Enigmatic beings known as Reapers have descended upon the living world in order to rescue several individuals from death. The price of their life lies in that of another's as these individuals, now known as Necromancers, must repay their debts by finding and defeating the other Necromancers within their city.
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Necromancer Girls ~The Death God's Game~
- Thread starter CrowOuttaHell
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CrowOuttaHell
Skull-Faced Writer
| "It all started with the Garden of Death." The 'Scribes' |
There exists a world after life.
The Garden of Death was around for as long as life has been thriving in the world. It is the place where life comes to an end, where souls are planted in order to relive their lives up until their death, only to bloom and bear fruit to a new soul that shall bestow another life upon the living world. Every soul has a date of expiry, a dedicated time for when it shall live and when it shall die.
So what happens when a soul's life is cut short before the end of its time?
The soul cannot return to its body. Instead, it is transformed into one of the tireless workers that keep the Garden of Death going, that keep the Cycle of Life turning.
The soul becomes a Reaper.
Reapers are timeless beings that descend from the Garden in order to harvest souls from the living world and plant them into the Garden when the time is ripe. Other Scribes have made mention that Reapers are anything that leads life to its end.
What was not known to the living world, however, was the fact that even Reapers have hierarchies.
Of the greatest Reapers- the ones that rule at the top of the chain, there remains only four. They are well-known to the human world as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; War, Famine, Conquest, and Death himself. They are those that will bring an end to the living world, but are unable to interfere with it until the time is right-- should that time ever come. Their abilities give them power over even the endless souls that work in the Garden, able to blot their existences from life itself.
Be that as it may, the Horsemen remain unable to directly interfere in the Cycle of Life, much less with the souls that the Reapers handle on a day-to-day basis.
What was not known to the living world, however, was the fact that even Reapers have hierarchies.
Of the greatest Reapers- the ones that rule at the top of the chain, there remains only four. They are well-known to the human world as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; War, Famine, Conquest, and Death himself. They are those that will bring an end to the living world, but are unable to interfere with it until the time is right-- should that time ever come. Their abilities give them power over even the endless souls that work in the Garden, able to blot their existences from life itself.
Be that as it may, the Horsemen remain unable to directly interfere in the Cycle of Life, much less with the souls that the Reapers handle on a day-to-day basis.
But one day, the Horsemen disappeared.
Chaos broke out in the Garden. A certain Reaper by the name of Albtraum dared to break the Cycle of Life and began consuming the souls that he was harvesting-- harnessing the life force there and making himself stronger. With this newfound power and the lack of supervision from the Horsemen, he made an attempt at conquering the Garden of Death, aiming to consume all of the souls with the desire to return to the living world to settle an age-old conflict he had not dealt with in his life.
For a little while, he succeeded. Albtraum was no longer just a Reaper; those that had survived the Nightmare had come to call him a Death God-- a Shinigami.
His long reign at last, came to an end when another Reaper had the same idea as him and consumed souls in order to banish him from existence- the new Death God was named Corvus, and it was said that after the defeat of Albtraum, he used what little remained of his existence after the battle to call upon the Horsemen and get them back into the Garden before he, too, disappeared forever.
Thus, the Nightmare came to an end, and the Horsemen were successfully returned to their thrones. In order to prevent further incidents like that happening, the Horsemen decided that would implement the use of these Death Gods; by taking a select few Reapers and entrusting them with the ability to oversee the Cycle and have control over the Reapers and the souls under their command, they could prevent Reapers from attempting another uprising.
It should have been a rather peaceable plan...right?
Chaos broke out in the Garden. A certain Reaper by the name of Albtraum dared to break the Cycle of Life and began consuming the souls that he was harvesting-- harnessing the life force there and making himself stronger. With this newfound power and the lack of supervision from the Horsemen, he made an attempt at conquering the Garden of Death, aiming to consume all of the souls with the desire to return to the living world to settle an age-old conflict he had not dealt with in his life.
For a little while, he succeeded. Albtraum was no longer just a Reaper; those that had survived the Nightmare had come to call him a Death God-- a Shinigami.
His long reign at last, came to an end when another Reaper had the same idea as him and consumed souls in order to banish him from existence- the new Death God was named Corvus, and it was said that after the defeat of Albtraum, he used what little remained of his existence after the battle to call upon the Horsemen and get them back into the Garden before he, too, disappeared forever.
Thus, the Nightmare came to an end, and the Horsemen were successfully returned to their thrones. In order to prevent further incidents like that happening, the Horsemen decided that would implement the use of these Death Gods; by taking a select few Reapers and entrusting them with the ability to oversee the Cycle and have control over the Reapers and the souls under their command, they could prevent Reapers from attempting another uprising.
It should have been a rather peaceable plan...right?
Unfortunately, the Red Rider, War, was not so much for peace.
Chafing under the safe way of selecting Reapers in order to be Death Gods, War decided to play a game. Taking several handfuls of those Reapers under his command, he bestowed the ability of being able to possess and link their power to that of humans that were nearing the cut-off of their time- or had already surpassed it, provided their expiry hadn't been left for too long. These humans would soon be called Necromancers- humans who inherited the powers of the Reapers that had linked with them, as well as the power to call upon the souls that their Reapers have harvested from the Garden of Death in order to serve them.
War had only a single command for these Reapers.
"Kill all the other Necromancers participating in this game, and I shall make you a Death God."
Thus, a war beyond human comprehension breaks out upon the living world...
Chafing under the safe way of selecting Reapers in order to be Death Gods, War decided to play a game. Taking several handfuls of those Reapers under his command, he bestowed the ability of being able to possess and link their power to that of humans that were nearing the cut-off of their time- or had already surpassed it, provided their expiry hadn't been left for too long. These humans would soon be called Necromancers- humans who inherited the powers of the Reapers that had linked with them, as well as the power to call upon the souls that their Reapers have harvested from the Garden of Death in order to serve them.
War had only a single command for these Reapers.
"Kill all the other Necromancers participating in this game, and I shall make you a Death God."
Thus, a war beyond human comprehension breaks out upon the living world...
CrowOuttaHell
Skull-Faced Writer
Iwamizaka Institute - 12:43 PM
Doctors say it was an 'impossibility'!
Recovery from death without medical intervention-- possible?
Miraculous recovery!
The words kept repeating in her head, as if bouncing off the walls of her skull. It had been roughly a month since Shizuku had found herself sitting up in a haze from her hospital bed, seeing the shocked expressions on the medical staff members' faces and the tears streaming down her mother's own. Her father had stood stiffly by the doorway, his shock evident despite how he clenched his jaw and stared straight at her as her mother rushed forward, squeezing her fragile body in a bone-crushing hug.
The only thought in Shizuku's mind at the time wasn't about how she was still alive.
She found herself staring at the spot where, just last night, a black bird had stared down at her as her heart monitor went from a continuous ringing to the telltale beeping noise of a heartbeat.
She remembered putting a hand to her chest, desperately feeling for something. No longer faint, or pounding, it was there; the quiet thump of her heart, back to its normal rhythm.
"Aren't I supposed to be dead...?" She whispered, cracked lips barely moving. Even so, she received an answer from her strange visitor.
"Right so, my dear woman! You are correct to assume that." Her gaze snapped over to the towering, black bird perched on the stool next to her bed as it clacked its beak. "At least now I have assurance you aren't nutty as a bat."
But that didn't make sense. She was supposed to be dead. She felt it. The overwhelming exhaustion, the pain in her chest, the difficulty she had even just getting a single breath in-- they were all real. Was it all a bad dream?
Her brows knotted together in frustration at the confusion that flooded through every nerve. "What happened to me...?"
"Your heart failed you, dearest child, in your hour of need." The bird answered again, though its beak didn't move as it gazed at her with beady, black eyes. "Truly a sad tale to tell; enough to make my own bleed."
Shizuku couldn't resist. "Do you always have to rhyme?"
This time, the bird cocked its head at her in apparent confusion. "Should I not rhyme?"
Shizuku's tight-lipped frown only deepened. "No, I just haven't met a bird that spouts off rhymes as much as you do."
The bird straightened back up, but kept its gaze directly on her. "Riddle me this; have you ever met a bird quite as versed in the word as I?"
Shizuku opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly felt all too tired. Darkness was starting to fill her vision again. It was late, she could tell; she could still see the night sky outside of her window, the form of the bird silhouetted against it.
The silhouette moved to preen, pecking at its feathers. "I thought right."
Shizuku found herself trying to sink further into her bed, now far more comfortable than it had any right to be. The bird, seeing her exhaustion, stopped preening and stared down at her.
"I would like to talk more, but it seems you must rest." It spoke once more as her eyelids started to droop. "Good night, dearest child; in your dreams I wish only the best."
The sun shining directly onto her eyelids immediately snapped Shizuku out of her thoughts. She squinted against the light streaming in through the open door of the rooftop as she emerged, taking a quick, cursory glance around. Few students tended to gather at Iwamizaka's main building's rooftop; mostly due to the hassle it took to climb all the floors to reach it. For all her school's pride in its campus, it had somehow failed to install elevators.
Shizuku herself didn't particularly mind. It was exercise. Something she badly needed after being incarcerated at a hospital for the longest time. And the relative silence at the rooftop was all she needed to clear her head and get some air to herself.
The news of her recovery didn't go unaddressed by her class. The sheer audience reaction when she finally showed up at their classroom's door, bookbag slung over her shoulder and looking only slightly paler than the last time they had seen her was overwhelming. Almost immediately, she had been swarmed with questions.
