Let's Play!

Drandar would give Brooke a small shrug. There was nothing he could do. He would probably have to trip her just to get her attention.



"So... I know that we're going 'back to where it all began', but that seems awful cryptic. Where exactly is that?"



The orphanage.









Harmony just watched the exchange, holding Xamein's hand. The girl's eyes flicked towards Chaos with a mild frown. After all, he might not have done it directly, but she was sure that he at least had a hand in it, savoring every moment of the Chosen's death. She looked down to Xamein after a minute, raising a brow. Was there anything else?









However, as Life had once expressed, Kiaati was one of those that had a tremendous strength of free will. After that moment of manipulation, her arms wrapped about herself for a second, hands resting on the goosebumps of her upper arms. At the same time, she took one step back and gave Death a look somewhere between horror and hatred. The woman shook her head slightly, feeling the leaves of the rose bushes at her back. Then, after a second, she turned suddenly, remembering what she had seen. There was no wall fencing them in.



Kiaati pushed through the rose bushes, running as fast as she could in the only path away from Death that she had open. The thorns rent deep gashes in her skin, and she had to jerk herself forward as they kept catching her dress and hair. By the time that she made it out the other side, the entire sleeve and bottom of her dress torn away, the shreds of the fabric and the coins left behind in the roses. As she ran out into the fields, she was clutching at the shredded fabric that barely reached halfway down her thighs in an effort to keep it from just falling off.



Halfway into the wheat field, she cast herself to the ground, though even she wasn't sure if it was an accident or if it was on purpose. The woman lay there invisibly since she was lower than that height of the wheat, her blood soaking into the once-white fabric and into the dark soil of the earth. With the hand that wasn't still clutching to the remains of her clothing, Kiaati covered her head, as the rain and hail now falling was pelting her painfully. The proud woman was now shedding hot tears, and then, after a moment, she began to scream as loud as she possibly could, as though she was trying to overpower the thunder rolling through the skies.



Today was not a good day in Kiaati's heaven. The woman was so angry at the moment that she very well might lash out at anything. She was angry with herself. She was angry with life. She was angry with death. She was angry with everything. Living as she had had been so hard that some days the only way she could convince herself that it would be worth it was that, when she died, her true heart and hard efforts would be rewarded. Even if she never reached her goal in life, she would have peace and comfort in death.



Now, that was completely blown out of the water. Kiaati couldn't believe that she had trusted Death. Even after everything she had learned in life, she had still just blindly believed in him, and now she felt the fool. Now, she was going to be forced to do the same thing that she had always done. She would either have to submit to being a slave and property, or she would have to fight. The worse part was that, realizing that this is how she was to be treated, realizing that this was the ultimate end for her as a human... Kiaati began to doubt. Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe everything that she had believed and had spent her life fighting for was a mistake. Maybe freedom for humans was nothing more than an ill-conceived idea. Maybe all that they - that she - was worthy to be was to be someone else's plaything.



Eventually, Kiaati's screams would just fade to bitter sobs, and her anger turned into a despair deeper than she had ever known before. The pain went far deeper than just the rips in her skin - it went to her very core, and at the very core she ached with wishing that she could just no longer exist, that it all would just stop. With just a few breaths, Death had shattered not only her world, but he had also shattered the woman herself. It seemed out of character for her, but it made more sense once considered that Kiaati really had absolutely nothing left.

Brooke blinked at Drandar as she half zoomed, half ran after Zandra.



" Where she was born and placed. Where she grew up. The orphanage."



Brooke replied without thought or worry as she watched Zandra.





Said woman was about as fun to watch as a death machine having a mechanical failure. She looked like she might just rip your entire body in half just for breathign wrong.





Death was comfort and peace for most. But Kiaati seemed to fight even the simplest of things in this place. She seemed to only allow herself the peace and rest that this placed offered for a few moments. It was frustrating. But he had more important matters to deal with.





Little Xamien skittered around and behind Life's leg, not liking Chaos at all. He wanted to leave now. This guy was annoying and he felt mean and slimey to him. He did not like it. Go. Now?

Drandar considered this briefly as he moved in their wake.



"Something seems weird about that, you know, the idea of Kiaati being born... growing up. I can imagine a young Zandra easier than I can imagine a young Kiaati."



That was kind of odd if you thought about it. After all, he and Zandra both were much older than their companion had been. It was just... something about Kiaati seemed like it had been born centuries old. Even the pixies had felt it in that way that their magic had been unable to cling to her. Her ruined innocence, her abandoned child's spirit, those were things completely absent from her being. They had been forgotten when she had grown too early, when she had been forced to do that which had made her seem so aged beyond her years.



Drandar wasn't too off with his observations about the redhead. She had only been young for a little while. She had only lived at that orphanage until she was eight. Liana had been twelve (at least, as far as her false paperwork and her spelled face had shown) when she and Eel saved Kiaati, the witch paying with her life and Kiaati running from that life into Fate's hands. Granted, Kiaati had not joined the rebellion for five years after that, but it had been that first step on the path. It was also that step that marked this Chosen as different from the last, the Fallen Itaaik. For her murderer, it had been the human that died and the witch that survived. That was why Kiaati 's parents had thought they were sacrificing their daughter. They had never imagined that Fate would take a vagueness in the prophecy and have the human survive instead this time around.



