AN: So, I recently got a message asking about Death's gender. To be completely honest, I'm not sure, in my mind and while writting I háve accidentally refered to them as both she and he. But, the other characters in the story will refer to Death/Oblivion as they percieve it. Seeing as Oblivion doesn't find it much of a difference to them. Thank you all for your reviews, favs, and follows! I'm falling in love with this character I'm creating, and I am so happy to see others have the same opinion. -Z
Oblivion? A shiver raced up their spine. Oblivion. They had a name? A name that wasn't Death. A sense of familiarity came with the word, their name. Oblivion. The condition or state of being forgotten or unknown. It didn't sit well, the meaning. But, anything was better than Death.
"Thank you Manny." Whispering back, they were afraid if they spoke too loud, Manny would be scared away, never to speak to them again. Breathing in deeply, Oblivion reached down, hands intertwining in the blades of grass. The moment their pale skin met the grass, the blades shot up, growing a foot taller, and clovers grew.
Oblivion. The unknown. That was what they would focus on, even they didn't know exactly everything they could do. A variable, an unknown entity. Oblivion could work with that.
"Just through here." Jack's voice was clear as day, and nervousness grew in Oblivion's stomach. Heart pounding, fingers shaking, Oblivion looked behind them. When Jack said that he was going to try and get the other Guardians to believe, they didn't believe it. After all, Oblivion had been there when they denounced the entire existence of someone like Oblivion, or Death. All these names were confusing.
But, there, at the edge of the clearing, were five spirits, all had eyes right on Oblivion. The Guardians saw him, and slowly, they dragged their eyes to meet each individual's eyes. Not being able to help themselves, Oblivion jumped up, and teleported to them, right in front of the speechless group.
"Can you really see me?" Their voice cracked with uncertainty, for years, they have dreamt of this moment, sometimes as a dream, embraced with promises of talking, and perhaps one day becoming acquaintances. Other times as nightmares, of being pushed away, and feared. But neither happened, as suddenly, Oblivion was pulled into the third hug of their entire life.
North was warm, really warm, and, so, Oblivion slowly hugged back when they were sure that North wasn't going to just pass through the spirit. It was a nice hug. Different than Jack, or the children of Burgess. But, none of them were bad either, just all kinds of good.
"It's nice to meet ya, ya little bugger. Call me Aster." As the bunny spoke, North pulled away from Oblivion, a sad smile on his lips. The man clapped a hand on Death's shoulder warmly before looking them over once more.
Suddenly, a mess of rainbow feathers was all Oblivion could see, as the tooth fairy came up close and personal.
"Would you mind terribly if I check your teeth? I just have this amazing feeling that they're beautiful." Oblivion was touched, as far as they knew, Toothiana just looked no matter any one's personal boundaries. Nodding slowly, Oblivion gave a small smile. Warmth growing inside, they could see. A squeal of happiness followed, before Tooth was touching their teeth, gasping in surprise.
"Oh my! These are the most perfect teeth I have ever seen!" So, they didn't hate Oblivion, and, they were crying. Tooth backed up immediately, and a cold hand brushed the tears away.
"Hey, I know it's overwhelming. I can't even imagine. We can leave if you want us to." Grabbing Jack's elbow as fast as possible. Oblivion hated how weak they were. They were supposed to be Death, Hades, Pluto. The badass commander of death, but, they were just... them.
"Please... I'll stop crying. Just, don't leave yet." Furiously wiping away the tears, if they left... Oblivion didn't know what they would do. A tug on their cloak, and through the tears, the spirit saw Sandy.
"We won't leave unless you want us to." Most couldn't decipher what the star said, some got used to it after time. But, they understood completely.
"Thank you, Sandy. I'm really sorry I couldn't give you a voice box." It must have been frustrating to not have those around you understand, and have to play some sort of game to figure it out. He gave Oblivion an odd look, and Jack wiped away more tears.
"It's not the crying. We just don't want to overwhelm you." North watched as the pair interacted. His heart hurt as he looked over the spirit they have ignored for so long. He wasn't sure how long, but if she had created Sandy... all of that isolation... he couldn't even begin to understand. The one time he was in isolation, when he first began, it didn't last long, because then came the elves.
But, looking at her camera, he recognized the model. It was an old prototype of his, perhaps six years ago. He even remembered throwing the thing out because the button stuck just a tad, he determined that it wasn't good enough for the children of the world, and changed it.
A cloak, it looked ancient. Not necessarily in a bad way, but well worn. He was willing to bet that all the clothes she wore were thrown away or forgotten by the humans, giving her an even more hopeless feeling. She clung to Jack, and if she didn't want them to leave, then they wouldn't. They needed to start apologizing, because there would never be enough time to make up for their absence, for their mistakes. Looking at the Spirit of Life and Death, they looked so innocent, so soft. Even just remembering those photos made North's guilt rise. She was there, standing right beside him, and he knew not.
He was determined to make thís new spirit comfortable, however that needed to happen.