The next afterlife

[dead_serious]

[ In hindsight, it was obvious. Reapers worked tirelessly, for centuries, trying to reach that one final goal - to be forgiven. For most, the feat of learning the value of life was impossible. The depression that lingered with them after they took their own lives was only compounded by their roles as death gods. So many joyous lives cut short, the lucky mortal's record almost mocking the unfortunate reapers as they watched the panels flip past their eyes. Most would forget they even had a chance to be forgiven, drowning in the enteral job set before them.

But, on rare occurrences, a reaper would find themselves before a jury, summoned away from their desks overflowing with paperwork on scheduled deaths. That is where William stands now. And perhaps even more surprising, is the other who stands beside him - Grell Sutcliffe. William had hardly believed himself capable of forgiveness, but the redhead...she'd looked at the mortal realm and laughed, hardly caring (and often finding it amusing) if she was the listed cause of death for some of those unfortunate people. How she is here, as well, is beyond him.

The committee has decided the both of you have come to an understanding on how valuable life truly is.

The woman at the centre of the row of judges addresses them both. William's brow creases, but he refrains from asking the obvious question of why, lest he ruin their chances at eternal peace.

Now that that matter is dealt with, we will move on to assessing your sins as a mortal.

William's expression quickly shifts to honest surprise, his eyes widening and blinking in confusion. The term 'forgiven' had been a misnomer since the beginning. How had he been so naive to think all their wrong doings while they'd been alive would be waved off as if they'd meant nothing? Swallowing heavily, he gives a brief side glance to Grell. For the first time, in this afterlife, he is scared. ]

Comments

[dead_serious]

Good.

[ But he will release her other hand now, too, and even go so far as to lace their fingers together. That's something to start! ]

[untodeath]

[ That softens her features, while she gives his hand a squeeze. ]

I love you. [ Leaning forward, she nuzzles under his chin! ] So much.

[dead_serious]

[ He may have returned the sentiment, for the second time that evening, but something tickles at his neck as she nuzzles him and he instinctively raises his shoulders to get her to stop. ]

What...did you grow whiskers somehow, too?

[untodeath]

[ Once she processes what he’s said, she gasps, standing upright to reach for her face! Her fingertips tap above her lip, and over her cheeks! Discovering none, she reaches out to heap his chest! ]

That was mean, you know!

[ Flipping her wet fringe out of her eyes, it also may draw attention to her elongated, fuzzy ears— the culprit!! ]

[dead_serious]

[ He does notice! And he gives a fairly hard tug at the fluffy end of one, as if Grell was a bad kid that was being sent to their room for misbehaving. ]

Trim these blasted things.

[untodeath]

[ With a yelp - or is it a yowl? - she leans into the pull! ]

Nnh— Keep that up, a-and you’ll need to entertain me when we make it back to bed.

[dead_serious]

I believe I've entertained you quite enough tonight.

[ To keep her hormones under control, at least a bit, he refrains from anymore physical abuse. It probably won't help too much, but he can try. ]

[untodeath]

[ That comes with a sigh of relief - at least, for her poor ear - as she gingerly rubs it. ]

You certainly did— but you know I can never get enough of you❤️

[dead_serious]

Then the remainder of your entertainment for the evening will be sleep, because that is what I intend to do the moment we finish here.

[ And with that, he flips off the water. ]

[untodeath]

[ Well, that gets a huffy pout out of her, and those fuzzy ears of hers droop to match that frowny face! ]

Well. I suppose sleep would be welcome, following all that-- emotional turmoil and whatnot.

[dead_serious]

Perhaps a lazy snog, as well.

[ A side comment as he steps past her and out of the tub to grab a towel. ]

[untodeath]

[ Grell’s teeth press into her bottom lip with a little grin, ears perking right back up. She’s stayed back to wring out her hair, and as an afterthought, her tail. The fur on her feet gets a sigh of annoyance from her, though, before she’s bending over to do the same for each leg. ]

A bloody pain in my arse, these things…

[ She mutters to herself, but once she’s up and out of the shower, she catches sight of her reflection, and that keeps her in good spirits! Her new curves are pretty great, after all. Definitely distracting! ]

[dead_serious]

[ Ah, yes. William hadn't even considered the maintenance Grell's new fur would require, especially after a bath. And now he's wiping the steam from the bathroom mirror to see what state his newly acquired feathers are in. Thankfully, bird's feathers are waterproof, for the most part, so that seems to be a plus.

