White Demon, Red Scribe
A D Gray-Man and Assassin's Creed Revelations Crossover

While Allen busied himself with one task, Lavi tended to ones of his own. Just as he had done the last time, he cleaned himself up properly, dressing well and paying more attention to his appearance than he normally afforded, until he was sure not one hair was out of place.

Last time, his targets in question had been the scholars after immortality, but that lead was dry. He was sure of it, after having spent some time around them to determine their involvement. Now it was time to test if there was any sort of connection between the priests that had arrived, and the hunter intent on finding and killing Allen.

If not, he'd have to find more leads to follow.

Heading out, his folded spear tucked neatly in hiding in the back on the back of his belt, just in case he might need it, he headed out to the streets to locate the church, finding it easily. At the very least, this time it would be somewhat easier to make his being there less suspicious, since it was more of a public place than a private dwelling, like the home of those scholars had been.

Heading inside, he glanced about, taking note of other people within. Most were civilians, there for prayer or some other service they hoped to gain from the place.

His eye shifted discreetly as he headed further in, trying to catch someone working in and for the church itself that would be worth talking to. Someone who looked like they might know a lot more than others, or who was simply suspicious.

There was a man clad in black robe, sitting on the steps under the cross and hastily jotting down some notes into his little notebook as he looked around. At first sight he seemed like any other man, yet he somehow stuck out like a sore thumb.

Lavi was watching each of the figures carefully, but it was that particular one who caught his eye, for one reason or another. He had a sort of itch in his memory, like déjà vu, but it took a moment to realize why.

He recalled his face as the same one Allen had run into the night he was drunk silly.

And something about that bothered him.

Plastering a small, easygoing smile on his face, he made his way closer, seeming tentative to interrupt whatever the man was doing.

"Excuse me a moment," he said, to get the man's attention. He nodded towards the notepad. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important...?"

The man raised his eyes from his notes and blinked, his smile wavering briefly, as if he was unsure by where he found himself after his long dream-like engrossment with the images he was studying. He pushed his glasses up his nose and squinted. When he focused at the redhead, his smile appeared again.

"Oh, no, not really. How can I help?" He asked, closing the little notebook.

"Ah, well you see, I'm somewhat new to this region. I'm a collector, of sorts, and what I like to collect is historical and practical knowledge, books, local stories...things like that," he launched in immediately, playing upon the image of the innocent traveling historian. "I was hoping to find someone local who isn't too busy to help me out with that. If I'm not mistaken, you're a priest, correct? Your kind usually knows a bit more than the common folk about things like that, but of course, if you're too busy, I could try finding someone else to help me out."

He didn't want to seem too desperate to talk to any one person, after all, lest he come across as suspicious.

"No, no, not busy at all." The man chuckled and scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I am a priest, indeed, but not a local one as you can see. I came to study the local religious customs and art!" He gestured around with his hand excitedly. "Look at it! Marvelous!" He seemed to slip into his dreamy state again but it didn't take him too long to come back. His shrugged and stood up. "The locals are not really keen on sharing their stories," he commented, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. "I'm not a specialist, but if you're interested in religious matters, I could share the little bit I've gathered so far?" he offered, extending his hand to the other man. "I'm Apollo, by the way."

"Oh! A fellow enthusiast then!" Lavi piped excitedly. "Wherever there's history, there's usually nice architecture too. If you have anything at all to share, I'd love to hear it!" He nodded appreciatively and shook the hand that was offered. "And if you run out of local things to talk about, maybe you have some stories from where you come from that you'd be willing to share." That way, maybe he could find out if the man was from Italy, and possibly connected to the murders, without coming directly out and revealing what he was really after. "Anyway, it's good to meet you, Apollo. You can simply call me Bookman."

He only really kept going by the alias 'Lavi' with Allen and his associates because that was the "name" the other man originally knew him by. Normally, he would never recycle his past names, but he didn't think Allen would simply call him Bookman even if he insisted, and trying to force the issue might raise some questions he wasn't allowed to answer.

