As strong as the seas are stormy.</style>
Taunting does little to damage the maiden's pride, nor does it dissuade her from forging on down the path in spite of the cackling hybrid. Being alone has never bothered her before, it certainly won't bother her then. All that matters to the young thief is returning to her daughter safe, regardless of whether or not she wins what is clearly a competition. Refusing to let the cackling get to her, Hotaru cast it from her mind, jogging this time towards the next split in the path.
What she sees is nearly destructive, with how badly she desires every mirage portrayed per path. Her insides tremble, quaking and shivering with the shame of her own darkest dreams and hopes. Directly before her, she and Raeden are embraced in a sisterly manner, tears dampening their cheeks but smiles stretching their lips. Laughing, happy. The twins they should have been. It hurts so much that she tears her eyes from it, feeling a loss of air in her lungs that chokes up her throat. She doesn't want to admit that it's one of her fiercest desires, because it is a shameful thing, one she shouldn't even conceive of having.
What lies on the right path is just as beautifully enticing as the former. A formless, faceless figure with neck reclined comfortably over her withers, dozing peacefully as they both smile in their sleep. Arya at her flank, warm and familiar at her side, where she belongs. A lover, more so than a desire to breed or create strong progeny. A real family, the one Hotaru never got to have. What hurts, despite it soothing her insides with the love she can nearly taste in this wonderland, is the fact that her beloved is faceless, shadowed. Do her deepest desires not even reflect whom she loves? Was her compass heart so incapable of pointing north?
On the left path, there is no future dream. Instead, it's one of the only happy memories she claimed as a foal. Lakota's soft touch upon her brow, returning Tingal to his rightful home, her then-best friend at last curing the loneliness. Back before Tingal had become the monster he hailed himself to be, before he went crazy and mindless over Hotaru rightfully kicking him from her life after his abandonment. Threatening her daughter's life before Arya had even breathed her first lungful of air. But even with the knowledge of what would happen to Tingal in the future her younger self could never see, the memory of her aunt and best friend showering her in love simultaneously and relieving her burdened childish heart of sorrow was as strong as she could remember.
Hiccuping softly with the ferocity of her desires, the sorrow she felt hiding behind the warmth of her insides a reminder that she doubted they could ever be realized, she turned down the right path and stumbled on towards the illusion of the perfect family. All she wanted was to be free of these taunting mirages, unattainable and heart-rending.
It simply wasn't fair to see everything she'd ever wanted, and to know she could never achieve them.
Takes the Right Path.
Center: A rebuilt relationship with her twin. Left: Her favorite childhood memory when Lakota stole back Tingal. Right: Her desire for a real mate and a family with Arya.
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[O] Maze of Hallways [SS Companion Drop]
![[Image: 515265280ffff]](http://images.helovia.net/index.php/view/515265280ffff)
