(open) just a plain and simple chapel

[fallingsand]

WHO: Bruno Madrigal and whoever wanders out his way.
WHERE: Barrens, an abandoned chapel amongst the ruins.
WHEN: vague hand waggle over the month
WHAT: Bruno, unable to not be some local cryptid, has taken up residence in a ruined chapel rather than living in the city like a regular person.
WARNINGS: n/a

clean-up.

[ In the first week of wandering into the chapel and deciding that may as well be where he remained for the time being, Bruno's time was split between sitting in a dusty old pew and staring blankly at the wall ahead and, then, picking up refuse scattered around the place and tossing it out the east side of the chapel, right off the edge of where the Barren's most abandoned Vestige curls downward towards the chasm that the rest of it collapsed into.

It was an easy way of getting rid of, well, a lot. The place was cluttered with broken wood and stone and overgrown with weeds and scratchy thorn bushes, not to mention vines. While the broken wood would be kept, the rest? The rest could go.

It would not be unusual to come across him trying his best to rip out a thorn bush that's grown through a window with his bare hands, with plenty of pauses to mutter and grumble or for him to cringe away when he got a particularly nasty poke from a thorn. ]

...y'know, one of those scythes would actually be useful right now...

[ Or some gloves. Gloves would work, too. ]

ruins are for looting, every adventure novel says so.

[ But once he — and perhaps a little help — have tidied the chapel up enough, it was time to find a way to make it more comfortable. Bruno hadn't gone looking for a job just yet. To be truthful, he wasn't sure how one did that, as his only job had ever been overwhelmingly unpopular oracle and that sure didn't look good on paper. That meant he would have to source his home goods from somewhere a bit more, uh, left behind.

It does mean rattling around the other abandoned ruins of buildings that litter the Barren, however, and that isn't necessarily safe, now is it?

To anyone else happening by, they'll hear a large crack of something breaking, followed by a startled yell and the telltale thud of someone landing heavily in one of the ruined, haphazardly leaning buildings nearby. ]

festive.

[ And last but not least, decorating. For the holiday, in fact. By the third week of the month, the chapel is looking... a little better? As in it doesn't have garbage and infinite overgrowth clogging up the floor and windows and Bruno's managed to dust it enough so he isn't constantly sneezing. Holes in the roof have been patched. They could use some work still, as some of the rain does leak in now and again, but hey, he can worry about that later.

What's important now is that some kind Restless lady in the city offered him her leftover decorations for Respite after he helped her put them up outside her own residence. Gleaming gold-toned ornaments that catch and reflect the moonlight, and other little baubles that give off a marigold and ginger-colored glow; they were a treat to put up back at the chapel and add a splash of color to an otherwise dreary place. Better yet, speaking of treats, he'd picked up some on the way back out of the city. It'd been a surprisingly nice day, this day, to end up with any of this at all.

So it might be the spots of bright orange light that draw the eye or the drifting scent of the little campfire within, boiling up firstdawn tea to go with the sundrop cake he managed to get his hands on, that beckons you closer to the little chapel. It's no trap. It's just Bruno, merrily humming in a rare good mood as he works on stringing up the decorations along one of the windows. ]

Comments

[immortalrose]

[He gives Bruno a fanged smirk---yes, he has fangs, before answering the question outright. The term "vampire" aptly fits him and the rest of his kind but it's a human term. Those who shared in Saint Mara's blood refer to themselves as something else entirely.]

I'm one of the Sons of Mara, our patron Saint. However, I believe you mortals refer to us as "vampires".

[Augustine is uncertain if Bruno here is familiar with vampire lore. After meeting a notable few who never met or heard of vampires before, he's willing to think that his kind are a rarity in most realms. That could be for better considering the atrocities his people have caused throughout the ages on Elara alone.]

Sometimes we're referred to as the "Aristocracy" or the "Blue Bloods" by the peasantry but as for myself, I'm a half-blood.

[A dhampir.]

[fallingsand]

[ La Tunda was the closest thing that Bruno might be able to compare a vampire to, only the term alone tells him nothing. He's not sure what a vampire is and there's a brief blank look when Augustine tells him. Then, he nods, merely accepting that, alright, not human like him or...

Or a mortal.

That makes two not... mortals so far. Does that automatically make him immortal or...? That's really weird, whatever it is. ]

That's, uh, interesting? Sorry, I. I've never met anyone who wasn't just other humans before. Stygia seems to have a pretty wide variety of people, though...

[immortalrose]

[He suspects that Bruno never met a vampire before but it's the blank stare that cements his suspicion. Imagine that, a world without vampires. It's almost insulting for him to consider despite how much he loathes others of his kind. Even so, Augustine doesn't allow for his thoughts to stray too far. He regards Bruno with a bemused smile, one that vaguely illustrates his confusion.]

You never meet anyone who wasn't human before? [Judging from his incredulous tone, this honestly surprises the dhampir.] How unfortunate or perhaps---fortunate given that my kind drinks the blood of the living.

[Is it safe to assume that the Fae doesn't exist in Bruno's world? Seems that way judging from that clueless stare.]

From what little I've noticed, Stygia has plenty of...creatures roaming about. Some as malevolent as the beasts we encountered in the Shadowlands.

