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+---- Thread: [RQ] long live all the magic we made (/showthread.php?tid=12626)
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long live all the magic we made - Sohalia - 03-14-2026
The beach was shrouded in a miserable drizzle, the mist so fine that it could scarcely be called rain. Soh had really been hoping for a sunny day for hunting seashells with Flora, but in the end, this was what she'd gotten. And, really, aside from being tired - for reasons that were unclear to her, given that she'd managed a decent night's sleep - Soh was in quite a good mood, despite the weather.
Because today, Soh had a secret - one that she was practically bursting to tell her best friend.
She'd had news before, of course, but looking back, it had never been just good news. She remembered running to Flora with all kinds of things: Ace, Koa, Stormbreak - but none of it had ever been simple, and easy, and right the way that this news felt. Things with Zavien were great, even if Koa was still a complication that she was decidedly ignoring, and all Soh wanted was for Flora to share in her happiness.
She waited for the Doubletake by the beach, lounging against a wall underneath an awning. She'd dressed today in a light rain jacket over a plain yellow t-shirt and pants tucked into rain boots. Her hair was braided away from her face and covered by the hood of her jacket, and her grey eyes impatiently scanned the few people insane enough to be out in this miserable weather as she searched for Flora.
RE: long live all the magic we made - Flora - 03-15-2026
The beach greets her with a wash of pale grey and the steady hush of mist against sand, the sort of weather that seems determined to dull everything it touches, though Flora refuses to let it win that particular argument. Her bright yellow rainjacket cuts through the gloom like a dropped daffodil, the hood bouncing lightly against the braid pinned over one shoulder as she makes her way down the stretch of damp shoreline, boots leaving dark impressions that the tide is already eyeing with quiet ambition. Above her, Spice wheels lazily through the drizzle, the small white dragon apparently unbothered by the weather so long as she has someone interesting to follow.
Sohalia is easy enough to spot even through the haze, and Flora’s arm lifts at once in a jaunty wave that sends the gold bracelets at her wrist chiming softly against one another. Her engagement ring catches the dull light with a quick flash when she moves, the stones bright even beneath the overcast sky, and she doesn’t bother hiding it now that she’s safely within the orbit of someone who already knows the secret.
[say]"Heyyyy!"[/say] she calls out as she closes the distance, voice bright and lilting enough to cut through the drizzle. By the time she reaches the awning, Flora tips her head back toward the sky with a theatrical huff, her mouth twisting as though she might personally scold the clouds for their behaviour. [say]"Shitty weather, huh?"[/say] she says, dropping her gaze back toward Soh with a crooked grin that refuses to take the complaint too seriously. [say]"Hopefully it doesn't start screaming though. Have you heard it do that yet?"[/say]
RE: long live all the magic we made - Sohalia - 03-15-2026
Flora was a ray of sunshine approaching through the rain. Soh grinned, waving animatedly to her friend as Anani chimed a greeting to Spice. Despite the miserable weather, both young women appeared to have wanted to channel their inner light; both dressed in yellow in some form of other, they made quite the pair as they started down the beach, twin boot prints trailing behind them.
[say]”Ugh, I know. The scream rain is something else,”[/say] Soh said, but the bright, cheerful tone of her voice made her sound much less bothered than she might have been. She practically glowed with happiness, and she nearly vibrated with excitement. But she wasn’t going to take all of the attention. [say]”How have you been? How’s Kai?”[/say] she asked. Having spent time recently in King’s End, she hadn’t seen either of them in a while.
RE: long live all the magic we made - Flora - 03-16-2026
Flora’s eyes roll so hard it’s a wonder they don’t vanish clean out the back of her skull, the expression exaggerated enough that she has to tip her head slightly to keep the braid from slipping forward against her collar. [say]"Yeah, I hate it,"[/say] she agrees of the scream rain, wrinkling her nose as a stray bead of mist lands on her cheek like the sky has decided to spit on her personally.
