Mihila didn't expect Soverick to cry or feel the pain of Kayla's death like her but she expected him to at least pretend to feel something. He doesn't even need to pretend for a long time, just for her short burial ceremony. Then he can resume whatever he is doing.
Soverick said to them, "Look here. So what that she died? I am not going to pretend I care about her. I didn't pretend when she was alive. I have much less reason to pretend now that she is dead. She wasn't special when she was alive and her death is not special either. People die every day and I don't care about that. Why should I care about some random person that I was in close proximity with for less than 2 years?"
He was busy with research and learning to forge so he has other things he wants to do with his time than honor some dead unremarkable girl. He wouldn't have honored her even if he were free with nothing important to do. He might have been biased against Kayla when she was alive but one thing is certain now. And that is she is the fact that she is dead and will soon be forgotten for leading an unremarkable life.
Either way, he doesn't care at all about her life and death much less a ritual to make Ghoto and Mihila feel better. Kayla is already dead. It is not like the burial will bring her back. He still wouldn't care if the burial will bring her back to life.
Mihila yelled at him. "She was not some random person in close proximity to you. She raised you."
Soverick shook his head. "She did not raise me. She wasn't good enough for that and neither was she good enough to become a transcendent, apparently."
Mihila teared up while Ghoto tried to comfort her. Kayla's death truly hit Mihila far more than expected. They are from the same family and she knows that there are people counting on Kayla to become a transcendent and revitalize her branch of the family. Kayla's death not only impacts Mihila, but it has also dealt a heavy blow to the hopes and dreams of those people.
And here they are trying to persuade one of the children that Kayla helped to raise to honor her after death. Mihila is of the opinion that no matter their differences when Kayla was alive, Soverick should set them aside now that she is dead.
Ghoto looked at Soverick and sighed. He said, "I know that you don't care about people and you don't have feelings but sometimes you have to do some things that you don't want to do simply because you have to do them. It's a sign of maturation. You have to be able to set aside your personal preferences for others."
Soverick disagreed and he is not one to shy away from sharing his thoughts.
He said to his father, "That's a very stupid thing to say. Only weak people have to do what they don't want to do because they have to do it and I am not weak. At least, I am not so weak as to waste my time on this."
He found the meeting to be funny and not the morbid kind of funny. He found it funny how people can feel something and expect others to feel it too. They even go so far as to impose their will on others. So what that Kayla died? So what that they want to have a burial for her? What does that have to do with him? He doesn't care about any of that. They can go ahead with it if they want. But to impose their own sentiments on him without having the strength to force him is stupidness of the highest order.
They can eat her flesh and he wouldn't care. So why will he bother with some useless burial ceremony? Is he going to get any benefit out of it? They care and they can do anything they want. But to expect him to do want they want simply because they care is folly. Sometimes, he wonders if they know anything about him at all. If they knew him, then the outcome of this meeting should not come as a surprise to them.
Ghoto shook his head and he led Mihila away. Mihila wanted to fight him then and there. If not for Ghoto persuading her not to, she would have gotten a sound beating that day. So their fight was postponed for another day. The events of that day have been brewing in Mihila. It made her very trigger-happy when the opportunity came to fight Soverick.
They left Litori and Soverick. The red-furred battle sage monkey bowed to him in greeting.
"Eldest."
He nodded in return. "Litori."
She fixed her two all-white eyes on him and they stared silently at each other for a while. He knows she wants to ask him a question. That is why she is staying behind. And he knows what she wants to ask him about. It is a tough question that she finds too difficult to voice out. That's why she is stalling. He knows but he doesn't care enough to waste time on this.
He lost his patience and said, "Ask me or I'll leave."
She sighed and asked about the elephant in the room. "So you know."
"That you harvested Kayla? Yes, I know."
She rubbed her face tiredly. "I didn't mean to or I meant to. I didn't want her death to be in vain. I wanted to..."
He cut her off, "I don't care."
She relaxed visibly, "Right. I forgot about that. I suppose that's a good thing."
He shrugged and said, "If you say so."
"I have to go now. There's a burial for Kayla that I have to attend. It won't be great if I am late to it when I suggested it."
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