"Pleasure to meet you, lad, pleasure to meet you." He said with an unnaturally satisfied face. "It's always good to share knowledge with ears that are eager to listen." He started and gestured ahead, calmly and began to walk.

He lead Lavi around the church while he talked about the customs of the people here, pointing out different frescos on the walls and ceiling, hastily scribbling a note from time to time when he seemed to arrive to another theory or idea.

"...-but this is only a small fragment of the real beauty of this city," the elder man said as they walked out. "Sancta Sophia!" He called, with a heavy accent Lavi immediately recognized. "Once a Christian basilica, now an Islamic mosque thanks to the Ottoman. Her beauty never diminishes." He sighed, and shook his head. "Also a library, I've heard." He laughed. "Sorry, I must be boring you with my rant. I tend to get quite passionate about certain things and you are an excellent listener. But tell me, what brought you to this place? Young people are usually interested in collecting different things than snippets of history and knowledge."

"Oh no, you're not boring me at all," Lavi said with a smile.

Playing at false interests to get information or otherwise, he liked to listen. Even if he had heard the same story a million times over, there were always new details to find with every new telling, especially when the story came from different sources. And of course getting all sides of those stories painted the broadest picture of all, and helped to remain unbiased to any one view.

"I'm very much interested in anything you have to say," he paused for a moment and tilted his head casually. "Tracking down stories and knowledge on things is sort of like a family legacy." It wasn't a total lie, only 'family' was a very loose term, since he wasn't related to his mentor or anyone else within the Clan as far as he was aware, and most members didn't ever directly associate with each other. "My Gramps took me under his wing when I was very young when I showed potential for perhaps one day being a scholar like him, and I've been studying these sorts of things ever since. He basically told me that knowledge brings the greatest freedom, and there are perks to being well-educated." He laughed faintly. "For instance, I may one day come across someone in my travels of high status in need of a tutor to prepare their children for the rigors of aristocracy, which would put me somewhere that I might live quite well. So I guess, in a nutshell, you can chalk it up to self-satisfaction. After all, material things are useless if you can't find the resources to hold onto them, but knowledge is always up here," he tapped his head meaningfully.

"You seem to have your life figured out," Apollo noted with a slight nod. "Very clever." He hummed. "You are a lucky man then. Not many are like you and your grandfather is absolutely right - knowledge is the greatest freedom, just as it is the absolute power." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I came here with a few colleagues - all priests like me but they seem to have," he paused, thinking, "different motives than me. That caused us a little trouble as well. Sometimes I wonder if they are still loyal to the words they preach."

"Oh?" Lavi hummed interestedly. "Seems to be a common theme among religious sects... division of interests, I mean. I take it you and your colleagues have been butting heads over differing opinions or something, then?" he prompted.

It might be nothing worth paying attention to. Such quibbles truly were common. On the other hand, it could provide a promising lead.

"Oh yes, indeed. Maybe you have heard about some disputes already. Rumors tend to travel fast. Some of my brothers have already quarreled with the group of scholars that travelled here with us. They are searching for the recipe for immortality," he said and crossed himself, "God forgive them for their insolence. What makes me even sadder is the fact that my brothers started to seek something similar! Infinite knowledge, they say!" He cried and repeated the gesture.

Lavi nodded, listening thoughtfully. Something about it struck a chord within him, but if Apollo intended it to, he wasn't sure it struck one in the way he was hoping. He was sure it was meant to, at the very least, appear to be a protest of faith, but perhaps he was protesting just a hint too theatrically. Something about the man's "mortified" declarations didn't quite reach all the way to his eyes to match his mannerisms, and that set off warning bells in the back of the Bookman's mind.

Could he possibly be...?

It wasn't a possibility he was willing to overlook. His instincts were definitely warning him of something. He'd best not drop his guard.

