Farewell, My Lovely

Everything had went silent. Freya's brain had completely shut down as she dropped her phone on the ground. A few people around her stopped up and picked it up, they said something but everything just sounded so unclear. Freya starred blankly out in the park, people trying to wave their hands before her eyes so she would wake up. It took sometime but then she shook her head and took a sharp breath in. She excused herself and ran through the park. Freya had had a month or so to really get to know the area, but it was huge and she had no idea where to go. Her feet just moved her and her muscles slowly started to burn after running for what felt like minutes. Her heart was beating so fast and she was almost out of breath. Her lungs were screaming for her to take a break. Freya finally stopped and leaned towards the nearest wall. She closed her eyes to catch her breath and placed her hand over her stomach. She bend over and tried to understand what just had happened, but her brain hadn't begun to function again. She placed her hands on her knees and looked up. There was a sign. Aston Hospital. "I made it," she mumbled to herself before pushing herself off the wall. She walked up the stairs to the hospital doors and looked around. She had no idea where to look or who to ask. It all just seemed so unreal. How had she just heard about this now? Had she really been so busy that no one had thought to call her for this information, how long had Avila been dead? "You must be miss Olson?" A voice spoke from the disk. Freya moved her eyes over to the lady behind the disk and nodded slowly. "Can I see her?" She asked in an almost whisper and felt her heart skip a beat. "Follow the red path on the floor and I will make sure you get to say your goodbye," the lady informed and Freya followed the red path.

There were so many people in the hospital, so many different species she yet had to learn about. How to even tell them apart. Her heart felt heavy as she walked through the final door where the red line stopped. She couldn't see anyone and first she walked a bit a head, looking around for the person who should take her to Avila. However, no one seemed to be there - which was odd. Freya thought to herself that perhaps that person might just be at the toilet. Freya took a few steps further in the hall and found herself standing by the door to the morgue. She looked behind her and grabbed the door handle, it was locked. Freya took a sharper breath in, perhaps she should just wait? But if her getting in herself gave her just a few seconds with Avila alone, it could be worth it. Freya mumbled a little spell to unlock the door and she walked in. It smelled like death. The cold made it shiver down her spine and she tensed her jaw as her heart started beating even faster. She walked closer to the storage of the bodies and looked at the name tags. She just wanted to see her face.

Once again Freya looked back almost waiting to be busted. She breathed out and kept on looking for a name that matched. Finally her eyes landed on the tag, and she placed her hand on the handle. She was ready to open it, but at the same time she wasn't. "Just get it over with Freya," she hissed to herself before opening the little box, it was weird. She expected it to smell, or perhaps just something else. What did you expect at this point? She heard a sound and looked around her. Her eyes trying to track the small sounds that echoed in the room. Somehow her eyes landed on where Avila was and she took a few steps back.

Death had been strange. Peaceful even. Avila had never found a place where she truly belonged, but at the end of it all it hadn't mattered. Some people spoke about a bright light, other's said it was stairs leading up or down, but she had seen none of that. All it had been was grey, but not unpleasant. Silence in the most comforting way.
The morgue was quite spacious as Aston was a large city and they often took in patience from out of town. Cold surgical steel covered most of the cabinets, giving off the sterile feel to everything, even though they had tried lightening it up with a bouquet of flowers. It had been three full days since the death of Avila Clovis, an orphan girl that had just been granted a scholarship to go to the prestigious Athena Academy. There she had met the newcomer Freya, and a friendship had bloomed between the two. Avila hadn't slacked on her agreement with the orphanage, but she did find herself opening up more. No-one had really seen her death coming, even less so that it was deemed a suicide. Life hadn't been easy for her, but she had always been a fighter, even when things had seemed dark. Sure, she was a loner, but who in their right mind wanted to hang out with everyone all the time? She was satisfied with the one friend she had managed to get, and she was just happy that she had someone around her own age to talk to. Normally the morgue kept a body for 72 hours or less, but no-one had been there to claim her body yet, only a few strangers stopping by to see if they knew her.
At first it felt like a pull in her chest, and then it felt like everything was cold. She didn't realize completely what was going on, hell she hadn't even realized she was dead before her eyes started moving slowly under her eyelids. However there was something covering her face - Had she managed to push the duvet up to cover her face and not her body? Was that why she felt so cold? She tried moving, but she felt paralyzed, and to the outside she would look truly dead. Her lips purple and her skin strangely stained yellow and purple.

