(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]

"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."