So I died and now I'm a Catgirl, I guess

When I died... I didn't remember a thing. The ice burned, deep in my veins, and yet it also took away the pain- gave me a chance to breathe again like I'd never in my life drawn breath. It was pain, a hacksaw, a fire, and salvation, to be born again all at once... these were the thoughts swirling around inside of her head as she died, her eyes fluttering closed for what would be the last time... it was funny, really, for things to end this way.

"I escaped so much, I survived..." She laughed into the wind over her head, eyelids fluttering, vision tinted in reds and blacks, swimming. "I survived so damn much, and then... for what..." Laughing brittly, ignoring the coppery taste spilling up her throat and onto her tongue, she closed her eyes fully, for a moment, then opened again, admiring what lay overhead- a sea of stars so brilliant, it may well have been a soft velvet tapestry inlaid with diamonds. "She was right... some people aren't meant... to, make it out alive, are they..." Eyelids slowly drifting closed, one lasst time, she shook her head, trying to bring her conscious back. "I... she was really... right... some people... aren't meant to survive... I should just go... to sleep..."

"Should just go to sleep..." A slow lurch of her head, energy spiking, she tried and failed to open her eyes, those beautiful blonde eyelashes dusted with ice, frozen together, now, by her own frozen tears. "I wanna wake uip... let me wake up, let me wake up..." Whispering into the air, for nobody to hear. "-but what does it matter... I was never... nobody.. waiting for me, anyway..." So tired, so very, very tired... "Nobody..." waiting for me, so what's, "-the point..."

"Good night..." Lynx whispered, and let the warmth of the cold take her, drifting off for good. Deep, dreamless sleep... she was gone...

"Is this... a dream...? Am I dead...? Or maybe I've gone to heaven, maybe all that is real..." Lynx yawned quietly, as she began to stir, but her eyes, they refused to open. There was something rough and scratchy like a dry grass in summer underneath her, and a soft, warm breeze wafting over her... groaning, stomach churning with nausea,.. she managed to open her eyes, begin the process of sitting up. Am I dead...? What's going on with me...? Around her, yes, a field of tall grass, but there were beautiful wooden carved posts spiraling into the air in the shape of a helix, supporting glass lanterns that radiated warm, orange firelight. Angling her head, Lynx sat up, then slowly stood, groaning- her clothes were nothing but plain robes, like something she might have found in a stupid children's book about mighty wizards of legend, but...

"Where am I, what the hell is this..." Groaning, she tried to shake her head and clear it. "Where am I, what is this...?" Try as she might, to recall... there was the ice, the blood, the burning... the stars... the cold... but her name, it was Lynx, and she... the rest was slipping away... what landed her in the ice...? A man shrouded in darkness... the crack of a firearm... the crack of a what...? What was the man doing there, was he trying to help her...? Everything was cold, was she alone, or was there somebody with her... just the cold, the cold... Lynx... cold... cold, dark, stars... am I a student? Am I an adult? I think I'm an adult- but what did I do? What was I, who was I... was I anything at all? Just the cold, the dark, the-

Lynx was brought out of her stupor by the deep coo of an owl, her eyes snapping open, eyes wandering around her- the lanterns formed a path, through what seemed to be an endless field of tall grass, forward. Well, the grass was taller than her head, save for a path of much shorter grass under her feet, which was, ahead of her, often interrupted by the taller foliage and its swaying in the low breeze.

"My name is Lynx, and..." But, much to her frustration, she couldn't remember. There were bits and pieces- the reeking of smoke and sex. Neon lights. Steel, the flash, the sting of a stab wound... there was the ice... but none of it formed coherent thoughts or memories... there was only Lynx and the ice, and disjointed images that may have been pulled from anywhere, her own head or not. Shaking her head, eyes clenching shut, Lynx walked, confused, gripping the sides of her head- her hair was blonde, and she felt to be relatively strong, like she was fit for some reason or another. What happened, to me...

"Ng..." Frustrated, at her inability to remember, Lynx kept walking, her legs crossing more than they should, gritting her teeth- so many sensations, the way her thighs rubbed together, the robes around her body, the grass in her hair and against her body, the faint sweat from the warmth- her body, the robes, the fire, the wind... but she just wanted to remember, what happened, the ice, the ice, the ice, the stars... there was only the ice, gods damnit, only the ice, ONLY THE ICE ONLY THE ICE ONLY THE ICE-