Something was moving. The shook made Freya jump further back and tried to grab out for whatever was behind her. Her back met the small metal table that flipped and tipped all the instruments down to the floor. Her eyes landed down on the floor and looking at the mess she had created. It went silent and she took a deeper breath in and took out her wand. She moved out the metalbed Avila's corpse was on, her heart took the race the final round. Freya used her wand to lift the fabric covering Avila. She breathed out when her eyes locked on Avila's peaceful face. Was that death? Was it peaceful. Perhaps God had taken good care of her, that was all she hoped. She was still trying to get over the fact that this girl had killed herself. It wasn't because Freya really knew Avila that much or what she had been going through. However, Freya truly believed that killing oneself wouldn't help anyone. But it just seemed wrong, not the action but the whole picture was painted with wrong colors. "I only have a few minutes, then they will most likely just kick me out," she breathed out and looked down at Avila's face. "I'm so sorry this happened to you.. that you walked around with something so heavy, I wish I had known.. not that it would have changed much," she sighed and tensed her jaw, "but I would have wanted to help."

It was strange. Before it had been so silent and now it was like she was hearing some sort of ... Murmur? She couldn't quite make it out, but it did sound familiar. Maybe if she could just focus on that voice she would be able to hear it clearer? And just then Avila gasped for air, her body tensing as she started coughing from her lungs not haven moved in so long. Her body turned, falling off of the metal bed with a loud thump, grunting as she felt the cold ground against her face. "Ouch," she mumbled in a dry voice, her limbs shaking a little. She was dressed in a simple hospital gown, and she slowly started to move. "Wow ... Longest nap ever," she mumbled, sitting up as she scratched her hair. Her body was slowly changing from her dead appearance to a more flesh colored one. Her eyes darted around for a bit before she looked up at the girl in front of her. "Freya?" she said in a confused voice, staggering to get up to her feet, leaning against the metal table she had just been laying on.

It was she was trapped in a movie and she didn't know the script. The second Avila's body fell down and landed on the ground, Freya screamed and jumped back. She put her hands over her mouth and her eyes just starred at the dead body moving. As Avila sat up Freya realized that, the dead body perhaps wasn't so dead after all. Freya frowned and was completely frozen in her last movement. It didn't make sense. Not at all. How could this be? Freya had heard about vampires, of course she had - every teenage girl these days had grown up with some sort of romantic vampire story. But the skin cleared up, looking more fresh and made her cross off her twilight vampire theory - for now. Their eyes met and Freya realized she was starring at Avila. She blinked when her name was said and Freya just watched Avila get on her feet. "Holy Heckin Bob," she mumbled and took a deep breath in. "Hva i helvete skjer?," she shook her head a little and breathed out. "How is this possible. You were dead?"

Avila just stood there, and it seemed like Freya was just as confused as she was. Then a word came, one that confused her a lot. Dead. She had been dead? How? Why? Since when was being dead something that she dealt in? "Dead?" she repeated, her eyes narrowing as she started chuckling. That chuckle turned in to a giggle that turned to a laugh. And then she started coughing, spitting up some dried blood that now laid on the cold ground. Shrugging she turned her eyes back to the mantissa. "I believe you ... But ... How?" she asked, although she knew that she probably wasn't aware. "I mean ... People don't just drop dead and get up and leave, right? That's only something in fairy tales, and, I don't know, the Bible," she said, scoffing as she started pacing. Oh boy, she was starting to freak out a little. "I mean, this isn't some sort of miracle, it must be a misunderstanding - right? Right! And and, theeeeeee nurses just made a mistake, and I was actually just in a coma, and nooooooow ... Fuck," she spoke fast, rambling at this point as she was walking in circles. Oh what a sight it must've been.

