a soft place to land

I was brought up as a southern belle
I grew into the queen of hell

It’s a relief to have a moment of privacy. Ironic considering the amount of time she’d spent alone in her cell, but she hadn’t been naked then either. Lingering for a moment (and manfully resisting the urge to snoop) Hotaru emerges from the bedroom, uncharacteristically tentative in the face of overwhelming newness. It is not her way to enter situations without some sort of preparation.

Maneuvering on quiet feet towards the two, Hotaru gives a weak smile. “You don’t have to put me up here yourself, I don’t want to impose. Or to drag you into our nonsense.” Having missed nearly all of their conversation, she hovers awkwardly at the table, arms wrapping habitually under her belly to support the weight and take it off her back. “I can always return to Halo straight away,” she offers quietly, directed at Remi but somewhat at large as well.

Turning back to Vai she clears her throat softly. “I know it’s a lot to ask after all this, but before I’m due to leave, could you…Remi said you know medicine? Could you check on the baby for me?” Being a burden is a weight Hotaru is willing to shoulder if it means her baby is safe.

You were just a little stowaway
That stabbed her way to save herself