Leah invites you to (stayawhile) wrote in knowhereic, @ 2017-09-08 23:10:00 |
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Entry tags: | diablo: canon: leah, marvel (mcu): canon: matt murdock |
Characters: Leah and Matt Murdock (MCU Canon)
When/Where: Starlin's/A while after this conversation
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 (mentions of death and possession)
Leah liked the idea of being able to help, plus getting a new story out of someone. Uncle would want her to continue the work, and she was honestly enjoying it. So far, every resident she’d met had their own book, and more and more info was added to it as she spoke to them or heard about. This wouldn’t be too different.
And yet, still sort of different. The man she was meeting was blind. It couldn’t be fun in a normal place, this place had to give him all sort of problems. So she was glad to help out, and would probably lurk nearby to be suspiciously free to offer a hand. At least until he figured out where to walk, and where not to. It was the least she could do.
She also wondered how to explain her Uncle, and now hers, work. She had Uncle’s book but well...she wasn’t sure how she could explain everything because so much of it was images. Those would be hard to get a picture, no puns intended, of.
Still, she’d try.
Getting out of Starlin’s and back to the Barracks wasn’t hard, she’d already found the quickest way between them, and figured the person with the odd spectacles could be no one save her new friend. “Hi,” she offered warmly and wondered if she should offer her hand or if that was rude to do to someone who couldn’t see. In the end she just held onto her bag. “I’m guessing you’re Matt? Euh, Leah. We spoke over the communication thing.” She still wasn’t all that great with technology. At least she was learning. “I’m here to show you the way to Starlin's. And to get you the free drinks.” she at least gave him the courtesy of looking into his eyes. She wasn’t sure if he could see her or not, but the thought was what counted. “So none moving skeletons huh? Gotta tell me what that’s like. Could have used a few of those.”
Knowhere did give him an entirely different set of problems. He was left trying to memorize an entirely new set of shapes, sounds, and smells from an entirely new place. It wasn't that he couldn't see those shapes but that many of them were foreign to him, and a lot of the beings moving around him had extra appendages or growths that Matt was still trying to wrap his brain around figuring out. It was also a new set of sounds and activities to grow accustomed to. He needed to find a new normal and set his senses to that. It was going to be a learning curve, to say the least. Having someone to show him around would help immensely, although he wasn't going to go announcing that he could see to any extent. It was safer for the moment to keep that under wraps in case he needed to use it to his advantage.
He was holding his cane tight to his chest, clearly not dressed to impress. His hair was still in bedhead mode and he had a 5 o'clock shadow that was edging more toward 10 PM. He had managed to score some tinted glasses, so although his eyes were at their usual staring straight ahead position, they were covered up a little bit so as to not be disturbing to others.
She sounded nice. That was Matt's first thought, followed by a stab of guilt at lying to her about the blindness. He squashed that down inside of him for right now, smiling warmly back at her.
"Yes, I'm Matt. Our skeletons don't move, but I'll be glad to trade stories about them." He started to hold out a hand to her, before catching himself. "Uhh. Earth custom to shake hands. If you don't like that, we can forget about it. And I'll probably keep my hand on your elbow while you lead me, if that's ok."
She grinned, not caring if it couldn't be seen or not, and took his hand firmly. "It's not a habit of where I'm from, but I picked it up while I've been here," she said and offered a firm and polite handshake, "and no, no problem at all. I wasn't sure about all that actually," she said as she took her hand back and offered her elbow as he'd asked. "I wasn't sure if you'd think I was rude if I stuck out my hand or offered my arm." Credit where credit was due, she was honest.
She shifted her bag so he wouldn’t run into it before starting to walk. She didn’t walk fast or slow, just a steady walking pace. High Heavens only knew how long he’d been blind, he certainly seemed to carry himself with enough knowledge and she wouldn’t discredit that or think him less of it. If he needed to go slower she’d listen to him, but she let him set the rules, as it wasn’t her place to make them for him. She’d want the same if she lost her vision, so she’d give this new friend of hers the same courtesy.