Had she already forgotten that she had died? How did someone forget? If she had killed herself, wouldn't she remember? Freya breathed out as Avila confirmed that she believed her. It made things easier or at least Freya would like to believe that. "You are not Jesus, you don't have enough facial hair for that," she replied as she scratched the back of her head. Avila started rambling and honestly, Freya didn't blame her for that - she was pretty freaked out by all of this herself. "Avila," Freya tried to reach out vocally to make the girl stop from walking around in circles. Freya grabbed Avila's wrist to make her stand still. "They say you killed yourself," she explained and frowned slightly. "They found you in your room," she added shortly after and let go of Avila. Freya took a sharp deep breath in before wrapping her arms around herself. She looked back, it wouldn't be long till someone would get in here. "We might have to go. Maybe explain to the nurses? I mean if they aren't just gonna think you faked your death to prank someone," she suggested a bit stressed, and turned her face back to Avila. it would be a cruel thing to do, fake your own death, at least without any explanation. Freya didn't think Avila would do such thing, something had happened but what remained a mystery. Freya wasn't supposed to be in here alone and if they saw her in here, with Avila suddenly alive - it looked like a big prank. Would anyone ever believe anything they said again?

Freya grabbed her wrist, making the human stop pacing as her eyes looked to hers. She felt like she was going to pass out - or die ... Wait could you die a second time or was there some sort of Jesus law covering that? She felt a little unnerved, but as the magissa instructed that they might be better off getting out of there, Avila couldn't help but nod. "Alright, yeah, sure - We need to get out," she said looking around as she still felt disoriented from just having woken from the death. "Exit," she mumbled, grabbing Freya's hand and heading towards the door. Looking out through the narrow window in the door, she checked to see if any doctors were out there, before peaking her head out carefully. Once the coast was clear, Avila snuck out, pulling Freya with her. "Hey, you can't be in there!" a nurse yelled. "Fuck," the human mumbled before holding on tighter to Freya before she started running. Why did hospitals have to be this freaking big?
She headed towards the exit, still holding on to the magissa and she kept running until they reached a park not long from the hospital building itself. Avila stopped, letting go of Freya to lean forward, resting her hands on her knees as she heaved for air. "Fuck, being dead sure doesn't help with cardio," she mumbled through her hasty breath. Leaning back up, she stretched her back backwards, looking up at the sky above. "I could use a drink," she said suddenly, looking at the magissa. Perhaps she would have to go and get changed first as she did look like an insane asylum escapee.

Freya wanted to inform the hospital about what just had happened, but they couldn't really do that without having to explain everything - and how did you explain something you didn't understand yourself? Before she even had a chance to wrap her brain around the entire thing, she was pulled out of the room by Avila. The magissa didn't think twice - actually she barely had time to think at all - so she just followed the human towards the exit. Freya's legs still felt like jelly from the previous run, and she knew her muscles would be sore for days. Once Avila let go of her she let herself fall down to her knees to catch her breath. It was like her mind had exploded with what just had happened, and it didn't even know where to begin in sorting the information. "Yeah, water would be nice. And maybe a few weeks of sleep," she frowned a bit before just breathing out heavily. Then she got up on her feet and tilted her head a little. "But we can't have you walking around like that. I mean, if we don't want people to ask questions," she crossed her arms and bit her lower lip. "We can take a short cut to the academy and get you fixed up?" Freya suggested. She still hadn't packed anything out, mostly because she stayed at her apartment in Oakheart for the most part - but it would take to long on bus so the academy seemed like a good place. If she just had learned earlier she could have been as good as her cousin Nathaniel to use magic, and they would have been far from here right now. "Because you look like something from the walking dead, just a tiny bit more alive," she pointed out with a half smirk.

"Nope, nope, I'm not gonna sleep for a week," she confessed, shaking her head a little wildly making her disoriented once more. She watched as Freya got back to her feet, the mention of a change of clothes made Avila look down herself for the first time. "Very ... Insane-chic," she mumbled, touching the stiff and uncomfortable fabric. The suggestion of going to the academy made her nod, mostly because she didn't think showing up at the orphanage after this ordeal would do her any good. When Freya made the comment about looking like the walking dead, Avila snorted, even though it probably wasn't as funny as it actually sounded. "I look pretty good for a dead bitch," she giggled, shaking her head as she tried putting on a more serious expression.
First things first, they needed to get to the academy and get her dressed. And then Avila wanted to have something to eat. It didn't bother her that much that she had just died, or at least had perceived as dead. It mostly bothered her that she felt her stomach rumbling, but she guessed that was what a few days without eating would do to most people. "Hey, you got magic 'n' shit, can't you like ... Flick a wand and figure out what's wrong with me?" she asked as they were walking towards the academy.

