i'll bring your blue sky back

slow down, you're doing fine

Flora slips through the Dusklight without slowing, fingers brushing the edge of a doorway she doesn’t bother looking into as she cuts toward the back, her sweater soft and slightly too wide at the neckline so it keeps threatening to fall off one shoulder as her curls work themselves loose against the knit.

Expecting to see Asta lurking outside of Danta's door, or at least somewhere near it, her eyes drag over what’s there instead, narrowing slightly as she takes Fox in without pretending she isn’t doing exactly that. Her head tilts, not shy about it, curls slipping further as her brows lift in a slow, deliberate climb, the look she gives him landing somewhere between curious and mildly put-out. "Oh, hey? I’m here to see Danta, are you...?"

She lets it hang there on purpose, because if this is new security, then fine, but also why and whomst.

Flora

you can't be everything you wanna be before your time

Fox dislikes being in the Dusklight, but he also isn't the type to lurk over Kiada's shoulder when she's working. And she ought to be done any moment now, so he's found a happy medium in lurking outside the Maverick's office door. (Far enough away from the debauchery and potential violence, close enough to still be meeting his wife at the end of her workday, see?)

His hands are buried in the pockets of his weathered coat, and at the sound of someone approaching his fists clench without his permission, though he forces himself to relax as his gaze lands on Flora. The Doubletake - ruler, daughter of demigods, close friend of the theocrat - is not an uncommon sight in the Hollowed Grounds, and Fox doesn't even pretend not to recognise her.

"He stepped out for a bit," he explains of Danta - he'd spotted the man cavorting down the Last Whisper and speaking animatedly to the tall, dark shadow that he's apparently planning to marry. "Should be back soon, I think. I'm just waiting for Kiada. I can let her know you're here if it's for business?" Rather than a friendly visit, he should say.

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

shed every skin that doesn't fit
even if they call you cold-blooded

Danta had stepped out, which had left her to finish up the rest of the day by organizing yet another stack of frogs – these ones she’d painstakingly colored its feet to a yellow in order to make it more distinguishable when she stacks them in the drawer with a rack inside to situate them perfectly. The yellow, specifically, is a new way of trying to organize, with a rainbow of colors to differentiate what items are for infrastructure, which are comments and complaints, which are leader correspondence. So far, the filing system has worked, and when she’s done and the time has come for her to leave, she snags her red leather jacket and slips it over her shoulders to step out of the office.

The door opens to a crowd, though, and she shoots her husband a bright smile before looking over to Flora with some surprise. “Oh! Hey Flora! I was just about done for the day but if you need something we can totally do that too.” Whichever she needed or wanted, she supposes. Most often Flora’s letters were sent directly to Danta with very little of her own input. But as the registrar, she would always make sure she was available when needed.

Though it doesn’t stop her from stepping over to Fox to link her arm with his, content to drag him into the office with her if she had to file something else away for Flora or make sure that the Theocrat saw it sooner rather than later. At least they were out right now so she could slip something under their door without hearing a snarl. Or something else she likely doesn’t wanna hear.

KIADA

and when they try to stop your growth?
unhinge your jaw and go for the throat

slow down, you're doing fine

Flora’s gaze lingers on Fox, not because she’s trying to be rude, but because his answer doesn’t quite land cleanly in her head, and she’s still trying to sort him into a category that makes sense. Not Asta. Not someone she recognizes. Standing outside Danta’s door like he belongs there, but talking like he doesn’t. Her head tilts a fraction more, eyes narrowing just slightly as if the extra angle might help the pieces click. "Oh," she says, blinking once as if resetting the moment entirely. "Well, I mean it’s not not business—"

Which, honestly, feels fair. Given she and Danta both run entire regions, the fact that what she’s brought is technically gossip doesn’t really disqualify it; if anything, it probably makes it more important.

The door opening pulls her attention immediately, the shift in her posture subtle but automatic as she turns toward it, already smiling before she’s even properly clocked who’s stepped out. Flora doesn’t hesitate on that front; she rarely does. If someone knows her, then great, even if she doesn't know them in return. At least, not personally; of course she'd heard plenty about Danta's registrar and could probably pick out Kiada's handwriting fairly accurately. "Oh, hey!" she chirps easily, the warmth in it unforced as her eyes flick over Kiada.

