never be so kind you forget to be clever
Flora tilted her head, eyes narrowing thoughtfully behind her sunglasses as she mulled over Melita’s answer. "Huh." It made sense, she supposed. If the gap didn’t leave an ache, then maybe it hadn’t been anything vital—or maybe Ludo just tucked it away cleanly. Her gaze drifted lazily back out to the sea. "Do you think Ludo keeps them somewhere?" she mused aloud, brows lifting. "Like…a library of broken hearts and best days. Just in case?"
She didn’t linger long on the thought, because the moment Mel confirmed she’d been in the Grounds back then, Flora sat forward in her chair, curiosity flaring like a match. "Wait, really?" Her fingers tightened around the armrest. "You were there? Like, for actual LongNights?" Her mind spun through every half-dramatized tale she’d ever heard growing up, all the exaggerated warnings and whispered stories shared over flickering hearthlight.
"Did you all really try and coax luxere into the city for protection? Like—here, Bambi, come be a flashlight-slash-sacrificial glowing deer?"
She didn’t linger long on the thought, because the moment Mel confirmed she’d been in the Grounds back then, Flora sat forward in her chair, curiosity flaring like a match. "Wait, really?" Her fingers tightened around the armrest. "You were there? Like, for actual LongNights?" Her mind spun through every half-dramatized tale she’d ever heard growing up, all the exaggerated warnings and whispered stories shared over flickering hearthlight.
"Did you all really try and coax luxere into the city for protection? Like—here, Bambi, come be a flashlight-slash-sacrificial glowing deer?"
