Hotaru
i'm still here but all is lost
No letter precedes her visit. She is partially aimless, uncertain if she’s coming to investigate the Haven or if she’s there in hopes she’ll find them. Having an intentional goal feels too real, too much like an admission of how she’s feeling, and Hotaru isn’t capable of shouldering those emotions right now. It’s an interesting feeling, the block on her magic and shifts, but she merely marvels at it distantly and continues to walk through the refuge. There aren’t many considering it’s not time to take shelter and for that the Valkyrie is grateful. Company is not what she wants right now. At least not theirs.
Her feet pull her in wandering loops, stoically investigating the efforts - both human and herald - that had gone into the creation of such a vast and self-sustaining system. Pretending to be interested can only fill so many minutes even for an actress as proficient as Hotaru however, and eventually she simply stops. Stands there staring out over the grassy expanse in the center of the haven, golden hair lit ablaze by the summer sun, seeing an entire world of things that aren’t really there. Then, after a long moment, she turns and walks out of the boundary line until she can feel its hold on her relent. A call goes out that nobody else can hear, and as the Valkyrie folds slowly to her knees, a golden cat slinks out from the trees to lay beside her, mighty jaw placed upon her thigh to gaze at her silently as Hotaru’s hand slowly lowers to stroke its soft head. Woman and lioness sitting sentinel at the opening of the refuge.
