Hotaru
She appreciates the silence he lapses into; Hotaru has scarcely ever spoken a word she didn’t consider from all angles, and his attentiveness was all she could ask for, especially knowing his at times spitfire spirit. Despite her closeness with Deimos, he could trust her to be altruistic in these matters. Blunt where necessary, but never unkind.
But as they stand on the side of the street, citizens passing by them with their own lives on the forefront of their minds, her eyes do soften more than they would for anyone else she could give advice to. She does not have many cherished loved ones anymore, and such expressions seem rarer and rarer even to herself.
“The vitriol you use with her name - do you think he doesn’t notice it, even after your apology?” While she rankles a little at the slight misogyny in the way he says woman, she lets it roll off her shoulders. When you are as morally darkened and willfully sexualized as Hotaru, such things are the norm. “You apologized, yes. But for which part?” It’s a rhetorical question, as she forges ahead only after a lingering moment tk let the gears begin to turn in his head. “Which part do you think hurt him worse; that you questioned his judgement? Because people do that every day, Tal. So I’m afraid you may have apologized for a wound that wasn’t there.” At least, she assumes. Hotaru truly has no idea how the apology went down, what was or wasn’t said, but she usually is rather accurate in her guesses when they are familiar individuals.
“If you do not want to lie about how you see her, but you don’t want to change your own biases and views despite admitting you may have been wrong, then you are not ready to make the apology he needs to hear to fix this. He’s not waiting for groveling - he’s waiting for change.” In fact Hotaru knows Deimos would only look further down on things like groveling. In that, Talyson is partially correct. The Sword hasn’t changed so much as to be unrecognizable; he is merely a man in love.
Smiling sadly as his pale eyes meet her own, she lays her hand overtop his once more and this time lets it linger, squeezing slightly. “He loves her. You hating her is a rift he cannot bridge on his own behalf, not only because he respects her individuality but because of his commitment to her. You value his loyalty when it comes to his commitment to Halo, or the Shields - you cannot then despise that loyalty when it is to his beloved.” For wasn’t that why he’d trusted Deimos as Warden despite being equally an outsider and an Outlander? “But Tal if you aren’t ready to change your mind, or even if you decide you never want to,” she makes sure to emphasize, wanting him to know she of all people would not judge the continuation of his grudge. Ru lifts her hand to gently touch his shoulder, peering more intently into his eyes now with the last of what she has to say. “Then you must accept that your relationship can only be purely professional.” Pulling her hand back so as not to overstay her physical welcome, the Valkyrie readjusts her parcel and softens her expression. “People change, Tal. You have more friends than you did before. It will hurt to lose him, yes, but it is a hurt that unfortunately lies within your control - what do you value more, your grudge, or his friendship?”
But as they stand on the side of the street, citizens passing by them with their own lives on the forefront of their minds, her eyes do soften more than they would for anyone else she could give advice to. She does not have many cherished loved ones anymore, and such expressions seem rarer and rarer even to herself.
“The vitriol you use with her name - do you think he doesn’t notice it, even after your apology?” While she rankles a little at the slight misogyny in the way he says woman, she lets it roll off her shoulders. When you are as morally darkened and willfully sexualized as Hotaru, such things are the norm. “You apologized, yes. But for which part?” It’s a rhetorical question, as she forges ahead only after a lingering moment tk let the gears begin to turn in his head. “Which part do you think hurt him worse; that you questioned his judgement? Because people do that every day, Tal. So I’m afraid you may have apologized for a wound that wasn’t there.” At least, she assumes. Hotaru truly has no idea how the apology went down, what was or wasn’t said, but she usually is rather accurate in her guesses when they are familiar individuals.
“If you do not want to lie about how you see her, but you don’t want to change your own biases and views despite admitting you may have been wrong, then you are not ready to make the apology he needs to hear to fix this. He’s not waiting for groveling - he’s waiting for change.” In fact Hotaru knows Deimos would only look further down on things like groveling. In that, Talyson is partially correct. The Sword hasn’t changed so much as to be unrecognizable; he is merely a man in love.
Smiling sadly as his pale eyes meet her own, she lays her hand overtop his once more and this time lets it linger, squeezing slightly. “He loves her. You hating her is a rift he cannot bridge on his own behalf, not only because he respects her individuality but because of his commitment to her. You value his loyalty when it comes to his commitment to Halo, or the Shields - you cannot then despise that loyalty when it is to his beloved.” For wasn’t that why he’d trusted Deimos as Warden despite being equally an outsider and an Outlander? “But Tal if you aren’t ready to change your mind, or even if you decide you never want to,” she makes sure to emphasize, wanting him to know she of all people would not judge the continuation of his grudge. Ru lifts her hand to gently touch his shoulder, peering more intently into his eyes now with the last of what she has to say. “Then you must accept that your relationship can only be purely professional.” Pulling her hand back so as not to overstay her physical welcome, the Valkyrie readjusts her parcel and softens her expression. “People change, Tal. You have more friends than you did before. It will hurt to lose him, yes, but it is a hurt that unfortunately lies within your control - what do you value more, your grudge, or his friendship?”
I've set a course for losing you
I've no remorse for what I do
I've no remorse for what I do
