The Funeral of Hearts

This is joint-written. The title of this chapter was originally the title of the book, but it didn't fit the entire story.

 

Glide and Shetani were already there when Niqi and Ambree arrived at the Snapdragon. Shetani hadn’t changed at all since their time on Yochinai. Aside from a nondescript t-shirt and jeans, the goddess wore a black leather collar around her neck, studded with diamonds.

As for Glide, he had undergone quite a transformation. While his fur remained pink, his jaw was lined with black. His hair had grown down to his tail, the top half his natural black, the bottom the familiar platinum. He wore the same outfit he had ten years before, on Yochinai. Judging by its excellent condition, it was obvious that Shetani had worked her magic on it. A sash was wrapped around his waist, several bells tied to it, which jingled when the Varixian walked. The most noticeable change, however, was his missing left eye. He wore an eyepatch over it, a sapphire fixed in the center.

Ambree entered third, looking quite changed herself. Her hair was longer, messier, and darker. She wore a fuzzy, silver, expensive-looking cropped jacket on top of a black leather tank and black jeans decorated with a tribal design on one side. The jeans were stuffed inside of black chain boots. She leaned against the wall once she had entered, looking over Glide and Shetani. She couldn’t speak, partly out of fear, partly out of pain.

Niqi entered last, taking note of that fact as she glanced around the room. “Just like old times. I’m always late,” she said halfheartedly, shattering the fragile silence of the room. She still wore the clothes of the woman she killed; she had kept her hair dyed, as well. It had some volume to it and came down to about her mid back. She sat down on a stool in the room, seeming at ease on the outside. She was struggling to hold it together on the inside.

Lujuria had retained his girlish looks over the years, though he had abandoned his old outfit in favor of the classic fur kilt of adult selkie males. He looked like he could begin crying at any second. “H-hi, guys… Thanks for coming…”

Niqi’s face fell. She suddenly recalled the phrase ‘something horrible has happened’. She wondered what was plaguing the poor selkie boy. Man she corrected herself. Ten years…

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’re here.” Lujuria said, keeping his gaze on the floor. “Grandma…died.”

Ambree’s eyes widened in horror. “No…” she breathed.

“You’re kidding me,” Niqi mumbled, too stunned to feel.

Shetani stayed silent, simply shaking her head sadly.

“Is that it?” Glide asked. “Is that what you called me here for?”

Silence fell across the group. Several pairs of eyes turned to stare at Glide in disbelief. “What’s wrong with you!?” Lujuria suddenly growled. “You’re acting like you don’t care!”

“I…I don’t think…” Niqi started, and then swallowed, unable to say it. She stared at Glide.

“I don’t.” Glide muttered, turning toward the door. “She was useless and weak. I’m glad she’s gone.”

“You disgust me.” Lujuria snarled. “I must’ve been blind to ever like you at all! Get out.”

Glide rolled his eye, shoving his paws into his pockets. “Whatever. C’mon, Shetani.”

“Glide! You fought alongside this woman. Won’t you at least pay her tribute?” Ambree asked, startled from her usual apathy into emotion.

“F**k you.” Glide snapped, shoving the door open and walking out of the Snapdragon.

There was another short silence, and then Shetani sighed softly. “He’s…been like this for a long time…”

 “B***h, you’ve got forty-five seconds and I’m leavin’!” Glide yelled from outside.

“…He’s going to leave me here.” Shetani said after a moment. “I just know it.”

“Well, that’s his loss, isn’t it?” Niqi inquired.

“He never gave me a key.” Shetani responded. “I’m gonna be stuck here.”

“You can have my key.” Lujuria murmured. “I don’t plan to leave the planet, anyway…”

“Plus, there’s an endless supply on the other side,” Niqi added. “C’mon, guys. We can still honor Belleza without him.”

 

…

 

When the funeral ended, nerves were still strung tight, just about everybody’s mind still focused on Glide’s unexpected reaction.

Niqi sighed, leaning her head into her hands. “Why?” she asked, not choosing a specific question, possibly because she didn’t know it herself.

“I think there’s only one person that can answer that question.” Shetani responded, sighing quietly. “And I doubt he’s going to.”

“I miss the old him,” Niqi said quietly. “I miss him like f**k. He was the only person I had after my entire world was destroyed.” She toyed with a piece of fraying fabric on her coat. “I may never have gotten his respect, but we did have a friendship, despite the times we were ready to kill each other quite literally.” She smiled the slightest bit, but it faded quickly.

Shetani opened her mouth, about to make a joke in an attempt to lighten the mood, but couldn’t bring herself to do so. She closed her mouth again, and after a moment, gave a silent nod.

“Ah, what the hell,” Ambree said. “I didn’t know Glide for very long, but it still feels like I know him well. He was…he was one of the good guys – and you can’t imagine how much it hurts to use the past tense,” she continued, getting quieter as she went on.

Niqi glanced at Ambree. “Is it just me, or are we acting as if Glide died as well? Weren’t we supposed to have Belleza’s funeral today?”

“He might as well be dead,” Ambree muttered. Several eyes turned to stare at her in response to the dark statement. “We’ve completely lost the Glide we knew.”

“I don’t believe it’s like that,” Niqi said stubbornly.

“Somehow, it feels like there’s still hope for him.” Shetani said. “Like there might be a way to get the old Glide back.”

Niqi nodded quickly. “Hope is never lost, right? People come back from deep depression. Time heals all wounds and all that feel-good bullshit.” Her face screwed up, as if she felt bad for wanting a happy ending.

“Yeah, but ten years?” Ambree asked. “That’s one thing I don’t understand. Others have lost their loved ones, and gotten over it a lot sooner. Why is Glide so different? What drove him that far over the edge?”

Niqi leaned back in her seat, pondering. “I think it has something to do with the curse on him. He told me once that he tried not to get close to anyone in the early days, knowing he’d outlive them.” She paused, remembering things she had long pushed to the farthest reaches of her memory. “Felix changed that completely. After nearly a hundred years of isolation, Felix gave him a reason to live instead of just exist. Perhaps…perhaps he thought he had defeated his fate, and he wouldn’t have to go through the pain of losing those close to him like the rest of the males in his family. And when it turned out that it wasn’t like that, it shattered his entire world. I don’t think he has a reason to live anymore.”

“Felix…” Shetani murmured. “He’s the key. When I get the chance, I’m going to talk with Therali, see if he’ll bring Felix back. Don’t mention anything to Glide; if he finds out, he’ll demand that I take him with me, probably threaten Therali, and... well, I’m sure you know what would happen after that.”

Niqi stared at Shetani. “Is bringing people back from the dead so easy? Why wasn’t this proposed ten years ago?”

Shetani shook her head. “It’s far from easy. It would take quite a bit of power, and with Therali, a life – or at least a soul – in exchange. That’s why we never would’ve considered it before, but seeing how far Glide’s fallen...”

Niqi stared at the floor. “So that’s it. A life for a life. How is that even fair? Why should Felix have the right to live and not whoever we exchange?” She sighed. “Then again, it might be worth it for Glide’s sake. I don’t know.”

“I don’t, either.” Shetani said. “But there has to be some way to bring him back and get Glide back to normal.”

Niqi nodded, staring at the floor.

“Come on, let’s go find him, see if we can resolve this,” Ambree suggested.

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[KEi]

"He wore an eyepatch"