Tiffani hadn't been to a proper church service since she was 12. Even if one did not factor in her time in Arcadia, that was quite a few years ago. She still distinctly remembered the uncomfortable pews, the bad singing, the stench of a hundred different kinds of perfumes mixing together, and worst of all, getting up early even when there's no school. Here in Maize, she had no proper church clothes - she certainly didn't have an actual dress in her pack. But she was reasonably certain she could throw something together that wouldn't attract too much notice. Besides, if God existed, why would he care whether or not I'm wearing a dress, she thought to herself with a frown. Dressing up for church was just an excuse for people to show off their wealth to people who didn't have any.
Thus, she made her way to the Catholic church wearing a style that, even in 1985, was rapidly falling out of favor: A long, light blue prairie skirt with ruffles at the bottom and a white blouse with ruffles in a "V" shape across her chest and full puffed sleeves. A silver belt divided into oval segments, it's extra length hanging down the front of her leg, completed the ensemble - an outfit she hadn't worn in years. The only reason why she had it with her at all was to hand it off to a friend the day she was taken. Now she felt like she was dressed in costume.
She was one of the last to arrive as she approached the familiar door of the church. She couldn't imagine even that unhinged priest actually throwing her out of the church - but she just wanted to see how things went. In fact, she even planned to give her confession. To her, it was all playacting, but it served its purpose. Gossip was never more rife than among the social cliques at church, she didn't trust Father Hershall at all, and - if she were lucky - some poor sod terrified of Hell might be afraid enough that she could harvest some of his fear. Otherwise, recovery from that huntsman fight was going to be problematic.
D6 EM Lurch to Church and Search. You Might FInd Hymn.
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Tiffani Noelle
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D6 EM Lurch to Church and Search. You Might FInd Hymn.
Fairest <> Playmate <> Wyrd 2 <> Striking Looks 2 <> Presence 5 <> Autumn Mantle 2 <> English Accent <> 1980s Fashion <> Acute Senses <> Eidetic Memory <> Hunted
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GhostWolfe
- Posts: 187
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Re: D6 EM Lurch to Church and Search. You Might FInd Hymn.
By the time you arrive, the worshippers have filed inside and settled in the pews. It is not a large Church, after all it's not a large town, and there are people seated in every row. There's plenty of room left at the back, you'll probably even get a pew to yourself, but there's no question you'll draw looks. In fact, you already have. The congregation are in their Sunday best: men wearing suits and woman in modest and simple dresses. The flounces and ruffles of your outfit send a buzz of whispered conversation through the church, and people turn in their seats to catch a glimpse of the "weird gypsy". Children giggle behind their hands, and are quickly hushed with stern glares.
Father Henshall is no where to be seen, preparing to deliver his sermon.
Father Henshall is no where to be seen, preparing to deliver his sermon.
GM ⌖ Canis l. minimis ⌖ Experienced1
Generally sleeping EA, LA, EN, and LN
Generally sleeping EA, LA, EN, and LN
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Tiffani Noelle
- Posts: 141
- Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2020 12:01 am
Re: D6 EM Lurch to Church and Search. You Might FInd Hymn.
Tiffani more or less ignored the looks and the giggles - in fact, seeing what other people were wearing actually made her like her outfit despite it being an old style from the early 80s. One side of her mouth quirked into a half-smile. These people look like they ordered their clothes from a Mennonite fashion catalog - or some crazy LDS cult, she thought with plenty of amusement. If she saw horses and buggies outside, she wouldn't have been surprised. Well, okay, that was a little hyperbolic. Yet it did remind her of why she didn't like religion and despised going to church. If they were real Christians, she reasoned, she could have come in here naked and they wouldn't have cared. They'd simply be grateful for another congregant, another person who had come to find the Lord. The fact that so many were taking notice of what she wore was a testiment to the fickle, vapid nature of church fellowship.
But enough about that, she growled a little impatiently. Where the hell was Father Henshall? With her acute senses working overtime, she strained every sensory organ she had to pick up on gossip, to sense emotion, to read body language and facial expressions, and to make sense of the cliques and pecking order that nearly every church congregations had. Oh, she knew Henshall, with his concrete stares and steely voice, was almost certainly top dog - but who had his ear? With him being absent at the moment, she couldn't tell.
So ... she sat in a pew that actually had a few other congregants, not that she really wanted to. But she needed to be as close to people as possible if she wanted good information. Maybe someone nearby would even attempt to strike up a conversation with her. Surely someone would be curious about the "outsider" that showed up at church. In fact, maybe it would put some of them at ease if they thought that at least one of those odd new people at the motel was a god-fearing Christian - weird gypsy or not.
All she could do at this point was cross her legs demurely, smooth the wrinkles from her skirt, and pull out a hymnal from the book holder on the back of the pew in front of her. She didn't have her own Bible, of course, but there was nothing she could do about that.
But enough about that, she growled a little impatiently. Where the hell was Father Henshall? With her acute senses working overtime, she strained every sensory organ she had to pick up on gossip, to sense emotion, to read body language and facial expressions, and to make sense of the cliques and pecking order that nearly every church congregations had. Oh, she knew Henshall, with his concrete stares and steely voice, was almost certainly top dog - but who had his ear? With him being absent at the moment, she couldn't tell.
So ... she sat in a pew that actually had a few other congregants, not that she really wanted to. But she needed to be as close to people as possible if she wanted good information. Maybe someone nearby would even attempt to strike up a conversation with her. Surely someone would be curious about the "outsider" that showed up at church. In fact, maybe it would put some of them at ease if they thought that at least one of those odd new people at the motel was a god-fearing Christian - weird gypsy or not.
