There is nothing further to say, and so the woman does not say it. Silence is often an underused response, and instead she lets him collect his own thoughts. She is not his therapist, his friend, his lover. Whatever demons that coil in his mind, or that haunt his step through the streets of the Sanctuary, they are not ones that she will engage in combat. She can give her own bitter, sarcastic advice on the subject, but it isn't asked for. What she said hangs true: there is nowhere to go but forward. That is the best she can say to him.
"Unfortunately not. It was mere days after I arrived here, and she understood that I didn't want to be subjected to such a gathering so soon." It had taken time, after reuniting with all three of her remaining family, for Hotaru to gain back her strength of spirit. She had been weak and broken with memories, with loss, with grief. She had not wanted to show that kind of face or temperament at Rexanna's wedding. As much as she loathed having missed it, she had gladly participated in the prior moments, and spent the rest of the night giving the new couple a wide and amused berth. It had reminded her of her own lost lover, and the pain had been too raw. Rexanna, her sister, her soulmate, had known without Hotaru trying to get the words past the lump in her throat that day.
His empathy is not unexpected. It seems everyone here has lost someone. But she still gazes upon him, solemn and regal. "There are no condolences that can ease it, but you have my sympathies Loren. I'd not wish it on anyone else." Perhaps it's a little over the top, but her mind is full of her children's beautiful faces, their bright souls extinguished and lost so soon. Turning her doll-like face away from the man, she stares out into the snow and ice and holds her breath until the pain passes.
"Being hated by a god is a backhanded compliment, that they'd bother hating us at all," she comments dryly, recalling those days herself. Loren didn't seem inclined to humor, and Hotaru wasn't going to push. Though she could entertain with the best of them, she was also smart enough not to force someone into something like that without their consent. It didn't help with any of her normal motives anyway.
Darkness overcomes his tone as he speaks of his family, and the woman holds her arms around herself, delicately clasping her coat closer as her bi-colored eyes take in the man at her side. Intriguing, but something dark hounds him, and Hotaru does not always have the gentlest hand. "Sounds like a shitty fate," she comments bluntly instead, because well. It is. She's not going to baby him, not when he seems like he'd reject it anyway. "It's astounding the weight a family name can have. I'm sorry that shadow haunts you." Dusting snow off her coat idly, she lifts her fingers to blow warm air on them, and begins the song and dance of departure. "I'd offer an ear or shoulder for the future, but I'm not the best at comforting. If you're ever in need of a drinking partner however, or someone to curse the gods and fates with, I'm your woman." Whether he'd take her up on it? Well, that was up to him. It was the only consolation she could offer. Misery loved company after all.
"Unfortunately not. It was mere days after I arrived here, and she understood that I didn't want to be subjected to such a gathering so soon." It had taken time, after reuniting with all three of her remaining family, for Hotaru to gain back her strength of spirit. She had been weak and broken with memories, with loss, with grief. She had not wanted to show that kind of face or temperament at Rexanna's wedding. As much as she loathed having missed it, she had gladly participated in the prior moments, and spent the rest of the night giving the new couple a wide and amused berth. It had reminded her of her own lost lover, and the pain had been too raw. Rexanna, her sister, her soulmate, had known without Hotaru trying to get the words past the lump in her throat that day.
His empathy is not unexpected. It seems everyone here has lost someone. But she still gazes upon him, solemn and regal. "There are no condolences that can ease it, but you have my sympathies Loren. I'd not wish it on anyone else." Perhaps it's a little over the top, but her mind is full of her children's beautiful faces, their bright souls extinguished and lost so soon. Turning her doll-like face away from the man, she stares out into the snow and ice and holds her breath until the pain passes.
"Being hated by a god is a backhanded compliment, that they'd bother hating us at all," she comments dryly, recalling those days herself. Loren didn't seem inclined to humor, and Hotaru wasn't going to push. Though she could entertain with the best of them, she was also smart enough not to force someone into something like that without their consent. It didn't help with any of her normal motives anyway.
Darkness overcomes his tone as he speaks of his family, and the woman holds her arms around herself, delicately clasping her coat closer as her bi-colored eyes take in the man at her side. Intriguing, but something dark hounds him, and Hotaru does not always have the gentlest hand. "Sounds like a shitty fate," she comments bluntly instead, because well. It is. She's not going to baby him, not when he seems like he'd reject it anyway. "It's astounding the weight a family name can have. I'm sorry that shadow haunts you." Dusting snow off her coat idly, she lifts her fingers to blow warm air on them, and begins the song and dance of departure. "I'd offer an ear or shoulder for the future, but I'm not the best at comforting. If you're ever in need of a drinking partner however, or someone to curse the gods and fates with, I'm your woman." Whether he'd take her up on it? Well, that was up to him. It was the only consolation she could offer. Misery loved company after all.
the horror you have seen is not who you are
