Anthony hated churches, but he hated bad weather even more. Which is exactly why he had snuck into a church to seek cover from the weather, tonight. It was late, so from what he had seen there were very little people in there (if there even were any at all. Anthony hadn't actually seen anyone here). He liked that, of course. The less people, the less he has to worry.

That's not to say that he was worried at all, though — other than his inherent distaste for religion and churches, he didn't really feel strongly about this whole situation. He'll just be hiding out here until the weather passes. That'll take, like, an hour, maybe. He wasn't worried. At all.

Anthony just idled in shadow in a spot that he assumed most people don't frequent, waiting for the weather to pass.

Ben would have been at home and in bed by now. They always rose early and he needed his sleep. But they had received a letter from Alice that had disturbed him somewhat, and Ben had decided to send a wire to Castleton this very night, because he would not be able to do it in the morning. But when he returned, it started raining, and though at first it had seemed like light rain, it soon got heavy, and Ben found himself walking close to the walls, looking for cover. It didn't help that his leg was poor, and he couldn't walk as fast as he used to.

He didn't hesitate when he passed the local Catholic church. Though Ben disliked Catholicism and would never go into one of these churches voluntarily, he knew that arriving home soaking wet would be disastrous for his health, and so he went in grudgingly. He stayed in the back, as if to distance himself from everything inside. He didn't notice the younger man, who had also sought shelter.

Oh dear! Such rain! Gabriel ran. He had just visited a family, and had been on his way back when the rain had surprised him. His black cassock was already beginning to feel cold and heavy and Gabriel was eager to be home and put on some dry clothes.

Passing the church, he realized that the door was still open, and he quickly closed it and locked - being in such a rush to get out of the rain that it didn't even occur to him to check whether there were people inside. As soon as the door was locked, Gabriel rushed to the presbytery, to change and have a relaxing night to himself.

Anthony was bored out of his mind, just sitting in this church and waiting for the rain to go away. His eyes were trained on the wall near him, but he immediately turned to look at the door as soon as he caught something moving in his peripheral vision. He stayed dead silent as he saw another person enter — he hadn't recognized him yet, so he wasn't worrying about that, he just didn't want to be here with anyone.

And just as he kind of stopped worrying, he saw yet another movement and heard something, at the door. Someone had locked the door. Oh. That was not ideal. Anthony just sat in his little corner, looking back and forth between the door and the other person in the church.

Ben just stood there, staring at the ground, as if the mere act of accidentally looking at one of the statues or other objects was idolatry and punishable with hellfire. He was listening carefully to hear whether the rain stopped, because he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Instead, he heard a different sound, and by the time he realized what it was, he was already too late.

"Hey!" He walked over to the door and banged it with his fist. "Hey! Ye locked me in! Let me out!"

Even if Anthony hadn't recognized that face, he definitely recognized that voice. Fuck. Really the worst possible person to be locked inside a church with. He watched as the guy just banged on the door and essentially begged to be let out, with barely veiled amusement. This entire thing sucked and he hadn't entirely comprehended it yet, but at least it was kind of funny.

Anthony considered whether he was just gonna be the bigger person here, or if he was just gonna try and have some fun with this situation. He chose the latter. If he's locked in with a guy who hates him, then he might as well try to make it so that it's not completely terrible, right? He leaned further into the shadow and banged on the wall like some mischievous ghost.

Ben turned when he heard the noise. Was there someone in the church? "Hello?" he called out, taking a few steps into the church. It was dark inside, apart from some candles burning in front of certain statues and the tabernacle. Ben peered into the dark. "Hello? I've been locked in!"

Anthony snickered, holding a hand to his mouth to muffle the sound. With every step Ben took forward, Anthony took one back. This was fun. Not the 'stuck in a church' part, but the 'trying to freak out the guy who is also stuck in a church' part. Anthony took a more practical approach to his little prank here than before, banging on the wall with his fist in diminuendo, until he wasn't doing it anymore. It was difficult to restrain his amusement.

Ben frowned and walked towards the sound. He couldn't make out what it was but it didn't sound like a person. "Hello?" he tried, nevertheless, a little louder.

Anthony tried to get as far away from Ben as quickly and quietly as possible, with limited success, as soon as he realized the guy was coming closer to him. He can't just give himself away, he was having way too much fun to even consider that!