GRATUITOUS DEATH AHOY

[ungratefuloz]

oh boy, look at the time! time to cry!!!

(catch all for the last words meme, aka bakerstreet's only good meme--)

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[painfell]

[Despite it all, despite how horrifically painful this experience is and knowing he's going to have to go on without her, Griss smiles when she lets her tears fall. Let her cry, she damn well deserves it. He can't manage it - he's not sure he knows how to, no matter how badly he wishes he could express his grief in a way she'd obviously understand - so let her do it enough for both of them.]

'Course, Alear. Anything you want.

[He just wishes he could do something - anything - to change her damn fate.]

[lyration]

Don't join me anytime soon.

[She wishes she could change her fate too. She wishes this didn't feel so cruel to ask of him, after all that's happened and how much this will hurt.]

You--deserve this chance. To live your life as you want it. So...please do. Please experience it...please enjoy it to the fullest.

And...at the end of your road...when we're finally back together again, forever...tell me every single story. It doesn't have to be hours long, but...I want to hear everything. Every little detail. I want to hear everything that you get to experience with this new chance.

And...when we meet again, let's make our own stories together. That way we'll have plenty to keep Zephia occupied when she comes along, too.

[Alear's eyes start to close. Not too much longer, now, and even her grip on his hand feels faint.]

...Promise me that? Please?

[painfell]

[She asks the impossible of him. Not that Griss planned to run off and die immediately, but the idea of living a full life - of him having stories to share and a life worth living... How the hell is someone like him supposed to do that? How the hell can he promise her this, when it's the only thing that'll give her peace now?

He doesn't have long to debate. He knows what he has to do. Still, Griss huffs a sigh.]

You really aren't makin' it easy on me, huh. Alright. I ain't ever gonna be a good person, and I'm not even sure I'll be someone with a life worth livin'. But I'll make sure I get a ton of damn good stories - so when we meet up, I'll keep you entertained for hours.

And... And you'd better have some good ones for me too, okay!?

[His grip tightens on her hands again and his voice gets louder, as though maybe that can chase her to where he can't follow.]

So just— Wait for me, okay! And don't you dare forget!

[lyration]

[It's with the last of her strength that Alear chuckles a bit.]

I'd much rather you be yourself, silly. That's who I fell for. I'll hear every story, even the ones about pain. I promise. I promise all of that.

And I'll never forget. I promise. I...

[Alear wishes she could say so much more. Say how much she loves him again, even as he shouts down the dark tunnel she's found herself in. She wishes deep down that she could stay with him and make beautiful stories alongside him so much. She wishes she'd been more careful, that her father hadn't gotten the better of her. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to maybe see if there was something to all he was babbling about, or at least properly repay him for everything he's done.

But Alear finally goes slack and dies, perishing with a smile on her face--and if Griss looks closely, their pinkies are locked together, slack though they are now.

She'll wait however long it takes for him. Seems like that much she inherited from her mom.]

[painfell]

[For a very long time after Alear dies, Griss is still. There's much to be done, and Zephia snaps to attention, rallying the others around her to handle the aftermath of Sombron's defeat.

He's not really sure how he gets from point A to point B, or any other point in between. It feels like he's lost in a fog, unable to fully pull himself free of it until he's met with the sudden, startling clarity of Alear's funeral.

It's a massive mourning for the Divine Dragon. There are so many people here who loved and cherished her as a figurehead and it makes Griss sick. He leaves, and waits on the edge of the isle for Zephia to find him.

I know it isn't what you wanted to see. She says by way of greeting as she joins him, sweeping her hair and skirt out of the way as she sits beside him.

She wouldn't want that crap either. She just wanted to be Alear.

And yet she wanted to help everyone she could. Zephia reminds him gently. I'm sure she would be happy to know that the nations are doing well now. Even Elusia is finally playing nice.

Griss scoffs. Am I supposed to care?

No, Zephia reaches out to ruffle his hair, but she'll want to know when you see her again.

It's that reminder that sees him keeping a closer eye on those former allies of the Divine Dragon. It's that reminder that keeps him focused - on finding and gathering new stories for her. Stories of her friends and allies and companions, but also of himself and the things he gets up to.

It never really feels like enough, but he tells himself that each experience will be worth it to share with her someday, just to see her smile light up the room again.]