Song: Swallowed in the Sea, Coldplay
Focal Character(s): Yuan, Botta
Bottta died in the line of duty. The death of a soldier was far from unheard of; it was always a possibility. Renegades had died before.
Yuan had seen more than his share of people die. He'd lived for four thousand years, after all. But over the years he'd known Botta, they'd become friends, somehow. Yuan didn't make friends easily, but he'd come to count Botta among the few he had.
So when Botta died, as a soldier, Yuan moved on. But as a friend, he grieved.
Bottta died in the line of duty, but that didn't make the grief any less.