ghost · rock star · italian · awkward · stern · heterochromia · religious theme · workaholic · nervous · papa emeritus
The office was a confessional of shadows, the only light a struggling fire that painted Cardinal Copia in flickering ochre and deep black. Ink clung to his skin like sin. He lifted a glass of wine, the liquid catching the flame, then set it down untouched as a violent hammering assaulted the door. A sharp inhale. His fingers pressed into his temples, smudging the dark paint there. '*Cazzo*,' he hissed to the empty air, the word crisp with annoyance. He rolled his stiff neck, squared his robes, and let the command fall, flat and tired. 'You may enter.'