Summary: Gazing into the fading light of the evening as Shulk and Reyn left on their journey, Dunban had to stay behind. Not just to recovery from injuries, but also to mourn the loss of someone dear.
Another Empty Room
"Look after yourselves, boys." Dunban says quietly as he watches the figures of Shulk and Reyn walk away towards Tephra Cave, holding his injured arm. "As soon as this heals, I'll be right behind you. And then we will seize our destiny. Together."
As he muttered that last statement the Homs soldier turned around to head down the stairs. He waited for the boys to leave so they would not see him cry over Fiora's death. She was the most precious thing in the world to Dunban, and the Mechon ripped her life away right before his eyes. First his mother and father, then his right arm and half his eyesight at Sword Valley, and now his sister. All of that, gone, never to come back.
Gently, as to not aggravate his injuries further, Dunban picks up on of the chairs of his dining table to store it away. No need for that if Fiora isn't going to come home and share dinner with her friends and family. He tries to keep the tears back as he looks on to the door of her bedroom. He never did understand why she insisted on sleeping downstairs, Dunban had always been willing to move the things from his room down there so she'd have more space. Not like it matters now, her room joins their parents' on being unoccupied now.
He brings himself to going inside. Fiora always welcomed her brother in there, but he never actually went inside after she met Shulk and Reyn. Compared the small amount of belongings Dunban kept, her room was neatly decorated. A few old dolls rested on her drawers. A few of Shulk's old drawings were stacked on her desk, and the old wooden daggers and shield Reyn's father made for the trio the play 'Hero, Mechon, Princess' were resting in the corner. Despite the fading sun, her room was dimly lit by an old Earth Ether lamp, it gave the room a subtle glow. Almost otherworldly.
It was difficult for Dunban to accept that his sister was gone. He spent seventeen years raising her, from infancy to adulthood. Now… now she's dead. Of course her brother was filled with rage, seeking revenge. But now was his time to mourn. He sat down on the floor, resting his head gently against her mattress. She didn't even bother making the bed today. Dunban closed his eyes as he choked back tears. He did everything he could to protect her, and it still wasn't enough. It will take a long time of the image of her blood on that faced Mechon's claws to leave him.
He thought losing his parents was hard enough to accept. He was only thirteen at the time, too young to really understand death when he and his sister were orphaned. Now? Now he's thirty years old, crying a river for the precious sister he loved and cared about more than life itself. Now, he's sitting alone in her room, finally learning what Reyn felt all those years ago when he ended up being the last person in his family…