Hotaru
It works. Damn her - or him - but it does, the simpering of his relief taming the angry red miasma that overtakes her so easily sometimes. Until her heartbeat slows, and the press of her fingertips against his spine eases slightly, the urge to somehow impossibly flip him over and hide him beneath her away from the world now seeming nonsensical. He can fool himself with the haze of drunkenness, but Hotaru cannot. She had forgiven him already for Kamaria, and all that night had entailed. That forgiveness is not met in equal, and she has accepted that, but in doing so she now has to face that even now she is taking advantage of him as they cling to one another like nothing has changed.
Still, she is selfish, and so she refuses to pull away. Trying to commit every moment to memory, so that this night will sustain her once she departs come morning.
"Remi despises Safrin, and Ronin knows this. If anyone would understand your hesitation to see her, the difficulties of a husband being at odds with your Goddess, or the reasoning of her mind, it would be him." Though her voice is far gentler now compared to the crackling fire of moments before, it is an urged suggestion. Ru isn't privy to the heart-to-hearts the men have shared or how deeply they've spoken of these matters if they have at all. Still she clings to the option he had shown some shine to, unlike Vi which he had dismissed out of hand.
Soft eyelashes tickle at her skin, and the press of his lips and accompanying scratch of his stubble is distracting. There is no lust here with the topics at hand, but it burns her all the same with a longing for that old closeness, the easy affection they'd once had. In some ways she's grateful for the way his next words make her go cold because she can't hide much from him, even when he is more easily distracted when drunk. Hotaru has promised herself that she won't make him bear the burden of her feelings, and she doesn't intend to break it now in the height of all things.
"Deimos told her no," she divulges in a whisper, voice trembling slightly. Scared to name him, to put the two men she loves most at odds once more, but unwilling to watch the Flood suffer in his fear. "She asked him, and he denied her. She was disappointed, but still granted him a boon. And to be stripped and made anew...you would be so weak in the coming war." I would fear for your safety, she is unable to say. Just as she would have been for Deimos, as she will be for Noah when news reaches her of his ascension to godhood. Mighty power may be awarded in time, far beyond those of Attuned and Abandoned men and women, but it took time as all things did. "You can tell her that much as well. There is so little time remaining." And Hotaru can feel the sand slipping through the hourglass these days.
Still, she is selfish, and so she refuses to pull away. Trying to commit every moment to memory, so that this night will sustain her once she departs come morning.
"Remi despises Safrin, and Ronin knows this. If anyone would understand your hesitation to see her, the difficulties of a husband being at odds with your Goddess, or the reasoning of her mind, it would be him." Though her voice is far gentler now compared to the crackling fire of moments before, it is an urged suggestion. Ru isn't privy to the heart-to-hearts the men have shared or how deeply they've spoken of these matters if they have at all. Still she clings to the option he had shown some shine to, unlike Vi which he had dismissed out of hand.
Soft eyelashes tickle at her skin, and the press of his lips and accompanying scratch of his stubble is distracting. There is no lust here with the topics at hand, but it burns her all the same with a longing for that old closeness, the easy affection they'd once had. In some ways she's grateful for the way his next words make her go cold because she can't hide much from him, even when he is more easily distracted when drunk. Hotaru has promised herself that she won't make him bear the burden of her feelings, and she doesn't intend to break it now in the height of all things.
"Deimos told her no," she divulges in a whisper, voice trembling slightly. Scared to name him, to put the two men she loves most at odds once more, but unwilling to watch the Flood suffer in his fear. "She asked him, and he denied her. She was disappointed, but still granted him a boon. And to be stripped and made anew...you would be so weak in the coming war." I would fear for your safety, she is unable to say. Just as she would have been for Deimos, as she will be for Noah when news reaches her of his ascension to godhood. Mighty power may be awarded in time, far beyond those of Attuned and Abandoned men and women, but it took time as all things did. "You can tell her that much as well. There is so little time remaining." And Hotaru can feel the sand slipping through the hourglass these days.
But I am just a broken machine
And I do things that I don't really mean
And I do things that I don't really mean
