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+---- Thread: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans (/showthread.php?tid=11787)
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paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Flora - 07-25-2025
The coast is quieter than usual, the tide lazy and the sky brushed in soft citrus pastels that make everything feel a little unreal. Seafoam curls along the sand in sighing breaths, and overhead, gulls wheel through the pale Leafchange light like scraps of parchment torn from the sun.
Flora walks barefoot, the wet shore tugging at her ankles with every step, salt catching in her gold rings and curls. Her dress is something breezy and coastal—white with little embroidered flowers, loose enough to flutter with each sea-swept gust, cinched with a golden sash at the waist. A few shell bracelets clink softly at her wrist as she loops it through Sohalia’s arm, her other hand gesturing occasionally toward this dune or that cluster of palms like she’s already mentally redecorating the entire coastline.
[say]"Okay,"[/say] she says, curls bouncing as she tips her head toward a rise in the sand where tidegrass grows thick and tangled. [say]"That’s nice, right? Kinda dramatic but not too windswept?"[/say] She pauses, nose scrunching. [say]"Or is that just the wind making me delusional?"[/say]
There’s a humour in her voice, light and familiar, but her grip tightens slightly where their arms are linked, as if drawing strength from the contact. [say]"Enzo said I should build something new. Something grand. So he has a place to come back to."[/say] Her eyes flick out toward the sea, catching on the far edge of the horizon where the water turns dark and unknowable. [say]"He suggested a pool, I suggested a waterslide, and we compromised with basically a mansion on the beach with an observatory at the top."[/say] She turns back to Sohalia with a smirk that’s almost real given the conversation she knows will follow this one.
[say]"Sooo...step 1, find the perfect spot."[/say]
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Sohalia - 07-25-2025
Walking along the coast like this, arm in arm with Flora, should have been a relief to Soh, a return to normalcy after the insanity and grief of recent weeks. Instead, it was an exercise in soothing her frazzled nerves, given that there was no doubt a heavy conversation to be had. She walked along barefoot, golden waves pulled off her face in a half-updo that was rapidly falling apart in the sea breeze, clothed in shorts and an off-the-shoulder top that just barely revealed the scars that stretched across her skin. Her shoulders felt empty without Tarak perched atop them, but she shoved that pain down deep, where maybe it wouldn't be able to escape. Not for a little while, anyway.
[say]"Mm, I dunno about that rise. The sand doesn't seem too sturdy,"[/say] Soh pointed out, a practical voice to Flora's sweeping plans. [say]"Oh, maybe over there?"[/say] She gestured up the beach a ways, to a relatively flat spot surrounded by water on three sides. [say]"Or is that too close to the water?"[/say] All they needed was for Flora to build something just for the tide to come in and sweep it away.
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Flora - 07-26-2025
Flora follows Soh’s gesture with a tilt of her head, curls catching in the breeze as she eyes the spot—flat, surrounded by water on three sides, like a little stage carved by the gods themselves for drama and declarations and whatever chaotic life she decided to build next. [say]"Hm,"[/say] she hums thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes like she’s imagining columns rising straight out of the sand, glittering with salt-crusted stained glass. [say]"Okay, yeah, I could just move it back a bit…or—"[/say] and here her tone lifts, bright with mock-innocence [say]"—I could ask Safrin to keep the waves off it entirely. I mean, she already protects the whole coastline from monsoons. One little house can’t be that hard, right?"[/say]
Flora's smile fades like seafoam around her ankles, receding as she glances sideways at Soh. The question has been clawing at her ribs the whole walk, and now, with the wind low and the sky tender and peach-toned, it spills out before she can stop it. [say]"So…"[/say] she says softly, voice a little hoarse around the edges, [say]"you said in your letter you’d tell me everything. About Kai and Caly."[/say] Her fingers tighten faintly where their arms are still linked.
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Sohalia - 07-26-2025
Soh wasn't really sure what Flora had in mind, but she pictured something grand and beautiful, something that fit her friend's bright and mischievous personality. [say]"Please tell me there's going to be a secret door somewhere,"[/say] she teased. She could totally picture Flora with a secret hideaway, only open to a select few, of whom Soh was obviously going to be included.
