Logfile from Brass&Steel.


Downtown -- Cathedral -- Sanctuary

	Walk softly in the house of the Lord.

	Pews line the cathedral fore to aft, a central aisle easing the
eye upwards to witness vaulted symmetry, architectual perfection spun into
the painted faces and figures of saints and angels. The benches are padded
at the back, but not the seat, and are of a heavy, stained wood that
catches the light with a glossy sheen at the right times of day, and
flickers by the light of votive candles at night. Two confessional booths
are along the right-hand wall, while small stained glass windows are along
the left. These things, too, reflect and refract daylight and candle-light
in interesting ways, creating an interplay of shadow of substance.

	This place is never empty, and never closed. The peak hours are
during services, of course, but folks straggle in even during the work
hours or the late nights to have a quiet moment alone with God, or seek
the counsel of the clergy.

Contents:
Hachilah

Hachilah is quietly present here, kneeling in a pew at the back of the
Sanctuary. Her eyes are closed, her head bowed, her hands clasped before
her and resting on the pew in front of her.

There are a few other such visitors today, scattered about Sanctuary. One
of the clergy is also present, near the front of the pew. He appears to be
instructing a group of young boys, perhaps casually-dressed altar boys,
regarding some matter or other. The atmosphere is quiet, demanding respect
and sobriety from all those who join into it.

Zach enters the Sanctuary quietly, looking around as if searching for
something. Or someone.... He spots Hachilah and stops for a few seconds,
standing utterly still and regards her. A breath of something like relief
escapes his lips and he hurries silently over to her. He kneels down next
to her and lays a hand on her hands, squeezing tightly, waiting to look
into her eyes.

Hachilah opens her eyes, then shifts her head upward to look at Zach. Her
mouth opens slightly, perhaps with surprise. She is utterly still,
otherwise, sadness etched into her eyes like some kind of gothic statue.
She blinks once. "Zach." She whispers, perhaps because the atmosphere
seems to demand it.

Zach lifts a hands to stroke her hair. His eyes are loving and gentle and
full of concern. "Little sister... Oh child - what has he done to you.."
he whispers, almost choking and pulls her close to embrace her.

Hachilah goes to Zach with little resistance. Her eyebrows dip a bit,
indicating some small amount of surprise as she unclasps her hands to wrap
her arms around him. She hugs, though it is obvious that she is holding
back somewhat. Her posture is perhaps to stiff, perhaps just a little bit
too unrelaxed, to provide the characteristic no-holds-barred hugs that
Hachilah is famous for. "Zach... I'm..." Words don't seem to form. She
looks up at Zach. "You were worried about me." This realization seems to
have made her look just a little more sad.

Zach nods and looks her in the eyes. "Yes. I have been worried sick about
you. Been looking all over town for you the last week."

<OOC> Zach says, "Resonate"

AutoJudge:  Zach rolls: 1 + 2 = 3 . Check die: 1 

<OOC> Zach says, "That's a CD 3 (+2 for touching). Most and least virtous
deed last week, 3 most OR least virtous deeds last year. :)"

Hachilah pages: Hachilah believes that the most noble thing she did
recently was 'break her cover'. This year her least virtuous deeds were:
passed judgement on a friend, then insulted him repeatedly, was careless
with her identity.

Hachilah looks down, averting her eyes away from Zach. "I've been busy, I
suppose."

Zach sighs silently. "Will you come with me and talk for a while, little
sister?" He gently strokes her hair again.

Hachilah pauses. Her brow furls slightly, hesitation mingled with
apprehension mingled with shame. She nods. "Where shall we go?"

Zach lifts her chin slightly with a finger so she can see his gentle
smile. "I've got myself a place to stay not too far away. Let's go there,
hm?"

Hachilah observes the smile quietly for a moment, and her expression
relaxes a bit. "Alright."

Zach rises and takes her hand to help her up. "Come then.."

Hachilah takes Zach's hand and stands, ready to follow. Her expression
reveals some agitation.

Zach does not let go of her hand as he leads her out of the Sanctuary and
onward to his new home.

<...>

You head up into the flat.

