#posting it now cuz other wise it'll never get posted and just languish in my drafts

[drag-oon23]

Courting Death

Summary: The first time they met, Sara stabbed her. Or what happens when Sara the League Assassin bumps into Nyssa The Grim Reaper.

The first time they met, Sara stabbed her.

Sara had finished her first assignment from the League, a small time drug dealer. Her hands shook as she withdrew the blade from the man’s still warm corpse and jumped when she turned around. Instinctively, she stabbed the woman in front of her who widened her eyes and looked at the blade thrust harmlessly into her abdomen. Sara yelped and jumped back when she felt no resistance at all, it was like stabbing air.

The woman tilted her head, furrowing her eyebrows, observing the assassin. “You can see me?”

Sara couldn’t help but exclaimed, “Holy shit, are you okay? Wait, how did you do that?”

The woman tilted her head in the other direction. “You can’t harm me with your mortal weapons. You shouldn’t even be able to see me.”

The woman shook her head in bemusement. “In any case, my name is Nyssa and you are?”

“Um, I’m Sara.”

Sara felt hysterical laughter bubbling up when she realized how crazy her life ended up being after she ran from Star City. She was rescued by the League, barely survived the training to become one of them, and now met a gorgeous woman who apparently is a ghost.

Nyssa rolled her eyes. “I am not a ghost and yes you said that out loud. But as strange as this conversation is, I must be off. I have a feeling we will meet again.”

Sara blinked and stepped further back when a giant scythe appeared in Nyssa’s hand. A glowing red orb emerged from the dead man at their feet. Nyssa swiped the orb with her scythe causing it to implode and vanish with a sigh. With one last glance at the human, Nyssa disappeared.

Sara glanced around and took a deep breath. Time to get back to the safehouse. She didn’t want to think about what the giant scythe meant.

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Since then, Sara kept bumping into Nyssa after each of her single kills. The reaper never appeared when there were others with Sara.

“Sweet Jesus, do you always have to do the silent routine?” Sara exclaimed as Nyssa appeared behind her.

Nyssa quietly laughed, momentarily ignoring the body at their feet. “Yes.”

Before, Nyssa would only stay a few moments after reaping the soul but she began to stay longer and longer, intrigued by the mortal. Sara more than once tried to get her to answer questions about what happened after.

“You mean you don’t know what happens after?”

The reaper shrugged. “It’s not my place to know the after, only the now.”

Nyssa materialized her scythe and casually sliced the soul that emerged from the corpse. “All things must end eventually, either by our scythes or other.”

Sara froze. “Other?”

The scythe disappeared.

“Yes, other though I wouldn’t worry about them if I were you. They tend to only bother the dead and not the living. And we're there if they cross the line.”

Nyssa vanished and Sara froze when she went over that last statement. “Wait, who’s ‘we’?”

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Sara grew to enjoy her time with the mysterious reaper.

“Why do you only ever appear after I kill my target?”

“I’m a Reaper, we appear when there is a death substantial enough to warrant our interest.”

“Huh?”

Nyssa shook her head in amusement. “Things are dying around you every day. The fallen leaves, the bacteria, your cells. Most of the time, they enter the after with little trouble. But sometimes they need a little push to cross. The souls summon us, anchor us to this realm. We in turn give the push they need.”

Sara sighed. “Yeah but, I never see you otherwise. Hell, half the time I’m not even sure if you’re real or if I’m just going crazy since I’m the only one who can see you and everything just goes through you like you’re made of air.”

Nyssa paused at that and looked at the other woman. “Hold still.”

Sara froze, her eyes widened as Nyssa concentrated and touched her shoulder. She could actually feel Nyssa.

After a moment, Nyssa took her hand off Sara. “I apologize for not…materializing sooner. It’s been a very very long time since I needed a solid form.”

Sara couldn’t help but throw her arms around Nyssa, causing the Reaper to stumble back before stabilizing. Nyssa gingerly returned the hug. She closed her eyes, relishing the warmth of the human soul.

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Sara took a deep breath as she followed her target. She had been observing him for a few days and knew his routine by heart. Finally he turned down a certain alleyway and she carefully bumped into him, stabbing him with the poisoned blade, trying to ignore the sick feeling in her stomach.

She should leave now before his body was found, but she waited, watching the man crumble to the ground. Sara felt a presence, and leaned into the body that materialized behind her.

Nyssa blinked in surprised but gently wrapped her arms around the assassin. Many thoughts swirled in her head, but she could not settle on one and so remained silent. Sara stared at the cooling corpse at their feet. A red glowing orb slowly emerged from the man’s body, pulsating with energy. Nyssa briefly tightened her grip on the human before releasing her.

The Reaper summoned her Scythe and without hesitation sliced the orb in half. The shattered orb released a resigned sigh and disappeared.

Sara shivered, though not from the cold. “I don’t know how long I can keep doing this.”

Nyssa paused, not turning around.

