(no subject)

[sunnydalealum]

Historically, as a rule, the funeral of a Slayer has been a quiet affair. On occasion there have been families to make the arrangements, but most of the time, the parents and (if any) siblings have long since lost all contact with their daughter, whether deliberately or not. The Council has always seen to it that the Slayer is given a decent burial: a hardwood box, and six feet of consecrated ground, and someone to say the words, and the Watcher as sole mourner.

This, like so many other things since the Call, has changed.



It's the first time they're all back together again in over a year, the women who came to Sunnydale as Potentials and fought the First Evil there as Slayers. Caridad and Chao-Ahn, Rona and Vi and Shannon, half a dozen others. Many of them died in the battle at the Hellmouth ... but Kennedy is the first of them to have died since then.

So they're here, and so are newer Slayers who had Kennedy as their first combat instructor, and field Slayers who had her as their team leader. And so are at least one ex-lover, and at least one current one. About four-fifths of the Slayers are in somber black; the rest are in equally somber white.

Kennedy's parents and her half-sister are here somewhere too, in the crowd. Buffy and Giles are talking to them.

Soon someone's going to stand up front and start the memorial service.

Comments

[sunnydalealum]

Willow's standing not far from the door.

Her dress is black and unadorned, and it's not just the dark fabric that makes her look pale.

[milkbonesoldier.livejournal.com]

Wells hasn't met her before, but he's seen her about often enough. Silently, he starts heading her way; if it turns out he's wrong and he's not supposed to know her, well, it's not as if being by the door is unusual or anything.

[there-is-a-me.livejournal.com]

Spoon doesn't move back with Wells, the last thing anyone needs right now is to feel like the werewolves are ganging up on them. He's just standing, uncomfortably, where he was left and watching passersby.

He has handkerchiefs folded into every pocket that he has.

[sunnydalealum]

She glances at him, and there's a moment's pause before recognition comes into her face.

"You're Harry Wells, right? Andrew's cousin."

Beat.

"Hi."

[milkbonesoldier.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," says Wells quietly, "yeah, I am. Hallo, miss."

[sunnydalealum]

Her hands are whitely clasped in front of her; she unclasps them long enough to hold one out to him.

"Willow," she says. "Rosenberg."

[milkbonesoldier.livejournal.com]

Wells shakes the offered hand; it's a thing you get practise at eventually, even if he hates it. "Hallo then, Willow," he says. "It, ah... I'm sorry you hand to be here today." He pauses, swallowing a little, and his voice has more gravel in it than usual when he speaks again. "My condolences for your loss."

[sunnydalealum]

"Oh, we weren't --" Willow sounds flustered. "I mean, we're -- we were still friends, but we weren't -- together."

She lowers her eyes. "Not for a long time."

[milkbonesoldier.livejournal.com]

"Ah- sorry," says Wells, wincing just a little. "Still- you know what I mean. I'm sorry regardless."

[sunnydalealum]

"Thank you," she murmurs, awkwardly.

A pause.

Low-voiced: "We hadn't talked in weeks."

[milkbonesoldier.livejournal.com]

"Fuck," mutters Wells, wincing. "Didn't realise."

[sunnydalealum]

Biting her lip, she looks up again.

"You, um, you knew her from your classes, right?"

[milkbonesoldier.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," says Wells. "She'd already long since graduated, o'course, but she came around from time to time to work with the girls and give me shit for whatever reason, things like that."

[sunnydalealum]

A tiny, crooked smile. "That sounds like her."

[milkbonesoldier.livejournal.com]

"Damn near got the girls to kill me once," Wells adds. "She figured out about my little silver allergy and got 'em together to confront me, away from the school. I don't think I'll forget that any time soon, that's for fuckin' sure."

There's a little bit of pride in his tone.

[sunnydalealum]

Willow's eyes widen in dismay.

"Just because you're a werewolf?"

[milkbonesoldier.livejournal.com]

"Nah, nah," says Wells, waving one hand. "See, I hadn't told the girls about it, so she thought maybe I hadn't told the Council about it either. She reckoned it'd be best to get me backed into a corner and find out. That way if it turned out I really was a bastard, they'd be able to do sommat about it, and if she was wrong, well, no harm done."

[sunnydalealum]

"...That definitely sounds like her."

Her smile is wider, but still crooked and still sad.

[milkbonesoldier.livejournal.com]

"Worked out all right in the end," says Wells. "I'll be telling the girls that story for a while, I'll tell you."