Hushed Willows Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

Single post. @Olive @Delight please remove her from the ranks. Anyone is welcome to find her, and do what you wish with the body. 

The sun had already set when Aviana found her way to her den. Her spirits were high as she entered it and curled herself up against her daughter, Faye. A sudden thump in her chest had her shifting slightly, but it went away, and she settled herself in for the night. She laid her head on the floor of the den, taking in the scents of Faye. It always calmed her to know she was safe. Aviana fell into sleep peacefully, but sometime in the night, her heart began to decelerate. It happened slow and all at once, until it beat for the final time. 

The sun would rise in the morning, but Aviana would forever sleep. She joined Sebastian in the afterlife, and left the living behind.

PPing Faye just a little bit to move things along.

Naturally, Faye had been the first to notice Aviana's departure from this world. She'd alerted the others to the body, and Lily arrived on the scene, face mournful. Where she had once felt strangely euphoric, now she was constantly weepy, and nauseous to boot. The smell of death entered her nostrils and she barely stifled a gag, looking away.

I'm so sorry, Faye, she whispered, tears spilling over her cheeks. The last death she'd had to deal with was Lanawyn's, and the grief she'd never had time to really process came now. Added to this latest blow, it was almost too much to bear.

Oh, the poor Morningsiders! Lily didn't know their customs; she would let Sunny and the others decide how to handle Aviana's body. For her part, Lily sat with the now-orphaned girl, tail wrapped protectively around her haunches. Having never lost her own mother, she couldn't fathom what it was like. It hurt, no doubt. She wouldn't leave Faye's side for a long while.

He had been sleeping, a strange and abnormal thing for the Morningsider who was normally up and moving before the sun had a chance to warm the earth. He had been dreaming of Dawn, they were hunting a sheep together and just as they were about to bring it down it opened it's mouth and howled a mournful sound. Shaken Sunny opened his eyes and peered around trying to sleepily figure it out when it clicked into place all at once. Faye. Aviana. He gasped and stood up immediately awake and rushed for the den of his Beta shivering though not from the cold. He stopped at the entrance to their den and saw a lifeless Aviana, frozen in sleep and Lily holding Faye who was now parentless. Slowly he walked inside the den and sat down by Aviana's body, she looked so peaceful that Sunny immediately knew she passed in her sleep. He slowly released a shaky breath and swallowed thickly trying not to cry in front of Faye and Lily. Instead he buried his nose into his friend's fur "Thank you for being there for my father and for me. I hope wherever you go that you are happy. I hope to see you again Aviana" he whispered to her, believing just like his father that she too could hear his words. He took a moment to allow a few tears to slip free and drip into her fur before sitting up. 

"She will...um....She will be buried..." he had no idea where to bury her. Should he bring her to where Chaska and his father were buried? Would she want to be buried here where Faye could visit her all the time? Would she want to be buried back at the Maplewoods where Morningside was? She always thought of Faye, so he went with that. "Do you have...a special place anywhere around here that she could be buried at? I think she would want to stay close to Faye even now" he asked this in a shaking voice, hating that even now he had to be a leader. So much loss. Why was there so much loss in his life? He then remembered Faye was right there and slowly moved to her. Aviana would want her to be looked after. "Faye....Do you want to pick a place? somewhere special?" he asked her gently his eyes filled with sadness. Maybe asking her where to bury her mother wasn't a good idea but honestly he thought teaching children death wasn't to be feared was a good thing. His father had taught him that and it was the sole reason he probably hadn't lost his head after everyone kept dying.

Death was not always a bad thing, but it often a painful thing to endure. Besides the death of her baby Oaxaca, Olive had been able to keep this painful part of existence at bay, from the company she kept to the food she chose to eat. That morning, however, the fact was unavoidable. Olive approached the scene with a somber, heavy heart and a head that felt very much the same. 

