The square was empty by the time she arrived. Any sign of life had long since left, leaving behind the lifeless shells that once held a soul. She could sense the ones who went to Eten and the ones who went to Druuo, where she would sort through them later. For now, however, there was one soul that had yet to leave. She kneeled next to the soul, pushing away brown strands of hair from his face.

"Wake up," she said, laying a hand on the fallen body's shoulder. "They are waiting for you."

In an instant, his eyes flew open with a gasp. His body convulsed as he began to cough up blood that had since pooled into his lungs. It was a messy business, but necessary for him to live again as his neck slowly repaired itself from the inside. She gently rubbed her hand up and down his arm in an attempt to generate heat. Not that her hands would help warm him. They were always cold. But he still nodded his head in thanks with chattering teeth. It was another few seconds before she felt his skin warm as blood began to circulate in his body once more.

A roar sounded in the distance, and the man immediately straightened, shakily pushing himself up to a sitting position with the aid of the woman. He gave her a panicked look, silently asking her if it was what he had feared. She only nodded grimly. Yes, the beginning of the end had arrived at last. So he nodded, both in response and in thanks, and he scrambled to his feet. Without another word, he ran in the direction where the roar had come from.

Meanwhile, the woman sat for a moment longer, feeling the coolness of the rain on her skin. There was no rain in Druuo. Amare had always been so much more interesting than Druuo, she mused. She glanced to the side where a wide-eyed child stood, unable to tear his gaze away from what he had witnessed. The woman only smiled, waving her hand in goodbye before vanishing as quickly as she appeared.

Word count: 362