[Was. Arietta visibly winces at the word, feeling the beginning of tears forming in her eyes again. Really, she wasn't all that close to Renzo. And she had no idea how close he and Rin were, neither here nor back home. But to have someone she knew die, someone who always treated her so nicely and smiled at her no matter what was going on--]

[It hurt. But what hurt even more was knowing how powerless she was to do anything about it.]

[She takes an unsteady breath before looking up, blinking back tears. And then, abruptly, she stands, holding her hands folded in front of her.]

Back home, when someone died... sometimes we'd hold a memorial in the cathedral. And we'd sing hymns in their memory. It's... been a while. But I think I can remember the words Ion taught me...

[It's quiet in the temple. Most of the people left this late were in the main corridor, but this area was definitely secluded. Just their voices now seem to echo endlessly. But even so, this was important. This was all she could do for them, in lieu of a burial or memorial. For Zuko, Renzo... Ion. And for everyone else who "disappeared" from this world.]

[And so, she sings.]

[The words won't be intelligible to Rin, given they're in ancient Ispanian and Arietta is probably pronouncing them wrong. But the melody carries through, her voice hitting every note with a gracefulness he might not expect from her -- he would have never heard her sing before, after all.]

[By the time she hits that last note, it sounds as though it's meant to continue. But she'll be crying too much by then to get the words out.]