entire day, thinking that perhaps it had some kind of special energy or spirit that the Angel was feeling. He had felt nothing.

Stefan softly called his brother's name. The Angel stood, not moving. He let the axe drop from his hand, and gently tapped Rosiel's shoulder. Rosiel jerked and turned to face his brother, the look on his face bewildered.

"What are you doing here, Stefan?"

"Uh..." he started, not quite expecting this answer. "I was... chopping the wood, like you asked me to."

Rosiel's face remained slightly bewildered, but then his brows nitted.

"Bullshit. You were snoozing on that rock."

"Er... sorry. It's really early."

"Angels are supposed to..."

"... get up with the beckoning of the sun. Yeah, yeah, I know," Stefan said dully, flapping his hand.

"If you know, then stop bitching," the Angel replied curtly, glaring at his younger brother once again. Stefan had shifted his gaze down, looking at his feet, and Rosiel's expression cleared. He regarded his brother for a moment longer, and then went back to looking at the western side of the forest, where The Blue Tree was.

"Do you see something, Rose?" Stefan asked, when he was sure his older brother wasn't angry.

"There is the forest, the snow, and the animals, Stefan."

"There's always the forest, the snow and the animals. It snows here almost year-round. We're really close to the mountains."

"There are also our guests, and some other humans, out there. And... something else."

"Some other humans? What the hell are you on about?"

"The energy of our guests, if it is theirs, seems hurried and enraged," Rosiel replied, still staring at his beloved Blue Tree, getting slightly annoyed at his brother. "Which indicates that they're using it and summong it. Either for fight or flight. And the humans... well, you know who it is."

"Yeah. Barkjon. He never learns, does he?"

"Apparently not," the Angel mused.

"Should we go help them?"

"They'll return here soon enough. I'm sure Barkjon remembers us well enough to turn tail once they get close to Ravenholm. He can't be that stupid. And if he is still persuing them, we can easily dispatch him and his band of idiots."

Stefan nodded and picked up his axe again, then started to head toward the pile of logs, and large stump. He selected a log, then placed it on the stump, and raised his axe to split it in two. With a loud whump and dull thunk, the axe burried itself in the stump, and the log split cleanly into several pieces. They landed in the wet snow with a soft paf, and Stefan reached for another log. He stopped in mid-reach and looked at his brother again.

Rosiel was still standing in the same spot.

"Rose?"

"What?"

"Who's the other?"

"What...?"

"You said there was some "other" besides our guests, and Barkjon's thieves. Who's that?"

"I don't know. It's not Faye or Keo, and there's no way it can be Gabriel."

"Maybe it's Mystical?"

"Who?"

"When you were dealing with your hang-over, another guest came in. A woman. Lady Mystical was her name. Faye and Keo seemed to know her. Keo was especially pleased."

"I see. And what was she, this Mystical?"

"Don't know. Gave me a splitting headache to be around her. I kept away. I hope I didn't seem rude. Maybe it's her?"

"Maybe."

"Can I ask you something else?"

Rosiel sighed. "Will you get to work after this? If Faye and her friends are coming back here, they'll want it warm. For it to be warm, I need fires. For fires, I need logs."

"Aw, come on. We're Angels. We can conjour fire..."

"Not in front of humans!"

"They weren't human, Rosiel. Gabe's a vampire, I think Faye is too, and Keovari is definately something else."

"No matter. What's your question?"

"Why did you call Faye Josephine?"

"I already told you, it's because of Gabriel-"

"No, no, I mean, why that name? Is it the name of that Demoness that you-"

"Shut up, Stefan," Rosiel growled.

Stefan didn't answer. He shook his head and went back to chopping the logs in a bad temper. Rosiel, meanwhile, stepped back inside, removed his boots, and went to his quarters, intending to get cleaned up before his guests arrived, wanted or unwanted.