The festival had been long in the making, and it seemed ephemeral in the face of their laborious preparations. But Hotaru had deeply enjoyed the festivities, the fireworks and storytelling - even though, privately, she could not cease pondering over the images and fortunes that Aisling had revealed to her. Whether she could call it a fortune in the first place was...questionable. It seemed more a doomed message from the future than anything fortuitous, if it was reliable. But coming from Aisling, the dear woman she'd become quite fond of, Hotaru could not help but entertain the notion of omniscience and an aptitude for things to come. What was she supposed to do? Her heart was torn, and she never imagined she'd be here, in this kind of position. It was still preposterous to the woman that anyone would be interested in her in the first place, much less two at the same time. Two who, admittedly, were not only handsome but more than capable of securing a lover far better than she. It had haunted her thoughts since Thranduil's...visit. And ensuing proclamation. Confession. 

Alice's soft whine caught the Valkyrie's attention, ripping her from the familiar spiral of confusing notions. Things she could never escape. A winding circle that went nowhere, as no further meetings took place and no routes were made obvious to her to draw her from the situation she found herself in. So deep in her thoughts, she'd dismissed the sound of Rexanna's call subconsciously until Alice had urged her from the dark spot within her mind. Beta calling for you, the bitch announced softly, turning to look over her smoking violet shoulder towards Hotaru, pointing the way with one lazily bent knee towards the echoing source of the sound. Hotaru physically shook herself, trying to focus. Thinking would achieve nothing if she hadn't found a solution by now. Rexanna would be a welcome distraction, able to sink into her best friend's presence and even confide in her. Perhaps the Thief would have some ideas for Hotaru, if the Valkyrie could not come up with them on her own. 

The comfort of that notion lasted only a moment as she came face to face with her Beta. 

The gathering of her bodice, the place she stood, awaiting them...even the soft rustling and voices from Rexanna's cavern, one of them unmistakably Kiada and the other Tembovu, whom Rexanna had mentioned to Hotaru as being the father of the girl and her twin...it was like a kick to the gut. It was too familiar, too fresh. She could blink and see Ashamin's apologetic face in Rexanna's awaiting form. And she knew exactly why Rexanna had summoned her forth instead of seeking her out. Her joyous smile fell immediately from her face, an icy, impermeable countenance replacing it so quickly it almost spun her head. You're leaving me, too? her heart cried. It seemed every time she let herself love someone, they turned and abandoned her in one way or another. And for what? To find themselves, as Ashamin had? For love, as Ophelia had? And apparently now Rexanna as well, if the Elephant King's presence meant anything.

"You're leaving." It came from between her parted lips so icily that even Alice winced, a soft, barely audible whine curling off her tongue. Hotaru stamped a single hoof and the bitch fell silent, retreating away from Rexanna with lowered eyes, obedient beneath the cold storm of Hotaru's anger and hurt. Even she would not go out on a limb for their dear friend, their Beta. "For him?" and the spit of her voice only grew more venomous, the barbs sharper as she lashed them forth at Rexanna. She was not her Lady, now. At least she'd managed that with Ashamin. But somehow, Rexanna being her best friend instead of her lover removed any kind of control Hotaru had over the situation. 

"Is being a King's concubine so much more preferable than your position here?" she hissed, the vitriol of her insult only dulled by the way her eyes were perhaps a little too shiny. Her voice a tad bit too choked to be believable. Idle sparks flicked at her hooves, anger stirring in her veins. A shield, defending her from the reality of her own hurt. I didn't leave when Ashamin did. Why can't you do it too? Her heart was shattering even as her face remained like ice, hard and unforgiving as she stared down at her dearest friend. Must she lose everyone to those better than her? Was she incapable of keeping her herd, her family together? What was she doing wrong? 

Please, just stay.

Hotaru's face contorted into a sneer, trying to cover the hurt that pinched the sides of her eyes and mouth, as Rexanna started out by thanking her. As if that would fix anything. As if that would cover up the fact that the woman was leaving. Leaving the Basin. Leaving Hotaru. What was she supposed to be thanked for? Providing a home when Hotaru hadn't even been the one to accept her into the Basin? Promoting her when she'd already deserved it? If she wanted to thank Hotaru for being her friend then that was the one thing she shouldn't utter. Because clearly that friendship meant nothing anymore. 

And Hotaru would not be fooled. Not anymore.

"No," she spat hatefully, ears pinned so far back it made her own head ache. "You're not doing this for your children. You're doing this for your own selfish desires. Because if Kianzo disappeared, where do you think he'd look for you first? Your logic is wrong Rexanna, and don't you dare try to assuage your guilt, don't you dare try to lie to me with the delusions you've created for yourself." Alice glanced between the pair, standing so at odds with one another when they'd always been hip-to-hip. Were it anyone else, her hackles would have been standing on end from the base of her skull all the way to the tip of her tail, but even now she wanted to make herself smaller. Somehow cease the expulsion of smoke from her coat if only to remove herself from this heartbreaking scenario. But she needed to be here for Hotaru, because despite the anger creasing her beautiful face into something hideous, Alice knew better. She could feel Hotaru's heart shattering in her chest, the childlike crying in her head; why, why, why are you leaving me? please stay, i'll be better, please, i'll do anything!

It was only a shame that Rexanna might not be able to see that. Or maybe she could, with how she didn't rise to Hotaru's shameless baiting. 

"Love is capable of growing with or without distance," the Valkyrie hissed, eyes sharp like flint. "My parents never lived in the same herd even once. And you want to know what happened to them? They died, and their love was so pure that a tree was grown in the place where they died together, recognized by the Gods. You're pleading your case to the wrong mare." Hotaru wouldn't listen to any of Rexanna's excuses, not when she could spot the holes in each so easily. Or maybe she'd just shut her ears to the mare's pleading, because the hurt was like a crescendo of noise that she could not hear over. It consumed everything. 

Hotaru didn't have friends. It wasn't something she was good at. And those she did manage to form tentative bonds with always did this, always burned the tender threads of heartstrings she'd wound around them so lovingly. And it left a scorch mark on her heart every single time as the fire ate away at those feelings, leaving a physical reminder that she should never take the chance again. Yet she did anyways, over and over. 

It was her own fault. She never should have thought that Rexanna could be different. 

Deimos comes then, and Hotaru gravitates towards him, feeling less like a Lady when she can tell that all three of them are emotional and grieving. Doesn't touch him but feels the warmth emanating from his dark sides and tries to take comfort from it. His voice is sorrowful but polite in a way that Hotaru can't manage. And then Rexanna is speaking again, professing her love with a choked apology, and it's like an arrow straight to Hotaru's soul. "She's just like everyone else," she snaps back in disagreement at Deimos, drifting on the current of her agony. "She can be replaced." But it's a lie through and through, and Hotaru has never spoken anything so hollow before. Instead her haunted eyes pierce towards Rexanna, and the well of her tears finally chokes her voice as she spits her parting words like venom. "You don't love me. Love can't exist with distance, remember? You claimed so yourself." 

The words come out hoarse and throttled with emotion, and Hotaru spins around like a wild thing, kicking her heels hard and going from stillness to sprint in the space of a few lengths, retreating before Rexanna or Deimos can witness the fall of her tears. She doesn't look back. She can't. 

Alice turns to watch her go, and a sad low whine echoes through her maw like a goodbye as she stares at Rexanna. Then she turns and follows her errant sister.