Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ah...that's why the bells had gone off in her head. Yes, she'd heard about him in passing. Young in face and body, but skilled, and older than she was. And apparently he was also able to regenerate his body after death. An enviable innate skill, to be sure.

Smiling a bit, she sketched a royal salute, gauging that he wouldn't be too upset at her lack of formality. Not if his reputation held. And to be truly honest, she felt less and less the great Commander since she had stepped onto this forsaken planet.

She was trying hard, but more and more she was having to shift her beliefs, her way of life, and her thought processes to keep up with Vilia. And the girl was only a baby!

"Did they drag you into the shop screaming, sir, or did you come out that way?"

Were it anything but an apt description, Nessalyn might have been offended by the term brat. But it was incredibly apt. "You can't tell now, but see that mangy little girl just sitting there?" She pointed to the iron-winged child sitting still in her chair. "She apparently feeds on fear, enjoys long wars, and revels in the destruction, devouring, and defecation of soliders. A Stormwing, if you have heard of such things. Rumored to be only literary creations, it seems my darling is real. She also smells like a trash compactor on a high summer's day."

"I'm also beginning to think those wings of hers are useless, as all they seem to do is tear up my furniture, and they never move. They are just there, and curve with her movements. It's quite strange." Shaking her head, she thought of what could possibly be a pyromaniac wish-granter. "Well. I wonder which of the two will cause more havoc."

((I have work the next four days, so I won't be around a tooon. But I did want to hop in.))

It was strange. It had been a long time since the man left home without his bag. Even stranger was wearing a suit. His first thought was of how uncomfortable the thing was. Nothing like his casual wear. Still, occaisions called for a certain amount of formality, and it was only proper to follow through. Besides, it might cheer up Shaeria a bit, although he wasn't sure how a funeral would do that. Perhaps just seeing the other children, or at least having closure. For she'd been a bit off for quite a while now, since the day she'd been playing and just started crying. Not screeching, he would have thought someone was ripping her arm off the day that child was loud, no just a silent stream of tears. It actually scared him just as much. Shaeria wasn't one to dwell on things, she usually smiled if you did. It couldn't be good when she was too stuck in a pit of despair to be reached.

Though, there were other reasons. For one, he hadn't run into Ianna in a while. Perhaps the woman thought he'd fallen through in his whole parenting thing. It would be good to check in since that one visit hadn't worked out. What with the place being a mess when he arrived. He did hope that it wouldn't upset the gelfling further. She hadn't enjoyed the previous visit when it was destroyed, but she was older now. If she was upset she might be able to find some word to say how she felt. She knew the word sad at least.

Beside Raja strode the one person who also knew Ianna. Also, the best person for leaving the upset toddler with around the house. He was also one of the people who probably hated the matching black suit his father had insisted on the most. It was bad enough for him in summer and spring, but a full out black outfit? Well, minus the shoes. He'd never worn them and didn't intend to start up for a funeral. Under the black pants the same wraps ran up his leg as usual. He'd mostly come to keep an eye on his sister and pay some respects. Someone had died, it was only proper to feel sorrow for them. And he was a bit afraid that there might be a repeat of whatever had left the place in utter destruction. Someone had to make sure everyone was safe.

Lastly was the rather mute child. Hair tied into pigtails with black lace that matched her dress. One of the few occaisions the child wasn't wearing some shade of purple. Though Raja had veered a bit away from it since Lyneas dropped the dye on the girl turning her once pale locks a vibrant purple not unlike Eren's skin. She'd been quieter since the day of Matilda's death. Not quite sure what had happened, but simply knowing something that had been there was gone. It hurt to feel as if a hole had been ripped into her, not knowing why she wanted to cry whenever she realized it was there. It didn't make much sense to her. Nor did the word funeral. The only thing she really understood about the whole thing was that it was a reason for sadness, because everyone had been serious in preparations that day, and even heading to the place. No real joking, just a quiet sternness.

Ah, and there it was. The place looked nice actually. Raja had to mentally comment that it was possibly prettier than it was before. Even the garden seemed full of life in an affair that centered around death. And there was Ianna, as well as a few others, that woman who'd caused this whole bit. Though he wasn't nearly as bitter as he had been when she'd stuck him with 'the stick.' "I'm sorry to hear about your daughter. As well as those who were lost." He didn't know them personally, but there was always the need to be proper.

Keanu chose not to speak up, simply nodding politely as Raja spoke. He didn't know them either, and it was a bit akward to repeat the same thing right after it was said. Besides, he couldn't say he was that fond of death or dealing with it. That was why he wanted to prevent it at whatever the cost.

It was Kyo's and Oak's turn to make there presence some what known at the funeral. The man wore something a bit more called for in a situation such as this, but still only in neutral colors... Oak on the other hand still wore the same clothing he wore everyday, just cleaner.

The elf released a sigh as he approached the funeral. Oak's hand in his left hand. "How are you holding up Oak?"

"Oh... I'm alright, I feel like I’ve lost something, but I don't know what." The boy of bark and leaves nodded. A confused and baffle look across his face about the whole situation. It seemed like deja vu... this feeling of loss. Like he had lost something very precious to himself in his past, but he couldn’t remember what it was. It felt like a stinging and throbbing pain in his heart.

