maybe who we were then is shattered, but who we are in the end is what matters
There’s a temporary relief to the pain that has her sagging back against the pillows, golden halo darkened to caramel, spread like fanning flames. Her own weaken in the wake of the absence of the heart she has carried inside her, but even exhaustion can’t stop her from turning her head as the babe is carried to her side. Remi, for all his tenderness and care, is a vague blur compared to the sight of her daughter’s scrunched and reddened face, wailing cries petering out. Hot tears kiss her temples, the hand that isn’t clutching the real Remi’s reaching out, so that a trembling fingertip may gently trace a wet cheek that matches her own. “Hi baby,” she croons, voice thick with emotion. There is a symphony of emotion that pours from her through Remi’s palm; love the melody, first and foremost.
There isn’t much time between the two, and her hand drops limp to the bedsheet. “Vai?” A pathetic beg for relief, for aid the woman had offered. The long hours have depleted what little was gained through magic and rest. And then the cycle repeats - pushing, breathing, teeth clenching and gnashing, tears streaking into her hair, only interrupted by the glances she keeps sparing for her daughter in astral!Remi’s arms. So tiny, and yet such an intense motivator to soldier on.
And then the second. The cry doesn’t come for a long delayed moment, and Hotaru’s heart stands suspended in ice, struggling to lift herself to see. “Are they-?” frantic tones pause as the wail finally comes, and the remnants of her words dissolve into something close to a sob of relief.
There isn’t much time between the two, and her hand drops limp to the bedsheet. “Vai?” A pathetic beg for relief, for aid the woman had offered. The long hours have depleted what little was gained through magic and rest. And then the cycle repeats - pushing, breathing, teeth clenching and gnashing, tears streaking into her hair, only interrupted by the glances she keeps sparing for her daughter in astral!Remi’s arms. So tiny, and yet such an intense motivator to soldier on.
And then the second. The cry doesn’t come for a long delayed moment, and Hotaru’s heart stands suspended in ice, struggling to lift herself to see. “Are they-?” frantic tones pause as the wail finally comes, and the remnants of her words dissolve into something close to a sob of relief.
