in sickness and in death (totcf)

coping with grief and illusions

The different way people cope with grief and sorrow.

My writing style is basically third-person omniscient, where you can see the thoughts of anyone in the scene. I barely ever write one-character centric chapters like the last one, so I hope you enjoy this one because I use it the most! q(≧▽≦q)

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Ron dusted out some of the couches even after the ancient dragon removed all the dust in the room. Then he stood up and moved quietly over to the shadows, wiping his daggers clean with a napkin.

On was playing around with a bit of fog in her hands. She was trying to make her fog compact enough to put it in a container without it dissipating. Hong was sitting next to her on the couch, untying and retying his shoes over and over again.

Eruhaben sat on a couch, combing through his hair, fixing all the knots that he barely ever bothered to get rid of these days. After all, there's much more important things to do than fix his hair.

Alberu leaned against the wall behind the ancient dragon and watched all this. Although they had not stayed... together after everything, they still kept in contact. Somewhat.

As he assessed the room, he realized they were all doing everything they could to dispel the somber mood in the room. Other than a few mindless greetings, none of them bothered each other and minded their own business.

Don't take it the wrong way; they still talked quite a bit sometimes and even laughed together... Although that rarely happens, it still happens.

Their laughter may have been a little forced at times, but it was better than the heavy silence that threatened to engulf them. They found solace in each other's company, knowing that they were all going through the same grief and loss. Memories of Cale lingered in the air, a bittersweet reminder of the good times they had shared.

It made them feel helpless at times.

But Cale wouldn't have wanted them to stop their lives because of him. And while he isn't here anymore, the thought of disappointing him even more after his death made them feel guilty.

So, they continued on with their lives just as Cale wanted them to and have never stopped since.

Alberu never stopped his ambitions to become Roan's sun, and he became the empire's first ever Emperor. Rosalyn continued on with her dream and became the Tower Master of the one and only Magic Tower in the free city. Ron and Beacrox kept building up the Molan patriarch and are passing on their centuries-old teachings to their newly chosen heirs—On and Hong Molan, who are dutiful students. Lily is a high-level swordsman, and Basen somehow has already gained the support of part of the external family, while Raon, Mary, and Eruhaben have been tirelessly working on their... "research" for years now, with Rosalyn and Cage sometimes pitching in to help.

They kept pushing forward through this hell called "Moving On" because they didn't want to disappoint the only person in their hearts who was worth doing all this for.

Well, except for one thing.

The one thing that was ruled out despite all of this was the Super Rock Villa.

They stopped gathering there. Of course, they still went to the Castle of Light from time to time to visit Lord Sherrit and Raon if he were with her, because they never lost contact.

The only thing they lost was Cale.

So while they didn't "lose" anything else, it might as well feel like it. The memories of Cale lingered in every corner of the Super Rock Villa, making it too painful for them to return. Despite the laughter and joy that once filled the walls, it now felt empty and hollow without Cale's presence.