Saga Winds of Change (OC's) Kessel Run 2023 Challenge

A Coronet City story, yay!

Hear, hear, Mom!

It's like a veil is drawn between pre-12 and 12ish sensibilities, or so I remember. For Erek, he'll have his memories, just no tangible thing to fondle and reminisce over.

 

Poor Erek, having a good tour at the shipyard and to see it being destroyed. A childhood gone. Nice response to the challenge

 

Poor Erek. He had a great night amongst the ships and then to wake up to disaster and terror. The roller coaster of life doesn't stop for any of us, does it?

 

It was both nice and sad to get to meet little Erek. Nice, because he was a cute wide-eyed kid like any other, who both took to heart his parents' advice and went behind their back to do stuff. Sad, because his childhood dream went up in flames, and he'll never know if he'd truly be happier as a pilot than as a physician.

I'm saving these three quotes of his parents' aphorisms here, because I intend to get back to them when the challenge is over and see how long they stayed with him once I have the entire story.

And the repetition of this line:

It's doubly sad that he turned out to be right about it the second time

 

Yes, for Erek it's leaving behind everything and everyone he knows and is comfortable with. He'll come to miss those things a great deal.

Thank you so much! Yeah, in the span of a few hours, his happiness and contentment have gone up in flames and smoke and nothing will be the same again for Erek.

It sure doesn't! For poor Erek, it's just the beginning.

Erek is finding out at such a young age that certainty...just isn't. This is just the beginning of his journey.


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Week VIII


Title: Sacrifice
Co-Authors: N/A
Timeframe: 20 BBY and 31 BBY
Genre: Drama, Angst
Canonicity: AU
Type: Short, Series
Characters: Erek Nikana (OC), Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luminara Unduli, Anakin Skywalker
Summary: Obi-Wan dreams of his wedding and birth of his child after once again being patched up by Erek
Last updated: March 2023
Status: Complete
Other relevant information: Week VIII prompt was to write an AU (alternate universe) story of at least 400 words where a character ends up in a committed romantic relationship with someone other than the person they ended up with in canon or in your existing AU's.


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Erek should have known he’d end up here again; patching up a bruised, battered and bloodied Jedi. Since he’d been assigned to the ship as chief surgeon a few weeks before, he’d had Jedi blood on his hands more times than he could count. But this time…

This time, the Jedi had had been at ground zero of a massive explosion and his chest and head had borne the brunt of the damage.

“He’s crashing!” the nurse yelled as the monitors began blaring. “We’re losing him!”

//

Green and blue and black were all he was focused on. Those colors floating across his vision gave him strength and purpose; a reason to be. From the moment he’d first set eyes upon her, he’d known she was the one. Her gentle spirit mixed with her fierceness lead him to admire her while her stubbornness and her willful attitude made him love her.

Mirial was cold and dry and…he hated it. The woman holding his hand loved it for Mirial was her homeworld. Despite the cold dryness of the desert planet, he could appreciate the pink and green hues of the landscape. It was beautiful, as was the object of his affection standing next to him.

“Have you missed it?” he questioned as they walked slowly, hands joined with fingers entwined as a gentle breeze billowed their matching brown cloaks.

Their eyes met as she turned to look at her companion; blue catching blue. “No, not especially. I never truly lived here. I was given to the Jedi when I was so young, I have little to no memory of this place.”

He tilted his head. “Then why keep the traditions? Why take another Mirialan as your apprentice?”

She spoke softly as they continued their stroll. “It was…it is important to me to honor my heritage. I may not remember my parents nor this place, but I am thankful they made the decision they did, and I’ve always felt it deserved to be honored.”

He nodded and squeezed her hand. “Yet you choose not to follow some traditions. Isn’t it traditional for Mirialans to marry only within their own species?”

She stopped to look at her lover and gave him a brilliant smile. “How could I resist your charms, my love?”

Obi-Wan laughed at that. “I don’t think I’m all that charming.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his as his head came down and their mouths fused in a deep kiss.

//

The wedding had been beautiful. They had both shed their Jedi apparel for more formal garments native to Mirial. The high priestess who had married them had only given one sharp look of disapproval when he nearly cried at seeing her. Apparently Mirialans loathed emotion as much as the Jedi Order they both served.

