"Over here!" Iris waved Sonorhc closer. The pair perused the Sleeping Cemetery, the Necromage following the Spirit-Seeker as her purple eyes glowed, sweeping back and forth across the headstones. She could see a lonely, lowly ghost sitting on one of the graves, arms around its knees, head bowed. The headstone read "Lilly A-".
"Hello…" Iris greeted softly. The spirit gave no indication that it heard her. "I couldn't help but notice that… you don't seem to be at rest…" Still no reply. "I have… a friend who could… bring you back to life… for a little while… if you want…" The specter still did not speak, but it finally looked up. Iris sighed to herself in relief.
Death, she knew, could be a very depressive state indeed. To even receive acknowledgement from a lost soul was sometimes huge. Iris turned to her Necromage companion again, a hopeful smile on her dark face.
I think we got a "live" one here!
Sonorhc was a good balance to Iris, much lower in energy, emotion, and expression. She approached slower and warier than Iris had. It was good, but hard, work they did, trying to give those who died too soon a chance to live again. They could never provide more than a few days, as it took an enormous amount of energy to keep someone resurrected in a form that was above a skeleton or zombie. But with how many deaths never got closure—especially queer ones—Iris and Sonorhc saw themselves as doing their best to add measly positives to a situation that was inherently negative. The odds would never be in their favor, but in a strange way, Sonorhc found that even more liberating.
Whether they say yes or no, whether it works or not, leaves them better off or not, it quite literally is the thought and effort that counts, because at least they're getting this option at all. Countless people—queer or otherwise—had come and gone. How many of them were ever granted the chance to come back to life, even if only for a little while? Heck I may never get this chance and I'm the Necromage here! Talk about ironic…
But as the cautionary tale went, Life and Death were the only certainties in existence. There was no promise that just because Sonorhc could provide this service that anyone would be there to reciprocate when Death finally came for her. And yet still, she and Iris persisted.
This life is ours either way. Might as well pass the time with something that at least FEELS worthwhile. But that didn't mean they had all the time in the world. "So, what'll it be?" Sonorhc was much sharper than Iris, arms crossed and eyes narrowed as she approached the lost soul.
Thanks to Iris' power, and how close they stood together, Sonorhc could also see the faintly-glowing, purple outline that Iris was. For a second time, the spirit was unresponsive. Sonorhc couldn't help but scoff and roll her dark eyes.
"Ok. Look. I know it's hard being dead and all, especially if you went too soon, but I ain't as patient as my partner, here." The Necromage jerked a thumb at the Spirit-Seeker, who smiled apologetically. "So, either I bring you back now, or I move on to the next grave, and that's that. Your choice."
Her voice was cold, her face unflinching. She was the epitome of the harshness of death. There was no morality, no emotion, just existence, plain and simple, raw and physical. If this ghost declined, so be it. It could stay dead. There were countless others who would gladly take its place. She even turned to depart, but the ghost reached out and she felt the shift in the air.
Wait! Please reconsider! Sonorhc smirked while Iris again winced sympathetically. She understood that Sonorhc had to conserve her energy. She really could not afford to waste any of it on a lost soul that did not want to be helped. However, humans were not made to jump back and forth across the border of Life and Death. It would take a toll no matter what side of the border the person started out on.
Plus, that's the thing about the people we're bringing back… Iris' smile was grim and sad. They were all taken too soon… They already weren't resurrecting the happiest of folks to begin with. How ironic… "Gay" used to mean "happy"…
Her purple eyes drifted to her Necromage companion again. Sonorhc's hand was stretched out over the spirit, gray magic twisting and twirling through her fingers. While Iris mused glumly, Sonorhc was smiling darkly.
I wonder, what if I was born in 2100 rather than 2000? But ahhh, yes! The cusp of Life and Death! That is where the two forces are most prominent! You need an excess of one to really see and appreciate the other! Bah! And to think that some people would see THIS and call it unholy! Hmph… That Jesus guy brings people back and he's hailed a hero. I do it and it's evil witchcraft!
Sonorhc lowered her hand after several minutes and what stood—or rather, sat—between her and Iris was another young woman. Like Sonorhc, she was Asian, though she was tall and thin with long, straight, coarse, black hair while Sonorhc was short and stocky with likewise short, thick, dark hair. The woman, Lilly, blinked up at Iris and Sonorhc in slack-jawed awe.
For the first time that day, Sonorch's expression softened and became rueful. "This is going to be hard to hear, but I want to be up front about it. I cannot resurrect you for long. It takes an immense amount of power to bring someone back so completely. Controlling an army of zombies or skeletons is easier because it's not as complex as bringing back every last part and piece of the human. But I figure you'd want to be brought back the way you remember yourself… I'm sorry it won't be permanent…"
Lilly's dark eyes widened with fear. Such was the sweet torture of the border between Life and Death. Lilly could've stayed a ghost and watched the chance to live again pass her by like a ship in the night. Or she could become human again, only to know that it would only be a short while before she had to return to the grave.
"But why not keep me around for a little longer?" she asked meekly.
Sonorhc only looked at the vast expanse of other headstones. And that was just dead humans. She was in a queerplatonic polycule—affectionately nicknamed the Dark Triad—with two classmates, Reaper and Nevermore. The trio of aro-aces ran a pet resurrection business on the side, offering the same service as what she was providing with Iris. As with humans, Sonorhc could not keep pets alive forever, but it was admittedly easier to bring back a dog than its human family. And there were always more people, and animals, who needed and deserved a turn.
Iris gave Lilly a verbal answer. "Honestly, this was my idea. It was a risky one, and Sonorhc tried to talk me out of it…" The Spirit-Seeker chuckled ruefully at the Necromage. The physical and mental toll of a rapid-fire Life-Death cycle was rough on them just as much as it was on the ones they were bringing back. But a commonality between Iris and Sonorhc was their fear of Death, and fear of losing people too soon, and to things beyond their control. That was the key Iris used to win Sonorhc over to start resurrecting people in addition to pets.
"We use our lives and Gifts to give back the lives of others," Iris shrugged. "It's the least we can do for all the people—queer or not—who went too soon… Plus, she and I make a pretty decent team, all things considered," Iris added with a smirk, eyes drifting over to Sonorhc.
"She finds 'em, I fetch 'em." Sonorhc shrugged. "She sees 'em, I "free" 'em." Then the Necromage locked eyes with the recently resurrected. What are you going to do with the time you have left? I'm sorry, but, the clock is ticking.
AN: View this on AO3 or Wattpad for an image of my OCs.
