flora
Flora stiffens the moment Hadama says he hasn’t forgiven her. It's subtle, but unmistakable—the quiet withdrawal of a girl suddenly bracing for impact, arms wrapping tighter around herself like she's warding off a blow she didn’t expect but refuses to flinch from. "You haven’t forgiven me?" she echoes, incredulous, the words low and brittle. Her eyes flash as they lift to meet his, searching his calm for something more volatile—something that would match the storm rising behind her own. "You just said you're proud of me, Hadama. So which is it?" Her voice trembles not with sorrow but with that sharp-edged bewilderment born of having done the impossible only to be told it wasn't enough.
"Sohalia just had to deliver two letters, and Jack.." Her hands fly up, exasperated. "I've given him mageglass and revivify feather. What else could I have possibly done save for never falling in love with him in the first place, to keep him safe? And you— I'm not Attuned, Hadama. I don’t get the luxury of mind-speak the way you all do. You think I didn’t want to tell you? Do you not remember me trying to tell you that I thought this was more important than planting flowers on Starfall? That we needed not to be so narrow-sighted about it?" Her voice cracks there, her breath catching in her throat as the effort of holding herself together starts to falter.
"You pricked me with the rose. That’s all you had to do, and I made sure I had one before starting off on this." Her hands ball into fists at her sides now, knuckles white. "And you know what? It worked. Torchline will be safe. I’m still here. But you're angry? You haven’t forgiven me?"
The fury in her tone fractures suddenly into something smaller, more hurt than hot. "Why? Because I didn’t wait for someone to allow me to risk myself?" Her brows furrow deeply, tears threatening at the corners of her eyes now. "You. Sunjata. My parents. You all get to throw yourselves into danger whenever you want." She takes a step back, shaking her head slowly, chest rising and falling in jagged waves. "So why is it different for me?"
"Sohalia just had to deliver two letters, and Jack.." Her hands fly up, exasperated. "I've given him mageglass and revivify feather. What else could I have possibly done save for never falling in love with him in the first place, to keep him safe? And you— I'm not Attuned, Hadama. I don’t get the luxury of mind-speak the way you all do. You think I didn’t want to tell you? Do you not remember me trying to tell you that I thought this was more important than planting flowers on Starfall? That we needed not to be so narrow-sighted about it?" Her voice cracks there, her breath catching in her throat as the effort of holding herself together starts to falter.
"You pricked me with the rose. That’s all you had to do, and I made sure I had one before starting off on this." Her hands ball into fists at her sides now, knuckles white. "And you know what? It worked. Torchline will be safe. I’m still here. But you're angry? You haven’t forgiven me?"
The fury in her tone fractures suddenly into something smaller, more hurt than hot. "Why? Because I didn’t wait for someone to allow me to risk myself?" Her brows furrow deeply, tears threatening at the corners of her eyes now. "You. Sunjata. My parents. You all get to throw yourselves into danger whenever you want." She takes a step back, shaking her head slowly, chest rising and falling in jagged waves. "So why is it different for me?"
My house of stone, your ivy grows
And now I'm covered in you
And now I'm covered in you
