all your lovers eventually fade
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: 2,241 | Total: 6,168
MP: 9427
#1
There's a darkness down inside me
That I know we'll both enjoy
The light has come, spilling across the land like eager petals seeking to distribute a new breath of air, to chase away the lingering staleness and fear that LongNight always brings. It heralds their arrival, gold light dancing across gilded dapples and sunflower tresses alike as woman and unicorn move as one. There shouldn't be the feeling of coming home, not here, and so the woman pushes it away and buries it deep where the truth of its resonance cannot reach her ears. Denial is her greatest weapon and friend, handle worn and faded with use.

Atlas, new to this world and the people that cause the maelstrom of emotion in his bonded, seems to arch his neck higher than normal as they approach the house. The sun-bleached wood creaks under her light weight as she approaches the door, hand lifting to knock -

And she hesitates.

The last time she'd been here, she had been slipping silently out into the morning glow, carrying the marks of their lust and her own aching heart in tandem. Is it her place, to come here like this? Hotaru grits her teeth and her chin rises stubbornly. Why should she feel guilty for that? It had been a hookup. It was already out of bounds to have stayed the night, in their shared bed, in the first place. Steeling herself with this, she raps her knuckles against the wood, Atlas at her shoulder staring imposingly over her shoulder.
and it's screaming from within me
to have us set it free
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.
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
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#2
- NATE -
When you’re around
I don’t know how to hide my feelings
It has been crisis after crisis after crisis. Nate is exhausted, no matter how relieved he is to have something, someone outside of himself to focus on. Even he has a limit, and it was reached weeks ago.

There’s a part of him that debates ignoring the knock on the door, letting whoever was there walk away again, while he sits close to Sunjata’s side. Honestly, he isn’t sure what it is that makes him rise, that sends to open the door, one eyed gaze distant and his mouth already open to say Hey, another time maybe?

Whoever he’d been expecting, it’s clear Hotaru is not it. It's clear that he’s surprised enough to not be able to hide the emotions that move over his face. Frustration, pain, confusion, relief. The one good eye flicks to Atlas, then back to the abandoned, a dozen questions rising up, none of them feeling worth it to ask. She'd made her choice pretty clearly, hadn't she? For a moment, it seems like he's going to close the door, slam it on her, his arm almost twitching with the thought before he's rushing forward instead, pulling her tight against his chest and squeezing her.

Without speaking a word, without giving her a chance to fight him, Nate lifts her in his arms, all but drags her into the house. "I'm so glad you're okay." They're the first strained words out of him, when he finally pulls back, his gaze taking a detour up towards the ceiling to hide the unshed tears in his eye before falling to Hotaru properly.

There is a lot to say, discussions and questions and catching up on every terror they've experienced, and Nate has absolutely no idea where to start. How to start. "Sunny's upstairs." His hand moves to grab hers, to drag her deeper, along a path that had been far lighter to walk last time she'd stepped along it, the last time she'd been invited into the bedroom.

It's only once they're sitting on the edge of the bed that Nate let's go of her hand, the fear that she'll once again disappear alleviated somewhat when all of them are present, when it's not just him.
I count in binary in my head
And you count clouds
Sunjata Wrenzaok
the Flood
Archon of King's End

Age: 34 | Height: 6'5 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 15 - Strg: 76 - Dext: 73 - Endr: 75 - Luck: 79 - Int: 3
PETRONELLA - Mythical - Sea Panther
Played by: Skylark Online
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MP: 2712
#3
what's harder, harder to fake? that you want me to stay, or that you want me to stay the same
for you? chained to a lie. who's to blame? let it die. we're the same
If he’s being truthful, Sunjata had never wanted LongNight to go like this. Had never wanted to venture out into Torchline during it, never wanted to be the one that took the brunt of the damage of the octopus in the tunnels of Rae’s Fingers. He’d rather have stayed a large berth away from it, ignoring it because it wasn’t his job, but again it was his job that had gotten him involved in the first place. Just as it was Nate’s job that had gotten him involved in his own attack as well. And then of course, Clem’s death. Nate had been closer to the boy than Sunjata had been, but it still fucking hurt regardless.

