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+---- Thread: [SE] the road less travelled (/showthread.php?tid=11977)
the road less travelled - Nikandr - 09-01-2025
[say]"Thank you for letting me stay with you throughout Deepfrost."[/say] Niki surprises himself with the words as they spill from his lips, the boy offering a sheepish smile towards Flora as they went their way through the Rainbow Road. Niki has never seen such a phenomenon, and however much his body might not thank him for walking this far later on, he doesn't want to miss the opportunity.
[say]"I know I may not have seemed grateful at first,"[/say] you know, given the fact that he's still been technically kidnapped from his home region, [say]"but I do remember how things were last year. It is nice not to worry too much about getting sick, or lost in the woods in the cold."[/say]
And in fact, Deepfrost in Torchline seems to be agreeing with him much better than any other season here so far. Able to wear a light, dark coat without worrying that beaming sunshine will give him heatstroke, the overcast skies and chilly breeze off the Arclight are almost pleasant now, in fact. [say]"Is there anything I can do to make it easier for us to share space? You must let me know if I am making too much noise in my workshop."[/say]
RE: the road less travelled - Flora - 09-01-2025
Flora’s lips purse in that way they always do when she’s holding back the full strength of her delight, her smile curling soft and charmed as she glances over one shoulder at him. She doesn’t say I’m so glad you stayed, not in so many words—but it’s there in the way her eyes linger, bright as the road they’re walking.
[say]"And you can take hot baths for your muscles,"[/say] she nods sagely, as if this is a crucial life tip he’s just unlocked. [say]"With fountain water, so you won't catch so much as a sore throat while you're here."[/say] Her sweater sleeves are pushed up to her elbows despite the breeze, a soft marigold knit that catches against the vibrant volcanic rock underfoot.
When he offers again—so Niki, always wanting to make things smoother, easier, less disruptive—she just nudges her shoulder lightly against his, careful with the contact so it doesn’t upset his pace. [say]"I’ll let you know,"[/say] she promises, but there’s warmth tucked into the words. [say]"Honestly though? It’s really nice having someone else in the house."[/say]
Her gaze sweeps out across the shifting coastline, where foaming pastel water churns between the rocks like a living painting. [say]"I knew when I built it that it’d feel empty sometimes, being so big, but..."[/say] She shrugs, casting him another smile, this one smaller but no less true. [say]"These past few weeks were harder than I thought they’d be."[/say]
RE: the road less travelled - Nikandr - 09-10-2025
[say]"So long as there are provisions to ensure I do not have to crawl out of the bath,"[/say] Niki says with a dry smile; he's got images of climbing into the hot water and being stuck there until someone arrives with assistance. Which is embarrassing enough even without considering the fact that he'd be naked. [say]"But yes, that does sound quite nice."[/say]
Jostling Flora back as she nudges him, it's gentle enough that he barely needs to lean on his cane, the boy's smile growing a touch softer. [say]"Good, please do,"[/say] he says, settling back into his pace along the vibrant road beneath their feet. [say]"And you know, it is surprising but I feel the same."[/say]
He gives her space to speak, listening quietly and falling to a gentle halt at a natural vista over the water. [say]"I felt the same way when I was first alone in my house,"[/say] he admits, glancing to Flora. [say]"You will get used to it. And unlike me, you will have people dropping by all the time right away, so you will never become a cranky necromancer ghost."[/say]
RE: the road less travelled - Flora - 09-10-2025
Flora’s laugh bursts out bright and musical, her nose wrinkling as she shoots Niki an affectionate look. [say]"I would never leave you stranded like that,"[/say] she declares, as if the very idea is a personal insult. With a little shrug that sets her curls bouncing, she adds, [say]"Maybe I’ll even put in a hot tub—just in case you’d like to soak with company."[/say] Her brows bounce wickedly, the suggestion left hanging for a heartbeat before she cackles, full of mischief.
But then he admits he’s actually enjoyed staying, and her jaw drops open, eyes going wide in mock astonishment. She snaps her mouth shut almost immediately, pressing her lips together tight as though teasing him about it might scare him off. The delight still dances in her eyes, though, impossible to hide.