Upstairs Flat -- 789 Minnesota -- Downtown -- KCK(#321Rhng)
	You see a tiny flat laid out before you. It's a cosy little place
painted in bright and lively colors; yellow and green being prominent. On
one wall hangs a tie-dye poster of Che Guevarra looking his usual heroic
self. Underneath the poster stands the combined bed and couch. It is far
from new, but covered in a bright red blanket. A small coffee table stands
in fromt of it. In the corner to the left of the couch rests a guitar
case, covered with stickers from all over the world. In the other corner
stands a big toolbox.
	Next to the window stands a small warderobe that's in the process
of being painted like a rainbow, and a fridge. To the right of the
entrance a door leads into a closet sized bathroom. Next to the bathroom
there's a small nook with a 3' working bench with a sink and cupboards
above and below and a cooking stove. The window has five pots of
healthy-looking plantlife residing in it.

Zach smiles warmly and spreads his arms. "Welcome to my humble abode,
sister."

Hachilah perks up a bit as she regards the colourful room, with it's
workbench and happily-growing greenery. "It's wonderful", she says with
subdued and heavily-weighted delight. "When did you move out of your
truck?"

Zach moves over to the fridge where he fishes out a big mug filled with
big pieces of lemon and lime in water. Home made lemonade! He also brings
a big bottle of fizzy water over to the small table, and glasses. "Oh
that's just over a week ago. I've been looking for a while, and found this
place. Ain't it great? The old folks that own the newsstand downstairs let
me have it for a reduced rent. I look after the place at night and do odd
jobs for them, repairing stuff. Great deal!"

Hachilah nods and wanders over to the brightly-coloured closet to examine
the work in progress. "Lovely." The faintest of smiles reaches her eyes
and quirks up the sides of her mouth.

Zach grins. "Thank you! It's my pet project for the time being. A homage
to Ada." He mixes lemonade for the both of them.

Hachilah's smile disappears as quickly as it came. She turns from the
wall, observes Zach quietly for a moment, then wanders over to the table
and takes a seat. She opens her mouth as if to speak, then closes it. She
tries again. "I haven't seen Ada this week... how... is she doing?"

Zach hands her a glass of lemonade. "Ada is fine. She's been away East for
a while visiting old friend.s Had a great time."

Hachilah nods and takes the glass. She sets it down and wraps her hands
around it. "That's good to hear. She likes to travel."

Zach nods and sits down next to her. "So, enough smalltalk. Hachilah -
what did Lucian do to you?" Zach asks bluntly, but still gently.

Hachilah pauses. "I'm not sure." She regards Zach plaintively. "Celestial
Song of Charm, I believe... but. There was something else." She grimaces
and looks at the contents of her glass.

You say, "Yes?"

Hachilah's shoulders droop a bit. "I'm not sure." She looks back up at
Zach with tears in her eyes. "It was very odd. I was overwhelmed by these
hateful thoughts, Arethas, and they were _mine_, but when I look back... I
can't understand them." She closes her eyes. "I believed that people...
were...", she pauses, shaking her head gently in horror. "I said such
horrible things to Roger", she whispers.

Zach nods slowly, his eyes serious. "I know... He told me. He is worried
about you too. The serpent must have used his resonance on you..."

Hachilah opens her eyes, looking thoughtful. "He may well have. However,
that explanation does have an inconsistency. To use his resonance, he
would have had to speak to me." She sighs and sits back. "The thoughts
came to me as if with no external motivation. I was sitting alone at the
time."

Zach hmms. "And you heard no Disturbance from a Song or somesuch?"

<OOC> Zach says, "Int roll"

AutoJudge:  Zach rolls: 3 + 5 = 8 . Check die: 6 

<OOC> Hachilah says, "I hope you're smrt."

<OOC> Zach says, "Hahahaha... FAIL! :)"

Hachilah shakes her head. She gets a sudden look of quiet horror. "I can't
even be sure that it was Lucian. Traci was in the vicinity as well."

Hachilah adds, "Although, Lucian did hit me with something outside the
bakery. There was a disturbance. A song, I think."

Hachilah says, "That was sometime afterward, however."

Zach shakes his head. "What you're describing doesn't sound like a Lustie
trick at all. I have a suspicion that he may be of Factions, but I have no
experience with those." He sighs. "And you did speak with him, didn't you?
Roger said Lucian tried to make you say things that weren't true..?"

Hachilah nods. She pauses thoughtfully. "There was a disturbance, then I
felt very tired... kind of free." She pauses. "I recall he was trying to
explain that... because I only speak Truth... that I might speak falsehood
and thus make it True." Her nose scrunches thoughtfully. "It was utterly
ridiculous."

Hachilah looks at Zach. "It occurred to me after some thinking that he
might be attempting to make me dissonant."

Hachilah looks completely confused and somewhat dismayed by her
conclusion.

