Chapter 3: Death Saved My

Chapter 3: Death Saved My…Life?

"I do not think this raiment appears comfortable," Thanatos stated glumly, lifting up a pair of khaki cargo shorts from the clothing rack. The corners of his mouth twitched low in disdain. I suppressed a giggle.

"You're wearing jeans. Anything is more comfortable than jeans, in my opinion," I remarked.

"I am not fond of these things you mortals call 'pants'," he agreed. "They are… He tugged at his jeans. "…Restricting."

"Too much information, Thanatos."

"What do you mean?"

I sighed.

"Never mind."

I slid the hangers along their rack, searching for something that I would have fun seeing him wear. Considering he already looked the part, with pale skin and silver hair, I seized a black velvet cavalry coat lined with silver buttons.

"You would look totally 'vampire' in this."

He frowned.

"How does one even put it on?"

He tried to undo the metal hooks in the middle, which clasped the entire thing together. He failed.

"Well, if you don't want to try it on, then--"

"I will make an attempt," he interrupted, grabbing the coat away from me. He slung the coat over a rack beside him, and then started taking off his turtleneck. I blushed madly.

"Nononono!" I cried, yanking his sweater back down. "Go to the dressing room!"

"The dressing room?"

"Yes, over there," I said, prodding him gently in the right direction. "I'll wait outside."

"Very well." He disappeared behind an emerald plush curtain.

I stared at the clock on the far wall, tapping my foot.

Ten minutes…

Fifteen minutes…

"Thanatos? Are you okay?"

"I-I am almost--"

I threw the curtain aside, unwilling to wait for the unbearable sum of twenty minutes for him to put on a coat. He seemed flustered, the metal clasps halfway fixed and halfway not; many of them were missed between, and the coat was bunched up in funny ways. I covered my mouth with my hand.

"Wow, you really need help," I told him, reaching for the coat.

"I can do it myself," he blurted, and evaded my fingers.

"I'm not waiting any longer," I replied. "Just let me do it."

He did not flee this time, and I went to unclasping the jacket. He didn't have a shirt on beneath the coat. My face burned. I tried not to look, but it was difficult since he was kind of smack dab right in front of me. His torso was equally as pasty and smooth as his face; sort of like marble. He wasn't really muscular, but he wasn't frail-looking either. He was simply skinny. Very skinny. My heart began to pound.

Thanatos would not watch as I worked. He had the vague expression of someone who had been caught red-handed doing something he was ashamed of. I hurried and finished, eagerly moving for the space I desperately wanted; the space away from him.

"L-Look in the mirror," I said, averting my eyes.

He glanced to it, smoothing the coat with his hands. He was dashing, like a Victorian prince. My heart still raced and I knew my knees wobbled underneath me.

"Does it suit me?" he inquired, unsure of my reaction.

"Well--"

"You cannot assess this properly if you are gazing elsewhere, little one."

I swallowed and gave him a direct scrutiny. The coat went as low as the thighs of his jeans. I'd taken the smallest size for him due to his thin frame, and I had to say his figure was well-defined in this piece of clothing. It clung snugly to him, but not tightly. The black contrasted against his ivory complexion, buttons a similar shade of silver to his curly locks. I tried not to swoon.

"You look like… Well, a god," I confessed.

His mouth stretched into a thin, straight line for the second time today. I was beginning to wonder if that was as close as he ever got to smiling. Maybe I was imagining things.

"Shall I take it?"

"Huh?" My face went blank.

"This garment. Shall I take it?"

"Oh, no, we were just trying--"

"Do you like it?"

"Well, yes, I--"

"Then I shall take it."

"You don't have to," I called faintly, but he'd already headed to the cash register. In what sounded like Greek, he purchased the coat from the sales clerk and met me at the front door with a plastic bag.

"Have we finished?"

"I… Well, I still…" I took a sideways glance down the road.

"I am not interested in continuing more of this 'shopping'."

I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off.

"However, as I have come to realize, I have failed to be gracious to you in light of what you have been doing for me. I believe I will find someplace to wait and allow you to do as you please for a while. Immortality does grant me patience."

