It Begins

[priesttotheend]

 The church will not heed his warnings. The evidence is clear enough for even Ivan to guess that a new war will soon arrive, but no, the monsignors will keep their eyes shut to the truth.

Very well. He shall take it upon himself to stem this flood.

And perhaps rescue an old friend.

He has plans with Hanna to meet in City Seven, gathering what few priests still remain, to track down Gab- Black Hat and stop his minions. With the blessing of the Church or no, he pulls his bike from storage one last time and heads out into the desert.

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[bringerofthetide]

No one is more surprised than him that he survived the fire. Burnt and bleeding and in enough pain to make him wonder if he did die and went to Hell, he drags himself away from the wreckage, seeking refuge inside a small dark cave that really isn't more than a hole in the ground. There, he cocoons himself. It's a disgusting process and he hates it, but it'll help him heal.

He sleeps for a week, maybe two, and could've gone on longer to fully replenish his strength, but his Queen calls for him and the yank on his leash drags him out of his peaceful dreams of lush gardens and lazy Sundays.

She isn't happy with him. She doesn't say anything, of course, but the feeling is there. It was his fault things went wrong. He all but alerted the priests to what was going on. Maybe his loyalties aren't with her but with the ones that were perfectly happy to leave him behind as food for the demons? Or maybe those are his own feelings reflected back to him in her quiet snarls.

Whatever the truth may be, he knows that fixing this is on him. And he has.. something like a plan, and this time he will not allow for distractions.

But first, he wants his hat back.

[priesttotheend]

There's a brief reunion with Lucy and her now-husband, but Ivan makes the visit as short as possible. He can see how they both wish to join him, and he knows that they would both make good priests, but he has neither the patience nor the desire to train them. They would simply be more baggage he must worry about, and he has no room for more worries.

The ride to City Seven is a long one, though, and that night he rests in the desert, far away from any sign of civilization, human or vampire.

And yes, he has the hat.

[bringerofthetide]

Finding the priest isn't as difficult as it would seem.

Most of their planet is dead, with the remaining human population consentrated in one area. Anything beyond that is dead and wild. Not even the settlers in the outskirts venture beyond a certain point, not even the vampires.

He knows how many priests there are and where they live. He spent years following them, tracking and observing while they were breeding a new army. The one that is now destroyed, most of them before they were even fully grown. He also knows how they think, he was one of them, after all. He was trained the same way. He knows they'll re-group and lay out a plan. If he was smart about this, he would find out where they're meeting and take them all out in one blow. It would be easy, like taking out a nest of vermin.

So why is he instead trailing Lucy and whats-his-name?

He won't touch them, won't let his presence be known. His interest in the priest's daughter is dead and gone. She served her purpose. She drew him out. All he's interested in is finding the trail. He knows the priest would come here to make sure they're safe, but he also knows he's long gone. There is no way he would accept just sitting around with idle hands.

Finding his scent is easy and trailing it is even more so. He can move as fast as those bikes, faster even when he takes to the air. It gets more difficult when he catches up. The need for stealth battles with the need to let his presence be known. He wants to say something, but for now he'll just watch. See if he gets noticed anyway.

[priesttotheend]

Ivan can feel the air change when his former friend shows up. Loathe though he is to admit it, he's somewhat relieved that he didn't die in that fire - not that he believed for a second that he did, but it is reassuring to know for certain.

He won't go seek him out, though. If Gabriel is trailing along after him, that means he isn't out killing innocent people. He intends to drag him out a bit, keep him busy, before he confronts him.

[bringerofthetide]

He'll wait, for now. He's waiting for him to sleep, even if he's sure that Ivan won't actually do that. He would be very disappointed if the priest didn't know he was there, thought he was safe enough to actually close his eyes.

He just wants... Well, he wants to see if his old friend will play this game.

[priesttotheend]

He will play the game. He had no intention of sleeping that evening, but for Gabriel's sake, he takes out the hat and pull the brim down to cover his eyes as he settles against his bike to "rest."