Still, the irritation doesn’t last long. It rarely does when Sohalia is standing there practically glowing like someone’s smuggled a lantern inside her ribs. Flora lets out a soft laugh, the sound warm and easy as she hooks her thumbs into the pockets of her rainjacket. [say]"Kai’s good,"[/say] she says, the words coming with a small, smug curl of her mouth that she doesn’t even attempt to disguise. [say]"We just finished up a quest Safrin sent us on so that we could write about our engagement in the stars."[/say] She lifts one shoulder in a casual little shrug that’s far too pleased with itself to be entirely modest, the engagement ring flashing again when her hand moves.
[say]"Seemed like the easiest way to tell everyone,"[/say] she adds with a crooked smile that grows into a quick laugh, the sound bright against the soft hiss of rain. [say]"And also suitably dramatic, which I love."[/say]
Only then does she turn a more curious look back toward Sohalia, really taking her in for the first time instead of just greeting the shape of her through the drizzle. There’s something different about her best friend today, something bright and buoyant that reminds Flora of the way sunlight sometimes bursts through storm clouds without warning. Her mouth softens around the edges as she leans sideways, bumping Soh lightly with her shoulder in an affectionate nudge. [say]"What about you?"[/say] she asks, head tipping slightly as aqua eyes narrow with playful suspicion. [say]"You look like you swallowed a firework."[/say]
RE: long live all the magic we made - Sohalia - 03-16-2026
Buoyed along by her good mood, Soh linked arms with Flora and practically skipped down the beach to search for shells. Spotting something sparkling in the gloom, she paused briefly to pick up a particularly shiny one. [say]”Oh my gods, that is so perfect for you guys,”[/say] she laughed as she tucked the shell into a basket on her free arm. [say]” Was it a tough quest? Please tell me you’re going to wait till this rain clears up to do it.”[/say]
They continued on, bright spots in an otherwise dull landscape. [say]”What, I can’t just be happy?”[/say] she asked with a grin, enjoying the suspense and realizing that perhaps Flora had rubbed off on her more than she’d realized. She never used to enjoy dramatics quite so much - not that she was complaining. It felt good to be able to let loose a little after so long of keeping her emotions tightly under wraps. But she’d never had a good poker face, and she was too eager to talk to Flora to keep her waiting long.
[say]”Okay, don’t freak out… I slept with Zavien.”[/say]
RE: long live all the magic we made - Flora - 03-16-2026
Flora lets out a low snicker as Sohalia loops their arms together, allowing herself to be tugged along the damp stretch of sand with the sort of loose, easy compliance reserved only for best friends and very persistent tides. Her gaze sweeps the shoreline as they walk, aqua eyes scanning the grey scatter of pebbles and shells for anything bright enough to earn a place in their baskets. When she spots a few pale, glossy shells half-buried in the wet sand, she pauses long enough to crouch and pluck them free, the smooth white curves clicking softly together as she drops them into the little basket swinging from her wrist.
[say]"That’s the idea,"[/say] she says with a grin at Soh’s question about the quest, straightening and brushing damp sand from her fingers against the side of her rain jacket. Her smile lingers as they start walking again, though it sharpens slightly when Sohalia delivers that suspicious little preface. Don’t freak out rarely introduces anything calm, and Flora is already grinning in anticipation before the words even finish forming.
She’s so certain she knows what’s coming that her thoughts run ahead of the sentence, neatly filling the space after I slept with, with Koa. Except Sohalia says Zavien instead, and Flora's mouth drops open. Not dramatically, not theatrically, just genuinely, the expression hanging there for a heartbeat as her brain scrambles to reroute itself away from the assumption it had been sprinting toward. She blinks once, twice, staring at Sohalia with wide aqua eyes as the rain mists softly around them, then her lips press together as she very deliberately does not freak out (even if the situation very much calls for it).
