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laila & lilith
dialogue - #E5AB09 | dialogue - #8566aa
thought - #C68174 | thought - #8ec6c5
dialogue - #E5AB09 | dialogue - #8566aa
thought - #C68174 | thought - #8ec6c5
Laila turned Alejandro around so that he had his back to the grass. Her hands shook as she gently touched his cheeks, her warm fingers feeling the soft stubble that was starting to grow.
Please don't die on me, Laila thought. Images from years ago flashed in her mind and she instinctively pulled her hands back. Around her, she felt the atmosphere grow cold and the hair on her human arms rose. What was a reaper doing here? She hadnât been notified and, if it was true, it didnât make sense because she wouldnât be given a case that required more time.
Laila stood up and turned around as soon as she heard the voice. She saw Lilith, her eyes shifting briefly to the field paramedics that were running towards them.
It took a second for the words to sink in but, once they did, Lailaâs fingers tightened into a knot.
"He is under the custody of Guardians and I have not received a notification that says otherwise," Laila said, "You cannot take him."
Lilith removed her sunglasses and laughed at Laila, under the custody of Guardians, what a joke.
She looked over at the field paramedics and rolled her eyes in exasperation. As much as Lilith loved a dramatic death, she had a time-sensitive job to finish so she could finally take her much deserved leave of absence.
"Listen here honey," she began, trying not to comment on how sickly sweet she smelt, "I have the paperwork right here for one Alejandro Walker, death by heart attack in.." she looked back at her watch, "right about" and looked back at Alejandro's body, "now." As she watched Laila seemingly clutch Alejandro's body for dear life, she waited not so patiently for his soul.
Laila frowned as she saw the papers flashing in front of her, the familiar logo of the Reapers in clear sight. She can't be serious, Laila thought, reaching out and taking the paper.
Behind them, the paramedics were administering to Alejandro and, around them, the teammates were being pushed back so that they did not come too close. Only Laila and Lilith were left alone amongst this chaos; although the humans could see them, their human brains unconsciously ignored them, knowing better than to intervene. It was as if they were just a fog in their brains, only being seen when needed.
Her eyes quickly ran over the words, written in the Reapersâ own language.
"Heart attack!" One of the paramedics exclaimed, pulling out a defibrillator from the bag.
"I wonât let you take him," Laila said defiantly, ripping up the papers. "His soul isnât meant for purgatory." She turned around, watching as Alejandroâs soul rose from his body. Before it could go too far, she moved, her feet leaving the ground in one graceful step, and she took a hold of his hand. All she needed was to put it back into his body
Lilith was trying extra hard to not get angry with the whole situation, but it was getting hard not to. She didnât do well around humans much less Angels who always seemed to think they were somewhat superior even if they didnât directly say so.
As she watched Laila rip up the papers, she scoffed. Who did she think she was? Lilith was all for going against authority and the rules but not when it meant she had to go through extra hassle. This was not worth it at all.
âWow, look at you ripping up the paperwork like a rebel,â the corner of her lips twitched upwards, âyou must be having such a great time trying to be ânot like the other Angelsâ right?â
Glancing back at Alejandroâs body, she noticed his soul had already begun to rise. Taking a step forward towards it, she watched in further irritation as Laila had grabbed onto his hand, presumably trying to put it back into his body. This really isnât worth my time, she thought.
With a sigh, she reached out and grabbed onto Alejandroâs other hand and looked back at Laila, âThis isnât the time nor place for you to try and insert yourself where you arenât obviously needed,â, she took a step towards her, âget over yourself and whatever complex you have, the paperwork showed you everythingâŠyour department must have screwed up with the messageâŠâ releasing yet another chuckle she added, âyou Angels arenât as perfect as you like to pretend you are.â
Laila frowned as Lilith took Alejandroâs other hand.
No wonder humans hate you, Laila thought, listening to Lilith's insults and brushing them aside, and pulled harder.
This was what she shouldâve done for Rebecca, fought for her when the Reapers came to take her soul. Too soon, ripping the child from her arms, just as Laila was finishing her work.
"I donât take orders from Reapers," she replied through gritted teeth. Laila knew that pulling neither would go anywhere, but she needed a moment to think.
Her first instinct was to fight. Laila had a lot of experience with physical and spiritual warfare and she was not afraid, but she had not been trained to fight Reapers. It just wasnât something that ever happened, the legal or HR departments usually handled any issues, not the Angels and Reapers on the field.
