The next morning was sunny and warm, some of the sun rays coming through the window I probably forgot open before going to sleep that now were bothering me, making me wake up. But I did it with a smile stamped in my face as I remembered what happened last night. I just hoped it wasn't only a dream, or a vision, like always.

In days like that one, I would always pick my stuff and go for the river to bathe myself for a while just to wake up for real and then take some time to train or study one of those books, that seemed to be infinite. Every time I told Death I finished one, he came with another. But I came to like it anyway, sometimes I would even read them while inside the river.

But in the path to the water, there was Death, sat down, immobile, probably meditating. As it was unusual for him to be there before I was even awake - save for those times I wasn't well – I just approached slowly, leaving my stuff on top of a random rock and stopped beside him. "Good morning" I heard him saying.

"Its not fair that you always know I'm near you, but you always scares me when it's the other way round!" I protested, hearing him laugh lowly.

"You learn it through time" he looked at me "Want to join me?"

"I think it's the first time you ask me to meditate with you" I said, excitedly "So, yes!"

He shrugged "Well. I think I don't have to do it alone anymore" and that made me smile " Just kneel down" he pointed to the empty space in front of him, silently looking while I did what he said.

"You know… I was still thinking yesterday was only a dream. But it wasn't, was it?"

"You wanted it to be?"

"No! Don't even think about it!" I laughed "Is just… I stopped being used to having happy or good moments about anything or anyone. Whenever I have them, bad things always happens."

"No one can find you here, I already told you that. I don't think anything is going to happen" he assured once again.

"And I believe you, but the future likes to trick us sometimes. Like when I was finally reunited with my brothers and had to go away. And even though they come here sometimes, it's not the same as living with them…" I sighed.

"They can stay longer if you wish so"

"Wouldn't that be dangerous to them? Like, if the Council wants to do something…"

"Not if they know nothing about any plans we have"

"Yeah… talking about that. Did the recent events of yesterday changed your mind about telling me when you go?" he just looked at me and I laughed "I was just kidding, don't look at me like that, its still scary"

He rolled his eyes "We were supposed to be meditating."

"I can't shut my mouth sometimes" I laughed "Even more now, I think…" I shrugged "Well, so, how do I start it?"

He patiently started to explain how to do that and what that would benefit me in any way. First I had to clear my mind and listen only to his voice, that would make me focus my attention to only one point, what would made the meditation be stronger, but it was kinda hard once I focused my hearing and the sound of the water in the river was almost like a lullaby to me. He snapped his fingers once after calling my name and I came back to reality "Not so focused" he laughed.

Second, knowing I had something inside me and knowing that it was probably the thing that made my chest hurt all the time, meditation would help me focus on those powers and learn to control them, so they don't control my body, therefore he said I had to feel that power inside me and even if that made everything hurt, I had to keep my focus and numb the pain away.

And finally, I had to dive inside myself in a way nothing could disturb me, but still focused on everything around me "In the beginning, you can only hear of feel someone near you if you meditate and focus, but doing that in a regular basis you'll start to feel without needing all of this"

He stood up, walking around the place and stopping behind me without letting me notice it. "Open your eyes" I heard him saying, and as I did so, I had his blade by my neck, literally this close of cutting my throat "You're not focused" he said "Easy target"

"But I just started…" I protested "I'm still getting used to it"

"If you were really focused, you would've heard me standing up" he drew back his scythe "Again"

And that's how it went for that morning. I must say, though, that I was a complete failure in that, as if I had this barrier, a thought or anything else that kept me from concentrating like I was supposed to. He was really patient, though, and said that, like all the things I already learned, there's no problem if I can't do it in the first try and that we would practice more through the days.

Then it was time to train. I was fully rested, filled with energy and had all the lessons in my mind as fresh, so it would be one of those good days to do that. "Can we go a little harder this time? Do you think I'm prepared?"

"Do you think you're prepared?" he fired back the question.

"Well. I think so" I looked at my sword "We've been in light training for a long while now…"

"Go harder means harder. I'm not going to stop in the middle of it."

"Even if I get hurt?"

"You have learned healing magic for a reason"

"Alright then"

And, damn it, that was heavy training! He wasn't kidding. I didn't stop a single moment the whole day, he didn't give me time to, only stopping to eat, obviously. I only stopped to breathe twice, and those were the times he hit me hard. He wasn't kidding about that part either. His blade had this burning sensation when the cuts were deep rather than only pain when its superficial. Those two times I healed myself pretty quick, and I could see he liked it, because he gave me a while to breathe "Tired?"

"No" And charged against him.

Although I wanted so badly to, I couldn't even scratch him. I tried, but he was always faster and could always predict any of my moves and I would basically end up in the floor, with my back or with the knees, matching forces with my sword against his scythe – the guy was serious, he was using Harvester rather than his dual blades.