"You'll be alright." The elf nodded a reassuring smile on his face. He still didn't know why he came, but it was more in respect for Neveah. Kyo didn't know the other two who had died as well. Only Neveah. She was a really good friend to him, one of the first people he had met when the elf accidentally stumbled through that magic door and shattered a lamp.

Everything look perfect. A waterfall, a table set up with food and refreshments, and white chairs that overviewed the service. Kyo quickly took a seat in the very back and released his grip on Oaks hand.
"I'm just going to be sitting here you can go off and look at the water" The elf smiled.

Oak took the initiative and darted off to the water fountain.

Tovar didn't actually own a suit and, too short to fit into any of Michael's clothes (and not really wanting to wear that nonsense besides), he'd donned a sensible pair of slacks and a respectable button down shirt - one of the last he owned - to the funeral.

He'd turned the invitation over he didn't know how many times on the way, thumbing the smooth line of the thick paper self consciously as he balanced Leith on his hip, the infant clutching and drooling on the shoulder of his shirt. It had made sense, when the invitation had turned up in the hall through the mail slot - all the silence of the normally talkative Kelpie had started to make sense. Now, standing a little awkwardly in the entrance to the headquarter's gardens, Tovar tucked the invitation into his back pocket and glanced sideways at the taller man, birdlike and thin, standing beside him.

Tovar winced slightly. Michael wore a soft dark blue waistcoat of some sort that made the wraithlike man look broader than he actually was. Little owls, picked out in silver thread, fluttered up both sleeves of the coat and Tovar would have ordinarily thought the coat to be attractive if utterly out of style. Now, with everyone dressed in sharp clothes (suits, he saw suits), it just made Tovar feel uncomfortable and tacky.

"I wish you wouldn't have worn that," he muttered, leading the way toward the Ianna. Leith watched the funeral party from over his shoulder, silent, large eyes thoughtful.

Michael sniffed. "It's traditional," he remarked stubbornly, falling back slightly as Tovar insinuated himself smoothly into the crowd of guardians and children to give his condolensces to Ianna, not wanting to get stuck between anyone or bumped into.

There was nothing more awkward for Mirima than going to a large event and not knowing anyone who was there. For most, this might be called social anxiety, but in Mirima's case, it was simply that she hadn't been terribly socialized. Living with only her mother out in the woods did it to her, she was certain.

As she stood outside the doorway in her best dress, wondering if she should really go inside, she clutched the wand close to her chest. She wouldn't be here without the wand, she thought, silently cursing it and the things she had to go through for it. But if it truly produced a child, Mirima would be more than happy to do anything for it. After all, she'd been wanting to be a mother for as long as she could remember, but hadn't had the opportunity to do so.

She'd decided to give the wand a name -- after all it was going to be a child eventually. She'd done research on what kind of wand it was, and had found out that it was an aboriginal digiridoo. So, she found a book of aboriginal words, and picked a name she found suitable: Ngendek. Sure, it meant 'mud,' but Mirima thought it was beautiful. And there was a lot of mud near her home, so it seemed appropriate. Hopefully the kid would like it too, she thought, clutching the instrument tightly as she surveyed the people who had arrived already.

It was a varied bunch -- something she should have expected after her last visit to the wand shop -- and there were a couple she recognized from that very visit. She wondered if they were feeling as strange about being here as she was. But instead of asking them, she withdrew, looking for a safe place where she wouldn't be noticed.

Avoiding conversation, she slipped in through the doorway and headed for the back row of chairs that had been set up for the ceremony. She sat down and looked at the wand again, wondering if she could play a tune on it at all. It's simplistic markings appealed to her. The simpler, the better.

The arrival of more guests had Ianna pleased - her daughter and the fallens would be well remembered today. Silver eyes caught sight of Kiv and Vana and she breathed a sigh of relief. At least one of the ones affected by their guardian's loss would be there. She had no idea about Zah and she wouldn't blame him for not coming back. She didn't blame anyone for not coming back. If she hadn't had a duty to her daughter, she'd have packed up and left a long time ago.

However, it was the twins' arrival that made her finally speak again, "Levis. Malum," she murmured, debating whether or not to hug them. Matty's loss had to be just as hard on them as it was on her and Coailiann. They were very much a part of each other. IF anyone was Matilda's children more than anyone else, it was the twins. Her sacreds, her keepers. Her guards.

Coailiann's appearance in something modest would likely be a surprise in any other circumstance but the teenage sidhe seemed...different at the moment. Without even asking for permission or hesitating like her mother did the female went immediately to the twins and opened her arms to embrace them both, "Thank you for coming," she said, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill for the very first time. It was the twins appearance that had triggered this.

Seeing the display, Ianna took a deep, choked breath and turned from the three of them to busy herself with the table again, eyeing the new guardians that had entered. "Welcome, you two," she called to Mirima and Sam, "Thank you for coming." Then, again, her eyes caught three she had not seen in a long time.

"Michael. Tovar. Leith - he's gotten big." It was always a blessing to see the children growing older.