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Hope stood before the Grups as they all sat waiting for her to explain where their children were.
"So, until you have sorted things out we will stay where we are!" she said firmly "We wanted the anger and yelling to stop. We are all sad and we wanted a proper chance for this to be said and done. Everyone is acting weird and we don't like it. We want to cry, we eat a big feast in their honour and then we go on with what needs to be done. All this angry hissing and silent snarling is doing my head in. We are all scared. The children did not think much about death. Some have always been here, always safe. This is the first really scary accident they have ever seen. We are ready for Zs, ready for attacks but for a death to happen out of nowhere… let alone three. We need to understand cry and be sorry."
"We did have funerals and a wake and…"
"I was not finished speaking Victor" she said calmly, her head inclining in a most regal way that was really unnerving. "You are correct. You had a funeral and a wake. We did not. We were clinging to one another with confusion. They needed time to process, to be allowed to cry or be angry. Why did we not talk about this? We wanted it explained. It was not my job ya know."
"Hope, I hear you and your demands" Ianto spoke now "You want a special day for them, a day or sadness and talking about it. Grups allowed to cry too, or just be quiet and reflect. The children need to see that grief is normal too."
"It's all been about Uncle Sean … sorry uncle … it was all about him. Everyone watched him, worried about him. We are not doing this to be naughty. We are doing this to be heard" Hope took a step back from the table "Tadda, Daddy. Thank you for allowing us the place to hide and lick our wounds."
Ianto followed his daughter out into the tunnel system and drew her close "You are a clever little minx ya know. Making everyone focus. Good food, warm hugs and everyone forced to spend a day together. You are making them face it."
"As you always tell me Tadda, better to look it in the eye than run without looking back. Either way, the problem is there. Better face it than have it chase you" she smiled "I may not be an Alpha but I am a leader. I have to take a stand here, they need to be given guidance."
"Not an Alpha? Are you sure? You are definitely Wolfling" Ianto agreed, the guidance for the Grups as important as for the children.
It was agreed that the children would come home the next day and spend a day preparing with crafts and school at the school, then there would be a 'proper' wake. A bonfire, a time for reflection and in future there would be a more organised method of mourning.
With everything that had happened, death had become something they accepted. The kids were right. That's not fair. Death should not be just an accepted thing and move on. There should be sorrow, pause and a chance to vent.
To mourn.
Each life was worth that. A moment.
There needed to be a proper cemetery and some form of service. Just the current graveside thing was clearly traumatic for the children who only saw someone they loved getting put in a hole. Of course it was scary and confusing. These little ones who did not know the horrors the Grups had lived through in the 'early years' of the Zs.
No one had even considered this before.
Ianto walked his daughter back to Shangri-la and considered a lot of the old ways that had changed or simply been dropped. He looked down at his daughter and smiled "You know there is another custom we don't do anymore."
"What's that?"
"A naming ceremony" Ianto smiled as he stopped walking and explained "A new baby would get their name given to them publically. Then there is a party where everyone meets the baby and celebrates the name. We don't do that here."
"That sounds like fun" Hope frowned "But how would we do that now? To start it is unfair to those who never had one!"
"Well … we could have one big one? How about…. How about we have a celebration when we agree the mourning period is over. We can have a special ceremony where everyone can say their names out loud and get a gift. Names at your seats like a real dining experience. Us Grups will serve you as you all sit at the big table like you will one day a Grups. Then … each new baby gets a party and a naming day. No one will have missed out and it will signal an end to the sadness in a good way? Working forward we will do it for each new member?"
"I like that, I will put that to them. Taddy, thank you for not being angry. I know we are being a bit naughty like this but the feels were all messed up" Hope accepted a hug and snuggled into her Tad for a moment, as she enjoyed his warm love.
"Go on sweetling, tell them they won. I will come with some food soon."
She skipped off and Ianto sighed, rushing to explain to everyone the Name Ceremony idea.
Hopefully it would unruffle several feathers.