"What happened to you?!"
"Are you okay?!"
"How much work were you doing to have an attack like that...?"
Of the several figures of her classmates pushing to the front in order to approach her and ask her their questions, however, Shizuku could only notice the all-too familiar figure of her best friend, Takeda, standing with a shocked expression on her face, softening into worry as she stepped forward and passed through the crowd in order to stand face to face with her.
"...We thought you were dead." Takeda mumbled softly, her face a mixture of confusion and relief.
Shizuku pursed her lips, finding herself unable to meet her friend's worried gaze.
"So did I."
Still, it had been a month; the news had simmered down somewhat, and Shizuku liked to think she had finally caught up on all the work she had missed. She'd personally gone around to the clubs and committees she had helped out at and apologized for her long absence, but most of them had waved her away and told her not to worry about it since she had been at the hospital. The faculty told her much of the same thing, as well, which did only little to alleviate her worries.
Still, she was under strict instructions from both Takeda and her mother to take it easy...which was something she couldn't afford to do, given the new circumstances she found herself under.
"There you are." Almost as soon as she disappeared to a fairly shaded part of the rooftop-- also known as the back of the rooftop entrance, she felt a weight settling atop her shoulders and ruffling feathers brushing against her cheek. "Don't you know it's rude to keep a creature like me waiting?"
Shizuku held back the urge to sigh. Ah, yes. That meant it had also been a month since she met this...thing.
"Hello, Moloch." She spoke, flatly. "Aren't you supposed to be at home, enjoying your living quarters?"
The moment Moloch had introduced himself properly, after all, she had found herself at a dilemma. She didn't like feeling that now, she owed her literal life to someone; someone that wasn't even human, and now she was forced into a game that she wasn't exactly planning to play, ever, in her whole life. She didn't like these unexpected occurrences. But a debt was a debt, and with her new abilities, maybe she could find a way to repay it in different manners.
First course of action, without a doubt, was finding a cover for Moloch. When it had proudly shrank down into the size of a normal crow, an idea almost immediately came to mind.
"Ungrateful, impudent child!" Moloch had squawked at her, all three of its legs flailing rapidly as Shizuku held open the door of the cage with one hand while trying to slip him into it with the other. "I risk my life, my existence, and my freedom in order to save yours, and this is how you thank me?!"
"Tsk, tsk, dearest child. You should know best that Reapers aren't meant to be caged." Moloch hopped off her shoulder, turning to face her and craning its neck up to look at her as she settled down, wrapped lunch in hand.
"Maybe you shouldn't have picked that kind of look, then." Despite her words, Shizuku didn't spare him another glance, instead focusing on undoing the knot of the fabric covering her lunchbox.
"Ah, I appeared as such because you believed i would take this appearance." Moloch cackled- at least, Shizuku thought so, by the way its beak clacked rapidly. She saw the black bird lean over and begin preening, poking and prodding at its feathers. "I suppose I should thank you. I quite like this form, you know."
"I'm glad to hear it." Her voice remained flat, ending their little exchange for a little while. Moloch settled next to her, content to watch her with an unreadable look in its beady eyes as she ate. Shizuku found herself thankful for the reprieve, trying to focus on her food but finding her thoughts jumbling soon enough.
Necromancers. Reapers. A game of death. Coming back to life, becoming a participant of this game.
"Something weighs heavy on your mind, that I can see." Moloch spoke up beside her, and she found her attention being drawn to it again. "I'd like to remind you, my Lenore, that you can always tell me."
"Can I?" Shizuku arched an eyebrow, but hesitated. She supposed Moloch is her Reaper. She doubted she could tell anyone else of the fact that she was some sort of black magician now. What more, she could risk giving away the fact that she was now a Necromancer to another one and get into a battle early, which she didn't want to do before she had a good grasp on what they were supposed to be doing. That left only the three-legged crow still staring at her expectantly, almost like a counsellor waiting for her to talk.
"The game." She spoke, finally. "I'm uneasy about it all."
"What's making you feel uneasy about it?" Moloch spoke up, tilting its head at her.
"Everything." Shizuku's brows knotted together in frustration. "The entire Necromancer thing. You said there were others. Are they all in this city?"
"Presumably." Moloch shrugged-- as much as a bird could shrug, anyway. "When we were sent down to this living world, we were given only a location to go to and we were sent down in batches. However, I do not know who the other Reapers sent with me are."
That was a problem.
"So we don't even have an idea of who the other Necromancers are, then, not even the Reapers?" She frowned, finding herself unconsciously clenching at the fabric of her skirt.
"I'm afraid not."
She sighed, shoulders tensing. "So we won't even know who's planning to go after us."
"Technically, they don't know who you are, either. Yet." Moloch walked in front of her. For a brief second, Shizuku tried to imagine how it was walking; was it harder to walk with an odd number of legs? The bird craned its neck up to look at her, their gazes locking.
"Are you afraid?"
Shizuku fell silent. Was being scared the right way to put it? She couldn't deny that there was the unease that came with the idea that one of these days, she was going to encounter someone like herself and know that they were both there in order to kill each other.
"Put those fears to rest." Moloch startled her out of her thoughts again, hopping onto her lap in order to stare at her even closer. "The game may be drawing close; it may even be afoot, already. But you have me. And you have your own abilities. Trust me." It extended a wing to her.
Trust a Reaper?
Shizuku sighed, releasing her death-grip on her skirt. She supposed she had no choice.
"...Alright." She reached over, awkwardly taking the bird's wing into her own hand. Moloch eyed her carefully, turning its head every which way and examining her expression.
"...A night on the town will do you some good." It spoke up, presenting an idea Shizuku hadn't even considered.
"A night out? To scout out the other Necromancers?"
"No, just to enjoy yourself." Moloch corrected. "You have friends, don't you? Perhaps you have plans with them?"
"No...I only have Takeda and she's going to be busy with club activities."
"Go by yourself, then. Enjoy yourself a little." Moloch pecked at her finger lightly.
"Will you be coming along?"
"Who knows?" She could have sworn a smile stretched over its beak. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Perhaps I will simply be resting in my abode."
"You hate telling me things, don't you?"
Moloch grinned now, as odd as that expression may seem on a crow.
"Only because you never ask."
(GM Note: The RP has started, officially. Your intro post can be whatever you like. First part of posting will be about trying to find out who the other Necromancers are, so don't go getting into battles just yet! The timezone we're going with in the RP when everyone can interact with each other will be at nighttime. By the next Shizuku post I make, she'll be in a more open place for interaction. More instructions may follow in the OOC conversation, but for now, have fun with your intro posts!)
SCSaya06
Observer
"New evidence! Perpetrator's confession links Mayor's office to Tower sabotage plot!"
A short redhead reads the top headline while she shoves copious amounts of pork and noodles down her throat. "Excellent! We're the top site whenever people start looking for this news piece!" As the editor-in-chief of their tech website, she had gathered her team to an upscale bar and restaurant downtown. Hazel's past three articles regarding the plot to sabotage the cell tower's construction has brought a lot of traffic to their website, giving them a lot of revenue for their operations.
"Does that mean we'll be expecting a bonus soon?" A blonde tomboy snickers, bringing the topic up while the lady at the top was still in a good mood.
"I'll think about it. Administration's pleased with the turnout." She glances at the dark-haired writer seemingly staring off into space. "Hazel's probably the only one getting it though."
A small smile formed around Hazel's lips. A bonus was long overdue after months of difficult deadlines and heavy workload. "Can I get additional vacation days on top of that chief? I think I can use some R&R after that long trip.
"Ehhh? But Xeony's just about to announce a new flagship soon! I was hoping you'd go to the big launch and cover it."
"Rikka can take over my place. We've been teaching her for what, a month now?" Hazel recalls. Their intern was certainly capable albeit a bit on the shy side.
Still, she could see her editor's brows furrow slightly. "Rikka's okay. But she takes too long to write and sometimes, she misses a few key details and features. I'm not sure why she chose to have her training in this company to be honest."
"Yeah. Doesn't seem like the tech-y type to me. Then again--" The blonde leans back and stretches her arms. "We're not exactly tech-y types either. Weren't you planning on shifting gears to cover the evening news, Hazel? Don't you have an offer yet?"
Hazel just shakes her head. She managed to come across the plot only because she really approached the story from an investigative angle. That and a happy coincidence that she just overheard the two perpetrators talking while she had gone down to the storage room. Still, she clearly remembered what happened that night. If just one thing had been different; if she hadn't seen that black rabbit, they wouldn't be sitting her, celebrating a big milestone. Her editor would be giving out severance pay to her parents...if they even bother flying over to collect it. And Rikka, the shy intern, would have to step and fill her shoes.
The DJ plops on some electronic pop music on the deck. Soon, everyone would be in a dancing mood. She wasn't exactly big on dancing especially after having what, two or three glasses of draught beer? Maybe more. The noise was giving her a slight headache. She stood up and excuses herself to catch some fresh air outside.
"Don't take too long now! Main platter's probably arriving soon!"
Outside, the moon was already out in full swing, hanging like an overripe fruit. The cool evening wind felt refreshing against her skin; a stark contrast from the heavy and smoky, air-conditioning inside the resto-bar. At least the food was good. Reo sure knows how to scout a good place. She feels a sharp prick in her body, just above her breasts. She hadn't shown the scars to anyone in the team yet.
Thump.
A peculiar black rabbit suddenly hopped over to her, catching her attention. It was the same animal that fished her out of the river a couple of months ago.
