Chapter Text
Deep in the woods a young woman, dressed from head to toe in black, wandered. She was far from her home, but she knew this path well. She smiled as she saw the snow beginning to melt off of the branches around her. “Spring? Huh. Looks like someone finally talked some sense into the gods.” She chuckled to herself at the thought. “Or Hades got fed up with his wife. Either way, something’s changed.” She smirked and continued her walk.
Beetlejuice floated through the forest. He did his best to not be entranced by the world slowly coming to life around him. He had never seen anything like it. “Don’t go gettin’ sappy now.” He growled to himself. He continued looking through the trees. ‘There has to be something interesting out here.’ He thought.
A hint of movement caught his eye and he made his way toward it. His eyes landed on a young woman. She was both similar to and completely different than all of the people he had seen in Hadestown. She had the dark clothes, the pale skin that looked like it hadn’t seen the sun in centuries, and the dull eyes, but something was different. Behind the dull, unhappy eyes, there was something else. A faint mirth. A dark, barely noticeable mirth, but it was there. She looked nothing like the people she had seen at the train station, but she didn’t quite look like one of the dead.
The fury smirked, perching himself on a branch to observe this girl. He didn’t bother hiding. It’s not like mortals could see him anyway.
Lydia looked up when she noticed movement in the branches. “Oh, are the birds already back?” She asked herself as she did, then her eyes landed on something quite interesting. “What the hell are you doing?” She asked the well dressed, if a incredibly raggedy, man in the tree nearest her.
Beetlejuice nearly fell out of the tree in surprise. Correction, he did fall out of the tree, but he quickly began floating and tried to pass it off. “Well, that certainly makes things interesting, doesn’t it?” He says with a too-wide grin. “You got some god blood in ya, kid?”
Lydia let out a laugh not dissimilar to the cackles of Beetlejuice’s kind. “Hardly. I take it you’re not mortal, then?” She noted, motioning to his floating self. “Not a god, though. You were surprised I could see you. Monster or demigod?” She asked.
The fury chuckled at her frank analysis. “Closer to a monster, kid. I’m an Erinyes.” He floated down to eye level. “And there’s no way just some mortal would be able to see all this.” He gestured to himself, floating up lazily. “Not without being dead, anyway. You’re not dead, are ya? You look like you’re about halfway there.”
The human chuckled darkly. “Not yet, sadly.” She looked at him. “You’re a bit far from the underworld for a fury. You here to finally give me my ticket, or do I have to do something drastic first?” She asked, another dark spark lightning up her eyes.
Beetlejuice looked her over “Why the hell are you so eager to die? Shit sucks for mortals down there. Especially when they choose to go.” Confusion was clear on his face. He’d never seen a mortal so eager for anything, let alone for death.
“That’s a no then. Damnit.” She rolled her eyes, clearly avoiding the question.