{se} breadcrumb trails

Hotaru

My head's a burial ground of your memory

It’s a stroke of luck - or fate - that Sah’s letter arrives when it does. No woman nor Warden would have stopped her from completing her quest for Frey. Now, she is free to walk the ice and snow without wearing the skin of a different creature. Head tilting up to the sky, cheeks pink with the cold and golden hair bright where the moonlight hits it as it stubbornly escapes her fur-lined hood.

The stones from the Rainbow Road are neatly nestled in the drawbag in her coat pocket, and as her hand seeks them out they are cold and smooth against her skin. The full moon overhead is bright and heavy, the sky cloudless with summer influence. Setting one stone down into the snow, the Valkyrie idly begins to create a loose spiral formation. Taking her time by walking a few paces between each placement of a new stone. Reveling in the ability to be here once more, a free woman.

It was time for good little couriers to be tucked snug in their beds, safe within the Citadel walls after another successful year - and a gruesome end - to a long circuit of the Tundra.

That was probably why Tal was out beneath the moonlight, far from the house he shared with his sisters, with his sleek personal sled harnessed to his four favorite dogs while his companion Boreal beat lazy wings overhead. They skimmed over the Longheat snow, free of the weight of obligation and the large trading sled they'd all spent the last two seasons harnessed to, out running just for the joy of it.

Tal laughed out loud - and then Boreal's warning grumble in his mind snapped his jaw shut as the big companion surged ahead towards the lone figure walking on the ice. The pale dragon circled the stranger high overhead and Tal guided the sled towards her cautiously, slowing the dogs with quiet commands as he neared, watching closely in case she was something other than human.

Out on the ice, that was always a possibility...

"What are you doing?" he called out warily, blunt and forthright.

Hotaru

My head's a burial ground of your memory

Of course despite the vast, hungry emptiness of the Sea of Glass Hotaru cannot be granted the serenity of a night alone. How the odds work in constant favor of forcing her to interact with others in Caido is beyond her. She is not an unfriendly woman, though she is not overtly friendly either, but the overwhelming assembly that greets her (or trespasses upon her personal time depending on your viewpoint) is still a lot to contend with.

The man that speaks is young, though not overly so. Plain in many ways, though that could be the thick clothes concealing him. Dark hair and light eyes are all she can discern from the distance. A proper Halovians native. Ironic then, considering she is just as at home in the arctic and yet looks so out of place with her own fair features and unblemished skin. “Who cares to know?” she responds, voice easy and regal, unhurried as she places another stone. Perhaps he has forgotten his manners, but Ru is content to remind him with her pointed sass.

Tal squinted, trying to decide if he'd seen her before. Maybe at a distance, from the back...? "I do," he sassed right back, wary expression melting into an annoyed scowl at her tone. "Strange ladies dropping rocks out on the Sea in the middle of the night is pretty suspicious, yeah?"

The fluffy, long-legged dogs came to a halt, panting joyfully at the run and looking Hotaru over with congenial tail wags - all except the dog on the lead left, whose attention was half on Tal.

Boreal continued her lazy circles, content to watch her human and keep an eye on the stranger from a safe distance up, though she began to widen her gyre as curiosity drew her eyes to the stones that had been placed in the snow.

Hotaru

My head's a burial ground of your memory

“‘I-do’? What an unfortunate name,” she clicks her tongue softly as if in commiseration. Though, animal lover as she is, Ru can’t help but be momentarily distracted by the lovable fluffy beasts who have the misfortune of being tied to the otherwise far less pet-able man she must engage with. Sparing a moment to croon at them and waggle her fingers their way.

Plunk goes another stone into the snow, unaware of the increasing interest in the dragon above. “Halo is the land of magic, do you think it could be a spell I’m concocting?” Her voice is a dramatic hush, like a stolen secret between children. Maybe it’s just been a while, but it’s great to pull someone’s leg again.

Tal scowled more deeply at being made fun of, but standing on the back of his sled out beneath the open sky lent a certain confident poise to the young man, and he resisted crossing his arms or chucking anything at the annoying woman.

For now.

He hmphed softly as she cooed at his dogs, but didn't seem to mind her giving them their rightful due.

"Could," Tal agreed, blithely unaware that he was being had. "Did the Pale Lady put you up to it?" A name dropped with considerable respect and a hush of his own as he glanced uneasily around the moonlight Sea.

Hotaru

My head's a burial ground of your memory

Ru can’t help the soft, almost childishly girlish giggle that escapes her at his naivety. She feels distinctly like a naughty child getting away with stealing a cookie from the jar while their parent is within sight with their back turned. It’s a good thing the moonlight is bright but their features are so concealed, as they’d likely vaguely recognize one another otherwise and Hotaru’s mysterious anonymity would be forfeit.

“Perhaps. My hands are certainly not guided by myself tonight.” Undeniably true, except it was Frey who has commanded it and not the winter spirit. Frowning as one of the brainless birds of the region - ningos, and how Deimos loved to antagonize them in droves - descended and began to peck at one of the stones she’d left behind. Enticed by its brightness. The Valkyrie wiggles her fingers threateningly, shooting sparks at the bird to try and dissuade it and only succeeding in making it fall over itself in the snow in a flurry of confusion. “Miserable creatures, hardly even worth the meat on their bones. Shoo, you.” She is nearly to her last stone and she won’t abide any disruptions to her pattern.

