The journey of two damaged souls from the workhouses attempting to find and make a place to call home in the 21st century.

Date: 19th November 2020 


My name is Wisteria. I died in the workhouses a long time ago. Despite coming back to life by some miracle I've not yet determined what my new purpose or goal is. I do know that things are different now and that because of my future lives I live comfortably... but what is the use of all of the luxuries in the world if I am not happy? At least I have Rene and that should be enough right? Godfrey suggested I keep this journal, in order to write down all that is happening, he says that what's he's doing at the moment when life becomes too much - though he uses a typewriter instead. 

We came back to life two weeks ago, the pain had stopped so abruptly that we hadn't even realised that what we were laying on was not metal tables, but soft luscious grass. A female nature claimant approached us, at first we both screamed and cowered, Rene creating his smoke as though this female was a threat, she later came to be known as Florence – sharing the same name as that nurse who everyone once knew back in those days. 


"I don't know if I am doing this right." 

"Sure you are. It'll take time, just like it did with Godfrey but once it's down on paper. It's not so bad." 

"Has Rene woken up yet?" 

"Not yet. But he'll be down soon for breakfast." 

Wisteria looked up at her future self, how envious she was that Stasia was self assured and confident despite being scarred. Stasia poured herself another cup of coffee as the sounds of someone walking down the stairs caught Wisteria's attention. She put her pen down on the paper and went back to the more crucial part of the day, eating breakfast. When she had first arrived in this new time, it had taken hours for Stasia to explain what the world was like; and even then Wisteria still had questions that the younger female could not answer, cutting into the chicken sausage that an even older life of their's Godfrey had prepared she nibbled. It had come to all of their living live's attention that Wisteria was not yet quite able to eat full meals nor take proper bites, something about savouring the food was more important lest she was thrown back into the past and back into the unbearable hellhole. Picking up her glass of grapefruit juice - what an odd name, grape fruit. She took a sip and allowed the flavours to somewhat sit in her mouth before swallowing and resuming with constructing her next bite. Another set of footsteps, theses ones more familiar. 

"It's ok, you don't need to get up." 

"I ought to..." 

"This is your home now. It's safe. Remember? Besides, the only ones here are our former... lives along with Amarjeet and Rene." 

"I know... I just can't get used to it." 

"It gets easier." Stasia promised.

It had been a long argument, what to do with all of these lives that were suddenly emerging. Stasia had however won out in the end when the argument of needing to settle in and to give DeVian the space to adapt to being the impromptu interim death ancient, and so their lives were split in two different locations, Stasia had elected to stay with Rene, Amarjeet, Lucas, and her whereas the rest of the lives were stuck with DeVian's; the only exemption to the rule were Godfrey and Qrow themselves who up and disappeared in the middle of the night. She wondered what it was like to live with DeVian, seeing as with Stasia the entire apartment was covered in coloured tape dictating where each person could and go not go – something about small spaces slowly becoming wider and that being easier to handle than letting the lot of them run loose like headless chickens. She took another nibble, this time a little larger as Lucas came in, bed hair and all. Stasia passed him an identical cup to her's - except rather than black coffee and a lot of sugar, Lucas preferred his coffee to be almost white from the amount of milk that was added. The Frenchman waved at her, she gave him a curt nod as the last person who needed to eat breakfast finally emerged from the second floor of the apartment. Wisteria could not help but smile at Rene fondly. 

"Chicken and thyme sausages, buttered toast with various spreads, turkey bacon, duck or chicken eggs and baked beans." Stasia repeated the same list she had given to Wisteria. 

Part of her wondered what Stasia ate for breakfast, because it seemed like the younger life only ever stood around the counter and drunk coffee; in fact now that Wisteria thought of it she hadn't actually seen Stasia ever eat before (was this because the female didn't like to eat in the company of others?) As both males stacked their plates up with food, Stasia poured herself another cup and snatched one of the apples that sat in the fruit bowl; before disappearing into the recesses of the apartment, probably to talk to DeVian. 

"Did you sleep well?" she asked her beloved. 

She forked up some of the small pale beans covered in tomato sauce and put it in her mouth, this would mean that Rene had to respond as she mellowed over the flavours in her mouth and contemplated swallowing. Twirling the pen in her free hand, Wisteria scribbled down a note to herself. 

Breakfast today: Sausage, toast, beans, two duck eggs. Grapefruit juice. 
Favourite item: beans covered in tomato sauce.
Skip next time: sausage, whilst nice... a little chewy.

Once she finished her first plate, her mind half on Rene explaining a dream he had, and her returning to the kitchen island to pick at the rest of the spread of food... scooping two healthy helpings of the beans back onto her plate, she also picked up another slice of the freshly toasted bread and another duck egg... something about the yolk with the beans and the toast was absolutely divine. She thought of pouring herself a cup of tea rather than coffee or grapefruit juice but thought the better of it and settled for a cup of warm water instead. Sitting back down opposite of Rene, she watched in the corner of her eye as Stasia came back out from her home to pour herself another cup of coffee. 

"That's a lot of coffee... are you sure that's ok?"  

"I am not sure much a fan of breakfast foods. Especially what's on offer today. I'll eat more at lunch. You should both go on a walk." 

"I'll go with them."

Lucas answered through a mouthful of sausage and toast.  Stasia nodded before disappearing once more back into her room.  Working through the rest of her breakfast felt like a task but she felt it was only fair that she keep eating in case Rene and Lucas decided to start paying a little too much attention to the progression of emptying her plate. Lucas did occasionally get up to put food aside for his wife who was still asleep. 

"Why does Amarjeet sleep so much?" 

"She's a little more nocturnal to the rest of us, just like how Stasia is... though with Stasia it's mostly caffeine that is keeping her awake. I told you that Amarjeet used to own one of the most popular night spots in all of New York. So she's used to being up late." Lucas shrugged 

"Don't you get lonely?"

