Location: The Manor
Tags: Luca
The morning light signaled the time to clock out. Kyle gathered his backpack and phone and headed to the time clock, where his fellow postal workers had gathered. The sky was gloomy and overcast, so he wasn't terribly worried about the sun. Sometimes Kyle got funny looks when he walked outside in the summer with an umbrella, but he just bullshitted by saying his skin was sensitive to the sun because of cancer stuff. No one ever questioned cancer stuff.
He stamped in his code, the clock giving a dutiful beep as he was already shrugging his coat on and heading out the door. Gentle flakes snowed down on him as he crossed the street and made his way up the block. Kyle usually drove in the summer, but in the winter, when the weather permitted, he liked to walk. Sometimes he felt like he never got to go outside anymore. His life had changed a bit when he became a vampire. A bit...not a whole lot.
The walk home took him by the church, one of his old haunts. Of course, being a vampire, he didn't go there anymore. All the religious imagery repelled him. Kyle still practiced in his own way, in his own time. He looked up wistfully at the looming towers, keeping a silent watch over the town. He'd heard of the disappearance of Father Walter, and wondered what it would mean for the coven. Would they start attacking humans again? He certainly wouldn't be okay with that; he was still friends with a lot of the townsfolk. However, watching the news, it certainly seemed like
someone liked the idea...
Kyle was distracted from that train of thought when he heard the crunch of another pair of shoes on the salted sidewalk in front of him. Oh, it was Luca, carrying a bunch of greasy paper bags from the diner up the road. Must have been having some sort of meeting, or something that called for biscuits. Oop, and he dropped one. Luca began doing the awkward leaning down while trying not to drop any more and grab the one off the ground. Kyle came to the rescue.
"I got ya' man," He said, bending down and picking the bag up out of the snow. He tucked it on top of the others safely. "Must be trying to feed an army with all this, huh, Luca?" Kyle chuckled. He never called the man "Father". It seemed weird; he'd known Luca since the Pearsons had brought him to the church as a scraggly teenager. He knew the young priest didn't mind.
"Oh, thank you Kyle." Luca smiled graciously and straightened up. "Yes, it's been a bit busy around here lately. I thought everyone could use a good breakfast."
"You need me to get the door?" Kyle was already heading up the steps and reaching for the big, brass handles of the heavy church door. Luca thanked him again and scurried up the steps.
"Thank you so much. You know, we'd always be happy to have you back," Luca stepped inside the door and turned to look back at him, head tilted. He couldn't understand why, after fighting cancer, Kyle would stop coming to the church.
"Thanks man, but I just got a lot going on right now. Maybe some other time. Take it easy, ok?" Kyle smiled and waved the priest off casually. He felt a little bad, but honestly, the church had been a bit stuffy for him anyways. He slipped his hands in his pockets and made the rest of the trip without incident. The wooded walk from the edge of town to the estate was peaceful, though the snow was a bit deep. Kyle came in through the front door and hung his winter coat on one of the hooks inside.
"I'm home, guys!" He hollered into the vast manor.
Luca Petulengro
Location: The church
Tags: Kyle
_____________________
Luca headed upstairs after visiting the church's kitchen. He'd gotten one of his nutrition shakes from the refrigerator to drink along with his morning meds. His doctor had recommended them to help counteract his recent weightloss. He could still hear Mrs. Pearson's voice.
"Honey, you're so thin. Have you been eating okay? What did the doctor say? Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine, Oma. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health. It's just from the stress."
Mrs. Pearson's concerned eyes searched his face, as if he would even considering trying to lie to her. Mrs. Pearson and her husband had saved his life when they took him from that awful farm. They had raised money for his education, extension medical bills, and had taken him in like their own. He couldn't even begin to repay them. It wasn't long before he took to calling them Oma and Opa. As a sickly teen, emotionally stunted from years of horrific abuse, it had been endearing. And, the nicknames stuck. What
else was he supposed to call them?
Luca almost finished gulping down the shake as he reached the top of the stairs. He saved the last sip to take his medicine with. He poured his morning meds, which took up a whole container in his weekly pill box, into his hand and tossed them back. After taking so many day to day, it was nothing to swallow several at a time. He drank the last swig of chalky nutrition shake to help them down, then tossed the bottle in the trash.
Now, he needed to get ready for that meeting with the hunters this morning. Luca needed to go down the street and get some biscuits from the diner. Any morning meeting needed biscuits. Before he headed out, he sent out a group text to give them time to get there:
"Meet at 8 in the John Hall Chapel. Will be biscuits." That was the best he could do on his old flip phone.
Luca's trip down to the diner was fairly quick. He ran into Kyle on the way back. Kyle was a good man, but Luca couldn't understand why he never came to the church anymore. Maybe he'd try inviting him back again later. He stepped inside and wiped his snowy shoes on the door mat. The John Hall Chapel was in the original part of the church, from when it was the
only part of the church. It was old, and no one really went in there anymore. It was used mostly for meetings, and made a great place for a private talk.
Luca set the greasy paper bags down. They were full of hot, fluffy biscuits and jelly, honey, and butter. The hunters would be there soon.
ThisIsFine
Omega Man
Emma