Dark lips curl at her flamboyant response, but Hotaru's dynamic eyes softened with understanding at her quiet countenance. She had never left Helovia only to return to find everything in the shadows of familiar-stranger, but she could sympathize with how it must feel. To have a legend, a name, a title that people would know. A face that others would whisper about, knowingly, in the scant inches behind her back. If ever she were dethroned, Hotaru could imagine that she too would feel as Ghost might. Hounded and haunted by the weight of her own history in this land. So she did not press or pry, letting the conversation ebb and flow naturally as Syrena's concise words swept the tide onward. Even so she smiled, something sharp and eager in the corners of her grin.

"You would have been a worthy competitor. Unfortunately, I was no ruler at the time." Though her grin faded, and she snorted softly to herself, recalling Archibald's unfair and unmatched attack on Ghost. "It was no fair match. Perhaps we can spar one another in the future?" The offer was said in kindness, an eagerness to her countenance that spoke of love for the sport and the fight. She was no seasoned warrior like Deimos, but she could hold her own - people loved to underestimate her dainty frame and smiling face, after all. It was her own brand of armor.

As Syrena speaks, Hotaru instead watches Ghost. She is...enchanting, to the Valkyrie. Intriguing. And Hotaru loves a good puzzle. Beta? Alice whispers softly in her mind, tentative, barely a feather's brush against her consciousness. Even so her mind revolts, cringing away painfully from the term. Alice's eyes avert in shame at her tactlessness, instead watching Fantome devour the meal she has offered with a hopeful wag of her smoking tail.

The hole Rexanna left is still raw and festering in her heart. She can't even imagine replacing her, much less with a mare she only just met. She doesn't need friends, she needs warriors and thieves and loyal family. Hotaru can serve them as their leader, but she can't forgive the betrayal Rexanna and Ashamin had enacted against her.

But it doesn't matter, because Ghost is seeking her eyes, and Hotaru returns the look with calm acceptance. She is a vixen and a trickster, but if Ghost seeks to be family, to be part of the Basin, then Hotaru will welcome her with the same passionate love and devotion she welcomes all of her flock with. Pale face dips in acknowledgement, and a smile wisps across her face, more sincere than those prior but smaller for the sake of it.

"I would gladly be your escort," she offered, waiting for the last tying knot that Ghost was deciding to go with her. Hotaru could not pressure her into the decision, after all. But she need not wait long - the mare seemed keen on the northern realm, and Hotaru dipped her head a little further this time. Welcoming, even.

"It would be my honor. We can depart whenever you'd like." It was no hassle on the Valkyrie, after all. The journey would take a few days, perhaps she and Ghost could discover each other's company to be even more desirable in the future. Speaking of company...Hotaru's eyes lifted to Syrena's in a respectful gaze. "Should you ever wish to visit, merely ask for myself or any others you may know." There was no need to proffer anything else - her patrols would find Syrena if she ever ventured that far north regardless. If she decided to snub her offer, well, it didn't hurt Hotaru either way. She was merely being polite.

Only because you've won, Alice rolled her eyes, but Hotaru merely smiled. Wasn't all of life a game?