All she could do at this point was cross her legs demurely, smooth the wrinkles from her skirt, and pull out a hymnal from the book holder on the back of the pew in front of her. She didn't have her own Bible, of course, but there was nothing she could do about that.
Fairest <> Playmate <> Wyrd 2 <> Striking Looks 2 <> Presence 5 <> Autumn Mantle 2 <> English Accent <> 1980s Fashion <> Acute Senses <> Eidetic Memory <> Hunted
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GhostWolfe
- Posts: 187
- Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 6:57 am
Re: D6 EM Lurch to Church and Search. You Might FInd Hymn.
Christians, despite the supposed teachings of their faith, were an insular lot, with a strong us verses them mindset, and nowhere was this more apparent than in small, insular towns. A hush fell over the church as a small choir of seven older children shuffled out, dressed in white robes, to sing the opening hymns. If this service was like any other Mass, Father Henshall would be putting on his vestments right now.
GM ⌖ Canis l. minimis ⌖ Experienced1
Generally sleeping EA, LA, EN, and LN
Generally sleeping EA, LA, EN, and LN
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Tiffani Noelle
- Posts: 141
- Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2020 12:01 am
Re: D6 EM Lurch to Church and Search. You Might FInd Hymn.
It had been a long while since Tiffani had been to a church service - and those services had been Protestant. This was her first ever Catholic service of any kind, so she had no idea how they worked. Apparently these kids were the opening act and no one else was singing. Therefore, neither did she. A few of the congregants were following along in the provided hymnals, so she decided to do the same, thumbing through the book trying to find which one it was by the lyrics. That was doomed to failure, though, since by the time she found the right one, the children were already singing the next one.
Right ... so giving up, she turned to a random page and pretended to follow along. She swore to herself that the next person who gave her a stare would find his or herself with a hymnal planted up their arse. Long months of traveling the back roads of America without so much as a pocket knife made her very keen on knowing every possible escape route in case she had to make a break for it. As such, she looked back over her shoulder several times, gauging the distance between herself and the front door, approximating how fast she could run, how long it would take her to get there, and what she would do once she escaped - which was beeline for the motel. In fact, while the singing went on, she made plans in her head for several possible worst case scenario events.
Right ... so giving up, she turned to a random page and pretended to follow along. She swore to herself that the next person who gave her a stare would find his or herself with a hymnal planted up their arse. Long months of traveling the back roads of America without so much as a pocket knife made her very keen on knowing every possible escape route in case she had to make a break for it. As such, she looked back over her shoulder several times, gauging the distance between herself and the front door, approximating how fast she could run, how long it would take her to get there, and what she would do once she escaped - which was beeline for the motel. In fact, while the singing went on, she made plans in her head for several possible worst case scenario events.
Fairest <> Playmate <> Wyrd 2 <> Striking Looks 2 <> Presence 5 <> Autumn Mantle 2 <> English Accent <> 1980s Fashion <> Acute Senses <> Eidetic Memory <> Hunted
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Fr. Robert Henshall
- Posts: 10
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Re: D6 EM Lurch to Church and Search. You Might FInd Hymn.
The choir finished their hymns, and were seated. That was when Father Henshall entered with two altar servers. Approaching the pulpit, he crossed himself and greeted the congregation. His voice carried well without shouting. All present knew what to expect, getting to their feet and opening their hymnals to Glory to God, after which Henshall guided the congregants in the Collect prayer. There was muted shuffling and coughing as the assembly sat once again.
The reverend read from Leviticus, “and when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger.” This was followed by a passage from Galatians, “let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
The final passage, the segue into the priest’s sermon was from John, “ don’t you have a saying, 'It's still four months until harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” Father Henshall launched into his homily, “we see that the harvest is now, indeed, upon us once more, and as we reap this bounty, blessed by God, our minds must turn once more to the giving of thanks, and how important it is to be thankful.”
The sermon didn’t carry on overly long. There was no bible bashing or pulpit thumping. He spoke of gratitude to God for what the fields provided them, gratitude to farmers on whose tireless backs and efforts the town was built. He spoke of family, and importance of being near loved ones at this time of year. He was a good speaker. He did not drone, but neither was he so animated as to be distracting. The tone was solemn, but not devoid of humour.
He kept the sermon relatively short, the youngest kids were just starting to act restless in their seats when he moved on to the Liturgy of Eucharist. As the priest and altar servers set up their rituals, the collection plate was circulated.
The reverend read from Leviticus, “and when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger.” This was followed by a passage from Galatians, “let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
The final passage, the segue into the priest’s sermon was from John, “ don’t you have a saying, 'It's still four months until harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” Father Henshall launched into his homily, “we see that the harvest is now, indeed, upon us once more, and as we reap this bounty, blessed by God, our minds must turn once more to the giving of thanks, and how important it is to be thankful.”
The sermon didn’t carry on overly long. There was no bible bashing or pulpit thumping. He spoke of gratitude to God for what the fields provided them, gratitude to farmers on whose tireless backs and efforts the town was built. He spoke of family, and importance of being near loved ones at this time of year. He was a good speaker. He did not drone, but neither was he so animated as to be distracting. The tone was solemn, but not devoid of humour.
He kept the sermon relatively short, the youngest kids were just starting to act restless in their seats when he moved on to the Liturgy of Eucharist. As the priest and altar servers set up their rituals, the collection plate was circulated.