I grinned.

"Just do not take too long," he added quickly.

"I won't."

We walked to a grassy spot, by which sat a bench. He made himself comfortable on it, and we agreed to meet up in half an hour. I would have been at this longer had I the choice, but I wouldn't take advantage of the opportunity. After all, he was still Death. He hadn't developed enough of a fondness to prevent him from smiting me if I caused displeasure.

The city confounded me. I didn't remember making a wrong turn, but I knew I must have. I found it increasingly hard to wind my way through the streets and visit clothing shops. Eventually I ended up in a housing district; tightly-packed and tall apartment buildings, parked cars, and walls covered with graffiti. Said walls and buildings bordered on decrepit, and crumpled food wrappers littered the narrow alleyways. I could sense no movement from anyone outdoors. The atmosphere was uneasy with no signs of activity or life. No one could direct me back to where I needed to be.

I even lost track of time. I didn't have a watch or a cell phone in my bag, nor were there visible clocks through the clouded windows of apartment houses. I sincerely had gotten into a bad position. I plopped onto my rear, resting upon the edge of a street curb and mulled over my next move. I was certain Thanatos would seek me out, and though he'd most likely be furious about the time he'd waited, I would be admittedly relieved at the sight of him over these lonely street corners. Unfortunately, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Footsteps shuffled down an alley beside me. I stood abruptly.

A man in a sodden, dirty suit limped out into the light. He had a grizzly, dark-stubbled chin. His mangy dark hair was oily and matted with dirt. He smelled strongly of alcohol. He spoke to me in Greek, his words slurring together. Apparently he was drunk. Needless to say, the outlook of the situation was going from bad to worse.

"I don't speak Greek," I said, enunciating every word. He spoke again, harshly, and hobbled closer. I tried to back away, but my posterior thumped against a wall. His eyes were on my bag. He was going to try and rob me.

"Don't try it," I pleaded.

He made a grab at it. I held it away.

He pulled a knife.

Shit.

"Put that knife down," I warned. My stomach twisted. I felt nauseated. I wanted to empty my lunch into the gutter.

He yelled, seizing at my wrists roughly. Instinctively I kicked out at him. My boot contacted with his groin. He wailed and collapsed to the floor, and I took off. Sadly, I didn't get very far. My foot snagged on a crack in the road, and I tripped. I skinned both knees on the pavement, my hands landing in a scattering of broken glass. I was bleeding a bit. To make matters worse, the man had picked himself off the ground, wielding the knife, and staggered at me. He was still in obvious distress from my previous defensive maneuver. I readied myself for the white-hot pain.

"Amarante!"

As he stabbed, a figure flung itself into the path of the knife and shoving me out of the way. My savior crumpled over as the knife sunk into his gut. I recognized Thanatos abruptly. I had to do something. The man withdrew the knife from Thanatos' side and came at me a second time. I fumbled behind me for the nearest object, my fist tightening around an intact glass beer bottle. I smashed it over the drunk's head with as much strength as I could muster. The man's eyes crossed, and he fell prostrate to the floor. I panted, heavily, and scrambled over to Thanatos. I wasted no time in shaking the crap out of him.

"Thanatos? Thanatos!"

He moaned, and I moved his turtleneck up so I could examine his cut. A wet sensation spread across my palms, and I lifted them up to my eyes. An inky black fluid was leaking from the cut onto my hands. It appeared to be pretty deep. I panicked. He wasn't moving at the moment.

"Oh, my God, oh, my God!" I whimpered.

"Yes?" Thanatos asked softly, cracking his eyes open.

"You're alive!" I could have hugged him.

"I was… not alive…to begin with…"

"Whatever! Why are you even injured?!"

"Gods can be…injured. We… feel pain," he croaked.

"I am so confused!" I cried.

"I will heal quickly…"

I sighed.

"I think we need to get back to the hotel now," I said.