A second look of disapproval came when she nearly cried as well.

Eyes met, hands joined and the pair breathed deeply of the love they shared. They cared not for the code of the Jedi nor for the opinions of anyone who might say they were doomed to fail.

Their first kiss as husband and wife alluded to their deep bond of love and happiness and joy and the belief that together, all things would be possible.

“I love you,” he spoke, his voice strained with the effort of holding back more tears.

“I love you,” she returned, her tears scampering freely down her face. “We are joined forever. You are mine. I am yours. Let it be.”

“You are mine, I am yours,” he repeated, feeling the words deep within himself.

//

”I don’t…don’t think I…can…do this,” she struggled to get out as she attempted to breathe through the pain.

“Yes, you can, my love,” he told her as placed a soft kiss against her temple. “You are the strongest woman, the strongest person I have ever known. I’ve seen you battle killer droids, evil wanna-b Sith Lords and countless other things by which I’ve been amazed so I know you can do this.”

“Ah!” she cried out as the next contraction hit and her grip on his hand tightened immeasurably as she was told it was finally time to push.

//

After just over seventeen hours of labor, the child was born. After being briefly held up for his parents to see him, he was taken across the room and given a thorough check and cleaned, swaddled and handed to his eager new father.

He carried his precious cargo to his wife and handed her their child. The boy had a green hue to his skin and faint black markings that matched the pattern of his mother. His blue eyes were the shade of his father. His hair, while thin was mostly black, but the parents could see slight streaks of blonde and ginger there. In short, he was a perfect blend of his parents.

“He’s so beautiful,” she whispered as she unwrapped him gently and counted fingers and toes while his father ran a finger down his soft, chubby cheek.

“Of course he is,” he said. “He takes after his mother. You were amazing, my love. Watching you bring our son into the galaxy was…nothing short if miraculous.”

They shared a soft kiss before he pulled back and looked back at the child. “He needs a name.”

Her gaze lifted to meet his. “Are we…I thought we’d decided that we wouldn’t name him since we aren’t…”

He sighed deeply and took her hand into his own. “He won’t have anything from us. He won’t ever know our names, or what we looked like or…or who we are. We’ll never be…I think I’d like for him to have one thing from us.”

She smiled sadly. “His name. I…we never discussed names. I don’t…”

“Etan,” he whispered. “It’s…it’s Stewjoni and it means strong and firm.”

The newborn chose that moment to wrap a little fist around his mother’s finger and gave a squeeze. She laughed slightly and gave the baby a fond smile.

“It suits him,” she said. “Etan…”

He shook his head. “No surname. He’ll be one of…of the nameless. The Jedi can give him a surname when they…when they take him.”

//

A week later they watched, hidden from view and shielded in the force as two Jedi gathered the boy up and took him into their care. They knew the time had come for them to return to the Order. They had been gone long enough; their sabbatical had come to an end and the Jedi were waiting for them at the end of the path.

As the shuttle took off carrying their son away, they turned to each other. He ran a finger tenderly over her lips and down her chin and across the beautiful marking there.

“I love you, Luminara Unduli, my wife,” he told her. “I always have and I always will. No matter where we end up or what happens, know that I will never stop loving you.”

She reached up and ran a hand over his spiky hair and lightly stubbled cheek. “And I love you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, my husband. For always, I love you.”

//

“How is he?” Luminara questioned as she stepped into the room.

Erek looked up from the datapad he was reading and tilted his head. “Forgive me, Master Jedi, but…”

“He’s…he’s a friend,” she supplied. “I was nearby and heard of his accident. I came to see how he is faring.”

Erek shrugged. “As well as can be expected, I suppose. He sustained massive head and chest injuries. I was able to repair most of the damage. It’s up to him now. He’s been…restless. Can you…?”

Luminara stepped closer and rested a hand on Obi-Wan’s forehead and closed her eyes. For several long minutes she said nothing and did not remove her hand. When she did open her eyes, she smiled slightly.

“”He’s resting now, Doctor,” she informed Erek. “He’s…dreaming.”

