interfaith dinner mingle!!

[stefanged]

Who: Interfaith Center regulars & the not-so-regulars (party crashers are welcome too!!)
Broadcast: Nope
Action: Interfaith Center on the Iskaulit
When: Forward-dated to November 4th

[The Interfaith Center sounds far more bustling and busy than usual - and anyone peering inside would quickly figure out that a communal dinner is underway! Take off your shoes and walk in: the lounge has extra tablecloths on the floor as well as buffet tables with non-alcoholic beverages and all sorts of food, including Jordanian cuisine (or the outer space equivalent of Jordanian food).

The board games are out of their hiding nooks; the furniture's arranged for the maximum seating possible; and even the teddy bears donated by Kitty & Winn are out for cuddling, should anyone want them.

The kitchen's bustling with helpers - Stefan's running around at vamp-speed to make sure everything's a) done on time and b) cooked to perfection - but he sure wouldn't mind an extra hand. And if you're still not up for some food? Well, the prayer rooms are open as usual. There's always a quiet moment to be found, even if the laughter's louder and the scent of freshly-baked mansaf's wafting through the long corridors.

Anyone and everyone who's ever been inside the Interfaith Center has been invited (via text message - and Stefan even used the fancy emoji). If you're not particularly faithful or devout? Well, drop by anyways. There's more than enough food to spare.]

Comments

[stefanged]

[When it's being asked so earnestly, Stefan doesn't feel right refusing.]

Okay, maybe for just a few minutes.

[monolike]

[SUCCESS] Great! Here- Come sit over here, Maglor keeps playing music and it's beautiful. It's like listening to mountain streams. [Dragging you along now]

[stefanged]

[Oof! He's about as forceful as a limp noodle...]

Sure, sure. Come to think of it, I haven't heard Uncle play in a while.

[monolike]

Uncle? [Snagging a couple cushions on the way, Sorey gives Stefan a curious look.] You guys are close, huh?

[stefanged]

Not... exactly....

[Sure, he and Maglor've talked a few times, but Stefan's far more reminded of another man sharing Maglor's soul.]

I mean, yeah. We will be, sometime in Maglor's future. It's uh, complicated.

[monolike]

Yeah that sounds complicated alright. [More of that time travel business, huh? Sorey's been on the wrong end of that. It's not pretty.

He won't press it though, not when Stefan looks uncomfortable about it, and instead he'll just plop those cushions down for he and Stefan to settle onto while they listen to Maglor plucking at the strings. It's a nice sound, calming and homely, and Sorey finds himself relaxing even further (though he keeps peeking to make sure Stefan is enjoying himself).] You know, I used to look at religion and religious things as kind of...strange.

[stefanged]

[The music's comforting, in an odd, deja vu kind of way. Stefan had associated his uncle - Maglor - with art and a paintbrush more than melodies and strings, but the aura remains the same.

He's loosening up, bit by bit, as he sits cross-legged.]

Yeah? What made you change your mind?

[monolike]

[GOOD!!! stefan probably wasn't like, HATING it but he definitely was looking stressed out.] I got to meet some people who are really religious. Actually, the first human I ever met was looking for seraphim, and she came all the way up the mountain trying to find them. She couldn't see or hear them but still believed they existed. I thought that was... [Strange, a bit, but also,] Really admirable. To have faith in something when you can't tell for sure that it's even there.

[stefanged]

Yeah, that's uh - how my faith works too. I don't know for sure if Allah's around, but I like to think that He's watching over everyone.

[He leans forward, resting an elbow right before his knee - and well, for Stefan? That's as relaxed as he's going to get.]

I couldn't see Mikleo when I first met him, either. If it weren't for me being, well, you know, I doubt I would've heard him.

[monolike]

That's pretty usual, though. In fact, that there's so many people who can see him is strange! [Sorey laughs sheepishly.] Though the idea of anybody worshiping him is equally weird.

[stefanged]

Makes me wonder if the augments're contributing to it somehow.

[Has to be, right?]

Well, yeah. You grew up with Mikleo, and most of us are good friends with him. Even I'd balk at the idea of worshipping him.

[monolike]

Do you think if you knew Allah personally as a friend, it would be the same way for you?

[stefanged]

[That's... a really good question.]

I'm not sure. I knew Mikleo before I realized people worshipped him, and I know people in Caster's world worshipped her too. [A version of her? It's hard to tell.] It's weird, thinking that people revere them so much, but it's also... kind of humbling, you know?

That maybe, to people back in our worlds, we're seen as Prophets because we've got this relationship with them.

