Dead or Alive?

[Elle]

Although by mane human's standards she was ancient, Vera could still clearly remember the first time she set foot on the solid earth. Back then she had thought that the world was beautiful, so full of life and hope. And the sun! The feel of the warmth of the sun's rays on her skin for the first time was an experience that she was certain she'd never forget. Of course, she was very young back then. Very young and very naive.

That was long before she knew the truth. The fact that the world was really filled with pain and suffering. The fact that only the strong receive recognition for their deeds. The fact that whatever good was int he world only came in and went out just as quickly without anyone taking the time to notice. The world really was a depressing place, and yet did they do anything to lessen the suffering? No. Instead, they applauded and condoned it. Well, Vera wouldn't have any of that. Not all of those souls deserved the fate they were dealt.

Looking back it was a terribly foolish thought. However, she didn't regret what she had done.

If only she had been more careful, but alas, they noticed her. It was quite difficult to see in that barren underworld, even for her. The punishments those poor souls went through must be unimaginable. All she could hear as she tried desperately to escape was a voice shouting after her, accompanied by a horrible roaring sound.

However, despite all of that she had made it out. Out of the land of the dead and into the land of the living once more, and to a planet known as Earth. And a strange planet it was! There were curious, metal demons everywhere, and the inhabitants themselves were anything but human. But it would suffice. It might even help her blend in. She had angered some people back in her world, and she needed to go someplace safe.

This place seemed safe to her. It had a sort of protective aura around it. Yes, this would do just fine.

Brushing a lock of her silvery hair out of her face, Vera looked to the sky. It had just begun to rain. A shame. She had wanted to see if the sun looked the same in this world as well. Of course, she didn't mind the rain either. While some saw it as depressing, she saw it as beautiful and cleansing. She closed her eyes, feeling the rain drops collecting on her hair and wings before sliding down and to the ground. She sighed, smiling softly.

Oh, that was right. She had managed to pull one soul from Niflheim after all, hadn't she?

Opening her eyes, she looked down at the girl laying on the grass in front of her. Her eyes were closed, though Vera could see the slightest movement as her chest rose and fell with each breath. It was a strange spell, one that she had tried only once before. She could only hope that it had worked. Now then... What was this creature's name? She was certain that she had heard it before...

Oh yes.

"Ivy?"

[Iƪƪia]

"I'm aware of what you did."

"Oh, are you now?"

"Yes, and don't think I'm about to let you go so easily."

"Ha! You think you could prove anything?"

"Oh don't you worry, dear. This is all the proof I need."

The dark. The cold. Damn it, just make it stop, already! Wait, why was it so hard to move? No, it- Argh, the pain... No, just make it stop. Why wouldn't it stop? She knew she had to get away, to get... No, no! It hurt. Just make it stop... Damn it! Whoever that was screaming just needed to shut up! Wait, was that her? She couldn't tell anymore... Couldn't think straight... The pain was just too much... Damn it, when would this end?!

"It will never end."

That's what it said, but then... Light. Wait, light? Here? What was light doing in this desolate hell? But there was no mistaking it. That was light, she could tell. It had been so long since she'd seen any light, though... And this light didn't hurt. It was weird, but it was almost comforting. However, then it went out in a flash and her world was plunged into darkness once again. Although something was different this time. It felt like she was... Moving? Was that what this sensation was? Was she moving? But how? And why? She couldn't tell what was happening or where she was going; all she could hear were the grating sounds of metal on armor and the sickening roar of a creature not far behind them. Just then, there was another flash of light and the last of the noise faded into nothing behind her.

"Stop..!"

And now there was... Nothing. Strange. Ivy didn't quite understand where the nothing came from. In Niflheim there had been only pain, cold, pain, darkness, death, more pain, hunger, still more pain. Yet that was all gone now. Well, not completely. It was still chilly, but not unnaturally so, and there was still pain, but it was more like a mild discomfort now... Kinda felt like someone had just reached into her chest and strangled her heart. However for the most part she was... Okay.

"Ivy..."

[/i][/center]

She might have thought she was dreaming if it were possible for her to dream. So then she must not be in Niflheim anymore, but that couldn't be right, could it? They said she was going to be there forever... Or at least until the end of the world. And yet now she was here. Wherever here was. And here was clearly not Hell. Maybe... That light?

