In Our Time Of Dying {Oswin}

[Death]

Oh, Death, оh Death,

[/i]

"Why am I alive? Do I deserve it? I shouldn't be breathing! I don't want to live, take me instead of them!" Were phrases that Death had heard far too many times. Well that and the usual, "No it's not my time!" "I don't want to go yet!" "I still have things I need to do!" "No I didn't get the girl/boy! Please don't!"

All of it was a giant headache for Death, usually he just sent his Reapers to deal with the noisier Humans. He tended to deal with the beings that accepted their fates and passed on quietly.

Though there were some cases that he addressed personally. For instance, the young woman he was currently trying to find. She was different from most Human souls he'd felt questioning their existence. Different enough to be granted a private chat with Death.

His Reapers had seen her moving about within the glum city of New York.

He wasn't fond of the city. It was covered in a blanket of smog, it was would, the people were rude and pushy, and its nightlife was too bright for his own taste. However, he would admit, some of the small bakeries and eateries within the city did have some quality junk food. Probably the only good thing he liked about the city.

He strode down the sidewalk, his cane tapping the ground as he walked. In his mind's eye he kept a mental image of the girl's appearance. He was sure he'd bump into her sooner or later amongst the crowd. Or at least the Reapers he'd sent to search the city would find her soon enough.

my name is Death and the end is here...

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[Oswin Oswald]

There were always problems landing the TARDIS in New York City. Subject to time distortions that prevented her from landing, it wasn't often that the Doctor visited the city in any time, and as such, Oswin didn't really see much of it. Of course, this wasn't the case for New New York, New New New York, or even New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York, they'd already been there loads of times. But, the original was another story. And, so, when the TARDIS had landed (or, rather, crash-landed) in the city, Oswin had taken the opportunity to do a bit of exploring, leaving the Doctor to fix up whatever needed to be repaired on their ship. It was, after all, a new place, no matter if the day was overcast and somewhat gloomy.

The only problem was, after Oswin had taken at least an hour or two to look around, it had begun to rain. And, when it had begun to rain, the closest place she'd found to take shelter was a small gazebo in what looked like an old graveyard, tucked between the buildings. Darting for it, she ducked inside, wringing a small amount of water from her hair. Looking at the rain outside, Oswin sighed, frowning slightly. Well. It had to let up sometime, right? Her gaze drifted to one of the closer graves, and she sat on the gazebo railing to study it, the lip of the roof keeping her dry. She never liked graveyards, not after both reading about what had happened to Amy and Rory and...well, knowing about what happened to her.

Traveling was usually enough to distract Oswin from those kind of thoughts. With all of space and time laid out before her, what did she care about questioning her own mortality? But now, with nothing to look at but these gravestones...well. It wasn't a surprise her thoughts drifted in that direction, as they so often did. Honestly, she wished she could remember more about what had happened between the asylum exploding and her arrival in that other graveyard across the sea. What had wanted her alive? Or had it just been pure coincidence, a rift appearing just where she'd fallen? Most likely than not...it was a mistake. Oswin had read about what happened when people who were supposed to die were saved, and none of it was good.

Would her time be cut short, then? She couldn't bear the thought, and wondered if the universe really would be cruel enough to tear her away from this life she'd gotten for herself. To tear her away from the Doctor and his time traveling box, and the home she'd made for herself with him? Oswin shook her head, looking out again as the rain began to let up. No use thinking about it until it really happened, was there? Pulling her jacket a little closer around her shoulders, Oswin headed out into the light drizzle, slipping into the crowd, trying to ignore the thoughts digging their little claws into her head. How she wasn't supposed to be at all, that one day, and probably soon, the universe would set itself right again, and then where would she be?

She hardly noticed the man until she bumped into him. "Sorry!" The crowd had dissipated a little, allowed her to turn around. "Sorry, didn't see you. You okay?"

[Death]

Oh, Death, оh Death,

[/i]

The thoughts came again as the rain began to come down. Death had slowed his walk as umbrellas opened up like a field of multi-colored rain protectors. While the Humans busied themselves with fumbling with their rain gear, a Reaper had materialize next to his master, presenting him with his own, black, umbrella.

Death didn't say much, his own head still wrapped on the incoming thoughts from Oswin. He took the umbrella and opened it. The rain pitter pattered against the top of the umbrella as he continued walking, the Reaper having faded away from Human sight.

He continued to walk through the quickly emptying sidewalk (many Humans ducking into stores to keep dry) and listened to the female's string of thoughts. They were loud, like she were standing right next to him, as he tuned into her thoughts about her own life.

After several minutes, the rain let up, and the clouds moved on. The umbrella vanished from his hand as a Reaper came to collect it before disappearing yet again. That's when the thoughts began to fade a bit from his head, but he tried to hold onto the stream, attempting to use it like aGPS to track her.

The "connection" was totally lost after a while, and it frustrated him slightly. His Reaper hadn't returned any news on seeing her in the city, perhaps he'd sent them to the wrong section. He was about to turn around and head back towards the center of the city when someone bumped into it.

