i. my name is death and the end is near.

[tehplagues]

what has been left after the plagues is a constellation of ghost towns.

the lone survivors walk the streets of an emptied world, one that alternates swiftly between discomfortingly eerie silence and chaotic brutality. it doesn't seem to understand moderation, the pendulum swinging from one extreme to the other in the space of a heartbeat. there are times when it feels like you are the only person left in the ruins - like you will be driven mad by the nightmares and the grievous silence that follows. and there are other times. times when you know you are not alone in the darkness, not with the rift opening up one last time to pour into the cracks every monster it has in its arsenal; you must protect yourself.

careful where you step. you might stumble on rotting bodies across desolate lawns. you might stumble on rioters fueled by flagg's nightmares until they committed to his deadly causes - believing you to be the enemy. if you're lucky, you'll cross paths with those who, like you, are trying to find a place to lay their weary heads. if you're not, pray to what gods you believe in that someone hears you.

prayer may be all you have left.

Comments

[sasspot]

[noah lost both his parents long before the end of the world came, and they were his only real family except his best friend, seth. his best friend who is now dead like so many other people in the world. he'd survived so long before getting so fucking sick, and noah had falsely believed by some miracle they'd make it through this shit together. it was stupid thinking. he got too hopeful when he should have known- people were dying left and right, and seth joined them.

now he's- now he's burying him, trying to dig a hole deep enough to put seth into who is currently covered in a blanket, because like hell is he leaving his body out- his body out for the monsters roaming around the place instead. he's a little out from the city they lived in, him and seth, they'd made a camp out here and then he started getting sick. there's a tent. there's a fire pit, smoke's still coming up from it through the open area.

he stares down at the pit he's creating, sweaty, tired. he needs to find water, needs to find food, but mostly he's just digging right now, digging and digging. his fingertips grip hold of the shovel like it's both weapon and the only thing he can hold on to.]

[encantamento]

[ most people can only witness the process of dying; they see the rotting corpses left in the wake of a virus, or a violence, or a monster that's charged their way. as a witch with a connection to the other side, sarah's line of vision has been saturated with spirits. too much death all at once means the ghost world is experiencing cross wires as it attempts to tame the saturation - all while gladly welcoming every soul into its house. and because of the saturation, the other side has needed alternate modes of transportation - conduits through which these spirits can pass. they attach to the first available (and magical) host, in this case sarah.

it's all she can feel for days. spirit after spirit bleeding into her, agonizingly searching for the warmer light. they ram into her with desperation, and the process takes minutes that feel like hours. noah is the first living person she has stumbled on in days. ] They're all dead now.

[ her voice is faraway, filled with eerie whimsy. she locks eyes with noah, only for a brief moment, before she collapses at his feet. ]

[sasspot]

[noah looks up in surprise when he hears the sudden voice. he'd been so engrossed in burying this hole, burying seth in it. he had been so focused in it he hadn't heard anyone walk up to him until she speaks. she speaks, and the sound of her voice nearly wrecks him before he's even met her gaze. then he meets her gaze, and something inside of him shatters

on multiple levels. she looks broken, she looks wrecked. and the moment their eyes meet, he's tied to her permanently. he can feel it like chains coming out from him to lock around her, and he doesn't even have time to rail against it because suddenly- suddenly she's collapsing at his feet

and he rushes forward, grabbing hold of her. the only words that can escape him as his heart pounds so furiously, worry rocks through him is:]

Oh, fuck. [she's his ward, he's her guardian, and she's collapsed in his arms. he lifts her up after a moment, worrying, biting on his lower lip, and bringing her to the tent, setting her down within the sleeping bag there

it's too hard, too much to process all at once. and he ends up setting her there, curling up, watching her as she sleeps. still

not able.

to process.]

[encantamento]

[ SHE IS SORRY SHE INTERRUPTED THE BURIAL OF YOUR BEST FRIEND, NOAH ...

she was so far out of it she didn't realize what she stumbled in on, but she will after the fact and for once in her life, feel terrible. she didn't see seth's spirit wandering nearby, so maybe he's already found the light, or a way to cross over to the other side without her. it's not like she's the only channel available, but she is one of the few. so much of the world - and not just its people - is dead. it's understandably worn her out, and her body and her mind alike need to recharge.

she sleeps for hours. it's the first time that her sleep is dreamless. she wakes long before her eyes start to open. ]

Staring is impolite.

