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A cloaked figure slipped quietly past the gathering of trainees and headed straight for particular marker, nodding only briefly to the hunters on duty. They paused a bit, at Gale's soft comment, but...Clarice shook her head, it's not like she could argue.

When the news came, Aria retrieved and one hunter lost, the rest of her division began looking at her expectantly. For what...if she bothered to guess, probably tears or a bitchy remark. The former being a rarity for just such a special occasion and the latter being simply all-too common. When the confirmation came, and still no reaction or dismissal from her, the rest of the Life Division decided to keep their space. Repression was probably the most dangerous emotional state among hunters, turning your friends and comrades into ticking powerhouses walking a fine line between dealing with it and total ******** meltdown.

She was fairly sure there was a betting pool involved, because in the Life Division there always was. And she was also pretty certain that the doctor was simply waiting for the perfect time to begin twisting the knife. Clarice wasn't too worried or angry, it was her division and he was her boss, she accepted their s**t and antics, because they accept hers. Case in point...

When she reached the marker, her eyes were dry, and her voice was steady as she bent low and began softly, "So, here's where you've been hiding."

...when you get back from your mission, I'll find you.

"You're lucky I know you weren't purposely trying to avoid me, you know. A girl takes that kind of thing pretty personally." She shifted slightly, starting to feel a bit unsure. Which also made her feel a bit put out, because really, this should be easier now. It seemed that even in death, she didn't particularly like feeling awkward in front of Ben. Possibly even moreso now that she didn't actually have him there to encourage her with eager puppy eyes and his own shared awkward state. s**t s**t do not even go down that line of thought.

In the back of her mind, Hraegar began grumbling in concern, easily overwhelming the dangerous train of remember this time and he looked like that when I...why couldn't I...should I have...he would have been...

The grumbling grew quiet and she squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and silently thanked the partner that always managed to anchor her whenever she seemed ready to drift off into stormy waters.

"Right. Okay so...I have this birthday. Which is today. And I'd like to spend it with you, have dinner and maybe get a chance to talk about some of those things that we never quite got to before I said no and you went back to being rescue guy."

And then I'll ask you to a nice dinner of sorts.

"Now, how about it?"

And then you'll say yes.

"Fortunately for us both, you had the forethought to agree ahead of time, so it's a date, Benjamin Ian Summers." It was nice, that at least one of the questions between them wouldn't be lingering on in perpetuity. He'd given her that, at least. Which, to be perfectly honest, was more than she'd been willing to give him.

Clarice breathed in deeply once again, only a small hitch in her breath, and then finished lamely, "Ok then." She stopped before she could say something like better not be late. Every since she woke up today, there had been a slight, hysterical piece of laughter that never really let loose. It was not quite threatening to bubble up but rather it simply lurked in the corners of her throat. A thing better left unprovoked.

Question asked and satisfied, Clarice quietly took her leave of the graveyard and its other visitors. She didn't say goodbye to Ben. Not just yet. There was still a lot she wanted to say to him before it came to that.

The drizzle was indeed coming down and made the ground pitter patter with the unrelenting force of a million drops. The sneezing however was more distinguishable than the light steps and Leon turned around to the new arrival. "That would make sense Otto, IF they would cremate them." he said solemnly, if only to respect the markers and whom they represent.

One by one, more people seemed to flock to the hidden cemetery as Wilson and Aleister managed to find the route here. "Looks like the new recruits are looking around their new environment." he said quietly, giving them a stern bow in greeting and gave Ryan a wave. "No not I, at least, not when they were still alive." It was always a shame that someone's worth was never realized when they were still breathing.

And holy crap, it was like the new trainees were meeting here as eve made an appearance too with Marcus in tow. "Marcus? what are you doing out here?" he asked in confusion he would have never expected the swordsman to be out in the rain and not hanging out with his mate. The boxer couldn't imagine seeing the man's name on a marker, and not even his own too. The sudden call from the former group member caught Leon's attention as he pointed to the last marker and he hunched over to take a look at what it said.

Benjamin Summers It was as if the blood in his body hit liquid nitrogen, the sudden feeling of chill was so strong, he was afraid that he needed a pill to ease its effects. "It might be Marcus." He said gravely recalling the day and its final events. "It might have even been him, the one that Master Cael called at the end." he mentioned sadly to the male.

He really hope that it wasn't the fate of the only hunter who was willing to talk to them. That Ben was going to turn the corner into the area of the dead and ask why the hell were we here and not training.

Having over slept, Kat woke with a pounding headache. Or was that from everything that had happened in the mission they had been on yesterday? Whatever the case, she made sure to keep a coffee close at hand. It would be a while before she would get used to this coffee, if ever, but she needed it. Like she needed air in her lungs, she needed coffee.

Carrying a large travel mug around with her, she caught sight of other trainee's wandering off to a certain place marked by a red flag at half-mast. Contemplating on following, Kat hesitated a moment before following after.

When arriving, it was then she realized what it was they were all looking at. Graves--or at least the markers for graves. s**t..she didn't handle these kind of things too well. To be around people crying would only trigger her to cry. She hated tears..Thankfully, there didn't seem to be anyone with soggy eye's.