Erek nodded. “Good dreams, I hope.”

Luminara smiled. “Mostly. There is some sadness there, but…mostly happy dreams.”

Erek cleared his throat. “Good. He needs rest. This is the second time I’ve patched him up. He’s a bit…accident prone.”

She laughed loudly at that. “Yes, he is. He is indeed.”

Erek wanted to ask what other accidents Obi-Wan Kenobi might have gotten into before Erek first met the man, but he didn’t need to be a Jedi to sense leaving would be best, so he did.

“I’ll be back to check on him later,” he told Luminara as he exited the room.

She pulled up a chair next to his bed and grasped his pale hand in her own and stroked her thumb over the back before bringing it to her lips and laying a kiss on his palm.

“You frightened me this time, husband,” she whispered. “Wake up, Obi. Come back to me, my love.

//

It would be days before Obi-Wan awakened and when he did he wasn’t at all surprised to see Anakin asleep on the sofa across from his infirmary bed. But, seeing his wife, his precious Lumi curled up in the chair next to his bed…he was stunned.

Carefully, he reached out and touched her hand. She startled awake and gifted him with a brilliant smile when their eyes met.

“Oh, thank the Force, you’re finally awake,” she gasped. “Anakin! Skywalker, wake up! He’s awake!”

Anakin sat bolt up right and grinned. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Master. Thought you were a goner this time.”

Obi-Wan barely acknowledged his apprentice. His focus was on his wife. Did Anakin know they were married? He should probably tell him. Later, Obi-Wan thought.

Anakin ran hand through his spiky hair and cleared his throat. “I’m just…gonna go to the mess and…and get some breakfast. Either of you want anything?”

When neither answered, Anakin beat a hasty retreat leaving the pair alone.

Soft kisses and words of thanks escaped them in their newfound privacy.

“He’s right, I thought you were gone,” she choked out. “I…I felt you, your confusion and pain and…”

“…and my fear,” he finished. “I was afraid. Not of dying, but of leaving you; of you maybe not knowing how much…how much I truly do love you. I don’t say it enough.”

She wiped away a few stray tears and shook her head. “You say it just enough, love. I know. I always know.”

Luminara climbed gently into the bed next to her husband. Settled with her head on his shoulder, they joined hands and fell into a contented sleep, neither knowing that Anakin had taken up sentry duty outside the room keeping unwanted visitors away from his master.

Sitting in a chair too small for his long body, Anakin stretched his legs out in front of him and grabbed his comlink from his belt. He promptly entered Padme’s code and sent her a message.

You won’t believe what I have to tell you.

 

Obi-Wan and Luminara married. That's an AU. WOW. And dreaming about his meeting with her.
Now Anakin sure was surprised.
Great response

 

Now that, is a cracked 'ship. Very well thought out and executed. As will Obi-wan be when the Council finds out what he's done.

 

I could see this happening, from reading The Approaching Storm so long ago.

Lovely description of Love.

And now grim reality strikes ...

... Anakin, your character is much improved in this fic!

 

Week 2: How devastating!
Week 3: I loved meeting Naila and definitely Anakin and Obi-Wan are the worst patients!
Week 8: Luminara and Obi-Wan secretly married?! How awesomely cool is that?

 

I had some other crazy ones, but... I like Luminara, so I just went where the muse led me.

Big trouble, I imagine. If they find out. But, that another story altogether.

Ah, The Approaching Storm-one of my favorite Legends books. Obi-Wan is most likely used to grim realities, so...it's unfortunate but what happends next is another story for another time. I always try to make Anakin likable.

Glad you liked Naila-she was actually the most fun to write despite not seeing her often in these stories. Perhaps in others.

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Week IX


Title: The Hardest Goodbye
Co-Authors: N/A
Timeframe: 21 BBY
Genre: Angst, Sadness
Canonicity: AU
Type: Short, Series
Characters: Beka Onari (OC)
Summary: Beka speaks to Erek one last time
Last updated: March 2023
Status: Complete
Other relevant information: Week IX prompt was to write a story between 300 and 1,000 words in the form of a dramatic monologue. This can be either poetic or prose in nature, but the idea behind the dramatic monologue should be observed: a speech or narrative where a silent listener is addressed, in which the speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their character while describing a particular situation or series of events.



