2019-06-02 - Thou shalt not touch the statue.

In a town like Gray Harbor - where the crime rate is just through the roof - one might expect the church to close up at night. But Father Daniel is a true believer and maintains that the doors of the church should be open at all hours, to all comers. So the doors are unlocked, though the place is almost abandoned except for the rent-a-cop that makes sure no hooligans rob God's house.

Alex and Violet scampered home, fooled around, and then drove across town (all five minutes of it) to be here punctually at 9:45 PM. While the thunder-and-lightning starts up outside, they wait in the narthex (which is like the front patio area of a Catholic church, I just learned), watching for the exterior doors to open and admit Alexander. It's Alex that comments, "I feel like this may be vaguely sacrilegious, now that we're here."

Violet has thankfully changed out of her 'nice clothes' and is in something vaguely suitable for inspecting a haunted statue: leggings and a long, comfy sweater. She looks decent, her frizzy hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail, and she bites at her bottom lip as she flicks a glance between the door and Alex. "We're just admiring a statue," she replies almost defensively, then swallows and reaches for Alex's hand. His fingers are given a small squeeze. "But maybe we could go to confession. Tomorrow." Because that's how things are done in the Catholic religion, right? Fuck up, confess, and you're golden.

Alexander did not drive. He walked. In the rising thunderstorm, which is probably why he's just a bit late. He's changed out of his nice, reasonable clothing, and back into his usual attire - which, in this case, is a ratty old t-shirt covered by an oversized army jacket, faded jeans, and a sweatshirt. It might be entirely a coincidence that the t-shirt is a Black Sabbath one, but at least he's buttoned the jacket up so that most of the logo is obscured. He's dripping a bit, but stops just inside to let the worst of it drain into the welcome rug and look around. He's not carrying anything strange. When he sees the two of them, he smiles, faintly. "Good evening."

OMG don't lie in church! "We're not, though. Just admiring a statue." Alex starts like he's ready to lay out his whole argument, but there. The door opens, and in comes Alexander (who's Black Sabbath shirt would almost definitely inspire a table-flip so yeah, nice jacket!), so Alex leaves off his Catholic guilt in favor of an inhale and a quick, correct smile. "Hello, Alexander." He head-tips to the doors that lead into whatever the other part of the church is called. Pretty sure it's the Nave, but - if it's not - whatever.

Oh, and Alex also changed clothes. He's not wearing a tie now. Or a Black Sabbath shirt. Polo shirt or something.

"We don't intend to do anything except look," and that was most certainly not a lie from Violet. But she presses her lips into a thin line, a furrow of worry in her brow. It relaxes some when the doors swing open to admit Alexander, and her blue eyes flash to him. There's a smile, it briefly lights up her face, and she offers him a wave. "Hello Alexander," she says politely, pleasantly, but reverently quiet because they are in a Church. "How was the rest of your day?" It's the kind of pleasantries one must go through when about to look for ghosts in a church. She follows dutifully, keeping Alex's hand in her own, and giving him the occassional reassuring squeeze. This was fine! Everything was fine.

"I'm not going to collect any of the fluid, or taste it, or touch the statue," Alexander says, obediently. "I remember." He looks...uncomfortable in the serene quiet of the church, turning in a slow circle to study it in much the way a man expecting an ambush might study a large stand of thick bushes. When he turns back to him, his eyes orient on Violet. "I have a guest. She ended up being real, and she did not run away." It's toneless, but there's a thread of confusion and a tangled web of apprehension and cautious hope that swirls out from him.

Alex has to do things with Holy Water and signs of crosses when he goes into the proper church area. It's a whole Thing. He's just finished that little ritual when Alexander is talking about his guest and earning himself a side-eye. "But she could run away? If she wanted to?" JUST ASKING. Before he leads them through the rows of pews, he's just gonna hang back a minute and wait to get an answer to this new mystery.

Violet looks a touch hesitant, but she does the thing with the Holy Water and the crossing just like Alex does. When Alex isn't looking though, she might wipe her wet hands on her leggings; smear smear of the holy water! "You have a guest?" she asks Alexander, equally curious, though hers is probably better placed than Alex's was. "Is she... a friend? Or.."

"I may be crazy, Alejandro, but I'm not a fucking idiot," Alexander says, with a swift flash of irritation. "If I'd /kidnapped a woman/, do you think I'd be talking about it?" This is, perhaps, not the reassurance that Alex was angling for. "Of course she could leave!" He calms down, fractionally, at Violet's question, and nods. "I knew her in college. She just got in town. Needed a place to crash." He shrugs, shoulders drooping. "It's not really important. Sorry. We're going to investigate the statue."

