say it isn't so [open]

[g. campbell marlowe]

the chapel, he thought, had to be one of his favourite places in the school. the quiet, the stillness, the history of every stone that comprised it - all awe-inspiring. alright, so maybe he'd like the alternative too, namely that more of the students regularly visited it, but the academy attempted to be as secular as an exorcist training school run by the roman curia could possibly be - he wouldn't want to force attendance. that idea seemed... well, a little unchristian.

he'd removed his gloves as he came in, his jacket too, putting them safely in one of the side-rooms. the overall effect was a little odd - his peculiar taste in suits managed to make him look even more old-timey without the dark jacket, what with the low back of his waistcoat and the silver sleeve garters keeping his cuffs from falling over his wrists. the sleeves were rolled back, now, the tattooed summoning circle visible on his wrist, thankfully bloodless today.

he dipped the fingers of his right hand delicately into the little font of holy water as he came in - the sign of the cross was quick, practiced, obviously something he'd done thousands of time before. same with the little ritual of preparing the chapel itself - genuflecting as he stepped into the aisle, lighting the candles near the altar, straightening the cloth on the tabernacle. the methodical ritual of it all was calming, and he could practically feel the tension draining out of his body as he knelt in the second row of pews and felt in his pocket for his rosary.

... which didn't appear to be there.

blast.

[EMMA FOREST]

Once every week Emma would make her way to the chapel on the school grounds. It was a quiet and pleasant place. Not to mention the architecture was awesome. She had a thing for old architecture, hence why she stayed at the school to teach unlike her brothers. Not to mention she liked teaching it was fun seeing as she got to help others, and she believed that her students seemed to like her. That wasn't her reason for going to the chapel though, she went to the chapel to pray for her family's safety.

Emma reached the chapel and took a moment to stare at the building before heading inside. Normally she picked she came when she believed she would be alone, so she wouldn't feel bad about wearing jeans and her motorcycle jacket. Though she wasn't alone this time, she saw the principal lighting candles and kneel to pray. Of course he would go to the church as well, he was the principal and a member of the Holy See. Everyone was religious in some way here.

She also went through the movements of preparing to pray when she noticed that Marlowe stopped. Maybe she was disrupting his praying, but he hadn't turned around. Em continued down the aisle until she was in the pew behind his, and that was when she noticed he didn't have a rosary, maybe he forgot his? She reached down underneath the bench to pull out the extra rosary she hid there in case she forgot her own, which she didn't this time. "Here." She said quietly holding it out to him.

[g. campbell marlowe]

he couldn't help jumping as he realised he wasn't alone, bowing his head to the altar and then shooting up onto his feet, kicking up the kneeler and turning in a flurry of activity - the expression on his face was equal parts embarrassment and guilt. "ah! emma, i apologise, i wasn't expecting anyone to come in..." if he had, he wouldn't be in his shirtsleeves with his glasses pushed up on the top of his head, in a flap about being discovered. "fridays are usually so quiet, i didn't think - well, of course, that might have been your intention too."

he was doing the thing, the thing where he started wringing his hands and picking at his cuticles when he thought he'd caused problems - the firm thought no, cam, man up stop being awkward this is emma she's lovely didn't help too much, only got him to drop his hands in front of himself and concentrate very hard on not fidgeting.

he watched her bend, curious and also mortified, but the gratitude that flooded him at her fortuitously-placed rosary was immeasurable - he took it with a smile and a murmured thanks, gently touching the icon to his lips and his breast before gathering the beads together and just shifting in place.

"i - i can go if you like, i'd hate to intrude. i get plenty of chances to, i live right near the cathedral so i -" stop, cam. stop. he took a breath, looking down at the beads around his fingers. "i mean, i'm sure you'd rather i wasn't hanging around!"

[EMMA FOREST]

Emma grinned at Marlowe, he was seven years her senior and the same her older sister would be if she was alive. She was rather fond of him, he was a quiet one and he got nervous so easily it seemed, but she didn't mind that, it was cute. "No need to apologize, cher." She said tilting her head slightly, he was a bit of a curious guy and was very fidgety, maybe she had spooked him.

She was happy that he seemed glad that she had an extra rosary for him to use. She had that tendency to forget, it was just a precaution and luckily she had her own anyways. She did like to help others, and Marlowe did a lot for the school and such so it was the least she could do for him.

Em held back a laugh, he was just a nervous fellow, maybe that was one of the reasons she liked him, he was a lot nicer than some of the other professors anyways. "i fink two people can pray at once cher." She smiled at him before kissing her own beads and pressing them to her chest. "Plus I don't mind ya hangin' around." It was the truth, he was better company than some anyways.

