RP:Bank Heists And Broken Hearts

Summary: Khitti, Meri, and Lanara meet at the Ginger Snapped Bakery, to discuss how best to break into the Cenril bank to retrieve the rose quartz skull from a safety deposit box. If Lana's assets hadn't been frozen, the keeper of the skull could have strolled into the bank and reclaimed her property, but nothing is ever that easy. As the trio are going over Khitti's findings in a notebook, they all become rather distracted, as Talyara enters the establishment. The witches are shocked to see one another, as one was believed to be in Frostmaw, and the other in an asylum, so the bank heist operation is momentarily put on hold as the sisters have a brief reunion. Meri vows to further research their best options for getting past security and magical barriers and getting the skull, while Khitti tells Taly and Lana that there's something they have to privately discuss. Sadly, it's discovered that Scandal has passed from this realm, leaving them all heartbroken.

Part of the Magic, Madness, and Mayhem Arc

Khitti || Since the discussion about the bank heist, Khitti’d been keeping an eye on the situation on the outside of the bank. And when she wasn’t doing that, she was reading up on the bank itself. Khitti went through the effort of purchasing a new notebook--her other was filled with Shadow Plane-related things that she hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to Meri about yet--and notes would quickly fill up the pages as days passed. For the sake of not seeming entirely suspicious with constant meetings in her apartment, Khitti opted for the three of them to go over things in the bakery. It was early enough in the day that the shop was busy and everyone there was more concerned about themselves than anyone else. Victoria was told, however, that her and Meri and the woman that’d been meeting with them wasn’t to be disturbed as they were discussing a future event that included the bakery and Khitti’s band. All the details had to be discussed and it was much easier to -show- a person the various treats the bakery provided rather than just telling them about it. Victoria was none the wiser and helped with crowd control, in an effort to keep Khitti, Meri, and this mystery woman in as much solitude as they could get. The truth, of course, was that the best way to detail things outside of the bank was to show the two where people left, how they went in, and et cetera. So, Khitti chose a window seat. It also aided in the blonde and brunette in finding just where Khitti’d situated herself. Even now, as she waited, she was still writing things down in her notebook, copying it from a book she’d borrowed from Cenril’s library. She was planning on buying a safe deposit box, she’d said. Wanted to know how well-guarded things were. She’d even gone so far as to drop off a deposit for the bakery’s account herself this time, just so that she could get a peek while the bank teller was counting monies. Who would suspect the leader of a holy guild, owner of a well-known shop, and a valuable member of society would do anything beyond what she claimed? No one, that’s who.

Lanara walks with a purpose, her footfalls silent against the sand coated path, as her dark hues take in her surroundings. She didn’t wear the amulet today, nor did she use a glamour potion, yet she hadn’t traveled completely unprotected. About a hundred feet behind her walked a muscular man, hidden in the shadows, his attention trained on the legendary derriere of the woman that walked ahead. Lanara feels safer with Nick, the man that had taken the fall for the crimes, escorting her at this busy hour in this chaotic city. Cenril had gangs, raving lunatics looking for their next high, and there was always the chance that she would run into a familiar face. Clad in black leggings, a white tank top, and with her face painted in various shades of colors, she looked like she was coming from the Mabon Festival in Enchantment. Long locks have been expertly parted down the center and pulled into French-style braids, one resting over each shoulder, and a large tote bag is carefully carried against her side. She enters the bakery, blending in with a few others that have also come from the festival and were decked out in flowers, face paint, and reeking of sage. She would blend in nicely. Upon seeing Khitti, she wiggles her fingers in greeting and takes a seat at the table, placing the bag on the seat to her right. Cinder, the tikifhlee, pops her head out of the top and purrs instantly, upon seeing the redhead.

