The realm of Death didn't match the entity herself. All around were crops and fruit trees of all kinds, and in the sky was a sun that never set. It was too sunny for Dove's taste, but Dove could understand why her friend preferred this. It was beautiful.
Still holding her hands was Death. Death looked like a young woman in her twenties with a farmer's hat on her head, and a simple patterned shirt with overalls. She smelled of fermented grapes. . Her hair was black, and tied in a ponytail with a black hand. Skull earrings hung from her ears, the empty eye sockets were filled with emerald flames. Dove was allured by her black eyes, and the concern on her face.
"What happened, Dove?" It was like Death-got straight to the point. Her breath had no smell to it. No rotten meat like a demon nor of wine like that of a certain god that Dove partied with.
"Nothing happened, I needed to speak to you." Muttered Dove, her eyes moving to the side. Afraid to make contact with those eyes that can read gods like open books.
"Dove." It was a single word, but to Dove, it was like Death had judged her.
"Surely it is nothing Death. Don't worry about it."
"Dove." Death's voice rose a bit as she cupped Dove's cheeks with warm hands.
Dove turned her eyes to Death's worrying eyes. She could never hide her true feelings from Death, which was odd. Dove was omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Well that is what she told herself. If she so desired, she could fight all of the gods in the multiverse and win. Probably not her mother or grandfather but that was not the point.
"I was crying. The lightbringer, Samael led a rebellion against Father. I don't know why, we were so happy." Dove swallowed, tears forming up." We were a family. I gave him statues, jewelry, a cake for each birthday and he does this to me. I..I loved him, he was a friend." Dove made sure each cake was unique. One was made of stars, another was made of one hundred percent chocolate..
Death didn't say a word.
"I made him the symbol of perfection. He was in Eden, my garden. Each wing I adorned with gems." Dove paused as she laid her head on Death's shoulder. Flowers nearby withered and bloomed like they were going through the phases of grief.
Once again Death said nothing.
Dove continued, struggling to get the words out." Father wanted to kill him, to wipe him out from all realities. I wouldn't allow him. So I threw him out. My friend, I threw him into a realm of darkness. I threw him into hell!" Roared Dove, gripping Death's shoulders with such a vice-like grip that it left would have shattered mortal bone like a hammer to a skull.
"Here, take this." Death manifested a skull shaped box of tissues and handed it over to Dove."
Dove took several tissues and wiped her tears." Thanks Death, I wish things were different, you know." She threw the tissue to the ground which disappeared in rich red soil.
Dove looked into Death's black eyes that pierced into hers. There was compassion, love, and safety into those eyes. It was like Death could see her and read her like an open book." Come here Dove, let's go inside." Death grabbed Dove's hand and began walking through the crops that parted for the two.
Death's hands were softer than any pillow and bed, and grass underneath Dove's feet reacted violently with each step. They were burned from her sun kissed feet, the ashes blowing into the wind. Dove quickly covered her nose as the burned plants smelled like a body that was left to rot.
The two walked for a mile till they were in front of Death's house which was in a gothic style with large painted windows, and a door with a skull knob on it. In front of the door was a shadowy figure with a scythe in his hands.
"Mistress Death, and Princess Dove, pleased to see you." This was a reaper, a servant of Death.
Death nodded and her servant continued." I have a report to give you later and refreshments on the table." The servants of omniversal entities knew what to do immediately due to perfect communion with their creators.
"Good, you can go now." Death said.
"He looks out of place Death." Said Dove, wiping her eyes.
Death opened the door which showed a living room with two golden goblets already on the table." What?"
Dove pulled her hand to her and said." I said he looks out of place. You have a farm, so I expected a farmhand, perhaps with large muscles."
Death gave a hearty laugh before slapping Dove on the back." I miss you Dove, but please sit down." Dove looked at the wooden chair and sat down. Something came to her mind, why did she tell Death all she was feeling? Death surely knew it. Sure it felt good to get her feelings out, but it was a bit redundant. Death knew her like an open book, and she knew Death, such is the way for beings that predated creation.
