She liked Cathedrals. There was something about them that were always drawn to the eye. Even those not of the same faith had a way of being drawn to the architecture of older times, perhaps in an appreciation of fine craftsmanship, or to seek the solace that can be found, and expected, in a place as this.

There isn't much to her but a pair of faded jeans, shoes that have seen a few dusty roads in their time, and a light weight sweater with a hood, that didn't quite manage to add to the bulk of her otherwise whip-thin frame.

Having kept an eye on the flow of people coming in and out of St Paul's for the last few days, she knows when there seems to be a crowd and when the time was quieter. Lilah had also kept an eye on any visible, and obvious, opening and closing hours. Some places across the world were open at all hours, depending on religion and location, while others kept rigorous hours much like a candy shop for the wicked seeking something to sweeten their guilt and offer a false sense of security to their moral dilemmas.

It's a quiet time that she slips through the doors with her thumbs hooked into the front part of her jean pockets. Her shoulders hunch up, perhaps in a gesture to make her seem taller than she is, but had more to do with the defensive posture she had towards a large place that amplified sound in repeated echo's. She couldn't imagine what it sounded like when filled with loyal prayers, repeating words that half of them didn't understand and where left to always wonder and interpret.

Stepping lightly across the ground, she didn't so much creep as she wandered to one place and then the other, looking curiously at the statues or inscrïptions that may (or may not be) on the walls. She peered at the pews and at paintings on the walls. Stained windows had held a particular delight and she stood beneath with head tilted to one side and her hair falling in smooth layers across her features. She'd get lost in the colours and in the way they are captured in the candles light.

Scents would draw her away from the windows and over towards burning incense. She couldn't help but blow a soft air from between her lips and watch, fascinated, when the cones of ash were left to scatter with the wind. It made her smile, a small thing that tugged at the corners of her mouth. Her finger was pressed into the soot and she rubbed it between her fingers, inspecting it as she wandered away.

Over towards a pew, middle way down the isle, she slipped across to sit. The dirt from her fingers were rubbed on her jeans and she reached forth, taking out the well thumbed book from the seat before her. She felt its fabric, flipped through its pages and paused to read passages. Lips pursed, she tucked up her knees and let her heels rest close to her backside, perched onto the pew entirely. The book rested against her knees, opened, and she gave a new meaning to having a nose in a book, as it was literally only a few inches from sniffing up a page.

She could be found there, reading quietly, but should there be a sound, a movement in a shadow, the young woman would always look up and suddenly glance that way. Ever curious, her dark eyes roamed...

[feel free to jump in anyone!]  

--Last edited by Lilah Rove on 2008-10-29 03:53:33 --

Solomon watches the girl strangely perched on the pew. He stays to the shadows, though he has no need to. As he walks, the light reaches out, bending and shifting over his form, obscuring him from view.

Ever since the attack on Father Hues, the cathedral becomes completely abandoned after dark. The priest seems to hasten away with the falling sun, and few dare venture here.

But Solomon makes sure the holy place is accessible to any who wish to visit, even at unconventional hours.

His heightened senses smell the dust on her, as he moves closer for a better look. He stays well enough away, not out of fear, but out of respect. He never interrupts a prayer.

Focusing his gaze to incredible frequencies, he attempts to catch a glimpse of the woman's inner light.

2008-10-29 14:09:17 Solomon rolls 7 dice to Aura Perception (Diff 8) 6,1,7,4,5, 3,7 (BOTCH x 1)  

--Last edited by Solomon on 2008-10-29 15:10:47 --

Solomon sees something horrible when he looks at the girl in the pew. Thick black veins encircle her turbulent aura. Bright green interspersed with blood red and long, jagged legs like a spider reach out from her colors.

Whatever and whoever she is, she is unnatural, demonic and evil.

Unaware, she continues to read. She doesn't spend too long on a single page and seems to flick through to random passages. A few give her pause and she'd make a mumbled remark to herself now and again. "Well I don' know about tha'..." One of them was, and she eyed the book as though it was telling a fib. And other times she wrinkled her nose looking rather baffled by what she had read, or was reading. "I'm nae sure this is in English..." It didn't appear to bother her that she was talking to herself, or that she was a lone person sitting in a Church. Maybe that's why she came here. Plenty of people found their peace within these walls.

But the books only held her interest for so long and the covers were folded closed with a delicate care before being replaced into the shelf of the pew before her. Uncurling her legs, she took another look around, glancing behind her, to each side, and towards the front before she swung herself around and lay out on her back on a pew. She was small enough to balance there easily and while one hand rested on her stomach, the other (with more room) had been placed to cushion between her scalp and the wood beneath. "So I'm 'ere." Her voice had called out a little louder as she stared up towards the ceiling. "An' I'm ready fer some divine guidance." No, really she didn't snicker (kudos for her). Her feet crossed at the ankles with one foot resting over the other and she looked to be getting herself comfortable, possibly for a long night. Sleep wasn't on the agenda, however, and her black orbs glittered brightly with whatever thoughts were running through that head of hers.

