A/N: Yes, we will eventually get back to Azalais, but Lilith's backstory was demanding to be written.

~ With Me, Into The Dark ~

Lilith Goyle has been fascinated with death for as long as she could remember.

Lilith was five years old when she first encountered the Grim Reaper. He came to take her mama away.

"I want to go, too," she said, but the Reaper shook his head.

"Why not?"

"It isn't your time yet, child," the Reaper said. He was not surprised that the child could see him. Many that young still had eyes that could see into the spirit realm. Children that age also generally didn't understand why they couldn't follow their loved ones to the world beyond.

"But I want to go," the little girl persisted.

"You will know when it is your time," the Reaper said.

"How will I know?"

"Because when your time comes, you will not want to go."

The Reaper was surprised at the child's continued fascination with death in general, and with him in particular. He knew she still had her spirit eyes, for he often caught her looking at him when he came to collect the tiny souls of her victims.

The pet Thestral he understood, for even the Grim Reaper needs a loyal steed, and his own was one of that species. The child's love of dark magic was also relatable, as were her cravings for both approval and violence.

He did not understand the scars, the intentional scraping away of skin, the significance she places in the image of the ivy vines...

The child lost her spirit eyes with the advent of her first monthly bleeding.

She took up the Tarot deck in order to try to find her old friend, The Reaper, once more.

When that proved unsuccessful, she moved on to human victims. Yet still she could not catch a glimpse into the spirit realm when the Reaper came to collect the souls of her conquests.

She has said it so many times and to so many people that it had practically become her catch-phrase.

"When the Reaper comes for me, I will go gladly into his arms."

She was reckless in battle, yes, but not suicidal. Never that. The Reaper had warned her already that when the time for her death came, she would not be ready to leave the mortal world. Although whether that was a prediction or a generalization, she didn't know. What she did know was that suicide would be a last-minute regret, and while she often longed to see the Reaper again, she knew she would meet him again when the time was right...

Many years passed before her eyes regained the ability to see the Reaper, and when he came for her, he found that what he'd told her those many years ago was technically true, although there was not enough left of her mind to be able to desire anything one way or the other.

~end of scene~

*Lilith's death scene can be found in the drabble "In Memoriam" which was actually the inspiration behind this collection. (It is posted separately.)