Seeking Souls

:// Chapter 12 //:

Zakariah spent most of his two days away from Basil thinking. Thinking about the things he realized that night when Basil went to Corin's, and his role in all of that. Mostly though, it was the way all of these things made him feel, because feeling anything at all way entirely new.

Anytime he thought about Basil he'd become sad, but a certain kind. Mostly a longing, missing kind that compelled him to sweep the Human off his feet and hide him in his Space. Which was odd. "Why my Space of all places?"

His second problem, guilt. He was more familiar with this emotion, but not this degree of it. He hasn't felt this guilty about much of anything since the first time he fed, and that was hundreds of years ago. But it was still there-nawing in the back of his mind.

And the finally thing was the hardest to manage. It was the irrational fear he was feeling that anytime he wasn't watching Basil that something would happen to him. Jasper still hasn't made another move let alone popped up anywhere in the area, but he could never be sure. He wasn't perfect; anytime he spends in his own head Jasper could be running amuck just outside his thoughts. It was maddening to think of all the possibilities-

Yet every time he checked Basil was fine, Jasper was nowhere to be found, and he just felt really, really stupid.

Zakariah needed to calm down, so he took to the streets of LA. He was miles from Basil but maybe that was best for the moment. All he's seemed to do lately is ruin what little the boy had.

"Ah, there it is again." He thought as he clutched at his chest. "The insufferable guilt."

The air was always a bit musty, but it was terrible here in the heart of it. Maybe he should go somewhere else for a while, but going even farther away from his soul than he already had didn't sit right with the Reaper. So he stayed where he was, miserable and aggravated.

"You don't look so well, Zakary." Someone chimed from an alley Zakariah passed by. He's been in and out of it all day, so it wasn't surprising that he missed something, but it was annoying.

He stepped back, and leaning against one of the buildings was the red-haired devil himself. "Maybe you should take a vacation."

"I'm going to kill you." Zakariah growled. He made a similar promise the last time the two were together, but now he was sick with negative emotional output, Jasper's chances at death were never so high.

"You can try, but I sincerely doubt it." Jasper was hiding something. He kept his hands in his pockets, and there was an odd shape under his coat. Actually, a moment ago he said that Zakariah didn't look well, but getting closer showed that he wasn't doing too good either.

Zakariah ignored his dare and used his presence to knock his fellow Reaper over and back a few dozen feet. It was not a pretty landing. "You wanna fight me? Fine. You want to try and kill me? Haha, well good luck, but I'm not doing anything with Humans around. I already have enough problems without Crawford riding my ass."

"You know...I think that's the most you've ever said to me." Jasper rolled over and his coat flipped open. He had been holding a scythe against his body, but it looked nothing like the twin dwarfs he normally carries. This blade was huge and folded up on itself like it was built for convenience.

The weapon obviously wasn't his, which was confusing. Reapers can't use other Reaper's weapons-that's just not how it works, and they can't make new ones either. At least that's what Zakariah's heard when one of his kind would be stupid enough to try. "So why would he..."

"Unfortunately, I cannot abide by your request." Jasper tensed. He was preparing to pounce as he jerked the scythe. The magnificent thing unfolded itself naturally. "Mostly because-I don't care."