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He just left, the…whatever you want to call him. He was in here with you and all the others. I don’t know what made me come here. I was walking to my tent and…I just couldn’t walk past without acknowledging what happened or without telling you how…how sorry I am that it happened.

I thought we were safe. I know how crazy that must sound to you. It sounds that way to me, too. We’re in the middle of a war and I thought we were safe. Even with the cannons and the blaster fire and everything…I felt safe with you standing there next to me. I can’t explain it so don’t…don’t ask me too.

I hate it here. I don’t think I ever said that to you…before. I meant to, I think. I love being a nurse, I do, right up until the moment a patient…or a friend dies no matter what I do. That helpless feeling you told me about; I truly understand it now. Maybe for the first time, I do truly know what you were trying to tell me.

When I was a little girl, I wished I could be a princess. I had all these imaginings that I lived in a castle on some faraway world. When I got older, I wished for a prince to come and we’d fall in love and fly off into the sunset together. I never wished for this, not once. I never wished for danger or fear or blood or death. I never…I never wished to see anyone I cared about…torn apart by war.

I don’t even know why I’m crying. We barely knew each other. We shared…very little, I suppose. But I wished for more. I want you to know that. I wished for more.

I’ll never be able to thank you for protecting me the way you did. Even if you were standing in front of me now, I still wouldn’t have the words. I don’t have them for this, either. This…hardest of words to say. I don’t know how. Maybe see you in the next life would be more appropriate, anyway.

I never wished for this.

 

Fantastic and moving! A mix of gratitude and sorrow and wistfulness for past innocent dreams!

 

One of the hardest things to do... say good-bye. Well done. Especially for having so much feeling packed into a few words. Marvelous, @JediMaster_Jen

 

Poignant and moving. War horrible to experience and trying to recue beings.

 

It's wrenching to read this and think that the lesson is learned so painfully.

 

I see that you said above that you had other ideas for pairings for your week 8 entry, but you made Obi-Wan/Luminara work surprisingly well, and the idea that they would have a secret child and give him up to the Jedi Order also worked very well in the PT narrative as a contrast to Anakin and Padmé. Erek was quite gracious there, pretending to believe what Luminara said about Obi-Wan being "a friend". And this:

... was just priceless. Maybe a worthwhile lesson to not become all sithy and dumb?

As for week 9, I read your Olympic entries two years ago, so I know who the speaker is and wow! It was amazing to see the fallout of those stories from her POV. I'm not going to say anything more here so as not to spoil your other readers before you post your double-drabbles, but I'll be back with a more detailed comment then.

 

Thank you! I tried to weave as many emotions into it as I could.

Thanks! Maybe the hardest thing is to say goodbye, especially when you wished and hoped to be able to say so much more. For Beka, that made it doubly hard.

Of all the horrible things war brings-the worst is those terrible goodbyes. Thanks for reading.

It really is. And that pain is a constant companion once you meet it for the first time. Thanks for reading!

I did indeed have other pairings in consideration-I won't mention them. Some were pretty odd. But, the character of Luminara has always intrigued me. Years ago, I read a series of stories called the Redemption Series by obi_ew (which you actually found for me via the Wayback Machine-thanks for that) in which Luminara was a fairly prominent character. She and Obi-Wan were friends. Luminara actually had a past relationship with Xanatos in those fics in whichs he was the mother of Xan's child. So, to keep it short, I got interested in the character then and decided that I loved the idea of her and Obi together. So glad you think it worked.

Anakin, Anakin-what can I say? I can never seem to write him as evil and sithy! It just never works for me. Thank you so much for reading!

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Author Note: This week we delve into a very small portion of Erek's familial history

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Week X

Title: More Than Blood
Co-Authors: N/A
Timeframe: 21 BBY
Genre:
Canonicity:
Type: Short, Series
Characters: Erek Nikana (OC), Beka Onari (OC)
Summary:
Last updated:
Status: Complete
Other relevant information: Week X prompt was to write a story between 100 and 400 words, and include these three words: carmine, intoxicate, solace

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Erek had never seen anything quite like sunset on Dantooine. It was beautiful. The astounding coming together of coral, orchid and carmine blended seamlessly with the dark charcoal clouds to form a wonderous oasis of color.