A snort slips out under her breath, and she shrugs, glancing back at the kaleidoscope surf foaming against the rocks. [say]"I can be plenty cranky,"[/say] she points out, voice lilting with humour, [say]"and seeing as I’ve already died once, I’m probably closer to being a ghost than you are, all things considered."[/say] She tips her head toward him, smile curling bright again. [say]"But one cranky necromancer ghost seems like exactly the right number."[/say] Not that there was any replacing Niki, but there was no part of Flora that was even inclined to try. Flora's gaze flicks down to the uneven stones beneath their feet before she nods toward the benches up ahead. [say]"Are the rocks okay for you, or do you want to sit for a bit?"[/say]
RE: the road less travelled - Nikandr - 09-11-2025
[say]"Well that is certainly a relief,"[/say] Niki says, allowing himself a quiet smile as well, which is basically the boy's equivalent to Flora's vibrant laughter. He'd been about to suggest a bathtub built into the floor, in fact, when she mentions a hot tub, and he's rolling his eyes even as his cheeks colour without his permission. [say]"I do not make a habit of bathing or soaking with company, but if that is something you would like to add, do not let me stop you."[/say]
Raising his eyebrows at her comparison to their ghostly natures, he tilts his head as if considering whether she's a worthy candidate. [say]"We could always see if you could pick up necromancy,"[/say] he figures. [say]"Though if you take over the title as resident ghost and people do not randomly show up at your house to exorcise you, I will be tempted to claim I was bullied."[/say] What with Kai's line of salt and the yeeting of a protective amulet... thing at him.
Glancing up towards the benches, he considers for a moment before nodding. [say]"I am feeling alright,"[/say] he says, [say]"but a break will probably be good before the walk back. We can sit."[/say]
RE: the road less travelled - Flora - 09-12-2025
Flora tosses Niki an affectionate glance over her shoulder, grin tugging wide. [say]"If you don’t make a habit out of it, how do you know it’s not something you’d like?"[/say] she teases, aqua eyes sparkling. [say]"It’d be basically the same as what we’re doing right now—except instead of strolling, we’d be lounging in magical hot water. Tell me that doesn’t sound amazing."[/say]
Her voice slips into a purr as she draws out, [say]"Oooooh, maybe,"[/say] at the idea of picking up necromancy. [say]"If I channel a spirit and ask it to inhabit something, does that count? Or is that cheating?"[/say] She laughs before he can answer, shoulders shaking as she adds, [say]"Yeaaaah, well, Kaisel’s a real big baby when it comes to ghosts."[/say] The fondness in her tone makes it clear she means it more as a tease than anything cruel.
At the bench she sinks down with a dramatic sigh, folding one leg up so she can loop her arms around her shin, curls spilling forward as she tips her head back. Far too casually, as though the weight of the words doesn’t nearly pull the ground from under her, she glances his way. [say]"Would you ever want to stay? Like...properly stay? Maybe...be on Torchline’s council?"[/say] The words tumble out before she can second-guess them, her throat tightening as she swallows. [say]"Hadama just stepped down, so now it’s only me."[/say]
RE: the road less travelled - Nikandr - 09-12-2025
[say]"It does not sound amazing,"[/say] Niki tells Flora, his tone dry as wood kindling but his eyes dancing with amusement. She'd said for him to tell her, after all. [say]"I am not saying it would not be pleasant,"[/say] he adds in a warmer voice, [say]"just that I prefer not to bathe with company."[/say] He begins to follow her over to the bench, head tilting as he considers her take on necromancy.
[say]"I do not think anyone could say it was cheating. As far as I have been able to glean, there is no manual for necromantic power. Though some would argue that what you would be doing is considered shamanism, no?"[/say] He opts not to remark on Kaisel and his behaviour around would-be ghosts - mostly because the amusement and agreement on his face isn't something he can hide.
Getting himself comfortable on the bench and leaning his cane against the side of it, Niki has just settled on watching the opalescent spill of water, the breeze tousling his hair, when Flora throws her curveball. He blinks at first, as if trying to process it, an eyebrow raised as he glances across at her. [say]"...Are you asking me because you want me to stay, or because you want someone to stay?"[/say] he asks in a quiet voice.
His shoulders have grown tense by the time he glances away, Niki seeming smaller, somehow, than he had been a few moments before. [say]"I find it very difficult to be here in Torchline,"[/say] he tells her without sugarcoating the words. [say]"Now, in Deepfrost, it is not so bad, but every other season? The heat, the sand, the deep water everywhere..."[/say] It's at the bottom of his would like to live list, put it that way.
