[ of all the people rosa expected to see or hear at this point, of all the ones who would have dared come to see her while she was off on her own, this particular voice and the shape of that silhouette are at the bottom of the list. not that she never wanted to see venat again — far from it! — but she had thought her mother figure had finally gone on to rest, returning to the star maybe to be reborn another day. yet here she is, standing before her, and for several long moments rosa can only stare. hope blossoms through her tears, painful and selfish, as she slowly gets to her feet. ]
Venat?
[ her voice is soft, almost like she fears venat will disappear on her if she breathes wrong or blinks. a few moments pass as she wobbles dangerously on her feet. they had spoken many times in elpis of rosa's adventures, the things she had experienced as a scion, but never had she expressed her true feelings about how much like a mother hydaelyn had become to her. how much of one venat was.
with that swimming painfully in her mind and heart, she sways one last time before finally closing the distance between them. as a tactile person by nature, but one who has ever needed to hide it for various reasons over the course of her life, rosa's mask cracks, desperately reaching for physical comfort from someone she had thought lost to her forever.
all she needs is a hug from her mother.
not for the first time does she regret not being the azem venat would have known, back in a time long forgotten, but she is who she is at this point and nothing will change that. and for whatever reason, venat seems perfectly happy with her, just as hydaelyn always was, and that means more to her than she can ever express. ]
I thought never to see you again, [ she admits, forehead resting against venat's shoulder as she wraps her arms around her friend's body. ] Forgive me. I did not mean to weep upon your shoulder. Your words are kind and I shall keep them in mind for the future.
[ for the times when she nearly loses herself to despair, when hopelessness tries to sneak its way into the cracks in her heart, when she has to lean on those outside sources for comfort and healing... that is when she remembers venat and hydaelyn, when she imagines there are people who love her just for being rosaire.
wiping at her eyes, she finally steps back, pieces of her usual mask falling into place out of sheer habit, even though venat is one who has ever seen her true face. ] What brought you here to Old Sharlayan of all places? [ a beat, as her mind turns over the implications there, and then— ] Would you like a tour?
rolls in feels for always ♥
Venat?
[ her voice is soft, almost like she fears venat will disappear on her if she breathes wrong or blinks. a few moments pass as she wobbles dangerously on her feet. they had spoken many times in elpis of rosa's adventures, the things she had experienced as a scion, but never had she expressed her true feelings about how much like a mother hydaelyn had become to her. how much of one venat was.
with that swimming painfully in her mind and heart, she sways one last time before finally closing the distance between them. as a tactile person by nature, but one who has ever needed to hide it for various reasons over the course of her life, rosa's mask cracks, desperately reaching for physical comfort from someone she had thought lost to her forever.
all she needs is a hug from her mother.
not for the first time does she regret not being the azem venat would have known, back in a time long forgotten, but she is who she is at this point and nothing will change that. and for whatever reason, venat seems perfectly happy with her, just as hydaelyn always was, and that means more to her than she can ever express. ]
I thought never to see you again, [ she admits, forehead resting against venat's shoulder as she wraps her arms around her friend's body. ] Forgive me. I did not mean to weep upon your shoulder. Your words are kind and I shall keep them in mind for the future.
[ for the times when she nearly loses herself to despair, when hopelessness tries to sneak its way into the cracks in her heart, when she has to lean on those outside sources for comfort and healing... that is when she remembers venat and hydaelyn, when she imagines there are people who love her just for being rosaire.
wiping at her eyes, she finally steps back, pieces of her usual mask falling into place out of sheer habit, even though venat is one who has ever seen her true face. ] What brought you here to Old Sharlayan of all places? [ a beat, as her mind turns over the implications there, and then— ] Would you like a tour?