Instead she blinks again—comically this time—before leaning closer with a sudden burst of delighted urgency. [say]"Well??"[/say] she demands, the word bursting out of her like a cork popping free of a bottle. [say]"How was it?"[/say] Her grin spreads wider, bright and conspiratorial as she bumps Soh lightly with her shoulder. [say]"Tell me everything."[/say]
RE: long live all the magic we made - Sohalia - 03-16-2026
Ironically, the thought of sleeping with Koa hadn't even crossed Soh's mind in relation to telling Flora about Zavien; indeed, she hadn't thought of her ex-lover (?) in that way since she'd decided she was done trying with him. In any case, her news had exactly the reaction she'd been hoping for: Flora gaped at her, seemingly struck for the briefest of moments without anything to say as Soh grinned brightly back at her.
But any delighted glee that Soh had about having managed to so thoroughly surprise the Doubletake quickly faded into something softer and more sincere. [say]"Oh, Flora, it was incredible,"[/say] she gushed. [say]"And that's not even the best part."[/say] She leaned in conspiratorially, eyes sparkling with adoration, to launch into her tale.
[say]"Okay, so, we were friends, right?"[/say] she began. [say]"And we got closer after Stormbreak fell, but I had no idea he felt like that about me. So I went to visit, and we were just joking around, and then he kissed me -"[/say] Her heart fluttered just thinking about it. A faint blush crept its way up her neck and into her cheeks. [say]"- and, well, it was like - I dunno, Flora. I've just never felt so - so... wanted?"[/say] Her brows knit together, as though that wasn't exactly the word she wanted to use, but she shrugged and moved on.
[say]"Anyway, I spent the night, and the next morning, I thought he regretted it because he was kind of spiraling, and it turns out he felt like he'd betrayed Koa by sleeping with me. But when I asked him to take Koa out of the equation, and what he wanted -"[/say] She swallowed hard, a sappy little smile playing on her lips. [say]"- he said he wanted me, so... I didn't even realize that I felt that way, but it was all just - everything was just so - right."[/say] She beamed, hardly caring that her explanation felt a bit like a whirlwind. [say]"Anyway, so we're dating now!"[/say]
RE: long live all the magic we made - Flora - 03-16-2026
Flora’s grin widens almost immediately when Sohalia gushes that it was incredible, the reaction drawing a soft, pleased hum from somewhere in her throat. It doesn’t surprise her in the slightest, especially since the last (and only) time Soh had had sex, it had involved losing her virginity to a complete stranger in public, which hardly seemed like the sort of conditions designed for anything resembling a glowing review. Hearing that it had been different—better—with someone Soh knew, someone she trusted, feels about as predictable as the tide coming in.
Still, the delight on Sohalia’s face is contagious, and Flora finds herself beaming back, her expression shifting through a dozen small reactions as the story unfolds. When Soh describes Zavien kissing her, Flora inhales sharply through her teeth in a quiet, delighted little gasp, her eyes lighting with recognition of the feeling. The memory that rises in response is immediate and warm, full of the dizzying spark of that first kiss that suddenly rewrites the entire shape of the world; her thoughts drift briefly to Kaisel and the way those moments with him had always felt like stepping into sunlight after wandering through shade, and how she revisted them often.
At the mention of Zavien spiralling about betraying Koa, Flora’s mouth tilts sideways in a small shrug that carries more opinion than she bothers to voice aloud. Koa has always had an annoying way of leaving invisible fingerprints on the women who’d once been part of his orbit, like some lingering claim that refused to fade properly with time, and as far as Flora is concerned neither she nor Soh had ever belonged to him enough to justify that sort of lingering ownership. The thought passes through her mind like a brief ripple before her attention settles again on Sohalia’s bright, breathless explanation that she and Zavien were dating.
Flora blinks, then a laugh escapes her in a startled burst, bright and delighted. [say]"Holy shit."[/say] She reaches out without hesitation, tugging Sohalia against her in a quick, tight hug that smells faintly of rain and salt and damp fabric. When she pulls back she doesn’t let go completely, her arms still loosely looped around her friend’s shoulders as she studies her face with a fond sort of scrutiny before her nose wrinkles slightly. [say]"Okay,"[/say] she says slowly, tilting her head as if testing the shape of the thought before letting it go. [say]"This could just be because you basically said all of that in a single breath, but…"[/say] Her smile softens, though the curiosity in her gaze doesn’t fade.