Death's hands automatically moved to adjust his coat when Oswin had turned around to face him. That's when he realized just who exactly she was. A slight smile came to his face as he looked at her. Not exactly the way he wanted to find it, but nevertheless, he'd found her.

"I'm fine, I assure you," He said, "But the question is, are you alright, Oswin?"

my name is Death and the end is here...

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[Oswin Oswald]

The few seconds between Oswin bumping into the man and his response gave her just enough time to give him a quick once-over. By most people's standards, he didn't look too remarkable. He was much older than her and dressed all in black, formal attire.

But, what Oswin noticed most of all was his eyes. As old as this man seemed, his eyes seemed even older, almost like the Doctor's were. They could have been a mirror for the Time Lord's eyes, actually, and that puzzled her. No normal human had eyes like that.

And no normal human knew the name of someone they'd just met.

Instantly made wary, Oswin stiffened, her eyes narrowing as she took a step back. Thankfully, the street had nearly emptied, allowing her to remain in place as she stared at the man that had just called her by name. It wasn't exactly common, her name, so a guess was pretty much out of the question. And, in her experience, anyone who knew something like that was either some form of omnipotent being or telepathic.

And, if they were revealing that to her, there had to be some kind of reason. Whether it was important or just someone wanting to freak her out was yet to be seen, but Oswin was going to remain on the alert regardless. Folding her arms behind her back, she briefly ran her fingers over her communicator, ready to switch on the distress signal if need be.

"M'pretty sure the question's how you know my name," she replied, lifting her chin defiantly. Not that it did much to improve her height, but still. "Seeing as the answer to yours sort of relies on the answer to mine."

[Death]

Oh, Death, оh Death,

[/i]

"I'd be more than happy to answer your questions, Ms. Oswald," He said, watching her as she put a small bit of distance between them. "we can discuss it over lunch. If you don't mind of course, I'm quite starved. It took quite sometime to track you down."

He gestured with his cane, "There's a small diner not far from here, if you wish to join me. I'll answer any questions you may have then over a spot of tea or coffee perhaps?"

That and he didn't feel welcome to discuss what he needed to speak with her about in the open. Lucifer, from what he last heard, was still trying to sniff him out, and he didn't have the time to deal with the child right now.

That and a hot cup of earl grey tea with a plate of french fries and a coca cola sounded like a good idea to him at the moment.

He turned lightly on his heel, putting a little bit of weight on his cane as he walked. He didn't expect her to follow him at first, it was her own decision whether or not to follow a stranger that happened to know her name. Though, a small part of him, expected that she'd follow. Who could resist the curiosity of how a stranger knew your name in the first place?

my name is Death and the end is here...

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[Oswin Oswald]

Whoever this was, he certainly knew Oswin well enough to know how to lure her in. Her curiosity was insatiable, especially when presented with a mystery like a man who knew her name and who was apparently tracking her down. Okay. Definitely not as human as he seemed, tracking down time-travelers was impossible for anyone entirely normal. Even geniuses like her would be hard-pressed if they were stuck on Earth with only twenty-first century technology. So. Magic, maybe? Oswin wouldn't really have believed in magic a few months ago, but given the fact that she was best friends with the Evil Queen, she'd been a little more open-minded about that sort of thing recently.

Watching his back retreat, Oswin made a snap decision and quickly followed after him. It wasn't as though she really expected herself to resist, even if she was walking into a potentially dangerous situation. She still had her communicator around her wrist and a distress signal on the utility belt she wore everywhere. If worse came to worse, she could always alert the Doctor and he'd come and get her like he always did. Hopefully, his screwdriver would be able to pick any signals she sent out. She'd tried her best to sync it up with her gadgets, but sometimes the signals got a bit wonky. Ah well.

The diner was small and relatively private for a building in the city, and mostly empty, save for a few people. Oswin was grateful, she'd attract too much attention talking about whatever this man wanted her for if there were too many people around. She had a feeling it wasn't exactly normal conversation he was after. Better that as few people listened in as possible. Oswin briefly glanced over her shoulder as they entered, almost hoping to see the TARDIS outside, but no. She was back where the Doctor had parked her, but Oswin was comforted by the fact that she could be here in an instant, if need be.

Choosing a table in a far corner of the diner, Oswin slid into her seat, folding her arms on the table in front of her and waiting for the man who had taken her here to sit as well before speaking. "Right. Okay. First thing's first. Who are you and how d'you know who I am?" Technically, Oswin didn't even exist in this time, her parents didn't even exist in this time yet, so who was this man who apparently knew her name?

[Death]

Oh, Death, оh Death,

[/i]

A smirk played on the horseman's lips as he heard her footsteps catching up to him. Though, he didn't make any vocal gesture to show the he acknowledged her presence. His cane tapped lightly on the ground before him as the two entered the diner.

