a taste of destiny

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

"Oh absolutely," Ronin assures her, his hand fluttering to his heart as if to promise to give her a good funeral. "Even in death, though, I would never let Remi loose on colour coordinations. He can choose the flowers, but I will arrange them." And veto any that look hideous. Though he does happily drop the subject from her faux-death in lieu of less morbid conversations. Not that, y'know, they get any better.

Ronin raises his eyebrows at Hotaru's tale of stabbing and violence and the like, and unbidden a smile comes to his face. "I beat the hell out of him and threatened to leave Kamaria fatherless when I found out," he counters, as if to tar them with the same unfortunate brush in that regard. "It wasn't my finest moment, and Safrin wasn't best pleased with me either. But as you say - I love her all the same."

Gazing now from the uneven structure back to Hotaru, Ronin pretends to look offended, flexing his muscles for good measure. "Are you sure they won't topple it even just a little?" he complains with a boyish grin, before curling a finger up towards the clouds to call his nimbus down again. "I promise you will not fall off," he assures her, hopping aboard and patting the space beside him as if it isn't made entirely of cloud.

RONIN

I lend everyone my ear, but nobody my heart
and I sure would like to change that, but I don't know where to start

Laughter titters out of her at the image he paints, nestling further into the fur-lined hood of her coat where it tickles against her cheek. It's a pleasant moment of distraction before they descend into darker matters like errant boats upon the sea. Surprise flits over her face, pale brows rising; there is no judgment to be found. A sharp, closed-lipped smile curls in one corner of her mouth. "I admit, that makes me feel pretty vindicated. I should thank you, even if it wasn't on my behalf." One hand, still clad in the borrowed glove, reaches up to twirl a strand of her blonde hair. "If you ever make good on the promise, nobody would blink twice if I adopted Kamaria." They'd both been enchanted by each other when they met, though the irony of the entire situation would be beyond any level she could conceive of.

It's a shame Halo is so cold, she would have loved to see him flex a bit more clearly, but it prompts a bright laugh all the same. "For our sake I hope not, but now you have me doubting myself." Such playful confidence wavers when the cloud comes down, eyeing it warily even as she sidles up to it sideways to test it with her foot. It's solid, which hurts her brain. "You're lucky you're cute, or your promise wouldn't be enough." Then she's clambering on in full, arms held slightly out at her sides, still doubtful of its hold beneath her.

Hotaru

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

Ronin does not seem quite so proud of his actions now that they are out in the open, though he does manage a soft smile for Hotaru's trouble. "I doubt I will make good on that promise - we worked things out," he explains. "And would Safrin not want to take care of Kamaria instead? Or Nate?" It's an odd line to draw for him, between Kamaria and Hotaru, however well they might have gotten along.

They continue to see-saw between the awkward and the entertaining, Ronin cheering a bit and seeming satisfied by her remark. "Well, better to be safe than sorry," he concedes, before getting comfortable on his cloud. Watching Hotaru try to do the same, Ronin grins. "You can sit," he assures her, "it's what I do, mostly." Doing just that, in fact, he makes sure that Hotaru is safe before the nimbus rises into the night, heading right for the top of her strange little building. "Let me know where we ought to land."

RONIN

I lend everyone my ear, but nobody my heart
and I sure would like to change that, but I don't know where to start

A slight shrug is her initial answer, joke having landed wrong. “I’m sure both would be more than willing, I was only making an ill-timed joke. Though the amount of children prior to this war is…worrying to say the least.” Frightening really. Not everyone had the power and connections to led themselves safe, much less their children. War so often made orphans, and this would be no different. She wishes to shelter them from it somehow but she is only one woman.

Sitting is definitely easier, once she folds tentatively down onto the nimbus. Everything is so different from this height, and Hotaru can’t help but marvel over the sides of the cloud, enchanted despite the hiccuping fits and starts of their united company. “There, by the palettes. I already have some old blankets stored there.”

Hotaru

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

"Mm..." Ronin nods his agreement at that. "Almost as though they are hoping that the war won't happen, if they have a family to protect. Or..." He almost winces at the mere thought, even as the world below sprawls out, white and perfect, and the stars twinkle overhead. "Maybe they're just trying to make sure some part of them lives on, if the worst should happen." He hates that idea, but he can't deny that it might be true for some.

Thankfully, Hotaru successfully distracts him by pointing out her super-secret stargazing place, and Ronin directs the cloud lower so he can get them close enough to hop down and sit on the pallets. "You come up here a lot, then?" he asks, curious despite himself about it all.