No, but there was more- the screaming, crackling flames and screams of pain, the flash of a steel knife entering her mouth, the smell of gore and of smoke, acid... but the ice, the ice... what's wrong with me who am I what happened to me where am I WHERE AM I- and still she wandered down that dirt path even as those barely-grasped mental images faded again, once more leaving the ice , the cold- did the ice kill her? Or did she simply live in an icy place- but then why am I here, where am I where am I where am I- WHERE- WHO- the world seemed almost to rip at her for a moment, but, breaking her out of the stupor was the air clearing. No more tall grass, no more stifling heat- Lynx opened her eyes and found that the dirt road had now ended in a small wooden staircase leading up to a grand manor of some sort, with a slanted roof and wooden walls. Through the windows, she could see a great many people, all in robes similar to her own. Of every skin and hair color, height and build that she could imagine- the manor must have been four stories tall and long enough to house an entire school. When her eyes settled on the the grand front doors, two ornate wooden doors, the left swung slowly open, silent, on well oilged hinges, as if inviting her inside. She could see no other way to go, either- grass hugged the lower bits of the house- for all intents and purposes, this was still only one path.

The manor sported a relatively simple entryway, shockingly- a few people chatted here in these same dark robes. There was a young man with dark brown hair, and a tall, broad-shouldered woman with braids. Both of them ignored Lynx, and she, confused, felt it would be best not to interrupt what seemed to be a very deep and personal conversation. Knowing not where to go, she pushed through a door to her right, finding herself in a grand sitting room. All sorts of people here, as well- televeisions going. Two of them, one of which sported a deeply romantic moment, the other a comedic one about an old man haggling with a shopkeeper... but there were twenty or so people here, watching the televisions, stargazing through the windows, talking to eachother... all of them, seemingly so easily enjoying their time...

Why am I here, though...? Lynx shook her head, groaning and grabbing her head, again, as a wave of overwhelming dizziness hit her brutally, almost sending her to her knees- the ice, the... the what... the cold... so cold... I hate the cold...She was still walking, not even registering her steps anymore, unsure where she walked. That being said, it probably shouldn't have surprised her when she into somebody, recoiling back- eyes opening, but unfocused, dizzy. Before her stood a young woman with soft, dark hair and the triangular ears of a fox. Oddly, her hair was trimmed neatly but yet, twigs and leaves stuck out of it, and dirt, grime, and blood smeared her face, as if she'd just been through a fight. Lynx glanced up, at the girl's fox ears and then down, at her face- this was the first person to look at Lynx since she'd entered this place.

"What brings you here?" The fox asked. "Then, I suppose that's a dumb question... I don't remember, myself, nobody ever seems to remember... what's your name?"

"It's... It's Lynx," She replied truthully, angling her head and stepping forward. "What's yours?"

"My name is, Nara," She answered quietly. "I've been here too long, I don't remember what happened to me anymore, not even a trace..."

"What is this place...?" Lynx asked quietly, sighing, rubbing her eyes as sleepiness crashed over her like a wave.

"It's called the court- don't ask me why, I don't know," Nara answered quietly, shaking her head, pushing a few locks of that dark hair away from her eyes. "People come here when they're dead, but it's not time for them to die, yet... you get shoved back into the world, when the time is r-right," She explained, swaying, leaning against the wall.

"I feel, faint," Lynx mumbled, slowly taking a seat here- they were in a stairwell, somehow she only just noticed, leaning back, sitting at the landing before the next floor.

"I do, too..." Nara groaned, slowly sitting down beside Lynx. From her robes came a long, bushy tail, dark, matching her ears, but tipped in white. "Say... do you remember anything? About why you're here?"

"Damnit, don't ask me that, I can't do this again..." Lynx groaned, letting her head fall back and loll to the left, glaring at Nara through half lidded eyes. "I'm so confused... I'm dead but I'm not dead...? All I remember is cold, so, so cold, I dunno why... cold... maybe I died in a blizzard..."

"Sometimes people tell you that you've got a purpose to fulfill..." Nara shrugged, yawning and leaning closer to Lynx. Their foreheads collided, with a dull thud, but Lynx didn't register any pain, weariness ripping at her bones, her soul itself. "I don't know what your purpose is, nor mine... but we've got one, for sure... that's why people... end up in the court... they can't die just yet... they're a puzzle piece..."

"Does that mean, I'm immortal for some reason...? Because a god said so...? Right..." Lynx snorted, rolling her eyes.

"I don't think it's like that..." Nara sighed, yawning hugely, revealing an inanely sharp set of canines like fangs. "I mean... I've been here for a while... it's been months... never seen somebody twice... I don't know the rules though... can't tell you for sure, sorry..."

"No coincidence, we're getting this tired at the same time, is it," Lynx groaned, trying to sit up, fully, but falling back. She tried, again, to sit up, but Nara slowly hugged her, Lynx's, neck, pulling her down, until the blonde found her cheek buried in Nara's bosom, that thick, albeit dirty, fox tail wrapping around her waist.

"I've got you... you're safe, here," nara whispered, and Lynx shook her head as the exhaustion overtook her, and the world went dark, sounds of chatter and liveliness around her fading to silence.