near or far

Hotaru

Take me where the shadows grow
Just wanna not be here

Hotaru supports her daughter's weight entirely, blonde heads tilted together. "So much has changed. For all of us. I think it's normal to be nervous." And it's certainly momentous even if they've been here once before. It is still the act of bringing back the dead which could never be understated. Ru's face turns up toward Remi's like a flower to the sun as he chastely kisses her brow, the wisp of emotion she gets from him subtle for how it feels like her own. "It's good to see you. You look lighter." She could call him handsome in return for his own paid compliment, but this feels more meaningful.

Her breath catches strangely with the overwhelming notion of more time to spend and share. How could she not be ready? "Yes," she whispers. It happens so quickly after that, a shimmer of sorts like gauze and gossamer, and then there he is. Enzo.

It's a good thing their son can move on his own power because Hotaru's knees lock with the strength it takes to remain standing. It's been far too long since she last heard his voice;her memories of it had started to painfully fragment and fade. As he draws them in her arms come up, one around Remi's back and the other around Flora's until she can grip Enzo's shirt and complete the circle, their children as closely corralled between their bodies as the demigods can manage. "Countless things. We've missed you so much, sweetheart." It's hard when instinct demands she ask after him, mother hen and interrogate, but she knows there's nothing he can say. He's happy and safe, but he's dead. There are no life tales for him to regale her with anymore. That job - that burden - is theirs alone now.

Take me where the stars don't show
It can get a lot out here, shining all alone