all your lovers eventually fade

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