Tal grinned to himself, enjoying the sweetness of his drink and the chance to catch Hotaru a little off guard for a change. He wasn't able to let a good thing last, however, and since he had a moment of privacy with the Valkyrie he plunged right into a question that had been bothering him since...
Well, since Flora had revealed that Ru and Remi were her parents, back before the War. There hadn't been a good time to ask before and in truth tonight still wasn't particularly good for it, but Tal figured it was now or never.
And boy, was he in for a doozy of an answer.
He froze as Ru nestled against him, but the warmth of her laughter kept his reaction from being anything other than surprise at the sudden physicality. Muscle by muscle and word by word he slowly relaxed again until a pale, perfect face tilted up to the stars and he exhaled slowly, trying to pretend like she wasn't hitting back with a cross, a jab, and a surprise hook as the revelations just kept coming.
It was the last, though, that had his arm circling her shoulders and pulling her closer to his warmth even as Boreal crooned softly and wriggled her broad head into Hotaru's lap, looking up at her human friend with pale, sad eyes.
"Shit, Ru. I didn't know..." Half? He barely knew a tenth of it. If that. Without a free hand to rub his neck he could only take a gulp of his cocoa and swallow hard. "Sorry. Put my foot in it again, huh?"
Well, since Flora had revealed that Ru and Remi were her parents, back before the War. There hadn't been a good time to ask before and in truth tonight still wasn't particularly good for it, but Tal figured it was now or never.
And boy, was he in for a doozy of an answer.
He froze as Ru nestled against him, but the warmth of her laughter kept his reaction from being anything other than surprise at the sudden physicality. Muscle by muscle and word by word he slowly relaxed again until a pale, perfect face tilted up to the stars and he exhaled slowly, trying to pretend like she wasn't hitting back with a cross, a jab, and a surprise hook as the revelations just kept coming.
It was the last, though, that had his arm circling her shoulders and pulling her closer to his warmth even as Boreal crooned softly and wriggled her broad head into Hotaru's lap, looking up at her human friend with pale, sad eyes.
"Shit, Ru. I didn't know..." Half? He barely knew a tenth of it. If that. Without a free hand to rub his neck he could only take a gulp of his cocoa and swallow hard. "Sorry. Put my foot in it again, huh?"
