A story done by guestsurprise! Enjoy
Lilac and Bella felt tears rolling down their eyes. The director of the orphanage they were at passed away. She was always so kind to them and loved them more than anything. Her death made the day dark and sad.
Lilac hung her head and Bella looked like she wanted nothing but silence. Both slowly let tears roll down their faces as they changed for the funeral.
"How could she leave us like this? Mrs. White was wonderful," Bella said.
"This day just couldn't get any worse," Lilac said, now hanging her head. Bella then held her friend's hand and they headed out the door to the funeral.
After the funeral…
Jocu could feel their pain a mile away and immediately after the funeral the girls were brought to the realm. Upon arrival, they noticed the brothers looking at them in agony and all of them surrounded the girls.
"Please guys…no tickling," Lilac said, now placing her head in her hands.
"We are not here to tickle you guys," Lauhin said, now walking through his sons and the girls noticed that their usual bright colors began to fade. Even Lauhin's black fur looked dull and without shine.
"W-What's wrong with you guys?" Bella asked, now seeing their usual bright smiles replaced with frowns.
"We too knew Mrs. White. We were not close, but she was a kind lady and we are sorry to hear of her passing," Lauhin said, now kneeling and the brothers kneeled too. The girls then saw for the first time that the atmosphere seemed to change. A dullness seemed to fill the air and the brothers usual shine was gone from their usual gleaming fur. And an eerie fog began to rise around them.
"Bella…." Lilac said calmly.
"What?" Bella responded.
"Mourning." Lilac said.
"What?"
"I said…mourning. That's what they're doing." Lilac said, now pointing at all of them. Even Queen Bliss was kneeling in pain.
The girl then watched as they all formed a circle and Lauhin seemed to be holding a white circular light in his hands. They then watched as Lauhin seemed to place his forehead against the bright light.
"As one goes to the Final Realm, a new light is born," Lauhin said, now releasing the white light and it shot into the sky and disappeared.
Lilac and Bella then saw as the entire family stood and the atmosphere seemed to go back to normal. Even though their fur went back to normal, the family still wore grim expressions.
"I-Is that how you all handle…pain?" Lilac asked.
"Typically yes…unless…well…unless…." Vivo stopped, now looking at Lauhin who nodded and stepped in.
"Lilac, our reactions are different based on the individual. We react similarly to how you humans do with people you do and do not know well. What we did was out of respect and also because our kind dislikes sadness and pain," Lauhin said, now looking at them with sadness.
"And as a memorial to their death, we usually keep our lights dim for the remainder of the day," Bliss said sadly.
The girls nodded and wiped their tears, still thinking about Mrs. White. And it wasn't long before all of the brothers surrounded them and cuddled them.
"There, there…it's going to be alright my dear," Jape said, now holding Bella close.
"Things will get better," Jocu said, now embracing Lilac. Soon both girls were put together as all of the brothers and rulers crowded around them. The girls were starting to feel better because even through pain, the family was there for them.
"What would we do without them?" Bella said.
"We would be lost without them…that's for sure," Lilac answered. As the family cuddled around them, the girls slowly went to sleep, feeling their love and warmth surrounding them like a real blanket.
A few months later….
Ben and a few of the aliens were sitting down with Jocu and his brothers when all of the sudden the brothers looked up and looked horrified!
"Jocu? Jape?" Feedback asked warily.
"Vivo? Amio?" Four Arms asked, now gently touching their shoulders.
"Blithe? Buddy answer me," Ben said, now gently shaking him.
"Jovi? Jest? Hey!" Gena said, now gently touching their faces. But after a moment, Jocu hung his head.
"We must go. Brothers…now!" Jocu called out, now teleporting away. The brothers all nodded and disappeared into thin air!
"WAIT! Guys wait! What's going on?!" Ben called, now looking around the room in concern.
"Ben, we must wait…we can't go to their realm unless they bring us," Vamps said in concern.
Ben looked at him and nodded, but knew that something was very wrong.
And indeed it was.
The brothers and their family just experienced the loss of one of their dearest friends. He was a sergeant in the army and was a very close friend of theirs.
The entire royal family shed tears that made scars down their cheeks and Lauhin even shed a tear. The brothers then formed a circle and they all let out animalistic cries that rang into the night. Their cries were so heartbreaking and terrible that even Nitians were somewhat scared. For a pain and intensity to ring the realm and shake the mountains, it was coming from the depths of their souls. Their fur began to fade darker and dimmer and their glow was gone. But the worse was yet to come. Their sorrow caused dark, black clouds to form and soon it began to rain and soak them all to the bone. But no one moved. Even the knights knelt in respect for the family's sorrow.
