"...It doesn't help that it's so close to the Promised Day..." Hamuko admitted softly. Curling her fingers into her palm, holding onto the gently fallen petals that had drifted into her hand, she held them to her chest solemnly. What was it about the Forest that drew Maruki, she wondered? Maybe he understood on some level... or maybe he was picking up on something else.

This place might have something powerful in it as well. If it was there, though, she couldn't sense it from here. Not over the profound sense of melancholia and that swirl of other emotions that so deeply intertwine with someone who is dying. Feelings that one would only experience in that state.

"Am I mourning...? I think... if anything, I mostly understand what the person this place is for is feeling," Hamuko explained softly, giving Maruki a heavyhearted smile. "But I'll be okay. Right here, right now... I am here."

Gently letting go of the funeral petals, the teen gave a deep, respectful bow to the entrance. There wasn't a grave in sight, but the shimenawa creating a barrier between the entrance and the path would suffice for now. Please forgive us for trespassing. I hope you are well. And with a swipe of her naginata, the rope cut, opening up the pathway for them.

"I assume this path has been braved before. We should be able to do it here again."