Seasons don't fear the reaper

[controlsthedie]

Who: Thanatos & OTA
Where: sleeper/passenger car hallways, greenhouse, training gym
When: Kazoo, Day 2 or 3 (after Jack's "Musical" Mayhem, before dance)
What: Death is being a dork: chores, flower growing, sword practice
Warnings: none

Chores: Death approaches the dust

[ A new month means a new type of chore assignment, apparently. At least this one doesn't need someone coaching Thanatos on what to do. He takes to the passenger area first, dressed in the train's standard blue hoodie and cargo pants to keep his own stuff clean. (Zagreus wanted to wear red not blue, so Thanatos just gave him the spare red hoodie he had.) Floating towards the ceiling with a feather duster in his hand, Thanatos gets to work.

Thanatos may not have paid much attention to Dusa while she worked (or at all really...), but he knows that she was always up high dusting the rafters. Sorry if he startles anyone going through a door to see legs dangling down. He's dusting the top of the door frame. ]

Greenhouse: Thanatos's Poppy Pot has sprouted!

[ Done with chores for the time being, Thanatos has returned to his usual way of dressing (chthonic death god style) and is crouched low to the floor. Mort is perched at the edge of a pot. They stare at nine tiny points of green pushing out of the soil. Thanatos is smiling, awestruck. (An expression that wasn't as rare when he was a godling days ago.) ]

They sprouted… they actually sprouted....

[ Thanatos speaks softly as if he fears being too loud would bring destruction upon them. Green. Growth. Life. He thought they would never sprout. They would never grow. Yet, here they were. Poppies, his and Hypnos's shared symbol, growing in this pot. Nurtured by Death of all people. ]

What do you think, Mort? Do they need more water?

Training gym: Trying not to float like a butterfly

[ There should be a mission coming up soon, and Thanatos is determined not to have a repeat of the last time. He had lost his powers, his divinity, and had become useless. He would have been a liability if other passengers hadn't come to his aid.

Gods, if Thanatos froze like that while Zagreus needed his help.... No. That's not going to happen. He's going to make sure that he can still fight, still protect… well, more than just Zagreus. It's still strange to think that he's developing a new role for himself on this train.

He summons his sword, not his scythe, and sets his feet upon the ground. Thanatos starts with a few basic motions when he notices he has company. ]

Pardon me. I'm not taking too much space, am I?

Comments

[controlsthedie]

[ Best not to question gods. The answer is usually that they are gods. And Chthonic gods seem to enjoy being extra for the aesthetic. ]

I wouldn't be able to do my job without it.

[ He hands the appropriate tools to each of them. ]

I can knock the dust from above, and the two of you can clean it up from the floor. Does that sound all right?

[ourtomorrow]

[ Ken nods, kneeling to help Wormmon tie the cloth around his mandibles. (Okay, Ken is doing all the tying. Wormmon is standing still. But this counts as participating.) ] Leave it to us.

[ Wormmon grips his dustpan carefully, wanting to do a good job. ]

[controlsthedie]

[ With a nod, Thanatos floats up high again and begins to dust. Bits fall down to the floor in grey fluffs. He tries not to drop it atop Ken and Wormmon's heads, but if someone opens a door or walks by, the air currents will change. It's not 100% avoidance. ]

[ourtomorrow]

[ The attempt is appreciated, all the same, and Ken at least knows to shift his position as necessary.

He also has to help Wormmon a few times when Wormmon's grip on the dustpan slips, but he's patient about this (Wormmon is trying his best) and Wormmon is touched. ]

Thanks. Helping everyone is nice, huh?

Mm.

[ Which...has Ken glancing up to check on Thanatos, too. He has the job that's more like work, after all. ]

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos nearly asks Wormmon if a different tool would be easier for him, but then Ken helps him. He wonders if that would be meddling or simply drawing to much attention to something. Unsure on which would be the right action, Thanatos doesn't comment. ]

There are many helpful people on this train. You'll fit right in.

[ourtomorrow]

It really is a common trait, then?

[ Ken glances up during his sweeping. Wormmon has a nice firm hold on the dustpan now, too. Ken-chan showed him how to do this and he WILL NOT LET KEN-CHAN DOWN. ] I'd thought....maybe it was coincidence....

[ That everyone was like "HELLO! WELCOME!". It had been so nice at the time, but given enough time to brood he ended up wondering a little whether it were too good to be true. That was unfair of him, huh. ]

[controlsthedie]

[ Way to go, Wormmon, Defeater of Dust! ]

It's far more common than what I'm used to at least.

[ Which doesn't say a whole lot given he lives in the Underworld and is Death. Or maybe it says even more because the people on this train are so nice to Death. He's not entirely sure anyone has gone out of their way to be anything but nice. ]

[ourtomorrow]

[ Ken meticulously sweeps some dust into the pan, then decides, sure, he's going to ask. Everyone is from different worlds. Everyone will have had different experiences. He can take nothing for granted. ]

Was your world....not like that?