"Evening." She greeted. Fortunately, there wasn't a lot of people around else she'll be seen as a loon. Maybe she can pass it off as a pet? Owners talk to pet rabbits right? They do that little cutesy, baby voice when they do. "Looking for some dinner? I may be able to steal away a carrot from Maki at the table."
The rabbit gazed at her intently with beady red eyes peering out of its white skull helmet. It rises up to its hind legs to meet Hazel's eyes better, nose pointing upwards and sniffing the air. "Follow me." Its voice was deep and carried an authoritative tone. Not exactly a voice you'll expect a rabbit to have on kid's TV. Still, she followed. By some cruel twist of fate, she owes her life to this rabbit now. It was only courteous to fulfil some of its requests.
It led her down an alley; near the side of an unfinished apartment complex that was now abandoned. Once, she had ridden her bike close to this building and felt a sensation of being watched. The place was supposedly haunted. Ghosts can be heard wailing across its long and winding corridors. Now, she knew better. The place was just empty. That's it. Yet there was an unsettling feeling as she and the black rabbit strode up to the main stairwell leading to the entrance. The stench of death was heavy in the air.
"Ack!" Hazel turns away at the sight that greeted them on the stone steps. It was dark but she could clearly make out its silhouette in the dim light of the moon. There was that copper or iron smell just by the ground. Probably hit just the edge of the pavement. "Just...do your thing."
The black rabbit, Inlé, hops up the body. Its eyes turned brighter as his tiny paws forces the mouth to open. Hazel had almost recalled this scene happen to her down by the riverbank. It was a harvesting, as the black rabbit says. A process by which this Reaper claims a soul to take wherever it needed to go. She wasn't looking since she hated seeing deaths like this but shortly, a misty essence would waft out of the body to be collected by this rabbit. It was usually a fast process and tonight was no different. She felt Inlé's paw tugging at her jeans after less then a minute. Time to go back.
"Surely you've gotten used to seeing me harvest a soul by now?"
"Doesn't make it any easier to like." Hazel sighed, rubbing her temples. "Especially when it's so sudden like that." Still, she had to get used to it. Even if she didn't find herself in this deathmatch, she would have to confront death as an investigative journalist. When it happens.
"Death is ultimately the price of life." The rabbit stops walking. They were near the restaurant again. Hazel wasn't sure if she still had the appetite to keep going however. Inlé turns back to her. "The bill is due. The game for your second chance at life will be starting soon."
"Is this what this visit was about? A warning?"
Inlé nodded. "You will encounter people in this battle like you. People desperately clinging on to their next shot. You must stand strong Hazel Rei. The others will be arriving soon." With those final words, the black rabbit steps away from the streetlight and slowly melded into the shadows of the alley; the light from its red eyes being the last thing that Hazel sees before she felt a hand tap her shoulder.
"Hey, you okay?" Maki, the blonde designer from earlier asked. "Main course is served so boss had called me out here to get you. She's probably hoarded up all the ribs though."
Hazel just nodded. Might as well enjoy the rest of the evening while she can. Hopefully, she'll be able to talk her way for some vacation time. It could be her last after all.
(OOC
My starting post is up! I advanced my time to nighttime if it's okay.
A short redhead reads the top headline while she shoves copious amounts of pork and noodles down her throat. "Excellent! We're the top site whenever people start looking for this news piece!" As the editor-in-chief of their tech website, she had gathered her team to an upscale bar and restaurant downtown. Hazel's past three articles regarding the plot to sabotage the cell tower's construction has brought a lot of traffic to their website, giving them a lot of revenue for their operations.
"Does that mean we'll be expecting a bonus soon?" A blonde tomboy snickers, bringing the topic up while the lady at the top was still in a good mood.
"I'll think about it. Administration's pleased with the turnout." She glances at the dark-haired writer seemingly staring off into space. "Hazel's probably the only one getting it though."
A small smile formed around Hazel's lips. A bonus was long overdue after months of difficult deadlines and heavy workload. "Can I get additional vacation days on top of that chief? I think I can use some R&R after that long trip.
"Ehhh? But Xeony's just about to announce a new flagship soon! I was hoping you'd go to the big launch and cover it."
"Rikka can take over my place. We've been teaching her for what, a month now?" Hazel recalls. Their intern was certainly capable albeit a bit on the shy side.
Still, she could see her editor's brows furrow slightly. "Rikka's okay. But she takes too long to write and sometimes, she misses a few key details and features. I'm not sure why she chose to have her training in this company to be honest."
"Yeah. Doesn't seem like the tech-y type to me. Then again--" The blonde leans back and stretches her arms. "We're not exactly tech-y types either. Weren't you planning on shifting gears to cover the evening news, Hazel? Don't you have an offer yet?"
Hazel just shakes her head. She managed to come across the plot only because she really approached the story from an investigative angle. That and a happy coincidence that she just overheard the two perpetrators talking while she had gone down to the storage room. Still, she clearly remembered what happened that night. If just one thing had been different; if she hadn't seen that black rabbit, they wouldn't be sitting her, celebrating a big milestone. Her editor would be giving out severance pay to her parents...if they even bother flying over to collect it. And Rikka, the shy intern, would have to step and fill her shoes.
The DJ plops on some electronic pop music on the deck. Soon, everyone would be in a dancing mood. She wasn't exactly big on dancing especially after having what, two or three glasses of draught beer? Maybe more. The noise was giving her a slight headache. She stood up and excuses herself to catch some fresh air outside.
"Don't take too long now! Main platter's probably arriving soon!"
Outside, the moon was already out in full swing, hanging like an overripe fruit. The cool evening wind felt refreshing against her skin; a stark contrast from the heavy and smoky, air-conditioning inside the resto-bar. At least the food was good. Reo sure knows how to scout a good place. She feels a sharp prick in her body, just above her breasts. She hadn't shown the scars to anyone in the team yet.
Thump.
A peculiar black rabbit suddenly hopped over to her, catching her attention. It was the same animal that fished her out of the river a couple of months ago.
"Evening." She greeted. Fortunately, there wasn't a lot of people around else she'll be seen as a loon. Maybe she can pass it off as a pet? Owners talk to pet rabbits right? They do that little cutesy, baby voice when they do. "Looking for some dinner? I may be able to steal away a carrot from Maki at the table."
The rabbit gazed at her intently with beady red eyes peering out of its white skull helmet. It rises up to its hind legs to meet Hazel's eyes better, nose pointing upwards and sniffing the air. "Follow me." Its voice was deep and carried an authoritative tone. Not exactly a voice you'll expect a rabbit to have on kid's TV. Still, she followed. By some cruel twist of fate, she owes her life to this rabbit now. It was only courteous to fulfil some of its requests.
It led her down an alley; near the side of an unfinished apartment complex that was now abandoned. Once, she had ridden her bike close to this building and felt a sensation of being watched. The place was supposedly haunted. Ghosts can be heard wailing across its long and winding corridors. Now, she knew better. The place was just empty. That's it. Yet there was an unsettling feeling as she and the black rabbit strode up to the main stairwell leading to the entrance. The stench of death was heavy in the air.
"Ack!" Hazel turns away at the sight that greeted them on the stone steps. It was dark but she could clearly make out its silhouette in the dim light of the moon. There was that copper or iron smell just by the ground. Probably hit just the edge of the pavement. "Just...do your thing."
The black rabbit, Inlé, hops up the body. Its eyes turned brighter as his tiny paws forces the mouth to open. Hazel had almost recalled this scene happen to her down by the riverbank. It was a harvesting, as the black rabbit says. A process by which this Reaper claims a soul to take wherever it needed to go. She wasn't looking since she hated seeing deaths like this but shortly, a misty essence would waft out of the body to be collected by this rabbit. It was usually a fast process and tonight was no different. She felt Inlé's paw tugging at her jeans after less then a minute. Time to go back.
"Surely you've gotten used to seeing me harvest a soul by now?"
"Doesn't make it any easier to like." Hazel sighed, rubbing her temples. "Especially when it's so sudden like that." Still, she had to get used to it. Even if she didn't find herself in this deathmatch, she would have to confront death as an investigative journalist. When it happens.
"Death is ultimately the price of life." The rabbit stops walking. They were near the restaurant again. Hazel wasn't sure if she still had the appetite to keep going however. Inlé turns back to her. "The bill is due. The game for your second chance at life will be starting soon."
"Is this what this visit was about? A warning?"
Inlé nodded. "You will encounter people in this battle like you. People desperately clinging on to their next shot. You must stand strong Hazel Rei. The others will be arriving soon." With those final words, the black rabbit steps away from the streetlight and slowly melded into the shadows of the alley; the light from its red eyes being the last thing that Hazel sees before she felt a hand tap her shoulder.
"Hey, you okay?" Maki, the blonde designer from earlier asked. "Main course is served so boss had called me out here to get you. She's probably hoarded up all the ribs though."
Hazel just nodded. Might as well enjoy the rest of the evening while she can. Hopefully, she'll be able to talk her way for some vacation time. It could be her last after all.
(OOC
My starting post is up! I advanced my time to nighttime if it's okay.
NecromancerNight
New Member
A month, she have been living in the streets for a month. Except for working in the host club during night, she was free to do whatever she wanted.