“I’m going to sound stupid, and maybe a bit insensitive but if I had a drawing could you find a way to get a sense of it?” Again, an honest question. She certainly didn’t mean to cause pain. “Or would it be better to try and explain it as best as I could? You asked me to explain Uncle’s work, which is now my work, and a lot of that involves drawings so I want to find a way to deal with those. Just opening Uncle’s book and then going ‘oh here’s a picture of Diablo’ feels like it might be bad. Or wrong. Certainly kind of mean.”
She smiled again, hoping that came through, “Secondly can I ask about it? Why you can’t see? If you tell me no I won’t bring it up again, not for all the drinks in the world I promise that.” She meant that, too. Uncle might be the type to pry but he’d have to understand why she wouldn’t. Having her own painful things, she didn’t want to be pushed into talking about it. She wanted to do it on her own terms.
"You'd be surprised how many people hesitate or don't want to be rude. I expected it," he said with a grin, letting her leading him along and taking some time to move his cane in front of him from time to time, to keep from tripping. "I should just stick my hand out first."
If he had, he wouldn't have gotten a good read off her, so he refrained. Even so, he wasn't tense about being with her, and that was a good sign. Leah reminded him a little of Karen, in the way that she wasn't afraid to open up or talk. It made things less awkward, which was great, considering he was like a fish out of water.
"If it was a drawing with raised edges on the lines, to give it shape, I could feel what it looks like. But an explanation works. I don't mind you asking at all. I lost my sight when I was a kid. Traffic accident. Some chemicals spilled and got in my eyes. I wish it sounded more exciting than that, but it wasn't. " He left out pushing the old man out of the way and paused a little tilting his head to one side. "I don't want to interrupt. You mentioned Diablo. The devil?"
She took all of it in stock and would file it away in her memory. Her Uncle had taught her how to do it, and she had yet to forget a single fact told to her, or something she'd read. "Chemicals?" She asked in return and glanced up at him. "You'll have to give me a reference. I know traffic accident, I've been told about cars and stuff but not chemicals. Sanctuary isn't like your Earth. At all, I've come to realize."
Then he asked the question and while she lost some of her smile and sighed she knew this one because Carlos had made the reference. “Not in the way you think. I’ve been told the name translates to what you call the devil but in my world it’s not a translation. It’s a name.” One she hated but that was besides the point. She should have said Azmodan, but that wasn’t any better.
“We have demons in Sanctuary, not devils like you know them. Diablo is what we call one of the Lords of Hell, and one of the Prime Evils. According to what I was told your devil was a fallenangel, our Diablo isn’t like that. Angels when they fall just turn mortal. Not human, not really but mortal. I met one.” She said with a smile, “I can vouch that Tyrael isn’t evil or going to rule the Burning Hells. He’s kind, sweet, wise, and very just. He used to be the Aspect of Justice actually. He helped me a lot when Uncle died.” She sighed and looked to MAtt, “I hope I’m not going too fast. If I need to explain anything let me know. I know all of what I say has to be a little odd.”
"Chemicals, like...acid. Corrosives. Liquid that can burn through things."
He wondered if that made sense or not. It was usually people explaining things to him on first meeting. He wasn't even sure if what he was saying sounded odd. He didn't want to be odd, but reassuring.
"I'm Catholic, so no. No, it's not odd. There's different saints, angels, and demons," he gently reassured her, his voice a little more somber than before. He was going to miss going to church, confessing, hearing prayers and lighting candles. "It's different, definitely. But you're not going too fast. I'm actually interested in anyone who's met a fallen angel. Especially one that used to be the Aspect of Justice. I'm a lawyer. I'd be a bad lawyer if I wasn't interested in that."
He had heard her sigh and gathered the topic wasn't a happy one to talk about. He didn't want to pry, but also wasn't in a hurry to get to the bar, either. The things she was talking about interested him, from a religious perspective. Not that he was great at being religious, given the things he'd done.
"Oh," she said smiling. "I do know those." She'd make a note to add them to the book she'd set aside for him. She didn't ask if it had hurt, although her Uncle would have. She wasn't that callous though. She could imagine it had. He seemed fortunate he'd only lost sight, and not his entire eyes.
