Audience - Fidelio

[holyspirits]

Comments

[fending]

Hey. Just a beer, thanks.

[ takes a seat at the counter ]

Wanted to run somethin' by you too, though, when you got a minute.

[holyspirits]

I have plenty of beer and plenty of minutes. [ give them a second to fiddle with the tap and get him a clean glass before sliding said-beer over. ]

Lay it on me.

[fending]

Thanks.

[ catches the glass and picks it up to take a sip. ]

I was wondering about the feasibility of settin' up a little diner out here somewhere, me an' Bas. Only got a few weeks, if that, so buildin' a place from scratch hardly seems realistic, but. Yves suggested making it sort of an extension of the bar here, share the space for both drinks and food. Turn it into a regular tavern, like.

[holyspirits]

[ there's a moment where they seem to pause, looking him over and tilting their head as they think. this... ]

Not a bad idea. [ they can see the appeal, and they hum before grabbing for a notebook behind them to start writing things down. ] Might be able to put in a workorder and expedite... what would you want in it? A stove and oven I'm guessing. Seating. Ingredients aren't hard but what's the vision?

[fending]

I mean, I'm not gonna ask you to change your own setup too much to accommodate our wants, but. The place we imagined was just sort of a cosy place for our friends to gather and enjoy themselves. Comfortable seating for bigger groups, warm lighting. Music in the air, maybe a little stage in the corner for live performances... nothin' big like out on the beach, obviously.

[holyspirits]

[ they shrug while taking notes. ]

It's not, like, really inconveniencing me or anything. Might be nice to have more of a draw and more people around anyway, I don't mind. [ scribbling... ] You asked. It's the least I can do, so let me see. Might take a week, but this isn't as big as a hospital. Pretty sure I have clearance to get the process started.

[fending]

Seriously? Like, you've just got standing free rein to do that sort of thing?

[holyspirits]

Just gotta run it through God, but the bar's pretty much mine. [ the implication is that they do not give a particular fuck about what god says about it. ] No different than the girls though. They worked with God to get the hospital up and running.

[fending]

Sounds like a good deal.

[ you know, despite kind of getting off on the wrong foot at the party, he is now thinking they're pretty okay, actually. ]

All right, then. Thanks. [ raises his glass ] Lookin' forward to potentially doing business with you.

[holyspirits]

[ they have an open bottle of beer on the counter, so just a lil cheers. ]

Likewise. [ there's a sip, but then they jot down a few more notes. ] I leave the place open 24/7, so you guys can decide when you wanna come through. And I have enough alcohol for the next... while, but there's mixers in the fridge, too. Help yourself to whatever. People use wine in cooking and stuff, right?

[fending]

Sometimes, yeah? Honestly don't know all that much about the cooking part meself, that's Bas's wheelhouse. I'll have to check with him and get back to you if there's anything else he's gonna need far as equipment and everything goes.

[ sips ]

How's this all work for you, anyhow? You live in heaven proper and commute here, or?

[holyspirits]

[ nodding along... ]

Sure, no rush. Whenever you've got a list you know where to find me. I can at least get started with the basics. [ makes a note for some cookware. they don't cook or anything themselves, but they know that much. ]

Oh, yeah. My commute's killer. [ they gesture behind them though, and if fidelio looks he can see the faint outline of a door. ] My lease isn't up for a couple more months though.

[fending]

So if this program ends up bein' a failure [ which it CLEARLY IS ] and they don't bring any more groups like us in, you're just trapped in a lease in heaven's empty waitin' room?

[holyspirits]

Maybe. But I'll figure out a deal with God like I've done before. [ this time they pause again and look at fidelio curiously. ]

Are we calling it a failure because of what's going on, or was that always a thought?

[fending]

I mean, I figured it was a possibility from the start, 'specially with those other angels sayin' it was their first time trying it.

[ he also figured the whole redemption offer might be a scam from the start, but that wasn't the question, so. ]

But it's what's been happenin' to all us since then that makes it seem pretty obvious that it is one.

[holyspirits]

I wouldn't call it a failure until it's actually over. [ thoughtfully. it isn't an optimistic outlook, it's a realist approach. ] The souls are lost, but not gone. It means there's still a chance of recovery. Not to mention starting to narrow down where the interference is coming from...

But I get it. Feels like a longshot right now.

[fending]

Even if they do find them, it's hard to deny this whole thing's been a bloody disaster when we've got people forced into murderin' each other and gettin' spirited off to who-knows-where only to come back with fewer arms and eyes than they left with.

[ never should have needed a damn hospital here in the first place. he takes a long drink. ]

...You lot actually got some leads on that now? The interference thing?

[holyspirits]

Man, I know. I'm not much happier about this than you are. Neither are the angels, and neither is God. It's one screw-up after another.

[ man. ]

They at least ruled out that it's outside of the heavenly realm. Which takes out a ton of possibilities, at least, so now it's about narrowing down where in heaven the attacks are coming from. And how they're getting into this pocket in the first place.

[fending]

Good to know that much, but that's even more worrying, ain't it? That you've got someone in what's s'posed to be heaven pulling shite like this?

[holyspirits]

And I think that's exactly why God wanted to run this trial in the first place. Too many people got a free pass on the idea of being a good person, but would a good person really be fucking things up this bad for other people?

[fending]

Sounds like this really is somethin' closer to a purgatory, puttin' it that way.

[holyspirits]

Is that better or worse, you think? Knowing that means there's a chance things can sway in either direction.

[fending]

I mean, we already sort of knew that, I think, but those others were puttin' a real heavy emphasis on the good outcomes, and talkin' like we were already in a part of heaven rather than somethin' more in-between. So. Don't make a big difference to me, aside from the sugarcoating bein' annoying.

[holyspirits]

You... are? This is a part of heaven, man. It's just a holding space before being able to access the entirety. Like a waiting room, sort of. Ideally, it'd be nice if you all succeeded and were able to go back. In practice...

[ ... they take a drink. ]

Never mind. Not my business.

[fending]

Just don't think it really counts as bein' there when you can't reach any other part of it and you can still get kicked back down. 'S like bein' told you're still on the cliff when you're hangin' off the edge of it.

...Finish what you were gonna say, though.