That part was kinda easy, he said I was quite strong to dispute like that with him, but, with my knee on the floor, he made me lose balance, and consequently his blade cut deeply my left cheek, and I fell. Strangely, I felt an immense anger inside me after that made me stand up in one second and rush towards him, with a sequence of strikes I didn't even know I could do. He parried all of them, of course, but I felt I couldn't control what I was doing.

It was as if a primal urge and sensation filled me, like the only thing that matters was the fight and the possible bloodshed. It didn't come, of course, despite the cut in my cheek that wouldn't stop bleeding.

When I came back to my senses, I was completely pinned down and immobilized, and just then I realized how really strong he was. I couldn't move a single part of my body, as I finally heard him saying something "Maya?"

"Death… uh… Its hurting me…"

"Are you back to your senses?"

"Uh… I think" and I felt his grip loosen. "Why have I gone mad?"

"The adrenaline of the fight. You feed from it and you still don't know how to control it" he let me go, turning me to him "That's why we were in light training all this time" he chuckled "Are you ok?"

"I'm confused" my head was a mess, my thoughts still focused on fighting, my heart racing like a speeding car.

"Its normal" He lead me inside, just so I could rest up and put my mind in place "Sit down" he pointed to the space in front of the fireplace. It was almost night, so it was already lit "The only thing you'll focus now is the sound of the fire. Close your eyes and stay like that for some minutes"

After a while, I could feel my heartbeats slowing down, my breathing getting lighter, my thoughts organizing themselves inside my mind and all that urge for battle and blood was gone in some minutes that, honestly, felt like hours. It relaxed me so much that I only came back to reality when I felt Death running his thumb through my cheek, healing that cut with no scar left to be seen, caressing my face right after it.

I smiled without even noticing, leaning my head a bit to rest it on his hand "Better?"

Inhaling deeply, I opened my eyes "This is relaxing" his hand still holding my face.

"This is simple meditation, one that doesn't require too much of concentration even when it's the first time you do it. It helps you to drive the thoughts of fighting away."

"I'm sleepy now…"

"That is also normal" I felt him pulling me closer and then a slight caress in my hair that relaxed me even more. "We should probably stick with light training for a little more of time" the fun in his voice made me laugh.

"Agreed…" That was the last thing I remember saying before falling into deep sleep.

Though it was deep, it wasn't nice and I could barely rest. Those visions and dreams came back this time, even more terrifying than before. The voice said our time to meet was each day closer, I felt a strong connection between the woman that looked like an angel, but wasn't, and me, and she wanted to tell me something, even though I couldn't hear a single word, only see her lips moving.

I would wake up at the end of every vision I had, sweating, panting, heart racing and confused. Death was there by the second time it happened and calmed me down until I relaxed and slept again, only to have other dreams or visions.

This time I saw my brothers playing cheerfully with a little baby girl while she tried to give her first steps. In her chubby little arm she carried a pendant just like my brothers and I had and, as I couldn't see her face, the only thing left for me was to wonder about who was her parent. Me or one of them.

It would have been a peaceful sleep after that, if only Sammael stayed out of it, somehow having me captured. I could feel the pain in my chest getting worst while he was talking to me or doing anything to me, as if all the pain he was inflicting upon me was not just a vision, but real. He was doing something, torturing from inside, because I felt an immense pain without him even touching or scratching me at any moment. What he intended to do, I did not know, I just knew I couldn't breathe, barely moving, feeling all of that even being awake.

Then, if not enough, I saw my mother again. She seemed sad, a little blue, looking at her necklace. She had one with a picture of the three of us, mine being as a baby. She was running her thumb over the pictures, a lonely tear falling before a tall, black shadow appeared behind her, making her wipe away that tear as quick as possible. She just turned away, towards that shadow, and disappeared in the darkness.

I felt homesick. Even though she abandoned us when we needed most, she was still my mother. Even my brothers raising me perfectly, being better than they could be, I missed her, I missed having a mom around me to spoil me like she did. And having a vision of her like that, reminiscing while looking at our pictures, made me feel that her leaving had more to it than we knew until that moment.

I woke up, not desperately like with the other visions, but silently crying. I curled myself more and sighed, looking at my own necklace around my wrist. Even though that was meaningful for my brothers and I only, I could feel something for her too. I wiped some of the tears away and, noticing my movement, I felt Death getting closer. "Still can't sleep?" I turned to him, sighing "Hey, little one, why are you crying?"

I didn't answer right away, and he just put away the parchment he had in hands and wrapped me in his arms, softly hugging my until I could fall asleep again. The fact he didn't need to actually sleep regularly would be nice when things like this happen.