My shirt and cheeks were getting wet

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Where was she now? These new lands had gotten so strange during her travels that they were alien even. She had followed @Hotaru and Haruki during their travels not long after the Empire had fallen, losing their trail along the way. How could she do that? After they had lost everything and everyone, Sachiko had made a promise to be near no matter what, to be their friend until the end and support them through it all - 

And she was lost.  

But where was she? Lost where? A blinding flurry of colourful petals blew through the gardens on a breeze, carrying with them the figure of a lanky young lady, opening her eyes and looking around as if she hadn't just appeared out of the perfumed breeze. Petals fell as the breeze slowed, littering the ground and gently swayed with the usual breeze that would blow through the herb garden.

“Hotaru! Haruki?!” She'd call immediately, never-ending that search for the princess and prince even now in this new life she was unaware to be now in.

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Once more the pale girl had left the mountain to find peace amongst the flowering meadow. As things stood, it was the one constant she could count on in life. She knew what to expect when she visited and it always remained the same, even as other trees would start to lose their leaves and prepare for the icy cold of winter.

Well...she had been right about all of that aside from those who wandered to the garden. Every now and then she would cross paths with another in her small paradise, but this time someone had been calling for her. Hotaru froze in her tracks, listening as she made out a...somewhat familiar voice.

Curiosity would get the best of her as she followed the cries until a girl came into view, though this time a grin swept her face, “Sachiko!” She wasted no time as she quickly bounded to her friend's side, a quick wide swept circle given just to make sure she was ok before she found herself staring at her lost friend “What happened— how are you here?”

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Just as every time before this, she stood in silence after calling out. Tall ears rotating as they tried to find any voice to return to her; she expected nothing in return just as the time before this, and the time before that. Ah! But she was wrong!

The pattern would shatter this day as the gentle voice of the princess called back to her. She froze, certain it was just a figment of her imagination. Which was proven once again to be wrong. The pale girl came flying over the horizon and toward the rose coloured girl who pranced happily on the spot a couple of paces before running up to meet Hotaru.

Twirling in no specific rhythm as Hotaru circled around her, she was almost showing off as in "here I am!" with a plush tail swinging happily, high above her hips as she couldn't contain a happy giggle. “Me? What about you guys?! I look away for one second and poof, you and Haruki are gone!” Speaking of the cute prince, where was he?

A quick look around to see if he was skulking near by, she tossed a reddish hue back to the lavender ones of Hotaru. “Speaking of which, is he avoiding me or something?”

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Of course the other wouldn't sit still, all too excited for their reunion to display anything of concern. Her inspection would have to do for now, plus if Sachiko was hurt, why wouldn't she just say so? The pale princess would let her grin fall to a simple smile as she too stood with a wagging tail, though she couldn't help but turn her head in confusion.

“You were following us? I'm sorry— we left so quickly we never had the chance to say goodbye. After my mother— well, we just couldn't stay.” Of course...what she meant to say was after they had injured Noboru they were forced to flee, little did she know it might mean something different to her friend. “Ah...well, we were separated...”

“I guess it's common here. I don't know how we got here I just know one night I fell asleep with my family and the next I woke up in some...desert.” She wasn't sure which way even led to the old empire, something she originally felt comfort in given the chase that was sure to ensue. Could she be so sure though now that Sachiko was here?

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How long had it been since they were separated! Hotaru looked so much older than before - and shorter. Without her friend by her side, it was hard to believe that she was the one who had gotten taller instead. No matter, there was no mistaking Hotaru for anyone else! 

A confused tilt of her head was offered as the princess spoke. Confused that Sachiko would follow her... “Of course I did, together until the end.” Did Hotaru even agree to that? The crimson-hued girl couldn't even remember that, what mattered is that she was upholding her side of it all.

Especially... well, considering the mention of her mother. Sachiko wouldn't burden the princess and her brother with such trivial promises when they had much bigger problems on their plate. “Ah... well... yes.” Would be all she would say on the matter of her mother. Ears falling to the side in a mournful display.

So they moved on. Hotaru explaining what she knew of this place and - desert? “Desert? Like... Tundra? Like a this place?” (Because even Sachiko knows that a Tundra is also technically a desert by definition) “And Haruki wasn't with you? Oh my gosh... who have you been with all this time?” She whined, worried that Hotaru had been completely alone this whole time they were apart!

