@erasedstar asked : how long will i feel this way? / post gustave death ty
loss hangs over the expedition like a storm cloud, static-charged and heavy, ever since they left the stone wave cliffs. lune threw herself into her work, poring over journals and remnants of the past, writing contingency plans for those that come after; a warning, of the expedition zero survivors.
and maelle, her evenings often spent with to esquie, or joined by verso when he isn't under interrogation. but tonight, lune finds her alone, perched quietly at the cliff's edge overlooking the sea.
she hesitates to join her — unsure if her company was wanted — but eventually finds her place beside maelle, sharing in the quiet and friction. and it surprises lune, when maelle guides a conversation; how long will i feel this way?
a moment passes, where she isn't sure how to answer. comfort has never been of a — particular strength for her, doesn't flow as naturally as it does for sciel, or gustave, before he— " i had an older brother, sol. " lune settles, looking for a point of connection with maelle, to say she understands, instead of searching for the right way to say it gets easier.
some days it doesn't, feel easier. all the grief, the loss, the anger that sits like a burning lodestar in her chest. still, she continues.
lune's gaze lists to the painted monolith, standing tall along the coast; imposing, and just out of reach. " we weren't very close, near the end — our lives took different paths. but... he was a good brother. i regret that we didn't share more time. " a complicated regret; she is exactly where she needs to be, at the expense of those relationships. yet for all her research, her calculations and plans, they still were met with immediate failure at the beach.
and although she knows that ruminating won't bring back her brother, her team, or gustave, her stubborn heart still aches. for everyone.
a quiet inhale, and sigh; " three years have passed since his gommage, and there are days that i still miss him. " eyes soften as they turn to look at maelle, offering her a tired, commiserating smile. " i even miss the times he got on my nerves. especially those. "
lune hesitates there, as another moment passes, until she ventures to place a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. " there is no timeline for grief, maelle. it finds us even on the sunniest days. but, " she blinks slowly, with a calm, renewed determination; " sometimes it's just a sunny day. and we'll have years of those ahead of us, when we see our mission through. "
