Remembrance

[forcegalactic]

Who: Ramza and Barkeep
What: Finding the remains of the bard they met during Genesis and paying their respects to her.
Where: The ruins of Aqures Tosf
When: October 10th
Warnings: Discussions of death, sad times

The Barkeep stepped off the airship and waved to the captain's cabin. He was thankful for the pilot to agree to flying the two of them over to this abandoned island, even if the two of them weren't planning on staying here for more than a day. This was important; Ramza thought visiting her one last time was, and the Barkeep couldn't argue with that. He liked the young woman they met twenty-eight years ago. It was about time he stopped putting off visiting her again.

He wrapped his robes tightly around his body to keep out the cold air and stepped over the ruins of the city, careful not to step on anything fragile, which was a task easier said than done. Pottery, skeletal remains, so much was lost during the blast.

"Say, Ramza," he address the young man with him without taking his eyes off the path. "You know where she last was?"

Comments

[zodiac_brave]

"Goodbye." The bard did not look back at him as she disappeared, but Ramza kept his eyes on her until she was gone from sight.

"Go with God," he murmured when she was gone.

He turned to Barkeep. "We...we can go now." He wanted desperately to be home, and not in this abandoned home of the long-dead bard.

[forcegalactic]

The Barkeep watched the ghost fade away, then continued staring at the spot where she used to be as if he were expected her to return. Monsters disappeared, why shouldn't ghosts, he asked himself. People die, he'd seen plenty of humans killed on Mars, but seeing them at peace before they pass away is a somber moment. She lost much of her future because of a lust for power. She could have had a good life playing music and living with the Heroes.

Ramza brought his thoughts back to the living word. "Yeah, let's do that." He turned to the door, sneaking a final glance at the bed where the bard last performed.

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza followed Barkeep out, pulling the bedroom door closed behind him. He went down the stairs in silence, skipping the marked stair once more, and past the sitting room chair where he'd first placed the lute.

Outside of the old boarding house, the wind was still harsh, but the cold felt less oppressive. Ramza turned from the empty house and headed back in the direction of the airship and the land of the living.