So, Laila decided to try and negotiate with the Reaper. If all else failed, she could take out her weapons.
"Listen, he just needs a little more time here on earth," Laila said, still pulling but with less force, "If he gets out of purgatory, itâs much less paperwork for you. Plus, it'll give you some time off, report some complications. Iâll go find you once my case is completed."
Lilith wasnât in the mood to interact with an Angel, working as a Reaper meant that she would avoid situations like these whilst being able to handle her cases alone and without much disturbance.
âAs much as you nor I take orders from each otherâs departments, you as an employee must know that things like Death happen with precision and careful management, otherwise the business of Death would be a disorganised mess.â
The thing was, although Lilith was completely okay with Death and handled it as if it was just another day in the office, not everyone was like this. Hell, most of her fellow Reapers were still traumatised by certain cases and werenât as okay with Death as she was. Now compare that to an Angel, especially a Guardian then this must be all too much for them. Perhaps a normal Reaper would feel sorry or even feel sympathetic towards Laila for being muddled up in this situation, but Lilith wasnât any normal being.
âListen, I understand Death must suck but everyone has a time they have to go, and sometimes it just isnât fair but Death isnât fair,â she shrugged, âItâs the Human cycle.â Lilith took another step forward, her grip tightening but now she was standing right up to Laila, her heels giving her extra height for an already tall, intimating looking individual.
Leaning in she tucked a piece of Lailaâs hair which had fallen onto her face and smiled, âYou need to realise, I canât leave this human without taking his soul, so Miss âI â canât â swallow â my â pride Angel, what am I getting out of this?â
Logically, Laila understood the need for Death and believed that, in some cases, it even came too late. However, she also believed that, if Death had half the empathy as Angels, there wouldnât be millions of people dying every human year who had a chance at a better life or a chance to change with the help of institutions such as the Guardians, had Death not come too early.
Laila watched as Lilith stepped up to her. The Reaperâs dark outfit contrasted Lailaâs simple white dress. Laila wasnât intimidated by her presence, especially not when she had made up her mind.
However, she was taken back when Lilith moved her hair. Laila felt her cold fingers brushing against her own warm skin, feeling their energies exchanging for just a moment before disconnected once again.
She still had a tight grip on Alejandroâs hand, not wanting to risk Lilith running away. Lilithâs last question at least told Laila that there was something she could or or say to help Alejandro.
"This isnât about pride," Laila said with a small sigh. If Laila had felt truth behind the insult, perhaps it wouldâve hurt, but she was determined. "Itâs about giving a soul passage into a better afterlife, which should matter, even to Reapers, as indifferent as you all like to pretend to be. Weâre here for them, after all. All Alejandro needs is to reconcile with his brother. It will save him from purgatory."
The problem was that Laila didnât know what Reapers wanted. Especially this Reaper, who seemed more indifferent than every other Reaper she had seen. She was about to give her a blank check, an opportunity to request anything she wanted, but Laila stopped herself.
"All I can offer you Earth," Laila said, her voice warm and sincere, her brown eyes catching the sunlight, making the color appear like pools of amber as she looked directly into Lilithâs. "And the opportunity to finally understand humanity rather than passively interacting with them."
Her words echoed those of her superiors a few months prior. They had seen her the anger and disillusionment towards humans and had been purposeful in their case decision.
"You will never get another opportunity to stay on Earth, Reapers never stay here."
Lilith listened half-heartedly at Lailaâs rebuttal about a soulâs passage; after all, she really didnât care much about it. Lilith wasnât a very warm individual and those around her could hardly stand her but were too intimidated by her to speak poorly of her. Plus, as one of the top-ranking Reapers, what could they truly say? She had a bad character?
She had to admit, the warmth emitting from Laila surprisingly felt quite nice against her cool slender fingers. As she stepped back, she loosened her grip on Alejandroâs hand in order to play nice and popped on her sunglasses as the bright rays of the sun was irritating her eyes. âOh, so the boy has a sad story?â Lilith begun, âdonât they all.â But she didnât say it in a way that rejected Lailaâs proposal since she was smirking at her.
âEarth is quite a big place honey, how could you possibly offer me enough to satisfy my thirst?â Although Lilith questioned her back, she had now dropped Alejandroâs hand and instead crossed her arms across her chest.
