i'd wipe the dirt off your name with the shirt off my back
The sky stretched endlessly before her, a perfect sweep of cerulean silk flecked here and there with clouds spun delicate as cotton candy. Flora lounged at the helm of the Sugar Tide, a lazy curl of sunlight warming her skin, her bare toes wiggling idly against the polished wood deck. She'd set sail that morning with no particular goal other than to escape from the tension that always simmered beneath her skin these days, from thoughts that wouldn’t rest no matter how hard she tried. The sky offered freedom like nowhere else could, a vast, open invitation that whispered promises of solace and silence to her restless heart.
The quiet peace lasted precisely until she caught sight of the Ark.
She saw it at first as a shadow, a smudge of maroon against a tapestry of bright blue, moving swiftly across her vision. Flora’s breath stilled involuntarily, her fingers tightening around the wheel, knuckles paling slightly beneath sun-kissed skin. Her heart, traitorous as always, performed a small, painful leap, a familiar ache blooming in her chest like a flower she could never quite uproot. Even from here, even this far away, the Ark was unmistakable—the sleek, dark lines of its hull, the way it sliced through air or sea with the casual arrogance of its captain.
Flora hesitated only briefly, lips parting in a soft sigh as she shifted her weight. She knew exactly what Hadama’s note had said: he and Noah and Sah were patrolling Starfall's waters...and here Jack was, sailing back from precisely that direction.
Before she fully realized she'd made the decision, Flora was already steering the Sugar Tide directly into the Ark’s path, adrenaline and anticipation brightening her cheeks. A mischievous, defiant smile teased at the edges of her mouth, and her heart beat a quick, stubborn rhythm in her chest. With a determined flourish, she hoisted a brightly coloured flag—a vivid shock of red and gold that snapped sharply against the sky, one she was fairly certain (though admittedly not completely sure) signalled mayday. The silk rippled high and proud, billowing in the wind like a flame, impossible to miss.
Or ignore.
The quiet peace lasted precisely until she caught sight of the Ark.
She saw it at first as a shadow, a smudge of maroon against a tapestry of bright blue, moving swiftly across her vision. Flora’s breath stilled involuntarily, her fingers tightening around the wheel, knuckles paling slightly beneath sun-kissed skin. Her heart, traitorous as always, performed a small, painful leap, a familiar ache blooming in her chest like a flower she could never quite uproot. Even from here, even this far away, the Ark was unmistakable—the sleek, dark lines of its hull, the way it sliced through air or sea with the casual arrogance of its captain.
Flora hesitated only briefly, lips parting in a soft sigh as she shifted her weight. She knew exactly what Hadama’s note had said: he and Noah and Sah were patrolling Starfall's waters...and here Jack was, sailing back from precisely that direction.
Before she fully realized she'd made the decision, Flora was already steering the Sugar Tide directly into the Ark’s path, adrenaline and anticipation brightening her cheeks. A mischievous, defiant smile teased at the edges of her mouth, and her heart beat a quick, stubborn rhythm in her chest. With a determined flourish, she hoisted a brightly coloured flag—a vivid shock of red and gold that snapped sharply against the sky, one she was fairly certain (though admittedly not completely sure) signalled mayday. The silk rippled high and proud, billowing in the wind like a flame, impossible to miss.
Or ignore.