She tilted her head and looked up at him, "What's Catholic? Can I ask how it works?" She was interested. Her own world only had the Zakaruum faith, and if lore was to be believed it was corrupt and was only now, with the return of the Crusaders, being cleansed from that. "Then you'd like Tyrael. He's still learning to be mortal, but I think he'd like you. He likes anyone who fights for Justice. He'd probably feel bad that as a mortal he couldn't restore your sight. I think as an angel he could, and probably would." She knew Tyrael had a kind heart, so she figured it would be the least of what he would do.
“Diablo used to be the Lord of Fear.” Used to be being the operative word. She wanted to hear more about Matt’s world, and didn’t want to scare him off. Who she was, she what was, might just do that. But she wasn’t one to hide things, even the painful ones. Still. She chewed her lip. “Do you believe in inherited evil? That somehow, through birth, one can be born and never have a choice in how you might turn out? That you can always be tainted?” She wanted to be honest, but if that would cost her a friend she would be hesitant. She tried disproving her blood day after day, but people had their thoughts. And she didn’t want someone to fear her when they found out she was Diablo’s daughter. So far, the few who knew didn’t fear her. She wanted to keep it that way.
True, it hadn't burned through his eyes, but it was the easiest and simplest way to explain it, that might make sense. He wished he had paid more attention in chemistry class, but that clearly wasn't where his talents were. He was no Tony Stark, that's for sure.
Every time she smiled, the ghost of a smile also touched his lips. He could sense it in her voice, it was easy to pick up on.
"It's a religion. We worship God and pray to the Saints for blessing, guidance, and intervention. Sometimes, there are miracles," he explained, though he wished he would have had a few miracles in his life. "God had a son. He healed the sick and helped the poor. He died to forgive all of our sins. He rose from the dead afterward, and ascended to Heaven to be with his Father. It's a lot of praying and guilt."
He laughed, aimed purely at himself, and then let the rest of what she said sink in. Used to was comforting to him. He wanted to believe that a Lord of Fear, something absolutely evil, could be defeated. Past tense was something to be savored, even if he picked up on Leah's hesitation.
"I don't know. I think that's a good question for Father Lantom. The priest at my church," he explained. "I think that it's hard to shake the feeling that you could do something wrong, someday, or something evil. But I think there's always a personal choice. And while we can ask for guidance from others, it really boils down to if you want to do good or if you want to do evil. We're getting into the whole God's plan for you part of things. That's going to require a drink or two."
It wasn't a hint to be in a rush, but that could get...complicated. At least it might be, trying to explain it while he was stone cold sober. And as far as her being the daughter of Diablo? He had no clue. Ignorance was bliss, but he wasn't innocent either. The entire time he was talking, the weight of the things he did - even if they were for doing good, or his idea of good - weighed heavily upon him.
She had a lot of questions. Was this the same God Carlos had spoken of? How had this God have a son? She hoped not in the way like her. She wouldn't wish anyone to be a pawn like she'd been. But his comment about drinks held merit. She needed at least a few to get through the entire ordeal she'd gone through. And by that time, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he did run. She would certainly have plenty of drinks to ease the sting.
And if he did run she already knew she wouldn't tell Li-Ming. Her friend got overprotective to the extreme. No one needed to get hurt because they feared the thing Leah came from, that was natural. Li-Ming couldn't magic people into being her friend.
“Okay, drinks first. Explanations after I think.” Gently, without rushing too much she would lead him to Starlin’s. Enough time for him to get a feel how long it would take on an easy step, and the sort of things he might need to avoid.
Once there she picked a quiet (well quieter) corner and pointed him to a seat but didn’t fuss any more. She’d want to figure things out herself. Instead she busied herself with clearing the table and then setting her Uncle’s book on it. A motion to the bartender, who knew her, would bring drinks. She then sat down. “Okay, so fair warning. I don’t like talking about this, buut more and more I’m thinking the more I try and ignore this the worse it gets. I want to forget, because I don’t want to recall, but honestly….”she sighed and trailed off. “That’s letting them win I think. But it’s not good. You might run, and I won’t take offense. But if you’d rather talk about different things, or I ask questions about your God, we can do that. But my friend keeps telling me to let no one define me, even my past. Even to not let myself define me. So I’m not sure. Either it’s running the risk of having a new friend think terrible things of me, or pretending it doesn’t exist. Up to you.”
