…just like when I met her.
(^^^^^^)
"No! please, I have kids! I have money! Men, women, anythi-" I stared, blank faced and stony, my scythe slicing through the man's neck, as if to decapitate him. Instead his body collapsed onto the ground, lifeless and limp, eyes wide in abject fear. His aura, the very epitome of a soul, floated outwards towards my outstretched hand and my eyes burrowed deep into the man's memories. His deeds ad misdeeds, his pros and cons, his triumphs and tribulations.
His was a good soul; donated to orphanages and charities for the simple reason that he felt they needed the money more than he ever could. I watched as he proposed to his girlfriend, the kiss at the altar and the…night afterwards. I had seen worse, done worse, than a simple act of lovemaking. He was a god man, but in the face of death he was a coward willing to give it all up for the sake of survival. Then again that is a human's nature.
I sent his soul to the afterlife and continued with my journey. With my exile from the land of the dead. Yes, well, to be fair it was all my fault anyway; no one else to blame I'm afraid. I took the soul of someone who wasn't supposed to die yet. I broke the fundamental rules, laws, of nature, and am now paying for it, eternally tortured to walk the earth as a reaper taking souls for the afterlife to house. I had a spell that told me if a person's time was to come or not, I had eyes that could see into others' souls, and I had charms and layers of illusions dotting my body, stopping anyone not meant to see from seeing me. i.e.: the dead being the only ones, along with the ones about to die, that can see me.
(^^^^^^)
I stared at a young girl, four maybe five with silver eyes and black hair- odd enough the red was not of dye origins but natural. What an interesting specimen, I think to myself. Of course, the creature known as human was of Dust origins, and as such I have seen many odd hairstyles and colours in my…'quest'. One a bright neon pink, sometimes I've seen shades of green. One was a yellow so bright it burned to look at.
The thing that worried me though was that this girl, this silver eyed little creature of Dust origin, wasn't meant to die. And she was staring right at me. I thought there might be someone behind me, someone else she was looking at, and so I moved to the side. Her eyes followed my form.
Well…this is new. No human or Faunus had ever been able to see me if they weren't decreed to die. If their soul was bound for the afterlife, I'd have a small conversation with them, get them calm and accepting of the idea to dying peacefully. The man from earlier didn't like what he heard and tried to fight back, but evidently mortals are weak. It didn't take long to overpower and kill him.
The girl stared for a few, agonisingly long moments.
"Hello!"
Her smile was the first thing my eyeless sockets registered, along with the flash that seemed to bounce off her pearly white teeth. Her cheeks were graced with a healthy, jolly red hue, a shade one might consider rosy. The girl's face was, in a word, odd though; pale and white, almost as white as the snow that surrounded us, the white drifting to the ground in slow petal-like movements. One could easily compare snow to a Sakura tree in Menagerie wilting, its petals drifting down slowly. Her body was covered with a simple red nightgown, her feet by slippers that looked worn and tattered but well looked after all the same.
My throat seized up, however, and I couldn't focus properly on the girl, her face blurring and distorting into a fuzzy mess. I blinked my eyeless eyelids and realised something.
I was crying.
I can't cry, it's impossible! Raising a shaky hand to my face I saw a drop of wet on the body finger that lifted it away. "H-How…?" That waver in my voice should never have happened! I am a reaper! A killer, hardened through thousands of years of taking the souls of the living and escorting them to the land of the dead. I am the absolute! I cannot cry over a small human child.
…a…small human child…that was fated to die.
"Hey, don't cry!" The girl skipped, nary a worry or care in her body language, her hands swaying out to the sides of her body in enlightened peace- the kind that only a child could feel. Oh, how I wish I could feel that, if only for a second. To be free from Remnant's machinations and its perverted sense of life and death. But I am a reaper, created by Remnant, to serve as the gateway to the afterlife for those whose time has come.
"What's wrong, lady?"
This girl had the infuriating effect of making me question my duty! She was…she was…I've been alive for so long that the past and present shape into a blurred image that I cannot clearly see anymore. Another tear slipped down my bony cheek, sliding down and dripping onto the newly-snowed ground. My red cloak, almost black, fluttered in a wind I couldn't feel until now. While a reaper had benefits of technically not existing, I was a unique case, born from the ashes of the moon instead of the dirt of Remnant's soil like others of my kind; as a result, the only way for me to set aside what I truly am from the others is the cloak- the red being symbolism in how I will always be drenched in blood.
The child was watching, concern for me- and only me- evident in her eyes. No…this child shouldn't die yet, not now. Not until she'd lived a good life, gotten a family, had some kids, grown her first grey hair and had her bones creek when she sat upright. No, I won't allow this child to die! The planet may disagree but I will not harm this child!
Kneeling I threw some illusions and drew my hood down; the girl's eyes widened in glee when she saw my face. Apparently, the plain human female I'd chosen excited her. Her silver eyes sparkled and glowed, her body radiating awe and happiness.
"Wow, lady! You're so pretty!"
"What's your name, child?" okay…so I haven't exactly been talking to a lot of people that aren't about to die. Sue me. I ignored the slight blush that coated my illusion face's cheeks at the implied flattery. But she was four, I knew better, and a compliment is a compliment; I'll take what I can get.
