A young lass's pet passes on, and with a priest's help, Serene aids her dour roomate in setting it to rest. Part one of a two part series.

"So does she go to heaven?" Cherise asks. The twelve year old is talking to an acolyte, a young, clean-shaven man who smells like incense. He's holding what looks to be a...tiny box, and is waving a brass ball over it. The smoke it emits is a light blue-gray, and also smells like incense. "Well, that's quite the question, isn't it?" They're just outside the manor. On Lady Sandiel's front lawn. Where else? And it's probably about to get dug up again. The little girl's one of the servant's.

Serene enters the yard from the street at a swift stride, letting inertia close it behind her as she stalks up towards the manor. She appears a little roughed up, and the cowl of her cloak is drawn up to obscure her face in shadows. There's little that can be done to hide the blood staining the cloth, however, or the scratches in her breastplate. Or the rends in her leathered gauntlets.

And there's Sandy. She's just emerging into the courtyard, herself, with a glower on her face. She looks less than happy. Then she notices that there are people here. Like Serene. She eyes the paladin for a moment. "Just what have you been into -now-, Serene?" Then she notices Kerbasi, "And who the fuck is that?'

"I like t' think most of them do," Kerbasi says, and it has the start of a spiel. "Now it depends, and you'll have t' tell me--was she a good cat?" he asks Cherise. He gives the incense another swing, then hands it to her, "Now kiss it," and she does, and he swings it over the--it's a pet coffin--again. Bemused eyes meet them both, but he's On Duty just right now. Although, Sandy's tone makes the little girl promptly burst into TEARS.

Serene slows without really altering course, turning her head just slightly to regard first the crying child and the strange man speaking to her. Then to regard Sandy. "Watch your mouth around the children," the paladin admonishes her, her tone suggesting that the elf should know better. And neatly dodges the first question as she turns back to face the manor once more.

Rolling her eyes, Sandy says, "Oh, great," when the kid bursts into tears. "All right. I won't cuss," she tells Serene, "as soon as you tell me what happened to your face and what clawed you." She walks over towards Kerbasi, though, "and...did something die?" She peers at the coffin, curiously. The little coffin. "Oh, right," she mutters after a moment.

"She was the /best/ cat," Cherise mumbles. She smoothes her dress and hiccups in frustration. And so Kerbasi looks up at Sandy, and passes her well--it's a cookie. And it's black. And it's shaped like a coffin. With sprinkles. "Kerbasi, servant of the Patient Lady," he whispers his introduction, and then a little louder, and back to that gentler, I'm On Duty tone of voice, "The best cat died," he informs her gravely. His voice is even slightly warm as he pats the girl's hair. "But we're in luck...this--is ah lady of th' moon goddess. Did you know all cats danced under th' moon?"

Serene stops, shoulders tensing. She looks with narrowed eyes at Sandy for a moment, then turns just a little to gaze at Kerbasi and Cherise. "And if the cat so chooses, she will join Eluna and dance with her still."

Giving Serene a flat look, Sandy then turns back towards Kerbasi and the child and just grunts. "She's right, of course. That's an Eluna thing." She nods, solemnly. She eyes Kerbasi warily. Just warily.

Kerbasi beams at them both, as though they'd said just the Right Thing. Really. He reaches around and hugs the little girl again. After a moment, she nods, and leans up--he holds the box--and she kisses the box goodbye before scurrying off. He watches her go, and then turns to regard them both. His eyes are light and lively, too. "I don' suppose I could offer y' a cookie? I bought a few from th' chapterhouse." His hands hold the tiny coffin carefully.

Serene gives her head a small shake. "Thank you, know. I find I have no appetite for the moment. Now if you will excuse me..." She turns to regard Sandy again. "Is it alright if I go inside now? I would rather this not get infected... it is likely to scar as it is, and I would like to minimize that." The paladin shudders. And perhaps finally reveals why she's particularly testy at the moment.

"Cleric," says Sandy, casually, "Please tend to Serene. While you're here, you know." She gives Kerbasi a look that seems to insist that she expects him to do as she says. She glares at Serene too. "Don't move a bloody muscle," she adds. And in fact, while that's going on, she turns towards the little girl's path, watching her go. Just in case.

