Hushed Willows i guess it must be up to me

eek i'm so sorry! next round begins when I can get to it—promise to not hold it up for too long. few of you still haven't posted; you only have to pop in once and then you're good. re-tagging @Tzila, @Aeryn, @Sundance, @Reif, @Atwood (ignoring Olive since obvs she is on PPC now)

they came, broken. everyone, in one way or another, had been affected by this tragedy. sunny looked shattered, silas and aeliana defeated, the children bewildered. . . cortez sucked in a deep, steadying breath as he gazed around at them all, totally unprepared for this. he never would be prepared for this.

thanks for coming, he said, voice hoarse and coming out more a croak than anything else. he cleared his throat, eyes closing for a brief moment, before they opened again and settled on the crowd. words can't. . .they can't do any of this justice. what we went through, it's too horrible to even process. all that we've lost—mothers, sisters, packmates, friends. . .

he trailed off for a moment, his gaze meeting olive's. the verdant green of her eyes was steadying; he found the strength to continue within them. today, we remember. we honor ariel, lily, and aliac. their deaths weren't in vain; they protected the willows, and elysium's most vulnerable members. how much worse it could have been, had the bear gotten farther. he shuddered to think of it.

we move on, but we'll never forget them, cortez said gently. he then turned slightly to face sunny. it's our job to make sure their legacy lives on, even if their bodies do not.

he gave a nod, gesturing for the young man to come up—and his eyes flashed to the kids, signifying that they, too, could join their father at his side. after talking to olive, seabreeze, and khali, we've decided that i'll be filling in for a while for olive as shakti, and that sunny will step up to satori in lily's absence—if he's okay with it? the question was written on his face, even if he hadn't spoken it.