The Living and the Dead (short story)

### Synopsis

In the wake of Osiris' sudden death, Thurku'ali revisits a particularly memorable, decade-old conversation they had in her sleep.

### Author(s)

Vincent

"**The Living and the Dead"** is a short story.

## Text

Osiris grimaced as flies swarmed around his matted mane. He twitched each time one threatened to land on his face, driving them off. Fine control of the muscles under the skin was an obscure anatomical vestige of the bestial heritage shared by many wyldfolk. A young Thurku’ali couldn’t help but stare at his face, waiting to spot more involuntary contractions, much to his chagrin.

“Stay focused, kid,” he muttered, his voice raspy and low and laced with seething annoyance. “Eyes on the crowd.”

The teen half-orc sat beside him on the sandstone curb quickly reoriented herself toward the busy main path. “Yes, sir,” she whispered barely audibly, her voice having suddenly and mysteriously disappeared under his ire. Ali knew concerningly little about the full scope of her warden’s profession. Nevertheless, she readily provided any requested assistance in work-related matters, figuring herself in debt to the old leonin. Today, he needed a fresh pair of eyes, something she was more than capable of lending him.

Osiris huffed, glancing at his ward. After a brief pause, he spoke again. “You know what separates us from them, Ali?”

Ali was hesitant to answer. “What’s that?” She asked, not peeling her eyes away from the droves of people walking through this busy Upper Wesqua street for so much as a moment.

The old leonin grinned. “These people- they aren’t whole, kid. They blaze through all their days without a care in the world, like- like they don’t have a finite supply of them.” He gestured dismissively at the crowd, leaning back slightly and supporting himself with his free hand. “They haven’t suffered like us. They haven’t hurt like us. Shit, they wouldn’t last a day living like us. They’re weak people, Ali, and you know why?” When she did not answer, he continued. “Because they’re hollow. Shells. Thin as the skin on a god damn--”  Osiris burst into a fit of dry coughs. “-- egg.”

Throughout her warden’s rant, Ali stayed motionless and silent. Over time, she’d learned that was the safest option. However, after this grand lecture, she asked, almost immediately regretfully, “How do you know?”

Osiris turned to face her, though she had already shamefully averted her entire face from his view. He cocked his head, thinking about her question for a moment.

“I’m good at reading people, Ali. Call it an occupational hazard. Spend enough time among the living and the dead, and, well... it can get harder and harder to tell the difference. But people like us, kid- (koff)- people like us are alive, kid. We’ve got the scars to prove it. Not everyone can say they’ve earned their life.”

Sensing her unease, Osiris turned back toward the crowd and sighed as he spotted his mark. “Just remember,” he muttered, sitting up in preparation to eventually stand up and stalk his prey. As Thurku’ali looked over at him, he appeared to age rapidly, his fur darkening and skin wrinkling before her eyes. Before she could comprehend what was happening, he opened his mouth, gums lined with a hundred rotting fangs, and spoke one final phrase:

“**You’re still alive, kid.**”

Gasping for air and drenched in sweat, Ali suddenly awakened atop the familiar cot in her home in the Commons Ward. As her eyes shot open, she instinctively reached to place a hand on her thumping chest, but a blinding light directly in front of her forced her to shield her eyes instead. Only as her vision adjusted to the light from within her home did she lower her forearm from her face. Osiris always asserted his ability to commune with the spirits of the departed and kept a somewhat macabre collection of jarred Will-o-Wisps suspended from the ceiling of the home he shared with Ali. Usually, their glow was dim, emitting just enough light to allow navigation of the house at night. Tonight, though, they shined more brightly than they ever had before.