Freya frowned a bit, because of course she had magic. However, she was unsure if she was strong enough to actually get an idea of what had happened to Avila. "I'm not a fairy godmother.. I can't just bibbidi bobbidi boo, and know what has happened," she explained with a small shrug and breathed out. "My cousin's magic is way better than mine," mostly because Nathan always was so careless about his use of magic. Freya knew how her family looked at magic, at least her fathers side - and it wasn't pretty. It had been the best kept secret. "But you know, I basically broke in to the hospital.. and took a dead body with me.. or whatever kind of zombie you might be now," she looked back at the big building. "Am I a fugitive now?" She asked looking back at Avila with a worried look in her eyes and took a sharp breath in. "Calm down, it's okay.. it's okay," she whispered to herself and gave a little nod. "To the academy we go, and then we will think about what to do next," she added and started walking towards the academy. She picked up the key to her room from her purse when they finally arrived. Freya unlocked the door and they entered the room. They stepped into some sort of living room with two extra doors and Freya walked over to the door on their left. She opened it and they entered her bedroom. It was filled with boxes, some still packed. Freya threw her purse on the bed and started looking for some clothe.

Freya found a pair of black shorts and a yellow t-shirt. The magissa usually was seen in lighter colors or fabric with flower like patterns. She handed it to Avila. She was worried about the whole hospital thing, but Avila was alive not dead. But the hospital didn't know that, and they had Freya's name. It wouldn't take them long to know where she was living and she was signed up at the academy. Perhaps she was just overthinking it, but it was also the truth. Stuff she had seen in movies suddenly started to get entangled with her reality. "We can go down out for something to eat if you want? I might have a gouna bar or something somewhere," she said and started looking around in a few of her boxes. She found the bar and handed it to Avila. "Your stomach needs it more than I do. And till we know what happened, I'm not risking you go full on zombie mode on me."

Finally inside her dorm room, Avila felt a little more at ease, taking the clothes she was offered. She wasn't usually one to wear bright colors, but this was better than a hospital gown. She slowly started to strip down, changing in to the new outfit and checking it was sitting alright. Funnily enough they both seemed to use the same size, which surprised her a bit. Sitting down on the bed, she grabbed the granola bar, opening it and breaking it in half, offering the other half to Freya. "We'll share, just breathe," she said, taking a bite of her own part. Chewing it felt strange, frowning as she realized her body was probably still waking up from its slumber. Yeah, that was what she was going to call it, slumber. That was more comfortable to think about than the fact that she had been dead for a few days.
"I'm not gonna go zombie on you ... I don't think so at least ... Wait, let me check to see if I have a craving for brains," she said, closing her eyes, furrowing her brows as she tried feeling for any weird cravings she might have. "Huh ... Well there is something," she said, opening her eyes with a seriousness in her eyes. She got up from the bed, walking over to Freya with a blank gaze in her eyes. "I - want - ... A cheeseburger!" she said, stammering like a zombie in some stupid movie before cracking down laughing. "Awe, come on Freya, I'm just messing with you; But I am hungry, so let's go out - We can check in with the principal or something once we have a full stomach," she said in a pleading voice, taking her hand with a smile on her lips.

She wasn't to sure about what Avila was or what she might turning into. Perhaps, Freya had seen to many fantasy shows in her lifetime. Freya looked at Avila and held her breath as the human closed her eyes. The magissa's heart beat was racing and it felt like she could pass out any minute, till she allowed herself to breathe. Freya's jaws tensed when Avila started frowning, and another wave of worry washed over her. Suddenly Avila got up from the bed and started walking towards her, in pure panic Freya looked for something to grab and got a hold of a pink furry lamp.  Her face turned from panic to annoyed when Avila suddenly started laughing. "Not. Funny," she pointed out and raised her brow slightly. "I could have killed you," she added before placing the lamp back down. Not that a pink lamp would have done a lot.  "If he doesn't throw me out first," she mumbled and got up from the bed. "My cousin has a way of making himself known, I'm quite sure that his reputation might kill my street credit a little," she pointed out and shook her head.
"Let's get going," Freya then said and grabbed her purse again. "Wait what is the time.. Før helvete," mumbled the magissa as she looked at the watch. "We need to make a quick stop on the way. I had to meet up with one of my friends at the park," she breathed out and started texting Evan. [So sorryyyyy!! Something crazy just happened, its hard to explain over text] Freya looked up from her phone again.  "He might have left already, but if he hasn't we might have to invite him before he invites himself," she chuckled a little before walking towards the door.