Talyara hadn't been to Cenril since the debacle at the Lammas festival. In truth, the witch had sworn off coming to the seaside town as the post traumatic stress related nightmares she had been plagued with since the witch hunters had shown up and burned a woman alive, helped her keep her resolve. Still, she knew she couldn't avoid the place forever and Taly had taken to visiting the bridge that connected into the city often as her bravery strengthened. One night, concealed in a black cloak and oversized hood, the witch takes a deep breath and crosses into Cenril completely before her nerve leaves her. Coincidentally, she initially thought of visiting the bank where an account for Thalra's Tinctures was kept (the drow had given Taly the keys to the place when she left the lands to go live with her children) and making sure it was still active. Then she thought she should probably actually -visit- the store and make sure those she hired to run it hadn't left it a dilapidated state of disrepair and that the street urchins hadn't overrun the place. But the prospect of work didn't appeal to the witch and at the last moment she turns south to check out the Ginger Snapped Bakery and Sweetshop. Ideally, she hopes Khitti will be there so she can say hello; however, patronizing her friend's shop will have to suffice if the redhead isn't available. Taly's fear is palpable, her attention completely on extending her energy around her in order to catch a sense of foreboding. She is concentrating so hard that she completely walks past Nick who lingers outside without even recognizing him! She pushes through the door and pauses to allow her feelers to adjust and, upon finding no sense of danger, continues into the shop and makes her way towards one of the impressive glass cases. Taly idly itches at her wrist before reaching up to tug down her hood, thus revealing her mess of curls.

Meri :: It was a super short walk from her warehouse to the bakery. All Meri had to do was lock the door and then migrate on over. Despite her close proximity, Meri was the last to arrive. The blonde was putting a lot of trust in Khitti and Lanara right about now, for this was a scene that the blonde was not entirely comfortable with. And that is not to say that she was uncomfortable with criminal activities, but no amount of crowd control could ease Meri's mind, try as Victoria might. Meri just did not make illegal plans so openly. The blonde is also showing a hand that she does not reveal to people, as the number of people who learn she is in on this endeavor continues to grow...so do the number of people that understand that Meri might be willing to do less than legal thing. The only member of the Rogue's Guild present is also the one who is going to be the most inclined to keep silent, which may or may not be surprising all things considered. Loose lips sink ships, so they say. Smiles would be given to all three of the ladies as she settles into a window seat but she doesn't have much to offer up in the way of chat or banter. Blame the nerves and paranoia.

Khitti’s sister isn’t alone in the nerves and paranoia department, of course. A smile and a ‘hey’ is offered to both of them as they sit and a pat given to Cinder. “So, I’ve got a lot of details written out about “the event”.” Of course, Khitti does not provide air quotation marks for those two words. That would make things worse and Meri might honestly strangle her in front of everyone. It’s okay though; Khitti wouldn’t blame her. The fact that Khitti hadn’t been strangled to death yet by anyone was a wonder in itself--she causes plenty of problems after all. “Because of how things have been lately, I think we should have three shifts of rotating bouncers, to ensure that there’s no one causing trouble.” The redhead flipped to the first page of her notebook and pushed it towards Meri and Lanara, her words clearly code. Each security guard positioned outside the bank was noted. The first shift consisted of two goblins. The second shift had a sole minotaur--likely because it was the busiest part of the day. And the last was watched over by a pair of vampires. They were not ones that Khitti had seen before, and therefore not likely part of one of the many Houses in Vailkrin, and this was something Khitti had noted as well. “Shift changes could be at seven am, noon, and seven pm? Unless you two have other ideas.” Talyara’d not been spotted as of yet, but Khitti’s voice would be obvious amongst the evening din of customers.

Lanara :: The witch furrows her brows as the rune tattoo begins to pulse, indicating that Taly was near enough to cause such a reaction. What business did her sibling have in Cenril?! She imagined her time would be consumed between looking after the sanctuary in Sage, and spending time with her warrior in Frostmaw. Trying to ignore her intuition, she scratches her wrist and gives Khitti her undivided attention, “How are your wrists healing? How is everything?” She waits for a reply, before pointing to the dark purple feline, “I named her Cinder! And I know that I probably shouldn’t have brought her along, as she may draw attention, but I didn’t have the heart to leave her all alone in Enchantment.” The tikifhlee sniffs the air, inhaling the sweet aroma of the baked goods, and she picks up the scent of another that is so similar to her mistress that her head turns towards the glass case. “How did the research go-“ Lana’s voice trails off as she glances at Cinder, to see what had the feline so enraptured, when a familiar mess of chestnut curls assaults her sights. Anxiety is creeping in, as she’s remembering the last time she was in her sister’s presence, and that was a memory she’d rather forget. The shackles, the straight jacket, the padded cell, the liquid diet, every aspect of the Wellness Clinic comes crashing back in a split second, and Lana swallows hard, staring at the back of her sister’s head. Meri takes a seat to her left, and Lana looks to her with wide eyes, “I wasn’t prepared… I wanted to wait until –after- we reclaimed the skull…” She’s whispering, looking around with frantic eyes, and naturally, it’s then that she locks eyes with Talyara. Chocolate melds with emerald, as she gasps in surprise, and quickly bows her head to peer at the open notebook. Khitti had carefully chosen code words and had even written down the shift changes and drawn a diagram, which Lana pours over right now, trying to block out the interruption of her sister’s arrival. Odd, that she was more afraid of a confrontation with Taly, than she was about robbing a bank. It doesn’t even dawn on her that Meri has so much experience in this field, or that Khitti has superior investigational skills, as she imagined they were doing this out of the kindness of their hearts and that they didn’t want to get caught. “So, I’m guessing the second part of the event will be the least exciting?” As in, they shouldn’t provoke a minotaur at the busiest part of the day. Leaning in closer to her friends, Lana lowers her voice, “Um. We have a problem at my four o’clock. My sister is here.”