She took a sip of water, Lucas sighed and looked up at the ceiling... once upon a time when they all were stuck in the one body they would be seeing his memories which would have answered everything, but now that they were the own people they were finding it hard to express themselves, Wisteria wondered if that was the case with everyone else who was in their situation. Finally Lucas managed to find his words and give Wisty an answer. 

"Yes, it does get lonely. But we live such different lives that sometimes things like this happen. Not that our lives are any different anymore. You know with us having to go through Stasia's version of bootcamp... Qrow and Godfrey got it so easy but then again those two are good like that... able to adapt so easily to the new world unlike us." 

"I suppose it comes with the territory. Qrow did spend a lot of his time when it was just them making sure that Godfrey never had to want for anything."

She bit back, that caused Lucas to roll his eyes. Once they were all finished with their food and she was able to brush her hair and clean her face again; Wisteria got dressed in a baby blue trench coat, wearing a black and white striped shirt with black jeans underneath and her new shoes, a brilliant shade of white converses with some sort of heel to make her just a bit taller... it had become clear that Rene and Wisteria were better of sleeping in separate rooms after both stated they needed their own private space to call their own – also mostly because for Wisteria at least, time spent inside the workhouses, sharing a single bed with four other people had warped her into sleeping in the most unusual positions, and so she needed time to go back to sleeping like a sane person. Looking at herself once more in the mirror she smiled and walked out of her room; shutting the door behind her she rocked her ankles waiting for Rene so they could go their work (with Lucas as chaperone, seeing as he was the only one that could navigate them back to the apartment and pay for things if need be) tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, the door opposite to her own opened and Rene stepped out... she found that he looked good in everything and she couldn't but help but blush at the sight of him. 

"You're so handsome. Where should we go first?" She offered him her hand.

24th November 2020 

We have been given our own residence, it is staffed by a man named Aeson, who prefers Chef. A life claimant and his three kitchen hands, all who have odd names. Ears, Fish and Spinach. It's not anywhere near the modern world, rather it is in the middle of nowhere and relies solely on things that I know, Rene and I will be comfortable with. I am not sure if he too writes in a journal; or perhaps he has his own coping mechanism. The manor is spacious and I have been given the entirety of the second floor, Rene has been given the third floor though it is uncertain if he will stay up there or join me on the second floor. Stasia wanted to give us the choice to spread out and learn to cope with our new situation. I do like my bedroom a lot, it's got a very comfortable bed and the wardrobe is expansive... but I have not had the courage to wear anything but simple clothing just yet, though I am getting better at choosing clothes that actually express how it is that I feel. 

If we need help, Stasia has left a way for us to find her. Chef however has stated that he will do his best to accomodate all of our needs so that we needn't worry our other lives.

"Madame?"

Fish kept her voice soft as she entered the room, a tray of food... a bowl of cereal, a bowl of cut fruit, a jug of milk and a small container full of white sugar greeted Wisteria. Once Fish placed it down and commented on what was what – Wisteria hadn't recognised the yellow sliced fruits, Fish explained that it was a fruit called 'banana' and that it's texture was soft-ish. She placed a note in her journal under her section that was labelled 'food observations'; Fish left without another word so that Wisteria could eat in peace... she started by adding three teaspoons into the bowl of cereal before pouring half of the milk filled jug into the same bowl. Picking up her spoon she started to eat the sugar covered puffed rice pieces, sugar really was the best invention in the world, and now that it was so readily available she was glad that they had been reborn into a time with plenty of food and none of the stress of having to hand acquire said food. Meanwhile, directly above her in another room that looked nearly identical to Wisteria's room below, Rene was greeted by Ears who placed down a stack of toast - butter waiting, and several plates of different foods, it had been discovered that unlike Wisty who still had a very limited palette and was still learning how to eat things, Rene was a little more flexible and so he was able to enjoy meals that were complex. This particular morning, Chef had prepared freshly caught lemon pepper poached salmon with a simple potato salad, the toast was to go with the many number of spreads (Ears counted at least four, one was a jam, another was some type of spicy preserve, some type of black salty stuff and last but not least caviar). Additionally, Rene did not much mind company when he was eating, and Ears kept himself occupied straightening up the bed, fluffing the pillows up and cleaning up the pieces of disposed torn paper into the fireplace. Ears never looked at what Rene had done with the paper, why he had torn it out and scrunched it up... after all it was not his business to know what his new employee was up to. Though he had found it hard just like everyone else to accept that this man was just another part of Qrow, the more vulnerable... less mentally stable part of him. 

Chef looked up when the bell chimed, Wisty was finished with her food. Fish stood up and went to collect the dishes, he looked down at the potatoes he had to peel and continued at it, Spinach was standing by the stove stoking the fire and keeping an eye on the baked goods, her hair powdered in flour and her hands somewhat burnt, though she no longer felt the pain and Chef was quick to heal her up if he thought a burn was particularly bad. 

"The Cakes?"

"Perfectly fine. I think they can come out soon... we'll let them sit and then?"

"You can begin preparing the whipped cream if you'd like. Then go down to the stores and find me a jar of raspberry and if not that blueberry."

"Yes Chef." 

"No words out of madame still." 

"She's too young to be called a madame. If you want to be respectful call her miss. Madame implies she is older and has children."

Fish got to work cleaning the dishes, when she had returned with Ears she had hoped that Spinach and Carrot would follow suit, and Spinach did but Carrot did not... she had remained dead. Spinach didn't take very long to come to terms with it, in fact she mentioned something about Carrot not being capable of such a drastic shift in time. Tub walked in with the staff's folded laundry, kissed Chef on the cheek and continued on her way towards their living quarters to begin boiling water for Wisty and Rene's baths. Tub had found that in regards to Wisteria and Rene that it was better to just treat them as children who had no parents. Orphans. A ding alerted the group to a message sent from either of the rooms upstairs, a silent automatic tubing system seemed to run along the entire length of the manor with different send off points, they were one way only and it allowed the two upstairs to be able to send their request to chef and the rest of the staff when ringing the bell was not sufficient. Spinach opened the casing and grasped the slip of paper, they had learned rather quickly that Wisteria wrote in block letters, as though she only remembered how to write in capitals and so it seemed like she was always mad; whereas Rene's had been neater and a little harder to decipher. 