Sunjata’s tired too. More emotionally than anything, because with the tiger striping of burns that Nate’s obsessively taken care of, he’s slept a lot if only to try and keep himself from moving too much. Everything hurts, breathing, drinking, all of it. And a migraine has formed as a cross between his body trying to heal itself and the light that filters in despite drawn curtains. It’s only added to more, Sunjata leaning over to his side – the left side to be exact, where less burns sit, a more manageable pain this way as he rubs at his temple and Nate departs the bed.

Haai is alerted by the sound, a quiet bark given despite Nate’s quick answer – and Sunjata can’t find it in him to listen for the conversation downstairs, instead choosing to listen to the pattering of rain on the roof, along the windows, drawing a blanket up and imagining that whomever it is, Nate can deal with it. He’s certainly in no position to.

But then there’s the weight of not just Nate on the bed, and Sunjata remains hidden away beneath the blanket, relishing in the darkness of it as his head throbs. “Who is it?” He asks, voice hoarse and far more accented than usual, his exhaustion evident with the shallow breaths.
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
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: 2,241 | Total: 6,168
MP: 9427
#4
There's a darkness down inside me
That I know we'll both enjoy
For all her cunning, bravery is not a trait Hotaru prides herself on cultivating. When the door swings open, she's not the only one who thinks - for a brief moment - of turning back around. Atlas' soft breath against her shoulder is all that keeps her still, even if she must press her knees together to keep herself firmly rooted. At first all she can do is stare, taken aback by the new devastating scar on the handsome face that had kept her company through the sunless days so recently behind them. Then there is only his embrace, which she shamefully falls into like a body into a grave, her arms coming up immediately to cling to him in return. There are a million questions buzzing on her tongue at the sight of him, but his own words inspire a choked huff of noise from her throat. "So am I." The thought of either of them not being here to greet her had been a driving force behind her visit. No matter the reasoning behind why she'd slipped out that morning, after losing Rexanna she had needed to know for sure that she hadn't lost them too.

Atlas budges his way inside shamelessly as she is tugged along through the doorway, so swept up in Nate's presence (as she always, infuriatingly always, seems to be) that she scarcely notices the entire unicorn trailing behind them. Her hand squeezes at Nate's, only tightening as they enter the room and Sunjata - lying prone and still - is revealed on the bed. Questions clog her throat, but seeing both of them so badly injured has only worsened her emotional state, and she stumbles in an abnormal display of gracelessness to sink upon the bed beside Sunjata.

Her hand comes to gently press upon his sternum, avoiding the burns where she can and repressing the desire to lean down and press a kiss to his face. "It's Ru," she whispers, voice too choked to speak any louder. Her eyes are wet as they turn helplessly to Nate, begging for an explanation. "What happened? What the hell happened to both of you?" Why wasn't I there? The thought is agonizing. As if summoned by her despair, Atlas approaches, large body encroaching upon the room. His obsidian horn lowers, and she instinctively raises a hand to stop him, his name uttered in warning on her lips, only to jerk back at the feeling of magic washing past her skin. Gaze darting down, she stares stupidly at Sunjata, unsure what's happening but having some inkling with her association to Deimos' companion. "Atlas? Did you...did you help him?" Or is she still just as useless now as before?
and it's screaming from within me
to have us set it free
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.
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
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#5
- NATE -
When you’re around
I don’t know how to hide my feelings
It’s hard to tell exactly how he’s feeling, as Hotaru sinks into him, moves with him easily. Hard to tell if it makes something in him soar, sigh out a breath of relief, or if it just hurts all the more, an ease that they could have grown comfortable in not given the chance to even be talked about. Nate’s shifted from one to the other and back again more than once, She’s here now though, for whatever reason, and that simple fact alone is enough to keep him from dipping too dangerously into one mood or the other.

Knowing the attuned’s condition makes it no easier to look upon, the sight of Sunjata languishing in their bed twisting all of Nate’s insides into knots. Pemota floats high above the bed, starlight drifting down from her, their connection the only reason Nate doesn’t worry when he finds the other man shifted, face hidden away from them. He lets Hotaru answer for herself, and struggles to meet her eyes when they turn back to him, lost in this strange reconnection, in his own turmoil.

”A lot’s happened, Ru.” The words come out with a shudder, a hiccuped attempt at a chuckle that only drags in his throat. It isn’t only bad that’s happened after all, no matter how much it might feel like the darkness outweighs the little good they’d carved out. He knows though, that that’s not the answer she’s looking for, and sighs, reaching out to rest a hand on Sunjata’s hip, his other hand rising to offer the same scrap of comfort to Hotaru, but falling short. ”We had a job, over Longnight. Clearing out the smuggling tunnels.” There’s a jerky lift of his shoulders, the rest of the story obvious seeming now. ”The... flaming octopus thing didn’t want to be cleared out.”

