Moonstruck & Macabre (Fluffy & Nemopedia)

[Fluffy]

"About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well."

~~~

In all the land of Egypt, a great cry erupted. A great cry of life and death that was as quick to fade as it was to arrive. But those who dare to listen more closely can hear the faint echoes of lament...

​

Firstborn souls wandered aimlessly on the sandy grounds of Egypt on this night. The air was chillingly silent, leaving more than enough space for someone's ears to imagine what could fill in the soundless void. Echoing in that imaginary realm were the cries of mothers and fathers, the voices belonging not only to human beings but animals. Whole families became broken this evening. That fracture was major enough to cause worldwide heartbreak. Anyone who felt their bones turn cold or their spirit itch uncomfortably might have sensed the misfortunes of The Last Plague.


Roaming among the firstborns was a figure who most certainly stood out like a sore thumb. The headdress of a jackal was regally draped over the head of a skeleton who floated through the air. Kingly decorations such as jewelry and gold rings gave the impression that they were someone of high importance and power. It all coordinated prettily with the black robe they wore to hide their skeletal body, the edges all embroidered with gold that glittered under the moonlight.

Golden could be seen coming from the eye holes of the skeleton, as well. Specifically, they were nonstop golden tears. They matched with the weeping, empty gaze of the jackal sitting on their cranium. Although worn like a crown, it was intended to be a symbol of death. Egyptians adopted canines as a death symbol, but also there were the likes of Anubis, who tended to the dead before they were sent to the next stage. The afterlife awaited them.

With Death's arrival, there also came a soft, soothing melody that rode on the nighttime breeze. Easily, someone could pass it off as a tune from a desert creature, or from a spirit with a song to share. Those theories would all prove to be wrong, though. This song was from Death themselves. This particular one was meant to not only put the Lost Souls at ease but also give them something to follow. That way, their wandering wasn't aimless, and they weren't risking separation, either. Although a devastatingly grim event occurred tonight, there was a certain beauty to the bond shared by these souls. For right now, they had each other. They were not alone. And they had Death, too. Death would stay at their sides until they were done walking this plain of existence.

Suffice it to say that Death both did and didn't belong there. 'Belonging,' ultimately, wasn't of great importance. What was important was that they were exactly where they were supposed to be. Needed to be. Meant to be...

They were here with The Dead and The Moon. So long as they were in the company of those two, they were home. No matter the weather, mood, or situation, there was no place like home.

 

[Nemopedia]

Tonight would go down in the books as a tragedy, described as the night that stole their first light, with the full moon named after the breath drawn but never exhaled. The peaceful death that collectively rampaged through a country full. Humanity would have different culprits for the deaths of the firstborn. Some would blame the taciturn pharaoh for insisting on keeping his slaves. Others would blame the God of the Jewish folk, if they believed in his existence at all, fearsome and protective as he was over his people.

For those who didn't believe in karma or God they'd blame Death, for Death led the procession, indiscriminately leading life away from the living. Though whether Death was the cause of the tragedy many discussed. Some believed Death to come from within, like life comes from the mother and the sun. Like the light of the Moon that tempted the souls away in a chilly embrace. Others cursed the light of the Moon, cursing the wax and the full body, cursing the quarters and the new. For it was at night that life slipped away like a thief in the night.

The story would be known as the death of the young sons, forgetting that some firstborns were daughters, forgetting that a father was the son of another, and forgetting that the firstborn to a mother may share their father with multiple firstborns. The story would forget all that, but the Moon didn't, watching over the trekking souls led by Death.

Khonsu as Moon is known amongst the folk of Egypt, abandoned the image of the falcon and walked amongst the firstborns in the image of a child, knowing that their journey was long. Silver light basked over the last journey these souls would take, and the figure of the child touched the jackal headed figure with a touch, featherlight, promising all these innocent souls condemned by figureheads of opposing sides safe passage through their afterlife.

"Tomorrow all will have changed," the Moon promised, sending a breath down to the grieving parents and those who would grief, down to the pharaoh and the lost souls doomed to wander after its last light, trekking down the same path of freed souls after a new hope after the prints of their feet had long been blown away.

