"Do you intend to go after the demons that scheme in this city?" She asked you pointedly.
"You are a soldier so I don't have to tell you that working alone will be extremely dangerous. I do not advise it. What are your plans here?"
Jewel looks to be deep in thought. You feel as though she is debating something within herself.
Michael smiled lightly, it was not a wicked smile but a warm and honest one. "I plan to rid this city of demons.. bring them to god's light if I can. I have met some local people who are out for the same objective and they seem well suited for it. With their help I think I can see God's will to fruition." He replied before leaning back.
"How much time do you have?"
Jewel barked a laugh. The young women smile at each other, relaxing. Jewel looked away from you, looking to the girls. Jewel glanced back to you.
"Good. I am glad that you have found someone to hunt with you. We need to talk about parameters. Boundaries."
"Why does he need boundaries?" Alma looked confused.
"Don't think of it as Father O' Reilly having boundaries. Consider it as all of us having an agreement because all of us need to have boundaries. " Jewel explained.
"Father O Reilly may not want to answer questions about his past. He may have questions about how we do things here." She looks to Diane.
"He's entered a room to learn that I am teaching you Bennedictions. He may have questions to our motives. So," She looks to you.
Michael smiles and nods. "Thank you for not asking." He pauses to collect his words. "When people learn that I was a soldier... they all ask about the war. All those I could talk to about it are dead now." He said as he stroked the tattoo on his arm again, hinting at the twelve dogtags dangling off the cross. He smiles warmly as he looks at it, "Funny..." He mused, "Before I became a Priest my squad called me Priest because of my faith.." Michael lightly shakes his head, snapping out of the past.
Michael nods, "Yes, tell me of Benedictions. I have heard some but I know very little of them."
"That seems so one dimensional." Jaime frowned. "You were a man of God. Were there no other men of God with you?"
"Jaime." Jewel reprimanded. "We just stated that we would be respectful."
"My apologies, Father." Jaime stated, apologetic. Her expression was sincere. "Yet you are a man. You must have hobbies and loves that define you as a person. I thought it odd that they call you Priest. Now you are a Father and its a bit redundant, isn't it?"
"Diane," Jewel looked to the girl who had been speaking when you entered. "- tell Father O Reilly what happened last night."
"I was attending a Football game with the cell." Diane stated. "When I became very nervous. We saw that someone was stalking the teenage cheerleaders. A predator. I prayed for an intervention of Saints to keep my mind clear, for God to hold my mind in his hand and prevent the demon from tricking me."
Diane nodded to Jewel.
"Jewel taught me this Benediction. "
Diane looked back to you. "I was able to withstand the demon's gaze. My cell and I watched over the squad until Mr. Wash summoned a security guard to escort them to the bus. I felt... that the demon had been confused that I did not cave."
"I should elaborate that it was a vampire. A demon is a very different sort." Jewel broke in gently.
"I still think that we could have enacted the Tactic that we learned as well."Alma stated.
"Father, what do you think nineteen year old girls who know defensive maneuvers only should do when confronted by a vampire?" Jewel had a stiff tone in her voice, but she appeared to be trying to listen to the girls without judgement.
Michael remained silent as Diane spoke and smiled, "It's alright Mrs Wash, my squad called me Priest because I always had my bible in my kit.. eighty pounds of gear and most of us found many reasons to lighten that but I always kept it in my ration pouch on my chest rig over my heart." He said as he patted his chest where the very bible he had in his hand often resided. It was worn, the leather had once been rough but smoothed over by sand and constant handling so much that the gold embossed cross and lettering that once decorated it had been worn away almost entirely, leaving only a fragment of what was once there. Enough to denote that it was indeed a bible at all.
Father Michael nodded and looked to Alma, "A vampire is a very different threat then you realize... they are fast, very hard to kill. A crossbow bolt or a wooden stake to the heart paralyzes it. Fire, sunlight and decapitation are what kills it. They possess razor sharp fangs and claws, able to move in the blink of an eye and are impervious to bullets and holy water, a vampire is a very real threat. A group of ill-trained hunters can easily fall to it. One must be well prepared when fighting one." He spoke in a calm tone, not a patronizing one but an instructive one before turning to Jewel and smiling.
