[Anyone who stayed the night in Ambassador noticed (unless they weren't awake) Benjamin drag himself into bed, freshly shower-wet, well after midnight.
But despite how exhausted he was when he laid down, his dreams wake him early. His body aches from spending the night burying Rina and Varian, but there's nothing sluggish or sore in the way that he kicks himself out from under his blanket and gets out of bed, probably long before his roommates are ready to rise.
The work waits, after all.
He dresses there in the room standing at the foot of his bed, also unusual for him, nicer than usual in the waistcoat that he hasn't worn since Sissi picked it out for him, a somber black shirt, and black trousers.
He fixes his hair in the men's room, a tall task since he slept on it wet the night before, and then he makes his way to the cafeteria, to catch the others who might not have been involved in the burying.]
We finished burying them, last night. I was thinking it'd be right to gather for a memorial to them. Around midday, if you'd like to come.
[He's as lively today as he was the first three weeks, but there's almost a manic edge to it, like he's hiding from something. He's not going to sit down or eat today, unless someone makes him. The rest of the morning is spent picking flowers and getting ready for the funeral, including some of the yellow roses from near the football field, discovered when he went to return the shovels to the shed.]
[After the funeral, Benjamin lingers a long time in the garden, sitting vigil with his lit candle until well after dark, when it's burned down to his fingers.
He makes his way back up to the academy in the dark, but instead of going in he sits underneath the awning outside the doors, listening to the thunder as it begins to roll in.]
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But despite how exhausted he was when he laid down, his dreams wake him early. His body aches from spending the night burying Rina and Varian, but there's nothing sluggish or sore in the way that he kicks himself out from under his blanket and gets out of bed, probably long before his roommates are ready to rise.
The work waits, after all.
He dresses there in the room standing at the foot of his bed, also unusual for him, nicer than usual in the waistcoat that he hasn't worn since Sissi picked it out for him, a somber black shirt, and black trousers.
He fixes his hair in the men's room, a tall task since he slept on it wet the night before, and then he makes his way to the cafeteria, to catch the others who might not have been involved in the burying.]
We finished burying them, last night. I was thinking it'd be right to gather for a memorial to them. Around midday, if you'd like to come.
[He's as lively today as he was the first three weeks, but there's almost a manic edge to it, like he's hiding from something. He's not going to sit down or eat today, unless someone makes him. The rest of the morning is spent picking flowers and getting ready for the funeral, including some of the yellow roses from near the football field, discovered when he went to return the shovels to the shed.]
[After the funeral, Benjamin lingers a long time in the garden, sitting vigil with his lit candle until well after dark, when it's burned down to his fingers.
He makes his way back up to the academy in the dark, but instead of going in he sits underneath the awning outside the doors, listening to the thunder as it begins to roll in.]