Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Skizz would like to think he was fairly normal.

Aside from the obvious responsibilities of his, he looked like an ordinary man - a nomadic traveler looking for a glorious adventure. Well, he certainly was on an adventure, but it wasn't really one of the glorious kind. It was his duty that kept him on that path. And even if he wanted to stray off of it sometimes, he couldn't. 

Mortals required someone to bring them life just as much as death, even if most don’t realise that it’s due to his handiwork. They see the sick heal from their illness, people surviving accidents that under every circumstance should have taken their lives and bones heal at the magical drop of some rain. It makes them believe that there is some higher god out there, blessing them with fortune due to some random deeds in the past - that they were chosen by some higher power for a greater purpose.

But no, Skizz didn’t choose anything; he was just working from the list he was given. The list was the thing that decided on who gets to live and who dies. It’s a funny thing, for your life, purpose or work to be dependent on some unbreakable scroll of paper that even you as the owner didn’t even know how it came to exist.

All Skizz knew about it was when he had originally found the cave of its origin, together with his other half and partner in crime. The cavern’s walls were covered with strange looking bark and the floor was a carpet of black and white feathers, an odd thing which should have given him enough warnings already to not proceed.

He sped past every single warning anyway, for the treasure was right in front of him and blinded him with greed. 

Two scrolls of paper, spotless and rolled out over two altars, basically calling their name and almost begging to be taken - one in shining white and the other in pitch black. Skizz took the white one and his other half the black one and from one moment to the other the cave sealed them both inside, only allowing them to leave if they devoted their existence to the purpose of the treasure they had tried to greedily take for themselves.

Technically, Skizz doesn’t have a name anymore. Both him and his other half had officially gone missing and declared dead in a matter of weeks. Noone found any bodies, no traces, it’s as if the world just swallowed their existence and spat it out into nothingness. 

They were spirits now, merely depending on the belief of the people they once shared the same soil with. As restless as they were, they travelled from place to place wherever the list was taking them; a calming practice, if not lonely sometimes - especially when it came to what they did and to which mortal it would happen.

In all fairness, Skizz’s part of the job was the ‘prettier’ half of what he and his partner in bringing had… but sometimes he just wished they could just settle down and forget about their true purpose, even if it was just for a moment; only then he would feel somewhat normal to walk in a world amongst mortal humans and animals. 

They acknowledge him as they pass, but he's aware that they don't truly see him . What their eyes take in are sights of various placeholder symbols for life; sometimes a white dove, sometimes a newborn lamb amongst its herd - anything that could resemble or represent life in its prime and prettiest form.

A positive thing. 
That's what they see when their eyes gaze upon Skizz, unaware of the man beneath that perfect image of life. 

He wasn't lonely, but he at least wished for someone to accompany him every now and then. His other half could only rarely join him on his rides across the lands nowadays, but whenever it did, it was nothing but a delight, even if his other half doubted that Skizz liked the company as much as he did. 

And so, he made it to his more personal duty to remind Impulse of his gratitude for him every time these doubts came up. Just like right now, as always!

“Nuh-uh, none of that!” Skizz wiggled his index finger at the other man once more as these doubts came up, his smile wide and proud. “Don't you go and badmouth yourself in front of me, Dipple-Dop!”

He had been scolding Impulse for a while now, ever since they left the last town to head towards the nearest location on the list. For once, they shared a reaping spot together - a small farm of a family, parents with two grown children; life and death was going to be coming to their home soon, depending on how far their deadline can be stretched.

Impulse always liked to stretch it to its limits. Always.

“It's nothing but the truth, Skizz.”
“Nope, not buying it.”
“But it is-”
“In your worst nightmares maybe.”

Impulse scoffed at Skizz's insistence, a glare of annoyance dominating his features. Skizz knew that the bringer of death's glare wasn't supposed to be directed at him. Impulse wasn't angry with him, he could never be. 

Quite the opposite, he always admired Skizz for what he was, looked at him in only awe and fondness.

Skizz was the bringer of life after all, the holder of the white scroll. He brought mortals health, survival, joy ; he was a beacon of light that no one could ever seem to dim or harm; everything he touched practically turned to gold or improved by lots. Everywhere he went, he brought good and positivity.

And Impulse was far from that.

He was the bringer of death, the holder of the black scroll - despair, mourning and loss - tearing the lives of people out of their mortal loved ones’ feeble hands. Everywhere he went, only bad things happened. It messed with him, no matter how hard he tried to hide it from Skizz. 

He could never be Skizz. Never.

For the bringer of life it didn't matter if he did or not, since his perception of Impulse never changed either way. 

He didn't see his best friend as this monster which only brought death and decay to every corner of the world. He merely saw him as someone who just fulfilled his duty; a duty he was bestowed upon because Skizz was the one who carelessly ran in and grabbed the white scroll. Impulse never had a choice. There was not much else to it.

“You know I am right, Impulse. No matter how many times you want to tell me otherwise.” Skizz insisted once more and Impulse’s shoulders drooped slightly with a sigh. “I know... I just wish I could bring something good as well.” 

He stopped his horse during its calm stride, pulling it back by the reins. It was a beautiful black stallion, the mane adorned with braids that Skizz didn't even know Impulse could make. Its elegantly woven look contrasted the harsh and strong muscles of the steed, up until it matched the spots where its legs were supposed to be - where the hooves and lower half of the legs were fading into some sort of transparency gradient. 

A ‘phantom horse’ is what Impulse had called it. 
It fit him well.

“You already do that. You release ill mortals from their sickness and suffering, for example.” Skizz pointed out but he knew that was not nearly enough to convince his best friend. It was a weak piece of comfort from the entire wave of bad things he seemed to bring, only a fracture of the good Skizz was bringing to the table. 

Impulse didn't respond, his eyes averting from Skizz before wordlessly continuing to ride ahead. Now, Skizz simply couldn't accept that to happen as an answer. 

“Impulse, you didn't choose to bring death, remember?” Skizz caught up quickly, his tone strict but Impulse barely spared him a glance. “It’s my fault we’re here!”

“Yeah well, look at me now. What's up now?”
“You never had a choice then and neither do you now, that's what's up now! Do you really think either of us had expected to become some kind of gods after entering that cave??”

Skizz took a hold of Impulse's arm, causing his horse to slow but not stop. Both of their steeds fell into a synchronized rhythm, carrying the two men further down the path. Skizz's white mare stuck close to Impulse's black stallion, their white and black manes mingling with each other as the white mist on the mare’s hooves enveloped the legs of the stallion.

Impulse stared at Skizz, how the man firmly glowed in the moonlight that cast down on him. His equipment, a variation of different shades of white and light grey shined like a diamond, all the while his shadow slightly cast over Impulse, cloaking him in the darkness that painted all of his form for decades if not centuries already. 

“Just because you have the duty to bring the end of an individual's life, doesn't mean you're a monster, Impulse. Just as much as me bringing the start of an individual's life doesn't mean that I am a saint.” 

And for once, much to Skizz's surprise, Impulse didn't seem to visibly disagree or try to protest on the matter. He simply eyed the bringer of life with a thoughtful look, one that told that he was thinking about something more than just what they were talking about now. 

Skizz had hunches about what it was, but decided to not assume. He still held his grip on Impulse's arm regardless, just taking in and appreciating the company of his best friend who seemed to return the gesture soon after. Again, it was rare that they were allowed to travel together like this - life and death called from every corner of the world at different times. It was special when they overlapped.

And Skizz and Impulse were going to cherish that time together for as long as they could.

So they decided to wordlessly continue down the path they rode on, their shadows and existence unknown to the human eye unless your time had come.

Chapter Text

The journey to their destination was spent in content. 

The two men laughed, sang, and talked… it almost made them feel alive like real humans sometimes. That's what humans still did right? Humans expressed themselves with their voice - let their emotions drive and change their tones to fit the mood. But not only humans did that so… what were they really trying to be anyway? 

Just anything else than the bringers of life and death itself, if Skizz had to guess - something normal. 

Besides, humans imitate each other all the time, don't they? Impulse and Skizz could see that right now.

There was a group of children playing in the narrow streets of the town where their supposed ‘marks’ were residing. With laughter and screaming they yelled at each other, shoving around one another as if the consequences of possible injuries could never stop them. 

It wasn't long until one of the children went too far and shoved another one too roughly, causing it to fall and burst into tears as it scraped up his knees. Skizz saw Impulse watch the children closely, his eyes narrowing in slight judgement at the perpetrator. The children wouldn't see him or Skizz as they passed by, nor would they hear the hooves of their horses on the path full of bricks. 

They were nothing but breezes of the wind to them.

And yet, Impulse continued to stare until the children were out of sight. He could still hear the injured child crying behind him, whining about a small bruise that could've been so much worse. This child got lucky, that was for sure. People died because of less, like stumbling over stones or simply not moving out of the way in time. That bruise was nothing.

“Children, am I right? Still needing to learn what it means to have consequences.” Skizz tried to pull Impulse's attention away as the cries of the child faded the further they got away from it. The cries drowned in the rest of the bustling sounds of the marketplace, just another instrument that life itself had brought forth.

Impulse looked back at Skizz, his glare softening into something more neutral. “So does every human. They always have something left to learn.”

“So do we.” Skizz simply replied, a small smile forming on his face. He looked back towards the children before looking at Impulse.

“What caught you there? You never stare at them so intently when we travel.”
“You are also never with me so you wouldn't know.”
“Then it would be the best time to explain it to me then.”

His best friend seemed to consider the option, looking ahead and narrowing his eyes in thought. He didn't respond and he didn't intend to even after they phased through the closed gates of the town. But Skizz was patient; he wasn't going to poke Impulse further if he didn't like it. After all, he was just curious.

It was when they had long left the town behind and the sun had set that Impulse finally responded and answered the question. They were only minutes away from their destination at that time, already slowing down and planning out on how to approach this reaping. 

“I must show you something. At midnight, when the moonlight shines the brightest." His response was out of the blue and unexpected for Skizz, but the bringer of life only smiled and nodded in return. And Impulse smiled back, grateful for Skizz's understanding.

So that's where they stood now: At the bottom of a hill, their reaping spot, the family's farm right behind it. They had let go of their horses’ reins, letting the animals gallop around freely as much as they desired. Even in spirit they still needed to roam around and be free; the bringers of death and life merely requested their assistance if absolutely necessary.

Skizz was watching the mare and stallion race across the fields, their silhouette backlit by the moonlight, as Impulse approached him. He joined Skizz in watching their two companions run around for a moment before nudging his best friend by the shoulder. “Are you ready for me to show you?”

His question was met with enthusiasm, Skizz's bright smile firmly glowing in the moonlight just like the rest of his entire being. “Sure am! Let's go!” 

Impulse chuckled at Skizz's energy before starting to back away from the scene, making his way towards the nearby forest. They already had come through this way to get here, so Skizz was slightly confused as to why they were backtracking. Impulse didn't say anything, but he looked back at Skizz with an expression that told that he was trying to find the right words to pick. 

“So, you remember the town kids from this morning?” he asked instead to kickstart the conversation, receiving a confirming hum from Skizz in return. Impulse tilted his head slightly in response, his expression growing a bit uneasy. “Well… there was a reason as to why I looked at them for so long. But it's better to show than to explain what is about to happen, I suppose.”

The end of the sentence sounded more unsure and like a question rather than a statement, but Skizz wasn't going to be judging it. “You lead the way, buddy. I'm sure you know what works best.”

That seemed to give Impulse the confidence he needed, his steps much firmer as he continued. He led Skizz to a small pond that they had passed earlier, the moonlight now letting it look far more mysterious. Its shine enveloped the surrounding air in a faint glow as the light was reflected by the water. 

He halted their step by holding his hand out, causing Skizz to frown at the development, unsure why they had stopped. 

It was peacefully quiet, their only companion being the sounds of crickets, running water from a nearby river and the rustling of the leaves as a soft breeze started to run through the treetops. The place was inviting to say the least; a place where you could lay down, close our eyes, and just rest your senses from the overwhelming days of travel, noise and other troubles. 

No surprise that Impulse had led him here. Skizz would also share this place with him if he had found it first.

But the scenery wasn't the reason for their visit, clearly not. If it would have been, Impulse would've said something by then or had approached the spot closer. Instead he simply leaned against a tree, crossing his arms as he seemed to wait for something to happen. He said no words, made no signs of any sort of action, he just kept waiting with his eyes remaining on the spot in front of them in patience. 

Skizz itched to ask for more - for more information, more closure- he just wanted to know why he was led here.

He would get his answers, but not from Impulse. 
They came in the form of two women.

They hadn't walked up to the pond like you would expect someone to do so in a simple scene of a play, hadn't announced themselves with footsteps or words of discussion - no, they had simply appeared , faded into existence within blinks of an eye, sitting by the pond without exchanging any words. 

They held each other's hand tightly, almost as if fearing that one would fade into nothingness once given enough leeway. Even despite the moonlight, their clothing matched Impulse's dark and black aesthetic, the only other colour being in their skin, hair and eyes. 

One of the women was shorter than the other, her red hair glowing despite its paler colour, the same with her green emerald eyes. She was resting her head against the taller woman's shoulder, half of her face covered by the brown hair that cascaded onto her like a drawn curtain. The other woman looked down at her with eyes that shined a celestial blue. Both of them were armed: One with an executioner's sword, the other with a scythe, both with a bow and quiver each. 

Neither seemed to notice that Impulse or Skizz were there.

“Where did Father bring us this time?” the taller woman asked, her voice curious and excited.

“A farm, if my eyes didn't fool me.” the shorter woman answered, tone soft-spoken and dreamy.

Her free hand ran her fingers through the blades of grass below them, her movement delicate before suddenly ripping out a single piece every now and then. Her eyes narrowed as she inspected each of the pieces of grass that she had picked before discarding it to the side.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, holding one piece out for a little longer. 

“Yeah, I think so.” the other admitted, also admiring the piece of grass that was picked.

“How does hunger feel?” 
“Always there.”

With that response, the redhead discarded the blade of grass like the rest of them and the pair eyed it as it was carried away by the breeze. The brunette smirked.

“I can feel that this next one will be easy.”
“ If it struggles.”
“It would be more fun.”
“And if it doesn't?”
“Then it will be all yours.”

The shorter woman sat up properly then, taking both of the other woman's hands in hers as they sat face to face. The taller woman frowned in confusion, as if she didn't quite understand the sudden gesture.

“But if they go peacefully, you will be left even hungrier.”
“If it draws breath, it will meet us… that's what you said.”
“I did. But you can't tell me that you don't feel sad.”

There was a pause which left the redhead waiting for a response from the other. She pressed on once she didn't receive any.

“Are you sad?”
“I am...”
“How does it feel like?”
“A long hunt with no kill.”

The redhead ran her thumbs over the other's hands.

“The next one, I can hear them laugh…”
“...and scream?”
“...and dance…”
“...and flee?”
“...it will choose to face you. I am sure.”

The reassurement brought a bright smile to the brunette's face as she seemed to grow excited at the premise.

“And who's gonna be next after that?”
“Everyone.”

The shorter woman gained a small smile as well, a glint of joy in her eyes before it dimmed slightly. “I wonder how they see me…”

“Soft I bet.” the taller woman poked the other woman's cheek, eyes curious. “I mean, you feel soft at least.”

The compliment seemed to make the other woman laugh lightly. “They sound like feathers falling on fresh snow if they ever got that close to feel it.”

“That's because being soft doesn't mean that you can't kill. I mean… wolves are soft and kill all the time!” The brunette gestured at herself, almost as if referring to herself. Her enthusiasm dimmed suddenly, frowning in worry, almost as if she had forgotten something that she was uncertain about. “They haven't forgotten us by now, right?”

“They all still know us, though they try to forget. Soon, Father will remind them.” The redhead shook her head in disagreement. “And even if he fails, none can hide from us. Many have and will continue to try - they race from us, but only to find us sooner.” 

“How old do you think we are by now?”
“Older than those whose footsteps have long vanished.”
“Many years then.”
“And Father is even older.”

The brunette laughed wholeheartedly at the joke and Skizz could hear Impulse chuckle quietly next to him as well. That chuckle was the first real sound he heard from the other man since the two women's appearance. He sounded fond, like a father watching his two children converse from afar. It certainly felt like it too, as if he had a much closer and deeper connection with these two than he openly seemed to lead on.

The two women fell into soft giggles and calmed down after a few moments, seemingly still not having noticed their observing company. They were fully lost in their conversation again, though their words were too low and whispery to hear. Skizz had to really lean in closer to understand what they were saying.

“How old is Father even?”
“Not sure… older than our story for sure.”
“Can you… tell me our story again?”

The brunette blinked down at the redhead with a slight head tilt, her eyes shining similar to puppy eyes. The answer seemed to be a yes as the shorter woman sat up properly once more, with the taller woman copying her movement not even a heartbeat later.

“There was once a pale man with dark hair who was very lonely.”

The two women sat together closer as the redhead started to tell the story, with the brunette asking questions every now and then.

“Why was it lonely?”
“All things must meet this man, so they shunned him.”
“Did he chase them all?”
“He took an axe and split himself in two...”

The redhead placed her thumb on the other's forehead and the other copied her movement once more as they slowly but surely traced their thumbs down and along a big scar that was trailed on each of their heads from forehead to chin. With that, the shorter woman finished her sentence.

“...right down the middle.”

“So he would always have a friend.” the taller woman's face lit up, her thumb stopping at the end of the scar on the redhead's chin as both smiled at each other in sheer admiration. The redhead did the same, reciprocating the admiring smile. “So he would always have a friend.”

The line struck a nerve in Skizz's heart as he looked towards Impulse. The bringer of death looked back at him with a somber expression, followed by an even more somber shrug of his shoulders. That explained where he had gotten his giant face scar from… he had split himself in two! Skizz didn't even know you could do that…

Skizz's eyes remained on Impulse as the two women continued talking, their voices sounding a little bit more muffled than before.

“And we will stay together, right?”
“Forever more. Never one…”
“...without the other.”
“And everywhere you go, I will be sure to follow.”
“And everywhere you go, I will be sure to follow.”

Skizz's eyes went to the two women again after each other's reassurement. They were in the middle of uncurling themselves from a tight hug as the taller one seemed to finally notice them, her entire being lighting up brighter than the moonlight ever could be. 

“Father!” 

Her shout alerted the other woman as well, both quickly getting to their feet and rushing over to them in sheer excitement. Impulse stepped forward and opened his arms far and wide for them. They shot into his embrace with impact, almost knocking him off balance. He wrapped his arms around them protectively, trying to balance their swaying for the three of them with a heartwarming laugh.

While the shorter woman snuggled neatly into his embrace, the taller woman firmly towered over Impulse, leading the man to have to drag her down a little and lean her against his shoulder.

“Woah there, you two; slow and careful. You don't want to throw your poor father into the dirt, right?”

The two women seem to tighten their hug in response, trying their best to help Impulse stabilize the three of them. Impulse continued to chuckle, his eyes looking at Skizz with a proud look. “I want you to meet someone, alright? He's someone very special to me.”

He slowly but surely turned them around to face Skizz, their faces lighting up in small awe, probably at how freaking shiny and bright he was considering his overall white colour. Impulse placed a hand on their shoulders, like a proud dad presenting his children. 

“Gem, Pearl. This is Skizz: My better half. Skizz, this is Gem and Pearl.”

He gestured towards the redhead and then the brunette respectively before gently giving each of them a gentle push. “Go on. Say hi.”

The two women opened and closed their mouths for a moment, clearly struggling to come up with anything. Skizz chuckled, heartwarmed at the attempt and opening his arms for them. “I can hug too if you wan-”

He didn't need to finish the sentence as the other two surged into his arms mid sentence, their hugs tighter than anything he had ever received. Skizz laughed at the sudden affection, now fully understanding as to why Impulse had originally struggled with balancing them all at once before. Pearl was neatly able to snuggle into him too, due to him being slightly taller, meanwhile Gem almost seemed to disappear in his cloak. “Woah there, you little energetic buggers. It's nice to meet you too.”

He returned their hugs with a tightness that he hoped he could match. Impulse chuckled at the sight, piping up a moment later with crossed arms. “Touch is a better way for them to express themselves. They struggle with… showing or understanding some emotions properly.”

He awkwardly air quoted parts of his statement, though it didn't affect the fondness in his tone in the slightest.

Skizz nodded slowly at the explanation, giving him only enough reason to hug the two even closer. He looked down at them with a small frown before looking back to Impulse. “I didn't even know this was possible. How did you- wh- I am so confused.”

“I don't blame you. But I think there is a better time to discuss it. I'll let you know.” Impulse responded before closing in and joining the group hug as well.

“Let's just enjoy this for now, okay?”
“Okay…”

Chapter Text

Genuinely, Skizz could get used to this. 
He would love to get used to this, actually.

What he thought was going to be just another standard reaping trip for him and Impulse turned out to be something incredibly special. Most, if not all of that was due to Gem and Pearl, obviously. The two of them brought an energy to the preparations that Skizz couldn't even begin to try and match.

They had given his mare’s mane the same braids that Impulse's stallion had, which gave Skizz the answer as to where those came from in the first place. He had joked to Impulse that he knew his friend couldn't have possibly made these, but Impulse simply waved the comment off with a “I fooled you for long enough, so take that as you will.” and Skizz unfortunately couldn't deny that.

Together, they then watched Gem and Pearl run around in the fields with the horses, laughing with joy as if they were sent back to being little kids. In the middle of it they seemed to even transform into spirits of different animals, Pearl in the form of a wolf and Gem in the form of a deer, only ramping up the chase of each other even more.

Skizz couldn't hold back a chuckle whenever one caught the other and they both thrashed on the ground, trying to be rid of one another to continue their game. 

“They really don't seem to run out of energy.” he commented as he saw Pearl leap into the air to pounce on Gem, barely missing the deer by a snout's length. Impulse reciprocated the chuckle in response, pausing his sharpening of the blade in his hands. “They really don't. Still don't know how I managed to survive that for this long.” 

“Yeah, considering your age-” that earned Skizz a heavy hit of Impulse's foot into his ankle, causing him to recoil and laugh. “Hey! It's not like I am older or something-”

“And yet you still can't keep your mouth shut!” Impulse spat back with a light laugh, glancing up from the rock he was sitting on.

“Why should I? Who's gonna stop me? Who can stop the bringer of life itself from rambling on about his nonsense?” Skizz teased in response and Impulse shook his head in faux disappointment. “Wow, letting that power get to your head already? Geez…” 

“Wh- hey! That's not how I meant it!” Skizz accusingly pointed his finger at his best friend and he responded by weakly holding the hand with his wheatstone up in self-defense. “I know, I know. I'm just messing with you.”

“Good! I'm very humble, I'll have you know.” Impulse merely rolled his eyes at the statement, continuing to sharpen the blade once more. He had already fully sharpened Gem's sword and their arrows, which only left Pearl's scythe before they could head out and reap the souls they came to collect. 

Skizz watched him do so for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “Are they doing the reaping for you or how will this work?”

“You will see, in time.” His other half simply responded and now it was Skizz's turn to roll his eyes in slight exasperation. “Am I going to get told anything before the reaping at all? How did they end up with you? I don't remember them from the last time we've reaped together.”

“That's because the last time was over 30 years ago.” Impulse lamely answered, barely distracted from his task. 

“And you got them in that timeframe - however you did that.” Skizz concluded, his tone plain and tinged with slight impatience. Impulse stopped his sharpening and held up the scythe into the moonlight to inspect it for any other flaws. “Yes.” 

“Awesome. Are you not going to tell me about that either, then? About how you got them?” The bringer of life rested his hands on his hips and his other half looked up from the blade at him, his eyes clearly contemplating on whether to tell the story or not. 

“I reaped their souls when they were young.” he then said, his tone matching the sudden seriousness of the tale. “Both fell incredibly ill before they could even reach the age of 10.” 

Skizz's smile faded at the news, any sort of response dying on his tongue in consequence. He hadn’t expected this sharp of a tonal shift from Impulse. His lack of response was taken as permission to continue.

“It was normal for me to reap from adults, those who at least made mistakes which could justify my arrival.” he sighed then, lowering Pearl's scythe and resting it under his arm. “But those two were children , innocent girls who didn't do anything to warrant my visit. Who was I to claim their souls as mine despite them not having committed any wrongdoings?” 

His tone turned stricter, almost angry with himself. “They had gotten sick with something, I don't even remember what it was and I came and took their souls one by one. They were children with no future, robbed from a childhood and life full of memories.”

His grip tightened on the handle of the scythe before letting it dissipate again with a heavy sigh. “I couldn't just rob them of their lives like this… so… I took my axe, their souls and then…”

“...split yourself in two. Giving parts of your life to them.” Skizz finished the sentence for him and Impulse somberly nodded in confirmation. “This was the only way they could grow up, so I let them. They don't quite understand everything yet or live like real humans do. I’ve never brought it over myself to tell them the full story. They only have the feathers that contain their souls as reminders, but this life is a good enough replacement… don't you think?”

Impulse's tone sounded unsure, almost desperate for an agreement. He didn't know if he did the right thing and Skizz could see that clear as day. Problem is… Skizz didn't really know the answer to that. 

He understood where his friend was coming from - why he reaped their souls, why he felt regret and why he brought them back - but their journey was still going to be difficult. Some things will just be way harder to understand if they weren't humans before. Emotions were only one of the many things that fell into this category. Reminders like the feathers helped, that’s why he had given them a white feather of his to each of them… so that they would remember him when he would eventually have to leave again.

