Work Text:
Title: Mourning
Author: CaliaDragon
Fandom: Buffy
Part: 1/1
Rating: FRT
Warnings: Character Death, Angst
Disclaimer: Not mine
Feedback: Caliadragon@gmail.com
Archive: Those with prior permission and any list I send it too.
Spoilers: Post Season 7
They stood together, a small group entwined by arms and hearts. Behind them stood many, all come to mourn the loss of two most precious souls. Two who should never have left their world the way that they did. Two people who had touched others with their love and devotion. Two people who were only too human; two people without power, if you didn't count love as strength and power, two people that would be sorely missed.
They had saved many of those that stood behind the small group. With and without the aide of the small group. However, no one had been there to save them from their fate, and for that they all mourned. The priestess spoke of death and destiny, she spoke of love and loss, and she spoke of the power of the heart and places of joy and peace. No one wanted to hear her words.
Finally it came time for one of them to step forward and speak, it had been decided that he would be their voice, the others were just to broken to talk. The young man looked at the graves and unashamedly wept.
"Today we come to bury two beautiful souls. Today we lay their bodies to rest, even as their souls have already moved on to the next plane. Through the years they fought at our sides, both with and against us. They loved us, supported and wept for us. When our lives were at their darkest they gave us hope. When our minds were weighed down with pain, they lightened our loads with laughter and love. For years they were our hearts and our souls, now they have gone to the next life to be there for someone else and though it hurts to no longer have them at our side. We know they are some place better and they are loved where ever they are. We say good-bye for now, but Goddess willing we will see each other again. We love you. Farewell Dawn, Farewell Xander," Andrew whispered the last part and allowed himself to be pulled back into Giles' arms.
One by one the mourners tossed roses onto the two graves and filled past. Buffy and Willow stood side by side cursing fate and the Powers themselves for the losses they mourned this day. It was made worse by the fact that they couldn't even kill the ones responsible for Xander and Dawn's deaths.
It wasn't a demon that finally took them, nor any supernatural cause. Instead it was a faulty plane that had taken their lives. For six days they had held out hope that they would be found alive, but when the wreckage was found so were their bodies. The coroner had told them that Dawn had died on impact; though that was a relief it was the news that Xander had survived the crash and probably lived for a few days that caused so much pain in the group.
Both Buffy and Willow felt guilty, they were the reason that the pair was on the plane to begin with. They had guilted the pair to come to London and spend the holidays with them rather than stay in Africa with their slayers. Because of that they were dead.
Slowly, one by one the mourners left the graves and the bodies of their loved ones behind. It wasn't fair, but then what in their lives ever was?