flora
Flora listens, letting Maea's words settle like silt in deep water. She doesn't interrupt, even as her fingers curl against the edge of the bar and her jaw ticks ever so slightly. She knows the kind of frustration Maea is describing. The kind where you feel like you're shouting into a void and all you get back is silence—or worse, condemnation. She gets it, probably more than Maea realizes. But knowing it doesn't mean she agrees with it.
So when she does speak, her voice is soft, but edged with steel. The kind of steel that gets forged under pressure. "I know what it's like to stand by what you believe in, even when it feels like everyone else is ready to string you up for it." Her aqua gaze cuts sideways toward Maea, sharp and unwavering. "But if there’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way, it’s that you don’t lead from a cave. You don’t lead by yourself. And you definitely don’t lead by just being right."
She lets that sit there for a moment before continuing, fingers drumming idly against the counter. "If over half the regions won’t work with you—if you’re already starting out from a place of isolation—then maybe the question isn’t whether or not you’re capable of leading the Greatwood." Her eyes narrow, not unkindly, but with deliberate weight. "It’s whether doing so is actually best for the region."
There's no venom in her words, just a bluntness that cuts clean. Flora isn’t trying to twist the knife—she’s trying to keep Maea from stabbing herself with it later.
"I’m not saying it’s fair. Gods know most of the shit in this world isn’t. But the Greatwood is already protected from the Void. We fought a KQ here. We planted the Lily. It’s stable—for now. So if you’re going to bring it back into the political spotlight, there should be a damn good reason for it beyond just wanting redemption. Or wanting to prove something."
So when she does speak, her voice is soft, but edged with steel. The kind of steel that gets forged under pressure. "I know what it's like to stand by what you believe in, even when it feels like everyone else is ready to string you up for it." Her aqua gaze cuts sideways toward Maea, sharp and unwavering. "But if there’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way, it’s that you don’t lead from a cave. You don’t lead by yourself. And you definitely don’t lead by just being right."
She lets that sit there for a moment before continuing, fingers drumming idly against the counter. "If over half the regions won’t work with you—if you’re already starting out from a place of isolation—then maybe the question isn’t whether or not you’re capable of leading the Greatwood." Her eyes narrow, not unkindly, but with deliberate weight. "It’s whether doing so is actually best for the region."
There's no venom in her words, just a bluntness that cuts clean. Flora isn’t trying to twist the knife—she’s trying to keep Maea from stabbing herself with it later.
"I’m not saying it’s fair. Gods know most of the shit in this world isn’t. But the Greatwood is already protected from the Void. We fought a KQ here. We planted the Lily. It’s stable—for now. So if you’re going to bring it back into the political spotlight, there should be a damn good reason for it beyond just wanting redemption. Or wanting to prove something."
We need love, But all we want is danger
We team up, Then switch sides like a record changer
We team up, Then switch sides like a record changer
