He lingers, just long enough to catch the man's expression when he bends down to read one of the labels. And he can't help the delight that flickers inside of him, unable to help but enjoy every little tick of annoyance that he seems able to coax out of the angel; be it a slight twitch or narrowing of the eyes, a slight frown at the corners of his mouth or the brief flicker over his eyes. It doesn't stir anything great, but it makes it more bearable to be in the man's presence. A-And it was good for the church of course! All the work that could be done with the angel around to put his strengths to actual good use. It might actually take a good load off of his shoulders, not having to worry about all the little loose odds and ends around the church. Frayed ends of a wire, Father Christopher always quoted.
And the youth could take a good break too, just one out of the blue. It needn't always be some sort of festival or someone's birthday for the great church to not need any tending to. The building had stood for a good century, lasted through a war that would probably go on for many more centuries to come and stood it's ground through the worst of storms which was the least of it's feats, it could go a day or two without constantly being looked after.
Still, the church was old. He stops along the corridor and presses a hand up against the cool concrete wall. Concrete wasn't used much nowadays, production value was high and the cost was all too much the same. He wasn't even sure if any of the newer buildings within the compound still had any constitution of concrete anymore, or anything outside of the scrap yards. It probably just told of how old the church was and even without constant tending to, one day it would fall and when it did...Well, they'd replace it probably.
The children would have to probably stay over at a temporary boarding home or with any kind civilians who's volunteer their homes for as long as it took, the elderly and ill might be a little harder to sort, but chances were they wouldn't be left out on the streets. The delivery of goods would get delayed and back logged again, especially with all the building materials they required to rebuild the main building and the dormitories, not to mention all the facilities within it. Perhaps he should consider placing an order for some spare parts just in case, he could probably store them away in the scrap yards and grease them up a little to protect from the wind and rain and...
Alright, he was getting a little out of point, but once a new church was built of bronze and steel alloy, it might serve the same function, but it didn't symbolize nearly as much as the grey giant that had held out for so long. Would the children notice a difference after they spent so long getting used to the church to the point that they could run around the corners and avoid the pillars without even paying any attention to them.
It was a rather sad thought all the same. Certainly, he'd feel sentimental over the church's eventual demise, but all things had an end sooner or later. Even this damning war had to stop at some time, but that's a thought that's gotten old as well.
Done with his deep melancholy brooding for the day, he straightens his attire and brushed off the dust that always settled on everything old. And speaking of old things, he was not gonna even go there.
He was going to continue on with logging down what orders the church had received and then start taking register of what supplies they did had and where else they were meant to go. To think that the youth were willing to break their backs carrying load after load, learn to drive out on deliveries and how to completely take apart and put back together complex machinery, but they absolutely refused to and more than once skipped out on trying to learn their figures and accounting for all the storage that they had. He should've been more strict with them when they were younger, but he supposed it was a good distraction with the angel out of his hair and now his thoughts and a great way to find out that dust actually does bother his lungs.
72 full cans of preserved fruits, 34 jars of dried meat, 8 and a half stacks of folded cotton clothes and countless amounts of sneezing and biting his tongue whilst sneezing and thinking out loud, he finds the sun setting and the classes ended. The scent of orange and stew permeating the air and telling him that Gabby's gotten creative in the kitchen again.
Everyone's already seated by the time he gets to the great hall. The children all squeezed together at one bench, trying to get the angel's attention. It's not...unusual for them to get entranced by a guest, even less so knowing said guest's little big secret, but...today he was going to dine in his so called 'office'. What was once the designated room of the pope. He trusts the angel won't do any harm in the presence of so many people though he's unwilling to admit the angel almost has him convinced of his objective.
There's a lot of other reasons too; like the fact that he hadn't gotten to putting down the orders yet and labeling the deliveries that had only just been delivered yesterday; one of which he can at least take care off in his office.
It's not uncommon either for him to eat in his office either. The youths would know what to do with the guests for the evening and any concerns could be sent to him before lights out.
Apparently, it's not so common for him to eat in his office though because Javier perks up and looks around halfway into the meal. Then his brow furrows, "Father did not come to say the dinner prayer, that means he's not going to tell us a bedtime story." Collectively, all the children groan.
In his office, he considers going back out there, knowing him, he's likely to fall asleep at his desk if he doesn't get back to his room by light's out. The angel will probably take care of it, the thought isn't a pleasant one, but he has work to do.