hadriel | ∞4 | video. Death Takes A Holiday;

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∞4 | video. Death Takes A Holiday;

[From the angle shown, Ravine is holding the phone away from her face, elbow propped with her chin in the palm of her gloved hand -- and even now, hints of black smoke continue wafting from her hair and coat.

[ Although apparently uncomfortable, she flashes her smile just as she always has.]

"Well, for those who believe themselves capable, I would advise against any attempts at reaching that ninth god beneath the Colosseum the easy way. It leads to some rather ill results."

[She would know.

[Soon her gold eyes shift back to the soft brown most are used to seeing when she is not wearing her sunglasses. Once she is feeling a little better and not radiating black vapors anymore, her stern expression transforms into a smile, her face scrunched in amusement.]

"For anyone not interested in that, however, I have a question!

"Imagine, if you will, that you have been a dead person for thousands of years. It has also been that long since you've ever felt or tasted anything.

"Then imagine if you have been given an opportunity here to be a living, breathing person -- but only for a few days! Would you mind sharing what you would do with that short time in the mortal plane?

"I admit, I am perhaps looking at this from a dead woman's perspective, but it does not appear that there is much to do for the corporeal here when there is not a festival being thrown by our gracious locals. It would be a shame to put such a generous gift to waste."

['But Ravine, why not just ask the gods to make you permanently living?!' one might say.

[Yeah, no, that is the one thing she is not addressing right now, thank you very much.]

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More like independant. People still died, after all. It would be irresponsible to let them suffer over my own short-lived attachments.

[She had simply wanted to make sure that no one would have to suffer the way Elizabeth did. Although in her efforts, the situation worsened regardless whether Ravine played a role in it or not. It was all the more reason for her to stay, than to find a Door and check out of her slowly decaying world and abandon the lives left behind.]

The Dumah have been weakened over the last several centuries. Elizabeth was, ultimately, the last sacrifice to them.

So, they feed on souls?

「Yet another familiarity, not for every single one of his Gods, no.」

Denying souls from them is what weakened them?

「Or maybe something else?」

Yes and no. Even if I chose not to, there are others like me who would dutifully carry out such a delivery.

Where I come from, some humans are born with unique traits that separate them from the rest of their species. Some with incredible and cursed gifts, and others who are... a conduit of powerful energy of sorts. The former are candidates for serving as emissaries of the Eminations, such as the Psychopomps. The latter are the lesser fortunate souls.

What kind of cursed gifts?

「Can't say he's already being too curious, but it's interesting, even if all so tragic.」

The kind that allow you to see things others cannot, that it's enough to drive you mad when you are unable to determine what is real and what is not. For one.

[Sound familiar, Atem?]

「Very much so.」

Okay... why her, though?

「Since they are pulling at heartstrings already, why not put that out of the way?」

Some people are born kings, others are born slaves. And sometimes, you are simply born unlucky.

[Yehudit had been quite the unfortunate one herself. Who chooses who will live only to be sacrificed?

[The worst part is how resigned Ravine feels to all of this. For someone who can see all threads of possibilities, how often was she free to interfere with any of it?]

「That is a way to say it, one that makes Atem actually fall silent afterwards. He had overstepped, at least it felt that way.」

I'm sorry.

「He says after a moment, she should know by now that his are rarely empty apologies.」

[Oh, she knows that he means well. His guilt and reluctance is more than apparent to her, so she shakes her head.]

Well, it is often as that old song goes, "if it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have luck at all". [A paraphrase, as if she gives a damn about misquoting lyrics Atem likely has never even heard before.]

She was... the first person in so long to ever treat me like a living person. Up until that point, I had almost forgotten...

[It was only natural for her to want to cling to that for as long as she could, wasn't it?]

Can't say I ever heard it before...

「Yeah, what she said.

But what she says next makes him think for a moment. It doesn't make as much sense to him as he wished it did, maybe only because he hadn't been treated differently, not by those who could see him. He has to realize that hasn't been around for that long to know if anyone would.

He needs to ask.」

How did others treat you?

「It's not until he utters the question that the answer comes along, — this is not about him, for the hundredth time — often he forgets who she is, maybe because she did not go around reaping souls after all, but they'd have to understand that so little cultures would venerate death in such way as his did; not that they wished to die, not that it didn't hurt, but they tried their best to receive it for what it was, just another step. The truth was, he was never afraid of her, in fact, there was a time he believed she'd take him away from here, now, it's him who wants to take her with him.

He still waits for the answer, he could still be wrong, of course.」

[A shame, but oh well. She'll have to culture Atem sometime one of these days.

[For now, she pauses at his question, mulling over the many ways people viewed her. How not everyone was as thrilled to see her as others.]