She bowed her head slightly and closed her eyes. She really did love this place, it was a lovely place to pray. She of course prayed before bed and all but this place was nice. "Dear Lord." She was speaking quietly so as not to disturb Marlowe, it was just a habit that she prayed aloud. "Dank you for dis nice day." She always thanked him first before asking him for things, that way she didn't feel so selfish. "Please protect my students, and fellow professionals." That was also normal, she was only going to be slightly embarrassed about the next part. "Please protect my family, my broders may be pains but they are dear to me, keep them safe. Amen." She crossed herself before leaning back to look at Marlowe for a moment but then remembered it was rude and probably awkward for Marlowe if she stared and decided to fix her gaze on a candle instead.

[g. campbell marlowe]

she... well, she had a point there. he was really quite fond of emma, he was finding - he took forever to form opinions on people, yes, but they were usually good opinions, and the young woman had been nothing but warm and magnanimous to him. the fact that she had such good timing was just the icing on the cake, it seemed.

"i... yes, rather. apologies." he nodded and stepped over a little, to give her space, before sinking back down to his knees and making the sign of the cross, and proceeding to run through the start of the chaplet with fairly astonishing speed. one didn't spend quite as much time in the vatican and then as the principal of a school for exorcists as campbell had without memorising a good number of the prayers and litanies usually only known by those in holy service - the chaplet of divine mercy was his favourite, and it had been what he'd come to pray. he began actually speaking to chant the pater noster, voice softly rising and falling, and the apostle's creed came after. for all his embarrassment, the quiet song didn't waver.

campbell was, however, still aware of the other exorcist, and mindful of her ran through the recitations quickly - if he were along he would be there on his knees for more than half an hour, but he knew the feeling of being obligated to wait for someone and as such the beads passed quickly through his fingers, the words barely audible on his lips.

"holy god, holy mighty one, holy immortal one," he concluded, "have mercy on us and the whole world. in nomine patri, et fili, et spiritu sancto... amen."

there was a moment of stillness, and then he was up again, a flurry of activity and faint embarrassment. "thank you, emma, i appreciate the loan. mine will be in my desk drawer, i know it will, i'm kicking myself for not remembering to bring it." he finally reached up to pull down his glasses, resettling them on the bridge of his nose and passing over the rosary. "all finished with classes for today, then?"

[EMMA FOREST]

He was a pretty sweet guy, but she had decided on that awhile ago. "No need to 'pologize." She smiled at him before he turned to do his own praying, but she really couldn't help but stare now. She couldn't remember if she had heard him pray before but it was definitely cool. To say aweing would be cheesy but she had to admit that it was pretty awesome. Not to mention she hardly saw him with his glasses off so it gave off this cool effect.

Em just sat there watching him, which was probably making him nervous but she couldn't help it. Though even staring she hadn't noticed that he had finished. So maybe she had been listening more than staring but that was a good thing right? She found herself listening to a lot of things, it was the easier way for her to memorize things. She had learned all her fatal verses by reading them aloud to herself. Which had also helped her diction since her Cajun accent sometimes made things interesting.

She ended up jumping slightly when he quickly moved again. He was quicker than a frog running from an alligator. "I forget mine a lot." She said smiling. "Dat's why I keep an another here." It was embarrassing to admit, though obvious since he had seen her grab it from under the bench. Hopefully it would help him feel a little better about forgetting his. "Yup, tought I would get some prayin' done before decidin' on what else to do." She laughed lightly. "You done wit your work?" If she remembered correctly Faust worked him pretty hard at times.

[g. campbell marlowe]

and here he was, trying to look like he knew what he was doing, and in his haste to get back into 'safe territory' - the aisle of the chapel - he tripped slightly on the kneeler just beneath the pews, toppling forward slightly and only recovering once he'd caught the back of the nearest seats.

"well that's my forgetfulness covered, do you have anything for the clumsiness?" he was flushing now, even as he pulled his glasses back down to settle them on his nose. "but no, that's clever of you. don't you think it'd maybe be a better idea to keep it in the sacristy, though? things can quite easily go missing, if only because we have the students trooping here so often and things get moved around..." he gestured vaguely toward the front of the chapel. "i can show you where to leave it if so?"

campbell fidgeted slightly, unable to actually start going in either direction until she expressed an opinion either way, but her response to his question seemed to allow him to relax. "that's commendable, going out of your way to come down here. i like to help keeping it in proper working order, hence everything being lit and clean, you know. otherwise i think i'd just do it in my office!" his laugh was quiet, uncertain, a bit pathetic - quite like the man himself, really.

her question prompted a small pause, vague surprise on his features. "for now, yes. i've got interviews with some of our halfling students tomorrow, so now you know why i was praying for mercy." the joke was bad and he knew it, giving a slightly embarrassed smile and glancing down at the floor rather than at emma's face. "there's been a bit of a lull, lately, but we start drafting the timetables for examinations next week, and that's solid meetings - you know how it goes, of course. are you terribly busy at the moment, then, in terms of your students?"