Faithless

Morgana arrived in the small town, her vampire instincts bubbling just beneath the surface. It had been many years since she last set foot in this place, and she was taken aback by how much it had transformed. As she caught a glimpse of her son Joey, she felt a powerful longing to hold him once more. However, the guilt of leaving her children and the pain she had caused them held her back, like an invisible force keeping her at bay.

Lost in her thoughts, she accidentally collided with someone and quickly apologized, "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

The woman he collided with was surprisingly cold to the touch. She reminded him of his vampire clients from work. He reached out to steady her, although he was unsure if it was necessary.

"I haven't decided." Hal might like the people, his neighborhood, and the places he visited around the town thus far...so did that mean he liked Greywood as a whole? It was too early to tell. "I'm keeping an open mind. I like to learn as many details about one thing or another before I consider how I feel about them. It's slow but rewarding."

That was always his intention, anyway, but not always true in practice.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Hal tried to tamper down his insatiable curiosity. The number of questions he had for Uriel was overwhelming. So many questions provoked from so few words. What happened in Oregon? Who was so dangerous to force Uriel to move for fear of his safety? No one Hal knew of. "Are you allowed to go back at some point?" WITSEC rules were strict. If this was the authority overseeing Uriel's life, he doubted it.

"It's okay. Not like you can change anything." Uriel took a drink, oblivious to the way the man lit up with curiosity. "I probably can. But there's no point right now. Everyone is probably long gone. And it's not like I'd be welcome back, even if I could find them again."

The plot of land in Oregon was meant to be a sanctuary for Nana and the people who followed her. She taught them how to get along, and how to take care of themselves. Hunting, foraging, even weaving their own clothes. She taught them so none of them would need to leave again. Uriel had never felt so at home as he was when he was there. But after the police came, they sullied the safety of the land. If Nana was still alive and anyone was with her, she'd go to a different place and start again. Uriel was left to rot in this tiny town instead of going with her.

Nana always told him that the faithful would always find each other again if their belief in her was true enough. The fact that he wasn't drowned or by her side meant he wasn't. And he didn't know what to do with that. Should he drown himself? Do what the police had interrupted? Would he be welcome back as a saint of their faith in death? Or would they never know he'd followed through?

"oh well, that's easy enough sorted," olusola observed the finger, then asked; "how's your mobility with it? can you flex the finger, bend it at all?"

He held out the hand with the finger in question. It was now bruised enough to almost be black. He tried to move it, and got nothing. He could handle pain just fine. This was actually not that bad in the grand scheme of things. But he did care if this put him out of his job for however long it took to heal. He couldn't pour a drink with a broken finger. He couldn't garden. Couldn't wrestle, or swordfight. All of his hobbies needed a good pair of working hands. He didn't want to go back to sitting around at home with nothing to do all day.

"Sounds good to me." He said, and then, because he was bored, and wanted to press her buttons, he added. "You okay? Your face is a bit off. You look like you're tasting something sour."

the strangers smile felt oddly earned, as if not everyone saw such a rare thing. "oh, snapdragons! i plant a lot, they're so vibrant and in your face. i like that, you know? after winter, it feels good to see such lush colours. it really reminds me that it's going to start getting warmer soon, a hope of spring,"

"Snapdragons are great for that pop of color. They're such a unique species of flower, too. I love the shades you used here." He looked around again. The earth was truly thriving there in ways he didn't think he'd ever seen before. He felt it underneath his feet. Felt it in the air he was breathing. He didn't find change easy. At least, not when it was out of his control. He didn't have control over his move here. It'd been a long time since he'd felt genuinely happy. Like maybe things would be okay for him. Not since he'd spoken with Nana last. But there in that garden, he felt good. Better than he'd been in a long time.

"I'm trying right now to get something to grow in my backyard. Not flowers, just some veggies and fruits. But visiting here is definitely making me feel like I should plant some flowers. Is there something you can recommend that's pretty easy to take care of?"

The man's mood didn't seem to improve. Hal wondered if he would need to start telling some jokes soon. He knew a good one about lawyers, and another one about politicians. He didn't want to resort to cracking out the ones about sea creatures.

"Yeah. Strange." Uriel's brow quirked, the only change in his face through the conversation so far. "How do you like it so far? Staying in one place?"

