Beginning Note From Raith: This story is a rewrite, so if the title looks familiar, it was posted on here long ago. In the years since then, I've had time to better plan out this story and decide exactly what kind of story I want to tell. This first chapter is just a small piece of the puzzle, but the chapters moving forward are going to be very long. I'm really excited to start this journey, and I hope that someone someday enjoys reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Warnings: None.

Post Date: 25 July 2022

Word Count: 1130

may you grow up to be righteous
may you grow up to be true
forever young by audra mae

CHAPTER ONE
DEADHEADING

━━ ⋆ KAIROS ⋆ ━━

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world." His voice surrounded her, filled the air and blanketed her skin, and Kairos smiled despite herself. She didn't bother to look over, to see what form her old companion had taken for the time being, but she wasn't so rude as to completely ignore him either.

"She walks into mine," Kairos finished. From the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of brilliant light that was barely being contained within the day's chosen vessel. The radiance could be overwhelming, she could feel the heat washing over her exposed flesh, but she still wouldn't look his way. Something else held her focus.

"Is this one yours?" His need to be seen quickly won out, and he moved to walk away from her. Past the girl that Kairos had been observing for the past hour. He stood on the other side of the girl, and his vessel was so ordinary. Average. Completely forgettable if passed on the street.

"Yes, I believe it is," she answered without looking away. In unison, the two of them lowered themselves towards the ground. The girl was sitting in the dirt, tending to the flowers with bare hands. Kairos knelt on the soft green grass next to her, allowing her white dress to pool around her kneeling form. Her companion didn't kneel, merely bent down so that they could maintain eye contact over the top of the girl's head.

"This is your choice?" The tone was light but with an undercurrent of confusion, a touch of pity, and Kairos smiled. In front of them, completely unaware that she was being flanked by godly beings, the girl spoke kindly to the flowers as she pruned.

"You never liked this story," Kairos remembered. There was no malice in her voice, no judgment. Her companion had his favorites, as did she. He reached out, fingers stretching towards the exposed side of the girl's throat, and Kairos watched as the girl paused her work.

"Too convoluted, ruins the purity of true love," he mused. His hand seemingly swept over the girl's hair, but she couldn't feel the gentle touch. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter and possibly mournful. "She was doomed as a failure from the start."

"She doesn't have to be," Kairos quickly countered. The girl's hands were bleeding, she had worked without gloves and pricked her fingers countless times, and she wiped the blood on the rough material of her jeans. Her fingers shook as she reached for the last flower, but her touch was careful against the dying petals. She could easily rip at the decay, tear away what was already dead, but she cradled the wilting flower in her rough hands instead.

"You remember the rules." He wasn't asking a question, she had no reason to answer. Her lack of response caused him to continue, to propel this conversation to its end. "If this world is the one you have chosen, if she is the one you have chosen?"

"This is my choice," Kairos confirmed.

"You can give her one choice, only one. After that, observation only," he needlessly reminded her. Their deal had already been struck, she didn't need reminders. Sometimes, she thought he just enjoyed hearing himself speak.

"Until you return," she pointed out. In front of her, the girl was crying silent tears as she cut the head of the flower. Dark and brittle petals fell into her bleeding hand, and the girl whispered sweet-nothings to the decay cradled in her palm. Promised the dead that the sacrifice would lead to rebirth, to everlasting beauty. It was quite dramatic for such a simple pruning, but teenage girls had a certain maudlin poetry to them.

"Don't sound so sad, Kairos," he said as he slowly stood again. He swept his hand over the bowed girl's head and paid no mind to her tears, and Kairos tipped her head up to look at her longtime companion. Once he left this place, he would start culling the other universes he had created. The other stories, the other failures. "We'll start new worlds, with better characters."

The girl was singing now, quietly and terribly off-key, because this flower had been her favorite in the garden. Smaller than the surrounding blooms, colors not as vibrant, always leaning a little to the left. Every time she visited the garden, she passed rough fingertips gently across the uneven petals. Removing the head hurt her, caused something inside of her to ache, and Kairos listened to every thick syllable that fell from the girl's lips. This girl wasn't some character. She was a living being, with thoughts and dreams and fears and pain. She was alive, decaying and everlasting. Humans were precious, each life diverse and worthy, but he had stopped seeing that long ago. He wanted the perfect story, but humans were not perfect. They were flawed and beautiful. It was a shame that he had stopped seeing the little details to focus only on the bigger picture, but Kairos would show him. This world would be different, and he would see. That sacrifice could lead to rebirth, not just an end.

"I have not given up yet." Kairos kept her words quiet, respectful, and she watched as the girl tipped her head back to feel the sun on her face. On what Kairos was sure was a whim, her companion bent down and placed a phantom kiss against the top of the girl's head. Even though the gesture couldn't be felt, the girl closed her eyes and smiled.

"I'll see you soon."

A promise. A threat.

Her companion was gone, leaving Kairos alone to kneel next to the girl. The flower was still cradled in her palm, the petals shriveled and fragile, but the girl was careful. Kairos flowed to her feet as a woman called the girl's name, and the girl was so careful to keep her hand open as she stumbled upwards into a standing position. She brought her hand in close to her chest, protecting the dead head of the flower, and then turned to run towards the voice calling her name. A moment later, Kairos could hear the woman chastising the girl for tracking dirt into her clean kitchen. Over the admonishments, the girl asked if she had chosen the right time to prune her favorite flower. Had she waited too long? Had she been too hasty? Kairos didn't listen to the woman's answer. She reached out and pressed a fingertip to the freshly cut stem, and she knew that the flower would regrow. Never as vibrant as the others but no less beautiful. Loved by a girl who spoke softly to doomed things.

"You will always make the right choice, Emma. Have faith."

Ending Note From Raith: Just something a little short and sweet. The next chapter will be posted soon, possibly later today, and is much longer and will actually introduce the main character of this fic.

Thank you for reading!