Perhaps this was the excitement she needed. Sure, her leave of absence would most definitely be revoked, and sheâd get a mouthful from her superiors. But really and truly, Lilith had nothing to lose. During her entire existence she built up her status within the Reaper department with perfection that one slip up wouldnât cost her as much as it could potentially if she was just an average Reaper.
âIâll help you.â Lilith glanced over the paramedics who were trying their best to bring Alejandro back. She fell onto her knees in one swift motion and put out her hand towards Laila, âgive him here, only I can pop this sad soul back into this drugged up body.â
She waited for Laila to agree before adding, âAnd if you think I truly give a damn about humanity, youâre sorely mistakenâŠnot everyone has a heart like yours,â she winked, âsome donât even have a heart in the first place.â
The sunglasses prevented Laila from looking into her eyes, leaving her instead to look at two dark barriers. Not that there had been much expression to see in them, apart from annoyance directed at her and indifferent.
As Lilith commented on her thirst, Laila realized that she had no idea how to go about all of this. With her original plan gone awry, she would have to think of how to help Alejandro all while making sure she kept up to her side of the bargain. But she had to figure it out. After all, she couldnât hold down Alejandroâs soul at every second and she was truly at the whim of Lilithâs decision.
Iâll help you. Laila released a breath of relief; she had never wanted to hear three words more than now, even if they came from someone who held her future in her hands.
She watched as Lilith lowered down to Alejandroâs body and glanced at Alejandroâs soul and guided him down, handing him over to Laila. The paramedics continued to work as if the two werenât there.
Laila kneeled beside Alejandro, her fingers brushing against his cheek as she felt the life return to his body. Her comment made Laila smiled, her lips glossy and tinted red.
She watched as Lilith worked, fascinated by the process, her eyes following Lilithâs hands. She had seen souls being taken away, but never returned. The paramedics detected a heartbeat again.
"Thank you," Laila said once Lilith was done, standing up once and stepping back. She could barely contain the bright smile. Her fingers pushed back the strand of hair that Lilith had moved only moments before. She took a step towards Lilith. She wasnât used to a beating human heart, Angelâs were different, and she felt as it sped up. Laila rose to her toes, her lips brushing against Lilithâs cheeks in a kiss, before stepping back. Kisses were something natural to her, she kissed her children whenever she could, but this time her lips were left tingling, not used to the touch of a Reaper. "I promise you wonât regret it."
Now that the argument and the process were over, they began to notice them again, as if they had always been there.
Laila took this opportunity to get the attention of a paramedic member. She needed to make sure they could go with Alejandro to the hospital. Her hands rested on their shoulder and she spoke to him in a warm voice. The man nodded and looked over at Lilith briefly, his eyes doing a double-take before nodding again.
When she was done, Laila went back to Lilith. "Weâll go with Alejandro to the hospital. Heâll be discharged in a matter of time and, once that happens, weâll go see the world, like I promised."
Truth be told Lilith had never had the experience of returning a soul back into their body but thankfully she had the knowledge and power to do so. As soon as she pushed Alejandroâs soul back, a wave of all the last emotions and regret he had felt whilst dying rushed into her, resulting in a pounding ache in her head and a feeling as if she couldnât breathe for a few moments. It was the only moment during the entire duration she was with Laila that she had shown any kind of weaknesses.
Fortunately, it only lasted for a few human seconds although to her it seemed much longer. Transference is a real pain in the ass even when I donât have the soul in my possession huh? Once the soul was back into Alejandroâs body and his heart began to beat, the paramedics quickly alerted one another and picked up his body ready to transport him to the hospital.
What had caught Lilith by surprise however was Lailaâs reaction. She watched as the Angel rose up to press her lips against Lilithâs cold cheeks before ensuring her of her promise. Lilith raised an eyebrow at her, smiling ever so slightly and mused let the fun begin I suppose.
Lilith glanced over at the group surrounding them as they began to notice them again and looked over at Laila once more, â as cute as that was...â she smirked once more, âI think I deserve more of proper kiss after all that but I guess weâll get to that eventually no?â she joked. Perhaps Lilith could learn to like the smell of honey after all. As Laila suggested going to the hospital, Lilith simply nodded in acknowledgement and motioned her to go forward as if to say lead the way.