The Reaper on The Mountain

There was a good wind on the grassy mountains that day. You could tell that a storm was brewing high up in the sky. Dark clouds went swirling like a tower up into the grey sky.

The ones below it hadn't paid heed to the sky above. But that was an hour ago. They'd all come to rest now. Their vacant eyes strayed up and stuck there for all eternity. The mountain was littered with their kind.

But for the two travelers that treaded up the mountain, those sights weren't new. Making their way up the mountain, one lagging behind the other, they neither watched the sky nor those staring up at it.

"Lady!", called the one lagging behind.

She turned, stopping to catch her breath. They'd come a long way.

He pointed to something in the distance. Lady looked where he was pointing. A murder of crows. She had to peel her eyes to discern what they were gathering at.

She looked back at him and nodded, "We're here."

"Oi, before we go on", he stopped her again, "They are proud beyond your patience. And this one...are you sure?"

"I've got a good feeling about this, Chopper", she smirked.

Frowning, he looked on towards the darkness that lurked on that grassy mountain, amidst a sea of lifeless bodies.

"I don't believe in people that only go to gods when its convenient for them", she said, cheekily.

"You're one to talk, hag", saying, he followed her.

****************

"You little devil of a god!....You goddamned brat!....You pesky little runt!"

And so on and so on. Chopper lectured Grim for about half an hour like a mother. I didn't think he was the type to get this hyped. This was a special case. Usually, he'd let his fist do the talking if it ever came to it.

In any case, Lady let Chopper have his way for the time being. She took upon the more arduous task of combing her hair this morning. Since she rarely ever did it, her hair-- that could touch the ground if it wasn't so shaggy-- were a bigger mess than the end of the world.

I and Sight had our breakfast in a corner, all the while I watched Chopper go at it. Grim was barely paying heed to him anyway. He even dozed off a couple of times, but then Chopper would thwack his head into the table, so by now, he was pretty roughed up, not more than the table though. Lubbock and Deli had appeared and were goofing off like usual. All in all, everyone was pretty much the usual happy-go-lucky version of them. June's endless typewriter calmed the air even more.

"How long do you think it'll go on?", I asked Sight.

"Half", he replied, wolfing his toast down.

"Half what?"

"Half an hourglass", then he pointed towards an hourglass that sat on Lady's table, and chuckled "Chopper set it up there before."

And here I thought Chopper was serious about this. This was just a chore for him. I wonder if Lady set him up to do it. A peaceful excuse for thwacking Grim's head into the table every once in a while. That explained a lot, indeed.

It was as Sight said. Half an hour later, Chopper was all done. He took a chair and dragged it into a dark corner. Then he put one of June's papers on his face and off to sleep he went. That was understandable, he must have been exhausted after just coming home this morning.

"Ah, is it over already?", realized Lady who had yet to unravel her hair, which looked like an even bigger mess.

After a ten minute struggle to get the comb out of her unyielding hair, she finally succeeded.

"Well, it can't be helped", she said before setting the comb down. Once again, this day, she had failed to achieve normal hair.

"Right, now Grim", she said, loudly, to which Grim awoke as wide as he could, "I didn't want this argument to go back to that time. Well, truth is, even if we babble on and on about it, we won't reach a common ground. And unlike this mutt, I know better than to bark up the wrong tree."

She was talking about Chopper, to which Chopper grunted but quickly relapsed into his sleep.

"Aww, its unlike you to give up before even trying, Lady", Grim grinned wide.

"You think? Well, either way, I'll just be straight with you", saying, she walked up to him, and delivered the final blow to the table in front of him that Chopper had been violating all this time.

Grim's face didn't change a bit. The rest of us, except the sleeping Chopper and June, were all alarmed.

"I'll ask you right out, what is it that you are willing to say?", she wore a serious face, something unlike her to do.

"What am I willing to say? Haa...!", he sighed, "Nothing if you won't talk to me. Say, Lady, it's been a long time since we talked. I'll say everything if you talk to me."

It sounded just as desperate as it was.

Lady laughed aloud, "What? Is it attention that you want?"

The twisted grin on Grim's face was a shameless yes.

"Fine", she uttered softly, "I'll give you just what you want. But, as per the rules of Valhalla, I'll have someone do my part of the talking. That would be fine, wouldn't it?"

"Hmm? Booooring!", he yawned.

"Then, what exactly do you intend to make of this?", there was a hint of threat in her voice.

"Hmmmmm. Ah! Fine then. We'll play by the rules. But if no one is left to do your bidding, then...you won't have a chance but to do it yourself, right?"

All of a sudden, Lady's face grew dark. Nothing like I'd ever seen before. Her murderous lust was so strong, I could feel a tingling in my spine. Even Sight, the single most carefree person I know, had beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face. Lady really looked like she would kill him in a snap. In fact, if whatever held her back wasn't there, she'd have done the deed many times over.

"That's a scary face you're making, my dear Lady", Grim was having the time of his life.

"Hmm?", Lady's face twisted into an even devilish grin, "No, I like the deal. Then if my champion prevails...You'll bestow death upon yourself."

Grim was dumbfounded for a second but then he laughed, throwing his head back until he began tearing up.

"This is fun! Fine! Let's have it"