Kerbasi's brows rise, just like that. "Won't take but a minute if you'd like me to see t' that," he offers jovially, despite the subject at hand. And produces a second box anyway, which he hands to the elf. "For you--I'm going t' be digging up your yard," polite, cheerful. Nonnegociable. The little girl's cat needs buried. The little girl's mom works for Sandy. The little girl's cat gets buried here. After a moment, he hands Sandiel the coffin, too. There! And he reaches for a set of what else? Bandages. And lots of jars of things that are probably very smelly and medical.

And then, a, "You, sit," he tells Serene. He gestures with a single finger. And continues sorting. Apparently that just became nonnegociable, too.

Something low emits from Serene's throat.. until she realizes that a cleric tending to her face is likely to minimize the scarring even further. So she raises her chin a little, then reaches up and pulls her hood back and lets it fall behind her, revealing the raking claw marks that, thankfully, missed her eyes. She turns towards Kerbasi once.. then nods. She seeks out the steps to the manor, being rather close, and eases herself down.

"..can't believe they make *coffin* cookies," Sandy c an be heard to mutter under her breath. She appears to be glaring at the pair now, though, and waiting the two of them to, you know, finish up. She taps her foot.

Kerbasi arranges the medicals quickly, his slender fingers moving with a calm practice that matches anything but the cheerful tone of his voice. "Can't have that scarring a pretty face like yours," he tells Serene. He reaches up to tuck her hair away and gives a sympathetic wince, "Missed y' eyes, didn't it? You nearly had a dance with Patience...now--hold still, will y'?" and that's all the warning she gets. Alcohol applied to the cuts, wounds. And he's gently working the dirt away. "Try one of th' sugars. They're m'favorites," he suggests to Sandy.

Serene isn't really a stranger to pain.. yet she still flinches. At least, her eyes twitch and her face tenses. She looks straight ahead, past Kerbasi's shoulder, gaze fixed on something in the distance. "If this scars... perhaps blindness would have been a blessing."

"Oh, y'had quite the brush up," wipe wipe, "What did y'do? Insult its mother?" wipe, wipe, wipe. Kerbasi reaches up to hold two flaps of skin together. He has a healer's hands, and it's gentle, though possibly rough on freshly cut skin. Not that a toughened paladin like Serene would notice the pain. Or even acknowledge it! She probably just you know, glares at it until it goes away. Whimpering. Still, there's an odd sensation starting to build and spread over the marks. The feeling's chill and cold, forged of the gray steadiness of the world beyond. It floods the wounds before perversely, warming and starting to ease the hurt away.

Tutting, Sandy says, teasingly, to Serene, "Come now, Serene. Is it really so fitting of a paladin to be so *vain*?" Her voice is light, here, and she obviously has some affection for the paladin as she says it. She eyes Kerbasi balefully, though, and says, "So who the hell called you, anyways?"

Serene notices the pain. It's just that she's braced for it. And seems more distressed over how the wound makes her look. She'd scowl at Sandy if she weren't trying to hold still for Kerbasi's treatments, but her eyes can still move.. and they are full of unkind thoughts directed the elf's way. When the pain starts to fade, slowly, she relaxes, slowly, as well.. maybe gaining trust that this fellow knows what he's doing.

"Does it matter?" Kerbasi asks Sandy. He draws his hand away, and the sensation gradually goes with it. But the pain does, too. His fingers tilt her chin first this way and then that, and though there are a few angry lines, the open wounds are gone, leaving a little numbness behind. "Should I offer you a speech from th' gods? Outlining how it was Her will I showed up, and your friend's face was healed?" Eyes ligh and...Lively. He seems to know exactly what the elf might answer, too, even the sheer audacity of his comments, because he grins, and reaches for one of the jars.

"Only as a chance to take my shots at Serene," says Sandy, wryly. She places her hands together behind her back, looking the very picture of innocence for a moment before she rolls her eyes at Kerbasi and says, "Yeah, sure. You could. But then I might be forced to punch you and I think Serene would then smite me for it."

Serene reaches up to touch her face.. or rather, she nearly does. Her fingers fall short, however, as she gets control over herself.. touching them can't help, and could possibly hurt, the healing process. She rises then. "My thanks, Ser. Perhaps I will not have to end my life tonight after all." Surely that's somewhat extreme.. however the glance she throws Sandy suggests it was made entirely for her benefit. She reaches for her cowl again, then sighs when she feels the dried blood there and promptly removes it so that she can look. "I do not know if this will come out."

