"Uh. Well."
Mirielle certainly didn't expect the sudden question, nor the unusually childish way it was asked. Reminded her of the children of her old orphanage, on the rare occasions she was afforded the chance to visit. Which was weird already, considering the woman before her was definitely an adult.
Thankfully circus man jumped to rescue while she's frozen for a moment, wine cup halfway down to the table. Nodding sagely, she immediately followed that trains of thought as if it wasn't something invented on the fly.
"Of course, it is not always bad or good. Time and place for everything, and while some things needs haste - like our purpose here, for one - on other occasions haste will only make waste."
Nothing particularly revelatory in that statement, but it's all in the presentation. Radiate enough confidence and anything can be made to sounds convincing. The fact that Mirielle wasn't actively aware of it wouldn't stop her from making use of the fact.
Whatever may follow had to be cut short by the door opening, marking the return of the Archbishop back to the hall. Mirielle sat straighter, her attention skipped past the nun for a moment before the incongruity caught up. The once-inquisitor jerked back to the woman clad in spiked robe, visage halfway twisted into a wary snarl before she managed to control herself.
"A penitent!"
Her senses must've dulled if the mere sight of that robe didn't immediately draw her attention. The world faded away as her attention tunneled to the pale woman, how closely she stood to the Archbishop, and a thousand horrible visions where the sinner managed to murder the man in cold blood before anyone can do anything about it.
Yet the seconds ticked by, and none of those visions came to pass. The wariness begrudgingly faded away, sinking into an ever-present pressure at the back of her mind. To always keep some attention onto the penitent, at all times, so that she can immediately act if the sinner did something nefarious or silently disappeared.
Pale yellow eyes flickered to the Archbishop, and then Carmen. This was an unpleasant surprise. A penitent was a sizzling powder keg at best, why was the presence of one deemed necessary? What else were being kept from Mirielle, and the rest of the team?
The ex-inquisitor listened in to the introduction, noting that this one's sounding stable. Those were always the worst kind, you'd never know when they'd decide to stab you in the back. Sometimes the inquisitors in charge wouldn't even notice. And worst of all, seemingly everyone present had no idea how big of a threat a penitent was.
As for the name... rung a bell, but nothing came to mind. Eh, Mirielle can find out later. Preferably grilled out of Carmen, away from prying eyes. She should still had some leverage over the man, even after his promotion.
Mirielle certainly didn't expect the sudden question, nor the unusually childish way it was asked. Reminded her of the children of her old orphanage, on the rare occasions she was afforded the chance to visit. Which was weird already, considering the woman before her was definitely an adult.
Thankfully circus man jumped to rescue while she's frozen for a moment, wine cup halfway down to the table. Nodding sagely, she immediately followed that trains of thought as if it wasn't something invented on the fly.
"Of course, it is not always bad or good. Time and place for everything, and while some things needs haste - like our purpose here, for one - on other occasions haste will only make waste."
Nothing particularly revelatory in that statement, but it's all in the presentation. Radiate enough confidence and anything can be made to sounds convincing. The fact that Mirielle wasn't actively aware of it wouldn't stop her from making use of the fact.
Whatever may follow had to be cut short by the door opening, marking the return of the Archbishop back to the hall. Mirielle sat straighter, her attention skipped past the nun for a moment before the incongruity caught up. The once-inquisitor jerked back to the woman clad in spiked robe, visage halfway twisted into a wary snarl before she managed to control herself.
"A penitent!"
Her senses must've dulled if the mere sight of that robe didn't immediately draw her attention. The world faded away as her attention tunneled to the pale woman, how closely she stood to the Archbishop, and a thousand horrible visions where the sinner managed to murder the man in cold blood before anyone can do anything about it.
Yet the seconds ticked by, and none of those visions came to pass. The wariness begrudgingly faded away, sinking into an ever-present pressure at the back of her mind. To always keep some attention onto the penitent, at all times, so that she can immediately act if the sinner did something nefarious or silently disappeared.
Pale yellow eyes flickered to the Archbishop, and then Carmen. This was an unpleasant surprise. A penitent was a sizzling powder keg at best, why was the presence of one deemed necessary? What else were being kept from Mirielle, and the rest of the team?
The ex-inquisitor listened in to the introduction, noting that this one's sounding stable. Those were always the worst kind, you'd never know when they'd decide to stab you in the back. Sometimes the inquisitors in charge wouldn't even notice. And worst of all, seemingly everyone present had no idea how big of a threat a penitent was.
As for the name... rung a bell, but nothing came to mind. Eh, Mirielle can find out later. Preferably grilled out of Carmen, away from prying eyes. She should still had some leverage over the man, even after his promotion.