Neverwinter Forest The Scars on My Mind Are on Replay, R-Replay; continued.

"Why?"

The other girl had asked with no breaks and her forwardness was something Hotaru could only flinch at. Why? Where could she even start? They had a child for a leader (a useless one at that), murder within their land, and unbeknownst to her a tyrant of a leader who had distilled fear and hate amongst his people. Most importantly, the fable of a perfect life had shattered with the impact of a bullet through glass. A shiver ran down the pale girl's spine as she visibly shook off the feeling.

Hotaru tilted her head as the mother explained that here Emperor was called Alpha. It sounded funny. Another language maybe...she recalled the limited amounts of Japanese she had learned from parents, mostly through song, but none of it sounded the same. Did that make her title Beta? Though she knew that claiming such a title on grounds that did not belong to her was probably rude... Speaking of— Haruki isn't rude, he's just protective... A glance was cast once more to her brother with furrowed brows. She didn't want him to be turned away, she wouldn't stay without him. Besides, in her eyes, he wasn't rude, a bit more straightforward, but he was nice when you knew him.

For a moment, the mother and daughter seemed to have a small spat, something quickly shut down by their Alpha. Maybe Liliana just didn't like her nickname, but there seemed to be something more there. Had Miriam been a bad mother? She seemed so nice in her eyes, though she had been wrong about her own father as well. Hotaru wouldn't have time to linger on the thought as once again the conversation was redirected to their parents...and how they had died.

A lump had grown in the girl's throat as violet eyes flicked between the three unfamiliar faces, now feeling the heat of their direct gazes. How? The question seemed to echo in her mind along with the faint flashes that seemed to permanently burn themselves in her brain. The fangs, the blood, the mangled remains Um— Her voice grew meek as she struggled to look any of them in the eyes before turning her gaze to her paws. I— I'm not sure...about our mother. I found her grave... and our f—father—

The girl couldn't help but feel cold, just as she had that day when her head had been plunged under the water's surface. She could feel the lurking shadow following her, peering down at her shivering form from beyond Neverwinter's forest. Hotaru swallowed as a breath was sucked into her lungs. Even now her chest screamed. She hadn't even noticed the tears that had formed until they spilled unto the ground. Quickly she wiped at her eyes with a newfound heat in her face hoping none of the others had caught sight of her crying as Miriam had once already. He was killed. The words were spat out hastily as she glanced with fallen ears to the Alpha once more hoping that it would be enough for them to move on.

To any onlookers, perhaps they would see a distraught daughter. A girl who had lost her parents and mourned their death. It was all completely reasonable and just, though the truth was much darker than that. There was some truth to that illusion, she missed her mother dearly. Hotaru would give anything to be held in her mother's embrace once more, but her father. Only a sense of dread remained. While she might not fully admit it to herself yet, she was glad he was dead. That he was gone and could never hurt her again, not like he had already.