[say]"You do like Zavien, right?"[/say] she asks, squeezing Soh lightly where her arms still rest around her. [say]"Because the way you just said it kinda sounded like you mostly liked having someone who wants you. Which—honestly—completely makes sense after all of Koa’s bullshit."[/say] Which, Flora wouldn't blame Soh for one bit. She lifts one shoulder in a small, sympathetic shrug before her expression turns a little more searching.
[say]"But you actually want it to be Zavien, right?"[/say]
RE: long live all the magic we made - Sohalia - 03-16-2026
Playing back her rambling in her head, Soh winced. It did sort of sound like that. [say]”Sorry, I’m just flustered,”[/say] she said, waving dismissively. [say]”But yeah, that’s the thing - I actually do want it to be Zavien. I just… didn’t realize that he was what I was looking for until everything happened.”[/say] She paused to pick up a shell, then discarded it. Not shiny enough. [say]”It’s like… I already knew that he’s a good man, and he’s always been sweet, and recently he’s been there for me - he was with me when I found Anani, and I freaked out, but he was just so calm and understanding…”[/say]
She saw another shell, this one a glittering pink, and tucked it into the basket. [say]”Honestly?”[/say] she said, frowning slightly as she thought. [say]”If it wasn’t for everything with Koa… I don’t know. I might have seen this coming. I just… wanted to be… loyal (?) to Koa. So when that ended…”[/say] She shrugged, not sure if she was making sense. [say]”I just, I wasn’t expecting this at all, but it feels good and right. It’s not just that the sex was amazing, it’s the talking and how easy it is to open up to him and -“[/say] Cutting off her rambling, she smiled sheepishly. [say]”It’s all of it. All of him. Which sounds like, so dumb when it’s so new.”[/say]
RE: long live all the magic we made - Flora - 03-16-2026
Flora listens with the bright patience of someone who has no intention whatsoever of interrupting a good ramble, her grin shifting between sympathetic warmth and the sort of teasing amusement that comes naturally when someone you love is clearly tripping over their own excitement. She crouches briefly to scoop another shell from the wet sand, holding it up to the misty light before deciding it’s worthy enough for the basket, the small pink gleam joining the others with a soft clack.
When Sohalia mentions wanting to stay loyal to Koa, Flora lets out a long, dramatic groan that rolls up from her chest like distant thunder. Her head tips back and she shoots Soh a look that’s equal parts playful exasperation and unmistakable relief, as though the very mention of his name has earned a mild scolding. Still, the brightness in Soh’s voice now, the easy certainty threaded through her explanation, settles something warm and approving in Flora’s chest and she giggles softly as Sohalia tries to describe the feeling, nodding along with an understanding that flickers plainly across her face. [say]"I get it. It’s like trying to explain why sunlight feels good. You can say it’s warm or bright or whatever, but none of that really covers the way it just...is."[/say]
Her gaze drifts briefly back toward the tide line as she slows to pick through another scatter of shells, selecting two smooth white ones and dropping them into the basket before straightening again. [say]"So obviously I think you owe Koa absolutely nothing,"[/say] she adds, glancing sideways at Sohalia as they walk. Her tone is casual, though the certainty in it sits firm and unbothered. She tilts her head slightly, considering the rest of the story with thoughtful curiosity. [say]"But if Zavien was spiralling about what Koa would think..."[/say] Her brows lift faintly as she turns the idea over. [say]"What made him change his mind?"[/say] The question hangs only a moment before her grin returns, quick and mischievous. [say]"Other than realizing what an absolute catch you are, of course."[/say]
RE: long live all the magic we made - Sohalia - 03-16-2026
Flora's deep groan made Soh laugh. [say]"I know, I know -"[/say] she said, holding up her hands defensively. [say]"But after everything over all those years, can you blame me?"[/say] She tilted her head to one side, still mildly annoyed with herself to have been stuck in Koa's orbit for all that time. She had nothing against the man - she wished him well, in fact - but to know that happiness could have been right around the corner was a frustration that she would never be able to take back.
