fatealteration | (no subject)

"Hey, looks like there's a town up ahead."

Reigen obviously saw it --- he was the one driving, so he saw just about everything. But Max wasn't sure that the others in the back had. She looked over the shoulder of her seat as she said it, making sure that her voice wasn't drowned out by the sound of the 80s citypop CD they acquired at the last town they ran into.

Max turned back around and squinted her eyes, trying her best to filter out the rays of blinding light that seemed to reflect off of everything.

"I think it might be near a beach, too," she said. "That looks like a seagull, right?" Max pointed at the figure of a bird flying overhead.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

espresso_doppio

"I..." He wanted to say it was fine, but was it?

Before he could process the question in full, he paused. There was a voice nearby that didn't belong to Reigen or Chid, but it was obscured by the van.

From:

mp_strikinglyblessed

"Oh no, we're doing alright. Just cleaning the back out." Reigen laughed, trying to ease the kindly older man's concern. "Are you from the village nearby?"

"I am. I lead the Cresia de Santu Jude parish. If you and your son drive just a bit further, you'll find it."

"Oh, he's not my..."

From:

aoihitomi

Hitomi turned at the sound of new voices.

"I wonder who that is..."

From:

princechid

"He's my guardian," Chid supplied. "He's taking care of me until we find my aunt."

From:

mp_strikinglyblessed

"Is that so? Ah, but forgive my manners. I'm Father Gavino Serra."

"Arataka Reigen," Reigen replied a bit more formally than he would otherwise. Even he had more sense than to flippantly introduce himself as a psychic to a Catholic priest. Or maybe it was just the effect this man had on him. He had this austere presence about him, but it was full of warmth. He put a hand on Chid's head and gave it a friendly ruffle. "This cute little bugger is Chid. It's as he says."

"So, you're travelers...that's uncommon." Father Serra looked the van over, visibly impressed by it's condition. "The wanderers I've come across tend to have nothing but the clothes on their backs."

"We definitely got lucky along the way. We've come a pretty far way with an even farther way to go, but I've got a lot of resourceful companions."

"Do you?" Father Serra paused, and Reigen could tell there was a question lingering on his tongue. "Well...I hate to trouble you, but...I'm looking for someone. Perhaps you've come across him during your travels..."

From:

espresso_doppio

Doppio couldn't see who it was, but he felt a strange itch in his head at the sound of his voice. He rubbed his eye slowly. His head pulsed, but it wasn't quite painful - it was something else.

From:

aoihitomi

Hitomi took a few steps towards the others. "Who are you looking for?"

From:

mp_strikinglyblessed

Father Serra held clasped his calloused hands in front of himself firmly, but the way his thumbs dug into his skin betrayed his nerves in daring to ask the question. “I’m asking on behalf of my son. He’s young…around your age, in fact.” He smiled briefly at Hitomi as she appeared around the corner of the van. “When the world…changed, he was at sea. One of my old friends was teaching him how to navigate. He’s not come back since.”

“I’m truly sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, we haven’t really been at sea since any of us have been…you know….puttering about.” Reigen rubbed the back of his head. “Can you tell us what he looks like?”

“He’s got a unique look to him,” Father Serra laughed. “Rather striking pink hair, if you can believe it. You may not believe me, but he was born that way.”

From:

aoihitomi

Hitomi immediately spun and looked at Doppio, her eyes wide.

From:

mp_strikinglyblessed

Reigen reached the same conclusion at the same time as Hitomi, but his shock was even plainer.

‘No.’

‘Really?’

He should have spoken so as not to leave the kind man hanging, but that stopped mattering when Doppio rounded the corner.

From:

espresso_doppio

Doppio’s legs had moved before his brain could think. When their eyes met, His mouth moved but no sounds came out. He suddenly felt like a child again, small and lost.

The raw fragmented memories poured out into his awareness. The smell of incense clinging to his clothes. The slow chiming of bells. The heavy fabric of his cassock. The flickering flames of a hearth.

