The man shutters before her, slamming down on all his outward tells and emotions, and Hotaru merely raises a brow. Oooookay then. Clearly she had misstepped somehow, though she's unsure where. Was he that sensitive to a bit of harmless flirtation? Perhaps he was one of those insanely faithful gents who thought every compliment thrown their way was a threat to their honor and loyalty to their partner. Hotaru had certainly met a lot of those in Helovia. Either way, she doesn't press nor continue her teasing, content to leave him be to his thoughts and bypass whatever tangle he had run into.
"I'll keep that in mind," she drawls instead, letting his suspicion, his stoicism - whatever it is that's up his ass because she can't really assume - roll off her back like water off a duck's. Hotaru doesn't mind being snubbed or rebuffed, there are plenty others to play with in this realm. Even more who understand her ways and can see past the veneer of vanity and mischief to the woman beneath.
His questions sharpen her gaze and kill her smile, though she conceals it with a soft exhale and a hand carding through her hair. Suspicion of her own coils in her breast. Why does he want to know? At the same time however, Helovia is dead and gone. Razed to the ground. If he even knew a way to get there, or cared to, he'd find a graveyard. But asking who else? She doesn't like that. Names have power, and so do connections. She'll not reveal them so readily to this stranger.
"Helovia was an entire continent, far larger than what I've seen here. With four kingdoms and ruling pairs, with dangerous wilds and mischievous but benevolent gods. There were many wars, invasions, murders. Staying in a kingdom was preferable to dying in the wilds, and there was much competition for the resources of those lands. But it is laid to waste now. Nothing more than a crumbling, feral world I would assume." It's said simply, almost carelessly, because to dwell on her emotions regarding her homeland only invites trouble. Instead she smiles softly and shrugs a shoulder lightly. "I couldn't say, I only know two others of my family who were in Helovia with me, but they traveled to other places before here just as I did." Hotaru certainly won't reveal any names, and if he presses, she will ask him why exactly he wants to stick his nose in such business. She has so little left in life, much less in this world. No matter the scope of her paranoia, she will protect it to her dying breath.
Ah, but press he does. Smiling vaguely at him, she curls her coat tighter around her. "You'll forgive me for not saying. I'm sure you're quite a fine fellow, but she is close to all I have left, and I'd not make her a target for her sickness." It's blunt and immovable, gaze like tempered glass and smile only perfunctory. She may be sick and not herself, but Hotaru would keep her concealed and safe as long as she could.
"I'll keep that in mind," she drawls instead, letting his suspicion, his stoicism - whatever it is that's up his ass because she can't really assume - roll off her back like water off a duck's. Hotaru doesn't mind being snubbed or rebuffed, there are plenty others to play with in this realm. Even more who understand her ways and can see past the veneer of vanity and mischief to the woman beneath.
His questions sharpen her gaze and kill her smile, though she conceals it with a soft exhale and a hand carding through her hair. Suspicion of her own coils in her breast. Why does he want to know? At the same time however, Helovia is dead and gone. Razed to the ground. If he even knew a way to get there, or cared to, he'd find a graveyard. But asking who else? She doesn't like that. Names have power, and so do connections. She'll not reveal them so readily to this stranger.
"Helovia was an entire continent, far larger than what I've seen here. With four kingdoms and ruling pairs, with dangerous wilds and mischievous but benevolent gods. There were many wars, invasions, murders. Staying in a kingdom was preferable to dying in the wilds, and there was much competition for the resources of those lands. But it is laid to waste now. Nothing more than a crumbling, feral world I would assume." It's said simply, almost carelessly, because to dwell on her emotions regarding her homeland only invites trouble. Instead she smiles softly and shrugs a shoulder lightly. "I couldn't say, I only know two others of my family who were in Helovia with me, but they traveled to other places before here just as I did." Hotaru certainly won't reveal any names, and if he presses, she will ask him why exactly he wants to stick his nose in such business. She has so little left in life, much less in this world. No matter the scope of her paranoia, she will protect it to her dying breath.
Ah, but press he does. Smiling vaguely at him, she curls her coat tighter around her. "You'll forgive me for not saying. I'm sure you're quite a fine fellow, but she is close to all I have left, and I'd not make her a target for her sickness." It's blunt and immovable, gaze like tempered glass and smile only perfunctory. She may be sick and not herself, but Hotaru would keep her concealed and safe as long as she could.
the horror you have seen is not who you are
