The aged floorboards creaked and groaned with each step of the groundskeeper's boots. His stride filled with a sincere determination as he pushed open the heavy door, the light nearly blinding him as he stepped outside the old church. “Okay, ask Sara if I can install some new lights in the basement." The groundskeeper mumbled, his gloved hand covering the sun as his eyes strained against the light. “If not, then I'll just bring a torch next time I'm down there." He sat down at the entrance steps with a heavy sigh, brushing some dust off his pants before fishing his phone out his pocket.

As a quick break he fiddled around with his phone, checking his mails and messages before begrudgingly opening his work orders for the day. Fix the pulpit's steps. “Check." He wrote down next to the task. Sweep the floors and swab the font. “Check." See if the bell system needs any new parts or replacements. As he read the task the old machinery started up, the echoes of the bell reaching far and wide. “Nope, that one rings loud and clear." He said as he wrote down his notes, the beautiful tone, loud, still ringing in his mind. Try out the organ before tomorrow's wedding. “A little weak, but don't have any parts so it will have to do." He noted, even if all he did was press some keys.

He continued down the list, repeating the motions as he wrote down what was fixed and what needed tending. Though the groundskeeper's flow stopped as he read one of their requests. “Kindly purge the rats from the basement, they are a nuisance…" With an annoyed groan he brought a hand to his forehead as he read the task one more time. “Purge… Really? How many times do I have to tell them to stop it with the language?" With a deep sigh, the groundskeeper edited the task and checked it off before closing the app. “I swear, that's going to get them caught one day."

With all the indoor tasks done, he looked over the entrance and garden. Leaves, dead grass, and the spare branch were spread across the lawn in a disorderly manner, he even spotted some feathers loitering around. Be it the wind or the bird menace hanging around the area, they sure have given him some work this afternoon. The groundskeeper hummed, scratching his head as he gauged how long this would take to clean up. “Well, someone's getting married tomorrow. So, no reason to make a part of their day bad." He said with a half-smile spread across his face as he walked to the old weapon shed, now just storage for his tools.

The sun moved across the heavens as the groundskeeper raked the lawn, toiling in the warm autumn sun as he neatly piled up all the dead leaves into piles. One, two, three, four large piles of dead weeds, leaves, and whatever nature deemed worthy to drop in the church's grounds. He admired his work for just a moment before he went back into the solace of his shed. Picking up a shovel and some paper sacks to finish up cleaning, the groundskeeper went back to his piles to fine one missing. “Augh, less work for me then I suppose." He said, trying to look over his shoulder to see who the culprit is. But, as he saw not even a shadow out of place, he gathered up the piles and threw the filled paper sacks into the shed. Staying in the shade, he checked his watch and groaned. “Too early to leave still, guess I'll check on the flower beds." He said, the eagerness of his tone betraying his words.

A gust of wind blew across the grounds as he hunched over the flowerbed, the weather showing mercy as clouds covered the sun while the groundskeeper looked over his handywork. A lone, red dahlia caught his attention as he scanned the small garden. Carefully he inspected it for parasites and disease. He was not in the mood to have a rotten apple spoil the crop that could survive over the winter.

“Such work you guys are, you're almost not worth it." He said to the flower before letting it be. He scanned over the rest of his garden patch. The mums and asters would do fine, and, to his delighted surprise, the rose bush almost glowed with life. “I should really thank Max again for this, without his blessing this would still be a boring walkway." The groundskeeper murmured, watering the bed slightly in case there was no rain the coming days.

But, as the groundskeeper tended to his flowers, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. A grey form crawling up the church wall, almost blending in with the stone structure as it laid still. When he turned his head, it jolted up to the roof. He hoped that he would have a calm moment, but he knew better as he saw a tail poking out from behind the tower. Shaking his head, he turned to his flowers, playing along as the grey shape climbed up the tower's top, shaking the bell in the process. The groundskeeper swore he could hear a vague hush as the bell rung, something seemingly grabbing the clapper to force its silence. He enjoyed the quiet, for the short moment it would last. Finally, something landed behind him, its weight shaking the ground so intensely the groundskeeper almost lost balance.