Having been bumped away from the mirror so Grell could admire herself, William huffs and grabs the only towel the room provided and begins drying his hair. ]

Honestly, you are going to take forever to dry completely.

[untodeath]

[ That comes with a heavy sigh from the redhead. ]

Baths just aren’t going to be the same.

[ Oh, but when William grabs for the towel, she notices a hairdryer nestled in its wall inset, with a declarative croon! The entire unit looks to be made of plastic, which grants a good look-over, while she taps a claw against the material - but it isn’t interesting enough to hold her attention. She flips it on and gets to drying her legs. ]

Perhaps I should just have you fly me around again, it’s bound to be more efficient than this!

[dead_serious]

Absolutely not.

[ Looking to the mirror again, he fusses with the strands, trying to fugure out how he'll part his hair properly with those blasted horns in the way. Also noting that they've gone back to their initial smaller size. Ridiculous. But suddenly something else occurs to him. ]

We should have taken some sort of sleepwear, as well.

[untodeath]

[ Grell ticks her tongue at his immediate disapproval, but she isn’t acting bothered by it. In fact, she’s got that typical lopsided smile on. ]

I don’t mind sleeping nude so much, but we don’t have anything, really. Not so much as a toothbrush between us! [ A shrug, before she gesturing generally about. ] We’re fortunate to even have board, hideous as this place may be - but it’s something, so… thank you for that.

[dead_serious]

[ As she points it out, William's stomach growls loudly. ]

We'll need to find something to eat, as well.

[ Ugh, he's feeling the stress coming on and it's not pleasing. ]

[untodeath]

[ While her stomach isn’t growling yet, she had a feeling that would become a problem soon. Not requiring nourishment be too simple! Heaving another sigh, she plops down atop the toilet lid, to work on drying her calves. ]

Could see if they offer food service? Charge it to the room.

[dead_serious]

[ Wrapping the towel around himself, William moves back to the main room to find the phone. It's a few minutes before he returns with a rather displeased look about him. ]

Seems all they have right now is liquor and popsicles. Two words of which your new friend promptly made a lewd joke about.

[ Grell will get a judging glare as if she'd been the one to make the joke. ]

[untodeath]

[ Grell breaks into an open-mouthed grin, tongue pressed against a pointy tooth as a chuckle lulls from her lips. ]

Lick-your popsicle, I take it? [ But wait, she switches the hair dryer off, raising a finger in pause. ] I don't know if I'm okay with that. We may need to establish a boundary.

[ And it's back on, as she goes back to fluffing the fur along her ankles. ]

I suppose we'll need to reschedule that nap. Can't have you going to bed hungry.

[dead_serious]

For once, I will approve of you staking claim over me. He seems a bit much. And considering what I put up with with you, that is saying quite a lot.

[ Still, how are they gonna eat? Dine out and skip before the bill's brought out? Might be their only option. ]

Honestly, I hope the food in Hell is decent enough.

[untodeath]

Oooh~? [ That has her shutting off the device to discard immediately, in favor of slinking over to William and wrapping herself around him. ] I’ll take it.

[ Although, his question leaves her thinking, resting her chin atop his shoulder with a frowning hum. ]

Goodness, I don’t know… I was under the impression that we would no longer require food or sleep. What a pain…

[dead_serious]

[ All that squirming behind him causes his towel to slink down. He catches it with a huff, then rolls his shoulders in a silent command to let go. Certainly the nicest way he's ever approached that issue! ]

That wasn't the case while we were reapers. But I certainly had a different idea of what Hell would consist of, so yes, I suppose it is a bit odd. It also seems we'll need to find jobs.

[ That last bit has him sounding more exasperated than angry. He truly can't escape it. ]

[untodeath]

[ That is unusually nice of him, which makes the resistance to her affections more disappointing! With a huff, she rounds him - flipping her hair as she goes - to go find her clothes. ]

I suppose it’s a fate preferable to Dante’s theory, but— yes, it’s tiresome.

[dead_serious]

[ William shakes his head with a frustrated sigh. Apparently, he'll never understand when Grell would prefer him to be violent or nice with her. He's trying okay. ]

Certainly. Although, at judgement, the woman make quite a rude remark about my sins filed under Lust. That concept must still be in use in some fashion.