"Possibly." Alex tells the truth right there: he thinks it's possible that Alexander would kidnap someone and then talk about it. "I don't know you very well." His smile apologizes even if nothing else does, and then he does head toward the front row of pews (or whatever they're called in Catholic churches; I think it's pews, so that's what we're going with). There, he slides down, indicating with a hand that the other two are welcome to sit down if they'd like. "That statue," he says, lowering his head toward the one that's not carrying the plaster baby Jesus.

Violet passes a look to Alex that makes her seem less than impressed with him in the moment. There's like, one less heart in her eyes right now. "She's a friend of his," she stresses, and there's a frown that accompanies it. "Alexander is a good person. We're all good people here, the three of us." And then she forces up a smile as she follows Alex up to the statue, sliding to sit beside Alex. "That one?" she lifts her chin, and her gaze travels up the statue to the Blessed Virgin's hands, stretched out in benediction. "She is not crying," she says that quietly. She sounds disappointed.

Alexander stares at Alex for a long moment. Then his shoulders droop. "Fair enough. You don't know me," he acknowledges, dully. He shuffles after, and shakes his head at Violet. "It's all right, Miss Whitehouse." The remark about him being a good person just gets an uncomfortable shrug of the shoulders, before he turns his attention to the less complex and nuanced problem of religious miracles. "Is there a particular time the phenomenon is more likely to occur, in your experience?"

As he doesn't know Alexander very well, so is Alex's experience with this particular miracle. "I don't have a very big sample set, to be honest. But I come here to pray, so...?" He's going to try that. At least he doesn't seem to expect the other two to kneel on the little pillow-benchy-thing that's there exactly for kneeling, but he'll do so; they can just sit like heathens, he's got enough faith for the three of them. "Seems like as good a place to start as any?"

The statue is, thus far, LITERALLY unmoved by the performances of these three.

Violet doesn't immediately move to pray. She is, after all, a reforming Heathen. But she does linger a stare up at the statue, her expression soft and distant. "Sometimes, when I touch things, I ... can feel them," she murmurs quietly, sharing this with both Alexander and Alex. "Emotion. From before. Sometimes other things. Maybe if we did touch the statue.." But then she shakes her head. And because of her blasphemy, she moves to join Alex in the praying position, on her knees like a good girl.

Alexander takes a seat on the bench down from Violet. He doesn't pray, although he rubs his hands nervously down his jeans, eyeing the shadows like he expects an army of angry nuns to evict him from the church. "The entire church probably has a strong resonance. Opening ourselves up to it could be," a pause, "awkward." A longer pause. "And we agreed no touching." You can't change the RULES, Violet.

Alex folds his hands and bows his head and you two? He wishes you two would be quiet. But he's very polite and composed, so he just waits it out and makes himself pray in his head instead of curse in Spanish. The effort is real.

The statue seems to agree. No tears, but there! See that? She just shushed you guys, a quick lift of her finger to her lips. No sound, but that gesture is universal: Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, it's CHURCH.

"You're right," Violet says to Alexander about how it would be awkward. And then she flinches inwardly, properly chastised, when he reminds her of the rules. "I'm sorry, Alexander. You're right, no touching. I just thought.." she was on her knees, head tipped up towards the statue, when the Blessed Mother shushes her. Her eyes flare open, and she sits up a little straighter. "Oh, oh, oh," she whispers, failing to take the Virgin seriously. "D-d-did you two see that???"

Alexander gives a firm, maybe even slightly smug, nod to Violet. /He/ remembered the rules, for once, and got to remind someone else of them. This is a banner day for Alexander Clayton. And yet, it's not enough to distract him from watching the statue, and his breath catches as the stone shushes them. "I saw something," he allows, his My Reality May Not Be Your Reality barriers at high alert. Very carefully, he says, "It appeared as if the statue moved. Was that what either of you saw?" So calm, so cool. His eyes are riveted to the statue, though.

Alex had his eyes closed because he's praying. He peeks one open, looks toward the statue - who is back to her normal posture - and closes his eyes again. He goes back to talking to God.

