flora
Flora’s expression tightens further, each quiet word from Hadama twisting the hurt deeper into anger. Her jaw sets, stubborn and defensive, eyes flashing with an intensity she rarely directs toward someone she cares for. "Used you?" she echoes sharply, as if the words themselves were bitter on her tongue. "Hadama, you're supposed to be my friend. You're my co-ruler—if I can’t count on you to be there when I need you, then who am I supposed to trust?"
She shakes her head, incredulous, curls catching firelight as she continues. "You’re a demigod. You’ve literally been chosen by a god to help with exactly this kind of thing. If someone else had channeled you without warning, would you confront them afterward and accuse them of using you too?" Her voice trembles with the force of her disbelief and hurt, and beneath it, an undercurrent of betrayal threads its way through.
"I didn’t use you," Flora says again, quieter now but no less fierce, her eyes unwavering. "I trusted you. I counted on you." Her voice cracks just slightly, but she pushes forward regardless. "But if your friendship, if your help comes with this much fine print, with this much red tape—then maybe I was wrong about what we are to each other. Next time I'll get a notarized agreement form for you to sign before I ask anything of you ahead of time."
Drawing in a shaky breath, Flora lifts her chin, pride wounded but refusing to bend beneath the weight of his words. "And in case you’ve forgotten—I’m about as functionally immortal as a mortal can get, Hadama. My parents can literally bring me back from the dead. I can tell Remi and tell him exactly how I died and where, and Ronin can come find me. So if I want to risk my life to protect my region, that’s my choice. I'm sick of everyone thinking they're entitled to my safety." The only person who could make that argument was the one person who'd just walked away from her.
Flora swipes angrily at the tears threatening at the corners of her eyes, frustration building into a trembling tension in her shoulders. "You say you don’t want me to fight alone? I tried asking for help. You, and Deimos, and Sunjata. I tried explaining how urgent I thought this this was, and you all brushed me off. You had your own plans. You had Starfall and lilies and whatever else mattered more to you in that moment." Her breath catches, chest heaving as the weight of those frustrations finally spills over.
"Even then, I wasn’t alone—not to me. Not with the letters I sent you. Not with the letter I sent Jack." Her voice softens, wounded, as she looks away from him finally, gaze fixed on the horizon.
She shakes her head, incredulous, curls catching firelight as she continues. "You’re a demigod. You’ve literally been chosen by a god to help with exactly this kind of thing. If someone else had channeled you without warning, would you confront them afterward and accuse them of using you too?" Her voice trembles with the force of her disbelief and hurt, and beneath it, an undercurrent of betrayal threads its way through.
"I didn’t use you," Flora says again, quieter now but no less fierce, her eyes unwavering. "I trusted you. I counted on you." Her voice cracks just slightly, but she pushes forward regardless. "But if your friendship, if your help comes with this much fine print, with this much red tape—then maybe I was wrong about what we are to each other. Next time I'll get a notarized agreement form for you to sign before I ask anything of you ahead of time."
Drawing in a shaky breath, Flora lifts her chin, pride wounded but refusing to bend beneath the weight of his words. "And in case you’ve forgotten—I’m about as functionally immortal as a mortal can get, Hadama. My parents can literally bring me back from the dead. I can tell Remi and tell him exactly how I died and where, and Ronin can come find me. So if I want to risk my life to protect my region, that’s my choice. I'm sick of everyone thinking they're entitled to my safety." The only person who could make that argument was the one person who'd just walked away from her.
Flora swipes angrily at the tears threatening at the corners of her eyes, frustration building into a trembling tension in her shoulders. "You say you don’t want me to fight alone? I tried asking for help. You, and Deimos, and Sunjata. I tried explaining how urgent I thought this this was, and you all brushed me off. You had your own plans. You had Starfall and lilies and whatever else mattered more to you in that moment." Her breath catches, chest heaving as the weight of those frustrations finally spills over.
"Even then, I wasn’t alone—not to me. Not with the letters I sent you. Not with the letter I sent Jack." Her voice softens, wounded, as she looks away from him finally, gaze fixed on the horizon.
My house of stone, your ivy grows
And now I'm covered in you
And now I'm covered in you
