Yuluulth

In the modern day, funerals were rare... which is probably why everyone was staring at our procession.

A mass of people wearing black, right behind Jyn and Vindicost carrying a coffin, all passing through a busy street on a sunny Drevvsday morning.

I didn't know it was possible to feel so out of place.

Other than Jyn, Vindicost, and I, Seliel, Lviyr, and our [Worldbinder] came too... it was the old gang back together again...

I wished with all of my heart that it was under better circumstances.

The venue was an open-air cemetery on Jyn's home planet, as was in his brother's will.

Friends and colleagues of the departed had already set up a podium with a small canopy and enough pews to seat everyone.

Jyn and Vindicost placed down the coffin between the podium and pews, and then they both split ways, Vindicost taking a seat in the front row and Jyn walking up to the podium.

Jyn made sure the receiver was working and then spoke. "I'm not very good at this sort of thing... but I feel like I'd regret it if I didn't say something here. A lot of people knew Rej as the Secretary Of Science And Exploration for this sector... but I knew him as my brother." Jyn's jaw quivered for a moment, before he continued. "I remember when we were kids, he'd help me with my homework and chores... he was always a better man than I ever could hope to be." His sensory flanges started to visibly leak, despite his attempts to hide it by wiping the fluid away. "Rej... he... I owed him for so much..."

Vindicost jogged up to the podium and handed Jyn a box of tissues, which he used to temporarily dry the sides of his face.

After taking a another deep breath, Jyn leaned forward again. "Rej... wherever you are, I hope it's better than here."

With that, Jyn stepped off the podium and was ushered away to the side by Vindicost.

A few more people spoke on behalf of Rej, but I wasn't listening anymore.

I didn't personally know him very well, but from the few times I talked to him he seemed like a pretty nice guy, constantly busy though, so it was never that long of a chat.

When it was all over, I exhaled.

I had made my mind up.

I walked to Jyn and Vindicost.

Jyn sensory flanges pulsed. "What do you want?"

Anger spiked at his abrasive attitude, but I let it go. "Jyn, I know it feels like each of us has all the time we could possibly need... but all of this has made me realize that I can't leave things unsaid."

Jyn was too stunned to reply, which is likely the only reason he didn't interrupt me.

I bowed. "I never meant to put a strain on our friendship, I'm just realizing more and more that I don't really understand how you guys think. I always try to figure it out without checking in with you which is stupid... stupid and maybe a little arrogant." I teared up. "If we have so much time, what's a couple minutes to talk to your friends right?"

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"A little he says." Jyn muttered.

I looked up at him. "What?"

Vindicost tried to impose himself between us, but Jyn pushed him away with his offhand.

"No Vindicost he's right, we need to have a chat." He pressed a finger into my chest, pushing me backward a step. "Alright mister 'a little arrogant', let me tell you the deal. I figure that apology really helped your ego, but words won't fix the things you did."

"Did me letting you win all that time ago really make you feel this bad?"

Jyn's flanges flared, and he grabbed me by the neck. "It's not about that you idiot! It's the fact that you believed you were so much better than me that I needed it! That you would deign to let the peons step upon your throne! Then you insulted me year after year, belittling me as best as you could, because of course you're better aren't you?!"

Now I got mad. "You make it sound like you never insulted me you quizbleching chafer! You're no saint either!"

He smiled grimly at me. "Oh right, like those pathetic attempts were anything like you said... all of your insults really hurt you patchy spewer! I was never good with words and you know that! That's why you always say things about the parts of me I don't like, so you can feel better about yourself! You can feel better that that moron Jyn won't ever be able to keep up with you!"

I pried his hand off of me and got into his face. "Is that what you think?! Jyn, you insulted who I am on many occasions, my people, my family... all for things we can't control!"

He laughed bitterly. "Oh yeah, like what?!"

I pulled up my shirt and tore off a small chunk of molted carapace. "When you call me 'patchy', what do you think that means to me? That's the same as making fun of me for eating or going to the bathroom, just because I don't do it the same way as you do!"

"Oh get off it! If you weren't such a baby, this wouldn't-"

But I never let him finish that thought.

I closed my claw and punched him in the face. "How dare you?! Calling me immature for being angry on behalf of my people?!"

Jyn staggered backward, not expecting the blow, but he quickly got over it. "And by 'your people', you mean those same people who strong-armed us into the galactic community?! Those people?"

"That was for your own goo-"

I was suddenly sent into the air and through the podium by a massive backhand.

Jyn's jaw was trembling in rage. "My people never asked for your help! We were fine before you came!"

I rose and dusted the podium chunks off of me. "Maybe if your people weren't so up their own excretion flaps about getting outside help, they would have already invented interstellar travel by the time we got there!"

Jyn charged forward, throwing a massive fist at me. "You don't get to decide that!"

I dodged to the side and used all four of my legs to add force to my counter. "Maybe if you were willing to discuss what the issue was, we wouldn't have had to take drastic measures!"

He grabbed me by the midsection and slammed me into the ground. "Maybe there was never a problem and all you bleeding hearts didn't know how to leave well enough alone!"

I pinched as hard as I could between Jyn's forearm bones, forcing him to drop his grip with a grunt of pain.

I followed up by using his own weight to force him to the ground and laying into his head. "Maybe 'well enough' is just an excuse!"

He swatted me off of him. "Arrogant!"

I skidded to a stop and rushed toward him. "Stubborn!"

As soon as I was in reach, Jyn clobbered me with the bottom of his fist, knocking me to the ground. "Underhanded!"

I rolled to the side to avoid another blow, and kicked with two legs into his midsection, causing him to stagger and fall over. "Paranoid!"

He then picked up a pew and slammed it into me. "Pansy!"

I picked up a shard from the pew and bashed the point into his arm... to no effect other than discomfort. "Musclehead!"

Before we could continue, the crashing of a structure followed by a grunt of pain resounded from the side of us.

Our attention snapped over to the source, and we saw our [Worldbinder] with the canopy leaning on her, directly in front of the coffin which was toppled over by Vindicost in a hasty attempt to get it out of the way.

Our [Worldbinder] then pushed the canopy away, and turned to us. "Did you get it out of your system?"

We looked at each other, neither of us even breathing heavily from the exertion, let alone marked by any of the onslaught we unleashed on each other... besides having ruined each others' clothes that is.

Jyn's jaw tensed, before he spoke. "Has our fighting always been like this?"

I gulped. "I think it has."

After a minute of just inspecting the carnage from our fight, Jyn held out a hand. "I promise to talk to you more and insult you less... I never meant anything by it."

I took his hand carefully in my claw, as not to pinch it. "I promise not to let the occasional slip-up hurt my feelings and let you do things your way... even if my neat-freak brain screams otherwise."

Jyn grinned. "I think I can work with that."

I chuckled. "I hope so, because it's my best offer."

Jyn nudged my shoulder playfully and I nudged him back, as we walked forward to help clean up the mess we made.