Skizz thought about it for a long time, long enough for Gem and Pearl to return in excitement for the newest reaping. He didn't tell Impulse his response yet, and he wasn't going to when Gem and Pearl were around either. He would let him know, in due time.

“Father, when is it time??” Gem rushed up first, eagerly taking and sheathing her sword as it laid on the ground. Pearl followed soon after, with Impulse spinning and offering the handle of her scythe to her. “Gem's getting hungry, Father.”

Impulse chuckled at the impatience. “Of course she is.” he got to his feet, stashing the wheatstone away before equipping both of his daughters with their bows. “I think it's right about time to go, right Skizz?”

The three of them glanced towards the bringer of life, who checked the moon's standing. It was standing low, but they had multiple hours worth of time left. He looked back with a firm nod. “It sure is! Should I go first?”

"Yeah, go ahead! Do the honours!” Impulse more than encouraged and Skizz gave them a thumbs up before letting out a high-pitched whistle. 

His mare arrived in a matter of seconds, the sheer power of its gallops sending miniscule tremors through the ground underneath. It stopped in front of him and allowed him to climb on top swiftly, now looking down at the other three while his white equipment shone in the moonlight.

Gem and Pearl looked at him with wide eyes, mouths slightly agape in awe and wonder. It warmed his heart deeply to see them so excited about him of all things. 

“I'll be back in a few minutes. You can watch from afar.” He told them with a chuckle and Impulse grabbed both of their shoulders. “I'll make sure they won't miss it.”

“Good! It's not fair that your father gets all of the spotlight, right ladies?” The two sisters giggled and nodded in agreement, much to Impulse's faux exasperation. Before he could respond though, Skizz was already in a fast gallop towards the hill. 

His horse had no problem with conquering the steep ascend, proudly displaying its rider on top once they had fully made it. He spotted and scanned the farm beneath with observant eyes, looking for his mark - the one who had one of his pure white feathers stuck in their hair. 

On the outside, there wasn't anybody, but on the inside of the farmer's house he could see light burn and smoke coming from the chimney. The mark must be inside then. 

With a quick swipe of the reins he directed the horse to gallop down the hill and towards the front door. His path through the nearby crops, an arrangement of carrots, potatoes and beetroot, and a small field of sunflowers didn’t leave a single trace of damage. He stopped at the front door and got off the horse, letting it wander over to the carrot field and sniff it with interest while the bringer of life phased through the door. 

The inside of the house smelled like freshly made soup, a fire roared in the oven, but the living room seemed to be empty. Skizz looked through the remaining rooms, phasing his head through walls to peek inside. In one of the bedrooms is where he found who he was looking for.

A family of three sat around a man in a bed, his sleeping form stirring every so often as Skizz’s bright white feather shone in the candlelight; an elegant sight, though he was the only one to see it stick out of the man’s hair. A wet cloth covered his forehead but beads of sweat ran down his temple regardless. The father of the family, a man with white hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face, sat far away from the mother and the mark's brother, clearing his throat awkwardly. “He will get through it. Your son is a strong one.”

The mother simply glared back at the father, her bright orange hair matching the fire in her eyes. “He is your son as well, Etho. Or did you forget that?”

“I could never.” Etho replied, the grip around his arms tightening ever so slightly. Skizz could spot Impulse's black feather tucked in between Etho's hair and ear. He was his best friend's mark then.

A pity. What a shame.

Skizz approached the scene in front of him, unbeknownst to the family in the house. They couldn't see him, he would be fine. 

He pressed his hand against the sleeping son's forehead, feeling for his condition. A strong fever had hit him, but he was going to live. All Skizz had to do is help the human's body to kickstart his recovery. He materialised a small vial in his hand, popping it open before pressing it against the son's lips. 

On the outside, it simply looked like he simply took a deeper breath, but in reality, a potion was pouring down his throat and healing him from the inside out. 

“Oh look! Scar has more colour now!” The other son exclaimed in joy and Skizz was almost worried that he could be seen. But then again, it's just a side effect from the potion so he had realistically nothing to worry about. 

“No, Bdubs, that's just the lighting.” the mother reasoned as Skizz pulled away and fetched Scar’s white feather from his hair. He stuck it onto his coat of feathers, taking a few steps back and aiming to leave as Etho chuckled at the mother's attempt of dismissing the positive development. “Always so pessimistic, Cleo. See, I told you my frog soup would help him.”

Skizz stopped in his step slightly as Bdubs looked towards Etho in shock, almost shouting up a storm. “You put frogs in that soup- are you insane??”

“That is messed up, Etho. We asked you to bring medicine , not make soup out of a frog.” Cleo disagreed with the notion as well and Etho looked more than just offended, his tone rising in slight aggravation. “What does it matter?! It saved our son, did it not?? The death of a frog is more than worth it to save Scar's life!” 

“Maybe we wouldn't even be in need of such stupid measures if you wouldn't have taken him to that cursed kingdom of Dogwarts and let him interact with the king’s hand and his Watcher cultist!? Ever thought of that?? What were you thinking??” Cleo retorted, only matching if not surpassing Etho's aggression. The father got to his feet, now towering over the other members of his family. “Oh, so I am the problem now?? Is that what you want to imply here?!”

“That's exactly what I want to imply here!” Cleo hissed back and Skizz took that as his cue to leave. He didn't want to be any more part and listening in on private family matters. 

He phased through the house walls and got outside, quickly collecting his horse as he could hear more shouting coming from inside. “Out! Damn you, we’re done with you! Go, run back to your beloved Dogwarts; do our kids a favour and be the absent father that you are supposed to be!”

Skizz hurried a bit faster at the shout, looking up towards the hill. He could see Impulse standing on top with his horse, raising a questionable and confused eyebrow at his other half. Notably, Gem and Pearl were nowhere in sight. 

“What went down there?” The bringer of death asked once Skizz made his way back up, concern written all over his face. 

“The son is sick and his parents started fighting.” He wanted to leave out as many details as possible, uncomfortable about the whole ordeal he had just heard the mortals throw at each other.

“Ah.” Impulse simply said. “What about the mark?” 

“Mine was the son. Cured him from his fever. Yours…” he heard the door of the farm house opening and closing, his head shooting towards the sound immediately. As expected, Etho had left the house, stomping his way through the front yard with Impulse's feather clear for the whole world to see if it would be visible for anyone but the bringers of life and death. “...is him. The father.”

Impulse gave Skizz a slow nod before reaffirming his grip on the reins. Skizz could see his transparency fade slightly and soon Impulse's shadow was much darker, cascading down the hill and fully casting over Etho. The man in question froze at the sudden appearance of the shadow, stopping in his tracks before slowly looking up at the shadow's owner.

"Etho Slab, I take it?” Impulse spoke, his tone dreadingly calm. 

“How… how do you know my name?” Etho simply replied, backing away from Impulse's presence. Skizz could spot movement from the corners of his eyes and he saw a deer and a wolf stalk through the surrounding bushes, slowly approaching the scene.

“I've always known it.” Impulse merely responded. “Your time in this world is very brief. It ends tonight.”

“Tonight?!” Etho exclaimed in disbelief. “But why?? Who even are you?”

“The bringer of death. You, my good sir, have to pay your debt.” 
“But isn't there another way?? A favor?! I could-”
“Silence!!”

Impulse held his hand up and on cue the wolf began to growl as it crawled out from the bushes, the deer remained silent but Etho was sure to notice both, spinning in his spot in panic. 

“Etho Slab, your fine life has reached its conclusion. Will you accept your demise or flee from the inevitable?”

Etho didn't need to verbally respond. His body language was enough of a reaction as the man bolted away from his spot and into a random direction. The wolf stopped its growling the second its victim moved, giving chase immediately. The deer watched alongside Skizz and Impulse as Etho made it far away, disappearing into the woods. The wolf was right on his tail, almost completely caught up already.

In the meantime, the deer turned and walked up to the two men, carrying a slightly disappointed expression before shifting forms in the moonlight. Gem stood now before them, looking towards the direction Etho and the wolf had disappeared into.

“It was about time that one would choose to flee once more.” She simply said and Skizz pulled her close by the shoulder as they waited patiently.

It didn't take long for Etho's tortured screams of pain to come from the forest, only for the trio on the hill to hear. They were long and guttural, meaning Pearl made sure to make it last. It made sense, Skizz could reason, she had mentioned how hungry she was before.

Only once the screaming stopped Impulse marked Etho off of his list, crossing his name out with a few lines of ink. For further confirmation, Pearl made her way out of the forest, the now bloodied blade of her scythe in one hand and Impulse's feather in the other. The item glowed in her hand, meaning that Etho’s soul was now trapped in it for eternity. She smiled, looked proud of herself. 

As she should be, Skizz thought, as she should be…

“Good job, Pearl! Excellent kill!” Gem praised as she jumped her sister with a hug. The taller woman laughed at the affection before handing Impulse the feather. “Oh it was easy. He was washed up, honestly.”

“That's what the townsfolk also have uttered, I believe.” Impulse snickered in response, attaching the feather to his coat. Its glow dimmed slightly and the coat, a simple cape of feathers, assimilated the newcomer into their sea like an additional water drop. “So, we’re done here, I believe?” 

“Yeah, we should be!” Skizz replied, though his joy dimmed immensely a second later once the realisation of ‘leaving’ dawned on him. Both of them had done their reapings now… their job was done. That meant-

Ignoring the other’s slightly confused questions, he pulled out his list and scanned the locations he had to depart to next, every name being further away than the last. He gripped the scroll a little tighter, looking up at Impulse who frowned at him with furrowed eyes and concern.

“I have to leave now. Unless your next mark is in the middle of the ocean.”
Impulse’s eyes widened at the reminder, quickly moving to check his own list as well.

“You… you have to go?” Skizz heard Pearl’s voice from his side and his head turned to the source to see her and Gem stand at the side of his horse, staring up at him and gripping him by his coat, probably trying to stop him from leaving. “Don’t… why do you have to leave?”

“His duties.” Impulse simply replied for Skizz, continuing to look through his scroll as his daughters pressed themselves closer to Skizz. “We don’t have an overlap for another three decades, I believe.”

His tone sounded regretful, but firm, already prepared for the moment to come. This wasn’t the first time they had departed like this, but it was the first time with Gem and Pearl being there. It hurt Skizz more than he ever thought something like a simple departure could.

With one good swing of his leg he got off of his horse immediately, pulling Gem and Pearl close without hesitation. Even despite them being basically spirits, he could feel them trembling. They were scared , scared of him leaving them despite only having known him for such a short time. 

That short timeframe, only a single week by now, is also what caused him to freeze once he heard the next words that they said.

“Don’t leave, Papa… please don’t.” it was Gem who said it, but he could feel that both had meant it. That they had called him their papa, a father. They viewed him up to the same level as Impulse, an equal. 

“That’s not for me to decide, sadly.”
“But you will return?”
“You’re not leaving forever…right??”
“I will come back. I will promise you that.”

It only led him to hug them tighter, pressing both of their heads into his chest to reaffirm his hold on them.

“No matter how long or far I will be away, I will always find my way back to you.” he pulled their heads away, pressing their foreheads against his. Their eyes didn’t hold any tears but still shined with a slight glow to them, hopeful but also slightly regretful. He held up a part of his coat, putting an emphasis on the feathers on it. “If you ever need my help, press the one I gave you as tight as you can. It will lead me back to you and vice versa. Don’t forget that, alright? I will always find my way back. If you need help, I will always answer the call.”

They nodded timidly, their gaze communicating that they dutifully stored that information in their minds and held onto it dearly. Skizz’s glance wandered to Impulse who had simply resorted to watch the vulnerable moment from afar. “The same goes for you. Don’t forget that, you hear?”

Impulse didn’t answer, an unsure expression on his face. It’s not the reaction Skizz had wanted to receive, but he had to accept it either way. He knew how Impulse was - stubborn would only be one of the terms he would describe him with - but Skizz was hopeful that Gem and Pearl would be a little different and keep their word, to call for help if the situation deemed it necessary.
He had faith in them. He would always have.

Skizz looked back at them and shot them a reassuring smile. It was wide, proud and fond like the one of a father he never thought he would be. “You will do great, I’m sure of it. Make sure Impy takes enough breaks, alright?”

The smiling nods and light giggles he received in response warmed his heart even more, reassured that he had gotten his message through to them. With it out of the way he slowly pulled away from the embrace, his two daughters letting go of his arms and stepping back in hesitance.

Smoothly, he climbed onto his horse again, running his hair through the braided mane before taking a tight hold of it. A part of them was always going to be there with him on his journey, even if several kingdoms or continents kept them apart.

A swing of the reins let his mare call out a loud and high neigh, raising its forelegs into the air. The momentum let him reposition his steed to face a different way, his head still facing Gem and Pearl as they stepped over to Impulse.

“Until we meet again! I’m looking forward to it!” he laughed loud, before swinging his reins again and sending his horse and himself on their way with a running start.

He turned to face the way his steed took him, gripping onto it tighter in concentration as it sprinted. His eyes squinted as the wind hit him across his whole body, brushing past and carrying his coat like a trail behind him. If he had to leave, he had to leave fast.

If he didn’t - if he would have left slowly and steadily - he was sure that he never would have brought it over himself to leave at all.

Chapter Text

It was lonely without Papa, that was for sure.
Gem never thought she would get so attached to another being aside from Pearl or Father, but she did.

It felt… weird.

There was this weird feeling in her chest, as if someone had taken a piece out of her and carried it far far away, way beyond any mountain range or stormy ocean. But she didn’t quite understand. Her heart was still there, beating in her chest. What was taken from her that made her feel so partially empty all of a sudden?

“Do you ever feel empty sometimes?” she had asked Pearl, the words tumbling out her mouth before she reconsidered what Pearl could possibly answer to such an odd question. She saw her sister look up from the sight she was watching, the next mark’s current place of stay. She opened her mouth to answer but Gem already wanted to clarify before the answer even came. “Aside from the hunger we feel, I mean.”

She knew how that hunger felt. While rarer, there had been times where their marks had all fled one after another, choosing to go down struggling and instead leaving her to starve. The empty feeling was in her stomach then, not in the chest. The emptiness she felt now was different.

Pearl had closed her mouth after the clarification, her eyes frowning for a moment. “I mean, I think so?”

“But do you ever feel it here ?” Gem took Pearl’s hand and pressed it against her chest, trying to somewhat showcase or make her point more believable. Pearl pressed down a little harder, almost as if to test if her hand would sink deeper into Gem’s chest than normally. She nodded shortly after while taking Gem’s other hand in return. “Mhm!”

With a confirming hum she copied Gem’s motion and pressed the redhead’s hand into her chest and Gem tested the spot with her fingers, pressing deeper. She couldn’t feel a noticeable dent or hole so she tilted her head in response as Pearl kept talking. “Ever since Papa is gone I felt it in there.”

That let Gem pause, her eyes travelling up to meet Pearl’s. So her sister felt the same… odd.
Her sister shrugged weakly, visibly unsure what else to add before taking a glance towards their father’s direction. “Do you think Father would know? What it signifies, I mean…”

Gem followed her lead, glancing towards her father. He was sharpening her sword, like he always did before every reaping. He seemed focused on the task, going slow and steady in a rhythmical motion, almost as if her sword was precious, delicate and about to break at any moment. She shrugged in response to Pearl’s question. 

“I mean- um… maybe?”
“Should we ask him?”

That question left her just as puzzled as the last, unsure as she frowned. Father looked like he would know, at least from Gem’s perception. But then again, she was never good with these kinds of emotions; they were hard to categorize and identify.

“Probably.”

Her answer had barely left her mouth as Pearl got to her feet, already wanting to address the matter. Somehow, she was always the more straightforward one of the two, willing to learn right this instant as opposed to giving the situation time to settle. Gem simply watched after her, observing how the conversation was going to go.

Despite Pearl's fast approach at first she slowed her step down significantly once she stood by her father, her hands fidgeting with the side of her cloak.

“Father?”
“What is it, Pearl?”

Interrupting the sheathing of Gem's sword, he looked up to his daughter with a soft smile, tilting his head at the questioning tone.

“Do…” Pearl stammered at first, but her father looked at her patiently, the softness in his expression never wavering. “Do you know what emptiness feels like?”

The question seemed to puzzle her father at first as he knitted his eyebrows together for a moment. “What kind of emptiness do you mean?”

“Well…” Pearl then pointed her index finger at the center of her own chest. “...in here.”

“Ahh.” Her father seemed to understand what she meant, setting Gem's sword aside before getting up to his feet. He pocketed the wheatstone and poked at Pearl's chest with his own index finger, tilting his head slightly. “In here, you say?”

Pearl quietly nodded. “It hurts a tiny bit too.”

“That's because you miss someone.” Her father explained. “I don't know why your body hurts when you do, but it means that you want somebody or something to be here with you. Since when do you have that feeling?”

“Since Papa left.” Pearl admitted, a little shy, but her father only let out a little fond chuckle. “I don't blame you. I miss him too. I miss him very much.”

“But Papa isn't forever gone. He said he would return so I don't understand why I miss him.”
“He doesn't have to be gone forever for you to miss him.”

“Look at it as a…” he clicked his tongue. “...a temporary placeholder. Skizz borrowed a part of you and took it with him to always remember you. And when he returns, he gives it back and slots it right back to where it belongs.” he lightly poked her chest again, causing Pearl to follow the gesture slightly. “Right back in there.” 

He smiled softly as his eyes looked towards Gem, a knowing tint at the edges of his smile. He had been aware that she was watching and listening in. He seemed to be about to comment something else, opening his mouth ever so slightly before his head suddenly shot towards the mark's residence, his smile disappearing altogether. 

“It's time. We should go.” he consequently announced and Gem scrambled up to her feet as Pearl carried her sword over to her. She sheathed it once she took it from Pearl's hands and as they looked back to where their father had stood before he already seemed to have left. 

The two sisters shared a glance between each other before suddenly doubling over, their father's silent command leading them to shift into the deer and wolf they came to be associated with amongst mortals. 

Gem's ears flicked as she heard Pearl huff next to her, a slight exhale of relief if anything. The shift was never painful and relatively fast, but still felt indescribably odd if you went through it like Gem and Pearl did.

One moment your hands can grab the dirt and in another you could barely flick a chunk of it if you knew how. Your senses would be much sharper and could pick up stimulations no human ever could dream of feeling. Despite knowing how to speak, your words would only come out as growls, huffs, and all other kinds of animalistic noises; your tongue would not cooperate with you in that matter. 

But once it was done, you would feel much lighter, without the equipment and clothing weighing you down like several layers of heavy blankets.

That was the biggest benefit of this entire thing for Gem and Pearl. 

It allowed them to chase after their father as he was nearing the next mark and its home, an old and simple watchtower made out of stone and wood; it allowed them to race up the stairs of it with great speed and agility, the sound of their paws and hooves barely loud enough for the mark to hear. 

It knew they were coming. 
They didn't need to announce themselves any further. 

Both stopped at the door that led to the top floor, patiently waiting for their father to arrive. It didn't take long for him to catch up, his footsteps heavy but steady. They moved to stand beside him once he reached out for the doorknob, twisting it and opening the door not a second later.

His body phased through the rest of the door while his daughters nudged it open enough for them to fit through, slowly making their way outside to where the mark was standing and looking out from their watchtower.

A man stood at the edge all by his own, hands tightly wrapped around the guardrailing. The bringer of death's feather stuck in the tuff of the mark's helmet, outshining the rest of the chicken feathers that were plucked for this accessory. The soldier had his back turned and looked out towards the horizon, his sword and the rest of his protective armour still laying on the bed that sat further away. He didn't seem to intend on using any of it any time soon… or ever again for that matter.

Gem moved away from her father, approaching the mark from side as Pearl did the same on the opposite one, both remaining deadly silent. 

The soldier took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before glancing to the side, his eyes meeting Gem for a moment before glancing backwards towards his expected visitor. “So the witch wasn't wrong with her prediction. 3 months and 11 days, she said.”

His tone wasn't tinged with fear or sadness, if anything it only communicated acceptance. “Will there be pain?”

“Only if you choose to go down swinging, Ser Xisuma Void.” The bringer of death responded and the soldier nodded once more that he understood before redirecting his glance back towards the night sky once more. 

“Then I suppose that my watch has ended.” he concluded, gripping the guardrailing a little tighter. Despite his acceptance, he was still showing to be afraid, as every mortal should and tended to be.

Gem looked towards her father and he nodded towards her, confirming that the mark had indeed chosen to go peacefully. 

Carefully, she made her way behind Xisuma and shifted into her human form, removing her hand from the handle of her sword. It wasn't going to be of any use here - a more fitting method was presenting itself in a much better light.

She clenched and unclenched her hands in preparation, scanning over the conditions before dashing forward, sending the mark over the guardrailing and off of the tower with a heavy push. Xisuma didn't scream, merely letting out a surprised yelp at the shove before plummeting downwards towards his demise. 

Gem quickly climbed onto the guardrailing, loading her bow by knocking an arrow in as a precaution. The slight wobbly metal made it a bit hard to focus but she managed to balance on it just fine. If the fall didn't kill Xisuma, she would still have to give him a swift end.

Luckily, that wasn't necessarily. 

With a sickening crunch his body met the ground face first, killing him instantly before tumbling down the rest of the way due to the impact. Gem silently watched from the top, undocking the arrow and lowering her bow before putting it away altogether. 

Carefully, she descended from the side of the watchtower, making her way downwards at a fast pace and skipping the lower end of it by jumping down the rest of the way. She landed right beside Xisuma, her hand immediately wandering to the space right over his heart. While normally being a way to measure one's heartbeat, she instead used it to drain the body from the rest of its leftover energy, making sure that his demise was final.

She dug her fingers deeper at the energy intake, closing her eyes as her breathing grew sharper. Xisuma died without illness or weakness, meaning that he had lots of energy to give to fill her hunger. It felt intoxicating, way beyond filling and exhilarating, similarly to how alcohol made one drunk and scrambled one's mind.

She could vividly hear Pearl and Father approach from behind her, but her focus still remained on the energy source. Only once she had taken every last ounce of it, she had let go of the corpse and opened her eyes. 

Father was twirling the feather with Xisuma's soul inside, inspecting it with a brief worried look before adding it to his coat while Pearl simply kneeled next to Gem, watching her intently and curiously.

“Good fill?” 
“Was it that obvious? What gave it away?”

Gem smirked at Pearl and her sister tilted her head in faux consideration. “I think the trembling gave it away.”

She playfully nudged Gem's free hand as it shook from the energy overflow, only proving her point further. Gem flexed her fingers slightly as a way to calm it, watching it patiently. It had been a long time ago since she had such a good fill.

“He seemed to have been prepared for our arrival, so that probably also helped.” their father said before helping his daughters to their feet. “Can't say that about most of our marks.”

“Does it really change that much?” Pearl asked and her father nodded confidently. “It absolutely can. It can heavily influence the mark's decision.” 

His eyes wandered to Gem then, his brows knitting together in concern as he saw her still flex and shake her fingers as a way to get out the leftover energy. “You okay, Gem?”

“I'm fine…” she mumbled unconvinced, her focus fully being on figuring out how to make her hand stop trembling. It was getting a bit much and weird now. She saw her father step up from the corner of her eyes as she didn't avert her attention. “Can I take a look at it?”

He held his hand out with the suggestion and Gem immediately placed her hand in his. If anyone would know a solution to her problem, it most likely was going to be Father. He took her hand and delicately traced his fingers along the veins, carefully inspecting it in its entirety. It tickled slightly but Gem bit her tongue lightly to stay still. He was just going to make fun of her if she pulled away from a simple tickle.

Pearl leaned over to watch him in his analysis, arms crossed as her eyes squinted with intrigue. “I don't see anything.”

“That's because there isn't anything of note. Gem probably just took too much at once.” Her father commented and Gem rolled her eyes as she already knew what comment was gonna come in next.

“Geeeem, you're so greedy! Stop doing that!” 

Aaaaand there it was. She smirked at Pearl's attempt of some sort of berating expression, sticking her tongue out slightly. She saw some mortal kids do that to each other once, so maybe it applied to siblings as well.

“Not if it grants me a free check-up from Father!”
“You get enough attention already!"
“Says the one who constantly injures herself during her hunts and Father has to patch up!”
“It's not ‘injuring myself’ if they attack me!”
“I still wouldn't let myself get hit by a mortal!”

Gem stuck her tongue out more as it clearly seemed to rial up Pearl, judging by how her sister was pouting in anger now. Their father simply watched the drama unfold as he finished his inspection of Gem’s hand, deciding to not take part in the conversation.

“You're so mean. Do you know that?” 
“By this point it would be a miracle if I wouldn't know, considering how many times you say it!”
“That's because I am only telling the truth!”
“The last time you called something you said ‘the truth' was when you called me ‘god's favorite princess.’”
“Because you are! Papa's a god.”

The mention of Papa let Gem's attitude fade into a slightly irritated glare. Once her father let go of her hand she crossed her arms as well, leaning towards Pearl with a challenging hiss. “Prove it!”

“Oh with pleasure!” Pearl chuckled slightly before uncrossing her arms, holding up one of her hands and Gem already knew that she was going to list something off. Pearl inhaled deeply anyway. 

“Gemstone!”
She held up one finger, pressing it with her other hand to emphasize. Gem groaned. Of course, it was going to be the nicknames…
“GemmyBemmy!” 
A second finger followed suit.
“GemGem-”
“Wh- That one's mostly you! That doesn't count!” 
She grabbed ahold of Pearl's hand, gripping it tight and causing her sister to drop her list already. The two continued to glare at each other, but their father interrupted before any other word was spoken.