"Ivy?"

It had felt like she was moving. Had that light brought her out of there? But where had it taken her? Well, at least it wasn't as bad as Niflheim... Yet. But it was dark. And now she was starting to feel really cold. And... It was wet. Something was dripping on her. Her first thought was poison, but it didn't hurt. So what could it be? Man, this place was really-

"Ivy!"

[/i][/center]

At the sound of her name, Ivy's eyes fluttered open, revealing just why this place was so unlike a hell. It really wasn't hell. That up there, that was the sky, and those were the clouds, and that stuff dripping on her was rain! Was she... She was... Alive? But she died and... Well, what else made sense? She doubted that this was just Hell going under some dramatic renovations.

She laid there for awhile, watching the rain fall on her, feeling the wind against her face, the grass beneath her palms, before she finally decided to try to move. Clenching her hand into a fist she verified that she was actually capable of such a feat before pushing herself up into a sitting position in one motion.

As she finally took in her surroundings, she noticed a few things. The first was that she was now in a graveyard. The second, and more interesting thing, was that she suddenly knew what that light was. She was pretty certain she was staring right at it.

It was a Valkyrie. Chooser of the Slain. The Battle Maiden in the flesh... Or whatever she was made of. How ironic. Wasn't it the Valkyries job to condemn souls to a terrible afterlife, not save them? What's more, she was looking at Ivy as if expecting something of her. What, did she want a "thank you"? Maybe a nice medal to go along with it?

However, Ivy was still confused. Why had it decided to rescue her in the end, anyway? And where had it brought her? How long was she down there? These questions and more swirled around in her head, though she found that she was unable to voice anyone of them. Perhaps it was because she hadn't used her vocal chords in quite some time. Though eventually, and after some difficulty, she did manage to sum up all of her questions in three words.

"... What the ****?"[/color]

[Elle]

When Ivy didn't immediately respond, her head tilted to the side in curiosity and confusion. Perhaps she hadn't managed to pull all of her from that bleak underworld. Or perhaps the body was the problem. Perhaps the girl had been physically unable to speak. Well, that wouldn't do. She could just communicate telepathically with her, however she was fairly certain that Ivy would want a body with the ability to speak.

She could try a bit of magic, but it was pretty risky... Oh wait. Nevermind.

She straightened up, ignoring the curse as she wondered how to speak to Ivy. Undoubtedly, she wanted answers and she was probably scared as well. But what to tell her...

"Ivy. Do not be afraid. I brought you from the underworld into a different world, different time, and different body."

When she finished speaking, she realized that she had spoken in her own language, the language of the Valkyries, and that Ivy hadn't understood a word of it. That was a good thing, actually. Perhaps she shouldn't have tried to explain it all at once like that. Now to try again. What was the most popular language in this part of the world? Oh, right. English.

"I am sorry. Do you understand now?" Once she received a satisfactory response, she continued, "My name is Vera. I was the one who brought you out of Niflheim. Though... This isn't the proper world, our world. It was too risky to return."

She stopped, thinking about the trouble both she and Ivy would be in if they returned. After all, Ivy was a damned soul, condemned to wander the cold, lonely wasteland for the rest of her life. She shouldn't be here, alive. And she, herself, was a Valkyrie! A chooser of the slain, not their savior! What she had done went against everything she had been taught. If they managed to catch her, there was no way of knowing what kind of punishment she'd receive.

Vera looked up again. She had been speaking slowly for Ivy's sake. In truth, although she had interacted with humans before, mostly upon their death, she had never really spoken to one. It was strange indeed. They had to use their voices an awful lot, whereas Vera was used to speaking telepathically with her sisters. She was uncertain if she would be able to fit in with the humans here. Oh, but of course, they weren't all humans.

"... Do you understand?"

[Iƪƪia]

As the Valkyrie began to speak in some bizarre language she didn't understand, Ivy shifted to a more comfortable position, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her hand. It was a common position for her, one that she had taken many times in the past, far be it from her to give someone her full attention, sitting up straight so attentively like that. Though it was strange. She died; she knew that. And she had been dead for quite some time. Apparently, nothing could bring an end to her habits.