But Zavien had been like a breath of fresh air, chasing away any lingering doubts that she'd done the right thing. [say]"Exactly,"[/say] she said warmly. [say]"It's so hard to explain. And it's even harder, because you know how I get - and I don't want to rush this. I don't want to fall in love with the idea of love, you know? I want to take my time and really get to know Zavien better, and see if this could be what I'm hoping for... but even saying that, I already feel like it is."[/say] Shaking her head, she sighed. Maybe it was jaded, but she didn't want to get hurt again by falling too hard, too fast - even if that ship had long since sailed.
As for what had changed with Zavien, Soh cocked her head to one side. [say]"You know, I'm not really sure."[/say] Thinking back over the encounter, she added, [say]"That first day when we were supposed to meet up, I remember thinking that Zavien was acting a little strange. Not bad, just, different? He was like... lighter. More carefree. Like there was nothing in the world to worry about."[/say] She drummed her fingers against her thigh. [say]"I thought maybe that was just what happens when you're not carrying the burden of a dying city anymore, you know?"[/say]
RE: long live all the magic we made - Flora - 03-17-2026
Flora huffs softly, the sound warm and fond as she shakes her head, her braid shifting against her shoulder with the motion. [say]"Nooo,"[/say] she drawls, the word stretching out with affectionate disbelief before her smile tilts into something a little sharper, a little more knowing. [say]"But that says way more about you than it does about him."[/say] She bumps Soh lightly with her hip as they walk, like she’s nudging her friend back into herself rather than letting her orbit something long since gone. The rain beads along the edge of her sleeve as she reaches down for another shell, turning it over between her fingers before deciding it’s only half-interesting and tossing it back toward the tide.
As Soh continues, Flora listens with a thoughtful sort of quiet, her expression softening at the edges while her gaze tracks the shoreline. There’s something familiar in the way Soh describes it, that careful balancing act between wanting something and not wanting to be swallowed by it too quickly. [say]"I get that too,"[/say] she says, glancing over with a small, wry smile. [say]"After Jack, even the most basic nice things Kai did felt like—"[/say] she exhales a quiet laugh, shaking her head as though the memory still catches somewhere between absurd and tender, [say]"—like he’d hung the moon just for me, when in reality all he'd done was ask about my day and actually listen."[/say] Her fingers hook briefly into the handle of the basket as it swings at her side, the shells inside clicking softly together.
[say]"But just..."[/say] she adds, her tone gentling without losing its steadiness, [say]"don’t let Koa setting the bar on the ground mean that’s where it stays for Zavien, okay?"[/say] The words are light enough on the surface, but there’s something firmer beneath them, a quiet insistence that Soh deserves more than simply better than before. Flora doesn’t say anything else about it, though the thought lingers, flickering briefly through her mind; Zavien’s easy charm not quite enough to erase the memory of past sharp edges, the way he’d handled things before, the way he was clearly unwilling to bury the hatchet with Kai over something he'd started.
She bends again to scoop up another shell, this one pale and smooth, before straightening and glancing back toward Sohalia as the conversation shifts. Flora nods slowly at first, because yes—losing the weight of something like Stormbreak would make anyone feel lighter, freer, like they’d been unhooked from something dragging at their ribs—but then one brow lifts. [say]"And that doesn’t strike you as weird?"[/say] she asks, tilting her head slightly, the question gentle but edged with curiosity as her eyes search Soh’s face. [say]"I mean...if I hadn't come onto Kai, nothing would have ever happened with us, and given how strongly Zavien reacted about it, it seems a bit...I dunno...I mean, to not do something, then one day suddenly be all over you out of the blue and the next day wake up worried again?"[/say]
RE: long live all the magic we made - Sohalia - 03-18-2026
The grey drizzle continued to settle over the beach as the two women walked along, plucking this shell and that from the shoreline to place in the basket over Soh's arm. Each one was meticulously selected from its brethren, chosen for a certain sheen or shimmer to its coloration. Soh tucked a pale blue one in amongst the others as Flora continued to talk, her words shifting from understanding to something of a warning. Soh's silver gaze flicked to her best friend. How much of this was coming from Flora's history with Zavien, she wondered? Would Flora be warning her to keep her expectations high if it were someone else she'd fallen into bed with?
