The crowd had thinned since a lot of the tourist had a sudden urgency to leave, perhaps they realized as mesmerizing and unblemished the church was, it wasn't worth skipping dinner over. It created chaos, however, as they tried to shove past the worshippers that still stood in front of the altar. Akira sighed, amidst all this awkwardly contained, bustling a new entity swarmed into the Church as most were leaving.
Now, Akira had been impartial in her observance of people, but this man pretty much demanded attention. It was the faint waft of smoke, that had caused her to turn briefly and scan the man's face. She was sure the clergymen would not take kindly to smoking... But if there was leniency, her own hand drifted to her pack. The smoke always served as a great defense mechanism against crowds, particularly like these. Her hopes were crushed as the man put out the cigar he'd had betwixt his lips.
But that wasn't the most startling feature... The man was a beacon. From his oddly parted hair to the large cross... He didn't even look like he was here to pray, what was he doing with that? Maybe he had to mount it somewhere or something. It was pretty strange, he didn't look like a carpenter, maybe he just needed to deliver it... Akira shrugged, probably the Church's attempt to show they're flourishing, restore the faith of the people in their organization, or cement it, post the attack, she thought as she assessed the other features of the man, briefly.
He was probably half a decade or so older than her, still couldn't really be considered old though, the probably early twenties? He didn't sport the haggard grieving look, but the way he circumnavigated the people and moved through the Cathedral, he definitely was no tourist either. Akira sighed. He had enough eyeballs on him already, so perhaps it wasn't a good idea to stare, she turned away as swiftly as she could, staring forward. Then she saw him in her peripheral vision. Oh no, does he want something from me? her heart raced again, strangers hadn't always been kind in Crocus, barring a few of course. But this was supposed to be a damn haven... she thought as her toes tapped the floor underneath softly, betraying anxiety.
As he finally turned towards her, she realized it'd be too rude to simply ignore the man, especially after he mused about the building, to which she responded with a soft 'Indeed.' with the way he stood out, he probably was not the kind of man used to being ignored and Akira didn't see reason to, he wasn't finding some reason to label her a freak or something. She turned towards him too, blinking slowly. A few of the devout turned to witness their interaction, perhaps they knew the man, the truly zealous worshippers didn't. Aki swallowed, she hated being a center of attention, probably because it was usually the negative sort.
As he unconventionally extended his left hand as a greeting and introduced himself, her eyes widened and a half-smile tugged at her lips... What are the odds... she mused in her head. 'Sokolov?' she asked softly, to confirm her deduction. How curious... A chance to meet the father of her superior's twins. She accepted his hand in hers, but her left hand's grip was probably weaker than her right would've been. 'Akira Shimada.' She offered her full name before his confirmation. Apparently, it was rude to ask for names, especially last names without sharing their own first.
Before she could go on to explain why she'd asked for the last name at all, he mentioned the relic, she assumed it was the large cross his right hand was supporting. 'Oh, the Church gave you that cross?' she asked a little surprised, 'That's pretty cool... And...' she shook her head smiling a little wider, 'It is a little tough to ignore... I'll try though.' she remarked jovially. Her tone was as casual as his, but still a little flatter than his. The girl was still learning how to deal with people. However, her words were devoid of any trace of envy or desire to obtain such relics for herself, Aki was hardly materialistic. So he's the friend of the Cathedral then... a rather great friend.
As usual, it was difficult to keep eye contact for long, especially because she was wary of making the rookie mistake of staring too long at the mop of hair that covered one part of his face. It is rude to stare at oddities. Her mind chanted redundantly. So instead, she surveyed the emptying church again. All the tourists were gone now, some of the other dwellers were retreating deeper into the Cathedral, probably to the living quarters, or maybe somewhere to dine... Her eyes lingered on the balconies, their walls ornately carved with figures of angels. While most of them were deserted, one piqued her interest. She could've sworn she saw something orange-ish glow there, in the bleak light of the candles, some sort of fur... But she couldn't be sure. 'See something there?' she asked, angling her chin towards the balcony, wondering if Kon had a better angle.