With a simple short whistle he caused the two sisters to double over again, knocking into each other as he forced them to shift back into their animal forms to stop the argument. Gem shook off the cold feeling of being oh so rudely interrupted by her own father, simply resorting to softly glare at him instead.

“Can we go now?” he innocently asked and blinked with a wide smile, as if he had done no such thing. Gem could hear Pearl let out a low gruff of begrudged agreement before trotting her way over to his side while Gem took her leave from the conversation with much more stride and pride.

Their father looked down at them with an eye roll before starting to move his stallion, a teasing smirk suddenly on his lips. “Ugh… daughters, am I right?”

He didn't wait for Gem's and Pearl's offended noises as he darted off already, laughing as all he got as an answer was enraged barks and huffs in return.

Chapter Text

It has been pouring water out of the sky since basically the entire day and night, ever since they arrived at the next mark. A sight which was fairly rare to see on their hunts, but it always made the mortals even clumsier.

Barely visible in the dark, but more than evident in the moonlight, the rain let the grass and ground shine with a sparkling layer of moisture. The dirt had turned into mud, something Father barely ever really appreciated, at least to Pearl's knowledge. 

He said the rain would ruin his hair or get all of his clothes dirty, but he was appreciative about the good it brought to the rest of the surrounding nature.

Meanwhile Gem didn't seem to be fond of the rain either and has voiced her heavy dislike for it, but even despite insisting on that declaration, Pearl had caught her sister watching the rain intensely on several occasions. 

Her clearly favorite times were when it started to storm. She would visibly get excited once she spotted the bright flashes of lightning, followed by the loud clapping of thunder afterwards. She would always count the seconds to determine the storm's distance, anticipating it with excitement once it would start to make its way into their direction. Usually, the wind would pick up in strength and carry her hair all over the place and heavy amounts of rain would start to pour and she would stare up the sky with the wonder of a little girl-

Remember that Gem said she heavily disliked the rain? Yeah, Pearl was not buying any of that. She tried to force her sister to admit it several times but that redhead was more stubborn than a bull. She would probably get struck by lightning first before ever admitting her big admiration for the rain and storm. 

Her and Pearl aren't even able to get touched by the rain so you can imagine the odds of being struck by lightning. Pearl was sure that Gem would probably stand out in the rain and let herself be soaked if she had the chance… and Pearl wasn't lying if she said that she felt the same.

Them being spirits did remove some simple things.
You didn't feel the rain or the texture of the walls, can't taste any of the food you didn't even have the hunger for - you can't even smell each other unless you shift into your animal form. 
That wolf and deer were the closest thing she and Gem had to the feeling of being real and alive; the only form that was visible to mortals as well. Because unlike Father, Pearl and Gem did die before. 

Pearl didn't remember much of it if she is being honest. She wondered how dying would have felt like. Did someone like her or Gem take her soul like they did or was there any kind of greater effort behind it? Her father barely talked about it… so she wondered…

She wondered so much that she had taken a page out of Gem's book and took to standing under the rain, the drops falling through her like she wasn't even there. The sound of them hitting the several different surfaces around her was peaceful and calmed her, similar to an orchestra just made from it. 

Unlike Gem though, Pearl was at least open about her liking of the rain and its storms.

She loved it when a small breeze carried her cape from side to side, her hair alongside it like a veil or curtain. It felt like some parts of her were more free then, similar to how the wind would beat against her fur when she was allowed to hunt as a wolf.  It was a common thing that arrived with the rain, so she knew a storm was coming.

She smiled once she saw a sudden flash of light in the distance announce her prediction to be true. Her smile only widened as she heard a familiar pair of footsteps approach from behind her then, accompanied by the rumbling of thunder in the sky. If there was thunder and lightning, it didn't take long for Gem to show up and gaze too.

Pearl could feel her sister approach and decided to hold out her hand preemptively for her to grab. Gem's fingers entwined with Pearl's almost instantly as they both continued to observe the storm in the distance, both their capes and hair swaying in the wind.

“You do know it's okay to admit that you like it?” Pearl started to tease but Gem squeezed her hand a little tighter at her words.

“I do like it, especially the storms.” Gem admitted, albeit a little quiet. “It reminds me of us.”

“Is that why you like it?” Pearl then questioned, reciprocating the tighter squeeze. 

“Yeah. I'm like the quick and bright flash and you're the loud and longer roaring that comes after it. Reminds me of the way we kill our marks.” Her sister responded, her thumb running over the back of Pearl's hand. 

That was new. Gem never did that…
…Pearl decided to reciprocate it, though unsure why.

“How much time do we have until we have to-”
“Father's asleep. He would know.”

Pearl frowned slightly at the response. Not because it was quick but because of the content in it. Father was never asleep during this time, especially when it came to their marks. He used this time for preparations but sleeping was never on that list before.

“Should I wake him?” she asked before looking over to Gem. 

Her sister looked towards the approaching storm with a thoughtful expression, her eyes squinting slightly. She was thinking about something deeply, Pearl could tell. After some moments she did look towards Pearl and silently nodded, before quickly adding “I sharpened our weapons so we would be ready. You know where to find me.”

Right here . She probably would have added that too if the answer wouldn't be obvious. 

Pearl gave her a nod that she understood before giving Gem's hand a tighter squeeze as a tiny goodbye. They let go of each other's hand and Pearl left, leaving Gem to stand on top of the small outlooking spot they had. It was a tiny cliff that looked over a small valley, one with a huge flower field and two homes. Their mark was down there in that valley somewhere. Father would know the exact whereabouts.

Speaking of Father, he was indeed asleep once Pearl stepped into the makeshift tent he had made for himself. Like Gem said, their weapons were already sharpened and laid by the bedside, both shining in the moonlight that crept through the entrance of the tent. The rain that hit the makeshift roof was relatively loud so Pearl was genuinely impressed that her Father could sleep under such conditions. She for sure knew her and Gem would barely be able to do that unless certain conditions were met.

Tentatively, she stepped over to her Father's bed and poked him, trying to get him to wake up. He stirred but that was all she got from him. With an eye roll she shifted her attempts towards shaking him. “Father. Can you wake up, please?”

Again, barely anything. Pearl was getting slightly annoyed now, actually. They had important work to do after all.

Her next trick she learned from Papa, so that one should at least work. She walked to the far end of the bed, taking a small hold of the blanket that her father had draped over himself. “This better wake you up or I'm calling Gem!” She said before yanking the blanket off of him with one good swipe.

It worked like a charm as he mumbled and his hand moved around to search for it. Pearl held the blanket close as she continued to poke him, making sure to not give him a single chance of going back to sleep again. His eyes opened to the tiniest bit, his tired glare meeting her unapologetically.

“Pearl, why-”
“Work, Father. I don't make the rules. Come on, get up.”

She had already laid the blanket aside to help him to his feet and he begrudgingly took her hands with low grumbles. Some of his muscles cracked as he stretched, watching Pearl pick up and equip her scythe before taking Gem's sword with her as well. He only then seemed to realise that he hadn't sharpened them yet.

“Uhm, actually- wait-”
“Gem already sharpened them.”

That seemed to freeze Impulse in his place, his eyebrows furrowing. “Oh… did she?”

“Yeah. Wheatstone's over there.” Pearl pointed to the object in question, already packed into Impulse's bag. Her father looked at it with a frown, his eyes clearly having a contemplating and far away look. 

“Father, are you okay?” Pearl questioned him to be sure but he shook the question off with a quick ‘yup!’ once he had registered that the question was indeed directed at him. That took way longer than it should have too. It wasn't a convincing response either, and Pearl definitely wanted to prod for more, but she decided not to this time around. 

She left with a drawn out ‘oookay’, making her way back towards Gem. Her sister was indeed still standing where Pearl had left her, her eyes still staring at the storm that had moved a tiny bit closer by the time Pearl had made it back. 

“Father's weird today.” she said to announce herself and Gem barely turned around but had the same worry as Pearl forming on her face. She slowly took and equipped her sword, her eyebrows furrowing with concern. “You think so?”

Pearl confidently nodded. “I barely got him to wake up. Whatever sleep he had was deep .” 

“Gotcha.” Gem nodded that she understood, now fully turning around towards the tent. “You think we should just get the mark done without him?”

Pearl contemplated that idea heavily. It could be a way to lift some stress off of his shoulders but she was unsure if that was even allowed or possible to do. Gem simply watched her think while their Father finally made his way out of the tent.

With a heavy yawn he pulled his stallion over, getting onto it with a huff. Gem nudged Pearl to attention once he had fully made his way over, both of them now watching him as he approached.

“So! All ready to go?”  

Sounding as chipper as always, he stopped by their side and his daughters nodded a confident yes. He returned the nod, making his way forward. With a smirk he ruffled both of their heads as he passed, the motion forcing them to shift. He had way too much fun with doing that lately… but his daughters begrudgingly let him proceed with it and followed him regardly.

They still could shift by themselves by now, okay?
They weren't little puppies and fawns anymore…

The rain was now actually touching and coating their furs, making everything a bit disorientating. Pearl already shook herself once, trying to get the wetness out of her fur. Now she kinda got why it was annoying, but it was gonna be fine. It's just water after all-

A wholehearted laugh came from the houses as they approached closer, letting Pearl's ears perk up to attention. She glanced at Gem whose ears were also snapped up, meaning she had picked up on it too. Their father was still slowly approaching the scene so the two of them tentatively passed him and decided to sneak through the nearby bushes together.

Another laugh, much closer now, came through again but it was from a different voice this time. Pearl lowered herself closer to the ground, basically crawling through the bushes until her snout poked out from one of them. She could feel Gem approach behind her, leaning lower as well as she rested her head on Pearl's, her snout slightly poking out over Pearl's eyes. 

That was their usual sleeping position, so it was beyond comfy, but maybe not ideal when you try to do your job here.
Didn't matter much though; their focus was on the two men that giggled and laughed in front of them. 

They sat on a small bench outside their home, a small roof above it to cover them from the rain. One of them had golden blonde hair and a light blue jacket on, a small arrangement of flowers in his chest pocket. The other man wore a similar jacket and had the same flowers on him as well, though his hair was a bright teal instead. They had rested their foreheads against each other, mumbling some sort of promises to each other. Promises of love, protection and being each other's husband forever and ever; in the bad and the good times.

“Can’t believe you almost would have joined their bannermen… what were you thinking, Scott??”
“Hey, the banners seemed pretty…” 

They exchanged short pecks on the cheeks, quick and fleeting kisses. 

“...besides, I’ve got to see you finally stand up against Martyn and Ren after all these years. What possessed you to try that?”
“Eh, it was more spontaneous if anything. Nowhere in my right mind would I have done that before meeting you.”
“So that only confirms to me that you love me and we will always be together!”
“Scott, we are husbands, what do you think these rings are for? Lookin’ pretty and showing off gold? For a knight you’re strangely unknowledgeable.”

The blonde seemed genuinely exasperated by his husband’s antics, nudging him by the chest. The cyan-haired man raised his hands in self-defense, nudging his husband back by the shoulders.

“I’m kidding , Jimmy. I know what a marriage entails!” he retorted, a smug smirk on his face. “And I know you have no way to get away from me now.”

“Oh, stop it or I’ll do it!”
“You would never dare, come on. Don’t fool yourself!”
“Or maybe I do dare, who knows?”
“I will only believe it once I see it, Mister.”

Pearl tilted her head in slight confusion and surprise, as did Gem above her. It wasn't due to the two men being clearly in love or the fake fighting they seemed to be doing but because both of them had one of Father's feathers in their hair.

A double mark then. Those were insanely rare .
That was a double meal! Twice the fill!

Pearl had to heavily resist licking her lips, but Gem above her didn't seem to care as much as her tongue slightly lolled out of her mouth. They were both fidgeting, evident by both of their tails swishing like crazy in excitement, now that they knew of the fill that was going to await one of them. They were itching to pounce right then and there, but they needed to have patience. 

No moves until Father arrives.
Fortunately, he was nearby. 

The steps of his horse were heavy, its huffs amplified to settle the mood. The sisters could hear their father whistling a tune in a low tone, loud and proud as if noone was nearby - it tore the two lovebirds straight out of their little comfort zone. Their content smiles disappeared in a flash, quicker than any lightning could.

The teal haired man was quick to stand and reveal the bow he had hidden behind the bench, already knocking an arrow in before scanning around for a threat. His partner wasn't far behind, unsheathing a sword from a scabbard he had lying around. He looked significantly more insecure than his companion, but that had little to say in anything. 

Pearl had faced grand warriors before who ran like little cowards while supposed wimpy looking foes turned out to be braver than most. Either way, it brought her a meal, and that's what mattered to her.

She and Gem watched with giant anticipation and wide eyes as their father passed the bush they were laying in, making sure to stop in a way that cast his shadow over them and giving them the possible opportunity to slip away. Both were firmly planted on their spot though, primed to pounce. They weren't in the mood to sneak around for this one.

Once the mortals noticed their father's presence, he stopped whistling. The teal haired man pointed his arrow straight at him, confident that this was just some other regular human. The blond man took charge of the talking instead. 

“Who are you? Identify yourself!”
“My name is not of importance, believe me.”

The couple didn't seem to have expected the response as they shared a confused glance with each other, weapons still aimed at the man who had basically brought death to their doorstep.

“Still, why are you here? Just travelling through?” The blonde insisted and Impulse nodded slightly. “You could say that. I am here to come and collect your debt.”

“What debt? We have paid all of our debts to Dogwarts!” The teal haired man exclaimed, his arrow almost looking like it was going to be fired. Pearl could feel Gem tense up in further anticipation above her. She pressed one of her paws on one of Gem’s hooves. 

Not. Yet .

“I am not affiliated with Dogwarts in any way, Ser Scott Smajor. The debt I have to collect is more of a personal matter.” Impulse's words were firm and the archer's, Scott's, face paled at the implications. The bow trembled in his hold but he kept it held high, unlike his partner who put himself between him and the bringer of death.

“If you plan on taking him, you have to go through me first!” he shouted, both of his hands tightly wrapped around the tilt of his sword. The blade was visibly trembling in his hands but he still held it confidently. That brought him respect from Impulse for sure, much to his partner's disagreement as he whispered loudly.

“Jimmy, what are you doing??”
“Protecting you! What else could I be doing?? I am not letting him take you!”
“I don't even think he-”
“You always protected me until now! Let me return the favour for once!”

Impulse let the exchange play out, respecting the moment, but it was clear that neither of the two marks were going to go willingly. 

It only brought more excitement for Pearl, her tail thrashing wildly behind her. She could only faintly feel Gem lifting herself and back away from her sister, giving her the option to leap to her full extent once the opportunity presented itself. 

“That is very brave of you, Jimmy Solidarity. Very brave indeed.” Impulse complimented as Jimmy seemed to barely be as affected by the full name reveal as Scott was. “Luckily, that won't be as necessary. Both of you have a debt to pay.”

“And you should leave.” Jimmy shot back and Scott held his head higher, fueled with new confidence. Impulse was barely impressed or bothered by it, his response barely a question. 

“So I take it you will fight?”

“You dang right we are.” Jimmy's response is all that Impulse needed, setting the couple's fate into stone.

“Very well. Happy hunting.”

The phrase confused the couple for a moment, but it wasn't directed at them anyway. It was for the wolf that pounced out the foliage not even a second after, aiming right towards them with its jaw wide agape.

In his panic, Scott released the arrow and barely missed Pearl in time. She knocked the man over, her teeth sinking deep into his shoulder. He let out a blood curdling scream as she did so, letting herself be kicked off by him in a mad scramble before Jimmy could strike her in response. He already seemed to have aimed to swipe for her but she moved out of the way, backing up so that she could reassess the situation with a loud cacophony of growls.

The blood on her tongue tasted deliciously, making her thirst for more as Scott laid and writhed on the ground. Jimmy put himself between him and their attacker once more, sword raised high. Pearl took that as her moment to charge. 

She leaped but shifted half way through, her scythe, now released, meeting Jimmy's sword and putting them in a stalemate. He held his ground well, though his wide brown eyes betrayed his terror as they looked into Pearl's blue ones. She had gritted her teeth, showing off the blood of his partner that was still on them. 

Silently but clearly not unfazed, Jimmy unlocked the stalemate and dodged a close swing from Pearl, barely blocking the follow-up attack. He tried to circle her to get her cornered but her tall frame and wide range covered most of his options. 

“Run.” He huffed, glancing towards Scott before following it up with a scream. “Run away!” 

Scott stared at him, perplexed and clearly torn with the decision as he still held his oozing shoulder. A wide wound was in it now, coating most of his clothes a dark crimson. His inaction caused Jimmy to scream louder. “Didn't you hear?! RUN! SAFE YOURSELF! GET OUT OF HERE!”

The message seemed to be clear to Scott then as he scrambled to his feet and ran, past their house and further into the valley. Pearl wanted to follow him but Jimmy stepped in between the predator and her prey once more. 

“I'm not letting you pass.” He muttered under his breath and Pearl shot him a fiery glare before charging into an attack once more.

The now unleashed onslaught of swings unfolded, their weapons ringing loudly in the middle of the night. Jimmy barely managed to block most of them until one heavy swing almost sliced his stomach in half. Instead, the blade landed deep in his thigh, the force bringing him down with a pained scream. 

He didn't spend much time on it and tried to scramble away, with Pearl looming over him as he seemed to try and beg for something. Pearl couldn't hear whatever he was saying. Her senses were filled with red . The red on her blade, the taste of it on her tongue, some of it on Jimmy's thigh due to the wound, and most importantly, an invisible trail following Scott - the mark which had run away and left his lover to die alone. 

She would make his death last longer than Jimmy's.

Speaking of him, she hadn't noticed that she was a wolf again, inching towards him with a loud snarl before pouncing onto him once more. The only thing that made her notice was that his begs had stopped and were now replaced with loud screeches of pain and the delicious taste of her fill on her tongue. 

While Gem had more of a peaceful looking method to get her fill, Pearl's was way simpler. She simply devoured her prey once she caught it, leaving behind next to nothing.

Jimmy wasn't going to be any different. His screams had stopped by the time Pearl was halfway through her meal, simply having to take it as the wolf tore his limbs and flesh apart. It didn't matter to her as she sank her teeth into her meal again and again; once she had gotten a taste, there was no way of stopping her hungry instincts. Only once she had deemed that there was nothing left to take, she cared to put him out of his misery.

He left behind his feather, the soul already transfering into that. But Pearl didn't care about that. 
She had a runaway to catch, a coward . 

Barely a second passed after she had torn Jimmy out of his misery, now darting off into the direction Scott had fled. His trail was thick and easy to spot. The wound she had inflicted on him with the initial pounce was way too big to cover up and the smell of the blood was way too potent to not be trackable. It made Pearl race through the flower field with faster speeds, desperate for more fill. 

A double mark was always strange in that regard. She already felt full, Jimmy's healthy energy being more than enough to last her for a good while, and yet she still craved for more , hungry as if Jimmy's sacrifice had never happened. 

The energy influx certainly made it easier to catch up to Scott, the man's running pants sounding louder and louder as Pearl got closer and closer. On the last meters his voice seemed to turn panicked before he was way too close, the sight of his blood filling Pearl vision. She leaped and knocked him over, his screams barely more than white noise to her; the wolf bit and tore into him all the same.

This time, Pearl went slower and enjoyed her meal to the fullest since there was no stress in chasing something else anymore . She devoured to her heart's content, her tail wagging behind her in delight at the additional fill. Scott stopped screaming pretty quickly, giving her a peaceful and quiet meal to enjoy.

Once nothing was left to devour she picked up the glowing feather carefully in between her teeth, making sure to not damage it. She felt way too tired and full to shift back into a human, let alone that the rain did a wonderful job with cleaning all the blood from her now dirty fur. Her trot was slow as she left Scott's corpse, if you could even call it a corpse, out in the field and she had to basically drag herself back to her father and sister. 

Gem was already meeting her halfway through, probably fully aware of the toll that this fill would take on Pearl. She was in her human form as Pearl almost collapsed next to her, making sure to catch her sister just in time. Carefully, she laid the wolf into her lap and ran her hands through her fur comfortingly. It made Pearl relax in her sister's lap as the feather was taken from in between her jaws.

“Very good fill, I know.” Gem cooed slightly as reassurement, not surprised as Pearl barely responded with nothing other than a low and tired bark. 

She let her head rest on Gem thigh, closing her eyes to let her body process the rollercoaster of energy usage and gainage. Gem made sure to make it comfortable, running her hand through Pearl's fur while their father hummed in agreement.

“Very well done, Pearl.” She heard him get off from his horse but she was so close to drifting off to sleep already. “You think she can move?”

“Father, she just had a double fill. I think you would know how she feels.” Gem simply responded and their father chuckled in response. 

“Very fair. I'll get a tent ready.” He patted Pearl's head before apparently getting to work, if the noises of minimal construction and other kinds of material was anything to go by.

Gem simply remained by Pearl's side, making sure her sister could rest from the successful hunt. Pearl took that as her permission to sleep, her ears flattening slightly as she readjusted her position and soon the noises fell into the backdrop, the raindrops feeling like a nice massage on her fur before they disappeared, most likely as a roof was draped over their heads.

Gem hummed a familiar tune as they did so, lulling Pearl into a restful and deep slumber.

Chapter Text

Seeing Pearl dart around a field so much from the overfill was never a sight Gem grew tired of. It was adorable, if she was being honest about it; especially since it brought some small instincts out of Pearl that normally wouldn't appear.

If you overfill while being in your animal form you behave a lot more like said animal than a human at times, at least until the overfilled energy is completely used up. Plus, your energy was too full to transform back so you were kind of stuck as the animal for the time being.

For Gem, she would be a lot more wary about everything, jumped at sounds that were barely there and grew to care and obsess a lot more about her antlers and their looks, similar to how a king cared about his crown. Her father would decorate it with flowers and would address her much more formally to satisfy that need for status, sometimes even letting her lead despite keeping a semi-tight grip on one of her antlers to make sure she didn't wander off too far.

For Pearl, it wasn't about status but more about protecting her pack. She would patrol around, check up on them much more frequently. If one of them inched too far away she would protectively nudge them back if not even drag them back by their clothing with her teeth. She would go on hunts very frequently, come back with bounties that were huge in prize - she managed to kill a bear once, somehow; Father had enough food for an entire month with that alone, despite none of them needing any of it to eat.

Even now, Gem could see Pearl chase after an animal that she couldn't identify so far. They both moved way too fast to keep track of it as she sharpened her sword. Father wasn't asleep but resting again. Gem was starting to get worried. 

He had recently started to complain about his muscles, like his knees hurting from a short walk, his arms feeling tired after lifting a normal sized barrel - in short, problems he has never had before, at least to Gem's knowledge. 

Once again, it concerned her.

She had fully taken over his sharpening duties by now, had needed to insist on it since her father wouldn't want to put that task on her on his own. Only once he sat down to rest and check his list did she swipe the wheatstone and her sword from him and started to sharpen it by herself. Pearl's scythe would technically be in need of sharpening too but Gem doubted that her sister could shift into her human form any time soon to get access to it. In the worst case she still had her sharp teeth to hunt her marks, so Gem wasn't concerned about that.

Speaking of Pearl, she approached Gem after a while, seemingly having given up on the prey she was hunting; maybe she did so out of frustration but it could also be out of boredom. Gem suspected the latter.

The wolf trotted up and rested her head on one of Gem's thighs as she watched her sister sharpen the blade, her tail swishing behind her curiously. The sword was already almost done, a big shine reflected in the moonlight. 

“Got bored of your hunt there?” Gem spared her sister a small glance and she got a little huff of confirmation. That was a clear yes then. 

She chuckled a little, tilting her head for a particular firm swipe with the wheatstone. “Don't blame you. Looked like a hassle and way too small of a reward anyways.”

She held the blade up to the moon, testing its sharpness by flicking her finger over the edge of it lightly. With a few flicks, she determined that she was satisfied with the sharpness, pocketing her wheatstone as she sheathed the sword back into her scabbard. 

“I assume you can't shift to give me your scythe?” She asked as her attention turned to her sister, who shook her head with an annoyed bark. Gem gave her a small head scratch to comfort her, her own head turning towards her father. 

Her scratching motion slowed to a stop as her eyebrows furrowed deeper, watching in growing concern as he seemed to get onto his horse with a struggle. It had to lay down so that he could sling his leg over it, a pained expression on his face that only elevated in relief once he was firmly sitting on it. She could hear Pearl let out a low whine as she seemed to have noticed too.

“Father, are you sure you're okay?” Gem asked as he approached, looking up at him from her seat. “We could  wait a little longer if you're not feeling well.”

Pearl let out a confident bark in agreement, getting onto her hind legs to rest her paws onto her father's leg. He scratched her head in response but she whined, insistent on the matter. 

“I'm sure . Nothing more than just a little back pain.” he simply replied though neither Gem or Pearl bought that lie, with Gem stepping closer to Pearl's side.

“Father, your back is not causing you trouble. It's the legs, we can see that.” She poked his legs to emphasize and he sat up more properly this time. He looked down onto his daughters, a fond smile growing on his face.

“My observant girls… what would I ever do without you?” he asked, though it was under his breath and clearly not intended for it to be heard. Pearl barked in response but Impulse's eyes darted towards the location of the next mark. “We're running out of time. Let's go.”

He swung the reins of his horse, much quicker than normally and letting him dart off. Pearl barked after him, a little frustrated before chasing his trail. She stopped to look back towards Gem, letting out a low whine to beg her to follow as well.

