wrapped around the plate

Compared to being brought to an entire new world against his will, having some of his powers suppressed is less of a stretch. The problem is, the realization never comes until after the first slip. From the perspective of someone who likes to look closely after all the people who matter to him, someone who hates not being in the know about a city's ongoings, having his face turned forcefully away from everything that's happened to Dean Winchester is completely inexcusable.

Now that it's all come to light, it feels like emotions are seeping back into his body, making Ishiah away, his eyes sharper, his suspicions higher.

And he's angry.

But there's little to be done in the wake of all the tumult. Dean is safe again for now, and Semele's is short some of the activity it used to see. The city's trials and tribulations are largely those addressed with force rather than networking.

So Ishiah puts his head down to the ground, buries himself in his work. Semele's runs even more efficiently than usual, bringing in a larger customer load, making the most of the limited space. Behind the bar, Ishiah churns drinks out as quickly as they're requested, his eyes sharp as he observes every customer who comes in through the doors.

Just in case.

friends, i have to tell you: they sent me on a mission down to earth

There are many things in life that Ishiah frequently regards as superfluous. Gestures that have little meaning outside of what people choose to attribute to them. Money that gets spent on presents that have little practical worth. But in the time that Ishiah has spent on earth, he's come to acknowledge the value of symbols. The white hyacinth has no inherent properties that will bring Dean Winchester back to full health, no powers of healing, but the symbolism it carries is not without worth.

Either to himself or to the healing.

Years ago, a young man strode into Robin Goodfellow's life without any prior warning. It was a young man that Robin had known before, time and time again, in other lives, under other names, but this encounter was perhaps the one which elevated their relationship to a point which it had never met before. Friendship was the reason, lives interwoven and love exchanged. And Ishiah was there to witness it, to see all the ways it changed Robin; although for a long time, Ishiah wasn't sure whether or not to say that it was a change for the better, these days there's a soft fondness in that area of his chest that he can't rid himself of. An inherent love for man and all its flaws, no matter how tangled lives became.

Caliban Leandros was swept away, used by a host, and with no promise of being able to return to who he'd once been, his family had put everything on the line to save him. Robin included.

Somehow it's worse this time, because Robin didn't even get the chance to try.

Ishiah stands at Dean's door, knocks sharply on the wood, carries a potted plant in his arms and a hope for forgiveness, because for the first time since he arrived in Darrow, he truly feels that he's failed someone.

More than one, even.