Now Kiku was at the library flipping through the newspapers, while Yen was on the computer. "Here" Yen exclaimed "Sadako Yamamura, found in a well after 4 days." Kiku scribbled it on her notebook. "Shouko Takanashi, attempted suicide by jumping of her school." "Shizuku Inoue, suffered a heart attack in school." "Yoshiko Isahai, alcohol poisoning." "Risei Sato, home invasion." "Hanako Yamamoto, mall shooting." "Kiyouko Maekato, found passed out on her front door, not breathing."
"And that makes fifty potential suspects." Kiku closed her notebook. "Now search their pictures and print them out." Her notebook looked misshapen due to the stacks of papers glued in there. She took out a coin and handed it to Yen.
"The game is almost about to start, you know." Yen took the coin and sighed.
"And?" Kiku gave him a blank stare.
"Well, shouldn't you be enjoying yourself since it might be your last days to live?"
"Fine, lets go to the museum."
Why did she feel close to the coins in her pocket? She couldn't remember anything before the fall, yet she felt close to the coins. "To Kiku Kasuga" said the note attached. Her name? She was Kiku. The Reaper was also staring down. "Kiku? Like the flower?" "How should I know?" she snapped. "You're the supernatural being after all." "I found you lying there for two days, how should I know where you came from" The reaper protested. She held up her fist, and the reaper backed down.
The sun was setting as Kiku and Yen exited the Samurai Museum.
They passed an old man on the side of the street. Yen stopped in his tracks. His skin started peeling away, show the bills underneath, the bills covered the old man and in a split second he looked young and happy. As the bills went back on Yen's body, the old man went limp. Kiku bowed her head and said a simple prayer. Then she pinched Yen's skin and teared a bill, Yen's face distorted then turned back to normal. Kiku gently placed the bill on the man's face and tucked it in his hat.
His body stiffened. His clothes seem to puff.
"Another gone." Kiku sighed.
It was weak. It knew that it will not win the game.
It's necromancer was going to die. So who will this ill-fated individual be? The illusion of a second chance at life, a even more painful death. Then it saw a soul, deep in a forest, about to take her last breath. There it saw a girl, broken. Her legs were twisted like the branch of the Garden's trees. She was cover in leaves, her clothes damp. "Just how long was she like this, this was truly a miracle," it thought. It turned into a whirl of cash and covered the girl's body. Her legs straightened, her bruises healed, her heart started beating at a steady rate. It left her body and transformed itself into a human. The girl was lying there, now sleeping peacefully.
"Now we will have to guess the reaper's abilities, and develop plans accordingly." Kiku was back at her home, a double layered cardboard box in a park. Inside the two layers were bills stuck on with superglue. She took out her notebook.
"Cheese manipulation?"
Kiku slapped her face "Are all of your friends that weak?"
"Well, shadow manipulation is a common one."
"Shadow manipulation. Weakness: light? Might make armor. Ranged, melee." Kiku jolted down
"Healing."
"Healing. Weakness: ??? Use normal weapons. Probably won't use guns."
"Flying"
"Flying. Weakness: Just a regular human Use normal weapon."
"Shape shifting"
"Shape shifting. Weakness: Transforming into something weak"
"Superhuman strength"
"Enhanced strength. Weakness: Gravity, mass"
"Bombs."
"Bombs. Weakness: still human."
"This is useless." Yen laid on his cardboard.
Kiku looked at the clock in the display case of the clock shop. "Oh dear, it's time to work." She took off her hoodie and changed into a waiter's uniform. "Remember to do your night shift." She yelled as she rushed out.
"The game is about to start, be careful!" He called back.
Now Kiku was at the library flipping through the newspapers, while Yen was on the computer. "Here" Yen exclaimed "Sadako Yamamura, found in a well after 4 days." Kiku scribbled it on her notebook. "Shouko Takanashi, attempted suicide by jumping of her school." "Shizuku Inoue, suffered a heart attack in school." "Yoshiko Isahai, alcohol poisoning." "Risei Sato, home invasion." "Hanako Yamamoto, mall shooting." "Kiyouko Maekato, found passed out on her front door, not breathing."
"And that makes fifty potential suspects." Kiku closed her notebook. "Now search their pictures and print them out." Her notebook looked misshapen due to the stacks of papers glued in there. She took out a coin and handed it to Yen.
"The game is almost about to start, you know." Yen took the coin and sighed.
"And?" Kiku gave him a blank stare.
"Well, shouldn't you be enjoying yourself since it might be your last days to live?"
"Fine, lets go to the museum."
Why did she feel close to the coins in her pocket? She couldn't remember anything before the fall, yet she felt close to the coins. "To Kiku Kasuga" said the note attached. Her name? She was Kiku. The Reaper was also staring down. "Kiku? Like the flower?" "How should I know?" she snapped. "You're the supernatural being after all." "I found you lying there for two days, how should I know where you came from" The reaper protested. She held up her fist, and the reaper backed down.
The sun was setting as Kiku and Yen exited the Samurai Museum.
They passed an old man on the side of the street. Yen stopped in his tracks. His skin started peeling away, show the bills underneath, the bills covered the old man and in a split second he looked young and happy. As the bills went back on Yen's body, the old man went limp. Kiku bowed her head and said a simple prayer. Then she pinched Yen's skin and teared a bill, Yen's face distorted then turned back to normal. Kiku gently placed the bill on the man's face and tucked it in his hat.
His body stiffened. His clothes seem to puff.
"Another gone." Kiku sighed.
It was weak. It knew that it will not win the game.
It's necromancer was going to die. So who will this ill-fated individual be? The illusion of a second chance at life, a even more painful death. Then it saw a soul, deep in a forest, about to take her last breath. There it saw a girl, broken. Her legs were twisted like the branch of the Garden's trees. She was cover in leaves, her clothes damp. "Just how long was she like this, this was truly a miracle," it thought. It turned into a whirl of cash and covered the girl's body. Her legs straightened, her bruises healed, her heart started beating at a steady rate. It left her body and transformed itself into a human. The girl was lying there, now sleeping peacefully.
"Now we will have to guess the reaper's abilities, and develop plans accordingly." Kiku was back at her home, a double layered cardboard box in a park. Inside the two layers were bills stuck on with superglue. She took out her notebook.
"Cheese manipulation?"
Kiku slapped her face "Are all of your friends that weak?"
"Well, shadow manipulation is a common one."
"Shadow manipulation. Weakness: light? Might make armor. Ranged, melee." Kiku jolted down
"Healing."
"Healing. Weakness: ??? Use normal weapons. Probably won't use guns."
"Flying"
"Flying. Weakness: Just a regular human Use normal weapon."
"Shape shifting"
"Shape shifting. Weakness: Transforming into something weak"
"Superhuman strength"
"Enhanced strength. Weakness: Gravity, mass"
"Bombs."
"Bombs. Weakness: still human."
"This is useless." Yen laid on his cardboard.
Kiku looked at the clock in the display case of the clock shop. "Oh dear, it's time to work." She took off her hoodie and changed into a waiter's uniform. "Remember to do your night shift." She yelled as she rushed out.
"The game is about to start, be careful!" He called back.
Paolumu
Your Friendly Neighborhood Poof
Samara Bauuman
They'd gone over it a hundred times.
Lay low and practice. Let them kill themselves first. That was its plan.
Samara hated this idea of hiding and living outside, but it didn't go rejected. As hard-headed as she was, thankfully, it wasn’t enough to go parading around in her current state. That didn't mean the teenager wasn't about to complain about it though. "Wouldn't they already know my identity? Like, can't they go through death records if they really wanted to?" Her reaper, though behind her, didn't return her eye contact. She couldn't see it. How this thing planned what it was going to say. Samara didn’t appreciate being treated like a porcelain doll.
Thirty seconds passed by and all she was greeted with with the annoying reminder of the atmosphere around her. The hushed flowing of the riverbed, the occasional honk on the highway above them, and the soft crackle of fire on the skeleton’s head. It’d told her the fire was just an illusion the first time she awoke with the monster carrying her. She hoped that was true, otherwise she wouldn’t be letting it handle her hair like this.
More silence.
Nestled into her crossed arms, Samara wondered why that thing brought her here out of all places to finally explain little of who she was and her mission. Used cigarettes and fallen chunks of cement and glass sprawled out on this gross, muddy patch of land they sat at. It seemed like this little fragment of nature wasn't an exception to the litter sprinkling this neighborhood. It was unfortunate, but it wasn't unbearable compared to the weight of her other problems, it was just a good thing hospital gown wasn't her first fashion choice anyways.
Just when she closed her eyes to try and ignore the unmistakable, thick odor of ammonia, the reaper spoke once Samara accepted it wasn't going to.
It had an annoying habit of doing that.
"You don't have one." If a voice could be half wind, it would best resemble this skeleton’s whisper. The girl perked up. ".... What?" "A death record. To the public, you're missing." The businessman's voice trailed off near the end like it wasn't finished, and no matter how hard Samara glared, it didn't seem he was willing to continue that. "Again, what?" She didn't understand how she could just go missing. It wasn't like hospitals weren't surveillanced.. Or were they? Thinking about it started to hurt her head. Luckily, it answered sooner this time. "Don’t stress yourself Samara,” crap. She really hoped it wouldn’t notice. ”I covered the cameras and took the appearance of one of the hospital staff to insure your safety. Something you will have to eventually learn yourself." She’d flinched when another bucket of dirty river water was dumped on her. "Augh! Hey, little warning next time, man!" “Better to be hit right away than waiting in anticipation.” “Jackass..” Samara tried to squeeze out the froth from her hair. "So what, I'm gonna learn your methods of framing someone for a disappearance? Pffft, yeah, no thanks.” It shook its head and grabbed the hair it was working on back from her, a little upset at the accusation. "No. The staff member I disguised as is long since dead. That would be selfish and unnecessarily cruel."