The girl grew happier, much to my befuddlement- how can someone be so happy? Remnant most definitely was not a happy place, filled with murder and violence and other atrocities. By the looks of it too she was homeless, her clothing the first pointer. I've taken homeless kids before, to meet their parents on the other side or to take their pain away- they were shadowed, jaded, dark creatures that saw the world as a challenge to overcome rather than a place to live. Granted, they were significantly older than four, but the point still stands that no one should be this happy.
She lifted a hand, pointing to herself in that overly exaggerated form that only children could do. "I'm Summer!" I had to strain my hearing to hear her next words. "I don't know my last name, no one ever told me…"
I sighed, and this odd feeling showed up; I can't tell what it is, but it's not pleasant and I don't like it.
"So, what's yours, lady?"
My name is…what is it again? So long since I've used my given name- the planet only knew me as a 'reaper', and so reaper I became. But my name…?
"Ruby."
"Hiya Ruby!" The girl grinned so hard it looked like it would hurt her and I honestly worried for a second. Then I stomped it down- reapers don't worry, they don't fear and they don't cry. This child...was something else. Her smile seemed contagious and I couldn't help but let a small smile- something not done since…ever, I think? - at the pure innocence she emitted.
"Hey, Ruby…?"
I looked down to her from my kneeled position- kneeled down I was still quite tall-, her body language screaming shyness.
"Yes?"
"Do you know my name? everyone I asks says they doesn't know, and I want to know but they don't know and my parents didn't tell me because I don't have any and-"
…Damn this child, making me feel! I'm a reaper! A creature of death, not some child's emotional plaything!
"No…but we could…make you one?"
The smile, it burns! Stop smiling! No one should smile this much, no one! It's not natural and every law says it should be impossible for someone to go from 'kicked puppy' to 'walking talking flashlight'. "Okay!" She chirped and it sounded nice, but at the same time I do hope she matures soon; that voice was squeaky and grating.
Now, we both took shelter in a nearby abandoned bus stop, thinking names and colours- as this world's odd rule of naming seemed to go since the last war happened, a person's name had to be a, remind one of, or link to, a colour. But I had the added bonus of thinking of something that suited her, and only her. Something that would go perfectly with the name that is 'Summer'.
Let's see…summer is a time. But I can't find a colour out of saying- or, rather, thinking- that, and so I move on.
What happens in summer? Colourful stuff happens in summer, but that line of thought would get me nowhere. Now…
Summer is a time, in which comes after spring, in which various plants and trees begin blooming.
Yes, this line of thought was taking me places. A quick glance to my left showed the girl sitting there with her hands resting under her chin, an intense look of focus on her face with her tongue sticking out of her mouth.
Hmm…in summer plants had fully bloomed, grown into what they should be; from a seed to a bud to a flower- a flower! That's it!
"Summer, what's your favourite flower?"
The answer was so quick it almost shocked me, but not quite. She seemed genuine too, and when I looked at her after hearing it, I knelt down and said "Summer, that is your name; to my…'people', names don't mean much, but I disagree wholeheartedly. You should cherish your name, love it, remember that your name is who you are."
I stood back up, and turned to leave. The child could see that I didn't want to, but she let me leave anyway- probably because she was four and her small brain was fumbling over reasons her newest 'friend' had used a lot of big words that she didn't know. Nevertheless, I could tell her name would stick with her for the rest of her life, as would the hidden meaning behind my words.
(^^^^^^)
"…and that's how you got your name, Ruby."
That sweet little angel in my lap grinned a toothless grin- the age of four was an odd one- and she giggled when I smiled back. "Now, you know what time it is?"
"Noooooo!" The whine that came from her was almost predictable, almost. But it seemed to make a little part of me happy to hear it from her each time she whined that adorable little sound. So alike to a puppy it was unreal.
But the girl lost the war with sleepiness as I hauled her up the stairs and into the bedroom she shared with her half-sister, who was already letting out little snores. I set the girl in my arms down gently, reminding myself to talk to Tai about keeping Qrow in check. Again. He was teaching the girls swears for Oum's sake! Ruby was four so it was adorable to hear it come from her, but Yang was nearing seven! Quietly- I hope, anyway- I closed the door to their room and walked into the living room- Tai was out for the night, doing some preparations with Qrow in setting up something for Ozpin. I wasn't told what it was, but…well, I can always imagine.
I looked outside my window, spotting the moon in all its' glory.
Just like back then…
(^^^^^^)
This little one-shot can be considered my…reappearance into the writing scene, so to speak. I've been gone for so long, but I'm back and so are my stories.
Now, this is a one-shot and it will not be updated into anything more. No, I have no plot for this, no there is no 'deeper meaning'. This is simply an idea that came to me when I was depressed and sad one day. It's probably something you guys don't want to hear, but I'll write it anyway.
I've hit that weird age of nineteen where you contemplate everything you've ever known and think of yourself as some hybrid mutant of not-quite adult but not a teenager either. In short, this story is a method of proving that I am, in fact, capable of understanding human emotions and no, I'm not worthless. If this story does good, awesome. If not! Awesome, but at least I wrote it.
Now it isn't my best work, that much is obvious, but it's a 'coming back' story, so do forgive any issues with it.
In any case, thank you for reading, and I'm sorry for the long period of absence. I will do better by you all, I promise.