Gem more than understood her message either way, running after her sister. Father hadn't forced her to shift yet so she did so once she had caught up, staying close by and keeping an eye out for him. Pearl walked much closer to him, her protective instincts taking charge. Gem couldn't blame her in the slightest; she was as equally concerned about him. 

But their duty called, unfortunately, that was the reality.

The shack they approached was barely illuminated by a single lantern, the condition of the building looking barely stable at best - and it definitely didn't look any better with more light as the moon shone onto it as well, putting it into a sort of spotlight. 

The wood looked dilapidated and rotten from the weather it had survived thus far, the stone foundation overgrown with vines and moss. Every bit of it looked riddled with decay and memories long forgotten. It was an old structure, housing a young man who was probably half of its age if not more. It wouldn't matter much.

Gem peeked through one of the dirty windows as they approached the shack. With Pearl joined by Father's side for assistance, he made his way off the horse with little grace. Gem could only pity him from afar before she stepped closer to help him as well. 

He quietly thanked them before opening the door, phasing through the rest and letting his daughters do the honours of opening it fully once more. They squeezed through the small gap rather quickly, not wanting to let their father out of their eyesight for a single moment.

What met them on the inside was an even worse looking place. The floor had almost all of its planks ripped out, the ceiling had a bunch of holes in it that would definitely allow rain to pour through and most of the furniture was either broken or strewn about. If their duty wouldn't have called them to this place, Gem never would have assumed that someone was living here.

Said inhabitant, a rather lonely looking man, was sitting by the window, looking outside as a small candlelight burned by his side as his only companion. His back was turned to the door and his expression not visible, but his red hair was frazzled and beyond messy. His clothing was relatively noble or at least of high status and a red cape was draped over his shoulders. What was a man like him doing here in such a decrepit place?

He coughed every now and then, his head in one of his hands as he held a tissue over his nose and mouth. A dark substance seemed to cover the tissue but Gem could quickly deduce that it wasn't blood. If it would've been she would have smelled it by now. No, it was some sort of ash instead.

A sickness then? It seemed to be the most plausible of explanations, considering Father's feather in his hair. This sickness must have brought the mark to the brink of death, a rather sad way to go.

The bringer of death took his time to walk over but the mark was startled easily by the sudden company. His head shot towards the intruder at the first step, his hand instinctively reaching for the loaded crossbow that leaned against the chair he sat in. He adjusted his posture, his feet arched and ready to stand once the situation called for it. But… he remained seated, simply ready to strike instead of going for the shot immediately.

Some could call it naïve, some could call it simply hesitant - what it was didn't matter much; it was more about if he was going to eventually shoot or not.

Gem and Pearl tensed up at the mark's reaction. He was armed - that meant he could either go down struggling or surrender. He hadn't touched the firearm yet despite reaching for it, his hand barely ghosting over the strange firework that the crossbow was loaded with. 

In what world would one use fireworks instead of bolts or arrows?

Gem eyed the strange weapon with interest. It was rare that people fought with weapons that were out of the norm. Normally, she had to deal with your standard bows, swords, axes - crossbows as well sometimes - but this weapon seemed to clearly be modified. It used the crossbow as its blueprint but changes had been made to it that no ordinary weaponsmith would ever apply to a weapon like this.

Was this mark a weaponsmith himself? An inventor? Maybe a tinkerer who chose to go his own path instead of following traditions? It would be rare for a noble to be into that kind of craftsmanship though… so Gem hesitated to lock in her suspicion.

“Your highness.” 
Impulse greeted respectfully, even though he didn't have to. Usually, he didn't address a noble by their title. Every kind of mortal was below him so he, as the bringer of death, didn't need to abide by their rules. And yet he did so with this random man… why?

“I wouldn't call myself a ‘highness’ anymore…”
“You're still Count of the Grimlands, are you not?”
“In theory.”

The man paused slightly, his eyes looking to the crossbow for a moment before looking back. He seemed to only now have noticed the deer and the wolf by the stranger’s side, but he seemed unsurprised before his attention went back to the man in front of him.

“In practice, my sister should have taken that spot by now. If she would be alive, that is.” 

Gem eyed her father as he seemed to tense uncomfortably. But the hint faded moments after as he nodded, a knowing look on his face. “The story is not foreign to me. It had spread far and wide.”

“That is not a surprise.” The supposed Count supplied before heavily coughing into his tissue once more. “At this point we have grown infamous for ages with that tragedy. It must have reached your ears at one point or another.”

“And still no explanation as to why it happened, I would presume?” Impulse questioned, getting a dry laugh in response. “We travelled to the best healers across the nations, all the way from the lands of Dogwarts to the deserts of Pixandria. Not a single clue from anybody.” 

“But why am I even telling you this? You're probably nothing more than a thief trying to claim a bounty of some kind.” The Count added, his tone defeated as he refused to look towards the trio's direction. “How much gold is the head of Count of the Grimlands worth? Ten silver? Five gold? Twelve copper? I at least hope your compensation for your trouble will be of worth.”

“I wasn't sent here to claim a bounty. I came here for a debt.” The bringer of death clarified, but the Count barely reacted to the ominous tone that brought the message across. “Sure. It's not like I haven’t been paying those for years. What's it this time?”

“Your life.” Once again, the Count barely reacted, allowing Impulse to continue. “It has reached its conclusion. I have to collect the debt you have been owing me ever since you took your first breath in this world.” 

“So you have my sister then, I presume? Or seen her?” The Count suddenly stood with newly found energy, fully facing the trio now. He was a fair bit taller than Impulse but not by much, his skin was awfully pale which made his red hair only stand out more as his lips were tinted black just like his veins. 

He looked beyond sick, a walking corpse is what Gem thought was a more accurate description. How in the world was this man still alive while suffering this much?

“I have yes.” Father's voice sounded grim, thick with some kind of heaviness Gem couldn't place. “I had to take her once the same sickness that has befallen you had spread too far.” 

“Does that mean I could see her again? If I go willingly, will you take me to her?” The Count approached then, leaving the crossbow untouched as he folded his shivering hands together. His tone was sincere, but tired. It was clear that this was some sort of a last ditch effort of his.

The bringer of death was silent for a long time then, clearly contemplating the request. His eyes slowly went towards Gem and Pearl, though they remained on Gem specifically. His eyes narrowed as his brows knitted together, the emotion in them almost looking… sad in some way before he looked back to the Count that was still patiently waiting for a response.

Why did he look at me like that? Why…?

“I will let you speak with her. She can decide when you will part ways with this realm. This is an exception and an offer I am willing to make.” Her father offered after letting out a heavy sigh. The Count nodded in earnest, his hand suddenly outstretched though it trembled severely. “Of course, I'm not taking this for granted. I accept the offer and its terms.”

Father eyed the hand cautiously before shaking it, reciprocating the nod before opening his arm to allow Gem to pass as the mark clearly seemed to have chosen to go without a fight. She eyed her Father in confusion as he didn't close his arm once she passed, his eyes still on Pearl. Did he want… Pearl to kill as well? 

Pearl seemed to be equally confused but followed the silent request with hesitance. Only once she passed her father and he had patted her head did she suddenly shift back into her human form. Pearl looked down at herself, confused as to why she was allowed to shift back. Her overfill wasn't over yet - normally, this wasn't possible.

The Count backed up in response, obviously just as in the dark of what was happening as the people before him. He held his hands up slightly, backing himself up against the window. Gem eyed the gesture before shifting as well, holding her hands out in an effort to calm him.

“It's okay! We- I promise?” Her head shot to her father, missing how the Count's eyes widened and his face lit up in a realisation as her voice fell into a faint whisper. “Father, what is the meaning of this??”

“He chose to go peacefully but I will let you both talk with him.”

“But why??” Pearl's question was more than reasonable, but it didn't get a reaction out of her father. Instead, the Count reacted for him.

“Pearl?” he questioned, her name sounding so oddly familiar as it came out of his mouth. Gem saw how her sister turned to the Count with shock on her face. Whatever pained expression the Count had mere seconds ago was completely gone as it seemed to be filled with relief and slight confusion, his eyes now moving towards Gem. “Gem?”

“Lord save me…” he muttered under his breath, pleasant disbelief radiating from him. “...it's… is that really you?”

Her words got caught in her throat, unable to form a proper sentence.

This man, this stranger , knew her real name; and not only hers but Pearl's as well. It was not even unnatural sounding the way he said it… it's like he had been calling them that for all their lives. 

“I- I don't…” Gem stuttered out, too stunned to respond as she helplessly glanced towards Pearl. Her sister wasn't of much help either, only able to reciprocate the stunned and stuttering speech before mustering up the words to form a question. “How do you… how do you know our names?”

The Count looked at them with a face mixed with joy but also confliction, a tint of sadness slowly draping over his features at the question. He seemed to physically dim as he seemed to have realised and processed something.

“I… well, I suppose that means that you don't remember me then… we used to be friends… well- you and me at least.” he gestured in between himself and Pearl before turning his attention to Gem. He scanned her face a bunch of times, his facial features softening the more he looked at her. “Gem and I, though… you- we were brother and sister. Siblings- twins to be exact.”

He stepped forward a little, careful not to startle either of them. Gem stood frozen on her spot, like a deer freshly caught by a predator. The Count seemed to notice it fairly quickly, stopping his approach. “You probably don't remember but you were my little sister. Admittedly, by two minutes, but still younger nonetheless. You- you always ran around the gardens and climbed the trees, no matter how much mother and father were against it.”

Gem tilted her head at the story, its contents sounding unfamiliar but a mental image clearly playing in her head. The image of a girl with red hair, in a black and red dress, running around a field of roses, laughing while trying to escape her brother who tried to tackle her with a hug. She ended up climbing the trees for safety, much to the displeasure of their parents as they had to get the girl out of the tree once they had found her. 

She could hear the joyous laughter, feel the pointy ends of the grass, smell the scent of the roses and see the sapphire  blue eyes of her supposed brother as the Count stood right in front of her. Her face seemed to have lit up every so slightly because the stranger dared another step closer. “It's… it's me, Gem. Fwhip, I mean… I guess Count Fwhip nowadays.”

He feebly chuckled at the last bit, rubbing the back of his neck in awkwardness before his hand fell back to his side.

“So, you're…” Pearl started, her eyes squinting slightly as she vaguely gestured towards him. “...you're Fwhip. I… I remember you. I remember seeing you in a house that I lived in...”

Pearl's voice sounded small, unconvinced but filled with a certain curiosity. Her head was tilted and held more forward. The Count, Fwhip , looked towards her with a nod. “Y-Yeah, though it was more of a castle than a house. Gem and I visited you quite frequently before you fell ill.” 

“Fell ill?” Pearl then questioned, her features scrunched up into a deeper squint, not one of suspicion but concern. 

Fwhip nodded once more, though it was more saddened and deeper this time. “Yeah. The Wither Fever had hit you quite badly-” he interrupted himself with a violent cough, bringing his tissue to his mouth as he reached and gripped at a nearby table for stability as the cough wrecked through his chest. “-it - it was pretty-  pretty bad-”

The Count fell into a deeper coughing fit, backing away slightly and barely resting his full weight against the table. Out of reflex, Gem rushed forward to hold him, to stabilize him further. She hadn't known this man at all and yet she made sure he wouldn't fall; there was this feeling of helping a family member, protecting them from harm, yet she hadn't seen or remembered him in forever.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her tone apparently so familiarly soft that it caught the Count off guard, causing him to offer a shaky and unstable smile in return once his illness had allowed him to talk once more. “It's alright, Gem. I promise.”

Reluctantly, she pulled most of her hold away, keeping a hand on his arm to keep it from trembling. Fwhip eyed the contact, his other hand resting on top of hers as he ran his thumb over the back of it. 

“It's just as soft but scarred as it used to be.” he commented, almost absentmindedly. His palms felt heavy and rough on the surface, clearly belonging to the hands of a worker rather than your ordinary rich noble. Gem watched him run his hand over hers and her head leaned closer to the point of both of their foreheads touching each other.

She had a connection with him. It was clear as day from the name, the hair, the words he said, the tone he used, the stories he told- and yet he felt utterly distant from her; like she didn't know him at all. Every memory and story he recounted felt like something she had but was so far away from that she could barely make out silhouettes.

Pearl's footsteps grew closer, cautious and light. Gem's eyes looked towards her sister as her face spoke more than a thousand words. Her lips wouldn't even be able to produce half of them right now, but nothing but one question remained at its center.

Should I go and leave you to it?

If it wouldn't be such a vulnerable moment Gem would have chastised Pearl for this stupid question. She of course didn't want Pearl to leave; not now, not here, not when such a huge part of both of their history stood right in front of them. Pearl deserved this unexpected closure just as much as Gem did.

Without saying a single syllable, Gem reached her hand out towards her sister and Pearl took it without a second thought. With blind trust and a strong yank Pearl allowed her sister to pull her closer, wanting to share this moment of miniscule peace with them before they returned their attention to Fwhip.

“Tell us more?” she requested, her voice almost sounding like a small little girl simply asking for another bedtime story. When had her voice changed like that? She had never done that before… Why did it change? Why now ?

Fwhip nodded in return, though he glanced towards his chair and the crossbow. Pearl and Gem followed his look and Pearl moved before he could voice the request he had prepared to make. She took and settled the crossbow aside, pulling the seat closer so Fwhip was able to sit down. Gem helped him settle, making the young Count chuckle in fondness.

“I could get used to your help like that.” He joked, a cough cutting it short. “Thank you, though.”

The sisters didn't answer and remained standing. Fwhip scanned them once more, a small smirk tugging at the edges of his face. “If Sausage would hear about this he would probably deem me as drunk or insane.”

Sausage … another name that sounded familiar. It rang some bells in Gem’s mind but apparently many more in Pearl’s as she offered a fond smile as she heard the name.

“Or both, I presume?” she responded and Fwhip's smirk only grew in response. “You said it. He was always wise with these kinds of ‘analysis’.”

He emphasized the last word with some air quotes and altered speech before rolling his eyes, his next words more high pitched and clearly supposed to be some kind of imitation. “Oh no no, Fwhip you got this all wrong! You see, here in Mythland it would be totally normal to see a ghost and since I can't see any of them, the ones you see are obviously not real!”

He shook his hands dramatically as he talked before they came to lay on the armrests again, a tired giggle bursting out of him. “Stupid Sausage. But I love him, somehow.”

His giggle fizzled out, as did his smirk as he redirected his attention to the two sisters. “I suppose you don't remember him either…?”

There was a small hint of hope in his tone but it faded once he got the sisters to shake their heads in synchronisation, leaving him to sigh in slight disappointment. Pearl shifted her weight from one foot to another, tilting her head slightly as she responded afterwards.

“The name definitely means something to me. I can feel he had a bigger role in my life back then, but nothing specific…” she muttered, her tone unfocused as if she tried to concentrate on something else. “...I wish I could remember more.”

“Can’t blame you. Can’t say I’m surprised that you don’t remember much.” Fwhip sympathised, sending her an understanding smile before turning his attention towards Gem. “What about you? What do you remember?”

“I… not a lot either…” Gem admitted, her gaze falling to the floor in thought. She leaned back against the table, running her hand over it to keep it from fidgeting. She tried to come up with any type of memory from the appropriate timeframe, her childhood most likely.

She remembered how Father had found her, a simple small fawn laying down in the burned grass of a field. She could barely move, let alone walk, but she soon got company in the form of a small puppy. It was looking equally as weak, with a huge scar running over its face…

Gem’s hand automatically gripped Pearl’s tighter at the memory, her face turning towards her sister and eyeing said scar that she carried from forehead to chin… identically the same as Gem’s. 

But she knew that it wasn’t the beginning of her story. There was a time before that fawn opened its eyes, a time where she was just as human as Fwhip was. She didn’t know for how long she was mortal, but it must have been enough to make many memories and lots of mistakes.

Her eyes went back to Fwhip, her head shaking again. “...I remember a time before this, but it's barely there. I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be.” he comforted, the small smile he gave not having wavered at all. “I never thought I would see you ever again so… this is better than nothing.”

Gem nodded in gratitude, though she felt a feeling tugging at her heart, a thought, a need for an answer for most of her questions. She bit her lip as she eyed the candle that was still by the windowsill, burning its life away all by itself. With a squint, she watched the flame, flicking her fingers quietly as if trying to spark an idea like a flint and steel. The flame did flick, though it was more due to a small breeze that came in through the roof. 

“What took us?” 
Pearl then asked, her tone equally distracted and hushed. Gem looked back to her and she could see her sister focus on the flame as well, but unlike Gem, who held nothing but fascination for the fire, Pearl looked apprehensive of it if not even slightly scared.
Together they looked back towards Fwhip, with Gem repeating the question louder and clearer. 
“You mentioned Pearl having fallen ill… how did it end? Did she-”

“-die?” Fwhip filled in the rest of the sentence, his eyebrows slightly raised while running his hand through his short beard. The look on his face had a sadly knowing aura but also a small spark of bitterness. “It did its damned best to make sure of it.” 

His response was a soft growl, though it didn’t seem to be directed at either of them as he continued. “It worked way too fast, way way too bloody fast - especially when it came to the both of you.”

A violent cough tore itself from his throat but he only covered it with his hand this time, coating his hand with a slight layer of ash. His hand formed into a fist as he looked at it, the spark in his eyes growing as if it could ignite entire firework rockets. “Both of you fell ill around the same time. We just had come back from a small trip through the Wither Rose fields, something we had dared ourselves to at some point. The most stupid suggestion and biggest mistake I had ever made.” 

He gripped the arms of the chair tighter, his eyes darting towards the flame and staring at it as his posture grew tenser. “I don’t know what compelled me to suggest such a dare. Stupid boy didn’t consider what a single sting of those roses could do to a man, let alone a child…” he fidgetted with his finger, snapping them just like Gem did seconds earlier but with more rage and force in its movement. “...stupid stupid boy… ” 

He shook his head slightly, disappointment and self-loathing clear in his features. The bright flame reflected in his eyes, almost making it look like its burning temper had sprung over to him instead. It made Gem knit her brows together, watching him with growing concern. She didn’t say anything and neither did Pearl, just letting Fwhip continue with his explanation.

“We decided on betting who could get closest to the thorns of a flower without being stung. Originally we had normal roses in mind.” He elaborated, though his expression darkened a little more as he reminiscened. “And I was dumb enough to suggest and dare to up the stakes and do it with Wither Roses instead.”

“We ran through, played the game like we always did. Laughed, shoved, yelled - all of the kid things you do...” With a nonchalant wave he breezed through the unimportant details, sighing frustration before his eyes finally tore themselves away from the flame and towards Gem. 

The sisters had leaned against the table this far but Gem took the opportunity to kneel down to his eye level. Fwhip’s gaze followed her, scanning her face with a torn expression as she rested her hand on one of his arms. “You got stung first. Sausage shoved you a bit too much.”

“You didn’t scream and just acted like it was normal roses... so we just continued…” He sunk deeper in his seat, his voice growing shaky. “...I saw how your veins turned black, I was about to point it out but I wanted to keep going with this stupid game!” he hissed to himself before looking towards Pearl. “You got stung next, didn’t scream either.”

Gem watched as her sister pushed herself away from the table, copying Gem’s motion and kneeling down to Fwhip's eye level. His gaze darted in between them, his chest rising and falling at a quicker pace as he seemed to be getting angrier with himself. 

“We went back once me and Sausage got stung. Not even a few days later both of you collapsed and were coughing up dust.” he uncomfortably squirmed in his seat, continuing to rapidly shake his head. “I don’t know why the illness worked ten times faster on you than on us. The clerics had tried to make several types of potions but they all failed. They suspected that neither of you would make it further than a couple of weeks.” 

A bitter smile formed on his face, looking away as he couldn’t bear to look at them. His lower lip quivered as his voice broke, shaking his head in disbelief even after years. “Karma, I guess. You were both dead in a matter of a month. You in May-” he gestured to Gem and then to Pearl. “-and you in June.”

He helplessly giggled to himself, tears now building up in his eyes before spilling rapidly. “Both of you were dead; just like that! In a matter of a month I managed to kill off half of my friends and family and the throne heirs of the Grimlands and Gilded Helianthia!” 

“And I still had the gall to… live on with it and grow up and not die like I was supposed to have done! Like some stupid lucky little pest who gets away with every little thing they mess up!” He placed his hand over Gem’s, gripping it tighter whenever he highlighted his words. As Pearl took his other hand in hers, he did the same thing. The contact helped immensely and it managed to calm the furious count back down to at least a moderate level.

His breathing was still shaky with weak coughs in between words as he simply looked down to the floor. “I shouldn’t be alive. Both of you should be in my shoes, ruling over your kingdoms like Sausage does. The Countess of the Grimlands and the Farmer Queen of Gilded Helianthia - those should be your titles right now; and I went and took that all away from you, all because I wanted to up the stakes in a child’s game.” 

He concluded his entire speech and rambled with that message, now shuffling awkwardly in his seat once nothing was left to be said and the cat was fully out of the bag. His eyes didn’t meet the sisters, but darted around all the same as they remained silent.

“Please say something.” He asked, his whole body trembling and anxious as he raised his voice with a plea. “Please just say something already!”

The sisters simply looked at each other for a moment before looking back to Fwhip.

“We… we don’t blame you, if that is the answer you want.” Gem then started to say, her thumb tracing circles onto the back of her twin brother’s hand. “You… couldn’t have known it would come to that.”

“But I should have! You all warned me about it.” he simply replied, stubborn in his self-loathing. “I’m a count now, a leader, an emperor . I should know about these things.”

“Well, you do now… and you weren’t a count back then.” Pearl pointed out. “And even if we warned you, we still went through with it with you. We could’ve just said no, if we had the choice.” 

Fwhip seemed hesitant to accept the forgiveness they were giving him, his eyes unsure but with no protest coming from his lips. His face was resting in a deep frown, the tears that had spilled now drying up. Gem leaned in closer, an arms length away from a hug. “What we want to say is..” she sighed, getting past that final barrier of stranger danger and hugging her brother. “...we forgive you, Fwhip. We do. I mean it.” 

She could only faintly feel the mortal hug back as she rested her head on his shoulder. He squeezed, though it was much weaker than Gem had expected. It only caused her to tighten the embrace, to not let go of him. It was a reminder of how this moment was limited, on a timer. Fwhip was moments away from certain death, his departure only stopped by Gem and Pearl delaying the inevitable.

Gem buried the lower half of her face in his shoulder, her eyes meeting Pearl’s as her sister resorted to stand next to the twins’ seat. She had a soft smile on her face which only grew when Gem looked towards her. 

“If- if I kill you now…” Gem started. “...is Sausage going to be alone?” 

Even despite not knowing the man question at all at the moment, with only his name holding any sort of significance in this matter… she couldn’t help but feel some sort guilt for taking Fwhip with her right now. Her brother simply chuckled weakly in response, shaking his head. “He’s aware of it. Not sure when he decides he’s gonna join us, but I guess it depends on when he decides to quit believing in this dumb Blood Sheep cult of his.” 

“A Blood Sheep cult??” Pearl questioned, her tone sounding like Fwhip was a lunatic. The news caused Gem to pull out of the embrace as well, looking at her brother in confusion. “What the hell is a Blood Sheep cult??”

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know.” Fwhip simply chuckled a little more, weakly holding his hands up in self-defense. 

His chuckle faded out very quickly in comparison to the beginning of the conversation, his body looking more and more exhausted as it was slumped deeper into the chair. The dark bags under his eyes were more pronounced and his expression seemed to get laxer by the minute. Their time together was getting closer to the end. 

“So… how do you plan on killing me?” he inquired calmly, as if it would be the most normal thing there was. Gem couldn’t help but look concerned, saddened that he would just accept his death like that. Normally, she welcomed that gesture from her marks as it brought her the fill quickly and made the decision easier… but for this one she felt like he should live and fight, not give up as easily as he did now. 

The lack of answer made him smile sympathetically, his shoulders arching into a shrug. “Hey, just curious. I doubt you normally give your victims a heads-up beforehand or a talk like this.” 

“And neither a choice through what way they want to go.” Pearl added in, her hand moving and resting on Gem’s shoulder. Her hand felt so much heavier for Gem, now that the moment of reality had come so much closer. It’s as if a heavy stone was placed on her heart, only able to be lifted by killing her brother right then and there.

Fwhip had already chosen, there wasn’t going to be any ways or discussion around this anymore. She was going to be the one who had to kill her twin-brother, reap his soul and seal it into a feeble feather for eternity - that was final. That’s how it always went, how it was always going to go- why did it feel so goddamn difficult now?

She had barely gotten him back and now he was going to leave again and never return - by her own hands.

“Hey…” Pearl’s voice came from beside her, noticing the mad spiral Gem had gone down. Her sister soothingly drew shapes in her shoulder, gripping it a tiny bit firmer. “It’s gonna be alright, okay?”

Was it really? Was it really going to be alright?

Gem could only glance at her sister, communicating the question merely through eye contact. Her sister smiled at the look Gem had given her before turning her attention back to Fwhip. “Do you have any specific wishes on how to die?” 

“What- You mean like right now?” 
“Yeah. If you now had to choose how to be killed or executed, what would you choose?”

Considering how wild that kind of question was, Fwhip genuinely paused and looked upwards for a moment, his hand running through his beard in thought. “I don’t know…” he arched his shoulders again, tilting his head. “I guess beheading always felt right to me. Fits for some royal like a count. Plus it would be quick. I don’t know if that’s selfish to say.”

“No, it makes more than sense.” Pearl immediately reassured but looked back to Gem, her eyebrows raised and tilting her head. “Would that be alright with you?”

