10)) mourning

[andcountry]

Ben has [ pause ] died.

[ A drop of water soaks into the page but is hastily smeared. What drop? You didn't see a drop. ]

There is no body, just [ another pause ] some personal effects.

Comments

[ice_echani]

Where is he?

[andcountry]

[ Is kind of momentarily confused by this question. Ben isn't anywhere - there's no corpse, and even if there were it wouldn't really be him. Now is not necessarily the time to be a literalist, however, so he just sort of guesses at her meaning. ]

On this really cold island. If you look at the map it's the one at the very top.

[ice_echani]

[Having felt him dissipate into the Force, she's still thinking in terms of Ben existing... albeit in a different form.]

The island with the lighthouse? I will be there shortly.

I'm cool with a QL if you'd like. Don't think they've spoken before.

[andcountry]

Yes. I'll be here.

Sounds good!

[ice_echani]

[Brianna makes her way there as quickly as she can, emotions churning. Strangely, there is not as much anger as she has felt when the Tree has murdered others... probably, that is because of Ben's message to her.

But there is still anger, and the feeling of helplessness, and her duty as a Watchman. Even if there is no body, she must assist the person who found his... remains.

When she reaches the island, Brianna is surprised to see a child there.]

...I am Brianna, of the Watch. I am the one who wrote to you just now.

[She makes an effort to gentle her voice from what would normally be an intense, driven tone.]

[andcountry]

Hello. [ Cephiro stands from where he had been sitting to write in his journal, and brushes himself off absently. ]

My name is Cephiro. [ Of the Adventurers, he almost adds. Old habit - people back home have a tendency to introduce themselves with their titles, whether they're relevant or not.

He moves to stand aside a bit, glad he hadn't yet had the presence of mind to figure out what to do with the remains and pack them up. They're more or less lying where found them, although a bit disturbed: the robes on the ground with the hand lying next to them and the memory crystal sitting on top. She probably wants to investigate, he reasons - make sure it's a genuine Tree death. ]

[ice_echani]

[Cephiro--yes, she recognizes the name. She takes note of his movements. Uncertain, automatic, weary... none of which is surprising. She is impressed that someone so apparently young is not panicking.

She crouches and inspects what is left of Ben. None of it is actually him, however, except for the synthetic hand. What is left of Ben is... well, it is there. Less than blood, but more than nothing.

And roots. That alone is enough to convince her that this is the Tree's doing.]

Did you see what happened, or did you only find this afterward?

[andcountry]

I got here afterwards.

[ His hands are clasped behind his back, as he's not sure what to do or how long he'll be allowed to stay here. Murder scenes are no place for a child, after all.

On the other hand, perhaps looking like a child can be helpful in this case. Brianna isn't likely to suspect him of killing Ben, and volunteering information won't make him look guilty, just... like a little boy trying to be helpful. ]

I came because, um, I felt something. From this general area.

[ice_echani]

[He's already here, and he is a witness. He's bearing up well for someone of any age, so she isn't going to send him away solely because of that. And it isn't... terribly gruesome. It is disturbing, but not gory and there is no stench.

Still, she can see his unease and uncertainty. It would be well not to keep him here for much longer.

But she raises her eyebrows abruptly when he describes how he found the scene, however. Brianna does not feel the Force from him, but still--]

Please, describe what it was you felt if you can.

[andcountry]

[ He hesitates, searching for a way to describe it. It wasn't really an articulate feeling, just a sort of... thing. It must have been an inherently bad feeling, because it made him restless - not really in a good way, either, come to think of it. It was sort of like he just knew something was wrong.

It had been distressing, and just trying to remember the feeling long enough to describe it bothered him. He was afraid he'd stutter and lose all his composure right there and then end up saying nothing really useful. So, he took a breath, reached into the dormant part of himself that actually acted old and wise, and pulled out the first words that came to that guy's mind. ]

It was like... a disturbance. [ he blinked, and realized that was totally a less useful word than he thought it would be. ] Um, it wasn't really anything articulate, just... I was working, and then I suddenly felt like something was wrong and I had to go see what it was.

[ice_echani]

[On the contrary, the way Cephiro phrases it allows Brianna to grasp it immediately. She raises her eyebrows and reaches out her perceptions towards Cephiro--she'd sensed it but not noticed it, the way a person sees the flowers but doesn't notice when there is a body next to them.]

Yes--I sensed it as well. Although his was different than most of the deaths I have known...

[...but this isn't the time to meditate on that.]

Are you all right? I know scenes such as these are--unnerving.

[andcountry]

[ Cephiro raised his eyebrows slightly when she mentioned that it wasn't like other deaths. He hadn't had enough experience in the Sphere to tell one way or the other, though it was apparent that Ben's at least had been more obvious. Perhaps whatever Brianna was thinking of had something to do with the absence of a body.

He didn't protest the change of subject, but had to stop to consider the question. For a death scene, this wasn't all that unnerving. It was only unnerving because it was a death scene, really. And because it was Ben. ]

... Not any less so than I should be. [ He frowned and tilted his head. ] I think?

[ice_echani]

[The absence of a body is certainly part of it. But although she does note the raised eyebrows, she isn't sure she can put into words what she means by the difference. His death lacks the dark, plunging void that she has felt nearly every other time she has come up against it.]

You seem to be handling it admirably. But there is no need for you to remain here--if you would like, I can escort you home, or some other place where you would be more comfortable.

[Her tone is approaching something like kindliness.]

[andcountry]

[ Cephiro actually paused to consider the offer, but then shook his head sadly. He didn't want to go home, or anywhere in particular, so it was probably more polite not to do so with someone who actually had somewhere else to be. ]

I wouldn't be going straight home, so it can wait. What are you going to do with... ?

[ He didn't have the heart to refer to them specifically in words, but he was definitely looking at the robes and cybernetic hand as he said this. ]