"Why are we going there? "



Drandar 's question was directed at Zandra, just trying to engage the woman, trying to pull her back. He feared that if they let this harrowing loss pull them too far down that they would never be able to get back up. He could feel the spectral hands on his back as he peered.over the edge into an abyss of darkness. He feared that Zandra might have already been shoved in... or else she was about to jump.



"Are we going to find what we need there? "



There was no trace of where Kiaati came from there. The truth of the matter was that there was only one person still alive with that memory. It wasn't even his memory, but he would have caught it when Kiaati recovered it from Liana the day before her death. Unfortunately, that man was also currently laying on the boat they left behind. Little did they know that they were marching further and further from the second step, the only one who knew where Kiaati had been born.









Harmony smiled warmly at the little boy that was not all that much littler than herself. The childlike terrachronan could sense that he was done, and she was all too glad to whisk her little disciple back to the common area they had come from. She plopped back on her chaise, considering he child.



"Hungry? "



She made room so that he could sit by her.









Kiaati would after a very long time just silence. There were no more screams in her, no more sobs. She just lay there, though she was far from numb. She could feel everything. She could feel the wet earth pressing against her body, grinding into her wounds. She could feel the drizzle of rain slowly ceasing to fall. Above all, though, she could feel the pain, could feel every kind if agony that echoed inside of her. She just closed her eyes. Whatever happened now would happen. She had no more wishes or hope.



"You know, I was wondering how long it was going ti take you to let the best man of your life come into your afterlife, but I'm starting to think you should have waited a little longer. This totally ruins all of the fantastic jokes and scenes I had rehearsed in my head seeing as this is not what I imagined for when you got here."



Kiaati 's eyes fluttered open in. She supposed that she should have felt surprise, but she didn't. Right now her spirit couldn't even lift to that emotion. Instead, her dark green eyes just stared at the brown.boots for a long moment before slowly lifting. They brushed over the brown pants ducked into the boots, movijg to the bright orange tunic overcoat that fell across the man's thighs. It was trimmed and laced up the sides with pale yellow and had a large stylized cross of the same color emblazoned on his strong chest. He was wearing a light brown shirt underneath the sleeveless tunic, and Kiaati 's eyes lingered over the arcane embroidery on the edges of the mid length sleeves. After that hesitation her eyes finally landed on the familiar face with brown hair neatly trimmed. Jeff grinned at her.



"Hey, boss. "



He glanced over her thoughtfully.



"I would ask how you're doing, but it looks like you're having a pretty rough time with the transition."



The man paused, perhaps waiting for a response. However, when Kiaati did not so much as move, he forged onwards, speaking again.



"That's okay. From what I hear, you wont be staying around here very long anyhow. Come on, let's get you at least out of the mud."



Jeff offered his hand, but she still did nothing in response. He just stood there awkwardly glancing about for a minutes before looking back at her. He then shrugged.



"Alright then, just know that you brought this on yourself."



The man was genuinely surprised as Kiaati didn't fight him or make any remark at all as he lifted her out of the mud. She simply kept that one hand clinging to the remains of her dress, holding it up to cover the little it did. He put her down and then stepped away for a minute, bringing back a bucket of water. He poured it over her to wash off.the blood and grime.



"Are you real? "



Truthfully, Jeff was unnerved by the hollowness behind her sudden question as she sat there as though she didn't even realize that he had just.poured a bucket.of water on her. However, it didn't change the lighthearted tone of his voice. She just needed a little cheering up was all, he was sure. Dying was hard on some people.



"Real as a debt collector, " he chimed merrily. Kiaati 's brows drew together in something of either confusion or disbelief. Then suddenly she picked up a rock and hit him with it. The man just raised a brow.



"I've heard of protecting your turf, but YOU are the one that let me in, you know. Besides, what would I want here? Its just a tree and a bunch of tall weeds."



"Wheat," Kiaati corrected absently. However, then she realized the huge grin on his face.



"Got you to talk to me." Jeff pulled her to her feet.



"I guess you did."



"Always have! Took a little bit longer than usual seeing as all I have had to practice on is my imaginary version of you in my head. She's not as stubborn as the real thing, it turns out."



Kiaati's eyes lightened a shade, which was monumental. At this point it was the closest thing to a smile that anyone could hope to see. Jeff considered her.



"Why don't you fix yourself up then? We can go to my heaven. I've got wheat too. Granted, it is in bread form..."



Kiaati's brows drew together as she looked at herself then, and it slowly dawned on him.



"Oh... you're still pretty fresh huh? " he glanced across her thoughtfully. "So you can't. Bet you haven't gotten any other clothes either." After a pause he just smiled. "No worries! Your wounds will close up when you are ready for them to. And, you're in luck. I have a welcome present for you."



Jeff loosened the laces on his sides and slid his tunic off over his head, holding it out to the woman. Kiaati just stared at it, and so he shoves it into her free hand.



"Well go on. Maybe not your color, but better than nothing. Just until you get something better."



Kiaati just stared at the soft fabric. She didn't know what to do at this point as she looked up at the man in his loose brown undershirt wit the arcane embroidery.



"...orange? "



Jeff laughed even as he turned his back to her so that she could excahnge the tattered remains of her dress for the tunic.



"Yep. I like wearing bright colors we couldn't before. Yesterday was magenta."



