The Teacher

Back to Church

Finn woke with a snort when her blanket finally gave in to gravity and fell off her, letting the cool air and the morning light coming in the window wake her fully. She glanced at the model of the house, Gloria was in the kitchen, the demon was in his room, there was a herd of mice trying to find a way into the pantry. Finn frowned and stood, stretching. For the first time since she'd fought that demon she felt completely rested on waking. Her joints creaked as though she hadn't used them in a long time, and she hadn't really, and her body seemed to be entirely wrapped in its usual magical trappings. She checked the magic around her and found it all to be solid and supported. She smiled.

"Back to normal." Finn considered going and rubbing it in the demon's face that she was back to her usual self, but then she smelled the pancakes Gloria was making and decided to just leave the demon to stew in his own thoughts.

"I hope you don't mind, I wanted pancakes and we did go out and buy the stuff we need for cooking so..." Gloria trailed off and Finn nodded as she helped herself to a plate and three pancakes.

"I don't mind." Finn shrugged a shoulder as she added butter and syrup. "So long as you don't mind that I don't really cook."

"You do dishes though, so that's okay." Gloria said as she watched Finn stuff a forkful into her mouth. "You must be feeling better." She observed.

Finn nodded and set her fork down so she could answer after she'd swallowed. "I haven't had pancakes in years." She sipped her water and finished swallowing. "These are amazing."

"So what's the plan?" Gloria asked as Finn raised another forkful to her face. The phone rang and she groaned as she set the fork down and lifted the receiver.

"Hello?" Finn sat up a little straighter and glanced down at her plate.

"Finn? It's Bishop Garry. Do you have a moment?" Finn nodded with a grunt and continued to eye her plate of pancakes longingly.

"I've contacted the Priest that performed the exorcisms. He knew exactly what I wanted to speak to him about and he has some information you need as well. I'm still not sure what to do about the unsanctioned exorcisms in this case. I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts on this."

"We can be there shortly, or I can. I won't force Gloria." Finn sighed. "Can I finish my breakfast first?"

"Of course! It's only five am here, we have an hour or so before I need to be at my duties."

Finn glanced at the clock to see the local time, only to realize that she hadn't moved the house from the valley.

"I'll be there in an hour." Finn said and hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Gloria asked and Finn regretted stuffing a mouthful into her face. She chewed and had a sip of her water before she was able to answer.

"Bishop Garry. He found the priest that performed your exorcisms." Finn watched Gloria as she spoke, unsurprised when Gloria wouldn't meet her eyes and seemed to fold into herself. "I'm going to go start asking questions. The Bishop says he isn't sure what the Church will do which concerns me."

"Do I have to go?"

"No, I won't make you go. You will need to come with me when I meet Louise at lunch though."

"Alright." Gloria said quietly and Finn cut herself another, smaller, bite of pancake.

"Why aren't you asking me why its dark outside?"

"I looked and it was dark and I started thinking about the moon and then I just turned on lights and ignored outside." Gloria admitted.

"That's fair. It's just not dawn yet though, I forgot to move us out of the valley so it's a bit darker than you're used to. I'll move the house before I go."

"Please don't?" Gloria asked and Finn blinked at her. "I'd like to try that. I'll make sure Uriel is here and I will try moving it to somewhere on the planet this time."

Finn nodded and swallowed. "That's fine, although Uriel may not be available for a while."

"Why not?"

Finn shrugged, not wanting to go into details. The Last Grove was a heavy subject all around, the war that resulted in the massacre had begun to spill into other realms before the final blow was dealt. The tag Finn had read yesterday listed the name of the Dryad, the tree, and the realm it had been destroyed in - Elysium Fields. Heaven, being the most bureaucratic of the realms, would be debating the ramifications of finding it attached to the house for days.

"Well, what about Michael?" Gloria asked and Finn sighed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if none of the angelic race were available for a while." She said and waited for Gloria to ask for more information. When she didn't Finn looked at her face, and she looked lost.

"You seemed to have a decent start at a friendship sort of thing with Athena, what about her?" Finn suggested, and Gloria nodded mutely, staring at the table top. Finn, unsure about her role in the conversation now, backed away from Gloria until she was out of the room. She quietly opened the front door to a port-a-potty close to a bus stop that would take her where she needed to go.

She checked the schedule posted to the glass of the stop, and then realized that it was still too early for the busses to be running. She sighed and started walking. It was only a few blocks away, but she would have opened the door up closer to the church if she'd realized there would be few people awake at this hour. The air was chilly, and she magicked up an extra layer for herself as she walked. Her breath leaving a short plume behind her.

When she got to the church she knocked on the door louder than she had the first time. She didn't want to stand out here forever, but she didn't want to wake anyone up needlessly either so she didn't use the bell. The door opened quickly to reveal Bishop Garry in dress pants and a white undershirt that had seen better days. His smile was strained as he ushered her in.

"I am sorry. This whole situation seems to be unravelling." He apologized as he led the way to the back of the dormitories to where his office was. Finn raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. "Father Dietrich knows something more is going on, that there's another layer to this situation, but I haven't told him anything about the world you protect as of yet. I'm hoping I don't have to."

"That would be preferred by all parties I imagine. Of course I can always arrange for a memory alteration if we have to go that route as well." Finn offered and Bishop Garry stopped, turning to look at her after a moment.

"I have never liked the fact that option even exists. Have you used it?" He asked, his face a guarded mask that would make the dealers in Macau pay attention.

"I have, but only as a training exercise. I am capable of the spell and also the spell to restore memories lost to the spell. The people that I hunt though generally don't survive to need that option." Finn waited a moment before she continued. "I would rather we exhaust all options before either of those. Having said that, I don't want to miss any options and would rather lay them on the table up front."

Bishop Garry nodded and stared at the wall a moment, lost in thought, before he grunted and continued leading the way. His office door was slightly ajar and the shadows on the walls were moving quite a bit from what Finn could see around Bishop Garry. As he pressed the door open more a middle aged priest stopped his pacing and whirled to face them.

"She doesn't look like the FBI." He said, pointing a finger at Finn.

"I'm not." Finn said, and sat down. She would let Bishop Garry lead this conversation.