Who: OPEN TO ALL GOOD GUYS AND/OR NEUTRAL PARTIES What: Katara's Memorial Service When: 9 a.m. Where: Santa Monica Pier Rating: TBD Status: In Progress
It was a beautiful morning in Los Angeles. The sun was slowly making its ascent across a clear blue sky and there was a crispness to the air that hid the heat that would be upon them by that afternoon. Really, it was a day for the record books and one of the reminders why the city was - or at least had once been - such a large beacon for tourists from far and wide.
Santa Monica Pier was also, in its own way, majestic as well. Seeped in history, surrounded by an ocean with water so blue it was difficult to tell where it ended and the sky began; the entire scene was like something from a storybook. The only difference between a typical morning and this morning, really, was the somber group that had begun to gather beneath the large sign that hung overhead and welcomed people to the area.
Cordelia glanced around at those who had already arrived, wondering how many more would show before the service was set to begin. They still had ten minutes or so, by her watch, and she intended to give as many people as much of a chance as she could to make it before saying their goodbyes. In the meantime, she absently smoothed down the front of the simple black dress she was wearing and turned her attention to the ocean itself.
I wish we could have done this at night. The moon was where she found her strength, not the sun.
Arms draped across the railing, her hair blowing gently in the wind, the Seer struggled against the tears that blurred her vision and tried to remind herself that the time of day didn't really matter. Remember Katara, honoring her life and moving ahead with the intent of making sure her death hadn't been in vain, those were the things that mattered.
But a small part of her, however unreasonable, still thought it just wasn't fair. They hadn't had a choice on losing her, and hadn't had a choice on whether they could fight to get her back. At the very least, they should have had an option to say their farewells when the moon was the dominant object in the sky.
Another glance at her watch and Cordelia's stomach tightened a bit. Seven minutes. Then they would spread Katara's ashes across the water that she had loved so much, say a few words in memory of a girl who had been struck down far too soon, and do their best to move ahead without her. Idly, she wondered if anyone else had joined the group yet and glanced over her shoulder to do a quick head count.