Gabriel yelped as gravity abruptly took hold and the archangel landed with an oomph on a pile of sand. Their weight made the edges cascade downward, and Gabriel's hand slipped as he tried to push himself up with a groan.

"Not what I was thinking of, but I'll take it," he said, and also coughed, tongue working against the awful gritty feeling in his mouth. He grimaced, fumbling for his water canteen and touching his face with a wince. The sand and wind had started to rub his face raw, and they'd just been on the edge of it. "Those storms always looked so much better from above."