The city of Cana was all bustle and chatter during the preparations for the big wedding. Expectations and anticipation ran high for what promised to be the event of the year. Guests were invited from all locations and stations of life. The newlywed couple were well to do and Judas's family had made a special trip for the occasion. It was an honor to be invited to celebrate the happy couple, and the feast would be at least a week of fine foods and even finer wine and revelry. The Iscariot family were sure to make new, important connections and maintain older, equally important relationships. And their newly teenaged son, Judas, was sure to hate every minute of it and most likely would embarrass them when he inevitably acted out. He had already been perfectly sullen the whole journey from Kerioth.

And Judas wasn't wasting any time. The family had only just arrived when they realized they had lost him, likely in search of contraband and doing his best to alienate anybody making a friendly advance.

In a neglected corner of the venue, rowdy teens were gathering to find friends and flirtations to pass the week. Judas was there to figure out who was here to cause trouble and who would tattle. He presented a fairly obvious picture of what he was about. He wore fine clothing that clashed with the cheap kohl applied heavily around his eyes and he donned a snide face to match. A younger girl that he clearly held no interest in was glued to his side. This girl was the latest in an embarrassing line of suitors. His father was the tax collector for Kerioth, so everybody wanted to be on his good side. A lot of parents believed that the best way to earn his favor was to set up his only son with a bride as soon as possible.

(His parents had sighed at the introduction, fully aware of the transaction being attempted. "Just try to be polite and we'll explain that you aren't interested," they had requested, knowing their son was sick of this and knowing that he would in fact proudly uphold his reputation as a rude and unlikable brat.)

His father may have collected taxes, but Judas had more juvenile interests in mind. Namely collecting half empty beer cans and cigarette cases. He was eager to test out a new deck of cards he had prepared. He struck up light conversation with an equally kohl lined peer, peppered his speech liberally with swear words, and found an eager participant with four cigarettes left to gamble for some sweets he had brought from home.

Two boys about the same age as him came over to watch the spectacle. One of them, a stocky boy with piercing eyes, clearly wanted nothing to do with the affair. The other, gawky by comparison, seemed interested in Judas. His big eyes fixated on him immediately, as if he could know and memorize everything about him in a second. Judas could feel his intense gaze before he actually spotted him. It made him uncomfortable.

"Hi! What's your name?" the weird one asked brightly. The stocky one squinted suspiciously, as if expecting him to lie at such a basic line of questioning.

Judas looked the gawky one up and down. Shabby sandals, patched up robe, and a mother standing just close enough to watch the interaction keenly. Ugh, great. Another one. "Look, if your parents put you up to this just stop. I'm not interested."

The weird one took a step back and frowned, baffled by the rebuff. He must be unaccustomed to rude treatment. The stocky one took a step forward, apparently the more confrontational of the pair. "You should show some respect," he spat. "That's Jesus of Nazareth, his presence was highly requested at this wedding."

Judas scoffed. As if this Jesus hadn't already been told his name and station before approaching him. "Well it's not my wedding, and my parents were 'highly requested' too." Who does this kid think he is?

Jesus looked a bit embarrassed at having his title announced. "John, it's okay. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it."

John stepped back but his sneer held firm. "I'm going to see if they need any help setting up." He turned on his heel, making a point to kick dust up in Judas's direction. "Aren't you coming?"

"No that's okay," Jesus waved dismissively. "I want to watch."

John scoffed and left in a huff. Jesus gave a tight smile as if to apologize for his companion and sat down.

Judas laughed roughly and dealt the cards, making sure he remembered exactly how he had stacked the deck. Just as he had hoped, his admirer had quickly grown bored and she left before the game even started. His mark didn't suspect a thing. The weird boy, however, was absolutely riveted. In fact, he was craning his neck to try and see which cards each player had.

"Hey, cut that out," Judas scolded. Fumble this and he was caught on the first day, and that meant the whole week was ruined. "If you want to watch then you have to sit still."

The game was won in three turns and Judas was rewarded with the leftover cigarettes. He and his partner shook hands on a fair game and he left to smoke unbothered. The weird kid started to follow him with an urgent look on his face, so Judas slipped into a convenient crowd. When he emerged he cast a glance behind him and smirked. He was too good at this.

It wasn't until he had found a spot with sufficient solitude that he realized he had neglected to win a light.

Judas didn't see the weird kid at all for the remainder of the day and forgot all about him by the next. Wedding festivities were in full swing and the adults were leaving drinks unattended. One sneaky sip at a time he was achieving a pleasant buzz. Some unattended chalk slipped into his pocket, sure to find itself in the shape of something rude scrawled on the wall at some point. It found good company with a stolen matchbox. Judas idly wandered about, keeping an eye out for any loose change left unattended. He really was a natural at stealing. Just a lone rat boy, slipping in the shadows and taking shiny trinkets and treats one at a time to a steadily growing hoard.

Judas's private gloating was interrupted by a sudden vice grip on his wrist. He jumped, dropping the pastry he had been snacking on. Shit. The weird kid from before had seemingly materialized from nowhere and had grabbed him with uncanny strength, and the look on his face was downright unhinged with glee. He was in trouble.

