{se} Trees in a Storm

Hotaru

Tonight, you look so lovely
It's your eyes that define me

Hotaru had intended to visit Maea while leaving an offering for Ludo, only to realize after talking it over with Sunjata and Talyson that no Old God shrines remained in the Grounds. While it would have been easy to invite Maea to King's End to accomplish the same thing, Hotaru had once lived in the Greatwood, and her fondness for it - as well as its geographical closeness to the Grounds - had encouraged her to establish Ludo's Woods as their meeting ground instead in the letter she sent.

Now, she is sunbathing in the patch of sunlight filtering through the otherwise oppressive canopy overhead, hands planted in the earth behind her hips and face tilted up toward the sun. Her mountain lion tail and ears sprout tawny-gold, distracting away from the newness of her golden glow and shifting, gossamer hair. In this patch of sunlight she looks like she always has; happier yes, but unchanged. If she were not waiting for Maea she would have fully shifted, but too many large cats prowl these woods as is, and she couldn't be certain that the Ancient would have known it was her. So instead she lets the rays overhead hypnotize her into an almost meditative state, tail moving lazy and pleased through the leaf-littered grass as she waits for her companion to arrive.

Maea

The invitation had come as something of a surprise. While the desire to keep in touch had been mutual, she never expected anything to be done about it save for a letter once in a blue moon. Maybe catching up over some state function, or in passing. That she was called out to the Greatwood - and Ludo's shrine no less - had her both curious and somewhat anxious about what the Valkyrie's intentions were.

The intentional breaking of a twig announced her arrival before the slender frame emerged through the trees. Even in the sunlight a ghostly quality lingered over Maea, especially these days when spirits were abundant; their whispers a moan upon the wind, a shiver down the spine, a presence at your back. But her smile on seen Hotaru was entirely bright; warm and quietly admiring of her friend's radiant beauty. It was some view she was treated to - some pride she took in being associated with such a golden being.

"You put the sun to shame," she murmured by way of greeting, amused by her own snabbt showing; ragged coat, ragged clothes, hair a tumbled mess of moonlight gone astray into the dazzling daylight. Yet she didn't mind. Everyone deserved an accent to make themselves stand out, one way or another.

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Hotaru

Tonight, you look so lovely
It's your eyes that define me

One tawny ear twitches and swivels backwards at the snap of a twig, and Hotaru's head tilts in the same direction with a lazy, sun-soaked grace that belies her confidence in her ability to defend herself. A few blinks to banish the heat-red of the sun behind her eyelids reveals Maea, and Hotaru is pleased to see her smiling so openly. Her own comes to her lips immediately in response, stretching her spine leisurely before sitting up properly.

A flush of pleased pink sweeps across her cheeks, accepting the compliment with a titter of flattery as she stands. "You flatter me, darling," she sighs lightly, though her eyes shine with gratitude as she crosses the leaf-strewn clearing to stand before Maea. Here in the shadows it's clear the glow is more unnatural, the sunlight of her hair no longer easily dismissed; but even so, her hands are as they've always been when they hold themselves palm-up toward Maea, inviting the woman to place her own upon them. "I have big news to share, and I was hoping to tell it to you while I made an offering for Ludo." She has little experience with the herald herself. While Maea may no longer be an expert given her forcibly altered allegiances, it feels right to have her at her side as she does it. She only hopes it will not be painful for the other woman.

Maea

"Is it flattery to speak the truth as I see it?" the Ancient woman mused, her tone lilting playfully. Her eyes widened with surprise as Hotaru brought the sunlight with her as she approached, and there was a reverent sort of hesitation in the way Maea fitted her palms against the Valkyrie's. Unsure of the source of the new radiance, afraid it might somehow dim or go away if she touched it.

But no. The glow remained, and her curiosity mounted with painful intensity when her friend mentioned big news. Her first instinct was to glance down at Ru's belly; but it told her nothing new. Only affirmed that she was diligent as ever in her workout routine.

"Of course," came the immediate answer, as Maea looked up to meet Ru's two-toned eyes. "What is going on? Does it have anything to do with your new look?"

Pressing gently against the woman's palms Maea backed her up into the sunlight again, smiling all the while. Only when their shadows had shrunk into faded pools about their feet did she look around, taking in the shrine to her most favored Herald. "I've never been here during the day before. It looks rather different in the light." No less special or impressive, just... warmer, she supposed. More like Mort, or at least how she imagined the god of Death to be. "Are you offering for some particular reason?"

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Hotaru

Tonight, you look so lovely
It's your eyes that define me

Seeing Maea playful and confident is a pleasant change, and Hotaru can only titter and concede with a pleased smile and a flush of self-assured satisfaction on her pretty face. An expression that becomes playfully deadpan as Maea looks straight at her stomach, lips twitching helplessly as she tries to keep her face reproachful even when her shoulders shake.

