Divine Intervention [for CleverFox]

[animefangirl]

Liam wanted to believe Crevan when his friend told him that he'd help him, but with the life he'd lived already that was just such a foreign concept to him that he really couldn't. It wasn't a reflection for how much he trusted his friend it was just a reflection on how hopeless he felt right now. He called after Crevan when his friend disappeared but when he got no answer he made his soft comment about the other promise Crevan made, though he trusted Crevan to come back it still scared him that the other boy had gone and didn't answer his calls, because he was worried about whatever it was Crevan was up to right now and that his friend might end up in trouble and taken away or something. He didn't think angels could die again though so that was one thing he wasn't worried about. He returned to class when he got ahold of himself and after school went home to do his homework, but it wasn't a good work ethic that had him do it, it was fear that Ian would ask to see it later and he knew the consequences of not having it done and done well if the man checked it. After taht he went to hang out with his gang 'brothers', not aware that Kai was following him or he might have been irked by that. He didn't hear the sirens that Kai could hear a few hours later so when the angel suddenly appeared beside him and firmly said they had to leave he jumped a bit and shook his head ever so slightly, having already learned this morning not to talk to people others couldn't see he didn't say anything he just stayed where he was and continued to talk to the other gang members but he did more listening than talking since they didn't really want to hear what he had to say. It was several minutes later that he heard the sirens and since his job was a 'lookout' he scrambled off the beat up couch and up the ladder to the window of the abandoned warehouse they were chilling in. "Fuck it's the cops!" He yelled, sliding down the ladder and bolting as soon as his feet touched the ground. All the other gang members bolted as well but Liam was smarter than them and he knew that going out the main exits was asking to get caught so instead of beating it for the first exit that was visible he ran to the back offices where he knew a private entrance that lead to the small parking lot was located. He ran through there and cursed when he saw a squad car pulling up in the parking lot. "Hey kid, stop!" the officer yelled as he got out of the car but Liam wasn't about to listen and he turned tail and bolted, unfortunately for him the cop was fairly young and ran after him, quickly closing the gap but Liam couldn't see that since he wasn't dumb enough to look behind him since he knew that would slow him down and increase the chances he'd get caught.

[CleverFox]

Malakai knew that Liam was asking for trouble when he saw the child making his way toward the hideout where the thugs he thought were his friends tended to hang out but he wasn't supposed to interfere so he hung back and remained invisible to the child. At least that was what he did until he heard the sounds of the approaching sirens and it was at that point that he told the child that they needed to leave right now. He was not the least bit happy when the boy shook his head and refused to go along with it, the angel clenching his hands and gritting his teeth as he fought against his frustration with the child. He was on the verge of once again breaking the rules and using his powers but before that happened Liam seemed to hear what he'd been trying to warn the child about and scrambled to the window to look. Malakai blew out a frustrated breath when the boy announced that it was the cops and then bolted from the building, the guardian angel unable to keep himself from thinking that the fool boy was going to end up getting caught. Blowing out yet another frustrated breath he gave chase, still trying not to interfere, but that only lasted til he saw the police officer since he knew that he couldn't allow the boy to be caught or even for the cop to get close enough to see the child or else he'd be able to identify Liam and he didn't want that to happen. So he used his powers of persuasion, which were much stronger than those that Crevan could use, and caused the cop to just stop giving chase. Malakai himself remained hot on the child's trail and once they were far enough away He appeared beside the boy and grabbed him by the arm. "Have you lost your mind? He almost caught you and then what do you think would have happened?" Malakai asked, keeping his voice calm so that he wouldn't freak the boy out but it was still clear that he was not the least bit happy with Liam right now.

[animefangirl]

Liam actually didn't have any intentions of getting into trouble when he headed to hang out with the gang members, he just didn't have anyone else to hang out with now that Crevan ran off and he didn't want to be home so he was once again drawn to the only other place that he felt accepted. Even if that was mostly in his own head since the guys didn't really accept him at all they just realized he could be useful. After a while Kai appeared and told him that they had to go, but since the angel neglected to tell Liam why he was ordering the child to go he didn't feel like he had to listen so he shook his head slightly and kept hanging out with the guys. It wasn't until several minutes later that he finally realized what Kai had been worried about and after announcing that the cops were on the way he bolted but luck really wasn't on his side since a younger officer had been sent to check the back and make sure none of them got out that way and called for him to stop. Liam knew very well what his father would do to him if he were picked up by the police so he did the only thing that made sense to him in that moment and ran as fast as he could away from the cop. Had he known that Kai was helping him he might not have been panicking so much but he had no idea that the angel could manipulate peoples minds so he didn't realize that anyone could help him. The child probably would have kept running until he exhausted himself but when they were a good distance away Kai suddenly appeared and grabbed his arm, getting a startled yelp out of the boy as he was pulled to an abrupt stop but he didn't look fearful this time he just looked slightly nervous as Kai asked if he'd lost his mind. He shifted his weight a bit when Kai went on to ask what would have happened if he'd been caught, and since he didn't want to answer that question even though he knew very well what would have happened he went with the little kid fallback and shrugged. He could clearly tell that Kai was annoyed with him right now and some small part of him realized that the angel actually had a good reason to be annoyed with him this time but he didn't want to admit that so he just stood there looking a little nervous as he waited to see what kai was going to do or say next.

