Description:

Your basic lobby decorated with a small fireplace, large rug over hardwood floors, comfortable green couch, and two easy chairs in a matching shade of green.

=====>Father Anderson's study

Waving goodbye to the local policemen that had been called to the scene in the wake of Braego's attack, Father Anderson sighed and cleaned his glasses with a small cloth. Through the window he could clearly see the two black body bags being loaded into the ambulance and carried away. While the lower ranked officers were not privy to the dealings of Iscariot, those in charge were well aware of just what sort of man Alexander Anderson is. This would swiftly be swept under the rug and forgotten by the authorities. Thankfully, the children had taken the event as well as could be expected. Filled with questions and fears of future violence, it had taken well over an hour of soft spoken explanation from himself and Sister Mary Clarence to appease their curiosity and sooth their worries. The kitchen had been cleaned, and the orphanage put back into order for the moment. Finally left alone with his thoughts, the Paladin lowered himself into an easy chair to think over the days events. What Braego had done today was no less than a declaration of war. Worse yet, the bastard had managed to sneak away after throwing out such insults. The Iscariot growled a bit, his hands balling into fists before he finally forced himself to relax. There was nothing to be done for it now. The Zealots would have their judgement in due time. But for now blood and vengeance would have to wait. In the emptiness of the orphanage lobby, the Killing Judge struggled to find some solace in the crackling flames of the fireplace.

The soft patting of footsteps could be heard moving throughout the main calls of the Orphanage as a small blonde child made her way around with a smile on her soft young face. Her bright eyes dancing like emerald jewels in the light as she wondered the halls aimlessly. Her tiny figure slipping past each person that moved in the opposite direction as her arms remained clamped tight around her teddybear. The young child of God made her way into the main lobby of the orphanage, about to head into the yard but stopped her movements as she saw Father Anderson. A bright smile swept over her lips, revealing her tiny pearls of teeth before she ran over to the man and smiled up at him as happy as could be. "Good afternoon, Papa~!" Were the only words to escape her as she stared up at the male.

--Orphan's Road, the pathway to the Orphanage--

This place was legendary. It was where Father Alexander Anderson cared for potential Iscariot agents, where he spent most of his time when he wasn't murdering the creatures of the darkness. This was the place that Enrico Maxwell grew up in, where many other of the famous Iscariot personnel happened to have lived and played and eaten once. The sheer thought of that struck him all at once and left him standing there on the path, staring at the orphanage with a slight, dumbstruck, smile on his face.

The person staring at the church was one Gabriel Mackilroy, an Iscariot Agent of his own although only recently out of proper training. At the moment there were no true crisis's happening so he was sent to help out Father Anderson, THE Father Anderson, a role model of his as he seemed to be for all of Iscariot. "God above, I do not believe my luck." Gabriel whispered before bowing his head slightly and walking forwards up the path towards the Orphanage.

The gravel crunched under his feet and the wind blew his silvery locks across his face. The faces of smiling children outside was a welcome sight to eyes that usually saw blood or fear. The priest waved to some of the children as he walked past and he got a few waves back, the fact his jacket was unfastened and showing off the silver throat buckle told the children that he was a priest. Ahead were the doors to the main rooms of the orphanage and Gabriel walked straight up to them. A moment to compose himself passed and he grabbed the handle gently as though afraid to leave a mark before sliding it down and pushing the door open gently.

Now, some people might look around the lobby when they first entered it but the case was not so with Gabriel, his eyes were immediately taken in by the sight of the hulking paladin that was Father Alexander Anderson. The Killing Judge, the Paladin, Anderson was before him, in the flesh. A slight smile broke through Gabriel's icy facade and he walked over to Anderson, stepping up behind the small girl to speak to him.

"Father, I have yet to meet you but I have heard much about you." Gabriel began, his hands clasping behind him. He was forcing his Scottish accent to not flavour his words and to speak clearly but the highland accent was evident. "I am Father Mackilroy, or Gabriel if you'd prefer. I was sent here to help around the Orphanage if it was needed until such a time as a... crisis came up." Mackilroy chose his words carefully, he didn't want to let anyone who didn't know anything, know something.

<-------- Limbo

A friend of a friend of a friend had relayed the news that an orphanage had been raided, and that two bodies had been recovered from the scene; it didn't take long for Enzo to fnd it had been his home that had been attacked. There wasn't a man on his team that chided him for cutting out of a routine training exercise, all of them quietly hoping the worst hadn't really been the worst, and the orphanage had just been part of an ill-conceived prank.

But as he pressed a few more members of the State Police, the dark-haired man came to realize this wasn't something that had been reported lightly; a raid had occurred, and dead men had been removed from the premises. He'd cut a few corners on his way to the familiar, normally peaceful building, and without truly thinking, he parked his small car in a "No Parking" zone just outside of the front gates.

Sweeping past the already open gates - a slightly worrisome event - the man walks past a yard of children, though something was off; their normally smiling faces had a sort of forced quality to them, as children tend to do when they have been comforted but not convinced. It was then he realized he was still in combat dress, minus, of course, his larger weaponry and helmet. The black balaclava hung unused around his neck, and he could suddenly feel the weight of the handgun as it rested so snugly in its worn-in holster. Damn.

