you hate the crash, but you love the rush
Flora hums, amused, as she watches Spice stretch herself luxuriously across the branch above like the moment she hears "snickerdoodle" her villain arc might be over. "Oh, she’ll take both," she says dryly. "Compliments and pastries. She’s a brat, not an idiot."
Her gaze flicks back to Theea just in time to catch that softer smile—the real one. The one that comes shyly, like it isn’t used to being seen. Flora feels something tug low in her chest, something warm and fiercely protective. She knows exactly what kind of loneliness Theea’s trying not to name. Knows what it is to fake your way forward, to carry hope like a cracked thing in your pocket and hope nobody notices the pieces falling out.
And gods, if Flora could be that warm light for her—then maybe all of this wasn’t for nothing.
"Careful," she says quietly, nudging Theea’s foot with her own. "Say things like that and I’m gonna get really attached." Her grin is wobbly around the edges but sincere, and then she leans in and wraps Theea in a tight, sun-soaked hug that smells like salt and vanilla and something a little wild. "You’re gonna be fine," she murmurs against the other girl’s shoulder. "Better than fine. And you’ll always have people here, okay? Me, Spice, and the mess of a family that comes with it."
Flora pulls back, brushing a curl behind her ear, already beginning to fish her compass from her pocket. "I’ve gotta run—stupid Queen things," she stage-groans. "But I absolutely expect you to show up at my doorstep soon. Bring cookies. Bring gossip. Bring that smile again, okay?"
She clicks open the compass, the metal gleaming briefly in the filtered light. With a wink, she whistles once, low and soft. Spice uncurls above, wings flaring, and with a shimmer of cold and a rush of wind, the two of them vanish from the forest clearing in a pulse of golden light.
~FIN
Her gaze flicks back to Theea just in time to catch that softer smile—the real one. The one that comes shyly, like it isn’t used to being seen. Flora feels something tug low in her chest, something warm and fiercely protective. She knows exactly what kind of loneliness Theea’s trying not to name. Knows what it is to fake your way forward, to carry hope like a cracked thing in your pocket and hope nobody notices the pieces falling out.
And gods, if Flora could be that warm light for her—then maybe all of this wasn’t for nothing.
"Careful," she says quietly, nudging Theea’s foot with her own. "Say things like that and I’m gonna get really attached." Her grin is wobbly around the edges but sincere, and then she leans in and wraps Theea in a tight, sun-soaked hug that smells like salt and vanilla and something a little wild. "You’re gonna be fine," she murmurs against the other girl’s shoulder. "Better than fine. And you’ll always have people here, okay? Me, Spice, and the mess of a family that comes with it."
Flora pulls back, brushing a curl behind her ear, already beginning to fish her compass from her pocket. "I’ve gotta run—stupid Queen things," she stage-groans. "But I absolutely expect you to show up at my doorstep soon. Bring cookies. Bring gossip. Bring that smile again, okay?"
She clicks open the compass, the metal gleaming briefly in the filtered light. With a wink, she whistles once, low and soft. Spice uncurls above, wings flaring, and with a shimmer of cold and a rush of wind, the two of them vanish from the forest clearing in a pulse of golden light.
~FIN