Uriel questioned how much he should tell this stranger. How much he should get into the fact that he wasn't here by choice, and that the forces that be had placed him here as some sort of witness protection. But it wasn't like talking about Nana was going to hurt anyone. "I didn't really come here by choice. I was sort of moved against my will. I'd rather be back in Oregon, on the farm. I don't know anyone here. It's hard to make friends with people I have nothing in common with."

location: greywood hospital, ER

it wasn’t as crazy as accident and emergency had been in louisiana, owing to a much smaller community in greywood but that didn’t mean the citizens here weren’t in need of immediate aid. occasionally, something odd and explainable walked through the doors thanks to the town’s supernatural community, which olusola found fascinating. unfortunately, as a student, she was limited in what she could do to help but, was given tasks that she would one day need to complete in professional capacity regardless. the matron she was shadowing had given sola the opportunity to complete obs on a patient, and the woman had lapped up the opportunity to get away from the senile vampire chewing her ear off over ancient history. “hello there, i’m olusola adeyemi,” she began, looking at the clipboard for the patient’s name and general notes as she pulled back the cubicle curtain. “i’m a student nurse on placement and I’ve been asked by nurse chen to complete your obs before we discharge you,” it sounded rehearsed, as sola had been repeating what she’d been going to say in her head the entire walk from the nurse’s station to red bay. “please note, if you aren’t satisfied with my assessment then you are well within your rights to request someone more…senior,” her voice dropped off, the gut feeling rising in her stomach suddenly as her whole body told her that she needed to leave. olusola looked at the man she’d come to aid, dark eyes staring at him for a few brief moments as every cell in her body screamed that there was something wrong with him; not from a medical standpoint, either. “can you confirm your name?”

After waiting for a bit, Uriel was taken back into a room. The nursing student introduced herself. He nodded in greeting. "I'm Uriel Faulkner. Don't worry about it, I'm sure you're perfectly competent."

He stared back into her eyes, unsure of what she was looking for. When her face turned vaguely disgusted, he felt somewhat amused. She really wasn't good at that poker face. He wondered if she was put off by the smashed finger or if she'd sensed that he was Celestial. He couldn't get a good idea of what she was, which was strange. She didn't smell like a demon. Maybe it was just his mug that she had a problem with. That was most people's problem: the resting bitch face.

"I just need to make sure I didn't break my finger. It got injured when I was wrestling last night."

Completely unbeknownst to Minho, a little humming tune escaped him as he stood about, waiting for his team to pack up the set for the photoshoot they just did under the rows of magnolia trees. His part of the job of being the model for the photoshoot was done, so he was pretty much useless and they’ve given him a venti cup of his favorite Starbucks order and a box of mini glazed donuts to entertain himself with while the team cleared everything up until they were ready to go. Which was enough, Minho was very easily entertained by yummy sweet stuff to eat and drink. 

It was a sunny day but still not warm enough for short sleeves, which he wore for the photoshoot, so he had had a light jacked shrugged over his shoulders and was currently admiring the lovely magnolia blossoms in full bloom, craning his neck up as he took humming sips off the straw in his cup. The team had taken up some space on the side of the walkway and occupied a few picnic benches as well so there had been someone to kindly direct people away from the spot until they were done, but now that they were, it was easier to pass through rather than go around them. Minho looked away from the tree tops as he noticed someone trying to pass by, perhaps confused by the commotion. 

“Goodness gracious, many apologies! We are almost done, sorry for the trouble and the crowd!” He said to the person as he stepped between them and the crew who were carrying lighting and some set props to toss into a van, so that the unsuspecting passerby wouldn’t accidentally bump into something and hurt themselves. “Care for a donut? Look how tiny they are, bite-sized” He offered with a giggle, smiling brightly at them.

Then, he was being guided away from a flurry of activity by a tall, fresh-faced man who glowed down at him. He offered Uriel some donuts, and Uriel accepted one without thinking. It dawned upon him that he must've just stumbled into some kind of photoshoot, or something. This man must be a model or something: he had the face for it, and he wasn't wearing street clothes.

Uriel became very aware that he was in a loose flannel shirt and black sweats. He schooled his mug into less of a resting bitch face, and made an effort to look friendly. He didn't know why he wanted to look less grim when he didn't know this man at all. But the ethereal beauty made him very aware that he was short and he looked pissed all the time.

He took the donut from the man. Wondered why he was sharing when he didn't know Uriel at all. "Hi. Thanks."

He blinked stupidly at the mini donut, which looked even smaller in his big, rough hands. His body was made of light, and he could change it at any time. However, he'd never really thought about doing so. He thought there was a certain type of beauty in utility. In the practical. He had big hands and he was built solid. He was built to fight. Doing anything else had him feeling a bit out of his depth. Being nice was a foreign language. He was used to people being mean or treating him like he was trouble because of his mug. The only person who'd ever immediately been nice to him was his Nana Glass. Her, and now this man. That meant something to Uriel. He wondered how long it'd take for him to mess things up again.