[bringerofthetide]

The hat makes him smile. He was a little worried that he wouldn't keep it, that he would burn it to make a point, but then the priest pulls it out and that sends an entirely different message. In his mind, at least.

He stalks closer, but stays hidden in the shadows when he deliberately stomps on a small rock to crush it. Make a little noise and see what happens.

[priesttotheend]

Ivan hears the noise, but not a single muscle moves in response. Come a little closer, Gabriel. You've been dared.

[bringerofthetide]

Oh, he will. He will step lightly, not make a single sound even if he knows the priest will be counting his steps anyway. He's on guard. He knows that this might and will explode at any moment, but until Ivan makes a move, Gabriel will keep gliding closer to him.

[priesttotheend]

He will wait, wait until he can feel Gabriel's breath tickle against his skin, and then he strikes, snapping a hand out to grab him and throw him to the ground.

[bringerofthetide]

He would have come closer yet, if Ivan had let him, but the explosion he was expecting finally comes and he can only laugh as he grabs onto the priest to drag him down on the ground with him. He doesn't fight it even if he probably could throw him off. Only looks up and smiles.

"Thought you were sleeping."

[priesttotheend]

To any one else, it would look like Ivan's face hasn't changed as he looks down at Gabriel. But Gabriel should be able to see the slightest little twitch of a smile in that stubbornly neutral face.

"I wasn't."

He stays there for a moment longer, then pushes himself off and stands up. "What are you doing here?"

[bringerofthetide]

As slight as the smile is on Ivan's lips, that's how wide Gabriel's wolfish grin is. He pushes himself up as well, but stays close enough that his coat slides against the priest's robes.

"You have things that are mine."

Plural.

[priesttotheend]

"They aren't yours." Truthfully, he only realizes that Gabriel is talking about the hat. What else would he be talking about?

And deep down, he knows the hat truly belongs to Gabriel, too. But where would the fun be in admitting that?

[bringerofthetide]

"No. It was always yours."

He's not talking about the hat. The hat is his. Ivan gave it to him. The only thing he ever got from anyone that wasn't a weapon or punisment. It's just a hat, but it's also the only slice of the normal world he's ever had.

But he's not talking about the hat.

[priesttotheend]

That... confuses Ivan. First Gabriel says that he has things of his, then that they never belonged to him in the first place. He's so bad at hidden meanings. Or... meanings in general. But instead of clarifying or trying to figure it out, he leans in just a inch closer.

"Then you have not told me what you are doing here."

[bringerofthetide]

"I came for this," he says and takes the hat from Ivan to place it on his own head. "And for you."

[priesttotheend]

"You will not take me so easily as that hat." He must admit, Gabriel doesn't look like himself without that hat. It's almost reassuring.

[bringerofthetide]

"I could, if that was what I wanted."

His grin is just plain filthy, and he moves just a little closer. If there was a sliver of air between them before, it's not there now.

"But I think we both know you always wanted to be the one doing the taking."

[priesttotheend]

He doesn't say anything, just reaches a hand up between them to flick the brim of the hat and push it off.

[bringerofthetide]

He reaches back to catch the hat before it falls to the ground, but he doesn't put it back on his head, or move away.

He moves a little closer and inhales to keep his voice steady. "I've waited for you. I'm strong enough now."

[priesttotheend]

"I doubt that." They're so close that Ivan can practically feel Gabriel's heart beat in his own chest and he can't even put a hand between them now, so instead he leans forward and shoves him with his shoulder.

[bringerofthetide]

That's his cue to tackle the priest and this time, he'll be the one pinning the other to the ground. "Remember that time outside the walls?"

[priesttotheend]

He's actually a little surprised that Gabriel pins him. Sure, they fought on the train, but he still remembers years of being able to best his friend with barely any effort. It will take a while to remember that Gabriel has changed in more ways than one.

"What time?" Of course he remembers. How could he forget?

[bringerofthetide]

He's surprised that it happens so easily. He expected more of a fight, expected to be pushed off and denied, but the fact that it doesn't happen means something. He's just not quite sure what. Consciously, he's more disappointed that there's not a fight.

"Did we venture out more than once?"