(Stein's POV)
"Lord Death, you wanted to see me?" I roll up through the torii gates toward the reaper, lazily chewing the end of my spent cigarette as I go.
"Oh, hello, Stein!" Lord Death waves one massive hand in greeting. "Yes, I need to speak with you about a most serious matter."
"Well," I pick up my chair and set it down on Lord Death's platform. "Here I am. What is this most serious matter?" I sit down backwards in my chair and roll closer to my boss, looking up at him curiously.
"We're going to be having some visitors in the next few days." Lord Death's comical voice is uncharacteristicly serious.
"And?" I reach up and twist the screw through my skull. "We've had visitors before. What's so special about these visitors?"
"Well, these visitors are not meisters, per se." He claps his hands together. "And one of them will be staying for an indefinite amount of time."
"Well, this will make for an interesting event." I lean forward, placing my arms on the back of my chair. "When will these visitors get here and why are you telling me and no one else?"
"They should be here within the next few days." He turns back to his mirror. "And as to why I'm telling you, I've decided you get to help me keep an eye on our house guest."
I furrow my brow, confused. "Why me?"
"Because, as odd as it sounds, I think you're the only one that she will be able to properly tolerate."
(Elvira's POV)
Damn this rain. Huge, fat droplets fall in sheets and pool in hordes on the ground, on the leaves of the trees, in the folds of my cloak, soaking my mount and me to the bone.
Assaulted from above and below from the endless rain, travel has been hard and slow, and time is of the essence. I must get to Death City before it is too late, before I am too weak, and waterlogged, to go on.
I'll say it again.
"Damn this rain."