flora
Flora exhales slowly, setting a bottle down with a soft clink as Caly echoes the word banned. "Yeah," she says, voice quieter now. "It was part of the deal I made with Dahlia. I could use the vial of her blood, but I wasn’t allowed to benefit from it personally. And since Torchline voted to protect the city, it means..." Her hand gestures vaguely toward the window, toward the city sprawling beyond. "I can’t enter it. Not until the Family are dead and taken care of."
She rolls her shoulders like she can shrug off the weight of it. "I didn’t say anything at the meeting because I didn’t want to sway the vote."
There's a flicker of something bitter at the edge of her mouth, but she swallows it down, returning to wiping the bottle in her hand. "I have no idea who’s gonna take over the place, though," she admits, trying to shift the mood. "Sohalia offered. And Kaisel too." A small smile this time, tinged with affection. "But they’d only be doing it for me, you know? And this place..." She waves a hand to encompass the bar, the rafters and windows and walls like ribs around a heart. "It knows. The Hanged Man's got a spirit. A rhythm. If someone’s just here out of obligation, it’ll start to rot. Might as well chain the doors shut."
She glances up at Caly then, one brow arched and a mischievous glint returning to her eyes. "So, what do you think? You and your siblings want it?" Her smirk curves like a dare, her tone teasing. "You strike me as the type who’d make a mean cocktail and an even meaner bouncer."
She rolls her shoulders like she can shrug off the weight of it. "I didn’t say anything at the meeting because I didn’t want to sway the vote."
There's a flicker of something bitter at the edge of her mouth, but she swallows it down, returning to wiping the bottle in her hand. "I have no idea who’s gonna take over the place, though," she admits, trying to shift the mood. "Sohalia offered. And Kaisel too." A small smile this time, tinged with affection. "But they’d only be doing it for me, you know? And this place..." She waves a hand to encompass the bar, the rafters and windows and walls like ribs around a heart. "It knows. The Hanged Man's got a spirit. A rhythm. If someone’s just here out of obligation, it’ll start to rot. Might as well chain the doors shut."
She glances up at Caly then, one brow arched and a mischievous glint returning to her eyes. "So, what do you think? You and your siblings want it?" Her smirk curves like a dare, her tone teasing. "You strike me as the type who’d make a mean cocktail and an even meaner bouncer."
Flexing like a goddamn acrobat
Me and karma vibe like that
Me and karma vibe like that