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos knocks another large dust clump from above as he tries to think of the best way to say it. ]

People would rather not see me around, back home. Mortal and god alike.

[ourtomorrow]

[ "Mortal and god"... ]

Then, you are...

[ Wormmon wiggles forward to see if he can bulldoze the dust into his pan. ]

[controlsthedie]

Thanatos, Death Incarnate. I'm not here on assignment.

[ He's not here to cut anyone's soul away from their body is what he's trying to say. He's not a threat. ]

[ourtomorrow]

Assignme...?

[ Oh. Ken thinks he sees what Thanatos means. (Though what on Earth is this train up to where it thinks it needs both someone with that much power and him?)

Wormmon is also thinking about this, not having quite gotten multiverse theory yet. ]

Weird. I didn't see you.

[ W O R M M O N ]

[controlsthedie]

[ If only Thanatos knew Ken's thoughts. He has been wondering the same thing, especially because his abilities and powers do not seem to be of any use so far. ]

... I don't think you're from my world, but I might not have collected you depending on how you died. I might be Death, but there are a few gods who help bring those to the Underworld.

[ourtomorrow]

Mm.

[ This makes sense to Wormmon. ] I don't think I went to an Underworld. I came back for Ken-chan.

[ Ken smiles involuntarily at that, then turns thoughtful. Thanatos is real (and owns a squeaky mouse named Mort)...which means all the other mythological names he's mentioned.... ]

So the connection between our world's myths and other worlds might be true.

[controlsthedie]

I'm glad you were able to reunite with your friend. It usually doesn't go that well.

A lot of worlds are connected by this train. Persephone is on this train, the Goddess of Spring, but she is not the same Persephone I once knew.

[ It took a lot to get used to, but she is now a good friend. ]

[ourtomorrow]

There may be an infinite number of worlds.

[ Or at the very least, an uncountable amount. Multiple variations of world myths....Nearly-parallel worlds? And brushes with them gave rise to the legends Ken's world knows?

He can't be sure. He's speculating with too little evidence. ]

In any case, our worlds crossed here. That much we know.

[controlsthedie]

[ Somehow, Thanatos hasn't really thought of scrolling through the passenger list and compare names and appearance. He probably should at some point. ]

There are even people from the same world who arrive from different points of time. That's the case with me and my friend. He's from my future.

[ourtomorrow]

So we should assume anything is possible.

Is Mort from the future?

[ Sorry to interrupt. Wormmon is very curious about who this friend is.

After all, if it's the friend they've met, a FUTUREMOUSE is a very impressive concept. ]

FUTUREMOUSE ❤

[controlsthedie]

Ah, no. At least... I don't think he is.

[ Thanatos looks at the mouse on his shoulder. Mort hasn't said anything as much to him, but he can't deny that it might be possible. Although, how would he be able to tell when they've been separated for so long before the train? ]

Zagreus is another passenger on the train. He arrived the platform after I did, but to answer your question, that would be a safe assumption.

he speaks the gift of PROPHESQUEAK

[ourtomorrow]

Zagreus....

[ They haven't met him. The name rings a fainter bell than "Thanatos", but they've just confirmed going by prior knowledge is of minimal help. ]

Someone from a world related to mine is here, too. Matsuda Takato-kun, and Guilmon.

He sees far and wide, nibbling on the Fates' threads

[controlsthedie]

[ Zagreus is a mystery to many, but that is likely to change. He likes making friends. ]

Related to yours... but somehow not the same. How so? If that's okay to ask?

he always KNOWS where you MOVED HIS CHEESE

[ourtomorrow]

[ Ken picks up Wormmon - good job with the dustpan, buddy. ] Digimon partner with humans in many worlds. But the nature of that partnership, and of their powers, differs.

[ He thinks back, in perfect sincerity, to the......silly crossover event that couldn't even be bothered to draw him on-model, but he was there, and isn't that what matters? ]

We've united against an enemy once before.

[ ichijouji ken, experienced multidimensional traveler, 12 years old ]

Please do not touch the cheese

[controlsthedie]

[ Wormmon did a great job. This car is now looking much cleaner than before. ]

I think I understand. It sounds similar to what I know of my situation with Persephone's world.

[ Okay, the uniting against an enemy has only happened since arriving on the train, but the idea is still there. ]

[ourtomorrow]

Teamwork is nice, huh.

[ Wormmon smiles. Ken carefully removes Wormmon's dust covering to better reveal the buggy equivalent of a grin. ]

Mm.

[controlsthedie]

Thank you for the help. If you need anything, I'm in Cabin 4A, although I'm probably more likely to be in the quiet car.

[ Thanatos doesn't have a problem with his roommates. It's more than he needs a break from how active the train is when he's more used to the Underworld. ]