Speaking of habits, the first thing that went through Ivy's mind as soon as she stopped breathing manually was that this girl was... Damn fine to look at. All those tales of the beautiful battle maidens held some truth after all. She wouldn't mind being served alcohol by a group of them. This brought about her second thought: alcohol. ****, how long had it been since she'd had a drink? Of anything for that matter! There wasn't much in Niflheim, just a lot of dust. Man, could she go for a drink right now. However, once these initial thoughts had come and gone, another, perhaps more important, thought crossed her mind. Why was she here?

Before she could ask that, however, the Valkyrie began to speak again, in English this time. Ivy nodded to show that she understood before the Valkyrie continued. What she said... Didn't make a lot of sense. A different world? So other worlds really existed? Normally, she would have been skeptical, though she could tell that this world was different. Somehow, she just knew it was. That was fine. It would probably be weird as hell for a "dead" girl to go out walking, totally fine. If there were even any people left who would remember her, that is. She didn't have much of a sense of time in Hell. She could have been dead for 3 years or 300 for all she knew.

When Vera asked if she understood again, Ivy tipped her head to one side and then to the other, trying to decide if she did understand or not. Finally, she came up with a suitable response.

"... Maybe?"

Pressing a finger against her lips, she leaned forward. She looked Vera up and down several times, as if scrutinizing her appearance. In actuality, that was only part of it. She was also deciding which questions she really wanted to ask and which questions she didn't actually give a **** about. When she was finished, her eyes rested upon Vera's chest as she spoke.

"So why'd you come and rescue me, anyway? Niflheim was gettin' a lil' too crowded? I reckon lots o' people were unlucky enough to die such disgraceful deaths. You tryin' to give us a second chance? Want me to face my killer this time 'round?"

As she spoke, a broad smile broke across her face, making it hard to tell if she was just being jokingly sarcastic or if she really did hold ill will toward her. It wasn't really important anyway. Leaning back on her hands, she looked around the graveyard, deciding that she had another good question to ask.

"How long was I down there?"

She didn't feel any older. Though time seemed to stand still down there. She didn't think she'd had a body down there either, so you couldn't really age. Theoretically, your mind could age, but that was probably only if you actually spent your time thinking. Ivy had been too preoccupied with finding ways to lessen the torture she had received to philosophize a lot.

[Elle]

Vera nodded at Ivy's "maybe" response, taking it to mean that she understood perfectly well. It was still a strange feeling, talking to a mortal, and Vera still had to remind herself that she had to speak at all. Ivy was unable to telepathically learn everything Vera knew, so she had to stop thinking like that; like a Valkyrie.

Mortals were such strange creatures indeed. They needed to consume other creatures to survive, they still used their voices to speak, they became terribly resentful when left companionless for too long. This was much different than anything she was accustomed to. But it intrigued her so. Why hadn't she ever been taught about mortal's lives in Valhalla? Where they not important?

Then Ivy began to speak again, though she seemed to have found something intriguing about her chest. She looked down but was unable to find what Ivy found so interesting, so she soon gave up and returned her gaze to Ivy, listening with a somewhat quizzical expression on her face. Too crowded? Niflheim could never get too crowded. The creatures down there didn't take up space like they did in the realm of the living. They didn't really have bodies there at all. Death... Yes, most people died such deaths by Valkyrie standards, but what did that have to do with- A second chance? She hadn't thought about that, but it seemed possible. Although she couldn't be sure if Ivy would be allowed into Valhalla after what happened. She wasn't sure what would happen if she died in this world at all. When Ivy was finished, Vera thought for a moment before responding.

"No, that is not it. I do not agree with much of their teachings. It does not seem fair. I went to Niflheim on a whim which is where I saw you. Then we came here."

She spoke as if Ivy already knew who "they" were. Of course it was highly unlikely that she would understand her logic anyway. Even Vera knew it was flawed, but especially with the small amount of details she had given. No matter, the fact was that it was a foolish endeavor, though it had already been done, and there was no way she could go back and change it now.

Then, Ivy asked another question. How long had she been down there? That wasn't an easy question to answer, especially not by a Valkyrie. They didn't have much of a sense of time because their lives were so long. What felt like a few days for a Valkyrie could very well be a few hundred years for a mortal. Oh, but maybe there was another way she could answer this. When she had gone through the mortal realm, hadn't she caught sight of something? A stand of sorts selling papers, and they had the date on them.

