She's seen him at the breaking point before – the battle with Vaatu still haunts their nightmares to this day – she just wished she'd never see him there again.
But under the circumstances, she can't really blame him for it.
Digging the grave for their beloved companion took hours, not only because he insisted on doing it the old-fashioned way, but because he kept having to pause to give his aching bones a brief moment of rest.
Wan didn't stop crying in all that time, which wasn't surprising; Mula was his oldest friend, longer than even Raava. He'd had a special bond with the cat-deer, something that is rarely seen between human and animal.
She remains silent for the most part, allowing him to wallow for a while, though she intervenes quickly if he keeps going when his muscles are too strained. There are no words said, nothing to be expressed; they already know each other well enough to understand everything that needed to be.
The hill they'd chosen is lovely; a single cherry blossom tree standing over a long sweep of grassy valley, just the place Mula would have loved in life or death.
Lowering the stiff body is a challenge because of creaking, stubborn joints, but Wan is persistent. He manages to put his old friend in place without any harm.
They stand there, staring down at the wrapped corpse that had been their loyal friend and companion throughout so many adventures. Wan's tears have dried; Raava is silently reciting an old prayer she'd heard some millennia ago about peaceful rest.
Then, he sets to work on burying the cat-deer.
She's seen him at the breaking point. She's seen him on the ground, sprawled out where her greatest enemy had nearly destroyed him.
She's seen him at his best. She'd been with him to defeat Vaatu and save the world as was their duty.
But she'd been wrong before. Saving the world wasn't strength, it was loyalty; to her, to his spirit friends, to those humans he hadn't been able to save from Vaatu's influence all those years ago.
Because now she's seen his true strength.
Walking away from that hilltop was the strongest thing she'd ever seen him do.
A/N:... you knew this story would have angst, so I have nothing to say.
~Persephone