[monolike]

Back in my world, the Shepherd is usually both celebrated and feared by a lot of people. Worse than that, ordinary people who can see seraphim usually get persecuted and tormented by those around them, just because it's so rare these days that nobody believes them.

...it's something I'd like to see change. [Perks up!] But that's why it's so great that people can see seraphim here. It's kind of like, a preview of what I want my world to be like, you know?

[stefanged]

[Celebrated and feared - that sounds like a Prophet, alright.] It's hard for people to accept what they can't see or believe. I've seen it on Earth too, and that was just with religious tenets. I can't imagine what it's like for someone who could see seraphim.

[He grows quiet, glancing around the room. If this Fleet is a preview of Sorey's potential future, it'll surely be a good one.]

I think your world'll get there someday, God willing. Maybe not overnight, but bit by bit, you could start to see some real change.

[monolike]

I hope so. [Sorey beams.] Thanks to Lailah, I'm in a unique position where I can influence that directly, so I'm actually pretty lucky.

[Sorey leans closer and nudges Stefan with an elbow.] And you can teach people here more about Islam! Maybe that's not quite like being a prophet, but since you're the leading expert here it's still pretty influential, huh?

[stefanged]

Is that so? That just makes you and Lailah even cooler.

[When Sorey puts his Islamic teachings in that perspective, though, Stefan blinks back surprise. Islam has a far bigger impact among these 190-something people than Stefan would've guessed. He laughs at the realization,] I guess I could. I never thought about it like that.

There weren't that many Muslims back home, at least in the country where I grew up, and I was always teaching people. [Emphasis in always. Even the big ticket items were brand new information.] Not because I wanted to, but because they just had no idea what it was like. Here, though, I get to do it because I want to, and that's been really cool.

[monolike]

I see... [It's hard to imagine a place like that, where a prominent religion isn't commonly known. Then again there's really only the one back home; even if people don't believe in them, everybody knows about seraphim.] Do you get tired of teaching people about it?

[stefanged]

Sometimes, yeah.

[He gives Sorey an almost apologetic smile, half-surprised that he even admitted something this honest. Normally, he tries to couch it in neutral language or side-step the issue altogether - but his bro's like a Prophet. If anyone would understand, Sorey would.]

You know how being the Shepherd's this big, important job right? You just can't "turn it off," so to speak? It's kind of like that - even though I'm not remotely important, just someone who worships Allah. The smallest, tiniest thing isn't something I can take for granted. People don't know that Allah is just another word for God, just as they don't know what Ramadan is, or - or why I don't drink or eat pork, and they kinda fear those differences?

Which is... [He sighs, letting his shoulders sag.] It wears down on you after a while. I like teaching you, and I like teaching people on the Fleet, because I can turn it off. It's never been this big giant thing the way it was back home.

[monolike]

[Yeah...wow, yeah, Sorey can definitely understand how exhausting that must be. He's not quite sure he can understand completely; he's never really had to repeat himself over and over about simple concepts, except maybe for the major "no like killing people is still actually kinda bad," but having to explain over and over why your holy days are holy, or why you call something this and not that? Stefan isn't saying it outright, but it's pretty obvious what he's had to put up with.

Sorey folds his hands in his lap, heart going out to Stefan in sympathy. He's like that girl who could see seraphim, who tried to tell people over and over, only to have her own words thrown into her face. She'd probably wished she could turn it off, too.]

...then, I'm glad this place has afforded you that rest. You deserve to just be yourself without having to explain anything.

[stefanged]

[He's quiet for a couple of seconds, his gaze falling onto his hands as he turns them over. Now that he has the sympathy he's always wanted, he doesn't know what he should do with it. Thanking Sorey, of course, but it feels weird. Like he still has leftover adrenaline and he's not sure what to do with it, since he's that used to fighting a never-ending battle.

Maglor's music is definitely helping on that front. Stefan lets out a slow, deep, and very purposeful breath.]

Thank you. [Stefan's voice gets a little shaky as he peers back up at his brother,] That uh, that means a lot to hear. I don't - I don't know if things're getting any better back home, but if the Fleet's any indication? It could be the world I've always wanted too.

[monolike]

I hope your world gets there sooner rather than later. [Well. Maybe minus the forced captivity, reality TV show aspect of it.

Sorey grins and reaches over to thump Stefan on the back.] But while you're here you'll always be just Stefan to me; no addendums or identifiers you don't want.

[stefanged]

[He's already said his thanks, so anymore would be overkill - but he's so, so lucky to have someone who understands that need to be just Stefan. Not Stefan the Muslim, not Stefan the vampire, or even Stefan the incarnation.

Without thinking, he'll reach over in turn and give Sorey a one-armed hug.] Likewise, akhi.