The End

Surely not?! I know, I said a threeshot. It is. Trust me. :D

Nothing is ever quite what is seems, neither in this world, nor in the many others we remain ignorant of.

     Spirits walk amongst us, and we do not recognise them for what they are.  This is because we are alive, and they are not.  We see what we expect to see; a fellow human being.

     This general rule is no different in the world inhabited by a curiously unique individual named Cadaver.

 

Cadaver was now twenty years old.  He was betrothed to his little brother’s girlfriend.  He was about to lose his job.  For once in his life, his life was not fine, and he could not ignore the issues pressing him towards the edge of that dangerous precipice called “insanity”.

     In two hours, he had to meet his betrothed’s family, and convince them how badly matched he and Cloud were.  He had plans, and he was positive that they would work.  His problem, his main problem, was his brother.  He was afraid that this betrothal had charred the bridge between River and himself, in just enough places that if he tried to cross it, it would split and send their relationship plummeting to a sticky end.  He finished work in an hour.  It would take him half an hour to prepare for Cloud-and-family’s arrival.  That gave him thirty minutes to find his brother and convince him how thoroughly not he planned to marry Cloud.

     And, knowing River, this would be difficult.  Knowing River, this would be insanely difficult.

     Cadaver fleetingly cursed his brother’s obstinacy, before he remembered it was River’s obstinacy that made him River.

 

***

 

The hour in-shop passed quickly enough, as Cadaver occupied his thoughts with theories and suggestions as to the identity of the mystery customer earlier.  There was no way the person had been human, he knew that much.  It seemed almost familiar, as though he spent a lot of time with it, but had never taken notice of it before.  The feeling was unnerving, particularly considering the icy sensation that accompanied its gaze.

     He bade his employer, a kind and elderly lady, farewell, and headed to the Lake.  He knew before he saw the agile frame of his brother lazing in the grass where River would be.  He was always by the Lake.  It was the largest, if not the only, body of water for miles, and there seemed to be something about it which fascinated River.

     Cadaver shuddered violently when he neared the Lake edge, but he couldn’t for the life of him place why.  He had approached his brother slowly, worried that if River heard him approach, the boy would simply up and leave.  River lay on his back, his face tilting toward the evening sun, arms behind his head acting as a sort of cushion, with his yes closed.  There was a very real possibility that he was asleep.

     “River?”  Cadaver’s voice was little above a whisper, in case River truly were asleep, but River’s eyes snapped open as though he’d heard gunshot.  Which of course he hadn’t, since guns did not exist in that world at that time.

     “Cadaver.”  He replied, coldly.  Well, Cadaver thought, At least he’s acknowledging me, and not running away.  Even if he is being a bit standoffish.

     “River, I know you’re angry at me-”

     “Angry?  Angry?!  Cadaver, you don’t have a clue.”  Cadaver winced at the venom in his brother’s voice.  He’d never heard River sound so... dangerous.  It would have been far better if he’d shouted.  “Seriously, what?  You’re here to say you’re sorry?  You’re going to tell me it’s not your fault?  You were talked into it?  Mum and dad made you?  Did they cry?”  Cadaver was shocked at the lack of emotion River was showing.  Well, lack of emotion towards his family, at least.  “Did any of you even stop to think how I felt about all this?  Seriously, Cadaver, think about it; I lose my brother and my girlfriend in one fell swoop.  The only two people I’ve ever really given two s***s about, and they just waltz out of my life to a bridal march?  Well, thanks a lot.  How’s that for brotherly solidarity, eh?  Of course you’re not complaining.  You get to marry Cloud.  Me?  What do I get?  My beloved becomes my sister-in-law.  Well, that sounds great.  I hope you’re happy together.”  River stood to leave, but Cadaver grabbed his wrist and pulled him into a hug.

     “River.  I know.  You’ve got no idea how hard I tried to stop this from happening.  I’m not going to marry Cloud.”

     “You’ve got a funny f*****g way of showing it.”  River attempted to push his brother away, but he was the weaker of the two, and Cadaver pulled him closer.

     “You’re not going until you’ve heard me out-” River’s knee connected, hard, with his brother’s crotch, and Cadaver released him, doubling over from the pain.

     “Sorry, I don’t have time to spare for liars.”  And with that, River walked away.  He couldn’t possibly have known what would happen next.

 

***

 

The Lake Dal smirked to itself.  Now would be the perfect opportunity.  This man, this young man, this ‘Cadaver’, could see it for its true self.  He was a danger.  A liability.  He had to be eliminated.  The only questions in its mind had been “How?” and “When?”.  “How” had been solved.  Now, apparently, so had “When”.

     It stepped out of the water, to where the young man, this curious anomaly, sat, mourning for his brother’s anger, and wondering how it could be solved.  The Lake approached the young man, attempting to make itself look like a kind old woman.  It knew the attempt was futile, that Cadaver would see through the sham, but tried anyway.  It placed its fingers beneath the man’s chin, forcing his eyes to meet its own.

 

***

 

Cadaver struggled against something.  What it was, he didn’t know.  It was like a darkness, growing inside, but it was colder than darkness.  The strange thing into whose eyes he was looking seemed to know exactly what was happening.  It was, without doubt, the stranger from the market.  He tried to shake free of its grasp, but it was stronger than it looked.  He couldn’t break away from its gaze, and he had a feeling, somewhere where the icy dark hadn’t reached yet, that if he could look away, he’d come to his senses. 

     The shadow continued to leech from his life, and he could see, from the corner of his eye, his fingertips beginning to turn blue from lack of blood.  He was aware of a dim notion to swim, before he passed out entirely.

 

***

 

The Lake Dal was pleased.  This man, Cadaver, had put up a better fight than most, and it had provided the Lake Dal with a great deal of amusement.  An average human would have blacked out the moment he met its eyes.  But then, Cadaver had proven that he was anything but ordinary. 

     The fact that the many guises of a Nature Spirit were useless against his eyes was extraordinary in itself.  A mortal being should never be able to see an immortal one.  The Lake Dal was glad it had eliminated this threat. 

     The problem now was how to finish the job.  And, of course, what to do with the body. 

     It slung the unconscious man across its shoulders, and began to walk back into the lake.

 

***

 

Cadaver was vaguely aware of water filling his lungs, and a sense of something like serenity, and then nothing.

 

Author's Note

Hm....
Hm....
I'm not pleased.

I'm not sure.

I don't know.

I will be redrafting soon, because I'm not overly keen on it.

The idea of Cadaver being able to see the Lake Dal as something other than human was inspire by my friend, CalDal.
Yes, the Lake is his doppelganger. He's my bestest everest friendiest friend, so Idecided to immortalise him in a work of fiction.

I don't think alot of what I mean to put across came across, which I why I'm going to redraft.
Tell me what I can improve in reviews, please, and I'll improve it.
:D

For some reason, it started double-spacing halfway through, and I can't seem to do anything about it.
+_+

HELP?!
@_@

Reviews

[Star Catcher]

Very interesting...O_o So Cadaver can see immortal spirits, and one of them decided to kill him to remove the threat that posed...? Hrm. Strange. I wonder what would've became of him if he had lived.
Poor River. Now he has to deal with his last words to his brother being angry ones.