He was grateful for the the way she was leading him so carefully, letting him get his bearings. During their walk, he had picked up on what seemed to be some common repetitive sounds nearby. Those were going to be his new homing signals. The smallest sound didn't go unnoticed, and neither were any of the shapes of signs or other landmarks that appeared to be permanent fixtures. He'd find out the next time he passed by.
"I appreciate the fair warning. And even if I've grown up with priests and nuns telling me all sorts of things, I think what you do defines you," Matt said, with a small crease between his brows. "I'm fine talking about this. You can ask me about my God too. But I'm no priest at a confessional to absolve your sins. And I'm not God, so I can't forgive you for them, either. Nobody's perfect. Everyone can do something wrong...."
Himself included. A sudden sigh parted his lips, and he reached his hand out toward whatever it was they had been given to drink. He didn't even mind what it was, as long as it was in him. It seemed he wasn't the only person with secrets to hide. While that cause him to worry for a brief second, her worrying about it and how he would take the news didn't really strike him as coming from someone who was mean spirited or malicious.
"Let me ask you this, from a legal perspective. Have you killed anyone?" To reassure her, he leaned forward a little bit. "It's ok to answer. I've defended killers before, in court. It's complicated."
Just like everything else in his life. It was always complicated.
There was a difference she felt in doing something wrong and being wrong. And no matter what Li-Ming said, Leah herself kept feeling the latter. She frowned at his question and thought long. "I...do skeletons and zombies count?" It was an honest question, without really any guile to it. She meant it. "Because if they do, yes I have." She hadn't killed innocents, at least not that she thought. Anyone Diablo killed, well was that hers? Maybe.
“I like to think what I do defines me but,” she might as well get this over with so she flipped to the page about Diablo. Even the drawing made her pale, and angry. “What if parentage defines you too? What if what I am doesn’t make up for what I do?” She looked to the page for a long time before taking a drink from what she’d been handed.
“I was born to be a pawn.” Her grip tightened on the glass and tears formed in her eyes, like they always did when she spoke of Adria. “Adria, the woman who bore me, got pregnant with me all to fulfill her Master’s plan. I was never more than a piece in a game, and I never saw it until…”
She broke off and downed the drink. She hated the fact she hated Adria. The woman wasn’t worth the emotion. “Diablo was defeated you see, he’d lost his physical flesh and then his previous puppet. He needed a new one. One who would make it easy to take over because blood has a lot of power.” She broke off and lowered his head. He seemed smart, she was sure he could come to his own conclusions.
“I shouldn’t have mentioned Diablo.”
Matt had shook his head no, because zombies and skeletons didn't count. Other than being the walking dead. Foggy once told him that The Walking Dead was a great show and he should tune in too, because it might make him forget about some of the bad in his own life, listening to people try to survive zombies.
Matt didn't think so at the time, and he didn't think so right then. What he was thinking consisted of putting two and two together, and not needing the rest of it spelled out to him.
"The church doesn't like to talk about it, but there's plenty of stories of priests performing exorcisms. It's when a demon possesses someone." He took a very big swig of what tasted like beer, but really wasn't. It fortified him to go on, and no, he didn't run. He spent some last moments kissing a woman who got an adrenaline rush from killing others, even if they were her enemy.
Thou shalt not kill. So what did that say about him? That he vicariously approved of killing?
He felt a stab of pity for Leah, because she seemed just that: broken. If anything, Saint Matthew was there to defend lost causes and have pity for the unfortunate. It was what he was good at.
"It's ok," he said, after another drink to fortify himself. "But that's what it sounds like, a possession. I think. But I'm a lawyer, not a priest. And if you haven't done anything bad, other than kill some skeletons and zombies...."
At this point, Matt told himself to think over his life a bit too, because how did he end up in these situations?
