As payment was inquired, the holy man simply raised one hand, shaking his head. Though a part of him would have liked to charge some exorbitant amount of money and take advantage of these nameless newcomers, the church wasn’t in bad enough condition to rely on such tactics yet. His fingers grazed the hexagram hanging from his neck as he recalled the kindness of the former Father of the church.

[b]“It’s only a donation if it’s voluntary, lost lambs. Please, feel free to help yourself with some soup and rest here for the night. Though I can’t promise comfort, there’s shelter at least.”[/b]

He smiled, even if it was a bit forced.

[b]“I’ll have to ask you to leave at first light, however, so that we may prepare for the day’s rituals. Unless any of you would like to join the covenant in lieu of a life of bloodshed and suffering?”[/b]

Well, not that an ascetic life would be so pleasurable either.

[@Denny][@Buzzkill][@Burger]
[hr]
Gavriel raised an eyebrow at the extraordinarily ‘teenage’ reaction he got from the pretty blonde girl, but ultimately, the long-haired hunk shrugged. There was probably some weird childhood drama thing going on between Muu and Eye-Roller, but he was just offering them a meal and some more accurate directions, not relationship counselling. Leading the way for the two of them, he guided them past a well maintained lawn filled with rows of wooden dummies, moonlight exposing the deep cuts in them, before they passed the entrance into a large, white building.

The first to catch their eyes was the great heraldry that hung from the back wall, a magnificently detailed tapestry featuring lances, unicorns, crescent moons, and stars, following a silver-and-blue theme. Though the meaning and symbolism were mostly lost to them, the motto of the Order of Silver Light, sewn into the bottom, was clear: “[i]Salutis Ad Lucem[/i].”

Words that they did not understand. Words from a foreign, yet vaguely familiar language. Words…and yet, nothing came in mind.
Neither could ruminate for long anyways, as Gavriel brought them up a forked flight of stairs onto the second floor, turning right down the hallway before arriving at the purported destination. Twin doors were pulled open to unveil a kitchen area, stocked with dried meats, vegetables, fruits, jars of fermented juice, and…

[b]“Geh.”[/b]

…a lanky, freckle-faced youth, moments away from stuffing his face with a hunk of cured ham.

Gavriel let out a sigh. [b]“Darius…midnight snacks will only h-”[/b]

[b]“Oh hey, I’m not the one inviting two girls over without telling the Grandmaster about it, Big G.”[/b] The younger man grinned devilishly as exasperation clouded his senior’s expression, before popping the ham in his mouth and chewing away.

The blond hunk sighed again, before waving generically in the gluttonous kid’s direction. [b]“Ladies, Darius. Darius, ladies. Offering food to travellers is a more noble pursuit compared to your nighttime food-pillaging, so if you’d like for me to keep silent…”[/b]

[b]“Right right,”[/b] the lad said, pointing both index fingers at Gavriel, [b]“Do some fancy bachelor cooking to impress the ladies, yea?”[/b]

[b]“Keep it light.”[/b]

Darius laughed. [b]“Hey now, Gabe, if they’re knocking here this late at night for food, it’s obvious First Light’s affair wasn’t enough for ‘em. Ladies, I’m [i]Paladin[/i] Darius, member of the Order of Silver Light [i]and[/i] Gold-Ranked Member of the Silver Moon Army. They call me the Blue Fang of Sirius, the Bright Hammer of the Wild Hunt, the Forge-Hearted, but tonight…you can call me ‘Chef’. Now, how would you like me to entertain your tongues on this fine, moonlit evening?”[/b]

Gavriel leaned against a wall, half-amused. [b]“Don’t mind him too much. All the girls in his party are taken, so he’s been thirsting pretty hard recently.”[/b]

[b]"Damn, always going low blows when it's a guy, huh?

"Just for you, you bum."[/b]

[@Skyswimsky][@changejar]