Meri furrows her brows as she looks over the notes that are presented to her, but her scanning is kept brief for the blonde declares. "I don't follow." Were these three other patrols that Khitti was talking about meant to...watch the guards? It did not seem like Meri was going to get clarity for her confusion for Lanara announces that they have a problem to her four o'clock. Meri has realized that Talyara was here from the start, she just had not realized that it might be of some concern to Lanara? Had Lanara not informed her sister that she was back in the lands yet? Bottom line: Meri is even more confused now than she was just a few moments ago when she declared to Khitti that she's already confused over plans for "the event." Awkward.

Talyara's emerald eyes go wide as she spies the wide array of treats offered in the bakery. It might come as a surprise to those who knew of the witch's struggle with an eating disorder that she had quite a sweet tooth, but she loved cookies and anything with sugar. So she is eagerly pointing to a cupcake in the case when Khitti's voice floats across the room and she turns to wave at her friend. There is a smile on her face as she lifts her hand but suddenly freezes. Despite the painting on her face, the woman who occupies the table with the redhead, and apparently Meri, too, is identical to her sister. Talyara's heart hammers in her chest and the beat echoes in her ears as her throat constricts. Had her sister escaped from the mental hospital?! Was Taly the one now going crazy thinking she is seeing her sister out in public again?! Her hand falls to her side again and Taly just stands there awkwardly gaping at Lanara after their eyes meet. "Excuse me? Are you going to order or what?" a rude patron asks Taly gruffly, crossing their arms in an agitated manner. "Erm, no. You go ahead, I'm sorry," she mumbles, not taking her eyes off of her sister even as she looks away. Taly steps out of line and takes a few paces towards the table but then she stops again. Did Lanara even want to see her? Was this really Lanara or a cruel hallucination? Deciding that she can't just stand in the middle of the store staring like an idiot across the room she makes her way over to the table and looks from Khitti to Meri. "Um, hey guys..."

Khitti sighed. Meri was not understanding what she was saying. Lanara was freaking out. Talyara was here. This was… not expected. Quickly, she scribbled down on the paper for Meri: ‘The event is the robbery. The bouncers are the guards outside. The times I mentioned are their shift changes. I’m trying so hard not to frak this up for you. Sorry.’ There was definitely a look of sympathy on Khitti’s face, but it’s not quite clear who it’s directed towards as one situation turned into many and Khitti’s brain was turning into that scene from SpongeBob where the mini Spongebob’s in his head were running around screaming while his brain was on fire. Just replace that with mini Khitti’s. “You haven’t even gone to see her yet?” Khitti might be all chaos and internal screaming on the inside, but the outside was as composed as it could be. “You should’ve gone to her -first-,” the redhead said with her mom-voice activated. There were things that she had to tell both sisters and now didn’t quite feel like the right time. “Look. Things will be fine. But, you need to talk to her before you do this thing with Meri or it’s going to keep you from having your head on straight. Trust me, I know. I’ve done it before.” Her voice a little lower now, Khitti opted for just coming out and saying it, “I found a book on the place. Apparently people did what we’re planning a long time ago and more things to prevent it were put into place when they rebuilt it.” The pages were turned to show that the bank not only had the guards on the outside as well as the inside, but also magic implemented in there as well. The vaults and safe deposit boxes were guarded by a wall of white and green flames, in order to deter thieves. “It’s likely easily taken care of but I don’t know anything about ways to get rid of it.” Talyara would approach once she’d finished spewing the rest of her knowledge for the heist, the elf getting a faint smile from the redhead. “Hi, Talyara. Your sister has a lot to talk to you about soon.” Sorry, Lanara. You’re not getting out of this that easily!