Then there is the matter of what’s happened to him, the catalyst of the entire spiral they’re on now, every new pain able to be traced back to that one. Those lost, empty weeks, Zeph’s injury, their involvement in the Fingers at all. Some guilty part of Nate even pulls the pain of what happened to Clem back onto his guilty psyche, if he hadn’t been hurt, he could have travelled with him to the temple, could have insisted he stayed, could have done something. And he still, still isn’t quite sure how to even talk about it, what it had done to him.

At least that’s a pain he’s spared, the unicorn that he’d only barely noticed trailing behind them making it’s presence known once again, stepping closer, too close, Nate tensing, a wary eye locked on it. The gaze doesn’t move at the abandoned’s confused words, though understanding clicks Nate having to look, and his first thought fills him with a sickly guilt, his stomach swooping. What do I do now? If Sunjata is healed, if that is what the unicorn had done, then his distraction, the subject of his unwavering focus is gone, and those lonely, endless hours are going to be filled with his own pain again.

A single trembling hand moves along his fiance’s body, to the bandage covering his side, and peels it back, Nate’s entire body sagging when he sees scarring, and not open wound. It isn’t perfect, isn’t complete, but it’s weeks of pain skipped past. His moment of weak selfishness is thrown to the side in favour of the way he all but collapses on top of Sunjata, squishing Ru in between them and not caring in the slightest. This is what he should have felt in the first place, relief that Sunjata is no longer in agony. Even his usual objections to magical healing don’t rise up, not now, not when he knew the length of recovery normally.
I count in binary in my head
And you count clouds
Sunjata Wrenzaok
the Flood
Archon of King's End

Age: 34 | Height: 6'5 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 15 - Strg: 76 - Dext: 73 - Endr: 75 - Luck: 79 - Int: 3
PETRONELLA - Mythical - Sea Panther
Played by: Skylark Online
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Posts: 8,340 | Total: 13,495
MP: 2712
#6
what's harder, harder to fake? that you want me to stay, or that you want me to stay the same
for you? chained to a lie. who's to blame? let it die. we're the same
”It’s Ru.” He hears, and while his head still pounds, he’s unsure whether or not it’s due to the relief that it isn’t some stranger, come to shake up what was already a tumultuous day. He can feel her hand at his sternum, the kiss pressed to his face even if he still tries to remain hidden away. All that’s given is a slight huff of sound as if he’s saying ‘oh, it’s you, it’s been so long’ without having the words actually slip from his lips.

He hopes she understands them anyway.

And then Nate’s hand is at his hip too, and he listens while Nate explains what happened, listens while he hears the strange sound of hooves and Haai’s slight unease at having the large creature in the bedroom of all things. But she soothes because Hotaru’s there, keeping the equine in order, at least, order enough that Sunjata tries to ignore it the best he can. “Took every fucking hit.” He grits out, frustration evident.

Again, that feeling begins to suddenly dissipate as soon as he can feel the familiar tinge of magical healing, slipping toward him and filtering through to the burns, healing away much of the pain and agony, allowing him easier breaths to take and a sharpened sudden jolt of the migraine disappearing into a dull thudding ache. A steel eye pops open, immediately landing on Nate first, brows furrowing before suddenly Nate’s crashing into him and pinning Hotaru within, and the sudden shift has him leaning back on the bed with barely enough time to get a full inhale of breath. The burns now at least feel more like harsh bruises, rather than a sharp searing pain, and he finds it’s manageable after a little bit of getting used to it. Still doesn’t help the slight groan that slips from him as his back hits the bed, prepared for pain where there’s far less than before.

What the fuck.” He manages, half confused as he catches up and spies the head of a unicorn peering above their bed. But he relaxes then, exhaling a softer sigh, an arm wrapping around Nate tight and Hotaru as well, sinking into the bed with the exhaustion from before but without as much pain, just the soreness of bruising and everything else. Though the skin remains tight. “When did you get a unicorn?” He asks, tilting his head down to press his cheek against Hotaru’s head, his arm around Nate squeezing in close.