"Um, did I interrupt your photoshoot? I'm sorry. I can get lost if you're working."

A genuine laugh escaped him as the other insulted, then threatened, Jesse. "Oh really? I only get one warning, huh? Seems a little scummy, seeing as how you caused this whole mess to begin with," he said between chuckles, idly scooping the potatoes back in closer to him, "that should at least warrant a warning and a half, don't you think?" It wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last, that Jesse heard himself called a piece of shit. Hell, he regularly labeled himself that on a daily basis. That didn't phase him- one only had to look at him to know it. But at the same time, this guy seemed over-the-top. It was definitely an excessive reaction to jump right into name-calling and threats, all because he bitched at him a bit for being a clumsy idiot. But what did Jesse know, right? He'd just gone into a tirade about this very thing- the guy probably had some major issues going on that brought on such an aggressive response.

"Outside. You and me. Now." With that eloquent threat, he turned and walked back towards the exit of the shop. If this guy thought he had a rotten temper now, he was going to be in for a rude awakening.

There seldom was a last call for questions.

"I haven't been to Elysium," he said at last, clocking the speaker's mood and opting for a diplomatic approach. Hal long ago understood one could catch more flies with honey than vinegar and thus softened his words whenever blunt demands weren't necessary. "I'm new to Greywood. If you have any favorite places to go, I'd love to hear them."

The bartender was nearing now. Hal pointed at his neighbor's glass. "The end of a long week deserves a good send off. A refill for them, please, and an old fashioned for me."

He sighed, shaking his head. He knew about the place he worked, and that was about it. The idea of trying to get to know this town and its places and people didn't fill him with joy. He knew that Nana would want him to try. But nothing so far had done anything except make him feel the loss of his home. He shouldn't be here, and there was no point in pretending otherwise. He wasn't going to go through the motions of knowing the town until he felt there was any point.

"I'm new in town too. It hasn't been an easy adjustment for me to make. What about you?"

Like an old friend, rightous fury rolled through him. Not all of it, but enough. He felt spite welling up. The desire to set the fear of him into this guy. He caught his eye. Shot him a deliberate glower. He didn't help him pick up his produce a second time. Nana would've been furious with him for letting anyone see that rage. She taught him that talking was his friend. But talking wasn't getting him anywhere, and Nana wasn't here.

"Shut up. You're just some annoying piece of shit. I'm going to give you one warning here. Walk away. Or I'm going to show you exactly what I do to malcontents."

a compliment given by a stranger caused her to smile, always pleased to hear that her work did pay off. "it is, isn't it? take a lot to get it this perfect," eilonwy responded.

He turned from the branches to peer at her, offering her a rare smile. He didn't really know why, but something about her made him feel less lonely. Nana would've loved her. She would've made some clever comment about what these specific plants meant in the language of flowers, but Uriel didn't know enough about them to say. He just knew that this woman was pretty great at plants. "What kind of flowers are those?"

Jesse dropped the crate he'd been carrying as someone knocked into him; some of the vegetables within bounced out and rolled every which way on the ground. "Yeah, you think?" he shot an annoyed glance towards the other person, "I'm only walking here with a bunch of crap in hand."

But she wasn't here. She'd disappeared, and Uriel had gone into protective custody. He didn't really know what that meant. He just knew that he had to move and he hadn't seen any of his friends in far too long. He did know, however, that bad attitudes were bothersome to him. He knew that he was the one who'd bumped into this man, but he didn't need to curse like that. "Right now? My problem is you. Your mouth, to be more specific. Lighten up."

Either the walls of his place were turning yellow, or Hal needed to go outside.

He did, casting a glance up and down the street. Hal liked White Oaks—all of Greywood he'd seen so far, really. It wasn't quaint, not quite, but its charm wasn't something he could define yet. Therein lay the problem for any writer, he decided, starting to walk in search of something to do. That elusive operative word.

There was no trouble finding a word to describe the Den: seasoned. Hal quickly found an open seat at the bar, paying more attention to the interior than he did the menu.

"Top shelf any good here?" He asked, addressing the nearest person.

He missed Nana. He had a hard time sleeping without his friends around him, all sleeping peacefully, with the sounds of snoring filling the room and warm bodies around him. His house felt so big and empty and silent. The only noise he came across was traffic outside his window. He didn't enjoy talking to strangers. But he found himself in the uncomfortable position of having to do so regularly. He was trying to get out in the world and find new people who he could know, but it was hard. It just made him realize that he was never going to have that back.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bite your head off there. It's just been a long week."