The Abbey

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

He sighed and huffed as he gave a haphazard parting wave to Adeney and Duval, pausing with Florence at the door frame, he hadn't expected Florence to ask him the question and he cocked his head in curiosity.
"Well..." He began, humming as he furrowed his brow, chuckling lightly, "... With you." He half-japed as he glanced out deeper into the Abbey, humming again he scuffed his boots against the cobblestones below.

"No, but; I'd thought to talk in the Abbey... But if we must talk somewhere; I still have my room in the Tavern." He offered the latter with a shrug...

\\

[Vanitypirate]

"Hmm..."
Florence's finger shot up and pointed to the ceiling, bent at the elbow. The rest of her posture was still stiff-backed and rigid.

"Currently, we are in the abbey." She nodded, pleased, as she continued, "And I am also here. Your criteria for comfort are met."

She shuffled her heavy boots to a bench in some corner of the hall,
"In which case, we may proceed."

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

"Hm..." He agreed a bit awkwardly, raising his brow before sighing and shrugging as he moved along with Florence and stole a seat beside her before stowing the crate beneath the bench for now.
"... Alright then; first off... What the hell happened to that Occultist that was supposed to show up?" He asked with a huff, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair.

Lekalis' eyes went off down the Abbey,
"Did you manage to find him again?" He asked turning to look at her faceless mask...

\\

[Vanitypirate]

The faceless mask shook from side to side, "No."

Florence shrugged the bag off of her shoulder and let it rest next to her on the bench. Her hand still closed around the strap, loosely.

"I have not seen him since the raid on the Hamlet. I suspect he may have passed."

She hummed, and looked to the ceiling,
"He was meant to arrive before your expedition."

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

He nodded sagely, maybe sadly, as he followed her mask and looked up to the ceiling. But, his gaze noted her hand on the bench... He took a breath and shut his eyes, before setting his own over her gloved one with a nostalgic smile.
"Shame." He sighed with a shrug.

Lekalis was quiet then, he reminisced on the times he'd tried to almost teach her how to hold hands again. He remembered how he had to actually teach her how to hug again... His thumb pinched at her little finger as he sighed again.
He kept quiet, with his hand over Florence's, for now.

[Vanitypirate]

Florence stayed quiet with him, though it was a much more uncertain silence; she came with the assumption that they had much to talk about, but it seemed that they had exhausted topics within the first several minutes.

The Crowgazer was silent in thought.

His hand on hers, she surmised that it was likely he was looking for comfort, especially after an activity as straining as expeditioning.
It was a wonder to her why he did not ask in the first place.

Florence maintained the silence as she reached up behind her head and made to undo the straps fastening the beaked mask to her face.

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

The Ex-Lord exhaled and shifted in his seat, looking over to her as he heard her rustling and he chuckled; moving his hand up from hers to stop her from taking off the mask.
"What are you planning..?" He asked as he moved to pull up the shoebox of viscera once again.

\\

[Vanitypirate]

Florence stopped, utterly baffled.
Her voice reflected this.

"You seem to be seeking comfort." She explained, pinching the straps together to maintain the mask. "Typically, it pleases you for me to remove the mask."

She slipped the leather back into its buckle.
"If you would prefer, I shall wear it."

[Bloodtrailkiller]

/Lekalis/

"Well, aye but..." He chuckled and shrugged, nervously, boyishly this time as he looked down at the salty smelling meat and gore; he idly pinched at the edges of it with his thumb and forefinger.
Lekalis felt utterly foolish, he knew that was clear enough, even Florence probably thought he was foolish. He felt his face blush as he looked up to the Bath-house door.
Perhaps it was a poor decision to come here too? He should have thought more on it...

"... Well, I suppose I would like to talk somewhere more privately." He furrowed his brows, realizing he had to switch the way he talked with her as he postured to face her, though his eyes were cast down in thought.
They rose again, a bit more affirmed in their direction as he peered into Florence's mask; his determination waned for a moment as he cocked his head from one side to the other, indecisive in which eye he wanted to look into.
"I... I like being alone with you--" He paused, and raised a finger to halt her before she said anything,
"--In private. I suppose I was a bit short-sighted in saying the Abbey... Ah, well... Hmm." He lost his momentum yet again and he cleared his throat, making to stand.

"Should we-- Would you mind if we went to my room in the Tavern? Or would you have a preference..?" He was stammering, but slowly getting his bearings yet again. His eyes danced about anxiously as he offered a small smile.

\\

[black379]

Adeney hummed and knit his brow as Florence was stolen away by the man from before. He still tried to rationalize what she had said, or rather heavily implied. There was apparent risk in becoming involved with her studies, but there was risk in allowing the woman to pursue it on her own as well.

As for being lynched, if it weren't for his visit to the bathhouse he would still have literal blood on his hands. He was secretive enough.

"I'll leave you to your privacy." Cocking his head toward Duval, Adeney offered a short nod to excuse himself. He started for the door, but paused as he reached the exit. The rogue had mentioned something of Silvant when he arrived, but he wasn't sure whether to leave the subject alone or not.

[relentless]

Duval had stood there for a good bit as they argued, on the verge of yawning until Blood meandered in. He worked fast on extracting Florence, and Duval only managed to let out a wave before he disappeared with the bird doctor. Sighing to himself, he watched as Adeney walked away, almost content with leaving the man at peace. Yet he managed to find something rousing in his mind.

"Ay, Adeney? How's Silvant? I wanted to ask before but the Doctor brought up some interesting shite that caught my eye. Is she... well, I hope?"
Duval voiced after him with quickness, to nab him by the collar.
"Last time I bumped into her was when she was with you so, figured you'd know if she was doing okay?"

[black379]

He retreated a step from the doorway, and slowly turned to face Duval. His posture was statuesque at first, beak directed straight and gloves clasped together at his waist. But Adeney's gaze lowered and he wrung his hands together.

"Did you know her well?"

[relentless]

Duval chuckled, and crossed his arms uneasily, creaking his head to one side with a slight cringe.
"Ohhhh yeah, you can say that again... nothing good, mind you."
He took a couple steps toward Adeney, before he leaned against the corner of the left wall, standing behind one of the pools. For comic's sake, he raised his hands as if he were getting arrested.

"Have no worry, I didn't do anything. It was mainly bad time, bad place on my part."
He reassured, squinting toward Adeney's eyelens, waiting for a reply.

[black379]

He screwed up his face with distress, though Duval wouldn't see it. It was easy to question the sincerity of someone who said they 'didn't do anything'. Adeney hesitantly pondered exactly what the man did do. Yet he remained dispassionate, and humbly offered the rogue the benefit of the doubt.

"How so?"

[Vanitypirate]

"Oh... yes. Of course. I do not have a preference."

Without hesitation, Florence got to her feet to follow. With the mask secured, she devoted both hands to carrying the crate of organs. The good doctor was better suited to carry it, at anyrate; messy work such as this was the intent of wearing such heavy, protective gear constantly.
She let it rest on her hip and looked to Lekalis expectantly.

"Let us depart."