Gabriel heard the slow, cautious footsteps, knew the Brit was coming, but the hand landing on his shoulder still made the archangel flinch violently, his own hand flying up to grip Malcolm's wrist. He fumbled in finding it, cracking his knuckles on the underside of the other man's arm before gripping it tightly.
It was hard to say whether the grip was tight out of paranoia, training, or to give Gabriel something to orient himself.
The archangel's throat worked a little before he could answer. His vision remained solidly black; Malcolm's gesture received no reaction at all. "It's my first time. Reality-pocket. Maybe a few molecules got rearranged around the place when it backlashed. Most of it hit me."
His voice was strained. Ordinarily he wouldn't have been so open, but he was still stunned, and frightened enough that he couldn't even deny to himself that he was. He'd never had his power explode in his face like this before. It just wasn't meant to happen. With the bridge the migraine had been a complaint at trying to draw more power than he had to spare. This ... this was something different.
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It was hard to say whether the grip was tight out of paranoia, training, or to give Gabriel something to orient himself.
The archangel's throat worked a little before he could answer. His vision remained solidly black; Malcolm's gesture received no reaction at all. "It's my first time. Reality-pocket. Maybe a few molecules got rearranged around the place when it backlashed. Most of it hit me."
His voice was strained. Ordinarily he wouldn't have been so open, but he was still stunned, and frightened enough that he couldn't even deny to himself that he was. He'd never had his power explode in his face like this before. It just wasn't meant to happen. With the bridge the migraine had been a complaint at trying to draw more power than he had to spare. This ... this was something different.