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Hotaru Kaito
the Valkyrie
Masseuse / Headmistress

Age: 33 | Height: 5'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 3 - Strg: 38 - Dext: 38 - Endr: 54 - Luck: 40 - Int:
Played by: Brit Offline
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Posts: 2,242 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#1
Hotaru
we're not lovers, we're just strangers
with the same damn hunger
Deimos had spoken briefly of the Sea of Glass, but what he had mentioned had been more than enough to stir Hotaru's interest. Exploring Halo is not something she shies away from despite its frigid - and currently dropping - temperatures. It is far too akin to her kingdom, and perhaps she tortures herself every time she ventures upon its icy soil but it soothes the ache of loss in equal measures.

She has come as prepared as she can for voyaging across iced-over water, aware that she is not gifted with flight like her brother in arms. It does little to stop her. The distant cracks and spots of dark roiling ocean where it has not formed paints a beautiful picture, one that entices her further as she leisurely meanders across the snow. Wind painting her cheeks with frigid red despite the furred hood pulled over her head.

Hotaru has no real goal, perhaps a bit of hunting of seals or seabirds (as she always come prepared with her weapons) but the salted air alone is enough to draw and keep her for the afternoon.
to be touched, to be loved
to feel anything at all
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
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MP: 1005
#2
noah
Free from all old stories Ive been told, I walk through the valley of my own shadow
Noah was glad, for a moment, to have some normalcy in his life. He was back in the frozen tundra of his home. Despite the cold, the ice, the darkness, Noah felt comfortable. Peaceful. Happy. Today, like so many other days before this, Noah headed out for a hunt. Several hours of patience and careful timing served him well. A plump seal would do well for him and Ezekiel -- should the brother ever return from his adventures -- for the Deepfrost.

Noah had broken down the beast as he needed to for travel. He headed back in the direction of home, dragging his kill behind him in a sling he used often for hunting on the ice. It was the best way to get what he gathered back home to Snowcloak. Noah was a strong man, but if he wasn't smart the travel could exhaust him. He had learned.

His eyes were up and sharp, ready to react to any threat that might come to him or his kill. The man was no stranger to the savagery of other starving creatures coming in to claim what was his. He did not expect to see what he did, though. He set his eyes on her, keen to tell if she was someone he knew. He had a hard time telling who she was with her hood drawn so close up to her face, but the blonde hair whipping around only reminded him of Phoebe -- and he knew that wasn't her. "I'd be careful out there." He called out, letting his eyes wander around her some, looking for any thin footing.

Hotaru

Hotaru Kaito
the Valkyrie
Masseuse / Headmistress

Age: 33 | Height: 5'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 3 - Strg: 38 - Dext: 38 - Endr: 54 - Luck: 40 - Int:
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,242 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#3
Hotaru
we're not lovers, we're just strangers
with the same damn hunger
At this point the woman should be used to such interruptions. Company seems to be inevitable when exploring new reaches of unknown lands, and even more likely when hunting or anticipating a peaceful evening alone with her thoughts. Normally Hotaru is not so reticent to meet others and learn their secrets, but today she can only bite gently on her tongue and tsk when a man's voice calls across the fractured ice and snow to herald a warning for her. Spinning easily on heel, she regards the man in the distance, glad he's not so drastically far that she'll have to scream just to be heard with her higher voice.

"Thank you for your incredible insight, stranger. I didn't see the sea through all this broken ice." The sarcasm is thick and pointed, though she sighs to herself not soon after, submitting to the idea of sharing her time and company with yet another person. Slinging her bow over her shoulder in a more comfortable fashion, the woman strides confidently back over her previous footprints, knowing the ice there is solid from her earlier traversal. The man she approaches is a handsome, rugged fellow who dwarfs her by a good foot. Not that Hotaru has ever been intimidated by men of such size, but it's an amusing comparison. "You seem more liable to fall through than little old me anyway," she teases in a far friendlier tone as she approaches. Heterochromatic eyes fall upon the sack he has, noting the fresh kill inside. "Though it seems you've beat me to my goal. How are the numbers out there today?" No point in wasting her time if she can simply get the information from the other hunter.
to be touched, to be loved
to feel anything at all
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
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Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#4
noah
Free from all old stories Ive been told, I walk through the valley of my own shadow
Her response, at first, is biting. Noah huffs some, pulling the bag with his dead seal closer to him. She was right, it did not take a genius to figure out that this place posed danger. Although, Noah had overheard more than a few outsiders talk about their future ventures to Whitebrim, and their caution for the inhabitants there was null. Noah knew those who chose cannibalism could lurk anywhere, but to wander straight into where they were known to be was idiotic. Therefore, Noah really didn't kick himself too hard for sharing caution with this woman out on the frozen sea.

