dark, light | angeless [c]

♗ | oh, death

A/N: i'm gonna unpublish Hurt Me again for awhile lmao sue me i know i'm horrid. also, i have a new story up. slight spoiler, but if you're into mythology, i think you'll dig it (;
...

The eerie humming of a woman's voice, and Ryan's sniffling, were the sounds Angelo found himself waking up to. Though far too cheerful, Chris's voice was calming. "Rise and shine, dearest. There are things to be done." He chirped.

Angelo winced, sitting up and looking around. Wherever they were, it reminded Angelo very vaguely of a hospital- though, the room was completely empty, unless one was counting the fog that had settled below knee level. "Where the fuck am I?" He sighed.

"Limbo," A woman spoke up. Angelo rubbed his eyes and looked up. She wore a long black dress, a hood casting a shadow over her face. Silver curls hung down to nearly her waist, and she held a simple scythe, completely silver. "It's safe for you here, though I can't say anyone likes it here." She said.

"Someone please explain what's going on," Angelo groaned as Chris helped him to his feet. Sliding his hands around Angelo's waist, Chris replied, "Your energy ran extremely low. You don't understand proper distribution of it, so it could have killed you easily. We brought you here to.. recharge you, in a way. Limbo is the best place to learn how to use your magic properly, solely because you cannot drain yourself here. Depending on where you are, it's very different.

In Hell, it's easy for light creatures to drain, but dark creatures thrive. In Heaven, it's easy for dark creatures to drain, but light creatures thrive. On earth, it's equally easy for both to drain if you aren't experienced. In limbo, well.. It's a safe zone for practice. No one who goes to limbo will judge you." He explained, then waved a hand at the cloaked woman. "This is Death herself." He mused.

"Correction," She spoke. "I'm one half of Death themselves. Josh is still.." She trailed off, looking away for a moment. "We're both having difficulty right now, after Casper.. But he won't leave our bedroom. So I figured one of us had to get the job done.."

"Right, right.." Chris said. "Sometimes I forget you aren't one person," He sighed, "You're so similar. Give Josh my best, though.. I know it's hard to lose a pet."

"Josh is a sweetheart, I just wish I could help. He's our better half.. I'll slit your throat in a heartbeat, though," She shrugged. "But it's an honor to meet you, Angelo. I've heard a lot about you." She said, "My name is Ryan-Ashley."

Angelo nodded a bit, offering a hand to shake. "I ah.. I'm nothing special, but.. thank you-..?"

Ryan-Ashley nodded a bit, shaking Angelo's hand briefly. "You are. I won't lie, if you were anyone else, I wouldn't have bothered to show up. But I wanted to make certain that a soul like yours wouldn't be so quick to join the afterlife." She said.

Everything was becoming difficult to take in- more so than it was before, even. "Can I ah.. Can I ask a question-..?" Angelo asked.

Quirking an eyebrow, Ryan-Ashley nodded. "Go ahead."

"Could you elaborate on your uh.. split-Death situation, by any chance? I'm curious.." He said.

Ryan-Ashley chuckled. "Everyone is. Simply put, my husband and I are Death as a whole. When we were alive, we were one soul. No body, no gender, nothing. Just a soul. When the last version of Death was.. executed, I suppose, hundreds of years ago.. Josh and I were the next best thing. One soul completely harmonious is hard to find. When our soul was split, we became physical manifestations of that soul- which, we no longer possess. He and I are one in the same, in two separate bodies. If I were to die, he would die. If he got hurt, the same would happen to me- even a lightyear away. Even if I just got a paper cut, it would appear on him as well. You can't have one of us without the other." She explained. "Together, we are still Death. I do the killing, he walks the souls to the afterlife. He stands on the chairs and freaks out about a spider, I kill the spider. At the end of the day, we're very similar to mortals." She said.

Ryan giggled. "Awww, that just the sweetest thing.." he gushed, clasping his hands together.

A smirk playing at her wine red lips, Ryan-Ashley gave a hum. "I do suppose that's one way to put it." She said. "Best of luck in your training, Angelo. I hope to see progress soon," She added, and with a snap of her fingers, she was gone.

Angelo blinked. "I just fucking met Death. One half of Death." He said, dumbfounded. "What the fuck even is my life right now?"