"Call him," Thanatos mumbled, pointing towards a patch of shadows. I followed his finger with my eyes. I almost had a heart attack. A huge, black steed was staring across the road at me. Its red eyes glowed, and its nostrils flared monstrously.

"What is that?!" I squeaked.

"A Hippos Daimonos…" Thanatos closed his eyes, sharply exhaling. I decided not to ask any more questions for the time being. I simply held my hand out to the horse and clicked my tongue.

"Uhm, come here?" I asked with uncertainty.

"I CAN UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY WELL, MORTAL," the horse boomed. I grasped at my heart, twitching. The horse sauntered over.

"Sorry…" I offered a weak apology.

The horse gave a sarcastic snort; if that was physically possible.

"Can you stand?" I asked Thanatos.

"I believe so." He winced and stumbled to his feet, but came dangerously close to losing his footing. I rushed to him, catching his arm around my shoulders. He regained his balance with my support.

"My thanks," he murmured.

I managed to get him atop the thing, and very clumsily mounted it behind him. Thanatos grasped the dark horse's mane, and I held onto the back of Thanatos' soiled sweater.

"The hotel--" I began.

"I KNOW," the horse snapped with an air of impatience, and broke into a gallop. I expected to just sort of dash down the street, but instead everything whirled into a blur of colors; an unbelievably fast blur. My head was spinning, and before I could orient myself to the speed, we halted at the hotel entrance.

"GET OFF," the horse commanded, and I obeyed without hesitation. I had some difficulty getting Thanatos down, dizzy as I was.

I addressed the horse, "Thank you, uh…"

"XANTHOS," the horse said, and just disappeared.

I really would have preferred to just pass out right there, but I could not allow it with Thanatos in this state.

Thankfully, no one was waiting at the hotel to see me haul in an injured Death god; though it was a struggle getting him up the long flight of stairs. I managed, and victoriously got him into my room and my bed soon after.

"Now, let's take a look at the damages," I said to myself, and pried the turtleneck off over his head. There was too much filth coating the wound, so I knew it had to be cleaned away. I returned with a damp towel and wiped off layers of dirt and dried blood (or whatever it was). I was relieved to find the wound had closed and scabbed over somewhat. It no longer bled freely, but I observed that it could open again if he agitated it. I rushed into the bathroom and went through all the cabinets. As it was often mandatory in a lot of places, I discovered a first aid kit filled with rolls of white gauze.

"Do you think you could sit up for me?" I asked Thanatos, kit in hand.

He said nothing, but complied with a grunt. I wrapped long strips of the gauze around his abdomen, and securely fastened it at his uninjured side with a carefully-placed safety pin. I noticed something peculiar about Thanatos' face at this time. He appeared to be blushing. I was immediately self-conscious.

"I think you'll be all right, now," I mumbled.

"You have my thanks," Thanatos replied after a moment. He wouldn't look at me.

My heart hammered again.

"I…I think…" It dawned on me.

"I think you saved my life," I informed him, feeling awkward about it.

"I suppose I did."

"But you're Death. Why?"

"I do not know."

I stood, cleaning up the medical supplies dispersed around the floor.

"It was sweet of you," I continued lightly.

He grimaced.

"Do not make me regret it. Death is not meant to be 'sweet'. It will not happen again."

My heart gave a painful squeeze.

"I'm grateful for it. I'm sorry you had to get hurt because I was stupid and got lost."

"I will heal," he assured me. His tone changed. It was gentle.

I sniffed, quickly wiping a tear that had condensed in the corner of my eye before he could notice it.

"No more talking," I said. I moved to the bed and fluffed a pillow, then nudged him back against it. "Take it easy and rest so you heal faster. I'll talk to you in the morning."

It surprised me how quickly the day had flown, and how much had occurred in the span of two days in general. I could hardly believe I wasn't dreaming, but it was too late for that excuse. The sky was dark, and my body heavy enough to make me faint. I needed to rest, too. I dropped into the armchair on the other side of the room, completely spent.

"Good Oneiroi," Thanatos called over as my eyelids drooped.

I pretended to know what he was talking about.

"Mmhm."