The statue of THE MOTHER OF GOD just shushed Alexander and Violet, and yet they continue to talk. She shushes them again, this time leaning forward at the waist. If there was any noise from her - and they could hear it over all the jabbering they're doing, geez! - it would be a seriously annoyed 'SHH!' this time. Then, with a tip of her head, she beckons at them, curling her shushing hand in a 'come here' gesture. Because she makes her own rules, duh.

Clearly, God wants you guys to be COMPOSED.

"Alex," Violet hisses, touching his shoulder, but her focus is wholly on the statue who shushes her again!. This time, she jerks back a little, breathing in a gulp of air and keeping it held in her lungs. It comes out in a steady rush as the statue bends at her waist. She looks to Alex - who is yep, still praying - and then to Alexander. In spite of what they just said, she rises from her knees and makes a come along gesture with a wag of her finger to Alexander. She'd say something, but yeah. She's not going to fight with the fucking Virgin Mary.

Alexander maybe has enough experience with frankly insane things happening to him that this isn't, quite, as shocking as it probably should be. What seems to shock him more is that Violet, at least, seems to /see/ what he sees, and isn't busily trying to pretend that Everything Is Normal. He frowns thoughtfully at the statue. "Alejandro, the statue is beckoning to us. I think we're going to follow it." He does not care about Mother Mary's shushing, but clearly doesn't want the man to come out of his praying and find them just /gone/. He stands from his seat, though, and starts following where he's beckoned to go.

Alex/Alejandro glances up when they're both talking to him, crosses himself quietly, and scoots off his knees onto the edge of the bench-seat behind him. His mouth opens like he might say something, but no actual words come out, just a wholly (lol holy) reverent silence.

Leaving the statue free to continue to beckon at the two of them that aren't awestruck by the religious implications here. She curls her fingers at them now, like how Morpheus did to Neo when they were having that badass kung fu fight. Her other hand lifts, outstretched, fingers loose in front of her, like she's offering that hand to them for the taking.

There's another quick-glance to Alex from Violet, the confusion and concern etched all over her face. "Alex?" she hisses at him in a whisper, but he's just staring now, and Mother Mary is calling. "I.. Oh, I don't.. are we Dreaming?" she asks warily over to Alexander ... and then reaches out to him. "Are you real?" she pinches him. Hard! "I need to know," it's an apologetic sort of excuse. But regardless of whether or not Alexander squeals from her pinching, the Virgin's holding out her hands to them, and she throws another glance over her shoulder to Alex. "Oh. Oh. I hope God can forgive me," she prays, and then reaches out a trembling hand to set it inside of Mary's outstretched one.

Alexander doesn't like to be touched, doesn't like to have religious iconography beckoning saucily at him, and /definitely/ doesn't like to be pinched. He yelps like a schoolboy when Violet's fingers gain purchase on his arm, and jumps away from her with an instinctive, "What the fuck are you doing?" In a CHURCH. He is definitely going to hell. "Of course we're Dreaming," he mutters, eyeing the statue with frank suspicion. He looks like he might protest her taking Mary's hand, and reaches out instinctively to do likewise, if only so that whatever happens doesn't happen to her alone.

"I'm sorry! I've just never Dreamed with somebody before!" Violet says in a rush of apology back to Alexander, on account of the pinching.

"Please don't curse." That's Alex's contribution. He's staying back here, in the pews, where there's less chance of going to Hell.

The statue shakes her finger at Alexander and his profanity, no-no-no, and then offers her other hand to Alexander. She's a small statue, only about two feet tall, so her plaster hands are tiny in theirs, her whole palm folding around the ends of their fingers. Physically, she feels cold - the way one might expect from a statue - but mentally... well, there's a roar and a crackle of heat from her, a flash of flame that burns in the eyes in their mind.

And they can see... a fire in the darkness. A building burning, the flames just now starting to rise out of the darkness. The sign out front says '[Something unreadable] Family Mortuary.' It has just gone up in flames, too, and - as though the fire is being watched from some distance away - a figure is silhouetted against the orange fire. Shadowy but there are some visible details: a woman in her 30s or 40s, with dark brown hair and flashing brown eyes that reflect the firelight, even at a distance. She's petite, well-dressed, and standing next to what would have been a very expensive car, back in the day. She just stands there, watching the building burn, smiling a small smile, clearly unaware that anyone can see her.

Violet is stunned stock-still by the images flashing through her brain. "Ohmygod, ohmygod," she whispers, trying to keep her breathing controlled. But that fire is hot, and she can feel it on her face; her cheeks are splotchy with red.