"You can do miracles too!" he gasped breathlessly, his strange eyes practically sparkling with holy excitement.

Judas shook his hand off. "I don't know what you're talking about, I won fair."

The boy grinned excitedly. "But you both had the same card yesterday, I saw! You both had an ace of hearts."

"Did not, keep your voice down. What do you want, one of these?" Judas shook the box of cigarettes discretely. He could get more as the week dragged out.

Jesus however, clearly had other things on his mind. He rummaged through a bag tied to his waist and pulled out a handful of tiny clay sparrows, some of which were broken and crumbling. "These are my miracles, see? They can really fly!" One of them fell out of his hand and shattered on the ground to his dismay.

Clearly this kid wasn't conspiring against him. Not sure what else to do, Judas picked up the broken bird and handed it back to the strange boy. "So you're not going to tell my dad?"

Jesus tilted his head, confused by the question. "Tell him what?"

Judas sighed heavily and pinched his nose. At this point he wasn't at all sure if this was just an act or the kid was genuinely ignorant. "That I'm cheating at cards okay?" he whispered through gritted teeth.

Jesus seemed wholly unbothered by the other boy's obvious discomfort. "Oh that? It's okay if it's a miracle. Sometimes things happen just because I want them to, I don't have control over mine either. Besides, I don't know your dad anyway."

Judas relaxed, choosing not to acknowledge the miracle talk. "You really don't know who my parents are." The boy nodded, still not sure why it mattered so much. He let go of the weird boy. "What was your name again?"

"It's Jesus." Jesus still looked far too starstruck for Judas's comfort.

"Don't go telling people about this okay? This is our secret."

Jesus's eyes lit up. People didn't usually trust him with secrets. He enthusiastically pantomimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key. Judas rolled his eyes. Weird. "Great. I'll see you around, Jesus."

"Hey, you didn't tell me your name!" Jesus protested. Judas put a little extra strut in his step as he walked away. Make him wonder a little more. This kid was interesting, he might not mind if he ran into him again.

At nightfall Judas was in the courtyard playing mancala by bonfire light with the other teens, having run out of cigarettes. His last one was currently clamped between his teeth, waiting to be lit. His current opponent would yield six of them if she lost. If Judas lost, she would take half of his matches. Judas swiped at the kohl that was melting into his eyes from sweat. If anybody questioned it he was sweating from the fire.

The game was very rudely interrupted when a gangly teen pounced directly on the board, scattering the pieces every direction. Judas spilled his satchel as he scrambled to get out of the way of the intruder. He scrambled to pick up all his cards before anyone noticed the deck was wrong, precious cigarette still clamped between his teeth. It took a moment by fire light, but he recognized the intruder as Jesus. Of course it was Jesus.

"Got him!" Jesus held up a snake triumphantly. "He was totally going to bite you, but I got him," he bragged.

The other children scattered as he waved it around, seemingly unbothered by how it hissed and spat. Judas's opponent picked up her cigarettes and left too. Judas tucked the last card into his satchel and backed away cautiously. "You know that's a viper, right?"

"Oh, is it?" Jesus grabbed the snake at the base of its head and turned it around for a better look, ignoring its thrashing. "Yeah, I guess it is. Neat, huh?" He held it out to give Judas a better look.

Judas stumbled backwards, back now to the fire. "Jesus, you know those can kill you right?"

"Oh, no. Not me. My father won't allow it." Without warning Jesus grabbed the snake by the tail and twirled it over his head like a sling, launching it far away across the courtyard. Judas couldn't decide whether he was more flabbergasted by how little regard Jesus held for his own life or the total disregard for the poor snake's. It probably wouldn't have even bothered them if it had been left alone. It was probably just cold and wanted to sit by the fire unbothered. "Besides, can't those kill you too?" Jesus gestured to the cigarette now clamped between two sweaty fingers.

Judas scowled, stuck the end of the cigarette in the fire, and took a long drag to prove a point. He wasn't sure what the point was but he was definitely proving it until he started sputtering. "Yeah, okay, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Judas asked when the ability to speak came back to him.

"My time is not yet come," Jesus grinned brightly. "My death was fortold when I was very small, so until then nothing can hurt me."

The cigarette had fallen to the ground and Judas decided the responsible thing to do would be to stamp it out. "... You're weird. Like really weird."

"Yeah." Jesus rocked on the balls of his feet. "So what's your name anyway? You didn't tell me yesterday."

"It's Judas," he answered, a little caught off guard by the question. "Judas Iscariot."

"Great! Now we're friends."

Judas laughed a little. At least this week would be interesting. It occurred to him that he really should have been more upset that the high stakes game had been spoiled. "Sure, as long as you don't stick any more vipers in my face."

Jesus nodded agreeably. "So now that we're friends can you show me your miracle?"

"You mean my card tricks?" Judas asked. "I guess so as long as you do what I say."

Jesus furrowed his brow at that. Usually it was other people following his direction. This would be an interesting change of pace for him. "I think I can do that," he agreed.

Judas nodded and held out his hand, putting on his most dashing smile. "Walk with me."