Lanara sits there, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes as wide as saucers, and her hand hovering over the head of the tikifhlee. Meri is a ball of confusion, Khitti is the only one that’s focused on the heist, and Talyara is now standing before their table, preparing to take a seat in the sole remaining chair. Should she play it as though she was an apparition, and it was now Taly’s turn to play the crazy elf? Should she woman up at the urgency in Khitti’s tone, and tell the truth? “I-I-I…” Swallowing hard, Lana is distracted by a tapping at the window and she turns to see Nick, standing there and pointing directly at her sister, as though she hadn’t already figured out that Taly was here! Now, the entire table knows that both the Backstreet Bard and Talyara are both present at the Ginger Snapped Bakery. Not knowing what else to do, Lana inches her chair nearer to the psion, as though she would help to guard her from Taly, in case her younger sibling took offense at being the last to be told of her return. “Hello, Sister… I’m back, as you may have just figured out. And, um, I didn’t tell you… Because it wasn’t safe for me to go to the sanctuary or Frostmaw.” Krice would have her sent back to the institution in disbelief of her story, and Venin would likely set her on fire, for having burned down the barn. “I came to Khitti, first, and then we brought in Meri…And we have been plotting something, so that I can prove my innocence…” Her eyes fill with tears, as she extends a hand to take Taly’s in her own, “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t come to you –first- like Khitti said… But, I wasn’t sure if you would believe me. You’ve seen me at my worst and the truth is hard to swallow…” The tikifhlee bumps her nose against Taly’s wrist, as though she found the source of their connection, as Lana explains, “It wasn’t me that did those things, Taly.” Voice lowered, she looks around to make sure they are out of earshot of others, “I used astral projection, and a rogue spirit entered my shell and committed those horrible actions. After a cleansing ritual, I was able to take my form back, fully. I’m to stand trial in Enchantment. I will explain in more depth later, but please, join us… You must know what I’m plotting.” Lana swipes at her painted cheek, as a single tear spills onto her cheek, “Meri… Can you explain where we are going and why?”

Talyara continues to stand awkwardly, wringing her hands together anxiously, all but convincing herself that the Lanara sitting there is nothing but a hallucination and wondering if the next time she visits her sister in the asylum if she should ask Nick's mother to evaluate her as well. Yet, when Khitti confirms that it is in fact her sister, green eyes turn towards the pretty, albeit painted face and her breath catches in her throat. Taly's bottom lip quivers and tears shine in her eyes as a myriad of emotions overwhelm her at once. Relief that her sister seemed to be better (at least none of the other personalities seemed to be present). Excitement at the possibility of having her back in her life. Hurt that she hadn't been sought out initially. She doesn't know what to say but she's momentarily distracted by Nick who is tapping on the window and pointing at her. Some bodyguard, he hadn't even noticed her come into the establishment! The Backstreet Bard was such an idiot how could anyone believe that he was smart enough to pull off those heinous crimes without being caught before confessing? The witch doesn't know what to say but she is saved from having to scramble for words because Lanara is speaking and gently taking her hand. Taly doesn't pull it away, she just looks at their linked fingers as if the longer they are physically connected the more real this becomes. Others might have trouble believing Lana's story but not Taly--how long had she spent being possessed by the spirit of the drow patron who had destroyed their lives? How many terrible things had she done while under his control, least of all slaughtering her beloved pet chicken! No, Taly doesn't even spare a moment to consider that Lana isn't telling the truth. Blinking the tears in her eyes away rapidly and sniffling, the witch plops herself down in the vacant chair before offering her other hand to the tikifhlee to sniff. "What are you planning and how can I help?"

