your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand
Flora smiles gently at Caly’s quiet sorry, her head dipping in appreciation without making a thing of it. The bar feels like a good place for honesty, somehow—maybe because so much of her old life is soaked into the floorboards, or maybe just because the attuned is the one asking.
"Yeah," she says softly, swirling the last of her drink as she speaks. "Torchline feeling alive is what drew me and Enzo here in the first place. We were just kids from the Greatwood who didn’t want to feel stuck anymore." Her lips tug into a wistful, lopsided smile. "That kind of energy? You can’t help but chase it."
But the next question comes without preamble—brisk, bare, and brave—and Flora has to respect the hell out of that. She sets her glass down properly, both palms braced flat against the bartop as she straightens, no squirming, no sugar-coating. Just truth. "The night we slept together was right after Pierce’s pool party," she says, voice level but not defensive. "I was a mess and Kai was the only one who came to check up on me," Her brows arch slightly, gaze never leaving Caly’s. "And it was before you two had even gone on your date, so when I asked him to stay over...it didn't feel like I was stepping on anyone's toes."
Her breath flutters a little, not from guilt but from the weight of navigating this thing with care. "That said—" her fingers toy briefly with one of her rings, "—I’m absolutely not over Jack." Her cheeks flush with heat, not just because of the feel the captain's name left on her lips, but also because it was weird to have been dating Caly's dad when they were basically the same age.
"But also, I know Kaisel really likes you. He talked about your Halo date like it was the most amazing thing he'd ever experienced."
"Yeah," she says softly, swirling the last of her drink as she speaks. "Torchline feeling alive is what drew me and Enzo here in the first place. We were just kids from the Greatwood who didn’t want to feel stuck anymore." Her lips tug into a wistful, lopsided smile. "That kind of energy? You can’t help but chase it."
But the next question comes without preamble—brisk, bare, and brave—and Flora has to respect the hell out of that. She sets her glass down properly, both palms braced flat against the bartop as she straightens, no squirming, no sugar-coating. Just truth. "The night we slept together was right after Pierce’s pool party," she says, voice level but not defensive. "I was a mess and Kai was the only one who came to check up on me," Her brows arch slightly, gaze never leaving Caly’s. "And it was before you two had even gone on your date, so when I asked him to stay over...it didn't feel like I was stepping on anyone's toes."
Her breath flutters a little, not from guilt but from the weight of navigating this thing with care. "That said—" her fingers toy briefly with one of her rings, "—I’m absolutely not over Jack." Her cheeks flush with heat, not just because of the feel the captain's name left on her lips, but also because it was weird to have been dating Caly's dad when they were basically the same age.
"But also, I know Kaisel really likes you. He talked about your Halo date like it was the most amazing thing he'd ever experienced."
