Young Writers Society

She took a deep breath as she stood outside of the speakeasy, her shadowy form melting into the darkness of the night as she ran through what Blanx had said. It was her first time getting a soul on her own - Blanx said she was ready, but she wasn't entirely sure.

But there wasn't much she could do about it.

She took a deep breath and let her form shift, the figure of darkness becoming a young woman with black hair and silver eyes. She looked just like all of the other ladies at the bar did; she had been studying people for ages, ever since Blanx had said that she would be able to go out on her own soon.

But even though she now blended in with everyone present, she was still unnoticeable as she slipped into the building - she had to make sure she didn't seem like she was talking to thin air, if the person suddenly ended up as a ghost.

Also, seeing the scythe could be a little scary.

She scanned the room before she found who she was looking for. It wasn't really hard - everyone was crowding around him. She guessed it was a heart attack that had killed him, but she wasn't really certain. There was no way to tell.

Her silver scythe appeared in her hand, and she slipped past the group assembled.

A quick check, and it was revealed that his soul was still perfectly nestled in his chest. She steadied her hand as she held the scythe above his chest. It took a little bit of focus, but she managed to figure out where to make the cut. A few seconds later, the soul was safely slipped into her purse.

A rift suddenly opened up beside her.

She was guessing it had to be the administration - Blanx had told them that she was going to take this soul. Straightening with a grin, and completely forgetting her human appearance, Schadel made her scythe disappear and walked through the rift...

...into a room that looked just like the one she had left.

The people were different, and something about the room felt off. But it was almost exactly the same - same furniture, same assortment of food and same building. She turned her head, but the rift was already gone.

She frowned.

She didn't know how to get back home without the help of a rift, and she didn't think it was a good idea to bring a soul with her as she looked all around for another one. Waiting for Blanx was the best thing she could do now. She thought for a moment, scanned the room, and decided to sit down at one of the tables.

Her temporary ghosthood faded, and she sat down in the first empty seat that she could find.

"Hello," she said, mimicking Blanx's British accent - it seemed like a fun thing to do, and she hadn't really done it before.

Kratzer laughed heartily, punching his umber-haired sword brother in the shoulder. "You did not!" he protested in German, shaking his head in disbelief. "There's no way that someone like you got in the skirt of someone like her!"

"It's true!" Cuán grinned, violet eyes alight.

"What was she like?" The wall of muscle behind him asked, a smile plastered on his own countenance despite the mischievous glint in his hazel gaze.

The half-angelic hunter smirked up at Lionel. "Eyes like a summer sky, hair golden as the wheat fields come autumn," he began, plainly intending to monologue about the rich businessman's daughter who had the eye of most every common man in Berlin.

"No, no, no," Kratzer interjected as they neared the bar. He grabbed the door and opened it for his fellow hunters, falling in behind Cuán with Lionel bringing up the rear. "What was she like? You know, like..." He gestured suggestively.

"Maybe I'll tell you, if you pay for the drinks," the man snickered.

"Me? What about him?" The vampire pointed at the massive figure behind him as they made their way to the bar. The tables were largely empty behind them, but for a couple in the corner and a black-haired girl at one of the closer tables.

"I didn't ask," Lionel grunted, waving the barkeep over. "Your best beer, all the way around."

Kratzer opened his mouth to protest at the price but was promptly silenced by his large companion's hand slapping him in the shoulder. "Thank you, Engel, your generosity is much appreciated."

He grumbled in a quieter, half-hearted protest but quieted so Cuán could elaborate as the mugs were slammed down in front of them.

Engel?

She had only heard bits and pieces of the conversation, but the name had stuck out to her. She had known an Engel before - her honorary brother, who she had met once and hadn't seen for three years. But Engel had been tiny and had asthma. There wasn't any little boy with asthma here. There was the young man, who looked like Engel but as a grown up.

Well, there was only one way to check.

She looked at his soul.

His soul was a perfect match for the soul she remembered her brother having. Part of her remembered that Engel had been from years and years ago. He probably should been really old by now, but she didn't care - it was still her brother, weird aging or not.

She promptly darted out of her seat, ran over to Engel and threw her arms around him. "Engel!" she exclaimed. She dropped the British accent and went straight for rapid-fire German - that was his language, after all. "You look so dapper! I can't believe it's really, really you."

Her grip tightened, and she buried her face into his shoulder. "I missed you."

"So," Cuán began, "she was perfect. She had--"

No sooner had he started than he was abruptly cut off by a cry of "Engel!" and the girl from behind them leapt forward, wrapping her arms around Kratzer and dropping into rapid German. Did he...know her?

Lionel and Cuán both silenced instantly, staring at the girl, and then looked at Kratzer questioningly. The man could only shrug before slowly trying to peel the girl off him. "Ja, ja, it's very good to see you, uh...Do I...know you?" he asked.

Despite Engel's best efforts to pry her off, Schadel wasn't going to budge. She continued to hug him as tightly as she could without hurting him, but did pop her head back up.

"I'm your sister," she reminded him. She didn't think she looked all that different, but she did have an older form. And Engel had never seen her in a dress before, either. She thought for a moment, then whispered into his ear, "John Watson."

Schadel.