But then her smile fell slightly, her grip on Flora's arm tightening just a hair. [say]"I'll tell you everything I know, if you want me to,"[/say] she told her friend gently. A playful sea breeze danced around the pair: not enough to tug at curls, but just enough to scent the air with brine. [say]"But, Flora... are you sure you want to know? I mean, the bottom line is that Kai's an idiot and you deserve so much more."[/say] More, Soh suspected, than anyone in Caido was going to be able to give her. At what point, she wondered, did they just have to settle for less than? When should they give up on perfection just so that they weren't left alone?
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Flora - 07-26-2025
Flora laughs, the sound bright and dramatic enough to make a few gulls wheel overhead in protest. [say]"Babe, please. There won’t just be a secret door—there’s gonna be entire hidden wings. A whole floor you can only get to by flirting with a sentient painting. A bathtub that vanishes if the wrong person tries to use it. Possibly a wine cellar that doubles as a library-slash-portal to my sulking tower."[/say] Her grin widens, exaggerated for a moment, before fading softer. [say]"Obviously, you get the key to everything."[/say]
But the breeze shifts, and so does Flora. Her hand stays hooked around Soh’s, but her eyes drop to the sand, to the frothy edges of the tide lapping at their feet. For a long moment she just watches it come and go, like maybe if she stares hard enough the sea will cough up an answer. [say]"I…"[/say] She swallows. Her voice is smaller now, quieter. [say]"The night we slept together, after I kissed him…he said something about how long he’d dreamt of me like that."[/say] Her fingers twist one of her shell bracelets, turning it again and again. [say]"And I thought—I thought he meant us. Not just...sex."[/say]
Her laugh this time is brittle, barely there. [say]"I keep going over all the things he said. He told me he’d sail with me anywhere, that he'd steal the wind for me if I needed it. That I didn’t have to be alone. And I believed him."[/say] She bites at the inside of her lip, hard enough that it draws colour back to her cheeks, but not clarity to her eyes. [say]"But maybe I just heard what I wanted to. Maybe it was always just talk, and I wanted it to mean more than it did."[/say] A pause, then a shaky breath. [say]"So yeah. I want to know everything. Because he’s clearly not gonna tell me, and I’d rather be hurt by the truth than keep making up reasons for why he’s not here."[/say]
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Sohalia - 07-26-2025
Everything that came out of Flora's mouth was so uniquely, perfectly her, and Soh joined her friend in laughter that sent the gulls overhead wheeling away. [say]"Okay, that's all kind of perfect,"[/say] she admitted, still giggling. Then, softening, because she felt almost like she knew Enzo from all Flora had shared about her twin: [say]"I think Enzo will like it."[/say]
But the tone shifted quickly, and Soh remained hesitant to share what was clearly going to be an agonizing ordeal for Flora. Hearing what she had to say about Kai had her mouth tightening with anger, because it was so much worse than she'd initially understood or imagined. [say]"Okay. I'll tell you everything I know. But Flora..."[/say] She stopped walking, pulling Flora to a halt, gently turning her best friend to face her. [say]"You need to know that you deserve someone who will actually do all those things. That can give you more than pretty words and empty promises."[/say] She lifted her hands to cradle Flora's face, firmly drawing the Doubletake's gaze to her own. [say]"You are the sun, Flora. The star that the rest of us can only hope to orbit around. Don't let someone else eclipse your light."[/say]
Soh dropped her hands, clearing her throat against the sudden lump that threatened. Silver eyes, tumultuous with something almost like guilt, flickered out to the distant horizon line. [say]"So, after Kai came to see you in King's End, he sent me a letter asking me to meet up because he was worried about you. And like, basically the entire conversation was about him wanting to be your friend but also be with Caly, and when I tried to tell him that it might not be that simple, he didn't get it. But he was like... insistent that he was going to still be your friend, but also said that he didn't think he could be what you need right now, so he wanted me to be there for you instead. Which... isn't very friend-like, if you ask me."[/say] Despite her best efforts to keep her tone neutral, there was a biting contempt to it that Soh struggled to keep under wraps.
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Flora - 07-26-2025
Flora slows as Soh tugs her gently to a stop, sand cool beneath her feet and wind tangling at the hem of her dress. She doesn’t resist, but there’s a familiar tension in her shoulders, the kind that speaks of old conversations dressed up in new heartbreak. Everyone always says the same thing—you deserve better, don’t settle, you’re worth more—but gods, when your heart’s already halfway down the path, what good does the map do?
