open, but with invites sent to Mad and Laura
Clan funeral rites, unlike everything else in their ritual-suffused lives are not particularly elaborate. For Shem, the elemental killed by a sniper unit that decided it wanted to take some of these terrifying invaders with it, his ashes are simply laid in an urn (there had been a darkly hilarious conversation where Resnick interrogated their command staff about where the vats for the recycling of bodies were) along with his giftake (the last and considered most 'pure' genetic sample) in a little ferroplastic container.
He'd been the hardest on Mad and Laura in their training, disbelieving that two baseline humans could ever keep up with the way they practiced. But gradually he'd warmed to them and gave them noogies like the rest of his point.
Outside in the rubble, fourteen Clan Warriors stand in a circle around the final remains. As the senior officer present, Resnick is obligated to read from The Remembrance.
"Let all warriors bear their mark proudly, Taking what pride they can in their accomplishments; For our lives should be full of glory, but short.. Seyla."
"Seyla!" Echo the others, and Shem's ashes are scattered on the soil of Sacred Terra. The ritual over, the Wolves mingled amongst themselves, sharing memories of the dead and expressing hope that his death will guarantee his genes a place in the breeding program.
He'd been the hardest on Mad and Laura in their training, disbelieving that two baseline humans could ever keep up with the way they practiced. But gradually he'd warmed to them and gave them noogies like the rest of his point.
Outside in the rubble, fourteen Clan Warriors stand in a circle around the final remains. As the senior officer present, Resnick is obligated to read from The Remembrance.
"Let all warriors bear their mark proudly, Taking what pride they can in their accomplishments; For our lives should be full of glory, but short.. Seyla."
"Seyla!" Echo the others, and Shem's ashes are scattered on the soil of Sacred Terra. The ritual over, the Wolves mingled amongst themselves, sharing memories of the dead and expressing hope that his death will guarantee his genes a place in the breeding program.