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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[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.]