But, as she approached, her friendliness increased. He smiled some, laughing. "You learn quick. Falling in one time is too many." He had done so, in his youth, fallen through the ice. He had been out on a hunt with his father, and the day was not unlike it was this day. They had been doing exactly what the hunter had been -- tracking and hunting seals. Noah's father and taught him how to identify active air holes, and how to track the seals as they traveled. They were creatures of habit. When she asked about it, he shrugged some. "The one I got was the only one I saw today. It helps to know their patterns."

Noah had spent his entire life learning the patterns of the animals in Halo.

Hotaru Kaito
the Valkyrie
Masseuse / Headmistress

Age: 33 | Height: 5'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 3 - Strg: 38 - Dext: 38 - Endr: 54 - Luck: 40 - Int:
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,242 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#5
Hotaru
we're not lovers, we're just strangers
with the same damn hunger
His expectation of her incompetence is understandable once she considers it as she takes her time trekking back towards him. How many times had she taken aside new recruits to teach them the ways and wiles of the mountain ranges, the tundra, the frozen steppes? It is only a slight because he does not know her, and isn't that the kicker? Hotaru has thus far been unbothered by returning to normalcy, having given up her crown and any illusion of kingdom with the destruction of her home. Only when she is here, frozen wind biting her cheeks, does she feel that ache of want. To be known, to be respected, to rule. To care for souls beneath her care and craft an empire on more than just fear, as the tyrant Deimos speaks of had tried to do.

Hotaru shakes herself free of those thoughts, focusing instead on the rugged man before her, happily surprised by his pleasant attitude that contrasts with his stern outer appearance. "Especially when you have areas that freeze much easier than mine," she teases with a playful little grin. At least she didn't have any precious dangly-bits, they were nicely tucked away inside. Though tempted to frown at the unfortunate news, she merely hums instead, grateful for the information. "That's why I came out, mostly to observe. I used to live in a land like this, but the migratory and feeding patterns here are very different. Best to prepare for LongNight in the Grounds early, though." As she says it she turns back towards the horizon, gesturing with a little smile for the man to join her in the voyage back to...wherever he had been going. Home, perhaps? "Though as I understand it you don't deal with LongNight's monsters in Halo?"
to be touched, to be loved
to feel anything at all
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
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Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#6
noah
Free from all old stories Ive been told, I walk through the valley of my own shadow
The flare of color was instant, and would have been horrible noticeable had it not been for his already wind-burnt cheeks. He chuckled some at her comment, and it reminded him of Phoebe. Were all of the women, all of the blonde women, outside of Halo so ready to talk about those dangly bits and all they entailed? Phoebe called the god of pleasure her friend, and Noah couldn't help but wonder if this teasing creature before him would say the same.

When she spoke of coming from a land much like Halo, Noah smiled. She might be an outlander, here, but if her heart's memory ached at the sight of ice and snow, she was more familiar than any other outlander he had met thus far. Noah was no stranger to the dangers of LongNight, though when she questioned him about the monsters he shook his head. "The monsters that plague LongNight in the Grounds don't come here, no." He shifted his weight, some. "But there are cannibals that become extra hungry during the Deepfrost." They had their own monsters in Halo.

Hotaru

Hotaru Kaito
the Valkyrie
Masseuse / Headmistress

Age: 33 | Height: 5'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 3 - Strg: 38 - Dext: 38 - Endr: 54 - Luck: 40 - Int:
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,242 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#7
Hotaru
we're not lovers, we're just strangers
with the same damn hunger
The flustered state is harder to spot on this plateau of ice and wind, but it's enough to make her lips curl into a pleased smirk at his reaction. He is quite a handsome man, and any sort of success in making such a formidable figure flush and stumble is enough to make Hotaru preen. What luck that she has stumbled across him - or, realistically, that he has stumbled upon her - even here, in the middle of nowhere with nothing but snow to accompany them.

