Chapter 2 (part 2)

I wasn't even sure if I wanted to join the Legion. Was that the reason Grim brought me back? To join up and kill demons. I guess I was about to find out. 

I followed Tinu out into black courtyard again, where we were greeted by two figures draped in black cloaks with their hoods up. They both came to me instantly and as they circled me they seemed to be examining me, I was so surprised I couldn't say anything. They stopped circling me, the shorter of the two stood in front of me while the taller one stood behind me, then started moving parts of my body, the figure behind me put my arms up while the shorter one knelt down, put my legs further apart and began moving its hands up my leg without actually touching me. When it seemed like they were about to up my skirt I pushed them both away with my hands.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted angrily, moving my legs back so they were touching, I even covered myself up like I was naked even though I wasn't, I felt incredibly embarrassed by the situation. 

The hooded figures moved in front of me and bowed. 

"We apologise," A woman's voice said, the two figures stood up straight. "We thought you had been told already." 

"Told what?" I was still freaked out a little so my question came out angry again. 

"That we would be coming to take your measurements." A man's voice said, coming from the taller one.

I took my arms down and stood in a more relaxed position. "For what?" Confusion had now replaced my anger and embarrassment. Why would they even need my measurements? Unless... 

"Are you making me some new clothes?" I asked, the thought of spending eternity in my school uniform was kind of depressing. 

They shook their heads in unison. "We do not possess the skill needed to create clothes," The woman's voice replied, almost like she didn't understand or care about what had just happened. 

If I'm honest, my heart sunk a little by her answer, I would indeed have to spend eternity in my uniform. 

"We can, however, weave for you a cloak, as we do for all the Legion." The man's voice said, finishing off the other's answer. 

I suddenly felt embarrassed again due to my misunderstanding, I couldn't even say anything in response. 

"Do you have the measurements you need?" Tinu asked, who had been suspiciously silent through out the whole event. 

The figures nodded, once again, in unison. "They will suffice," The woman's voice replied. 

There was no way of telling but it seemed, and kind of felt, like they didn't take there eyes off of me.

They bowed again to us. "We will come back once the task is complete." The woman's voice said as they stood up straight and walked away. 

I turned to Tinu slowly, still a little shocked at what had just happened. He turned back to me and grinned. "Well, that was interesting." He said with a slight chuckle. 

"Why didn't you say anything sooner!" I demanded, finding my voice again. 

He continued to grin as he looked back at me. "I would've but your reaction was priceless!" He laughed. "It took all I had not to laugh out loud!"

Without thinking I punched him in the arm, pretty hard as well, apparently, as he stopped laughing and started rubbing his arm. "You're a prick!" I crossed my arms and turned away from him as I pouted. 

"That actually hurt a little," He said after a moment of silence. "You put that towards demons and you'll be one of the greatest members the Legion has ever had." 

His praise confused me a little bit, I didn't even hit him that hard, but I turned back to him and nodded. "Thanks," The word felt awkward coming out of my mouth so I quickly moved on. "Who were they, anyway?" I asked, moving back to hooded figures we had encountered. 

"They're servants of the Reaper, they're known as The Order of Crows," He had seemed to have regained his composure rather quickly. "They assist him by guiding the souls of the recently deceased onto the afterlife, whether they are destined to come here or pass on completely." 

"They don't guide souls to Hell?" 

Tinu shook his head. "Souls destined for Hell have a higher chance of becoming demons after they die, and usually it's instant so they're for Grim or the Legion to reap." 

"The Legion can reap souls too?" I thought only Grim could do that. 

Tinu nodded. "Yeah, but I'll get into that when we get to the armoury, it'll be easier to explain with a weapon." 

"Fair enough," I nodded also. "Then why can they make cloaks but not make clothes?" I found this annoying, I don't know anyone who would enjoy wearing their school uniform longer than they should do, and it seemed like I had to wear mine for the rest of my eternal existence. 

"It's actually not that they can't, it's because of your soul's memory." 

"Isn't my soul's memory the same as my memory?" 

Tinu shook his head. "At the moment of your death your soul implants certain things upon itself, your own memory included, it takes in your bodies appearance, every last detail, your skills and talents, your intelligence, basically everything about you, including the clothes you were wearing." 

I was still confused, maybe even more so than before. 

"But that still doesn't explain..." 