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Together until the end...it felt silly looking back given their age, though she never expected Sachiko to actually stick to that word. What about her family? She had more to lose than they did. “Well, yeah...I just never expected you to leave your own family for me.” The pack had been a mess and left in disarray when they fled, maybe it wasn't so shocking that her friend would want to flee as well.

At the mentions of her mother she couldn't help but notice the way Sachiko's ears dropped, an expression hidden but all too plain along her features to go completely unnoticed, though she couldn't fathom why. Hotaru shook her head to her friend's question. “No, I wish. It was so sandy and hot. I could feel my skin being scorched for days, even with the fur. Someone told me it was a desert, though i'd never heard of one like that until I...well, randomly awoke there.” It was still all so strange, though she did not fear how crazed she might sound. Sachiko would learn with time that was just a norm here.

“I was alone for some time just wandering. Eventually, my mother found me and we made our way north. We have restarted what we left behind here atop Tsukiishi.” Somewhere along her tale she had begun to frown, though realization would soon hit her with a wag to her tail that now that Sachiko was here she could join them. “I can show you around if you'd like! It's just beyond the glacier and I'm sure Okāsan would be happy to see you too!”

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Leave her own family... Sachiko smiled at the confusion. Though a part of her was saddened by what had happened, it simply felt silly to cry over it now when she was just reunited with someone who was just as precious. If not more so considering how happy she seemed to have been reunited! “Well... to be honest, I don't know where mama or Kenta went.” It was like in all the havoc that had forced Hotaru's family to flee had also caused her own mother to forget about her.

“I think I might have slept through their evacuation.” She gave a light-hearted laugh to brush it off. “So I thought I'd come to find you instead of chasing them.” Mom had already accepted to leave behind her daughter, so she must be okay without her, happy with her son somewhere.

Hotaru explained something that sounded... well like the exact definition of hell. It made the rose girl's skin feel hot just thinking about it, more so than that uncomfortable heat that came from sleeping in the same den as her family back in the day. “That sounds awful.” A gasp. “I'm glad you got out of there!” Would Sachiko be able to escape as well she wondered? Sounded absolutely terrible.

She'd nod along as Hotaru told her story, starting off alone... so Haruki was always missing since her arrival here — wait hold up. “Your mom?!” She'd only interrupt Hotaru once to let her finish, if a wolf could sweat Sahicko would be sweating buckets right about now just imagining Hotaru's... well... deceased mom. “Well — yeah I would love to see it. It's uhh —” How to bring it up tho? There was a sudden elephant in the field with them, one that Sachiko could not ignore. Was Hotaru okay in the head? Was she seeing dead people? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she'd blurt out the following. “Nevermind! Let's see this new home of yours!”

They'd talk about it later.

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wrap here?

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“Oh— I'm so sorry. They just left you?” How awful! She didn't think things were bad between her friend and mother, but she still couldn't imagine just leaving behind your family. A mother no less. She would try not to dwell on it though. Sachiko didn't appear that bothered at least so why should she be for her?

The pale girl only sighed as she recounted the miserable days she spent wandering hungry and thirsty until the sand finally gave way. “It was. Luckily it's pretty far from here so I doubt there will ever be a reason to see that place again.” Now that she thought about it, that seemed so long ago. More time had passed than she realized since they settled here, it was a wonder Sachiko found them at all.

At the mention of her mother, her friend looked like her eyes might just pop out of her skull earning a confused look as she tilted her head with question before continuing. “If you say so—” Something seemed...off, but if Sachiko wouldn't tell her then there was no real use prying. She was already an open book, if it was important it would come up later. “Come on, if we leave now we can make it before dark!” Hotaru wouldn't bother waiting, chances were Sachiko could out leg her anyways given how tall she had gotten.

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“Uh huh~” Bubbly as always no matter the topic against her, Sachiko just brushed the thought by without so much of a second thought. “I was always such a heavy sleeper anyway.” Well, it hurt at first for a few days. But focussing on finding her friends was a good way to stay focussed on something else other than sulking on her own.

“Good! Because it sounds horrible.” Pursing her lips, she was glad to never have to see such a horrible place if she had something to say about it.

Hotaru already began to run toward the glacier, toward the mountains peeking behind it the girl supposed as there was no way they would make their home on such a desolate-looking pace. “Hey! Cheater!” With a giggle she followed after, forced to say just on Hotaru's heels as she had to follow the princess in order to find out where they lived. 

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End?

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