When Soh cradles her face and calls her the sun, Flora tries to hold her gaze, she really does. But the words feel too big, too radiant for the dull, bruised ache inside her chest. [say]"I’m not,"[/say] she whispers, shaking her head. [say]"I’m just Flora. I mess things up. I fall too hard. I say the wrong thing and pretend it didn’t hurt."[/say] Her voice is steady, but only because it’s gone quiet. [say]"The sun doesn’t do that."[/say] Truly, some days it felt like Jack was the only person who never put her on a pedestal, and look just how far she'd fallen in his estimation.
But then as Soh goes on, explaining what Kaisel had said after King’s End, after kissing her and promising her everything and then disappearing like it hadn’t meant anything at all. Flora’s eyes shut, lashes trembling as the words pour in. The way her heart seems to stutter and stop is worse than she'd expected it to be, despite having anticipated Soh saying precisely all the things she was. It really just had been all talk, then. [say]"He said—"[/say] Her throat catches, and she has to swallow hard before trying again. [say]"He said he wanted the mess of me. Exactly as I am. That he wasn’t going anywhere. That I belonged to him, and nothing would change that."[/say] Her eyes open, glossy with a sheen of tears she refuses to let fall, even as they sting like salt and old glass. [say]"But everything changed anyway."[/say]
She shakes her head, curls falling into her face before she brushes them back, squaring her shoulders like it might hold her heart together. [say]"So if he told you he still wanted to be with Caly after coming to see me at the House of Midnight and saying all of that, then...yeah. That’s that."[/say] Her voice is too calm now. Practised. Polished. Queenlike.
But when she blinks, she can’t stop the shimmer that clings to her lashes. She glances away—out toward the surf—then back to Soh. [say]"That quest thing you mentioned? I don’t want to know. I don’t care what it is. If you talk to him again, tell him to stop. Or finish it for himself. Whatever. But it’s not for me anymore, and whatever it is or it's meant to be..."[/say] Flora shakes her head. She's tempted to say it's too late, but how could it be, when apparently there'd never been anything to save in the first place?
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Sohalia - 07-26-2025
Soh brushed an errant curl from Flora's forehead. [say]"You know,"[/say] she said, utterly convinced of her previous statement, but also understanding all too well the familiar ache in Flora's eyes. [say]"Sometimes the sun gets obscured by the clouds. It doesn't mean it isn't still there, somewhere, even if it needs a minute to recover."[/say] But this was just one of those conversations: either Flora was ready to listen, or she wasn't, and in this particular moment? She was still too battered and bruised to see the fragile flame that Soh knew was still clinging to life somewhere deep within her.
Everything that Flora said after that was just one more nail in the coffin. Gods, but Soh could strangle Kai. For all that he'd stood up to Safrin herself for Flora's sake, he'd sure managed to make a nice mess of everything. I hope things fall apart with Caly, Soh thought angrily, and was immediately ashamed of herself. Karma, after all, was a bitch, and she was skirting a dangerous line with her blasphemous thoughts. [say]"I won't see him again,"[/say] she said after a moment's pause. [say]"Not on purpose, anyway."[/say] Nor would she go out of her way to help him again. Not anymore, Koa's cousin or no.
Sighing softly, Soh looped a careful arm around Flora's shoulders. [say]"There's someone out there for you,"[/say] she murmured. [say]"I just know it. I know it sucks right now, and I'm so sorry, Flora. If I could take all this away for you, I would."[/say]
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Flora - 07-26-2025
Flora’s lips twitch faintly at the metaphor—sun and clouds and recovery—and for a half-second she wants to argue. To say that sometimes the clouds aren’t temporary. Sometimes they settle. But she knows Soh’s just trying to hold her together with warmth and light, and gods, if that isn’t love, what is? So she doesn’t argue. Just nods, slow and sad, and offers a smile that doesn’t quite meet her eyes. [say]"Yeah,"[/say] she says softly. [say]"Maybe."[/say]
At Soh’s vow not to see Kai again, Flora only shrugs, the motion light and detached in a way that costs her more than she’ll admit. [say]"You don’t have to avoid him on my account,"[/say] she says. [say]"It doesn’t matter. Not anymore."[/say] She exhales through her nose, almost a laugh, but it curls inward at the end like a wilted petal. [say]"Before we met up the other week in Stormbreak, I went to his parents’ house."[/say] She glances at Soh, a little sheepish, a little hollow. [say]"I just—he always said he missed home, so I asked them for a piece of it. Took this rough bit of paving stone, made it into a keychain."[/say] Her voice trails off and she laughs again, but this time there’s nothing self-deprecating about it—just ache disguised in silver bells. [say]"Sent it anonymously because I didn't want to make things weird. Guess that didn’t matter."[/say] Guess he'd rather just have the prettier blonde who'd captured his heart in a way that I"Ve DreAmEd Of U LiKe ThIs Flora just couldn't compete with.