Tinu held up his hand and stopped me talking. "The reason they can't make you any new clothes is because even if they did, your soul memory would not be able to comprehend the change," After he spoke I just stared blankly at him.

"Here, I'll just show you," He sighed, taking off his jacket. "I never was good at explaining stuff." 

He held his jacket behind me and draped it over my shoulders. To my shock and surprise, the jacket just phased right through my body and fell to the floor, all I could do was stand in place and look down at the jacket phased between my feet. 

"Your soul can't take in any new information," Tinu said as he picked up his jacket from the floor and put it back on. "Meaning your stuck with what you got, whether you like it or not." He grinned at me. 

"But when I hit you...?"

"Yeah, it's a bit confusing," Tinu said with a chuckle. "We're still solid, to other souls at least, we can't walk through walls or anything but clothes will pass straight through if we try to wear them, but it's all to do with soul memory, they also implant all of your senses, including pain and touch." 

"So what's so special about these cloaks then?" 

"They're made using soul energy taken from a mixture of your own personal soul and strands of thread from Grim's own cloak, they're the only foreign pieces of clothing that souls can wear and it's because of that combination of materials." 

My head was spinning. I'd only been awake for a short while and I had already learned so much new information, I was surprised I could keep it all in. 

"Come on," He said as he began walking. "We've stood here long enough, and besides, lessons aren't over yet."

His words snapped me out of my bewildered state. "Wait, what?" I asked as I hurried to catch up with him, I'd almost forgotten that he hadn't told me how the Legion can reap souls too. 

Who knew I'd still have lessons after I died?

I followed him through another door and, after walking down a long hallway, which I didn't have time to look at or admire properly, we walked through another door. And there it was, the armoury. 

The walls were covered in bladed weapons; swords, axes, spears, daggers, any bladed weapon I could ever imagine was here even bows and a selection of arrows. I spun around on the spot and stared at the vast collection of weaponry in awe. When I stopped spinning Tinu was smiling at me. 

"What'd you think?"

"It's kinda incredible," I replied honestly, and I have to say, I was kind of excited by the whole thing. "Is one of these yours?" 

Tinu simply nodded, he walked across the rectangular room to a sword with a blade almost as long as his body, covered in some kind of leather covering, and a handle that could fit two hands, he picked it up with one hand and brought it over to me, resting it on the ground with the tip down, in all the entire sword was just as tall as he was. 

"I call her Xiomara," He said with a proud smile as he took off the leather covering, I put my arms behind my back and got a closer look at it, the blade was black with one sharp edge and the other jagged like teeth, the hilt and the handle were also black but in the middle of the hilt sat a ruby red jewel and on the base of the handle was a chain of moderate length. Aside from the extra features it resembled a broadsword. 

"It means 'battle ready' in Spanish." 

"What's the chain used for?" I asked, looking up at him again. 

"It's used to tie around my arm during battle so I don't lose track of her," He laughed softly. "You'd be surprised how often I lost my grip and she's sent flying out of my hand." 

"You swing this with one hand?" I was unable to hold back my surprise. "Isn't this type of sword supposed to wielded with two hands." 

"Yeah, well, I'm stronger than I look," His cloudy eyes seemed to gleam as he spoke, it's like he was genuinely excited about this stuff. "When your soul reforms after you die, some senses or attributes are increased, depending on what you did in life." 

"I wonder if anything about me will be different?" I asked aloud thoughtfully. 

Tinu shrugged his shoulders. "If it is we'll find out soon, usually takes a while to kick in." He smiled. 

I smiled back at him before looking at his sword again. 

"She looks amazing!" I said in an almost awe struck whisper. 

Tinu chuckled. "Each weapon here is created by Grim, using a tiny piece of his own scythe as a catalyst, that's how the Legion is also able to reap souls."

I looked up at him with a soft pout. "And you couldn't have told me that before?" I sounded a little annoyed but I wasn't. 

Tinu shrugged his shoulders. "If I did I'd have had to wait longer." He smiled.

I stood up straight and put my arms down by my side. "Wait for what?" 

"Your face when I told you you could find yours here," He wrapped Xiomara's blade back in her leather covering, which took longer than you'd think as he had to lay the sword flat, he then grinned as I walked further into the room. "Once you find your weapon you'll official become part of the Legion." 

I hadn't been sure about any of this, until now that is... I know what I'm going to do now...

Author's Note

The second of of 2 parts for chapter 2, I'll start uploading them in two parts from now on. Any advise welcome.