"Vampires as I said are very dangerous threats... but if one should only know defensive maneuvers now the best bet is numbers. If you work together using what you know, call the police. A vampire will not hang around if armed men are coming. Once they arrive give a description of the Vampire without saying it was a vampire. Using what you know may hold it off long enough for the police to arrive." He replied uncertainly, he knew enough to defend himself but he also knew how to combat a vampire. "Maybe.. before you ever come to that situation you should learn to fight them. If you wish... in exchange for you teaching me Benedictions I can teach the sisters how to fight them as we do in the Order Of Saint Longinus." He added, looking into Jewel's eyes with a slight smile. "That way both of our cells benefit, I bring the holy power of the saints to my cell and you learn to defend yourselves from Vampires and men overeager to remove you of your virtue." He said with a wider smile and a slight chuckle.
"I would like that very much." Alma spoke before Jewel could get a word in. Jewel gave Michael an indulgent smile.
"It seems the matter is settled." She spoke, the smile on her lips. She seemed more relaxed now, less irritated by the girl's eagerness.
"Father, which Benedictions interest you?"
The young women seemed all the more eager by the proposition. Diane and Jaime shared a look of excitement before speaking.
"Thank you, Father."
"Father, I have learned the True Sight of St. Abel. I'd be honored to teach you."
"Remember that the 'miracle' did not come through you." Jewel states, looking to Diane. "Tell me how that feels."
"It felt..." Diane lowers her head for a moment. " - it felt rewarding."
"Guard against the feeling of pride." Jewel cautioned. " You were chosen because of your devotion. This does not mean that you are better than any one else. Just like if you pray and an intercession of Saints does not appear, it does not mean that you are being punished. "
"Why would something not appear?" Diane frowns. Alma shifts uneasily, her chair squeaks. "What if we need it?"
"Father?" Jewel glances to you. "What do you think?"
Father Michael smiled, he was glad that they agreed to help him and surprised they were so readily open to the idea. He would hate to send them into the world without the skills to properly defend themselves, he looked to each of the three women and saw the fires of gods will within them all, they each had the potential to serve the Lord well and with direction and instruction they all would be a great asset to mankind's struggles against the evils and wickedness of the world.
"Thank you Diane, I would be most appreciative." He replied to Diane before looking to Jewel and nodding. "If the need is truly dire then God and the blessed saint's will bestow it to you. God may test you, relying on him teaches you nothing. As they say, sometimes you have to shirk up the sleeves and apply some elbow grease yourself." He said with a light chuckle.
"I couldn't agree more." Jewel looked to the girls.
"The Benedictions are not cure alls for the ills of the world. God grants His children miracles because they do His work, and because of the intercession of Our Lady and the other saints. You do understand?"
"Yes. Thank you for that," Diane stated. "- I was feeling guilty for taking pride in the fact the Benediction worked."
"I am glad that it did. I was proud that you thought of if." Jewel stated fondly.
"Now, I imagine that Michael might need some things." She looked at you expectantly.
"Jewel, I was wondering if we could revisit our conversation on the Elixer at some point." Diane spoke up. "I know that you were of mixed feelings about them."
"It does not come from prayer, but from alchemy." Jewel stated heavily.
"Would I be wrong to sell it?"
Jewel considered this. "You've prayed on this, I know. What did it reveal to you?"
"That as long as I wasn't selling it to the unprepared, it was on the group who asked me to sell it."
Jewel nodded. "I suppose that's true. I hope that you are being careful."
"I am," Diane assured. "- aren't I?"
She looked to the girls.
"Yes, we all accompany her." Alma agreed. "I have to admit, she is doing good work. The one group really needed a blessed sword to deal with a spirit. "
"People in this profession need a lot of things and I do what I can to provide quality." Diane glanced at you as she said it.
"Father, do your friends have need of anything for their Hunt?"
Michael had a look of shock on his face, he did not expect to find that Diane was one who dealt in such things. He coughed and composed himself before speaking.
"So long as they are Hunters, yes it would be acceptable to sell them these items." He added, "From what I saw of their armory yes... they could do with quite alot. I myself am under equipped, I only have a knife and a stake. I prefer a crossbow and sword for hunting, firearms only when I have no other choice... I swore to God after the war to never pick up a gun again but if God wills it I will." He continued, a slight shade of guilt crosses his face as he looks at the floor for a moment and returns his eyes to the others in the room.
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