In the days that followed the house became a garden, the sweet stench of the flowers turning toxic. As the flow of visitors thinned, so did the heavy sadness that surrounded the house.
Days turned into weeks, weeks turned to months. Sky lay half curled on his side where he had first found Ty's cold, lifeless body. His tears had run dry by the end of the first week. He refused to leave Ty's room and move to his own, but he still ate, drank and used the bathroom. He had made himself more at home in Ty's bed, thinking about the good times and how he would eventually see Ty again. The only thing that kept him alive was the thought that Ty wouldn't want him to give up that easily. So he didn't.
A year after Ty's death Sky found himself in the kitchen with a half-empty bottle of wine in one hand. Sky smiled sadly and walked into the lounge to watch some of Ty's favourite movies. The wine poured seamlessly into the glass and bit the lip of the glass as Sky tipped it back, downing a small portion of the dark, red liquid. His mind growing fuzzy as lights flashed across the screen and a soundtrack played low.
Sky awoke to a dark house. He slowly got up and walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. A flicker of white, draped in shadows, caught his eye. He reached out and grabbed the piece of paper with one hand, flipping it over as he inspected it. He felt sadness pool in the pit of his stomach as his mind finally figured out the words. The note talked about how the others had gone to Ty's grave and left him because they didn't want to wake him up after what had happened last night. Sky felt his face change into a frown, he reached a hand up to his face and felt the dried tear track that was left after last night. His mind tried to conjure up images, word, anything from last night, but he drew a blank. He decided to ask them when they got back, but for now, he should clean up the bottle, movies and glass he used last night.
Seto slowly opened the door and moved quietly passed the threshold. The rest of the group followed him inside and into the kitchen. They had all been up from five a.m. onwards and it was taking its toll now. Mitch yawned and leant his head on Jerome's shoulder. Seto looked at the two, smiling slightly and walked into the lounge to find Sky, who was by now asleep on the couch. It was quite a shock yesterday to find Sky in the lounge, crying and under the influence of alcohol. He had cried into Husky's chest, repeating Ty's name over and over again. It had been a real wake-up call for everyone, now realising what might become of their significant other. They had made a pact with their other to go together, no matter what the circumstances. Seto smiled absentmindedly and made his way to his bedroom.
Sky opened his eyes and winced at the bright sunlight. He sighed and got up from the couch, stretching and yawning, before leaving to go wash and clean himself. He turned on the water in the shower and waited for it to heat up. His head tilted back to look at the ceiling and wonder if the group should repaint it. When a mist began to fill the room he grabbed a towel and began the tedious task of cleaning his body. As he exited the shower he glanced in the mirror and stared at his reflection. He quickly got to work shaving the small beard that had formed over the past few days. As he exited the bathroom, Sky smiled. He felt clean. Purged for the first time in months.
Ty smiled as he watched the small humans below him. He sighed and turned back to the white, grey and gold of his home. He thought for a little while before deciding to venture off to find Alkiz. Since Ty had gotten back to the Aether he had not left this particular spot. He didn't need to retrieve food or water; he didn't need to sleep, nor did he need to move from his spot in any way. So, he stayed there for one Terra year and watched his friends become more accustomed to his absence. He finally felt like he was finished, he had done what he could and that's all he was asked to do. Now he had to find Alkiz, he really did worry about the Estrid, though he could never say why.
Ty began to run, his eyes looking around to find the Estrid. He spotted one and ran towards it, grabbing its cloak to get its attention.
"Hey, that's rude you know?!", the Estrid yelled at him.
"Do you know where Alkiz the Estrid is?", Ty asked, ignoring the Estrid's rage.
"Are you one of his friends?", the Estrid asked back.
Ty sighed, "Yes I am. Do you know where he is?"
"No, but he might be at the Estrid village, but no one's seen him for a while", the Estrid said.
Ty looked down at the ground.
"I can take you there if you want", the Estrid said.
"Yes please…", Ty said, trying to remember the Estrid's name.
"Jastir", Jastir supplied, "And you are?"
"Ty", Ty said.
"Well Ty, let's be on our way then", Jastir said.
"Uh, sorry about pulling on your cloak", Ty apologised.
"It's okay, I guess you didn't mean to cause any harm. Just remember not to pull on it again, okay?"
"Okay."
Songbird looked up at the sky from his branch. He sighed and curled up on it, trying to get comfortable. His heart aching all the while. He closed his eyes and let the darkness envelop his mind.