JAMES DID KNOW HER well, that she had to admit. As she walked towards the planetarium she couldn't hide her excitement, humming softly to herself. He had offered to pick her up multiple times, concern clearly showing after the incident with the stranger, but she had told him not to fret too much. Though she had no idea who the redhead had been, she doubted worrying about it would do much. He had said he would see her soon, so she would figure out what to do then.

"Delilah, over here!"

She smiled as she locked eyes with James, who had been leaning beside the entrance.

"Have you been waiting for long?" she said.

"No," he reassured her, smoothing out non-existent wrinkles in his navy sweater," I just got here."

"Ah, young love," an old man floating by chuckled," I remember when we used to date, Paola, I showed up an hour early as well."

"At least you didn't have to wait long for us to go together," Paola smiled, her arm hooked through his, hair gray but eyes alive.

Normally she would have asked them if they needed help, but she didn't want the Reaper to think that she was crossing his boundaries again if he accidentally found them together. So instead she walked in with James, unable to suppress her smile as they entered a hallway with a ceiling made of stars.

"How beautiful," she said.

"Yeah," James said, glancing at her," it truly is."

He scraped his throat, quickly speaking again as he pointed up.

"Anyway," he said," I researched this place last night, because you know I can't go anywhere unprepared, so be ready for loads of unnecessary info."

"That tour guide got so angry at you last time," she chuckled, remembering the moment fondly as James took over the museum tour like he was doing a presentation.

"Don't blame the player, blame the game," James grinned. She glanced at him amusedly and he continued, a sheepish smile on his face. "Not that I really know what that means, to be honest. Jesus, I'm feeling like an old man in college, it sometimes sounds like they're speaking another language."

"Come on now," she said, nudging him playfully with her shoulder," you're already fluent in four languages, what's one more?"

"You can't compare Swahili to this," James said with a shake of his head," one of my classmates told me he was going to take molly and I asked where he was planning to take her."

Delilah laughed, roses blooming on his cheeks as he ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed.

"Who calls drugs molly anyway?" he said," weren't there other names left? What about those poor girls out there who are actually called Molly?"

They rounded the corner towards a large room filled with seats and shadows, the galaxy projected above and around them, the only sound there amazed whispers and soft chuckles.

"I would be delighted to find out there is a drug named after me," she said as they took a seat in the last row," but I suppose the name Delilah wouldn't sound that nice for one."

"What about Lilah?"

She knew no one had said the words out loud, but she heard them still in her mind, the voice curling around her mind like a snake. For a moment she wasn't in the planetarium anymore, but on top of a tower, leaning against the gray stones as she watched the planets slowly move in the sky. When she reached out her hand, one of them disappeared from the jet black air, a smaller version floating above her palm instead, turning like it was a virtual apparition.

With an absentminded gaze she watched it, before closing her fingers around the planet and watching the ash seep through. She got to her feet, blowing it all away with a wave of her hand before she got in a dark room, a machine glittering in the middle. Though Delilah recognized it as a spindle she didn't know whether she could call it that, something sinister in the onyx color. The thread was glowing silver so brightly the lack of windows didn't matter, filling every inch of the room.

She stepped across carelessly, sitting down on a chair as she grabbed a handful of thread and started spinning. Delilah felt like an intruder in the woman's body, but when her skilled hands stopped moving she blew life into the silver cloth she had woven, the material changing entirely until it was a soul, colors flickering warmly. There was no awe in the woman at her creation, just boredom, the soul swaying with the movements of her fingers.

"Lilah," someone said then.

Suddenly all the apathy was gone as the woman turned around, a wide smile forming on her lips and the sun rising in her heart.

"Heli," she smiled, the nickname rolling off her lips in a sound so soft it sounded like love.

"Delilah? Delilah, are you alright?"

Someone was shaking her shoulders, pulling her back to reality, and she woke up looking into James' eyes. When she could focus she nodded, smiling so she wouldn't worry him, before getting to her feet.

"I'll be right back," she said," I want to get something out of the souvenir shop."

"We can go after," he suggested, concern still coloring his eyes as he looked at her.

"It'll just be a second," she promised him.

She was gone before he could protest anymore, already back in the hallway. Before she even had to take four steps in she saw him, if not immediately thanks to his fiery red hair, then through his presence alone. There was something about him which made it feel like no one could really get close, even though you weren't able to look away. He was watching her amusedly, a wide grin on his face as he waved, like he had expected her to come all along.

"There you are," he said," I've been bored out here, waiting for you to catch my hints."

"What hints?" she said as she got closer," who was that woman in my head?"

"Boring questions," he said, clicking his tongue in disapproval," you're talking to the voice of the divine and those are the only ones you can think of?"

She was standing in front of him then, her look curious, before she turned it into her usual warmth, extending her hand.

"We'll talk questions later, then," she said," I'm Delilah, by the way, though you seem to know."

He seemed a bit surprised at her composure, but shook her hand anyways, a chuckle leaving his lips.

"That's because I know everything," he said," you can address me as His Holiness." Right as she was about to reply he laughed, letting her hand go. "I'm just kidding, I'm Niccolo. There's no need for titles between us, Delilah."

"You have been in my mind after all," she said," I doubt there's a need for any formalities then."

"I was curious," he shrugged," I've never seen him so interested in someone before, ever since her. Not like he told me anything, he'd rather die than talk about himself, the stubborn bastard. Thankfully, I don't need to hear anything to know all."

"I've been thinking this for a while," Delilah said," but are you some kind of priest? Do you see the future?"

"Don't compare me to a mere priest," he said, rings of fire lighting up his irises," I am the Oracle of the Gods, the one blessed with the title Augustine, the Holy One." His flames died out then as he smirked, all seriosity gone. "That's the introduction they want me to give at least. It basically means I am a glorified fortuneteller of the gods and this universe."

"It is quite the introduction," Delilah said.

"For all I care this whole galaxy could burn," he said, a certain look in his eyes which told her he would light it on fire himself if he could.

"So to what do I owe this pleasure?" she said," though if you were just taking a break from your job as Oracle, you know you're always welcome to join me and my friend. The planetarium is really beautiful, you know."

"I can't stay for long," he said," my overflowing charisma has unfortunately caused a cult to be gathered for me, so I'm sure they'll catch up to me soon again to drag me back to work. They're fast runners, those fuckers, I can give them that at least."

Delilah waited silently for him to continue and he did, a wide smile on his face and no real emotions in his eyes.

"You want to know what those visions were, don't you?" he said," I know it wasn't your first time seeing that woman. I'll tell you, that and more, on one condition."

"And that is?" she said.

"Nothing much," he said," I just want you to find a way for me to die."