 

[Fluffy]

The people of these lands believed that Death didn't mean the end. Rather, it was just another step in one's journey to the afterlife. However, it was said that your heart must be weighed on a set of scales. Only then would it be determined if you make it into The Field of Reeds. Death felt bitter about that aspect. The majority here qualified for passage into the next phase, but that was just it. Only a majority did. For there were firstborn souls who lived long enough to require proper judgment. A less-than-savory fate might await them depending on the life they lived. The goddess known as Ammit would devour your heart if you were unworthy.

At least it could be said that the souls were in capable, loving, caring hands. Combined with the comforts provided by Death was the silvery caress of the moonlight. Hope, beauty, melancholy, and love radiated from The Moon, effectively putting the restless souls at ease. For Death, the light was refreshing. This evening felt so much darker than it should, because of all the great misfortune. But where there was darkness, there was also The Moon. How kind it was of Moon to give the likes of them some attention. No matter what happened, there was room enough for Moon to love Death.

Observing the Moon at work never failed to amaze Death. They took on a preciously angelic form that comforted the young ones who wandered. That softer impression balanced nicely with Death's cryptic appearance. The older souls were elated to see a representation of Anubis, but only so many of the children might be pleased by the 'skeleton puppy.'

"Your loved ones will be feasting, celebrating, and mourning in your honor," Death spoke in a tone reminiscent of a lullaby. So pleasantly quiet, soothing, rhythmic, and welcoming. "And, soon, you shall be visiting The Hall of Truth." Those who've read the sacred texts would know what Death was referencing. The others would simply have to wait and see, or they opted to distract from the truth by basking in the moonlight.

 

[Nemopedia]

Light were the steps of the children dancing in the moonlight. There was no worry yet, for the world hadn't tied them down and affected them yet in the way that the world touched adults, their skin still largely unblemished by the vanity of the sun lashing down.

Heavy were the steps of those with shackles left behind, their realisation of leaving descending yet unable to recognise the first born marching with them. The life beyond came with no memories and no distinction between, indiscriminate like Death came for all.

"This one loved the sea, and the sea loved them, allowing water to flow and to eb at the times needed providing their home," Moon spoke, reminiscing the stories of the souls in company. The nights observed and the stories witnessed, Moon had seen it all alongside Death, who had seen even more, for Moon was only there at night and there where the sun never rises.

"Tomorrow," the Moon said, for the night after this was 'tomorrow', "tomorrow I hope there will be no clouds," the Moon continued, hopeful, but even the Moon couldn't control the weather and the way the wind blows.

"Will you be there when I'm full?" the Moon asks, taking a child in hand that sought out the Moon's, seeking comfort on the lonesome path of after life.

 

[Fluffy]

You are dead,
but I'm dead too
You needn't dread,
for I'm here with you

We are here together
We are light as a feather
We are here together,
joined by a tether​

Poetry was whispered to the souls who wandered beneath the moonlight. Like an angel of death, the skeletal figure floated gracefully above all, continually weeping gold tears. Each tear burst into silent explosions of sparkles that twinkled like stars, creating a heavenly sky for any and all to gaze upon.

"This one looks forward to being with their mother again," Death reminisced along with Moon. "And this one... They dream of being with their significant other again."

Where there was darkness, there was light. Where there was Death, there was Moon.

Golden-decorated bones drifted toward Moon as they spoke. The children in their company reached for the golden twinkles wept by empty eyes. "Tomorrow," repeated they who were known as Eternal Sleep. "Clouds or no clouds, I will be there." A note of affection crept into Death's voice. "But I do hope I'll see you." Should Moon be blocked from view, Death may yet again take on a form of lamentation. One that would surely cry again.

 

[Nemopedia]

That night, though it wasn't tomorrow yet, those who were awake and viewed the sky would have sworn that the moon was so bright as if it was full. Swelling in excitement, swelling in promise, and swelling in a quiet confession that wasn't expressed like the remaining hand that didn't reach out. They named it the Harvest Moon, after the great harvests that followed and the guiding light of the late nights the landowners and its helpers made to gather all the abundance that had grown.

Elsewhere the Moon saw red, full in body and filled with disdain as hellfire blazed below from a camp that sang a tune of despair. A coward's act, some said, so shameful that the smoke tried to cover the Moon's view, ashamed of their rising and their birth.