[CleverFox]

Malakai couldn't believe how many times he'd broken the rules already in the short time since Crevan had revealed their existence to Liam but it was really shocking since he'd always been the 'by the book' type. He didn't stop to dwell on what he might have been able to prevent if he'd broken the rules for his previous little charge or else that probably would have devastated him. Instead he just focused on trying to keep Liam from messing his life up though that was turning out to appear as though it were going to be a full time job for him. When the kid bolted Malakai knew that there would likely be trouble so he followed and it was a good thing that he did seeing as how he had to end up using his powers to convince the cop to stop chasing after the boy before the man managed to catch him or get close enough to get a good look at the kid. After that he let Liam run a safe distance and then he appeared and grabbed the kid's arm before asking Liam if he'd lost his mind and then going on to ask what would have happened if he'd been caught. He knew perfectly well that the child knew the answer to that question so he was annoyed at the silence that he got but didn't let it effect him too much. Instead he just sighed softly and said, "Alright let's go back to my place. You and I need to have a little talk." He was keeping his voice firm but he was still calm and not yelling at the child since he knew that Liam just didn't need that right now. He then proceeded to either lead or drag the child back to the house that he was staying in, not paying attention to any protests until they got inside the house, at which point he gave the child a stern look and asked, "Trying to gain yourself a criminal record?" Not that he really thought the boy was, he just needed some way to start this conversation and figured that was as good a way as any.

[animefangirl]

Liam might have appreciated it if he'd known how many times his guardian angel had broken the rules for him, but since he didn't know he couldn't really appreciate just how much trouble Kai was going to in order to help him out. Since he didn't know he didn't really appreciate Kai's more hands on approach to things with him so when the angel ordered him to leave he decided he didn't want to obey since he thought that Kai was saying it because it was getting late or something and that annoyed him. Unfortunately for him there was a good reason that he should have listened to Kai and he ended up running from the cops and then getting caught by his irritated guardian angel and asked if he'd lost his mind--which sort of stung, and that fact confused the little guy to no end. He just shrugged instead of answering Kai's question and he wasn't too thrilled when the man said that they were going to his place to have a 'little talk' which Liam was translating to Kai talking and him squirming as his butt was lit on fire, so he of course didn't want to. "No we dont! Leggo!" he protested, struggling against Kai for a good five minutes and hoping the angel had made himself visible since this would look really weird to passers by if Kai hadn't. Not that it was less embarrassing if Kai were visible since he looked like an angry dad taking his struggling brat home to deal with or something, which he sort of was minus the dad part. After five minutes he tired himself out though and just walked beside the man the rest of the way to his house and inside. once there he tried to jerk his arm free again since he just didn't like being restrained and then looked up at Kai when the angel asked about a criminal record, which really wasn't a good way to start the conversation with the annoyed child and he scowled at the man at that point. "No! I wasn't doing anything anyway, those cops wouldn't have had anything to charge me with." he protested, actually knowing a little about the law thanks to listening to his dad talking to clients on the phone over the years. Of course Ian tended to represent the scum of the earth and manipulate the law in their favor, but Liam didn't know that. "Leggo, damn it!" he protested again, frustration letting the curse word slip and he didn't even register he'd said it as he tugged at the grip Kai had on him again and started building himself up to a world class tantrum if Kai didn't stop treating him 'like a baby' soon--which was how he saw it even if it wasn't true.