A hearts beat passed.

"Aye... anytime now.."

Solomon slides his blade from its scabbard. Too often has this holy place been defiled by the presence of monsters. Too often have they stained its floor with innocent blood.

No more.

This sanctuary shall be inviolate. It will stand as a beacon to the good and pure. By his righteous hand, it will be so.

2008-10-30 13:37:35 Solomon rolls 7 dice to Wits+Stealth 7,6,5,7,1, 10,10,5,3 (4 successes)

His voice carries out from the darkness of the room, echoing around the room, sounding of anger and revulsion.

"Demon! You are not welcomed here! Flee now, while you can... For surely, if your blight continues to stain this place, you will be sent screaming back to the hell from whence you crawled!"  

--Last edited by Solomon on 2008-10-31 12:39:26 --

The sudden sound of her voice has her leaping out of her skin. One could swear that her body nearly left the pew when it shot upwards. Her arms flung out from behind her head, smacking the wood pew with a smarting sound in their startled haste. She shot up to her feet, almost bypassing the necessity one generally has of sitting when moving from a lying position to getting on their feet.

"'Oly 'ell!" She cursed with feeling.

Dark eyes, a touch wider now, scanned across the darkness of the room. She could feel the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as she scanned the place slowly. Still, the girl wasn't all that silly, as she scoped out for a pin pointing location for a voice, her feet were already moving quickly (lightly) across the floor to the main isle.

"Who be ye te call mae a demon! I'm nae the one speakin' out o' thin air I'll be 'avin' ye know!" The sassy lass yelped out, back peddling one foot after the other towards the main doors. She was fully planning on leaving or at least having an escape route right at hand.


2008-11-08 03:05:38 Lilah Rove rolls 5 dice to Perception + Alertness 7,6,7,4,2 (3 successes)

This demon is a sly one, disguising itself as this young woman. It is a liar and a killer. It taints this holy place by its presence alone! It has been warned and it paid no heed.

Solomon has used up what little patience he could muster for a fiend so vile. He calls upon the power of his blessed blood, calling down visions of madness to plague this demon's sight.

[Spend 1 blood]
2008-11-14 14:21:10 Solomon rolls 2 dice to The Haunting (used willpower) 1,5 (failure)

Solomon feels the power well up inside of him... but after a few moments, the beast is still standing their, still looking around confusedly for him. Clearly, this creature's vision must already contain the fire's of hell. He would have to take a more direct route.

Sword in hand, he advances slowly between the pews. With practiced ease, his feet step lightly. This place has been his home for some time now, and he has learned all of its nuances. He knows every hooked nail and squeaky board in the cathedral. Aided by his powers of concealment, he quickly closes the distance betwixt himself and his foe.  

--Last edited by Solomon on 2008-11-14 16:28:10 --

Can you add a dex and stealth roll (diff 6) to your post to be sure Lilah wont hear you please Solomon? You can add one bonus die for your home turf advantage.

2008-11-18 00:15:21 Solomon rolls 8 dice to Dex+Stealth 7,1,5,3,7, 4,4,4 (1 success)

While his powers of concealment shield his form from view, it does not mask sound. The tip of Solomon's long sword glances off a wooden pew, resonating a clear noise that Lilah will hear not six feet from her.  

--Last edited by Solomon on 2008-11-19 16:31:36 --

2008-11-21 16:34:39 Lilah Rove rolls 5 dice to Perception + Alertness 1,2,5,9,4 (failure)
2008-11-21 16:35:31 Lilah Rove rolls 6 dice to Enemy Ways Per + Stealth 6,3,4,2,3, 4 (1 success)

Although she's listening, its the sudden beating of her heart that seems to drown out the distinct sound of metal singing in the air. Its her other senses that suddenly has the hairs on the back of her neck standing on in. Sure, she knew she was in a little bit of trouble, but the sudden dread that makes her feel as if her stomach has relocated to her toes means one simple thing.

Run.

Who was she to argue with her instincts? They hadn't set her wrong yet. Well, that's really quite debatable. But she'd have that little internal monologue later. Something was heading her way. Something was going to try and lop her head from her neck and that wouldn't be a good look. She had a pretty head and she'd like to keep it.

The girl stopped walking backwards and in a fluid motion of a spin was set running for the large doors. Sod any side doors. She knew the big ones were open, she'd slipped in that way after all. There isn't anything honourable about running. But there isn't anything honourable about people in a Church wanting to kill people.

Well, really.. . nothing has much changed in the centuries, now has it?

Heels of her palm would shove the door the moment she got there, and she'd slip her lithe frame out the crack and bolt from the building. Providing she got that far.

(You are able to feel someone directly behind you that wishes your death, it is difficult to determine exactly what it is, but it is only feet away and closing on you immediately)

Solomon stands in the open doorway, watching the foul demon flee for its miserable life. Normally, he would hunt it... track it... hound it... but tonight, an unusual wariness rest upon him and he thinks it best to let it end here... at least, for the time being.