[h1]Crow[/h1]

It was a bright, sunny morning at the Heroes' Cemetery, but Crow didn't really match the day's overall atmosphere. Yes, they [i]had[/i] put on an air of semi-cheerfulness, to avoid any questions the couple taking them to Bradena had, but the moment they had stepped into the cemetery, it felt as though all their emotions had gone numb. They [i]still[/i] wanted to see Peter's grave before going to their final destination, however. With a heavy sigh, they managed to keep walking, saluting to each hero's, heroine's , and legend's grave as they passed them by.

Finally, they saw Peter's grave. It wasn't as highly decorated or given as many things as the other heroes who had fought, either the eldritch dragon or some earlier threat. Crow knew why, though; Peter, despite being as useful and competent as both Crow and the other heroes were, had always been seen as Crow's sidekick. Because he was the one who acted as Crow's voice, because he was the most wide-eyed and curious about life compared to the others, because he was small and usually perched on Crow's shoulder...even before Peter died, he was always seen as [i]expendable,[/i] and his sacrifice and death didn't help matters.

Crow felt themselves clenching the paw that held the letter into a fist, only to take a long, slightly shaky breath and redirect their energy to walking over to Peter's grave, smoothing the slightly crumpled letter over until it almost looked brand new. They then folded the letter into two, took out a rock from one of their pockets, and placed the letter underneath Peter's gravestone before putting the rock on top of it, making sure the letter didn't fly away if there were any strong winds moving through the cemetery in the future.

After smiling at Peter's gravestone and trying to hold back tears, Crow started to head back to the carriage that was going to Bradena, but not before bowing in front of his grave.

The letter in particular was a picture Crow drew based on a memory they had when Peter was still sentient, and the both of them, as well as the rest of the accompanying heroes, hadn't defeated the eldritch dragon the first time yet. Despite that, it was also a memory of a simpler time, where Peter was holding up a masquerade mask much too big for his face, while perching on Crow's shoulder and cheering them up by doing silly voices and holding up the various masks. Crow in the picture, meanwhile, still had their mask-helmet on, and despite that, still looked like they could only [i]barely[/i] stop themselves from pulling off the mask-helmet and laughing freely.

The words underneath the picture said:

"Hey, Crow here!

I still don't know where you are right now, but I decided to give you a gift; a snapshot of our friendship, when your soul was still inhabiting your automaton body and we grew so close, we were practically siblings.

...I miss you a lot, you know that? I wish I could be angry at you for doing this, but, as far as I know, you don't have a soul anymore, and I'm just a weirdo, grasping at nonexistent straws and still choosing the one that'll keep me in denial of your death, over and over again.

I...[i]really hope[/i] that isn't the case.

But, anyway, if you still [i]do[/i] have a soul, and you [i]do[/i] still want to reunite with me, just know that your body is in Bradena, alright? Long story short, the dragon guy came back, and I have to team up with the others to find a way to seal him away/destroy him again.

...Maybe you have the right idea, not coming back. While I still want to help, a small part of me longs for rest. I have a feeling that that rest won't come anytime soon, however.

Goodbye, my friend. May we reunite whenever we both can, alright?"



Your Friend,

         Crow