"Huh.. At least you got standards. What do I gotta learn then? Shapeshifting?"
”That would break your bones." The ironically all-bone being spoke.
"Uh, then what the hell can I do? I'm not just fighting a bunch of dead weirdos barehanded... Am I?"
......
......
"Its done. You can touch it now." Finally upon fully taking out the conditioner, the businessman lifted its gloves off of her newly pink hair and admired its works calmly. "That took long enough. Where did you even get pink hair dye and bleaching supplies, anyway?" Samara muttered hoping to be snarky, not at the slighest over the lack of the answer to the question that worried her most. "Your little brother's room." She blinked. "... Huh?" The businessman hoisted its lanky body from the ground, its suit without as much as a smudge of mud on it. "I will be back." "W-wait a minute, hold on!" Samara quickly lept up to catch the hem of his jacket before he'd gotten too far, but regretted it as the sudden jump caused her to go woozy almost immediately, hand going tighter just for basic leverage. For some strange reason, maybe it was because she was dizzy, but the reaper’s sockets seemed to have gotten a little wider just then. "Y-you goddamn jackass! You're saying seen my family and didn't even tell me?!" It retaliated, but didn’t yank away. “What are you doing up? You mustn’t be exerting yourself so soon Samara!” ”No! You know what?! Screw you dude, screw you! You stand there all edgy and quiet and don’t tell me who the hell I am? Fine. Whatever. I'll find out myself.” She jabbed her thumb toward her chest, half assing a grin. “I listened to your bull. Nobody can win if they can’t find me, right? It’s just a game to see who lives the longest? So why can’t I just do what I want then, and who says they aren't doing it right now?” After the teenager was done, she’d realized the only thing she’d garnered was the same distant, lifeless stare that made her even more pissed than before. Oh god dammit, of course it didn’t react. When she first heard the wet clamp of dress shoes, she’d already assumed it was leaving, only to immediately bristle up when she felt something hold her shoulder still. Was she shivering this whole time? “If you do that, Samara, we will have more graves to mourn." "Are..” She squinted. “Are you threatening me..?" The young girl meant to sound authoritative, but deflated at the realization her strangled voice resembled that of a pathetic, cornered rat. Sparing her no mercy either, the skeleton paused, turned it's dry, eyeless sockets to stare and against Samara's favor, saw past her persona.
It was silent. Again. Something about that didn’t surprise her. The tall beast turned its shoulder, took a few steps toward the moldy stone staircase that lead into this place and sighed, as close as it could've, anyhow. The sound was familiar, but she couldn’t quite make it out. Samara wondered if it had been sighing because it was instinct, or it was simply reinacting a human's behavior to seem more calming. The latter ticked her off. "You misread me. It is not up to a delivery man to manufacture their packages." "Oh great, the edgy cartoon cosplayer is making nonsensical metaphors now too?" The reaper only rubbed its two index fingers against the side of its skull. “Bauuman. Follow your family.." Like karma, it's hesitation didn't get unnoticed either. "And.. The others may follow them too. We have absolutely no indications of what powers the other necromancers may hold. It’s dangerous to leave them be, and nobody knows how just about many innocents can be slaughtered if we decide to waste our time.” For once, Samara was the one who was wordless and the reaper was the one taking the lead.
“I cannot allow that to happen... And.” It didn’t make sense how Samara could still hear his whisper from this distance. She hated that nothing did. Hated that her only company was a monster, hated the crack her knees made when she crumpled to the ground, loathed that her mere existence brought danger to the only things she remembered she loved. “I have a feeling you wouldn’t allow that either, Sam.”
It was the first time she ever remembers crying.
Another successful heist.
It was an alleyway behind an obscure bar, confined tightly like a jail cell and lit like a sidewalk in a horror movie. The pavement near the garbage bin was oiled slick and pungent from the bags inside. Rhythmic dribbling of garbage ooze meeting a welcoming puddle was the only entertainment in this dinky little corner. At least for a couple moments.
Barely holding down her giggling mess, a teenage girl ran and twirled inside the now post Samara alleyway while slipping off her pink gloves, abandoning the startled pair onto a particularly damp spot without a care in the world. Without fabric in the way, counting the wad of cash in her tiny hands had become tremendously easier. "Hehe, hell yeah! I told you that dude was absolutely loading it! Look!" Samara snarked, feeling the cold, judgemental stare from the reaper forming behind her, but nonetheless, she held out a few hundred dollar bills in glee. "We got plenty of moolah now for the next couple days! Hey, think we should pay a visit to that cat café down the street? Scratch 'em all with our extra cat-petting hands?"
....
.......
"You are lucky I am not so adamant against thievery as I am with murder, Bauuman.” Deathlord spoke. A new, admittedly stupid nickname she’d given him a few weeks ago when the man had promoted from ‘it’ to ‘he’ in her book. The girl seemed more annoyed she was interrupted from counting her money than offended from his accusation. “Hey, it's for a good cause. That depressed dumbass was going to waste out his own liver anyways." She waved him off. "If anything, I stopped him from drinking tonight. Problem solved." Deathlord didn't bother to point out that's not how alcoholism works. Instead, the business man just sighed, the sound resembling that of a... Of a wind chime. That’s what it was. Didn’t she make a few of those before? “If you must pickpocket, do so without your abilities. I worry for you, Samara. If you-" "Get caught?" A breathy laugh. "No prob. I can tear 'em to shreds."
In response, bone bent down halfway over his eye sockets like molding clay, looking like a upset cartoon skeleton except still having that disturbingly realistic texture. Samara remembered how she’d freaked out the first time she saw her reaper emote, but eventually grew to like the unintentional goofy nature of her unwilling partner in crime. And now, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop the smile forming on her lips. "Ugh.. Alright fine idiot. I'll stop, 'safe than sorry,' 'greater cause,' yada yada. I'll find a legitimate money earning method tomorrow, okay? Stop makin' those puppy eyes." Despite her stubbornness, even someone like her would know that impulsively using her powers is a death sentence. "Only if you join me in the cat café, that is." Just then, Deathlord’s sockets lightened up. Literally, as his fire seemed to have raised a few inches."I.. I would like cat petting." He stammered out, "but we can't risk our rivals to discover-," "that was a joke earlier. I'm not dumb DL." She slid her prize money into her front pocket, glancing over to Deathlord's gloves which were a lot more eye level than his head. She was glad he let her spray paint those hideous things pink. "If you want you know, I'll wear you so we can both pet cats. What kinda fur do you like? Fluffy ones, short ones..?" She rubbed the back of her hand with her bandaged hands, not catching the skeleton's expression softening. "Eh.. Actually, can we splurge on food first? You know, I'm kinda starving right now.” "Sam." "Huh?" He bent down to mess with the pink child's hair. “You don't need to ask me everytime if it's okay to eat."
The teenager had made sure to dress up for the night's temperature when she left.
Her cheeks were almost squished to her lips by the her faux fur ushanka. A few bubblegum colored threads of hair curled out from its hiding place like cartoon tongues while she wore a baby blue sweater over her pink schoolgirl outfit that Deathlord insisted on her buying. Don't want to give away your age, he said. Still though, she didn't like to be reminded of what she missed.
Samara spooned a piece of her swedish princess cake whilst chewing the old one slowly. It was a popular, petite bakery she'd been eyeing as of late, 'Mina's World Treats,' she saw on the bubbly and colorful signs outside. It was a nice break from her lifestyle, the exotic pastries they sold there and the open times were only a bonus. Speaking of, Mina's treats was a chatterbox around this time, making her glad that she'd taken the headache medicine like DL asked instead of going back on her stubbornnessess again. Lights hung with a firefly glow and she leaned into at her swirly oak seat as she got really into the phone she'd pocketed yesterday instead of cash. "Uh, woah. If I'd known the lady was into this stuff I would've punched her too. What the hell is this crap?" Her glove willed itself to type into the search bar without her help. She frowned. "My little p... Wait a second, how the hell do you know about this DL?" It continued to type. 'Work,'
"Work?"
'... Work'
They'd gone over it a hundred times.
Lay low and practice. Let them kill themselves first. That was its plan.
Samara hated this idea of hiding and living outside, but it didn't go rejected. As hard-headed as she was, thankfully, it wasn’t enough to go parading around in her current state. That didn't mean the teenager wasn't about to complain about it though. "Wouldn't they already know my identity? Like, can't they go through death records if they really wanted to?" Her reaper, though behind her, didn't return her eye contact. She couldn't see it. How this thing planned what it was going to say. Samara didn’t appreciate being treated like a porcelain doll.
Thirty seconds passed by and all she was greeted with with the annoying reminder of the atmosphere around her. The hushed flowing of the riverbed, the occasional honk on the highway above them, and the soft crackle of fire on the skeleton’s head. It’d told her the fire was just an illusion the first time she awoke with the monster carrying her. She hoped that was true, otherwise she wouldn’t be letting it handle her hair like this.
More silence.
Nestled into her crossed arms, Samara wondered why that thing brought her here out of all places to finally explain little of who she was and her mission. Used cigarettes and fallen chunks of cement and glass sprawled out on this gross, muddy patch of land they sat at. It seemed like this little fragment of nature wasn't an exception to the litter sprinkling this neighborhood. It was unfortunate, but it wasn't unbearable compared to the weight of her other problems, it was just a good thing hospital gown wasn't her first fashion choice anyways.
