"Overwhelmed" was a mild term for how Hel currently felt. Styx was not at all what she had expected from Hate, though she could certainly sense there was a level of darkness unlike the others in the room. Perhaps it was because Hel harbored so much hate herself. Like attracts like, she supposed.
Lottie, on the other hand, was exactly what she anticipated Friendship to be like, even if she hadn't heard all about her from her parents already. Nyx and Erebos adored all their children, and Hel had spent many an hour hearing all about them. Not that she minded, though she suspected the way Nyx spoke about them, loving both their positive and negative traits, that she was trying to teach Hel some sort of lesson. It wouldn't be the first time her lovely friend had tried to make a point.
"Not a castle, really, but a large hall." Hel avoided the "hug" topic and tried to answer Lottie's questions instead. The offer of a hug was more uncomfortable than Hel might have otherwise thought, and while she had already been assured by the others she could refuse, that did not seem the right thing to do. Yet she wasn't exactly comfortable with that idea of physical contact, either. It wasn't that she was worried about the pain- it was dead tissue, and rarely ever hurt- nor was she overly concerned about damage as they all seemed to just accept this was what she was. It was still gross when it happened, and she'd rather not get into that to be sure, but it was more the emotional block. The only ones that had ever hugged her were her father and her brothers. She just wasn't sure how to take that. It was just...awkward.
"My hall is in my realm, and it is where I both live and work. They come to me, I don't go to retrieve them. Yes, servants. No to the tiara. Or...maybe I do have one? I think I saw one around once, but I wouldn't think of wearing one. Not really my style." Her subjects were, by an large, a simple people. There were the occasional royal arrivals, to be sure, not everyone waged war all the time, and the women rarely went anywhere but her hall. But most were intimidated enough by her appearance. She didn't need to add a crown for people to know who and what she was, or to make herself look any more ridiculous.
Already, Hel had forgotten the rest of what Philotes had asked her. She wondered if Lottie herself remembered.
Then Nyx took charge and began to lead them to the dining room. Hel gave Lottie a nervous smile and a shrug. It looked like she would be able to avoid the hug after all, without trying to save face.
"Will you walk with me?" she asked shyly, hoping it would make up for the hug. She let her hair fall forward, then quickly pushed it back behind her ear before Nyx would see. She got ever so irritated when Hel tried to hide herself, but it was a difficult habit to overcome after so long.