[RQ] staying grounded

Nova

At Flora's instructions, Nova shoots her a playful salute. "Okay!" Then she lets out a giggle as she gathers her own collection of the sparkliest rocks. Her arms are laden with a kaleidoscope of colors and reflective surfaces that clack together as she skips towards the wagon. She catches the Mer's words as she hums, not hesitating to take the opportunity to gather more pretty stones. "Don't worry, Kaiden! I'll get yours!"

He seems to be doing pretty well on his own, but Nova gathers the straggling bits of colorful pieces, leaving all the bland ones for him to grab. It's as she's finishing one of her last trips that she pipes up, feeling extremely proud of their work for the day - ever a believer in rewarding hard work with a treat. "Can we get ice cream after this?" She practically bounces at the request, clapping her hands together with a glittering grin.

Life is nothing
without a little chaos to make it interesting

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Sohalia Lumaris

Sohalia returned to find Flora jogging over to her, taking the horse’s bridle from her and murmuring praise to the pretty creature. At her thanks, Soh looked up with surprise, offering a half-smile if only because this was Flora, and how could she not? ”Yeah, no problem,” she replied, before parting from her best friend and making her way over to the sorted rocks.

Now that they were sorted and the cart was here, it was apparently time to load up. Noticing that Kaiden wasn’t able to assist - although they did an admirable job at scooting the piles close to the wagon - Sohalia offered the mer a smile. ”That’s okay. I can help.” Selecting the stones that Nova left behind, Soh began to collect them by the armful and load them into the wagon.

karma's a relaxing thought, aren't you envious that for you it's not?

"Course we can get ice cream after this," Flora calls, tossing a grin over her shoulder as she hefts a smooth lavender stone into the wagon. "I think we’ve earned it. You know. For our heroic contributions to decorative geology." With a wink toward Nova, she starts helping Sohalia load the rest, her movements brisk and efficient but touched with unmistakable fondness. For the work, yes—but also for them.

Between Sohalia’s quiet steadiness, Kaiden’s determined magic, and Nova’s joyful chaos, the task finishes faster than it has any right to. Soon enough, the wagon is full, the horse preening under the attention, and the beach is left speckled only with footprints and laughter.

Flora dusts off her hands, taking a final look at their gathered haul with a little hum of satisfaction. "Alright, dream team," she says, resting a hand on the wagon’s edge. "Let’s get this delivered, and then it’s straight to the scoop shop. First round’s on me."

And with that, she whistles softly to the horse and starts down the path, trusting them all to follow—like sunlight pulling shadows in its wake.

~FIN