Chapter 12: Midnight Conferences

Later that night, Riane dreamt she was in a sunny meadow with all the signs of spring.

"What-what is this place?" she whispered to herself, surveying the scenery curiously.

"That's a good question." A deep, silky voice from behind greeted her.

Riane spun around. Tranquil grey-blue eyes regarded her coolly. Their owner was casually sitting with his back to a large oak tree, an auburn haired boy in his mid teens.

"You're the new girl, I assume? Riane, it was, right?" He grinned crookedly at her, extending a hand.

"Yeah… And you are-Miguel Lavariel?" She shook it, rather disconcerted.

He clapped his hands together in delight. "Smart girl." Miguel patted a shaded patch of grass next to him. "Sit down."

"But… aren't you…" she stammered, but complied.

"Dead? You had better believe it."

Riane gestured to their surroundings, "Then this is Heaven?"

"Perhaps. For me it is, for you maybe it isn't," the brown-haired boy mused. At her puzzled expression, he continued, "Well, you didn't think Heaven would be the same for everyone, did you? I like the countryside just fine, but oh, let's just say Lord Dilandau had to stay in this place for the rest of time. I don't think he would be able to deal with the solitude very well. (He can't stand being alone, you know.) After all, if we as people are so very different in tastes and personality, why shouldn't our conceptions of Heaven vary just as much? I haven't got an inkling, quite frankly, where everybody came up with such a generalized view of a place like that. It was probably just the leader that thought of it, and afterwards no one ever thought to contradict his/her opinion…" He trailed off. "Forgive me. I'm probably boring you. (When you have so much time on your hands, you tend to forget how it feels to be pulled into a long lecture.) I trust you didn't come here to listen to my nonsensical philosophies…?" While Miguel was talking, he plucked a violet from a nearby patch.

"Actually, I don't quite know what I'm doing here."

Miguel sighed, tucking the tiny purple flower behind her ear. "Ah, that's exactly what I said the first time I had a conversation with a ghost. There… Done! It matches your eyes quite nicely. That ought to please him…" he murmured.

"Who?" she asked, colouring.

"Oh, no one," he said slyly. Then, changing the subject, the former 'Slayer prodded, "Let me guess, you're anxious about whether the rest of the guys will accept you, aside from Gatti, Chesta, Guimel, Dalet, and Viole?"

"How do you know these things?"

"Please, I've known these guys for a looooong time. The ones I mentioned are the easiest to get along with. The rest are pretty much jerks, but even if they did associate themselves with you, you'd probably have wished they hadn't."

"So why am I dreaming of you? Is there a purpose for my being here?"

"I'm befriending you out of the goodness of my heart," Miguel replied with a smirk. "Actually, I have no idea why I'm doing this… Maybe the gods put me here, maybe I'm fated to be here… Anyway, if I understand this correctly, you'll only dream of me when you're troubled or something. I'm like your shrink." He grinned again.

"And you don't mind this arrangement?"

"No, I think it's going to be rather interesting. After all, I've got the rest of eternity to dawdle and do whatever I wish. Might as well spend it on something worthwhile…"

Riane felt slightly better now. The knot of uneasiness in her stomach was gone…

"You've got to go now." The teal-eyed boy informed her suddenly. "I'll see you later, hmm?"

She was about to ask him what he meant by that when she was cut off sharply by the shrill BEEP-BEEP-BEEP of her alarm clock.

"That was one WEIRD dream… Since when do I see dead people…?" Riane muttered as she rolled over to silence the ringing machine. "Still, Miguel seemed pleasant enough… Wait, what am I saying? He was probably just something my subconscious conceived. I bet he doesn't even look like that…"

The teenager clambered out of bed, passing by the mirror--and froze. There, resting securely in her raven tresses, was a lone indigo blossom. A grin crept its way across her features and stayed there for the rest of the day, as did the violet.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Did anybody understand what I was talking about in that paragraph about Heaven at all? It's a really interesting concept, actually, and I never even thought about it until I started working on this chapter… Boring chap., right? Nothing really happens, and this is just one of those chapters that aren't really exciting or anything. It's just until I can think of more… Don't get me wrong, I've got plenty of ideas. It's just that I've got the sequence a little mixed up…

2/20/02