She shakes her head, curls bouncing lightly with the motion, though there’s no humour in it. [say]"Gods, I feel so stupid. I let myself care so much. I thought it meant something, and he just…"[/say] Her gaze flicks toward the ocean, then drops to the sand, because she knows she's repeating herself now, but fuck if the fact that she and Kai had been friends first hadn't made the intimacy seem that much more, just as it made the distance now all the more sharp. Flora blinks hard, and then inhales sharply, pushing it down—the hurt, the weight, the sting of wanting someone who doesn’t want you back—as she reaches for Soh’s hand with warm fingers despite the salt air.
[say]"C’mon,"[/say] she murmurs, glancing up the beach with a small nod. “[say]"Let’s keep looking. This house isn’t going to pick itself."[/say]
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Sohalia - 07-27-2025
Flora didn't believe her, but that was alright. Soh could believe enough for the both of them. One day, her best friend would find her inner fire again, and then she would burn more brightly than the sun. And when that day came, Soh would be right there to cheer her on. In the meantime, she might throttle Kai next time she saw him, but somehow, she rather thought she could live with that.
There was nothing more that Soh could say that hadn't already been said. Nothing more that she could offer aside from I'm sorry and it will be okay - neither of which, she imagined were of much use in this particular scenario. So instead, she laced her fingers with Flora's, pouring all the warmth and affection she felt for the Doubletake into the small gesture. And then, she let the topic go.
[say]"How are you going to build it?"[/say] Soh asked as they started back down the beach. [say]"I mean, I've seen all kinds of beach houses, and I know it'll be grand and beautiful, but like... I dunno, what's the vision?"[/say] Curious, light - careful to steer the conversation back towards safer waters.
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Flora - 07-27-2025
Flora fits in easily beside Soh, shoulder brushing shoulder as they resume their walk. The tide hums gently beside them, and though her heart still stings like a nettle burn, she clings to the comfort of Soh’s fingers twined through hers, the steady grounding of friendship that hasn’t vanished or faltered no matter how much else has.
[say]"The vision,"[/say] she says, lips quirking as if she’s pulling it from a catalogue in her mind, [say]"is to have something for everyone I care about. So if they come over, they feel like it’s theirs too. Not just mine."[/say]
Her eyes brighten slightly, and the words come easier now, like the blueprint’s already half-built in her chest. [say]"I’ll have a big greenhouse for Mateo—full of tropical plants and probably too many of those plants that make drugs. And a workshop for Niki so he can tinker with his ridiculous projects without making my kitchen explode. A den for Danta and Asta, with furs and a big crackling fireplace and probably some hidden liquor cabinets, because they’d expect nothing less."[/say]
She grins and nudges Soh gently. [say]"For you? A room with a ton of windows and a huge drafting table for your maps. But also a window seat with, like, a million throw pillows and a cozy couch-nook so you can read for hours and pretend you’re just resting your eyes."[/say] A soft, teasing smile follows. [say]"And I’ll stock it with the weird obscure books you’re always into. You know, the ones with names like Mythic Currents and Cartography of the Soul."[/say]
Her gaze drifts dreamily up the shore. [say]"Enzo said I should add a springboard from the balcony into a pool. And portals into all the lands, so everyone can just pop in whenever they like."[/say] She laughs at that—bright, unbothered. [say]"Which is, like, a lot, I know. But I’ve probably got a few years before he comes back, so I’ve got time."[/say] A pause, quieter this time. [say]"I offered to let Caly and her siblings keep the Hanged Man...I figured it might be more what they need now than I do, so..."[/say] Her fingers squeeze Soh’s gently. [say]"Might as well make it something impossible."[/say]
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Sohalia - 07-28-2025
Soh settled into the easy rhythm of just walking beside Flora, fingers warm where they intertwined against the Leafchange chill. Not for the first time, she marveled at the strength of their friendship, how no matter what else may have changed in Caido, this remained the same. And, as far as Soh was concerned, it always would.