Her mouth curves, not quite a smirk but close enough to promise one later as she watches the pair link arms, because Danta is absolutely hearing about this; if he didn't know before his staff were hooking up, he certainly will soon. "Do you know if Danta’s coming back? I can always just leave him a note if you think it’ll be longer than like...an hour?"

Flora

you can't be everything you wanna be before your time

You are interrupted by a sharp, high-pitched screech, accompanied by a dazzling fork of lightning that leaves its image burning behind your eyes for a long time afterwards.

You swear the afterburn looks almost like a face, the mouth stretched wide in an agonised scream. If you blink too quickly in the wake of it, the face starts to look like someone you might know.

---

You have encountered one of the Scream Rain SE serendipities! You may use this to complete requirement 1. of the seasonal event. Please note: this serendipity CANNOT be used for levelling purposes.

Unable not to notice the Doubletake staring, however briefly, Fox resists the urge to glance over his shoulder at who she must really be looking at, instead rubbing a hand across the back of his neck and offering a gentle raise of his eyebrow in response, as if waiting for her to tell him what's on his face. They're both saved by Kiada, though, the hunter warming immediately at the sight of her, surrendering his arm without argument.

Having no idea when (or if) the theocrat is likely to return within the hour, Fox leaves that to Kiada to field and steps a little closer instead. He's about to lean in and kiss her cheek hello - registrar or no registrar - but in that moment the sky outside screeches and light flashes in through the office windows, startling him back a couple of steps. Unfortunately that does mean Kia is ferried along with him, and Fox swears under his breath and lets out a long, hard sigh as he realises what has just happened.

"I will never get used to that," he says of the scream rain. "I hope it doesn't follow us into Deepfrost."

welcome to the desecration, baby

we built you up and we'll tear you right down

shed every skin that doesn't fit
even if they call you cold-blooded

“Uhh I don’t think it’ll be an hour.” She takes a moment to think, lips parting to add an actual timeline for Flora to go off of (and to also indulge in the kiss pressed to her cheek) when the screaming rain rattles the Dusklight with a shriek that echoes down here. “OOP,” comes the little blip as she’s ferried along with her monster hunter husband, arms wrapped around him tightly so she doesn’t lose her balance before she barks a little laugh and squeezes him.

Looking back over to Flora a smidge flushed, she can’t keep the smile from remaining vibrant on her face. “Yeahhh it’s really put a surprise in everything.” She sighs with a wrinkling of her nose, before finally able to answer Flora’s question. “He went to go get a snack with Asta, so I’m sure they’ll be back in like.. fifteen minutes?” She squints, trying to think of what time it was that they left and when they’d likely be back.

But she knows that Flora is friends with them, too, so she shoots a cheshire grin over at the Doubletake. “I’m sure you know, but Asta can’t handle being out for too long before he gets all, y’know.” Murdery, comes the quiet, open mouthed answer that she playfully tries to hide from her protective husband. "You're welcome to wait in there for him. I'll let them know at the bar for when they get back so he knows, if you want?"

KIADA

and when they try to stop your growth?
unhinge your jaw and go for the throat

slow down, you're doing fine

Flora’s attention lingers just long enough between the two of them to map their affections properly this time, before the scream cuts through it before she can do anything else. It hits sharp and wrong, slicing straight through the Dusklight’s walls like they aren’t even there, and Flora flinches hard enough that her shoulders jump, both hands flying up to clamp over her ears as if she can physically shove the sound back out of her head. "Gods, I wish that would let up," she groans, the words muffled against her palms before she drops them again, shaking her head like she can rattle the echo loose, her curls bouncing messily with the motion.

Exhaling sharply through her nose, Flora drags herself back into the room with the two of them, the moment slotting back into place as Kiada keeps talking and the normalcy of it—snacks, timelines, Asta being Asta—steadies the edges of it all. The Doubletake's mouth curves despite herself at that, a soft snicker escaping as she nods, the motion quick and knowing. "I sure do," she agrees, the familiarity of it easy, like it’s a shared joke she doesn’t need to explain.

At the offer to wait, her grin brightens immediately. "Thanks! I will." She tips her head toward the door as she reaches for it, brows lifting in a playful bounce as she nudges it open. "I promise not to touch anything important," she adds, which is only mostly a joke, her smile flashing once more toward them before she slips inside and waits for Danta to come back.

~FIN

Flora

you can't be everything you wanna be before your time