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Beka asked softly as she came to stand next to him, handing him a glass.

Erek didn’t look at her as he tossed back the amber liquid. He let loose a deep cough. “What the kriff was that?”

She laughed out loud. “It’s cider from my home planet. It’s meant to intoxicate the drinker quickly so that…”

“That what?” he wondered.

“So that it’s easier to beat them at Sabacc,” she told him with a smile. “Lot of gambling where I’m from.”

Erek shook his head. “What you said about the view being gorgeous; it is, but not as gorgeous as the lake on Krownest where my…my family home sits.”

Beka was intrigued. “Krownest? I thought I had detected a bit of Corellian in your accent.”

He chuckled lightly. “Good ear. I was born on Corellia. Spent the first twelve years of my life there. We were…forced to leave and…we ended up on Krownest.”

Beka frowned. “That’s in the Mandalore sector. People don’t just end up there.”

Erek kicked at the grass beneath his feet. He didn’t usually talk about his past with people, especially not people he had just met and barely knew, but he felt comfortable with Beka.

“My mother is a Mandalorian foundling,” he began to explain. “She was adopted as an infant by a powerful family. When she was twenty, she met my father and they fell in love. Her family weren’t…overly pleased. When we…escaped Corellia and traveled to her home, it wasn’t easy for any of us to adjust. It wasn’t a source of solace, at least not at first.”

“It must have felt like being with strangers,” she reasoned. “If your mother had been away for so long and you’d never met them…what about your blood family?”

Erek considered that. His only blood family were his parents. There was no one else. But he was Mandalorian.

He looked at Beka. “Aliit ori'shya tal'din.”

She tilted her head; he knew she was curious of the meaning, yet hesitant to ask.

“It means…”

The loud claxons rang out then, signaling incoming wounded. The two sprinted back to the surgical tent.

Perhaps someday he’d explain.

/////

Translation: Aliit ori'shya tal'din~Family is more than blood.

 

Great revealings from Erek being a Mandalorian. Family is all.

 

BEautiful setting and nice he can talk to her, sad that they were interrupted but hopefully the comfort and ease he feels with her will lead to continuing it later.

 

Titillating glimpse of a traumatic past that he tells so delicately, she must be intrigued, as I am!

Now this is perfect use of the prompt.

 

Wow! It may be a small part of Erek's family history, but you packed a lot in these 400-odd words.

This was so Erek, not even looking at what she's giving him. Grumpy doctor? Tick. Fascinated by the sunset? Tick. Not too sure how to interact with a woman he actually likes? Tick.

Now this was very, VERY interesting, because it means that the skeleton in Erek's closet that he had to flee from was in the Mandalore sector? I guess that would explain why he had to leave in a hurry. And indeed, it must have been difficult to adjust to life on Krownest after Corellia – not only because Corellia comes across as more relaxed, but also because integrating in a Mando clan where your mother is something of an outcast must be very difficult. (As a side question, I wonder which clan that would be, this being Krownest and all, but maybe the long vignette will tell us.)

Why do I have this ominous sense that we're talking about those particular claxons here, and that Beka will never get her explanation?

 

Kriff it, I wanted to know what he said, lol. Darn alarms.

 

@earlybird-obi-wan ~ Yes, family is everything to him, which makes certain things from his past more than a little difficult for him.
@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha ~ Erek definitely feels a connection to Beka and feels at ease with her, but...the continuing later might be hard.
@pronker ~ Just a very small glimpse of a much larger story, which will come at some point.
@Chyntuck ~ Oh my, where to start? The small bit of family history packed into 400 words or so felt cramped to me. But, that will be expanded on at some point in another story.

Fascinating, isn't he? He's absolutely a grump, sometimes very reckless and somewhat shy at times.