"Death," Moon called, now a grown woman dressed in full armour and the wear and tear that came with, "Death," Moon repeated, voice hoarse pitching over in disdain as she buckled over, crying in the field turned to stained mud and lost lives collected as fingers dug into the soil, the remaining hand forming a trembling fist,

 

[Fluffy]

A cloak of black draped the skeletal figure as the harvest moon glowed brilliantly in the sky. In this moment, the bony figure fit the image of the classic grim reaper who floated through the air. Tattered was their cape but sharp and shiny was their scythe. Farmers used a scythe to harvest their crops, but Death used it to harvest souls.

Empty eyes gazed at the moon in the sky. The sight lasted for but a moment though before clouds of smoke rose to block it from view. Flames burned hotly with misery, piercing through the still of the night as they produced trails of dreadful smoke. Death heard the songs of remorse that echoed across the valleys. But Death also heard the cries of their beloved Moon. Strongly at first, and then weakly, she called for Death.

"Moon," Death's voice crept into the night. "Moon...?"

With scythe in hand, the reaper drifted to the woman who called for them. They floated above a sanguine-stained ground, the air hissing with the whispers of the deceased. Oh, the despair. Oh, the grief, the suffering. "Moon," Death repeated in a tone most somber, reaching out with their available hand. What was happening? Why must this be?

 

[Nemopedia]

"Don't call my name," the words escaped Moon resentfully, "don't say my name in the same breath in which you have taken my children, my siblings, and my parents," Moon spoke, voice choking on the tears of those wailing below the blood moon, lamenting the loss of their loved ones, begging for another hour of their own lives.

Moon was heartbroken, the smoke barely covering up the loss and bitterness she witnessed, and the glimmer of the lost souls wandering the plains. Somewhere Moon held the memory of holding a hand, warm and gentle, as she guided the souls to the next plane of life, to their end. She had felt at peace then, her heart full of an emotion that felt opposite of what she felt now. Something she couldn't name now, for that meant admitting and acknowledging that once there had been more than the resentment she felt now.

She ignored the hand offered now. The same hand in her memories that she had so eagerly held once upon a time, in a time far away, in a country further away.

 

[Fluffy]

For all of a moment, Death stared at the ground below, where chaos had unraveled. You wouldn't know it based on the lack of eyeballs, though. What should have been eyes were dark voids that swallowed the light. Not even the light of the moon could pierce that darkness. When the moon shined on Death's face, that shine was snuffed out. How tragically fitting, that. All Death brought was darkness. All Death delivered was pain. All Death did was take. Moon had said so herself. She said that Death had taken lives. Those accusing words were agonizing to hear. For Death only knew death. How was Death supposed to change that? How was Death supposed to be any other way?

Withdrawing their offered hand, it joined the other hand on the scythe handle. What a mistake this turned out to be. They should not have approached Moon, let alone spoken her beautiful name. Not when crying voices sat beneath the blood moon. "As you wish," the grim reaper spoke coldly.

This was hardly the right scene for them to be together in. So, the skeletal figure floated away from Moon to provide much-needed space. In the night, they would be harder to recognize, but Moon would soon enough find them again. In the meantime, Death put all focus on the work that was to be done. There were souls to guide and comfort. Although they were not soothed by Death's image, at least they knew they weren't alone. Death stayed with them up until the very end.

 

[Nemopedia]

The claim that love and hate were opposites was a claim made without knowing love. Moon could still taste the words she had said so many times before and yet never said. She could still feel the way it brimmed through her very being, even when she reflected red, even when she was waning, and even when there was no light to reflect.

"How long have you been around?"

Moon remembered the question, despite knowing the answer. Death had been there since Life existed and Life existed as long as the Sun did and so did the Moon. For the Moon reflected the Sun like Death led Life away and so Moon thought that they were alike. For their existence was dependent on another, yet inevitable.

Moon had hoped for kinship and now the Blood Moon wished to end it. Wanting no more to do with this cycle of life that was all so dependent on the reflection of what happened before.

"I don't wish to serve the Sun," Moon had said, refusing to appear when the Sun hesitated halfway down, leaving a line of red and the sky bright for the world. "I don't wish to face another day," Moon bemoaned, the very essence of their being ailing and hurting at the idea of facing another end.