His eyes widened and a the confused frown turned into a grin instantly as he threw his arms around her. "Schadel! What are you doing here? How'd you even-?!"

He couldn't believe this. It'd been decades, and somehow, she'd managed to find her way here. He didn't know how it was even possible. He didn't care. She was here, that's what was important.

The moment he returned the hug, a grin quickly spread across her face. He remembered her! Her grip on him tightened probably just a little too much, but she didn't even notice. "I was on my first job," she said, a cheerful, bubbly tone to her voice. "I've been on some with Blanx before, but it was my first one on my own. I thought I was going to the administration, but I ended up here instead."

She paused for a moment to catch her breath, still smiling from one ear to the other as she looked him over. "You grew a mustache," she said, then let out a little giggle.

"You grew a lot," she corrected. It was like she was looking an entirely different person. "And you have a scar, now, too - I have such a cool brother!"

He laughed, beaming. "Yeah, I've been getting into fights with my pals here," he gestured to Lionel and Cuán. "They're not as good siblings as you and Boris and James and Edward, but they'll do until we manage to land on the same world."

"Maybe I should've let that werewolf rip your throat out," Lionel grumbled. "Teach your vampy arse a lesson."

"Are you going to bother introducing us to this suddenly-appearing sister of yours we've never heard about?" Cuán interjected.

"Ah, ja. You two, this is my sister, Schadel. Schadel, my hunting companions, Lionel and Cuán. Cuán's the smart one but Lionel's better at punching."

The two of them waved and Kratzer shifted to give Schadel some space to sit down next to him. "Sit with us, sister, have a drink. Let's catch up. It's been too long."

"Hi!" Schadel said to Engel's two friends, returning their wave with an eager one of her own. Then she got comfortable right beside her brother, trying her best to give a good impression to both him and his friends. It had been a long time since they had seen each other in his life, even though it was only three years for her.

But since she was only fourteen - despite what her appearance made her out to be - she knew she couldn't drink what they had. Not wanting to come across as odd, but also wanting to obey the rules, she asked, "Do they have any root beer here?"

It had beer in the name, so that had to be better than asking for juice or chocolate milk.

(Even though she really, really wanted chocolate milk right now.)

Cuán snorted, looking at the girl. "Where's she from?"

"Shut up," Kratzer grunted, waving over the barkeep. "Root beer, for the lass here, please."

"Does this mean we don't get to hear about Cuán's new friend?" Lionel asked, a little disappointedly.

"Lionel. She's a lady. Let's keep it civil. I'll tell you later, while Engel's watching his lil' sis," the half-angel smirked and Kratzer rolled his eyes.

"That's fine. Unlike Lionel, I could actually just go get some instead of living vicariously through my friends," he answered dryly. "How've you been, Schadel? How long has it been for you since we last met?"

"I've been good!" she said, casting a brief glance in the direction of his friends. Cuán rubbed her the wrong way, but she wasn't going to be rude to the people her brother cared about. "It's been three years for me. I'm still a little young, especially compared to my brother, but I've been growing up!"

She grinned.

"But you're an adult now," she said. "You look very good for however old you're supposed to be."

Then she looked over at Cuán again, ready to reply to what he had said about Lionel's apparent story.

"I'm not a lady," she said, leaning on the table. She hesitated. "Well, I am a lady because I'm a girl, but I'm not a lady-lady. I just look like one right now for work."

"Eighty years old, as of December," Kratzer winked. "Pretty good, right?"

"Oh, well, she says she's not a lady," Lionel said, elbowing Cuán. "Maybe now you can tell us."

"Guys, she's like, what? Fifteen?" her brother interjected. "Save it for later."

"Okay, not-lady-but-still-a-girl," Cuán conceded. "Still not going to elaborate. I wouldn't in front of some ninety-year-old widow, either, so don't take it personally," he added hastily, not wanting her to feel insulted that it was about her age or rank.

"So anyways," Kratzer intervened once again. "It's been almost seventy years for us, here, Schadel. I wonder how long it's been for Boris or for Dami or James."

She wasn't fully satisfied with the consensus, but she had something else to occupy her.

"Boris is a human," she said. "He'd be old, too. James is an alien, so I'm not sure how old he is. Damascus spoke Greek and Roman, so he's probably really old by now. Edward's not even born yet."

She gestured proudly at herself.

"I turned fourteen on July 28th," she said. "Since that's when the-"

She hesitated, suddenly realizing that she couldn't talk as casually about her life as she had when they were younger. Kratzer had been through the Great War, now. She didn't know how involved he had been, but she couldn't casually talk about being an event reaper.

"How do you look so young?" she finally asked, quickly changing the subject. "You can't be human, even though you were when we first met. Humans don't live that long."

Lionel grinned and clapped Kratzer in the back, very nearly knocking the much smaller man against the counter. "Your boy here's a vampire now, through and through."

"A blood-sucking--" Cuán added before Lionel jumped back in.

"--soul-leeching--"

"--heart-rending--"

"--regenerating--"

"--ugly-a**--"

"M*****f***er," Lionel concluded. Kratzer himself was trying to hold back his laughter, shaking his head.

"What they said. Got turned a little less than twenty years after we met. Turns out, not only does it make me one bada** bastard, but it also completely got rid of whatever was wrong with my lungs," he informed his sister with a wide grin.