My Soul to Reap (Archived)

Tension

    I braced myself internally as the first person came over. He was an older gentleman, with eyes just too blue to be natural. He seemed nice enough, but of course that meant nothing. He reached out a hand and I shook it awkwardly, trying to smile.

"Nice to meet you dear," he said, and that was it. He turned and went on his way, without so much as another word. I was a little confused by it, since I had been expecting a lot more than that. But he really had just walked away, joining a group of people with similar eyes. The next person, a yellow-eyed woman, grasped my hand with both of her and made a comment I barely heard. And then she left too, without looking back. It was the same with every person. An entire rainbow of eyes flashed past and I never got one name, never more than a few seconds of recognition. I nodded almost constantly, stuck with an awkward smile as I tried to make a good impression. And the stream of people stopped after only five minutes. I turned to Brie, confused.

"That was... easy," I said slowly, expecting her to explain.

"Yep, it was. See, everyone wants to say they've met you, but no one actually wants to meet you. No point in making an attachment when they have no idea what you'll be like in a few days." I frowned, but it did kind of make sense. It was like bragging rights, I met the new reaper before she became one. The soft music that filled the air must have been classical, but I wasn't able to focus on it. I looked around the room and found that even though no one was coming up to me anymore, I was still very much the topic of conversation. People were grouped together, throwing a glance at me every now and then. I knew this night was supposed to be about me, but somehow I liked it better when they were all crowding around me. This passive interest seemed very wrong. Brie led me around the room, and from the corner of my eye I caught people staring. That's when I realized that I wasn't uncomfortable with the attention at all. It was the looks they were giving me. Pity, that's what it was. When they shook my hand it was like they were saying goodbye to someone they'd never even met.

"A lot to take in, isn't it?" I turned slowly at the unfamiliar voice, but was relieved when I saw she was standing beside Kayin. I smiled to him rather than her, because to be honest she scared me a little. Even though I was getting used to things like violet eyes, on her it made her look dangerous. She wore a purple dress that looked like it had been studded with stars, and her black hair hung straight down her back. The way she was looking at me made me feel like I was beneath her, the same way a peasant would feel looking up at a king.

"Kind of, yeah," I said nervously, trying to avoid her eyes. Something passed between he and Kayin, something like "come on don't scare her". She rolled her eyes and as scared as I was of her I decided she couldn't be that bad, because Kayin had obviously been friends with her for a long time.

"Anyways," she said, sweeping away. "I have to go keep a room full of pissed off supernaturals from killing each other yet. Enjoy yourself." I watched her go, hiding behind Brie without meaning to. She noticed and just laughed, pushing me away.

"Oh come on, Ravenna's not that bad," she laughed, but the look Rina shot her was just about as scared as I must have looked.

"Yes she is," She sputtered, which didn't do much to make me not scared. I tried reading Kayin's expression, since I trusted him to know who this girl was.

"That's only because she doesn't like you, Rina," he sighed, which probably explained some things but again didn't make me feel any better. Rina huffed, crossing her arms tightly.

"And what did I ever do to her?" She demanded, but didn't get a response. Kayin was very obviously done with the conversation, and it took a minute for me to realize it was for my sake.