Her yelp is swallowed into her chest like an air bubble as Aino grabs and steadies her with one strong arm, cheeks flaring with twin spots of rosy color as soon as she is firmly back on her feet. There's certainly no attempt to pull away. Instead she lingers, breaths shallow but still somewhat controlled as she drinks in the touch that she has been so starved for for going on months now. It's like alcohol in her veins, dizzying and intoxicating, and made all the more so by the grin on Aino's face when Hotaru twists her head to gaze up at her. Surely she must look like a flushed, startled fawn instead of a graceful predator, but at least the woman doesn't call attention to it.
Clearing her throat as softly as she can so as not to alert the merchant, Hotaru stumbles out of the deep embankment of snow and back to the cobblestone pathway. "Spa first, before we lose the light." It takes a moment of gazing down each end of the street to determine where they are, having not paid much attention - proof all the more that she'd grabbed the fish for the chase instead of any dreams of escaping. As she sets the pace, she readjusts her impossibly long hair, muttering to herself when she doesn't find an elastic anywhere on her person. She really should just cut it, but admittedly it keeps her warm in a lot of ways. "So how long have you been selling fish? Do you catch them yourself, or a family member?" Finding she's genuinely curious about the answer.
Clearing her throat as softly as she can so as not to alert the merchant, Hotaru stumbles out of the deep embankment of snow and back to the cobblestone pathway. "Spa first, before we lose the light." It takes a moment of gazing down each end of the street to determine where they are, having not paid much attention - proof all the more that she'd grabbed the fish for the chase instead of any dreams of escaping. As she sets the pace, she readjusts her impossibly long hair, muttering to herself when she doesn't find an elastic anywhere on her person. She really should just cut it, but admittedly it keeps her warm in a lot of ways. "So how long have you been selling fish? Do you catch them yourself, or a family member?" Finding she's genuinely curious about the answer.
