Honey, these arms that once held you are ready to fight
The silence hurts worse. Her teeth bite down into the soft flesh of the inside of her cheek where it can't be seen, worrying at it until copper blooms against her tongue. Hotaru does not cry over men, even the ones that hold her heart, and she won't start now. There have only ever been two people she has ever entrusted with her tears, with the broken bits and unwanted pieces that collect beneath the smooth, icy exterior.
And one of them is dead now.
She misses Rexanna with a fierceness in that moment that paralyzes her as if she has been hit with an arrow to the breast. It makes it all the easier to lean into Sunjata as he embraces her, to allow herself to be comforted in the moment. Secretly stealing away the smell of his skin, the rustle of his wings, so that it might bolster her in the far reaches of Halo. "You have to let me know if you need me," she whispers, even if it's a false-faced comfort. "If it gets too bad, or if something goes wrong. I'll stay with Deimos, but you have to promise you'll tell me what's happening." Letters, word of mouth, Hotaru doesn't care. She'll go mad in those mountains if she's left with nothing but her imagination to keep her company on the matter. "As soon as the portal opens, I'll go. So he doesn't have a chance to know about me." That, at least, aligns with her original plan. The pain is something she will just have to live with. So long as she can say goodbye to Nate.
And one of them is dead now.
She misses Rexanna with a fierceness in that moment that paralyzes her as if she has been hit with an arrow to the breast. It makes it all the easier to lean into Sunjata as he embraces her, to allow herself to be comforted in the moment. Secretly stealing away the smell of his skin, the rustle of his wings, so that it might bolster her in the far reaches of Halo. "You have to let me know if you need me," she whispers, even if it's a false-faced comfort. "If it gets too bad, or if something goes wrong. I'll stay with Deimos, but you have to promise you'll tell me what's happening." Letters, word of mouth, Hotaru doesn't care. She'll go mad in those mountains if she's left with nothing but her imagination to keep her company on the matter. "As soon as the portal opens, I'll go. So he doesn't have a chance to know about me." That, at least, aligns with her original plan. The pain is something she will just have to live with. So long as she can say goodbye to Nate.
HOTARU