"....uh, if you haven't killed anything other than that," he smiled and almost laughed, "then I think you're ok."
She looked up at him and gave a watery smile. Carlos had promised he'd find a way to stop her if Diablo came back and took her over. Matt, on the other hand, seemed to genuinely believe that it hadn't been her fault. She didn't quite believe any of her friends, but their words meant the world to her. "It is possession, of a sort. Thanks to me though, Diablo became The Prime Evil." She sighed, "I shouldn't have been so blind about Adria. I should have listened to the visions more."
She shook her head, "I always wonder if I am born wrong. Through me, Diablo will always have a foothold." She paused and took another drink. "I heard him, back in Sanctuary, after. He kept telling me to come home."
She lowered her head for a long time before setting the glass down and wiping her tears away. "I think I will always be tainted. That no matter the good I do, it won't really matter. Diablo can, and will, corrupt and use me."
Another long pause before she closed the book. "Here I am giving you all these burdens and you just got here and met me. Hell of an introduction."
Matt's eyes were staring into that space between her and him, into thin air, that was probably about six inches in front of him. For all extensive purposes, it was a blind stare. But it was so much more. The sounds of the bar moved around them and every being coming or going caused the air to shift to and fro. It allowed him to make out the parts of her face shifting in and out view. He could see the way she lowered her head, and heard the sound of tears being wiped away. He might not be able to see clearly and perfectly - or even see in the classic sense - but he knew all too well what sorrow looked like.
There was a wry note to his voice when he started to say, "I'm no stranger to those hell-of-an-introduction moments. We all have our burdens and our crosses to bear."
He didn’t volunteer to talk about his own cross. It was always easier, concentrating on someone else's problems. It was even more easy to do during a trial, to focus on a client. Leah wasn't a client though, and sometimes the best legal advice was offered off the clock and outside of a courtroom.
He polished off the drink and considered asking for something different on the next round. When in Rome, right? Or in Knowhere, where intergalactic liquor available.
"I don't know if this will help, saying this. But you're not the only person who blames yourself for things you didn't know about, before. Some people have the capacity to do evil. Others to do good, even if it doesn't turn out to be the sort of good they imagined it would be. When I was a kid, someone told me that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. We still do the best we can. That's probably all we can do."
With a raise of his eyebrows, a question came to mind and Matt ran with it.
"Is there a way to put him back in his place, if he tries to get out? Without hurting you?"
He didn't like hurting people that didn't deserve it, that weren't rotten to their very core. Leah didn't seem like someone who wanted to hurt anyone, and she certainly didn't deserve to find out that she was being used as a vessel for a devil.
She certainly didn't like thinking about the fact she was no more of a pawn. And still, she wasn't dealing with the emotions attached to it. She tended to push the anger and sadness away. She wasn't a pawn anymore, she could have her own life here. Neither Diablo nor Adria were worth thinking about. It wasn't a good way to handle things, but it was her way.
She sighed to his words. He was probably right. She didn't remember what happened after she'd been killed (something she wasn't mentioning) and she wasn't sure what would happen once she truly died. Probably nothing good. "You're right," she said and set her elbows on her knees. "It is all we can do really." She glanced to him, "oh he's not...If he had a hold on me ever since coming here that's been broken. Except the familial bond, I don't...well carry him around." Lucky she'd come here, she was sure after his release from Malthael, and he'd regained his strength Diablo would have used her as a vessel again.
"The way that works in my home is that for whatever reason the Lords of Hell can't get onto Sanctuary. They have to have vessels. But they also can't do it in one go, usually. It's like a glass. There's already liquid in it, but over time the Lords could replace that. Diablo tried doing it to Leoric, my grandfather. Diablo managed to turn Leoric evil, but couldn't take him over. So he used Albrecht. A Kid." She shuddered. "His brother Aidan had to kill Albrecht, and Uncle theorized that destroyed Aidan's mind which might be why he put the soulstone, a way of capturing demons, into his own forehead. It turned Aidan into a vessel as well, and over time he got corrupted too. It's through Aidan that Diablo sired me."
