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When she first became a servant and met this enigma of a reaper, it had been more than a little confusing. She’d sometimes heard her parents talk about their reapers and their personalities, but with Ozolos being the very first one she ever spoke to herself, she’d still needed Axiolis to come along shortly thereafter and inform her that they weren’t all like that.

‘Ozolos is someone who never moves at anyone’s pace other than his own,’ Axiolis had told her. ‘I won’t lie to you, girl. He may become a source of regular frustration for you. He may confuse you and annoy you and even cause problems for you with other people, who also find him bothersome. But one thing I have learned about him over the many Ages that I have known him is that deep down, he has wisdom. And when the chips are down, when it really matters, you will be able to rely on him.’

For her part, after five or so years as his servant, Gema still didn’t quite know if she agreed with that assessment. She’d been trying to give the reaper the benefit of the doubt, but it was hard, sometimes.

Life was hard, sometimes. And being considerate became all the more difficult.

She’d yelled at the reaper quite a bit, early on. Lost her cool.

It never seemed to faze Ozolos in the slightest. Perhaps that was why she’d stopped. She would’ve liked to believe, instead, that it was simply because she’d grown more mature and level-headed, but eh. That was probably wishful thinking, she knew.

Here and now, the reaper was attached to her back, just below her right shoulder. Not saying a word, as usual.

This was another of his habits. He often just grabbed onto her with no explanation and went along for the ride. She was beginning to think he just didn’t like floating around under his own power or something.

On this occasion, at least, there was justification for it. Reapers were vulnerable to psychics--not always, but often. Clinging to her like this afforded him a bit more protection against them.

Technically, Ozolos had undergone the exact same training as she had, but it was anyone’s guess if it had stuck. The two of them hadn’t encountered any problems thus far, so it was probably fine, but still. It was a nagging thought. One of many, when it came to Ozolos.