Our Lady of Fandom, Thursday all day

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

The church felt eerily quiet. Too quiet and too lonely. Perhaps this was a day to venture out of the church doors. Gabriel contemplated this seriously. He was not aware of any holidays, as it wasn't one he had had to ever pay attention to.

[The church is open]

Comments

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Sometime in the afternoon, Karal made his way down to the church. He'd stopped at J, GoB and acquired the closest he could come to the traditional food of the day.

He wasn't quite sure about it, but the woman behind the counter had assured him that filo pastries with turkey and mushroom would be perfectly acceptable.

Well, at least they'd be easy to eat.

Karal knocked on the door before coming inside. "Gabriel?"

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

Gabriel looked up from where he had been lying on one of the pews. "Karal! You save me the trouble of gouing outside today."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Is that good?" he asked, smiling as he came inside. "I also brought you something to eat which is in keeping with the day." He frowned. "I think."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

"Yes, I think it is." He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yes, it's that holiday. What did you bring?" Food was always good after all.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"It is turkey and mushrooms, wrapped in a pastry. I brought one for each of us." He walked over to offer Gabriel one of the bags. "It's not a feast, but I thought perhaps we could eat together?"

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

Gabriel grabbed the bag and pulled out the pastry. He sniffed at it and then took a big bite. "Not bad," he said, his mouth full.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal sat down near him and took a much smaller bite, chewing it thoughtfully. "It is nice," he said when he was finished.

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

"So tell me," Gabriel said between mouthfulls, "How is the school doing after the plague?" If anything important was happening he wanted to know about it.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"It is quiet, mostly," he answered after a moment, taking another small bite. "I think many people have gone home to be with their families."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

"Oooh." Gabriel nodded, chewing. "Yes, people tend to find them important."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Families?" he asked. He thought that was what he meant, but it was always best to be sure with Gabriel.

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Gabriel said with his mouth full, gesturing with his hand in the air. "Families."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"They do," he agreed. "Especially after everything which happened. There are still some people here, though." Karal considered Gabriel for a moment, before saying hesitantly, "Family can be made up of more than kin."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

"Yes, I've noticed that on occasion," Gabriel replied, looking thoughtful. "Usually it seems to be because they lack blood relatives though. Unless they've joined some order."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal nodded, setting his pastry aside and folding his hands. "The Writ says family are those who will carry you when you cannot walk, who will stand for you when you cannot rise, who will bear your burdens as their own when you are too weak to lift them," he recited softly. "Even if you have kin, you create family around you as you go through life."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

As Gabriel didn't see this information as relevant to his own life - his life as a mortal would be temporary after all, or so he certainly hoped - he nodded too. "That's a lot to ask of people. Don't see that many who live up to it."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps not," he replied, looking around the church. "But so long as people try, that is something."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

"You think? What about actually making an effort and achieveing what you set out to do?" Gabriel looked at Karal. "'I tried'. That's a good excuse, isn't it."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Only if you give up," he replied. "You have to keep trying. Life is about striving to do better than you've done previously."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

"Gets repetitive after a while," Gabriel mumbled. "And sometimes things just get worse."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes they do," he murmured, turning to look at Gabriel. "But you have to learn to forgive yourself, to forgive others, when striving falls short."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

Gabriel said nothing and didn't look convinced. Instead he finished his pastry, looking thoughtful. "Occasionally forgiveness is completely the wrong thing. You have to know where to set the limits."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal fell silent, thinking hard. "I'm not sure," he finally said, thinking of Tremane. "Some actions may seem unforgivable, but that doesn't mean forgiveness should not be offered. No matter how hard it might be."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

"How many deaths would it take for you not to forgive?" Gabriel asked pointedly. He could have thought of himself, but of course, being Gabriel, he wasn't.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal closed his eyes. "The man who ordered my master's death, I don't know if I've forgiven him. Part of me would like to do painful things to him with very sharp knives." His shoulders hunched a little. "But I believe he regrets his action, I believe he deserves forgiveness. I believe he will try and atone for what he did."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

The comment about very sharp knives made a tiny smile appear on Gabriel's lips. "Believe? You know or you wish?"

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

It took him a long while to reply. "I...think he regrets his actions, I know he deserves forgiveness, I have faith he will, he is, trying to atone."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

Gabriel could have argued that point, trying to make Karal see how naive he was, but he wasn't sure he would succeed. He also wasn't sure he wanted to succeed, and that disturbed him slightly. He fell silent, looking up at the stained glass window above the altar.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal followed his gaze, staring at the stained glass. "Gabriel?" he asked very quietly. "Is there anything for which you're thankful?"

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

"No." He didn't elaborate further. God had abandoned him and he had ended up mortal in this miserable place. There was nothing to be thankful for.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Oh." Sad, he glanced around the church, then smiled a little as he picked up his pastry again. "Not even for pastries? And doughnuts and coffee?"

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

"Huh. Makes things bearable." But his eyes looked at the pastry, and there was just a tiny hint of a smile.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"I could go and get something for dessert," he offered, smiling a little bit more. "If you liked."

[no-archangel.livejournal.com]

The smiled widened a little. "Oh. Yes. That'd be great."