Yes, running from that particular skeleton was made much more difficult due to his being a Mandalorian, especially one with a mother on the outs with the family. As for the clan, yes indeed it will be revealed in the long vignette. You may be surprised. Or not.
@Vek Talis ~ Sorry. I love evil cliffhangers.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Author Note: Hello there! I come bearing my Bye Week fic for Week V.

Life was busy and my muse was not cooperating at the time. Alas, she finally played nice and...below is the result of many hours og starting, stopping, starting again and finally finishing. Who knew drabbles could be so difficult?

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Week XI


Title: Trudging On
Co-Authors: N/A
Timeframe: 21 BBY
Genre: Drama, Angst
Canonicity: AU
Type: Short, Series
Characters: Erek Nikana (OC), Beka Onari (OC)
Summary: Erek laments his situation on Dantooine and Beka finds her tears after a heartbreaking death
Last updated: March 2023
Status: Complete
Other relevant information: Week V prompt for that week was to write a set of 3 double drabbles using these three prompts: juggernaut, shepherd, undertaker.



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Juggernaut


Between surgeries, Erek had stepped out of the operating tent to take in the scenery. On any other day and at any other time he was sure Dantooine was a beautiful place to be stuck. But the cannon and blaster fire in the distance didn’t allow for any enjoyment, at least not for him.

As a child, he’d seen terrible things, but nothing like the death and despair he’d encountered as a physician in the Republic military. People were dying left and right; clones and Jedi alike along with numerous others.

No one seemed to care. The fighting continued on, he stitched up patient after patient and sent them back to the fighting, knowing he’d see them again on his table.

“Are you okay?” Beka asked as she came out to stand next to him.

Erek shrugged and heaved a sigh. “Depends on your definition of okay, I imagine. I’m still standing, and occasionally I can save someone. I guess that has to be enough because…”

The cannon fire seemed closer. Minutes went by before they saw a small platoon of clones approaching, injured man being carried.

Erek looked at her. “…because the juggernaut that is war keeps trudging on.”


Shepherd


Beka struggled hastily to her feat. Her eyes burned from the smoke but she immediately began searching for Erek. He was right beside her and now he wasn’t. Where was he?

Bodies were scattered across the medical camp; hearts had instantly ceased to beat, lungs thermalized by the intense heat of the blasts and eyes frozen wide in abject fear.

Death. It was everywhere.

But where…there he was!

Beka rushed over to Erek. She fell to her knees as she reached him. Blood stained his face. His left leg was bent at an odd angle.

“Erek,” she called his name softly. “Please…”

His eyes; she saw his eyes then. His beautiful blue eyes were cold, hollow, and lifeless. But he’d met death the way he’d lived life; with his eyes wide open and his heart full of empathy for his fellow beings.

With tears falling down her cheeks unabated, Beka leaned down and placed a soft kiss against his already cooling lips. She lifted his hand into hers, unsure why she was being so careful of his broken fingers and leaned forward and rested her forehead against his.

“May the gods shepherd you home on wings of gold, Erek Nikana.”


Undertaker


It was business as usual in the days that followed the attack on the camp. The blaster and cannon fire remained. The wounded continued to come with little time in between arrivals to even take a deep breath. Now, unlike before the sight of blood made Beka want to vomit and on a few occasions she had. Blue eyes made her hesitate and brown hair made her look twice.

At night, when the winds had calmed, and the battle seemed to move further away she was able to take a few moments to herself and reflect. Words to describe how she felt still escaped her and when her colleagues continually questioned her, she had no easy answers for them. She felt exhausted but could not sleep; sad but no longer had tears.

On her way towards her sleep tent, she noticed a torch burning in the space where the dead had been gathered. She stepped inside tentatively, afraid of what she may find.

“What are you doing?” she inquired softly.

He looked up from his work and gave her a small, sympathetic smile.

“I was called upon to…prepare the dead for burial,” he said quietly.

Beka found her tears then.

 

Sad, endless death with destruction and oh, my, that of Erek.

She knew his dedication and skills and must mourn now.

Yes, this is mourning. He deserved it.

 

the horror of war.
Doctors trying to save patients and dying.
A powerful and moving death-scene as seen by Beka.
No tears until she visits the undertaker.

 

Heart tugging use the prompts weaving the story together well!