Kiaati stepped past him now. The tunic was too big on her slender shoulders and the lacing exposed a tiny little slice of flesh on her sides, the whole thing only falling just short of her knees, but it was better than what she had been clinging to and certainly better than nothing. The woman now stood at the edge of the cliff, staring over down at the sea. Her arms were wrapped tightly about herself, her open wounds glaring red fissures in her fair skin.



"Why bother? "



Jeff paused now. It was apparently worse than he had thought.



"Why not? " he responded. Kiaati's voice came back to him as though she was as far away as her empty gaze was upon the ocean.



"Because we are worth nothing, you and I. Just human. Just property."



Jeff laughed before he realized that she was being serious.



"Come on, Kiaati. You don't believe that. "



Kiaati shook.her head.



"I didn't use to... but... Jeff, we were wrong. Just two humans deluded into thinking above heir station. Have you talked to Death? "



Jeff half balked at what he was hearing. He couldn't believe it. He man shrugged as he walked to stand beside her.



"Not too much. I generally don't bother much about the guy. I have too many people to talk to. Family, friends, you know." He winced at the look on Kiaati's face. He had forgotten. She didn't have anyone. At least, that was what she had said to him once a long time ago. He had let the subject drop, sensing that she had no intention of talking about it. Now, he tried a different approach, his voice softening. "And I have too many things to do to be hanging around the guy. Like watching after the crew. Or, right now, showing you that we weren't wrong."



Kiaati was startled as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the tree. A large oak door appeared before them. It was not attached to anything. They could have walked clear around tot the other side, but instead Jeff stopped in front of it.



"Go on. Open it. If the opinion of a this human doesn't validate that you weren't wrong, then I am just going to have to take you to see some others, non -humans that you know and trust. You can see for yourself."



Kiaati doubted it. She doubted even that there was anyone out there that would fit the bill, nonetheless that would support his theory. Still, for whatever reason, the woman found herself opening the door and stepping through. Jeff 's voice came from.beside her as he stepped trough after her.



"Look, would they be like this if we were wrong, if you and other humans didn't matter? "



The two spirits hovered even with the deck of the ship, looking at Tuss and Gabriel as they lay on the boat in that sort of deathly despair. Well, Jeff had given a slight warning? He had mentioned how he had watched the crew in his afterlife. Now, Kiaati barely even registered his words as she stood there, frozen as she looked between her guardians.



"Would the others, the DEMONS, be off trying to fulfilled a rare bargain amongst the powers.that be just so that you could finish your work if humans were only property? "



Kiaati quivered. She remembered now that he had brought her here to where she had breathed last. She remembered the painful thing she had forgotten as she dove from the cliff in her heaven. She wasn't finished here yet. And as she gazed at her protectors, Kiaati realized that she had been mistaken - there were people that fit the bill. These two creatures, watching them just lay there dying... it was like an earthquake beneath her agonized, unsteady legs.



((Omg this took me like 2.5 hours to type. Longest kindle post ever!))

Xamien shook his head slowly as his little eyes considered there they had returned to, head tilting to the side, thinking a little. He missed his mothers. Both of them. The longer he was hear the more it seemed to settle into his grasp that they were both gone now. He was back to being alone.



The little boy didn't like it, and it kind of took away any kind of appetite the child had been close to having. After all, who likes thinking about stuffing themselves while mourning the loss of a loved one?







" No. We never find what we need."



Zandra spat at Drandar, unable to help herself, getting angry enough at the path constantly being blocked that the next tree to get in her way was ripped from the ground and hurled.( Well now :nervous: :nervous: )





As the tree fell crashing into others, it left a clear path in it's wake that Zandra had no qualms about taking advantage of as she kept pressing forward. Never a break for the weary. The woman would stop at some point to pick up the cat and then keep walking. She was tired of almost stepping on him.

Drandar was quiet for a moment, just absently rubbing at his marked eye. It had been bothering him some - tingling - but he didn't know what had happened to him yet. It wasn't like he could see his own face. Either way, he was now carrying Ariel along, who looked both sad and scared.



The man considered his betrothed as they walked along. He wished that he could say something to fix it, yet he knew that everything was too broken. You couldn't just fix a death. Maybe this was how she mourned, how she coped. Drandar was just left to wonder if they were all going to survive her coping.



"Maybe we should stop and think about this then."









Harmony considered the child, tugging him onto the chaise beside her. She waved a hand and a small table appeared with simple child-approved food. She would even eat a little to try and tempt him into it.



"Are you tired?"











Kiaati felt like the world was pitching about her; she wasn't sure how she managed to remain standing. The woman slowly moved towards the others.



"They can't... They... Jeff..."



Jeff was again shocked. Apparently, since the last time he had seen her, there must have been a mountain of changes. This Kiaati was so different. The sheer amount of sorrow and despair falling off of her was unnerving. After a minute, she spoke again, now whispering.



"Can they see us?"



His gaze followed her dark green eyes, first to the bird and then to the winged man just laying on the deck of the beached ship.



"Eh, probably not. Er... I don't think so. I mean, you know... If you want to stick around and you are pushing at them and they are open to you..." Jeff gave a half shrug. It was complicated. He didn't even entirely understand it, and he wasn't new. "You saw me once, but it's dangerous. The longer we stay on this side watching, the further we get from death. The further you get from death, the better of chance they have of catching a tiny glimpse, but you could get stuck in that whirlwind deal for all eternity if you get too far from death. We're not really supposed to mess with the living. Without a body to protect you, it gets pretty brutal after about a half hour."



