Mad Merc's Funeral {Ask Before Joining}

[Antoir Setrrin]

{OOC: First things first. Ask before joining. This is Ven's goodbye to everyone. If you kark things up or cause any trouble at all, I will mark this non-canon and have it locked and archived. Don't push me. Got it? And once again, unless you were tagged, you are not supposed to join without my person. Only some people would know about the time and location of the funeral. So you need an actual reason, not just "I feel like, they would like, totally, like, get along". That won't cut it. If you didn't know her, you probably won't be accepted.
Like I said, no trouble. I don't want a repeat of Circe's thread. Okay?
Okay.}

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ORD MANTELL: Outside Ordam Village​

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Everything was in ruins. The city that was once teaming with life had been destroyed over a year ago. But once upon a time it had been home to many members of the Sekairo Clan. So where else could the mad merc be buried? Only this place made sense, really. Now a small crowd was gathered around, somber and silent. Except for soft sobs, of course. Every living Sekairo was there. Even War, who was still adjusting to life outside of Pitann. The older woman was comforting Ire'Rain, who was crying her young eyes out.​

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In front of them was a circle of stones. Located in the middle was Ven's helmet, along with one of her blasters. Her body had been cremated and placed in the soil, to rest outside her family's home. She would have enjoyed this. Everything was how she would have wanted it- except for how soon it had happened. Renn'Dar was still a young boy, and might not even remember his mother...​

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Things were worse for Sea'Rain. Now both of her daughters were dead, and she felt alone. No one could comfort the woman, and she had fell silent long ago. Now she sat directly in front of her child's grave, refusing to leave the spot. She didn't make a sound, even when the other Sekairos started singing a quiet hymn in Epicant. It was tradition, and yet Sea didn't participate.​

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"God Ven... Why did you have to go? Couldn't... couldn't you have waited awhile?... Another decade or two?..." Ire cried, burying her face into her relative's shoulder. War didn't know how to respond, and just gently patted the girl.​

Today was a sad day.​

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@[member="Circe Savan"] @[member="Ventasia Terana"] @[member="Vanessa Nacht Seele"] @[member="Domino"] @[member="Kiyala Demont"]​

 

[Onrai]

Circe sighed as she came to the funeral, placing her hand on Sea'Rain's shoulder. "Sea... Your daughter isn't dead. Not entirely. Before she fully expired, her soul was bound to me. She's not exactly living, but if I can, I would be willing to focus and try to bring her spectre back to the visible realm. You could have a true goodbye for the time being."

The time being? Well... She was a spirit. And Circe has spare female Vinithi bodies that had no spirit in them. You connect the dots.

@[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"]

 

[Ventasia Terana]

And the tradition continued. Nothing good could ever stay in her life. Ever.

Ventasia stood back from the group a bit, arms crossed as her eyes locked onto the familiar helmet before them all. It wasn't that she didn't want to be part of the group mourning the now dead merc, she simply didn't know how to deal with the situation. Death was nothing new to her, but it had been quite a while since someone close to her passed on. At this point, she was a storm of emotion. There wasn't one that overlapped the other, yet she could feel them all. However, there was one that she held onto more than any other; anger. Hatred, one could even say. Hell, she didn't even know who to be so mad at, but the feeling was still there. Someone had taken a close...friend from her. And if she could make it happen, that someone would pay.

@[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"]

 

[Antoir Setrrin]

It wasn't hard for Ire to realize who the redhead was. After all, Ven had told so many stories of the people she loved. Ventasia Terana had been cared about dearly, and Ire had grown to like her as well. It took some willpower, but the lass managed to stop crying, pull herself from War, and approach her Aunt's friend. Sniffling she came over, standing next to the taller woman.​

"Aunty loved you... She'd always tell me stories of all the fights you've won, all the bad guys you've beaten... And then she'd tell me how the two of you met. I would always expect some story of battlefield romance or something. But I'd find out each time you met in a cafe... I... I found it cute." Ire had no idea why she was telling Tasia this. Maybe she hoped it would make both of them feel better. Or maybe she just wanted to remember Ven. "They didn't mean to kill her. They... they just didn't know about her implants. Didn't know that without them, her heart and lungs wouldn't work... All they wanted was to subdue her, to get her to calm down... just a little force lightning to snap her out of it... and it killed her..."​

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The tears returned, and Ire quietly returned to War, whom she quickly snuggled up with.​

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Meanwhile Sea had looked away from her daughter's grave for the first time in nearly an hour. Cold grey eyes looked up at Circe, a flickering sense of hope swirling in them. "P-Please..."​

@[member="Ventasia Terana"] @[member="Circe Savan"] @[member="Ashelotte Saybin"]
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[Domino]

She stood apart from the rest, she didn't know the Sekairo clan and now probably wasn't the time to introduce herself. Besides, after this she'd likely never see them again. A cold way of looking at it but then she'd never found pity or comfort in death. She certainly wouldn't have been too welcoming of it if their situation had been reversed. Who knew, maybe she was inured to emotional subtlety. Instead she watched as Circe dangled resurrection in front of the mercenary's mother. How was telling her that you'd trapped her daughter's soul to you supposed to be comforting? People that believed in them were supposed to want them free to carry on and be at peace or off with their chosen creator.