"It doesn't happen often," Alexander conceded, but with a surly edge. That hurt! "Happening more, though. These days." That's barely audible, and the last word trails off into silence as he's finger-shaken at, then offered a plaster hand of his very own. He slides into a defensive posture, something that suggests he's expecting a fight, even as he reaches out and takes the cool plaster into his hand. And the fire into his mind. He tries to recoil, but doesn't let go, as the image explodes in his mind. "Fire, fire," he gasps, feeling it slap into his skin. He struggles against the sensation, but not willing to /let it go/, just trying to contain and control it, his eyes squeezed shut to better see.

Violet has the dim sensation of familiarity with that woman. She knows she's seen her somewhere... sometime... but she can't even begin to put her finger on it. Even watching her open the car door and settle into the passenger seat, while a man in his late-20s or early-30s turns over the engine of that nice car. Headlights shine on the dark street, and he turns the wheel, pulling the car away from the burning building. Briefly, when the flames blow out a window and cast a quick burst of light onto the scene, the man's face is visible, his eyes brownish - like the woman's - but not so sharp, not so clear-cut a color.

Alexander has a similar sense of familiarity with both of them. He knows... he knows this is somewhere in Gray Harbor, this burning building. And he can tell, by the look of the car and the way these two are dressed, that this would have been the 60s or maybe the 70s at the latest. The car drives away. And the view fades while whoever was watching this turns and goes through a door, shouting into the dim interior about calling the fire department, hon!

The statue's hands peel away, lift back to their benediction - but not before she makes that shushing gesture once more, this time with a serious little nod at Alexander and Violet. It's a secret.

Violet stumbles back as soon as the statue lets her hand go, tumbling over her own feet and falling to sprawl out onto the floor between the pews. "Oh!" her voice lifts in a startled sort of way, her hands clasping over her heart. She just stares, eyes wide and her face full of ugly red splotches. "Oh my God, oh God, oh that was a fire."

Alexander falls into a crouch rather than a sprawl, feral almost, as he coughs, trying to rid his mouth and throat of the heavy taste of smoke. He wipes at his nose and mouth, as if to clear it of soot. "Yes," he wheezes out. "It was. The memory of flame. Seven for a secret never to be told." That last is accompanied by a glare towards the statue, before he shudders and looks back to Violet and Alex. "Are you all right?"

Alex is fine. Other than the way he keeps giving Violet these pained looks when she says 'oh my God' and stuff. Try to introduce people to Jesus, and they just show up and talk shit about His dad. So he tells Alexander a truthful, "Yes. Are you?" He looks beyond them, to the statue that's now resumed her normal posture, and he suggests they maybe come back over here with a gesture not unlike the one the statue used, a beckoning curl of his fingers. "What happened?"

And where's the security guard? They don't pay this guy to spend all night on the crapper while people mess with the statues!

Alex will go over and nudge Violet with his toe, since his player somehow did not read the part about her falling on her face.

Lightning strikes somewhere really close by. Behave, guys.

Don't worry about Violet, who has fallen on her ass and was very close to hyperventilating. Just nudge her with a toe like the good .. whatever you are, Alex, and she'll stay sprawled out staring wide-eyed at the statue. "I.. I knew.. those people," she breathes out. "I just.. don't.." she shakes her head, coughing a few times from the smoke inhalation. And then the lightning strikes and she scrambles to her feet to hide against Alex, squealing.

Take Alex, first, God! He's the worst!

Alexander jumps nearly out of his skin when that lightning hits close by, all that survival-based tension in him released in an instinctive swipe at the empty air in the direction of the storm and a harsh, "Goddamnit!" When trying to punch the lightning, that isn't even NEAR here, fails to make the world magically make sense, though, he relaxes. Fractionally. Straightening, he looks at them, eyebrows raised at the hiding. "I'm...fine. Thank you. That was a scene from the past, I think. It was here, in this town. I don't...I feel I /should/ recognize the people there, but I can't...put a name to them. And it was before I was born. A...mortuary was burning. Arson, I'd hazard. But why?"