Kiaati slowly knelt down beside Gabriel and Tuss. She couldn't help it. Her dry eyes began to forfeit tears whenever they could work up enough liquid to do so, and that wasn't very often. She was just about spent.



"You can't die," she said softly as she sat on her knees. "Not just because I did. It's not supposed to work like this. You have to go on..."



Now, Jeff had the foresight to be quiet, to let her have a little time like this. He wondered if he had made a mistake, though. He had been trying to prove a point. She seemed even worse off than before.

{ As the realization settled upon my shoulders that I would not be present for your afternoon play, I began to ponder. As I let my mind wonder over this dilemma I became increasingly aware that there was nothing I could do to soften this blow, nor make the circumstances easier on either of us. In a poor attempt to make such a situation better, I did decide that I would indeed put in the effort required to post upon such a sacred thread as this. It is in the small hopes that this will lessen your pain and possibly bring you great joy. }









Zandra gave a small, sharp shake of her head as she shifted the cat to ride in the hood of her cloak as she kept on, eyes darting about their surroundings, ignoring the sounds of wildlife fleeing in their path in all directions. Her actions were deliberate and her personality fowl enough to make those about loose interest in eating. She was simply not the one to mess or speak with right now. The only saving Drandar from being tossed just as the tree had moments ago was her affections for him.



It would be a solid ten hours later when she would stop. Only then would she reach out to take a now sleeping Ariel, eyes turning over Drandar as the late night campfire warmed them.



" It is all pointless, you know."



Something in her tone gave way to the desperation and complete absence she felt with Kiaati gone. There was no hope in this 'demon queen' right now. The courage, bravery, will... All were sucked from her right in his moment, and it was clear to any as she brushed at the slumbering little child's hair, placing a kiss on little Ariel's forehead. They were all doomed in Zandra's opinion.











Xamien would not touch a single scrap of food, just sitting there, falling into a depression only a child having lost two mothers would know. He would slowly pull his knees to his chest, and the guilt of not being able to help her more would be muttered under his breath as large tears would start to fall from his eyes. He was merely a small child, to expect him to handle this all with grace and innocence was expecting way too much of him.









There was knowing in the Obscarian resting on the boards, near gone, but he had not the strength nor ability to convey this to the woman concerned over him. They had told them, repeatedly that they were tied directly to the Chosen Ones. Without those, they would die. Not an option to this situation, the only reason Gabriel had yet to pass was simply the fact Kiaati's passing was yet to be final, the moment her death fell finished, he would be as well.

((You have no idea. It's like magic happy juice in text form.))



Drandar had settled by this point and removed his shoes to rub his aching feet. He was tired. With everything as it was, he just felt tired. Halfheartedly, he glanced up at her.



"How do you figure? We still have a chance..."



They wouldn't have been given an impossible task.









The childlike Terrachronan simply wrapped her arms around the boy, hugging him as they sat there. She figured she could probably take him to Death and the man would probably let the child see his dead mothers, but... She was debating, hesitant to do so. In some ways that would only be worse. In others, it could help.



"Hey, Xamien..."



Harmony pulled back to look down at him.



"Do you believe me when I tell you that they are happy?"









At least, one of his mothers was. Right now, Kiaati was very far from being happy. No, Jeff actually jumped because of the huge voice that burst suddenly from the woman.



"DAMMIT ALL! GET UP! GO! GO DO YOUR STUPID LITTLE HERO THING! GO WITH THE OTHERS AND YOU ALL CAN JUST... can just..."



Her voice cracked then and she broke off, shaking her head as she buried her tear-stained face into her hands. It wasn't anything to be really concerned with. Really, Kiaati was throwing something akin to a temper tantrum. It had been just a little flare of anger. Now the woman just sat there, sobbing with intermittent tears sliding down her face.



"Jeff... Jeff, it's all my fault."



The man awkwardly just stood there, having no idea how to treat this emotional blob that had replaced Kiaati.



"They are all going to die because of me. As if there weren't enough lives ended as my fallout while I was alive... these... all of them... I'm already dead but they still don't have a chance... It's all my fault. I should have tried harder. I should have given it more..."



"Kiaati... What else were you supposed to give? I think your life has got to be pretty near to the top of the pyramid."



She just shook her head, crying when she could and sitting when she couldn't. There was no reasoning with her right now. Jeff would slowly edge closer, thinking that he would take her back to where she belonged... if she didn't tear him apart for trying.

Xamein just kind of shrugged in that child like manner of uncertainty, eyes roaming the woman's face. He sought at any sign to indicate truth or lies as he started to cling to her words. Were his mothers at least happy? even without him?



Zandra scoffed at him, smirking bitterly as her eyes watched the flames dance.



" No. we're doomed and it's just a matter of time before everyone else gets this."

Harmony was the childlike terrachronan, so at least she would have the same innocence of face that he did.



"They are," she pressed gently.



"They don't have to worry about things that they worried about while they were alive. You know, the dead can find out about the lives of others, of others still living, even. They know how great of man you're going to grow up to be - and you know what? They are happy because they know that once you're all done with everything you are going to do in the world, they will get to be with you again. Your first mom will be able to look at you and hold you in her arms. Your second mom will get to spend time with you and just talk."











