Timestamp: 1st of Summer, 511 AV
Location: Somewhere in the Southern Suvan
Purpose: A Funeral
STatus: Open to Maelstroms
Topaz hated funerals. It wasn't that they were unnecessary or pompous or that folks made particularly long speeches. No, it was more likely because so many people came from all over once the birds were sent off, and all of the ate so much food. It fell to the Maelstrom children to gather said feasting fare and get it ready for the guest to arrive. There were barbeque pits to be dug, fruit to chop, milk to gather from coconuts. Things needed to be presented, seasoned, and nothing could be wrinkled or worn.
The Lia's twin sister Malachite was dead.
She was Topaz's great aunt who was gone, though her sister Turquoise remained, her grandmother. Topaz couldn't stomach the thought of loosing Moonstone first, wishing for the tenth time she died first to spare herself the pain of being sisterless. If she was a better person she'd have wished Moons' death first to spare her the sorrow Turquoise was feeling. But she wasn't. Nor was the family. The event wouldn't remain sad long - just until the funeral pyre was lit out at sea and everyone cam ashore for the drinking and dancing. That's when the real fun would start. Fun was a loose term. One never knew what was going to happen or now fast it was going down.
For herself, she was going to play during the ceremony. Her mandolin song was all composed and ready for the dead matriarch. Topaz would play 'until the seas dried up' and several other traditional dirges and then would return to her own casinor and beach it with the rest for the party.
But it was early still. Ships were still arriving from all over, docking up against one of the larger Maelstrom ships, people milling around, the body being prepared. The burning would come later when the boys floated out the pyre and the fallen grandmother placed upon it. Speeches would be made, songs sung, and a feast held. All in all, it would be along day.
Topaz, for her part, was tuning her mandolin, generally avoiding having anything to do with the dead body, and glancing dubiously over at the gathering relatives, friends, and the mildly curious outsiders who just stopped when they spotted a flotilla. She didn't feel like saying much and had already taken a turn at fruit gathering to add to the collective pile on the beach that some of the older women of the pod were turning into a feast. She'd play, and that's it, maybe not even eat much. Truth was she was close to Malachite who was a singer of some renown. Onyx had her voice, in fact, though deeper and more pronounced. Topaz wondered if he'd sing... indeed as she wondered if Moon would go help wit the feast. None of them were required to do anything. What they did they did to honor their grandmother only. The fruit was for that. Her songs later, too, would be for her great aunt's honor.
Until then she sat quietly at her ship, legs dangling in the water, a pale dolphin nudging her ankle and clicking quietly up at her. She reached down and absently scratched her bottle-shaped nose before going back to her plucking. It had to be a nice song if she expected to do her great aunt justice and please her departing spirit.