Cold Grey Light of Dawn

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

AN: The next like nine plus chaps will be in the past. Just small things on why Mattie is the way he is in this version. More on his and Pitch's relationship and his and Jack's too later.

Past, four centuries ago...

Matthew blinked awake looking around. He had no idea where he was or how he got there. He couldn't remember anything before now except his name. He sat up and looked down at his hands. There were no cuts or wounds and he felt fine, but confused.

The Canadian stood up and immediately noticed something was different. There was a weight on his back and his centre of gravity was off. He reached and felt something soft growing from between his shoulder blades. He looked over his shoulder and gasped.

"What?" Matthew asked in disbelief. He could see the top of a black feathered wing. He spun trying to get a glimpse of the rest of it. He felt like a dog chasing its tail and stopped. He tried to move them and smiled. It felt normal to move just like any of his limbs, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't have the wings before. "Whoa."

The blond stretched one out and examined it. His feathers were pitch black except for the primaries and secondaries that were a bright gold. They were at least four feet longer than his arms. He moved and flexed them with a small smile. He wondered if he could fly.

Matthew jumped in surprise as a big black bird landed in front of him. He immediately recognized it as a raven. It cawed and flew at him trying to land on his shoulder. He yelped thinking it was trying to attack him and swatted at it. The raven landed back on the ground and cried at him again. He carefully crouched down in front of it almost falling over from the new weight on his back. He offered his arm for it to perch on and the raven did. It cawed and shook its foot making him notice a small piece of paper attached to it. He took and read it.

"Follow me?" The Canadian asked raising an eyebrow. The bird nodded and hopped off his arm. "I don't know if I can fly!" He called after the raven.

The black bird flew back over and landed cawing at him. It spread its wings and flapped showing him how. He raised an eyebrow, but copied its actions. As soon as he started it came instinctively. Before he knew it, he was flying awkwardly alongside the raven. He wasn't very good at first, but got better as they went. He wondered where the bird was leading him and why he felt obligated to follow.

The raven landed on a house's doorstep in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a dark forest. Matthew landed next to it. His landing wasn't graceful, he almost stumbled face first into the door. The bird seemed to laugh at him before pecking at the door. He bit his lip and knocked nervously. A few moments later the door opened revealing a tall man. The raven flew up and landed on his shoulder.

"Hello." The Canadian greeted nervously. The man smiled gently at him.

"Hello." He said extending his hand. Matthew took and shook it. "I'm Death. You are?"

"Matthew? My name is Matthew." The blond said.

"It's nice to meet you Matthew." Death said. His voice immediately put him at ease. "Come in. We have a lot to talk about."

The Canadian nodded and followed him in side. The raven stayed on the man's shoulder as he lead him into a living room. He gestured for him to sit in one of the two arm chairs and he did. It was awkward with his new wings and he had to shift and adjust.

"You know what I am?" Matthew asked eagerly.

"Yes. You are a reaper, the new Grim Reaper to be exact." Death said sitting across from him. The Canadian nodded. "Over the next few days you'll start to see deaths in your head. There is nothing you can do to stop them so you don't need to worry about helping the living. Your job is to help their souls afterward." He explained. Matthew listened nervously. "Most souls will find their way to you automatically and you'll judge them; we'll talk about that in a moment. Not all souls will come to you automatically though. Some will demand to be seen more prominently and need more help. Those are ones you'll have to go to and help."

"How will I find them?" The Reaper asked. He wasn't to fazed by what he was being told. It felt true and real to him.

"Your instincts will lead you too them. Just follow your instincts, it'll come naturally." The tall man explained. "Anyway, there is one basic rule for judging souls. If one has hurt another, they are to live out their victim's life then spend some time in hell. Of course not all cases are simple and that's where your discretion comes in. Pick and sentence what you think is appropriate."

"That's a lot of responsibility." Matthew said and Death nodded.

"It is not an easy job, but you were picked and you'll do just fine. You don't need to worry." The man said reassuringly. The blond smiled nervously trusting him. "You also have powers. You can create and control spectres. You can make force fields and move things with your mind. Your singing voice will also paralyze people if it is directed at them."

"I don't know how to use them." The Canadian said biting his lip.

"Yet again, trust your instincts. It might take a little while to adjust, but you'll be fine. You will get tired from using them, but the more you use them the more stamina you'll have." Death said reassuringly. He sighed getting serious again. "Humans can't see you unless they believe in the Grim Reaper. If they don't, they'll walk right through you. Other spirits can see you just fine. It's pretty easy to tell a spirit from a human." The man explained. "I have to warn you, most spirits do not like reapers. They will attack you on sight."

"I don't know how to fight." Matthew said shaking his head.

"Your powers are all defensive ones. You can get out of most situations with them uninjured." Death said. He sighed looking down. "Also, you are not fully immortal like others spirits. You won't age, but you can be killed. Too many wounds or sickness will do it."

"Alright." Matthew shrugged. It didn't bother him that much.

"Another thing, one spirit, his name is Pitch Black, he will try to steal souls from you." The man said as he remembered.

"What do I do to stop him?" The Reaper asked.

"You'll have to fight him to get the souls back. Unless you figure out another way to get them back." The tall man explained. "He might try to make friends or charm you. Just be cautious."

"How do you know all of this?" Matthew asked curiously.

"I am your keeper. You can trust me with anything." Death said and the Canadian nodded. He already trusted the man quite a bit. "I know how hard your job will be. My door is always open if you're hurt or you need to talk."