Chapter Text
The apprentice slipped the thin glove off her hand, clenching and unclenching her fist slowly in front of her as she walked. Each step was slow, almost with no purpose nor direction. Each flex told her nothing and made her feel nothing. Even the slight current of air that gently caressed her exposed palm did not give her any comfort. However, not even a sigh escaped her as she simply swapped her scythe back to her right hand, allowing it to rest on her shoulder as she continued the path back to where the dead appeared when they came to the Underworld.
There was neither day nor night there, with each hour and day passing the same as the last. Calliope’s work was tedious and repetitive but she never slacked off for a moment. Each soul was handled thoroughly and with care. Every instruction and task was completed. A patient apprentice, always working to improve despite being far beyond human perfection.
Well, she could hardly be considered human. Even if she had taken the form of one, it was mostly for the comfort of the souls that saw her. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t human either. After all, it would be quite hard to relate to the soul that came to see her if she had no sense of humanity. To live without a heart and without the cursed burdens of human emotions, that was not a luxury she enjoyed.
As she greeted the souls and took care of each one, Calli updated the silent count in her head. There wasn’t much else to do. It was one of the very few things that kept her focused from the haze in her mind. A fleeting thought questioned why the count was so low that particular day. There was little that she knew about the outside world. Were the humans enjoying their lives on that day together? Was there a worldwide day of peace where even the gods have granted them mercy?
However, the thought disappeared from her mind as she continued her work. It was fruitless to think of such things, she knew. Calli pushed the thoughts away, pretending that she didn’t notice the days all blending together. She pretended that she had no interest in the world beyond her work and the approval of her sensei. She ignored the hollowness she felt in her body, convincing herself that it was a natural part of being Death’s apprentice.
Even so, she could not escape these thoughts forever. It was ironic really. There was a popular saying that none can escape Death. However, here she was, Death’s apprentice who found herself unable to escape her own troublesome thoughts. Calliope leaned against the nearby pillar, her arms crossed with her scythe between them as she gazed out at the landscape expanding infinitely beyond.
She found her hand wandering to the gem on her collar, giving her a sense of the world around her. She sensed the souls working below and the other inhabitants who she had rarely conversed with. Her job was quite secluded and highly regarded after all. It was difficult to simply converse with them, with their many different origins and species, along with the fact that they weren’t so keen on conversing with an apprentice of Death.
According to the low amount of mana in the air around her, she knew that it was nighttime. While there were inhabitants who slept, she did not need sleep. There were times when she laid in her room and slept but it was not a necessity. It was mainly used as a way for her to pass time or meditate.
A soft sigh escaped past Calli’s lips despite herself as she withdrew her hand down to her side once more. While she knew that it was her work, she longed for the night to end. Then, she could go see her sensei. Perhaps they had more work for her to do. Or a new skill to learn. Even learning music, a hobby that her sensei has pushed her into doing for her own understanding of human culture, sounded quite pleasant at that moment.
As Calli thought about the new song she had thought of the previous few days, she found her heart heavy and the sounds of her music stuck in her throat. Even though it had given her so much life before, she felt … too tired to even hum it.
Oh, what a night it was to make the reaper’s apprentice feel tired and long for the feeling of life. Even as she mustered a small smile for the new soul that appeared, she found her own words empty and cold.
What a cursed night indeed.
As she came back to her post, Calliope closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself. She tried to ignore the feeling of loneliness to no avail. She tried to forget about the warmth of the last soul she had escorted to no success. And now, even all the lyrics to her song felt foreign to her, as if it was meant for someone else that she had no hope of ever reaching.
A bright light would put her on alert, making her stand up straight with her scythe in hand. As it subsided, a figure with the hue of sunshine would be left standing there. Her eyes which matched the apprentice’s hair would find themselves only locked on one thing in the vast Underworld.
Calliope would take a moment before she stepped forward, a firm expression on her face as her scythe spun once in her hand. The figure was hardly a dead soul delivered here. Either she was a human who had wandered in by their own foolishness or it was a spirit of a malicious being.
“Who are you? Do you have a death wish?”
Those words were calm yet with an edge to them. Being an apprentice was hardly an excuse to not learn how to properly reap souls and send them to their proper place. In fact, she should hardly even let this creature answer her. And yet …
“I want to marry you.”