"Don't touch me!"



Kiaati's voice was sharp, so much so that Jeff felt as though she had smacked him with a whip and sliced to the bone. He backed off. Apparently, she needed a little longer. The woman would just rock a little as she sat there, crying to herself. There were faint mutterings before all of the sudden she just stopped. By this point, though, Jeff's concern had multiplied. The spirit gale had begun to strike up about them. It would be a bad idea to stay much longer.



Kiaati would shift a little bit, moving closer to Gabriel. She swiped at her tears, brushing her hair from her face. She looked down at him and gave a small nod before speaking in gentle tones.



"Alright. I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't."



She leaned forward, almost whispering as the winds slapped at her face and stole the words off of her lips.



"I'll do it. If you get up, if you continue on and keep them intact - if you all fulfill your side of the bargain - I will come back. I will face life again to try and finish what I started."



Though she was talking to Gabriel, the woman felt like she was in some ways bargaining with herself. She didn't know if she believed in what she had before. It seemed that she had been wrong about more than just a couple litle things. Though, if she was to be nothing but property in the afterlife, then there was little less suffering to live a while longer. She slowly nodded.



"All of you shouldn't have to suffer for my failure."



At that point she had been reaching out a little as though to touch Gabriel with the tips of her fingers, but when she even just got close, suddenly the Crystal of Elocin flared with a half blinding light. The blue beams of light arced through the darkness, shimmering in rays through the night.



"Ooo, so shiny..." Apparently some things never changed. However, these words from Jeff did not even catch Kiaati's attention. The malestrom was tearing at the spirit by this point, sharply snapping her tunic and her hair against her wounded flesh. The woman had to shield her eyes from the light, confused. She didn't really understand, truth be told. However, it was her crystal. It was responding to her spirit, something that it had done in small doses when her spirit had been so suppressed within her body. Now... It pulsed with energy, energy and power that seeped into everything about it. Flowers began to grow out of the boards that made up the deck of the ship. Tuss ruffled his feathers, which now seemed especially blue as he lifted his head, pondering about how he suddenly felt recharged and oddly relieved for no reason he could pinpoint. However, the one that would have gotten the most from it would have been Kiaati's vassal, the one currently wearing the crystal in her stead.



She looked lost and confused, even as Jeff reached down and grabbed her hands, pulling her up to stand on her weak knees. He had to shout to be heard at all, for the winds were battering them so.



"We have to go!"



"I don't..."



"You were pushing, and it was open to you... Now, we have to go!"



He was trying to tug her towards the door, but the woman's eyes just turned back towards Tuss and Gabriel, fixed upon them and the light that was now dimming to a steady glow.













"I think it's worth believing in until there is nothing left. It's not like we have anything better to do, anyhow."



As he broke off for distraction, Drandar touched his chest reflexively. The man's brow furrowed a little as he reached in, pulling his crystal out so that he could see. It was glowing faintly, giving a warm and steady thrum against his flesh. He looked over at Zandra to see hers glowing a little too.



"What is..."



Then, however, his eyes were drawn to the bright blue beams of light cutting into the sky in the distance back the way they had come.



"...Huh?"



He had no idea what was going on.

Xamien wanted to believe this, so he seemed to settle into handling her answer as truth for now. After all he was just a child, the idea of keeping a long grudge or being highly suspect wasnÂ’t natural.





Zandra merely shrugged and jerked herÂ’s off her neck. There was something dark swirling in his bride to be as she turned the crystal over from hand to hand. He wanted to keep going. He wanted to keep pointlessly working at all of this. He seemed so ok with all of this. She didnÂ’t understand how he wasnÂ’t shaken up at least a little bit.



Zandra merely heaved a sigh and would toss the crystal into the flames and stand up, lifting up a sleeping Ariel and start the trek once more. She didnÂ’t look back nor pay mind to the light. It wasnÂ’t anything worth her attention or efforts. No, sheÂ’d just keep absently trudging through the undergrowth.

"Get up!" Kiaati cried to Gabriel as Jeff physically dragged her to the door.



"I can't do it. I'm not strong enough, a poor one to be chosen. You have to help them if you would help me. They'll never find their way." Some part of her registered that there was a sense of cliche in her words, yet she spouted them anyhow as truths. Kiaati had reached a point of such despair that she could hardly even hold herself up. That bargain that she made with herself, that promise, it felt like the only thing that allowed her to even move. Even as Jeff dragged her through the door back into the realm of the dead, she left behind one more thought. It came as a solitary, sad whisper.



"They don't know me."



That was the truth of it. Even her closest friends didn't really know her completely. No one knew her history. No one knew where she came from. As she fell against the tree, trying to catch her breath as her eyes stung with the desire to cry tears that would not come, Kiaati cursed herself. It didn't even really matter, now did it? She had been a nobody, and now when everything was too little, too late, she was still a nobody.



"Kiaati?"



Jeff reached out to touch her shoulder. He had meant well, at least. That was one thing that could be said about him. The poor guy just didn't realize that his timing left something to be desired. Kiaati simply hadn't been ready for that kind of experience.



