It was a new and strange thing to Tal, being loved so fiercely, but Hotaru had always been honest about what she was. Huntress. Warrior. Teacher. And, somewhere along the line, family; a sister no less than those he'd grown up with. He hugged her tighter, feeling her claws scrape over his Vest and not caring what damage they did to cloth and layers in between. "Yeah, well, no argument from me there," he mumbled. He hadn't really considered what would happen if he died, but he wasn't going to talk anyone out of vengeance done in his name.
They were alike, he and Hotaru, in that self-preserving selfishness of holding their own close and above all others. He understood and wouldn't protest it, even for Delia's sake.
She nestled close and his own embrace became a little less desperate. Had she always been so small? For all her petite stature he was so used to always looking up at her and it was disorienting now to be able to rest his chin on the top of her head. He tried to will some of his heat into her through his arms as he nodded a silent promise. He remembered it: a long walk through the Oerwoud; finding each other again and admitting how much he'd missed her once. He didn't intend to let that misunderstanding happen again, even if he was shit with words.
She let him go but he didn't return the favor. He didn't dare. There was something dangerous in her pain; a precipice that he was afraid she'd willingly fall into if he let go even for a moment, and so he continued to hold her tight even as her revelation left him swallowing past a lump in his throat. It had been bad enough, watching his friends and neighbors die on the wall. But to watch family...
And four??
"I... only knew about Flora an' her brother," he admitted quietly. "I'm so, so sorry. I dunno what happened to 'em but..." There weren't words for the pain he felt for her in that moment. If she wouldn't cry then he would, and hot tears rolled down his cheeks to dampen her hair. He couldn't answer her question in any way that she'd accept, so instead he fell back on the honesty in his heart.
"I love you, 'Ru," he said fiercely. Helplessly. Lost and not wanting to lose her, too. "An' Flora loves you. She needs you. An' I can't lose you again. Promise me, please? No matter how far you go, it won't be where I can't follow."
They were alike, he and Hotaru, in that self-preserving selfishness of holding their own close and above all others. He understood and wouldn't protest it, even for Delia's sake.
She nestled close and his own embrace became a little less desperate. Had she always been so small? For all her petite stature he was so used to always looking up at her and it was disorienting now to be able to rest his chin on the top of her head. He tried to will some of his heat into her through his arms as he nodded a silent promise. He remembered it: a long walk through the Oerwoud; finding each other again and admitting how much he'd missed her once. He didn't intend to let that misunderstanding happen again, even if he was shit with words.
She let him go but he didn't return the favor. He didn't dare. There was something dangerous in her pain; a precipice that he was afraid she'd willingly fall into if he let go even for a moment, and so he continued to hold her tight even as her revelation left him swallowing past a lump in his throat. It had been bad enough, watching his friends and neighbors die on the wall. But to watch family...
And four??
"I... only knew about Flora an' her brother," he admitted quietly. "I'm so, so sorry. I dunno what happened to 'em but..." There weren't words for the pain he felt for her in that moment. If she wouldn't cry then he would, and hot tears rolled down his cheeks to dampen her hair. He couldn't answer her question in any way that she'd accept, so instead he fell back on the honesty in his heart.
"I love you, 'Ru," he said fiercely. Helplessly. Lost and not wanting to lose her, too. "An' Flora loves you. She needs you. An' I can't lose you again. Promise me, please? No matter how far you go, it won't be where I can't follow."