"Thirteen twenty-seven," She recalled the date automatically.

She then nodded to herself, as if to confirm that she was right. This seemed to be going rather well, this talking. Ivy was smiling, so that meant that she was happy, right? She must be away from that horrible wasteland. Even though this world was very different, it was surely better than that place. Even though she had a new body, she seemed to be- Actually, she hadn't really looked at herself.

Did she not know?

"Of course, when we came to this world, I needed a body to put you in."

When they came here, she didn't have time to pick and choose a body for Ivy, so she found the newest one. The girl had only very recently been killed, so the body hadn't even begun to decompose yet. It was a lucky thing that the body was also female. Ivy seemed to be female, and so waking up in the body of a male might have been unsettling for her. Such strange creatures indeed.

[Iƪƪia]

The more Vera spoke, the more Ivy noticed her accent. It was as if English wasn't her native language... Actually, it probably wasn't. She was a magic, other-worldly bird-lady. She probably had her own language, Birdlish. Another interesting thing she noticed was that she rarely used contractions. It was all very strange and it came together to make an accent that was... Really very sexy. And she liked it.

Licking her lips, she nodded at Vera's answer. Aw, so apparently she wasn't special. She wasn't like a "chosen one" meant to fulfill a certain "prophecy" to stop the end of the world or some other nonsense. Honestly, she found it relaxing to know that she was only here by accident. If it had been something more she didn't know how she'd deal with that ****. Too much work; way too much work.

"Huh. So it was just a series of coincidences, huh? I can live with that. It was born on accident too, so I'm used to this."

Giggling, she looked down and began to pick individual blades of grass out of the ground. There hadn't been any grass in Niflheim, and it was nice to see some green again. However, her interest quickly faded. Then, holding a blade of grass just inches from her face, she gazed upon the water that had collected upon it. It had been awhile since she'd eaten or drank anything as well.

That thought in mind, she popped the blade into her mouth, letting it sit there for awhile before slowly chewing and swallowing. Then, a moment's reflection and she came up with her reaction. It tasted like water. And grass. Wait, why the **** was she eating grass? Evidently, all those years being dead seriously ****ed with her mind.

When she heard numbers, she looked up at Vera curiously. It took her a moment or two to realize that she was giving her a date. What was that? Thirteen twenty-seven? That was... One hundred years? A little more, even. Well, ****! She'd been dead for a hundred years! She died, and then a hundred years later was brought back to life... The world was one freaky place where some seriously ****ed up **** went on. Although it was pretty damn cool in some ways.

She barely caught the next sentence. Something about coming to this world which she dismissed with a wave of her hand. Yeah, yeah, she didn't really care about this world. She was alive. She'd be satisfied just being alive in any world. Oh wait, what was that? A body? What about bodies? Hers? She was just-

Her train of thought was derailed as she took a moment to really look down at her hands. Sure, they looked like her... As much as she could remember, anyway. Except for the nails. She never paid much attention to them, and they had been constantly dirty, or split in half, or even ripped clean off. But these nails... They were perfect. Long and shiny and sharp. Something was wrong here.

In as much of a panicked state as she was able to get in, her hand went up to her head and brought down with it a long strand of brown hair. Pushing it away from her, she looked around on the ground for a reflective surface, finding it in a puddle a few feet a way. She crawled over to it and peered into its depths only to recoil in horror. The face that she saw wasn't hers. That girl making the terrified expression was someone else. The girl had green eyes, and really long hair, and tanish-colored skin. She was hideous! That couldn't be her... It couldn't! It just-

"What have you done?! Look at me! What the ****- WHO AM I?!"

It was perhaps the most emotion she had ever put into a sentence and she meant every bit of it. Hands clutching her hair, ready to pull it out by the roots, she looked down at her- at the body. It... Looked so weak! And so frail and small! Although, it was considerably more well-endowed, it was a small comfort when she had been forced into such a strange, disgusting body. Apparently, she still wasn't out of hell yet.

[Elle]

Vera's brow furrowed in confusion at Ivy's words. Though it was true that she was here right now because of a series of coincidences, she was unsure about what her birth had to do with anything. It was probably just one of those - what were they called? Sayings? She wasn't quite sure. This language was all so very foreign to her.