Sunny, Faye and Lily were present, mourning the loss of the woman Aviana. The woman allowed the appropriate amount of silence, simply feeling the loss in the area, before speaking to comfort the gathering crowd. “She must have felt comfortable enough to let go,” she said softly, not wanting to put words in the mouth of the dead, but also certainly confident of this fact. Though this was a sad loss, it could also be seen as a success for Elysium’s mission as a sanctuary for the sick and the old and tired. A soul was allowed to pass from this earth, knowing that her offspring would be safe and loved. “She must have trusted all of us — you —” she clarified, looking directly at Sunny as she did so. “with the life of her daughter.” Aviana was very much Sunny’s long-time packmate as she was a part of Elysium’s seraphim, and that must be respected.

Olive turned her attention to the small girl, who had just lost her own blood family. In such uncertain times, the shakti woman wished to provide some small sense of comfort. “Faye, you are a part of this family. You will never be alone as long as you desire it. We cannot replace your mother, we never could, but know that you are not alone in this world. ”Then Olive, who had gotten down on elbows and knees to speak level with the child, rose and looked at Lily and Sunny. She didn’t know what to do next.

Sunny held it together beautifully; she had a lot of respect for that. She nodded at his decision of burial, face growing pensive as she tried to think of the best place. Olive arrived, and she gave the pale woman a soft look, listening quietly as the Shakti spoke. Finally, silence had fallen upon them once more, and Lily cleared her throat before speaking.

We don't. . .have to decide right this instant, she said, a little awkwardly. It's, erm, cold, anyway. The ground will be too hard for burial. But perhaps. . . Her firelight eyes drifted, scanning through the trees. Perhaps the field of roses, she murmured, her mind's eye there. It is very beautiful.

Lily dipped her muzzle to touch the crown of Faye's head, giving her a brief but affectionate kiss there before looking up and waiting for Sunny's response. Where do you think she would have liked to have been buried? she asked Morningside's former leader, head tilted slightly.

Sunny turned his head to look at Olive as she spoke, he found her voice to be soothing there was such a gentle nurturing sound to it that he nodded his head slowly before he had even processed her words. Then he did process her words and he felt comforted. It was possible that if they had still been fighting for Morningside to stay alive that her death would have been less peaceful. She wouldn't have wanted to leave Faye like that. He looked to Lily as Olive began to comfort Faye "Roses....is the field close to us?" he asked. "I think she'd like that. Staying close to Faye was important to her" he said. He also hoped that being able to visit a grave would help Faye mourn but he didn't mention this, instead he kept those thoughts quiet for now. 

I'm sorry for the awful post

Olive nodded at Lily’s astute suggestion —the rose garden, how simply perfect. The issue of the frozen ground was one that she did not immediate have a remedy for, but Olive figured the logistics of it all could be handled later. As long as they were in the dead of winter, and decomposition was not a factor, there was no rush here. The mother turned again to look at Faye to ask “Is that something you would like?”  and, when the young girl nodded solemnly, Olive closed her eyes for a moment and addressed the group. “Then, stay close to Faye she shall." 

Again, talking to Faye — she felt more drawn to the innocent child in front of her than the matters of death and dying — Olive offered kindly “Would you like to stay with Seabreeze and our children?”  Faye was almost an adult herself, but Eleuthera and Seamus and Okeanous and Ibis were also nearly adults, so perhaps the girl would find herself in good company. They were a delightfully sweet bunch, after all. Olive could think of no place finer for the suddenly lonely child.

Lily nodded. Within our territory, she explained softly. Not far from here at all. Her gaze lowered to Aviana's still form. She hadn't known the woman very well at all. Would this be amenable to her? Would she have even cared?

Then Olive's question came, and though she kept her eyes off the girl, so as not to put any pressure on her, Lily's face lit in curiosity. Faye seemed happy enough here. Where else would she go? By all accounts, her entire family was here within the willows. They were all she had. 

But then, Lily had left her family to come here.

---

They took great care to give Aviana's body the proper rest, and said a farewell to her soul. She had been so loved. The least they could do in turn was care for her daughter, a task they would undertake happily.

They were Elysium. It was their way.