Nate’s right in thinking that this is how it was supposed to be, how it should be, and with the sudden feeling of whiplash from bedridden to feeling like he’d just left a particularly intense boxing match, he’s left confused far more than anything else.
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
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: 2,241 | Total: 6,168
MP: 9427
#7
There's a darkness down inside me
That I know we'll both enjoy
A lot is apparently an understatement. Both men look wretched, exhausted and beaten down in more ways than physical. Her regret only sows itself deeper, heart torn in two. Could she have forgiven herself for staying here, blissfully unaware of Rexanna's death and her family's pain? Can she in this moment forgive herself for not doing the opposite, for being here and standing at Sunjata's side during this preposterous battle? No matter what decision she could have made, it feels as if she was doomed to have failed one way or the other. It makes it a little easier to nod faintly at Nate's words, eyes embarrassingly wet. They both have a habit of undoing her, as easily as plucking at a loose thread on a favored sweater. It's both terrifying and addicting, and as she pulls away from Sunjata's stubbly cheek she gives a wet, shaky laugh at his rather expressive grunt.

"Because you're a magnet for trouble darling," she laughs softly in reply, heart aching at the sight of him laid low and hurting. Turning, she lifts a hand towards Nate, falling short in the same way he had previously. "Then...you didn't get this from the job?" How had they both ended up so badly wounded then? What had she missed in the time separated from their sides?

For a moment, as Nate peels away the bandages to reveal healed - if scarred - flesh, she considers asking Atlas to do the same for the doctor. Only to bite her tongue, remembering at the last moment that as an Ascended he is technically already healed. She wasn't here soon enough to help, and that is a burden she must bear. Along with Nate's weight apparently, as he squishes her flat between his body and Sunjata's, the air leaving her in a dying squeak of sound that's admittedly far from a protest. It's a little difficult to answer trapped between them, and the question itself is so bizarre to Hotaru that she just...laughs. Shakes apart between them, relief and joy and despair all wrapped together for a moment of exuberant sound. "I...you won't believe the story if I tell it. But I found him right before LongNight, in Halo." A distraction that had kept her from running straight back here to their arms. A place she can't imagine leaving again now that she's here once more. Squeezing Sunjata tight - as tight as she dares - she tries to soak in the moment and ignore the multitudes left unspoken, unasked, between the three of them.
and it's screaming from within me
to have us set it free
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.
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
Played by: Johnnie Offline
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MP: 0
#8
- NATE -
When you’re around
I don’t know how to hide my feelings
Nate’s explanation feels brusque, flippant, if only because he is afraid he will be dragged down into the darkness of the tunnels if his thoughts linger there too much. A simple explanation flows best, keeps him the most distant, though it can only last so long, he can only control what he says. There’s that guilt, coming to the forefront of his mind again, bitter frustration evident in Sunjata’s weak growl. He had done nothing, had stood by and watched the attuned be struck again and again. The beginning tracks of the spiral are blown away by Hotaru’s soft words, soft laugh. By the gentle touch to a situation that he could only react to with an exhausted horror now. It makes for a refreshing change, spurs his hand to finally make that connection, wrapping around her waist in a half hug.

It seems the reason for his own state won’t be so easily ignored, but it can at least be waylaid a touch longer, Sunjata’s healing a moment for shocked, giddy celebration. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. And it’s easy to underestimate how long an arms length can really be, but it feels as if this is their first real embrace in too long, despite the fact that it had only been a matter of days. Easier still to forget how right it feels to have Hotaru with them, how much difference she makes. If Nate could sink into this moment, could stretch it into an eternity, he would, but he’s swept away with it instead, by laughter and conversation that he only barely follows, apart from a rather fervent thought that he would like to hear Ru’s story, regardless of it’s believability.

There’s something so wonderfully disconnected about the embrace, though reality begins to creep back in, a slow leak deflating the party balloon. Nate shifts, careful to not dislodge Sunjata’s arm, and pulls himself into a more comfortable position, Hotaru carefully nestled in the slight space between them. It’s close to how they’d fallen asleep, so long ago, but he tries to keep that thought far from his mind, tries to focus instead on an answer owed.