While not many things can catch a well-trained, vigilant apprentice off-guard, Calli found herself hesitating for a moment. Even as she caught herself and stiffened her grip on her scythe, she found herself unpunished for her lapse in caution. She frowned for a moment, running the strange girl’s words through her mind once more before making a face of incredulity.
“Huh? You are aware that you’re in the Underworld right?”
The girl blinked, her magenta eyes seeming to shimmer even in the darkness of the Underworld. She looked around for a moment as if finally noticing where she was for the first time. After seeming to think for a short moment, she looked back to Calli with a bright smile.
“I don’t care! Because I’m a Phoenix!”
Calliope’s expression did not change, remaining as confused as ever. She knew that Phoenixes were mythical who could rebirth, yet why was there one in human form. And why did she appear here now?
“That still doesn’t explain what you mean by wanting to marry me.” Among all the questions that she had in her mind, Calli found herself asking this one for reasons beyond her.
That inquiry made the phoenix tilt her head, placing her finger on her lips with a small frown. After another moment, she would simply smile brightly once more, her eyes shut as she spoke words that were too genuine to be doubted.
“I just thought you were very beautiful. Plus, I feel us being connected somehow … I can’t explain it, that’s simply too much thinking for me. All I know is that you seem lonely all alone here and that I want to marry you!”
Calli Calliope’s logic and reasoning came to a halt upon hearing this. As she opened her lips to retort, the phoenix’s eyes suddenly lit up before a sheepish smile came upon her facade.
“Oops! It’s almost time to be reborn from my ashes. I’ll be back later! Catch you later~”
Calli took a step forward to stop the strange from leaving but she was already gone in a puff of eternal flame. As the blaze disappeared, she found a small radiant feather floating toward her. Holding it in her hand, she gazed at the intricate markings on the feather. She could feel the soft feathers against the palm of her hand, a foreign but comforting feeling. Even as the warmth of the girl disappeared, it remained in the feather that Calliope still held onto.
Part of her knew that she should report the occurrence to her sensei. Part of her knew that she should dispose of the foreign artifact from the outside world. However, she found herself doing neither of those things. As the night continued, she found her steps just a bit lighter.
And, perhaps, she will continue working on her song after all.
“What is your name?”
The phoenix girl who had been brushing dust off her skirt looked up excitedly. “You do care about me!”
Calli grimaced, “I just figured I should at least ask if you’re going to come barging in my domain all the time. I can just call you kusotori instead then if that’s so hard to answer.”
The girl came bounding over, coming far too close to the reaper’s apprentice for her comfort. However, her scythe did not move from her shoulder as the girl leaned close while rapidly shaking her head.
“No no, that’s not it at all! I’m Takanashi Kiara! But you can call me anytime~”
A long sigh came from Calli as she refrained from rubbing the ridge of her nose with her fingers while gazing at the beaming expression of a very proud girl branding her pickup line.
“Kusotori it shall be then. Let me ask you another question. Why do you keep coming here? How clumsy can you be? You are a phoenix right?”
Kiara blinked once at her before smiling as if she had asked an obvious question, “To see you of course! Oh don’t worry, I didn’t bother anyone else in the Overworld if that’s what you’re worried about. I wouldn’t want to worry my wife after all~”
“I’m not your wife. In fact, I’m not even your friend. There’s no need for you to keep bothering me, I have a job to do you know.”
Despite the frown on Calliope’s lips and the edge in her eyes, the phoenix’s smile did not waver. “It’s ok, you’ll come to love me one day. Even if you say that you aren’t really kicking me out you know. I just figured I would keep you company now and then. Make sure my dear wife isn’t lonely without me for too long~”
“I told you I’m not …”
Kiara skipped backward a step before giving Calliope a small wave. “Sorry darling! I have to go now. I’ll come back and chat some more soon ok? I’ll miss you~”
And once more, Calli found herself left all alone in the fading warmth and only a single feather to mark their meeting. She gazed at it for a moment before tucking it away carefully in her pocket as the next soul arrived. Her next words were whispered gently under her breath to someone who she simply couldn’t get out of her mind.
“Ah … Next time, could you knock first?”