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.

Comments

[priesttotheend]

He doesn't say anything, he just glances down to that spot on Gabriel's hip where he knows there's a scar. A scar he put there. A scar he can practically see through all those coats and clothes.

That should be answer enough.

[bringerofthetide]

He can see that glance. He knows what Ivan is looking for and he sits up, straddling the priest's thighs to keep him down though he knows a simple struggle will free him. He's not worried about that. He has something to show him.

He pulls his shirts up and tugs his slacks down. Not a lot. Not at all. The layers of fabric are a shield of sorts. He moves it only enough to reveal the patch of skin where that scar is, still deep and nasty. Still vividly there even if most of his old human scars have faded.

[priesttotheend]

He props himself up on his elbow so he can see that scar better. It's a big piece of evidence that this is still his Gabriel, not a monster, and it's a big step towards acceptance. He's not there yet, but hey, at least he probably won't actively try to kill him.

He reaches out to trace his thumb over that scar, and he's too busy staring at it to even look at Gabriel. "I remember."

[bringerofthetide]

That touch. He hasn't been touched like that since- Actually, the last time he felt a human's touch without it being an attempt at killing him was also with Ivan. It drains all the tension and agression out of him and without that he looks so small and scared.

"Please don't..."

Don't touch him like that if you're going to try and kill him afterwards. Don't remind him he was human if you're going to throw it in his face that he's not.

[priesttotheend]

Ivan snaps his hand back so fast, it's like he slapped it. "Don't?"

[bringerofthetide]

"It hurts."

Not physically, but it burns him. He misses him so much. He just wants to his home back.

[priesttotheend]

He tenses up, immediately thinking through what he can do to make the scar not hurt anymore. But... it's a scar. It's not a fresh wound. It shouldn't hurt, and Ivan doesn't know how to make it better.

He shoves Gabriel off now, so he can stand up and put distance between them. "I am sorry."

[bringerofthetide]

He takes that as a rejection, and he snarls at the apology before jumping to his feet.

"You aren't. This makes it easier for you to hate me, doesn't it? Easier to pretend you're pure."

[priesttotheend]

And just like that, they're back to "enemies" again.

"You have what you came for."

He really does expect him to just leave now, that would be the easy thing to do. He himself should leave now, go meet with the other priests and get back to their duty. But... it isn't the same now. Before, he wanted to be rid of the vampires, yes, but he also wanted to tear through them to he could get to Gabriel. And, well, Gabriel is right here. There goes half his reason to go after the vamps (although he would truly love to slash through those demons).

[bringerofthetide]

"No."

He should leave, or attack. Instead he stands there and does nothing even if his hand is twitching with the urge to rip him apart. And there's that world of unsaid things making the air between them thick as gel.

[priesttotheend]

"Then what?"

Careful what you wish for, Gabriel, that tension can only be released one of two ways, and they already crossed out the nice(r) way.

[bringerofthetide]

Isn't it obvious why he's here? The same reason he took Lucy and ruined what was a flawless plan. Not that he says anything. He only steps closer and circles him, making sure their shoulders crash as he passes.

All that power and strength, and he doesn't even have the emotional maturity to say what it is he wants.

[priesttotheend]

This is Ivan we're talking about. Saying "the sun is shining" is just about his amount of obvious, and even then, he may need clarification. But actions he can understand pretty well, and that shoulder nudge tells him enough.

Sorta.

It at least tells him that Gabriel wants to leave as much as Ivan does, so he throws himself at Gabriel. Their shoulders really never stop touching, Ivan just twirls around with him to latch onto his back and away from those deadly fangs.

[bringerofthetide]

That changes the game. He elbows the body behind him, hoping to distract a little as his other hand moves upp and back to grab the back of Ivan's robe. He doubles over and pulls the priest with him, flipping him all the way over his back and into the dust, but then...

He doesn't actually attack. Part of him is still trying to not go there. He tells himself that if they start this fight again, he will kill him.

[priesttotheend]

When has Ivan ever been able to back down from a fight? Certainly not in a long time. And he really won't this time, as he has no other reason to stick around if they aren't fighting. Or talking. Or something.

He lands on his feet and turns around to face him again. "No?"

[bringerofthetide]

"Not here to kill you. Do not force my hand."

He's full of fire and confidence, but it's just a show. Truth is that he'll never fully believe that he can beat Ivan.

[priesttotheend]

Psh, Ivan doesn't believe he could either, despite all the evidence that says Gabriel is at least his match now, and the look he gives him says as much.

[bringerofthetide]

There's a kid somewhere deep down that sees that look and is stomping his foot, going "I could!", but he only snarls and tenses in case Ivan jumps him again.

[priesttotheend]

He's going to jump him again. He'll wait a good long while, just standing there to see if anything will happen, but in the end, he lunges at Gabriel and tries to take him to the ground again.

[bringerofthetide]

He digs his heels into the ground and meets him head-on with flying punches. He holds back, though. He shouldn't and it might not feel like he does, but he holds back. The simple thing here would be to claw his throat out or rip his heart out, but that's more than he has the strength to do. He just wants an end to this.

[priesttotheend]

He knows Gabriel's fighting style, and while it doesn't feel like he's holding back, Ivan can see how tense he is. He never did that before, so it can only mean something's wrong, and while Ivan doesn't stop attacking, he does speak. "What?"

[bringerofthetide]

"I don't want to fight you," he snarls between fists and kicks and throwing Ivan clear across the makesshift camp site. Didn't he make things obvious on the train? Ivan should know what he wants.

[priesttotheend]

He picks himself back up and fine, okay, he'll stop fighting. He'll keep his distance too, though.

"Then come with me."

[bringerofthetide]

"Come where? To kneel before the same demons that lied to me for all of my human life? Do you really expect me to serve them the same as before you left me to rot in hell?"

He snarls again, tension crackling off of him. If there's one thing he hates, and maybe even fears, it's the Church and the ones who claim to be the hand of God.

[priesttotheend]

"They forbade me from coming here."

Oh, he knows he's ex-communicated. He's ex-communicated hard. But he's made relative peace with that, since he knows deep in his bones that stopping the vampires from slaughtering millions of innocents is more right than blindly following a bunch of old robes who can't even keep their cities properly fed.