Time To Say Goodbye {open}

The day of the funeral had finally arrived and nobody was looking forward to it in the slightest. Alice was in her best dark clothing she had and even left her hat at home to show her respects for the fallen demigoddess. Instead her hair was set in waves cascading down her back while two strands of her bangs were held behind her head with a satin blue bow. Andromeda had decided on a black tux as did the two Duchannes brothers, Malik wearing a teal tie and Synyster wearing crimson. Their mother was in a gorgeous black dress with lace trim and their father looked as unwavering as ever, he didn’t say a single word to anyone there.

As more and more people walked into the graveyard and towards to building that was for Lena it grew darker and darker in the sky. Andy showed his face as well, walking arm in arm with Andromeda who had tears already in her eyes. Stark and Thor were guarding the entrance to Lena’s tomb and remained as statuesque as ever. Cyrus showed his face at the event as well and paired a red blazer with an entirely black outfit, giving a nice accent color of sorts. Even Astrid showed up with her dark emerald green and black outfit, the jacket flapping softly in the wind. These things were never easy and no matter who it was everyone cried at least a few tears when they saw the daughter of Thanatos in her coffin dressed in her favorite black dress and crescent moon necklace, the mark of the Duchannes family and their heritage. Everyone except her step father that is, he remained unmoving but pretended to care when his wife was in pain seeing her daughter in front of her eyes and completely motionless.

Dressed in black and silver, the colors of her heart and home, Lena Duchannes was resting peacefully in her mahogany coffin in her tomb. Sure it was all for show and the demigods knew that but the mortals who had arrived for the event this was time for them to pay their respects. Andromeda was the first to step forward as she laid a black and silver rose underneath the girl’s hands, a respect and sign of everlasting friendship between the two of them.

Andrew wasn't the kind of person to go to funerals. In a way, he'd held onto his youth in some aspects. Sure, he hunted, he could drive, he could be independent, but he couldn't handle the social conventions of modern society. The demigod hadn't cracked a joke in a long time now, and it was very out of character for Andrew. He'd left Netha in the castle; it was ironic in a sense. Lena had always wanted more time with him without Netha, but Andrew would always refuse. Now, Andrew and Netha were spending less and less time together, and Lena was just gone. Andrew had been more torn than he ever expected to be. All the things he should have said; it was too late now though. It tore him up inside to know how he had treated Lena towards the end of her life. He was so sure she would live, but he was wrong.

Andrew showed up in only black, a color he didn't prefer. Abigail had always said silver looked good on him when he was a kid. To Andrew, black was for ties, pants, and blazers only. Today was different though. It was the last time he would see Lena, but he refused to let Netha see him be weak. He knew so many of the people that were here; the demigods, anyway. Andy had seen him at his weakest when she told him the news, and for that, he refused to even look at her. The demigod felt like he was ready to sink in the ground. He'd only get to see her one more time.

Sarafina saw Andrew and her composure softened. Walking towards him she felt her dress trail gently over the grass. "Thank you for coming Andrew. I know Lena would have wanted it." She said with a pained smile one her face as she turned and looked at the tomb that was now where her daughter was being laid to rest. John was standing off to the side with a few other important looking men all sharing a glass of wine and a chuckle playing across his lips as well, not seeming to care that this was a funeral at all.

Andromeda spotted Andrew and the head of the Duchannes family talking and sighed a bit to herself. He decided to show after all. She said as she ran a hand through her short hair before walking closer to the two, only to watch as Lena's mother walked back to the coffin where her daughter was. I'm surprised your here. A good surprise though. She said trying to lighten the mood as Necro stood next to her as he always did when they weren't at camp, though his red spots were not black as his fur to not raise suspicion.

Andrew was truly hoping that he would go unnoticed. Fat chance, he figured, not after everyone here knew him from something or other. Andy knew him for breaking down in front of her. Synyster and Malik felt he was just a joke to mess with. He was pretty sure he'd talked to Cyrus before. Then there was John. Andrew had told him off his first time in this castle. Andrew bared his teeth when he heard John laughing. His own step-daughter's funeral? Andrew began to see a sea of violent red rage. But at the last second he heard Sarafina's voice and he suddenly halted, as he looked back to her.

Sarafina was truly a strong and wonderful woman. Even with a dead child, she remained composed and greeted those who showed up. Andrew felt a pang of guilt ram his chest. It should have been him who died. Surely Andrew dying wouldn't hurt his mom as much as Sarafina was hurt by Lena's death. Andrew's own mother had lost parts of who she was after falling in love with two gods. He'd often thought of Sarafina as a second mother to him. But now, he simply couldn't afford to feel that close to her. "No, no, no, ma'am, thank you for having me. I wouldn't miss this for anything." Andrew suddenly insisted. Guilt was apparent on his face.

When Andy approached, Andrew was sure to keep his eyes away from hers. He didn't want anyone to know he had been crying. "Yeah, well, if I didn't show up, then I would deserve to be on the next pyres out. Not that I deserve much better these days." Andrew muttered out, quietly. He stood next to Andy, hardly able to keep himself calm with the intense emotions plaguing him.

Andy gave him a pained smile. Don't think she woulda wanted that. She said fixing her suit and pushing her hair back into its gelled back look, making her look more like a greaser from the old musical Grease and not a modern teen. At the sound of John chuckling Andy glared at him and had to almost hold Necro back. Even now all he wants is to make money off of this somehow, or gain more popularity with the people. She sighed as she shook her head. It was pathetic. To see a stepfather who was supposed to love his children be completely cold hearted with the death of a child. I'm going to go pay my respects before we take her back to camp for the pyre burning. She said giving a small nervous smile and walking off with Necro at her side as always.

