all our little sorrows

piety

i wrote this instead of paying attention in class, oops.

"Of all the things you left behind," a voice behind the young monk drawled, sickeningly sweet and saccharine. "I'm honestly a bit surprised religion wasn't one of them."

Siyu Belmonte set his jaw, dutifully refusing to rise from his kneeling position before the altar. Not before his prayers were complete.

To the trespassing girl's credit, she lapsed into a respectable, patient silence, generously allowing Siyu to finish his rite when he didn't initially rise to her bait.

Once upon a time, Siyu would have demanded she tell him how she always seemed to know exactly where and how to find him.

Now, though, he just didn't bother. She never gave him a direct answer.

All things considering, Siyu wondered if she even knew how to do so.

The silence continued to fester between the two, and both took great and delicate care not to disturb it.

Siyu stalled for time as long as he could, though it would make no difference. Her copious amounts of patience always came off as a bit disconcerting to Siyu. A girl as young as her shouldn't be able to keep so still and quiet as she did until she practically faded from one's notice. It just wasn't natural.

When Siyu finally did finish, he remained kneeling at the altar, toying with the fantasy that if he pretended to still be in the middle of prayer, eventually, miraculously, her boredom would trump over her self-control, and she'd wander off back to whatever cesspit she was currently gracing with her presence.

Of course, that's all it was- a fantasy. He knew by now that he couldn't fool her so easily, and she reinforced this fact by prancing over to him, leaning down to his height, bracing her hands on her knees not mere moments after Siyu was done. She peeked into the corner of his vision with an exaggerated tilt of the head, a knowing smile plastered to her face.

"Finally done?" She inquired politely, though both of them knew she required no answer. Her asking such an inane question she already knew the answer to was merely a matter of proper etiquette, nothing more.

Siyu glanced over at her, greeting her with an expression of agitated neutrality, deciding not to entertain her little charade. It wouldn't last, he knew that, too. So did she, and she clued him in on this fact with a wide grin. They both knew she was all too skilled in getting under Siyu's skin, prodding and poking his patience with masterful precision.

"Why are you here, Noelle?"

Noelle Nejem paused to mull over the question, tapping her chin with a dramatic flair.

"Hmm...Well, I suppose I just wanted to see you, Siyu," she stated, clapping her hands over her mouth and tittering at her own little joke.

Siyu scoffed, rolling his eyes. His derision did not go unnoticed.

"What?" Noelle asked, her words honeyed with false, syrupy innocence. "Is that so wrong?"

Siyu didn't hesitate. "Yes."

Noelle merely laughed in response. She wasn't at all offended by Siyu's blunt crassness, flouncing her way up towards the altar, plopping down on its surface with blatant disrespect, childishly swinging her legs back and forth in the air.

Siyu ground his teeth, unable to suppress a displeased scowl. The girl's smile didn't waver, though there was still a palpable air of satisfaction about her as she fiddled with a long brown strand of hair. She always did make a game out of just how quickly and effectively she could piss people off.