Chapter Text
Death, a concept, often hard to grasp, to understand. Your own life melting between your fingers in an instant leaving your body to rot as your heart stops beating, your lungs cease breathing. The blood inside you calms like the tides receading back in the ocean. Suddenly you stop in time, but life keeps moving on without you. Perhaps people mourn, people celebrate, but you’re left with nothing but a soul to be given to Death itself.
Or herself.
Death was a kind woman who cared for each soul as if they were a child coming home after a long journey.
She held each soul tenderly and wondered what pain and triumph they went through as she lead them into her bright galactic domain. Filled with multi-colored souls, small and big, dim and bright, some ready to leave and others alright to stay for a few..thousand years. But inevitably they will ask to be brought new life, and she hands them to Life with saddness but awaits their return with new stories to tell.b
Her children, all her children and only her children. They each glowed with such brightness like stars in the skies, as her crows would put it, in the overworld.
Some can claim only Life had claim to call mortals and immortals alike their children, but does life ever care about the dead? Does Life care about where their children go once their time as come or when their time was interrupted prematurely? Do they care at all at the state of every individual and give them a pinch of tender love and care or even a third of what Death gives to her children?
No.
No they do not, Death always found Life to be a cruel god.
It was so hard to depart with the souls asking to be reborn anew when she knew life would always be a cruel cruel being to them. Uncaring about the famine, the war, and pestilence that is brought upon humans and hybrids and any being with sentience. Claiming to let it be as it was ‘natural’, but it never makes Death any less mournful for how short lives are taken and brought to her with painful cries and traumatic stories that she has heard enough for several lifetimes.
However she never lives through those lifetimes alone, crows have become her symbol as her feathery chromatic cape often hides her pets, her friends, her family. She cherished each and every one of them.
Each with their own names, faces, interests, each pattern and chromatic sheen to their feathers unique as the last. She could quite literally name every single one no matter how long it’s been.
She listened to them all no matter how obscene their comments may be. They often brought back trinkets for her that often had a shiny or precious material in it from the overworld. All of them had their own place in her infinite domain and she made sure of it, Death was the opposite of Life. That man never cherished the offerings he was given as much as she did. Even if no mortal would offer her something the way her crows do, Death’s name was never to be said or whispered or thought about. Scared to summon her and bring upon a curse or be watched forevermore by her murder, mortals hushed and spoke false or hidden names to keep her presence away.
Sometimes, it even irks her crows.
“ Do you not wish for people to worship you as the mother of death? ” She hummed and glanced at the speaking crow, he was an long time member of the flock. His wings stained with white diamonds as his affinity for green shone greatly in the emeralds he brought for her. “You are the mother of these souls aren’t you? Mortals should not treat you as a monster who will come to curse, need your name be spoken out loud even in the quietest of whispers.”
His head tilt as she looked down in thought, her hat with a black veil obscuring her eyesight from view.
“Life would not allow Death to be worshipped kindly, you know what he has done to those who have. Great war has been brought upon lands that take death with great pride and honor my dear crow.” She pet his feathers as he ruffled up in anger.
“Why Dre-”
He was given a stern look by the goddess infront of him. “Need not speak his name, I’d rather not incur his prescence in my domain.”
The crow huffed and squawked at her rudely, however the occurance had been a normal sight. Whilst Death was fine with others speaking her name, Life must always be the ever so nosey god. Quite annoying when you wish to be alone with the souls of the dead and the crows you consider a family. Not to mention he’d asked why he was mentioned in passing and her crow would nontheless insult him into oblivion.
More then one would in hindsight, and she did not want to get on the ill side of Life.
Goodness her crows were protective. Some spoke like drunken sailors left without any filter in their mouths, if they ever had one to begin with. Her loyal crow was no different, unafraid to speak things he deems truths even in the presence of the god he slanders.
“Why Life is simply being unfair, Death should not be held to such abhor.” She chuckled as she held her arm out to let him perch. The crow took the gesture gratefully letting his wings rest as he waited for her to speak.
“If you could tell Life himself that would you?”
“Why of course, even if he listens not to me I’ll peck his eyes out until he does!”
Death couldnt help but laugh.
Humorous her most biggest and loyal crow would go to such lengths so she could gain respect. But she did not need any respect from mortals, the souls and her crows did enough. Mortals speaking to her in hushed and frightened words was just fine, they would all meet her eventually would they not? Fate was all the same, death was not so easy to fool, escaping death meant escaping life. Life would never take so kindly to someone refusing his gift.
Ever since that conversation as she watched the large crow escape her view she always wondered if he ever gone through with it. He always liked being away spreading his wings and coming home to share the state of the current overworld and lost souls that seemed to have strayed from Death’s Embrace.
She waited for his return.