Just as quickly as the thought occurred, Soh felt ashamed of herself. Of course Flora would still be saying all the same things. If there was one thing in this world that she didn't doubt, it was Flora's love for her - and her protectiveness, if it came to that, especially after everything Soh had been through. She'd be just the same with anyone, and it was silly to think otherwise.
[say]"I won't,"[/say] she said after a moment, gaze skimming across the beach for more shells. [say]"I don't know how to explain it, but it just... it isn't like that with Zavien. He cares, but like, in a way I've never felt before."[/say] She could just feel it. It was in the way he'd helped her wash in the shower after, in the way he'd wrapped her up to fall asleep next to her that night. It was in their flirtations and teasing during their picnic. And even before everything had happened, in the way he'd supported her through Stormbreak's fall, through finding Anani...
Then Flora was asking more questions that Soh didn't have the answer to, and a seed of doubt began to take root in her mind. [say]"I mean, sure, it's kind of weird,"[/say] she said slowly, brow creasing as she searched for an explanation that seemed to make sense. When she came up empty, she shook her head. [say]"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. I can always just ask him about it."[/say] If she could work up the courage, anyway - but maybe there was a part of her that was afraid of what she might uncover if she did.
RE: long live all the magic we made - Flora - 03-19-2026
Flora glances sideways at Sohalia, her expression softening slightly as the words land and settle, though not quite comfortably. Maybe if Soh had said more—if there’d been something clearer to hold onto—the silence between her explanations wouldn’t feel quite so loud. As it is, the pieces Soh offers feel light in her hands, like shells that look pretty enough until you turn them over and realise they’re thinner than you expected. For all of her and Kai's desperate planning to rid themselves of telepaths, this was a time when having one would have been super useful.
Flora doesn't say any of that of course, but instead, she watches her friend for a moment, the faint crease between her brows smoothing out as she exhales softly through her nose. There’s something earnest in the way Soh speaks, something unguarded that Flora recognises all too well, and it tugs at her in that familiar way that makes criticism feel like stepping on something delicate. Still, the hesitation lingers. The idea that this is a feeling Soh has never had before doesn’t land as solidly as it might have, not when her dating history has been so brief, so… unfinished, like stories that never quite made it to their endings. And the fact that she hasn’t even asked Zavien about the shift, about that strange lightness that seemed to appear out of nowhere, leaves Flora’s mouth pressing uncertainly to one side.
She bends to pick up another shell, this one small and iridescent, turning it between her fingers as if the answer might be hidden somewhere in its sheen before dropping it into her basket with a quiet click. Maybe Soh’s just been caught off guard by someone who stays. Maybe it’s the kind of glow that comes from being wanted after being left too many times. Or maybe it’s just… good sex doing what it does best, wrapping everything else in a shine that makes it harder to see the edges.
Flora straightens and nudges Sohalia gently with her shoulder. [say]"I just want you to be happy,"[/say] she says, her voice warm and steady, the smile that follows bright enough to mean it. [say]"And if you’re happy with Zavien, then that’s amazing."[/say] The words come easily, honestly, even if the thoughts behind them aren’t entirely settled. She lets them stand anyway, because Soh’s happiness matters more than picking apart the seams of it, at least for now.
Her smile shifts, turning a little sheepish as she lets out a small, apologetic laugh. [say]"I’d say we should all go on a double date,"[/say] she adds, drawing the words out slightly as her shoulders lift in a half-shrug, [say]"buttttttttt..."[/say] Her nose wrinkles faintly as she glances back toward Soh. [say]"Zavien kind of fully ignored Kai when he tried to talk to him at the rodeo, so..."[/say] She trails off, the sentence dissolving into the soft hiss of rain against sand, leaving the implication to settle where it will; that it seemed easier for Zavien to move on from Lena's death than to get over a stupid argument that he'd started with a friend.