marked me like a bloodstain
The sparkle and shine in Flora's gaze has been dimmed since her encounter in the Greatwood, and while not even death could dampen it entirely, the dark circles around her eyes from lack of sleep only serve to emphasize the way the kaleidoscopic mixture of blues and greens has faded into something muddy and lacklustre.
No, maybe Flora wasn't okay, but she was fine. She had Jack, and he loved her, and while cheating death didn't feel at all like the victory she'd originally imagined when she'd touted her father's gifts, at least she was alive to bear the scars of that experience, and—
"Wh—" The sound brays from the Doubletake's lips, sounding entirely girlish and young as if Hotaru had been saying that Flora couldn't break curfew to attend a school dance, or that that Halloween costume she wanted to wear was scandalously too revealing. "Mom," Said not with the confidence of a ruling queen but with the entitlement of a daughter who will not be moved, now it's Flora's turn to try and shake some sense into the Valkyrie, weak as her efforts are.
"I can't...leave." Her tone sounds almost hysterical for the way surprise has begun to mingle with panic. Would it surprise anyone to learn that the Valkyrie kidnapped her daughter to keep her safe? "There's no safer place for me to be than here." Sure, Starfall was visible just off the coastline, but Torchline was the only region to completely banish void creatures from their lands, the only region with four demigods living upon their shores.
The only region with Jack.
No, maybe Flora wasn't okay, but she was fine. She had Jack, and he loved her, and while cheating death didn't feel at all like the victory she'd originally imagined when she'd touted her father's gifts, at least she was alive to bear the scars of that experience, and—
"Wh—" The sound brays from the Doubletake's lips, sounding entirely girlish and young as if Hotaru had been saying that Flora couldn't break curfew to attend a school dance, or that that Halloween costume she wanted to wear was scandalously too revealing. "Mom," Said not with the confidence of a ruling queen but with the entitlement of a daughter who will not be moved, now it's Flora's turn to try and shake some sense into the Valkyrie, weak as her efforts are.
"I can't...leave." Her tone sounds almost hysterical for the way surprise has begun to mingle with panic. Would it surprise anyone to learn that the Valkyrie kidnapped her daughter to keep her safe? "There's no safer place for me to be than here." Sure, Starfall was visible just off the coastline, but Torchline was the only region to completely banish void creatures from their lands, the only region with four demigods living upon their shores.
The only region with Jack.