"Oh, but then I'd have t' give another speech. My own funeral, y'see," he says easily, and opens one of the jars. Yes, they SMELL. He takes a knife, then, and places an amount of it onto a waxed paper, then begins rolling this in gauze. "But your friend looks as stubborn as sh' is beautiful...do y'think you could convince her t'put this on the next couplea days?" he asks. He hands the package to Sandy. Paladins. Stubborn as hell, to a cleric. But maybe an old friend can convince them to take care of themselves.

Sandy looks down at the package. She looks at it. It's been given to her. She looks over at Serene. Then the package. "Somehow, I shall endeavour to do so," she says with a drawl. "I'm sure I can manage, but you never know. Paladins are," she raises her voice now and says, "VERY VERY DIFFICULT."

Serene sniffs once, then utters a soft incantation as she passes one of her hands over the worst of the bloodstains. It fades a little bit, but remains obvious. "I am sure you are referring to some other paladin. I believe myself to be quite accomodating."

Kerbasi laughs aloud, at that. "My hat off t' you, Lady," he pauses, as though bemused at this, "Except I don't have one. My faith doesn't have many of your kind, Moon's Blessed--w'have alot of hunters, though. But th' more like grumpy bears than anything." It's said in light, caring jest. Hey, they're going to be part of his flock one day. And it's probably true. Especially in the winter. Curious eyes flicker over the cloth as it's cleaned, though. Details. Curiosity. He looks back at them both.

"Yes, of course. You are very accomodating, Serene, for a paladin. Which is, to say, not very much at all." Sandy shakes her head, then rolls her eyes at Kerbasi. "What the hell is your name again?" She squints at him, like he's some sort of weird specimen.

Serene continues to try and clean her cloak, arcane syllables falling quietly off of her tongue as she STUBBORNLY tries to clean it... but the attempts are in vain. As little effect as her first attempt had, it was still more than her last. So she sighs. "It will have to be burned. And I do not believe he gave his name, Sandiel... you really ought to work on your manners some."

"Kerbasi d'Elazar. Servant of the Patient Lady. I'm here on Her business," he says cheerfully. And well, he had, but he's not going to correct either one of them. He'd get punched, then smited. "But if you'll direct me to th' shovels, I'll be glad t'see to t' finishing it."

"Right, right. Servant of the patient lady. Got it," says Sandy, glaring after Serene. "Fucking shovels in the fucking work shed," she points around back towards the side of the building. She turns then towards Serene and glares at her again. "Sandy. No calling me Sandiel!"

Serene frowns. "Are you sure it would not be more appropriate for /Sandy/ to bury the child's cat? As lady of the manor, she has an obligation to take care of those who depend on her support. It would be a matter of responsiblity, I think."

"Really? That's what goes on there? Interesting, shocking, terrible," and Kerbasi's grin could blind the sun. "Your friend is right. It /is/ appropriate. Hmm...but I suppose I could handle th' digging. I'll give y'the rites t' say, Lady. The child will feel better--and that's what this is about, isn't it?"

"Oh, for.." Sandy looks annoyed. She gives Serene a dirty look. A downright venemous look, actually, and then heads for the shed. Just....snarling. Also? Swearing. Profusely.

He so just tied it to the welfare of children.

Serene's features remain grinless. But that should be little surprise. After all, she would never stoop to such lows because of some rivalry. In fact, after folding up her cloak she remains outside instead of continuing on her way to repair her armour. Clearly she intends to remain while the rites are read.

So to the shed goes Sandy. She fetches the shovels, of course, one for herself and one for Kerbasi and, yes, one for Serene. There is no way she is escaping without digging if she's going to remain outside. She'll make sure of that.

Kerbasi does not grin, either, but he folds his hands together, briefly, before going over and gathering up the incense and puttering over a bit of paper. He looks up when Sandy makes her way back.

Serene gives Sandy a look.. and if she were to say, "Are you serious? I might get dirty." it wouldn't have been out of place. However, she accepts the shovel. And after marking out a small section for the cat coffin, she spears it into the ground.