[CleverFox]

Malakai wasn't trying to hurt the child's feelings or anything along those lines but he wasn't used to having children as guardian angels since he was used to being assigned the hard to reach adults when others of his kind failed to do so. Crevan was the first child that he'd been assigned to since birth and that hadn't worked out so well for him, not that he wanted to dwell on that. So in all honesty he was still trying to feel out exactly how to deal with children so Liam, given that their existence had been revealed to him, was going to serve as the guinea pig for him to learn those skills. After catching the boy he informed Liam that they needed to talk and when the boy said that they didn't and tried to fight his way free Malakai came very close to lying to the child and saying that he was invisible so it would just look as though the boy were fighting with himself right now. He didn't go that route and instead just held the boy firmly by the arm until he tired and decided that he was going to cooperate. Once the boy was following along grudgingly he made his way back to his house and took Liam into the living room where he tried to start their talk and ended up starting a fight instead, the angel scowling when the kid said that the cops wouldn't have had anything to charge him with. "You think so?" he asked in a level tone as he gazed at the boy. "Well let me tell you a little something about how it works. Ever heard of guilt by association? You tagged that store with the logo of the gang you were hanging out with, not to mention your finger prints were no doubt found at the scene. Not a problem so long as you don't have any run ins with the cops but had you been caught tonight you very well could have been caught for what you actually did do." Malakai was lecturing the boy in a stern tone and trying to make him see that something could have happened to him very easily, aside from Ian's reaction to him getting picked up by the cops in the territory of a known gang. When the boy told him to let go and once again swore Malakai said, "You're getting dangerously close to another dose of soap." He felt that the boy deserved the warning but he wasn't likely to give another. "Now calm down and stop acting like a two year old," he added for good measure since in his mind that was exactly what Liam was currently doing with this little tantrum of his.

[animefangirl]

Liam would not have been at all happy to know that he was the 'guinea pig' for Malakai learning how to deal with kids, and he would have protested that it was totally unfair for Kai to treat him the way he treated him pretty much all the time if he had known and tried to use it to his advantage to convince Kai he was being too strict or something. It may not have worked, but he would've tried it. When he was caught by the angel he might actually have gone to his place without a fight if Kai hadn't said they needed to have a 'little talk' since that translated to Liam in trouble and no kid handled that well so he of course fought and would have continued to fight all the way back if he hadn't' tired himself out. So he grudgingly trailed along at the man's side, having to walk sort of fast to keep up with Kai's long stride since the man was freakishly tall--at least in Liam's mind he was. When they did get back and he found himself dragged into the living room he groaned a bit since that was where all three of his spankings had taken place so that was rather foreboding to the little boy. He looked up at Malakai when the man asked if he was trying to get a record and that pissed him off so he protested, rather loudly, that they didn't have anything on him since he thought that. So when Kai scowled at him and told him what would have happened he was honestly startled and that showed in his expression since he really had not been expecting that one and the idea sort of freaked him out since he had no idea what would've happened if they figured out he was the one that robbed the store. Though juvie seemed safer than life with Ian so he might not have cared--if it even went that far, what was scarier was the thought that he'd get a slap on the wrist and sent home where Ian would beat the crap out of him. After a few moments of processing that one he decided to ignore it and tugged his arm again with a demand to be let go and he scowled when Kai threatened him with soap again but made a mental note not to push the angel since he really didn't want that. A few moments later Kai told him to stop acting like a two year old and that once again pissed him off, "I'm not acting like a two year old, you're acting like an overbearing ass--" he said, trying to cut off the cuss word 'ass hole' before he was able to say it but he didn't manage to do it on time and looked a little worried that Kai was going to get mad at him for it but a second later he tried to hide that he was nervous, it just didn't work so great since he ended up shifting his feet again like he always did when he was worried he was in trouble. Which was weird since he didn't do that with Ian but something about the childish punishments and the way Kai kept saying he did it because he cared got to Liam and made him act out of character for him, which was pretty normal behavior for any other eleven year old he just didn't know that.

[CleverFox]

Malakai knew that he needed to impress upon Liam just how serious this situation could turn out to be in the end so he told the child exactly what would have happened if he'd been picked up by the cops rather than escaping with the help of the angel. He honestly didn't expect the child to react the way that he did to that news and he felt sorry for the boy but still felt that Liam needed to know before he got himself into a position that he couldn't be gotten out of. When the child started tugging on his arm and demanded to be let go Malakai refused to go along with that one, the angel telling the child that he was dangerously close to getting his mouth washed out with soap again. he could tel that got the kid's attention and he was grateful for that but then Liam started having what he considered to be a tantrum so he told the boy to stop acting like a two year old and that just got the kid to act up all the more. When the snapped out his curse word Malakai decided that he'd had enough of the attitude from the boy for one instance, the angel getting to his feet and lifting Liam up easily, tucking the child under his arm and delivering a sharp smack to his backside before he carried him toward the bathroom. "I did warn you that you were dangerously close, you should have heeded that warning Liam," Malakai told him as he carried the boy to the bathroom and once again got the bar of soap, holding it under the faucet long enough to get it nice and lathered before he used his hand to force Liam's jaw open in the same manner that he had the first time he'd done this since he was pretty sure the kid wouldn't open it of his own volition and he didn't want to give him the chance for more attitude. Once he had the bar of soap in position he said grimly, "Three minutes this time, remember to breathe through your nose." He was going to stand there and make sure that the child kept the soap in his mouth just as he had the last time. And then once that was over they would move on to the next phase.

