41- The Mistake He Made

The afternoon had been uneventful for Quayleigh. By the time the sun had set, her eye had returned to its usual milky white appearance, but she continued to wear her eye patch having received a couple of compliments on it earlier in the day. It had been a nice distraction, considering she spent the majority of her time worrying about Tau being alone with Yechiel between paperwork, restocking shelves, and cleaning. She had managed to keep busy until closing, resisting the urge to call and check in on him.

After locking up and taking out the trash, she hurried back home, wanting nothing more than to curl up on the couch with Tau and spend the rest of the night alone with him. However, as she stood inside the apartment, she knew that would not be the case. Closing the door, Tau slowly turned and looked at her over the top of the couch, a languid expression draped over his face.

"Hey," she whispered. Moving closer, Tau motioning for her to keep her voice low as he pointed to the other end of the couch where much to her dismay, curled up against the arm was Yechiel, fast asleep.

Leaning over Quayleigh kissed Tau 'hello', because despite their guest, she wasn't about to give up that particular perk.

"How long has he been sleeping?"

"A few hours; I think."

"Then we should let him sleep."

Nodding, Tau got up from the couch, being careful not to disturb Yechiel, and followed Quayleigh into the kitchen.

"He brought food for you, if you're hungry."

"That was nice of him. Did you two enjoy your time together?" she inquired as she opened the fridge and grabbed the take-out containers, setting them onto the counter.

"Yea. We talked for a while, but then we watched T.V. and he fell asleep. He brought the pictures you wanted. They're under the table," he said as he looked away, rubbing his hand in an uncomfortable manner.

"Hey, did something happen?" She wondered at the strangeness of his behavior.

Tau nodded, adverting his eyes and turning away from her. "I think I made a mistake."

Setting her hand reassuringly against his cheek, she coaxed him to look at her. "Whatever it is, whatever happened, we'll figure it out. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Now, tell me what happened," she said as she turned and grabbed a fork from the drawer.

"Last night…" he paused and fell silent. The reluctance he was showing was an obvious sign that he was struggling to find the words.

"When you went to do your job," she told him in an effort to get him talking more openly.

"Yes."

"Did something go wrong?"

"Yes," he replied as she opened up one of the containers and dug in. "She knew I was there. It's never happened before. Not like that. Uroxuz conceals us, but when she spoke, he answered back. There was a camera. I didn't know. Yechiel has a picture of him."

"He has a picture of him or you?" she asked as she finished her mouthful and took another, wanting to hear him out completely before reacting.

"Him. He asked if Uroxuz was a servant of Death. And he asked if I knew what he was. I didn't tell him everything, but I did tell him that Death was real and that you had told me about the world of the living and the dead existing together, and how neither could see the other. I didn't want to lie, but I was concerned that if I said nothing, he would know I was keeping something from him."

"I'm confused. I thought Uroxuz was your scythe? It shouldn't have been that hard to identify it in a picture."

Tau shook his head, "Uroxuz is alive. He is like a pet. A friend that is always there and comes when you call. To me, he has always been a weapon. He rarely changed his form, but now that he is here, he has become different, like me."

Quayleigh swallowed harshly as she bobbed her head listening to everything Tau was saying with great intrigue. "Okay, so if he wasn't a scythe in the picture, what was he? Did he look like a person or an animal?"

"More like an animal, but larger than a person. Larger than even me. He revealed himself to her, but he kept me hidden. It was strange, and I don't understand why he did it. I was trying to get him to tell me when you found us on the balcony."

"Is he here now?"

"No. He's outside somewhere. He likes the roof. I can summon him if you want?"

"No, no, no. It's fine. Maybe later, after our company is gone. Just as long as he's close by, that's all that matters," she replied, uncertain if that was even the case. Unlike Tauluthet, who she knew and trusted, she had no knowledge of Uroxuz. Tauluthet had never spoken of him, and she had never thought to ask. However, Tau's living weapon was now here along with him, and that was a concern all its own. "How did you explain Uroxuz being in that picture?"

"He asked a question about what would happen if the dead returned to the living, and I pointed to the picture and told him that was my guess. Then he asked if we could go to the station with him tomorrow morning. His partner wants to speak to me. He tracked me down while I was visiting with Willy and Frank, but I got away before he saw me. Yechiel told me that his partner thinks I'm connected to these murders. I don't understand my position anymore. My place in this world, it's different than it was. Quayleigh, is what I'm doing wrong?"

"Oh," she took a deep breath as she set her fork into the container of beef she had been eating from and placed it on the counter. Turning to him, she abruptly hugged him with as much strength as she was capable. "You are Tauluthet. A sen'awan'qachi. A reaper, in the service of Death. You are not human. You are doing the job you were tasked to do. Despite your current circumstance, you are still doing that job, as you're supposed to, right?"

"I don't know. Uroxuz is the one guiding me to them. He should only be taking me to the ones I'm supposed to go to. That's what he's always done before."

"You're starting to have doubts?"

"Is it wrong for me to do my job, now that I'm here? Uroxuz seems too eager. He doesn't always wait. Death is inevitable regardless. But now I wonder if I'm not the reason that they are meant to die, and they would still be alive if I wasn't here."

"That's a very complicated, philosophical question Tau. And it's one I don't know the answer to. What I do know, is that others will see you as a human and they will judge you as a human. That's why you must never be seen, and you can tell no one, what you are or what you do. And it's best if no one discovers your connection to Uroxuz. If they think he is responsible, then let him take the blame. It's not like anyone is in a position to question it. Either way, it's best if we talk more about this, another time. Yechiel might be asleep at the moment, but if he happens to wake up, he doesn't need to overhear any of this."

"Are you upset with me?"

"No, my dear reaper," she said as she grabbed him and kissed him slowly, lingering as he pulled her closer. "The only thing I'm upset about, is not being alone with you."

As she kissed him again, he lifted her and placed her onto the counter.

"I can wake him up and tell him to leave," he remarked as she pushed the food container out of the way.

"That's rather inhospitable of you Tau. It seems to me like the poor guy has had a rough day. And it's not like he has anyone to go home to," she replied as Tau leaned forward and swept his nose up the length of her neck, breathing her in.

"Do you like having someone to come home to?"

She turned her head as he rubbed his cheek against hers, saying, "I love having you to come home to."

He moaned pleasantly, laying a row of tender kisses against her jaw as she wrapped her legs around him, leaning back as he reached her chin.

"And how many beers did you have tonight?" she asked, running her hands up through his hair, pressing her fingertips down against his scalp as she manipulated the tilt of his head.

"Two, but I've felt different, lighter…" he mused before kissing her once more. "I can't seem to get enough of you. You're so warm." He slid down against her and nuzzled his head to her chest. "I want to feel you."

"Now I really wish we were alone together." She giggled as he snuggled tight against her, his hands moving up her back, having found their way beneath her shirt.

"And I wish we were inside an Escadaram together. Then we could stay like this." She heard him say as he sunk against her, forcing her to lay further back against the counter.

"Easy Tau. There's not much room up here."

"I'm sorry," he muttered as he gazed up at her, a half-dazed expression lingering on his face. "Can we lay down together?"

"Of course, but would you mind if I finished eating first?"

"Oh, right!" He stood up and looked around. "I don't know quite what came over me."

"My guess would be the beer," she replied with a smirk, grabbed the take-out container and returned to her meal. "You should brush your teeth and get into bed. As soon as I'm done with this, I'll join you."

Tau promptly kissed her forehead, "I'll be waiting."