As above, so Below

IX. Walk with Me

"There's no need to worry, it will be fine"
He gave me a reassuring smile followed by a kiss on the opposite cheek from Terzo.
Terzo's kiss left a sting, Copia's kiss left me wishing for another. His kiss left my cheek feeling warm and my stomach fuzzy. I gently touched my cheek and looked up at him, not fully understanding what to do with the embarrassment that I was experiencing.

"We've been playing here for a while, do you want to take a walk with me?"
Copia started to put his rats in their cages before standing up and extending his arm to me.
Linking my arm with his, we made our way to the grounds.
They were beautiful, well maintained and framed with dark green hedges, polka-dotted with black roses. There were lily's lining the large pond, my favourite.

Copia told me all about his life, how he ended up here, his relationship with the rest of the clergy and why he believes he may not be a good Papa.
Essentially he is very hard on himself and I now see why Sister Imperator had asked me to assist him. I see why Sister can be protective of him but I can also see why Nihil has his reservations.

"May I?"
I reached for my habit, itching to take it off, this made me feel like I am an unapproachable prostitute. Ill-fitting and disgusting - not representing its true meaning and purpose. Modesty and humility.
"If you so wish..."
I took the habit off my head to let my hair flow, his eyes sparkled as he watched me; nevertheless, he didn't look at me the way Terzo did, he looked at me the way every woman wants to be looked at. With intrigue, genuine interest, with compassion and empathy; like she's the only person that matters in the world.

When we approached the pond, I leaned down and smelled the lilys, letting out a sigh of contentment.
"Guessing you like them?"
"They're my favourite, don't get me wrong I like roses but there's just something so peaceful about lily's that makes me feel at ease. Smell..."
I encouraged him to smell a lily as I could see that he was still relatively anxious about the day as a whole. It was also clear that he wasn't around women as often as you'd assume given the traditions in this place.
"You're right. I do feel a lot better. They're actually nicer than I thought they would be."
Looking up at him and seeing the sparkle in his eye made me heart melt.
"What is your favourite flower...that is, if you have one?"
I asked before crouching down to tend to the flowers.
"Chrysanthemums...I dont know what it is about them but I just like looking at them..."

We were interrupted by the sound of children's laughter surrounding us as a group of young ghouls and young centaurs were playing with a ball.
"Miss! Do you want to play with us?!"
A young centaur called out to me as the ball rolled to my feet, I grinned up at Copia, encouraging him to join. I dropped my habit to the floor and ran over to the children to play with them.
The biggest surprise was that Copia had joined us.
We played until the sun started to set. Cardinal seemed to have loosened up quite a bit. The stress of becoming Papa clearly weighing on him and receiving little to no assistance from his peers and relying on a fallen angel to help him.
I could fully understand why he was stressed.

"Come on kids...let's get you inside and get ready for bed, your Sister is going to become worried"
I smiled down at them as they all gave me small high fives and little fist bumps.
"See ya!"
They called back to us and waved as they made their way back inside.
It's at that point that I realised I wasn't planning on meeting Terzo for dinner.

"I can see why you are up there and not down here..."
Sadness tinged his voice as he lifted my habit off the floor, handing it to me. The sadness was clouded with what I would discern as jealousy and venom. The tone took that of condescension.
"I don't understand why you are here...come with me"
I urged him, wishing and hoping he could; not wanting to be apart.
"After what they done to you...I think I'll stay..."
He turned away from me, something was bothering him but I didn't want to push it.

"I don't know how long I'll be here and I don't want to leave you"
I was being serious but it appeared as though Copia had taken it as me having pity on him.

"I'll be fine. Stop worrying about me, I'm grown and I can thrive on my own. I don't need any help."
His tone was sharp and was a shock to me, I hadn't done or said anything that would warrant this kind of response.
Leaving me in the garden, he went back inside and disappeared behind the archway.
I went back and sat by the edge of the pond next to the lilys. I threw my habit to the floor and all I wanted to do was cry.
I was an empath and Copia was full of emotion, he was so in tune with his feelings that it was intense. I genuinely wanted to help him and for him to see his worth.

Conflicted, I wanted to stay here with him, I wanted to protect him, watch him grow and thrive. I also wanted to go home but this place has been so accommodating to me.
As I put my face in my hands, I felt tears falling and evaporating as they left my chin.
This was new.