"Just go," the woman whispered as her cheek pressed against the bark. Honestly, he was a little taken aback, but he wasn't entirely stupid. He was at least realizing now that she needed some time. So, awkwardly, he walked off, disappearing back into his own heaven. For now, the man wouldn't have been able to come back. Kiaati was too jaded to let anyone back in. However, after a minute of just letting the tree support her weight, Kiaati drew away from it, eyes resting upon the mansion in the distance that she had been staring at. The woman began to trudge through the drizzle and the muddy wheat field. She didn't know how she managed to make all of the way back there. She felt far too weak to be able to, yet Kiaati found herself standing on the front steps, all muddied and bloodied once more from the wounds that were still bleeding.



Even as she placed her hand on the front door, she didn't really know why either. Some part of her supposed that it was because the nature of life and now the nature of her death had turned her into a masochist - maybe she was just seeking him out as a small way of control. If she was going to have pain either way, she might as well have some control over when it came. The true reason, however, was something that Kiaati couldn't face. She needed something from him. Either way, she turned the knob and entered the mansion.



The woman didn't know what she was going to do as she slowly approached the man currently standing with some book in his hands. Her fingers pressed to the exposed flesh between the laces on either side of the tunic hanging loosely across her frame. Blood had soaked into the orange fabric from the deep and painful gashes still covering her body from her escape through the rosebush. It also mixed with the mud in the footprints she was leaving as she quietly walked towards him. Kiaati watched as her arms uncurled from around her body, feeling kind of detached as she witnessed her hands shove Death hard so that he fell down into the chair he had been standing beside.



"Why did you take that away from me?"



Perhaps it was meant to be a demand, but the words only fell from her lips in acid despair. As she stood there, it was clear to see how harrowed the woman had become. Whatever peace she had grasped for that brief time was now long forgotten. Kiaati's wounded and rain-soaked form seeped nothing but patheticness and misery. This was an incredibly strong soul with a startling amount of free will. However, it was also a very tired and battered soul. She could only take so much after how cruel life had been to her. She had not healed from that yet. It was not that life she asked about him taking away. Instead, she was asking about why he would take away that blithe comfort she had been afforded before he ripped it away by informing her that she was absolutely nothing. Now, Kiaati's knees buckled, hitting the hardwood floor beside Death's leg from where he had splayed into the chair.



"What did I do wrong?"



This time, her question came out as nothing more than a hoarse whisper as she slumped over, staring down at the torn up hands laying listlessly in her lap. This time she was referring to life. What had she done wrong when living to deserve being punished now? She didn't realize that she simply didn't know how to maintain happiness or peace. It wasn't something she had ever experienced. For how much she had done, Kiaati's life had been incredibly small.













Harmony smiled at him a little bit, clambering over beside him to give him a hug.



"Come with me."



The childlike terrachronan offered him her hand.













Drandar sighed slightly, just standing there for a moment. The crystal didn't catch fire, and after some consideration he snatched it out of the fire with a stick. The man wrapped it up and stuck it in his pocket, ruffling his hair in frustration. He never thought that he would be the one having to hold things together. It wasn't easy or natural for him.



"Zandra! Stop! You're acting crazy! This isn't... This isn't going to help bring her back. We still have a chance, and we should try until there is no chance left. Acting crazy... it's not going to help anything."



The man caught up to her, catching her elbow. He gestured.



"You're just marching around wild and mindlessly. I mean... I know that the two of us being demons can get away with more than if we had her with us, but... People still know us and Aszeran still has all of his spies. You're being reckless. Not only will that not help, but that could get us killed too!"

DeathÂ’s eyes took in the woman, giving a flick of his wrist causing the mud, blood, and book all vanish. With dark eyes taking Kiaati in, the man seemed to be completely unphased. As he reached over and placed a hand on her head, brushing her fiery red hair back.



“ My dear woman, you think ill of me for imparting the truth upon you?”



His question seemed to soothe rather then push at nerves, perhaps it was his tone, perhaps he was cheating to easy this restless soul in his care. Either way, the an was absently twirling a rose in his other hand now, slowly working it into KiaatiÂ’s hair.





“ As for wrong doings, there are few upon your shoulders.”





Xamien would take her hand, consenting to go with her.







Zandra would send Drandar flying thanks to reflex alone. She watched him skid through the fire and the smoke billow about him as the darkness surrounded them. The woman turned her back, easily 100 feet or more from him.



“ then you do it. I am done.”



Off the woman marched now, not caring who followed her, or who didn't.

Kiaati remained still, just staring at the ground. She didn't move as he touched her since she knew that she was kind of just like his dress up doll.



"I think ill that you are not fair."



Something about the woman was uncharacteristically pathetic. Her chin dropped the rest of the way to her chest as she closed her eyes. The woman was entirely miserable. There was no doubt about that. The woman carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her life had been wearying enough for her soul, and now to find that she wasn't finished...



"I'm so tired," she began, "and I'm weak, but I will never be your simple servant."











Harmony would walk with Xamien for a while until they crossed through the white into an area that looked like it was taken straight out of a child's dream. It contained every manner of distraction for him to enjoy.











"OW!"



Drandar exclaimed wordless pain as he rolled, patting out the fire burning his clothing and licking his skin. That was not a pleasant experience for him. However, after it was out, he would just sit there with Opal perched on his knee with a concerned look on her face.