"She wants vegetable broth. Carrots and Potatoes especially. As many bread rolls as possible."

"Just what I thought. I will add noodles and some chicken to it as well. Keep her strong."

"She'll hoard them. Remember when we found her stash?"

"It's a trauma response. It will take her time to realise that she doesn't have to store food up."

Chef had Fish help Spinach out with making the whipped cream, both girls chatting about the things they noticed about the house and wanted to change, they both thought that the wallpaper was a nightmare and needed to be replaced at the soonest opportunity, only for Chef to remind them that this was not their house. There was talk of trying to convince the two upstairs to have the house connected to the power grid – Tub had been the one to point out that gas was scary enough for the two occupants, electricity and its dangers were something they were no where near close to being safe around. 

Wisteria knocked gently on the door, opening it cautiously she found herself viewing Rene sitting on the couch with a book in hand. She could usually find him here in the library engrossed in a book in his spare time. She warmed her hands by the fireplace before placing them on his shoulders to get his attention, he lifted his head to look up at her and she smiled. Pecking his forehead she rested against him and tried to read the words on the page. It looked like something on his element. Moving around so that she could sit next to him, he readjusted so that she could half lie on him and still be in a position to read the book as he did. 

"Ok?"

He nodded and she placed her palm in his own, suddenly they were not in a library in a Victorian esque manor in the middle of nowhere but rather at the beach, in proper beach clothes, the sun was shining bright and both walked alongside the water occasionally moving into the waves to feel the cold water lash at their skin. They bent down and built a sand castle, they laid there on the sand letting the sun soak in... they jumped into the water and splashed around, Rene teaching Wisty to feel even more confident in the water than she had been, adjusting her limbs so that she was swimming correctly. 

They must have been in her mind and memories for an awful long time because by the time they were finished exploring the escape she had made in her mind for the two of them. Chef was putting down their lunch on a table and leaving. Separating for only a moment. Wisteria picked up her notebook and looked at Rene's plate, there was a pie of some kind... except it was all wrong, why did it look yellow with bits of tomato (She had only recently remembered the name of this particular fruit) and what not sticking out? 

"It is a quiche. Egg, tomato, ham, cheese."

Next to his plate was her bowl of vegetable broth, she noted the yellow noodles and the chicken and smiled. They shifted once more so that they were sitting still close and able to eat their meals. One of the best parts of Wisteria's abilities was that when she was touching someone; Rene in this case she could transport them elsewhere whilst they were eating. She did just that and they were at the beach again, this time with a picnic spread and their meals. Rene cut her a small wedge to try and she took a bite tentatively... she really did like it and wrote down in her book that Chef should make her, her own serving next time. He had some of her broth and some of her bread and they each shared after their main meals a large slice of Victoria Sponge. It had been decided that blackberry jam was the best filling for that day... all they needed now was a cup of tea and the day would be perfect.

Date: 2nd January 2021


Godfrey came and visited, all my other lives came. I had not met the others truly till now. Arthur and his smile, Eric and his loudness, Jillian with her few words and hostile glare. It was quite nice, to see them all again. But that was not the purpose of their visit just to be polite. It was because Godfrey had news to share and he was terrified of sharing it without all of us there to comfort him. The situation called for even Rene to be out of the house, he spent his time with Amarjeet and DeVian. 


The group sat in a circle on the floor, in different positions. Arthur and Eric were somewhat lying down, Stasia was on her knees, Lucas was resting against the wall, Jillian's legs were tucked to the right side whereas her own were tucked to the left side of her body. Godfrey was the only one who was sitting in the middle of the circle... it was a bit uncanny all of the looking at each other as Godfrey fumbled with his fingers and tried his best to keep his composure. Course, this decision had not come lightly and it had only come after very long drawn out conversation with Novevu and Chaemai who finally conceded after Novevu had made it clear that the only other action that could come from this was a war that neither house wanted to fight. Chaemai had not made it easy, after all she was the one preventing the discussion of Godfrey's transference, Nammay was entirely onboard for the switch and even hugged Godfrey tight. None of them had actually lived through an element or house switch before and therefore didn't really know what to make of the announcement. Really, the only source they had for information was Wisteria – though her's was more at her death when the scientists had wanted her gifts to be transferred into Rene. 


"I think we can do it."


"I don't see why not."


"The only thing now is to worry about if Godfrey dies."


"Surely not."


"We can't know that... it it is true."


"Perhaps we should have some kind of faith, plenty of claimants have done this before us."


"Unfortunately none of them were in this situation where all of us are in a seperate body. What if this impacts on us badly?"


"Godfrey is suffering. He's the only one apart from Jillian here whose not got everything out of this second chance at life."


"I say we take the risk." Eric hit his chest in support. 


"It won't hurt. Not with how Novevu explained it."


Godfrey still hadn't said a word, so far the only people conversing were: Lucas, Eric, Arthur, Stasia and herself. Jillian never spoke and usually her eyes gave off what she was thinking, which was nothing at the moment. Godfrey ended up laying down, his head resting on Stasia's lap; she ran her hand through his hair and they all looked at each other. They had to do this, for Godfrey right? Right? Right? Wisty was jolted from her memories, she looked to Rene who was waiting by the door asking if she wanted something to eat, her stomach growled and she laughed. She hadn't yet gotten around to telling Rene that she was going away, afraid of what he would say... how he would react. She knew that this whole journey would be one that she had to take alone with the rest of her lives. Getting up from her desk, she put her pen and notebook away and followed after Rene, grasping his hand gently and placing it to her cheek. She wanted him to know that she was ok just a little tired from seeing her other lives and talking to them for what felt like hours. They moved towards the formal dining room, where a table had been set up, there two plates covered in cloches, hiding whatever inside... she wondered why everything was so fancy and looked to Rene whose mind told that he had wanted them to sit down and eat together in the room – something about feeling bad that the room was left empty for so long with neither having used it since moving in. He pulled out her chair and she sat down, tucking the cloth napkin on her lap as he rounded the table and sat down, Ears lifted the cloches off of their identical plates. 


