Kingherst, Kansas - 1996; The Temberling Funeral Home opens and is assigned two soulguides. Their task, like all soulguides, is to meet the recently deceased in Purgatory and decide on their placement in the afterlife. Opadrion, an angel, was the representative from Heaven. Tesze the demon was Opadrion's counterpart from Hell. Normally, of course, this sort of thing is all business. But this time wasn't normal. This time, something unusual happened, something impossible.
Details aside, a furious love was kindled between Tesze and Opadrion. They were mad for each other, to the point of sneaking off into Purgatory for their romantic affairs. They had to. Otherwise they would face the judgment of their respective higher-ups (or lower-downs in Tesze's case). Obviously a relationship between an angel and a demon would not be permissed by the overseers, with all respect to keeping the cosmic balance in tact, or whatever the phony logic they used said about it. But not for Tesze and Opadrion. Their "proper places" in the order of things could never keep them apart. Angels and demons are souls too, and souls can love, after all.
Well, as lovers often do, the two became inseparable. And, as these situations often are, the romance became a distraction. A few slip-ups on the job and the boss begins to notice. Such was the case for Tesze and Opadrion. A man who clearly was fit for Hell was sent to Heaven, and so an investigation was ordered. The results of said investigation concluded that a trial was in order, to be held in Purgatory by judges from both Heaven and Hell.
"This love is meant for the living."
Those were the grounds for the "guilty" verdict that was delivered. Opadrion took this a little too literally. This was elaborately displayed in the following series of events.
Working in the field that soulguides do, it isn't hard to come into contact with shady folks who dabble in the forbidden craft of plane-jumping. Well, Opadrion did the unthinkable and sought out the help of a witch (something that is strictly disallowed, especially for angels)before the trial began. Together, they arranged a plan, sort of a last resort scenario in case punishment were to be ordered at the trial. Tesze was unaware of said plan.
Until it went into effect. The moment of the couple's sentencing, Opadrion's witchy friend appeared in Purgatory and whisked them away to the realm of the living, where they could live untouched by the higher beings. But of course, like all things of this nature, there were some conditions: In order for complete separation from the punitive forces of Heaven and Hell, the witch had to convert their souls to those of mortals. And mortal souls require mortal bodies in order to exist on Earth. And so, in the rush of escape from Purgatory, Tesze and Opadrion were forced into the nearest available soulless bodies.
Considering the escape point was a funeral home, this should have gone over swimmingly. And it did. For Tesze. She reposessed the body of 18 year old suicide victim Katie Dupree (Cut her wrists. Not that it matters, but she was also unconventionally beautiful. Tragic though). Things did not go so well for Opadrion. Unfortunately, his soul was forced into a hivemind of harvestmen that lived in the walls of the Temberling Funeral Home. You might know them as the spider-like "daddy longlegs."
An unconventional couple, to say the least.
Another important detail: Opadrion, being the protective boyfriend that he was, had one more trick up his sleeve in regards to his deal with the witch. His and Tesze's mortal souls were to be linked, with his acting as a protective barrier around hers. Think of this as sort of a marriage, but taken to the next level. Basically this means that the two now technically exist as one living being despite existing as two separate souls occupying different mortal bodies. And so Tesze's body cannot die unless Opadrion's does first. This unknowingly became extra advantageous when Opadrion occupied the hivemind, for it is constantly reproducing. Thus, the two have the capacity to live in the mortal realm for a very very long time.
When Tesze was freed from her casket by Opadrion and saw his new form, her fear was replaced with sadness. A girl and a bunch of spider things, how could this even work? But their love was too strong to falter at the confines of their situation. Together, they have been searching the world for the witch that saved them, hoping for a solution to Opadrion's problem. What will they do after that if they find her? They don't know. But really, why does it matter?
Because now, they have each other.
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Originally Posted by klonoawahoo