Before he could think to return it all to the car, one of the younger, blonde girls spied him and grinned. Rushing over, he had time to recognize her as Abigail before her arms were wrapped tightly around his left leg. Shaking his head with an unabashed grin pulling at his lips, Enzo reaches down to haul the tiny, 5 year old child up to his hip, wrapping both arms around her as no small number of kids began to hurridly trek to his side; it was good they were in higher spirits, but it still worried him he didn't know the reason for the break-in in the first place.

Listening to her chatter along - as well as input from the older children that had surged around him - Crescenzo discovered there had been two men with guns, and they had threatened the children. However, Sister Mary Clarence had been one to save the day (in their minds) and he could only thank God and Heavens above that the Sister hadn't been hurt as well.

Pecking a kiss Abigail's cheek once - causing a cute little smile - and putting her down amidst cries of "Enzo, come play!", the man finally makes it to the front stairs, where he spied another Father entering the building as well; he would have been followed by a gaggle (or army) of children had Sister Mary Clarence not shooed them away for a snack.

Catching the softly-closing door before it could come to a stop, Enzo enters the orphanage on the heels of the unknown Father, surprised slightly to her the tail end of the man introducing himself. It seemed as though his mentor was a bit busy for the moment, so he hangs back a bit, waiting in silence for a moment to step in; in that moment however, the quiet that comes after violence struck him, as well as the incredibly distinct - yet faint - odor of gunpowder and the sterile smell of industrial disinfectant.

Turning his gaze to the source of the small footsteps approaching, Father Anderson smiled warmly at the arrival of one of the brightest of his charges, little Amelia. Smiling back at her, he patted her head gently. "Well good afternoon Amelia. Ah hope all tha' trouncin about earlier dinnae wake ye from yer nap. Ah had a bit uv a disagreement wit an old friend." he said gently attempting to mask the violence from earlier. Looking up, an unknown priest had entered the orphanage, a white haired young man of prodigious height. Introducing himself as a newly appointed agent of Iscariot, Anderson took a moment to size the boy up. He had a lean build but he carried himself well, sharp eyes. Eyes that had already seen their fair share of horrors in the dead of the night. With a nod and smile, the Killing Judge welcomed the Iscariot into the Orphanage. "Tis a pleasure tae make yer acquaintance Father. Yer welcome tae stay fer as long as need be. We could use anothar set of eyes on tha children these days. At least until a new "crisis" pulls ye away." he said, a steely glint passing over his eyes at the veiled mention of their holy work. No sooner had the new Iscariot introduced himself, did another visitor arrive in the form of Crescenzo Salvatici, a former resident of this very orphanage. Turning to Amelia, Alexander offered another smile and gestured towards the kitchen. "Amelia, would ye be kind enuff tae show Father Mackilroy around a bit and prepare a bit uv coffee for us?" he said, gently trying to isolate himself with the newly arrived, and not yet "in the know" Crescenzo. Waving the former orphan over to one of the nearby chairs. "Crescenzo, make yerself at home boy. No need tae lurk in tha shadows uv tha doorway. Tae whit do Ah owe this visit taday?"

Enter From: The Front Yard

Edward walked into the Lobby, and noticed almost all of Iscariot standing around. Had he missed a meeting or something? Was it related to those two body bags? He didn't know, but he sure as hell wanted too. He walked towards the group. "Hey everyone. Did I miss something?" He stopped a bit behind everyone. He fixed his glasses with one hand, and his right hand shoved in his pocket.

Not even a minute after he had walked in, he heard an all too familiar voice. "Brother Edward!" He turned to see the person calling his name. It was one of the orphans he had somewhat grown up with. The boy was 15 years old, only 4 when Edward left on his expedition. They considered each other brothers, unlike the rest of the kids here who called him Uncle. "Hey Vince." Vince looked back into the hallway he had come from. "Hey guys! Eddy's back!" Edwards smile turned into one of terror as a whole group of kids rounded the corner and ran at him. "Uncle Edward!" They all shouted at him. Ed bent backwards a bit, and in moments, the kids all jumped on him and piled on top of him. "Hehe, ow. You guys miss me that much?" They started tugging at his cassock as he lay on the floor. "Did you bring us any cool souvenirs from your trip?" Edward rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe. Funny story about that. See, I don't have anything for you guys this time." The kids all looked at him and frowned. "You promised, Uncle Edward!" God, that ate his heart out. Now he felt real bad about not getting them anything, "Alright, alright, on my next trip, i'll get each of you 2 things." They all smiled and cheered. "Yay!' He smiled and chuckled to himself. These kids never changed.

The blonde haired little girl stared up at Anderson for a moment as she saw the shifting in his gaze. Her small head tilted to the left a tad before she heard someone move up behind her. Her tiny frame was about to kick the man's shin but stopped as she smiled brightly at him, recalling that he dressed much like many of the other Iscariot men that made their way in and out of the building. She then turned her attention back to Anderson as she herd him speak before nodding and smiling even brighter than before.