She remained, watching the girl, almost in awe of her actions, simple and primitive, though they may be. There was so much she didn't understand. Why did she laugh like that? Why was she eating grass? Why did she have to blink? It was so fascinating and she wanted nothing more than to learn. Learn what made them work, what they thought about, why they thought about it. Even now she had to wonder what was on Ivy's mind right now. Unfortunately, mind reading was one power that was beyond her.

Then she noticed that Ivy's demeanor began to change. She had finally noticed her new body, and she didn't seem too pleased about it, although why she was was beyond her. She was alive, after all. Vera had thought that perhaps that would make up for moving her into a new world and a new body. No, not make up. There was nothing to make up for. Wasn't any life better than no life at all? Though she had never been dead, so she couldn't be certain, though the whole situation left her feeling just a little... Angry? Or maybe annoyed.

"Well, I could not use your old body. Then we would have a skeleton running about."

She shook her head, watching the way Ivy cringed at the very sight of her new body. It didn't look bad to Vera, but then again, all humans looked so similar. Of course, there was something special about that body. It wasn't human, and yet it looked like one now... But... Oh, what was that creature called again? She figured it would come back to her eventually, as she pursed her lips, looking down upon the girl.

"You should be thankful. I could have gotten an older body with a leg or an arm missing."

Shaking her head again, she turned and walked away for a bit before stopping to look up at the sky. Of all the people she could have taken from that Hell, she had gotten one who didn't seem to care about the beauty of life at all. She didn't even seem grateful that she had rescued her. She just... Didn't care. She didn't even care about the girl whose body she now inhabited. That girl had had a life too. Family and friends who she would never see again. Shouldn't a person who had previously been dead be able to sympathize with one who is currently dead? Shouldn't she feel happy? Lucky? Grateful? Anything? Did she even care?

"... Her name was Illia."

[Iƪƪia]

Once her initial shock was over, Ivy began to adjust the strange, foreign clothes that this body was wearing. It was- Hey! A jacket! And shoes! Two luxuries that she had never been able to afford many of. Oh, and look at that! A ring on just about every finger. And look at those necklaces! They all had gemstones on them too. She should be able to make a fortune just by selling these things. Maybe she could make some money off of the shoes too...

When she heard Vera speak again she had moved past the fear and disgust and was instead poking at her chest and watching the effects it had. Vera sounded... Angry? Or something like that. It was kind of weird to figure out her emotions, if she had any at all. For one, her accent made deciphering her tone rather difficult. Aside from that, her English was broken and she stammered at times. Although something told her that if she could, she'd be yelling at her in Valkyrie-ish.

She jumped up off of the ground, stumbling slightly as she got used to standing again. It felt like she'd shrunk by a few inches too, which was a strange feeling. Imagine someone 5'7" being shoved into a full-body suit that was two sizes too small and now they had to live in that suit forever, and walk around in the suit, go to sleep in the suit, sleep with other people in the suit, do drugs in the suit... Yeah, not a pleasant feeling.

At that moment, she looked back at Vera as she mentioned something only slightly more interesting: the name of the suit.

"Illia?" She muttered, saying each syllable as if it were painful, "Damn, her parents must have hated her."

With a shrug, she walked over to where the Valkyrie stood, though instead of looking up at the sky, she looked straight across the graveyard, toward the gates and beyond. She wondered what this world looked like. What the buildings would look like. What the food was like. If they had any taverns. If they knew what drugs were. If the grass was smokable. If they played with cards or dice. All very important subjects to explore.

So she took several steps forward, walking toward the gate but stopping short as she remembered Vera. Turning back she looked at the strange girl, wondering how she would ever fit into a society of humans. She did kind of stand out.

"So, what's next for you, Vera? Don'cha think it'll be kinda hard to blend in what with the glowing hair and skin and... Wings?"

With a shrug, she began to wonder if it'd be strange for someone to see a girl who was supposed to be dead suddenly alive and well and walking around. Then again, it was easily taken care of. This body may not be strong, but it should still be able to handle a knife. What was more important at the moment was figuring out whether or not this girl was as rich as she appeared to be. With all the gold and jewels she was wearing, perhaps she had even more at her home. Perhaps she lived in a mansion. Perhaps living in this tight, uncomfortable suit wouldn't be so bad after all.