Just when she closed her eyes to try and ignore the unmistakable, thick odor of ammonia, the reaper spoke once Samara accepted it wasn't going to.
It had an annoying habit of doing that.
"You don't have one." If a voice could be half wind, it would best resemble this skeleton’s whisper. The girl perked up. ".... What?" "A death record. To the public, you're missing." The businessman's voice trailed off near the end like it wasn't finished, and no matter how hard Samara glared, it didn't seem he was willing to continue that. "Again, what?" She didn't understand how she could just go missing. It wasn't like hospitals weren't surveillanced.. Or were they? Thinking about it started to hurt her head. Luckily, it answered sooner this time. "Don’t stress yourself Samara,” crap. She really hoped it wouldn’t notice. ”I covered the cameras and took the appearance of one of the hospital staff to insure your safety. Something you will have to eventually learn yourself." She’d flinched when another bucket of dirty river water was dumped on her. "Augh! Hey, little warning next time, man!" “Better to be hit right away than waiting in anticipation.” “Jackass..” Samara tried to squeeze out the froth from her hair. "So what, I'm gonna learn your methods of framing someone for a disappearance? Pffft, yeah, no thanks.” It shook its head and grabbed the hair it was working on back from her, a little upset at the accusation. "No. The staff member I disguised as is long since dead. That would be selfish and unnecessarily cruel."
"Huh.. At least you got standards. What do I gotta learn then? Shapeshifting?"
”That would break your bones." The ironically all-bone being spoke.
"Uh, then what the hell can I do? I'm not just fighting a bunch of dead weirdos barehanded... Am I?"
......
......
"Its done. You can touch it now." Finally upon fully taking out the conditioner, the businessman lifted its gloves off of her newly pink hair and admired its works calmly. "That took long enough. Where did you even get pink hair dye and bleaching supplies, anyway?" Samara muttered hoping to be snarky, not at the slighest over the lack of the answer to the question that worried her most. "Your little brother's room." She blinked. "... Huh?" The businessman hoisted its lanky body from the ground, its suit without as much as a smudge of mud on it. "I will be back." "W-wait a minute, hold on!" Samara quickly lept up to catch the hem of his jacket before he'd gotten too far, but regretted it as the sudden jump caused her to go woozy almost immediately, hand going tighter just for basic leverage. For some strange reason, maybe it was because she was dizzy, but the reaper’s sockets seemed to have gotten a little wider just then. "Y-you goddamn jackass! You're saying seen my family and didn't even tell me?!" It retaliated, but didn’t yank away. “What are you doing up? You mustn’t be exerting yourself so soon Samara!” ”No! You know what?! Screw you dude, screw you! You stand there all edgy and quiet and don’t tell me who the hell I am? Fine. Whatever. I'll find out myself.” She jabbed her thumb toward her chest, half assing a grin. “I listened to your bull. Nobody can win if they can’t find me, right? It’s just a game to see who lives the longest? So why can’t I just do what I want then, and who says they aren't doing it right now?” After the teenager was done, she’d realized the only thing she’d garnered was the same distant, lifeless stare that made her even more pissed than before. Oh god dammit, of course it didn’t react. When she first heard the wet clamp of dress shoes, she’d already assumed it was leaving, only to immediately bristle up when she felt something hold her shoulder still. Was she shivering this whole time? “If you do that, Samara, we will have more graves to mourn." "Are..” She squinted. “Are you threatening me..?" The young girl meant to sound authoritative, but deflated at the realization her strangled voice resembled that of a pathetic, cornered rat. Sparing her no mercy either, the skeleton paused, turned it's dry, eyeless sockets to stare and against Samara's favor, saw past her persona.
It was silent. Again. Something about that didn’t surprise her. The tall beast turned its shoulder, took a few steps toward the moldy stone staircase that lead into this place and sighed, as close as it could've, anyhow. The sound was familiar, but she couldn’t quite make it out. Samara wondered if it had been sighing because it was instinct, or it was simply reinacting a human's behavior to seem more calming. The latter ticked her off. "You misread me. It is not up to a delivery man to manufacture their packages." "Oh great, the edgy cartoon cosplayer is making nonsensical metaphors now too?" The reaper only rubbed its two index fingers against the side of its skull. “Bauuman. Follow your family.." Like karma, it's hesitation didn't get unnoticed either. "And.. The others may follow them too. We have absolutely no indications of what powers the other necromancers may hold. It’s dangerous to leave them be, and nobody knows how just about many innocents can be slaughtered if we decide to waste our time.” For once, Samara was the one who was wordless and the reaper was the one taking the lead.
“I cannot allow that to happen... And.” It didn’t make sense how Samara could still hear his whisper from this distance. She hated that nothing did. Hated that her only company was a monster, hated the crack her knees made when she crumpled to the ground, loathed that her mere existence brought danger to the only things she remembered she loved. “I have a feeling you wouldn’t allow that either, Sam.”
It was the first time she ever remembers crying.
Another successful heist.
It was an alleyway behind an obscure bar, confined tightly like a jail cell and lit like a sidewalk in a horror movie. The pavement near the garbage bin was oiled slick and pungent from the bags inside. Rhythmic dribbling of garbage ooze meeting a welcoming puddle was the only entertainment in this dinky little corner. At least for a couple moments.
Barely holding down her giggling mess, a teenage girl ran and twirled inside the now post Samara alleyway while slipping off her pink gloves, abandoning the startled pair onto a particularly damp spot without a care in the world. Without fabric in the way, counting the wad of cash in her tiny hands had become tremendously easier. "Hehe, hell yeah! I told you that dude was absolutely loading it! Look!" Samara snarked, feeling the cold, judgemental stare from the reaper forming behind her, but nonetheless, she held out a few hundred dollar bills in glee. "We got plenty of moolah now for the next couple days! Hey, think we should pay a visit to that cat café down the street? Scratch 'em all with our extra cat-petting hands?"
....
.......
"You are lucky I am not so adamant against thievery as I am with murder, Bauuman.” Deathlord spoke. A new, admittedly stupid nickname she’d given him a few weeks ago when the man had promoted from ‘it’ to ‘he’ in her book. The girl seemed more annoyed she was interrupted from counting her money than offended from his accusation. “Hey, it's for a good cause. That depressed dumbass was going to waste out his own liver anyways." She waved him off. "If anything, I stopped him from drinking tonight. Problem solved." Deathlord didn't bother to point out that's not how alcoholism works. Instead, the business man just sighed, the sound resembling that of a... Of a wind chime. That’s what it was. Didn’t she make a few of those before? “If you must pickpocket, do so without your abilities. I worry for you, Samara. If you-" "Get caught?" A breathy laugh. "No prob. I can tear 'em to shreds."
In response, bone bent down halfway over his eye sockets like molding clay, looking like a upset cartoon skeleton except still having that disturbingly realistic texture. Samara remembered how she’d freaked out the first time she saw her reaper emote, but eventually grew to like the unintentional goofy nature of her unwilling partner in crime. And now, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop the smile forming on her lips. "Ugh.. Alright fine idiot. I'll stop, 'safe than sorry,' 'greater cause,' yada yada. I'll find a legitimate money earning method tomorrow, okay? Stop makin' those puppy eyes." Despite her stubbornness, even someone like her would know that impulsively using her powers is a death sentence. "Only if you join me in the cat café, that is." Just then, Deathlord’s sockets lightened up. Literally, as his fire seemed to have raised a few inches."I.. I would like cat petting." He stammered out, "but we can't risk our rivals to discover-," "that was a joke earlier. I'm not dumb DL." She slid her prize money into her front pocket, glancing over to Deathlord's gloves which were a lot more eye level than his head. She was glad he let her spray paint those hideous things pink. "If you want you know, I'll wear you so we can both pet cats. What kinda fur do you like? Fluffy ones, short ones..?" She rubbed the back of her hand with her bandaged hands, not catching the skeleton's expression softening. "Eh.. Actually, can we splurge on food first? You know, I'm kinda starving right now.” "Sam." "Huh?" He bent down to mess with the pink child's hair. “You don't need to ask me everytime if it's okay to eat."
The teenager had made sure to dress up for the night's temperature when she left.
Her cheeks were almost squished to her lips by the her faux fur ushanka. A few bubblegum colored threads of hair curled out from its hiding place like cartoon tongues while she wore a baby blue sweater over her pink schoolgirl outfit that Deathlord insisted on her buying. Don't want to give away your age, he said. Still though, she didn't like to be reminded of what she missed.
Samara spooned a piece of her swedish princess cake whilst chewing the old one slowly. It was a popular, petite bakery she'd been eyeing as of late, 'Mina's World Treats,' she saw on the bubbly and colorful signs outside. It was a nice break from her lifestyle, the exotic pastries they sold there and the open times were only a bonus. Speaking of, Mina's treats was a chatterbox around this time, making her glad that she'd taken the headache medicine like DL asked instead of going back on her stubbornnessess again. Lights hung with a firefly glow and she leaned into at her swirly oak seat as she got really into the phone she'd pocketed yesterday instead of cash. "Uh, woah. If I'd known the lady was into this stuff I would've punched her too. What the hell is this crap?" Her glove willed itself to type into the search bar without her help. She frowned. "My little p... Wait a second, how the hell do you know about this DL?" It continued to type. 'Work,'
"Work?"