[say]"But if you needed me, I would. And I think you know that, Flora."[/say] Which is why it feels a touch unfair.
RE: the road less travelled - Flora - 09-13-2025
Flora snorts, the sound bright and unbothered. [say]"It isn’t necessarily bathing when you’ve got company,"[/say] she corrects with a grin, voice tipping toward playfulness. [say]"It’s just… relaxing."[/say] She makes a little wave of her hand like it’s the most obvious distinction in the world.
At his point about shamanism, she only shrugs, curls bouncing over her shoulders. [say]"Maybe we can go ask Ludo one day. If anyone knows the difference, it’s probably Ludo, right?"[/say] Her smile warms as she catches the rare flicker of amusement on the necromancer's face, soaking it in like sunlight through stained glass. It’s such a rare thing, his laughter, that she clings to it quietly, adoring in the way she watches him.
Her own body draws smaller as he does, knee hugged tight against her chest as she glances sidelong at him. The bright sweep of colours all around them feels distant when his words come, and she presses her teeth gently into the inside of her lip before nodding. [say]"Hadama’s stepping down,"[/say] she says softly, [say]"so now it’s just me. Mateo’s moving back to Stormbreak, and Sohalia has already."[/SAY] The words carry a quiet weight, gentled but sure.
She exhales, looking down before she dares a glance back at him with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, blue-green and sad. The offer that follows isn’t meant as a trap, and she knows that. She’s not trying to tie Niki to her with an obligation he can't refuse, but to give him a reason to want to stay that doesn’t begin and end with her. Something official, something that might make Torchline his home in its own right. [say]"I thought if you had something here you might want to stay."[/say] She glances back at him with a smile that tilts fragile at the edges, eyes shaded with quiet sadness.
The breath she lets out next is heavy, shoulders lifting and falling as she shakes her head. [say]"It was just an idea, but never mind. It's okay."[/say]
RE: the road less travelled - Nikandr - 09-13-2025
Offering little more than a smile in response to her points about bathing and her suggestions about Ludo, evidently Niki is somewhat distracted now by the other subject of their conversation, and he absently rubs a thumb across the back of his palm, hands remaining clasped even as he makes himself look back towards Flora. [say]"I am sorry to hear that, about Hadama,"[/say] he says, meaning every word. [say]"I only met him once, but he seemed like a very... steady person."[/say]
Not one that would step down without good reason, he would hope. But this isn't actually about Hadama and they both know it. [say]"I am not a leader or an advisor,"[/say] he points out, [say]"and I never have been. Politics suits me just as poorly as the tropics do."[/say] His smile is sad as well, as he sits himself up, the boy gesturing at himself; pale, sickly, clad in layers even in Torchline, unable to swim, finding it difficult to navigate the sand. [say]"Look at me - we both know I do not belong here for good. But I am sorry for that. I do not want you to feel abandoned."[/say]
RE: the road less travelled - Flora - 09-13-2025
Flora nods faintly at the mention of Hadama, her voice low and distant. [say]"Yeah, he is,"[/say] she agrees, and nothing more, because they both know this conversation isn’t about him.
Her first instinct is to argue, to insist that Niki would make an excellent advisor purely for the way his mind works, for how carefully he listens and considers before speaking. But when he gestures to himself, she swallows the words back down. Her eyes drink him in instead, lingering on the lines of his face softened by the overcast light, the dark sweep of his coat against the kaleidoscope road, the way his hair is tousled in the salt breeze. She finds not a single fault—never has—but she knows what he means, knows the limitations he wrestles with even as she wants to deny them.
So she tries for a smile, breezy and too bright at the edges. Shaking her head, curls slipping loose across her shoulders, she waves her hand as though to shoo the idea away. [say]"No, no—it was just an idea. A bad one at that."[/say] Her tone leans quick, guilty, like she’s trying to tug the blame back onto herself before it can settle anywhere near him.
RE: the road less travelled - Nikandr - 09-13-2025
[say]"...Alright,"[/say] Niki says softly, a hand reaching up to rub at the back of his neck. [say]"Thank you for thinking of me, though. And you know, you could always move to the Greatwood instead."[/say] His smile is perfunctory at best, the boy knowing it just as likely for Flora to move north as it is for him to settle in the islands, and he lets out a long sigh.