Flora shared her vision for the mansion she was setting herself up to build, and Soh hummed approval in all the right places. She didn't know all of the names that her friend tossed out, but if she had to guess, Flora's designs would be exactly what her loved ones needed. Just like the space she described for Soh, which, honestly? Sounded so lovely that, for a moment, Soh regretted leaving Torchline behind. This could be her life - time spent with her best friend, helping her to build the home that she deserved, being here for her no matter what happened - and it was almost a shame to see that pretty picture come crumbling down just for Stormbreak. But she'd made her commitments, and it would be wrong to back out now, even though her impending victory felt somehow... hollow.
Shaking off her morose thoughts, Soh blinked at the last thing Flora had said - one more loss for the Doubletake, and one that Soh was sure stung almost as much as her failing love life. [say]"That's..."[/say] she started, before realizing she didn't really have words. [say]"I don't know what to say. Are we... okay with that? Or do I need to plan, like... a quest to pick the bar up and push it somewhere else? A bar heist? That should be possible, right?"[/say]
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Flora - 07-29-2025
The silence between them stretches a little too long, and Flora, ever attuned to the shifts in mood—especially in people she loves—feels it settle in like a cold tide. She glances sideways, studying the set of Soh’s jaw, the too-careful rhythm of her steps. Gently, she bumps their shoulders together. [say]"You okay?"[/say] she asks, her voice light but laced with real concern. [say]"I know you’ve got a lot going on too, so..if there’s something you wanna talk about, I’m here, okay?"[/say]
Because yeah, she knows the ache of Tarak’s absence still lingers like a bruise that won’t fade, but there’s something else threading through Soh’s quiet today, and Flora’s not about to let it pass unnoticed if her friend needs a place to unload it.
As for the bar—ugh. Flora sighs, long and theatrical enough to make her curls bounce with the exhale. [say]"When I went to talk to Caly about Kai—"[/say] here, she rolls her eyes hard enough to see the inside of her skull, [say]"—she made the Hanged Man feel...cold. Like I didn’t belong there anymore."[/say]
Her fingers tighten faintly in Soh’s. [say]"And since I got back to Haulani, none of them—Caly or the other triplets—have asked if I’m coming back. Not once."[/say] She breathes out again, softer this time. [say]"They redecorated, by the way. Totally different vibe now. And after everything that happened with Kai, I just figured if I said I wanted the bar back, I’d look like some petty, bitter bitch clinging to things just to spite them."[/say]
Flora shrugs against Soh, the movement small but weary. [say]"I talked to Enzo about it, and yeah, the Hanged Man is...it’s a part of me. But I don’t wanna ruin the memory of it because things are messy, you know?"[/say] She glances out toward the surf, lashes dipping low. [say]"I did write to Caly asking if she wanted it. Haven’t heard anything back yet though."[/say] Another shrug, lighter, like she’s trying to let it roll off her. [say]"Apparently ghosting me is something she and Kai have in common, so who knows."[/say]
RE: paper cut stings from our paper thin plans - Sohalia - 07-29-2025
The thing that Flora was describing was so much more than just a house. It was a home, and for more than just the Doubletake. And, for perhaps the first time, Soh was starting to wonder if perhaps she hadn't been rather foolish all along in her quest to retake Stormbreak. She could have stayed here. Tarak wouldn't have died if she'd just... let it be someone else's problem.
Swallowing hard, Soh squeezed Flora's hand, a grateful gesture that grounded her. [say]"Yeah, no, I'm fine -"[/say] she started, but even she could hear the false brightness in it, and she winced. [say]"It's just... what you're talking about building? It sounds so nice. And you're going to be here, and I'm going to be in Stormbreak, and I know it's not that far, but it's - it's not -"[/say] Gods, she didn't even know. [say]"It's just that... Stormbreak is just..."[/say] She sighed. [say]"It's just another place I've lost someone now, you know? All I can think of when I'm there is Tarak."[/say] And the guilt, and the shame, and the overwhelming, drowning sadness that took root in her chest at the thought that his death was all her fault. [say]"I just... don't really know what to do now. The Family's gone, and Stormbreak is free, and I was supposed to go and take it back, but now I just - I don't know what to do."[/say] Or where to go, or who she was outside of the pretty picture she'd painted of herself. And maybe that portrait no longer fit.
So maybe that was why Flora losing the bar felt so raw for Soh, even though it didn't impact her beyond being something that her best friend was going through. Because maybe there was a part of the Luminary that was going through the same thing, albeit under different circumstances. [say]"It just... doesn't feel like your choice,"[/say] Soh murmured, frowning at the sand beneath her feet. [say]"I understand why, and I get not wanting to ruin the memory of it, but - it just sucks."[/say]