Those Who Remain

The memorial ceremony went on for three days. The death of a reaper was a rare occurrence, and the Council was doing a fine job of playing it up for publicity. Reporters from every facet of the worldwide media zipped in and out like flies. What they gathered was printed in every newspaper and broadcasted on every TV. As a result, the supernatural community lost the ability to deny it. Matao was dead. The media had declared it and the world now ached all the more because of it.

To those attending, the funeral was a blur of gray. With each passing day the funeral goers seemed to drift further from reality. By the second day, Tibias had drank his way into a mindless stupor. Royal had done the same, several hours earlier. Keera did her best to avoid the fate of her coworkers, but alas: the angel's naturally low tolerance for drink was her undoing. She collapsed and subsequently fell asleep in Kole's lap after swallowing one glass of champagne.

On the dawn of the third day, only Kole and Shera remained. The Reporters had ceased buzzing and Kole's officemates were still in their respective hotel rooms; each of them tending to a personal hangover. It was dismal.

"Has it hit you yet?" Kole asked Shera. "Are you mourning our colleague as expected?"

"A little." Shera replied. She added a nervous chuckle. "I never expected to outlive him, so it's more survivors guilt than anything. He was awful to me. Are you mourning him, Kole?"

"In my own way, I suppose." Kole's face was, as usual, devoid of any emotion. "Shera, is there anything else we should be talking about?"

Shera's eyes darted upwards to meet Kole's stare. "What do you mean?"

"When I asked whether or not you were missing Matao, it wasn't because I had run out of conversation topics. I asked because I've noticed something off about you recently and I wanted to know if his death was the cause. If it is truly as you say, and you feel nothing for him, then I must assume that there is something you aren't telling me."

"Kole..." Shera dug her long nails into her knees. Her eyes listed away from the tall, dark man whom she had come to call her neighbor. "...I think you have run out. This is a bad topic."

Something in his neighbor's body language told Kole that Shera was hiding something from him. He had no intention of letting her go, but at that moment Matao's coffin was lifted up by eight of his subordinates. The funeral procession had begun. It was time for all the attendees to follow the body to it's final resting place. Kole took one last look at Shera and said the only thing that felt appropriate.

"They're going to be expecting a speech from you at the burial site." Kole said. "Don't lose focus."

"Don't lose focus." Shera repeated. "That's something he used to tell me during training."

"What are the odds?" Kole mused.