Trinity Blood: Habeas Everto
By: James Austin Valiant
The bright, globular shapes disappeared in a frenzy of motion. Pieces of peel and pith were being discarded in every direction; as the soft flesh was devoured. The segments of tangerine were barely being chewed between Father Leon Garcia de Asturias' teeth. No way was the skinny, clumsy Father Nightroad going to beat him in this eating contest. No chance of it.
"Time."
Father Leon swallowed the last bit of succulent citrus and stuck his tongue out at Abel.
"The winner of this impromptu tangerine eating contest, in accordance with parameters outlined by myself before its start, is Father Abel Nightroad!"
The defeated priest's mouth dropped open. "That can't be right! I'm sure I beat him!"
"Negative, Father Leon."
"Oh, you musta made a mista-"
"I make no error. You have consumed merely 12 tangerines in the allotted 7 and a half minutes, while Father Nightroad has consumed 18 tangerines in the same allotted period."
"Face it, Mr. Manly Man," mocked the silver-haired, slender Abel Nightroad, "you should stick with the books and leave the manly stuff to guys like me."
Father Leon stomped the ground in anger. "You've got to be kidding me! You two were in cahoots, it was fixed, and those tangerines were rigged! I got a peel stuck in my teeth and that slowed me down! I demand an impartial judge!"
"I am impartial. As a machine, I possess no loyalty to either competitor and therefore, am the most qualified entity to judge said competition." Father Tres monotone explanation of the obvious did little to soothe Father Leon's frustration with Father Nightroad's victory, as he stormed off.
"Congratulations on your victory, Father Nightroad."
Abel ascended an imaginary award podium, clutching the empty tangerine sack as if it were a golden statuette. "Oh, this is such an honor! There are so many people to thank…I'd like to thank the Vatican, providers of my measly priest's salary, oh, and my ever present hunger for tangerines…sweet, holy tangerines, proof of God's eternal love…"
"FATHER NIGHTROAD!"
The happy hallucination of an awards show was shaken by the familiar cry. Abel sheepishly abandoned his make-believe podium and grinned widely at the female form in front of him. The white and blue habit she wore was nearly immaculate, even if the pose she struck was less than saintly. Her fists were firmly upon her hips, and a frown was etched onto her delicate lips.
"What...are…you…doing?" Sister Esther managed to get out through her ever present sense of frustration.
The silver-haired priest scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see, Father Leon had this bag of tangerines and offered to share them, and of course, you know, get two hungry priests together and…"
"I have been looking for you for over an hour! We had an appointment at noon and you're out here, pigging out on oranges?"
"Well…tangerines, actually…"
She turned to the stoic expression of Father Tres. "And where were you for all this?"
Tres did not react as Abel had. "I was not made aware of this meeting, Sister Esther."
"Come on, then!" Her slender hand grasped Father Nightroad's larger one, and even though she was angry, her heart still skipped a beat. "We have to get to Caterina's office before someone else shows up with a bag of citrus fruit!