my held breath fills the room with blood
hurting in ways I can't describe
There is nothing he could donor say that would stray her from his side. Theirs is a bond forged in old blood, in crowns and chaos and the feral discord of a land long lost to the both of them. She knows his heart as well as her own, knows how the morality of his compass spins. Knows, in this same way, how inclined he is to take upon his mighty shoulders the sins and slashes of every living soul.
Hotaru falls into his embrace, cradled close and breathing deep, completely entangled with her brother in this vast ocean of loss. He is all she has in this accursed temple. No beloved to call her own, no long term friends to lean on. There is only the man before her, whose memories of Rexanna are the closest to those that filter like an unending reel in her own mind. The only one who can understand the depth of her grief.
The croak of his words has her tightening her grip, fingertips squeezing into his skin as she shakes her head in helpless, silent denial. Working past the lump of agony lodged in her throat to absolve him of a sin he never committed. "No. No, it's not. You...you only wanted to protect us, you couldn't have anticipated the Gods pulling us into their blasted war." Her eyes feel as if they will be eternally damp, surely wetting his shirt and skin where her tears fall, but her words are contrastingly firm and unyielding. For this, for him, she will find the strength. "She'd call you an idiot for saying that. You know it." Here her voice finally wavers, aching for that kinship they'd all shared. Almost able to hear the sardonic drawl of her sister's voice, the twist of her lips and rise of her brow, daring Deimos to oppose her. "All we ever do is try our best," her wretched whisper unwinds, the bitter, scalding truth implied in the grate of her tone that they could try all they liked, but it would always end in this.
Hotaru falls into his embrace, cradled close and breathing deep, completely entangled with her brother in this vast ocean of loss. He is all she has in this accursed temple. No beloved to call her own, no long term friends to lean on. There is only the man before her, whose memories of Rexanna are the closest to those that filter like an unending reel in her own mind. The only one who can understand the depth of her grief.
The croak of his words has her tightening her grip, fingertips squeezing into his skin as she shakes her head in helpless, silent denial. Working past the lump of agony lodged in her throat to absolve him of a sin he never committed. "No. No, it's not. You...you only wanted to protect us, you couldn't have anticipated the Gods pulling us into their blasted war." Her eyes feel as if they will be eternally damp, surely wetting his shirt and skin where her tears fall, but her words are contrastingly firm and unyielding. For this, for him, she will find the strength. "She'd call you an idiot for saying that. You know it." Here her voice finally wavers, aching for that kinship they'd all shared. Almost able to hear the sardonic drawl of her sister's voice, the twist of her lips and rise of her brow, daring Deimos to oppose her. "All we ever do is try our best," her wretched whisper unwinds, the bitter, scalding truth implied in the grate of her tone that they could try all they liked, but it would always end in this.
my heart bends and breaks
so many, many times
HOTARU