She gave a soft laugh, almost bitter. "It's very complicated. But because I have a direct bloodline to Diablo I'm easier to take over. Adria had found what we call the Black Soulstone, a place where many demons could be held. Through it, Diablo became The Prime Evil. She shoved that into me. When Diablo was defeated his essence was once more trapped there, but recently he was freed. He can't, I think, just take me over as easy as before but I'm a half full glass. It's a lot easier to corrupt me. As for taking him out if he does corrupt me..." she trailed off but not in sadness. She was thinking. "No. Once he's got a hold, there's no letting go. I'll have to be stopped before his hold solidifies."
She took a long drink, not looking forward to that. "I have a friend who will do it. She's strong enough. And it won't really be me."
"That sounds...complicated," was Matt's judicious reply. A reply that was quite possibly the understatement of the century.
It was a lot to absorb. Yet he listened, just like he would have with any client before a court hearing. He was taking mental notes, reading signals, and mulling things over. It would never be said that Matt Murdock wasn't a pro level multitasker.
After a pause, his expression changed from somber thoughtfulness to what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He was thinking of Elektra. He couldn't even hear her heart beating anymore. And yet he would still stop her, because he still cared about her. Even if everything she became was an antithesis to who he was.
"It's good to have a friend like that. Someone who has your back, even at your worst. I know it's small consolation, but at least it would be at the hand of someone you trust. If you aren't yourself anymore, I mean. So let's hope that connection really is broken, and that you won't go Exorcist on us all."
She nodded, "pretty much." She frowned, not getting the reference but still gave a nod. She didn't want people to worry. "Oh yeah no. No whispers in my head, no visions. I still have power, but while it traces back to the lineage it isn't tied to it. At least not according to my friend." And Li-Ming knew magic. She knew it better then anything. Leah trusted her friends judgment on that matter.
"What's that mean? Go exorcist on us?" She was feeling better if she was asking questions. The more she talked about this, the less it affected her. It still hurt, even if she denied it, but it was getting easier. She figured it counted for something.
"Anyway we're not here to talk about my sad life. I promised free drinks." Which she'd still do, he'd been nice enough to listen and not run away screaming. That counted for something in her eyes. She set her Uncle's book aside before drawing out a simple notebook. She checked to make sure it was empty before setting that down. While she was here she'd learned of quills that didn't need refilling and the 'pens' as they were named were starting to be her favorite.
She wrote Matt's name in the front of the book, in the script she knew which wasn't English, before flipping forward a few pages and taking out a pencil before looking to Matt. "Do you mind if I draw you?" She wouldn't if he minded. Some people were weird about it. "It makes it easier, later on. People will be able to put a name to the face. But I won't if you mind."
"It’s...that probably wasn’t the right thing to say," he sheepishly admitted, sitting upright more and deliberating for a few seconds. It wasn't like she was snapping a picture of him, and countless screens or cameras in Knowhere could do that already, if they were set to. "I don't mind. Go ahead."
While she was drawing, Matt remained as still as possible, other than taking an occasional drink of faux-beer. It was too soon to relax and grin, even though it wasn't like he had an identity to hide. Yet. If he wanted to go that route again, which he was debating over. He felt that it would be the safer option, though. That there was more than one him, was going to be a complication. It was a good thing that Matt was decent at feigning ignorance when he needed to be, or if he needed to get answers. Better to stick with that, right now.
"If you really want to know,” he said, “The Exorcist was a book about demonic possession. A little girl was possessed. Her mom sought out a priest, and they performed an exorcism. Removed the demon from her. You know what?"
Matt scrunched up his nose for a moment and shook his head. He didn’t know her well enough to make wry jokes like that, off-handedly.
"I'd like to strike saying that from the record, and say this. What you have hidden in you is different from how you normally are, right now. You said that connection was severed when you left your world, right? So you have your contingency plan, with your friend. You might be free of it for good. What I'm getting at, is maybe it's ok to not let this thing hang over your head anymore. If that makes sense."
Like her Uncle before her, her drawing skills were good. They had to be. Her people didn't know camera's, and while she'd gotten her hands on one she was still figuring it out. Drawing was easier, and in a setting like this, worked better. She noted the name of that book. She'd read it. Any knowledge was good knowledge.
