What remains

In the end, it was the cold practicality ingrained into the girl that brought her back to her senses. Slowly, with movements so sluggish her limbs appeared half frozen, Maea staggered to her feet with the dog still cradled in her arms, and shook her head. No, no burials. It was the season of Frey now, but she would honor him with seeds and plants, not bodies. This dog har been a shepherd, living and working with the sheep every day since he was taken from his mother... Better he was sent off with the sheep as well. Later the ashes of the pyre would be scattered in the fields, to replenish the earth and close the circle... But the animls were the only ones to receive that closure. When she came back, Maea had dried her eyes. Though she still sniffled occasionally and her eyes retained that vacant distance that whispered of shock, her face was calm and set, a look that was vaguely stubborn and altogether brittle. "Let's get this over with" she said. Darkness had already fallen around them, the clouds overhead obscuring Safrin's stars; it could have been Long Night all over again, and the girl fumbled with the flint and steel in her haste to kindle the fire. She needed light, and warmth and to get this done, and then Frost needed food and the house required cleaning and.... And she would have to do it alone. Nate... Maea glanced at him. He was kind, and had helped her more than he probably knew, but.... it wasn't as though he planned to stick around forever. He had his own place, and she.... She had one thing that needed doing before any of the other things could become important. "A lantern... I'll have to make a lantern now." The ghost of an old melody crept through her mind, and as the fire caught in the kindling and began to lick the piled up wood, she sang the words in a quiet, quivering voice. "But what shall I do if the demons still come If the demons still come for my sweetling? Ne'er luxere Nor snowmoss Nor prayers to all Will return from the darkness my sweet love" "Bring a lantern for Ludo, for Ludo my love Bring a candle to light in the evening You'll see me And hold me Again one last time Bring a light and a lantern for Ludo...." MAEA Sometimes darkness can show you the light