[RA] [SE] I knew it, I knew you

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

Flora gives Ronin a long, dry stare, the sort that says if she hadn’t just revealed an ability specifically suited to replaying situations and catching people in their own bullshit, she absolutely would not have believed him. "They said a sign told them to pull it," she repeats slowly, as if saying it aloud might make it sound less absurd, only for her expression to flatten further until she looks like that unimpressed gif of Dwight.

With a groan, Flora tips her head back for a moment before looking at Ronin again, visibly pained by the political and familial nightmare that has apparently toddled into Torchline wearing yellow and green rain jackets. "So should I threaten to put them in jail so they learn? Like, hey guys, I’m your big sister, welcome to Torchline, now for your tour of our jail, complete with a surprise sleepover?"

She looks imploringly at Ronin, wincing at the thought even as she huffs and shakes her head. "Gods. I’m almost more tempted to do upgrades around the city to try and get some goodwill going if they’re going to be like this."

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

RONIN

the white knight

Ronin, who has already grown accustomed to the disbelief that tends to follow explanations of Carlo and Calan's latest antics, merely holds Flora's dry stare with an expression of weary resignation. He nods slowly - yes, you heard correctly - and scoffs out a soft laugh at her suggestion. Shrugging, because he genuinely has no idea how something like that will go down, he turns to watch his duplicate finish stacking a large pile of driftwood into something that could be a bonfire in its own right.

"It might work," he confesses. "But it also might give them a night in a jailcell to get plenty of practice at escaping one." And given that there are two of them, all of that seems like it might invite more chaos than it avoids. "We could always threaten to split them up, I guess, but that feels a bit harsh for right now."

Ronin raises his eyebrows and nods slowly at Flora's suggestion, smirking across at her. "Bribery to raise morale rather than more hands to catch consequences? That works for me. And in the meantime Remi and I can invest in some really experienced babysitters."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

Flora groans. "Gods, you’re probably right," she says, raking her fingers through her curls before tipping her head back to groan up at the sky, as if Safrin herself might take pity on Torchline and send down a solution that doesn’t involve two magically aged nine-year-olds treating city weaponry like an interactive puzzle at a museum.

Looking back at Ronin, Flora narrows her eyes slightly. "Okay, well, did you at least..." She pauses, searching for the shape of something that sounds even remotely parental. "I dunno, yell at them or something?" The question barely makes it out before she huffs a weary laugh, because she can already guess the answer.

Shrugging her shoulders, Flora glances toward the soldiers and the growing piles of wood. "At least this way I can’t be accused of nepotism for training soldiers specifically to follow my brothers around. And who doesn't like a bit of regional pageantry?"

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

RONIN

the white knight

Ronin raises his eyebrows as Flora turns her groaning at the sky back towards him and his consequences for nine-year-old twin boys, the Knight trying and failing to stop the smile flickering across his face. "We explained in no uncertain terms why they weren't to do that sort of thing again, if that's what you mean," he says, because yelling at them has never been a Taliesin parenting technique unless it's dramatic and in jest.

"And then yes, Remi and I did have a private laugh about it later, because once the shock and surprising audacity of it wore off, it was sort of funny." And he guarantees that when Flora has to explain this to Kai later, she'll also be laughing.

Snorting out a laugh and nodding his agreement - there's enough nepotism to go around as it is given their family tree - Ronin turns to watch the continued preparations for Longnight with quiet interest. "No one, that's who. Regional pageantry it is. Besides, with the party over Longnight coming up, hopefully people will have forgotten whatever Carlo and Calan do before it."

The less said about what they might do during it, the better.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

Flora makes a show of looking deeply displeased by the idea that all Ronin and Remi had done was explain the eRroR oF ThEIr WaYs to Carlo and Calan, her lips pressing together and her brows lifting, but the expression doesn’t quite hold. Really, what else is there to do when your babies have just become small children and immediately started making illegal decisions?

With a flick of her hand, she waves a few of the soldiers over, gesturing for them to take the map and outline for the current section of beach they’re working on before turning her attention back to Ronin. "Well, I guess that means you and Remi will be on very diligent dad duty come LongNight?" she says, snickering under her breath as if the thought of the two of them trying to keep Carlo and Calan contained is probably much harder than the usual LongNight debauchery they're used to.