"As one life ends, another begins…" Lauhin said, now holding a ball of light. He then released their former comrade's soul into the final realm. As the family watched it go into the sky, Lauhin turned to them sadly. "Rest everyone…it is time to rest."
Everyone bowed their head and soon the entire family turned still as if they were made of stone. Their fur became a dark gray and they closed their eyes as they were still in a kneeling position. The family had gone into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile…
"Guys, something is wrong! We need to get in contact with Jocu and the others!" Ben said.
"But we need to get to their realm first," Four Arms said.
"But how?" Ben asked.
But before Ben knew it, he and a few of the aliens were teleported to the realm. Ben's eyes widened in horror as he saw the dark rain and black sky! The wind was blowing and he let out a yell of horror in what he saw!
"LOOK! GUYS LOOK!" Ben screamed. He then ran forward and saw the entire family kneeling in a circle and they appeared like they were in a deep sleep but in a kneeling position.
"What do we do?!" Four Arms said, now looking at them in a panic.
"I brought you here to let you know what is happening," the captain of the knights said as he stood up.
"What's going on?" Vamps asked.
"Young prince…the family has just lost a good human friend of theirs. He died this morning. After hearing the news, they did a ceremony to help his soul cross into the final realm and now they are in the deep sleep." Optimo explained.
"What is this 'deep sleep'?" Ben asked now concerned.
"It is when they completely shut themselves from the outside world. They can still hear you, but they have still gone into a deep meditation to recover from their grief. When things like this happen, we protect the realm until the family has woken up," Optimo said.
"But what if the Nitians' attack?!" Ben asked.
"Do not worry. The family still has consciousness around them; if danger was eminent, they would awaken. But for now, they are not reachable." Optimo said.
"So they can hear us, but they won't respond to us?" Ben asked in concern.
"Yes young one. But I brought you here to let you know why they left you so briskly," Optimo said, now seeing that the rain began to beat down harder. "You all had better go."
"No! We can't leave them like this; we have to snap them out of it," Four Arms said.
"No one has ever brought a Lauhinian out of a deep sleep. Only they can come out of it when they are rejuvenated," Optimo said sadly, now walking to the large red alien. "Do not be concerned; they will return in time."
"But for how long?" Ben asked, now having a bad feeling about this.
"No one knows for sure," Optimo said, now seeing Ben walk around to each one and hug them. The aliens did the same as well.
"Guys…I know you can hear me…but please know that we love you. Please wake up soon," Ben whispered.
"You all are not in this battle alone; let us help you just like you help us," Vamps said, now gently touching Amio's back.
But what Ben saw was a small red flash that passed over Jocu's back before it went back to dark gray.
"Ben…he heard you. Do not be concerned…Jocu heard you," Optimo said.
"But I want to talk to them now," Ben said, now feeling his own heart breaking. Optimo gently shushed him and touched his head.
"Be calm young human. There has never been a time where the family has never recovered. All will be well," Optimo reassured them as he teleported them back to Earth. As Ben was heading back to Earth, he could have sworn that he saw Jest slowly move. But it was hard to tell.
A few hours later….
Ben and the others were waiting for any news from the brothers when Optimo appeared before him. Ben shot to his feet and ran to him.
"Are they awake?! Is everything alright?" Ben asked.
"Ben, do not be concerned. The rain has stopped and the weather has been going back to normal. They are not awake yet, but if the weather is improving it means they will wake up soon," Optimo explained.
"But I really want to speak to them…" Ben said, but suddenly he heard a voice in his head.
"Ben…we are alright. Rest yourself…." The deep voice cooed. It sounded like Jocu.
"Jocu…will you all wake up soon?" Ben asked.
"We will soon enough young one. But this is how we heal when we deal with loss. Do not be concerned about us; we hear you and we are still near you. It will simply take some time," Jocu said gently, now fading away.
"Ok Jocu…just….hurry back soon," Ben said gently, now turning and explaining what he heard to the others. Optimo nodded and then disappeared back into the realm as well to keep guard. Even though the family was going through a hard time, they still were watching over Ben and his friends.
guestsurprise: Everyone deals with death differently. The royal family takes it very hard when someone they truly care about passes away. So much so that they go into a deep sleep to recover. They are still alive and aware of their surroundings, but that is their time to heal from emotional pain. This story was done for my good buddy RD, who wanted to know how my royal family deals with pain in various circumstances.