RONIN

I lend everyone my ear, but nobody my heart
and I sure would like to change that, but I don't know where to start

“Then they are foolish,” is her simple, concise response, though there’s a softness to her tone that almost comes across as pity were it not for the flinty nature of her gaze. “It is coming regardless.” Though she wilts and sighs at his trailing notion, head nodding vaguely. “But what can live on while they are still so young, with so few memories to hold onto?” Her head shakes with a soft, bittersweet laugh. “I swear I am a better stargazing conversationalist than this Ronin,” is her apologetic response.

Landing far more gracefully than her venture onto the cloud had been, Hotaru plucks a blanket and with a swirl deposits it over Ronin’s shoulder, draped halfway. Her own swiftly follows, and then she folds her legs down onto the pallet and lays flat across it to gaze upon the bright sky. “Hm, frequently yes. The stars are different here, but no less calming to me. It feels like a safer way to honor her than by visiting a shrine and inviting her presence.” Idly she pats the space next to her, plenty for his broad shoulders even without having to crowd close. Keeping a respectable distance for their awkwardness to occupy in their place. “This is the highest you can get near the outskirts. There’s taller buildings near the heart of the city, but the surrounding lights can be distracting.” Though Halo would never be large enough a polluter to create true light pollution the lanterns and lit windows were a visual nuisance Hotaru didn’t care for.

Hotaru

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

Ronin's laugh is bittersweet as well, and he nods to her in agreement. "I swear that I am as well, Hotaru," he murmurs, though they seem to be in the habit of consistently delving back into the darkest parts of their thoughts together. The nimbus lowers to the ground and Ronin hops off as well, accepting the blanket draped along his shoulder with a murmur of thanks. He adjusts it to settle properly around him, sinking down onto the pallet with her and leaning back on his elbows to peer up at the blanket of starlight overhead.

"I never paid stars much attention where I came from, not at first. It was just something pretty to look at on a night shift," he says, reaching up suddenly to point directly above them. "There's what I came to see," he murmurs. "That is Safrin's Warrior Constellation. She put him there in the sky when he passed on, and he's been shining down on us ever since."

RONIN

I lend everyone my ear, but nobody my heart
and I sure would like to change that, but I don't know where to start

Her answer is a quirked smile, cheeks pink and heterochromatic irises bright in the twilight. His company is no less appreciated for all the darkness of their conversation. She would feel worse were he more averse to the topics, but in a way it’s a relief to be assured that she is not the only one jaded and bitter, preparing for a war others would rather turn a blind eye to.

His voice is a shroud that covers her as she lays on the pallet, watching the gleam of the stars embedded in the void of their surroundings. “My mother hated the goddess that ruled the night skies. What was at first childish rebellion became reverence for me. Where I lived and ruled, colors would dance in the skies at night, like ribbons across the horizon; hard to ignore the stars even if you hated them with such a show.” Her eyes follow his finger as it points, drawing shapes she can only assume of the constellation he describes. It’s not surprising to hear the warrior had once been a real man, though Hotaru tilts her head and wonders quietly and vaguely to herself about it. “Such a permanent expression of devotion. From her, that is.” There is a slight awe to her tone, perhaps a wistfulness. “Do you know what he fought? Was it in the original war?” The only other one she knows as an Outlander.

Hotaru

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

"Very hard to ignore, I imagine," Ronin murmurs his agreement, smiling at the thought that the sky above might yet dance with ribbons of light and colour. Perhaps he would ask Safrin about it, should the opportunity arise. "If the skies of Northaven had been quite as interesting I would have paid them more mind when I had the chance." With a sigh, he turns his attention properly to the Warrior's Constellation, glancing over it and only letting blue eyes leave the pulsing stars at the sound of her voice.

"Mm. He must have been quite the warrior to earn such a place in her sky," he agrees, though something like trepidation laces his words now. Would this be Ronin's ending, too? A constellation, alone in the cold night? "She didn't say, honestly. I can only imagine that he was, though. Or perhaps from a different battle, even before the first war."

RONIN

I lend everyone my ear, but nobody my heart
and I sure would like to change that, but I don't know where to start

Her attention sharpens anew at the unfamiliar word, blonde head tilting towards him curiously. “You’re an Outlander then? How long have you been in Caido?” So long has his name been around, she’d assumed he was a Natural.