[animefangirl]

Liam really hadn't understood the situation until Malakai told him, and once the angel had he was startled and a bit upset by it if he were being honest, since he really just did not want to find out what would happen to him in a situation like that one. So he was already upset by everything when Malakai decided to be 'mean' to him and say he was acting like a toddler. That of course offended the eleven year old and it was sort of a straw that broke the camels back thing after that and Liam let his mouth run and got himself into trouble again even though he'd tried to stop saying the curse word apparently that wasn't good enough for Kai since he'd still gotten the 'ass' part out. "No!" he shouted when Kai stood and grabbed him, since he knew what that meant, though he was startled by the swat and yelped fairly loudly at it even though it hadn't really hurt all that much it was more surprise than the sting but it definitely stung. He was looking sort of miserable by the time Kai set him down in the bathroom and he would have made a run for it if he could but Kai was blocking the door. "No, don't!" he said again after Kai rinsed the bar of soap and got it lathered up but apparently his pleas weren't going to work since he ended up with it in his mouth and he made a gagging noise at the bitter taste but this time he was breathing through his nose so he didn't choke on it. He looked up at Kai when he was told how long he had to keep it in there and he got tears in his eyes at that since he'd only had to hold it in his mouth for about a minute last time and that felt like forever to the little guy so longer was worse. For the first minute or so he managed to breathe his way through it but then the soap and his saliva started mixing too much and it started oozing out of the corners of his mouth and he ended up swallowing a little too and he made another sound of protest at that and his hand flew up to the soap to try and get it out but kai was holding it so that didn't work so well for him. It was around then that he started to cry, looking pretty pitiful in that moment and squirming on the toilet seat in a vain attempt to squirm away from Kai and the gross soap. He had his eyes squeezed shut by the end of the three minutes and when Kai finally told him he could rinse he jumped up and went to the sink to get the stuff out of his mouth, making gagging sounds again and dry heaving a little since his stomach just didn't appreciate the amount he'd swallowed even if it wasn't enough to make him sick. Once he had all the soap out of his mouth he wiped at his tears and gave Kai a sort of miserably accusing look, "You're mean" he said again since that was just how he felt and 'mean' was the only word he could come up with in the moment even if it was childish.

[CleverFox]

Malakai might have cut the kid more slack over the slipped out curse word were it not for the fact that he had literally just warned the child that he was dangerously close to ending up with a bar of soap in his mouth but since that warning was followed less than five minutes later by the word the guardian angel felt that he had no other course of action save to act on his threat. So he picked Liam up, tucking the child under his arm and delivering a swat to his backside for good measure, and carried him into the bathroom where he retrieved the soap. Once he had it lathered he forced the bar into the boy's mouth and held it there so that he couldn't spit it back out since he just didn't trust Liam to hold it there on his own. He told the boy how long he was going to have to hold it in his mouth and warned him to breathe to his nose before he set about ignoring just how pitiful the boy was. He felt bad when Liam started to cry and ended up with the soap and spit oozing out of the corners of his mouth but even so he still made the little hold the soap in his mouth for the entire three minutes. Once that was over he pulled out the soap and told Liam that he could rinse his mouth, watching as the child jumped to his feet and did just that before Liam turned to him and informed him that he was mean. "I know you think that but I really am doing everything in my power to help you right now," Malakai told him before taking the child by the arm and guiding him into the living room, placing the boy in the corner. "Stand there and don't move. If you get out of the corner before I give you permission then you're only going to make things harder on yourself," he told the child in a firm tone of voice, standing behind him and waiting to see what he would do. After a short time it seemed as though Liam was actually going to do as he'd said so Malakai turned and left the room, making his way out to the yard where he selected a switch and stripped it of bark and twigs before going back inside. The guardian angel made his way over to the couch and sat down, his gaze remaining focused on his young charge for about fifteen minutes before he called out, "Alright Liam, come here." He had placed the switch on the couch, out of sight of the child since it was hidden in the space between the cushions and the back of the couch, Malakai not wanting Liam to see it and freak out. He sat there and waited to see if the boy would actually obey him though he was prepared to jump up and grab the boy if he tried to make an escape and he'd already proven which one of them was faster.