Would she be alright with that?
Well… it was indeed a quick way to go if Gem did it right - and she always did it right, if not that would be quite the disgrace - so, honestly, it didn’t sound too bad as an idea.

She silently nodded towards her sister, not trusting her own words at the moment. It felt so weird to approach a reaping like this, so emotional and with more than just care… and Pearl only nodded back, her reassuring smile never wavering. “Okay, so we do it that way then.”

With that decision made, Pearl slowly rose to her feet and looked towards the candle and outside the window, checking for the standing of the moon.

“We don’t have much longer, unfortunately. The moon’s about to set.” she notified, though her hand was still caressing her sister’s shoulder. The news made Gem’s breathing hitch.

She felt so small, so unprepared all of a sudden. Her fingers fidgeted and tapped around, feet shifting her weight from one to the other and her teeth bit her lip repeatedly. She felt like she was back to being a child, taking her first hunting lessons from her father. This had never happened before… she had never gotten so attached to one of her marks. 

It was only fitting for it to be her twin, she surmised.

Silently, she backed away from Fwhip and stood up straighter, a hand outstretched for him to take.

“Time to die, big brother?” she asked bluntly with a light giggle in her voice from the absurdity, but her brother more than welcomed the shift of tone. “As ready as I’ll ever be, little sister.”

With a heavy huff he got to his feet, swaying unstably. Pearl immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulder, helping him stand as he looked around slightly. “So, how is this gonna go. Just chop chop and done?”

“Well I can make it more formal or serious.” Gem offered and Fwhip slowly nodded. “Honestly, I think I would prefer that. Gives me more of a meaning than this bloody crown ever did.” 

His hand reached up to take it off but Pearl stopped him in his movement. “No, you die as a king, a ruler. We’ve decided that now.”

Fwhip simply chuckled as Gem searched for the right furniture to use for this job. “Well, then who am I to deny the decision of the reapers of death, huh?”

Pearl chuckled in response, shoving him forward once Gem found a suitable item to use. It was the leftovers of an anvil, most of it broken off and only the middle part of it remaining. What was that thing even doing here- this wasn’t a forge…

She pulled the heavy thing towards them, settling it down with a loud thud. The weight of the impact sent a miniscule tremor through the surrounding wooden planks, making Gem’s heart skip a little. Pearl got Fwhip into position shortly after, leaning him down and pressing his chest onto the anvil - his neck left fully exposed for a clean cut once he was comfortable enough.

Gem hated the sight, the sound of her sword unsheathing even more as it was loud and piercing through the comfortable hum of silence. She settled the tip into the floor, her hands folded over each other on the handle of the sword. Pearl set her foot onto Fwhip’s back, a precaution in case his survival instincts had changed his mind. The sight of the clean and sharpened blade led Fwhip to physically gulp and shake, but he nodded nonetheless to reassure himself and his sister. 

Gem took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to clear her emotions for the following act. It helped, her tension and anxiety dissipating bit by bit, but it took longer than it should have. As she opened her eyes she saw Pearl do the same thing, her hands shaking to get the leftover emotions out. This was a heavy moment for both of them as they tried to regain the cool and neutrality that their reapings normally entailed.

“Fwhip Grimm, Lord and Count of the Grimlands.” Gem started to recite, a practiced speech from her training and by observing the mortals. “Here in sights of gods and men I sentence you to die.”

She kept up her eye contact with Fwhip, her hands tightening around the handle as they already started to grip it. “Would you speak a final word?”

Her brother’s head tilted slightly to the side at the option that was given to him, a small smile forming on his face. That damned smile warmed Gem from the inside out, making her heart ache as she was going to wipe it off of his face in a few seconds.

“May the Wither Rose Alliance rise in the afterlife once again. Tell Sausage to hurry up.” his words had humour to him, a fake unbotheredness and pride. Trying to hide his fear with snarkiness, he averted his eyes from his sister and let his head hang, offering his neck up to be sliced.

Gem’s eyes fixated on that neck, trying to block out and ignore to whom it belonged as she aligned the blade of her sword. A single touch of the cold metal sent a jolt through the mark, the hair at the back of its neck standing up in alarm. She could hear a heartbeat quicken, unsure if it was hers or the mark’s - it wouldn’t matter.

It’s heartbeat’s fast now. 
It knows what awaits it.

Her mark was frozen as she removed her blade from its neck, now that she had mentally taken note of the line of where to cut. She raised the sword, pulled it back to fully swing it. Her grip on the handle tightened and her muscles tensed up, her arms raising high.

She let her aim and gravity do the rest.

A small tug was enough to bring the blade down, the weight falling fast and precisely. She closed her eyes before seeing the cut happen and poured all her strength into this
one 
single 
slice.

Thud.

The sword was back in front of her again, its now bloody tip dug back into the ground; her hands were back on the handle, her eyes still clutched shut. She had gone down onto one knee, her head bowed and her palms clenching and unclenching to dissipate the trembling that grew in her fingertips. Her breathing was shaky and loud and she desperately tried to ignore the singular tear that fell from her eye and ran down her cheek and jawline.

Movement came from around her, consistent of multiple thuds and steps. But she remained frozen in her bowed position, kneeling like some glorified sentry. Once the footsteps got closer, a hand slowly made its way onto her shoulder, soft and comforting. A jolt of electricity struck through her at the contact regardless, causing her to flinch violently, but once again, remaining to kneel. 

It was her duty to pay her respects properly when a mark was beheaded through her blade. It was seen as more formal, more of importance, higher of value, even though it didn’t make any difference if the beheaded mark was some poor farmer or the ruler of a grand kingdom. All souls weighted the same, a name or wealth didn’t make any difference when it came to the value of one’s death. 

Emotional value was different, but they were good at swallowing those down if needed, just like now.

“The mark’s gone.” her sister’s voice of reason came right beside her, lowered into a soft whisper. Long arms slowly wrapped themselves around her frame and embraced her from behind as her back was pressed against Pearl’s chest.“It’s fine, I promise.”

Gem still didn’t trust herself to open her eyes, not wanting to see the mark’s head on the floor. She didn’t want to be faced with the reality that it was her brother; she wanted to pretend and think that it was just some noble, a random king from a random place, and yet her sword was covered in the evidence to prove her otherwise, as was the floor. 

Well that and the newly sourced energy that ran through her. The fill was barely okay at best; with the mark having died beyond sick it hadn’t had much energy to give in the first place. It satisfied her hunger but left a gaping wound in her heart, a wound she desperately wanted to patch up and cover. She felt like she could collapse forward at any moment, never open her eyes again and make amends with what she had just done.

But her duty wouldn’t make it that easy.
One day, she would need to move, to get up and make her way out of the door and leave this shack and its deceased owner behind. Memories would have to be kept stored here, like books in a shelf of a library and hopefully only vanish when the structure was entirely destroyed and swept off of the face of the earth.

Gem’s head tilted towards the direction where her father had stood before she got lost in her emotions. His presence had fallen into the background a long time ago, went unnoticed by her, the mark and her sister. As if he was never there at all, not even saying a single syllable, he let them learn and mourn their history and past selves alongside someone who was part of their family. 

He didn’t need to do that.
He could’ve just let them live in ignorance and kill the Count with no change to speak of.
But he didn’t. He let them find out who they were before this life, let them know where they came from.

Gem opened her eyes then, hopeful that her father would still be standing there, watching them. She would say her thanks, show her gratitude, be positive . She just wanted him to let him know that she loves him so dearly.

And when she looked back… Father didn’t stand at the door anymore. He was gone.
The door was left open, wide and ajar and swaying with a breeze that reeked with regret, fear and cowardice.

It voiced thousand different apologies, answered many of the questions she had as a kid when she heard him murmur to himself. Back then she thought those silent mumbles of ‘sorry’s and ‘forgive me’s didn’t address anybody, didn’t mean anything at all.

But they turned out to be for her , turned out to be for Pearl. Their father was addressing them both, apologizing for their fates and lives for years, decades and probably the future centuries left to come. 

For he was the one who had taken them, resurrected and chained them to this duty of his. 
And he was going to be the one to never forgive himself for it, to loathe himself for that decision for eternity.

Unbeknownst to him, his daughters only cherished him, valued his presence beyond measurement. They had long forgiven him, because without him their names would have long vanished in the wind… wilted away like the petals of a flower that had long bloomed and withered in the dawn.

Chapter Text

With more effort than Gem had thought it would have taken, they had finally reached their next destination by midnight.

Father had led them to a giant castle, surrounded by a larger town full of simple peasants. He had forbidden his daughters to shift into their animal forms as they made their way through the streets, not wanting to risk them being seen by mortals. Gem and Pearl kept close to their father's horse as a result, gripping the mane a little tighter as they passed more and more people on the streets.

Some laid on the floor, barely covered by something that you couldn't even remotely call a blanket while others huddled together, desperate to lend each other an ounce of warmth in these harsh times. The occasional cough led Gem to glance towards the people who had been befallen by the same starvation and illness, all caused by the exact same people in power. Slowly but surely these poor peasants were nearing their way towards death's doorsteps - her father's doorstep, technically. Maybe she was going to kill these very people a little later. The thought made Gem squirm… though she didn't know why.

“Will we visit these people as well, Father?” Pearl seemed to have the same thought as she asked the question. Father took a while to respond, only averting his eyes from the road ahead ever so slightly. 

He didn’t talk much ever since their encounter with Fwhip, though it didn’t stop his daughters from asking questions. Quite the opposite, they asked about his health even more, about what to do next, simple advice, anything . If he ever acknowledged those, it was mostly to dismiss, brush aside or ignore them further. Needless to say, his daughters eventually stopped with the questions. He never was like this with them until now. 

Did he realise how much it was actually hurting them?
To see their own father this … foreign, cold and almost as if he had never known them at all?
If he did, he didn’t show it, at least visually.

“We will visit all of them at some point. Some earlier, some at a later date.” he somberly said, his face not visible to his daughters. The answer was pretty obvious and vague, likely brushing past the actual point Pearl seemed to try to make, if her almost helpless look towards Gem was anything to go by.

Father hadn't even shown his face much in the most recent times either, instead covering it with a simple hood that he had crafted for himself. Gem and Pearl had insisted on making it but he had declined the offer almost immediately every time and overruled their stubbornness. 

They hadn’t properly seen his face in weeks, maybe even months. Despite the moonlight’s best efforts to illuminate him, the upper half of his face remained hidden beneath the hood at all times. Only his mouth was visible, if it ever showed any tinge of emotion; it remained shut and neutral for most of the time. 

The sudden coldness from their father let Gem huddle closer to her sister as a result. She was worried- scared that something might have happened that she didn’t understand…

Pearl did the same, the two sisters now walking through the streets of the town with their hands tightly and firmly entwined. Even if Father clearly wanted to be distant now, they still wanted to at least have each other to turn to; they still desired some sense of familiarity.

The two occasionally looked after families as they passed, watching how these mortals’ bonds were presenting themselves in public. Most were happy, laughing and smiling. It ached the sisters’ hearts with a tightness that they didn’t understand, a yearning they weren’t yet familiar with.

The higher they climbed the levels of the town, the lesser peasants were on the street. They had reached the more noble levels, with more fine taverns and shops with luxuries any sort of onlooker could immediately get their hands on. The prices they had were astronomically high, way above the actual value of the goods. No wonder some of the people here walked around with their riches on display, fully decked out with useless and shiny decorations - it was merely a measuring contest, if anything. 

Gem scowled and glared after those people whenever they had the displeasure of passing those. It wasn’t the looks but the attitude they seemed to give between each other as well. Insulted one another's taste, laughing over the tragedies of the lower levels, as if any of those would just be gospel or tales in between drunken storytellers. Father had to always grip and pull Gem forward if she stared for too long.

“They aren’t worth your attention.” he would say, just as he did right now as he caught Pearl doing the same. She had looked after a noble who had been arguing with his wife. Things were said, feelings were hurt, that by itself was obvious; what seemed to keep Pearl’s attention thought were the two children that watched the fight unfold, shy and cowering slightly. Even Father’s words didn’t snap her attention away from them.

It was Gem who had to pull her sister along, the grip on her hand and arm tight. Only once the scene was out of sight did Pearl focus on the way forward again. Luckily, those were the last distractions they would face as they made their way past the entrance into the castle grounds.

The guards that were stationed were barely keeping it together to not fall asleep, evident by one of them slightly swaying and the other just straight up snoring on a nearby chair. Gem supposed that the time made it appropriate though, it was way past midnight after all.

Their visit would not be seen either way as they simply phased through the entrance. Instead they were now making their way through a vibrant garden, filled with numerous species of flora. Flowers of all kinds of colours, their fragrances not even able to be picked up by the visiting spirits, proudly putting their colour on display, some even glowing in the moonlight as it shone on them and protruded some of the thin petals.

Gem eyed the red and black roses at the very end of the garden, her thoughts wandering back to Fwhip. Her hand instinctively reached and held onto the glowing feather at her belt, her thumb gently stroking over it for a sense of comfort. Fwhip's soul was in there; Father had allowed her to keep the feather after she reaped her brother's soul, and to match, he gave Pearl the feather that was going to be dedicated to Sausage eventually. 

Now the feathers rested next to the one of the respective sisters, tucked close and safe.

Gem's eyes were trained specifically on the black kind of the roses, the so-called Wither Rose. Its center exuded some kind of mysterious and faint mist that mingled with the fresh air, almost making it look like it was some aroma or poison that was secretly distributed around. It looked pretty; she understood why her supposed ‘kingdom’ held it in such high regard. 

And to think that a sting of such a beauty’s thorns could cause someone’s death in such a short time… 
No wonder it had taken her and Pearl so early then.
Would it take her again if she touched it right now?

She felt a strong tug on her arm, from Pearl this time. Her sister had yanked Gem towards her and her father, her grip on Gem's cloak firm and tight. The redhead blinked her world back into focus. Her hand was outstretched, wretched away from the petals of the flower as she was just about to touch it.

When had she gotten this close to the roses?

Even if it likely wouldn't have done anything, Pearl had pulled Gem even closer, almost protectively wrapping her own cloak around her sister. Gem's hand took a hold of her sister's and squeezed it tight, sending her an appreciative look to ease her worries. It seemed that the message was understood, with Pearl squeezing back and slightly lightening the tightness of her robe.

She still held Gem close regardless, the overfill she still had to fully disperse still keeping her instincts running. The couple she had reaped a year ago by now must have been in their prime health…

By the time they had reached the castle's front gate, the amount of guards had multiplied by lots. Most if not all were wide awake and stood to high attention, weapons sharp and shining bright. Despite the mortals being blind to the intrusion that passed through the very gate they were protecting, all three of the visitors slightly dipped their heads in respect.

These knights and soldiers were mostly just doing their duty after all. Too bad their service and oaths were sworn to an incompetent regent and his rebelling son.

Said regent's voice was already booming through the wide halls as they entered, the noise echoing throughout most of the castle. His words were barely understandable but the tone more than indicative of its emotion: anger, offence and the call for beheading.

Not unusual, if the word of the peasants and castle's staff was to be believed.

The voice came from up high, the throne room most likely. A wide and tall staircase led to it, covered by a scarlet carpet that reached from one side to the other. The total length of it was debatable, nevermind the cost as the crimson seemed to additionally be decorated with gold and silver accents. It was only one of the few tokens of extravagance that this castle held within. 

From the overly luxurious and not even remotely accurate gear on the armour stands, to the chandeliers housing thousands of candles - even the windows’ glass were tinted with the colour crimson and pure white. The tiles beneath their shoes were out of expensive marble as well, almost entirely pure of any sort of filth. The castle was a pristine white and crimson crystal in the midst of a kingdom that was drowning and surrounded by refugees, dying townsfolk and scamming traders that brought and spread the famine that made its way through and through.

And yet, as the bringer of death and his daughters climbed the stairs to the throne room, they could hear with their own ears that the matters that were shouted about by the king and leader himself had much less importance.

“Off with their heads!” he called from a distance, his voice loud and mighty like the roar of a lion. It grew louder as the trio approached.

Impulse stopped his horse by the reins once he had reached the top of the stairs, slowly but surely lifting himself out of his saddle with a deep groan. His daughters were immediately by his side, steadying him in his descent. His condition had gotten much much worse in the past days. He was still able to walk by himself, but for long would that last either?

For now though, he quietly thanked his daughters for the help, holding them close before whispering an incantation under his breath. It allowed the sisters to shift, their bodies sinking down to all fours in silence as the deer and wolf returned in the halls of the great castle. Wordlessly, he had pulled them to either of his side before continuing his way. His horse remained standing at the top of the stairs, watching its owner move further and further away. It itched to follow him, sensing his weakness, but it wasn’t allowed to.

He buried his hands in the fur of the deer and wolf, brushing through it with care as the king’s voice called once more. “Out! I’m done with your excuses! I will have your head on a spike!”

In a matter of seconds movement came from one of the corridors, a bunch of guards dragging some odd mercenaries into the direction of the dungeons. The mercenaries struggled and pleaded for their innocence,  but the guards only did what they were told and forced them to continue on their way. The sight was sickening as were the sobby begs that echoed and grew more distant in the halls - it made the bringer of death tighten his grip around the fur of his daughters. 

If not stopped now, they were not only going to be taking one mark, but a horde of them at once. None of them even were on the list yet.

His pace quickened and he turned the corner to the throne room. 

On his giant silver throne they spotted the king, his bright golden crown sitting on his dark brown hair like a guiding ray of sunshine. He was talking with his advisor, lost in deep conversation as his head was deep in his palm. The sunglasses he wore were sloppily on his eye bridge, revealing the heavy eyebags underneath.

The mighty King Rendog of Dogwarts sat before them and looked beyond tired and exhausted, quite the counterpart to his right hand who still maintained a fresh smile as if a new day had just risen. His red crimson cloak only matched the headband around his forehead and contrasted the bright blond of his golden hair.

Neither of them noticed the new presence in the room, though only one was destined to see it too. The reaper of death stopped by the doorway, simply observing the conversation.

“Was that the last of them?” King Ren asked, his tone reflecting the exhaustion unconcealed. His guards were absent, leaving him only with his closest and most trusted advisor. Only then he could allow such tones to drench his words.

The hand of the king nodded firm and in confirmation.

“Yes, my lord. These were the last people Etho had contact with.”
“And you mean to tell me that not a single one of them killed him? My most trusted swordsman?”
“I’m still trying to get an answer to that, my lord.”
“Try harder.”

The king leaned forward in his throne as he growled, tired and angry before the latter seemed to dissolve into a somber sadness.

“Apologies, me laddie. I just simply can’t keep going like this.” He sank back in his chair, shaking his head in disapproval. “How am I meant to rule and lead my people if I am not even able to avenge one of my most trusted friends and bring those fiends to justice? Let alone that we still haven’t heard from the Flower Husbands yet either…”

“I am sure the culprit can be found, my lord.” his right hand assured, but the king merely sneered in response, barely phased by the premise. “Have these strange Watcher cultists been telling you that?” 

The smile of the advisor seemed to fade at the answer, almost seeming saddened and disappointed by the disrespectful tone the king seemed to have. “My lord, I can assure you that their actions are in our interest. They have guided me for all my life. They never lied to me once.”

The king didn’t seem convinced, simply averting his gaze with a contemplating look. He thought deeply about an upcoming decision, its consequences of a huge stake. The advisor took the freedom to step up closer to the throne, tilting his head.

“My lord, he’s king’s blood. There is no other way. Even if Tango might deny it until the end of his life, he is related to you. Without any emotional bond to speak of, it would be easy to-”
“You’re speaking of burning an innocent man alive due to his blood, not even his crimes. You want to burn a man at a stake because of the whispers of a traitor.” 

The king then glared and turned to his advisor, who straightened up his posture at the accusation. His face remained unaffected but a slight hint of anger still seemed through his tongue.

“Grian is a prophet , not a traitor. Small difference, I know, to an uninfluenceable man such as you.” He paused, clearing his throat. “But the Watchers have given him their solution. Only through the sacrifice of king’s blood can our peasants survive and overcome the next winter.”

“How long do I have for the decision?” The king asked, his leg bouncing up and down in impatience. His advisor didn’t answer, simply staring at the king for a moment with a glint of purple in his eyes.

The trio of death, who had only been watching so far from a distance felt some of the air shift then, a low humming sound coming from the dungeons that reached their ears all the way from down there. 

A new feather had formed, presumably for one of the dungeon’s inhabitants.

“As they wish then.” The king then answered, his tone low and clearly suppressing a growl. “You can proceed with the preparations, Martyn.”

“Very well, my lord.” Martyn bowed his head, a smirk on his lips before departing. The king looked after him, disgust still carved onto his features. 

As Martyn approached the bringer of death closer and closer he slowed down, seemingly affected by the sudden cold presence. His glance wandered around, some sort of panic letting his head spin as the feather in his hair was clear on display now. He had hidden it deep, trying to go unrecognised even though a mortal was not even supposed to be able to move it.

The bringer of death squinted at him and gripped the fur of his daughters even tighter. Gem could hear Pearl let out a low growl in response, her teeth showing as Father’s rage and knowledge coursed through her. Gem could feel the same energy, though her noise came more in the form of a strong and deep huff as she learned more about the man.

Martyn Littlewood was dangerous, misguided and spread malicious influence wherever he went. Taken from a young age, he and this Grian had been poisoning the King’s mind for centuries, leading it into such a devastating state in the first place. Their true overlords, the Watcher cult, wanted control, nothing less - and Martyn was going to give it to them on a silver platter if this sacrifice went without trouble.

But his time wasn’t ripe yet. 
Father would have announced his presence by now, made them visible to the mark.
Instead, he decided to let Martyn be on his way and step into the throne room and towards the king instead.

Gem was confused by this. Why had he let this advisor escape but directed his attention to the king? Said king didn’t even seem to have a feather on him so he wasn’t destined to die yet either. Alongside Pearl she looked up towards their father but he ignored their confused looks, simply making his way forward before coming to a halt right in front of the throne.

“Lord Rendog.” he called, his chin up high as he brought the king’s attention to him almost immediately. 

The king rose to his feet, mouth open to shout for his guards only to be interrupted by the visitor before he could do so. “It’s no use crying for help. None of them can see me. You are in no imminent danger either, my lord.”

“I am nothing but a ghost, a spirit, who wants you to hear a warning.” He finished, his tight grip on his daughters loosening and brushing his fingers over it in a calm and soothing manner. The motion calmed the wolf and the deer, their tense stance loosening up.

“Who are you?” The king questioned, his voice low and almost a whisper. Fear rightfully dripped from his words, as if a single wrong syllable could cost him his head.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. What’s important is that you should know that you're making a grave mistake.” Impulse approached closer. “This ritual suggested by your loyal hand is nothing more than summoning and empowering demons into your lands.” 

“But what’s it to you? Why should I believe your words rather than the ones of the man that protected me for decades?” The king countered, simply watching as the stranger and his two companions stepped closer. 

“Because I can prove that my words are of truth. I am the reason your loyal swordsman Etho Slab has perished and disappeared.” His hand on Gem’s fur let go, running over her neck, head and antlers before reaching for his coat of feathers, plucking out the one that held Etho’s soul within. He offered it out to King Ren, who took it hesitantly.

“His soul travels with me now as his time to leave this plane had come. You are not destined to follow him yet, but most of your followership will once this ritual of yours followed through with success.” 

King Ren slowly nodded along with the words, his brows furrowing in thought. He had taken off his sunglasses as he did so, revealing his glassy eyes beneath as he kept admiring Etho’s feather. He ran his fingertips from the tip to the very end multiple times, almost as if to reassure himself that it was real.

“But… how can I stop it?” He then finally said, his eyes glancing upwards with a silent plea for help. “I… I don’t know what's best for my people. So far I had only followed Martyn’s advice… he seemed to have his heart at the right place.” 

“You're the king. You can stop anything as long as it's not too late.” 
“But how do I know that it is too late?”

And then, faint yelling came from the outside; loud, panicked, pleading, most of the words were not to be understood. The simple repetition of “please, please, please!” was the only word that was clear as the king’s head shot towards a nearby window. The shouting came from there, louder and clearer as the king approached it with hurrying steps. His cape flew behind him as he did so, carried by the additional small breeze that ran through the air. It continued to sway as he stepped outside a small balcony, now able to oversee the entire scene up close.

Tango Tek, a member of the Crastle resistance and secretly the prince of Dogwarts was dragged out towards the plaza in the castle, the servantship watching with shameful eyes as the guards hurdled the fleeting prince onto a stake. He pleaded for his innocence, for someone to help and understand but no one dared to intercept. Martyn stood in front of the pire, his hands folded in front of him with a patient smile.

The crowd wordlessly watched as the prince was tied to the stake, his voice turning scratchy from shouting and struggling. Martyn was handed a torch, the fire burning bright and evaporating the flakes of snow around it that had freshly started to fall. Its light matched Tango’s bright hair, the fresh feather in it unable to be missed.

The bringer of death had guided his daughters over to see as well, allowing them to shift if they so pleased. “Is this really what the Lord wants? Is this the great thing that will save your people from starvation?”

The King merely trembled under the question, his eyes darting to the stranger that was now joined by two other women. The brunette simply watched timidly while the redhead leaned forward from the balcony.

From below, Martyn’s voice started to echo.
“The year is now, everwatching eye. For you we offer up this man, that you may cleanse him with your fire and that its light may lead our way! Accept this token of our faith and lead us from the darkness!”

He held the torch up high and Ren simply watched it happen, helplessly clenching the railing of the balcony. “I can’t… If we don’t act then we’ll all starve here. But if we make this sacrifice…” he tried to convince himself, grasping onto loose strings of reason. He was running out of those as his head shot back towards Impulse. “Is there any other way??”