Doppio saw the man cover his mouth, his eyes screwing up with pure emotion. It was for him. He knew this man. This man knew him.

“Patri meu?”

From:

aoihitomi

"Your father?" Hitomi hadn't intended for the words to slip from her mouth, but they spilled before she could even stop them. She turned her eyes away from Doppio and towards the priest in front of them. "You're Doppio's father?"

From:

mp_strikinglyblessed

The way the man embraced their mysterious companion without reservation answered Hitomi’s question. Doppio’s eyes were wide but softened with familiarity that grew by the second.

Reigen sidled up to Hitomi, careful of intruding in on the moment. “I…can’t really believe this is happening.”

From:

princechid

Chid joined Hitomi and Reigen. He looked back nervously at Doppio with the priest.

"Does this mean Doppio is leaving us?"

From:

mp_strikinglyblessed

Reigen suppressed a pained wince at the small boy’s question. “Well…”

From:

espresso_doppio

“Caspiterina! Doppio! Your hair…” Doppio’s braid was jostled. “When on earth did it get so long?”

“Um…awhile?”

“And these—tattoos?” Doppio looked down as his sleeve was pushed back for the priest to inspect his skin. “Did Piras really give you these already?”

“No way!” Doppio snapped, feeling a rush of indignation. “I asked him over and over, and he…um…” He trailed off. ‘He what? Who?’ The name sparked a feeling but the memory cut off before he could fully recall it. He suddenly shrunk back as if worried the priest would be angry with him, but Father Serra only laughed a full-bodied joyous laugh.

“Don’t look so guilty. I knew you were trying to get tattoos for awhile. I figured you wouldn’t miss your chance on your first excursion away.”

From:

mp_strikinglyblessed

“Oh.” The priest bowed towards the rest of the group. “Please, forgive my inattentiveness. You all must be terribly road-weary.”

“No, please don’t be sorry.” Reigen reflexively bowed back at an even deeper angle. “If you and Doppio want to go up ahead, the rest of us can wait. One of our friends is down at the beach right now, but she should be back soon.”

From:

throughthelookingmax

"Were you all talking about me?" Max asked with a slight smile, her hands on her waist. She hadn't heard much, but she had heard Reigen mention her being down at the beach.

It didn't take long for her to notice the new addition to their hardy crew and her eyes narrowed slightly. "What, did we get a new addition while I was gone? That didn't take long."

From:

mp_strikinglyblessed

‘Oh thank God.’ Reigen cleared his throat. “Father, meet Signora Max Caulfield. And, likewise…meet Reverend Gavino Serra. He’s Doppio’s father.”

From:

throughthelookingmax

"Wait, priests are allowed to have kids here?" Where was here, anyway? Italy, right? That's where the Vatican was. This guy had to be Catholic.

But this guy also looked nothing like Doppio. So maybe...

"Or did you take our little Doppio in?"

From:

espresso_doppio

'Our little Doppio?' Doppio repeated it in his head, slowly processing that he was being called that in front of his own dad.

"Yes, you would be right. I took Doppio in as an infant. It's been almost 16 years to the day, in fact..."

From:

throughthelookingmax

"Wow," Max said. Sure was weird thinking of Doppio as a pastor's son.

From:

aoihitomi

"Um," Hitomi started. "Is there a place we can stay in town?" She was just as worried as Chid that Doppio would stay here. If he was, she at least wanted more time with him.

From:

espresso_doppio

"You'll stay with us, of course!" Doppio piped up as if it was the most natural thing to offer. He paused after he said it--after all, he didn't really know what home was. Self-consciousness overtook him again. He was sure he looked crazy with his visible seesawing between certainty and confusion.

"Of course. There's plenty of room in the rectory for guests." Doppio's strange demeanor didn't slip by Father Serra, but the comfort of him and his friends would come first for now. Especially since there was a small child among them.