like a holy rolling stone

Luciana

cause it makes me that much stronger
makes me work a little bit harder

Luciana strode into the Trinity Temple, an object wrapped in cloth cradled carefully in her hands. Pausing just inside to let her eyes adjust, she glanced around after the lights and shadows left her vision. There was no sign of Gideon, but the building was huge.

Sighing, she made her way towards the center of the main area. When there was still no sign of the Priest, she pressed her lips together. Hesitating for just a moment, she opened her mouth and took a deep breath.

Then she called out, shattering the stillness and quiet serenity of the place of worship. "Yo, Gideon, I have that piece you commissioned!" Setting it down on a nearby pew, she began to unwrap it.

it makes me that much wiser
so thanks for making me a fighter

Luckily for Luciana, it was the free hour at the Cathedral and not a time of prayer; if it were, Gideon might have banned her from ever stepping foot in the place again. As it was, he merely came out of one of the side halls, dressed in his formal robes for services, having just finished one twenty minutes ago and gotten caught up before he could change.

"Gods, Luciana, why don't you just tell everyone in Stormbreak?" He grumbled, footsteps echoing throughout the usually silent temple as he came over to her, clearly annoyed. For an Order meant to honour and promote the Old Gods, there sure were some disrespectful members.

Still, he was interested in what she was unwrapping on the pew: if he had guessed right, it was something he'd been waiting for for a while. With a sigh, he ran a hand down his face. "...Thank you for the order, though. Very swift, as always."

GIDEON

You claim to be virtuous, but you're a liar
And you'll feel the heat of the flames

Luciana

cause it makes me that much stronger
makes me work a little bit harder

Smiling (okay, baring her teeth) Luciana fixed her gaze on Gideon. Then she nodded. "If that's what you want." Turning, she cupped her hands over her mouth and called out into the Temple. "Gideon commissioned a piece from me!" It echoed throughout the empty building.

Turning back to him, she scowled. "You know I don't like to be kept waiting. I said I'd have it done today and it's done today." With that, she reached down to flip the last bit of cloth. As she did, she revealed a sculpture, of sorts.

It was made of bronze, mostly, with gems in spots. The bottom of it was a combination of mists and rags. They morphed into the roots of a tree, around which twin figures twined. The branches turned into a night sky, with gems for stars. "There you go. A new centerpiece for the altar, in honor of Frey's recent division." She stepped back to let him inspect it.

it makes me that much wiser
so thanks for making me a fighter

If one could fit all the fatherly disappointment in the world into one sigh, it would sound someone like the sound Gideon made at Luciana's hilarious joke of yelling out into the Cathedral. While she was similar in age to him, in his environment he felt able to put all of his authoritative energy into the disapproving noise. Still, as she went to open the case he was eager to see what she had made and his face quickly softened back to a more neutral expression.

"Wow." Was all he could say when it was revealed, all his annoyance forgotten as he knelt and leant in close to inspect the work. While Frey had never been a deity Gideon felt particularly close to (of course, he did his prayers and offerings and celebrated their holidays, but there were still Gods he felt more passionate about), in that moment he found himself moved by the depiction of their two halves. "You've outdone yourself, Luciana. Really."

Standing back up, he went to lift the piece and take it to the altar, where it would replace the old Frey statue: a rather gaudy thing, all truth be told, depicting a more...carnal side of what Frey had been known for. "I'll have to get out the new cloths to give this a proper welcome. Give me a hand? There'll be a meal in it for you." Gideon looked back to her, hoping she might be able to tell this was a hidden way of apologising for his earlier grumpiness.

GIDEON

You claim to be virtuous, but you're a liar
And you'll feel the heat of the flames

Luciana

cause it makes me that much stronger
makes me work a little bit harder

Scowl deepening at the sound Gideon made, Luciana narrowed her eyes at him. She crossed her arms and pressed her lips together. "Yeah. I know." Allowing herself a slight smirk, she smoothed her features out.

