Light in a Shaded Past
"Hey, Luna. What is that man doing, standing over there?"
Luna looked up from her morning newspaper to see Magina leaning on her counter, his white eyes conveying the question he just asked. She tilted her head at him, giving him an annoyed look that made him back away slightly from the older barista.
"What're you talking about?" she said, voicing her irritation.
"That man over there." Magina pointed to the Dark Moon's entrance, a middle aged man with copper red hair and beard with a braid at the side. His blue eyes showed an older presence, wisdom through the experiences he had gone through. "He has been standing there, doing nothing at all."
Luna recognized the man as the same person who was protesting in the zoo the last time they went there as a group. "Find him a place to sit." She told Magina.
Magina scoffed at the request. "This is a coffee shop, Luna. Not a five star restaurant."
"Find him a place, Magi, or I will make you find him one." Luna said threateningly.
Feeling nervous being near the older woman's presence, Magina left to carry out the "request" before Luna could unleash her wrath. Luna let out an unbecoming laugh, satisfying her guilty pleasure of frightening her co-workers; a task that had become increasingly harder to accomplish as, with Lanaya's persistence, they had gotten closer over the past few months.
She heard a soft gasp from beside her. "Oh my God." Luna turned to see Mortred with her eyes wide and her hand over her mouth.
"What's wrong?" she asked the baker, who looked back at her with a serious expression, despite her cheeks slowly reddening.
"Luna, please keep him occupied, okay?" Luna raised her eyebrow at the strange request.
"What do you mean?"
"Make sure he doesn't leave early!" she said. "I want to make him something!"
"Aw, are you going to write a love letter?" Luna teased the baker, who pouted at Luna's words.
"Just keep him occupied!" Mortred responded, as she entered her kitchen again.
Luna shook her head at Mortred's behavior, pleased to see the baker act like a love struck teenager. As she turned back to her phone, she caught a glimpse of the man heading towards her counter, fortunately (or unfortunately) for her. He took a seat at one of the empty stools, still keeping to himself.
"Can I get you anything?" She asked him, the man still ignoring his surroundings.
A brief flash went by his eyes, quickly blinking and looking up to Luna. "I'm sorry. I had a busy day." He said.
Luna smiled sympathetically, handing the man a clear glass of water. She was surprised with herself of being outwardly friendly to a complete stranger, something that she'd never do before.
"What do you actually do, Chaplain?" she asked, creating small talk between them.
He took a sip of the water before he responded to Luna. "You know who I am?"
"I saw you not too long ago at the zoo, complaining with the zoo keeper."
"Oh…" the man met Luna's direct gaze for the first time. "You were with Auishtha last time?"
"Yes. And you still haven't answered my question."
The man let out a tired scoff. "Well, I've just been busy, getting my hands mixed up with the red tape that's everywhere within the church."
"What church is it, exactly?" Luna asked, constantly prodding the man with more questions.
"The Church of the Omniscience." The man downed his glass of water, Luna immediately refilling it. "There's too many corrupt people high up the church's ladder."
"And you've been trying to root them out?" The man nodded.
"Yes, but it has been a difficult task. They covered their tracks almost perfectly."
"But you've been persistent? That's some real dedication." Luna commented, earning a glare from the man.
"If not myself, then who? No one else is taking a stand to question the decisions and choices the church has made." Luna was starting to feel uncomfortable as the subject transitioned to something else entirely.
"Have you not gotten any outside help?" she questioned on.
"What good would that have done?" he said disheartenedly. "The City Guards are just as corrupt, maybe even more so."
Luna was about to mention how she knew people that could be trusted, but held back when she remembered the trouble Slithice and Slardar went through. She settled on a different party. "Do you know Detective Banehallow?"
"Banehallow? I've heard of him. The last major thing I heard he's done was help apprehending the Scourge of the Plains through his investigations."
Luna cringed at being reminded of her past, but kept her face straight so as to not throw the man off. "But he was successful, and he's not affiliated with the City Guard."
"True." The man had his hand on his chin, looking on in thought. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Chaplain." As she said this, Luna heard the door to the kitchen slowly open, the smell of something freshly baked invaded their nostrils.
Mortred appeared beside her, a fluffy looking loaf of bread on a platter on her hands still steaming. She placed the platter on the counter. "Here you go, sir!"
"Oh, thanks." The man took the plate, but was careful in touching the still hot bread. "I didn't order this, though."
"Uh, yes…" Mortred struggled with her words as she tried to come up with a believable excuse. Turning to Luna for help, she was instead upset at seeing the older woman's amused expression on her face, quickly jabbing Luna's stomach before leaving to her kitchen.
"Are you alright?" the man asked, but Luna shrugged him off.
"I'm fine. Just a tickle." Luna responded. "It's complimentary from the baker, by the way."
"Why did she make it?" he asked her.
Luna, looking at the door to make sure that Mortred wasn't near them, gestured the chaplain to approach her. "She has a crush on you."
A surprised, yet amused, look flashed on the chaplain's face. "Really? I didn't think anybody would be interested in an old middle-aged preacher, like me."
