Taken Too Soon

(July 12th. This should be a rather sad thread. It's to establish the graveyard for the fallen heroes. Open to all heroes.)

She sniffled.

The chicken who thought she was a dog was sure she would explode when Lucky's death was first announced. Now months later she was still in a state of depression, but she was getting much better. She was able to train, able to face her fears and able to fight. But it still comforted her to place a flower on Lucky's grave every so often and today was one of those days. Sniffling to herself she climbed the hill where the hero's had placed the graveyard.

The graveyard was a solemn place, as all graveyards are. There were stones marking the graves of the fallen, some with bodies underneath, like Lucky and Rebecca's and some were just markers like the Great Prince's and Geno's. Though it angered and frustrated the chicken that Geno's grave was still up when he had come back to life. Life...if only Lucky...she paused and rolled her orbs to the floor.

He was dead and was going to stay dead. She blinked, batting eyes over his marker. It said "Lucky" written in crude letters and adorned with his collar. She ran a wing over the stone and hugged it.

"I messed everything up Lucky," she said, "Cadpig and Rolly hate me. The pups all hate me too. I lost all my friends...when we lost you." She let go of the stone and sat in front of it, hugging her knees.

Cadpig had walked up soon there after. She was carrying a bunch of roses for Lucky's grave as well. She sat down close to Spot dropping the flowers near Lucky's grave. She didn't really understand why Spot had felt she lost all her friends. Cadpig never once said any of that, she was in such a fit of depression that she pretty much hadn't said anything to anyone in quite a long time.

"Spot.............I'm so sorry" She said with a sad sniffle. It had been hard on everyone to lose Lucky especially on her, Rolly, and Spot. She really didn't know what else she could say to Spot but just be there for her. They needed to stick together.

As Penelope walked up the hill which served as a graveyard, a few tears trickled down her face. She hadn't thought that she would come here... But here she was. With a bunch of flowers, white lilies to be exact. Every step up the hill was heavy and her thoughts were filled with sorrow. Why did they all have to die?

When she reached the graveyard, she saw she wasn't alone. There was another dalmatian and a bird, and as she examined the cold stones marking the graves, she realized they were in front of Lucky's grave.
Penelope walked up to join them, and sniffled as she silently greeted them. She didn't find their names from her messy mind right now, but for that matter, she didn't care. All the heroes were in this together, all of them had lost someone important. A brother, a sister, a mother, an uncle, a lover... It didn't matter. One thing binded them all together, was grief.

Blind to the presence of anyone else, Partner's paw caressed the cold stone a few rows back from his fellow pups, running over the roughly engraved letters of Annabelle's two names. Very roughly engraved, since despite his lack of proficiency in human script, the male had insisted on being the one to carve out the names. This was his One, and in his grief, Partner had been determined that he should be the one to carve the gravestone in her honour. Perserverance - and some help with the letters from one of the humans, though he could hardly remember who - had eventually resulted in the marker that stood before him now. With a sigh, Partner leant forward, letting his face rest atop the headstone, the tag on Annabelle's collar, which he now wore as his own, clinking gently against the stone. A tear caressed his cheek, as they always did when he thought about the brutal end to the life of the pup he'd loved, and the dalmatian let it fall.

"I'm always going to miss you, One." he mumbled to the stone marker, as cold and dead as the body it guarded, as he pulled back, eyes fixed on it. He'd always thought that 'speaking' to the dead like this was a pretty stupid idea, but now Partner honestly found it to be somewhat soothing. "I'd have given anything for you to live." He sniffed slightly, finally using a paw to bat away the trails of liquid touching his cheeks. He said the same thing every time he came here - if she was listening in, he thought ruefully, One must be getting really bored of it by now - but in the dark-eared pup's mind, there wasn't much else he could say. "You deserved much better than this," he finished, slowly taking another couple of steps back from the grave.

(ooc: anyone who wants can approach Partner; I don't want him to spend the whole thread moping on his own =P Honestly, I'd kinda like it if Crescent would show up for him, but that's entirely up to you, Stitch)

The dalmatians weren't the only ones in the little graveyard that day. Collette had come of her own accord, seeking a bit of time on her own, and had sought out Scamp's marker. Even if he had been a pain in the tail while alive, Collette would have fooled no one by saying she didn't miss her brother. There were flowers in her mouth that she had gone out of her way to pick. She didn't even know if Scamp really appreciated the beauty of flowers, but it was a nice gesture in Collette's mind. Before long, she came to a stop in front of his marker and laid the flowers down before it.