[fallingsand]

[ Considering Bruno had already admitted to having the gift of prophecy, could it be true that there were no vampires? No fae? Or could it be he's merely never encountered them? It wouldn't be for him to say. He'd lived a very sheltered life before... here, a bizarre afterlife filled with people from not only his world but many others, too. It left him out of sorts often enough, including right now. ]

Ah... well... y-yeah, there. There are. Out here isn't the, uh, best place to... live, I know, um... [ Yes, yes, that's all very important to note but even more important was, ] Did. Did you just say that you drink blood?

[immortalrose]

[Augustine pauses for a long moment once he realizes what he said. Casually talking about consuming blood is not a good icebreaker. He can almost feel Bruno's anxiety spiking as the little man stares at him. If only he could go back a few seconds into the past an omit that little detail. Sadly, he cannot.]

Indeed, I did. [He states with a slight nod. Honesty is the best policy, right? Right.] But before you start flailing about in theatrics, let me just say I have no intentions of harming you.

[Although, he's long overdue for a decent snack.]

[fallingsand]

[ With Bruno, it's more like he's an anxiety graph, still anxious even when calm but it does clearly spike — along with heart rate and how fidgety he becomes with that sole source of light he has, that candle — when Augustine confirms that, yes, he drinks blood. Oh boy. ]

That's... hm. I. I wasn't going to... [ No, he was considering theatrics, he definitely was, but being called out on it ahead of time helps him tamp down on actually going through with them. In the end, he just takes in a deep breath and lets it out again in a sigh. Relax, relax, just relax, come on. ] I mean, I kind of figured you weren't going to. If you were, you'd have done something by now already.

[ But he does get up, leaving his chair behind to shuffle around the balcony for the sake of doing something. There are other candles around, of course, they just haven't been lit yet. He'll do that now with the one he holds, sharing the flame out from wick to wick. ]

That must be tough, though, yeah? You can't have anything else?

[immortalrose]

[Truth be told, if Bruno started screaming---Augustine would've bite him. The last thing the old dhampir needs is a migraine and all that hooting and hollering would've ticked him off. Thankfully, Bruno remains calm and his eardrums are spared. However, he does notice that Bruno seems hellbent in keeping away from him. That's fine. He suspected the man to be a little uncomfortable around him after that slip up.]

You have no idea but thankfully, I only bite those I deem as appetizing.

[He answers while watching Bruno light the candles. A part of him doesn't think that's a good idea but with the absence of electricity here within the Barrens, the only light source would be by flame. That somewhat worries him since it wouldn't take much for this old church to go up in flames.]

Nevertheless, I can consume other types of food for now.

[A sigh escapes Augustine as he hops off the railing for the sake of stretching his legs.]

However, I must ask...how do you mean to renovate this church?

[fallingsand]

Just a little here and there. I can fix up the furniture and woodwork on my own, at least. I mean, I don't expect to be able to fix, like, everything, but... y'know. It's. It's something to do.

[ Keeping away in part, sure enough, but it lent itself more to wanting to burn off some nervous energy by moving, and, truly, Bruno himself could use some more light to see by. Not everyone had night vision, after all. One candle after another, then over to the next side to light a few more. They all sit on old plates or tea saucers or bowls he'd managed to dig up from all the other abandoned. Some are chipped and cracked but otherwise do a fair job of keeping them from dripping wax all over the balcony floor.

Once he's done, he'll blow the original candle out and set that down on its own plate. ]

So, appetizing... [ He echoes the word in a bemused way once and then once more when turning to look at Augustine again. ] ...appetizing? Um, define appetizing?

[ Who is and isn't appetizing, Augustine? He just has to know. It's not often you get to ask a predator what kind of prey they prefer. ]

[immortalrose]

You know how to do that? [He questions with a hint of genuine intrigue within his tone.] Truly? Are you skilled at carpentry because if so---

[Augustine just might have a job for Bruno, especially since he honestly could use as much help as he can get to renovate his home here in the Barrens. He managed to have some luck here and there but scrounging scraps is difficult. Poor Augustine lacks the necessary funds to purchase new wares, especially furniture. He's saving all his earnings for the little florist shop he plans to open by the Harbor.]

Hrm?

[The dhampir blinks his eyes owlishly once Bruno asks the following. He lets out a thoughtful hum as he mulls over the question. What constitutes as appetizing to him?]

That's a rather difficult question to answer. [He mutters quietly as he taps his chin.] I would never prey upon the sick or infirm, the same for children and pregnant individuals. That is a taboo within my culture, very taboo.

[A vampire with morals, fancy that.]

Therefore, I typically target...able-bodied adult males and females above a certain age. The healthy sorts, honestly.

[fallingsand]

[ The healthy sorts, huh? Well then, that... absolutely does not count Bruno out. That's a little worrying. ]

O-oh, then, uh, definitely not me. Not healthy at all. Very much an insomniac, right? And. And absolutely bad luck. I'm sure that makes me taste awful.

[ Therefore Augustine should not eat him, yeah, that sounds reasonable, haha. Anyway, Bruno is quick to clear his throat as he turns to wander back to his own previous seat, the chair with the backing broken off. He doesn't sit immediately and turns his attention to that instead. His hand rests lightly on part of the broken frame. ]

And I don't know if skilled is the word I would use. I've had to figure out how to repair and cobble stuff together on my own for the past ten years, so I've taught myself how to do enough, I guess? Enough to get by. I think I would have liked being an actual carpenter, though...