While she was here, she might as well pay her respect to those who had fallen. Moving to look over the markers, she read aloud three names. "Linda Evans. Jessie McNeal. Benjamin Summers.." Do you think that one of those people was the hunter we saw the death hunter pull out of the creature?

:Its possible.:

Hmm.. Looking about the hunter trainee's gathered, she recognized a few of them right off the bat. Including her partner from the Sahara mission yesterday. Candace.

Wait, what? Candace turned a surprised look to Gale as he spoke of being on the mission. Well, yeah. Of cou--...

Wait.

"You...were on the mission that he..?" Candace couldn't get herself to say it, instead she tightened her grip on Jerry and cleared her throat. How was Gale on that mission? Weren't they under probation at the time? They had to have been. It hadn't been lifted until the one they just had, right?

Candace looked from Gale to the gravestone and then Gale again. Most of them were at least of 'legal age' or close to it. But Gale? He was a kid. Chipmunk. Candace frowned and let go of Jerry to tug at Gale's arm, pulling him close and turning to the boy to wrap her arms around him in a hug, holding him tightly enough for comfort but not so tight he couldn't get free if he didn't want this. "I'm sorry you had to see that." Not that it was her fault but...damn, man. That was ******** up. She leaned her head against Gale's if he allowed her to hold him, swaying slightly with the boy in a gentle side-to-side rocking motion. That was when she noticed Clarice, watching her talk to Ben's gravestone. Unfortunately Candace couldn't hear what was being said. Did Clarice know Ben, perhaps? Lavender eyes following the woman as she walked away. She didn't want to be in this graveyard anymore...

"Yes," said Gale stiffly. "Yes. I was on that mission. B - " The name caught in his throat. " - Ben needed a fifth member and took me along. Caelius wasn't happy, but then again, he wasn't really given a chance to deny it. I was off on that helicopter before he could say 'haircut.'"

Gale was still looking at the name Benjamin Summers, his face a mask of anger, pain, irritation, frustration, and everything and anything else. He felt as though his expressions were visible right on his sleeves, which was a little embarrassing.

Though not nearly as embarrassing as Candace reaching out and wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

For a few seconds he just stood there, completely frozen, trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. He had never once been on the receiving end of her good side; or rather, she had always been neutral to him, disregarding him as just a kid who didn't really belong at Deus.

Sometimes he wondered if maybe she was right. If they were all right. He hadn't ever even considered before - until now.

Gale let her hug him for a few moments, the rocking surprisingly gentle and cathartic, almost. Then he pulled away, his hands on her arms as he looked up at her with a inscrutable expression.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked her, aware that Bix was standing nearby as a silently reassuring figure. It was not an accusing question; in fact it was quietly curious, Gale's wet hair dripping into his eyes again.

Wilson laughed uneasily. “Yeah, that mission…” His voice trailed off and he took in Ryan’s notable lack of hunter uniform. “Getting your uniform cleaned?” He joked, tugging on his own hood. “I put mine away for a bit, too. It’s kind of, well, I’m sure you know.” The thought of corpse muck on his jacket, tattered ends and all, was unpleasant.

There were murmurs of recognition from some of the older trainees. He shifted uncomfortably at the realization. “I’m sure there’re other hunters that remember them. We just woke up recently, remember?” He reasoned. Almost as if to prove his point, another hunter silently strode up to Ben’s grave. Curious, Wilson leaned over to catch a fleeting glimpse of Clarice’s face. Her lips moved and Wilson hastily looked away, afraid to disturb her private conversation with the deceased.

Gale’s confession caught him all ears. “You were there when…?” His face twisted into a pained expression. Crawling and trudging through decayed bodies had been more than enough, but watching the demise of someone he knew sounded excruciating. Wilson awkwardly stood in place, watching the boy receive hugs. Should he join in? But he had barely spoken to the younger Death hunter.

“I’m going to look at the other graves, pay my respects and all that,” he quietly told no one in particular. “Come along if you want.” With that, Wilson broke away from the group, his eyes never straying from the names engraved on the markers.

Other people would have probably felt guilty that someone felt the need to ask why someone was giving them a hug, or positive attention at all. Most people wouldn't need to be asked. No, Candace knew it was justified. She wasn't the nicest, the most polite, or even the most delicate. Candace let go of the boy and pushed his hair out of his face, tilting her head to one side. "You looked like you could use a hug." She said simply, pouting at the dripping wet hair as it fell over his eyes again. And a haircut. But she kept that thought between herself and Atropos.

"Just because you're being forced to do adult things and grow up quickly," Candace tapped his chin in a motion to tip his head back a little. "doesn't mean you need to keep unhappiness bottled up. That's a stupid thing to do. I find hugs help though." She then pat his head and ruffled his hair in an almost an affectionate manner, stepping away and clearing her throat.

"Good to see your name isn't over here too, Chipmunk." Candace stepped away to press a kiss against Jerry's cheek, murmuring a quiet goodbye to the man before limping away without another word. She didn't want to be in the graveyard to begin with, so she wasn't about to stick around.