06-08-2022, 05:49 AM
[CW for fictitious descriptions of SA on a minor.]
Arthur was not at all dissuaded from the muttered curses, the disgust so obvious in Malachi's voice. If anything, it encouraged him, and he traced patterns onto the grate separating them as he smiled, considering his next words.
"I'm not entirely sure what to call this one," he admitted, "and it might be more than one. Perhaps you can enlighten me, Father... listen close to me now.
"It happened on a night not very long ago. I had been out for a walk after dark, restless with pent up energy, and I passed by this very street - this very church even, Father, and saw..."
He wracked his brain for something, something shocking, anything that would surely bother Malachi. He wanted to break this kind little persona he put on, make Malachi show his true colors once again.
The vaguest memory of seeing Malachi passing a street adjacent to him floated to the top of his mind, a young girl at his side. Arthur smiled.
"Father, I saw a young girl, if you can imagine it. Tall for her age, I believe, loitering outside the church... well, of course I was concerned for her, so I asked her if she was alright and took her inside the church. She said she was looking for you, too, even."
The man's head hit the back of the wooden wall behind him gently, his eyes squinted to try and see Malachi through the barrier and make out what of his fuzzy expression he could see.
"We talked for a very long time, here, and she was quite pretty Father. Long, curly black hair - reminds me of yours, now that I think of it, but hers was thicker. And she was very thin, too, Father, and... well."
Arthur closed his eyes as he continued; trying to see Malachi like this was useless. Without his glasses, he could hardly read the bloodstained papers in his office that Malachi had left behind.
"I took her into this very booth, Father, and had her all to myself. She cried, of course, calling out your name very loudly - this is where I fear I may have sinned. She was so loud, and her voice hurt my ears so much, Father, I struck her across her face. Many times, I recall, until she quieted. I left her there after that... don't know what became of her."
His grin when he finished his little lie was massive, and didn't fade at all while he waited for Malachi's reaction. "So, ah, what is the verdict, Father?"
Arthur was not at all dissuaded from the muttered curses, the disgust so obvious in Malachi's voice. If anything, it encouraged him, and he traced patterns onto the grate separating them as he smiled, considering his next words.
"I'm not entirely sure what to call this one," he admitted, "and it might be more than one. Perhaps you can enlighten me, Father... listen close to me now.
"It happened on a night not very long ago. I had been out for a walk after dark, restless with pent up energy, and I passed by this very street - this very church even, Father, and saw..."
He wracked his brain for something, something shocking, anything that would surely bother Malachi. He wanted to break this kind little persona he put on, make Malachi show his true colors once again.
The vaguest memory of seeing Malachi passing a street adjacent to him floated to the top of his mind, a young girl at his side. Arthur smiled.
"Father, I saw a young girl, if you can imagine it. Tall for her age, I believe, loitering outside the church... well, of course I was concerned for her, so I asked her if she was alright and took her inside the church. She said she was looking for you, too, even."
The man's head hit the back of the wooden wall behind him gently, his eyes squinted to try and see Malachi through the barrier and make out what of his fuzzy expression he could see.
"We talked for a very long time, here, and she was quite pretty Father. Long, curly black hair - reminds me of yours, now that I think of it, but hers was thicker. And she was very thin, too, Father, and... well."
Arthur closed his eyes as he continued; trying to see Malachi like this was useless. Without his glasses, he could hardly read the bloodstained papers in his office that Malachi had left behind.
"I took her into this very booth, Father, and had her all to myself. She cried, of course, calling out your name very loudly - this is where I fear I may have sinned. She was so loud, and her voice hurt my ears so much, Father, I struck her across her face. Many times, I recall, until she quieted. I left her there after that... don't know what became of her."
His grin when he finished his little lie was massive, and didn't fade at all while he waited for Malachi's reaction. "So, ah, what is the verdict, Father?"
