The skies are black with lead-filled rain
a morbid painting on display
a morbid painting on display
This house - so unfamiliar, a legacy worth exploring but one she had been cut short from seeing - holds Flora's heart and soul in every tile and curved arch. She can feel her daughter in the shade of the paint on the wall and the shape of the tiles masterfully laid before the entry. It heals the ache just a little to stand beneath the sharp shadow cast by the upper floors, because it's almost as if Flora is already here with her.
The handle is still sun-warm beneath her palm despite the lengthening shadows of late afternoon. Its heat seeps into her skin, casting off some of the chill that has crept far deeper than skin. There's no need for bravery in turning the handle, fueled instead by a desperate desire to be reunited with Flora as soon as atoms and time will allow.
Andraste's claws prick at her skin in startled displacement when Flora careens forth the moment the door opens, gracelessly gliding from the Valkyrie's shoulders to allow mother and daughter to meet. Flora hits Hotaru like a wave against a cliffside, all seafoam and surging strength - but Ru is her mother, built in all ways to catch her, to withstand all of her in every facet and form, and the Valkyrie does not so much as step backward at the impact.
She catches her daughter in her arms and holds.
Their faces press into warm skin wherever they can reach, one of Ru's hands supporting Flora's back while the other cradles her daughter's precious golden head with splayed, protective fingers. Breathing feels harder than it has since she opened her eyes on the cliffside, but every inhale brings notes of Flora's perfume and the omnipresent lingering of salt and seawater. Proof of life that she can't bear to lose - so breathe she must. Even when the lurch of her lungs betrays the burn of her eyes which clench tight so that her tears won't stain her child's perfect skin.
"Darling," painfully stumbles out of her lips, which begin to frantically press kisses wherever she can reach Flora's sun-gold skin. "I'm sorry. My petal, I'm so, so sorry." Hotaru wants to separate if only to account for every change she may have missed, but to part so soon would surely kill her a second time. "I never meant to leave you, sweetheart." Not so soon after getting Enzo back. Gods, her strong, beautiful girl. That she has withstood this is Hotaru's greatest pride - and her greatest shame, to have ever caused it.
The handle is still sun-warm beneath her palm despite the lengthening shadows of late afternoon. Its heat seeps into her skin, casting off some of the chill that has crept far deeper than skin. There's no need for bravery in turning the handle, fueled instead by a desperate desire to be reunited with Flora as soon as atoms and time will allow.
Andraste's claws prick at her skin in startled displacement when Flora careens forth the moment the door opens, gracelessly gliding from the Valkyrie's shoulders to allow mother and daughter to meet. Flora hits Hotaru like a wave against a cliffside, all seafoam and surging strength - but Ru is her mother, built in all ways to catch her, to withstand all of her in every facet and form, and the Valkyrie does not so much as step backward at the impact.
She catches her daughter in her arms and holds.
Their faces press into warm skin wherever they can reach, one of Ru's hands supporting Flora's back while the other cradles her daughter's precious golden head with splayed, protective fingers. Breathing feels harder than it has since she opened her eyes on the cliffside, but every inhale brings notes of Flora's perfume and the omnipresent lingering of salt and seawater. Proof of life that she can't bear to lose - so breathe she must. Even when the lurch of her lungs betrays the burn of her eyes which clench tight so that her tears won't stain her child's perfect skin.
"Darling," painfully stumbles out of her lips, which begin to frantically press kisses wherever she can reach Flora's sun-gold skin. "I'm sorry. My petal, I'm so, so sorry." Hotaru wants to separate if only to account for every change she may have missed, but to part so soon would surely kill her a second time. "I never meant to leave you, sweetheart." Not so soon after getting Enzo back. Gods, her strong, beautiful girl. That she has withstood this is Hotaru's greatest pride - and her greatest shame, to have ever caused it.
This is the night that young love died
Buried at each others sides
Buried at each others sides
