Uncanny Valley

Fortunately Friedrich was not unconscious for more than a minute. Soon he began to breathe deeply again, groaning quietly as a fuzzy haze filled his mind and vision. His tongue flicked out to wet his dry lips as he blinked himself back to reality. A nearby street light seemed much too bright and the sound of crickets in the sagebrush much too quiet.  The first thing he felt was a great ache in his side, all along his left arm and ribcage. His shoulder felt slightly wet, where it had scraped against the asphalt upon his descent.  And then he remembered the reaper. He drew in a sharp breath and scrambled upright, his gaze locking with that of the figure standing over him. Yet she didn't look how he recalled... once she was the picture of those nightmarish folk stories and old wives tales of the hooded scythe-wielding being who ferried the souls of the dead to the other world. Of course he wouldn't believe in a reaper, a creature of spiritual origin. Why would he?  Maybe it was all a dream.  Maybe he was going crazy. Where was Naomi? He looked around, breath caught in his throat. "Where is she?" He tried to ask calmly, but his voice came out in a squeak, forced through a tight windpipe. He felt so confused... was this woman a Reaper or was he just imagining things? And where did Naomi go...?

Wife? Friedrich stopped. How did she know Naomi was his wife? He never told her that. A shudder ran through his spine.Maybe she was just assuming. Yes, that was it. So long as she didn't know Naomi was his *long-dead wife* then he was okay.   He drew in a deep breath and entered the office, with Naomi trailing quietly behind. "...Good afternoon." He told her. "Naomi has her paperwork." Naomi held it out towards Bathory.

Friedrich swallowed thickly. "...Twenty." He replied. "...And I know vhat I'm doing. Soon she vill be as I remembered. I'm still vorking vith repairing her psyche."  Friedrich assumed she not only knew Naomi was resurrected, but that he was the one who did it, and she was his wife. "Please leave us be. Ve'll have no trouble vith you."

Naomi's sub-human mind jumped from one conclusion to another. For reasons completely unknown to the BLU, she suddenly charged for him with no forewarning.  She would leap like a pouncing tiger and swing her weight around him, likely throwing off his balance and bringing the thin dancer to the ground. The next thing he would feel was her teeth sinking into the back of his neck. Her jaw strength was unnatural, and her teeth sharper than they should have been.  It was very unfortunate that Friedrich was not there. He was on his way- but it was likely he wouldn't arrive in time...

Naomi stared at the stranger, coming in here so confidently, looking for her husband. Normally she didn't treat people she saw like this... for normally she didn't feel so strangely threatened by them. But this man... she didn't like him the moment she saw him. For no easily discernable reason, she snapped. Her blank eyes hardened and a growl rumbled in her throat, not unlike a territorial animal.