Alice was the one closest to Lena's casket and fiddled with her hands in front of her. There wasn't any real reason for her to be at the funeral, Lena and her weren't really as close as she was with some of the other campers, but for some reason she felt like she owed it to her. Pulling the white and red rose from her pocket the daughter of Maniae moved it between the fallen demigodess's hands and wiped a tear away from her own bright eyes. Moving out of the tomb she sat on the steps off to the side and near Thor, who was still standing as stoic as ever guarding the entrance to the tomb with Stark.

Seeing Andy's hellhound made Andrew think of Netha. He loved her so much, but he'd began to separate from her. Any day now, he knew he would get her killed. She was beauty and grace, wrapped up in the most intelligent and deadly ally anyone could ever ask for. Andrew knew he wasn't fit to walk next to her, but it didn't change that he missed her being around, even if he was the one who condemned it from happening. Andy walked away, and Andrew didn't follow. He wanted to go down there and have a moment with Lena by himself when there was time.

It was at that moment that a laugh pierced Andrew's ear again. It was too much for him to cope with in the moment. The only happiness that he felt was that Andy and Sarafina had both gone to the casket, in the tomb, and that left him standing on his own. Other than that, he felt angst and misery, and as if by instinct, his feet began to move on their own as a fit of rage overtook the demigod. He couldn't be stopped now, as he inched closer and closer to John, and whatever company he had invited to the funeral.

"You going down there soon? Pay some f**king respect to your daughter?" Andrew spat out to John, only inches from his face. Andrew kept his voice discreet, but only for the moment. It was normally Netha who would have gotten his back or stopped him from doing it in the first place. Her absence proved to be a vital flaw. Andrew's fists curled into tight balls, he was ready to do something rash if he even got the smallest reason to do so.

John, who had been talking buisness with a few long time family friends of the Duchannes, was not at all surprised to see Andrew at the funeral for his 'daughter' and was now partially demanding that he pay respects to someone he didn't really know or care about for that matter. My respects were paid when i entered this family. He said casually before going back to talking buisness with his partners and acting as if this were just another casual meeting between everyone, wine in all of their hands.

Malik saw Andrew looking rather annoyed at his father and cautiously rested a hand on his shoulder. Um, Andrew? Maybe we should leave father to his buisness. He said not using his power, afraid to blow his cover in front of the mortals that were there.

Ringing began to play in Andrew's ears as everything began to fade out from his focus. He felt the hand touch him, but it didn't pull him out of reality. Andrew slowly pushed his arm aside, giving Malik a look. If he wasn't going to do anything for his sister, Andrew certainly wasn't going to leave the call unanswered. He looked back to John, his words finally registering in Andrew's mind. Did he truly think that he was anything worth talking about? Many more people respected Andrew's dad than this waste of a body.

A laugh escaped Andrew's lips, for the first time since he'd learned of Lena's passing. It was a small chuckle, that picked up into a full laugh, until it became hysterical, as though all the laughs he hadn't had, built up into now, a deranged sense filtering its way into the laugh. "You think you're something special?" Andrew manged to get out, finally finishing his laugh. "Phew, didn't realize I was dealing with the Big Lebowski over here. Or, maybe your closer to Steve Jobs. Yeah, that one sounds about right. You seem like you're getting awfully close to dying right about now." Andrew continued to speak, slowly inching closer and closer to Lena's step dad.

Now only inches from his face, the demigod began to whisper to him. "That would be a real shame if you died, wouldn't it? Then Sarafina, the poor woman, would have to keep all of her assets for herself." Andrew finished his whisper, backing up, and offering a shrug. What he was doing still hadn't kicked in yet. "You should try being kind. You never know when it's going to be your last day on earth."

Whilst the attendees were talking, no one noticed the shadows or rather, the man that stepped out of them. Lean and tall, garbed in a navy suit with golden accents, he stepped towards the coffin.

There she was. Dark-haired, fair skinned, beautiful as ever. She looked so much like her mother....
Of course, he had already brought her soul to the Underworld. He had personally entrusted her to Charon, had attended her judgement and visited her in her new home on the shores of Elysium. But seeing the lifeless body was a duty to him. He saw off every single one of his children, even if he could visit them more regularly once they were in the Underworld. There was an intricate irony to it: he could only ever have a real relationship with his children once they were dead.

His hand brushed her cheek, remembering her as a newborn baby. He had often sent swarms of butterflies her way when she was a toddler, to help her, amuse her or simply to make her feel his presence. Now here she was. Like so many heroes, she had died too young.

Thanatos leaned back up. He drew a long rose from within his jacket and laid it inside her pale hands, his honey gold eyes resting on her face. "Until we meet again, my daughter," he whispered, then turned away. He was not disappearing just yet, instead draping himself across a bench in the shadow of a large oak tree, his dark wings folded. Here he could watch the proceedings calmly. Others of his children were here too, and so was Sarafina. He gazed at her for a moment, then back at the coffin where his daughter was resting.

John rolled his eyes. I get nothing from the Duchannes family by marrying into it, nor if i have children with Sarafina. This is all for her family not me. He said rather bored and a bit annoyed with Andrew but not engaging in anything because of his actions.

Malik, who was a bit worried about Andrew and his father spotted someone near Lena's coffin then walk to sit in the shade. He got a strange feeling from him and knew who he was immediately. The white haired teen walked away slowly before walking up to the man. H...hi dad. He said a bit sad and not looking at the god who had come to pay respects to his fallen daughter.