; - A Star Fox fanfiction

Dawn

A tall, blue bird stood wearing a black jacket with a red scarf, wings in his pockets. The black jeans matched well with the top he wore. A cold, autumn wind blew past, scattering the leaves around the grave he stood over. He blinked slowly, sighing to himself, and placing down the flowers he'd picked out earlier in front of the simple, carved stone. He wasn't usually one for sentiment like this, but this was a special occasion. "See ya around, okay?" he said to the tombstone.

He turned and stood, slowly making his way down the path that ran through most of the cemetery. Trees lined the road, but they had all lost a vast majority of their leaves. Yellow and brown clung to the branches, dispersed from the others. The wind blowing through created small twisters of leaves and dust. The sky was overcast, but it didn't threaten rain.

"Hey! Thought I'd find you here," he heard a voice call out behind him.

He turned to see a familiar pink feline walking up. She wore a fuzzy, brown jacket and darker brown pants. Her scarf was purple. "Hey... Katt."

"You don't sound excited to see me," she smiled.

"Not... really in the mood today."

"Oh... right... you're visiting him today," she replied, linking her arm with Falco's wing and putting her paws in her pockets, "How is he, by the way?"

"Aww, what kinda question is that?" Falco asked. He shook his head. "Same as ever, I guess."

"Ah, yeah that was a poor question..."

Neither spoke. They just walked about the cemetery, watching people visit family, friends, and lovers. The atmosphere was peaceful and somber. Leaves crunched underneath their boots as they strolled along the road. Falco sighed to himself. He was very, very tired. Sleep usually alluded him at this point, and even working on his G-racer had become a chore he wasn't intent on doing.

"It's been a couple years, hasn't it?" Katt broke the silence.

"Uh, yeah... s'been two years, three months, and eleven days..."

"You've kept track that closely?"

"Guess so..." he replied.

She sighed. "You need to move on, you know. It's been two years and you haven't dated a single person."

"Katt," Falco began, but he didn't have the energy to argue. He just shook his head and replied, "I couldn' do that to 'im."

"I'm sure he would understand."

"And I'm sure he wouldn't!" he snapped. He sighed. "I'll be fine, Katt, I promise."

"We both know that's a lie, Falco," she said.

"So what if it is? S'better than tellin' myself to be depressed and angry all the time."

"Then get some help; find someone to talk to. I don't want you going the same way Fox did," she replied gently.

"Doesn' sound too bad, at this point," Falco chuckled darkly.

"Lombardi!"

"Yeah, sorry... that was in poor taste..." He sat down on a bench and sighed, leaning back and facing his beak to the grey sky. "Can ya blame me for makin' these kinda jokes though?"

"I wouldn't call them jokes," Katt sniffed.

"Dark humor, Katt." He closed his eyes, "S'only way I know how to cope anymore."

"I'm glad you're not drinking anymore."

"I gave it up completely... for him..."

"Falco..."