#rip caleb

"In this installment of Inky Extras, we follow a young angel on his Act of Charity! As he comes to his greatest obstacle yet, will he prevail? Or will he be bested like many before and after him?"

Oh we're following along for someone ELSE'S Act of Charity 👀

It was the bane of Caleb’s existence. No matter what he did, the farthest he ever got was getting the well-oiled gate open. He couldn’t step through it. Not for lack of trying. He’d attempted to step, jump, lean, and push his way across that threshold to no avail. The air was solid. Impassable. A magic barrier. An invisible magic barrier. Mercy guide him and give him patience; he had never liked dealing with magic barriers in school, and this one was preventing him from doing his job.

I just know the people in that house were probably laughing about this. Poor guy

At that point I'd just throw it over the gate HAHAHJJA

The angel had tried everything. And since he couldn't actually walk up to the postbox, he'd had to get . . . inventive. Slipping the envelopes into cardboard tubes and rolling them down the walkway only kind of worked, as the tubes tended to veer off course or bounce off the front step and into the grass or adjacent flower beds. Folding the envelopes into paper airplanes was tricky, and most of the planes landed in the bushes or fell short due to their own weight. The most effective method he'd found so far was magnets and a length of pole with a string. Caleb sandwiched one or two letters at a time between two small, but reasonably strong, magnets and attached the envelopes to a paperclip at the end of the string tied to his pole. Then he swung the magnetized letters toward the metal postbox until they attached to the outside, and gently tugged until the paperclip came loose. The magnets were always placed on the fence by the gate for him to collect the next day. Caleb wasn’t sure if the residents were being polite, taunting him, or both.

CRYING? MORE EFFORT THEN I WOULD'VE EVER GONE THROUGH, GO CALEB!

Also ya no they're 100% laughing at him and messing with him

The angel frowned as he considered his options. He'd only have one attempt before the package was out of his reach, and he couldn't try again. He had received express instructions that this package needed to be on the porch. Whoever resided at this Order-forsaken house was counting on him to make this delivery, and he was going to succeed, one way or another. Pushing the package to the front door was out; the three steps up to the porch would prevent that. If he threw the box, it would likely make it onto the porch. But it had the word FRAGILE stamped several times on multiple sides in dark ink, and he’d never hear the end of it from Martin back at the Post Office if he damaged a patron’s deliverables.

CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT! I believe in you Caleb, you can best them

Not daring to celebrate just yet, Caleb untied the string from the notch in the base of the pole, letting the entire line go slack. Carefully, he pulled the pole back through the open gate, unhooking the string from the loop at the top and then pushing the entire length of string as far down the path as he could with the end of the pole. He’d done it. Caleb let out a disbelieving, giddy laugh. He’d done it! A satisfying warmth filled him. The angel blinked in surprise as he realized that the warmth was gathering in his back and shoulders. He gasped as he was thrown off balance by a sudden weight, tipping back before stumbling forward, bracing himself against the wrought-iron fence. Feathers brushed Caleb’s cheeks as wings curled around him. Wings. His wings. He had earned his wings!

OOP!? GO CALEB! Man that means if I was in his position I would've NEVER earned my wings, I can't say I even feel bad about that

With confident steps, Father circled him, taking in his wings. He hummed thoughtfully. “Lark wings, like a true Steppe,” he said approvingly, stopping in front of Caleb. “Dune lark, if I’m not mistaken.”

Brb gotta do some google searches rq I don't know anything about birds

OH THOSE ARE SO PRETTY!!!

“However, due to the way you earned your wings, the head of the Messenger Division has taken an . . . enthusiastic interest in your skills.” “My skills,” Caleb echoed warily. “I’m afraid you’ll need to be more specific, sir.” “You were a postman!” Jacob interjected enthusiastically. “When I read the report, I knew you would be a perfect fit for the messenger division!” “Wha—Master Jacob, I’m a guardian-in-training,” Caleb pointed out the obvious. “It’s on all my paperwork.”

AGAIN CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT! FREE MY BOY FROM HIS MAILMAN-SHIP!

“He made a pretty solid case for it,” Isaac said solemnly. “The promise of two boxes of donut holes certainly helped,” Jake snickered. Caleb’s jaw dropped. “You sold me out to the councilman of the messengers, for donut holes!” he shouted incredulously.

Now, wait, Caleb hold on, this is a pretty convincing argument. Now I want donut holes

“No, no! Your employment as a messenger! It’s a trial run. If you absolutely hate it or find it’s actually not that good of a fit, you can transfer back to the guardian division,” Jake clarified, sitting upright on his perch and crossing his arms. “How long?” Caleb asked warily. “One year,” Isaac replied. The older archangel held out the folder of documents to him. “It’s all in here.” Taking the folder, Caleb read through the documents carefully, frowning as he considered. It wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to him.

Now Jake just has to spend a year bribing him with trial run Surface bakery donut holes

Caleb: *standing with the package, staring at the front door* Shark and Piranha: *snickering and sitting down in their usual chairs to watch the show* Shark: Don’t ya think it’s kinda mean to order a package like this when we know he can’t go past the gate? Piranha: Nah, it’s his job. Besides, he can always give up and just push it through da gate. *evil glint in his eye* Then I win the bet. Shark: You’re on, brother! I’m gonna buy a whole box of creamsicles with my winnings! Piranha: And I’m gonna buy a box when I win and eat it in front of you! Shark: Don’t you dare— Piranha: Hush, he’s doin’ somethin’ now! Shark: Oh! He brought out the stick! Caleb: *manages to get the package to the porch* Caleb: *suddenly has wings* Piranha, falls over: *swearing in Spanish* Shark: Oh cuss! He was an angel! Do you think we should tell Elba? Piranha: Of course, you crazy!