Kaisel
One foot in the ground
One foot in the grave
One foot in the grave
He regrets it as soon as he’s said it. The way she folds in on herself like an old beach chair that just can’t handle the wind anymore. It’s so, unlike her, at least the way he’s always seen her. Her words lash, sharper than any she’s torn him with before, even when he’d foolishly suggested she visit Stormbreak, even when he’d interrupted her night. This came with layers of hurt, layers he just set about to unfurling, like a head of lettuce spilling apart once its stem is removed.
He doesn’t flinch. He can own up to this. So he remains, watching, waiting, the grim line of his lips the only aftereffect of the ice sprouting between them where there had just been flame. He resists the urge to reach out and hold her, to add some warmth back to their space, but he suspects it would isolate her further, in this moment, so Kaisel just reminds himself to breathe as she whispers her reply.
Relief comes with a slow sag to his shoulders. The flex of anticipation waning to understanding and acceptance, even a frail smile. ”I thought so,” he says, grunting as he pushes himself closer to her, leaning his full weight against her side and part of her back. She could hold him or he’ll squish her, either way she will not be rid of him yet, no matter how much she curls up. ”I told Koa as much,” he sighed, stretching his legs out flat, one ankle crossing over the other.
”I don’t know what happened with him and Soh,” Kaisel admits slowly, as if trying to sort out the various thoughts that he could offer as an answer, or rather a theory. ”Maybe knowing you were single too was enough to open up another road and cast some doubt. Even if you didn’t tell him to look down it, he knew it was there, and maybe he wondered.” Kaisel couldn’t say, because Koa had certainly seem pretty convinced that Flora couldn’t be an option if she didn’t light up the path for him. ”Maybe it’s just him wanting something a little less complicated.” Soh was Flora’s best friend, after all, there’d be a twisting of both paths for the foreseeable future. Maybe he just couldn’t trust either of them again, because he’s too stubborn to forgive and forget so easily. ”Maybe he is just, dumb.”
”I just think, you shouldn’t count yourself out of all the pretty things you said about Soh.” Whether for Koa, or someone else, Flora deserved all of that too.
He doesn’t flinch. He can own up to this. So he remains, watching, waiting, the grim line of his lips the only aftereffect of the ice sprouting between them where there had just been flame. He resists the urge to reach out and hold her, to add some warmth back to their space, but he suspects it would isolate her further, in this moment, so Kaisel just reminds himself to breathe as she whispers her reply.
Relief comes with a slow sag to his shoulders. The flex of anticipation waning to understanding and acceptance, even a frail smile. ”I thought so,” he says, grunting as he pushes himself closer to her, leaning his full weight against her side and part of her back. She could hold him or he’ll squish her, either way she will not be rid of him yet, no matter how much she curls up. ”I told Koa as much,” he sighed, stretching his legs out flat, one ankle crossing over the other.
”I don’t know what happened with him and Soh,” Kaisel admits slowly, as if trying to sort out the various thoughts that he could offer as an answer, or rather a theory. ”Maybe knowing you were single too was enough to open up another road and cast some doubt. Even if you didn’t tell him to look down it, he knew it was there, and maybe he wondered.” Kaisel couldn’t say, because Koa had certainly seem pretty convinced that Flora couldn’t be an option if she didn’t light up the path for him. ”Maybe it’s just him wanting something a little less complicated.” Soh was Flora’s best friend, after all, there’d be a twisting of both paths for the foreseeable future. Maybe he just couldn’t trust either of them again, because he’s too stubborn to forgive and forget so easily. ”Maybe he is just, dumb.”
”I just think, you shouldn’t count yourself out of all the pretty things you said about Soh.” Whether for Koa, or someone else, Flora deserved all of that too.
It's not the devil at your door
It's just your shadow on the floor
It's just your shadow on the floor
Wearing a watery blue, faded and stretched-out sparkling hair tie on his left wrist