"That sort of pursuit is a dangerous one. There's no such thing as infinite knowledge that's actually available to mortal men. Something like that could only lead them to eventual disaster," he acknowledged, before sighing heavily and shaking his head in disregard. "But what can you do? There are always such fools in the world, chasing after fables and temptations that don't really exist, right? Not much to do other than ignore them so you don't get dragged into trouble yourself, or that's what I figure anyway."

"Definitely, but I can't bear to see my brothers fall like this. Our faith is strong but wavering from time to time. I can at least try set the to the right path." He paused as if in thought. "Sometimes, the trouble's worth it. The path might be thorny but if you try hard enough, you'll always end up in the Garden."

"Perhaps..." Lavi hummed. "But it's also been said that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." He paused, before laughing slightly. "Aah, but what do I know? I'm not really a believer in those sorts of things like Heaven and Hell anyway. Maybe in the end, we're all just nutrients recycled back into the earth."

He definitely suspected something was up, but there was no way to simply come out into the open with his suspicions without too many risks involved. At the moment, the only thing he had to go off of to suggest the murderer was among the priests was the word of Apollo, and he wasn't sure he trusted the man. He couldn't report back for certain that the man had anything to do with it though, either, because he had no proof, only a gut instinct, which wasn't enough to potentially sentence a man who might be entirely innocent to get killed.

"Anyway, I do hope you can convince those friends of yours that they're taking a path better left untraveled. Nothing good could come of their search, as far as I can tell."

The priest hummed and tilted his head. He was silent for a while but then shrugged, looking like he just dismissed a stray thought.

"You are right yet again. I will pray for them to return to the right path. I hope they won't end up like the poor murdered men."

Lavi nodded his agreement, though he was silent at first. It wasn't unusual for priests and those working in the churches to know of deaths within the local area, or for them to know the cause of death such as murder.

Pairing the information about the other priests' search and the murders into the same category though was what made it stick out most to him as peculiar. Which only escalated his suspicions.

"You think they're connected somehow?" Maybe the man was only assuming. Maybe he knew something, and he'd slipped without realizing it. Either way, the statement stood out to him.

"Maybe yes, maybe no. I only know a little bit. I happened to stumble upon a lad who was in need of consolation. I have also heard some rumors." He waved his hand. "Have you heard anything interesting?"

A lad in need of consolation? Could that have been...

Lavi had to resist pursing his lips. He'd have to ask later. If it turned out that it had been Allen, or even one of the other assassins, this bit of information could prove bad, depending on how much had been said. He couldn't dwell on it now though, and even if it turned out too much had been exchanged, there was nothing to be done for it now. The past couldn't be undone.

"Not really. Like you said, the locals don't like to tell much to us outsiders," Lavi shrugged. "Makes my task of searching up stories and such quite a bit harder. Seems we both got the short end of the stick, where that's concerned. Anyway, I haven't really heard anything, but if I were to guess, perhaps those scholars your buddies have already had conflict with might have something to do with it? Extremists don't tend to appreciate competition after all."

He was already certain that the scholars had nothing to do with it, since he had checked them out more than a week earlier himself, but revealing how much he knew, if anything at all, could prove fatal. Hopefully that statement would be enough to disarm any suspicions the man might also be hiding towards him.

Apollo stood silently on the road, his face unnaturally neutral.

"I hope not," he said slowly. "Or rather, I don't think so. We have been travelling with them for a good while and their only weapons were their words. They didn't seem like the suspicious kind. Maybe it is more of a local matter." He didn't even blink while he talked. "They seem to be after a special kind of people."

Suddenly, the fact that they were alone in the cemetery became quite unnerving.

"You seem like a man with many connections. You should be careful." He smiled then, just as the church bell sounded and the tense atmosphere was gone. "I would hate to learn that another young man departed untimely."

Was that a threat, or a promise?

Lavi smiled 'nervously'.