Snorting, she nodded. Wrapping the sculpture in cloth again she lifted it up. "Sure. I'll take your food. But mostly I'm here to make sure it gets set up properly." The corners of her lips twitched. "If I leave you to it, you'll probably spend hours and hours trying to figure out which placement is the most spiritual and shows the most respect for the gods." She laughed a little under her breath.

it makes me that much wiser
so thanks for making me a fighter

When Luciana spoke about the likelihood of him spending hours adjusting the placement, Gideon was indeed in the midst of turning the sculpture this way and that, trying to think how best it might compliment the others around it and show the correct respect to each respective God. He had to give a chuckle, let it slide off his shoulders, as he stood up. "What's wrong with that, in a Cathedral?" Gideon pointed out.

Still, he needed the cloths before he found it's final position anyway. Stepping down from the altar he gestured for Luciana to follow him as he went to one of the side rooms, opening the heavy oak doors and cringing at the loud creak. "I really need to get one of you engineering-fixing types to sort that out."

In this side room there was a rack of robes, divided into seasons and festivals: lighter colours with red highlights for Longheat, darker colours with blue for Deepfrost, and a spectrum of all shades between. "So -- tell me. How are you?" Gideon asked as he began to move boxes of supplies and decorations away from the far door in the corner.

GIDEON

You claim to be virtuous, but you're a liar
And you'll feel the heat of the flames

Luciana

cause it makes me that much stronger
makes me work a little bit harder

Narrowing her eyes, Luciana stared at Gideon. "Surely you have better ways to spend your time." She pursed her lips together and gestured around them. "You don't think the gods really care if the statues are placed just so, do you?" Shaking her head, she crossed her arms.

Glancing at the hinge, she snorted. "You can oil your own damn hinges." She propped the door open with a foot as she juggled the sculpture while following him deeper into the temple.

Setting the package down on a convenient surface, she sighed as he asked after her. "Fine. You?" Tapping her foot, she stood by the door, posture ramrod straight.

it makes me that much wiser
so thanks for making me a fighter

"...Safrin might well care, actually." Gideon said after a moment's consideration, sure that Luciana would have at least heard of the starlight Goddesses precise preferences for how things had to be. Truthfully though, for the most part it was just for his own satisfaction, but he didn't see too much problem with that: he had to spend all day in the temple after all.

To be fair, she was probably right about the hinges. Laughing under his breath, Gideon nodded and shrugged. "Oh, but my delicate worshipping hands might get dirty, Luci." He wasn't immune to some self-deprecating humour every now and then, especially when he deserved it. Perhaps, he hoped, it might lighten the mood; he found with Luciana that it quite often went from teasing bickering to genuine sniping too quickly.

Moving the last box away from the door he turned to look at her skeptically. "Not much of an answer there. I'm well enough. Interested to see where all this is going...disturbed by some things I've seen recently. We are certainly in a time where many situations are coming to a head."

GIDEON

You claim to be virtuous, but you're a liar
And you'll feel the heat of the flames

Luciana

cause it makes me that much stronger
makes me work a little bit harder

Luciana inclined her head at Gideon. "She might." Pointing at the wrapped sculpture, she narrowed her eyes. "From what I understand, though, Frey probably doesn't." Letting her hand fall, she leaned against the doorframe.

Raising her eyebrows, she stared at him. "Then your delicate worshipping hands might get dirty. Might even get a callous or two. The horror." She held up her own hands, which had grease and soot baked into them, causing the skin to crack. There were not only callouses on them but also they were crisscrossed with scars from a lifetime of cuts and burns.

Looking right back at him, she pressed her lips together. "Not sure what answer you were expecting." Then she waved away his concerns. "I'll leave that to the higher ups." Shrugging, she patted the metal she'd brought. "I just make what people ask me to make."

it makes me that much wiser
so thanks for making me a fighter

Gideon nodded, though the small smile on his face betrayed his thoughts, ones that he knew better than to reveal within his temple: that Safrin could quite often be picky about anything within the temple, never mind who it was for originally.

"A callous. Good Gods, don't scare me." He mumbled, going along with the joke. Truthfully though, he'd done many a hard day's work in his time, sometimes missed the simple satisfaction of completed labour now that his days consisted of less certain philosophical pursuits. Looking at her hands he tilted his head and grinned. "Lots of hard work there, sure. Some of those cuts look like you put them there just to show off, though."

