never be so kind you forget to be clever
Flora gave a helpless little shrug, her fingers fidgeting with one of her bracelets. "I dunno either. I once got memories from one person and gave them to someone else, but that was more like…loaning a book between friends." Her brows furrowed slightly. "But it wasn't even with Ludo, so...not the same at all, I guess."
The idea of coaxing deer with apples and lullabies still danced uneasily through her thoughts. She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, squinting at Melita like she might see the echoes of those nights still hiding behind her eyes. "Gods. It’s like something out of a fairytale. Or—" she wrinkled her nose, "—some sort of nightmare version, where the glowing deer are your only hope and the monsters outside the door don’t ever stop." Which, from what she'd heard, was basically what it was like.
She went quiet for a moment, picking at a loose thread on her shorts. "Do you think that’s why none of the original people live in the Grounds now?" she asked, glancing sideways at Mel. "Like, why it’s mostly newer arrivals now? ‘Cause it was just…that awful? So much horror baked into the dirt they all left and never looked back?"
The idea of coaxing deer with apples and lullabies still danced uneasily through her thoughts. She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, squinting at Melita like she might see the echoes of those nights still hiding behind her eyes. "Gods. It’s like something out of a fairytale. Or—" she wrinkled her nose, "—some sort of nightmare version, where the glowing deer are your only hope and the monsters outside the door don’t ever stop." Which, from what she'd heard, was basically what it was like.
She went quiet for a moment, picking at a loose thread on her shorts. "Do you think that’s why none of the original people live in the Grounds now?" she asked, glancing sideways at Mel. "Like, why it’s mostly newer arrivals now? ‘Cause it was just…that awful? So much horror baked into the dirt they all left and never looked back?"
