Death was nothing new.
Death happened every day, sometimes in more interesting ways than others.
Quanil was used to death. But it'd been a long time since someone they'd really known had died, mostly because most people distanced themselves from them. So, yeah, death was nothing new, but this particular sting was fresh.
It seemed right to come here to remember her, to come to this shrine for this god in this place. They didn't know, at first, what to say or to ask. It was foolish to demand her return; the gods didn't work like that (and didn't like having demands made of them). Every question they could think of was immediately discarded.
So, in the end, they cleared their throat and said, quietly, "I asked Miss Maea once what I could do to help her. And she made me promise to learn how to fight so I could defend myself. She wanted me to go see Mr. Sunjata at his new boxing ring, and I'll do that. I will, because I promised her that specifically. But... I know she was a friend of yours, Ludo. Sort of. If you have friends? She kind of made it sound like 'friends' wasn't the right term, but I don't know what is.
"Anyway, she was a good person, and she didn't want anything to happen to me. So, if there's some way you can help that wish of hers come true, some way you can help me better defend myself and others - especially others! - I'd..." They paused to wipe away tears; they weren't actively crying or sniffling so much as their eyes were leaking. A lot. "I'd appreciate that, please. I don't know what or how... I just know it was what she said she wanted. She was a really good person. But you probably already knew that."
Now they sniffled and rubbed at their eyes some more. They'd been keeping it together okay until they'd decided to talk about their last conversation with Miss Maea Valair. Maea the Disappeared, gone for good now, they supposed.
Death happened every day, sometimes in more interesting ways than others.
Quanil was used to death. But it'd been a long time since someone they'd really known had died, mostly because most people distanced themselves from them. So, yeah, death was nothing new, but this particular sting was fresh.
It seemed right to come here to remember her, to come to this shrine for this god in this place. They didn't know, at first, what to say or to ask. It was foolish to demand her return; the gods didn't work like that (and didn't like having demands made of them). Every question they could think of was immediately discarded.
So, in the end, they cleared their throat and said, quietly, "I asked Miss Maea once what I could do to help her. And she made me promise to learn how to fight so I could defend myself. She wanted me to go see Mr. Sunjata at his new boxing ring, and I'll do that. I will, because I promised her that specifically. But... I know she was a friend of yours, Ludo. Sort of. If you have friends? She kind of made it sound like 'friends' wasn't the right term, but I don't know what is.
"Anyway, she was a good person, and she didn't want anything to happen to me. So, if there's some way you can help that wish of hers come true, some way you can help me better defend myself and others - especially others! - I'd..." They paused to wipe away tears; they weren't actively crying or sniffling so much as their eyes were leaking. A lot. "I'd appreciate that, please. I don't know what or how... I just know it was what she said she wanted. She was a really good person. But you probably already knew that."
Now they sniffled and rubbed at their eyes some more. They'd been keeping it together okay until they'd decided to talk about their last conversation with Miss Maea Valair. Maea the Disappeared, gone for good now, they supposed.
