A Life of Imitation

The chapel was a location that Theo took notice of in almost every school or large facility he entered. In a foreign city or at someone else's house, the first thing he looks for is a church down the road or a small altar in their house. After all, his experiences in church as a child had been far from pleasant, and being half demon and all, chapels were a place to be avoided. Although he had known the location of the Starlight Academy chapel since his entrance to the academy, he had never thought of actually entering it, knowing that it would hurt him and cause some trouble, should a priest or a religious person be present.

However, as summer came along and his lessons stopped, he's had more time to himself. This was a mixed blessing. He had been out to visit his siblings and friends in the UK, but he always ended up back there, finding himself a bit too tight on money to travel to many places. He's taken a kayak out several times, either to the lake or to the sea, but that had gotten a bit boring too. And without so many things to occupy his mind with, his thoughts were beginning to wander back to what happened several summers ago, in a school not much different than this.

The thing was, see, that he didn't like thinking about it. Thinking about it means that he's got to relieve memories. Relieving the memories made him want to cry. It made him feel bad. When he's feeling bad, he's awful to other people. He didn't want to be mean to the people here, because they have showed him nothing but kindness. And he's gone out of his way for the last few days to try to occupy himself with books and films and video games, but his mind wouldn't stop drifting to directions that eventually spiralled back to the same thing, and there was no way of making it stop.

So here he was, sitting in the chapel, with a pounding headache, knowing fully well that he's liable to throw up if he stays here any longer, but at least he didn't have to think, for the moment. And that felt nice, a distraction from the memories. Now he might be able to get back to his room and read until his brain decided to be quiet for the first time in a week. But he was having a bit of trouble, see, getting up. Everything was spinning and his headache certainly didn't help. He may have made a bit of a mistake.

Theo could hear someone enter the chapel, and the whistling as well, but he didn't want to call out or open his mouth. The nausea was getting a bit too much for him, and he really didn't want to throw up in a church. Whoever the priest was in this place would have to clean it up, and Theo'd have to feel guilty for it all over again.

He heard the person walk into the pew behind him. That wasn't good. If the person knew that there was a half demon sitting in a church for no apparent reason other than to, well, hurt himself, there'd be a lot of questions waiting for him and Theo didn't feel up to answering questions right now. At least he was feeling a bit better, though, which was unexpected. Maybe the man's got some sort of magic? You never know what to expect here.

Well, he'd better get out of here before the person could tell what he was really doing. He stood up, slowly, and was surprised to find that his legs could actually still support his weight. A bit wobbly, but he could stand, and he could walk. Good. He might find somewhere else to sulk. Take a kayak out.

He didn't make it out the door before his legs abruptly gave out on him again.

"Aw, jeez," he mutters to himself, then quickly regrets it as another wave of nausea hits him. He makes an attempt to pull himself back up. It doesn't work. Well. No hiding today. He pinches his nose and winces at the headache that returns.

@Zora

When the person - an old man, or someone similar - approached him, all that Theo could really do was to try his best not to throw up and avert his gaze. Today was his unlucky day. Usually, when he explained his demon ancestry to people, they either looked like him if he were mad or ran away. Reactions on this island had been better, but since this man had decided to spend his time in a church, he might be religious, and demons and religions tend not to mix very well. He pinched the bridge of his nose as the pain in the back of his head made its way back. Hopefully this wouldn't go as bad as he thought.

As the man got closer, Theo started to feel a little better. Maybe his assumption was right. An aura. A healing aura? The man seemed aged but not withered, Theo would gauge maybe late 50s, early 60s, but really nobody could tell here. Maybe he was some kind of spirit. Or maybe he aged fast. Or maybe he didn't age at all, like Theo now.

"Thank you, sir," He said. with the man's help, he pulled himself and tried to convince his legs to stay still. He didn't fall, so it wasn't a bad start.

"Unwell. Right. I'm.. well, you see, I'm not supposed to go into churches. They hurt me. Because I'm half demon," Theo said, making an attempt to sound casual and smile. He might as well get this out as soon as possible, anyways. There was no point in hiding it. "I might want to, er, leave now. Before anything worse happens."

A wave of pain hit him again and he puts a hand to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut. He really had to get out of here.

@Zora

“I-I’m sorry.” Theo said, apologising not because he had to but because the man sounded a bit angry and he didn’t know what caused it. Saying something just in case is always safer than not apologising and leaving someone angry. He staggered a bit, but the man accompanying him helped with the discomfort, and he was able to make it to the door.

The man opened the door for him, which was nice. He doubted that he would’ve been able to open it in the state that he was in. He’s a bit embarrassed, honestly, just to burden somebody so much because he was acting stupid. He’d have to explain himself later and frankly he was not looking forwards to it.

When the man put his hand over Theo’s shoulders, he flinched a bit, but allowed it. Exiting the church immediately made the dizziness and the pain alleviate a bit, and he leaned on the railing of the garden, careful not to touch a cross or another religious symbol.

“T-thank you, sir,” Theo said, pinching the bridge of his nose again. “I was being real stupid, doing that. Thanks for helping, sir.”

@Zora

Theo felt a bit of relief when the man took his hand off his shoulder. It wasn't that he didn't like the man, per se. He just hadn't gotten very intimate with anybody since a long time ago, and he'd like to keep it that way. The last of his headache and nausea was fading, which was good. He was very glad the man showed up. Without him, Theo might've fallen unconscious there, and that wouldn't have been very good for himself or the academy's staff.

When the man made a comment on his parents, he frowned a little. How would the man know about his family? Theo didn't even remember what his birth mum looked like. He decided to refrain from speaking, though.

"No, thank you, mint's alright," Theo said, smiling a little at the man's speaking mannerisms. Not poisoned. Well, that's always nice, though he doubted anyone would actually want to poison him. He took one of the mints - a red one - and unwrapped the cellophane, putting the wrapper into his pocket before popping the mint into his mouth. "Thank you, sir." '

@Zora