More often than not, our encounters with the dead were too fleeting to matter, but they rarely saw us as people, let alone ones who were once living just as they were. Some even grew obsessed, building sects of cults based around their knowledge of our kind and how to become one of us. As if that were even possible for most of them. [She speaks of this group with great bitterness, disgusted by their beliefs and practices throughout the centuries. It had done the reapers more harm than good.

[But then, she becomes more somber.] Elizabeth, however... She was very much the way I used to be -- she saw things that others could not. She saw me long before it was her time to die. Ill-advised as it was, I decided to visit her often. I watched her grow into a kind young woman who saw me not as a passing figure in her life, but rather I had become a part of it.

Those short years were, in a way, an eye-opening experience.

[Times like these, Ravine both laments and is grateful to the fact that she is not able to cry in her current state. She doesn't feel that she has the strength for those tears.]

Edited 2018-07-24 23:51 (UTC)

「Beatbox away, Ravine!」

「So, Elizabeth had become part of Ravine's existence, and she part of Elizabeth's life. He's definitely not sure if he can compare the experience to what he had with Yugi, but he truly had made him feel as he was there, even if he wasn't. Of course it was vastly different, but that's all he can go by to try to grasp the importance of Elizabeth to Ravine. And by doing so, he can understand how much it hurts to be away from her, only their separation had no turning back.

Atem swallows at the thought, it's true that he misses his partner every day, and every minute of it but, he knew deep down that they would never be truly apart. Ravine tho...

Unsure of what to tell her, he allows a needed silence to settle between them. His stare says it all, he gets it. He's not like her, he cannot suddenly teleport and go find her, not that the doesn't wish to do so and bring her to tight embrace, but he remains there for her anyway, in the only way he can, at least for the moment.」

[People wear more on their sleeves than they would care to admit. Atem at least is one of the few who understands Ravine well enough to know what she knows even when he falls into this usual silence.]

You are thinking of him again, are you not?

[Sometimes things are better left unsaid.

[Other things are better to tackle with full force, and Ravine can even bring out the big guns.]

「Months ago the question would have made him flinch and get more than a little defensive, but now, he raises his eyebrows and then he utters a bit of an amused sound, followed by a sigh.」

You ask that as if you didn't know I never stop thinking about him.

「There is not even a dime of bitterness in his tone, this is one of the many flaws he has that he's actually aware of.」

[If it had been anyone else, perhaps Ravine's comment would have been met with suspicion and incredulity. But Atem knows her now, better than most here do. Whether or not he spoke of his partner to her or anyone else, it matters very little. She knows -- she just knows.]

Yes, I suppose that is true. [She smiles warmly.] There is nothing wrong with speaking of such things to someone. It can be healthy. You know that, do you not?

[As opposed to her just drawing out threads of details from a person's head. Still, for someone who hadn't spoken of the one person she's ever loved, it's a rich statement coming from Ravine.

[Oh well, she never claimed to be perfect.]

Heh... So I've heard but, I think I'll pass.

「What would he even say that he hasn't before? Not to Ravine, that much is true, but he doesn't want to hear it, he's heard it all before — he's doing fine, you'll see him again someday, he will never forget you— Atem tells these things to himself every day.」

[She figured that to be his response, but you can't blame a dead woman for trying. Ravine just huffs a quiet laugh.]

Then allow me to say this: I am happy that you had found that sort of connection with someone as well.

[Albeit different from her own experience. But is it ever really the same?]

「Atem would probably claim that's not fair to go ahead and say it anyway, it gives him more food for though than it should. But, she means well, he knows it. He gives her a bit of a tired smile, though it's obvious something is in his mind. His and Yugi's destinies had been written before they even knew it, that connection would happen, in one way or another, but isn't it a little sad, a bit too lonely? Destiny could change, Ravine knew it too, she could've never met Elizabeth, and in some universe, Yugi never got the Millennium Puzzle, did that mean they could have been destined to remain alone forever?」

Don't you think it could be possible for us to find something close to it again?

「His question is a set trap and he knows it.」

[That's just how Ravine is. Dragging the subject out in the open rather than dance around it. Atem should know her to do this before, even.

[There is a warmth in her own smile when she responds:] What makes you think that we haven't?

[Okay. More serious this time...]

I believe that some bonds you share with another is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Although, when you have been around for as long as I have, I suppose there is always another chance or two in eternity...

[It's just too sad to see it another way... even though Ravine knows that no one will be able to replace what she had before.]

「What makes him think they haven't indeed? She might be half joking but, it's not like he has felt it so far, sadly. Not at that level anyway, nothing would ever be the same.

But she tells him what he wants to hear and that's pretty much what he was aiming for.」

That's something to look forward to, I guess.

「But let's be real, he'd never want it. Right?」

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∞4 | video. Death Takes A Holiday;

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