01 [London, June 20, 1230. Time: 9:20.] 01 [The sun has just set, and Moriel's rising in St. Raphael's. Something is bound to happen, or we wouldn't be putting this on screen!] 01 [Mini Start.] 06* Moriel wakes in darkness and spends a few seconds staring at a ceiling he can't see. Then he picks himself up and lights a candle to go through the routine of washing, dressing, and so on. It doesn't take long. 06* Moriel slips a slim volume into one pocket and a rosary into the other, and makes his way up and out through winding darkened catacombs to the church above. 06* Moriel slips out into the early evening darkness to find...sustenance. That takes a little longer, but eventually he returns to his domain - to find someone there waiting for him. [St. Raphael's and its grounds sit at the summit of a small hill. It's a sturdy little building, despite being obviously old and worn, with thick stone walls and oaken doors. The grounds include a cemetery as well as a parsonage with its own tiny garden.] 06* Eliana would, in fact, be the one waiting: dressed typically, hood down. She's standing to one side of the church's front doors, studying the crucifix above them and winding something through her gloved fingers. 06* Moriel stops a few feet away in surprise. He doesn't ordinarily get visitors. "Good evening, Mistress Casale." His voice is simply courteous, but his expression is inquiring. 06* Eliana turns at the sound of Moriel's greeting. "Moriel MacRae," she says, picking up that faint Scottish accent. "Good evening." 06* Moriel recovers more from his surprise and remembers such things as hostly duties. He walks the rest of the way to the entrance and opens the heavy door for Eliana. "Please, come in." 06* Eliana nods once to Moriel and steps into the church. * Moriel shuts the door behind her and then seems somewhat lost. He gestures vaguely towards one of the wooden pews. "Please, sit. I'm afraid I...can offer little in the way of hospitality." 06* Eliana smirks a touch. "That seems fair, unless I were looking for a sermon." She does, however, go to the pew and sit down on the edge. "It's been a while since I set foot in a church. Is it active?" 06* Moriel nods, and gestures through walls and narrow shuttered windows towards the parsonage. "There's a young priest living there. That's why I keep the windows shuttered, actually - I don't wish to attract undue attention." 06* Eliana looks to the windows and makes a vague 'hm' sound. "I assume he's largely unaware of your existence." 06* Moriel takes a seat on a pew across the aisle from Eliana, watching her carefully. "So far." 01 Good to hear. I've been careful. And...I'm not much inclined to activities that would attract attention, anyway. 06* Eliana chuckles. "No... I didn't think you would be." 06* Moriel studies Eliana from across the aisle. He doesn't seem to know how to respond to that. 06* Eliana turns her attention to her hands and pinches one end of the ribbon, unraveling it from her fingers. She holds it across the aisle to Moriel - it's the same one he gave her a few days ago. 06* Moriel blinks down at it blankly for a moment, not realizing what it is. Then he blinks in recognition and reaches out to take it, careful not to touch Eliana's fingers as he does. He looks back up at her with that same expression of careful study. Then, suddenly, his eyes lighten in a smile that barely touches his lips. "You didn't have to return it, you know. It's only a ribbon." 06* Eliana meets Moriel's gaze, then shrugs with one shoulder, looking away. "Never trust your possessions to a warlock. You can't know what we'll use them for, in time." She pauses, then adds, "It was a kind gesture." 06* Moriel looks down at the ribbon now twined through his fingers, sobering. "I...see. Well, it...would seem you are trustworthy." He looks back up at Eliana and says, carefully, "You're welcome." 06* Eliana doesn't respond, and she's back to looking at the shuttered windows. 06* Moriel watches her uncertainly, since it doesn't seem there's much danger of him being caught at it. After a long moment, he says, "I still have your gloves. I am not a warlock, but...I did intend to return them." 06* Eliana looks back at Moriel. She studies his face for a moment, and then she smiles, a touch. "Whenever you like, Moriel MacRae. I'm not particularly attached to that pair." 01 They may even fit you. 06* Moriel snorts. "They would hardly match my wardrobe, however." 