He couldn't scowl any harder than he already was, but Tal looked distinctly annoyed at the giggle, grinding his teeth.

Then again, it really didn't pay to interfere with one of the Eirachi's plans, and Tal's scowl faded as he chewed his lip uncertainly and let silence fall between them while he thought, and while the lady played with the ningyo. "So what are you doing?" he tried again--

Just as Boreal dropped like a stone from the sky to land on the unfortunate bird in an explosion of feathers. She raised her head, looking quite pleased with herself as her wolfed down the snack, and plopped down on top of the stone the bird had been examining, curling around it possessively.

Shiny rock, meet dragon.

Hotaru

My head's a burial ground of your memory

Her lips are just parting to answer when her finely tuned instincts have the hairs on the back of her neck standing, and her eyes cut sharply to the sky. But it’s only the man’s companion, diving in a dark blur against the moonlight to dispatch the ningo with a swift vengeance. Hotaru jumps a little, a surprised laugh caught in her throat. The dragon curls around her stone, but otherwise doesn’t disturb it, so Ru is happy to leave the creature to it.

Dropping her last stone at the very outer edge of the spiral, Hotaru turns to regard the wiry young man in full, hands rising to pull her hood back and allow him to see her in turn. Owner of the spa in the outskirts of the citadel, the woman who broke through the mountains to The Climb, adventurer of the cannibal-filled mines, temporary Warden, it doesn’t matter to her if he recognizes her from her various paths trod in Halo. “Frey asked that I take stones from the Rainbow Road and place them here beneath the full moon. Never fear - it’s something entirely for myself.” Though to some that may be more of a threat than a comfort.

Seeing her jump made Tal feel a little smug, and it warmed him inside as the grin finally broke free at Boreal's antics.

Then the lady put her hood back and--

"Wait, you're--!" Tal's jaw dropped and it took him a solid four seconds to pick it up again. His grin became a glare again before fading into a look of faint relief. "Oh... Frey's not so bad." Frey had helped the Citadel more than once in recent seasons, according to his sisters. "Why didn't you just say that earlier?"

The dogs whined restlessly as Boreal snorted feathers into the air, clearly disappointed that she'd gotten a treat and they hadn't. At the soulful sounds of his team, Tal slid his feet off the sled's runners and went to rummage in the bag of supplies on the front of the little craft, relaxing now that he recognized one of the former Wardens.

Hotaru

My head's a burial ground of your memory

Revenge, she thinks with an amused note as his jaw drops satisfyingly. He is quite an expressive man, though she still can’t make out his identity with the harsh shadows cast on his face from the bright moon above. “Only fair to pull your leg a little when you interrupted my night,” she laughs melodically, softening now that the game is up.

Ru wanders closer as the man takes to tending to his dogs, wishing she had morsels of her own to give them (if only to sneakily win their affections). Aware of how prized sled dogs are in the region, she stands a few paces away before asking, “May I?” Hand slightly extended in clear sign of her intentions. Hoping for the additional opportunity to get closer so she might recognize him without having to resort to asking outright.

"...Oh." He clearly hadn't thought of it like that, and the scowl threatened to return - but only for a moment, before the needs of his team distracted him. "Hotaru, right? Are you gonna be Warden again?" It was the question on the tip of everyone's tongue now. Who would take the post up next.

And how long would they last.

He pulled some jerky out of the bag and began distributing it among the team, giving the lead dog her morsel first before making sure the other got their equal share. He glanced back at her question and seeing her outstretched hand he considered her thoughtfully, clearly weighing her earlier teasing.

"...Yeah," he finally gave in, a little gruffly in embarrassment at falling for her tricks. "Not Bellatrix," he nodded to the lead dog, who wolfed her treat down while watching Hotaru alertly. "But the others are friendly. Bell, safe," he added for the leader's benefit, and the fluffy malamute-like dog slowly sat, eyes never leaving the woman.

Hotaru

My head's a burial ground of your memory

Hotaru mulls over the question quietly as she approaches the dogs, respectfully abiding the warning and allowing one of the other dogs to sniff her fingers to its content before beginning to pet it, sinking her fingers into thick fur. “I’m uncertain. Halo is my home, and I would be honored to lead it, but I have two children now. I would seek their input, and weigh it as equally as the citizens of Halo. If I am wanted, and my children are in support of the idea, then perhaps.” She is not power hungry in the traditional sense anymore. Politics only seem to tighten the noose here as opposed to Helovia. She does not need the gratification of a title to feel powerful or to give her life meaning.

Squinting at the man and wracking her brain - which luckily has a truly impressive knack for faces given her…less than idyllic past - she hums softly. “You’re a messenger, right? I don’t believe we’ve ever met directly. I am Hotaru.” Only fair to end their game herself, even if Talyson had no idea they were playing (again).

The dog Hotaru chose wagged its tail happily and tried to bounce up to lick at her face enthusiastically. Tal tried to hide a grin as he moved over to scratch Bell's ears, listening to Hotaru's reasons curiously.

"Hm. Guess that makes sense." He gave a grudging nod of respect, considering her answer with Sah's.

He blinked as she spoke again, and had the grace to look a little - just a little - sheepish. "Um. Guess we never met properly, huh? I'm Tal," he offered at last. "Tal Seawright. My sisters like your spa." Bluntly awkward as he scrubbed at Bel's ears and tried to remember how smalltalk with people worked. Dogs were so much easier to talk to! "Surprised you remember me. I'm not around the Citadel too much."