[say]"But listen. I am not going anywhere until the end of the season either way, and it has only just begun. So do not go thinking I will be disappearing on you any time soon,"[/say] he reminds her, leaning in to give her a gentle nudge with his elbow. [say]"And anything can happen between now and Flowerbirth. Perhaps you will find yourself inundated with advisors from elsewhere."[/say]
Gazing up at the sky now, as if he can squint out Stormbreak far in the distance, he tilts his head. [say]"I have never been up there either, you know,"[/say] he says of the region. [say]"Perhaps we can take a trip and visit your friends and your brother, before I return to the woods."[/say]
RE: the road less travelled - Flora - 09-13-2025
Flora’s smile tilts wry, a small huff of breath escaping her before she murmurs, [say]"I’ve thought about it, actually.[/say] Her shoulders rise and fall in a slow shrug, and she lets out a sigh. It was where she'd been born after all, and given everything that had happened over the past few seasons, something about running home felt so wildly inviting. [say]"But I literally just finished building my mansion here. And.."[/say] she wrinkles her nose, glancing sidelong at him, [say]"word on the street is Maea’s trying to claim the Greatwood. I don’t think I’d like that very much."[/say]
His nudge coaxes a brighter smile back onto her face, and she takes the chance to shift closer, pressing her shoulder softly against his and leaving it there. Her gaze lifts with his toward the sky, the faint dark smear of Stormbreak just visible through the haze. Her brows rise, and she nods firmly. [say]"We absolutely should go. Mateo knows all the best places, and there’s more to see than you’d expect."[/say] A low chuckle curls from her chest. [say]"I refused to go for the longest time,"[/say] she admits, then glances over her shoulder at him with a wry grin. [say]"Enzo was an Abandoned, and even once they opened the city up, I still didn't want to go, just on principle."[/say]
RE: the road less travelled - Nikandr - 09-13-2025
[say]"Oh?"[/say] Now it's Niki's turn to look wryly interested in tempting Flora away, though as she continues he can well understand why she'd not want to simply turn her back on the great deal of work she's been doing on her home here. [say]"She is?"[/say] he asks of Maea. [say]"I have not heard as much, but... is that a bad thing?"[/say] His voice is quiet, brow furrowed. [say]"I have met her a couple of times, helped her with a few things. She has always seemed pleasant enough to me."[/say]
More than happy to be distracted away from that potential discomfort by thoughts of touring Stormbreak, Niki tilts his head and tries to imagine the region. [say]"Oh, you did?"[/say] He chuckles. [say]"Well, hopefully they are still welcoming of my kind. Although if it is your brother who will be giving us a tour, I feel like I ought to prepare myself in advance."[/say] For the things they'll see, the things they'll be offered, etc.
RE: the road less travelled - Flora - 09-13-2025
Flora nods slowly, a little wrinkle tugging at her nose. [say]"No, it’s probably not a bad thing,"[/say] she admits. [say]"But Maea and I...we used to not really get along. She was shitty to one of my good friends and I take that sort of thing pretty personally."[/say] Her mouth twists, then she sighs, lifting her shoulders. [say]"Things are fine now. And I do think she’d do what she thought was best for the Greatwood. I just don’t know if I’d fully trust her to make the right decisions."[/say]
Her laugh comes quiet, almost conspiratorial. [say]"She once invited all the leaders to a ball, and Dahlia showed up. And instead of being diplomatic, Maea stood up and told her to leave."[/say] Flora shakes her head, rueful amusement spilling into her grin. [say]"Nearly got us all killed because of it. That’s the thing—it was her trying to do what she thought was best. It just...wasn’t."[/say] The words trail into a softer laugh, but the note of unease lingers beneath it, familiar as her own shadow. No doubt people could say the same about Flora, though she never quite managed to get away from herself—and luckily, she was usually on her own side when it came to the decisions she made.
Her head bobs immediately at the thought of Stormbreak. [say]"It absolutely is. When Sohalia was Heart, she made sure to dismantle all the anti-Abandoned stuff. It’s just like any other region now."[/say] Her grin curves wider, a low laugh slipping free. [say]"And yeah you're right, unless someone’s warned Mateo off it, I can almost guarantee his recommendations will start with Stormbreak’s best brothels and speakeasies. But he’ll know plenty of things you’d like, too."[/say]