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Death sat opposite from her and grabbed her mug. Dove smelled fermented berries as she looked in the goblet. Inside the goblet were drowning souls that reached out to Dove, begging for heaven, for deliverance. She knew each of these damned souls, all were monsters. Grabbing the goblet, she took a small sip. Smacking her lips, she tasted the memories, and the terror as she consumed them. One soul was a serial killer who wore the skins of his victims, another was a rapist who savored the power he had over those he defiled. Their souls gave the wine a bitterness that made Dove cringe due to the mix of sweet and bitter. I will send them into the pit. Let Lucifer and his demons play with them.
"My wine you see gets its flavor from the damned souls that live their lives with no care for others. Those that rape, pillage, and take from the innocent. If you want to know the time it takes for then to ferment, it takes about three hundred years give or take." Death said, sipping from the goblet.
Dove nodded as she took another swig of the drink, and moaned from the sweetness of the alcohol.
Death sighed, putting her goblet down. Her eyes told Dove all she needed to know." Dove, shall I be honest with you?"
Dove grinded her teeth. The air turned frigid to the point that ice formed on the two ancients.
"You need to let him go. It has been thousands of years since he was banished from the Golden city, and you are still stuck on it. Don't take this the wrong way, but you need to move on." The words hit Dove, no they slammed against her. It would have been better if Death punched her. None spoke to her like this. The gods spoke with respect, bowed before her, and supported her. All of the angels supported her decisions. Father did want her to let him go but she refused. Was Death her friends agreeing with that pompous bastard?
Dove slammed her hands on the table and the ice turned to water as flame danced around her like a dancer." You dare, you dare say that to me." Each word was full of divine power. It had the power to break galaxies, and recreate them.
Death was unphased. Most gods, even old ones like Odin, Zeus, and even an ancient like desire would be started. Not Death, not one of the oldest beings in existence." Yes I dare Dove. Don't be an ass and listen to what I have to say." Death's tone was calm, unphased as the stillness of of a rock against a storm
She continued." I know you loved him, but you act like this everytime. You overreact when something doesn't go your way. He made his choice, and paid the price.
Dove snatched her goblet, and drank all of the contents down. All of the souls were screaming as each one of the murderers, rapists, and even molesters went into hell. She chucked the goblet, it bounced off the wall and landed on the floor." You agree with Father now. I thought we were friends, companions." Her voice turned into a shout. Thunder cracked, and the ground shook at her rage in the domain of Death. A downfall of rain followed soon after, and it filled the silence d between the two.
In the farms, Death's servants went into cover to avoid the downpour of the endless rain. Farm animals were being led into barns,and the Reaper enjoyed the view under an umbrella. He put a lit pipe in his mouth, and inhaled the smoke.
"I expected brother to not have my back but not you to." Dove screamed out of frustration as she grabbed her hair.
Death looked into Dove's eyes, staring down the princess of Heaven. It was the look a mother gave to a child. She didn't blink, nor move her lips to say anything. She stared into Dove's very divine soul, an action that would destroy most gods but not Death.
Dove's heart beated like a drum upon undergoing this stare. Her face started to go pale. Dove was not afraid of what Death could do, but at what could happen if she ruined a friendship that spanned eternity.
"Enough," Death's will was made reality. The storm disappeared, and any puddles it made evaporated. It was as if a storm never happened.
Death got up and placed her hand on Dove's shoulder. She embraced Dove, a mother comforting a hurt child." Everything will be alright. Look, I know what you need. You need to take mind off the rebellion, how about we go to a bar or take a walk throughout the universe. The more you dwell on this, the worse it gets."
Dove knew what Death was saying. A girl's night out was an event that Dove rarely did. She believed you had to have too much time on your hands to engage in such activities. Dove was too busy creating to enjoy drinks, but what Death suggested was tempting. Father would get impatient with her absence, but if you asked if she valued his opinion, she would laugh in your face.