At his comment she looked up. "It does. But it's easier said than done. Not so much what I am, but what I went through." She paused and sighed. "My friend says something alike. I shouldn't let blood or past define me. But weird, considering she does the same thing I do, and lets her past and blood define her. I guess the difference is one of us is proud of what they are." It wasn't her, that much was obvious. "But she took vengeance for me. I guess it's something."
She drew as she spoke, used to faint light, movement and being distracted. In that much, her Uncle had raised her well. "So you spoke some of this Catholic belief of yours, can you explain that a bit more? Is there more than one God. Did he sire his child the same way I was sired? When you pray does it heal wounds?" It was only the start of her questions really, but they were the simplest ones.
Matt could make out the book, but not the drawing. It was easy for him to hear the sound of it, and that was enough to let him know there was plenty of shading going on. It sounded like the artists and students that sat in the parks and drew people feeding pigeons, rather than quick sketches of passers by.
"It's something. If it's any consolation, I think I've said easier said than done pretty often, myself. Most of us are bad at taking advice. Even when more than one person says the same thing."
There was a rueful smile on his face for a split second. Not about the questions about religion, but that he had two people he loved and that loved him, giving him advice. And he ignored them. They probably thought he was dead. All he did was cause them grief.
After taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Matt started to answer the questions posed to him.
"All right. I'll try to answer. There's only one God. Christ, his son, was conceived in the Immaculate Conception. Which is going to sound like way too much information if I try to explain that." He almost laughed. "I never thought I'd be talking about this the first time I met a person in outer space? But I'll say, yes, the Holy Spirit moved into the Blessed Virgin. She gave birth. There's the Son of God. He healed and taught disciples, and then he was nailed to a cross and died, followed by The Resurrection and his ascent to Heaven.
"Yes, we pray. For the sick or the dying, or people we've lost. We ask forgiveness for things we've done. Does prayer heal wounds? Well, I've prayed to make pain go away before. Does that count, even if it didn't work?"
At that point, he really did laugh, before clearing his throat and continuing.
"There's studies that said belief helps healing, so praying can help. It doesn't quite work that way, though. If I get hurt, then it takes me the same amount of time as the next guy to heal up. Unless they've got a secret I don't know about.
"Now I have a question. When you're done, is it safe to touch that drawing? I can feel grooves on paper. Foggy tried to impress a couple of visual arts students when we were roommates in college, and they wanted to use me as the test subject."
"Maybe one day I can believe the advice." she offered honestly and hopefully. She also listened as she drew, forming the next set of questions. She paused once though and looked up. "Wait Immaculate? How? Last I checked any sort of conception isn't exactly...immaculate? How does a person stay a virgin after...well conception?" That confused her before realizing it sounded really cruel to say. "Euh. Sorry. If that's rude. Even Diablo had to find a vessel to help create me how did this God manage it?"
She made a face, glad he couldn't see that. It sounded a lot like making someone a pawn, but she didn't have the heart to be cruel about it. This was someone's faith, how could she do that? So she didn't and kept her feelings to herself. "My friend has been to the High Heavens. She said it wasn't really worth boasting about, because to her the occupants kind of made it less." She shrugged idly. Sometimes taking Li-Ming at her word was hard, because of her friend's perspective and opinions. Li-Ming was biased.
"Oh. Odd. Where I'm from we have priests of Zakaruum. They heal through prayer, I've seen them mend wounds and set bones. I don't know if the Crusaders can do the same though. Supposedly they're back but I haven't met one. I wish I had, I'd like to ask them questions." She finished and smiled, "yeah perfectly safe." she set her pencil aside before offering him the book before going to gently take his hand and set it over the drawing. "You were smiling so I got it down. I hope that's okay. I don't know how much you can tell but I'd like to say it's a pretty good image of you. Also I'm trying to sort through the different Earths what's yours like? Some have zombies, some have people with powers but so far no one's come from the Earth we get supplies from. It's really curious and kind of neat."
