marked me like a bloodstain
Every place his body touches hers gives something back—presses warmth into hollow places she hadn’t realized had gone so cold. It isn’t sudden, not the kind of jolt that revives or awakens, but something slower, like sun thawing sea-glass after a long, dark tide. He doesn’t ask permission, doesn’t hesitate or hold his breath while waiting for her to speak—he just moves, constant and insistent, and Flora, always so stubborn, nevertheless finds herself slowly leaning into the shape he makes around her.
When his foot slides beneath hers, she lets out the barest breath of something that might’ve been a laugh, and slips hers from above to rest on either side of his, sandwiching his toes in a touch that’s quiet but deliberate. Her fingers curl again into his without hesitation now, this time with intention instead of reflex, and when she lets herself fold—finally, fully—into his shoulder, it’s not with the ghostly detachment of earlier. It’s with weight; with the ache of someone who needs the shore and has only just stopped swimming.
Her eyes close as her cheek settles against the soft worn fabric of his shirt, and for a long moment, she just breathes.
"He came to see me," she murmurs finally, the words stretched thin and raw like fabric held too long in saltwater. "Jack." Her voice cracks at the edges, but she doesn’t hide it. "I think it was the last conversation we’ll have. For a while...maybe ever." There’s no apology in her tone despite whatever Kai might feel about Jack. "I know how you feel about him," she adds quietly. "But I…I don’t know how I’m supposed to go home now. He’s everywhere, Kai. He’s everywhere in that place. I know the plan is to ghost around him, to pretend, to be civil, or distant, or whatever the hell people do, but I don’t know how to do that."
She sighs again, heavier now, more from within than from weariness. "After Dahlia—when she followed me from the Greatwood to King's End, I channeled all three of my dads and they managed to stab her with a rose. Hadama said that there's going to be some exchange and that the Family are going to leave.." She lifts her head just enough to glance at him, lashes low, voice trailing into something small and unsure. "It should make nearly dying worth it, but..." Her gaze dips toward the shifting, gentle tide around their feet. "I don’t know where I belong anymore. Do I stay on the Sugar Tide? Do I go back to my apartment? I know it’s dumb to feel displaced when I have too many places to live, but somehow it’s like I belong in none of them now. Like I’ve worn through the seams."
She exhales again, sharper this time, eyes flicking upward before she gestures vaguely over her shoulder. "And I don’t know what to do about the bar either. Caly came to visit me, and said the triplets have made it their own. And like..I think that’s great, but it doesn’t feel like mine anymore." Which, y'know, was maybe just fine. Maybe for the best even, but it just felt like for all Flora had done, the world had just moved on without her.
When his foot slides beneath hers, she lets out the barest breath of something that might’ve been a laugh, and slips hers from above to rest on either side of his, sandwiching his toes in a touch that’s quiet but deliberate. Her fingers curl again into his without hesitation now, this time with intention instead of reflex, and when she lets herself fold—finally, fully—into his shoulder, it’s not with the ghostly detachment of earlier. It’s with weight; with the ache of someone who needs the shore and has only just stopped swimming.
Her eyes close as her cheek settles against the soft worn fabric of his shirt, and for a long moment, she just breathes.
"He came to see me," she murmurs finally, the words stretched thin and raw like fabric held too long in saltwater. "Jack." Her voice cracks at the edges, but she doesn’t hide it. "I think it was the last conversation we’ll have. For a while...maybe ever." There’s no apology in her tone despite whatever Kai might feel about Jack. "I know how you feel about him," she adds quietly. "But I…I don’t know how I’m supposed to go home now. He’s everywhere, Kai. He’s everywhere in that place. I know the plan is to ghost around him, to pretend, to be civil, or distant, or whatever the hell people do, but I don’t know how to do that."
She sighs again, heavier now, more from within than from weariness. "After Dahlia—when she followed me from the Greatwood to King's End, I channeled all three of my dads and they managed to stab her with a rose. Hadama said that there's going to be some exchange and that the Family are going to leave.." She lifts her head just enough to glance at him, lashes low, voice trailing into something small and unsure. "It should make nearly dying worth it, but..." Her gaze dips toward the shifting, gentle tide around their feet. "I don’t know where I belong anymore. Do I stay on the Sugar Tide? Do I go back to my apartment? I know it’s dumb to feel displaced when I have too many places to live, but somehow it’s like I belong in none of them now. Like I’ve worn through the seams."
She exhales again, sharper this time, eyes flicking upward before she gestures vaguely over her shoulder. "And I don’t know what to do about the bar either. Caly came to visit me, and said the triplets have made it their own. And like..I think that’s great, but it doesn’t feel like mine anymore." Which, y'know, was maybe just fine. Maybe for the best even, but it just felt like for all Flora had done, the world had just moved on without her.