”I... was attacked randomly.” Another weak, distant admission. Nate’s tongue darts out to wet suddenly dry lips, and his gaze settles on a point between the other two, without actually touching either of them. ”We don’t know who, or why or...” Anything really, and that should really affect him more than it does, but the less he knows for sure, the easier it is to keep paranoia at bay. ”It looks worse than it feels.” Whether it’s because of the lightness from before, or something else, this actually flies like the joke it’s meant to be, a crooked grin gracing Nate’s lips for an instant. It makes it feel a little less like he’s ruining the moment, a little more like this is a normal, easy conversation.
I count in binary in my head
And you count clouds
Sunjata Wrenzaok
the Flood
Archon of King's End

Age: 34 | Height: 6'5 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 15 - Strg: 76 - Dext: 73 - Endr: 75 - Luck: 79 - Int: 3
PETRONELLA - Mythical - Sea Panther
Played by: Skylark Online
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Posts: 8,340 | Total: 13,495
MP: 2712
#9
what's harder, harder to fake? that you want me to stay, or that you want me to stay the same
for you? chained to a lie. who's to blame? let it die. we're the same
At the very least with the conversation between the two of them and the healing mostly done, Sunjata can slowly start to catch up – to stretch a once painful leg, awing slightly when he finds out that the sharp shooting pain is just now really fucking sore. But it’s relieving all the same, the deep breaths able to take as Nate crashes into him and pins Hotaru with, her vibrant laugh that helps somewhat ground what is happening. And then, he sighs quietly, chewing on the inside of his cheek while he hums his agreement with Nate on the subject of it being believable regardless, mentally picking apart the burns turned far less painful, but still there. As for believability?

They’d just fought a giant fucking lava octopus, after all.

So he focuses on the other fact instead, the one that has Nate’s quiet admission coming to the surface, has Sunjata finally moving now that he can at least a little bit, aiming to bump his head into Nate’s to press a soft kiss to the edge of the wounded scar now that he can. And he focuses on the explanation, the attack, the not knowing that has Sunjata’s jaw set a bit tighter.

His arm around Hotaru squeezes lightly, a soft unsaid thank you that has him relaxing slightly as well, before a low sigh leaves him. “I… Did exactly what Nate didn’t want and tried to find out, got in the middle of something I shouldn’t have and fucked up the other guys’ face. His boss brought some of his dogs with him for payback, which meant taking the job in the tunnels. Gave us a shitty way out too and it took longer.” He sighs, pulling away a bit to shift up and rest his back against the headboard of the bed, dragging Nate and Hotaru along if he can, eventually leaning a bit more on Nate, as if his touch might say the silent thank yous for all the work he’s done to keep him safe upon returning from that adventure in the tunnels, drawing silent again once the exhaustion replaces the awe of the healing again, resting his head along Nate’s shoulder through dark raven hair. “We… Missed you, Ru.” Half of him wants to say they needed her, but he’s not quite selfish enough to admit it just yet, to make her have to deal with it when he knows how much Rexanna had meant to her – how much Clemente had meant to Nate – it wasn’t right for him to put his needs, his loss of being able to help Nate through the struggle from the attack still something of guilt, especially coming home as fucked up as he has been lately, above Hotaru’s own pain and loss.
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
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: 2,241 | Total: 6,168
MP: 9427
#10
There's a darkness down inside me
That I know we'll both enjoy
It's not her magic that heals him, but she's elated all the same, gratitude flowing freely towards Atlas who shamelessly preens before striding purposefully out of the room once more. It's a definitive sign, abandoning her to the conversations that need to be had. She wouldn't be surprised to find him blocking the exit if she were to try and leave before he is personally content with the outcome. Awful child, she thinks his way, but it's weak at best, too full of desperate joy that she clings to as they arrange themselves familiarly upon the bed. Perhaps too familiar, considering they'd only shared it all together a single night. But with Nate's arm around her and Sunjata's warmth at her side, it's easy to ignore the thoughts that had driven her from the house the first time around. As easily intoxicated and distracted now as she had been the first time around.

The squeeze around her middle draws her gaze back to Sunjata, away from the scarred flesh she'd just watched him kiss. That they'd been in such a dire situation, without her there to help them, makes her insides wilt and tremble. How easily could she have lost them? A single moment and she would have lost her chance to be here once more. To apologize, to explain. Even Nate is not immortal, inorganic though his body may be. Hotaru is freshly reminded of how short and dangerous all of their lives are, and it's terrifying. That she has clearly connected herself to them, weakened herself in a way she'd only done to her family before, is too blatantly telling. She simultaneously wants to confess then and there, to kiss them both until the world fades away for a few minutes, and to run away once more until the thought of losing them doesn't cripple her inside.

