karma's a relaxing thought, aren't you envious that for you it's not?
Flora crouches beside her own growing pile of stones, the hem of her gauzy sundress pooling in the warm sand as she carefully turns over a jagged piece of blue quartz in her hand. Around her, the rainbow-hued waters of the coastline churn and hiss, sending up glittering mists with every burst of geyser spray that breaks the surface. Her curls are pinned up today, swept high and gold like a crown—even if her smile, at the moment, is more strained than serene.
"Looking good, team," she calls out, her tone chipper enough to pass for sincere. "I think Hadama's going to lose his mind when he sees how symmetrical these fountains are gonna be." It’s a lie—of course it is—butKaiden seems content with the story, and that’s all Flora needs for now. She casts a glance toward the mer in the surf, lips twitching faintly. "Nice toss, Kaiden. Try and grab a few of the flatter ones too, yeah? Easier to stack."
Her gaze slides sideways toward Nova, narrowing just slightly at the suspicious sparkle coming off the younger girl’s rock pile. "Nice work, starlight," she murmurs with a wink and a conspiratorial grin. And then her eyes catch Sohalia ’s across the stretch of glistening shore. Her stomach tightens instinctively. The frost behind her friend’s smile hasn’t gone unnoticed, nor the quiet distance she’s keeping. Flora doesn’t falter outwardly, but her gaze lingers a little too long before she looks away, adjusting the strap of her dress as if it were the reason her shoulders felt suddenly heavier.
Still, her voice remains light. "Once we’ve got a decent selection, we’ll start sorting for consistency. Smoothest edges get priority—especially for the spoutstones." She doesn’t explain what a spoutstone is. She just makes it up on the spot and hopes it sounds real enough for Kaiden to continue contributing.
Keep collecting rocks for the "fountain" !
"Looking good, team," she calls out, her tone chipper enough to pass for sincere. "I think Hadama's going to lose his mind when he sees how symmetrical these fountains are gonna be." It’s a lie—of course it is—but
Her gaze slides sideways toward Nova, narrowing just slightly at the suspicious sparkle coming off the younger girl’s rock pile. "Nice work, starlight," she murmurs with a wink and a conspiratorial grin. And then her eyes catch Sohalia ’s across the stretch of glistening shore. Her stomach tightens instinctively. The frost behind her friend’s smile hasn’t gone unnoticed, nor the quiet distance she’s keeping. Flora doesn’t falter outwardly, but her gaze lingers a little too long before she looks away, adjusting the strap of her dress as if it were the reason her shoulders felt suddenly heavier.
Still, her voice remains light. "Once we’ve got a decent selection, we’ll start sorting for consistency. Smoothest edges get priority—especially for the spoutstones." She doesn’t explain what a spoutstone is. She just makes it up on the spot and hopes it sounds real enough for Kaiden to continue contributing.
Keep collecting rocks for the "fountain" !