His smile is quite a handsome addition to his face, and it softens her own expression into a more comely and kindly form. He does not move immediately, so she pauses as she awaits his decision to either accompany her during their talk or to stand where they are. "Ah, yes. I've had the misfortune of exploring one of their hideouts." Not that the crates full of half-decomposed bodies had necessarily turned her stomach in the way it had for Maea and Evie, but it hadn't been a basket of roses either. "Though you may be worse off considering they don't disappear after a few days." A teasing light dances in her mismatched eyes, happy to trade woes and tales alike about their respective homes. Not that the Grounds feel much like home to Hotaru. Halo is the closest she will likely ever come again to anything that feels like that.
to be touched, to be loved
to feel anything at all
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#8
noah
Free from all old stories Ive been told, I walk through the valley of my own shadow
Watching her steps pause as she closed the distance between them, Noah hefted his bagged catch up over his shoulder. He usually alternated between pulling and carrying it home, but he knew he would be able to keep up with her better if he was carrying rather than pulling. It was not a huge seal, under two hundred pounds, but it was enough for what he wanted. He moved to follow her, though his eyes moved out to watch their steps. What an irony it would be for one of them to crack and fall through the ice after having just spoken about it.

When she brought up her run-in with the outcasts of Halo, though, Noah raised his eyebrows in surprise. "When did that happen?" He asked, uncaring if it sounded prying or not. He knew the cannibals to start to become more desperate for meat as Deepfrost came, and he thought it idiotic for anyone to choose to go into Whitebrim. "And why?" He asked, shifting the bag on his back some. He looked at her sideways, the concern and confusion apparent on his face.

Hotaru Kaito
the Valkyrie
Masseuse / Headmistress

Age: 33 | Height: 5'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 3 - Strg: 38 - Dext: 38 - Endr: 54 - Luck: 40 - Int:
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,242 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#9
Hotaru
we're not lovers, we're just strangers
with the same damn hunger
Her gaze flickers to the bag as he hefts it higher, and extends a hand upon which fingers wiggle in a 'gimme' motion. "I can help if you'd like." Which is a laughable offer coming from someone a foot shorter and many pounds lighter than the man currently carrying the sack. Though she'd be happy just to take a portion of the weight, bright mind already wondering what kind of stress and tension may linger in his shoulders. Maybe she should offer to massage him at her spa, if he'd be open to the idea.

His interest is not unfounded nor unexpected, it's usually regarded as blatantly stupid to go seeking out the cannibals instead of high-tailing it in the other direction when encountering them. "An expedition, the mines have been long-abandoned and the head of our group is an inquisitive sort. As far as I know it was reported back to Neron." What the man intends to do about the hideout isn't her business. "It wasn't a pretty sight, but we left unharmed." Which is all that could be asked for.
to be touched, to be loved
to feel anything at all
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#10
noah
Free from all old stories Ive been told, I walk through the valley of my own shadow
When she offered to help, Noah had to stifle a small laugh. "I bet this seal weighs well over what you do." He knew that he should not completely underestimate her and disqualify her from being stronger than she appeared, but he couldn't help but imagine the tiny girl heaving this seal up over her shoulder. Surely it would be easier for Noah to carry it than her, but he ultimately didn't know. She could have magic that gave her superhuman strength. Now, wouldn't that be something.

"Which group is that?" He asked, not giving much weight to the thought he might be perceived as prying. He shifted the weight of the seal on his back, eyes not leaving their path to ensure the footing was good where he stepped. "Well, it's good that you were unharmed. Those people are...." he trailed off for a moment, wanting to say that those cannibals were more than desperate, "devils." He decides. In Halo, lots of people became desperate at different parts of their lives. However, to take and devour the life of another human was beyond that. It was, as Noah said, near evil, in his opinion.

Hotaru Kaito
the Valkyrie
Masseuse / Headmistress

Age: 33 | Height: 5'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 3 - Strg: 38 - Dext: 38 - Endr: 54 - Luck: 40 - Int:
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,242 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#11
Hotaru
we're not lovers, we're just strangers
with the same damn hunger
"I'm not sure if I should call that flattery or an insult," she teases back on the winding trail of her laughter as it peals from her lips. Hotaru had admittedly expected to be turned down, so she's not too bothered, and it had opened up the chance to try and get that adorable pink hue back in his cheeks. More than what the wind and ice has already achieved at least.

