"Why does that bit matter?"

"I don't know exactly. I touched my parents a little after they were dead and I could wash it off but reds are still how they are even if they take a shower, but I don't know how it works."

He acquires her clothes and soap and so forth. "Do you mind if I have Tirion sing for your parents."

"Sing for them?"

"That's what we do here when someone dies. We sing for six days and share memories of them and mourn together."

"I don't mind."

There's a sudden quiet. And then in telepathically coordinated unison Tirion starts singing. It is a very very sad song.

The aliens have fairly astonishing singing voices.

Oh.

Thank you.

...how does she - doesn't want to talk over the singing -

For what?

Letting us - grieve with you. 

You're welcome but I don't know why you want to.

Because they are dead and that is horrible and maybe gone and that would be the most horrible thing in the whole world and it is - good to have people around to be sad and angry and remind us that we are right to be sad and angry. At least for me it's good. It'd be worse to be alone.

She wipes her eye with the edge of her sleeve a little.

They sing.

I wasn't really allowed.

To grieve, you mean?

To think they shouldn't be dead.

Well. They shouldn't be dead.

She nods. She cries.

Hug?

Okay hug.

He hugs her and sings.

And she cries on the last bit of her bread thing.

They have all their things and could go back but he thinks maybe staying where everybody is singing is better.