Her crows awaited for their impromptu second in command.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
It had been far too many years since they had last met, decades. He would have been back much earlier then so, had he spoken to Life and been struck down in anger? No, Life would have brought back the poor crow by the wings to her. He could not be cruel enough to make her wonder if he simply lost time or had been smited by a god for words he spoke.
Her crows scoured the world both of gods and of mortals to find the loyal one. The one she had grown attached to, the one that made Death sad without his humble presence and rash truths and curses.
Could she go to Life?
Perhaps. But he will dissmiss her saying he was simply another crow, he could have left the flock and become the unsentient corvids they always start out as. Nevertheless she would try anyways.
The light of the god’s domain was blinding at first, keeping her head down was the best way to go when she was here. Her crows flocked behind her quietly as nearby gods watched her robe trail behind staring at the feathery cape seeing if more crows peek their heads out to squawk at them. She saw familiar faces, The blood and agricultural god, the god who had whites for eyes, even the god who granted the rare mortal immortality. They had nodded to her in solidarity, it seems they knew why she was here.
Death rarely came to meet with Life as did Life rarely come to meet Death. She wondered if they knew her loyal crow, he spoke of the gods sometimes and how they crossed paths. Do they remember her sweet crow?
She stepped up the stairs to his great temple and opened his pearly marbled doors.
“ DreamXD.”
The god as been awaiting her presence. His stance was relaxed, leaned against his large chair as he dominanted the room. He was always the dramatic one, choose a larger form compared to the others. Though he rarely ever left his temple, so no use in being small correct?
“Must you speak my name in such anger Death. I had done none to wrong you as of late have I.” Death looked at the god with a glare in her eyes. “Ah, this is about your crow, no wonder the murder is all here.” Life had already known, playing with his food was his favorite game. She despised it. “Yes, he was rather rude coming to me at first. But in the end we got what we both wanted, you will meet him again in due time Kristin, be patient. It’s all your good at no?”
“Where is my crow Dream. I will not leave without his whereabouts.”
“He is somewhere.”
“Somewhere is not what I am asking for.”
He chuckled and stood his form changing from a staggering twenty five feet to a mear six. Enough to topple most humans, and enough to be taller then Death. “You are asking for too much dear Death. Patience is a virtue, you wouldn’t want to sin right?”
“I would if it meant you give me the location of my crow. ”
Silence as the two stared at one another. The gods outside could hear the two as they listened in at the door of the temple. Death was a woman who need not be crossed, they all knew that awfully well. “Leave my domain, or else that will not be the only crow that permanently leaves your flock.” Eyes widen at the threat as he turned his back to her. The god would follow up on it, she knew he would.
She turned to the door and walked, her heels clinking on the cold marble floors. Her fists clenched and shaking as she faced downward with a frown stitched onto her face. The gods outside huddled at one end as she turned to them her eyes cold as the bodies of whose souls she collects. The blood god, in all his kindness and softness for Death spoke first.
“Kristin, we could not stop your crow from speaking to him. We all tried too knowing-”
“Knowing he would be taken away.” His pointed ears fell as he nodded to her interruption. “Do you know what he said, what they spoke about? Or was it behind curtains and underhanded as per usual.”
They all stared at one another before giving their eyes to Death. The god with whites for eyes cupped his hands infront of them and gave her an answer she did not think she’d ever want to hear.
“His soul was taken, I had felt it the second it occured. It is neither here nor in your Domain.”
“He’s been reborn.”
“Or he is lost”
“No- No he’s reborn —” The tears welled up as she was pulled into an embrace by the blood god. Despite his horrifying imagine as a god who craved war and death, his softer side for farming, animals and agriculture shined through in the smallest ways. Her loyal crow was gone, gone for who knows how long. “He’s been reborn he cant- he cant be lost—”
The crows cried for the loss of their eldest.
He was not just the eldest, loyal, and kindhearted. He was the first to regconize Death as his kindred spirit. As his god. The gods around her felt her saddness and sorrow, the mortals knew Death would never be the same without her dearest follower.
‘ How shall I find you again?’ She wondered.
She only knew it was patience she must give.
.
.
.
.
“Well that was a sad story!”
The old man chuckled as he pat the head of young unruly brown curls. “Not all stories have a happy ending Wil, it’s just how Life is.” The boy underneath his hand huffed. tiny baby feathers ruffling from his back.
“Doesn’t mean it has to be that way.”
Phil rolled his eyes and retracted his hand. “I suppose you have a point mate, do you think she’ll find her Crow again?” Wilbur nodded vigorously. The young boy always held such optimisim, though every child did. Phil always admired that, he wanted for him to hold into every bit of childhood innocence.
“She has too! Right dad? Not all stories have to end badly.”
“I guess so.” He smiled. “Now let’s get you to bed.”