06* Moriel rises. "I'll fetch them. Just a moment." 06* Eliana blinks, but she doesn't say anything. 06* Moriel disappears into the back of the church and returns a few minutes later with the long green gloves folded in one hand. Here. 06* Moriel smiles faintly. "In case you must impersonate a lady again." 06* Eliana stands, walking over and taking the gloves. Her fingertips brush his palm, and even through the leather, they feel like ice. "May that never be the case." 06* Moriel smiles a bit wider, and then it fades. He looks towards the cross at the front of the church. After a moment of silence that lasts slightly too long, he comes back to himself and fumbles for something to say. The lightness in his voice might sound genuine, if not for his expression the moment before. "It stood us in good stead, however." 06* Eliana watches Moriel during the silence, and when he finally speaks to her, she shrugs. "I believe most pretend to be things they are not. It is a trait necessary for survival." 06* Moriel sighs. "Indeed. Particularly among our kind." 06* Eliana smirks. "All kinds." 01 It's not something you enjoy, is it. 06* Moriel gives Eliana a sideways glance, then stares up at nothing. He says distantly, "No, I suppose that it is not." 06* Eliana tucks her extra pair of gloves away while Moriel commences with the staring. 06* Moriel says after a longer silence, "My sire was of the opinion that manipulation - in all its many forms - was both sword and shield, and that any Kindred who allowed his enemies to actually confront him physically deserved to be murdered for his stupidity." 06* Eliana raises an eyebrow. "A brutal philosophy, and one that ultimately would involve a great deal of murder." 06* Moriel 's teeth flash in a sharp-edged smile. "My sire had no especial difficulty with murder." Though he rarely dirtied his hands with it, of course. 01 Of course. That would require breaking one's own rule. 06* Eliana shifts, slightly, and folds her hands before her. "And you? You already said that you don't enjoy manipulation. It must be difficult." 06* Moriel glances at Eliana again, and his expression grows closed. "One does what one must." 06* Eliana tilts her head. "Unless one doesn't." 06* Moriel 's eyes flash, and then whatever it was is gone. He smiles faintly. "Well, yes. I *could* simply ignore Prince Mithras and our dear emissary's murder, and wait to be executed." 01 You could, but you wouldn't. Of that, I am quite certain. 06* Moriel cocks his head to one side, eyes bright. "You are? And why is that?" 01 Because more fates ride on this investigation than your own. 06* Moriel snorts and settles back into the pew. "All the rest of our little party are capable enough to save themselves. It's even possible that any one of us could simply refuse to assist the others, relying on the others' desire to survive to solve the mystery and thus absolve and save the shirking party." I could do it, myself. 06* Moriel 's teeth flash again. "But you're right that I won't." 06* Eliana remains standing, and she watches Moriel smile. A question seems to be on the tip of her tongue, but she kills it and instead asks (more like states), "Why not, then." 06* Moriel appears to actually consider this question for a time. "I suppose because it's an interesting problem." He waves a vague hand around the church. "Even if I'm not much for company, I do get bored, you know." 06* Eliana tilts her head. "So entertainment?" 06* Moriel smiles, his eyes amused. "Why not," he echoes Eliana. 06* Eliana looks Moriel in the eye. "I doubt it," she says, flatly. And she moves, heading for the doors. 06* Moriel looks after her, narrow-eyed. He makes no motion to get up and open the doors for her or show her out at all. 06* Eliana is silent until she reaches the doors, and when she finally speaks, it's towards them. "You seem like a kind individual, Moriel MacRae. That is a dangerous thing. But I do hope that it turns out well for you." She pushes one door open, using both hands to do so. "Thank you for your hospitality, and for returning my gloves." 06* Moriel stares after Eliana, eyes wide. It's fortunate she doesn't look back at him, or else he would have been caught stunned. 06* Eliana opens the door the rest of the way and steps out, allowing it to swing shut behind her. 06* Moriel just sits there looking at the door for a long moment before he slowly gets up and bars it again. 01 [Mini End!]