Smiling winningly at Serene, Sandy goes to dig right with her. Eventually, a small hole is formed. She looks all pleased with herself. Ha ha ha!

Once the hole's dug, Kerbasi trades the elf her shovel for a small sheet of paper. Which he folds her fingers over, squeezing gently as though passing along an important message. And it probably well, is. He winks at Serene, and then the paladin is given--what else? the coffin itself. It's very small, about one and a half feet in length at its longest. "The young girl can trust you t' keep him safe, I think," he suggests. "Would y'accept this duty? And place him in the earth?"

Serene accidentally drops the coffin and it splits apart whereupon the kitty corpse rolls out and bumps Sandy's leg

'Mummy!' the kitty-corpse says. And purrrrs, rubbing Sandy's leg.

'Mummy!' the kitty-corpse says. And purrrrs. Because Serene's covered in bandages!

The kitty-corpse bats at Serene's leggings. 'Love me' those giant, liquid-rotting eyes say.

Having little choice in the matter, Serene accepts the task solemly, tucking the vessel under her arm until the time to bury it arrives. What else can she do?

Finally finishing getting the hole all dug out and the right size for the little kitty corpse, Sandy pulls back and then scowls. And waits. Yes, that's right. What, you thought she was gonna do something else?

Kerbasi stands back, and lifts the incense. He passes it over the coffin a few times, and soon the air's thick with it. It's sort of sickly sweet that way. "Go ahead and read," he whispers to Sandy. His eyes flicker--that's not a grin, is it? And yet it's perfectly serious. He stands aside, and gestures for Serene to place the tiny box.

The little kitty-corpse looks up at Sandy and purrrrs.

"Bury me," it says, "Or I will turn into an undead Rana." :(

Serene waits. And watches Sandy. Expectantly. After having to dig, and probably get dirt under her fingernails, she's not going to let Sandy weasel out of this.

"..Eternal rest grand unto this one, Vardama, and let perptual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all your faithful departed, through the mercy of you, rest in peace." Sandy reads it somewhat stiltedly once the box is placed by Serene. She really, really does want to read this, but she totally will anyways. There's a bit of spite in her tone.

As Sandy begins to read, the paladin places the box into its cradle in the earth, created lovingly by the elven landlord. She is silent, as her role requires to be, and when she rises and the rites come to an end, she nods once.

Kerbasi's still learning to be a professional. So Sandy still gets glared at. But the incense is waved again over the small box. The air's thick with it, now. Otherworldly, that says, but there's a sweetness, too. He grins as Serene places the box, and one more pass of scent. "Thank you," he says softly, and raises his voice, "Patient One, guide this little one's soul, hold him to your breast until his goddess comes," here, his eyes flicker, lighten. Laughter again, as though it's just...the natural mode of the man, "And he follows his moonbeams home. Let him laugh, goddess." He lowers his hands again. And just well, smiles. It's not quite a grin, but it comes close.

Sandy says, "Right, then." She brushes her hands off and goes to push the dirt back on to the casket, encouraging Serene to help. It won't take long, after all, before they're both patting the earth down with the blades of the shovel. Hopefully, no dog will come over and dig up mister kitty.

After the earth is packed, Serene hands Sandy back her shovel. "The child will be comforted," she declares. "It is good that you came... I believe that you were the right person for this," she goes on to tell Kerbasi. "Now, if you both will excuse me, this armour will not repair itself. Thanks once more for your healing, Kerbasi d'Elazar." With courtsey met and dispensed with, the paladin turns about and heads for the manor once again.

Kerbasi looks pleased--his face flushes with it, and he bows twice, waving as the paladin makes her way home. And he does look pleased. As punch, really. "Lady's steps light your way," he says, and goes to fetch the cookie box. Because, you know. You have to celebrate a good burial with cookies.

"See you tomorrow, Serene," says Sandy, placing the shovels over her shoulder, together, with a loud clang. She turns and begins to maker her way towards the shed with a scowl on her face. A SCOWL.

Kerbasi opens the box--mm. Peanut butter? He munches on them happily. Very happily, and there's a lightness to his step as he walks slow circles around the yard. He takes his time before he gathers the other shovels and his things. The stack of smelly, smelly jars. And coffin cookies.

Serene has disconnected.