"A collection of people, admittedly I'd only previous met the one who formed the group, Jigano the Sage from the Hollowed Grounds." The man's probing curiosity is easily taken in hand, giving information that she handpicks so as not to incriminate herself. Not that she believes she has anything to be judged for in adding herself to the numbers of those exploring, but Hotaru has always been one to care for her own safety. Though with his following words, perhaps she didn't have to worry. He's clearly no sympathizer of theirs. "Their lair was quite awful," she admits in an undertone. The gore itself hadn't bothered her, too used to such things to have it impact her visually. But the idea of it...knowing those were people inside those boxes, it certainly hadn't made sleep easy that night. "Admittedly I was prepared for a fight. I don't believe they deserve to continue existing, to prey upon their own kind like that." Sparks dance along her hands as her temper gets away from her, and she frowns down at the electricity as the noise catches her ears, shaking out her fingers from their tightly fisted grip to dispel the magic. "Have you encountered them yourself?"
to be touched, to be loved
to feel anything at all
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#12
noah
Free from all old stories Ive been told, I walk through the valley of my own shadow
He did not have much to give her, but her teasing tone did bring back some color in his cheeks. He smirked, an eyebrow raised slightly, and shrugged. She was able to take the comment any way she wanted. Noah wondered, for a moment, how Hotaru let this tone of her's lure men (or women, he didn't know nor judge) into the sticky, sweet lull of her beauty. It was undeniable--her beauty--and any who would choose to say otherwise were simply stupid. Or blind. Or both.

The name Hotaru gave was unfamiliar to him. Outside of Halo, he did not know a lot of people. He had just barely begun exploring when he met Phoebe, and she had taken him from Torchline to the Hollowed Grounds, but only to see her college and what she had established there. He had not met other people, so he doesn't react at all. It was nice to tuck the name away, however, for the future. Her recollection of what she saw did make his stomach turn, though. "The people of Whitebrim are exiles. Whatever got them where they are now is unforgivable, even without the cannibalism." He shuddered, thinking about it. "I've barely escape their notice a few times on hunts. Never have I encountered  them up close or crossed swords with them, if you will." He stepped to the side, avoiding a thin looking stretch of ice before them. "And I pray I never do."

Hotaru Kaito
the Valkyrie
Masseuse / Headmistress

Age: 33 | Height: 5'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 3 - Strg: 38 - Dext: 38 - Endr: 54 - Luck: 40 - Int:
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,242 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#13
Hotaru
we're not lovers, we're just strangers
with the same damn hunger
Despite the extra color that dances along his cheekbones to give her a sense of accomplishment, his smirk causes the same reaction upon her own, eyes darting away even as the corners of her mouth twitch in betrayal. She is unaccustomed to men who are both handsome and kind, and it inspires a sickeningly girlish sensation in her breast that she resolutely ignores. It is helpful that Noah distracts her with more information about the cannibals than she'd previously had, and interest flits across her delicate features as she turns her head to once again regard him as they walk.

"Exiles? So they had already committed a crime of some sort before resorting to cannibalism?" It's something she admittedly hadn't considered, but now she wonders if they'd had no other choice if they were barred from the only source of trading and commerce in the entire land. Not that it warms her at all towards their choice of dealing with that, but it's still an encouragement to delve into the history of their creation. Upon seeing his shudder she automatically lifts her hand to gently touch his elbow, as she so often does to Deimos, in hopes of chasing away whatever dark memories plague him. Dropping away only when she realizes what she's doing, cheeks darkening though she does not apologize for the action. Instead she follows him to the side, eyeing the thin ice he'd spotted as she considers her response. "We decided not to confront those we found in the tunnels. What is there to gain from it? Aside from removing one more threat." Not to mention that both Maea and Evie (she's not certain of Jigano's stance) didn't seem inclined towards battle or - gods forbid - murder. In Hotaru's eyes it is for the greater good of the Halovian people's safety, but not many see it that way. She's fine with being judged for it.
to be touched, to be loved
to feel anything at all
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
EIRA - Mythical - Griffin (Venom) VI’ADORE - Mythical - Unicorn (Healing)
Played by: Time Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,012 | Total: 2,366
MP: 1005
#14
noah
Free from all old stories Ive been told, I walk through the valley of my own shadow
Her touch is as soft as a newly fallen snowflake, but it holds his attention. Noah's head snapped up to look at her, and his face softened. the color in his cheeks that she and the wind had invoked did not disappear. He smiled at her, again, warm and gentle. His face wrinkled at the corners of his icy eyes.

"I think so, at least some of them." Noah was not entirely sure on all of the details of why the people lived in Whitebrim. He had heard so many refer to them as exiles it just made sense. Before Neron, the people were merely ruling themselves. Anyone could make decisions or fight against decisions made. Banishment and exile were worse than death, and in Noah's mind there were crimes worse than death, and more than just cannibalism. "I think it was wise you did not engage them." The cannibal threat was continuing to increase, but to go out and hunt them down just for the sake of it seemed wrong to him.

"Are you staying in Halo, then?" He asks, trying to change the subject. It is a graceless move, but the hunter was no master wordsmith and he did not pretend to be.



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