"She's always been quirky. It's not really surprising." Luna said with a hint of amusement, but a worried look replaced it when she saw the man make a peculiar expression.
"….She sure has grown…" he said quietly.
"What did you say?" Luna was worried at the prospect of someone else possibly knowing who Mortred was.
"Oh, nothing. It's just…" the man looked torn on whether he should tell Luna what he was thinking, and finally relented. "…I remember her coming after me, years ago. She was still very young…"
"What do you mean?"
"I guess I was a target for the Veiled Sisters, but I managed to convince her to leave me when she came…"
Luna, satisfied that the man wasn't a threat to Mortred, breathed out a sigh of relief. "What did you tell her?"
The chaplain had a soft smile on his face. "I told her that there was life outside of the Veiled Sisters, hoping that I could convince her to leave that path." His gaze fell on the door to the kitchen. "It makes me happy, at the thought that I might have helped bring her to a brighter path."
"Guess she didn't r'member you, huh?" Both Luna and the man were startled when Sylla joined the conversation, taking the stool beside the chaplain.
"Hm, guess not." He replied.
"Don't worry, pal. She doesn't r'member me as well." Sylla bellowed a hearty laugh, not noticing the confused look the chaplain was giving him, and the surprised expression Luna had.
"What? Sylla…" Luna had trouble forming words, still caught off guard by Sylla's confession. "she… what?"
"Ha, cat got your tongue, Luna?" he teased.
"More like a bear." Both the Dark Moon employees laughed at each other, before Sylla faced the chaplain again.
"Ya know, she was already soft when she came afte' me." Sylla draped an arm around the chaplain. "So ya must've done something to change her."
"And now she has a crush on you…" Luna leaned on the counter, closing the distance between her and the two men across her. "…maybe that's her subconsciously remembering who you are."
"Aye." Sylla agreed.
The chaplain showed a serene smile, his eyes watering as he felt a sense of accomplishment in changing someone's life.
"Well, looks like all of us have something in common, aye?" Sylla commented.
"What, the barista was also targeted?" the chaplain asked.
The custodian nodded. "But not by the baker. She's got lots of knives to her back because…" Sylla was cut off by a glaring barista.
"Don't you even think of it, you silly bear." She threatened, but only getting a smirk from the older man.
"Well, I guess that's enough leisure time for me today." The chaplain stood up, with the bread now in his hands. He gave the Dark Moon employees one last longing look. "Tell her that the bread was divine." He said, before leaving the coffee shop.
Sylla looked at Luna again, with a question forming at the tip of his tongue. "Are ya going to tell her?"
Luna shrugged, before turning her back to the custodian. "I don't see what's the problem. She'll be overjoyed to know the chaplain likes her bread."
"Not that…" Sylla groaned, moving himself to the other side of the counter. "About Mortred…"
Luna sighed, facing Sylla once more, with her hands on her hips. "Why don't we, for once, just let things go about on their own? I think it's much more appropriate for the chaplain to be the one telling her."
"Fine, Luna. Your judgment." Sylla turned and walked back to wherever he came from, leaving Luna alone at her station.
Of course, Luna knew better. She made sure that none of her coworkers were around, before squatting down to open one of the counters, revealing a certain ever-so-curious part-timer, covering her already masked mouth with her hands, still apparently holding a cloth.
"Are you always going to be around when someone's darkest secret is told?" Luna said with a hint of irritation.
Lanaya rapidly shook her head, a look of guilt plastered on her face, more so than before. "No, Luna! It was an accident, I swear! I was just cleaning your station!"
"Really?" Luna responded, arching her eyebrow in disbelief.
"Yes, Luna! You saw me cleaning this place before, remember?" Lanaya sighed, gathering her bearings before continuing on. "I just hid when things started getting personal…."
Both women stared at each other, one gaze judging the other's Luna then dragged Lanaya out of the counter, bring the part-timer to her height (or as close as she could).
Luna held Lanaya by her biceps. "You know a lot of secrets, Lanaya. Some day it's all going to come back and bite you in the ass, even if you never told anyone else."
Lanaya nodded, her eyes closed as tears were straining to break free. Luna could see how guilty the part-timer was, bring her into a hug after the stern talking to. Lanaya's eyes opened in surprise.
"Just be careful. Secrets aren't a casual thing for people to pass around, okay?" Lanaya nodded, returning the barista's hug. "Good. Now let go of me."
And just like that, Luna was back with her tough shell raised, Lanaya could only laugh at the scenario she was in.
"You should be happy." Luna started. "I'm not prone to giving people hugs."
"Oh, then I guess Mirana's going to be jealous, huh?"
Both women shared a quick laugh, before Luna kicked Lanaya out of her station, sending the part-timer back to her duties.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
so sorry guys, with the very late chapter. i've been busy with school and work, and the only time i have some free time, i spent it watching some pro matches on BTS' channel XD
so, i guess you'll be seeing more sparser gaps between each chapter update now.
and hey, maybe some of you guys would like something in particular, maybe a request, for the next chapter? with the longer time gap, it might give me more creative sources to churn out.
anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter!