Fulle could feel his life draining away as he lay sprawled on the stone pavement, the droning sound of the heavy downpour accompanying the images of Pamela flashed across his mind. Hot angry tears flowed from his eyes as he muttered "Damn it" yet again, but he knew his time was up. As his tightly clenched left fist slowly relaxed, he prayed silently,
"Live happily, Pamela. And… please forget.. me."
Fulle's body went limp, vacant eyes staring into a distance - a future where he had no part in.
--
Shannon stopped abruptly in his tracks. "Someone's lying on the ground ahead!" he exclaimed more to himself than to Cz, who had been following him on his heels for days now. He rushed forward and upon reaching the body, was somewhat relieved to find that it was the figure of a man. Ever the cautious person that he is, Shannon warily went down on one knee by Fulle's cold body while assessing the dead man at the same time. He could tell that the man had been dead for a few hours, but more than that, this man had evidently been a highly-skilled fighter when alive. It was clear that he had been outnumbered by his enemies, maybe even ambushed, to have suffered wounds like these and perished on this night.
Shannon's glance then shifted to Fulle's wide, sorrowful eyes. "Seems like he was desperately trying to go to someone he cared a lot for. " he said quietly as he placed his right hand on Fulle's unseeing eyes and eased his eyelids close. How life makes sport of us sometimes, he thought bitterly to himself. Uttering a final "rest in peace", Shannon started to straighten himself up, when Cz placed a hand on his right shoulder.
"The earrings, they're pretty." she said, sounding slightly wistful.
Although startled, Shannon promptly recovered himself. Ever since Cz's true form was awakened, he had never once heard that tone in her voice. Could he have heard her wrongly in this storm? He half-turned to look up at her and was astonished a second time that night to see the usual strong, nonchalant look on Cz's face had softened into a familiar one that once belonged to a sweet child whom he had came across months ago. "Cz…" he started but she interrupted him, pointing at Fulle's earrings.
"Is it alright if I take them?" she asked.
"Well, uhm, I suppose so." Shannon replied, slightly flustered. "I guess it's alright."
Turning back to Fulle's lifeless body, he solemnly bowed his head and asked for permission, out of respect for the dead, before claiming possession of the accessory. After securing the earrings and handing them over to a visibly contented Cz, Shannon then proceeded to heave Fulle's corpse unto his right shoulder after a moment's hesitation. With Cz holding the umbrella for them, they made their way to the outskirt of the town, as dawn broke, to give the unsung hero a proper burial.
... to be continued.
(I don't possess very good english skills, so please do pardon any grammar or tenses mistakes made. Thanks for reading. )