The clouds dispersed by a strong gust of wind, yet he was still covered in a shade. Its wide form stretching across the flowerbed, guiding the groundskeeper's eyes up to its top. Sharp horns protruded out the shape's head, two longer ones arching inwards and two shorter, straight ones between the arches. The being behind him heaved, its heavy frame slowly rising and falling as it observed its prey. It raised its left hand, its clawed fingers slowly parting, preparing to swipe at the groundskeepers back, tearing both clothes and flesh from his body. Then, the being swiped. Wind chiming through its claws as it tried to strike the man beneath them. “Good afternoon Vin, I already saw you when you were on top of the church." The groundskeeper said as calm as gentle breeze.

It stopped. The claws a mere inch away from ripping into the groundskeeper's clothes, before receding back. “Then why didn't you say so earlier!" A strong, annoyed, energetic voice said. The creature seemingly struggling within himself, before sighing in defeat. Vin sat down beside the groundskeeper, extending one leg almost too far into the flowerbed and propped himself up with his arms. “Name's still Vinagog, as you may know, Charlie." He said, a playfulness supporting the feigned hostile tone as the gargoyle pressed his shoulder into the groundskeeper's side. Charlie rolled his eyes before returning to his work. “I know, but you've yet to surprise me unlike Gaylox. So, you're Vin until then." The groundskeeper said coyly as he returned to watering his flowers.

The gargoyle bobbed from side to side before laying down, absorbing in the sunlight as it beamed from the open sky. His wide torso filling up with air as he relished the fresh smell of nature. “I will miss this once winter comes." He said, stretching out his lower half to its full length. Charlie only hummed as he quickly grabbed Vin's digitrade leg before it could crush a group of asters. The gargoyle's skin still jagged with imperfections, rough patches of stone that never healed properly after a fight. Yet Vin still carried the sturdiness of a mountain and the strength of obsidian within him, or at least he said so whenever Gaylox asked about his wellbeing.

“Mind letting my foot go?" Vin asked as he brought his draconic head up from the ground. Vin's lipless maw even coming close to pouting as the groundskeeper held him in place. “Sure, just be careful around the flowers." Charlie said as he let go of the grey leg. Within moments of being freed, Vin sat up besides Charlie, seemingly done with his rest, and intently stared on the garden with his red eyes as Charlie continued to work.

“This is what you worked on those months ago?" Vin said, consciously moving his hand in a similar manner to Charlie. The groundskeeper hummed and nodded. “And ever since. It's a grueling process to keep parasites and nasty stuff off them. Had to remove some dahlias' last week since they all got sick." He said, pointing to the yellow and red flowers in question. Vin brushed a single claw against its petals, trying to mimic Charlie's gentle touch. In the gargoyle's mind, it was not a flower he was caressing yet he knew he would hold it tenderly. But a yellow puff of dust blew out from it in response to his touch, which made Vin jump and breath in sharply. “You didn't hurt it." Charlie said, showing his gloves, a light-yellow tint covering them. “It's just pollen, completely harmless. Well, for you it is." The gargoyle tilted his head inquisitively, trying to bait Charlie to answer a question he did not know how to ask, but the groundskeeper did not bite. Vin shock his hand free from the yellow dust, humming as he saw it disperse in the wind, and returned it to his side. His sharp tail swinging anxiously behind him, ruining the previously pristine stone passage. His red eyes panning back and forth over the flowerbed until they fixated on the rose bush.

“These are what you humans offer as a sign of affection, is it not?" Vin asked, his finger gently brushing against the prickly stem, the thorns not even putting a scratch on the gargoyle's tough skin. The groundskeeper, done with his tasks, crawled closer to the bush and to the questioning gargoyle. “Not this type, no. This one's often only for gardens. But you are right that we offer roses to those we like. They can even say different things depending on the color." Charlie said as he pulled off a dead leaf from the bush.

Vin tilted his head and perked his ears. He knew some trees spoke, but in all his years he did not know that flowers talked. “Greetings." He said while leaning over the bush, awaiting the flora to share their wisdom. But before they could speak, Charlie broke the silence with his laughter. “Not in that way." The groundskeeper said between breaths. After collecting himself, the groundskeeper hummer before starting.