"Oh, is that so? Well, thank you for your concern, but I'm not sure that I need to worry. I prefer to keep my head down and nose in books, not in other people's risky affairs, and really it's none of my business anyway so long as it isn't my head someone wants."

"Good to hear that," Apollo said, patting his shoulder. "I'm afraid I have to run. There are still some things I need to prepare for my brothers. It was a pleasure to talk to a lad like yourself. If you need to talk, the door is always opened."

"Thank you, I'll remember that," Lavi smiled nonchalantly, even though secretly his guard was up, in case Apollo tried anything at such close range, even though he didn't.

After he left, his senses were on alert, knowing that he wasn't immediately safe just because they parted ways until he reached somewhere secure, or that he might still be followed. He decided to return to the main Assassin's den for now rather than his own place, just to be certain, and because he was sure Allen would want to know he made it back alive and well.

Besides, it might be a good idea if they talked.

If it wasn't for Tiedol, Allen would have ended up much worse than he had.

The one deal-done-drink turned into several more, and since Allen was not a skilled drinker like Demir was, he ended up less sober than he should have been.

Thankfully, Tiedol arrived before the sixth round of whatever Demir was ordering came to the table.

When the elder assassins saw his state - messed up hair, coat undone and half-dozing on the pillows - he could only shake his head.

He shook the lad awake, scolded him for being careless and after settling the bill they made their way back to the den.

The moment Allen entered his room, he fell down on his bed and fell asleep, leaving Tiedol scratch his head and sigh at the threshold.

Since Lavi returned earlier than Allen did, the Bookman had decided to occupy himself with the library, hoping nothing was amiss. He didn't think he needed to worry. Allen was a rather capable person most of the time. Even so, the thought that something might happen, or might have happened, was never far from his mind.

Worrying would do him no good, though. Allen probably at least had other assassins stationed outside wherever he was, if not directly with him. He would just have to wait and see how things panned out.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting when he saw Allen return, but drunk had not really been on his list of guesses. While Teidol was helping him to his bed, Lavi helped himself to the door, slipping out for a short while to get something before he came back.

Finding Allen's room, he lightly tapped the man's cheek with the back of his hand, since the guy was out like a blown-out candle.

"Hey, Allen?"

"Huuuh?" Allen croaked weakly, cracking one eye open to look at the redhead. Everything was so blurry and spinning. He just wanted to sleep so much.

Lavi sighed and shook his head.

"Here, sit up, I gotcha something," he offered up a glass. "Apothecary rose water, and make sure to chew the petals. It'll help lessen the alcohol. If nothing else, it'll reduce whatever hangover you get in the morning somewhat."

Allen sat up slowly and dragged his palm across his face.

"Thanks," he murmured, taking the glass and slowly drinking. "Remind me not to officiate a deal with shady people, please!" He said as he slowly poked his finger into the liquid and picked a petal to chew on. "Anything new?"

Lavi laughed. "That bad, huh?"

He sat on the edge of the bed.

"And not sure... it's possible that the hunter might be hiding amongst the priests, but then again, they might not be... I wasn't able to find out enough to be absolutely certain, but I didn't find out enough to disregard them as possibly involved either."

Allen cursed under his breath. "Even worse," he moaned, gripping his head. "Well, anyway, we are going to be sure soon. I wasn't drinking just for fun this time. You should get some rest. I should get some rest. I am never going to drink with him again," He lamented, shoving the empty glass into Lavi´s hands and falling on the bed again. "Good night."

Lavi blinked at Allen as he threw himself back at his pillow, before chuckling under his breath. It couldn't be helped... Allen was going to need to sleep off the alcohol, and was probably tired anyway. They could talk more in the morning.

He was tempted to just splay out next to the guy, but knew better, especially being in the Assassin den rather than his private place. Besides, he didn't want to overstep his bound.

"Good night," he returned, standing and heading off to leave the den. Sleep would probably do him some good as well.