"Hey, Scamp. I... I brought you some flowers." Collette said. She knew it did no good to talk to someone that was dead, but it somehow felt better than saying nothing. "I know you probably wouldn't believe me anyway, but... I do miss you, you know." she murmured. She wished that there was some way for Scamp to have lived longer. He hadn't deserved the death he'd been dealt. No one in the graveyard did as far as Collette knew.

With nothing more to really say, Collette began to turn to leave the graveyard. However, she stopped herself when she took notice of Partner in front of a marker. He did look rather lonely, she decided, and so Collette thought she should offer him a bit of company. The usually prissy female carefully walked closer to Partner and came to a stop not far from him before staring at the ground for a few moments as if in thought. "You looked kind of lonely over here by yourself." she said quietly. Collette didn't really know Partner all that well, but it might have helped him to talk to someone. That was what Collette thought, anyway.

Strike sat quietly taking in the silent and depressing atmosphere, he wasn't here visit anyone really, just to acknowledge their existence out of some kind of strange almost twisted respect. Strike could not really describe it himself but it was like he had a almost mystical connection to the dead. Then again that was not really surprising considering the fact that death seemed follow Strike ever were since......that day.

Vitani made her way through the maze of markers, there were too many here for her own liking, each marking an ally that had fallen. She looked at them mournfully as she moved past them and past the mourners who had gathered by some of them to pay their respects.

She soon came to the marker she wanted. A stone marker with a single word enscribed on it to mark whose body lay beneath the earth on that spot.

Scamp

The young lioness waited until Collette had moved away before she approached, laying her own bunch of flowers beside Collette's. She sat and looked at the stone, it was hard to believe that it had been months since Scamp had died and yet the wound still felt as fresh as ever. She wondered if Scamp was watching her now, her own trip to the Palace of the Kings had been an experience she'd never forget...but it still ached to think that Scamp was so close...yet so far at the same time.

A law stretched out and rested on the marker.

"I miss you, Scamp. So much. I hope you're doing okay up there. I'm living, just like I said I would, Mooch is doing okay too...we don't really talk that much since...well...since you left. I think he's too preoccupied with Gurri...and Geno too. I guess I'm happy for him, he's moving on...that's good. I'm just...well I'm just living, like I said I would."

Thumper hops off very sadly into the Cemetery and hops over to Tessie's grave. The small bunny sniffled sadly tears beginning to form in his eyes. He couldn't believe she was gone. Tessie had always been one of his very favorites. It had been so hard for him ever since she had died. Sure, Thumper seemed to be taking it very easily at times but it was all a act. In reality Thumper's life felt like it had been falling apart. He had made this headstone not to long after Tessie had died. He had spelled out Tessie the best way he could. Thumper soon became very weak in the paws and just collapsed down sobbing sadly at Tessie's head stone. "I should have been there. It should have been ME. I promised you that I would always protect you I couldn't even do that right" He sobbed out. "I am so sorry, Tessie I jam just soooo sorry" He wept.

(Please, anyone come talk to Thumper right now I kinda don't him to be the residential sad sack in this thread.)

Fidget had been exuasted that paticular day. His wounds still stung a bit, but they remained as a memory, of memory of the encounter with his brother. If anything it was the death of innocent life for the young puppy. Fidget noticed some other Heroes in the graveyard and walked in. The graveyard, Fidget had never been there before, and honestly it gave him the creeps. As the shaky dal walked in, he noticed the name's on the graves, Penny, Anabelle, Lucky, Pongo, Pepper, they were all dead.

Fidget sniffled a bit as he walked past their graves. He wished he had flowers or something too give to them. It was the sight of a grey rabbit, that broke Fidget out of his state. "H-hey, a-are y-you okay?" he asked, approaching him.

Bambi walked slowly, his usual strong aura tired and depressed. The light brown buck had shown up at the graveyard that fateful day to rid the cemetary of Geno's grave, seeing that his son had come back. While he was still somewhat distured by the whole, "black magic" process, he had come to accept his son's new life, although, he wanted to be sure not to offend any of the others by leaving up his grave. There was only one slight problem with his son's revival, the young prince was completley confused as to who to make the his sucessor. While Gurri had been taught a majority of valuable information, Geno was the male child, the rightful heir. But, seeing how hectic things had been latley, the brown-eyed forest-dweller had found it best to attempt ignoring the topic. He didn't want to remove his focus from serving the camp to the best of his abilities.

