flora
Flora nods, again, not that Kai can see it. "I bribed Deimos to help me," she admits, dry but unapologetic. "He got some blood he can use to protect Halo, and I gave him my compass so that he could get away clean." Her fingers drum thoughtfully against one of the pillows. "Yeah, I can still be here. And once we’ve got the coastline locked down, I should be safe enough. It’s just..." Her voice trails off, mouth quirking. "You know. Casual hiding-from-an-alien-crime-family vibes." Though Flora laughs, the sound is far too airy to be entirely genuine. "Nothing I can’t handle."
Spice lets out a small huff that might almost be a sigh, curling tighter beneath her blanket.
At Kaisel’s crack about board games and candy, Flora snickers, her fingers tapping twice against his arm. "Still plenty of both left. Bassian’s a lightweight despite how big he is." But then Kai says he’ll follow her wherever, and gods. It's probably for the best that he can’t see the way her eyes soften at that, the flush to her cheeks, or the gentle tilt of her lips. Instead, her voice turns velvet, thick and warm. "Dangerous words, Assborn," she purrs, before slipping out from under the blanket and tugging his wrist to follow. "As nice as the evening air is, it’s no fun making faces at you when you can’t see them."
Down the steps she goes, bare feet silent on the wood, twisting her ring as she moves. When she emerges into view, she’s dressed in an oversized shirt and shorts that vanish beneath the hem. Her curls are loose and sleep-tangled, her face scrubbed clean of her usual makeup, freckles splashed across her cheeks like careless confetti.
The first thing she does is storm to her bedroom. "Bassian," she hisses, shoving at the mountainous lump. "You’re snoring like a dying moose." A sleepy grunt and a shuffle later, he rolls over and silence returns, if only temporarily.
Then she’s back, crossing the little galley to Kaisel and slipping into his space like she was always meant to be there. Her arms slide around his middle, her head fitting snug beneath his chin. "Thanks for coming to check on me," she murmurs, barely louder than the creak of the tide outside. No one else had, which Flora probably should take as a compliment or at least a comment on her ingenuity but...gods it felt lonely sometimes. "It means a lot."
Spice lets out a small huff that might almost be a sigh, curling tighter beneath her blanket.
At Kaisel’s crack about board games and candy, Flora snickers, her fingers tapping twice against his arm. "Still plenty of both left. Bassian’s a lightweight despite how big he is." But then Kai says he’ll follow her wherever, and gods. It's probably for the best that he can’t see the way her eyes soften at that, the flush to her cheeks, or the gentle tilt of her lips. Instead, her voice turns velvet, thick and warm. "Dangerous words, Assborn," she purrs, before slipping out from under the blanket and tugging his wrist to follow. "As nice as the evening air is, it’s no fun making faces at you when you can’t see them."
Down the steps she goes, bare feet silent on the wood, twisting her ring as she moves. When she emerges into view, she’s dressed in an oversized shirt and shorts that vanish beneath the hem. Her curls are loose and sleep-tangled, her face scrubbed clean of her usual makeup, freckles splashed across her cheeks like careless confetti.
The first thing she does is storm to her bedroom. "Bassian," she hisses, shoving at the mountainous lump. "You’re snoring like a dying moose." A sleepy grunt and a shuffle later, he rolls over and silence returns, if only temporarily.
Then she’s back, crossing the little galley to Kaisel and slipping into his space like she was always meant to be there. Her arms slide around his middle, her head fitting snug beneath his chin. "Thanks for coming to check on me," she murmurs, barely louder than the creak of the tide outside. No one else had, which Flora probably should take as a compliment or at least a comment on her ingenuity but...gods it felt lonely sometimes. "It means a lot."
My house of stone, your ivy grows
And now I'm covered in you
And now I'm covered in you