"Trouble magnets, the both of you," she re-emphasizes exasperatedly. Because they certainly won't listen to her if she tells them to be careful, to stop fighting random people. Oh, why can't they be more like her, causing chaos for a clear goal? They're going to give her grey hairs, and then she really will have to kill them.

Nate's explanation is definitely vague, and she intends to find out more later, but for now she turns on her side to bring a hand up to the wound. Thumb gently caressing the torn edge that has already healed, her own gaze sad and full of far too many emotions laid bare for him to see. "You're no less handsome for it." Leaning close she too presses a kiss to the trailing end, whispering, "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

So weak already after that painful apology, Sunjata's tentative words only further shatter that diamond facade she always wears. Turning to him, now, she transfers her hand to brush his hair back away from his face where he rests his cheek against Nate. "I missed you too. Both of you." And, knowing she can't avoid it any longer, she takes a trembling breath and tries to summon her humility and courage alike. "I'm sorry...for leaving that night."
and it's screaming from within me
to have us set it free
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.
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
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#11
- NATE -
When you’re around
I don’t know how to hide my feelings
”The shitty way out was my fault.” Nate chimes in quickly, ever eager to take more off Sunjata’s plate and load it onto himself. At least this is entirely justified, a sheepish shrug leaving him with the explanation. ”I... had a physical word with said boss, afterwards. It was his revenge.” It all sounds so stupid and petty to repeat, an idiot chain of events driven by not thinking in the face of panic, of fear, of anger.

Leaning into the brief kiss against his face, Nate closes his eyes and lets out an amused hum, unable to respond to her amendment with anything else, at first. It wasn’t wrong, not by a long shot. ”Is that why you came back around?” Theres no shortage of warmth in his voice, no matter how it’s spoiled by the watery edge of hurt in his eye as it opens to focus back on Hotaru.

It isn’t long before he sees the same mirrored in her, before she leans in close, and he has to close his eye again, to spare himself the shame, the turn in his stomach that comes with her lips on the jagged scar across his face. It’s taken long enough to grow comfortable with Sunjata doing it. And the soft words that accompany the kiss, the softer apology that follows, they only undo Nate that much more, his brow furrowing painfully with the struggle to not let tears, of all things, fall.

He needs to get a better grip on his emotional leash, needs to reign himself in, but... there’s no chance to, not at this moment, not in any of the ones that are sure to follow, a trail of dominoes already in the middle of toppling each other. All he can do is cling right to Sunjata, as his words fill the air, Nate nodding his agreement. More than anything he could say, the words lay bare the root of all his hurt, all his upset with her specifically. Why did you go where we could miss you? Where you could miss us? Why did you go at all?

Nate’s lips open before his eye, though words and gaze both are aimed at Hotaru. ”You didn’t say anything. You didn’t even leave a note.” It should be accusatory, angry. Should be accompanied by the raising of his voice, by gestures and spite and something. All it is is quiet, even, Nate’s arms tightening around her as well, holding Hotaru tightly now that she’s back here.
I count in binary in my head
And you count clouds
Sunjata Wrenzaok
the Flood
Archon of King's End

Age: 34 | Height: 6'5 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 15 - Strg: 76 - Dext: 73 - Endr: 75 - Luck: 79 - Int: 3
PETRONELLA - Mythical - Sea Panther
Played by: Skylark Online
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Posts: 8,340 | Total: 13,495
MP: 2712
#12
what's harder, harder to fake? that you want me to stay, or that you want me to stay the same
for you? chained to a lie. who's to blame? let it die. we're the same
Nate’s quick to chime in his own guilt, and Sunjata can’t find it in him to argue it. All things considered? They were alive. She was alive too, and all the pieces start to fit back together. Almost.

Because then she’s bringing up the night she’d left, while Sunjata had slept quite soundly beside her, while Nate had cooked breakfast for three when only two had remained, and the Korofian can feel as Nate grips tighter to him, a low hum slipping from his throat at the pressure but making no attempt to move. Her hand in his hair, tousled from sleep and being unable to move hardly at all, and he wants to lean into it — but Nate’s words are his own, too. His exhaustion keeps him exactly as before, head on Nate’s shoulder, his hand wrapped around her while his other seeks out a steady tethering bind with Nate.

