SUITEHEART

THE AFTERLIFE

AT PEACE

It was funny, how it all began.

Suiteheart could remember the day so clearly. It had been after the fall of their former home - those floating islands in the cold mountains. She had wandered for countless days and nights, searching for loved ones. It seemed as though a century had passed - perhaps it had -, but she eventually found them. Ever united by their souls, she had found Margaery. And as luck would have it, their daughters, Lilyspoise, resided in the Typhoon. They had been whole again. Sure, a little bruised, a little worse for wear, but they had found each other. And that was enough.

Suite had also found the Ascendants. A wistful smile perched easily open her lips. Oh, how she had loved that place. It was better than the other group... It was better than her first home. After months of living on her own, it was nice to have a home again. And it wasn't just a home in the location sense. No, it was in the members of their little Clan.

Bast. She remembered that smug smile of his and those blue, blue eyes. He was the only son she had gotten to see grow up. He had grown so much... She remembered the look on his face, the tears in his eyes, the strain in his voice, after she and Margy had asked him to hold onto their memories so that they might pass easily into death.

And Hazel. She had been so shy and timid, but she had grown too. The little golden girl with a heart too big for her chest. She was a living, breathing, piece of art, and Suite hoped Haze understood it. She remembered the large paintings in the Observatory. She remembered teaching Hazel to play the ukulele. The smiles. The tears.

Then, there was Cooper. And Roy. Suite remembered them too. Cooper had taken care of her when she refused to take care of herself, and she had taken care of him when he was down. If she tried hard enough, she could still feel the gentle lap of the ocean as they gazed at the moon. And Roy, her hot-headed friend. She liked to think she had broken him out of his shell. She remembered the bonfires. The wedding.

There were others too - Oni. Diya. Thea. They had been so young. She had left them too soon, she knew.

And then, there was Warringkingdoms. Rin. Suiteheart remembered their talks, and she remembered the music. Another sad smile graced her features. She could picture that green scarf so clearly in her mind and the reserved girl wearing it - the girl who was hiding a smile. Whenever she thought about Rin, she pictured her singing. She reviewed that day she had dragged a menagerie of instruments out into the open; Rin had been the first to step up, to request a song, to sing along. Her best friend. The smell of herbs that always wreathed around her.

There was a gentle ache that splintered through her being.

Bastille and Hazel were doing well. They were far, far from this place. They had found children to take care of. She wondered if either of them knew that a part of her soul rested in one of them. She wondered if they knew it was the same for Margaery. Yes, despite Selene having promised that lifetime to be the last, it was only another beginning; Suiteheart's soul was too strong to stay down for very long.

But everyone else had gone.

Everyone but Rin. She was alone in the world. Suiteheart felt responsibility for it. She had chosen to pass her memories along. She had chosen to return to the sea. She had chosen to close this chapter of her life. After her soul crossed over, after she was given a certain omnipotence, she was aware of all she had left in her wake. And though Suite may have not loved widely, she did love deeply. Even across the planes of existence, she could feel their heartache. She wondered if they felt hers too.

With nothing left to do, she decided she would watch over them. But try as she might, she was not allowed to interfere.

Still, when had she listened to rules? From time to time, she had guided those she had left behind. She had watched over them and taken care of them as best she could until their own lives had been completed. And then? Then, she welcomed them home.

Now was one of those moments, though - one of those moments when she felt she needed to step in.

The white feline had been watching Rin for some time. She had always known Rin was capable of great things, and she was more than proud her friend had survived all she had... But she worried. She could see the way exhaustion clung to the other life expensive perfume. Suiteheart could see the dullness behind Rin's eyes, the secret sadness in her expression, the way the weight of the world pushed her shoulders down. She had had enough; it was time to visit an old friend.

The punk appeared then. Her ivory fur caught the moonlight, and those baby blue eyes of hers reflected starlight. Silver piercings decorated her ears, a silver locket and pendant her neck. That necklace-like scar decorated her throat, not lost to her even in the afterlife. Her best accessory, her lopsided smile, adorned her lips with ease as she took in Rin's form.

Though her friend was down, she wasn't worried. Much. Rin had endured, and she would continue to endure. A nervous look leaked into her eyes, but she tried to forget those feelings. It would all be alright, she reminded herself.

Her eyes wandered the pendants hanging from the great oak tree, and her heart seemed to catch in her chest. So many of them danced in the darkness. The Ascendants had once been so powerful and so capable of anything. Things had changed, but it didn't mean it wasn't for the best. This was how things were always going to play out, she knew. It was just... life.

Her focus shifted to the memorial wall, and a chuckle tumbled passed her lips. Her laugh was light, happy. Rin was a shining example of what a friend should be. When there was no on else, she remembered.

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten me, Rinny." Her voice was gentle, teasing. The nickname rolled off her tongue with ease. Her lopsided smile burned as brightly as the stars. "Or maybe you, like, forgot how to spell my name? It's real easy, you know."

SUITEHEART

THE ASCENDANTS

SEARCHING FOR PEACE

The matters of life and death were so skewed in Suiteheart's mind. She was the woman who had lived countless lives, totaling one thousand years. Margaery had stood at her side all those times, all those years, through hardship and good times. Margaery, her sweet, amazing Margaery, had stood with Suite each time.

Oh, gods above, how this time would be different.

The former Admiral's face was cool, calm, yet emotions danced just underneath the porcelain surface. Despite feeling - no, knowing, that this her true time (her last time), something terrified her. So many individuals were keeping her rooted. She had Hazel and Bastille. Cooper, Roy, and Warringkingdoms. She had her many children. She had countless friends. Their visages flashed forward, in her mind's eye. For a moment, she held her breath, too scared to take another. This decision was final. After this, there was no going back.

More than anything in the world, she was frightened of what this would do to Bast. What she and her wife were asking of the boy was momentous. He would perhaps carry the weight of this decision with him for the remainder of his life. Baby blue eyes clouded momentarily, but the gentle touch of Margaery brought her out of her worried head space.

Her gaze shifted from the photographs that lined the walls of their room to the album Margaery was flipping through. Pangs of intense emotion filtered through her system. Everything was finally closing in and becoming a reality. Suiteheart had always been an undying light in the sense of her soul, but now? Now, her inner torch was flickering, and something about that jarred her. The white feline released the breath she had been holding and allowed her wife's emotions to overtake her own.

"Mom— Maman—"

Cerulean eyes lifted immediately, landing on Bastille's familiar form. Tears pricked her eyes. Mother. He had called her mother. Everything inside of her felt as though it were ripping apart, and it took every ounce of her strength to hold herself together. A single tear slowly rolled down her cheek as a smile waltzed across her lips. "Mon fils. Mon petit cœur." My son. My little heart. Her voice broke as she spoke.

The ivory feline was quiet as Margaery began to speak. Her wife got straight to the point, but Suite could feel Margaery's desire to hold these last few moments out as long as they were all able. She felt Margaery gently press into her side again, and Suite took a shuddered breath.

"Merci, Bast. Merci. Si tu savais combien je t'aime..." Suiteheart added, voice faltering towards the end. She hated goodbyes, and this was a massive one. Though she had only known him for a relatively short time, she had come to love him as a son. Bastille was part of their little family, and she loved him so deeply and so widely that it hurt her. "Je suis tellement désolé. J'aurais pu faire mieux."

She inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled from parted lips. The older feline tried to steady herself. She needed to be strong for him. She smiled warmly at him, at her son. "Vous me rendez fier." She closed her eyes slowly and then opened them again. "You've always made me proud of you. You're so good, Bast. Please don't ever forget that."