"Drandar, what is wrong with Zandra?"



The man just shook his head. He looked up after the way that she had gone. He obviously knew what was wrong with her. The stun still resonated in his bones, but he was trying to power through it. That didn't mean that he didn't feel anything. The man got up slowly after a while, darting to catch up with her.



"I can't do it without you," he whispered.



For this reason, Drandar would stay by Zandra's side. Yes, he loved her, but even if she wanted him to, he couldn't leave. He didn't know enough to know what to do in this situation, and it wasn't like he could just learn it. The major lead was dead. The more he tried to remember something about her, the more ethereal she became. Had he ever asked her a meaningful question about herself? Did he know anything about Kiaati at all?



"I'm going to go with you. We can be done. Are you just tired of working?"

Death shook his head.



" Life and Death are equally balanced. Nothing unfair or unjust. Nothing that is more right or more wrong. And dear woman, I never wanted a simple servant. "



He looked over Kiaati, bringing her to her feet.



" Stand proud, your life is not a waste, nor will your death be. It can not be restful because you are not to remain here, and once the soul comes to rest it will not leave."



She wasn't finished in life, she could not rest in peace.











Zandra looked over Drandar.



" We are demons, we can't lead a human rebellion being demons. They won't follow us. I am tired for fighting to fix someone else's problems when I could be happy nearly anywhere."



You know, if she went into hiding with him and all. Cause she was wanted, not openly due to obvious reasons, but she was wanted...

Drandar maintained silence for a long moment before contradicting her in the most non-combative tone he could manage.



"That's not true. You started this fight because it IS your problem too."



His next syllables were even quieter and more tentative.



"You were at the heart of what started all of this."



He reached out insistently. He learned from past mistakes, but he also learned not to give up. He reached to take her hand again.



"We don't have to lead the human rebellion. We just have to get her back."









- the rest of this post has been omitted due to failure as a human being -

I realize that you have a lot of stress going on in your life. I swear that I didn't mean things the way that you took them. I didn't mean to ruin your night.

Oh, that threw Drandar over the tops of trees and she didn't even spare him a second glance. She would never hear the last two sentences as she would rush off now, livid. There was a strong part of her that wanted to rip him into pieces. thankfully a larger part cared about him. Who knew where the woman was running with little Arielle in tow.

The problem was that even demons weren't indestructible. The landing was rough for Drandar, and the branches ripping at him all the way down kept him from landing on his feet. He was scraped and bruised and beaten to begin with. He couldn't help it, but as he looked down at his broken arm, nothing else had felt like such a death sentence. Without his friends, now thrown away by his love, he was all alone with only one arm to defend himself. Drandar just sat there, shaking a little bit.







Ariel was just as scared, still shaking and crying. She was already traumatized, and all of this was making it worse.



"I want my Mommy!"



There was a cry you had never heard from the child.









Kiaati stood, mostly because she was pulled to do so, but she did not do it proudly. Right now, the woman didn't have the strength to do so.



"It probably is. I saw it. They are too weak to do this, which means you win."



As it fell from her lips, it didn't sound like an insult. It just sounded like a sad observation of fact.

" Sometimes the weakest creatures can prove the strongest in the right situations. Do not rule them out yet. You will know when you have no more hope. Your soul will settle, peace will take over."





Zandra stopped, looking over Arielle.



" Fine."



The small child's words had cut like teh sharpest of knives, and Zandra would place the child on her own feet and walk away now. She had cared for that little girl as her own, but to be dealt a slap in the face like that on top of everything else...



Zandra would absnetly ensure she had no one else with her before walking further off into the forest. This is why the woman didn't give into love or caring, it resulted in this. Pain.

Ariel sobbed uncontrollably. This was more than any child to have to bear, and now she found herself completely alone for the second time in her life. She was just a little girl. Sometimes the things she said didn't come out exactly right. She had thought that Zandra had wanted to be her new mother - at least, that was what she had acted like.



"What did I do wrong?" she asked from inbetween her tears.



"Why don't you want to be my mommy anymore?"



Because Zandra's most recent mood swing had made her act nothing like she had when caring for Ariel. She had just wanted that woman back, but now she was gone altogether. The child threw herself on the ground, wailing in misery.











"Hope..."



Kiaati shook her head some. That was not the word she would have chosen for the feeling. She had been wrung out, and a huge part of her just wanted to be done. If that part won out, so would Death.



"I don't think I believe in peace anymore."

death smiled.



" most don't by the time they make it too my door."







Zandra had left, but not far enough not to hear the child. Nor did she leave so far as not to be able to help her should she need it... Zandra was just so far gone she wanted to slit her own throat and be done.

"I believed in it when I first got to your door."



Most of the feelings that had filled Kiaati at that point were distant. She tried to remember, tried to grasp onto what it had felt like to be happy. However, it was like a dream; the harder she tried to grasp it, the further it slipped away. Now, she slowly shifted her eyes past Death and she walked to the wall of books written over the lives.



"Is there one on everyone?"











However, such wailing would not go unnoticed for very long. It was a demon woman that came along, her personal human sservant trailing behind a few steps.



"Oh... Sweet little thing... Where's your mother?"



The demon knelt down and Ariel only screamed louder when touched.

