RP:Together Or Not At All 3: Goodbye
Summary: Nothing lasts forever.
Song used: Ohne Dich - Rammstein
Sandy Beach, Cenril
A crowd gathered at the beach, as it so often did when there was a Sound of Sirens concert, especially in Cenril. The Sirens had already played for 3 hours and were amping up to play their last song of the night.
At the very same moment, the crew of the Tranquility were loading up the cargo hold with supplies for the next few weeks--however long was needed to reach their next destination outside of Lithrydel. They’d be back, of course. Every so often they’d return so that the Herzegler kids could switch parents and spend a few weeks with them before switching off again.
Khitt took the stage again, after a much needed break. He looked… tired. Mentally, physically, emotionally, existentially. Weary was probably a better word for it. Something was missing in him, and during her own performances, it looked like something was missing with Khitti too, even moreso now as she too stepped up to a second mic stand near her masculine counterpart. Khitt put his hands into his front pants pockets and leaned towards the mic. “This will be the last song for tonight. No encore. So, sorry for that.” Olive-green eyes scanned the crowd as he let out a sigh. “This song is one from me and Khitti’s homeland. Hopefully the papers have been passed out so you can follow along in Common, heh.” Many people in the crowd waved their lyrics notes in the air and shouted. “Good, good. Well. Let’s get started then.”
An orchestra faded into view behind Khitt, though the rest of the band were there with him as well. The violins began to play their slow melancholic melody. Khitt and Khitti’s voices joined as one, somberly, turning the song into a duet.
Dahin, wo ich sie zuletzt gesehen
Doch der Abend wirft ein Tuch aufs Land
Und auf die Wege hinterm Waldesrand
Und der Wald, er steht so schwarz und leer
There where I last saw her
But the evening is throwing a cloth upon the land
And upon the ways behind the edge of the forest
And the forest it is so black and empty
As Khitti sang, she remembered the first time she met Brand, as well as the first Dominic, their son’s predecessor, and part of Brand. She had pointed an arrow at Dominic that day and it was all downhill from there. Later on, both Dominic and Brand had saved her from death, save her from loneliness, from herself. They’d continue to do so, over and over again throughout the years, even after Dominic had faded away. Together or not at all, Brand had once said, and he’d meant it.
Mit dir bin ich auch allein, ohne dich
Ohne dich zähl’ ich die Stunden ohne dich
With you, I am alone too (Without you)
Without you, I count the hours without you
The rest of the orchestra and band joined in now, creating a fuller sounding harmony, matching the swell of emotion in both Khitti and Khitt’s voices. Khitti’s voice wavered as she sang, her bottom lip quivered, and tears had begun to well up in her eyes. She didn’t want this to be the end. They’d only just started out. At least it’d felt like they had. But there was so much pain, so much trauma throughout the four of them. It was hard to contain at times. Over time, they floated to their own separate paths, though they tried so hard to keep things together. Tried so very, very hard.
Ist es nun still und ohne Leben
Und das Atmen fällt mir auch so schwer
Weh mir, oh weh, und die Vögel singen nicht mehr
Ohne dich kann ich nicht sein, ohne dich
Mit dir bin ich auch allein, ohne dich (Ohne dich)
Ohne dich zähl’ ich die Stunden ohne dich
Mit dir stehen die Sekunden, lohnen nicht
Ohne dich
It's now silent and without life
And breathing becomes oh so hard for me
Woe is me, oh woe and the birds sing no more
Without you, I cannot be, without you
With you, I am alone too (Without you)
Without you, I count the hours without you
With you, the seconds stand still, they aren't worth it
Without you
It had been a long time since Khitt had been on his own. He’d met Annette so soon after arriving in Lithrydel, she had been tied to his hip ever since. He’d only tasted the pain of loneliness for a short time, on his way from Dhavislaav to some place new. She’d enchanted him with her loveliness from the very beginning, so bewitched by her he’d do anything for her. He’d never known love as sweet and innocent as hers and he longed for it now as the Tranquility prepared to leave.
Weh mir, oh weh, und die Vögel singen nicht mehr
Ohne dich kann ich nicht sein, ohne dich
Mit dir bin ich auch allein, ohne dich (Ohne dich)
Ohne dich zähl’ ich die Stunden ohne dich
Mit dir stehen die Sekunden, lohnen nicht
Ohne dich
Ohne dich
Ohne dich
Ohne dich
Woe is me, oh woe and the birds sing no more
Without you, I cannot be, without you
With you, I am alone too (Without you)
Without you, I count the hours without you
With you, the seconds stand still, they aren't worth it
Without you
Without you
Without you
Without you
The two were outright weeping now as they sang their goodbyes, hoping and praying that Brand and Annette heard it. Their joined pain radiated throughout their words. The agony they felt was surreal, uncontainable, unbearable. Memories flickered past their eyes, drowning out the crowd as they sang along, some raising matchflames to the skies. The last ‘ohne dich’ left their lips and the music faded. Then the lights faded. The concert was over. Khitti and Khitt shadowstepped from the stage and ran to the wharf where the Tranquility had been docked on and off for years.
As the ship slipped away in the dual moons’ light, the two redheads joined hands and cried, their bodies shaking now and then, Khitti’s wails of sorrow reaching the heavens.
Whatever happened now… each pair, Khitt and Khitti and Brand and Annette… they at least had one another. Someone to confide in and look to for strength when the other lacked it. Together they’d find their way through the muck that life had thrown at them.
Together or not at all.