“That is not for me to know. What I know is that you’ve sealed your son’s fate beyond return.”
“But you can prevent it! Or change it?! That’s why you’re here, are you not?? You’re here to make me see reason! I decide what happens with him, is that the choice you want to give me right now?!”

The bringer of death didn’t answer him, simply resting his hand onto Gem’s shoulder as a way to communicate this order before saying it out loud. A shiver rushed over her spine at the command as her hands automatically moved to remove and prepare her bow and an arrow.

“You have already made the decision, Ren. You have tied your only son and heir to the pyre, depriving him of the choice of a peaceful or fighting death. We are only here to reap what you sowed.”

With those words, Gem climbed onto the railing, her steps secure and firm. She knocked and strung the arrow back, holding it tight. Her father’s hand rested on her calf as she started to aim for Martyn’s head, a single harder press of his palm causing her focus to travel from Martyn to Tango as the ritual commenced without interruption.

“Everwatching eye, show us the way! Protect us, for the night is dark and full of terrors! Claim the royal blood and let the flame shine brighter, to guide us through pain and suffering!” Martyn declared before lowering the torch closer to the pyre. 

The small sparks of fire jumped over and set the wood ablaze, Tango had given up on the struggle but his eyes travelled upwards to Ren, pleading with his eyes for a final time, unaware of the arrow that was pointed directly towards him and going to spare him from the agony. Fire surrounded him in a matter of seconds, the flames growing into giant sizes with a heat that was growing to be unbearable in a matter of moments.

That was the moment Gem released her arrow. It flew fast, shot from a far distance on a very small target - and yet she hit Tango’s heart perfectly. The arrow pierced through his clothes, his eyes widening as he looked towards it and then towards Ren once more. 

The mortal crowd and Martyn followed his gaze as the light in his eyes faded, being met with the illusion of the king holding his own bow. Shock rippled through the crowd as they assumed that the king had shot the arrow of mercy, unaware that in reality he wasn’t even armed.

The bringer of death watched in amusement as Martyn's face was filled with anger, his unbothered facade falling like a curtain without hinges. His plan of bringing power to another deity had failed and the king was responsible for it. One mark was eliminated, burning up on the pyre but without any agony or soul left to sacrifice. Only his useless flesh roasted in the fire, though the rage in Martyn's eyes burned brighter than even those.

Impulse released his hold on Gem, letting her exhale before quickly climbing downwards to get her fill. To her surprise, Pearl was allowed to follow her, both sisters making their way down towards the plaza by climbing down the walls. They jumped most of the distance, unbothered by the potential injuries as they landed right in front of Martyn.

He was about to make his way towards the inside of the castle again, to possibly confront his king. He froze as the two, now actually visible, women stood in his way. He unsheathed his sword as they took another step forward. The decision was made then and there and Gem felt no reason to stop her approach. 

She didn’t unsheath her sword, had tucked her bow away a long time ago - even when Martyn swung his sword towards her, it was intercepted and redirected elsewhere by Pearl’s scythe. Gem let the battle between the two commence, only watching it as she made her way towards the pyre.

Martyn had no chance as Pearl swung her scythe, first slicing his leg before cutting off his free hand. There were onlookers, but to them it merely looked like the man was suffering from a severe heart attack. In reality, his soul fought on top of a sinking ship with the waters swallowing him whole as he uselessly fought for his life.

Gem averted her attention, the clashing of Pearl’s and Martyn’s blade fading in the background as she stepped onto the pyre. The fires didn’t care and remained unaffected by her presence and neither did they affect her as she stepped her way through, her hand reaching out towards Tango’s burning figure. She stepped up close enough to be able to see his charred and burned skin and reached towards the spot where his hair had been before it lit alight mere seconds ago.

In between her fingers she had gotten a hold onto something solid and she retracted her hand, the feather now glowing without any visible harm. She admired it for a second, her fingertips running over it softly as her fill slowly made its way into her system. It was enough, with little ounce of energy to give as Tango had died in exhaustion and slight pain already.

Pearl was going to be having a way better meal.

Still standing in the fire, Gem’s eyes went back to her sister and Martyn, or more what was left of the mortal as the wolf was already feasting on top of him. The man’s screeches of pain were only there for the devourer, her sister and her father to hear, loud and piercing. Pearl dragged out his suffering, each bite slow and deliberate as he didn’t deserve any mercy for the sins he had committed.

Gem made her way off the pyre and approached the scene, passing the unsuspecting onlookers. She was mesmerized by her sister’s brutality, watching up close as Pearl’s teeth dug into Martyn over and over. A beautiful and satisfying sight to see, each motion tearing another whimpering sound from him. 

She wished to be able to join in as well.
He would certainly deserve it.
But this wasn’t her meal to take.

Instead her eyes went back up towards the balcony, where her father watched them feast. And for once after a long time, she could see him smile, looking satisfied with their work as the mortal beside him cried and mourned for his lost son, weeping on his knees.

Gem returned the smile, but hers wasn’t genuine like her father’s. He had never enjoyed taking the lives of the mortals… he shouldn’t be smiling.

And yet he did… and Gem didn’t know why.

Chapter Text

Pearl had at first envied Gem for not having to deal with the overfill, but now she was more than glad to have it.

Father… he was doing worse than any mortal mark had ever looked. Skin pale, eyes unfocused and hands trembling with beads of sweat running down his temples. He constantly seemed dry of any kind of hydration, leaving his voice raspy and faint. Barely unable to climb onto his horse, Pearl had to carry him on her back for the next mark. Normally, she wouldn’t be able to carry such weight on her back for long but the overfill gave her more than enough strength to do so. 

Gem was getting weaker too, even though she didn’t want to show it. But Pearl could tell all the same. 

She saw how heavy Gem’s steps got, how much more tired she seemed. Her practice swings got sloppier, her focus off the rails constantly. It could be just due to the giant worry about their father… but Pearl had to sometimes even steady Gem when things got too hectic.

This shouldn’t be possible. 
None of this should be possible. 

They were spirits, unneeding of human needs such as food or water; they couldn't be as sick as Father was because they were not supposed to be. 

And yet here Pearl sat in front of him as he laid on his makeshift bed, her hand tightly in his as his glassy eyes looked up at her. Gem was by her side, leaning on her like she did every day lately. Her head rested on Pearl’s shoulder but she could see her eyes on her. Both Pearl’s father and sister looked up to her now. She felt uncomfortable in this spotlight, mostly only due to the circumstances. 

“We will take over the mark for tonight, Father. And this time you will stay here, okay?” Pearl repeated, the instruction not even sounding like a question. They had been talking about this for good a few hours now, going back and forth on the eventual plan they would settle on.

Her Father was stubborn beyond belief, insisting on coming along, but he couldn’t even sit up properly even if he tried. Only that brought him to reconsider and accept the instruction, much to Pearl's eventual surprise.

“Fine then. You’ve convinced me.” he chuckled, weak and barely just a wheeze. A smile cracked onto his face, fond and admiring. “You know your way around this now. Don’t need your old man to become a burden too.”

“You aren’t a burden.” Gem replied, her gaze and head rising as she placed her hand on her father's arm. “You could never be a burden. Stop saying that.”

She only got a somber smile in return, his eyes slowly moving in between his two daughters. “I’m sure you'll do just fine. Just don’t forget about the feather.”

“We won't.” Pearl reassured with a nod before getting to her feet, a hand offered to Gem. “Ready to go?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Her sister replied, giving her father a quick kiss on the forehead before grabbing Pearl’s hand. With a huff she brought herself to her feet, her steps a little shaky before taking a hold on her sword.

Pearl waited for her, scythe sheathed securely before offering her hand once more. Gem took it with a thankful smile before they looked back to their father with a hand raised in a wave. He answered with a weak wave back.

“We won’t take too long, Father.”
“Don’t you worry about good ol’ me. I am not going to be wandering off on you.” 

He chuckled once more, the sound more confident and stable. It let the two sisters smile, a small reassurement in these recently dark times. With that message they felt safe to leave, with Pearl leading the way.

The way to the target’s bakery wasn’t far, neither was it worth it to shift for it either. Pearl knew Gem wasn’t able to at the moment, a recent development that affected their hunts greatly. It had frustrated the redhead immensely, but Pearl was there all the way to make her feel just as valued as always. 

Together they made their way forward through the nearby wheat fields, the path forward illuminated by the moonlight. It seemed to shine particularly bright tonight, highlighting the great harvest this bakery was going to be able to use for their pastries. 

A light burned in the bakery, meaning someone must still be awake. The chimney didn't produce any smoke so the baker must not be at work at least. Intriguing.

The pair made their way towards the door, pressing their hands on the front door before phasing through. It felt weird not to enter as a wolf, but it at least had the benefit of a silent entrance so Pearl wasn’t too bothered by it. 

Her eyes scanned the bakery as they stepped through, on the lookout for their mark.

Baking utensils and ingredients were strewn about on the table, a thick book wide open on a page with a bookmark. It had the picture of a cookie on it, relatively simple and with chocolate chips as its topping. The recipe seemed quite short but still full in detail, meaning it did not take many ingredients but huge finesse to prepare this goodness.

Pearl had always wondered how one of those would taste like. She had heard of this baker quite a lot on their travels; everyone always seemed to marvel over the exact same chocolate cookie on the page, praising it high as one of the best pastries they had ever gotten their hands on. How true these praises were was to be debated but Pearl wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking so; they looked incredibly delicious at least. 

Continuing her search, she could see that Gem was admiring some of the baker’s work too, inspecting it closer as she rested her hand on her chin in thought. Pearl stopped in her tracks for a moment, waiting for a distracted Gem to bump into her.

“Getting hungry at the sight?” she teased, but Gem answered with a weak shrug. “I guess… if we would ever feel this sort of hunger, I guess.”

“Fair. Maybe he will give us some of the recipes to try!”
“We can’t even taste them…how would this work?”

For that… Pearl didn’t have an answer so she shrugged with a sigh. “I don’t know. Would be fun at least…”

Gem didn’t reply to that, simply gesturing Pearl to continue on further. Their entire search throughout the lower floor had gone fruitless so they decided to tackle the second floor next. That one seemed to bring much more success as they could hear mumbling from the other side of the door to the attic. 

They looked at each other, trying to build up their serious facade before phasing through, their entrance once again not announced by a single sound. It was not going to matter much in the long run anyway; their target was in the room with them. 

A man with dark skin, his chocolate brown curls freshly cleaned from presumably a good wash as it still slightly shone in the candlelight. The man stood and stared at himself in a mirror, mumbling all sorts of things that were barely able to be understood from where Pearl and Gem were standing.

His words stopped abruptly as soon as the sisters made a single step forward, meaning he already knew that they were here. The hand that ran through his curls froze, his dark eyes closing shut as he took a deep and seemingly reassuring breath.

It seemed to work wonders as a big smile formed onto his face and he nodded to himself. With a swift turn on his heels he turned to face the door. In the same swing he opened his eyes, his arms alongside it with a welcoming warmth.

“Welcome! I have been waiting for you.” he said, firm and proud. He didn't get an answer at first as Pearl eyed the man with intrigue. This is the first time anyone had ever welcomed death inside, let alone already seemed to know who they were.

“You have been waiting for us ? Do you even know who we are?” She questioned, daring to step closer to the stranger.

“Most certainly I do. I am aware that I am in the presence of the children of the reaper of death.” He confirmed, his hands gripping together. “And your visit's purpose is also not lost on me. I've brought it onto myself after all by my own choice.”

“By your own choice?” Gem asked, moving to Pearl's side almost protectively. “How does one do that?” She asked hesitantly, seemingly creeped out by this man's unbothered demeanour.

But Pearl was almost fascinated by it.
Once again, no one had welcomed death to their home so warmly before. They were recognized from the get-go in the past, and some were even prepared for their arrival, but none of them were so delighted by their presence.

This man, an seemingly ordinary baker, seemed beyond prepared. And just like he had said just now… he seemed to have put himself in this position by his own choice, his own volition. He knew the price this experiment of his had, but he didn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest.

“Oh it's way simpler than you think.” The man chuckled, sounding genuinely amused before opening his arms once more and slowly stepping around his space as if to present it to an investor. “The ways of how to bring death upon oneself are beyond human understanding sometimes! A simple feeble mind of a common man would never understand-”

He emphasised the last words in grand bravado before cutting his entire speech short by simply turning around, his next words flat and underwhelming in tone. “I simply poisoned myself. Underwhelming, I know.”

The contrast in tone made the sisters almost snicker, but brought an amused smile on their lips all the same. The man seemed delighted by the reaction, his hand gesturing to them as if they had proven his point. “I theorized that suicide is one of the quicker ways to summon up a visit of either the bringer of life or death. I was right with it too!”

“But for what did you do it though? You seem too knowledgeable and enthusiastic to simply throw your life away like that.” Gem reasonably pointed out and the man simply shrugged.

“Fun, curiosity, maybe a mix of both. But in all honesty, it was my studies about your father's mythology that brought me this far.” he elaborated, leaning back against a stool as his smile wavered the slightest bit. “And that is also why I know why you are here instead of him.”

The smiles on the sisters instantaneously faded alongside his, the candle seemingly also burning with a way darker light now.

“The faith in the bringer of death is fading, I might be the very last on that list of his as well, I fear.” he said as he eyed the flame, hovering his palm over it to warm himself. “I sure hope that’s not the case, but if theories and your visit are to be believed… I don’t think it's looking bright for him.”

He particularly glanced towards Gem as he explained, noting the way she leaned against the furniture in front of her in support. Pearl pulled her back closer, steading her sister as the redhead started to ask questions of her own.

“But why? Why do people stop believing in him?”
“Science, mostly. Science, curiosity and discoveries. When someone dies, people search for the reason.”

The man was quick to the draw with his answers, uncaring to sugarcoat any of them. “People have found that the breaking of bones, stopping of hearts and infestation of blood usually kill a person, not some man that approaches the victim at night.”

“The same with the bringer of life. People beat a sickness due to medicine, their bones are healed through rest and babies let out their first scream because their hearts are still beating. It doesn't require a man in white to oversee or influence it so that it can happen.” he simply explained, stepping away and around the room as a way to flow with the conversation. The two sisters simply watched him do so, observing his movement with baited breath.

“People are moving on from their beliefs and are crafting their own answers - with proof and academic texts instead of faith and word of mouth.” he ran his fingers over an open text book on his desk, a sheepish smile appearing on his face as he looked back towards the sisters with sympathy. “It was bound to happen eventually. The more knowledge gets discovered, the less people believe in you and your father.”

“Is… that why he’s feeling so weak?” Gem then asked, her voice soft and timid, far from what a spirit of her profession should sound like. “Why I am feeling so weak?”

The man simply nodded, his action telling more than a few words could do. It’s not like the truth would hurt any less that way. Gem merely backed herself closer into Pearl’s cloak, the grip on her sister’s hand tightening.

“And there’s no way to fix it? No way to undo what’s happening?” Pearl asked regardless of Gem’s silent protests. They were here to do their duty, not beg a mortal for help. They were supposed to be above this kind of weakness; and yet they were getting weaker by the day, fading as this man liked to say.

“I am afraid there isn’t. And if there is… I haven’t found anything about it yet.” He admitted, his eyebrows furrowing in thought. His eyes scanned the textbook on the desk once more before looking back. “I don’t know how much time you will have left, and my death will probably make more of an impact than I thought.”

He glanced towards a vial, his expression hard to read. “I only have a few minutes left until the poison has done its job. So if you want to get it over with-”
“Why?”

Pearl’s sudden question threw the man off guard, his gaze going back to her.

“Why what…?"
“Why have you thrown away your life like this, let alone why do you know so much about us? Your books cannot know that much about us if only our marks can see us.”

The man remained silent before letting out a small chuckle. “I always found common sense a bit boring to follow. Lots of people call me mad too. I have done everything in this life that I wanted to accomplish. I let the dream of my own bakery come true, could continue with my studies and then finally die through one of the most unique ways possible.”

He laughed, a tinge of an unsettling tone in the sound. It wasn’t creepy, but eerie, too happy for this occasion. “I would say that I have won in life with that one. No one can take that away from me now!”

“So, you just brought us here to prove your oddness and how strange you are??” Gem clarified and the man nodded slightly. “Yes, though it was still a huge honour to meet you in person. Not everyone can successfully claim to have summoned divine beings like you are.”

“Too bad none of them will ever get to hear it then.” Gem responded politely, though there was an underlying tone of offense hidden beneath the layers of sweet talk. She didn’t seem to like this baker, but more because of the carelessness he seemed to have with his life; throwing it aside with little to no regard.

Pearl was slightly creeped out by him too, mostly because of the eerily satisfied smile he continued to sport. But it was by his own choice, so who was she to deny him the death he clearly seemed to crave and expect?

“Very well… all your life has led to this moment. Your time has come.” she said, a small smirk forming at the way the man seemed to shiver in anticipation regardless of all his preparations. He seemed excited as well. “Ready or not?”

“Will you go easily?” Gem added, the small flame on the candle extinguishing as if she herself put it out. “Or will you thrash, flee and run?”

“Has anyone ever chosen both before?” The man simply asked, almost unbothered by the threat. The two sisters glanced at each other for a moment before shaking their heads. It only caused a big excited smile to grow on his face. “Then I want to be the first to do that. I choose both.” 

How was that even supposed to work? Pearl didn't know and neither did Gem, evident by her shrugging in slight cluelessness. But this was a challenge, a change of pace. They just had to combine their methods in the right way. 

As the man had chosen his fate, the air around them grew colder, settling into an aura of death and loss. It strengthened the two spirits, with Gem getting enough fuel to stand confidently on her own again. The baker’s eyes firmly seemed to shine brighter at the change as likely some of his theories were confirmed or debunked right at this moment in time. He was beyond giddy as the two bringers of death started to circle around, making him forced to step closer to the door they had entered through previously.

Gem unequipped her bow, pulling an arrow out of her quiver as Pearl readied herself, her scythe still closely remaining sheathed to her body. The baker wasn’t going to fight, he didn’t even seem to have a weapon ready for the occasion. This was likely going to be a chase.

“BigB Statz was the name, was it not?” Gem mused as she pulled back the string. The baker nodded firmly in confirmation. His hand was already on the doorknob, ready to twist and turn it to make his sprint outside. 

“We were glad to make your acquaintance but we have a debt to collect, Sir.Statz. Will you face death or delay the inevitable?” Pearl smirked, already aware of the answer as BigB turned the doorknob, rushing out the doorway and down the stairs. 

It sparked something in her skin as her body shifted into a sprint; it was no surprise that when she reached the stairs her footsteps already were light as feathers due to her paws. He was barely at the end of the stairs as she gave chase. 

Their commotion kicked up the flour and dust in the house, leaving a trail behind them as the baker forced his way through the front door. Pearl lunged, though BigB closed the door before her jaws could reach him. With a heavy thud her snout collided with the door, forcing a weak whimper to escape in between her bared teeth. She rushed to the side, towards the nearest window as she saw BigB run further and further away from his home sweet home.

Now that simply couldn't be allowed.

Pearl quickly backed up and prepared herself, charging up her energy before rushing forward. With a strong leap, high but slim she reached the window and charged into it. The power of the head start caused the glass to shatter into a million pieces, barely slowing her speed as she landed on the other side with only minor cuts in her fur. 

She barely paid any mind to the piercing sound that accompanied the shattering of the glass, nor the small rain of shards around her as she ran ahead and immediately continued to give chase to BigB. He hadn’t gotten too far away but was sprinting to his full capacity now. Judging by the arrows that had landed nearby in the solid dirt, Gem had been more than busy shooting at him from whatever vantage point she had gotten for herself.

But she hadn’t missed her mark - Gem never misses any mark - she purposefully didn’t aim for him, redirecting the man to run into the direction and the way she wanted. Their mortal hasty minds were all too easy to trick into this pattern, let alone the panic that led them to commit foolish mistakes. They were prey, simply trying to outrun an inescapable predator.

The arrows in the ground grew less and less as BigB merely ran in a straight line now, perfect for Pearl to catch up. She was merely a single pounce away by the time she could hear Gem fire the final arrow in the distance. She estimated the speed with which it flew, waiting for her moment to strike before she heard it whizzing closer and closer. BigB’s death was going to be instant, incoming, but still a struggle, not for free - a perfect mix of what Pearl and Gem stood for.

And with one final and heavy pounce Pearl jumped on top of BigB, sinking her teeth into his neck as she heard the sickening crunch of his skull cracking. The arrow had hit him right in the head, abruptly cutting off the scream he had let out at Pearl’s bite. It distracted her from the sudden and different scream she heard from behind her and the jolt of massive pain in between her ribs. 

In the distance, from the direction of their tent, she could hear a blood curdling cry of pain from her father.

BigB’s body sacked and stumbled, lifelessly tumbling to the ground with no more energy in its limbs. Pearl kept her jaws locked on her prey, making his front side faceplant the ground in front of him to avoid herself from tumbling. Only once it slid to a stop she could focus on the suddenly new and painful sensation.

Her huffs were heavy and uneven as the seemingly unending pain ran its course through her body in waves; it only made her bite the corpse under her even stronger as a result. She could hear heavy groaning and grunting from the direction she just came from.

She could hear Gem loudly and painfully whimpering in the distance, a sound Pearl had hoped to never hear in her life. It let her ears perk up to attention, pushing everything else into the background.

Despite her own pain, her protective instincts took charge and she released her vice grip of her jaws on BigB in favour of sprinting back towards Gem. She followed the pained noises of her sister, panicked, chest heaving as she didn’t even realise that she had shifted back into a human until she found Gem. 

She sprinted towards the redhead who had collapsed in the grass in front of the bakery, surrounded by the glass of the window. Her bow was strapped to her person, but she was curled in on herself in pain, continuing to grunt and groan in apparent agony.

Weak whimpers helplessly escaped her once Pearl had reached and knelt down beside her, pulling her closer and holding her protectively in her arms. She instinctively leaned into the hold, burying her face into Pearl’s torso as she gripped one of her own arms by the wrist.

“Make it stop- make it stop, Pearl. Please make it stop-” she begged into the fabric of Pearl’s coat, her eyes squeezed shut. Pearl draped her coat over them both, holding her sister closer.

“I’m here- it’s okay. I promise- I’m here.” She reassured, keeping her sister’s head close to her own as a waterfall of words rushed out of her lips. 

“Tell me what’s going on. I can get Father for help. Maybe he knows something-”
“I can’t- I can’t feel my legs, Pearl. My arms hurt so bad- please make it stop.”

Gem opened her eyes, the emerald green filled with more suffering than Pearl as hardly ever seen before. Her sister clung onto her like a lifeline, writhing in her arms as she buried her face in her cloak once more.

“My legs… please tell me they’re still there…” she begged and Pearl’s eyes and hands shifted to inspect as requested.

Where she thought her hands would touch Gem’s shins she found absolutely nothing, where she thought she would see physical matter she only saw half of Gem’s legs up and past to her knees. The lower half of her legs had fully vanished, faded out of existence as a gradient of transparency snaked its way up very slowly. It was in the middle of consuming Gem’s knees, the weight of it barely able to be felt.

Pearl could only stare in unfiltered horror, the word fading that BigB had used gaining on a way bigger meaning, now that she saw what he had implied with her own eyes. She heard Gem mumble the same request over and over, sounding more desperate each time as Pearl was too stunned to answer. Her eyes were fixated on the sight in front of her, unable to comprehend its meaning.

Only when Gem clung her way up to Pearl’s shoulder, pushing her face into Pearl’s vision and blocking her eyes from the sight, did she manage to break herself out from her terrified trance.

“Gem… your legs, they-”
“Father…”

Gem’s voice sounded weak, a pained mumbling and at the verge of tears. “Please… get Father…”

Pearl didn’t need to be instructed a second time. Without hesitation she lifted Gem into her arms and gripped her tight as she ran, sprinting her way towards the path of their small camp. Father was there, she knew he was. He would help her- he would help Gem - they would all be fine - They would all be okay - she was not going to be alone! They would all be happy!

Her wishful thinking made her run past BigB’s corpse, his energy no longer of use. It wasn’t going to heal Gem, it never had healing properties to begin with. Her focus was on getting to their father, to the camp and-

-where it was supposed to be.

It wasn’t there anymore once she reached it, nor was Father’s horse around once she approached the scene. She shielded Gem’s head from the sight, not wanting her to see it while she called out for her father.

“Father!! Father, where are you please?!”
Her pleads sounded way more desperate than intended, her voice cracking as she rushed around and had tears prickling at the edges of her eyes. Her eyes searched for him, heard out for any sort of sound that didn’t come from Gem.

Her sister had clung tighter as Pearl had started to yell, feeling the desperation that clung to the words ripple through her like an earthquake.

“Father! Please! Where are you?!” 
Pearl called again, her legs carrying her around the area in a haste that almost made her miss the response she received this time around.
“...pearl?”

It was faint; it was weak, a mere shadow of the strong voice she had come to associate with her father - but it was still his nonetheless, nearby and alive. Pearl froze at the sound, her head shooting around before finally spotting her father in the grass. 

Or rather what was left of him.
Just like Gem, his legs had started to fade from existence and his hood had dropped in what Pearl could only assume was a massive scramble for some sort of safety.

Their eyes met as the moonlight shone down on them, only highlighting the horrible truth of the fading gradient currently consuming her father’s and sister’s bodies as the shadows that they cast were already barely there but also cut off at the knees. 