Avila giggled, shaking her head at the way Freya seemed to get worked up over her joke. "Well what if I lose my humanity for every time I die, like a super slow working zombie thing or like some vampire story?" she said with a pondering gaze, thinking it could make sense. However she shrugged finishing eating the granola bar in another bite, letting it dissolve a bit on her tongue before she started chewing. Freya spoke about heading out, and the human had to agree with the magissa. Following her as she spoke about stopping by a park, but nodded regardless, chuckling at the mention of this friend.

Evan had been sitting at the park for a good while now, feeling more like a loyal dog than the wild hell hound he actually was. A message ticked in, making him frown a little, but he was glad to hear from Freya. They had been on a tinder date, a simple one, but as the night had progressed, their flirting had remained friendly. He had started considering as a good friend, even though they hadn't know each other for too long.

[Hey, uhm, it's alright - I'm at the park still]
[You'll have to explain everything once you get here]
[Waiting isn't my strong suit, y'know]

He texted back in a couple of replies before leaning back against the park bench once more, stretching his long legs as he turned his face up towards the sky. It was a warm day today, nice and sunny, however he was still wearing long jeans, however a white and blue striped t-shirt just to at least try and blend in.

She didn't like leaving people hanging and despite her rather eventful day, she still felt guilty about him sitting around waiting. Though, she had to admit it made her happy that he did wait for her. Freya and Avila finally got to the park, and the magissa's legs once again screamed for a break. Her knees were a bit dirty from her meeting with the ground not that long ago. "He should be.. yeah, over there," she pointed at the direction of Evan before she started walking towards him. "I'm so sorry," was the first words that flew from her mouth. Her heart was still beating like crazy and her eyes slightly wild from the adrenalin. "Does she smell dead to you?" she pointed back at Avila and then turned her eyes towards the human. "Or wait.. please tell me you see her too?" Finally she came to the fact that Avila actually could be a ghost. "I'm losing my mind," she breathed out and blinked a little. She sat down at the bench to catch her breath.

Evan didn't have to wait for much longer, seeing the light brown hair that he recognized so well. A smile on his lips, but as she got closer he frowned, seeing how visibly distraught she was. Getting up from his seat he gave her a half hug as a greeting, shaking his head as she apologized. "It's alright, hey ... Hey, look at me," he said, grabbing her face between his warm hands. Evan was always warm, probably because of his genes and where he originated. He looked at her eyes, seeing how she seemed dazed, helping her sit down as she pointed to the young woman she was with. The smell of death? He frowned walking a little closer to her. "I can see her, you're not crazy," he said calmly, but he could sense something about this human. "She's human ... But yeah, she does reek of death; But not in the traditional sense," he said.

"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?" Avila asked a bit on the defensive, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she looked at the guy. Who the hell was he? So rude. "Besides - This dead reeking human has a name; Avila," she added in a sour tone, looking to Freya as she was sitting on the bench. The human decided to do what she deemed was best; Walking to her and squatting down in front of her. "C'mon now, Freya, this will all get sorted out, I promise you - if not, I'll take the blame, I mean who are they going to trust more; The magissa or the dead girl pulling a prank?" she asked, however her death had not been a prank. Avila was just ready to pretend it had been to get the magissa out of potential trouble.

