Silent Sanctuary [Sonja]

[THANE VALENTINE]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style, width: 350px; height: auto, btable] In honest truth, Thane had mixed feelings concerning the chapel. Not just the one here in True Cross West, but all chapels in a general sense. Naturally, it was supposed to be a place where most could find solace and quiet. It was, essentially, a place of escape. However, at the same time, it was the place exorcists came to prepare for missions and in most of his experience, missions had a knack for going wrong -- even the simplest ones. Still, Thane appreciated how architects always placed extra effort into the design for chapels. That was enough reason for him to spend more time haunting these parts than other parts of the facility. The time was pre-dawn and cold still lingered in the air. Most of the students and staff probably wouldn't be up for at least another hour or so, so technically speaking, he wasn't really slacking. Sleep didn't sit well with him, it appeared. It was an exorcist thing, he was beginning to think, or at least, a high ranking one's problem. In a wry attempt of humor, they once joked about if they were exempted from basic human needs when they worked for sake of divine purposes. Sitting in the first row on the right side closest to the aisle, Thane straightened, Mentally, he composed all the information he had gathered since coming to True Cross West -- every information from a suspect list of half-breed students, the staff performance and behaviour to the overall impression he got from the school -- and lined them up with the reason he was here. However, before he got very far, the unmistakeable sound of the chapel doors swinging open caught his ears. Oh? An early riser? Or...

[SONJA FAUSTE]

Sonja’s duty to True Cross Academy West consumed her life. She woke up in the headmaster’s apartments, she ate her lunch in the cafeteria, and she slept by the light of the moon reflected off the chapel’s stained glass windows. Sometimes, she just felt like she wanted to... get away. Drop her duties for a month and hop on the first nonstop flight to Fiji, maybe do some missionary work on the side to justify her relaxation. However, she knew that was impossible. The Holy See had ordained this job for her, and it wasn’t like she had placed herself in any easier a position. The occasional anonymous donation to the Vatican’s funds must have finally came full circle and bit her in the ass. That probably was why she bolted up from dreamland at two in the morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. Thus, time for a walk.

Trudging across the dewy grass and pulling the thin jacket tighter around her, she cursed both the difficult night she had working over donor proposals and the chill curling around her thighs. Maybe some prayers would work to get her to sleep, though. The chapel had small guides set up in the pews so that anyone who wanted could perform a mini liturgical hours mass. It was three AM now - lauds would just be starting. If she could make it there in time...

“Perfect.” Sonja smiled faintly. There were only a few faint sputters of candlelight cutting through the windows into the foggy morning, meaning that nobody else was likely inside. With any luck she’d have it to herself and be able to vent. She gripped the iron handle of the heavy door and swung it open in a firm motion, but what she saw inside surprised her.

“Oh!” The brunette stopped short, framed by the light spilling in from the door. People were rarely up and about at this hour, but apparently, someone was. The man looked vaguely familiar, but she had to rack her memory a bit to get the name out. “Mr.... Valentine, was it?” The headmistress remained standing in the door as her brain double checked her assertion. She still hadn’t gotten all the names of the inspectors down pat. That wasn’t good, considering it had already been two months since their arrival on campus. “Sorry to interrupt your lauds,” Sonja said, excusing her presence. “Although, I must thank you for helping out with that incident a few weeks ago. With the blackout and all,” she clarified.

The sentences came out all choppy and stilted, partly from lack of sleep causing her accent to slip back in and partly from nervousness. She was addressing a superior, damnit! Someone who could get her fired! Sonja was stepping onto thin ice here, and she needed to test the waters before she did anything... brash.

[THANE VALENTINE]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style, width: 350px; height: auto, btable] It didn't take long for Thane to recognize the voice, matching it to a name and face. Immediately though unhurried, he rose to his feet, turning around as he did. "Madam Fauste," the tamer greeted. Call him a stickler, but he was one who enjoyed bothering himself with formalities. Had it been a student, Thane probably wouldn't have troubled himself with standing to greet but Sonja was a fellow exorcist. That, and her rank wasn't that much lower than his own. Even if he was sent here to find out how competent she was (and he kept that in mind with a pessimistic air), the title she carried was enough to warrant him being civil. "Don't apologize. You haven't interrupted anything." Thane was in the House of God. He wasn't going to lie about praying when he obviously wasn't. Help out? For a second there, it didn't connect, but then the Headmistress clarified herself. Ahh yes. The Blackout. "I hardly did anything though," Thane said, the corner of his lips curling upwards in a ghost of a smirk. In fact, Thane had made it a point to not do anything to help the situation, choosing to play a more passive role to see how the school staff handled it. If anything, he made things worse by trying to stir up discord among them. Of course, Fauste, living up to her role was the Iron-clad Leader of True Cross, had admirably quelled. It didn't matter much what she did; it was more of how she did it. Fauste had managed to maintain order without being fazed. That was alright, though. There were still plenty of faults that Thane could look for and a well of time he could spend doing it. "Did you come to offer lauds?" he ventured. After all, why else would anyone show up at the chapel at this time of day? "Your dedication shames me."

[SONJA FAUSTE]

"Don't apologize. You haven't interrupted anything."

Sonja smiled briefly. "That's good to hear." Her hand still on the cold iron handle, she pulled the heavy chapel door closed. Two purposes for that. Keep the early-morning chills out, and keep the privacy of whatever they were about to discuss in. She had to admit, though, she liked Thane the most out of the three honorary knights the Holy See had sent to True Cross. He was the most subtle about his duty, something she appreciated greatly in difficult times like these. The debacle with Mammon only proved that greater events were looming on the horizon, and She'd need all the help she could get.

"Your mere presence was enough. Believe me, I was... not confident? not sure? of what to do." Her English faltered for a second as the headmistress picked around, finding the right word. (She still tripped up now and again.) "We hadn't had a security failure of that scale at all in the previous three years. I guess it proves we need more drills - I'll add that to my list of things to do," she added. Sonja then mentally groaned at how strained her schedule was becoming. It wasn't even dawn yet! It might've been her duty to be stressed, but she didn't have to enjoy it.

"Although... praying centers me, Mr. Valentine. Knowing that there's a keystone in heaven keeps my soul in balance." Hoping that no invitation was needed, she slid herself into the pew adjacent to Thane's, crossing one leg over the other. "But, talking does too. If my dedication shames yours, then what brings you here? I'm sure a man who isn't dedicated to the Lord wouldn't be paying Him lip service at three in the morning." She smiled and tilted her head. Sonja was baiting him, of course, but it was playful. You needed to have some sense of humor to be awake at this hour. She was easing into her element.