"No, not that," she laughs, smile finally breaking through. "Sunny will need to properly go down on one knee before I even think about that." Which is perhaps strange given the way their relationship looks from the outside - sleeping with clients together and apart - but she had laid claim to his heart and his alone, and until they devoted to one another permanently she would not even consider bringing another life into the world.

Hotaru lets Maea guide her backward, blindly trusting and sunlit radiance strengthening as it washes back over her skin. "It is related to my appearance though. Frey asked me to be their demigod, and I accepted." There is a reverence to her tone that might seem out of place to those unaware of how faithful a woman Hotaru is, but it's clear how happy she is with the offer, the acceptance, the change. Even if she does not linger or expand upon it, allowing Maea to ask her own questions and contend with her own reactions. Instead, she looks out over the woods and the sunny glen she has chosen, and her smiles becomes softer, sadder. "The twins were born in the Greatwood. And Mort brought Enzo to us as a family, so we could say goodbye. I owe Ludo and Mort a great deal for that alone." She will remember her son's warm arms and last words until the day she meets him in Mort's realm.

Maea

Turning a bit sheepish as the golden woman laughed, it was in good humor and after a moment Maea was laughing too. Admittedly, she did reel at hearing marriage and Sunjata being folded into the same sentence. Jarring, bitter, reminiscent of the tumultuous beginning and subsequent proof of how fleeting her own involvment with the Flood had been in the end, Maea hated the quick stab of black bitterness she felt. It had no place in this sunlit clearing. Had no place or purpose in her life either, because she had moved on. Was working towards change, a redo, a starting over that really didn't have anything to do with him at all.

Except, it would if she was serious about being Hotaru's friend.

She should say something, try to joke away the way her smile had faltered. But Hotaru spared her by dropping the tea with a suddenness that left Maea gaping.
"Wha- !" Who what, where, how - the stupified squawk continued a lot of sentiments. Mostly positive ones. Perhaps also something slightly nervous, but it was buried in the impulsive way the Ancient pulled Ru into a hug. One that would soften, and linger, when their presence here turned out to be a solemn one indeed.

"... I'm speechless," she murmured finally. "Do I congratulate or condole first? I had no idea." About any of it.

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Hotaru

Tonight, you look so lovely
It's your eyes that define me

There is a fleeting, momentary shadow to Maea's expression that Hotaru presumes is due to Sunjata's name, but the rest is beyond her. Even as astute as she is at reading people, there are certain deeper motivations and complexities she can only guess at, and until Maea deems to share them with her, she will never truly know. Were she not a friend it would be a toy to chew on, a puzzle to solve. The closeness that the Ancient has garnered over the years however has granted her firm amnesty from Hotaru's prying, sneaky ways.

Besides, there is joy to be had here; in Maea's surprise, in the memory of her son, in the newness of her own altered existence. Hotaru laughs freely, the sound echoing in the boughs overhead. It is muffled only by the easy way she goes into Maea's spontaneous embrace, arms rising to envelop the other woman readily. "Congratulate, definitely. It's a happy moment; I'm sharing it with Enzo just as much as you." And there will be time, she knows, for explanations. To know one another in deeper, more painful ways. Hotaru has learned the value of opening those doors, no matter how intimidating, if it means there is yet one more person to add to the trusted fold.

Pulling away only enough to see her, arms still wrapped around the Ancient's waist loosely, Hotaru smiles and lets her hair bleed as white as Maea's, eyes shifting to reflect the same shifting blue-red-lavender of the other woman's eyes. They're imperfect twins given Hotaru can't change her bone structure, but it's extremely convincing on the whole. "Maybe Ludo will prefer me more like this," she teases with a wink, hoping to pay homage to Maea's faithfulness of old without stumbling upon the sore spot of her new allegiances which had been chosen for her.

Maea

Feeling a living thing press against herself felt so strange, these days. Shocked her with the reminder that the world was a physical place, more than just what she saw and heard and thought. Told her without words how distant she had grown from both the world and all the creatures in it; a simple hug shouldn't be enough to unbalance her entirely.
"I see. Then, definitely congratulations," Maea offered, solemn because her smile felt too shaky - made nervous by the unaccustomed closeness.

It did give her a close up view of the next trick in Ru's arsenal. An intake of breath could be heard when Ru's colors shifted and changed. Paling, turning her from sun kissed to moon touched - like Ophelia. Like herself. And while it wasn't exactly like looking into a mirror, it came close enough.
"That's... a neat trick." More than neat, to be honest. "I think you pull those colors off better than I ever did. Ludo likes tricks, I think you might get along."  