"Okie dokie, papa! Come on mister~ I'll show you everything!" The young child spoke with a delighted chime before grabbing the man's hand. She used her free hand to wave at the old member of the house, the man who used to be an orphan just like many of the others here. She then used both of her hands to tug and pull on the man by the name of Mackiltoy and giggled as she pulled him harder and harder. "Come on~ Come on~ So slow~!" She stated with her playful chimes as she tugged the male down the hallway. As she did, she heard the shouting of other children and smiled brightly, using one hand to wave to the man known through the orphanage as Uncle Edward or Uncle Ed. "Heya Uncle Eddeh!" She said as she then continued tugging on Machiltoy's hand, giggling with a childish bliss.

Gabriel could tell, despite not being there for it happening or knowing the building, that something had happened. The changes in tone, the veiled secrets, the lingering smell of battle in the air. Something had went down and Gabriel wasn't sure exactly what had happened. Questions would have to be asked later however as it seemed that Father Anderson had other people he had to speak to and Gabriel was getting put off to the side for a tour, not that he minded of course.

So, having his hand pulled by a little girl apparently called Amelia, Father Mackilroy decided to go along with it. Gently extricating his hand from Amelia's, Gabriel stood up fully and gently ruffled the girl's hair, a very quiet laugh emanating from his throat before he pushed his hands into his pockets and nodded for her to move on. "So little one, what do ye plan tae day aefter ye leave the orphanage?" He asked Amelia, letting his accent firmly slide in and turn his words into their true Scots pronunciation. After all, he'd only hid it in order to make a good first impression with the Paladin and it seemed that it'd worked, hopefully Gabe would be able to hold the Iscariot's respect for as long as possible.

((OOC: Shitty post is shit, I know))

There was a gaggle of priests in the lobby now, and for a moment Crescenzo thought about slipping out; obviously, whatever had transpired couldn't have been as terrible as previously thought, as they were all conversing in a rather casual manner, even making introductions and taking tours.

But then the Father he'd come to see spied him in inevitable fashion; he'd never managed to sneak around that man, no matter the effort applied to the act. Slipping his left hand into the web belt at the small of his back, the brown-haired man spoke up, just enough to be heard by those actively listening; it was a curious trait that he'd learnt while at the orphanage (one never knew when a plot needed to be hatched behind a Sister's back).

"I was hoping to speak with you about recent..." his face took on a slight frown in thought, "events that took place. Here."

The last statement was more for punctuation of his sentiment than anything else; he'd just escaped his work in order to check on his home, and the intelligent, clipped tones used in his field hadn't quite had the chance to wear off before he arrived. He knew something had happened, particularly after hearing the hesitation in Father Anderson's voice as he addressed newly-introduced Father Mackilroy. Something had happened, but he was being kept in the dark. Why?

Smiling as Edward arrived only to be mobbed by a playful horde of orphans, Father Anderson smoothly rose to his feet and clasped his hands behind his back. He was able to avoid the hugging group easily enough to close the distance between himself and Crescenzo. Peering back over his shoulder, the Paladin's face was still all smiles and deeply creased dimples as he addressed the collection of orphans, clergy, and secret assassins inhabiting his lobby. "Crescenzo an Ah'll be takin a little stroll. Children, be on yer best behavior an mind Sister Mary Clarence. Tha' goes fer all uv ye." he said offhandedly leaving the situation in the capable hands of the senior Sister currently cleaning up in the kitchen. Placing a large gloved hand on Salvatici's shoulder, Alexander ushered the man towards the door and the sidewalk beyond "Let's have a chat."


=====> The Greenhouse (via the sidewalks circling the orphanage)

The kids finally got off of him to let him up. Edward stood amongst the children and brushed himself off. He nodded to Anderson as he left and figured he might as well do somethng with the kids. As he looked back at him, he nearly jumped when he realized they were all evily smirking at him. "So, whatcha thinkin' about?" He said nervously. The kids all smiled, and before he knew it, he was being dragged away against his will.

Exit to: The Playground

It was a pleasant surprise to be speaking with the Father alone; it was rare that he had the time in these recent days to do more than give a brief "hello". His hand was a comfort, and his voice was as rich as ever.

But all these things put Crescenzo on edge. If the Father wanted to "have a chat", it meant he had something serious to discuss. Of course, he'd come here for just this sort of thing - for answers as to why the orphanage was attacked - but a small art of his brain told him there was something more to this.

He nods to Father Anderson, following the man step for step as they made their exit.

-----------------> Greenhouse

"When I... Get out....? Staying with Papa of course! Papa needs help fighting the heathens of the earth and purifying it for the sake of our Lord, sir! I will stay and help Papa the best I can, in the name of the The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. Amen." She smiled brightly at the man that walked with her small form. Her bright green eyes danced with joy as she lead the man from the lobby to the main eating hall.

"This is where we all eat! Me and the other kids, I mean. Sometimes Papa and Uncle Eddy will eat here too~! It's very nice and the food is good~!" She giggled up at the man before pressing forward for the tour. However, as she showed the man around she was being a bit more observant than usual, looking for signs of what actually happened.