"Mmh. The timing is... suspicious," he admitted. "But there is no other proof. Yet," he added after a moment's thought. There had been other instances of corruption in the past, after all. Plagues and blights that required no otherworldly origin to ravage Caido and its people.
But the tumseas were a good indicator of life and health in the seas. Hopefully their blessings extended to the shore as well, and Hadama turned his full attention back to Flora with a tilt of his head that invited her to speak her mind as she made herself comfortable near the chilly surf.
And because they were friends, he did not entirely hide the flicker of fresh, raw pain when Harper's name passed Flora's lips even before her revelation, though his wince lasted only a moment before he mastered himself and his emotions once more. The waters around the King stilled as he swallowed hard, eyes closed and breath drawing in long and slow through his nose before he released it just as slowly. After a long and tense moment he drew a deeper breath and opened his eyes, giving the Doubletake a careful nod. "Yes," was all he said to the news.
There was, it seemed, little else he could say in the face of such unchangeable facts.
And as the breeze shifted and the scent of the strange flower wafted towards them the mermanta listened to Flora's pitch, both surprised and not. The Tidebreaker drew another slow breath, and then a second before he met Flora's eyes frankly. "Your timing is not... good," he admitted, each word chosen with care around the fresh wound where his most recent co-ruler had once been. "In the end, Maeve also..." He paused, searching for the right words before speaking with clear enunciation: "fucked off."
Emerald eyes closed, a long blink of deep thought before he opened them again. "I will not say yes or no today, Flora. I need time before I will trust a co-ruler again." As he had taken time after Maeve's abdication before seeking a new partner in leadership. "And I need to know that you will not leave like they did, when the waters between your personal life and your crown become difficult to navigate."
But the tumseas were a good indicator of life and health in the seas. Hopefully their blessings extended to the shore as well, and Hadama turned his full attention back to Flora with a tilt of his head that invited her to speak her mind as she made herself comfortable near the chilly surf.
And because they were friends, he did not entirely hide the flicker of fresh, raw pain when Harper's name passed Flora's lips even before her revelation, though his wince lasted only a moment before he mastered himself and his emotions once more. The waters around the King stilled as he swallowed hard, eyes closed and breath drawing in long and slow through his nose before he released it just as slowly. After a long and tense moment he drew a deeper breath and opened his eyes, giving the Doubletake a careful nod. "Yes," was all he said to the news.
There was, it seemed, little else he could say in the face of such unchangeable facts.
And as the breeze shifted and the scent of the strange flower wafted towards them the mermanta listened to Flora's pitch, both surprised and not. The Tidebreaker drew another slow breath, and then a second before he met Flora's eyes frankly. "Your timing is not... good," he admitted, each word chosen with care around the fresh wound where his most recent co-ruler had once been. "In the end, Maeve also..." He paused, searching for the right words before speaking with clear enunciation: "fucked off."
Emerald eyes closed, a long blink of deep thought before he opened them again. "I will not say yes or no today, Flora. I need time before I will trust a co-ruler again." As he had taken time after Maeve's abdication before seeking a new partner in leadership. "And I need to know that you will not leave like they did, when the waters between your personal life and your crown become difficult to navigate."