'... Work'
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Guardian Aelita
New Member
The chatter of high school echoed among its halls as Risei Sato walked to her locker. She opened it slowly, staring inside the void that seemed to stare back at her. Her mind had been off the whole day, dying and coming back to life immediately after will do that to a person. Her mind raced as she thought back to the words Dracel had told her when they first made the deal.
“You’re gonna help me ascend. I’m gonna need a lot of souls and I also need to make sure no one gets in my way. Once I’m a Death God, I’ll see about what to do with you.”
Her life was gone in her mind. She was dead, regardless of the fact that she was walking around the halls with oxygen filling her lungs and cognitive thoughts scattering in her brain. She died; the life drained from her because of some man and a knife. As far as she was concerned, she was just a weapon now, someone to be used to guide Dracel to his goal. Whatever he did with her afterwards was irrelevant. As her thoughts became increasingly more nihilistic, she was interrupted by the appearance of a cheerful looking girl with short red hair, freckles and sparkling amber eyes.
“Sato-san! I’m amazed the doctor said you were clear to come to school.”
Risei blinked out of her thoughts to greet the girl with a smile.
“Ah, Hikawa-san… Yes, well they said I shouldn’t do anything too physically extraneous so I can’t do PE today, but that aside, I’ll be okay.”
Hikawa frowned a little at her.
“Are you sure…? I know I’d be really upset if my parents ended up dying. It’s honestly a miracle that you managed to survive.”
‘Who said I did?’
“Ah, well… I figured that my parents would want me to succeed for their sake. I don’t want that guy to win in the end by falling to despair… I still miss them terribly…”
Hikawa immediately panicked a bit before pulling Risei into a hug.
“Sato-san, please talk to any of us if ever you need someone. I’ll personally be here to listen to anything you have to say.”
For a brief moment, Risei found herself hating Hikawa. The natural warmth of Hikawa only served as a grim reminder of what she could never truly have in the end. Hikawa may have had good intentions and wanted to help Risei, but Risei was just reminded that she was dead. She’d never truly be considered normal again…
“Y-Yeah… I appreciate it a lot, Hikawa-san…”
Hikawa let go of her, nodded warmly at Risei and then left. Risei waved her off with a smile.
‘Good. She’s gone. Now I can get into my ritual.’
Risei pulled out her books, seeing Dracel had made his way into the locker.
“She seems to care about you.”
Risei blinked at Dracel’s words before looking around, making sure her students were busy with other activities before speaking in a hushed voice.
“She wouldn’t if she knew the truth.”
Dracel stared at her, eyes covered by felt sunglasses as the relaxed stitched smile never faded.
“So, you regret that I gave you your life?”
She fell quiet before speaking up.
“… no. I’m glad you let me live. I’m just… scared of what’s to come.”
A non-committal grunt escaped him.
“If you’re strong enough, you don’t have to worry. Now, get through your classes and then let’s get back to your place. We’ve got a lot to do.”
Risei nodded at what was essentially her master’s orders as she began to head over to her class. Yes, her life was very, very different now but she’d keep the mirage of it being the same as always up. It was probably the only way she could still stay sane.
“You’re gonna help me ascend. I’m gonna need a lot of souls and I also need to make sure no one gets in my way. Once I’m a Death God, I’ll see about what to do with you.”
Her life was gone in her mind. She was dead, regardless of the fact that she was walking around the halls with oxygen filling her lungs and cognitive thoughts scattering in her brain. She died; the life drained from her because of some man and a knife. As far as she was concerned, she was just a weapon now, someone to be used to guide Dracel to his goal. Whatever he did with her afterwards was irrelevant. As her thoughts became increasingly more nihilistic, she was interrupted by the appearance of a cheerful looking girl with short red hair, freckles and sparkling amber eyes.
“Sato-san! I’m amazed the doctor said you were clear to come to school.”
Risei blinked out of her thoughts to greet the girl with a smile.
“Ah, Hikawa-san… Yes, well they said I shouldn’t do anything too physically extraneous so I can’t do PE today, but that aside, I’ll be okay.”
Hikawa frowned a little at her.
“Are you sure…? I know I’d be really upset if my parents ended up dying. It’s honestly a miracle that you managed to survive.”
‘Who said I did?’
“Ah, well… I figured that my parents would want me to succeed for their sake. I don’t want that guy to win in the end by falling to despair… I still miss them terribly…”
Hikawa immediately panicked a bit before pulling Risei into a hug.
“Sato-san, please talk to any of us if ever you need someone. I’ll personally be here to listen to anything you have to say.”
For a brief moment, Risei found herself hating Hikawa. The natural warmth of Hikawa only served as a grim reminder of what she could never truly have in the end. Hikawa may have had good intentions and wanted to help Risei, but Risei was just reminded that she was dead. She’d never truly be considered normal again…
“Y-Yeah… I appreciate it a lot, Hikawa-san…”
Hikawa let go of her, nodded warmly at Risei and then left. Risei waved her off with a smile.
‘Good. She’s gone. Now I can get into my ritual.’
Risei pulled out her books, seeing Dracel had made his way into the locker.
“She seems to care about you.”
Risei blinked at Dracel’s words before looking around, making sure her students were busy with other activities before speaking in a hushed voice.
“She wouldn’t if she knew the truth.”
Dracel stared at her, eyes covered by felt sunglasses as the relaxed stitched smile never faded.
“So, you regret that I gave you your life?”
She fell quiet before speaking up.
“… no. I’m glad you let me live. I’m just… scared of what’s to come.”
A non-committal grunt escaped him.
“If you’re strong enough, you don’t have to worry. Now, get through your classes and then let’s get back to your place. We’ve got a lot to do.”
Risei nodded at what was essentially her master’s orders as she began to head over to her class. Yes, her life was very, very different now but she’d keep the mirage of it being the same as always up. It was probably the only way she could still stay sane.
wickedwinters
New Member
Yui could still feel the bitter taste of smoke in her dried-out mouth. The dehydration had cracked her lips, and she sure could use a glass of water right about now.
But what had happened? Was it all a dream?
Her eyes wandered through the room. Every piece of furniture she owned was suddenly charred-black and looked as if they'd turn to dust with just the tiniest touch. In the mirror, which must have gotten a crack because of the heat, Yui saw her reflection. Ash was covering her black hair, and the soot on her face made her look like a spectral angel of death. But if she remembered right...
The girl jumped on the spot when she saw the shadowy figure in the corner of her room. Everything was so dark it blended in perfectly. As soon as the creature realized the girl was awake and staring at it, it let out a horrible shriek and floated in her direction at an insane speed, stopping just an inch from her. It had facial features, but no real eyes or mouth. Everything was covered in a layer of smoke. The ghoulish being was screaming again, which urged Yui into covering her ears, but it was as if the noise was coming from inside her head. She felt dizzy, and after what seemed like a while (but was actually just a few seconds), she had forgotten where she was. Images were flashing before her eyes. Images of war, a battleground, weapons of supernatural origin... In the midst of them, she could make out her own face. She was wearing strange clothes and was wielding a scythe - both looked like they were made of the same shadowy substance as the creature she met. Then she heard a voice. The God of Death was speaking to Arcaza - addressing the creature with that name - telling her she will ascend if she could find a victorious necromancer. And that's when Yui understood.
The real world was slowly coming back to her. The burning stench, her room ... and that being.
"Arcaza?" All she got as an answer was a short, faint screech.
"This is crazy.." at this point, she was more talking to herself than to the reaper. "I'm not going to participate in a strange game some demon invented! I have to go to school. I have to pack. I have to..." Suddenly, Yui was panicking. What was she supposed to pack? All her things were gone. Everything was gone. How was she supposed to start a new life in Japan with - nothing?
Another scream, this time louder than anything she had ever heard before. Her vision blurred, and the room was spinning again. Before she knew it, she fell back down onto the broken bed.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.......
A screeching cry was ringing in Yui's ear. It's been like this every morning for almost a month now.
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I haven't forgotten about you..." she mumbled half asleep and rolled over to her side. Just 5 more minutes...
"Are you talking in your sleep?"
Yui could hear the amusement in Ryo's voice. She's been spending the last weeks with him since her house wasn't in a very liveable state anymore.
"No... yeah, sorry."
She has never been a morning person, but since the incident, it has gotten worse. A quick glance at the clock was telling her it was way past the time a normal, stable person was supposed to leave the bed - or in her case: the couch.
Ryo was standing in the kitchen and - by the smell of it - cooking something with eggs. The apartment was tiny and offered barely enough space for one person. The kitchen was also the living room, and the bathroom was only accessible through the bedroom. Yui was waiting for the day Ryo was going to kick her out. If she were him, she would have definitely already done it.
The girl finally managed to sit up. Her head felt as if someone had filled it up with cement during the night. Can that stupid reaper just shut. up.
The constant night terrors of waking up in a burning house weren't enough. Arcaza was never leaving her alone. Especially in her dreams, she could hear her screams and see the visions of a nearing battle. Things she could apparently do now or was supposed to do. There was no way out. She had tried to leave several times, but the reaper was always holding her back. Making her faint and taking her back into the borders of the town if she ever ventured too far. Yui wasn't even sure if those high-pitched outbursts were real anymore or if she was just imagining them.
"Are you okay?" Ryo sat down beside her on the couch handing her a plate with some scrambled eggs, bacon, and a slice of toast.
"Yes!" she answered harsher than she intended to. Yui just couldn't hear that question anymore. And she was in no mood for another argument about the same old thing.
