flora
The payout is sweeter than she expected.
Flora watches as the bag of winnings is pressed into her palm, its weight solid and satisfying. The gold clinks faintly as she tosses all of it in the air with a theatrical flair, catching the glint of flickering lantern-light. "Compliments of Queen Dahlia!" she calls, loud enough to rise above the din. Gasps and laughter ripple through the crowd, a few heads whipping around at the Reaper's name, but Flora’s already vanishing into the shadows again, slipping through bodies like a current through coral.
It doesn’t take her long to spot Kaisel. He’s moving stiffly, clutching his bleeding arm, hood drawn up and eyes sharp beneath it. Flora falls into step beside him with the ease of someone who’s been shadowing strangers for sport her whole life (aka her twin brother). With a twist of her invisibility ring, the shimmer fades, and she appears mid-step, all glitter and trouble and a flash of gold from her dress.
"Yikes," she says brightly, looking at his arm. "You might’ve just ruined a really good thing for me, calling the gameskeeper out like that." Her eyes slide toward him, lips curling. "Then again, after taking down both of them like that? Stormbreak’s gonna know you’re a sure bet. And when the payout’s low, well..." She lets the thought hang, as if mourning the odds she won’t get next time on account of his spectacular victories.
"Still. Hell of a show." She pauses just long enough for it to feel like a pivot, then flashes him a smile, all effortless charm and pointed amusement. "You want a drink?" she offers, tilting her head. "My treat. You bled for it, after all."
Flora watches as the bag of winnings is pressed into her palm, its weight solid and satisfying. The gold clinks faintly as she tosses all of it in the air with a theatrical flair, catching the glint of flickering lantern-light. "Compliments of Queen Dahlia!" she calls, loud enough to rise above the din. Gasps and laughter ripple through the crowd, a few heads whipping around at the Reaper's name, but Flora’s already vanishing into the shadows again, slipping through bodies like a current through coral.
It doesn’t take her long to spot Kaisel. He’s moving stiffly, clutching his bleeding arm, hood drawn up and eyes sharp beneath it. Flora falls into step beside him with the ease of someone who’s been shadowing strangers for sport her whole life (aka her twin brother). With a twist of her invisibility ring, the shimmer fades, and she appears mid-step, all glitter and trouble and a flash of gold from her dress.
"Yikes," she says brightly, looking at his arm. "You might’ve just ruined a really good thing for me, calling the gameskeeper out like that." Her eyes slide toward him, lips curling. "Then again, after taking down both of them like that? Stormbreak’s gonna know you’re a sure bet. And when the payout’s low, well..." She lets the thought hang, as if mourning the odds she won’t get next time on account of his spectacular victories.
"Still. Hell of a show." She pauses just long enough for it to feel like a pivot, then flashes him a smile, all effortless charm and pointed amusement. "You want a drink?" she offers, tilting her head. "My treat. You bled for it, after all."
We can't make any promises now can we babe?
But you can make me a drink.
But you can make me a drink.