He'd made sure that they sat far away from the other customers, so that their discussion could be all the more private. Of course, the first thing he did was order himself a cup of tea accompanied with pickle chips instead of his original plan of french fries. Ever since his dealings with Dean Winchester he'd grown attached to the snack.

When food and drink was squared away, Death then turned his attention to Oswin.

"Thank you for joining me, Ms. Oswald," he said before she began to speak, giving her a microscopic smile, "As promised, I will answer any questions you may have."

He then fell silent as Oswin began to talk, his fingers occupied themselves with stirring a spoon to cool the hot tea that was brought to him.

"I've been called many things," he replied, taking a small sip of tea, "I've been called the Grim Reaper, a Horseman described within religious texts, but you may call me Death."

"And I know you because you've been slated for the afterlife once before," he added, "I know who you are and what you've been through, Ms. Oswald," he looked her straight in the eye, "I know that you travel with an old acquaintance of mine, how is he by the way? Any closer to his last regeneration? He's left me waiting for quite some time."

my name is Death and the end is here...

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[Oswin Oswald]

As they sat, Oswin ordered a cup of tea for herself as well, figuring it would be sort of rude to just not have anything. Truth be told, though, her curiosity majorly overruled her desire for refreshment at the moment. However, tea was calming and having something for her hands to do besides idly fiddle with her communicator (which looked enough like an ordinary watch for her to wear it out in the open) might be a good idea. She tended to get fidgety whenever her curiosity remained unsatisfied for any amount of time.

Their orders came and Oswin wrapped her fingers around the mug, letting it warm her somewhat chilled fingers as she listened to this mysterious man finally begin to speak. Normally, questions would have been shooting out of her rapid-fire, but as he continued, it became a little more evident that something else was going on here.

And finally, at the word Death, something in her chest contracted and her grip on the mug she held tightened. Death. Death was sitting right across from her, staring impassively into her eyes, bringing up the Doctor so casually. Her heartbeat pounded in her chest, but Oswin fought to keep her expression neutral. There was only one reason Death would be looking for her, and it was the same reason that Death looked for anyone.

She almost wanted to cry. It wasn'tfair. Oswin had only just gotten this new second chance to live, to see the universe like she'd always wanted to, to travel by the Doctor's side and have every adventure she could ever dream of and more. They'd already been to so many places together, but there was so, so much more that Oswin wanted to see. And the Doctor himself...what would he do if she had to leave him behind? What would she do without him? Her fingers, though they were clasped tightly around her mug began to quiver slightly as Oswin fought for control.

If she was going to die, to be led away from here to whatever afterlife there was, she was going to do it with dignity.

"Fine. He's fine," she finally managed to get out, her voice ever so slightly choked. Anyone who wasn't looking for it might not have really been able to notice. "Dunno about his regenerations, though. The one I'm with now's on his tenth." Her heart ached at the thought of him alone again. He'd been alone, Oswin knew, when she'd first met him. Just fresh off having had to have left another companion behind, she'd bothered and bothered him until he'd let her stay.

She paused, the silence between them feeling heavy to her. "...can I say goodbye to him?" Oswin blurted out. Quickly, she added, "I mean...'s probably not something you do for loads of people, but I can't just up and disappear on him. He hasn't even got any idea that I was supposed to die, not even the first time." She hadn't even told him what happened to her, not yet anyway. How could she, after seeing the other Doctor's face when he'd finally discovered her in the vaults of the asylum?

All the rage and disgust and hatred...that memory was reserved for the worst of her nightmares, and seeing that same expression on her Doctor's face was something she didn't even thing she could bear. "Look, just. Let me leave him a message or something, so he knows what's happened to me. Anything, just don't make me leave him like that."

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[Death]

Oh, Death, оh Death,

[/i]

No emotion crossed Death's face as he watched the Companion's face. Every now and then he could pick up on the female's distress--especially the way her grip tightened around the mug she held.

He cut his gaze away from her to focus on the freshly fried pickle chips before him. Two slender fingers reached out to pluck one of the chips from the basket before dunking them in the sauce that accompanied them. He then popped the chip into his mouth and chewed slowly as she started to speak again.

"Ten? The last I saw him he was on four…it has been such a long time…" he commented, popping another pickle chip into his mouth.

He couldn't help but blink as she asked him if she could say goodbye to the good Doctor. He found himself quite confused for a few moments, before he realized that she thought he was here to reap her. He let out a small sigh as he placed the chip he'd begun to pick up back in the small basket.

"I do no believe you owe anyone a goodbye Ms. Oswald," he said, cleaning his fingers off on his napkin, "Unless you plan on going somewhere, of course, then I suppose you could say goodbye."

No, the horseman had not come to reap the woman. She was given a second chance for a reason, even if Death himself didn't know what that reason truly was. All he knew was that he had a quota for the day, and her name wasn't on that list.

"Pardon me, Ms. Oswald, but I believe you're mistaken," he added, "I'm not here to take your life. I'm here to answer your question. The one you've asked quite often…or have you not constantly questioned yourself why you're alive?"

my name is Death and the end is here...

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