Thanatos never felt nervous. That just wasn’t his style. His life full of routine and focus allowed him a certain level of comfortability in the assurance of the way things would always go. The trail he found himself on today was an example of that. He’d traveled this trail at least twice a week, meeting the same people, experiencing the same things. Yes, today should have been like any other comfortable routine day but the auburn-haired beauty next to him, threw a wrench in that.
“Are you alright Reaper?” Evie asked after watching him shove his hands in and out his pockets for the third time in a row.
“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.”
Evie smiled at him, “Whatever you have planned, I’m sure I’m gonna love it.” Grabbing his cold hand in hers, she took in the scenery as they continued to walk the trail. The orangish-yellow leaves cascaded from the tall trees leaving crunchy fragments as they fell to the ground. “It’s really beautiful here.”
He had to agree with her. During his time as Reaper, he often was forced to miss the beauty of the world, but this trail allowed him a fresh look.
“I take this walk during my rounds to check on the souls.” Evie nodded her head in acknowledgment, and he found himself looking down at their locked hands.
*Don’t overthink it*
He scolded himself, but he honestly couldn’t help it. Thanatos had never experienced such a mundane activity as handholding, yet Evie somehow made it feel like second nature.
“MR TANT-TEE-NOSE!”
The scream of excitement took him from his thoughts. Evie watched as two small children happily ran towards them.
“Well, hello there.” Thanatos responded causing the children’s smiles to widen. Evie could see that there was something different about them. The boy had a large scar on his face, his little body covered in bruises. The girl clearly burnt, the evidence placated over her small frame.
“Who is this pretty lady Mr. Tanteenose?” The little girl smiled, her eyes glistening towards Evie.
Evie released Thanatos's hand and extended hers, “My name is Evie, pretty…what’s your name?”
“ROSE!” She said proudly, before accepting Evie’s hand. Evie felt the chill of her fingers, as the child’s hand went through hers. The shock on her face caused Rose to quickly recoil, “Sorry…I forget. I'm supposed to tell alive people about that,” she said looking down at her shoes.
Thanatos leaned over to whisper to Evie, “Souls can’t conventionally grasp onto the living. You can feel her touch, and her yours but you can’t necessarily grab onto her.”
Evie looked down at the little girl. Her clothes were covered in soot. Her hair burned to her head made Evie want to cry. Quickly recovering, she crouched down to speak to her, “Hey, no no that was my fault. How about we try again okay? It’s lovely to meet you, Rose.”
Rose lifted her head giving Evie an infectious smile, “It’s nice to meet you too Ms. Evie.”
“What about me?!” The little boy interjected, pushing his way into Evie’s sight. Turning so that the large scar on his face was no longer visible to her, he spoke proudly, “I’m Jack.”
Evie giggled, “It’s very nice to meet you, Jack. I love your baseball hat.”
Jack's eyes seemed to dance at the mention of it, tugging at Evie’s heart. A small blush crept onto his face, “Th-thank you.”
“Well look at you already taking the coolest people in Magical Fall away from me,” Thanatos folded his arms playfully.
Evie stood and matched his stature. “What can I say, I have that effect on everyone I’m around.”
*Me the most*
He thought to himself, refusing to let the words slip. Rose tugged on his pocket, and Evie arched her brow in slight confusion.
"I'm Death, remember? Rules don't apply to me."
“Mr. Tanteenose…I was wondering…” Her eyes went to her shoes again.
Thanatos inhaled deeply knowing what her question would be, "They aren’t here.”
Relief washed over Rose's face, and Jack placed his hand on her shoulder, “We-we should get going, we need to make it back before it gets too late."
Thanatos reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch, “Here. Please be safe, okay? Meet me here, same time next week?” The children’s faces lightened slightly before they both wrapped their arms around Thanatos' waist. Evie could see his body stiffen from the interaction.
“We promise.” She could hear Jack say as he took the pouch and dug it deep into his pants pocket. The children turned to her.
“Bye Ms. Evie…we hope to see you again.”
“Me too.” The three smiled at each other before the children disappeared along the trail. Thanatos and Evie stared at each other silently, a storm of emotions in both of their eyes.
“W-who are they?”
Thanatos could hear the sadness in her voice. Instinctively he grabbed her hands into his. “Walk and talk?” He said, to which she only nodded.
After a few steps, he continued, “Rose and Jack Carrington…brother and sister. Died after being abducted by a piece of shit who thought an attempted kidnap for ransom was ingenious.” The anger in his voice, matching with the steam coming from his nose, made Evie rub the outside of his hand with her thumb. The action calmed him slightly.
“Their parents were both wealthy lawyers whose greed caused their children to pay the price. I’ll be honest, the torture I inflict on their kidnapper is my best work yet. He’s been here for years and every day I have the guards peel a bit of his flesh from his body with the specific instructions to not kill him. I want him alive for as long as possible.”
Evie couldn’t understand why the thought of that made her feel a little relieved. “…and those poor kids have been looking for their parents since they came here?” Thanatos stopped in his tracks and looked up to the sky, the action making Evie uneasy, “What…what is it?”
He breathed in deep, refusing to look at her, “I lied to them…I didn’t think I would when the time came...but I did.”
“I…I don’t understand.”
"You have to understand Evie...what those people did to those children," his teeth clenched tightly together.
“Their father’s been here for a while. Erwin, a disgusting sack of shit. He has a thing for children…little boys like Jack…little boys like *Toby*.” Finally looking at her, Thanatos’s face hardened. The ice of his eyes scared her. “His soul will never be on the same plane as theirs. The agonizing pain I have inflicted on him is still merciful compared to what he did.”
Evie rubbed her thumb against his hand again. “What about their mother?”
He inhaled and silently cursed under his breath, “That’s a bit more complicated.”
She rolled her eyes, “Please don’t tell me she’s here too Reaper.” Thanatos was quiet and Evie’s eyes widened. “Tell me.”
Thanatos hard eyes bore into her, “She's in the pits Evie. Where she will never die. Staving, in darkness with only her thoughts and the rats.”