HOTARU
Kiada's silence is more telling of her emotional state than any words that could be running off her tongue. Hotaru does not press her as they move, offering herself as a shield for the girl to hide behind, a sword against her demons, a body to lean on and soak up comfort from. Even when they are seated she turns and curves her body to accept Kiada into her side, enveloping her as entirely as she can with her small form. She wishes she was born into this skin taller, mightier, so that she may carry the burdens of her loved ones and provide them shelter and security in her arms whenever they sought it. Instead she is left with this meager vessel, with which she stretches her limitations to provide the comfort Kiada so clearly needs. The scrunch of Kiada's beautiful face in her hands softens Hotaru's in sympathy, in love wrought from pain and her own inability to take the weight off her niece's shoulders. But at least she gives her answer, an affirmative that Hotaru cannot wholeheartedly believe but will accept. Even just telling her as often as she can would hopefully be enough to instill the belief in her that what Hotaru said was true. Kiada had never doubted her as a child, perhaps that would transfer over just enough for Hotaru to help build her back up again to the shining pillar of beauty and strength she deserved to be.
Hotaru welcomes the daughter she could have had into her arms as Kiada lunges forward, enveloping her entirely and holding on tight. No matter their size difference, she cannot be bowled over, feeling as if her spine is made of steel with which to prop up the firechild and keep her standing. And yet the rest of her is soft, inviting, letting Kiada cry into her. Her own eyes pinch and sting, but her tears do not fall. They only gather because it hurts to see the girl so distressed. One hand keeps Kiada close, the other rubs soothing circles over her back as she shushes and rocks her as if she was a tiny babe and not a grown woman. Would she ever truly be grown in Hotaru's eyes?
At first her words are nonsensical, a confusing waterfall of sound and discordant hiccuping that the Valkyrie has to parse through. A part of her begins to sink, knowing somehow in the back of her mind, but it is shoved violently back. "Hush, dear. Take a breath with me, okay?" Hotaru takes a deep, slow breath for Kiada to emulate as she thinks over the jumble presented to her. She knows...she does. The implications. Remembers Romina's rage at the closeness of Kiada and her son. Ru'in. But she can't bear the thought of him, remembering how she had watched wide-eyed and helpless as he had been slaughtered thoughtlessly before her eyes. How Thranduil had stopped her from her rightful revenge, from joining her son and daughter in the beyond. Still, she is a mother, and Kiada comes first. Her own breaking, her own shattering, will never happen in front of her children. So the Valkyrie summons all the considerable strength of soul she has to her name, and smooths Kiada's hair away from her face, tracing her fingers delicately across her sallow skin. "Who, love? Who were you going to marry?"
i'm the little lightning girl
living electricity
a lightning bolt in human form
