[013 ☿] Even if the two of us are ever torn apart, I swear that I will change the world.

[waterfell]

The forest is quiet, and green. A cloaked man heads towards an altar in a clearing, already laid out with candles and, crosswise, his sword in its sheath. He takes a deep, cleansing breath, and picks it up

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[hisdreamsmyfate]

[Zack doesn't have much to offer *but* sympathy. He's seen this type of thing before, had experienced it for himself. But his mentor didn't even have enough honour left to deal the blow himself. Zack had been forced to, and...

Well. Here they were.

He steps forward silently, a boquet of sunflowers held carefully in his arms. And whether she protests it or not, he gently lays them over the gravesite as well, shifting his hand to rest upon her shoulder.]

[waterfell]

[There are those who'd say Kunzite has no honor left himself. He is a man who went against his sworn lord, who struck him down. He is the example and epitome of everything base and ignoble and dishonorable and wrong.

Unless the bonds of another lifetime don't matter anymore. Unless a lord who turned his back on his men is no longer a lord at all. Unless there is nothing between them now but cold hard vengeance for the lives Endymion's choices cost.

Mercury glances up from the flowers as they lay on the ground, to the hands that placed them there, to Zack.]

Sunflowers? [Warmth, something sorely lacking in the life of the Dark Kingdom. Adoration; perhaps it was apt. Longevity, a cruel irony - and yet, she suspects Kunzite would appreciate it, this man who never asked to be revived again at the whim of a hated witch.

This man who loved flowers and greenery, and the sea.]

You chose them well.

[hisdreamsmyfate]

[He never knew Kunzite. And in the waking world, he probably never would. He was important to a friend, a life lost far too young and soon - an addition to his memorial was about the best the SOLDIER could offer, and he carefully stands as to not disturb the arrangement.]

Peg it down to habit. And besides... they look good here, huh?

[He tries to smile, though there's not much to truly be happy about. If either of them could be at peace, Kunzite included, then it was enough.

Bright blue eyes look to the other again, watching her gently.]

I'm sorry things came to this.

[waterfell]

[Zack is the sort of man who would been under Kunzite's training in the past, when Kunzite had still been capable of being the strict but kindly mentor to his charges.]

He, from the beginning, intended for me to live.

[It seems like such a strange thing to say. But why else is she here? Whatever she may make of this end of events, she will live.]

[hisdreamsmyfate]

[In some ironic way, this was starting to feel just a bit too familiar - but it was in a way he couldn't remember clearly, in the dream, and pushed aside for now. His feelings weren't the important matter here. Mercury's were, as much as she wanted to keep up this stoic demeanor.]

We'll just have to make sure you don't disappoint him, then.

[Said with the kindest of smiles, unlying the utmost confidence in his friend. Mercury *would* live, and he would do anything in his power to make sure that happens.]

[waterfell]

[It's funny that she hadn't thought of it that way. She'd thought of his philosophies, of trying to live the way he'd approve of, of borrowing his strength and purpose, and yet she hadn't thought about the simplest thing: He intends for her to survive. As a master tactician, he had always a strong defense important: the ability to survive in battle, even more than what his sword cut down.]

You're right. And for that, I'll keep moving forward.

[hisdreamsmyfate]

I know I haven't known you long - [Said after a brief silence, taking in her words.] - so I'm probably not the best person to offer advice.

But in my own experiences, a mentor - a good mentor - is someone who can teach you long after they're gone. Sometimes, it's in the most subtile and ridiculous ways.

[He smiles a bit to himself, trying to stay positive even in the midst of standing over someone's grave. This was hardly the place to be smiling, especially over someone who had been as strict as Kunzite.]

And the most important factor of a mentor is for the student to pass down their wisdom. You followin' me?

[waterfell]

[Oh, Zack. She's the worst student. She hasn't been able to handle things the way he'd tell her to, with those tattered remnants of her heart in the way of her battles. And yet... Even he had once called that a price to be paid, had implied that losing it entirely was a choice for a goal.]

I already decided to follow this path. [Even if she doesn't do it perfectly.]