Sticks And Stones

[anotherknight.livejournal.com]

He's never wrong.

He never allows himself to be wrong.

But it's staring him right in the face.

A lapse in judgment.

An error.

The few strips of gauze he's pulled from the drawer just aren't going to be enough to fix this mess.

The blood soaked wad currently in his hand is hurled in the direction of the sink.

Comments

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"God our Father, in loving care your hand has created us, and as the potter fashions the clay you have formed us in your image. Through the Holy Spirit you have breathed into us the gift of life. In the sharing of love you have enriched our knowledge of you and of one another. We claim your love today, as we return these ashes to the ground in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life."

The gentle voice of the priest rises up amidst the sorrow. He stumbles as he reads. He has traveled a great distance to be here and is weary in mind and heart. Alfred will never return to England, so England must travel abroad.

[-nightwing-.livejournal.com]

The wind kicks up briefly, rattling the fallen maple leaves and sending them scurrying past the gathered contingent of mourners.

With each word, Dick can't help but feel the passing becomes more final. With each fragile moment, the bond keeping Alfred Pennyworth tied to this earth becomes more tenuous.

Part of him knows it's time -- and that nobody deserves his rest more. Alfred did so much, and asked for little in return except their safety; despite the family's own insistence at putting itself in harm's way for others.

He no longer leads the Titans now -- that torch has passed onto the younger, more vital members of the team -- but retirement hasn't suited him well. Even now he still takes to the rooftops, unable to resist the adrenalin rush and the drive to do something good. To keep things safer for his daughter -- even if she's convinced she wants to take up her parents' vigilante profession. That's an argument for another day.

[starfire-kory.livejournal.com]

Her own hands had been raised in prayer to X'hal earlier; they are lowered now, listening respectfully to the sonorous voice of the priest who is reading from yet another human religious text she has never fully understood. But she has always seen the need to pay tribute to the man who was the unobtrusive squire to the Dark Knight.

And like her daughter Mar'i, she weeps.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen."

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

Selina pulls in a breath and lets it out slowly. Every word is a weight added to her chest. Right now, she's needing to concentrate on breathing, air going in and out. Her hands stay held together in front of her as she sniffles. It is hard not to move closer to Bruce.

[amazon-diana.livejournal.com]

In the background she wears the white drapery that she wore at the funeral for her own mother. The half veil covers a face that looks no older than when they met.

He always called her your Highness, even when Themyscira was gone, chiding her in his way for protesting.

Far be it from me to commit lèse majesté, but rank is not merely dependent on the existence of a country. I would bend the knee to the House of Windsor as long as the ravens stayed in the Tower, even if the rest of England sank into the sea.

How will her dearest friend keep from breaking completely at this latest loss she wonders.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Heavenly Father, we thank you for all those whom we love but see no longer. As we remember Alfred in this place, hold before us our beginning and our ending, the dust from which we come and the death to which we move, with a firm hope in your eternal love and purposes for us, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

[middle-amazon.livejournal.com]

She stands by her sister, back and away from the family...her brothers...because it's not her family. Diana was closer to this side of the Waynes then she ever was. They all wove such odd patterns through each others' lives.

"I'll miss his cookies," she notes quietly from beneath her veil. "Not so much the recipe, but what it meant to get one."

[zatanna-z.livejournal.com]

She's been there the the entire service, just back a bit with a spell to keep people from seeing her. That spell waivers as she gives in to her emotions.

Still slender fingers brush at her cheek, hidden under black lace that hides the old scars. They shake just a little, and her other hand fists in frustration.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

The litany continues uninterrupted until finally the service dwindles to the dismissal. "May the infinite and glorious Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, direct our life in good works, and after our journey through this world grant us eternal rest with all the saints."

He raises his gaze from the prayer book. "Amen."

[anotherknight.livejournal.com]

There is no outlet for the pressure that's been building all day. There are no tears. No words. No flexibility. Clenched muscles will contract no further. The priest's final words spark stagnation in a already pained chest. Darkness threatens the outskirts of his vision only a moment before he begins to tremble uncontrollably.

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

Selina moves up to his side and carefully wraps her hand around his. She can't make him take it but she'll be damned if she just stands there and watches any longer. It could cause him to break open and any number of reactions could come toward her but she won't make him... won't allow him to stand alone any longer.

[anotherknight.livejournal.com]

The effects are nearly spontaneous. The tightness in his chest lessens and the breath that escapes him is long. Tension bleeds from every inch of his body and along with it, the pent up sorrow. The fist unfurls in a welcoming gesture.

Fingers intertwine. He holds on to his wife, a man adrift searching for safety.

[femme-du-chat.livejournal.com]

Selina steps in closer, fingers intertwining with his. As he lets a breath out, she takes one in slowly. Silently, she curses how weak she feels in this moment, the slow drain on her energy that has been occuring. It doesn't show on the outside.

Turning her head, she looks at Bruce, looks at his hand around her's, looks her his arm entwined with her own. She hadn't needed another reminder of how fragile a thing is life.

The tightening of her chest is mostly in her own mind.

[-nightwing-.livejournal.com]

Head bowed against grief, Dick has to remove the dark glasses that shield his eyes, pressing the heel of his hand into them in turn. A white rose is laid on the coffin, a hand comes to rest briefly on its mahogany lid. He can't say goodbye. It's too much. But sotto voce, he will say two words that were a staple of his childhood, and of most of his adult life:

G'night, Alfred.