HOTARU
There is little to say, now. Nothing that hasn't already been said, or perceived and understood as they read one another's body language like a familiar, faded dialect. There are no words to ease the pain of their shared grief, just hollow empty things that echo uncomfortably and do nothing to dampen the sharpness of the knife that is forever lodged between their ribs. So instead she speaks with her body. Draws Kiada closer, hums softly under her breath to calm the unsteady breaths still finding their way into the girl's body. Tucks her beneath her chin, enshrouds them both in the golden curtain of her hair. Rocks her like a living cradle, easing away the pain of loneliness the best she can. Reminding her of days when Kiada was still gangly-legged and barely came to her chest. When her daughters played together, Kiada just a darkly painted wildling accepted into their little pack.
The memories feel so far away, and yet with Kiada encased in her embrace, the joy those days had brought her is within arm's reach once more.
They don't part far when Kiada aims the question her way, and Hotaru lifts a hand to gently run a thumb down the crest of one golden ear peeking out of her tousled hair. Seeks her gaze. "Less than a full day," she admits softly in the space between them. Hotaru sighs and her gaze dances away, distant and thoughtful. "Rexanna found me, when I first arrived here. When I found out that you and Deimos were here as well, I slept for a time and then came directly here to see you." Deimos would be her next visit of course, but she'd scarcely gotten half the time she needed to rest before she had been up and voyaging out into the snow to find her niece. "And you?" How much had she missed? How long had Kiada been here without her aunt? Any time is too much, but she must know.
i'm the little lightning girl
living electricity
a lightning bolt in human form