Her amusement softens after a moment, though, and when she looks at Ronin again there’s something gentler in her expression, the mischief giving way to concern without making a performance of it. "So..." Flora tilts her head slightly, eyebrows lifting with careful curiosity. "How are you doing with all of this?" Her gaze searches his face, not prying so much as leaving room for the answer if he wants to give it. "I know how much you like the baby stage."

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

RONIN

the white knight

"I'm considering getting a leash for them, yes," Ronin replies with a cheerful smile, and if that counts as diligent dad duty then he'll take it, because it's difficult enough to keep an eye on two chaotic twins without cloaking the world in darkness and adding bonfires and booze into the mix. "Knowing my luck though, they'd make dummy versions of themselves and slip out of it."

It's exasperating and amusing in equal measure, if only because he knows neither Carlo nor Calan mean it in malice. "With all that being said, though, if you or anyone else happen to catch two boys with the same face running across the beach in the dark, give us a shout?"

Still grinning as the soldiers approach and relieve Flora of the map, Ronin sends his duplicate to help with the operation and is just about to speak again when the Hot Take surprises him, his expression dropping into one of soft, almost sad understanding. "It's hard. I've never seen any of my children through the toddler stage," he admits. Whether it's his death, theirs, or both, magical ageing, or having them arrive from Safrin's sky already walking and talking, Ronin seems to miss it every time.

"We were already planning on going to a shrine next season, though. Remi pointed out I would be keeping them small just for myself, so..." He shrugs. "I'm just pleased they seem to be thriving." Whatever that might mean for the rest of Torchline.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

Flora laughs despite herself, because the horrifying thing is that none of what Ronin is suggesting sounds particularly impossible anymore. "Yeah, or they just channel themselves out of it," she points out, grinning. "And now that they can talk, I bet they can ask the spirits for way more help."

Nodding at his request, Flora lifts her brows as if to say that any identical boys sprinting through LongNight with suspicious amounts of confidence will immediately be reported to the appropriate exhausted fathers. "Oh, for sure," she says. "If I see them doing anything insane, you’ll know."

As the conversation shifts, her amusement softens, and her expression follows Ronin’s into something gentler. Her lips twitch slightly, not quite with humour this time so much as the instinct to offer something, even if she isn’t sure what shape that something is meant to take. "Oh, well..." Flora says, glancing briefly toward the sand before looking back up at him. "Maybe Vi could...I dunno, show you what it would have been like?" She winces faintly at her own suggestion, aware that it might not be the same as actually living through it. "Or...I mean, could you borrow Isla’s baby?" Again, not the same, but maybe it was something?

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

RONIN

the white knight

"Not during Longnight they won't, at least," Ronin says with no small amount of relief, though knowing the twins will only be able to resort to regular shenanigans rather than ones supported by spirits is not the reassurance that it ought to be for obvious reasons. "And thanks - we'd both appreciate it," he adds with a lopsided smile. "I'll make sure I'm glowing the entire time, so you should be able to find me pretty easy."

Flora's suggestions aren't terrible ones, but Ronin isn't sure how he'd feel to come back to reality after experiencing such a thing. Though at the prospect of looking after Isla's baby, he can't stop from scoffing out a bright laugh. "Oh, didn't you hear? Fern has also gone through a growth spurt," he says. "So I suppose I should say you should keep an eye out for two identical boys and a girl running across the beach."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

Flora raises her eyebrows and nods, conceding the point because even she can admit that LongNight cutting off spiritual assistance is probably doing everyone a favour where Carlo and Calan are concerned. Hopefully, at least. "Good point," she says, before snickering crookedly at the image of Ronin glowing his way across the beach, probably just as bright as the bonfires themselves.

At the mention of something she apparently hasn’t heard, her eyebrows lift again, curiosity sharpening across her face before Ronin’s explanation has her mouth dropping open. "Oh shit," Flora murmurs under her breath, and then, because childhood seemed to be less a stage of life and more of a suggestion these days, she laughs incredulously with a shake of her head. "So, did Fern summon some spirits for herself, too?"

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3