[Ben closes the message window on his computer a little more emphatically than he needs to and leans against the back of the sofa with a growl. Julius, half-asleep on his chest, opens an eye and lets out a grouchy "mrt?", and he reaches up to scratch the cat on the chin.]

You'd think that a man of the cloth would want a slave to be as happy as he could be under the damn circumstances, and to at least cheer the fact that we want the marital relationship to be right in the eyes of Dad before going any further with it.

Guess you're not having any luck on your end either.

Mmmph. No. Only a variety of very unpleasant sermons, thus far.

[Ben huffs out a breath.] You know. Maybe if we're sitting face-to-face with one, it'll be harder for him to make a snap judgment.

And then we can scope him and the church out, too.

[A little wistful.] I'd like to go to church again.

[Maria looks up at that. The thought has honestly never occurred to her, that he might miss that, and shes frankly a little ashamed of herself for that.]

We can do that easily, Ben. Even if we do not find someone willing to marry us, we can find somewhere you could attend services.

It's been a long time.

But if the preacher isn't willing to marry us, I'm not sure it's the right church, you know. There's a certain vibe I look for, a certain kind of spirituality and closeness to Dad. It's not just the building, or the label on the building.

[She has no experience to draw from, here, and no idea of what he might be looking for. But she can understand going with your instincts on if a place is worth being in.]

Nevertheless. We can look. If it is something you want, something to give you happiness, then we can make the thing happpen.

[Maria shakes the offered hand, sizing the man up. The last guy, after all, also seemed decent at first.]

Thank you very much, I'm sure. We have been a few other places that did not seem so eager to extend that "both of you" to us. I'm called Maria Gordon, and my companion is Ben.

["Please, have a seat." And George doesn't miss that Ben waits for Maria to sit first, even as he grabs a chair and turns it around, sitting himself. "I apologize for not having a more formal setting, but we're just a small church and don't really have space for things like offices."

He tents his fingers and leans forward. "Now, tell me how I can help you."

Ben is, again, sitting closer to Maria than is strictly necessary. George doesn't miss that either.]

[Maria clasps her hands on her knee, leaning forward. Her expression is earnest.]

What I want to know before we go further is, you don't hold to any stupidity about werewolves having no souls, do you? I should just as soon not to waste my time if that might be the case.

[George's mouth twists, and he looks unhappy. "Sounds like you've been talking to my esteemed colleague Pastor Thompson. I'm sure he made 'the Church' sound like this huge monolithic thing all walking in lockstep, too, right?" He snorts. "It's not like we have a hundred denominations, and then splits within those denominations, over just such questions as this. Personally, I think we should look to the welfare of all God's creatures and leave the matter of whether they have a soul or not between them and God." He leans forward earnestly. "I'm a guide, nothing more. And if those creatures are hard done by on Earth, then I feel all the more responsible to help guide them to the Father."

Ben relaxes. This is better. George continues, "I like to see my job as comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable."]

Well, then.

[And Maria is pointedly ignoring those looks, yes she is. What do they know, anyway? Nothing about anything whatsoever, is what.]

We should find somewhere to eat, yes?

Absolutely. [He looks up and down the street.] There's a Thai place right over there...

That would suit me just fine. Shall we?

[She gives his fingers a squeeze, then leads the way. They very well may have actually found someone to marry them. This calls for a celebratory meal.]

[Ben stops short in the doorway of the Thai place, inhaling blissfully, before remembering his place and following Maria the rest of the way in.] This will be a good one. [They've exited more than one place because Ben's nose told them to.]