Alex TOLD Violet not to touch the statue, and she touched the statue, then she took the Lord's name in vain. If she fell down? Well, whose fault is that? Not Alex's, that's for damn sure. He's standing there, just fine, and probably offered her a hand up or something useful, then - "Please at least wait until you're not in the actual church to break the Third Commandment." Cue the Spanish muttering about them, and probably some asking God to forgive them. Since Violet's all tucked in, he will just start walking her toward the exit, and assuming that Alexander will follow them. "The statue of the Virgin Mother showed the two of you something burning? Mhm." sux 2 b u guyz have fun in hell

The statue asked to be touched! But whatever, she was all up on him now, so Alex will just have to deal. "I'm sorry," Violet murmurs, appropriately apologetic for saying the Lord's name in vain. Although.. it really wasn't in vain, all things considered. "It was a mortuary," she murmurs to Alex. "Somebody setting a mortuary on fire. It's... She... it's a secret."

You guys be all talking shit about God and he STILL hooks you up with the best rolls.

There's another flash of nervous irritation at the correction of his behavior, but Alexander manages to bite off what he was wanting to say before he did. Instead, he runs his hands through his hair, and sighs. "I apologize, Alejandro. That was rude. But the vision was disturbing." He nods to Violet, backing up her description, and adds, "It had to be to cover something up. It was the...60s or 70s, I think. Wealthy woman. But what? A murder? No. Far easier to dispose of a single body than to burn a building. Many bodies? Logging disaster, maybe? Money might make it worth it." It's even odds rather he's even talking to them, now - his gaze is far away.

Hey, there's the security guard! He comes in from an adjacent room, tightening his belt and looking at these three, making their way out of the church proper. He missed the whole thing, because the normal people always miss the whole thing.

Alex passes him with a polite nod, and - not that he's in a rush to get these two heathens out of this sacred place but - he holds the door open with his back, still keeping Violet tucked close while they both try to explain what they saw. Also, he shakes his head at their apologies, one after the other, no, stop apologizing. "She showed you a vision of a burning mortuary," he deduces, nodding slowly like it all suddenly makes sense. It doesn't, but he fakes it pretty well. Stupid question time: "Why?"

Violet nips at her bottom lip as they pass the security guard, staying tucked in beside Alex. She was shaking, Alex would probably notice that. But blah blah heathen blah blah maybe. "Yes," she showed them a vision of a burning mortuary. But why? "I don't know," she admits with a shake of her head. "Maybe it was... such a strong emotion. Such a strong memory. It .. imprinted," her brow furrows. Alexander's rambling is making the wheels in her head churn, but she doesn't have any answers for him.

"Because someone, or something, wants us to know," Alexander suggests, flatly. "Which leads to the next questions: who - or what - and why? I don't know. Maybe a vengeful ghost, trying to get revenge?" One corner of his mouth turns up, but he doesn't actually seem like he's joking. "Or justice, if you like. A fire like that could easily catch an innocent victim - by accident, or on purpose." He follows the other two, head ducking and voice a whisper as the security guard looks at them. Alexander has a way of trying to look innocent that looks guilty as hell.

The security guard would probably give Alex and Violet a pass, if it was just the two of them, but Alexander's furtiveness makes him squint - for just a second - before he presses on with his rounds.

Confidently, Alex says, "The Holy Mother wouldn't be an agent of vengeance." Don't bother arguing with him; he's religious, so there's just no point. Back in the little anteroom thing, he quiets to let these two compare notes for a minute without his helpful additions to the conversation.

Oh, Alex will totally offer to give Alexander a ride home even if he's a heathen. When we get to that part of the conversation.

"Then an agent of justice, perhaps," Violet's not in the mood to argue .. or tell Alex that the statue probably wasn't the Virgin Mary come to life. Besides, the vision of fire has given her a headache, and she leans into Alex as they exit the church. "I would like to go home now," she murmurs quietly.

Alexander knows Alex just wants to make sure he doesn't have a kidnap victim in his house - but it's fucking raining, so he accepts the offered ride anyway. He slouches along behind the lovebirds. "Research is needed. Even Gray Harbor has only had so many mortuaries. One burning to the ground would have made news. I'll look into it. Thank you. For the invitation." He grins, bright and fierce and more than a bit creepy. "This was fun."

Alex's brows go up at the word 'fun,' but his expression winds up sympathetic more than anything. Like maybe Alexander has problems with the words sometimes, too? He feels the pain, man. Anyway, he puts these two in his nice car and drives them to Alexander's house, then drives Violet on home, with a comment about how he's not especially surprised that Alexander lives at 13 Elm Street, that just seems fitting, somehow.

Alexander totally tells Alex that there was a horrible invasion murder here, which makes the rent very cheap. Then he leaves. To go into his murder house.