An Interesting Shade of Grey

[Renegadius]

"You're acting like a little girl," Matt called over to the pouting woman with a smile that betrayed a hidden laugh, "It may seem boring, but it'll keep you going a little longer." Drawing his index finger through the clear liquid, the Lord traced the symbol of the trinity onto the forehead of the man on his left, followed by his warm palm and a whispered prayer. Immediately the man closed his eyes, smiling blissfully before rising to his feet, rejuvanated and ready to combat the fear that swept through even this hallowed of ground.

'Wait... Did I already say that...?' He mused, overcome by a sense of deja vu. Shaking it off, Matthew continued the vigil, awakening another of his Lieutenants.

 

[Renegadius]

"Do you remember the devotion?" Matt asked softly, stirring the surface of the water with his fingers. Somewhere in the back of his mind this same scene played itself out;

Leaning over the white-haired child, Belial stirred his fingers across the surface of the fluid lingering in the wicker bowl. "Do you remember the devotion, child?" He asked, his tone bordering on the impatience of a man who'd repeated the same phrase over and over for the last night and every night since gaining his office.

"Of course," Matt replied, turning to look back at—

"The Light guide us," He brothe, just like the memory continued. 'Of course I looked back... It's not every day someone so young is chosen as the right hand of the ranking officiate.' The fact that the explaination didn't satisfy bounced off of his focused mind. Placing two fingertips to Hitomi's forehead, the Lord waited patiently.

 

[Renegadius]

"Wow, way to zone out," He chuckled, flicking water at the wide-eyed Hitmoi, "I was just asking if you remembered the devotion to the Night Vigil." Flicking his hair back and out of his eyes, Matthew turned, drawing out the moist symbols of the vigil upon the forehead of his last Lieutenant before placing his palm on the man's forehead, absolving him of the day.

Flexing out his cold fingers, the youth returned his attentions to the black-winged angel, offering his free left hand to help her up. 'As much as I'd like to sleep, it seems something's going to have to be done about the Horun,' He sniffed inwardly, 'Without them, there's no way the Death Squadron will make it out of here before noon.'

Risking a look out the open main gates, Matt chewed at his bottom lip. 'Sun's down with no sign of the moon... Whatever they're going to do, they're going to do soon.'

 

[Renegadius]

"Just think of it as a shot of coffee," He smiled, sticking the tip of his tongue out at the woman as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, sliding his own farther up her arm to steady her swaying. "Speaking of which, when was the last time you got something to eat or drink, sister?"

At the mention of food, one of his Lieutenants dropped from the ceiling, landing in a light jog towards a pile of small knapsacks laid out by the main gate. Sliding his unclothed hand inside, the man returned his digit to the world grasping a string of licorice. The bags themselves were something of magic, allowing three or four articles of prepacked food items to be converted into alternate items of equal size. Picking through the items he'd packed that morning, Matthew could invision the cold cider flask hidden away within his own bag.

 

[Renegadius]

With an amused sigh, the silver-haired Captain caught the woman's shoulders, saving her once more from a grounded fate. "Whoa there," He chuckled, "I think you'd better sit down for a second or two there Ace." Flicking out his wings for his own balance, Matt kept Hitomi's body in check, mentally clocking the distance between the provisions and his current position. He of course knew of several restorative spells, but in experience, food and water usually did a better job fixing a drunken man's wobbles, or a sleepy woman's misplaced steps.

"You're starting to remind me of someone," He grinned, slowly pulling away his arms, much like someone pulls their fingers away from the first cards in a paper castle; As though pulling away too fast would send the structure scattering on the tiny air current.

 

[Renegadius]

"There's a guard back at HQ," He sniffed, returning white-gloved hands to rest in his pockets, "Every time we head down to the taverns for a little merry making, she's the first to hit the ale." Chuckling softly, Matthew held up an twirling hand, as though to emphasize the point as he headed towards the bags. "She's always been a little absent-minded, so she quickly forgets how many drinks she's had."

As his firm mouth spread into a charming smile, a devious smirk formed at the edge of his right intersection. "By the time we're ready to go, she insists on leading the way, despite being unable to walk more than three steady steps," He added, "Freya of course declares that she's fine... Moments before pitching forward, with more than half of the royal guard leaping to catch her before she plunges down towards the cobbles."

With a light laugh, Matt slid open the drawstrings on his knapsack, pulling out two ripe peaches from the confines of the satchel. Rising to his feet, knees popping pleasureably, the youth juggled the fruits between his hands, catching one with his teeth before tossing the other to Hitomi.

 

[Renegadius]

"No problem," He smiled, using a thumb to wipe a bead of peach juice from his chin, "I've got some cherries, a handful of raspberries, and a chunk of banana bread in there as well." Taking note of the woman's ravenous hunger, he added, "I ate before we left though, so you're welcome to anything in there; Mine's the one with the wolf clasp."

Taking another moist bite from the fruit in his palm, Matthew felt his teeth scrape the pit in the center, and sheared away a large, flat hunk of fruit. Leaning back against the great door frame of the gate, the youth slid his right leg up, resting his heel against a large metal stud. Crossing his arms, he stared out into the night, thoughtfully taking another bite from the dwindling peach.