(August '17) Prompt #2 - "Take me by the hand" [Archive]

ArtisticVicu

08-31-2017, 03:57 AM

She drifted through the twilight, the tails of her hood fluttering about her head in the soft wind. The cowl hid her eyes from the sharpest of the sun's setting rays and she watched as the rays slowly died between the skyscrapers and among the leaves of the trees. From this height, she could see the shadow that was night chasing the setting sun. A line of darkness swallowing everything in its path as the planet rotated under her.

But, unlike previous nights, this one was bustling. Children were out on the streets with their parents. Even from this height she could practically hear the excited chattering, the emotions from down below wafting up to her, washing over her like a soothing balm. While many had long since forgotten what this night had really been about at the height of its creation, there were still enough that followed the old beliefs that she had no worries of the reason for this night disappearing. Even if the holiday became nothing more than an excuse for the mortals to dress up and get a ton of candy, she had plenty of work to do during the normal year that it was irrelevant to her. Besides, the wayward souls appreciated her greatly for her guidance.

She was just extremely lucky that not all souls that became separate from their bodies were wayward. Otherwise she would be drowning in souls every second of her life.

She wasn't a Reaper, after all. Those guys had a whole other task compared to her.

She, in turn, was there to help them. Sometimes a soul slipped by. Sometimes they couldn't take the soul. For whatever reason the soul was left behind, she picked up the slack. That was her job as the Guardian of All-Hallow's Eve after all, though there was more to it than simply helping the wandering souls when the veil became too thin for the Reapers to keep control.

Speaking of which...

Darkness that had nothing to do with night slithered through the city beneath her, drawing her attention. She dropped from her spot in the sky, already collecting her magic in the form of a scythe.

The number of weapon designs she had gone through the past years she'd been Guardian was ridiculous but her favorite in the current time was the scythe. A long pole with a blade that was nearly two third's the length. It had a nice weight to it, allowing her to let the weapon do it's job with little effort. Besides, the things she was going up against weren't that intelligent. Especially when she caught them by surprise.

Her scythe sliced through the air, catching all three apparitions in one stroke. There was a brief moment before their conjured forms swirled together, creating three round masses of ghostly essence. She unhooked the lantern on her hip and unlatched one of the panels. It swung open and the little floating balls were carefully swept into it. The candle within flickered but didn't go out and the apparitions already in there barely seemed to notice the jostling, though those already captured did welcome the newcomers, allowing the newcomers to go from the blackish, purple grey they had been to the gentle cream like color of those within the lantern. This also meant that the apparitions new forms shrank and became about the size of marbles. She smiled, latching the lantern shut and hooking it back on her hip. It was nice that they all seemed to shrink when she caught them in the lantern like that. Made it easier for her to gather more before she had to empty the lantern.

Her smile fell.

These apparitions were a different kind of wayward spirit; the bad kind. Usually they were souls too heavily corrupted in some form or sent to maintain their true essence and form. More and more were appearing nowadays and, sadly, the number that were children was increasing as well. It broke her heart that the world she had long since left was changing so.

A flicker of golden light caught her attention.

It wasn't something mortals could reproduce. It was something she had long since come very accustom to looking for and knew innately the difference between it and a mimic.

This particular golden light was that of a child.

The hardest to aid were the children.

While she enjoyed seeing them brighten once they were being led home, it was always hard to know that such young souls had agreed to such a short life here. And the fact that these young souls were leaving souls that deemed the child unfit to leave was hard as well. But the number of souls that were leaving due to neglect or abuse was increasing. The dimmer the light, the more troubled the soul. If corrupted, the soul will not retain its human form.

This one was a lucky one.

She wondered why there wasn't a Reaper for this child as she pushed her hood back.

"Hello little one," she offered, her voice filling the air. The child looked to her and she realized the answer to her question. The veil had thinned. This was the type of wayward spirit that was her responsibility. Glancing over the soul's form clearly noted no ties to any place on this world, though, no strings leading the soul to where it was needed. It had simply crossed over in curiosity and was now in need of some guidance. She smiled softly and offered her hand.

When the little hand filled hers, she drifted back towards the stars, reciting, "Take me by the hand and lead me home. Let there be no darkness between here and there. For guiding me on this very night be the Guardian with the Sight."

Several other souls began to follow as well. Unknown by the mortals, her voice was allowed to carry through the area. The words were like a spell of sorts, or a lullaby. But, mostly, she repeated it because it allowed her to remain calm, separate, and her mind on the task at hand. For those that recognized the old words, it was a greeting. For those that didn't, it was an explanation. A vague one, but one that worked well enough.

The higher she rose, the more souls followed. The lantern on her hip glowed brightly and she removed it from her belt only to clip it to her scythe. It shone brighter there and acted a s a beacon. More souls followed.

Once they reached a point where looking back only revealed the pinpricks of lights that marked cities rather than individual light sources, the souls were surpassing her. While the veil may be thinnest on the planet, the openings to the other sides were not always there. The easiest one to guide souls to was the one highest above the planet. Mostly because it kept any attacks from becoming ambushes.

She really hated those nights.

Additionally, it left those opening clear for the Reapers should they need them.

A child soul ran passed her, laughing as it raced after other children souls. She smiled softly, watching as each soul vanished. As the last of the souls were vanishing, she unlatched the lantern and let the souls within out. They dashed out, going this way and that, but all of them eventually disappeared. With a heavy sigh, she turned and dived towards the surface.

Her night had only just begun.