Being near him reminded her of fire, a safe and warm embrace. It calmed her nerves slightly, but her mind still tried to figure out how they would fix all of this. She barely realized the conversation between Avila and Evan, it was first when Avila sat in front of her that she blinked. "Well, you couldn't really have pranked them alone and besides. It would still be a lie," she reminded Avila. "Something happened to you, and maybe if we are honest about it.. they will figure out what?" She looked at Avila and then at Evan. Perhaps Freya was to trusting for her own good. "Or is that a bad idea?" She frowned a bit and took a sharper breath in. Nathan could perhaps help her out, he knew a little more about this world than her - especially when it came towards magic and meeting things that didn't make sense. "Foreldrene mine skal drepe meg," whispered Freya to herself and breathed out. She looked up at Evan and looked over at Avila. Was this the new normal, breaking laws, because the matters around here were different than the once she had grown up with? She felt the target on her back every time someone looked at her, clearly not very used to breaking any rules.

Evan sighed, not liking seeing his friend this upset, so he decided to do what he did best in situations like these. He sat down beside Freya, wrapping a protective arm around her and pulling her close. He had grown to care for her, and even though they joked around and flirted, it was always just going to stay as friends. He liked when she was happy, and therefor seeing her this distraught right now made him sad. "Freya, you need to breathe," he whispered sweetly, giving her upper body a squeeze to make her feel more real. He could understand her worry to some degree, even though it wasn't really clear what had happened, but he was beginning to piece the puzzle together. "Why don't you guys just tell me what happened, maybe I can give it a shot at a solution?" he suggested, sending a smile at Freya and then Avila.

Avila sighed, she knew that her friend was growing paranoid. Instead of going in too deep with the description, she ran over the general points for Evan, making sure he understood that she had actually been seen by multiple doctors before she was declared dead. Plus the fact that she had been dead for approximately 72 hours. "And no, I didn't kill myself ... At least not from what I can remember, but everything is just so hazy," she said, looking to Evan with a faint smile. "But no matter what no-one can blame you, Freya, you weren't even around when I died, and if you say that your magic isn't strong enough, then even I know that you couldn't have helped me in this," she said, wanting to calm down the magissa, at least to the point where she wasn't speaking in Norwegian.

She breathed out as Evan wrapped his arm around her, and tried to keep herself calm. She nodded a bit to his whisper. The magissa looked up at Avila as she explained what had happened to Avila, and everything that had happened at the hospital. Hearing it seemed like some crazy episode of some weird dramatic show, and she accepted it was okay that she felt so overwhelmed by the days events. Once Avila talked to her again, she nodded and breathed out. She gave Avila a little smile. "I know," she said and breathed out. But did the doctors and nurses know this? The police, okay she had to stop overthinking this. Freya wanted to be sure and she wanted to make sure that she had thought of everything that could happen, especially when it came to what just had happened. "We were going to get something to eat," she looked back at Evan, "wanna join?"
It was perhaps better to think once they had gotten some food and something to drink.

This was some mess, and the hell hound was not going to deny that, but at the same time he couldn't see why his friend would get blamed. She was a prime example of someone not wanting to be involved in any trouble, kinda funny when he thought about it and how he was. "Yeah, I could go for a bite ... There's a new burger shop a couple of streets from here, but you don't look too fresh - do you want a piggy back ride?" he asked. Carrying her in his arms would probably not be a great look, but if she sat on his back it would just look like youth having fun.

"Burgers sound great, I'm starving," Avila said with a small sigh, placing a hand over her stomach as she moved to her feet, straightening out her back. "I could also just go grab it and bring it here, if you're too tired to walk?" the human suggested. She wouldn't mind, mostly because she felt like she kinda owed this to the magissa after putting her through all of this. Of course it wasn't on purpose, but it just didn't seem as fair to her that her friend had been entangled in her mess.

She looked over at Evan as he asked if she wanted a piggy back ride to the burger place. However, before she replied to his question, Avila suggested that she could just go grab some for them and come back here. "I'm the money in this operation, besides, going there might be good. Less people," less chance of being spotted by anyone who had seen her earlier running around like crazy. Freya looked shortly down at her shoes and realized how dirty they were, great, she thought to herself and turned her gaze up. "I might take that piggy back ride offer," Freya looked over at Evan with a smile. She was tired and if she wanted to be able to walk tomorrow from the soreness, she would had to admit defeat. "I just need some food to energize a little," she looked back over at Avila. Magic might be a way for Freya to get through the rest of the day, besides Nathan had taught her how to get things to you with the use of magic.