FLASHBACK: Losing Loved Ones Who: Thanatos, Takshi (NPC), Demeter (referred to) What: FLASHBACK: Losing loved ones Where: One of Demeter’s “safe homes” in Georgia When: ~two years ago... Warnings: None
The god of death was beside himself with concern. When he’d felt the call to aid a soul in need of his assistance, he had no idea that he would find himself by Demeter’s side once more. However, it was not for her that he had come.
Today, it was for her unborn child.
He wasn’t sure how or why it happened. Before this night, the idea that an earth goddess could possibly miscarry a child that was growing within her was utterly inconceivable. But here he was now, invisibly wandering the dark halls of the Georgian plantation home, searching for that lost soul while its mother grieved in her bedroom.
“Than?” a soft female voice broke through the heavy stillness of the air. Turning his head, he saw the figure of his beloved native american spirit, Takshi, materializing from the shadows. Her long rabbit’s ears, which normally stood straight upward atop her head, were laying flat alongside her long white hair. She’d grown quite a bit as a spirit since the first day the two met. She had also become a great help in recent months whenever he was called to aid the lost souls of children. While many young ones were usually terrified of the death god when they first met, he found that their many fears were rested when the gentle, beautiful rabbit girl beckoned to them instead. It amused him to no end when the first child made a reference to Alice in Wonderland as he followed the “white rabbit” into the light. Takshi loved this work as well, he soon found. It was a comfort to her soul to have a purpose to her afterlife, especially after suffering such a horrible and senseless death herself.
“How is she?” he asked the rabbit. Up until now, she’d been holed up with the earth goddess in the bedroom, caring for her as only she was able to, since Thanatos didn’t have the first idea on how to care for a woman in this situation.
Takshi shook her head sadly. “Poorly. She is consumed with her grief, and she is in a great deal of physical pain. I did what I could, and she is sleeping now, but...”
Thanatos drew Takshi into a comforting embrace. Clearly the rabbit was shaken by this turn of events as much as him, probably even moreso since she was once a goddess of the earth in her own pantheon.
She trembled for a bit in his arms before calming herself and wiping away the tears. She looked up at him. “Were you able to find the little one?”
“I think its in here,” he said as he looked around the nursery. Demeter hadn’t even had time to remove the dropcloths that protected the furniture in this room, but the decor of the walls and the shape of the furniture hidden within spoke of its intended purpose. “It won’t come to me, though.”
Takshi nodded. “Let me try.” She moved away from Thanatos and into the middle of the room, her ears drawing back up to their full height. After taking a breath to steady herself, she smiled gently and knelt down so that she was more at a child’s level. “Hello? Little one? Are you here?” Her ears swivelled around this way and that, listening for a sound that even Thanatos himself could not hear. Takshi’s nose twitched and she slowly crawled towards the cloth-draped bassinet. She paused a few feet away from it. “I know your scared and confused, but I just want help you.” A sound caught one of her ears, and both turned to focus in on it, this time behind a nearby dresser. “My name is Takshi. What’s your name?”
Thanatos’s eyes widened a little bit when he saw the glow first peer out from behind the dresser. Unlike most spirits that he dealt with, this one had no cohesive form. It was tiny, about the size of a tennis ball, and had the appearance of a will-o-the-wisp. It hovered nervously.
Takshi saw it as well and beckoned to it. “Come here little one. It’s ok. Don’t need to be afraid.” She held out her hands toward it in a welcoming gesture. Much to the death god’s amazement, the little spirit floated out into the open unsteadily and made a beeline straight for the rabbit’s open arms. Soon as it was within her grasp, she drew it in close, cradling the light to her chest.
“It’s so warm,” she murmured softly. “And the way it trembles... It’s like holding a small bird.”
Thanatos finally felt it was safe to come close to Takshi, and returned to her side, kneeling down beside her on the floor. He marveled at the tiny lost soul. In all his ages of doing this job, he’d never come across one like this before. He tried to reach out for it, but drew back before making contact. Somehow, it didn’t feel right for this little spirit to know his touch. It felt all wrong.
Takshi saw the conflict in her beloved’s expression and gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, Than,” she said. “I’ll see this one home, just like all the other children before it.”
At the other end of the room, the familiar tunnel of light was beginning to materialize. Thanatos helped Takshi to her feet as she kept the soul of Demeter’s lost child cradled close.
“Will you watch over Demeter for awhile?” she asked Than. At the confused expression he gave her, she explained further. “At least until she’s well enough to return to her family? She’s not well enough to move on her own right now, and in her state, with the way things are in Miami with all the threats...”
Now Thanatos understood. Demeter had been a target before in the past, and she was strong enough to fight back at the time. Here, in her vastly weakened state, she would be a sitting duck for those warring with her family. He nodded. “I’ll take care of her,” he promised.
Takshi smiled, then looked at the warm, inviting glow of the tunnel of light. “Well then, I probably ought to go now. Make sure this little one’s where it belongs.”
As Thanatos watched her walk towards the light, the death god felt an uneasy weight settle in his chest. Somehow, this didn’t feel like all the other times she’d taken a child into its proper place in the afterlife. There was something more that he couldn’t put his finger on, and it scared him. “Takshi wait!” Than called out as he rushed forward. When she turned to look at him, and before she could say anything in question, the death god and gathered the startled rabbit up in a close embrace and kissed her.
When the kiss broke, and as the two stood there with their foreheads touching, Takshi was the first to speak. “What was that for?” she asked breathlessly.
“I... wanted to... well... uh... ” Than struggled for the words he wanted to say. He swallowed hard and tried again. “I love you.”
The rabbit’s eyes widened in surprise, then softened with deep affection. Clearly these were words she hadn’t heard yet from the death god, and hearing them now warmed her heart and lightened her spirit like nothing else. “I love you too, Than,” she said before tilting her head up to give him another kiss. When she stepped away from him finally once more, she gave him a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry, Than,” she said. “I’ll return to you as soon as I can.”
Thanatos nodded as he reluctantly released her from his embrace. “I’ll be waiting.” he said. Then he watched as his beloved walked into the light and disappeared, leaving him alone within the darkness, not realizing that this would be the last time he would ever see his own white rabbit as she led another child into Wonderland.
Summary: Both Demeter and Thanatos lose people incredibly precious to them...