There's a moment of silence...then the deep, quiet sound of jovial laughter filled the stillness, coming from the man by her side.

"If this were the afterlife, little soldier, I'd be in a fouler mood, and your soul would already be mine." he assured her. "I'm like you--taken from my home, set up in this strange new world, far from my flock. I can't leave, but I can go where I'm needed. No, I've been everywhere: walked the golden paths of Heaven, served a sentence in Hell...sealed treaties in Purgatory, and carved my realm out of Limbo's frontier. You're very much alive, little lady--and if I got my druthers, you'll damn well stay that way."