The assassin continued, voice turning soft. “I keep seeing their faces, all of them. The League says it’s suppose to get easier, but not for me.”

The Scythe disappeared from the Reaper’s hand, Nyssa turned around to face Sara. “Tell me what you want, Sara.”

As Sara felt the Reaper’s eyes on her, she felt the truth tumbling out of her body. “I want to leave it all behind.”

Nyssa smiled sadly, her form weakening. “I understand. Farewell.”

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Nyssa didn’t appear after her next kill or the next. The assassin waited long after she should by her dead targets, but Nyssa never appeared.

In the courtyard of Nanda Parbat, she channeled emotions into the training equipment. Without Nyssa, there was nothing stopping her from leaving. Deep down, Sara knew she only stayed for Nyssa.

She sneaked away that night.

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When Sara ran back to Star City, everything was the same and yet so different. She constantly looked over her shoulder waiting for the League to find her. Her family handled her as if she would break any second, and maybe she was at the edge. The only comfort she found was in smashing the faces of various crooks. There was always the temptation to punch just a little harder, aim a little lower but Oliver held her back. She wondered if this is what purgatory felt like.

One evening, she retreated to a hill overlooking the city. Almost no one knew of her hiding spot, and those that knew were well aware to leave her alone. The crisp cold air calmed her as Sara looked at the bright moon in the sky. She sat down on the bench and took a breath. She closed her eyes and whispered the name that had haunted her ever since she ran from the League. “Nyssa.”

With her eyes closed, she tried to extend her senses beyond the wind rustling the leaves and the trees creaking around her. Sara’s eyes snapped one when she felt the faint presence behind her. She couldn’t turn around, not yet.

“I’m sorry, Nyssa. I never meant I wanted you to leave, only the League. I only stayed so long because I couldn’t leave you.”

The presence paused for a moment before she settled beside Sara on the bench. Sara gasped, her eyes widening when she felt a gentle hand touch her shoulder. Her head turned to the side where Nyssa was sitting, her form shimmering and not quite solid. Still, Sara burst out laughing and pulled the other woman to her in a tight hug. Nyssa closed her eyes, momentarily ignoring how much energy it took her to materialize. Sara could feel the Reaper’s form shifting and drew back, drinking in Nyssa’s smile.

The former assassin cupped the Reaper’s face in her hands, unable to believe this was happening.

Nyssa leaned into Sara’s hands, but she could feel herself fading. “I’m sorry Sara but I cannot stay long, not without an anchor.”

Sara took a breath. “What if you anchored to me?”

Nyssa paused, her eyes widened. I don’t believe you know what you’re asking.”

Sara shook her head, reaching to hold Nyssa’s hands. “You said souls summon you? Well, guess what mine is doing ever since I left the goddamn League.”

She placed one of Nyssa’s hand on her heart. “Feel that? That’s one genuine soul that’s beating for you.”

“I believe that’s just your heart pumping blood through your system.”

Sara rolled her eyes but looked expectantly at the Reaper.

Nyssa couldn’t deny the warm soul was calling out to her. It took everything of her to ignore the summons after she said goodbye to Sara the first time. The Reaper couldn’t resist what was so freely given, such a bright soul.

“Are you absolutely sure. Once given, one’s soul cannot be returned as it was. You will be forever marked.”

Sara nodded firmly.

The Reaper summoned her Scythe in one hand and held it out to Sara, handle first. “Hold it.”

When Sara gripped part of the handle, she cried out, feeling parts of herself being absorbed into and precipitating out of the weapon, forever changed. A forgotten memory floated to the surface.

Sara was drifting in and out of conscious as she floated on a piece of debris in the middle of the ocean. She was so weak and the sun was shining so harshly above her. She tried to turn to her side, to escape the sun’s wrath but could summon enough energy to do so. Every breath was so hard. In her delirium, she saw a hooded shadow blocking the sun above her head. “Please.”

Nyssa shook her head, leaning over the woman. “It’s not your time.”

She turned to leave, only to be stopped by a weak hand gripping her robe. “Please don’t leave me alone.”

Nyssa paused before nodding. She sat down beside the woman. “I will stay until they come.”

Sara burst into tears, remembering. “You were there.”

Nyssa herself was shaken. “I had forgotten. I’m sorry-”

Sara pulled Nyssa closer and kissed her. For the first time, Nyssa felt completely solid and wasn’t constantly shifting. The Reaper froze before tentatively returning the kiss. Sara broke the kiss when she had to breathe. She couldn’t help but beam at Nyssa who smiled happily in return. Nyssa could feel her body adjusting to being around a new anchor so intimately connected with her. It was easier to stay still in one location. She could still feel the summons of other souls but they were dulled compared to the bright soul burning next to her.

They had much to talk about now they were connected. But as Sara pulled Nyssa in for another kiss, she wasn’t afraid of the future, not with Nyssa by her side.