We wanted you to stay.” He manages, eyes still closed as if it’s easier to say it while he doesn’t have to look at her. But he does anyway, tired steel eyes searching her pale face, her two toned eyes. “Through LongNight, forever, whatever. But you were gone.” It’s quiet too, but Sunjata has no foot to stand on, nothing like Nate does. The Attuned has burned the Valkyrie before, and his own quiet protests should mean nothing in comparison to the anchored weight of Nate’s accusations.

If anything, Sunjata has done the same to her before.

His gaze tears away then, nestling his head in closer to Nate, hiding away again as he takes a long deep breath.
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
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: 2,241 | Total: 6,168
MP: 9427
#13
There's a darkness down inside me
That I know we'll both enjoy
There's time later to talk about the decisions they've both made, the trouble they've sown. All that matters to her here and now is the fact that they are here and whole, tangible. It emboldens her past the ingrained cowardice of facing her emotions, of putting them to words and submitting herself to the terrifying possibility of being hurt again. But if Rexanna had been able to do it, if she'd found love even after all they'd both gone through in Helovia, all that was still ongoing here in Caido...was that not reason enough to try for herself?

Their hurt is clear to her, and the fact she can read them so clearly only makes her heart rabbit faster in her chest. Hopes and wishes that she hadn't felt had been translated that night now looming over her with a magnitude of potential that leaves her shaken. It's what she wanted, what she still wants, but Hotaru is terrified of the what ifs. Two little words, unassuming alone, but with the power to tear her apart when united.

"To me, staying...it meant more than being spared from LongNight in the Grounds. It meant warming your bed once, adding spice to a relationship I couldn't intrude on, and then having to watch it grow while trapped here with nowhere else to go." It's difficult to keep her voice level, to explain how it felt on her end instead of flippantly disregarding their words. "There was nothing more than insinuation to make me think it would be abnormal to leave. Especially not when Sunjata has done the same to me before. What proof did I have, more than my own wishing, of more?" She doesn't let her voice dip into accusation, because it has been some time since she'd awoken in an empty bed, Sunjata's side cold and vacant. There's no more hurt to be healed there, only scar tissue. "I know what I am. You can enjoy my body, my company, my friendship. But it won't be me you both turn to at the end of the night. Why should I have stayed?" Why should I stay now?
and it's screaming from within me
to have us set it free
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.
Nate Wrenzaok
the Lone (Free) Ranger
"Doctor" / Guildmaster

Age: 37 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 10 - Strg: 55 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 50 - Luck: 46 - Int: 1
PEMOTA - Mythical - Starwhale (narwhal) RAMOTH - Mythical - Dragon (Biopulse)
Played by: Johnnie Offline
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Posts: 2,792 | Total: 4,183
MP: 0
#14
- NATE -
When you’re around
I don’t know how to hide my feelings
”You can’t intrude on something you were invited to.” Nate shifts, leaning in against Sunjata’s head as if he’s asking the other man to correct him if he’s wrong, if he’s somehow misread the situation. He doesn't think he has, but isn't this the point of the conversation now? They'd never had the chance to talk about it, had they? If he could muster more energy, this would turn into an argument, his own feelings a wall to hide behind, but he can't bring himself to do anything other than try to reach out, try to meet her in the middle. "We never had a chance to even talk about what we were going to do. What we wanted it to mean." He hesitates a moment, to swallow weakly. ”You left.”

Even if she can somehow hold her voice level, it’s not something Nate can manage at the moment, and his voice cracking under the emotional weight of his words. ”Even if Sunjata deserved it, what did I do?” It would be a lie to say he had warmed her bed, but he had still held her through the night, had still been there to say a proper goodbye in the morning. ”You couldn't... put a little bit of faith into me?” The more he speaks, the more he opens things up that hurt him, and isn’t talking about supposed to do the opposite?

He doesn’t turn away from her though, much as he wants to shift into the comfort of Sunjata’s closeness, of not having to actually face his feelings. This is a point he has to make, now that it’s been brought up. He’s not going to turn away. ”What could I say that would make you want to stay?” He doesn’t want to impose himself, his opinions on her, doesn’t want to push her into something she doesn’t want, but he does want a fair chance to try this time.
I count in binary in my head
And you count clouds


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