"How many courses?" She asked Ears who smiled 


"This is the first of a four course meal. Bessara for the lady, Honey Tomato Bisque for the Master." 


"What's in this?" 


"Bessara is made of several types of broad bean, with Chef's choice of herbs. Garlic, Red Pepper, Cumin, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice. I have been told that the soup should be creamy with a slight hint of heat at the very end." 


Wisty reached for the flatbread that accompanied her soup and tried some out. Ears moved back towards behind Rene who was waiting for Wisty to tuck in before starting himself. This was part of their usual dinner routine, Rene usually didn't talk or ask about the dishes, that was more Wisteria and trying to make sure she understood what was in her food, it also helped because it meant that she could replicate the sensation of these meals in her memories and thus show Rene. Ears took a bit of pity on Wisty and then gestured to Rene's bowl. 


"Bisque is made primarily of boiled shellfish. This one is made from crab, with accents of the estate's spring honey and our heirloom tomatoes. It is a little acidic from the addition of vinegar." 


"Can I try some?" 


She asked her husband who nodded and decided they were sitting too far apart. Ears quickly rearranged their seating arrangements so that now it felt like table d'hôte. They exchanged bowls and both took a sip of each other's soup, both chilled them which was a good thing in all of this heat. Wisteria found her soup to be exactly as Ears had described and was grateful that Chef had made sure she had a bowl of warmed herb flatbread to accompany her soup. Rene in the meanwhile didn't bother touching his own bowl of warmed bread rolls and butter, rather content to just have the soup as it was, occasionally spoon feeding Wisty who thought that the Vinegar was a little overbearing, she didn't make a comment though. Ears noted that neither ever seemed to be not touching, whilst their hands were busy, he could just barely spy that Wisteria's feet were tucked into Rene's. He was jealous for the most part that they were having a silent conversation and occasionally giggling. Once they were finished and had both wiped their mouths, Ears went off to retrieve their second course as Spirit and Liquor stepped into the room offering the pair their drinks. A glass of sparkling vintage for Wisteria and a glass of Chardonnay for Rene. 


"Second course, a simple vegetable salad. Beetroot, Mixed Greens and Fresh slightly salted Goat's cheese. For the lady, we have also added small pieces of smoked salmon, for the Master it'll be poached butter scallops. I will return with the main course."


"I hadn't realised that Goats could make cheese?"


"It is quite a popular choice my lady. It should not overwhelm your palette. Course if you're wondering where to start, Chef has informed me that the Goat's cheese and slices of lightly roasted beetroot are most appealing."


She poked at the salad a bit, lowering her head as Rene cut into one of those white disks called a scallop. Another type of shellfish, a mollusc to be exact. He seemed to enjoy it and so she made her first attempt at her own plate. Cutting into the strips of thin smoked salmon she created a stack on her fork with some of the cheese, a type of red-green leaf and took a bite, the dressing has just been more lemon juice, some type of oil – Ears mentioned it was high quality avocado oil, and a little hint of sea salt. She mulled over the flavours in her mouth, the smoked salmon was perfect it felt like she was eating a fish that had been caught that morning. She took a sip of her glass and found that the wine did wonders with the fish. So focused on their plates that they needly forgot to trade bites – Rene offered her a bite of her scallop, which thought was almost exactly like the fatty part of a slice of bacon, that caused Ears to laugh and commend her for her observation in regards to the texture. 


The next course came and went without much comment, some type of mushroom risotto with a version of a small game bird called a Quail for Wisteria – she barely touched the bird and practically vacuumed up the risotto. Rene was given a large slab of pork ribs that dripped with sweet barbecue sauce, it was accompanied by different vegetables, potatoes, peas, some type of bread-pudding thing, Ears mentioned it was from a place called Yorkshire in England. Their glasses of alcohol changed and now it was some very aged whiskey for Rene and a mellow glass of red that did help her conquer parts of the Quail. Rene helped her finish it whilst she tried one of the smaller ribs he had set aside on his plate for her; she had never been very good with hard alcohol like Whiskey and so skipped out on it and opted to steal his potatoes every now and then.


When they thought they could not eat another bite, Ears returned with two cups filled to the brim with something that the younger male had never seen before but it brought back childhood memories for both Rene and Wisteria. It had been hundreds of years since either had, had a serving of Vanilla-Almond Blancmange, it was served covered in a coating of icing sugar, more berries – she was especially happy to see cherries, she really loved cherries! Edible candied flowers. Neither needed an explanation to dig into their dessert, by the time both had finished they were already yearning for more; though neither Ears nor the duo of bartenders told anyone downstairs that the two had teared up and cried just a little bit over this last dish in particular. 


"I have to go away. I won't be back for a while. No you cannot come. My other lives need me. It will be ok."


That spoiled Rene's mood immediately and he opened his mouth to speak, to protest when she kissed him, holding his hands on her lap and filtering into his mind a whole collection of images and memories, mostly of the conversation she shared with her other lives. She had to make him see how necessary this was for not only herself but her other lives... Godfrey didn't deserve to be in pain and she was going to do her part to make him feel better. Rene flinched when she showed Godfrey ill form in bed with Qrow kneeling by the bed begging for Godfrey to hang on whilst someone ran to get Noxvon or Eviax. 


"I will be home soon. I promise."

