never be so kind you forget to be clever
Flora shrugs, brushing a bit of sand off her thigh. "If it hadn’t worked?" Her lips twist in a half-smirk. "I probably would’ve lied about it. I hid my tracks real well though, so, I doubt it'd have come on me unless Ludo snitched." There’s no shame in it, not really. She might be growing into her crown, but the Doubletake is still the Doubletake.
But as Melita goes on, that irreverent glint fades just a little. Flora’s grin falters into something wryer, eyes flicking down to her knees where a shimmer of sun-gold dances on skin. "I...genuinely can’t really imagine it. The monsters, the dark, the silence." She glances over, her expression tinged with guilt. "Sorry if I sounded like I was making fun of it. I'm sure it was fucking terrible."
The thought lingers, but not for long—Flora’s eyes are already drifting toward the horizon, narrowing at the distant shape of Starfall, still visible even now. "Though I’ll say, knowing the danger’s coming?" she adds, flicking a casual middle finger toward the island. "Way easier than wondering if there's a monster scraping at your windows."
Turning back to Melita, her tone lightens again. "So, speaking of creeping horrors...you going to Pierce’s pool party?"
But as Melita goes on, that irreverent glint fades just a little. Flora’s grin falters into something wryer, eyes flicking down to her knees where a shimmer of sun-gold dances on skin. "I...genuinely can’t really imagine it. The monsters, the dark, the silence." She glances over, her expression tinged with guilt. "Sorry if I sounded like I was making fun of it. I'm sure it was fucking terrible."
The thought lingers, but not for long—Flora’s eyes are already drifting toward the horizon, narrowing at the distant shape of Starfall, still visible even now. "Though I’ll say, knowing the danger’s coming?" she adds, flicking a casual middle finger toward the island. "Way easier than wondering if there's a monster scraping at your windows."
Turning back to Melita, her tone lightens again. "So, speaking of creeping horrors...you going to Pierce’s pool party?"
