It's the same old story

AINO

Love, was she? Hotaru earned herself a chuff of amusement and a raised brow for the endearment. Aino wondered if she would still call the Jandar family insignificant after meeting her mother. But there was some truth to the dismissal all the same, one that was more reassuring than insulting. Everyone knew what had happened to the Hales; the whole clan wiped out, save for one boy whose fate was largely unknown. Not to mention the Olsons... though the elder brother seemed to be doing well enough for themselves. No, being overlooked was a good thing, these days.

"You're good at talking the talk, at least," Aino acknowledged. "Were I younger and more impressionable, I might have taken you up on those pretty words in a blink. But," she said, with new emphasis, "even if it sounds good I am not in the business of overturning generations of tradition after one conversation." There was more to consider here than her own desire to return to a soldier's life; if she did as Hotaru said it would require convincing both her mother and brother and roping them into thinking in new paths as well.

"How about this. You settle this debt, and prove that ye aren't about to disappear overnight. And if ye're still around at the turn of Leafchange and still have the interest, well... then we can talk about that offer of yours again." Lifting a brow as she twisted, to take the slender woman in more fully, Aino wondered if she would agree to this. Yet the soldier would accept nothing less than committment; she talked about changing the lifestyle of two families, after all. It would not be easy, for anyone involved.

For the good times that we share,
and the bad times that we'll have

Aino's amused (is it amusement? Ru is delighted to realize she's having a hard time telling, when normally she can read people quite well) disbelief only heightens her own delight, but she only lets so much of it show lest she drive the merchant over a line into irritation.

"I wouldn't expect you to agree without due consideration and proof of success," she agrees, feathers unruffled by the continued doubt. It's a testament to Aino's character after all. One that intrigues her, challenges her, and Hotaru does so love a challenge.

Extending her hand, Hotaru tempers her desire to grin lest she not appear serious, and shakes Aino's hand firmly - the strength of it revealing all she possesses behind the fragile facade. "You have yourself a deal." Mind working away, Hotaru turns back to the path, striking up a different angle of conversation as they meander towards her spa for the promised pelts and meat. Time will reveal far different avenues, but for now her word is cemented.

- Fin