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Post by vincentbelmont on Nov 5, 2010 20:00:11 GMT -5
Vincent sighed, staring down into this coffee.
He sat alone in the corner of the small diner, a half-eaten breakfast before him. He'd been on this little quest of his for a couple of weeks now, and the more he learned about the supernatural, the more frightened he became. Not for the first time, he doubted his decision, and he was ashamed. He knew that he wanted to help these people, these hunters, but he couldn't shake a deep terror that had settled upon him.
Glancing down to the backpack that sat on the floor beside him, he felt dirty knowing that it contained a supply of weapons and objects meant to ward off the various evil creatures that lurked out there in the shadows. He was a priest, not a... a warrior, or a hunter. What good could he possibly do? How could he ever learn enough to help them?
Shaking his head again, Vincent took a sip of his coffee, barely even noticing that it had long since grown cold. There was something else bothering him, too. With all of this darkness, these demons and vampires, and monsters, and all... Where was the light? If God, his God that he'd devoted his entire life to, truly existed, then how could he let these creatures exist? It was, fundamentally, the same question that philosophers had posed for ages: How could God exist and allow all of the evil that was in the world to exist also?
Vincent knew that his faith had been steadily weakening for years, and he wondered if all of this was simply the final stroke. He didn't know, honestly, if his wavering faith could manage to stand strong in the face of such opposition.
He was afraid... Afraid for his life, and afraid for his very soul.
((Ariel, I have the posts that you've made and will PM them to you, alright?))
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Post by ariel on Nov 8, 2010 13:11:44 GMT -5
It was disturbing how easy it was progressively becoming to assimilate back into the human lifestyle. Concentration on her desired pursuits made it effortless to forget existence outside a focused world, existence for greater purpose and greater obligations. Perhaps a suppressed desire was really at hand for this, and the inaccessibility of this was reaffirmed when she was called upon to do the heavenly father’s bidding of an irregular nature. That was not to say she did not appreciate making a positive visit to one of his struggling followers, it was never particularly fun being a divine punisher, but the dual purpose of her orders did not elude her.
Ariel knew exactly where she would find the disciple, knew his face with divine insight the moment she walked inconspicuously from around back of the diner and through the front door. She had no vehicle, having teleported with a mere breeze to signal her arrival. It was not like she needed to fool anyone with taking a flight or driving this time around. In fact, it was almost refreshing to remind herself of her true purpose. To serve her creator and not herself. She was forgetting that faster and faster with assuming human form.
Before a seating hostess could even notice her entrance, Ariel was striding toward the far corner of the relatively empty diner. Perhaps not as ‘private’ as such an encounter warranted, but the secluded corner booth was about the best to be chosen in the place. “Hello.” She greeted with an easy smile, as she slid fluidly into the seat across from him. “Do you mind if I join you?” A redundant question, meant only to give him a moment to comprehend the fact that a woman had just approached him and sat down uninvited. She had already joined him, and had no intention of leaving if he said he did mind. Of course, sitting down in a translucent tank top and jeans, looking anything but professional, did not give him much of a chance to immediately realize what was happening. Anyone had yet to.
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Post by vincentbelmont on Nov 8, 2010 13:14:36 GMT -5
Vincent nearly jumped out of his seat when the woman spoke to him, jolting him out of his brooding.
It frightened Vincent, and made his blood run cold, that the first thing he did as she sat down was slip his hand into the pocket of his leather jacket to grab his gun. Taking a deep breath, and placing one hand over his heart, he smiled apologetically at the stunning woman, feeling like a total fool.
"Ah, yes, please," he stammered, finally finding his voice once again. Looking at the half-eaten meal before him, and the cold cup of coffee that he'd dropped suddenly on the table, he sighed. "So... Can I get you anything? Breakfast, coffee?" He tried to keep up a facade of being okay with this, okay that a beautiful young stranger had just dropped in out of the blue and asked to join him, but his calm was rapidly deteriorating.
Finally he blurted out:
"Who are you? Wha... What do you want?"
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Post by ariel on Nov 8, 2010 13:24:05 GMT -5
Acutely aware of Vincent’s surprise, Ariel was careful not to make any intimidating movements or gestures. She could not know that he was make futile effort to protect himself by gripping a gun, but she was well aware of his past exploits and what he was psychologically experiencing now. It was best not to give him reason to pull the trigger. Granted, she could swiftly heal her human form and perform memory altercations if he did feel a scene was necessary, but it would be so much easier not to.
For a moment, his reaction seemed temporary and chance of this nil. As a priest, Vincent would be used to direct approaches, but not by a random stranger so far away from home and when he looked like an average guy in his leather jacket instead of his identifiable clerical collar.
