Absent

Well, here's a little thing I wrote a while back. It's set in the DragonQuest IX universe, though quite a few years after the events of the game, complete with a new set of characters.

I was weird then.

We don't talk about it anymore. XD

ANYWAY.

I'M TESTING THIS WEBSITE.

GOOD DAY.

(Not sure what this qualifies as, so I probably screwed it up horribly.

Also, I added indentations in the original, but they aren't showing up on here.)

*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*

The contagion isn't gone. It's still going strong, trust me. But now, with a seal being made for the Quarantomb, there is hope. Coffinwell is recovering. It's only one battle away from being free from the curse. So many people have fallen ill-shop owners, travelers, adults, children, anyone and everyone. The mayor's wife herself was bedridden; she's still recovering, too. But the air is finally clearing.

The reign of the Ragin' Contagion is almost over. And it will be as soon as Spencer and his friends-including me-get together to fight it-really fight it, with swords and fans and knives and claws and whatnot. Being the only ones who haven't gotten sick, we sort of had to be the ones chosen for that battle.

But before the fight, there's some business to be taken care of.

It's early-the sun's hardly up-but it seems like everyone's here. We're all waiting for the ceremony to start. It's taking a while for Riret to get here, and we can't begin until she does. (In case you didn't know, Riret is the priest. She works at the church. I see her a lot...Then again, being part of Spencer's group, it only makes sense. All those boys are too reckless...) She's the one who has the new marker.

Wait, I think I can hear footsteps. Sure enough, Riret is walking toward us, dressed in her usual maroon priestly outfit. And she's carrying the stone marker.

It's completely silent in Coffinwell as she carefully puts the new stone in place, right next to the others. The only difference between the markers is that the one Riret brought is new; the others are faded and a bit mossy. On the marker is engraved a name and two dates. Edwyn Sheetz, and her birth and death. The latter date is only two days ago.

The air, which was once filled with despair and sickness, is heavy with sorrow. It's honestly hard to breathe. The contagion won't be forgotten--especially not now, with this here to remind us. Again.

Spencer and Alfred are standing beside me in the front row of people. Al is sniffling into a dirty tissue I found in the streets-one of the travelers here probably dropped it-but Spencer's conspicuously trying his best to keep a straight face. It's obvious because his fists and teeth are clenched...I'm surprised his hands aren't bleeding by now. I guess it's a good thing they aren't, because I couldn't get bandages at the moment-Vault isn't at his shop. He's here, like everyone else in Coffinwell.

Honestly, I think I'm the most stoic one at this funeral, despite being a girl. Some of these people are breaking down like children, while I'm just staring at the grave, wondering what on earth we'll do without Edwyn and listening to the sniffles and sniveling of the people around me. It's almost frightening how numb I feel to all of this.

Maybe Edwyn had been a bit odd, with her metal arm and foreign accent and unique habits, but she'd certainly been part of our-Spencer's-group. There we were, the five of us, going out to the Quarantomb and West Coffinwell and fighting monsters and getting...well, anything. Together.