Meri has honestly made no judgments about the plan itself -- just that she wasn't following it, at least not entirely. I mean, she got the event was the robbery. She just did not get that the bouncers were the guards, not until Khitti spelled it out by jotting down a couple more notes for Meri. Meri took the time to gain that little bit of clarity while Lanara and Talyara were having their reintroduction. Meri might seem unsympathetic and aloof but that is really only because the blonde fails at expressing herself more times than not. Honestly, she feels for both sisters. She and Khitti had to go through their own moment of awkward once upon a time. If anything, Meri pretending like this awkward encounter is not actually happening right now is her way of trying to give Lanara and Talyara a moment of privacy. As much as she can give, short of leaving the room. Talyara speaks her hellos to the group and Meri responds with an awkward, "Heeeeeeeeey." It's not quite the norm for her, she usually managed to be more smooth with her greets. It's about the only sign that she gives that she actually feels for Lanara and Talyara's current situation. Talyara is invited to sit, Lanara encourages her to learn of the plan, she even tries to get Meri to explain it. Meri's answer comes in the form of a lifted brow and a brief and questioning, "Um?" This feels like a trick question, surely Lanara has to know that Meri is not going to want to answer this with any amount of honesty.

Khitti shook her head as she closed the notebook and handed it over to Meri since she was the head planner of the operation, as well as the book she’d gotten about the bank itself. “Lanara, I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell her here,” Khitti said finally. “And I made the mistake of having this discussion here thinking it made more sense to ‘hide in plain sight’, so to speak.” Speaking as plainly as possibly without really getting too into it, she directed her words towards Talyara, “Basically, Lanara needs her stuff back. It’s in there.” Khitti nodded in the bank’s direction, while keeping an eye out for anyone in the shop that might be paying attention. “I’m not sure if it’s something you can help with--I’m not even going in there, to be honest. I’d just frak it all up because I’m too prone to doing things my own way instead of going with the plan, even if it’s my own damn plan. But, there are plenty of other things that need to be done to help Lanara’s situation.” The redhead rubbed at her eyes somewhat, “And if we do this and it doesn’t help at all, I’m just gonna set all of fairy land on fire. Still gotta burn Venturil, so I might as well add it to the list, heh.”

Lanara couldn’t come out and tell her little sister that although she was accused of murder, arson, animal abuse, and a plethora of other heinous crimes, that she now sought to add robbery to the list. Technically, it wasn’t theft, if you were retrieving your own property, right? It wasn’t Lana’s fault that her assets were frozen, and that she had willingly allowed her magic to be silenced to gain the assurance of safety and an unbiased trial in Enchantment. “I haven’t been back long, and I really was going to come to you once I got my ‘stuff’ back, so I could use that to show you the truth. It’s my job to protect you, as I’m older, and I wanted you to know you could trust me again.” She exchanges a look with Meri, as she was sure the psion would help her to better explain, but it’s Khitti that comes to her rescue. If anything, Lana was sure she would screw this whole operation up, but she had committed the drawings and writing to memory, which hopefully would help them in the actual heist. “Yes, there are a lot of things we have to discuss… Khitti, you have been a huge help with this, and I cannot thank you enough… And Meri? You will… Help with, uh, planning the rest? I’m sorry that I was so distracted, I just, wasn’t expecting to see my sister.” Now that they had the book, and knew the schedules of the security, all they had to do was see the interior of the place and pick a day and time. Easy… Right? To her sister, Lana looks at Taly’s face, a vision that had kept her from going insane when she shared her body with the shade. She had missed her greatly, and couldn’t wait until they were out of the public eye and could have a heartfelt reunion. They deserved a moment to just break apart and glue each other back together, much like they had in the past. “I need your help with another area…” The book is closed, and that’s the signal that their meeting had come to an abrupt close, as more patrons were filing into the bakery. “I’m sorry for pulling all of you into my madness.”

Talyara's eyes shift from Meri who was apparently tasked with explaining the situation, to Khitti who ends up doing the talking. Once more the witch's eyes flick out the window in the direction of the bank, only to see Nick gazing at Lanara adoringly. Again, what a -terrible- body guard. With her attention back on Khitti she gives a slow nod, sort of understanding what is going on. Maybe she didn't want to know all the details of an apparent robbery after all. But she hadn't lied, she did want to help her sister however she could. "Lana is good with fires," she adds in an undertone to Khitti, the ghost of a smirk on her lips. "When we were younger she set my bedroom on fire. She claimed she was trying to recreate a play we had seen," she explains with a roll of her eyes. "So she can help you." Talyara believed Lanara. And she trusted Meri and Khitti so if they were in on the plan to exonerate Lana, she was confident that they would succeed, if they didn't get caught in this scheme first. "Hey," Taly says, a hint of sternness in her tone as she reaches out to rest her hand atop Lanara's. "We are sisters, friends," she amends looking towards Khitti and Meri. "We protect and take care of each other. It doesn't matter who is older."