The oil had barely a trace of yellow as she watched it dilute into the water. Running her hand through the water, she shivered despite the temperature being near to scolding, there were only two other presences in the room Tub and Soap, Tub had her eyes closed as the water trickled from her finger tips into a bowl that filled and once filled it tip into the massive vessel that Wisteria was standing over, Soap was keeping a close eye on Tub, if one looked closely one could see the the icicles that formed at the base of Tub's feet, slowly moving upwards but never quite fast enough to freeze the water that Tub was producing. Taking her robe off and removing the silk ring onto its stand she dove into the water headfirst and allowed herself to be consumed by the scent of Ylang Ylang. Tub and Soap never liked the fact that, was how Wisteria chose to get into the bath, but neither complained when she surfaced with a smile. That was their cue to leave, and leave the electricity claimant in the water, her mind going far and away back to a time she actually knew. 










It had been Stasia who had asked if they wanted a proper ceremony, she had said that the only people there would be apart from Rene would be Novevu, Eviax and Tonic. It was unfortunate that Wisteria really didn't have anyone who she wanted... then again none of them were alive and even if they wanted she didn't think they'd like to see what had happened to her in the time between the workhouse and now. She sunk deeper down into the tub and held her breath for some time, this was what she had used to do inside the workhouse, it was the only time she could think clearly, bathing had been a rarity yes and she rarely ever got the chance unless she shoved someone else out of the line to take their place. The water had never been hot either, it had been ice cold, in fact there were times when the person who wanted to take the bath had to break or lift off a thin layer of formed ice in order to jump in... she wondered how often if ever did they change the water? She had never seen the tap turn on after all. Now, Fish had not known this when she entered the bathroom, she had not known what Wisteria was doing but the panic was evident, for she dropped the towels and ran straight towards the kitchen for Chef. 




"SHE'S DROWNING."




"Who is drowning?" Chef wiped his hands on his sleeves. 




"Wisteria, she... she's stuck in the water. She's not breathing or resurfacing." 




"I see no harm in that. Claimants cannot drown much let alone end their own lives. It goes against–"




"I don't care! SHE'S DROWNING."




"She's not that stupid, she will surface when she is ready. Besides I heard it was something she did every so often inside the place of her past."




"And what kind of place would allow that?"




"The type that ruined lives. Good evening Rene." Chef looked at the Death Aikekunai who had been sneaking around like Tonic. 




Fish nearly crashed into the ceiling from the shock, Rene was standing there looking a little embarrassed to have been caught, he was holding a torn shirt sleeve up to the light so that Chef could see it. Chef nodded as Rene placed the offending object on a clean part of the work bench, took one more look at Fish and walked away. Fish rubbed her chest, still getting over the immediate shock of it all, Chef offered her a glass of water as her heart hammered away in her chest. 




"What was that?"




"That? That was just Rene."




"How can he be so quiet?"




"Ask Amarjeet or Tonic if you catch them next time."




Knowing full well that Chef was done with her behaviour, she returned to the bathroom where Wisteria was still underwater, the water had cooled down significantly and Fish tried not to mind so much that her employer was underwater. Was she unconscious or just asleep? She shut the cabinet door just as Wisteria surfaced, the woman taking in huge lungfuls of air as though a newborn infant, Fish watched from the corner of her eye, a little uncomfortable as Wisteria looked around a little lost, once she settled back down, and the water had moved towards the drain Wisteria climbed, slipped, climbed, slipped... caught herself on the railing and pulled until her legs were strong enough to hold her weight again. Fish handed her a towel which she took, it was like watching a puppy shake off bath water for Wisteria as pink as a peach had her hair wrapped up in one towel and another wrapped around herself, now that Fish thought about it, she hadn't actually managed to see what Wisteria's naked body looked like, how strange. She could have sworn... 




"I took the memory from your mind."




"What."




"When you handed me the towel, your finger brushed against me. I took the memory."




"I... that was nothing like Godfrey."




"His is a pleasant touch when he offers it. Mine is not. You would do well to remember, not to be touched by me." 




Her first proper conversation and the lady was pissed at her, Fish slinked out and away from Wisteria afraid to do anything else to annoy her... she was nothing like Godfrey, there was nothing to be liked about Wisteria, Fish realised as she grabbed a duster and started going about routinely dusting the many portraits that lined the walls, she hadn't a single clue who these people were that had been painted, but they all seemed to have the same pair of eyes, the same type of power... perhaps they were related to Qrow? Spinach was spraying the plants that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere when they met somewhere in between and paused to have a chat. They kept their voices low so that it would not echo and have everyone be eavesdropping in on their conversation. 




"Rene is not so bad, he's actually quite funny."




"I just had my first conversation with Wisty... that was a nightmare."




"Guessing you touched her and she became an ice queen?"




"She was worse that lady that one guest brought over, yeah."




"Daenu." Spinach corrected "You really do have to try to remember the names of the Ancients. It'll make life easier." 




"What's Wisteria's problem about being seen naked anyway?"




"Ask Rene." 




"How? I barely even see him and when I do, he's scared me from how quiet he is."




"I'll switch supper with you. I'll take care of Wisteria. But you might have to bribe Ears to piss off. Cause otherwise you won't get the truth out of Rene." 




With that they went about finishing their final tasks before supper, it had been planned so that Wisteria and Rene had four five meals a day, three big ones and two smaller ones – it helped with the sense of 'never going to see food again' that both seemed to suffer, though Rene to a lesser scale. Usually Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner were the main meals, but it depended on the day and the mood of either individual, for example earlier in the day, neither had really had an appetite and so Chef had sent up small breakfast pastries that were about the size of a single bite, pre lunch was a little heavier as both were super hungry by then, lunch was a little lighter again – just sandwiches with lots of different ingredients, most of them were leftovers Fish had noted, and then dinner was a slap dash affair – Wisteria and Rene had gone out for a movie. Now that they had returned, Chef had demanded that both go bathe and wind down whilst he prepared some sort of simple supper, a good remind to the both that they needed lots of rest for tomorrow's big event. 

