HOTARU
She forces an exhale when he finally returns to other more direct avenues of questioning. This, she can handle. Accept. Her emotions are too far out of her control to risk engaging in any other conversation, and the stress isn’t good for the baby - yet another worry Hotaru has to contend with. “Yes. The first thing I did when I came in the door was evacuate the building.” Simple and honest. Giving nothing that can be misconstrued or turned into another opening for more personal affairs. It’s a struggle not to forsake that goal immediately when Atlas is brought up again. Even his name still makes the raw edges of his loss chafe and bleed anew. Though she is weak against him as she ever is, even after all this mess and anger, and his concession melts a little of the ice off her shoulders as she slowly turns a little bit towards him again. Eyes still firmly rooted to where the bed and the wall meet, but progress is progress. If that’s even what it can be called. “Honestly I don’t know how he does it. It’s recent, whatever it is, and before the fire I’d only seen him do it once, and it was during a group training where I wasn’t paired against him.” Crossing her arms overtop her knees she rests her cheek against one bicep. “Magic, maybe? I think he used it on me when I jumped out the window. Maybe because he was trying to keep me from being blamed, though that clearly didn’t work. I was too intent on avenging Atlas, so the effort was moot.” Hiding had been out of the question once Atlas’ life was forfeit.
it's our nature, we destroy
it's the constant of our kind
no matter the color of blood, man will always fall
