Totally Family [Three Trinities Haven Church]

[Ezekiel]

The church was full of little birds. Children were delightfully impressionable, and providing for the feral little creatures was not so hard. They came and went as they pleased – the ones without families at least – but they knew that here they could find shelter and food and protection, for a paltry sum of loyalty and news when they had it. Some of the adults took them underwing, those that cared for it, but many ran loose, laws unto themselves. Zeke allowed it. In this ragtag kingdom he was affable, often smiling, and generous to a fault. But no one here crossed him. Child or adult alike.

He was reclining on cushions when the news of an arrival reached his ears. Under sly amber eyes, a smirk teased Zeke’s lips – though the return of Cruz Vega had never been in doubt. The bird flitted on its merry way, and Zeke giggled a little to himself, sending a plume of fragrant smoke up into the air. The church was cavernous, but blankets and screens made a maze of it to unwary travellers. The children might send him on a merry chase, or lead him directly. That was entirely up to them, and either outcome would earn no ire from Ezekiel.

When Cruz arrived, Zeke’s welcome would reveal no prejudice from their last meeting. His wide grin was the same curious delight he bestowed on all who sought him out here. Other venues had other faces of course, but here he was a benevolent king. He reached to pat one of the cushions around him as he took another drag on the smoke. Let the high and mighty join him in the dirt.