It's a terrible day for rain

Only a single bend in the Ravine's many twists separated Pyrrhic from where his brother was to be put to rest. He'd stopped to catch his breath, not out of physical weariness but out of emotional fatigue. Pyrrhic hadn't seen his brother since before the accident and it was for that reason his loss didn't feel quite real yet. He kept getting this sense of urgency as though he could save Aureus if he hurried. It was strange how that feeling didn't even mean anything. Nothing could have been done to save Aureus. Not that day and certainly not this one. So why then did he feel as though he could? Knowing, as he did, there was nothing he could do left him feeling frustrated.

That wasn't the only feeling he was struggling with. There were points where he simply couldn't wrap his head around his brother's death and he was forced to marvel grimly at the strangeness of it. Again, he hadn't seen the body. It just didn't feel possible. Aureus was young and strong with his whole life ahead of him. That was what was holding him back now. If he laid eyes on the body then he couldn't pretend anymore. He would have no choice but to accept the loss and that just didn't seem right. It felt sacrilegious as though he was doing his brother a disservice by acknowledging his death. But that wasn't how this worked, was it? His brother was dead. He needed to feel that.

After taking a deep breath Pyrrhic picked up the memento he brought for Aureus. He rounded the bend with a lump in his throat that only seemed to grow with each step. For several feet his eyes stayed glued to the ground and then he forced himself to look. Aureus. The sight broke his heart all over again and Pyrrhic had to pause to collect himself. He reminded himself that he needed to do this and closed his eyes hard as though to force the idea to stick. This was good-bye; the last time he was ever going to see his brother on this plane. He needed this.

Pyrrhic stepped up to the pyre and gently placed the bag of game pieces at his brother's paws. They were the first pieces Pyrrhic had ever made. There was absolutely nothing special about them. They were crude prototypes; simple, plain, worthless rocks. But Pyrrhic had kept them. He'd kept them even after he'd made better ones. After he'd carved and polished set after intricate set. He'd kept them not for their appearance or their utility. Pyrrhic had kept them for the memories attached to them. The first time he'd used them was with Aureus. The cave they'd been forced to share that day wasn't much but it had protected them from the elements. They'd grown bored waiting out the storm and opted to play a game. The cave may have been damp and they may have been bored out of their minds, but it was a fond memory. It had meant a lot to Pyrrhic. No, not past tense. Aureus may have been gone but Pyrrhic's fondness was not. It meant a lot to him.

He wanted to say he was sorry, which was an odd thing for someone who played no role in the accident to want to say, but the words were on the tip of his tongue as he considered his twin's peaceful face. What was he sorry for? For being a bad leader? For yelling at him that day? No. Those days were long behind them. Why then? What did he have to be sorry about?

It seemed silly to say 'I'm sorry you're dead' and those, unfortunately, were some of the only words he felt capable of forming. One other phrase came to mind, one he didn't want to say out loud since the intend, the only one whose opinion mattered, couldn't hear them. "Good-bye, Aureus," he thought, hoping, maybe, the feeling that went with it could somehow transcend the veil. Pyrrhic tapped one of the boughs with a paw and then backed up a few steps so others could approach without feeling smothered by his presence. He would stay here by his twin until it was time to send him off.