Flora
Flora waves a hand, dismissing Niki’s concern with a smirk that borders on smug. "They both owe me, like, a thousand favours," she says as if that alone is enough to settle the matter. Whether or not it’s actually true hardly matters; what matters is that she’s confident she can make it true if she needs to. Mateo would give in if she gave him free rein in her closet, and Jack? Well, she'd find a way to make it worth his while. She always did.
What she doesn't say—what she doesn't even let herself think too loudly (a thing she only knows how to do thanks to Jack)—is that she’s hoping it never comes to that; that once Niki is in Torchline, once he’s standing on a warm beach instead of buried in snow, once he's watching the sunset from the porch of a cozy little inn with a drink in hand, he’ll decide he doesn’t want to leave at all.
But that’s a problem for later.
Pushing her chair back, Flora scoops up her bowl and Niki’s without giving him the chance to argue, carrying them toward the kitchen. "I'll clean up," she says over her shoulder, tone breezy, not quite giving him a choice in the matter. "Consider it part of my long con to make you feel indebted to me for when you become the next Voice." She glances back with a teasing grin before turning on the tap, rinsing out the bowls with easy familiarity, as if she’s done this in his home a dozen times before instead of just once.
What she doesn't say—what she doesn't even let herself think too loudly (a thing she only knows how to do thanks to Jack)—is that she’s hoping it never comes to that; that once Niki is in Torchline, once he’s standing on a warm beach instead of buried in snow, once he's watching the sunset from the porch of a cozy little inn with a drink in hand, he’ll decide he doesn’t want to leave at all.
But that’s a problem for later.
Pushing her chair back, Flora scoops up her bowl and Niki’s without giving him the chance to argue, carrying them toward the kitchen. "I'll clean up," she says over her shoulder, tone breezy, not quite giving him a choice in the matter. "Consider it part of my long con to make you feel indebted to me for when you become the next Voice." She glances back with a teasing grin before turning on the tap, rinsing out the bowls with easy familiarity, as if she’s done this in his home a dozen times before instead of just once.
Fatefully, I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me
Misery, Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep
Misery, Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep
Code stolen from Queen Sky