She is not blind to the undertone in his voice, but he is too much a stranger to her to pin it down. Instead she respectfully overlooks it, letting it bypass her as she turns her gaze back to the sky and folds her hands over her sternum. “Is this all she asked of you? It seems easy enough to find and consider. What brought you to Halo of all places?” Few seem drawn to the inhospitable place.

Hotaru

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

It's strange to still be referred to as an Outlander, honestly, but also difficult to ever really forget it, and Ronin nods across to Hotaru. "I am. I think... four years, almost? Has it really been that long...?" Letting out a low whistle, Ronin isn't sure it's something he wants to think about too hard. "I remember when I first arrived behind the barrier in the Hollowed Grounds. We were all so convinced that it was temporary and that we would find a way home."

Even if home would be a prison compared to the freedoms they were permitted here in Caido. As for the constellation, he sits up a bit to lean back on his elbows. "Easy enough were it only the once," he says with a smile. "I am tasked to view this constellation from all for compass points in Caido. Halo is the north. I'll need to travel to the other places to see it after this," he explains.

RONIN

I lend everyone my ear, but nobody my heart
and I sure would like to change that, but I don't know where to start

His astonishment is amusing, and Hotaru can't quite conceal the soft laughter that bubbles in her mouth. "Time seems to pass so quickly here, with all the danger and drama. At least it makes life exciting, if you are inclined to frame it optimistically." She's the ambivalent type, but how Ronin feels about Caido is unknown to her, even with the hint given with the melancholy in his tone. "Do you still wish to, sometimes?" It's spoken with tentative undertone, unsure whether posing the question would bring about more sorrowful thoughts.

"Ahh," she utters in dawning understanding, pulling the blanket higher as her eyes rove absently overhead, abandoning the Warrior's constellation. "I'm sure that's much easier on your...nimby, you said?" Waving away her attempt, Ru gives a half-smile. "Though I wonder - do you freeze up there, zooming around on a cloud high above?" If so she'll have to make a mental note to return his gloves when he departs.

Hotaru

gratuitous violence; unnecessary, satisfying, heartbreaking

"I was so inclined, once upon a time. Unfortunately my optimism is a little thin on the ground these days." Still, Ronin manages a smile, however sad it might be. "Perhaps if I had a couple of weeks to slow down, without the drama and the danger, I'd be able to laugh at it all again." Because it really is ridiculous, the amount of awful that consistently piles up against their lives.

Would he go back, though? "Absolutely not," he says with a snort, the answer quick and certain. "I could never have had this life with Remi back in Northaven. What about you...? Do you miss it, where you were from?"

Glancing sidelong at Hotaru and abandoning the constellation as well, Ronin grins. "Nimbus, but that's close enough," he corrects, shifting further to sit cross legged on the pallet and glancing at the cloud that lingers nearby. "It used to be a little chilly, sure. But I've been running hotter these days." He raises his bare hand, crimson feathers smouldering along his fingers as if to demonstrate.

RONIN

I lend everyone my ear, but nobody my heart
and I sure would like to change that, but I don't know where to start

“I wish I had such a magic,” she admits quietly. “You’re not the only one I’d use it on if I did. I’d say we need therapists, but I don’t think anyone is fully qualified to handle the shit we’ve seen and done.” A snort of laughter leaves her.

Quieting at his certainty, Hotaru’s lips twitch when the question is turned back against her, her own response just as quick. There is little to consider. “I miss my original home land. The Voice’s was not the first portal I fell through before I came here. But I wouldn’t trade Caido for anything - I found at least some of my family here from Helovia, and I cling to them as tight as I can.” Idly her hand rises as if to scoop the stars from their ocean of black, fingers spreading wide as her countenance softens with grief. “I only wish my children were here with me.” The one who made it she had been too late to save, to interfere in Caido’s cruel ways. But that’s not something she is willing to put on Ronin’s shoulders after finding out about Aoife.

Distracted by the movement of cloth and wood as Ronin shifts and straightens, Hotaru snatches her hand back and mimics his pose, eyes drawn to the flare of light and heat along his fingers with ill-concealed awe. “Oh, that’s right. You did mention being a ‘burning bird’.” Huffing a laugh she turns to face the Star more fully. “I can’t partially shift, but if I did entirely you’d end up with a lap full of mountain lion instead of anything impressive. The urges are still hard to contend with.” Sheepishness creases her smile, recalling her sudden new desires for fish and how she had stolen one from Aino’s merchant table - incurring a harsh debt for her rash decision and fickle cat nature.

Hotaru