“You assign meaning to the colors. White is purity and innocence, but they are also a way to say farewell." Charlie started, trying to control himself from rambling about the subject. Everything in the flowerbed had its own meaning, and the combination of them either strengthened or gave it a new goal. Vin tried to keep up but eventually lost his concentration, returning to the red rose that started the topic. “And red roses are the 'ultimate' gift of romantic love. Its deep red color a symbol for passion, affection, and endurance."

The gargoyle quickly turned his head to Charlie, his glowing eyes wide with inspiration. Several ideas appeared in his mind as he slowly returned to the pristine red rose. Vin's clawed, cold hand caressed the stem, his claws close to separating the flower from its bush. If he just put in a little more pressure, then it would be his.

“Don't you even think about it." The groundskeeper said, bringing Vin back to reality. Pulling his hand back, the gargoyle tensed up as he opened his maw. “I didn't think about anything. And… Even if I did, it wouldn't be the end of the world if it lost one flower." Vin said, forcing a goofy smile on his face as he tried to lighten the mood. Grabbing a pair of gardening scissors of the ground, Charlie bent forward and cut a single rose off its bush and held it gently at the end of its stem. “Yes, it won't end the world. But I will not give away my hard work for your sudden interest in it." He said, pointing the rose accusatorily at Vin. “Why do you want it?"

Vin scratched the back of his neck, trying to force something coherent out of his blabbering maw. He stopped himself several times in the middle of a sentence, only to hit the same problem on the next attempt. If the gargoyle kept on scratching his neck, he would get claw marks at the nape of it; And fry his own brain as it went into overdrive. Thankfully, he stopped, as a blessing fell from the sky, making loud thud as it landed with grace.

A lithe figure appeared behind them, stretching its back and wings in a sovereign display. A refined shadow covered the two, the silhouette giving off a different power from the one Vinagog possesses, yet one to still be feared. But, with a soft, wistful huff the slender gargoyle brought its arms down, its sharpened claws almost reaching down to its bent knees as it exhaled. “Lovely to see the both of you here in the sun, and that you aren't trying to scare our poor Charlie, Vinagog." Gaylox said, his soft-spoken nature a stark contrast to the lion's maw he was sculpted with. Even though an aged, graying, white piece of cloth covered his face, tied around the slender gargoyle's big ears with small ropes, Charlie could feel Gaylox's warm eyes on him.

As quick as a shooting star, Vin took the rose out of Charlie's hand and stood up. His hand trembling as the rugged gargoyle tried not to crush the delicate flower with his grip. If he were not made of stone, Charlie could swear he would see Vin's grey cheeks turn to a light red hue. Vin struggled to find the words. First, he talked about the moon before realizing it was day. He tried to compare the delicate petal of the rose to the lithe gargoyle yet stopped when he remembered that Gaylox was made of stone. Lastly, he said something about the holy light before Vin bit his own tongue, closed his eyes, and extended the rose to Gaylox.

The slender gargoyle accepted the rose, bringing it up to glimmer in the sun before enjoying its sweet fragrance. Vin's tail started to flick nervously back and forth, striking the sitting groundskeeper's side as a huge smile spread across his face. “Your efforts were not in vain I see; these will make the season of decay lack the usually forlorn feeling. Good job, groundskeeper." Gaylox said as he handed the rose back to Vinagog and walked away, the cloth wearing gargoyle's curiosity guiding him to see the fruit of Charlie's labor in the other flowerbeds.

Defeated, stunned, and confused, Vin crouched down to a squat and hugged his knees, trying to hide himself from his own embarrassment burning in his chest. The draconic gargoyle flinched as Charlie patted him on the back, clouds of pollen appearing on impact, as he tried to cheer Vin up. “Yeah, Lox doesn't watch the ceremonies, remember? No way he could have known your intentions." Charlie said in a comforting tone, being in a strange, yet all too familiar, situation. “There's always next time, and maybe then you have the backbone to be direct about it." The groundskeeper teased. With a heavy sigh, Vin raised his head. Watching out over the courtyard as Gaylox admired the vibrant flowers, yet in Vin's mind none whereas breathtaking as him. “Yeah." Vin said meekly, content with watching the evening sun caress the lithe gargoyle's form.