When they entered the upstairs living room, the couple's backs were turned, Rene was laying down on a series of blankets and pillows, his hair being brushed by Wisteria who was humming something that sounded like a lullaby, her own hair was tied in a straight braid, with fly-aways that framed her face, it seemingly made them look more innocent. Chef had explained before they left that for tonight's supper, Rene was having soft boiled eggs and buttered soldiers whereas Wisty was going to have a simple clear broth with a bowl of fruit for later – when she felt like picking at it. Neither seemed to be all that aware that Fish or Ears were in the room, in fact the only thing that could be heard from Wisteria humming was Rene's breathing, why was he breathing like that? Was he having a panic attack? Ears look to Fish who looked back in concern, maybe they should go get Chef?

"Neither of you need to be in here."

Tonic ushered them out, they both had a lot of questions and the older male wished that Godfrey and Qrow had just hired claimants. Once they were well out of earshot, Tonic sat the duo down and handed them both a glass of water. Ears drank it down thirstily as Fish stared at the liquid. 

"Alright, you two may as well ask what you want to know." 

"What was happening?"

"Wisteria was removing Rene's memories."

"Why would she do that."

"Unlike the rest of us claimants, Rene does not use his element whatsoever. The memories he has of using it, all of it is just nothing but trauma and pain. Wisteria is slowly working on rebuilding his trust with his element and stabilising his mind. She's taking away his pain. It hurts her a lot but she won't allow Rene to be pain if she can help it." 

"But Rene would be upset if he knew."

"He knows, but he also knows that fighting Wisteria about this is only going to cause turmoil. The kind that neither needs. Without the other, they cease to be." 

"Why are they so attached to each other?"

"They really only had ten minutes. Before they died to know each other. Then spent hundreds of years dead only to come back alive and trying to make sense of the world." 

"How do you know him Tonic?" 

"I'm his older brother."

“It’s simply not enough. The cheese and the wine should have arrived hours ago. Now we might just end up with a reception where people will have to stand! The musicians cancelled last minute. We’ll have a silent wedding!” 





Chef was trying not to shout too loud, but it was obvious from his annoyance that this day had not gone to plan. As he stirred the rich mixture of cream, sugar, eggs and lemon. No one had expected a day that was supposed to be forecast as a perfectly sunny day was now in the midst of a blizzard and more snow than Chef had thought possible; what with climate change and all. Tapping the spoon on the edge, he tossed it towards Fish who caught it and quickly scrubbed it clean before handing it to Ears who was drying and polishing everything being handed to him. 




“This would have been far easier if they had wanted a wedding in another realm, at least other realms have resources, the mortal realm is not sufficient. THEY ARE STILL ASLEEP.” 




Chef barked before hanging up on whoever he had been talking to, Fish and Ears were glad not to be on the receiving end of his frustration. Once he was sure their breakfasts were ready, despite having to keep a constant vigil over the custard he was making, Spinach and Ears turned and ran. The two of them, light on their feet ducked under the furniture, vases and what have you all whilst ensuring nothing on the two identical trays was interrupted or disturbed - mostly because chef would never forgive them for it, the duo split up as one ascended a series of stairs, the other descending before ascending and neither entered the bedrooms of the mistress and the master of the house (well, that was their title but really they were more like the wards of the house and Chef was the true master) Spinach had rarely ever been allowed inside Wisteria’s room, and there was little wonder why, for she had to in the most tactical yet polite manner possible; avoid all the razor blades that Wisteria left in open view, sticking out of the floor, the wall and even Spinach noticed the windows. Placing the silver tray down and approaching the bed with a feather that sat on the side table, she gingerly tickled the back of Wisteria’s exposed neck before diving to the right as the red-head abruptly sat up and flicked the most recent of her razor covered whip. 




“Good morning ma’am.” Spinach had to let out a gasp of relief, for she had nearly been nicked by one of the blades. 




Surely Ears was having a better moment, you know seeing as the male ward known as Rene was less prone to sudden violence, as he kicked the door open and looked around, he found himself smiling… Rene was laying in the middle of the bed, his shirt slightly askew and so exposing his stomach. Placing the tray down, Ears began to pick up the pieces of balled up paper; tossing them either into the bin or the fireplace - if the piece was more intact, it went into the bin, if it was scrunched up impossibly small then it went into the fire. Stabbing the flames with the stoker. 




“Good morning sir.” Ears made sure to keep his voice as low as he could so that Rene would not be alarmed. 




Wisty rubbed at her eyes and tore off her silk night cap, stretching her arms up before rolling off the bed and onto the floor, Spinach stared at the ceiling as the older of the two females got to her feet and left the razor blade whip on the edge of the bed and walked steadily towards the table. 




Rene pulled the pillow onto his face before finally awaking as Ears moved towards the bed and placed the tray on the male’s lap. Tossing the pillow into the wall, it landed flatly on the desk that Rene spent hours at. Ears also offered Rene a copy of newspaper (entirely outdated and from the Victorian Era, but it had been decided it was easier to treat the pair as though they lived in the Victorian Era and so were none the wiser but the modern world). Before Ears could say anything, Rene wrapped his arms around Ears’ waist, it was awkward for the male mortal but not at all for Rene who let him go, he allowed Ears to lift the cover off of his plate. 




“What’s for breakfast and the date?” 




Wisty continued to rub at her eyes, Spinach offered her a warm damp cloth to prevent the soon-to-be wed bride walking down the aisle with red eyes, she took it and sighed, the warmth seeping into her irritated eyelids and finally once she was sure that she wouldn’t be tearing up from the allergies. 




“Eggs and toast ma’am.”





“Tea too?”


“No, a selection of juices though.”


“Augh.”


“I can go get-“


“What’s the point, he’s going to say no.” 