Meri is relieved with Khitti's answer. The redhead was so smart, coming up with some around the skirt, shade of grey answer that did not reveal things that Meri did not really care to advertise...and was still technically not outright lying. Meri is thankful and relieved. She has no issue with Talyara, and would have felt guilty if she had outright lied to the witch. Like Talyara just pointed out, they are sisters and friends. Still, Meri is convinced that the less she knows the better. The less anyone knows about this, the better. "You've done great. We've just got...a lot going on right now." Much of which no one would be able to predict. How would they have known that Talyara would show up? Meri and Khitti certainly did not know that Lanara had not yet made herself known to Talyara. Well, at least Meri didn't know this. The notebook that Khitti passes her way is collected as Meri rises up from the window seat. "Honestly, we might have gotten together with the intention of trying to plan things out..." Meri's blue eyes settle on Talyara and Lanara, "...But you two need to talk." They could try and focus on planning this heist, but it felt like there was an elephant in the room because of the two witch sisters. "That being said, I am going to head home which will hopefully further facilitate any talking that needs to be done between you two...Khitti gave me some homework, anyway."

Khitti || When Meri opted to leave, Khitti would remain. Goodbyes were given to her own sister, and when Meri was gone, she’d sink back into her seat. It was clear that someone was going to have to play mediator for Lanara and Talyara--or at the very least coax the truth out of Lanara. It was… going to be one of -those- conversations, as previously mentioned, and Khitti wasn’t keen on leaving the two alone to fend for themselves in the awkward wilderness that’d popped up between the two witches. Besides, Khitti had news that she’d been putting off. News that’d been weighing on her for the past couple of weeks. News that Khitti knew would break their hearts, but hopefully would bring them closer together again. “Victoria! Hot cocoa with a bit of peppermint schnapps please! Three of them!” The three would be eventually given the drinks, to which Khitti would say, “Chocolate and alcohol solves many problems.” Not all problems, unfortunately, as Khitti was well aware--it certainly wasn’t going to solve her Shadow Plane issues. She’d sigh heavily, idly stirring the spoon in her cup to mix in the marshmallows and whipped cream, staring at the mixture instead of the witches, “There’s something I have to tell you both, before I help Lanara explain what’s going on. It’s something I should’ve brought up a while ago, Talyara, but after what you’d been through… I just… didn’t want to bother you. I didn’t want you to think you were obligated to do anything with the guild or anything else really, because I know what it’s like to have to try to heal after something traumatic like that. But...now that Lanara is here, it might make things a little better. Hopefully.” She paused, a frown finally twisting her lips, her line of sight still on her drink. “It’s… about Scandal.”

Lanara :: As Meri rises to leave, Lana coils an arm about her waist in an attempted one arm hug, her voice just above a whisper, “Safe travels, Meri… Be seeing you soon, okay?” Her tone is hopeful, and the random gesture of affection is necessary to the witch, as for so long she had gone without being around the friends she had come to call family. She loved this trio of women, and although she knew that the psion wasn’t one to vocalize or show her feelings through contact, Lana had to let her know that she was valuable in her eyes, for much more than a bank heist. After Meri leaves the bakery, Lanara brings her chair closer to Taly, and they both look at Khitti with concern as she brings up their adopted brother. Shame stings Lana’s cheeks, “I haven’t gotten around to telling him that I’ve returned, either…” However, the shame would turn to despair in a matter of minutes, as the redhead is sadly given the opportunity to console two heartbroken witches. Their brother was lost, gone forevermore… But, perhaps all was –not- lost? Lanara had returned, after thinking she would be gone from the realm of sanity, and if they could prove her innocence, she would slowly fill that void that the dragon had left in his death. The sisters would cling to Khitti, asking for details, and spend most of the evening drinking spiked cocoa and reconnecting. Scandal may be gone… But he would –never- be forgotten, as his memory and the love they all bore for him would remain for all time.