[open] you'll come back when it's over

[eolasemah]

WHO friends and family of Sina Dahlasanor
WHAT: post-mortem interactions
WHEN: the evening of 7 Haring and onward
WHERE: the infirmary and elsewhere
NOTES: CW for death and illness. Apart from the main post I will not be tagging in. This thread is for wake/funeral/burial arrangements and anything else you guys want to play out pertaining to Sina's death, so feel free to make top levels or do whatever else!

It was the evening of the sixth when Galadriel paid her visit to Sina, after which the girl became mostly unresponsive. Still breathing, she slept through the night and day, waking up in the late afternoon just long enough to reach for Nari's hand and whisper something to her before falling away again. The candles grew dim and the shadows long before she stirred again, pulling in a last rasping breath, her lips moving soundlessly to form two unknown words as she exhaled and fell still.

It was hardly ten minutes later when, witnessed by friends and clan, the glowing green patch of magic that had plagued them all for the last couple years simply... vanished from the elf's sternum, as though it had never been there. Lying small and wasted away, destroyed from the inside out, anyone who looked at Sina for the first time would not understand what had killed her.

The room was then vacated by all but Keeper Thalia and Sina's parents, a balding large-eyed man with a quivering chin and a plain, sandy-haired woman, neither appearing all that much more vital than their late daughter. It was they who prepared the body for the resulting rites, silent and weary, their miracle baby laid to an untimely rest.

Out in the hall, Nari found herself surrounded in a collective embrace by a sea of russet-haired Dalish, her family. Even in a time like this, being with their daughter and sister brought comfort, and they hoped she might find some as well.
Sedi and Nymii stood as sentries on either side of the door, permitting only mourners and scowling down otherwise unrelated onlookers.

At last, at long last, it was over.

Comments

[mythalenaste]

"I didn't know you were back," Pel says faintly when she spots him in the hallway. Her face is pale and drawn, her eyes and nose raw, a red line around her mouth. On her hip is a six-month-old elven infant in a sling, sucking on her fingers. "Are you here to stay?"

[wickedchase]

There's a voice he hasn't heard in awhile. Twisted Fate turns around, and certainly doesn't expect that baby, either.

"Aneth ara, Pel. I figure you've been preoccupied with things, though I didn't suspect just how much. I plan to stay, but I suppose things can change." He pauses, then crouches a little to look at the infant. "I definitely have missed a lot, it looks like. I hadn't heard about your babe."

[mythalenaste]

Pel's response is a bit delayed while her brain catches up to the conversation.

"Yes," she deadpans, "it's remarkable, I found her in a basket in the alienage and no one was looking."

That's a less disappointing story than the real one. The baby, meanwhile, reaches out halfway, apparently transfixed. Soon, she reaches out with both hands to grab fistfuls of long, beautiful hair.

"And she loves hair, so be careful," Pel warns him belatedly. Her gaze drops. "Her name is Sina."

[wickedchase]

"A poor choice, in my opinion. Babies aren't worth very much, you know. Much better things to steal in the alienage," Twisted Fate says wryly. "In any case, your story is yours to tell or not. I hope she brings some sort of joy to you."

Oh. Well, she's definitely got his hair now. "Guess I'm stuck here awhile," Fate muses, reaching out to lightly boop her nose with a finger.

The name makes him pause, and much more gently he says, "A good choice. I hope she will be as sweet."

[mythalenaste]

This entire scene gets the first smile out of Pel since she got the news. Gently, she begins to open the baby's fists with her fingers.

"She's my very life," she says sincerely. "I, on the other hand, am a cautionary tale these days, but it's worth it."

Muaha, one hand has opened. Little Sina looks up at her and gives a berating sound. The distraction makes it easier to open the other hand and release Twisted Fate entirely.

"Are you here for the funeral?" Pel asks, head ducking because talking about Sina's funeral makes everything more real.

[wickedchase]

Cautionary in what way, he wonders, but he will ask another day. He won't trouble her with the heavy details. Today is hard enough as it is.

"Her grip is almost as fierce as your personality," Fate teases. "But I'm glad she brings you joy, Pel."

The question makes him pause, then he lets out a nod. "I am. I know I'm not exactly traditionally ideal in the Dalish community, but I considered her a friend. If that's all right by the rest of you."

[mythalenaste]

"None of us are exactly traditionally ideal in the Dalish community," Pel answers with a laugh. "Cy, Merrick, and I are all outclan, now. Sina never once treated us differently for it. We are all her clan, including you."

[wickedchase]

The comment is said so easily by Pel, but it does settle into Twisted Fate's heart with weight -- but also warmth. He doesn't... hate the Dalish, but they have frustrated him so much in the past, with his own clan most of all. There is a part of him that, however, will always miss that sense of community and family.

"Yes. I suppose you're right," Fate finally says softly, his lips quirking into a smile. "Thank you, Pel."