[Open] Remembering one of the good guys

[justice_is_blond]

WHO: Anyone who knew/cared about Herc!
WHAT: A wake for Herc
WHEN: Around now, the 10th of Egg
WHERE: Tavern!
NOTES: Drinking, grief, etc.

There aren't any formalities here. The Calling has taken another Grey Warden, but for once he was known to more than Wardens and mourned by more than them too. The music is lively to start with, mostly because Herc probably would have grumped if it had all been sad and there's a tab at the bar open to anyone worthy. Granted, one has to manage to be polite to all the Grey Wardens for the duration of the wake to be deemed worthy, but that's not too hard, is it?

Hit up the bar, share a story, complain about how he owed you money, and remember someone who deserves it.

Comments

[unbrokenoath]

"Some guys take issue with it." Kaisa shrugs, not looking too bent out of shape about it. "But I think they're just jealous that I'm taller, stronger, and better at pickin' up ladies than they are." She thinks for a moment, then gestures to the dance floor. "I guess doing something more productive than pacing the floor would be good."

She stops, then turns to Anders, squeezing his hand. "Thank you. By the way. Sorry I'm all...me."

[justice_is_blond]

"You've nothing to apologize for," he says with a hand-squeeze back. "We've lost someone. There will be tension, and difficulty, and..."

Anders shakes his head as he trails off, resting his other hand on her shoulder. "Losing people doesn't get easier. I both wish it did and am glad it doesn't." And tired of losing. "But I should assure you that I'm quite good at picking up women if I was still trying to do so."

[unbrokenoath]

She slips a hand on his waist as she listens, nodding, and giving him a thin smile. "Wardens ought to be used to this, don't you think? I ought to be used to it. Between the real and fake Calling, I lost a lot of friends. I signed up, knowing the whole thing about sacrificing my life, but I don't think anyone really thinks about just how much sacrifice is entailed, beyond just having t' die at some point." She glances off to the side for a moment, then back to Anders.

"But I know what we're doing is right. So I'm willing to keep sacrificing. I just wish--People understood how much it entailed. How much good men like Herc sacrificed. But I guess that's just another part of the sacrifice."

[justice_is_blond]

"There's no getting used to it, no matter how much you know it will come. Being a mage didn't prepare me for how many mage friends I've lost, and being a Warden is no preparation for losing Wardens. And..."

He frowns and shakes his head. "I wish people understood what it entailed as well. But at the same time, I don't think anyone who isn't willing to sacrifice as much would grasp it, and that's most people. There are plenty who do nothing who think they've sacrificed as much as anyone ever has. There are those born to riches and position and loving parents who believe they've suffered as much as anyone ever has. They don't care to see others, consider others, so they do not."

Another few steps of the dance later before he's shrugging. "So best to act as if there's no acknowledgement coming, because it's true, and hope that at the end of your life, a few people gather to remember you."

[unbrokenoath]

"I wonder," Kaisa mutters, as she takes measured steps, careful not to trod on Ander's foot. "If it's just because they've never lost before, that they can't imagine losing more? I'm sure there are people who would think that my sacrifices haven't been that extreme." Particularly among Wardens, where few knew much about the reasons behind her Joining, besides the fact that she'd decided to be a Warden and showed up and no one could quite tell her no. She had a family, she had no warrants out for her arrest, she'd never had a particularly bad life.

"You're right, though. I didn't do this for the acknowledgement. And neither did Herc. I think--I think that he did good. He made a difference, and people here remember him for that." Her eyes dart around the room. "I hope that I can be like him."