My Soul to Reap (Archived)

A Gift

I frowned, scrambling to sit up.
"Me?" I asked, and she nodded. Tallie seemed dazed, like she was trying to process whatever she'd seen. Whomever she'd seen. That thought didn't give me much comfort. Aryan was by my side quickly, his hand resting on the armrest.
"Who?" he asked simply, and Tallie shook her head.
"I- I don't know.Just- come down, yeah?" I stood up probably slower than I should have, shaking off his hand when he tried to steady me.
"I'm fine," I insisted, forcing myself across the room. I was fluctuating between too fast and too slow, and the way I powered down the stairs was pretty firmly the former. I glanced around, my search not really made easier by the fact that everything had somehow become more crowded. There were people everywhere, and Tallie really must have been out of it to leave the bar untended. I could see the line impatiently forming, and I could only hope that she was following.Angry and impatient drunks were hard to deal with when they were human, but as anything more I could see it turning disastrous.However, even in the mass that was the dance floor I couldn't see anyone who looked even remotely familiar. I slowed down a little,letting Tallie catch up so she could show me where I was going.

"Just there," she said, motioning towards the edge of the bar. I frowned, not recognizing anyone in the cluster of people.But before I could turn and ask Tallie was gone, back behind the bar and far too busy to pay attention to me. I took a deep breath,scanning over faces to try and find where I was supposed to be.
She found me first. Her hand grabbed my wrist gently and led me away from the noise. Alarm bells went off immediately, because not being able to see someone as they got you away from a group generally did not end well. My thoughts immediately went to Lynn, of someone I hadn't met yet but who inherently hated me. I could feel my stomach drop,and I was just about to start fighting back. That is, until I saw who it was.

"Rina?"I hissed quietly, trying to make sure I was seeing right. She didn't look like Rina, at least her cloths didn't. The black skirt was ruffled but was far from the cupcake skirt, her hair was straight and undecorated. She wore grey boots that came up to her knees, and a grey cardigan.She looked like she could have been anyone else in the entire building. Worse than that, she looked nervous.

"Hi,"she said, waving her hand a little. I stood in shock, my mouth  probably hanging open.

"What are you- did Brie get kicked out?" My thoughts were disconnected, but I knew I needed to say something. I frowned at myself, because I really shouldn't have been this disoriented. It was just Rina- dressed like a normal person. It made me feel a bit better when he laughed, a short sound that made her look down but a laugh all the same.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" she laughed, and I smiled.

"So,um... I don't mean to be rude here but... you kind of scared the crap out of Tallie. Am I in trouble?" I asked slowly, and even though she was still smiling it had turned sad.

"Ah,yes. That's only a bit of a side effect of being... me, I guess. And no, you aren't in trouble." I smiled again, trying to lighten the mood. It seemed cosmically wrong for Rina to be anything other than bubbly and sweet.

"Then,it's nice to see you!" The alternative was asking why she was here, but that looked like something she'd get to on her own.

"You don't have to sugarcoat it for me," she said, and my head snapped up at her tone.

"Rina?"I asked, genuinely worried. I had never seen her this serious, and everything about her looked alien. It brought to mind that fact that she was a reaper, she was just as dangerous as Brie and she had been around death for decades. Suddenly, I was scared of her.

"Cammie, I need you to listen." She said, enunciating every word. There was a clipping of her consonants I'd never noticed before, the remnants of a language she wasn't speaking. I nodded, eyes wide.

"I have no right to criticize your decision." I nodded along,because I wasn't capable of much else. I was left staring into her eyes, and despite the unnatural colour it made me feel a little more at ease. There was nothing to fear in her. She just wanted to get her point across.

"Obviously I think you made the wrong one, and Brie is no longer welcomed hereafter she expressed her own opinion on the matter." I grimaced,realizing why she was dressed so unlike her. She wasn't meant to draw attention here.

"But there's something I want you to know." She took a step closer,grasping both my wrists. "You are welcome, no matter what happens here. No matter what they turn you into, no matter what choices you make or regret. You will have a place with me." I opened my mouth to thank her, but nothing came out. I was floored.She dropped my hands, the intensity of the moment gone as she reached into a purse hanging at her side. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the bows, the proof this was still the girl who'd enthusiastically dragged me through town. I nodded, even though at this point she wasn't looking at me.

"Please,take this." She held out her hands, bowing ever so slightly. I looked skeptically at what she held, picking it up for myself. A thin gold band, small enough to fit around my wrist. It was inlaid with a stone that looked like amber, uncut and splattered with interior cracks. It was beautiful, but it took me a second to understand what it was. Because I'd seen gold bracelets somewhere before.

"Is this...?" I breathed, again unable to understand. Had she given me one of her bracelets? She nodded encouragingly.

"It's from Brie. You won't be quite as tied to her now, so you're free to do as you wish." I nodded, because as much as I'd been doing that it seemed like the only appropriate response. I slid it onto my wrist, and was unsurprised to find it wouldn't be coming off.

"Thank you," I said, injecting as much sincerity into it as I could."Honestly Rina, thank you for everything." I could feel my eyes staring to sting, and without thinking I pulled her close. She stood stiffly for a second, before hugging back just as tightly.

"Be safe," she said, more into my hair than my ear. I nodded, and then huffed at myself for doing it again.

"I will," I promised, because this was as good as goodbye. She pulled away first, nodding once and giving me a smile. It was pure Rina, bright and happy and optimistic. I missed her already. I admired her outfit again, now that my mind had been put at ease. I'd missed it before but her style was still there, the lacy bows topping the boots and replacing buttons on her shirt. She started to turn away, and as I watched her walk away something caught my eye.

There was no way I would have seen it with her usual skirt, but now that it was shorter I could see a string of black letters running up the outside of her thigh. I frowned, reading the letters. DCCIV. A tattoo? Unless Rina had been drastically different at one point, I couldn't for my life see her getting one. Then what...

I forced myself to shake it off, put it down to me not wanting to let her go. I could find the answer, call her back, but then I'd have to say goodbye for real. And, selfishly, I didn't want to admit it to myself that I wouldn't be seeing her again.She flounced out of the building and I couldn't help but watch her go, stepping gracefully around the people who tried to get too close. I sighed, pressing my mouth into a hard line and trying not to focus on what this meant.I'd chosen, officially.

I was going to fight for Aryan.