“Father…”
She rushed over, dropping down next to him on her knees as she leaned over both him and his sister. Her dam of tears broke as her father’s shaky hand ran over Gem’s cheek, wiping away the tears that had run down in the meantime from the pain. Both sisters were crying now, a gesture they hadn’t done in decades as Pearl started to talk and talk.
“I don't know what went wrong, Father- we did what you asked, what you usually do, the mark had decided to be killed by us both and we just did that- but then Gem started to scream and everything just started to hurt and fade and I don’t know how to fix it and-”

Defeated sobs came from Pearl then, gripping Gem’s body tighter as if she would disappear any second now. Hiccups interrupted her sobs every now and then, making it difficult to catch her breath.

“Tell me how to fix it-! I’ll do anything! I’m sorry if it was my fault, if it was something I did. Just please tell me there is a way to fix both of you. I don’t- I don’t want to be alone…” her head dipped lower, her face now pressed into his shoulder as she could feel his other hand on the back of her head, pressing her head further into his body.

An invitation, a silent permission to break, let loose and let out all of what she was feeling. And she did just that, breaking down in his hold as strong, raw, guttural sobs came from her, coursing through her body as it trembled and all of her energy felt like it was to come out all at once in one strong cry of loss and anguish.

And that’s where he felt a faint kiss to the side of her head and her father’s voice right at her ear.

“Find Skizz.” he said, his hand gripping tighter onto her hair. “Find him, bring him here, Pearl. You did nothing wrong, you never could. But please find Skizz. Bring him here…”

“I will! I will, I promise… I won’t- I can’t fail you… not now.” she nodded that she understood, her sobs still making it hard to breathe.

“You won’t. You could never.” He pulled her head up by the hair, gentle and soft, her now reddened eyes met his calm and glassy ones, a weak smile once again formed on his face. “I’m so proud of you, Pearlescent. So proud…”

Her full name sounded so fond as he said it, it shook her with a joy she couldn’t express. It was so rare when he used their full names, only reserved for the most special of moments. 

“Go now. Find him. Gem will take care of me, don’t you worry. We will look out for each other until you’re back.” He reassured her, his hands working on releasing her vice grip on her sister that helped him in that endeavour.

“You’re lying… don’t lie to me now.” Pearl said, the words leaving her mouth before she even reconsidered to voice them outloud. But it didn’t seem to bother her father, in fact it only seemed to widen his smile and allowed his fondness to sound louder, almost like a roar. “I could never lie to you. Now go and find Skizz!”

The unnatural shout made Pearl snap out of her stupor, the force of the command rushing over her spine and releasing her grip on Gem as she got onto her feet. Haphazardly, she placed her sister close to her father, trusting that they would have enough strength as her feet carried her further and further away from them.

She didn’t want to leave but she knew the command her father had just put on her was for the best. It forced her to act, forcing her to use the overfill she had stacked up for days to its full potential. Only then she would be able to find her Papa fast enough.

She gripped onto the white feather he had given her, pressing her thumb tightly against it. A white misty trail formed in front of her, guiding her like a compass to her destination. It was different from the bloody trail she usually had for her victims, but she was sure it would suffice just as greatly.

It had to.
She didn’t want to think of any other outcome.

Chapter Text

A wolf was running over fields, through forests, past houses; so far away from her pack, she was running and searching for the one man she wanted to see, that she had to see and reach. 

She had started to run as a human, the moon lending its light to her as a guidance as streams of tears were left behind her as some sort of trail, like crumbs leading her back to her home. Even after she had shifted into a wolf the tears continued to form and fall, silencing her human sobs and instead replacing them with soft, animalistic whines and howls, a desperate calling for help from the man she sought.

Guided by an invisible trail, its sensation stronger and more intoxicating than any sort of bloodlust she had ever felt before, she sprinted from place to place, unable to stop even for a single second to rest. The command that was put on her very being locked her limbs into the fluent motion of ‘run, search and find’ up until she found what she was looking for.

She was running, sprinting, crying and calling for the ones she loved, a lone wolf on a seemingly unending search for the man in white. Her Papa, that’s what she called him; he was so much more to her than just a man in white , more than any sort of mortal had ever described him.

And she needed him now, so desperately.
Seeing just a single white feather of his would likely be enough to send her straight to something akin to heaven, if that sort of place even existed for a spirit like her. She would likely never find out, and certainly never when she would fail this mission. Once her energy would run out, she would collapse and fade, all alone and by herself in the middle of the wilderness.

Her Papa wouldn’t be there to console her.
Her Father wouldn’t hug and tell her that everything would be okay.
Not even her sister would be able to reach her.
The wolf would fade, leave behind a desperate and lonely woman until she too would start to fade and disappear, leaving most of her name and legacy to be forgotten in the wind.

Pearl, the wolf, was chasing after her life, a solution, a way to live. Desperately, she searched until she found what she was looking for: 

A single white feather, resting on top of a rocky path.
Then another identical one, only a few steps further away.
And then another and another until it formed an entire trail of feathers.

She felt like she could sob out of full relief at the sight.

Single individual feathers grew in bundles, then fully formed piles, up until the very end where she found her Papa’s feathery coat on the ground, with the man himself barely having made it any further than a few steps before he had crumbled onto the hard soil beneath.

His hand was reached out towards the destination he seemed to be heading, his legs and hips fully consumed by the transparency as the moon stood low, threatening to dip, fade and leave the man to basically burn into nothingness by himself in the upcoming sunlight.

The sky wasn’t dark anymore when Pearl had found him; it was a dark blue, with the sun’s shine threatening to spill over the horizon at any moment. It was there where her search had ended, where her power and overfill had run out. Once she reached him, she cried out in pain, shifting out of her wolf form for the very last time before collapsing to the ground. The soil dirtied her clothes, scraped up her skin, but she couldn’t care any less.

She couldn’t feel her legs, barely even her hip, not even wanting to try and check to confirm if her suspicion was right. Her focus remained on her Papa, on the figure on the ground as she clawed and pulled herself towards him. Grunts and hisses of pain tore from her lips as she dragged herself across the soil, her arm and hand reached out to touch him.

“Papa…” she weakly cried, her hand fully outstretched and desperate to touch him. “...please Papa… please..” she begged… and her pleas seemed to be heard.

Her Papa’s hand twitched as he seemed to recognize her voice, his eyes opening to search for her. They widened once he spotted who he thought he had heard, his hand immediately reaching towards her. “...Pearl…?”

Closing the distance between them by outstretching his fingers to its full length he had gotten a hold on her hand, pulling his daughter toward him with the last of his remaining strength. She immediately scooted closer to him as he wrapped an arm around her, protectively shielding her from the outside world. 

She started to cry and sob as she clung to him.

“I’m so… tired, Papa.” She whispered, her whole body shaking feebly. “I…I failed… I promised-”

“You didn’t promise anything, Pearly-”
“But I did!”

She clung to him tighter, hiccups making it difficult to speak the words like she wanted to.

“I- I.. I-I-I pro-promised- I promised I would find you! And… and…”
“But you have found me, you’ve kept your promise.”

He whispered, soothing her as she shook her head in disagreement.

“That… that isn’t enough -” 
“It’s more than enough…”

Pearl merely shook her head again but Skizz placed a hand on her cheek, his thumb running over her cheek bone as he smiled at her in fondness. “Listen to me, Pearl. You’ve succeeded. You have done more than enough.”

“But Father and Gem should get to see you.” She retorted, causing her Papa’s eyebrows to furrow as she doubled down. “It isn’t fair-”

“None of this hardly is fair.” Skizz retorted, pulling Pearl as close as he could. “You deserve better, Pearl. Even if you don’t realise it sometimes.” 

He mumbled further reassurements into her hair, telling her all sorts of things to distract her from the inevitable. The sun was rising higher and the moon’s light dimmed more and more; slowly their time in this realm was running out. When the first ray of sunshine would hit him, he would be gone by then, and all traces of him in this world would likely be left forgotten.

And not only his, Impulse’s as well.
Pearl’s and Gem’s traces were even fewer.

They had barely lived anything that could resemble any sort of life in the first place. They had no mark, no legacy or left any noticeable traces in this world. Taken in youth, as little kids, they barely lived something akin to a life before being wretched away from it. Their names were already faint in memory… nobody would notice them disappearing altogether. 

Skizz looked down onto Pearl, a woman that had decided to call and consider him as a father. Now she trembled in his arms, scared, exhausted and appearing so little once again, like the little girl she used to be when she passed away the first time. He hadn’t known about her yet back then, hadn't been able to give her life when it possibly could have saved her...

He had already failed her once .
He couldn’t fail his daughter now .
The decision he made here and now, it was final .

He pressed her head closer, burying her face in his chest as he reached for the feathers she once had attached to her hip; a hip that was now lost to transparency as the feathers had fallen to the ground. He refused to let her move as he picked up the feather he had given her and the one that contained her soul, not wanting her to notice what he was about to do.

She would try to stop him, he knew she would once she would realise what it meant what he was doing.
She would find out eventually, very soon in fact.
He just begged that if it worked, it would send some sort of signal towards Impulse, to let him know.
He would know what to do next if Gem was with him.

Skizz held up the feathers in his hand, shifting them between his fingers so that his laid on top of Pearl’s. He held it toward the brightest spot around them, a mere tree stump, and placed them onto it before simply watching the rays of sunshine emerge and rise slowly but surely. 

Once the first ray hit, both of them tensed up in pain, flinching at the sudden sensation.

“I don’t- I don’t want to die again, Papa.” He heard Pearl whisper feebly and he couldn’t hold back the tears and a fond smile as she said those words. “You won't, I made sure of that.” 

And that’s where Pearl tensed up again, but this time as a different sensation hit her. Skizz knew which one it was as he watched his own feather burn in the sunlight, shielding Pearl’s as some of the white bled onto it instead. Soon it will look like the feather of just some ordinary mortal bird, barely recognizable as it will likely get carried away by the wind before Pearl would notice.

He could feel his daughter’s breathing quickening, the motion so faint now that he barely registered it. 

She struggled out of his hold, way too easy for her liking as she looked down onto herself. As the sun shone brighter and brighter she could see the rest of her body fade back in again, her hip as the first thing, then her calves up to her knees… she didn’t look much longer than that as she looked back towards Skizz.

Her Papa was barely there, she couldn’t see his hands anymore as he watched her with a knowing smile on his face. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at him in stunned silence for a single moment. 

“What have you done?” She whispered before surging forward, pulling the rest of his body into her arms. She shook him as she could feel his weight to lighten in her arms. “What have you done?! PAPA!!” 

She screamed on top of her lungs, which only tore a weak but delighted laugh from his tired lips.

“I’ve given you life, Pearly-Pop.” he simply said, a feeble whisper as Pearl had to reposition her hands. His arms had fully faded by now, leaving only the head and torso. “I’ve given you the life you were always meant to have.”

“But I want you to be there with me…” she cried, one of her hands running through his hair. It barely got caught on her fingers, it felt like running a hand through a body of water. “I don’t want to be alone, Papa… I- I can’t…”

“And you won’t be. I will be there.” He simply retorted, his eyes half lidded as the air around them shone brighter and brighter. She could see her own hands through his body now, blurry but slowly getting clearer and clearer as he faded more and more.

“I will always… be there.”

And then… he was gone.
Pearl’s hands held air.

She stared down at them, the occasional tear splashing onto them, hydrating the skin it hit. She could feel the wetness of it, taste the saltiness of it on her lips as the sunlight warmed her skin as it shone on her.

Overwhelmed by the wave of new sensations, she slightly curled in on herself, her hands frozen in this holding motion as they trembled. More tears fell as the chorus of birds started to chirp and sing their newest song. The sweet mixture of the scents of nature hit her nose, solidifying all her senses to be working.

She was real. A real human.
She was reborn and a new day had begun.

A new day without Skizz. 
And there was never going to be another one with him.

And that fact made Pearl cry out in anguish, in mourning and loss, only for the forest to hear as she sobbed on a simple hiking path in the middle of the woods, alone and by herself. 

People would pass but not question, animals would stop and stare but continue on their way. 

Because why would a simple lady like her cry over nothing in the middle of the day? Over empty soil with nothing of importance as its meaning, value and significance had vanished in the same moment as she had fully reappeared?

Chapter Text

“It’s okay, Father. Everything’s going to be okay…” 

The soft voice of his daughter warmed Impulse’s heart as he watched her scan his face. He wasn’t injured, no wounds could cause the fate that was about to befall him and his beloved daughters.

“Pearl will come back and Papa will help you, okay? He will know what to do.” Gem reassured, though it was more to herself as she further cradled Impulse's head. He was more than aware that Skizz could do nothing to stop what laid ahead, that Pearl might not be fast enough to even reach him in time. 

And he had sent her away anyway…almost guaranteed to never return… he regretted it as soon as she had disappeared from his sight.

But Gem didn’t need to know that. She should be allowed to cling onto that undying hope of hers.

She was near tears, her eyes glassy as the salty water threatened to spill any second now. It was the first clear time since ages he had seen her show her tears like that. The last time was on her own deathbed.
Poetic, was it not? 

How much she had grown since then... Powerful, agile, intelligent. The little girl he had raised had grown into the beautiful and strong woman like he always wanted her to be. He couldn't help but smile, a twitchy hand wiping the tears away that were on the verge of spilling down her pale cheek.

She gripped him tighter as a result as their skin faded into deeper translucency at a snail’s pace, his weight in her arms becoming lighter as a result. He was going to fade first and she would follow soon after, with Pearl not far behind. The bond simply worked like that, he was always aware of that fact. 

Back then he simply didn’t care about that.
Back then he simply wanted to raise and see those two kids grow up and have the childhood that was taken from them. Did he do a good job with it? He didn’t know. But they were here - Gem was here with him - so that must stand for something, right?

Gem continued to check how far the transparency had spread - it had reached past their hips by now -, shot her head towards any sort of sound that didn’t come from them just for the miniscule chance that it announced Pearl’s return. She was on the lookout for her sister, for her Papa, a wolf or a horse, the sound of galloping or howling - but none of those were going to reach her in time, most likely.

Impulse would prefer it to happen, but he wasn’t going to be mad if it didn't. He knew Pearl would try her best and wouldn’t stop until she fulfilled her promise. His daughter was like that, stubborn beyond belief. ‘Like father, so the daughter’ some mortals liked to say; he understood the saying way better now. 

She would try… and fail. And he was okay with that, more than just okay. He was accepting that his time had come and so he watched as Gem’s head was about to dart upwards again, into some random direction as the wind around them let the bushes rustle. Interrupting her motion, his hand rose to the back of her head and shoved her face back down to face him, her face looking caught off guard by the motion.

“Stop looking. It won’t make it any easier.” He said, trying to elaborate but the first tears finally spilled from her eyes. “I can’t… what if she calls for help and I am not there. What if they return and it’s too late-?”

“Then it happened.” He pressed her head lower, allowing their two foreheads to touch as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her tears spilled onto his coat, her lower lip trembling with suppressed sobs. “Getting yourself lost in ‘What Ifs’ won’t help, Gemini. It’s not what Skizz or Pearl would’ve wanted you to do either.”

The shakiest of smiles cracked onto her face as he said her full name, causing him to smile as one of the sobs broke through her mentally carefully crafted barricade. He always knew how happy it made his daughters to hear their names, making sure not to let them be forgotten. It caused them to have some ounce of joy every time, no matter how dire the situation was.

“I am scared, Father.” Gem slowly admitted, her face scrunched up in some frustration she seemed to have with herself. “I am not supposed to be scared of dying, Father. Why am I scared?”

“Because it's natural. You feel what everyone else feels.”
“But I am death… I am not supposed to-”
She interrupted herself, her hands gripping into the back of his coat tighter, her next words merely broken whispers.
“-I am not supposed to be scared of myself.”

“Who told you that?” Impulse simply questioned, already aware of what the answer was going to be. Gem knew it too, that’s why she wisely remained silent and merely opened her eyes.

“Gemini, you’re allowed to be scared.” He reiterated, his twitchy hand running through the curls of her hair. “ Everyone is scared. Even I am scared. Would you judge me if I would be scared, as the original bringer of death?”

His daughter merely shook her head at the question, her eyes averting from his in shame. 

“Exactly, so don’t blame yourself for feeling it. Can you promise me that?” He didn’t get an answer as Gem kept looking away. He forced her face to look at him again. “Can you promise me that, Gemini?”

“I can- I promise.” She nodded rapidly, trying to prevent her tears from falling onto his face by uselessly wiping them away. “I promise… I’ll try!”

She surged forward and hugged him tight, her hair obscuring his view from the moon as it had dipped way past their normal time of waking by now. He glanced towards the horizon as the sky’s shade got lighter and lighter, his arms wrapping around his daughter on instinct.

“And that’s the best you can do sometimes.” he reassured her, hugging her as close as he could to prevent her from seeing the sight of the sun rising higher and higher.

It was going to take them both, make them both fade from existence. Pearl wasn’t here to experience it with them, now either with Skizz or by her own, crumbled on the floor as her overfill must have run out by now. Impulse really hoped for it to be the first bit, that she was with Skizz and not by herself.

She was going to blame herself for the supposed failure either way, he knew she would. But neither him nor Gem would judge her. 

He soothingly ran his fingers through Gem’s hair; she seemed to have broken down into his shoulder by now, the realisation of Pearl not returning in time probably crashing down on her at this very moment. Her sobs were loud and coming from deep within, a sound Impulse thought he would never get to hear from Gem.

Gem was always the quieter one, more calm and collected but just as chaotic. She sped around and was fascinated by the most minor things at times, her eyes firmly shining in wonder each time she would discover something new.

She would have been a great wizard, scientist or cleric - something that allowed her to gain more and more knowledge and feed that craving for information she always seemed to have whenever she asked him about the tiniest of details and questions.

Pearl would have been similar, but more outgoing and active, probably in some sort of battling guild. She was more about learning in practice than in books, trying the most chaotic things before considering the consequences.

They would have been great rulers too; some of the best, he would reckon. But a life of extravagance was not something for the both of them… he saw that quickly.

No matter what way they would have both gone, he would have been insanely proud of them anyway.

And here he was, with only one of them now. But he still held her close all the same, let her feel the love she so desperately deserved. He almost would have missed how her and Skizz’s feathers, that had fallen into the grass in the meantime, had started to sparkle.

Almost.

It caught his eye just as the sparkle had started, meaning whatever Skizz was doing… had to likely do with Pearl. She was with him, he had access to her feather - he was doing something that involved them both.

Impulse reached for the feathers, keeping Gem tightly wrapped around his form as he didn’t want her to see what he was doing. If Skizz was doing what Impulse was suspecting, then it was for the best that Gem didn’t know before it was too late.

“Father?” He ignored her question as he picked up the feathers, sliding Skizz’s over Gem’s like a shield before setting it down next to them again, a place where the rays of sunshine were going to reach them fairly fast. They were about to appear over the horizon any moment now, he could see them right there- “Father what’s going on-”

Her words were cut when a ray of sunshine hit her, a pained groan escaping her lips just as Impulse did the same. He kept quiet, his focus fully on his daughter.

“Gemini, look at me.” He demanded, his voice pained as her head hesitantly turned to him. Her face was filled with fear and pain as tears started to run down his face. “There you are. Keep looking at me.”

“The sun …it-”
“I know… it hurts. But not for long, I promise. I made sure of that.”
“Of what??”

She questioned as her eyes scanned his face. They caught onto something in the corner of her eye, letting her freeze. Her eyes didn’t deceive her as she saw her Papa’s feather light up in flames over hers, her own feather simply gaining some white spots but remaining unharmed otherwise.

She knew the feather was hers; she had looked at it so many times by now she would notice even the slightest difference.

“Why-  what did you do…” she muttered under her breath but her face was grabbed by her father again, forced to look away before his hold on her fully vanished. 

She still held him in her arms, his hands now fading quickly as the sun seemed to damage him more the brighter it seemed to get. He looked too weak to even cry, his eyes half lidded in pain, the sight forced a new wave of tears to stream down Gem’s face. “Don’t… don’t look over there. Look at me, okay?”

“Father… what did you do?” she cried, her head shaking in disbelief as she could see her hands starting to gain back its colour, the feeling in her legs returning with each piece of sunshine. Her father smiled, weak and shaky but still satisfied with himself. “Live… you can live your life now.”

“But I don’t want to live my life… not when you, Pearl and Papa are gone.” She sobbed in response and his eyes warmed up even more in fondness.“But you will… go out and live the life you were always supposed to live. I know you will do great, always have, my dearest Gemini.”

Gem brought him closer as the weight in her arms grew to barely anything left, her hands resting at the back of his head and pulling his forehead closer to hers again. She ignored the sight of seeing her own palms through his face. 

“I am proud of you, Gemini…so…” his words faded in a whisper as Gem held him tighter, the fabric of the coat barely a sensation on her hand. “...so proud.”

She dug her fingers deeper, the fabric disappearing under her nails. A moment later she could feel the nails dig into the skin of her palms, surely destined to leave crescent shaped indents in the flesh. She lowered her head, the forehead meeting the blades of grass below, way past the point where her father had laid mere moments ago.

He was gone.
Her father was gone.
All of her family was gone.

Her fingers dug into the dirt, gripped onto the grass, reality catching up with her as she could feel the warmth on her back, a courtesy of the cursed sunshine that took her father away from her.

Her hands formed into trembling fists, a few unfortunate blades of grass getting stuck in her grasp. She yanked them all out with one good pull, her body shooting up and throwing the dirt she had in her hand into some random direction as she cried out in rage and anguish. Her hands reached and grabbed at her hair as she pressed her head down into the soil, threatening to tear out sections of her hair all at once. 

The sun mercilessly shined down on her and continued to do so as she repeated the gesture over and over, its warmth feeling nothing but a taunt as she raged and sobbed and wailed into her hands with loss. Its rays could never replace the warmth that her family had brought to her, no matter how bright it wanted to shine. 

It could never remotely compare to what her fathers and sister meant to her.
Never.

Chapter Text

Gem and Pearl didn't know when the sun had sunk.
Neither did they notice when it rose once more.

Their stomachs had started to growl. Only the pain that had come with it had made them notice the passing of time in the first place. 

Their stomachs felt empty, their throats dry, their eyes tired. They felt mortal hunger and thirst as they required the sleep of a simple human being for the first time in their new lives. New feelings and sensations they didn’t know how to deal with, now that they were real. 

Gem remained at the spot in the field for longer as Pearl moved away from the hiking path, leaving Skizz’s resting place untouched and unchanged. But Pearl burned the spot in her memory, made a mental picture of it so she wouldn’t forget. She marked the trees around and towards it with the scythe she still possessed, leaving crumbs behind so she could find her way back to the spot at any time.

Gem did the same, though she first gathered a bunch of different types of stone for some makeshift structure. She didn’t know how to build a gravestone, let alone what one looked like, so she simply stacked stones and materials on top until she was satisfied. She wanted to be able to see it from afar and for the weather to not be able to break it.

During one of her breaks it had started to rain, a familiar companion on their hunts making a return. But this time she couldn’t help but cry in it as she felt the drops hydrating her skin and soaking her clothes. She cupped her hands together like she had seen mortals do when it rained and sure enough a small amount of water steadily gathered in her palms.

Some of it trickled through her hands, some of it spilled as she took a simple sip as a test run, but in the end the effort was worth it as the water ran down her tongue and throat, a refreshing sensation spreading through with relief and her thirst barely quelched. She needed more and was thirstier for more intake, so she ran off on a search, making sure to mark her path to not forget the structure that marked Impulse’s resting place. 

Pearl’s first experience with water also came with food as a nearby lake offered her the refreshment. She was sure she drank gallons of it before actually being fully satisfied, but she didn’t care about specifics. What caught her attention was a nearby rabbit, enjoying the same refreshment as her only a good distance away from her. 

She eyed the animal with interest, observing its calm movement before she prepared her bow. The texture of the wood felt different now, the string harder to pull back and the aiming was more difficult to nail, but she hit her shot anyway as the arrow pierced the rabbit all the same, killing it with one shot.

Stepping closer, she picked up the carcass, now unsure what to do with it. She had never eaten a rabbit before, let alone cooked one. All she knew was to remove the hide and fur first, she had learned that by spying on a mark who used to be a hunter. 

So… she took the rabbit with her and did just that, cutting off a small piece of its flesh to test it. The raw taste of it wasn’t too bad, but left something to be desired. But it helped with the hunger, filled her, so that had to be enough for her as she left the lake behind.

Unlike her, Gem hadn’t had the pleasure of encountering her first meal in such a simple way. It hit close to home at first as she had spotted a deer near the place she had gathered more water. It had beautifully stunning antlers, its stride proud and mighty.

Gem smiled at first, whispering a ‘Good for him’ in slight jealousy. Her antlers had never grown that beautiful back when… back when she had her father and her sister. Needless to say, she left relatively quickly. 

Her escape from past memories led her to a river, one where a horde of fish seemed to be in the middle of migrating to a different place. Her stomach ached at the lack of filling so she didn’t let the opportunity escape from her. She approached the waters and carefully wadded into it, standing still so as to not alert the nearby fish too much. Slowly, she unsheathed her sword and waited to strike, her eyes darting around and unsure what fish to choose. 

She settled on waiting for the right moment of one of them passing by the tip of her boots. It was then where she striked, plunging her sword into the water and impaling the fish, causing the rest of the swarm to scatter at the sight. She didn’t mind though as the ‘catch’ she made was one of a larger size. Cutting it up, and discarding some disgusting looking parts, she ate the fish raw before deciding to gather up more. 

