hey mom, dead mom, i need a little help here

[nothingcanstop]

[ ...All of that happened, huh. That's the sentiment each and every week, and it's no different this time. Except, this time they've lost more people than before. Five.

The gathering invitation is slipped under everyone's doors, but it specifies something a little different. ]



[ That's a good two hours or so of difference. Enough time to wander around, for sure.

But, in the garden, at the appointed time, there's a variable arrangement of fresh-cooked food. A good amount of beef stew, some Chinese hot pot, and...watermelon? Just, an absurd amount of watermelon, cut up and set on plates. All the food's set on tables that seem to have been moved from the library, and the ground is littered with blankets, for those who don't want to sit on the grass.

And yes, she did not lie. There is, indeed, a variable fuckton of alcohol. (And coffee, for our underaged.)

This has become routine. But, we're still here. We're still alive. ]

Comments

Pond

[ladygeryon]

[After a bit, Nira comes to sit a ways behind Della, so she's close to her without being close to the edge of the pond. Aria does approach more to nuzzle her slightly, though.]

I...I started thinking of him as my kid at some point. Brian, I mean...and Piers, before that.

[nothingcanstop]

[ Della's not looking in the water, so Aira actually nuzzling her is...a tad surprising. But, she heard Nira approaching, so it's not that bad. She pets her, appreciatively. ]

...It's hard, as a mom, not to...project a little. They both seemed like such nice people.

[ladygeryon]

Yeah, they were. Piers...he had that feeling about him, you know? That he'd been the one looking out for himself and his sister for quite a while.

And Brian...I had more opportunities to talk to him, and it still feels like it wasn't enough.

[nothingcanstop]

I don't think it'll ever feel enough. No matter how much we get to know people...there's still something we miss. Something we still want to know.

[ladygeryon]

Yeah...I haven't really lost anyone like this before. [She tilts her head back, looking up at the ceiling.] Closest was probably the time Anza offered himself to a spirit so it would let the rest of us go, and he got out of it fine in the end.

[nothingcanstop]

I was...too young for my parents' deaths to really...leave me with something lasting. I'm sad about them not being there, but...it was really young.

[ladygeryon]

...that makes sense. So it's more like...missing the concept of them, not anything about them specifically?

[nothingcanstop]

Yeah. Yeah, that's it. And like...missing the chance to know what it was like, to have them around. To get to know them through more than some stories from my uncle.

...That's...how I'm feeling with everyone I didn't get to know very well. Or, even the ones I did, relatively. They're these...blank spots.

[ladygeryon]

Yeah. That's...that's a good way of putting it. Blank spots with nothing to fill them out in detail but stories from people who knew them better. [And even that's not very reliable, here.] Brian told me a few stories about Damien...but I still don't know the smaller details, what he was like day to day when not doing something sensational.

[nothingcanstop]

Me neither. There's so many I missed the opportunity to know better.

[ ... ]

I want to remember them. Everything I can.

[ladygeryon]

...so do I. Maybe I should start writing it all down, to make sure things don't slip away over time.

[nothingcanstop]

That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Like...a journal.

[ladygeryon]

[A quiet nod, from Nira.] Yeah...don't think I'm gonna bring it up as an idea at the next meeting though.

[Can you imagine what some of the people here would say about that?]

[nothingcanstop]

It sounds a lot more like a...personal project, rather than something everyone would want to collaborate on. ...But, maybe if you put a sign by the memorial?

[ladygeryon]

Maybe. That sounds like a better way to suggest it to everyone.

[nothingcanstop]

Yeah. That way some people can just ignore it.

[ladygeryon]

[A quiet nod, before Nira stands up again.] I'm going to get some more food. You want anything?

[nothingcanstop]

I...think I'm good. I helped a lot with taste-testing.

[ladygeryon]

Got it. I'll...talk to you later, then? [She's still so tired and part of her just wants to go to bed.]

[nothingcanstop]

[ She nods. ]

...Take care of yourself, Nira.

[ladygeryon]

[A faint smile.] You too, Della.