She let them be, instead waiting for a lull around Rain's grave when she felt like she could approach without intruding. Taking a knee next to the ring of stones, she pulled an Ilum crystal from her sleeve and placed it firmly before the empty helmet. They'd met there, and they'd escaped from that frozen planet together, and she'd been the first friend Domino had made since her awakening. There were so few of them. Now there was one less. The icy blue crystal was tiny, but it was always cool to the touch, hopefully her friend would have liked it.
@[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"]

 

[Nyxie]

Ashelotte didn't really have a lot to say. She was there mostly for Circe, but even the deepest part of her felt for the girl and held a ruthless dismay for her slayers. She had placed nearly all of her fortunes and assets into the bounties of the two Fringe Ladies responsible, also selfishly drawing from a bit of the company's account and the Royal treasury which had left untouched billions since the acceptance of the Republic by the Mnenchei Monarchy. If it didn't forever leave her in debt, it would certainly bring her satisfaction and hopefully bring Circe and the family closure.
She would be crude and informal to not bring a gift, so her tribute of the passed woman was an electrum statue in the form of the armor she died in, no less than twice her size. It was hollow and framed in durasteel, but still large enough to be worth a small fortune in and of itself. Her attire was naturally all black, and despite her usual garter belt, lace stockings and high heels underneath, her dress was as unrevealing as Ashelotte could tolerate. She was never one for funerals... so she simply lingered and loafed about while her hirelings were left to the duties of transporting and securing the statue. A single large bouquet of red magnolias was clutched tightly in her claws. A single subtle tear shed for the tragedy perhaps she could have stopped had she just turned the other cheek and intervened left her, finding her heart with sadness and guilt.
There was one more infinitely more subtle thing Ashelotte brought with her. She'd been meaning to give it to the solitary mercenary ever since she'd known, even though her pride may have had it the other way. It was sad, but she'd never get to.... Hopefully even in the afterlife, she could see and appreciate the gesture, if even in the Force. Ashelotte subtly walked to the resting place of Ven and left by the helmet a single ring with her bouquet. It was adorned in all of the finest gemstones in half the galaxy wide, made of the finest metals like electrum and ultrachrome, and glowing brightly against the sun as its light refracted through the crested pink Force crystal that center-pieced it.
"I wanted to let you have this so you could give it to Circe, figured you should save your hard earned money for more important things than simple jewelry," she whispered. "Take care, kiddo...."
Circe... I had meant to give it to her, to present to you as her own.... I-I'm sorry that this happened. I am... forever in shame and dishonor.... I must atone.
With all finally said and done, the greatly shamed and broken Ashelotte retreated, lurking in some shady corner to skulk alone not seen by any of the other occupants of the service again.

@[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"] @[member="Circe Savan"]​

 

[Onrai]

Circe sighed. She had failed Ven, and she had failed herself most of all. The woman could not bring up the spectre of her former bodyguard and lover, and right now... She felt as though she could not do anything to properly help her friend. She had died the most honorable way someone could - defending a friend. And Circe was at a dilemma - she had never given Ven an answer to the proposal... Sighing, she reached through her battered, war-torn robes and pulled out a small object, very important to her.

To the average observer, it appeared to be a circuit board, surrounded by a hard, semi-claylike material. The device was a holoprojector, comprised of an emitter surrounded by the remains of Ven's biofiber implants, salvaged from her body before cremation. The interior and circuitry was made of undamaged biofiber, though, taken from what remained of Ven's cybernetic arm. With this small device, powered by one of the energy crystal shards Circe had left over from creating the crystal that powered MAI, Ven's hologram, programmed with every shard of information, every response she could make, every way she did things, could tell others about her adventures, her life, and what had transpired leading to her death.

There was no Rage Ven. No Caged Ven. Only the real Ven, untered by her mental degradation. A message to Renn would be recorded, accessible only when it was time to tell him, encoded in the data of the Ven hologram.

"Ven, we're together in spirit... Yes. I accept." She fingered a small vial as well, containing a sample of her hair. "And one day..." She descended into tears, her head falling to the ground in sorrow.

"We'll be together again."

@[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"] @[member="Ashelotte Saybin"] @[member="Domino"] @[member="Ventasia Terana"]

 

[Kiyala Demont`]

A battle and a death to add insult to injury was not Kiyala's style so when she heard about the seemingly bad luck that was befalling @[member="Circe Savan"] & the late @[member="Ven'Rain Sekairo"] which in truth her invitation surprised her. Her mistress had spoke of Ven'Rain in a high regard but the two had fell out of touch several years ago, Kiyala would never turn down the wish of a dead or a dying person so it wasn't hard to see why she would come as she entered the room. She was greeted with the site of Circe, Ventasia and two women she may have seen in passing before but she couldn't be quite sure. She offered them a nod as she came in person this time only because she knew she still had a few weeks before her duties to Alderaan called her away again. Offering Circe comfort by squeezing her shoulder lightly with Kiyala's nimble fingers before saying "I know things may look dark but I want you too remember that she loved you and at the end of the day that's all that matters. You know, it hurts to lose someone your love but the way I like to think about it; not everyone gets to experience love so always you will be lucky for that."

She didn't know the others three that well and mindful not to offend anyone else so she was rather quiet. . .

@Ashelotte Saybin @Domino @Ventasia Terana