[attr="class","text"]
Though this could be seen as a family activity, it’s not one Aubre brings Michaela to. Mostly because she wants her daughter to see her as someone strong for just a little while longer. That and these emotions were private. It was a closing chapter in a tale that’d been started long before she knew Leon Settentrione.
[break][break]
A soft blanket lay beneath her and the Heliolisk beside her. Little stitches stuck up from its surface, the result of the doctor’s picking. The sky was beginning to dapple with the colors of a marine sunset.[break][break]
While one hand laid over the lizard’s, the other was locked around a vial around her neck. Inside were little granules of ash. A fact that had shattered her when the funeral home handed over the urn. “It really is a beautiful night for it, huh?” Alastor turned to face her with big blue eyes.
[break][break]
His claws gave his trainer’s hand a squeeze. “That surfing really--" The ginger tossed her head. That might have pushed this realization along, but it’d been coming a long time. [break][break]
“Evangeline wouldn’t want us to be like this.” The electric type bobbed his head. That sister of theirs was all heart. The idea that she’d caused them pain would have broken her. Just like it’d do to Aubre. The pair really were two peas in a pod.
[break][break]

The lizard croaks as a Mantine bursts from the dappled waves in front of them. It makes a mournful noise as it curls toward the sky. Three more follow in a miniature migration. “I—I suppose that’s as good a sign as any.” With tears in her eyes, the doctor moves to pull off her necklace. Her hands squeeze her Mantine’s ashes until the crystal leaves an imprint.
[break][break]


Alastor follows her to his feet. He takes time to dust himself free of sand. “I—I still sometimes wish it was me.” A selfish admission earned a growl from the Heliolisk.

[break][break]

‘She wouldn’t.’ He tapped back on his tablet. 'She'd do it again a hundred times over. You're worth it.'

[break][break]

Warm water lapped against their ankles as they walked into the surf.

@open

NOTES

✦ Aubre is saying farewell to her Mantine Evangeline (Eva)[break]
✦ Open starter mission[break]