Belief system

 Early Monday morning, not a cloud in the sky. Not a bad day to go to confession, thought Hadrian. He peered up at the sunny sky through his red tinted sunglasses. No clue why he felt so good about going to confession, but it has been some time. 

The street was awash with people; some were just enjoying the seasonable weather while others were socializing and taking in the sights. A few whispered to each another and cast occasional glances at Hadrian. And why wouldn't they? He was a tall man about 6 feet tall, waist length locs, glistening umber skin, and impeccably dressed in a three piece suit? Of course there'd be looks. He looked over the rim of his sunglasses at the occasional passerby and winked at them.

There were a few excited sounds coming from people, and he smiled about that. Doesn't hurt to make someone's day. Whether or not they were truthful doesn't matter; it was the experience.

He entered the open doors of the cathedral, a cool breeze greeting him as he sauntered in. The stained glass windows were illuminating various Bible stories, shining all the brighter with the sun pouring through. To his left, there were the confession booths. Two large fixtures that could easily be mistaken for china cabinets. The doors were carved with ornate religious iconography all around the edges. He noticed there was one slightly ajar and figured he might as well get it over with. 

He looked at the grate in front of him and the shroud behind it, denoting that there is someone on the other side.

Welp. Here we go.

"Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been a month since my last confession."

There was a pause and a loud clearing of someone's throat. A low but authoritative voice responded. 

"Away you go, my lad. What have you been doing for you to seek the redeeming light of God?"

"Well, Father. I admit that I gave myself over to the sin of wrath. I was incensed at a friend for forgetting a very important day. So much so, I went to his place of employment."

More hesitation.

"Wrath is a dreadful sin, my boy. What else did you do?"

Hadrian hesitated slightly, but continued.

"I...I went to his place of employment and called him a little bitch-made punk to his face --"

Hadrian couldn't finish because the priest was laughing over him.

"Hell, Hadrian. You could've just said it was you."

"Now where would the fun be in that, Jack?" He laughed and leaned back slightly in the booth. 

"So, how've you been keeping as an agent of the Lord then?"

There was a groan on the other side before replying.

"It's been utter shite, mate. The new trainee vomited in the baptismal font, someone concussed themselves on the incense burner thingy; the hell do you call it again?"

"Thurible," offered Hadrian. "You're supposed to be the one 'standing in the gap between Heaven and Hell', mate."

Jack snorted and there was a swallowing sound followed with the smell of whiskey. 

"Then why didn't you join this side? It makes more sense for you."

Hadrian scoffed. "It'd be like really shitty cosplay. Course, I couldn't be sincere about it. You know how congregations of people are."

Another snort.

"Yep. Signifying piety but will go back to the same mess they asked absolution for. It's Sisyphean."

It was Hadrian's turn to snort-laugh. "They teaching Greek stuff in seminary now too? Or it's for your edification?"

"Edification...way to toss $20 words at me, man. Any last words before dining, dear boy?"

There was a pause. "Did you just..."

"Yep. I was sitting on that for a while."

Hadrian's laugh came out as a bark. "It would've been better if you kept sitting on it. Makes more sense where it resided, mate."

There was a dragging sound and the shadow of Jack stood up.

"What, you mean a demon can't crack jokes in a cassock?"

Hadrian stood and parted the curtain so he can leave. 

"The same way one of the lower angelic ranks can cuss your ass out. Shit's weird out here, man."

He looked to his left, and the space near the window distorted slightly. a black amorphous tendril slipped through and deposited something on the seat: three clove cigarettes.

Hadrian picked them up and slipped them into his breast pocket. A damn silly reason to use shadow magic for something he could've done at any time, but he wanted to show off.

He leaned near the window and whispered one word before leaving. "Shortarse."

The curtain opened wide, and a tall lanky figure was backlit by the cathedral windows. Once the light dimmed, it revealed a man with short, slicked back hair and grinning inanely.

His bright green eyes glowed for a moment. 

"You could've just given me the cigs you owed me from Calais when we went to the restaurant."

Jack held back the curtain so Hadrian could exit.

"What, it's not like I can use shadow stuff regularly in here. I get bored."

"No one told you be a priest, dude."

Jack thought for a moment and sighed heavily. "Well, fuck."