Laughing he opened the door, stepping into a skinny spiral staircase, stone steps winding quickly out of view. "I thought we might have known each other long enough by now you might be able to give me a little more detail." Gideon explained as he began to climb up, a hand to brace himself against the wall. "Watch out- some of these stairs are so worn down they're more of a slide."

GIDEON

You claim to be virtuous, but you're a liar
And you'll feel the heat of the flames

Luciana

cause it makes me that much stronger
makes me work a little bit harder

Waggling her fingers at Gideon, Luciana let her hand creep closer and closer to the man. "Scare you like this?" Pressing her lips together at his comment, she shrugged. Dropping her hands to her side, she hooked her thumbs into her waistband. "Maybe if you actually come over to the forge some time you'd realize I don't have any need to show off." She stood up straight and squared her shoulders.

Holding the sculpture carefully, she snorted. "I made lots of shit for people, including this sculpture. Mostly nails. Went to the outside world. Almost died. Wasn't a huge fan. That enough information for you?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

Scowling, she eyed the stairs. "Then you should probably get a builder in here, because the gods know you probably won't do the work yourself." Began to descend, she misjudged a few steps in. While she didn't fall, her foot slipped to a lower stair and hit it with bruising force. Hissing out a curse, she began to limp down the rest of the steps.

it makes me that much wiser
so thanks for making me a fighter

"Oh, don't. Truly, I'm about to pass out." Gideon drawled sarcastically, a hand on his chest. He said nothing as to his coming to the forge; they both knew he was a busy man with better places to be, and with how well he and Luciana got along, it wasn't exactly a high priority visit.

Speaking of how they got along, he struggled not to roll his eyes and snap at her short, rude answer. He was genuinely trying to ask a nice question, and this was the thanks he got? His frustration was probably obvious in his voice, but Gideon kept his eyes ahead, only saying: "Wonderful. Such a perfect illustration of your day to day."

He was about to speed up a couple of steps, not caring much to keep in stride with her and far more used to navigating the temple, when he heard her fall with a thud and a swear. A part of him felt it was good karma for her being quite so ornery, but the good man inside made him turn around and hold out a hand for her, an offer for steadying if she needed it. "You know, falling over in the temple might mean the Gods don't like you being so rude to their priest."

GIDEON

You claim to be virtuous, but you're a liar
And you'll feel the heat of the flames

Luciana

cause it makes me that much stronger
makes me work a little bit harder

Smirking, Luciana shook her head at Gideon. "Right, I forgot about your delicate constitution." Still, she let her hands drop to the sides, having made her point.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she snorted at his response to her explanation of her day. "You asked for a little more detail. I gave you a little more detail. If you wanted a lot more detail you should've said." Smiling at him, though it didn't reach her eyes, she shrugged. "Why, what do you do on a daily basis?"

She took his hand, though she eyed it as she did. "Or maybe it's a sign that the gods want you to do something about the temple's infrastructure. Don't they help those who help themselves?" Resuming her descent, she raised her eyebrows. "Besides, how am I being rude? I came here to drop off your commission, not chit-chat."

it makes me that much wiser
so thanks for making me a fighter

"On a daily basis? Well..." Normally, Gideon might give a politely succinct answer, but to punctuate his point, he decided to go as into detail as he possibly could. "I wake up around 4am. I try to be ready to come downstairs into the temple by half four, though this morning I must admit I may have been five minutes late. Then I light all the candles and say my morning prayers, then prepare for the first service. Today it was a discussion of the Afterlife and what one can expect from Mort or Ludo when the time comes." A little out of season, but he'd been feeling a bit maudlin. "Would you like me to continue?"

Opening the door that the final step lead to, the wood creaking once again as he swung it open (perhaps he could do with oiling the hinges himself), Gideon stepped into a dark, dusty room and crossed it to lift up shutters on the far wall, which revealed the back window of the temple, illuminating the storage space.

Kneeling before a chest under the window, Gideon began to search through a ring of keys from his robe. "Some say that life isn't what you do, but the things between. All work and no play...or in this case, 'chit chat', makes Luciana a dull lady, and so on."

GIDEON

You claim to be virtuous, but you're a liar
And you'll feel the heat of the flames