Slowly trotting through the graveyard, Bambi tried to keep his head down, avoiding eye contact with everyone and everything. There was so many dead, so many that had passed away. So many children and parents. Too many children and parents. Heaving a sigh, he pressed on, stopping dead in his tracks when he heard an all-too-familar voice to his left. Looking up ever so slightly, his brown orbs were just able to make out his childhood friend; Thumper.

"Thumper?" Bambi whispered, taking a few steps forwards. Looking down hesitantly at the grave stone, the young prince was easily able to make out the name. Tessie... Swallowing, he leaned down, frowning at the outgoing rabbit. "Thumper, it's not your fault..." The light brown buck tried, chocolate orbs sad. "She's in a better place now, running through feilds of green, waiting for the day you are able to join her," He murmured, giving his friend a reasurring half-smile.

Thumper looks up sadly his eyes covered in tears as Fidget walked up. He just sadly nodded and motions to the headstone and just says one word "Sister" When Bambi had walked over he lies his head against his best friend's hoof his body still shaking and heaving from sadness. Thumper tries his best to give a small smile, but ends up crying again. "I'm so sorry Bambi, I know that it's it's not my fault but she went off to fight in a war those coward Outlanders ate her, I should have been there. I should have been fighting by Tessie's side. But, I stayed here at camp I couldn't go to war......................I Just COULDN'T . My sister died trying to be a hero while I just stayed back at the heroe's camp like a scared little" Thumper started and the poor bunny couldn't even finish his sentence. "Every day since then I keep thinking to myself that I shoulc have been there. That if I kept more of an eye on her and followed her to the battlefield, she'd be here and not up there" Thumper cried.

(I gotta stop myself I am seriously cring my eyes out I could barely even see the letters on the keyboard now)

Eilonwy stood back from the other animals, the sadness in the air was almost too much for her to handle but she was going to be there. So many had lost their lives, and some of them were because of the ones she had once called a family. She wanted to say something but all she could do was cry.

Coming up not too shortly behind Cadpig, Blaze slowly made his way up to the spot that marked Lucky's grave and planted his rear onto the ground a couple inches away from where Spot was mourning. Unlike most of the heroes present, the shepherd hadn't brought any sort of flowers or gifts with him. Instead he just stared at the barely passing excuse of his best friend's grave with wide, somewhat pained eyes. Of course he felt sad, but he couldn't help but feel more dumbfounded than anything else. The thought of Lucky giving up his life like that...was impossible for the blue-collared canine to think about. Maybe the horse-shoe spotted dalmatian had changed more than he had originally thought upon their reunion.

He slowly got up and picked up the roses Cadpig had brought carefully in his teeth. He walked over to Spot and Cadpig and nuzzled the chicken sympathetically. He hadn't been particularly close to the fowl, but he could see that Lucky's loss had taken a bigger impact on her than most of the others. "Hey...wouldn't these look nice growing in front of Lucky's grave?" he said in a soft voice. "It would certainly make it look more appealing than what it is right now. What do you say we plant them right here?" It would certainly make the young canine's day to see Lucky's marker made more significant, but he couldn't plant them without having Spot move from in front of the grave.

Chicken sniffled again as she saw Cadpig. She turned softly and gave her friend a shocked look. She didn't hate her? After how nasty she'd been to the dals, after wallowing in her own self pity, her tiny friend still was there for her. She held the girl in her arms and cried on her shoulder. She looked up and shook her head. "Cadpig," she spat, "We need to get over this. We need to move on."

Yes it was time to move on.

Trotting over the hill was a doofy little pup with a one digit IQ. She saw her bestest friend in the world and her guardian. "PART_ner...." Even the dimwitted little dal could tell the occasion wasn't happy. She marched next to partner and let her head droop. She looked from Partner to the headstone then back at Partner.

"What's it say?" No she couldn't read. The words were gibberish to her.

the large form of the ursid cyborg stands in front of the graves of his fellow soldiers. John may not of known many of them but he knew that he had to pay his respects to them. a cry made Silver lift his head to see who it had come from. Silver's eyes held pity as he finds his soon to be pupil Eilonwy. "Lass?" he limps over to her "you gonna be OK? it's not to much for ye right?"