Hotaru
Tonight, you look so lovely
It's your eyes that define me
Hotaru had intended to visit Maea while leaving an offering for Ludo, only to realize after talking it over with Sunjata and Talyson that no Old God shrines remained in the Grounds. While it would have been easy to invite Maea to King's End to accomplish the same thing, Hotaru had once lived in the Greatwood, and her fondness for it - as well as its geographical closeness to the Grounds - had encouraged her to establish Ludo's Woods as their meeting ground instead in the letter she sent. It's your eyes that define me
Now, she is sunbathing in the patch of sunlight filtering through the otherwise oppressive canopy overhead, hands planted in the earth behind her hips and face tilted up toward the sun. Her mountain lion tail and ears sprout tawny-gold, distracting away from the newness of her golden glow and shifting, gossamer hair. In this patch of sunlight she looks like she always has; happier yes, but unchanged. If she were not waiting for Maea she would have fully shifted, but too many large cats prowl these woods as is, and she couldn't be certain that the Ancient would have known it was her. So instead she lets the rays overhead hypnotize her into an almost meditative state, tail moving lazy and pleased through the leaf-littered grass as she waits for her companion to arrive.