Able to eat, but not obligated to for survival, Ariel smiled away his offer to get her something to eat or drink. Silently watching him as he quickly changed his tune to properly reflect how a person should react to unsolicited company, Ariel released an airy laugh. “My, you are full of questions. Perhaps some are more pertinent than others. I’m here to see you, of course. Sent by a mutual friend. And I’d like to speak with you, if you’ve got the time.” Keeping her cordial gaze on him steadily, Ariel could only hope he knew an opportunity when it bit him on the ankle. She would not force a person to see the light, and it would do very little good if she could.
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Post by vincentbelmont on Nov 8, 2010 13:51:24 GMT -5
Vincent's brow furrowed at her comment.
"Ah... A mutual friend, you say?" he asked, licking his lips a bit nervously. "If you don't mind my asking, ma'am, who might that be?" His hands shaking just a little, he picked up his cold coffee and took a tentative sip, making a face and setting it back down. He'd catch the waitress on her way by and get a fresh cup...
The mysterious woman's words about his questions had troubled Vincent, perhaps even more than her sudden appearance. He wondered if she was a mind-reader, and he chuckled to himself as he realized that, just a few weeks ago, he wouldn't have even thought such a thing possible. Things like that just didn't happen in the real world. It was crazy... Crazy like the dreams he'd had, the visions he'd seen?
He shook his head. It didn't matter now, of course. The priest knew what sort of things lurked out there now, and something as simple as a mind-reader didn't really startle him any more. It was what else stalked about in the shadows that frightened him.
He shuddered, returning his attention to the woman. Carefully, so as not to arouse any suspicion in her, Vincent withdrew a small vial of holy water from within his jacket. Keeping his hands under the table so she couldn't see, he pulled the stopper and empty the contents into his hand, a trick that he'd picked up from Tellie in New Orleans.
"I... I'm sorry, I've been rude. I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Vincent. Vincent Belmont. And you are?" At that, he reached his hand across the table, offering a shake, and praying that the holy water had no affect, though he was terrified that it would.
His other hand went back to rest on his gun.
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Post by ariel on Nov 9, 2010 11:28:03 GMT -5
((oh, I forgot to say thanks for salvaging our thread.))
The irony of Vincent’s immediate and most logical query brought the grin back to Ariel’s lips. While he might be thinking she was sent from a monster, judging by the tremor in his hand, in truth the most terrifying being of them all bid her here. The one that could truly see every movement he made, every indiscretion of mind or action, the only one he could not escape. And in his heart, Ariel had to believe that he didn’t want to. He was only human, after all, and how could Ariel expect him to have steadfast faith when even hers wavered in her judgment of their father’s plan? The idea that such qualm in her duties could strip the wings from her back in an instance if denied was enough to make her shudder too. She did not know what the Lord’s plan was for this fellow, but it mattered not. Her task was simple, even if revealing ones self in the attempt to reaffirm faith was precarious business, and her purpose was not to question reason. That was a gift left to the humans.
Glancing down at the proffered shake, Ariel perceived the blessed presence in his hand before she even saw the subtle shimmer of fluid. [white] “Holy water,”[/white] She observed with an amused air,[white] “I’d prefer not to get my hand wet, but if it would make you feel better…”[/white] Grasping his hand without a hint of smoking or spontaneous combustion, Ariel gave the firm and easy shake she had become accustomed to using for the best conveyance of simultaneous approachability and stability as a psychiatrist. [white] “My name is Lau—”[/white] Cutting herself off with a smile, she withdrew her hand. It was becoming far too instinctual to let that borrowed name roll off her tongue. [white] “I’m Ariel. Have you heard of me?”[/white] Was it too much to expect Vincent to draw the connection so soon? Probably. But it would certainly be an unexpected pleasure to not have to go through the stammering disbelief that usually came of revealing herself, and the subsequent realization that the individual really was being closely watched every millisecond of existence. Just the same, the self-important question was a decent gateway into her purpose here.
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Post by vincentbelmont on Nov 9, 2010 19:46:49 GMT -5
Vincent was visibly relieved when the holy water seemed to have no adverse effect.
He picked up a couple of things right away: firstly, the fact that she'd known about the holy water made him think that she was someone "in the know," though what had given the water away was unknown to him. Secondly, from the way that she changed her name mid-introduction, it seemed obvious that she had something to hide, which wasn't unusual for hunters or their allies. What was she doing here, though? She had mentioned that she'd been sent by a mutual friend... Who?
The priest was on edge again, and he wondered if he was in some sort of danger. Sure, the holy water hadn't hurt this woman, but he knew that there were creatures out there that were unaffected by it. Could she have seen him speaking with a hunter at some point, and decided to track him down? Was she going to murder him? Or worse?
When she asked him if he'd heard of her, Vincent was a bit taken aback. He studied her carefully, wondering if he'd met her before, or if he knew her from somewhere. She was certainly beautiful, and he though that, had he in fact made her acquaintance at some point, he would have definitely remembered.