"No, it's not rude. I knew it was going to sound weird," Matt laughed. "Because it was a spirit that did it, that way she was still virginal. It was a miracle and by all accounts, she felt blessed by it. I'll be honest with you. I'm not exactly the best Catholic, either. I do try, but I skipped going to confession or anything for a while. I'm not lapsed, which means not practicing, but I know I'm doing a much worse job than Father Lantom. He was the priest at my church. We spoke often. He wasn’t able to heal anyone, not like your priests could."
In a way, having his priest to talk to did heal his mind a little bit. But Matt didn't want to add to any potential confusion by saying so. Instead, he listened and let Leah guide his hand and very lightly touched his fingers over the paper. He could feel the scratches and grooves, and that brought a smile to his face.
"From what I can feel, this is pretty good. And your friend. She's lucky. Even if she thinks it's all overrated. I've never seen anything holy or miraculous, or anything resembling Heaven."
He had seen plenty of evil in the hearts of men and women, and he had seen good as well. He cleared his throat and continued talking in the same measured tone of voice as before.
"My Earth has it's problems, and it had some people that have powers. No zombies. Yet. Mostly, life goes on as normally as possible, for better or worse. Once in awhile, things get really messed up and people die. There are still plenty of good people left. But there's also fighting, and wars, and crime. If there's an Earth where that doesn't happen? I'd like to know about it."
She wasn't too sure how a spirit could impregnate anyone, but it was what any faith was based on. Believing that it had happened that this miracle did in fact occur. Li-Ming would argue it. Leah would just note it down. Different wasn't wrong after all. It wasn't her place to argue about faith. "What's confession? Is it something anyone can do, because if so I'd be happy to do it. But I don't know if it would count considering what I am, and the fact I'm from a world that's so different then yours." She'd still try if it was something she could do. He'd listened to her and accepted her which meant that Matt was now a friend. And while she wouldn't cross the sort of rules that Li-Ming crossed for her friends, she'd still do what she could.
"I don't think you should base yourself on someone else. If your God practices acceptance and forgiveness like you said I'm willing to bet it understands." She nodded to that information. "It's kind of nice to have but I am liking the modern medicine they have here. I'm learning a bit from them and while it sometimes a little slower it also has a lot of advantages." She smiled to the praise. "Thank you. Uncle taught me. We don't have those camera things others have so when we see stuff that needs a drawing it has to be rendered as accurately as possible, as best as possible. I still have a bit to go." She laughed then, "I'll tell her you said so. She said overall the Burning Hells were better. More honest. She said the High Heavens were beautiful, but coated in hypocrisy and injustice. And it's occupants made it all worse." She sihed. "She's a good person, she just has opinions I guess."
She tilted her head, "So far? No. A lot of the Earth’s I've heard about run in a similar manner. Sometimes there's differences and sometimes those are big ones. And sometimes it's very faint ones. But the common thread is always the same. Sorry. For what it's worth, Sanctuary is a lot worse."
Even Matt would admit that it was hard to find a religion that didn't sound weird at some part or other.
"You're welcome, and I guess the best I can do is hope that your friend was seeing a different Heaven," he said with a shrug. The drinks kept coming, and Matt was all too happy to drink them, albeit at leisurely pace. He was in no hurry. "A lot of good people have strong opinions. But you wanted to know about confession. If you want forgiveness, that's where you admit your sins to a priest . Then he has you do penance to absolve your sins. I've said my fair share of Hail Marys when I was a kid."
He wanted to hear more about each and every one of those different Earths, but that seemed like a daunting task. There would be time, since it seemed like he would be stuck in Knowhere, indefinitely.
"It's ok, too. I imagined if there was another Earth, that it was going to have roughly the same problems. I guess a toast is in order. Here's to being free of our problems."
Matt raised his drink in a jaunty toasting motion, even if he was thinking that his friends were now free of him being a nuisance to them. Bonus points for telling Danny Rand to protect his city, because he knew that guy would be hunting down The Hand stragglers in his stead. That meant there was little to worry about, except the here and now. Right now he had good company, good conversation, and free drinks. That would never be considered a bad thing.