you look like my next mistake
As they walk Flora lets herself enjoy the way Jack's fingers idly weave through her curls, the absentminded affection grounding her in a way she hadn’t even realized she needed. She really should have just gone back to The Ark rather than taking off for the Grounds.
"Yeah," she says softly, nodding as she steps under the branch he holds for her. "It was still there. Worn down a little, but… still there." There’s something unshakably bittersweet about that, the way the past still lingers even when everything else has changed.
Still, Koa remains an uncomfortable knot in her chest, one she can’t quite untangle. She exhales sharply, shaking her head as Jack’s sarcasm cuts through the fog of her thoughts. If he wasn't a telepath she'd not blame him for being suspicious, but despite the reedy guilt rising in her thoughts like a low-hanging mist, it wasn't as though anything had actually happened. Just...happening to run into an ex while you were fighting with your bf was the sort of thing that seemed suspicious. "About as good as everyone else is. "She answers vaguely because the thread just started. "He—"
Flora stills, drawing up short, her hand tightening instinctively around Jack's waist.
There’s something ahead of them.
At first, it’s just a flicker of light, barely visible between the dark weave of branches. Then another. And another. Small, glimmering orbs of pale violet and inky black, drifting lazily through the trees like stray embers from some unseen fire.
Whispering.
The sound is faint, almost melodic, curling at the edges of her mind like the rustling of leaves. But there’s something wrong about it. Something that sets her pulse thrumming beneath her skin.
Please tell me you hear that too?
"Yeah," she says softly, nodding as she steps under the branch he holds for her. "It was still there. Worn down a little, but… still there." There’s something unshakably bittersweet about that, the way the past still lingers even when everything else has changed.
Still, Koa remains an uncomfortable knot in her chest, one she can’t quite untangle. She exhales sharply, shaking her head as Jack’s sarcasm cuts through the fog of her thoughts. If he wasn't a telepath she'd not blame him for being suspicious, but despite the reedy guilt rising in her thoughts like a low-hanging mist, it wasn't as though anything had actually happened. Just...happening to run into an ex while you were fighting with your bf was the sort of thing that seemed suspicious. "About as good as everyone else is. "
Flora stills, drawing up short, her hand tightening instinctively around Jack's waist.
There’s something ahead of them.
At first, it’s just a flicker of light, barely visible between the dark weave of branches. Then another. And another. Small, glimmering orbs of pale violet and inky black, drifting lazily through the trees like stray embers from some unseen fire.
Whispering.
The sound is faint, almost melodic, curling at the edges of her mind like the rustling of leaves. But there’s something wrong about it. Something that sets her pulse thrumming beneath her skin.
Please tell me you hear that too?