[ jsyk. ]

[sasspot]

[IT IS NOT LIKE SHE KNEW. SHE WAS JUST WANDERING TOWARDS the only living person around

noah's hands fold together tightly, and he swallows when she wakes up. he breathes in sharply lifting his head up to look over at her. he's got a water bottle nearby and what food is left in what seth and him had managed to pull together. it's not much though, and he can't begin to think about what comes after this... no he has to because he has to think about her and a part of him wants to tear that out of his chest with claws he doesn't have

because he does't know her. she's a stranger. and she's his ward despite how hard he has railed against it since becoming sixteen. even the end of the world, it doesn't stop a calling from being a calling.]

Yeah, well.

I'm pretty fucking impolite sometimes, and... you scared the hell out of me.

How're you feeling?

[encantamento]

[ sarah has no idea noah is going through an existential crisis. she straightens slowly, a hand reaching out to cradle the back of her head. the migraine she'd been nursing before she collapsed has mostly gone away, but she can feel her temples protest when she moves too quickly. ]

Sorry.

[ it's murmured quietly, almost like the word is foreign to her. it kind of is, but in this context, she means it. she hadn't meant to scare him, nor had she meant to foist herself on him. it's not like she was in control those last few minutes. she scrunches up her face, deliberating on an answer. ]

Better. My head still feels kind of foggy, but other than that -

[ she'll be fine. ]

[sasspot]

...what are you sorry for? Not like you could help it, and it's a good thing you ended up there. We-- I hadn't seen anyone else in a really long time.

[noah shakes his head then as much as he is having this existential crisis, it's true. she didn't mean to stumble on him. she was out of it as she wandered around in the apocalyptic wasteland. he doesn't know how to explain it to her.]

Okay. That's... that's good. The meds and water should help. What... happened to you?

[it is said quietly before he shifts slightly, biting down on his lip, handing her the water bottle which is unopened for now so she can take a drink from that. it might help, and he has pain meds too which he holds out to her since... he can tell her head hurts.

yes. because. yes. words are hard, but he is so intensely direct he'll tell her before the end.]

[encantamento]

I'm - you were ... busy.

[ she doesn't know how else to put it. 'burying someone you love' is probably the most concise and accurate statement, but it seems cruel to say it aloud. she takes the water bottle gratefully from his hands. she isn't in any position to turn down a kindness from a stranger, and she isn't as quick to mistrust it as lena.

she doesn't answer until she's finished at least half of that water bottle, keeping the pain meds tightly within her palm. ]

I have a connection to spirits. [ it's a lot more complicated than that, but she doesn't often use magical jargon with those who don't know it as well as she does. accepting she was a witch would've come harder than it does now, when she has little left to lose. ] Let's just say they need a ride to the other side, and I'm currently the train.

[ it's not fun. ]

[sasspot]

...yeah. My best friend.

[noah's voice is quiet then as he... didn't think she'd realized that- she was a mess understandably since she's telling him what she goes through with all these dead people around. a connection to the spirits when so many people are dying everywhere, it must tear her apart. it must be exhausting to be the train.

he shakes his head, letting out a low hiss]

That must be like hell right now. Being the train to the other side.

[he can feel how it is wearing on her, and who can blame her for it doing so? when there are so many dead people

everywhere. people dying all the time. it must be... unlike anything he can imagine.]

[encantamento]

[ it's almost like the temperature drops in the space between them.

sarah's face falls, not that her expression was a positive one to begin with. people have been dropping like flies. most of the world is dead. it stands to reason he's lost someone, too. they all have, though her own best friend - elizabeth - was gone long before the virus was delivered to the world.

still, it's the one thing that could stop her in her tracks. ] I'm sorry.

[ and she means that, too. she is sorry for his loss.

she rubs her hands idly together to keep them warm, bringing her knees to her chest. ] It was worse a couple of weeks ago. There's - [ she glances outside, to where seth is now buried. ] Not too many people are left. [ to cross over. ]

[sasspot]

[noah catches the way her expression just falls, falls because what he's said to her about his best friend. he slides a hand over his face, closing his eyes then against ihs palm.

he shakes his head as he lets his hand drop] Me too.

[it's said quietly. maybe ordinarily he'd lash out angrily at the apology. apologies don't bring anyone back, but he can hear how much she means that. he can feel the genuineness of it.

his gaze drifts up to her face, and his eyes burn when she glances outside where he's buried-] ...yeah.

Look, I- I need to tell you something.