*Ossanlin's body jerks as Mar's hand comes in contact, though not consciously, merely a brain-stem based reflex to the touch on his body.*
*He thought he heard something, a thought...* <...Alic..na....> *Suddenly his mind is brought back to past times in the Space Bar, when he had been not much more than a new patron...he saw Aliciania and was surprised back then, he hadn't seen an off-duty female for a long time...the thoughts whisked by but in that dream of a memory, he thought he saw something else....a shadow, or was it a light? A being...a...shiniga mi, a soul-reaper...why on earth did he know that word, and for that matter, how did he even what this being was by any means? Very suddenly his frantic memories calm, like a storm-torn ocean calming with the pull of a moon. He was suddenly afraid, why was this being here? That shadow, or light, was taking a million forms in his mind's eye, and yet none at all. Ossanlin flinches...he hadn't thought much about the after-life...why spend time thinking about things you can't fathom when you're going to find out anyway, and after you find out you might not have anymore chances at life. Was this his time? Was this...soul-reaper coming for him? This place, suddenly his perception of his memories flickers and it seems so unreal that a bit of fog seems to lift from his eyes. Now he could see...his mind, somehow he was trapped in his own mind, his own memories a prison...or perhaps he was trapped somewhere in the middle of the timestream. He had no clue...but that shadow or light, he still couldn't decide which it was, was looming. Perhaps he was already dead and this was purgatory...*
*Then a lightbulb flashes over his head, at least he can see the flash himself...this was an odd place...metaphor made reality?! But he has no time to ponder, he remembers, perhaps this was Mar, maybe they were still in the timestream, or maybe he really was dead. Did the shinigami also have possession of his soul? Did he even have a soul? He doesn't know what to think...his memories begin to assault him again, but he is able to shove them aside now, knowing them for what they are...not real...well, not happening right now anyway. He almost wants to run from the shadow/light, to retreat back into those memories, but he waits to face it, be it friend or foe.*