you wouldn't be the first renegade to need somebody
Flora's jaw sets stubbornly at Jack’s challenge, aqua eyes sparking with defiance, and for half a heartbeat she nearly tells him yes—that yes, she would rather see his temper than feel the icy sting of indifference slicing through her chest. But she bites her tongue, feeling the sharp taste of regret pooling beneath it, because she knows exactly how that scene would play out—and for all her stubbornness, she isn’t eager to watch their already tenuous bond snap beneath the weight of his anger.
Instead, she just exhales sharply through her nose, breath misting faintly in the chilly night air as Jack gestures for her to move or let him by. For a second she holds her ground, watching his eyes, searching for a glimmer of something other than cold fury or resignation. But when all she sees is that same crisp indifference, something panicked surges within her, washing over her carefully cultivated walls like a rising tide, threatening to sweep everything away.
"No—wait," she blurts out, hurriedly sliding her dagger back into its sheath, fingers trembling slightly from the tension crackling between them. Flora’s hand reaches out instinctively, her fingers brushing over his coat sleeve, trying to snag him, to anchor him before he drifts beyond her reach.
"Jack," she breathes, softer now, raw and unguarded. "You were right, okay? That sitting by and letting the Family walk all over us wasn't something we should let happen, and I thought.." The words come out strained, barely above a whisper, her eyes wide and earnest, fear flickering behind her lashes.
She'd done all this for Torchline, for him; to keep everyone safe. Even if it was potentially at the expense of her own life or safety, but surely that's what he'd been proposing when he said he wanted to be an unmovable thorn in the Family's path? "Please just talk to me."
Instead, she just exhales sharply through her nose, breath misting faintly in the chilly night air as Jack gestures for her to move or let him by. For a second she holds her ground, watching his eyes, searching for a glimmer of something other than cold fury or resignation. But when all she sees is that same crisp indifference, something panicked surges within her, washing over her carefully cultivated walls like a rising tide, threatening to sweep everything away.
"No—wait," she blurts out, hurriedly sliding her dagger back into its sheath, fingers trembling slightly from the tension crackling between them. Flora’s hand reaches out instinctively, her fingers brushing over his coat sleeve, trying to snag him, to anchor him before he drifts beyond her reach.
"Jack," she breathes, softer now, raw and unguarded. "You were right, okay? That sitting by and letting the Family walk all over us wasn't something we should let happen, and I thought.." The words come out strained, barely above a whisper, her eyes wide and earnest, fear flickering behind her lashes.
She'd done all this for Torchline, for him; to keep everyone safe. Even if it was potentially at the expense of her own life or safety, but surely that's what he'd been proposing when he said he wanted to be an unmovable thorn in the Family's path? "Please just talk to me."
