Dust in the Wind [Open!]

[cityship]

|| Attention, crew, Attention. All personnel who wish to attend the funeral of Howard Bassem and Cedric Diggory, please report to the Observation Deck. ||

Once again, the Observation Deck is prepared for a sending-off of the dead. A hard pod containing Howard's body sits in the center of the room, with a much smaller pod containing Cedric's wand sitting beside it. The observation window is open, showing the attending crew a stunning view of a nearby fiery red star: the final resting place of the two fallen crew members.

Before the launch, though, there are goodbyes to be said.

Comments

[splendid_roman]

He shrugged. "I don't know." There wasn't anything he wanted to do, other than stay with Barbara.

[first_in_time]

"Uhmm..." Barbara thought a moment before the plainness around them dissolved into the familiar staffroom of Coal Hill School. It was the first place she thought of that they would both recognise, with its old carpet and mis-matched chairs. There was still a sense of home about it, which was what Barbara was aiming for, really.

[splendid_roman]

It reminded him of home. If he closed his eyes he could imagine the sounds of the students in the playground and the quiet chatter of the rest of the staff. He stood up, not realising the Sensoriums had picked up on his thoughts and made those sounds real. He put a hand on the back of the nearest chair and leaned on it, with his back to Barbara, and a few tears rolled down his cheeks.

[first_in_time]

Barbara couldn't see Ian's face, and thought that by adding the sounds of children, he was enjoying the simulation. Or it was at least making him feel better. So she concentrated, adding the smell of tea and instant coffee, the sounds of marking and page turning. She went to stand next to him, a light smile gracing her features at the memories until she noticed that he wasn't reacting how she thought.

The simulation ended in an instant, save for Ian's contributions, and she wrapped her arms around him again, enveloping him as much as she could in a warm embrace.

[splendid_roman]

Ian held onto her, his eyes closed and his face buried against her hair for a few moments. After a while he opened his eyes and moved his head enough to see that the staff room had gone, but the sounds hadn't and he stopped those.

[first_in_time]

She was here for as long as Ian needed her to be, as far as she was concerned, and when the sounds died, leaving them in absolute silence, Barbara lifted her head to see properly but kept her arms wrapped about him.

"What do you want to see?" she asked gently, "anything at all."

[splendid_roman]

"Nothing." The landscape correspondingly rearranged itself to be completely black, so it looked like they were standing on nothing, which was disconcerting. He changed it so they were standing in a field and the sky above was full of stars, although not arranged in any constellations they would recognised.

[first_in_time]

Barbara looked up to see the night sky appear above them. Countless times in her life she'd looked up to see stars. She hadn't thought much about them. They were certainly beautiful but they were always just there. For the moment, however, the atmosphere gave the stars a different feel to them. They felt sad and lost.

She hugged Ian tighter, resting her forehead against his neck so that he could hear her whisper: "we're going to do something about this."

Barbara had wanted to tell him that everything would be alright, or that he was safe but she couldn't promise either of those things. What she could promise, however, was action; something far more practical than empty promises.

[splendid_roman]

He nodded. Beneath them he imagined there was a blanket and he sat on it, pulling Barbara down with him and holding her close.