Hotaru
"I would too," she admits easily enough, smiling. Whether he actually shows up only time will tell, but Hotaru is willing to see how it all plays out. Right now, after the events of the last two days, that's the only plan she's got. Too much has occurred for anything long-term to have any weight.
It's a fair enough deal, though as Hotaru considers her own potential wishes she feels the same swell of uncertainty that follows as they both realize the gravity of what that entails. Hotaru is superstitious enough to not want to waste her wish on something shallow, but that means having to say it aloud to George as well.
It's true that she sees right through him when he casts his stone, but she doesn't speak a word about it. For all her desire - power, control, material items - love has always been chief among them. Even in her wildest years of youth she had chased it recklessly, forsaking so much in the hopes of attaining something real. It has always been her Achilles' heel. She would be a hypocrite to judge it in someone else.
As for her own wish, she lingers with the stone against her lips, contemplating. And when she finally extends her hand, she exhales slowly and drops the stone in. "I wish for new beginnings." With Sunjata, with George, with the Academy and life as a whole without her son. Whatever starting over might mean, Hotaru wants to see where it leads her. And then she reaches for George's hand.
It's a fair enough deal, though as Hotaru considers her own potential wishes she feels the same swell of uncertainty that follows as they both realize the gravity of what that entails. Hotaru is superstitious enough to not want to waste her wish on something shallow, but that means having to say it aloud to George as well.
It's true that she sees right through him when he casts his stone, but she doesn't speak a word about it. For all her desire - power, control, material items - love has always been chief among them. Even in her wildest years of youth she had chased it recklessly, forsaking so much in the hopes of attaining something real. It has always been her Achilles' heel. She would be a hypocrite to judge it in someone else.
As for her own wish, she lingers with the stone against her lips, contemplating. And when she finally extends her hand, she exhales slowly and drops the stone in. "I wish for new beginnings." With Sunjata, with George, with the Academy and life as a whole without her son. Whatever starting over might mean, Hotaru wants to see where it leads her. And then she reaches for George's hand.
Now you can quit, you can cave in
but just know you're not beyond saving
but just know you're not beyond saving