"I think you should go see a doctor... You know, a therapist, maybe." He had already put down his own plate on the table in front of him and folded his hands, elbows resting on his knees. However, he wasn't looking at her when he was talking. "I'm really worried about you. I don't think it was a good idea to take a semester off. You need to deal with what happened and stop hiding here."
Every muscle in Yui's body tensed up, and it took all the willpower she had left not to yell at him. She hated being so irritated. It wouldn't be fair to take it out on him, though. After all, he was the only person left, who was still there for her no matter what. But what could she do? She couldn't tell him the truth.
She couldn't tell him about that little demon sitting outside the building on a tree disguised as an owl. She couldn't tell him about the constant screams only she seemed to be able to hear. And she could definitely not tell him that she died the night of the fire and was a necromancer now, doomed to fight in some battle so this sort of banshee could become one of the most powerful creatures in the netherworld. Even if she did tell him, he most likely wouldn't believe but rather institutionalize her.
"I'm fine! If you want me to leave, just say so."
"That's not what I meant, and you know that!" Yes, she did. "Just let somebody help you."
Yui rolled her eyes, but he couldn't see. She already had enough of what other people called help for a lifetime.
"I have to go to work." was all she had to say to him as she got up, grabbed some clothes she had left laying over a chair in the corner and vanished into the bathroom. A worried sigh from Ryo was still audible as she left the room, as well as a clink probably coming from a dish - perhaps the one she didn't even touch - he put into the sink.
A couple of minutes later, the black-haired girl was ready to leave.
"Here take this" Ryo was handing her the breakfast he had made her, this time not on a plate but in between two slices of toast.
Yui took the sandwich and hesitated for a second, but then hugged him with her free arm. "Thank you ... for everything." It might not have been the best idea since he already thought Yui was mentally unstable, but there was a chance that she wouldn't come back after the end of a shift, because she had to fight in a battle she had no intention to participate in. Arcaza was becoming more stressed by the day now, and Yui could only guess what it meant. The contest was coming ... if it hadn't already started.
As soon as she left the house, Yui could hear the flapping of two tiny wings close to her right ear, followed by a soft screech one might consider cute if they didn't have to listen to it every day.
"Here, you can have my bacon," she said to her while scratching it off the scrambled egg. Ryo was lovely, but he tended to forget she didn't eat meat. Arcaza was more than happy to, though. Yui wondered if she even needed food. Technically speaking, she wasn't even a living thing.
"Are the other peoples' reaper as annoying as you are?" She asked her while biting into her egg-sandwich.
Arcaza let her know what she thought of that by trying to take a bite out of Yui's top right ear.
"Ouch! Leave me alone!" she yelled and waved her half-eaten sandwich in the bird's direction, who was angrily flying around her head now, making even more noise.
"Whatever," disregarded the girl the animal and got into the run-down van, on which was the logo of the animal shelter at which she currently worked. The drive was going to take at least an hour, and even though nobody really cared if Yui was late, she still didn't want to be. It was the only place where she was able to forget about her insane situation. And another bonus was that nobody was going to ask her any stupid questions anymore.
But what had happened? Was it all a dream?
Her eyes wandered through the room. Every piece of furniture she owned was suddenly charred-black and looked as if they'd turn to dust with just the tiniest touch. In the mirror, which must have gotten a crack because of the heat, Yui saw her reflection. Ash was covering her black hair, and the soot on her face made her look like a spectral angel of death. But if she remembered right...
The girl jumped on the spot when she saw the shadowy figure in the corner of her room. Everything was so dark it blended in perfectly. As soon as the creature realized the girl was awake and staring at it, it let out a horrible shriek and floated in her direction at an insane speed, stopping just an inch from her. It had facial features, but no real eyes or mouth. Everything was covered in a layer of smoke. The ghoulish being was screaming again, which urged Yui into covering her ears, but it was as if the noise was coming from inside her head. She felt dizzy, and after what seemed like a while (but was actually just a few seconds), she had forgotten where she was. Images were flashing before her eyes. Images of war, a battleground, weapons of supernatural origin... In the midst of them, she could make out her own face. She was wearing strange clothes and was wielding a scythe - both looked like they were made of the same shadowy substance as the creature she met. Then she heard a voice. The God of Death was speaking to Arcaza - addressing the creature with that name - telling her she will ascend if she could find a victorious necromancer. And that's when Yui understood.
The real world was slowly coming back to her. The burning stench, her room ... and that being.
"Arcaza?" All she got as an answer was a short, faint screech.
"This is crazy.." at this point, she was more talking to herself than to the reaper. "I'm not going to participate in a strange game some demon invented! I have to go to school. I have to pack. I have to..." Suddenly, Yui was panicking. What was she supposed to pack? All her things were gone. Everything was gone. How was she supposed to start a new life in Japan with - nothing?
Another scream, this time louder than anything she had ever heard before. Her vision blurred, and the room was spinning again. Before she knew it, she fell back down onto the broken bed.
___________________________________________________
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.......
A screeching cry was ringing in Yui's ear. It's been like this every morning for almost a month now.
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I haven't forgotten about you..." she mumbled half asleep and rolled over to her side. Just 5 more minutes...
"Are you talking in your sleep?"
Yui could hear the amusement in Ryo's voice. She's been spending the last weeks with him since her house wasn't in a very liveable state anymore.
"No... yeah, sorry."
She has never been a morning person, but since the incident, it has gotten worse. A quick glance at the clock was telling her it was way past the time a normal, stable person was supposed to leave the bed - or in her case: the couch.
Ryo was standing in the kitchen and - by the smell of it - cooking something with eggs. The apartment was tiny and offered barely enough space for one person. The kitchen was also the living room, and the bathroom was only accessible through the bedroom. Yui was waiting for the day Ryo was going to kick her out. If she were him, she would have definitely already done it.
The girl finally managed to sit up. Her head felt as if someone had filled it up with cement during the night. Can that stupid reaper just shut. up.
The constant night terrors of waking up in a burning house weren't enough. Arcaza was never leaving her alone. Especially in her dreams, she could hear her screams and see the visions of a nearing battle. Things she could apparently do now or was supposed to do. There was no way out. She had tried to leave several times, but the reaper was always holding her back. Making her faint and taking her back into the borders of the town if she ever ventured too far. Yui wasn't even sure if those high-pitched outbursts were real anymore or if she was just imagining them.
"Are you okay?" Ryo sat down beside her on the couch handing her a plate with some scrambled eggs, bacon, and a slice of toast.
"Yes!" she answered harsher than she intended to. Yui just couldn't hear that question anymore. And she was in no mood for another argument about the same old thing.
"I think you should go see a doctor... You know, a therapist, maybe." He had already put down his own plate on the table in front of him and folded his hands, elbows resting on his knees. However, he wasn't looking at her when he was talking. "I'm really worried about you. I don't think it was a good idea to take a semester off. You need to deal with what happened and stop hiding here."
Every muscle in Yui's body tensed up, and it took all the willpower she had left not to yell at him. She hated being so irritated. It wouldn't be fair to take it out on him, though. After all, he was the only person left, who was still there for her no matter what. But what could she do? She couldn't tell him the truth.
She couldn't tell him about that little demon sitting outside the building on a tree disguised as an owl. She couldn't tell him about the constant screams only she seemed to be able to hear. And she could definitely not tell him that she died the night of the fire and was a necromancer now, doomed to fight in some battle so this sort of banshee could become one of the most powerful creatures in the netherworld. Even if she did tell him, he most likely wouldn't believe but rather institutionalize her.
"I'm fine! If you want me to leave, just say so."
"That's not what I meant, and you know that!" Yes, she did. "Just let somebody help you."
Yui rolled her eyes, but he couldn't see. She already had enough of what other people called help for a lifetime.
"I have to go to work." was all she had to say to him as she got up, grabbed some clothes she had left laying over a chair in the corner and vanished into the bathroom. A worried sigh from Ryo was still audible as she left the room, as well as a clink probably coming from a dish - perhaps the one she didn't even touch - he put into the sink.
A couple of minutes later, the black-haired girl was ready to leave.
"Here take this" Ryo was handing her the breakfast he had made her, this time not on a plate but in between two slices of toast.
Yui took the sandwich and hesitated for a second, but then hugged him with her free arm. "Thank you ... for everything." It might not have been the best idea since he already thought Yui was mentally unstable, but there was a chance that she wouldn't come back after the end of a shift, because she had to fight in a battle she had no intention to participate in. Arcaza was becoming more stressed by the day now, and Yui could only guess what it meant. The contest was coming ... if it hadn't already started.
As soon as she left the house, Yui could hear the flapping of two tiny wings close to her right ear, followed by a soft screech one might consider cute if they didn't have to listen to it every day.
"Here, you can have my bacon," she said to her while scratching it off the scrambled egg. Ryo was lovely, but he tended to forget she didn't eat meat. Arcaza was more than happy to, though. Yui wondered if she even needed food. Technically speaking, she wasn't even a living thing.
"Are the other peoples' reaper as annoying as you are?" She asked her while biting into her egg-sandwich.
Arcaza let her know what she thought of that by trying to take a bite out of Yui's top right ear.
"Ouch! Leave me alone!" she yelled and waved her half-eaten sandwich in the bird's direction, who was angrily flying around her head now, making even more noise.
"Whatever," disregarded the girl the animal and got into the run-down van, on which was the logo of the animal shelter at which she currently worked. The drive was going to take at least an hour, and even though nobody really cared if Yui was late, she still didn't want to be. It was the only place where she was able to forget about her insane situation. And another bonus was that nobody was going to ask her any stupid questions anymore.
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