His brow furrowed in confusion, he finally stammered, "Ah... No, I'm afraid I haven't heard of you... Should I have?"
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Post by ariel on Nov 14, 2010 2:39:45 GMT -5
Though Ariel could not read minds just by looking at a person, the shifts of uncertainty around Vincent’s person were expressively evident. She was sure she could sense a longing to trust again, but his faith in the safety of his surroundings had been severely tested. He knew now what most of the world turned a blind eye to, even more readily than God ironically enough, despite the material beings that took no ‘belief’ to find. And in the hour he needed his creator the most to help him through his acceptance, to stay strong and find his place in this revealed world, he foolishly questioned God’s attention.
Ariel knew just enough to achieve God’s will, her purpose here: to convince him that he had not fallen from the eyes and ears of the Lord… or worse yet, that he was not even there at all. But one did not just walk up, shake a fellow’s hand, smile and claim to be a messenger of God. And with the tentative air clinging to the man across from her, Ariel would choose her words very carefully.
Smiling blithely at his response, Ariel propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand, seeming almost amused when the hint of her arrogance was humbled with his honesty. At the very least he had tried to place her in the best way he assumed to know how. And in that sense, she replied, [white] “Not necessarily.”[/white]
Sitting straight with purpose, Ariel looked down and smoothed out the hem of her shirt for a casual approach to counter her directness, [white] “Our friend tells me that you’re a man of the church and that you’ve recently been exposed to what would be most readily described as the supernatural.”[/white] Lacing her fingers together and resting her hands on the table while she absently played with a diamond ring on her thumb, Ariel focused her eyes on him again with a pause to allow him a moment to digest her knowing this. Her smile inevitably found its way back to her mouth, as she assured him with her friendlier tone,[white] “I’m not here to hurt you, Vincent. Quite the contrary in fact. I’m here to help you.”[/white]
After the briefest moment, her smile fading to borderline militant purpose, Ariel relayed to him professionally,[white] “Our friend has a message for you: he’s listening.”[/white]
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Post by vincentbelmont on Nov 14, 2010 13:51:17 GMT -5
Vincent remained silent for several moments, taking in what the woman had said.
The casual air that she'd assumed had put him at ease, for he sensed instinctively that Ariel would do him no harm. He'd had experience now with creatures who sought to hurt and kill him, he'd come to know what it felt like, and Ariel exuded none of that. Instead, there was something about her that made the priest relax. He sighed, actually enjoying the feeling, as he'd been constantly on edge, looking over his shoulder since his eyes had been opened to the realities of the world around him.
"Our friend?" he asked rhetorically. He nodded, sensing some underlying meaning behind her words. Vincent wanted to believe her, he wanted so badly to just accept what she said at face value without questioning it, but he'd seen a lot of people over the years who claimed to speak with God, to do His work, when in actuality they were just very sick individuals. He would tread lightly here, despite the fact that Ariel seemed to be a calm, level-headed, professional woman.
"Alright," Vincent said with a slight nod. "You say our friend is listening..." He shook his head, laughing bitterly. "Forgive me if I find such news hard to accept at face value. Tell me: if He really is listening, then why is he doing nothing? Why do these... these hunters have to do what they do, risk their lives every single day if He is really listening, huh?" It came out much harsher than he'd intended, but there it was.
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Post by ariel on Nov 16, 2010 2:50:47 GMT -5
As composed as Ariel was in most situations, even she felt relief when she was not met with a bewildered stare or incessant questions about what she meant. Of course, she expected it. This was not the first time she had had to do something like this, and she had dealt with plenty of his species in general. It was still refreshing that he applied his ordeal to her otherwise cryptic words. She was far too familiar with individuals pussyfooting around the issue, all the while appropriately prompted to think about it when she expressly stated her purpose.
Watching him intently, Ariel allowed him the time to mull things over. In comparison he was accepting this far better, and far faster than many. Despite what he said. And for a brief moment, Ariel wondered if she might not enjoy this. That it might actually be worth the effort. This outlook was not easily swayed by his abrasive response. His question was perfectly normal, and one of the most often asked.
Quirking her head, expression appropriately conveying her amusement, her lips curled up again. [white] “Doing nothing?”[/white] Her voice was light, and she even let out an airy chuckle,[white] “Do you presume to think he works in the way you see fit?”[/white] Assuming he would not have the arrogance to say he did, Ariel gripped the side of the table and slid off the booth to unreservedly join his side. Looking at him directly, which might seem a little awkward for a stranger sitting by one's side, she continued. Now able to lower her voice to just above a soothing whisper,[white] “He works through us, Vincent. You, me, all of creation. Does he have the power to reach down and solve all of our problems? Yes. The question you need to ask yourself… is do you want him to?”[/white]
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