Hotaru
angels would damn themselves for me
A slight curl in the corner of her mouth is answer to the unspoken reassurance his own expression provides. He is not faltering beneath the weight of the crown, and Ru prays he never will. That his soul will wipe clean and reset the tarnish that seems to seep from its gold into those who wear it, infecting them until they too are rusted through and brittle. If anyone could resist such a taint, it would be Deimos. Even if he were to falter, Hotaru would be there at his back - a shadow behind the throne, confidant and cutlass alike, ready to protect and support in equal measures. Hotaru has never been content to be led, but if she must, she’ll choose Deimos every time.
Something very old and buried rises and shines within her eyes, pupils slitting in subtle, unintentional shift to better see him. As if instinctively searching for any hint of mockery or untruth. Hope like she hasn’t felt since she was a young woman - perhaps even a girl - snakes through her ribs. “Truly?” she scarcely breathes it, and though her body never so much as shivers her insides quake with the sudden, fierce desire to see it actualized. There is no flippant disguise she can utilize to hide her interest. Phrases like ‘I’d enjoy nothing more’ pale in comparison to her true feelings, and attempting to downplay it is a laughable notion. Even without their history, she’d never be able to sell it. Not with this.
It’s hard to focus on anything but the potential he offers, but Ru struggles to tighten the reins for his sake. Distracting herself with a sip from her tea, lingering with her lips on the rim to deeply breathe in the smell of the blend to force herself to refocus. “I suspect you and the demigods will be occupied with each other, and if that is the case then I will stay to help defend Halo.” She is arrogant in all the correct ways, but in this it is merely a truth. Ru’s presence will undoubtedly help shift the odds in Halo’s favor, and so she will throw away her own guaranteed safety to assure that.
