The last stone was placed, and he took a step back.

Brandon stood there for a moment, looking down upon the small stack of flat rounded stones he had just finished building. Around him, the gentle sounds of the forest filled the sweet clean air. Birds tweeted and sang thier songs, while small critters rustled the fallen leaves. Tall trees gathered close,  creating a close knit canopy above, blotting out the sun all around. Except for one spot, where a small area, free of trees, left a hole in the great ceiling of green. From it rained down a bright shaft of sun, like a pillar of light. And there, in that island of sunlight, he had built this cairn, this pile of stones....for his friend.
He touched the top most stone, its surface smooth from countless years at the bottom of the river. Mud still caked his legs, knee down, from his wading in said river to dig it out. Many trips he made, from water to clearing, totting stone after stone, but it was worth it......she was worth it.
And she would not be alone. Also within that clearing stood another stack of stones. Made many years ago, it now had a thick carpet of moss upon the top  and within the many crevasses. This one Brandon had also made, for an old friend fallen in battle. His bravery Brandon wanted remembered.
Brandon wiped a freshly wetted cheek, just as a hand touched his arm.
"You're finished?", Gabrielle asked, her voice uncharacteristically soft and gentle, she walked up to his side, looking up at her little brothers face. She had wanted to help, but he had insisted he do it himself. She understood. It was his way of dealing with his grief, working and making. The pain in his arms and legs aided in soothing the pain in his heart. She embraced his arm, and laid her head on his shoulder. Neither spoke for a long while.
"I remember first meeting her.", Brandon spoke in his usual soft yet deep voice. "...she sprayed me."
Gabby looked up, "What?!"
"She was being accosted in an alley," he continued, "I was passing by, heard it, and went to help. I turned the corner just as she sprayed her attacker." Brandon looked down at his sister...and he was smiling at the humorous memory.
Gabby smiled back. "Oh, I'm sure that was fun to get out the fur!"
"Three days and twelve herbal baths." Gabby chuckled, as Brandon looked back at the stones."She felt terrible about it. Said I could come in for free massages whenever I wanted."
Gabby smiled, turning her gaze back to the cairn. "First time I met her, she hit on me." Her brother turned to her, not a bit of surprise on his face. "I swear that skunk tried everything to get me in the sheets." Gabby continued,  laughing softly, "You know with neither her or me being at all submissive, it turned into a kind of contest to see who could out dom the other." She sniffled, and Brandon saw tears soaking her cheek fuzz. "It was actually fun. Trying to tease and seduce the other. Seeing who'd crack first." Her grip on his arm tightened, and her hand squeezed his. "I wish.....we could have...."
Gabby couldn't finish, the words choking in her throat.
Brandon held her hand, pulling her with him as he went up, and placed upon the top of this new cairn, a single deep crimson rose.
"Goodbye, my friend." He spoke. And after a deep breath Gabby added,
"Just try not to go chasing them busty angels, ay, Stripes?"
And the siblings held each other there for a bit longer, before making their way home.
As they disappeared into the tree, with the bright sun bathing the stones in gold, a single butterfly, its wings a bright red, flecked in green, alighted on that single rose.