darken, deep

REMI

& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

I think they....maybe just stay where they are. Never able to reach their final destination. The alchemist suggests with a shrug of his shoulders.  He's nodding as she mentions that everyone has their own customs, only to stiffen slightly as his expression grows a touch bashful at the mention of their souls finding Mort somehow.

He was that somehow, in most cases.

Through their bond, Chrys will likely feel much of Remi's unease when it came to this topic. Not because he was shy about what he did or how, but because of the stigma that often accompanied it. I can show you what it looks like for some...if you'd like.

The moon is shining but I can't see the light

Chrys was slightly surprised that a demigod might feel unease when talking about his duties as such. But then again, death was a sensitive topic to most. She figured he was probably used to people reacting badly to the topic.

Then again, there was something she had always been interested to know. Do prayers for the dead help their souls to reach Mort? Whenever we find shipwrecked people, we usually leave a prayer for them, since their friends and families weren't able to.

The prospect of being shown something entirely new was very interesting. Even more exciting, it was something most likely only few got to see.  Sure! I'd like to see that!

Chrys

REMI

& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

I...am not sure. There is a demigod who lives in the Greatwood, Delphia, who shepherds souls back to Mort. Those that I tend to.. There's a brief pause, filled with sadness and turmoil before Remi continues. ..are always alive.

With enough air in his lungs that he could remain unshifted for a bit longer, the Lullaby nods, which causes his normally curly hair to flow elegantly around his face. In Halo, it is like this— Around them appears the illusion of ice and snow, a permafrost covering the hard tundra. In the 'distance' are pyres, burning brightly for all to see. Because it's so cold, the dead are burned so that they can provide heat and light for the living. The flames flicker and disappear, replaced with the towering canopy of trees from the Greatwood. In the Greatwood where I am from, we bury our dead so that they can provide nutrients back to the trees. The sprawling trees part to reveal a glade, where graves are watered to help speed decomposition.

The moon is shining but I can't see the light

Chrys' eyes went wide when the illusion of the tundra appeared around them. She stared at the image, amazement and childlike wonder clearly visible on her face and tangible in the bond. What caught her interest most was not the pyres, though she did look at them too, but the tundra itself. A similar reaction followed upon the change to an image of the Greatwood.

That's amazing! she exclaimed once she had taken in the new images. I've never seen these places before. And she doubted that she would see them in the near future. I can't really swim all around Caido to take a look at the Greatwood, for example. The words were accompanied by a mental shrug.

Returning to the original topic, Chrys was no less enthusiastic. I like that the dead give something back to the people or their surroundings. We do that too. They are wrapped in seaweed, brought outside of the city, and left there so that predators can feed on them. With the notion being entirely normal to her, she didn't realize that it may seem different to someone who wasn't used to their customs.

Chrys

REMI

& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

Remi's smile is as sad as it is knowing; the Merfolk he'd met in the past had told him as much. I could show it to you in more detail, if I had brought a manta stone with me so that I could breathe. Remi explains. I can put you to sleep and enter into your dreams and take them over. I could show you every part of this world without leaving the ocean floor. Sadly the thought hadn't crossed his mind, given that he could breathe underwater as a Kraken. Packing manta stones hadn't been part of his preparations for several years now.

I like that. Back in the world I came from we buried our dead in boxes so that the earth could not reclaim them. They rotted inside of them and gave nothing back. We marked their places with stones that said their names and the years of their lives, but looking back on... Smiling a touch boyishly, Remi shrugs. It seems so useless, though at the time I could not have thought of any other way.

The moon is shining but I can't see the light

Making a mental note to go searching for manta stones as well, Chrys nodded. That's okay. Getting a glimpse is really interesting. But seeing everything in an image or a dream is not the same. Some day I'll explore all of that for real. This, she was determined to do. It wasn't like she intended to truly leave the ocean. It was her home after all. But she still wanted to explore the land nonetheless.

Why would you write their names on stones? Their families and friends will always remember them. And strangers won't care about a stone with a name on it. She looked at him inquisitively, head tilted slightly to one side.

Then, remembering just now, she continued on: You still need to breathe! I forgot again. You probably need space to get big again? She moved back a bit to give him space should he need it.

Chrys

REMI

& now I'm all alone in the dark of night

Oh, you might be surprised. The alchemist chuckles, quietly confident. His abilities could make dreams feel so real it had gotten him into trouble in the past. Whether or not he'd learned from his mistakes is a tale for another day, though.

Because there would be hundreds of stones in the same field, so I think it would be hard to remember. Remi replies with a rather casual shrug. And sometimes strangers would care I suppose. It was a way of finding out who had died, if you didn't hear about it first hand.

Chuckling such that bubbles poured from his mouth, Remi nods. I do. But I should also get back to the surface. Peaceful as it is down here, I have things I am meant to do today. He explains, his frown reflected in the respondent chords that hug his accent. But it was nice to meet you. And if you ever want to dream and see the world, just let me know. All letters reach me, no matter where I am. He explains as he fans the water with his hands to push himself away from her, where there is more space to shift.

Take care.

~FIN

The moon is shining but I can't see the light