"Drinks sound nice. What about our duties? You are the lovely personification of Death who reaps the living when their time comes.".
Death rolled her eyes." Dove darling, we are omnipresent. Even now, I took a civilization who all died from a comet and a father who died in the line of duty in some interstellar war. You do tend to ask questions you already know the answer to."
"I block that knowledge out. It makes my eternal existence much more fun. To pretend to be surprised is much more exciting."
"You sound like Mania and the Desire. Always professing to pretend to be surprised for some excitement. Dove, can you promise me you won't play their games?"
Dove said nothing for several seconds. Opening her hand, she brought the goblet to her hand." No promises, but can we bring Princess Essi?"
Death's eyes widened and opened her mouth to say something. However, for the first time in a million years, nothing came out. No words of wisdom, nor criticism. Death knew what kind of person Essi was. She was a princess of chaos, and nothing good came of chaos. Beings like her were a terrible influence, especially on Dove. Death sighed and pitched the bridge of her nose, thinking of ways on how to fix things if everything goes wrong." Let's go to the Bar."
***********
Dove was dressed in casual attire. Dove had shoes on with a shirt and jeans. In her hand was a shepherd's staff, her badge of office. The staff was made from her very essence and was destruction and creation incarnate. If a mortal ever wielded it, they could destroy worlds, and create them. The staff, unlike most objects of power, had a mind of its own. If stolen, the staff would unleash terrible curses on the thief that would last for eternity. The mist between dimensions parted between the two as they flew towards a floating building, a bar in the space between realities. The mist was a creation of Dove's mother,a place where gods, Immortals, and other entities could use to enjoy themselves, and to travel between realms.
"Where is she? I called her about an hour ago." Dove said, landing on the hard rock.. slamming her staff down.
"Late I presume Dove. You know Essi likes to come with a presentation." Said Death who wore gothic attire with an orb dangling from her neck.
Reality shattered like glass as a hole to realms of chaos opened. Colors incomprehensible to the mortal mind flew in. The smell of rotten eggs, and rubber filled Dove's and Death's nostrils. Stepping from the hole was a short woman who wore a pink dress, and a crown of eyeballs on her head. Her eyes were a swirling galaxy, and her hair spasmed and disobeyed any natural law that the Grandfather created.
"Dove, it has been so long." Each word sounded like broken glass, and her voice echoed and distorted. In her hand was a balloon, she handed it to Dove." Here, you can have it."
Dove took it, and it turned into a swarm of butterflies. The swarm fluttered away into the void, vanishing into oblivion. Shaking her hand, she slammed the butt of her staff on the ground and let go. It stayed there, defying gravity like the tool that it was. She hugged her friend, pulling her to her.
"Essi, it has been about several thousand years." Dove last met the Princess of Chaos on a long dead world that was to be the seat of a vast empire. The empire didn't come to be vast, nor was it all that great. Essi decided to make a game on what they would do if they found out their sun was dying. Death begged Dove to not get involved in her games but Dove ignored her. The end result was nuclear war, flesh melting in atomic fire and the destructive waves of a star consuming a dead world.
"Five thousand to be exact since we rose a primitive civilization to the stars, or did they all die? I can never remember. Anyway, I heard about your little dilemma. Why not just open a hole in heaven and fill it with frogs."
"No, just no." Said Death as she placed her arms around the two." Let's not make the Father angrier than he already is."
"I mean it is not that bad of an idea," muttered Dove.
"Dove!"
"Fine, fine, I won't do it."
"You are no fun Death." Esshi said as she her hair went straight up, turning spikey.
The three walked in the bar, and it was modest. A group of angels ate at a table, and one demon was drinking the essence of hell in a bottle. There was no music in the bar, but there was talking, laughter, and the occasional drunken rant. Entities came here to forget their duties, and their past deeds. Dove wasn't surprised to see some drunken angels here, the rebellion had affected everyone.