Window Pain [Blk Heart - Ari and Riley]

Never before had Riley been in a church of any kind. Her family was never that kind to go to church. Working was always more important to them than actually build a relationship with her though. Why would they give that up for church if they wouldn't give it up for her? Time was money as the saying went, and it certainly applied to her family. Money was the only thing that was important.

Not that it mattered to her now. She had none.

So sliently she stood ther looking up at the stained windows wondering what exactly people did in this building. From what she understood it was a place of both happiness and sorrow. Before she had heard about this from her family's servants, but that isn't understanding though. Maybe one day she would, but for now she took a seat in the pew and stared at the decorations of the building.

This was the first time he had been back inside of the church since Dylan's death.

He didn't necessarily want to go into the church, afraid that he would become overwhelmed with emotion and cause a scene (if anyone had been inside of the place.), but he knew he needed to go--both for old time's sake and to pay homage to Dylan's soul. Ari wandered in, already feeling the heavy weight upon his chest. He swallowed, stuffed his hands into his jean pockets, and took the steps in. His eyes wandered around the holy building, not noticing the woman there very quickly. He stared at the stained glass for a moment before he began walking a little up the aisle, when he finally noticed the woman.

He bit his lower lip--this situation. It reminded him very much of how he met his wife, though their positions were switched. He let out a soft sigh and let his eye wander around the building again before speaking, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Riley flinched when she heard a man speak. Looking in the direction of the sound she saw a man that looked like he had been through his own hardships. His wonderous green eyes told his story to her and she couldn't help but feel a tad taken back. Maybe it was just the reaction of being in a church for the first time? Apparently miricales could happen here of all places.

"I guess it is so," she said not really sure what she should be thinking of in a moment like this. Her past had done nothing for Riley, she was like a confused child. Pushing back her bangs she looked back up at the windows to soak it all in. "Hey, why do people go to church?" she suddenly asked, thinking that the red head might have an answer for her. It was better than assuming in her mind.

Ari noticed her flinch at the sound of his voice, "I didn't mean to startle you." He mumbled softly, pressing his fingers together timidly. Then she looked back at him and just stared, which made him shift his weight uncomfortably and slightly awkwardly. But then she finally responded, putting Ari at some ease. He smiled weakly, "Yeah." He nodded then proceeded to talk a few steps forward once more.

He looked down at her with a curious look--it was obvious that she was new but did she really not know why people went to church? He hummed softly, thinking everything over. "Well," he mused, "some come for guidance, some to worship the Goddess." He paused for a moment, "Some come to get away, some people come to remember."

Riley couldn't help but smile when she noticed how polite the man was. At first, she assumed he wouldn't be that kind of person--but she was wrong. Not that it was necissarily a bad thing, it plesantly surprised her. Without a doubt this situation was a tad awkward, but that tended to happen when people met for the first time. Besides this place didn't seem like the best place to start conversations to Riley. She just had the feeling that it was intended to be a quiet shelter.

Riley had a feeling in her gut that the man was actually enjoying her ignorance of the building. Instead of raising a fit about it she decided to remain composed and lady-like. "I see," she said as she thought about his explaination. It did make sense, but she still didn't quite understand it. "If you're wondering why I asked that," she began to justify herself, "I didn't go to church as a child. Just being curious."

"Do you come here often?" Riley asked and stopped herself before asking for a reason why he was here. It was none of her buisness at the moment and the last words he had said. There was a weight to them when he said them.

He scrunched his nose up for a moment and wriggled it around, as if trying to avoid a sneeze--which proved to be rather successful. He glanced down at the woman--she seemed interesting, though he held back a snicker when she had asked him about the church earlier. He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets, he nodded as she tried to piece together what he said in her mind, trying to make sense of it. He hoped he hadn't confused her. "No problem, neither did I." He told her, staring up towards the stained glass, bringing back some memories, which he forced back when she brought up another question.

He hummed softly as he glanced down towards her, "Oh, only sometimes. I used to," He pressed his lips together, bringing his right hand from his pocket and ran it through his orange hair. "but I stopped after a while. I figured I may as well start up again, you know what I mean?" He perked up a brow towards her. "Are you new?" He brought up, realizing that she didn't seem very familiar.

Riley couldn't help but feel a tad childish around this man, it was almost as if he was a nicer version of her father. If that was even possible. Her father was a cold calculating man and this one seemed rather gentle and nice compared to him. Thinking about her father bothered her and she couldn't help but have her fingers curl around the edge of her black skirt. This place was so somber.

"Yeah," she nodded, losening the grib of her manicured fingers from her skirt. The question he asked only brought the thoughts of why she was here in the first place. She had to be a lady though. Ladies did not show discomfort. Certainly not in the presence of another person, let alone a man. So she shoved her depressing thoughts to the corner of her mind and would let them rise up when she was alone once again. "Not even a week yet," she admited mustering up a friendly smile.

"I'm Riley," she said getting up to greet him properly. When you met new people it was always a rule of hers to stand up to look at a person so they can't look really down at her. She was short, but by standing up that distance decreased greatly to her and made her seem more mature.