{-Eir-}

The flurry of wing beats. That gentle smile. Her laughter. She'd been able to ignore them all before; of course they bothered her, but she knew it was only the past and in due time even those bits will be forgotten. But then she met them. They treated her in ways she didn't think she should be treated. As foolish as such a thought was, she felt… alive amidst them, like she did in those fleeting memories. Yet she still had a job to do. If she didn't, she was sure any bit of 'life' she still felt would be gone.

Eir didn't have trouble finding them, and when she did, she announced her presence with a simple question. "Is she somewhere safe?"

"We took her to rest with Mother," Líf responded quietly. "They have no reason to be there."

"I told you not to leave her so out in the open," Thrasir mumbled. "If you hadn't needed to rescue her we probably could've killed all of them."

"Well how was I supposed to know Veronica would burn all of it?"

"Why didn't you assume that she would? You know that I would've done that."

Líf quickly ran out of any way to argue. Instead, he turned his attention to Eir. "So? Obviously you've got something to say if you're still standing here."

"I came to ask if we were still carrying out our… previous arrangement," Eir said. "They are bound to be more weary now. It will likely be harder than what you originally planned."

"It's not impossible, though. We can't give up our best shot just because it might be more difficult," Líf decided.

"We wouldn't need this if you hadn't gotten sentimental," Thrasir remarked. "Do you even want to kill him at all? Seeing her like that shouldn't ever happen, because we should kill him before then. Dead princes can't stare hopelessly at their dead sisters, it's a fact."

"You were the first one to call it his future!"

"I meant what will happen when Hel gets what she wants, not what will eventually happen regardless. The most I planned on doing was letting him stay long enough to realize everything else was dead."

"I didn't hear you complaining then, though."

"I was stupid enough to think you actually had a plan. Perhaps something that had to do with finding a nice place to kill him before his friends caught up?"

Eir decided it best to disrupt them before it turned into an argument. "When and where would you like me to carry out my part?"

Líf grabbed a stick and drew the surrounding area in the dirt. "There's a river flowing through here," he explained as he drew a line through the middle. "If you can get him there, then I can handle him on my own. You and Thrasir just need to keep everyone else busy until we're done."

"Don't screw up, either of you." Thrasir looked at both of them in a way that proved she didn't have much hope in them, eventually settling on Eir. "Especially you. Remember I do have permission to kill whatever's left of you whenever I want to."

Eir bowed. "Of course. I will do my best to please you and Hel." Knowing there was no reason for her to stay any longer, she left and started her way back to the others.

She hated how peaceful they all seemed. Would they still feel that way, if they knew what was waiting for them? If they really understood who stood among them, would they still keep her? She wished they would see through her now, before she had a chance to hurt them. But they would never protect something they didn't realize was important. They didn't even have a reason to suspect it yet… the kind of influence they could have on their world.

Hel never specifically gave her advice; one good thing about her position is she often overheard the pleas to Death. Her lessons didn't come from her mother, but rather the broken dead that came to her. Eir remembered that one visitor, even before she lost her immortality. It was then she realized she should never befriend a mortal. She, of all people, knew the fragility and brevity of life. There was nothing about a mortal that would last forever, or even long enough to make a difference in the eyes of someone who had existed so long. And yet…

She looked at the two of them as they slept. If only they knew what they could do, maybe they wouldn't need to go through everything that has yet to come. Or perhaps it would be better to wish they hadn't had these powers at all, that it had instead been ones that no one would have cared for. But she could change none of that. She could beg that they be given a swift ending, but none of them would listen to her. Could she… tell them herself? No, now certainly wasn't the right time for it. There probably never would be a good time for it.

Eir had been giving them half-truths since they met her. But there was only one true lie she'd told them: that she didn't know why Hel wanted them and what she would gain from it.

((A/N: Anyone want to guess who's plea to Death Eir overheard? I'll give you a hint, it's someone that in the previous story said "Why must they all wish to keep me from forgetting it..? They tear my child from me, mock me for wanting her back, then bring me a near copy and let fate determine the rest…" And now I'll just tell you: it's Nifl.))