Spinach wince as she stepped onto one of the razor blades she hadn’t noticed, she wasn’t bleeding but it did hurt. Wisty sat down in a harumph and opened the cover herself, using her silver spoon to crack the soft boiled egg. 




“Is there anything else you need?”


“Servants should not be seen nor heard.”


Spinach in that moment wanted to slam Wisteria’s head into the tray but refrained and instead began to  collect the razor blades from around the room and keeping a mental note to later plea Fish to take the job of delivering meals to Godfrey’s future life back. Wisteria dug in, dipping her buttered toast into the first egg and occasionally picking up the glass of juice and taking a small sip. Amongst the items on her tray, there was also a magazine (again, another Victorian era edition) Wisteria shuddered at the suggestion on page three, (something about corsets for pregnancy) she patted her flat stomach and thanked the ancients that she was so without curves. 




Rene in the meanwhile, cut into his bacon and watched as Ears picked up the pieces of paper and dusted at the same time. Occasionally with those that were less damaged Ears would read the words and nod in approval. But for the most part, he was silently reading over the news and contemplating whether or not his poem was ready for the reception later.




“How are the vows coming along?”


“Claimants don’t do vows.” 




It had been the most words Ears had ever heard come out of Rene’s mouth and for a moment he had to compose himself by clearing his throat and then continuing on with his work of tidying up the room and refilling the small pots of blue ink that Rene kept at his desk. 




“Then what do you do?”


Rene shrugged, Ears mentally told himself he had to tell the others that Rene had spoken. 



“Are you excited?”


Ears jumped as Tonic entered the room, hands on his hip and looking very much like he hadn’t slept - the bags under his eyes were a dead giveaway. Rene did not respond, instead the death Aikekunai was now searching haphazardly for the end of a piece of very long string. 




“Oh not that damned thing again, you do realise you can say something into the mouth piece on your side table and she will hear you.” 




Despite his protests, Tonic quickly helped Rene retie the rather frayed end of the string back onto his younger brother’s finger. Tonic then dismissed Ears and continued cleaning up the room. Ears hastily went towards Wisteria’s quarters where he could hear what he thought was Wisteria berating Spinach and Ears going ‘well good thing I’m not her’. He knocked anyhow and poked his head in, Spinach was on the floor; Wisteria standing over her, holding what appeared to be a spoon. 




“Don’t touch me, you understand?”


“Ma’am.” 



Ears felt the need to intervene, that only caused Wisteria to stand up straight and turned towards him, now holding the spoon at him. Spinach in that moment got onto her feet and moved towards the wall, smart choice Ears thought as he entered the room and gestured with his hands to the food. 




“Come now, sit and eat. I’ll remove her from the room and we will both depart and be out of sight.” 




He grabbed Spinach’s wrist and pulled them both out of there; both sighed when the door finally swung shut. Turning he gripped Spinach’s shoulders. 




“What the fuck happened in there?”


“I asked if she wanted me to brush her hair, she nodded and I was about to and”




“Amateur mistake, good thing it was a spoon and not a fork. We had to dislodge one from Fish’s elbow. She has a nasty scar that has yet to fade.”




“She’s fucking-“ Ears clapped a hand over her mouth. 




“Yes, I’m aware. But we can’t insult either or face Godfrey’s disappointment. Understand?” 

The chime of the bell, told both that the first of the help had arrived, the front door was opened and they could hear what sounded like heels clicking against the freshly polished floors, there was a rather large audible sigh before the heels were removed and fast footsteps started up and towards their direction. Only one person could climb stairs holding what she was holding… Stasia had arrived.





Stasia rounded the corner and noticed the duo, standing there… Ear’s hand still over Spinach’s mouth. The blonde that really did look like she could have been the biological daughter of Qrow and Godfrey rolled her eyes and without so much as knocking opened the door with her foot and shut it behind her, Ears had barely seen how many bags the blonde had been carrying (approximately seven, eight if we counted Stasia’s own personal bag). 





Stasia for what it was worth, tolerated Wisteria far better than the rest of the lives they had lived. Wisteria wiped her mouth and stood up as Stasia gestured towards the door that led to the bathroom. 





“Bathe, clean your hair and wash your face properly. Shave if you want. I’ll be out here finishing the alterations.” 





Wisteria never complained around Stasia, just did as she was told (mostly because the first time they had met, Stasia had in the nicest way possible proved that between the two it would be her that would win in a bout, Wisteria could remember it like it was yesterday, she had turned a new shade of Green that even Chef had to admit was impressive.) There was a knock at the glass as Jillian made her own entrance into the Victorian aged era manor, Stasia having already set up the mirror; the smallest of the lives combined went around and finished cleaning up the razor blades (by count, Spinach had removed at least 20, Jillian had managed to find at least 70 in less than a minute). 





“Oh how exciting! I can’t wait to see what she’ll be wearing!!”



“Did we have to come nine hours prior to the ceremony?”





“Course!” 





Godfrey clapped his gloved hands, a new bracelet peeked out from his left sleeve, a precaution for the newest adult member of the house of Death still hadn’t quite gotten a grip on the element that had literally saved his life. Qrow kept a close eye on the grip that the Void seemed to have on Godfrey - it was not like Amarjeet, but it was still concerning that the Void seemed to be whispering into Godfrey’s ear the most peculiarly dangerous ideas.  Qrow jumped out of the carriage and helped Godfrey out, the only thing that had really changed about the brunette of the two was that Godfrey now required a walking stick to walk around - it was a temporary measure, to be sure but it made him seem weak when he was really actually recovered entirely. 





“Chef!” 


Godfrey greeted the older life member with a hug, as Ears and the rest of the staff who had waited by the front door finally relaxed and surrounded Godfrey; most of them nodding respectfully at Qrow before chirping to Godfrey about the changes to him and the fact that he was positively glowing. 



“You go help the groom Qrow, I’m off to check on the blushing bride. Bah, the snow won’t ruin this. I promise. We’ve sent for some more help and we’ll get everything back on track.”




