why is the ice so cold || joining

[london r.]

It was nice to not be alone anymore. It was nice to feel wanted and missed. Technically it was her own fault for leaving, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate how it felt to be reunited with someone she had dearly missed. The comfort of a hug was something she hadn't felt in a long, long time. Probably since her mom was still alive, though the circumstances back then had been much different from now. More of a 'we will get through this' and less of an 'i'm so glad to see you again' kind of vibe. This was a lot less hollow, and much more pleasant.

London noticed the change in Killua's breathing, something rather obvious when the two were so close to each other. It was odd, but she wouldn't question it, knowing that if something was wrong he would end up doing so sooner or later. At least she hoped he still trusted her enough to do so. There was no undoing the few months they had been apart, but then again they had never hugged before so maybe the distance hadn't shattered anything just yet. They could continue right where they had left off, as friends.

Where did you go? That was a question she should have expected. "I visited my old home. Tied up some loose ends." There was so much more she should say, but now was probably not the time for that. Her time away hadn't been too happy for the most part, unfortunately, but she had grown from it. She was able to smile at the bittersweet memories, even if it still hurt to have yet another family member robbed from her as suddenly as he had appeared. At her friend's concern, she couldn't help but think of her late father. He had been the same when they met. "I've been okay, and I didn't run into any trouble on the way here." If he'd asked if she had run into any trouble while she was gone that would have been a different story, but all those scars had healed now.

To hear him say that the typhoon still exists was puzzling though. Did clans ever disappear? She hadn't heard of it before, seeing as she still had very little knowledge about clans, but it made sense. Disasters happened, like when Snowbound had moved to a different territory. Was that place still around? Were Atbash and Izuku and everyone over there safe? She really should never have left, but it was too late to change anything now. To hear about this clan was a welcome distraction. The Ascendents' observatory was something he had mentioned before, it seemed he had remembered her love for the stars. "Lovely, I'll have to go see it soon then." the brit mused.

One thing that stuck out though was that Killua had said 'when we left.' That meant he must have disappeared too. She wondered what had happened to make him leave, probably nothing too pleasant. "What about you, how have you been?" she asked. The girl was curious to hear what her friend had been up to. A lot had happened in her life in those few months they were apart and she could imagine he probably felt the same.