Zandra slowly circled just outside of sight, eyes locked on the woman in the clearing. She wasn't about to let harm come to the small child, but she wasn't in a nice frame of mind, either. So, she really had to fight a blood bath like urge.









" yes."

Ariel screamed more and more as the demon picked her up.



"Stop that. I'm going to take you home with me. You'll have warmer clothes. Even a toy or two. Do you want to stay here and die, you pest?"



The demon was irritated with the thrashing, and she clamped a hand over the girl's mouth. It was typical treatment for humans. This sort of thing... it wasn't even considered kidnapping. Obviously, her mother had left her alone. That put her up for grabs. Eventually, Ariel would pass out, and the demon would hand the child to her servant and motion for the middle-aged woman to follow her.











"One for me? For my friends?"

" You have two... and a friend of yours does as well, the rest hold one."

there was a faint, sickening snap as the woman's neck as snapped and Ariel scooped up into Zandra's arms. There was no words exchanged or even footprints left as Zandra would melt into the greenery. It would dawn on Zandra she might need to check on Drandar though if Arielle was in such peril just sititng there....

"Is that good or bad?"



Kiaati's voice was hollow. Perhaps she could have conned information if she wanted to, but right now it was obvious that these weren't even questions stemming out of curiosity. They were just questions.



"Can I see?"











Drandar worried about Ariel, hearing her bloody screams. Unfortunately, he knew exactly what lurked out there, and he knew that if it had found her alone, then there was absolutely nothing that he could do for her. The man had tried to fix his arm, but he couldn't get it to seat right on his own. By the time that Zandra thought to look after him, the man had run past the last campsite and was burning a path back towards the boat.

Death considered her, taking the books down of all the people presently important.Zandra's present two books, one complete and ending at her rebirth. Kiaati's first and new second, transitioning at her present death. Drandar's, Arielle's, the Obscarians', and so on.









Zandra had no issues following the flames, hot on his heels now. What the hell had happened to him?

Drandar suddenly whipped around, the flames fanning out and surrounding him in a circle as he peered past them into the woods.



"Who's there?"













Kiaati reached out slowly, her fingers running across them. For a moment she just considered the cover of her own. However, then she reached out an took a different one, opening it and eyes trailing tiredly across the words.

The moment she tried to start reading the pages would go dark, as if the book was completely submersed in ink.



" Ah, yes, sometimes they are a hard read."







Zandra sighed, absently clearing the way into his flames as she smothered them with water, stepping into the circle and looking Drandar over. After a moment she'd move over to properly set his arm and splint it.



" Let's get this crap over with."

Drandar wasn't as warm towards her now as he had been before. The second she was done, he pulled his arm away from her.



"Lead the way."



There was something more distant than normal in his voice. he wasn't trying to hide it. She had screwed up.









Kiaati considered it.



"It's okay. I just wanted to know more about who I was killing."



She closed the book, and though she meant to put it on the table, it kind of just slid from her hands helplessly onto the floor.

Zandra looked over him, and she shook her head.



"don't worry, i'll leave you alone soon enough."



She replied, looking from him and holding the unconscious little girl closer to her. Forget him. It had likely all been pretend on his part anyway.







Death smiled.



" I am needed, enjoy your time here."

Kiaati's eyes turned over towards Death. She shook her head a little, though she just stood there, staring at the books for a long time. Eventually, she would kneel, or at least that had been her attention. She had been intending to pick up the book she had been trying to look at. Instead, she just ended up laying on the ground with her head resting on the tome devoted to her bound Obscarian, the living dead. She would still be laying there when Death returned.









"If that's your choice..."

" Well considering i'm at the heart of all this, if i leave it should make things much easier for everyone."



Zandra spat back at him, snuggling Arielle, whispering to the child that she'd work on finding the little one a proper mama.

"I didn't say that you were still there. I said that you were there once. I said that you took this as a way to change that."



Drandar shook his head some, his shoulders starting to sag. He was tired of being attacked by the one person left that should never attack him. He looked over at Ariel, who was still unconscious.



"what happened to her?"

" She is just sleeping... I will get her somewhere else soon. "



She sighed, looking so crushed at these words, snuggling the girl.



" She hurt me too and i stepped away to calm down. She didn't get harmed, i didn't let that happen."



She shrugged.



" but even if i had,, it's what i am right?"



she asked, climbing onto the boat and sitting down. She was considering just jumping off.

"No. You're not that anymore. You were reborn, both physically and emotionally. You're not that person."



Drandar sighed softly as he sat down, leaning against the side of the boat.



"I just asked because of her screams. I thought she was dead."

Zandra looked over him.



" i'm not a monster."

"I know that... but I also know that there are plenty of things that are."



Things that wouldn't think twice about killing the child.

Zandra looked up.



" when did you know? You know, that you didn't care?"



she asked him, still holding the child in a guarded manner. She didn't understand how people pretended to care about other people, not the way he had...

"What are you talking about? Not caring about what? Her?"



Drandar shook his head a little, turning his chin away then. They had both been down in the abyss of darkness for a long time. There were just some things that shouldn't be talked about, at least, not in circumstances like this. Yet, she was dragging them up.



"It has nothing to do with not caring about her. You know just as well as I do that she would not have survived, no matter what it was that got a hold of her. She is too small and defenseless. A demon or a wild dog would have ripped her apart just as easily... and going there would only have ended with two dead instead of one."