"Uhhh yeah, about a million actually, first-" I say only to get interrupted
"Wait, wait, wait! You forgot the most important stuff!" Naga cried out, apparently done with arguing, and noticing that me and Crystal were talking.
"Hopefully that can shed some light on some of the questions I was gonna ask" I mumbled
"So what Crystal forgot to mention is that we all get powers once we are chosen to be of the death domain, one of the most important is the skill to shapeshift and adjust your animal size. That's how Bast is the size of a small bear for a house cat, Crystal is the size of an eagle for a butterfly, and I'm the size of a fox, height wise at least, while deer just chose to be a slightly bigger than a normal Stag. But I think shapeshifting is wayyy cooler, I mean look!." Naga sang, shifting into a human shaped look.
The first thing I notice is the size, Naga looks like a small child with dark purple hair with a red hue, doe- eyes a periwinkle color. Skin a light brown color, the face still has baby fat on it with light freckles that dot from the nose to ears. The clothes Naga wore was a pink onesie, it has a hood with a simple smiley face and red feathery tendrils branching out and, lastly, a large pink tail, overall it looks incredibly soft.
"Oh yeah, I knew I was forgetting something" Crystal states, also shifting into a more humanoid figure. Crystal's figure is of a young teen maybe 13 - 15, features androgynous. hair black with a slight green hue. Their eyes a deep, fine jade with a slight glow, the complexion an almost sickly white. Face non expressional, blank, almost robotic. Antenna protruding from Crystal's head as well as mesmerizing butterfly wings protruding from their back blanketed with every color green imaginable, with a black trim around them shining like a gem. The clothes Crystal wore were a white button up blouse, a navy blue tie, and a blue skirt. The whole outfit looked very professional.
"The rest of the powers will be given to you after you fully become part of the death domain, the powers vary but you can expect it to relate to what's in your universe. Now onto the super duper important parts, so listen closely. When you are assigned a universe you are given your own sort of pocket dimension thingy. This is gonna be the afterlife of your universe, pretty fun right? This pocket is something only you can control, and you can make it turn into anything! For example a cloudy paradise where it's always sunny, a molten fiery landscape, oh! or a garden full of thousands of plants, or maybe a place filled entirely with those really sweet things called… umm, crystal what's it called?"
"Candy, I believe is what your talking about" crystal noted with a very slight hint of affection
"Candies!" Naga cheered, wiggling a bit, before getting back on track with a slight blush present.
"He he. Ehem, where was I?" Naga said a bit embarrassed
"Me being able to make the afterlife in my universe whatever I want" I reassured softly, oddly feeling rather affectionate to Naga like he? She? They? Suddenly I feel wrong with the way I have assumed all of the other death domains pronouns, remembering in those, 'not so dreams' that some people don't like to be called certain pronouns. I need to fix this.
"Wait before you say anything, what are your guys's pronouns, if you don't mind me asking" I say nervously
Naga's eyes shine with excitement and Crystal relaxes a bit "Oh! I'm so glad you asked, I go by Ze Zir/Zirs/Zirself thank you for asking!" Naga exclaims proudly
"I guess I go by the pronouns they/them, but I prefer to just go by Crystal. Crystal says as they show a small smile breaking the non expressonate look
Bast & Deer show up, both looking like they haven't been arguing the whole time like an old married couple
"Time for the meeting is almost running out guys" purred Bast, who was leaning against Deer affectionately, tail curing around Deer, like the equivalent of a person holding their partner's waist as they walk.
Deer smiled back lovingly at Bast before giving their full attention to us "Okay, knowing you Naga you probably forgot something to say, and Crystal most likely only said what they thought was important but is almost as forgetful as Naga. So I'm gonna ask what did you guys go over?" Deer sighed
"Umm, well we went over, umm… we went over shapeshifting, size adjusting, uhh being reborn as a death domain, and the roles of the death domain" Naga nervously listed whilst Crystal nodded, the only thing that indicated they were nervous was the one bead of sweat crawling down their head slowly.
"Wait this is all going too fast I don't understand anything, why me? What am I supposed to do as a death domain, kill people!? I don't want to do that. I- Im not evil, a- and this i-is all too much I dont get this, this is too much I- I can't, I-"
I start to feel panic creeping up my skin making me feel claustrophobic even though I'm in an entirely free area. Looking at myself, like really looking for the first time I have got here, I realize I'm a vague shape of what I was in the abyss, a vague humanoid shape entirely colorless like a mannequin. That observation sends me into a spiral, whatever I am, is going to be turned into a death god whose only purpose is to kill, there is no turning back. Was this the whole purpose of my existence? To kill? I don't want this
I begin to cry, as my lungs begin to hurt as I realize even though in breathing no air is coming in. I'm scared. As I am starting to reach the peak of my panic I feel a warm embrace of a humanoid like shape hugging my sturdily, almost tightly, grounding me. But still lose enough where if the embrace makes my panic worse I could easily break out of it.
"Shhhh, its alright my kit, everything will be okay" I hear a soothingly musical voice whisper to me
"B- but" I try to refute, words having to claw themselves out of my throat
"Shhh, It's okay, you're okay. I'm sorry I tried to rush you, I had urgent work to do in my universe but that does not excuse myself, you're more important than any and all work I have." the voice claims
"Do you need anything, my kit?" the voice whispers to me
"C-could you help g-ground me p-please" I stutter
"Of course dear" the voice comforted
"Do you want to see one of my abilities? I promise it will help" the voice replies
"S-sure" I breath out not fully paying attention
Softly a humming noise fills the air, making everything still, making everything feel like it's trapped forever in a maternal warm embrace. The person holding me grows till I am the size of a small child compared to them, then readjusts me so I'm on their lap. They begin to rock me back and forth slowly, silk cloth tickling my skin, blanketing me, protecting me from the world.