Northstar Vale Away We Rush We Run for the Hills

just a note, mostly to myself; this is before the news was broken to her that Yuudai is 'dead'!

Takeshi's arrival was almost a surprise, of course, he was also their guardian and so she shouldn't be too surprised of his visits whenever he was around - but she couldn't help but still feel rather on edge with his presence regardless of the situation. For now, his touch was gentle, and she welcomed it. It had felt like a long time ago since she had any pleasant touching that didn't feel like something she had to recoil from in order to protect herself. In fact, she almost melted at the moment after the initial shock. She was angry at him for the display at the meeting - but that was a talk for another day, not now, not with the children here.

Yes, they all are. Hotaru and her siblings were all adorable, and Reiko would never see them as anything less for as long as she would live. She was certain of that. No matter how big they grew, they would always be adorable. Because they were her children.

A call from within the den stole her attention away, the young prince demanded that he too would step out into the world and not let his sister take all the limelight today. Stumbling out from within, he was quick to focus on Takeshi; Reiko took no offense, it was why she was set on a father being present. A male figure to look up to for a prince - should she had chosen a wife, she wondered... would a trustworthy male in the vale had been sufficient as a role model? She was certain the answer would have been yes. For now, she smiled as the two children seemed more interested in their father, perhaps being someone new who wasn't always helicoptering around them was a nice change for them.

Her eyes rose from their little bodies onto the man who would act as their father (for now), and waited to see what he would do. Even if he was terrible at the meeting, if he was good to the young ones, that was what truly mattered.