After their first meals, both Gem and Pearl decided to sleep as night seemed to approach. Pearl climbed onto a tree while Gem hid in a small carved out hole in a cliffedge, both of them unable to rest at first as the happenings of their first true and full days as mortal humans seemed to catch up with them right then and there. 

Tears spilled anew and soft sobs wailed in the nearby areas, both only stopping as yawns and exhaustion overtook their grieving. But even through that, they barely had gotten themselves to sleep properly. They used their cloaks as a replacement for one another, the fabric only missing the other person in between to make it feel real again. 

They dreamed of similar things, happy things. 
They saw each other in their dreams, laughing and running through a field of wheat stalks, followed by a cave full of amethyst crystals - careless, as if the last hours had never happened. 

When they awoke, they were both disappointed with the reality, waiting for a little while before moving on with their journey. They wanted to hold onto that dream, make it real one day if they would ever have the luck to find each other once more. 

The hope for that dream dwindled as months upon months would pass. They both had made their first set of human contact in that meantime, both going as awkwardly as one could imagine. But both were recognized for the skill of their hunting as people commented on their bows and weapons of choice. Some even offered them payment for it; gold, silver, copper - currency - a concept they still had struggled to grasp.

At first, they both had declined, but soon they had started to understand the use it brought when it came to repairing their gear. Their wheatstones had run out and were only sold by people in the local markets alongside all kinds of other different things that they could need, so they both decided to make their pay off of their hunting. 

It included a variety of animals, but never deers or wolves. They had aimed at them before, had been offered huge amounts of rewards for killing one or the other, but when the time for the killing strike had come they never could bring themselves to do it, letting the animal live and flee into freedom. 

It hit too close to home, too close to heart.

These specific species of animals signified and meant more than just simple food or coin to them, just like any animal with pure white or black feathers. Something in their hearts always ached whenever they would look at them or encounter mere traces of it.

Because it was a reminder of the family they had both lost.
Their fathers and their sister, unaware that the latter was still alive, breathing and yearning for the other all the same. They never stopped searching, never gave up the hope, but years would pass and the dream of running through that same wheat field and amethyst filled cave would fade more and more, collecting dust at the back of their mind as they stopped thinking about it.

By the time the memory of that first dream returned and was cleaned of its unused state, was when they had both found each other’s name through the same job listing. 

An outbreak and overpopulation of bears had made the woods and nearby routes unsafe for merchants and travelers alike. Multiple hunters were requested to deal with the problem and the listing was spread to multiple different towns. A man travelled from place to place to note people down on the listing, each giving a copy to the hunters who would participate to get themselves familiarized with the people they were going to be working with. 

And there, Gem and Pearl had read letters in arrangements they had never thought to speak out loud ever again, alongside their weapon of choice.

—————

Gemini Taylor | Sword/Trident - Bow

Pearlescent Moone | Scythe/Axe - Bow

—————

Once again, a pure coincidence. 
The first names matched, so did the weapons of choice.
Only the last names were what threw them off, completely new and not even remotely similar to their old ones. They didn’t even remember their old ones to begin with,  so they were hesitant on gripping onto the hope they were sure to foolishly have brought upon themselves.

“There was no way that it was going to be her .” They had both whispered to themselves as they slept in separate nearby taverns, one day before the hunters were gathered for the quest. No matter how hard they tried, they barely managed to keep their eyes closed before picking up that same list again, reading over that same familiar name.

Surely, they were just delusional and simply lost to never being able to move on. Surely , they were just giving themselves false hope for the slim possibility that that specific hunter was going to be the sister they had both lost years ago by now…

Surely…

——————————————

It felt weird to work as a team of more than two people. Pearl had concluded that relatively fast. 

She was used to one or two hunters, on the lookout for the same bounty and maybe sharing the prize if it was worth the trouble - not over eighty people preparing for the same supposed threat. 

Some had brought harpoons as well, those who fished at sea or hunted rare creatures like sharks or whales. Trophy hunters brought some unique gear too, but it all was going to be used on the same kind of animal anyway so what difference did it really make? 

They were great for the barricades they had erected at the sidewalks at least, even though Pearl thought they were a little excessive and an overreaction… but hey, they provide the coin so she will not try to rob herself of the payment by voicing any protest.

Besides, it secured countless areas and helped them escort multiple caravans of goods along the way to ensure safe travels. It was a rather boring part of their job, Pearl had to admit, but hey as long as it brought her the money she didn’t complain. 

It was all about the money… kinda… not fully.
She still hadn’t encountered that supposed mystery hunter yet. The name was called when the heads of the operation counted everybody’s attendance, and she did see a gloved hand rise up from the crowd, but their response was way too quiet in the storm of voices and discussions. From there on, she never personally saw the owner of that gloved hand again so far.

The look of it sat at the back of her mind at all times, a still image she kept thinking back to when she had the moment to go through her thoughts. It looked familiar but that might’ve just been because it was a popular design. Though, she did see the stitches and patches of sawn-on fabric on them, meaning that the gloves weren’t new in the slightest. Pearl’s gloves were similar, a little torn from the years of usage.

Maybe that was the familiarity that they shared? 
Years of hunting practice? 
Maybe…
Maybe not…
Pearl couldn’t quite decide, but she had more than enough time to think about it.

Because it was when the sun had begun to set that her real shift began. 

She always preferred to hunt in the dark; some rarer species of bounty were only nocturnal so when people looked for someone to do the night shift she was one of the first to raise her hands. Did she regret it? A teeny tiny bit, but nothing that a good afternoon sleep and midnight sharpening of her arrows couldn’t fix. 

She had noticed that the gloved hand rose again as well for the night shift, which was another plus. She could spend more time thinking about it there… because gods did the arrows not distract her enough…

The torch that burned next to her helped her with the task, allowing her to focus and keep her hearing sharp for any sort of sound that came from beyond the barricade, but it kept her thoughts barely in check from wandering around. She sat on top of the barricade, with her head barely poking out to check anything in case of any movement.

She doubted a bear would approach during her shift, but hey you could never know. Some animals just liked to be bold and risk something and sometimes even succeed. Pearl could fully understand that sentiment, having acted on the same mindset plenty of times in the past herself; so until then, she simply resorted to waiting.

Waiting and sharpening arrows.

——————————————

Frankly, Gem was getting bored.
Like genuinely, really really bored.

While she was aware of what had awaited her when signing up for this whole schtick, she never would have thought it would be that mind numbingly boring… she at least thought that something would happen at some point, let alone at night when it would be much more exciting.

But nah, here she sat, twirling a hunting knife between her fingers for probably the 57th time in the middle of the night with not a single news, distraction or event. She sat there for hours and you mean to tell her that not a single thing has happened so far? Now come on…

Her glance wandered around to the other hunters that were stationed at the barricade for the night shift. Some stared out into the darkness of the forest, some busied themselves with some sort of hobby while others looked like they would fall asleep any second now. 

What a waste of time…

She stood up from her post, stretching her arms and legs. With a satisfying pop of her shoulder she dispersed the built up stiffness that had gathered in her muscles, followed by the cracking of her neck and knuckles. She really needed a distraction from this mind numbing experience. 

“I could really use a drink right now.” She told the hunter that was stationed on the same spot as her. He leaned against the wall and looked out into the wilderness, barely acknowledging her presence. “You want anything?”

“Nah I’m good.” He waved her off, nonchalant and barely distracted. He didn’t even avert his eyes from the nothingness he seemed to stare towards. She simply shrugged at his reaction; his loss, she mused.

With that she left her post and climbed down the ladder into the main gathering area. Several tents with sleeping hunters were strewn about, with two big ones in the center. One was for meetings, talking with the organisers and important people, and the other was the one that had the food and drinks. And Gem definitely needed a bit of the latter. 

She made her way past the tents, giving the occasional hunting or guard dog she encountered a good scratch behind the ears for a job well done on guarding and protecting the resting folk. They were also just doing their duty like her, nothing wrong with showing some appreciation and gratitude. 

When she stepped into the tent it seemed relatively empty. Some fully drunken idiots slept on the benches while a handful of quiet groups played with some cards and betted some coins for the win. It seemed much cozier than Gem had expected it to be. At daylight this place was loud and stormy and quite literally overstimulating until your ears could fall off; this felt like a hidden paradise made just for her in comparison. 

Stepping towards the center, the equivalent of a makeshift bar had been built and housed a single bartender with dark brown hair. A single green stripe fell over his forehead and he wore a brown vest on which he occasionally wiped his hands after cleaning a glass. He was deep in a conversation with a huntress with pink hair, a trident and net strapped to her person as her presumably weapon of choice. Her outfit was way more stylish but still slick, highlighting the experience that she seemed to express with the style choice.

Their conversation was soft and only got louder once Gem approached closer, taking a seat on one of the stools nearby.

“I tell you, Lizzie, I have never seen a man wear such a stylish moustache before. I thought I had encountered some blumming rich bloke from Rivendell-”
“Mumbo is far from a ‘rich bloke from Rivendell’, Joel. He merely got the talent and genius in the technical department.”
“And you know that how? Did you sweet talk him or what?”
“No, because I worked with him for years, you idiot.”

The woman tried to whack the bartender over the head with a bag, making him laugh as he dodged it at the last minute. He seems to not have noticed Gem yet so she knocked onto the counter, clearing her throat loudly. 

That seemed to do the trick as it caught his attention, beckoning him closer with an apologetic chuckle. “Oh! Sorry ‘bout that. What can I bring ya?”

“You have some kind of Gin? Whiskey?” She asked, just out for a quick refreshment. The bartender, Joel apparently, nodded and glanced towards his selection. "Whiskey, I can do.”

“Make it two then.” 

A voice behind Gem called, sounding just as equally exhausted as their long but light footsteps got closer. Joel glanced past Gem towards the newcomer and nodded, leaving to prepare the drinks. 

In the meantime the new company, a tall huntress with long brown hair, sat down next to Gem with a huff. Her face was not visible as she rubbed her seemingly tired face, with Gem barely tilting her face towards her.

“Quite boring, huh?” She commented, making Gem snicker. “You could say that again.”

“Crickey, if I knew beforehand that I might die from boredom up there I would have rather not signed up for this mess.” The huntress chuckled, a sound so familiar to Gem’s ears, though she couldn’t quite place it right now. 

The redhead’s eyes narrowed and squinted, but before she turned to the person beside her Joel already returned with a filled glass for each of them. He placed them down before adding the bottle onto  the counter alongside it. Gem gave him a confused look at first, but he waved his hand around before she could get a word out.

“Knock yourself out. Gotta get rid of it somehow anyway. Barely anyone drinks it.” he simply said before turning and walking back over to the pink-haired woman again to continue their conversation. He didn’t seem to care so the other huntress simply shrugged and pulled the bottle closer, pouring herself some more.

Gem took her own glass and stared down into the liquid, stirring it as she swayed her glass around slightly before taking a sip. The taste was strong, high in flavour, warming her from the inside out. She eyed the huntress next to her as she took a sip of her glass, her face and reaction not visible and concealed by the curtain of her hair. Her head tilted to Gem to the slightest bit, nodding towards Gem’s gloved hand.

“How long have you been in this hunting business?” Gem followed her nod, noting how the stranger seemed to wear a similar glove on her hands as well. It was way more rough and scratched up but still expertly sawn together. Gem could tell that it was the exact same model… odd. She hadn’t found anyone who made that sort of glove when she had ripped hers…

“A few years. I think five, if my math adds up. You?” she simply passed the question back, luring out a nod from the stranger, a smirk to her tone. “Same boat then. Also five. Feels like way longer though.”

They felt silent for a few minutes, both emptying their drinks before Gem offered to fill it up again. She got an accepting hum in response, almost immediately too. Seems like she wasn’t the only one who needed a longer break from the boredom at the barricade.

“So, what brought you here, mate?” Her company asked once her glass was refilled, not turning to face the redhead. Gem sighed alongside her response. “Payment. Wanted to save up for a horse to cover more ground. The grimmish towns are nice and all but I am planning to look for some place better suited for me."

To look for someone dear to me.
She wanted to add that part too but decided against it.

The other huntress snickered, again a noise sounding so familiar to Gem’s ears. “Can’t say I blame ya. Mythic cities are not the golden lands they are said to be either.” 

“You’re coming from Mythland then?” Gem then inquired, tilting her head in curiosity. 

The huntress paused for a moment before responding. “Not… really . Gilded Helianthia is my actual home. We moved away from it when I was just a lil kid. The body might be Mythland but the heart is still as helianthian as it can be.” 

She chuckled at her own exaggerated proud fist pump into the air and Gem couldn’t help but join in, nodding along the backstory that felt so similar to hers. Almost feeling too similar in a way. 

“Can relate.” Gem said as they settled back down, catching the interest of the other huntress as she motioned for her to continue. She did, gladly, though she wasn’t sure why she felt so free talking about it now. Gem never told her coverup story to anyone, but this random woman could get her to talk? Must be the alcohol or something.

“Might not seem like it but I’m from the Cliffs. Born and raised in the Grimlands but moved away when I was young. Only returned there for business related things. I prefer the cold peaks of the Crystal Cliffs any day.” she explained, though a small smile formed on her face as a memory started to replay in her mind; a memory of way past and better times.

“My father used to take me and my sister out at night to watch the stars and long journeys on his horse, taking us from the Cliffs to Rivendell, then from the Grimlands to Dogwarts - all the way towards Pixandria…” she sank deeper into her seat, her head resting in her hand. “...he had a best friend who I also considered family. He did the same thing, always on a different route though. Barely saw each other." 

“That…” the huntress next to her paused, her tone incredibly soft. “...that sounds wonderful. I’m sure your father was a great man.”
“You bet he was.”
“What was his name?” 

Gem paused then, a little caught off guard by the question. “Wh…what do you mean?”

“His name… did he have one?” The other woman fidgetted with her glass, her head inching back and forth as if she contemplated to show her face

“I…” Gem stammered a little, somehow unable to come up with something. 

She knew her father’s name, why was it so difficult to say now?? She knew it for the longest time- made sure to not forget it, reminded herself of it every day and yet-... and yet it now didn’t seem to come to mind at all, as if she didn’t remember!

“Our dad seems quite similar then.” The huntress muttered then, taking Gem’s lack of words as an answer. It was then when she turned her full face to Gem, a smirk on her face. “Your sister, I can assure you though… had one. I’m sure that name takes much more effort to forget.”

The woman in front of her then laughed as Gem’s eyes widened at some sort of realisation as she was able to take in the full face of the huntress for the first time during the conversation.

The face she had seen in her dreams countless times alongside the ones of her fathers, the face that she had remembered and sworn to search for from the day they had parted- the face that was now smiling and laughing wider and louder as Gem could do nothing but stare with her mouth wide agape. The signature scar both of them had shined mockingly, almost as if it was obvious from the get-go. The glass in Gem’s grasp almost dropped from her hand in sheer shock.

“Geez, that bad?” 

The woman, Pearl, simply laughed at Gem’s face as the redhead couldn’t help but grin and light up like a wildfire. Gem’s mouth helplessly opened and closed like a fish out of water, her eyes darting around as if trying to track a freaking fly. It made Pearl slam the counter with her hand from laughing so hard.

“You- You should see your face! This is priceless!” She pointed out, fully amused as she raised the glass to her lips, only confident to take a sip when she had somewhat calmed down. Her delight never wavered as she set the glass down, fully soaking in the joy that made its way onto Gem’s face.

Gem couldn’t believe her own two eyes at the moment. Was she dreaming?? Did she finally completely lose her mind?? Her sister was sitting in front of her, alive and well and full of life! She was here , here with her - sitting at the exact same counter! 

“You- Pearl! You can’t just show up like that!” she exclaimed, slapping her sister’s shoulder before setting her glass down onto the counter as well. She gripped onto Pearl’s arm and pulled her closer, an action that came with playful resistance as Pearl’s hand dug into Gem’s hair and rubbed her knuckles over her skull. “Well, I sure did thanks to that fancy patchy glove of yours!” 

Gem grumbled in response, yanking her head out of Pearl’s way to hold the brunette’s hand. Pearl used the opportunity to hold their hands up in place, nodding towards the glove in question.“It’s the only way I recognized you without your face! Seeing you sit here gave me half a heart attack!”

“And you still had the nerve to act ignorant like nothing??” Gem barked back, playfully shoving her sister before retreating back into her chair. Pearl shook her hand and arm with a slightly dramatic hiss, her smile fading with a frown.

“Well, I wasn’t sure if it was you!! I could’ve just been delusional! Remember, I haven’t seen you since-”  the next words suddenly died on her tongue as did her movement, now just looking at her sister as her frown grew deeper and deeper. “I haven’t seen you since…”

“...since..” 
Our fathers’ deaths. 
The words were left unspoken but laid on both their tongues. They sat opposite each other, saw how tears welled up in each other's eyes as the memory lane caught up. Something in Pearl’s face changed, her entire expression shattering into a husk of any joy and filled with remorse and guilt. 
“Gem, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry- I failed and-”

“Shut up.” Gem simply cut Pearl off, getting the result she wanted and causing Pearl’s mouth to close right then and there. She shook her head, unable to keep her tears from spilling as she trembled in her place. “Just, shut up!” 

Then she surged forward into Pearl, her arms wrapping around her sister. Pearl was caught off balance and guard, barely able to grip onto the counter in time and keep them from falling. Only then she was able to restabilize them both, sitting them safely back up.

“You- you- he made you leave…” Gem buried her face in Pearl’s shoulder, only faintly aware of her sister’s arms wrapping around her as the tears and sobs of realization finally seemed to catch up with her. “You left and I didn’t follow like I said I would- I thought… I thought you died out there… all by yourself!”

“And I didn’t follow… whenever you went, I promised to surely follow… why didn’t I…?” She sobbed into Pearl’s shoulder, her grip as tight as it had never been before. Pearl only reciprocated the tightness, her hand soothingly combing through Gem’s hair with tears of her own. “I know, I know- I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” She shook in her hold as she dug her fingers deeper into Pearl with a desperation and insistence that made her spit her words. “Don’t you freaking dare to apologize for this. Don’t.”

She shook her head for good measure, desperate and innerly begging Pearl to do as she was told. Her sister remained silent, though she heard her soft muffled sobs next to her ear. 

They sat like that for a few long minutes, just curled in each other's arms and sobbing into the fabrics of each other’scloaks. Years worth of built up mourning and grief were released in those moments, swept away and lightening their heavy souls. Their fingers gripped tight, fearing that the other would disappear again the second they would let go. They kept their eyes shut, fearing that if they would open, they would be met with a sight of it only having been a dream. Their hands reaffirmed the grip over and over as to reassure themselves that this was reality, that this was really happening.

Only the words of the bartender and the chatting of people outside got them to snap out of their vulnerable moment. 

“I think you should go.” Joel slowly and carefully suggested, his tone soft. His voice caused the sisters' heads to shoot towards him, noting how the pink huntress from beforehand now stood right next to him behind the counter. They both smiled at them, understanding despite not knowing any kind of background information. “You should get some sleep. The sun’s coming up.” 

The sisters’ breathing was shaky when they checked the vague time for themselves, noticing the rays of sunshine protruding through the tent’s roof. Had they really just spent a good chunk of their night shift crying there? Must’ve seemed like it…

Gem backed out of Pearl’s hold and back into her seat, her eyes wandering back to Joel. “Sorry… we-” 

“Don’t be.” He interrupted. “I know how it feels to reunite with someone you hold dear.” His head gestured to the pink-haired huntress, who nudged him with an eye roll. He shrugged in response, holding his hand out in decline as Pearl was about to hand him back the bottle. 

“Keep it. Like I said, I have to get rid of it somehow. Just don’t snitch.” He chuckled, backing up and walking to the other end of the counter as a way of taking himself out of the situation. The sisters merely looked after him, slightly clueless what to do with the bottle now that it was free and up for grabs.

Pearl shrugged after a moment of thought. “If he really doesn’t need it.. why not? It’s good Whiskey.”

She hesitantly stood, the bottle in hand as Gem rose to her feet with a shrug as well.

“So… where’s your tent?” She asked as neither of them had even moved a single step. Pearl nodded toward the east wing of the camp, vaguely gesturing with the bottle. “At the far end. Wanna move in together?” 

“I sure as hell want to! You’re not getting rid of me again.” Gem teased and her sister rolled her eyes at the remark. “Alright alright, Gem-Gem. Just don’t keep me waiting.”

Gem scoffed at that, placing her hands on her hips. “Are you trying to imply that I’m slow ?”

Her sister shrugged dramatically, contorting her face in exaggeration. “I don’t know maybe you got rusty over the years-”

“Excuse me?!”
“Hey just breaking a possible truth to ya-”
“And I am going to break your ankles next if you don’t take it back!”
“Now that would just be rude and mean! I also have a delicate and precious bottle of Whiskey in my hand-”
“I will do it! Don’t test me, Pearl!”
"Okay, okay, fine! My god you’re worse than the average trophy hunter.”
“Don’t you ever put me on their level! There is a limit!”
“You know what, agreed!”

Their bickering barely got any attention aside from Joel and his partner, their smirks amused at the refreshing shenanigans.

“Just get your stuff and move in already. I missed my cuddle-buddy!”
“Aww, did you really? Did lil ol’ Pearlo miss me?”
“As if you won’t cling to me the second we lie down…”

Gem didn’t have a counter nor an answer to that. 

“See! Told you.” Pearl triumphantly smirked before turning and walking towards the eastern exit of the tent, the bottle still swinging in her grasp. She raised her index finger before disappearing, pointing towards Gem. “And you better not think about going anywhere else again. I will find you, no matter what!”

She laughed with the statement, but Gem knew she was serious. Pearl wouldn’t want to let her leave her side ever again… and Gem wouldn’t even dare to try and think of that idea, no matter how enticing anyone would ever make it to her. 

Her place was with Pearl. With her sister.

Her smile was brighter than the sunshine as she made her way to her tent, passing some of the hunters that were in the middle of waking up for their daylight shifts. She gathered her things, folding everything so that it would make it all over to Pearl’s place with one single trip.

Now that she was so close with her sibling after all this time, she couldn’t imagine ever being so far apart from her again. 

Still, a small nagging feeling ate her heart as she walked towards the east wing, barely paying attention to the other people around her. Now that she had found Pearl, most of her life’s goals have been resolved… She found the person she was looking for and continued to build up the memorial for her father over the years of hunting…

…what now? What should she do now? 

What would her fathers say if they would see her right now? Would they be proud? Disappointed? Torn and unsure if they like the path she was on?

Was she doing anything right here…? Was this the right path to take and the right thing to do?

Her thinking spiral caused her to lose track of where she was going, ending up at the far end of the eastern wing. She didn’t hear when Pearl perked up from her tent, didn’t react when the brunette nudged her with concern, only stopping when her taller sister put herself in the way. Gem bumped into her, fully startling her out of her thinking chamber. Pearl held her firmly, making sure nothing was dropped.

“Are you okay?” She asked, worry written all over her colourful face. Gem didn’t answer at first, averting her eyes with a sigh before looking back to her sister.

“Do you ever think about what Father and Papa might be thinking of us right now?” she asked, her question barely above a whisper. Pearl grew a sympathetic smile. “All the time. There has hardly ever been a week where I hadn’t thought about that.”

She pulled Gem along to her tent, arm wrapped around the redhead’s shoulders while looking up towards the sky. “Up there, they might be watching us right now - about to witness how we make ourselves look like complete fools.”

She giggled a little, causing a small smile to crack on Gem’s face. “They had the past years to watch that.” she commented and Pearl only hummed in agreement. “I bet Papa is screaming about the Whiskey already.”

“‘Young lady, how could you consume such a disgusting beverage? At least you could have denied the bottle!!’ or something like that.” Pearl waved her hand around as she imitated her Papa before plopping herself down to sit in front of her tent and ready to crawl inside. She yawned heavily. “Now come on, we can set up yours later. You can sleep in mine for now.”

“Together?” Gem offered, carefully setting her things down in the tent before sitting down next to Pearl. Her sister watched her do so, a tired smile and nod following her words. “For sure. You on top of me just like old times?” 

“You said it.” Gem agreed before crawling inside, with Pearl not far behind. Once they were both in she closed the tent off, sealing them inside. As Pearl turned around Gem had already curled up in the blanket her sister had prepared, the pile only growing as they added Gem’s blanket as well. 

They sat their things aside, a knife on each side as a precaution before throwing the blankets over each other. Just as foretold, Gem immediately clung close to Pearl, her body slightly laying over her side. She yawned heavily, now that they were in a very comfortable position and closed her eyes, though she wasn’t done talking yet.

“Hey, Pearl…?” 
“Yeah?”
“Do you remember where Papa died?”
“Mhm… was with him.”
“Could… you show me the spot once this thing is over?”
“Of course, only if you return the favour with Father’s spot though.”

Gem giggled at the conditions, simply nodding against Pearl’s side. “I think I can arrange that.”

“Did he do the same thing Papa did? Laying your feather under the white one?” Pearl asked, tone soft as it now was Gem’s turn to hum in agreement. “Yeah… he did.”

“Do you think they regret it now?” 
“...I don’t… I don’t know.”
“Well if they do, then they can say so.”

Pearl simply mused, those being her last words before falling asleep. Gem considered the statement and its meaning, but only found herself to agree before she drifted off to sleep as well.

Unbeknownst to them, outside their protective tent sat a raven and a dove, high on the crown of the tree tops, watching and listening to the exchange before sharing a questioning look at each other. They both chirped and trilled a little song, something akin to an answer before taking off from their little outlooking spot, flying towards the sun as it stood high in the sky now. 

Their silhouettes faded and their stories concluded, with now both life and death resting in peace.