where i’ve been won’t do 乂 burial rites + feast + drinking comp

[merlin]

⛥ there's talk going 'round this town ⛥

tldr:; merlin sets up a structure to burn the bones of various unidentifed animals. it follows a celtic ritual for burying the dead - for her, its about laying to rest her memories of atbash, and her own unhappiness with herself. others are encouraged to speak about their dead or missing and loved ones, even offering to let them burn things to let go of their grief. it will be followed up by a feast and drinking competition

every death was a cross to bear, a mark upon the land of tanglewood, a face forever missing until it dug itself out from the grave again. endless had been the deaths and disappearances of tanglewood, leaving behind families and friends to mourn and grieve, to bury their dead. as one formerly dead, she couldn't deny that this was something that she felt that she must do. there were too many things left unsaid, too many people she would never see again. this? this was a chance to lay to rest the grief that she herself felt, and perhaps it was a chance for the others too.

in the middle of tanglewood's town, would a pier of dry wood grow and grow as a week passed since she'd returned home to tanglewood. during this week, she would seek out others of tanglewood, seeking out the grieving and mourning. now on the final day of seven, the fae would re-enter camp carrying a bundle of cloth in her jaws. setting it down before the impressive pile of wood and stone that she'd assembled, she would gently reach her head into the opening she'd left. there she would gently lay to rest the bundle which opened to reveal an assortment of bones and skulls, a misty look in her eyes. this was something she'd done for her own family when they had passed away, but that ritual had been so much harder than this. taking a breath, the fae stepped back and coughed to clear her throat and blink back the tears that were welling up unbidden.

turning now, the celt would fumble around in search of something to light the wood with. this was the most difficult part, calling out to her groupmates to explain why there was a structure in their town's center closest to the statues. "tanglers! this is something i've been working on for the past week but ... this is a funerary rite. for all of you who have lost people you've loved, lest they be far away from you now, or they have already passed along to avalon and their own regions of death. ahem.", she had to pause to wipe away the tears that came unbidden. she couldn't help but have her heart and mind filled with atbash, her former girlfriend now departed forever from her. taking a shaken breath, she looked out at the faces that may have gathered by now, closing her eyes for a moment.

again, she tried again, "forgive me. i lost someone important to me. i might be a little greedy in doing this but hey ... gotta let it out sometime, right?"

shaking her head, "this doesn't have to be about the dead and absent. this can be for yourself and for the things that you weren't able to become. that sounds cheesy but, think of it as laying to rest the things you hate about yourself? i'm not sure if that's the right wording. ah, right.", she gestured to the opening of the structure and the kindling and bones that laid inside, "the bones i put in there don't belong to our dead. that would be wrong. i've asked some of you about what you might like to let go of at this time. i'm not a counselor or anything but if you feel like laying it to rest ... i suggest doing that now. when the fire burns out, i'm going to be burying the bones. this is um, this is a way of respecting the dead where i come from.", she exhaled wearily, looking back around.

"after this ... i've prepared a feast and a drinking competition. something to y'know, celebrate the ones we miss? a funeral is about celebrating the dead and gone, it's for the living and left behind to remember and embrace their loved ones. if there's anything you wish to speak of in regards to them, speak it now? maybe their spirits will hear your words. of course you don't have to do that, or even attend this. haha.", her head drooped, skin flustering under her fur. gods help her, she hated speaking in front of crowds.

lifting her head, inhaling and exhaling, "i'm going to light the fire now. i'm doing this to honor atbash and vignere cipher, former members of tanglewood. i woul be more than happy to share my memories of the siblings with you."

with that, she used her paws to strike a fire and ignite the kindling within the structure, ears focused on the crackling of the fire before she turned and picked up a bundle of baby-blue flowers from the nearest statue where she had set it earlier. tossing the flowers into the growing fire, her gaze solemn. goodbye, beautiful.

[CORRUPTTIMELINES]

Had Cory been able to truly remember his past life, perhaps he would participate. Not remembering your loved ones wasn’t exactly an easy thing to mourn, and seeing as the wyvern held no emotional attachment to anyone here, how was the bright-hued creature to truly mourn? It felt like he was intruding on their space, existing somewhere that was truly known he did not belong. Furthermore, while he respected the ritual, there was no reason for him to actively participate.

Trudging near, a small huff of air was allowed to pass through the nose of the giant, his eyes dull and weary. Sleep was a parallel reality that was not welcome into his brain. It was beginning to become more obvious between the flashes and nightmares soaking their way into his very core, deviating him from being able to process reality. All the winged beast wanted was to feel at ease, and yet danger lurked at every corner. In the mere snap of a second, he could collapse upon himself and feel nothing other than disdain and hatred over something he could not even remember. After all, it had pushed him to kill before, why not again now?

Listening intently, his orange hued gaze would transverse upward, and a soft, delicate line trailed its way into an almost endearing smile. Then, the beast would shake his head and draw backwards into a seated position, looking upon Merlin fondly.

“I do not have anything to mourn. My past is a messy recollection of stones that will not sort itself into a path still.”

code by spacexual