Chef returned the staff back to their duties as Godfrey and Qrow, after a very long and very passionate kiss and a promise of returning to each other split up and Godfrey started climbing the stairs - abandoning his staff halfway and itching so desperately to take off the bracelet (which Qrow had designed so that only he could remove it and only within the safe confines of a room especially designed for new death members to learn how to use their gifts and not accidentally wipe out a realm) Godfrey knocked and entered as Wisteria sat at in front of the mirror, Jillian doing her hair and Stasia applying products to her face. Godfrey, placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them, he wanted to show her that he supported her and that she was safe.




“‘Cuse me.” Jillian ducked under Godfrey’s arm, pinning a blue hair piece into Wisteria’s locks.




“You look beautiful.”




“I don’t feel beautiful.”





“Hush.”

Godfrey squeezed her shoulders once more before going around the room, careful to keep his eyes off the dress that stood waiting in the far corner, the alterations finished… Godfrey could tell from the tiny glances he gave himself that it was rather more modern than the usual Victorian gown and far more simplistic than he would have thought for someone like Wisteria who once belonged to a time and place and… social status that required she dress in a far more fanciful way. 


It was twilight by the time Wisteria was being led barefoot down the path of quartz and what she could only guess was the sensation of bones? She dared not look down but instead kept her eyes on the destination. Arthur squeezed her hand and she glanced over at her first life, he was dressed in a navy blue suit and was wearing a golden ring of what appeared to be leaves on his head, to represent his house... she had been tasked with wearing a rather large quartz, it dangled between her breasts. He walked two steps ahead - to represent her journey of being led about. They stopped as Eric came into view, he too was wearing a crown of his own, silver. Arthur placed his hand on Eric's shoulder and nodded, Eric lifted Wisteria up as though she was his bride, that was not the case however...



Led by the light
Carried into life
Disappointed by heartache 
Celebrated by the triumph of home
Secrets sworn by souls joined in hope
A new love is born
Nurtured by differences, united by one
Journey bound this bridge forever strong
Till Elysian the Void and perhaps even the nothingness of beyond. 


"Ready?"

"I am." She rested her head against his shoulder.

"He loves you."

"I love him too."

Past the artificial stream created earlier by water claimants hired for the ceremony. Eric let her down and hugged her tight before turning her around as she was blindfolded by Godfrey, who she noticed was wearing not a crown to represent his affiliation with the house of metal but rather his fingers were adorned in obsidian and onyx. Wisteria had to trust Godfrey as she was led down what felt like mud, it was in reality blood and the scent of iron made her want to gag but she had to hold on and trust that she would make it to the other side. Finally she was turned around and pushed into a pair of arms, her slightly younger life Lucas twirled her around and she felt the first heavier layer of her dress dissolve and the blindfold removed... this was a new scene entirely as she orientated herself and was left alone at what appeared to be a bridge... music was playing in the background and she then realised her ancient was standing there, holding rope... how rope had symbolised her and Rene's journey thus far. She looked down and realised that rather than being in the traditional colours of her house which were dark hues of yellow and orange, she was now in the more 'human' tradition of white... she pondered what white meant to the claimant kind - she had forgotten that white was the traditional colour of all houses, for white contained every and no colour at all. She held onto the rope as Chaemai winked and allowed Wisteria to step onto her half of the bridge, there was a gap between her and Rene's and an arch that separated them. She could almost see an indescribable vail. 

Rene for his part, had also been led down his own path, rather than quartz and bone however he was led down a deep path covered in pearls and coal. He however wore some sort of sandals for the coals were lit on fire to represent his own journey between destruction and death, he could barely even recall what was happening but Tonic beside him helped him to concentrate. The brothers were separated as they too met Qrow who rather than picking Rene up, sprinkled a powder over Rene's form, the powder never touched him but instead he suddenly felt weightless, how odd. He could remember this from when he had died the first time as Qrow joined him gently up in the air. The pair had chosen a verse of the marriage ceremony to represent themselves, and so this made the experience unique that was for sure. Qrow had remembered his own wedding being an entirely different affair as he landed before Rene did who was helped back onto his feet by Novevu, his clothes had changed, to white as well - so used to the black and dark hues of red that the house of death liked to carry. He could barely see Wisteria as he was offered the opposite end of the rope that she held on the other side of this strange arch. 

Chaemai and Novevu stepped through the arch first disappearing, causing the arch which was nothing more than a plain stone arch, to transform onto something that represented the combination of the houses. The only other party privy to the ceremony was Eviax who stood between. She gestured to the two individuals. 

"When you are ready, begin to walk towards each other, do not let go of the rope and do not fight the pull. The sensation may be overwhelming but once you begin you cannot stop until the bridge is fully formed. Understood? Keep walking straight and do not get distracted by the forces that will attempt to destroy this union." 

Eviax stepped back as both took their first steps into the beyond, now it was up to them to find each other. She looked up as the stars began to twinkle in the dark. If they were strong and loved each other as much as they said they did... they would make it out before the sunrise of the next day. She looked back down and placed her fingers on the arch and whispered words that no one heard but she knew would find the pair inside. Wisteria wasn't sure where they were, but she kept the grip on the rope as tightly as she could, she walked... Rene wasn't there but she could hear him... they were in the woods and she could hear things in the dark. 


"I must not get distracted. I will find you Rene. Wait for me." 

She continued to make her way though, it was heavy and she felt like her body was being ripped apart but in reality it was her soul or the parts yet unknown to Rene meeting with his and finding resistance, she nearly fell over a few times. Hell she wanted to stop and throw up at some points but she kept herself sane. As for Rene, he was not in the woods but rather it seemed in an endless desert and all he had was the rope, rather than sensations he could words, voices of those who had caused him so much pain in his past lives; some he recognised were Wisteria's screams and that hastened his pace significantly. They had to find each other.