Tuning her head to look at the shrine, she contemplated the lanterns and candles - and the offering of ragdoll plushies she had left herself, earlier in the season. They were still there, nestled against tree roots and on the little altar; a touch bedraggled now that they had been rained on.

"What did you want to offer?"

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Hotaru

Tonight, you look so lovely
It's your eyes that define me

Hotaru can read her uncertainty far more clearly, but she keeps her arms around Maea until the woman herself makes a move to pull away. It is not up to her to decide Maea's limits or whether she wants to push them. For Hotaru, to whom physicality comes as natural as breathing, it is easy to give it freely until Maea's cup has overflowed.

"I disagree. I hope you think I look beautiful, so that you can believe you are as well," she asserts quite forwardly, at odds with the serene smile on her face. "It's natural on you, after all. I'm simply an imitation." And though Hotaru knows she is objectively beautiful, there is a certain loveliness of natural features that even her mimicry cannot compare to. Giving Maea a bit of a break from her sincerity, Hotaru grins, wolfish and pleased with the idea of satisfying Ludo. "Only one way to find out, right?"

It's a bit unnatural to hold onto Maea instead of releasing her to pull out her offerings, but Ru is determined to have Maea choose when to pull away so she merely tilts her head. "Candy with this strange ingredient inside that pops and crackles harmlessly once the shell dissolves, and a small collection of paint pots. Surely lots of fun to be had there." Especially given the vibrant colors she'd sourced for her offering, envisioning all the misleading painted arrows Ludo could put on the trees in its woods and the way that might please it.

Maea

Quite predictably, the roundabout compliment had Maea blushing. "You're always beautiful," she mumbled. "I'm more... odd. No complaints though, the new stuff feels like an improvement." Even if the horns were a bit bulky, and the tail made sitting a tad difficult at times, she didn't feel sorry for herself. Most of the time. Given what she knew of Hataru's life - which wasn't much, admittedly - beauty came with its own concerns, some of which the Ancient was glad to steer clear of. In this case, Maea was happy to let her friend shine. It certainly gave her something nice to look at, right?

She did ease out of the embrace a moment later, when her lungs forgot how to take in sufficient air. "That's nice," she replied to the mention of the offerings, the candy in particular. "Hope you brought enough for me too... or I might have to commit sacrilege and steal from a god." A glitter of mischief brightened her expression, and she made a playful grab for the bag.

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Hotaru

Tonight, you look so lovely
It's your eyes that define me

Hotaru makes a disapproving noise, and Maea's own irises squint back at her. "Hm. I will find a way to show you in time." Or perhaps over time. Hotaru knows the pain of feeling awkward and plain, given she'd embodied it entirely in her youth. She knows it is not a journey made with any sort of speed. Luckily the Valkyrie is overbearingly tenacious and has plenty of time on her hands to convince Maea of her worth.

The mischievous look inspires a mischief-sharp giggle in Ru, pleased by the blasphemy even if only in theory. "I made sure to bring plenty," she assures, withdrawing the bag so she can tip a few into Maea's palm for the woman to safely indulge in without them ever touching the shrine's surface. Then she hooks a finger in Maea's sleeve so as not to overburden her with yet more touch and leads her to the shrine, kneeling in the sunlit grass to begin laying out her offerings next to her temporary twin. Hotaru places the pots of paint in a line, keeping them closed and away from prying eyes or wandering bugs. The candies remain in the bag, which she draws up tight once more for the same reason.

Silent, she smiles at Maea and touches her elbow in a companionable gesture before bowing her head to pray, moonlight strands easing past her shoulders in a veil of privacy she doesn't need as she gives her heartfelt messages to Ludo and Mort. There is no rush or urgency, certain Maea will not judge her for taking her time, and only once she has said one last I love you for Mort to carry to Enzo does she open her eyes. She kisses the pads of her fingers and touches the shrine, lingering there for a moment before turning back to Maea. "Thank you for coming with me," she murmurs, heart in her eyes.

Maea

She squinted suspiciously at Frey's newest demigod. "Color me intrigued and terrified," she muttered, but didn't try to pry out what Hotaru meant. Maea was sure she didn't want to know.

Distracted from talks about self-image by the promise of sweets, she accepted three of the candies into her palm and immediately popped one into her mouth. Clicking against her fangs as she moved it about with the tongue, humming happily as sweetness exploded on the tongue, fireworks of sensation going off as the sugar reacted with her saliva. Content to let it silence her, she followed Ru to the shrine and merely stood there, lost in her own thoughts while her friend prayed.

"Any time," was her response by the time Ru was done, not so much waving off the gratitude as rejecting the need for mentioning it. "I was happy to be invited." Picking out the larger of the candies she had been given, Maea placed it on the shrine. Everything in moderation, right?

{Fin}

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