Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Zane ultimately did as his mother suggested, taking a morning shower and getting dressed before heading downstairs. Where he was shocked to see his mother getting along perfectly well with Gwen. Both of which were wearing aprons while preparing breakfast together.

All the other Horde Kings had the same expression as Zane as they sat down together at the table. With Darren leaning over and quietly to Zane, asking for clarification if the woman who had suddenly appeared before them was who he really thought she was.

'Is that?"

Zane nodded his head, staring equally in disbelief at the scene in front of him, but for different reasons than the other Horde Kings. His voice was filled with the same bewilderment that everyone else was feeling.

"Yup… That's my mother… Death…"

Not another word was said as everyone else, Eliza and Beatrix included stared at the scene in front of them. Death was speaking with Gwen as if they had known each other a very long time, and were somehow already on great terms. Gwen preparing the scrambled eggs and hash browns, while Death was preparing the bacon and sausage.

"Mother! I can't believe it's really you! And you're here to visit us all? What is the special occasion? I mean I don't mean to sound rude, but why would you appear all of a sudden when you have never visited before?"

Death herself had a warm smile on her face, which was not something you would normally associate with an entity known for taking the souls of all living things when their lives came to their end.

She patted Gwen on the head, while explaining her reasoning for visiting as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"What? Can't a mother pop in and visit her son when she wants to? He may have moved out of the house and become independent, but he really has been neglecting his poor mother! I couldn't' stand it any longer and decided to visit!"

Zane's expression was strange, but when Gwen spoke up, turning around to chastise Zane, he couldn't help but wonder when exactly he became the bad guy in all of this.

"That's awful! Zane, you really should spend more time with mother!"

It was one thing for Gwen to shamelessly go along with his mother's antics, but when he looked over to the side and saw all the other Horde Kings beneath his command looking at him as if he were the absolute scum of the earth, Zane couldn't help but feel as if he was being slandered, and by his own mother no less!"

He tried to stand up and defend himself, but the glare he was receiving from everyone else immediately shut him up and caused him to sit down. He did not know how to deal with this awkward situation in the slightest.

Luckily for him, breakfast was finished not long after, and his mother immediately stole the spot directly in front of him, handing Zane his plate before anyone else. Where she rested her pretty face on her chin, while asking Zane why he wasn't taking a bite.

"What's wrong? Do you not like eggs and bacon?"

Zane shook his head. He loved eggs and bacon, even as an undead. And to think his mother would actually cook it for him, it was like a childhood dream come true. He just had so many questions, the first of which was actually quite stupid, and he most definitely felt that way when he blurted it out.

"No, not at all. I'm just wondering ,where the hell did you get the pork and eggs from?"

Once more, he felt like an idiot as his mother looked at him as if she had somehow failed as a mother by raising a moron. Which she was quick to give voice to.

"Zane, I'm a cosmic entity. If I can't get my hands on fresh pork and chicken eggs then who the hell can?"

Zane indeed felt like an idiot until his mother muttered under her own breath how she really got her hands on them.

"I mean… It's not like there isn't a ready supply of such things at Gravestone…"

The man went from feeling like the biggest idiot in the world for underestimating the powers of a cosmic entity to staring at his mother as if she was the most shameless woman to ever exist. But ultimately her incessant staring at him caused Zane to begin eating the meal prepared for him.

It was perhaps the best breakfast he had ever tasted. Not necessarily because Death was a phenomenal cook, but because it was perhaps the first meal he had ever eaten that was prepared directly for him by his mother.

And that included the woman who he was raised to believe was his mother. He could not remember the last time that bitch made him a meal. Luckily, she was dead now, and he no longer had to think about such matters.

Death could see that Zane was processing some heavy emotions, causing her to wear a warm and gentle smile as she assured him she wasn't going anywhere.

"Relax, Zane, take your time to enjoy it. It's not like this is going to be the last meal I prepare for you…"

Gwen naturally was unaware of Zane's background, or why he was reacting so strangely to a simple meal. But even she knew it would ruin the mood if she butted in. Because of this, she, like her other siblings, pretended like things weren't incredibly awkward right now, and silently devoured the meal herself.

Though the undead preferred the taste of human flesh, it wasn't exactly to say that they couldn't enjoy the food that humanity themselves ate. Quite the contrary, after all, the undead were once human themselves.

And to have such a meal was deeply nostalgic in many ways. Reminding them of the days when they themselves were human. After spending the meal together, Death looked over at the clock on the wall and quickly realized she had to get back to watching over Zane's girls.

Because of this, she stood up and hugged the young man, kissing him on the forehead before saying a temporary farewell.

"Oh, look at the time? If I don't get back soon, those little harlots are going to wonder where the hell I have run off to. I'll be back as soon as I can, Zane. In the meantime keep doing what you're doing. It won't be long before you reach Tier II. And when that happens I have a big surprise in store for you.

Anyway, I'm off for now. Love you, and keep in touch with your mother! Or else I'm going to appear again when you least inspect it!'

After saying this, Death vanished into thin air, leaving Zane behind in complete and total silence. That is until Gwen interrupted his thoughts.

"I never expected mother to be so… Friendly. If those fanatics in Balthazar's camp actually witnessed this scene, he might die of shock. Those fools think mother is some scheming and manipulative mastermind. Engineering the downfall of humanity, and the establishment of a new order.

When in reality, she just appears like an overprotective, and loving mother… Who would have thought?"

Nobody said a word in response to this. That is, until some time of silence passed before Zane stood up and equipped his gear. He seemed to want to get on with the day, rather than process the complicated emotions he was currently feeling.

"You heard what mom said. We have a lot of work to do. So let's get to it…"

After saying this, the Horde Kings beneath Zane's command all followed him out the door. By the time they returned, the dirty dishes they left out would have miraculously been washed. And Zane would find a pile of clean laundry placed neatly folded on his bed. That is aside from the handful of items his mother had snatched for her own personal use.