Zach takes a long drink of his lemonade and then regards her closely. "He
is trying to make you Fall, Hachilah"

Hachilah blinks. "Oh." She tightens her grip on her glass. "I see."

You say, "Are you Dissonant, little sister? Or discordant?"

Hachilah pages: Hey, you've quite naturally learned Hachilah-speak! You
are the first! :)

You paged Hachilah with 'Eh? How so? :)'.

Hachilah's eyes widen with dignified shock. "Certainly not!" She looks
completely appalled at the very thought.

Zach nods and breathes out a sigh of relief. "That's good. That's very
good." He smiles lovingly to her. "You are strong, Most Holy."

Hachilah pages: Oh, I don't know. You're just being very direct. It's good
:)

You paged Hachilah with 'Oh that's quite by purpose. I'm a malakite and
Certain Things make even me go blunt and direct and serious. :)'.

Hachilah's eyebrows go up slightly. She regards Zach with some surprise.
She opens her mouth, to speak, then looks down at her glass. She whispers.
"No. I am not." She looks back up with shame in her eyes.

Zach strokes her cheek and looks her in the eyes, green orbs shining and
confident. "Yes. You. Are. He is an old, experienced and devious Serpent.
He is targeting you and has been for some time. And yet all he has
acomplished is hurting your feelings, not your soul."

Zach pulls Hachilah into a good, strong hug!

Hachilah stares back, unable to look away. Perhaps ensnared by the love
and confidence found there, she is focused fully on Zach's eyes. Her
relaxation is physically visible, in fact, as she leans into Zach, giving
him an all-out genuine snuggle!

<OOC> Hachilah says, "How can she disagree with a Malakite on the subject
of honour? :)"

<OOC> Hachilah says, "And such a cute 'Kite too. :)"

Zach kisses her gently on her brow and her nose and her mouth. Then he
just holds her close, pulling her into his lap and cuddles. "You are so
very, very young. What you have experienced lately are things that most
angels on Earth have to go through sooner or later. You have proven
resilient and strong, and this experience, though painful, will leave you
even stronger."

<OOC> Zach grins. Indeed:)

Hachilah snuggles. She rests her head on Zach's chest and regards him with
solemn affection. She pauses a moment, perhaps in hesitation. "What are we
going to do about Lucian?"

Zach says simply: "I'm going to kill him."

Hachilah grimaces and wilts physically, pressing heavily against Zach's
chest. "You're going to kill his vessel?"

Zach nods. "Yes. I wish I could nail him permanently, but celestially he
is much stronger than I." He holds her tight, protectivly.

Hachilah looks away. "I think we can redeem him, Arethas. He is hellborn.
Misguided... I've been thinking about it constantly this week... how
horrible to be Created like that, how horrible to not know one's own
misery, to be unable to see one's depth in order to rise above..." She
shakes her head gently.

Zach clears his throat. "I know. But this one is currently beyond the
Light. I have spoken at length with him about this. For /your/ sake. He is
utterly unrepentant, he likes what he does. I have given him the offer, I
have also told him that is an open offer. But the choice is his and his
alone. Lucian is a cold, cruel sadist. He thoroughly enjoys inflicting
pain on others."

Hachilah mulls that over. "I won't stop trying to reach him." She looks
back up. "When will you do it?"

Zach sighs quietly. "As soon as I possibly can. I've already tried, but I
didn't have a weapon so he managed to co celestial on me before I could
finish him. Damn snake Nearly bit my arm off!"

Hachilah blanches. She looks completely horrified. She sits up and
examines Zach's arms. "Which one?"

Zach smiles and kisses her forehead. "My left hand. My /real/ left hand.
We were batteling in our true forms at the time. My vessel is fine."

Hachilah's mouth falls open. "How horrible. Of all _things_." She leans in
for a huge hug, obviously gravely concerned, and shows no signs of letting
go. "Are you still hurt?"

Zach snugs Hachilah. "Yes I am. But it's ok. I've had worse injuries."

Hachilah breathes a sigh of relief and snugs back wordlessly.

Zach holds Hachilah tight and rocks her gently. "You are welcome to stay
here whenever you want to, sister mine. I'll give you a key so you can
come and go as you please. And if you get into trouble, please, /please/
come and find me. Phone me. Whatever. Just... Don't go carrying it alone.
It's the worst thing you do."

You say, "Promise me? Mm?"

Hachilah leans into Zach and nestles happily. "Thank-you, Arethas." She
leans up and kisses him softly. "I promise." She smiles gently.

The End.