I don't see Asher after I finish showering, or even on the way to the lockers. I towel dry off then put my fresh clothes on, letting my mind wander as the mundane task settles me. But I can't help but wonder what the fuck's happened to my runes. As far as I know, they were carved into me and shouldn't have disappeared so easily. Why else would Reapers go through the trouble of carving them into their skin when they don't last, right? It's clear that their disappearance isn't normal.
I toss my used towel and clothing into the laundry shoot before leaving the bathing area and almost run into my mentor on my way out.
"You're worse than a fucking cat!" I hiss at him in annoyance when I nearly let out a too-girly cry of surprise when he pretty much materializes out of thin air in front of me. I have the urge to bounce a mile or clutch at my chest as the brief jump-scare triggers my fight-or-flight response.
"Stealthy and intelligent?" He asks with a tilt of his head and hint of sexy-smirk on his lips. I roll my eyes and push past him, quashing the urge to sucker punch him in the throat.
"Stalker-ish and an asshole." I shoot back over my shoulder, letting the bitter edge of annoyance filter through the words, though my voice is now at a normal volume.
"Ah, so you prefer dogs." Asher's voice is right at my ear, and I don't have to look to see he's keeping step with me as I briskly march towards the mess hall. "Ironic, considering how you died."
"Why're we having this conversation?" I ask him a little too sharply. His comment stings a little. I do- did - like dogs before... but I don't think I could consider a love for animals ever again after everything I've seen. I shudder now when I think about canines and felines - equally. The things I've faced weren't the domestic mans-best-friend or even the mercurial-fluff-of-loathing, they were possessed beasts that wanted to tear me to pieces. Twisted and horrific things that would terrorize and haunt my nightmares if I didn't already have something rattling the bars of my brain.
"Is there something else you'd prefer to converse about?" Asher surprises me by actually asking me. I freeze, frowning as I look at him suspiciously. Yep, he still looks like the War/Sex God I've had the displeasure of having as my mentor since I died and was 'reborn?' as a Reaper. His handsome face is just as blank and cool as ever, eyes a reddish-brown that looks almost humanoid and lulls me into a false sense of calm.
"There is actually. Several things, since you've neglected the majority of your duties-" I snap at him, forcing my ire to bubble into my tone so I don't actually start letting the more wicked impulses in me take over.
"You get five questions." Asher cuts in, pressing a palm into my back to steer me back into a moving pace. I snarl at him, trying to pull away as his warmth slowly starts to soak in my jumpsuit and spread tingles through my body. He doesn't let up on the light pressure, stepping closer when I try to wiggle away.
"That's not fair-" I start, my voice rising and I attempt to speed up to get out of his range, but - once again - he easily keeps up with me.
"Five now and five after you've gotten sustenance." Asher negotiates, his dark eyes dancing with the hints of a more reddish glow. I'm starting to dread the appearance of that reminder that this man isn't actually a 'man'. I grit my teeth and resign myself to the offer...for now.
"Fine." I mutter, the growl of my stomach part relief and part annoyance that Asher's won this round without me putting up much of a fight. I make a mental note to find out something to black mail him with, or leverage something against him for more. I suppose I could always threaten to out him to Death...and that still sounds weird in my head. "You are going to actually start training me properly at some point, right?" I ask as we reach the mess hall.
There're only a few stragglers in the hall, none are nearly as ragged looking as the Reapers I've seen since I've been here. I relax a little, relieved that things seem to be settling down. There aren't any Reapers manning the counter on the other side of the sneeze guard at the moment, but there are plenty of pre-served plates waiting under the heat lamps along the counter. I automatically go ahead of Asher, momentarily loosing track of him as I eagerly pick up a tray and start getting one of everything.
I'm pretty sure my stomach's the one that's in control at the moment as I try to balance four plates and two desserts with the four types of drinks I also try to negotiate onto the one-by-one tray.
"You know you can always come back through the line for seconds, right?" Asher reappears at my side as I attempt to lift the tray off the counter and make my way across the room to a bench. Asher almost immediately pulls the drinks off the tray and the wobbling effect is gone. I feel my mood brighten a little when I spot the bag of potato chips in one of his hands, accompanied with a small packet of beef jerky.
"Less talky, more eaty." I tell him, nudging him in the direction I want to go in to sit. Yeah, my brain's been overtaken by my appetite now. I keep having to swallow as my salivary glands work overtime in the few moments I take to sit and unroll the napkin from around the utensils I'd nabbed.
Asher says nothing as he sits beside me, setting the drinks and junk food down between us like a barrier. I briefly wonder if he can see the hunger in my eyes and is attempting to barricade himself away from in so I won't accidentally eat him. The first five minutes of me eating are a haze of mindless chewing and groans of satisfaction as flavor explodes on my tongue and make a tiny dent in the now all-consuming hunger pangs twisting my stomach. I pause to drain one of the juices - something kind of tangy and reminiscent of tropical fruits I've only ever tasted in discounted fruit punch concentrate. I take a whole minute to sip at the juice, glancing at the bottle and feel a little less like a starving lunatic.
"Ten questions," I remind Asher as I start back on my food, setting aside the now-empty bottle and making a mental note to steal a few more of the bottles from the cooler to take back to my room.
"I suggest you ask them before you finish eating or you will not get the opportunity before you pass out." Asher murmurs in my ear as a few more people wander into the room and go through the line of food, chatting amongst themselves casually.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I ask him, lowering my voice as the a few Reapers pass by. I search his reddish-brown eyes, thinking about how they kind of resemble dried blood. My usual acceptance of them starts to waver...and I slowly hope the fiery glow will come back now that I've made the comparison.
"I have no need for humanoid sustenance." Asher replies, and that lovely and very creepy glimmer of red sparks to life as his eyes slowly trace over my face.
"That's not what I meant." I narrow my eyes at him. Is he trying to avoid answering me? I've asked him if he was okay when I woke up, and he'd said something about his physical health, but not his mental state...which is kind of what I'm hoping he'll talk about since he seems so off. But if I ask outright, does that count as a question? Do I want to waste the opportunity to answer some of the other millions of questions that have been swimming in my head?
"Do you want to ask in a question format?" Asher asks me with the hints of a devious smirk pulling at his sensual lips. I swallow and turn my attention back to my food. I clear my throat as I tear into a lukewarm burger, chewing as I mentally weigh my top ten questions...and consider asking him outright in place of one of them.
"I'll leave it to the end." I decide aloud, popping the top off one of the other cans and downing the fizzy liquid that's reminiscent of a flavorful beverage I loved on Earth. I hum to myself and add it to the empty jar beside my tray. Gonna end up stealing a lot of drinks at this rate... "First things first," I pick up another drink, this one another juice, and down it. I hum to myself, loving the natural tasting orange juice and finishing it off before asking Asher my first and most probing question. "What could make runes disappear?"
YOU ARE READING
Reaper Society
FantasyYou've probably heard of Grim Reapers before, but even I never thought there was more to the typical 'harvesters of souls' until a week ago...
