(Child death tw; grief tw) Over the land there lies a long shadow

[lightofthestars]

In the court among the flowers, a small grave has been made. Next to it, upon a bed-sheet shroud, lies Frisk.

Tauriel and the Batman had worked to make Frisk ready for this funeral. She could not bear the thought of laying them to rest as she had found them, and so together, the two of them had cleaned Frisk's body and dressed them in new clothes. Tauriel had bathed their body in many tears as she had worked, for their wounds were grievous and had surely caused them great anguish. She had need, in the end, to find a cloth to wind around their neck, for nothing could cover the wound that had ended their life.

When the work had been carried out, Tauriel had called as many as she could find of the people of the castle to the garden. She cannot be the only one to say farewell to their dearly loved friend.

Comments

[andthebat]

He hates funerals.

He's only been to a few and anyway, it's not as if they're supposed to be pleasant. But that's the one thing that keeps nagging at the back of his mind, a desire to be anywhere but here, at the edge of the service, watching this nameless dead child being buried. But of course he can't run off. After helping with the clean up and with digging the graves, it feels as though he has a duty to see this through. As though it will help to make up, in some small, futile way, for having arrived too late in the first place.

So he stands there, watching everyone else in silence, and tries not to shiver. The fur on his arms is cold and damp; it took him a while to rinse the blood and dirt off.

[lostinmyway]

At the end, when the child is buried, Grune walks over to the Batman, looks up, and gives him a small smile.

"Thank you for helping."

[andthebat]

At Grune's approach, the Batman absently crosses one arm in front of him, clasping the wrist of his other hand.

"It was the least I could do," he says, quietly. "Under the circumstances."

[lostinmyway]

"It was very kind of you. Now they can rest."

And maybe everyone else can, too.

[andthebat]

"I- Thought it'd be faster if I helped with the graves, than if anyone else had to do it themselves," he explains. Being kind isn't something he's been accused of often- though here, Batman has neither his fierce reputation to scare others off, nor much in the line of enemies to punish.

"Do you think that's true? That the dead need to rest?"

[lostinmyway]

She's silent for a long moment. Then: "Yes. But the living need it even more."

There's something different about her voice, something that's deeper in more than simple tone.

[andthebat]

"Do they?" he asks. He notices the difference in Grune's voice, but he can't say he's surprised by it, considering the circumstances.

"I've always thought of graveyards as a reminder."

[lostinmyway]

"A reminder?" she asks. She isn't sure what he means.

[andthebat]

"Of the people you've left behind," he explains, albeit stiffly. It's a subject he's brooded on more than once, but even with someone like Grune he feels self-conscious explaining it. "And that you're still alive to honor their memory. Or to fail to."

[lostinmyway]

Her head tilts slightly to one side. "But isn't it a good thing to remember that there was someone you loved very much, and that you had so many happy times together? If you're alive, then you can bring that happiness to others. Then the feeling you shared can spread farther and farther."

[andthebat]

The Batman is quiet, mulling over Grune's words.

He'd been happy with his parents, he knows that. And if he thinks about it, he can't imagine they'd want him to be lonely or unhappy either- and he isn't, some of the time. Even most of the time, after Batgirl and Robin had joined him. (Though they're not with him anymore either.)

But there were other concerns to take care of.

"That's a part of it," he says, speaking very carefully. "But I wouldn't say it's that simple."

[lostinmyway]

"Wouldn't you?"

She watches him, ready to listen to what he means.

[andthebat]

"What happened to Frisk... we can't let it happen to anyone else."

The Batman stares intently at the fresh graves.

"We'll need to be more vigilant from now on, especially towards newcomers. Frisk wouldn't want anyone else to die here."

[lostinmyway]

"No," she says. The Batman is right. Except he's forgetting something important....

"But they would want us to keep making friends, too."

bruce is an expert at blatantly ignoring advice

[andthebat]

The Batman... acknowledges Grune's comment with a hum, then goes quiet. Somehow, his chest seems to tighten at her words, too much to give her a proper response. But presently, he turns to face her.

"Just be careful," he says, his expression one of cautious stoicism.

Lucky for him, Grune isn't gonna notice.

[lostinmyway]

"I will." She looks up at him. "And you be careful, too."