we show off our different scarlet letters
Flora grins crookedly up at him, mischief still tugging at the corner of her mouth—but it fades a little as her voice drops lower, quieter beneath the rustling leaves. "I don’t just want to be fast, y'know," she says, the words threading out like something she’s been chewing on for a while, "I want to be deadly." Her fingers go still against his chest. "I’ve killed things with my daggers before," she continues, her blue eyes lifting to meet his, darkening like the sea before a storm. "But no one’s ever been afraid of me."
There’s no bitterness in her tone, but something else, something hungry. "Do you think I could be?" she asks softly. "Not like you," she adds quickly, "—not haunting or monstrous like you can be now—but... scary?" There’s a flash of a smile again, more shadow than sunlight this time. "The kind of scary that makes someone stop before they try to touch you."
As for his not giving up if there’s nothing to lose, that pulls a sharp little laugh from her as her confidence returns in full force. "Then maybe we both should let ourselves go," she says, perhaps too brightly, "more than we did today." Her fingers flick idly at a drying patch of blood on her sleeve. "Assuming we really have nothing to lose." She shrugs. "I’ve already died once. Felt claws go right into my ribs." Her tone dips into something darker as she says it, not haunted, but thoughtful. "Feels like I’m owed the ability to just... shake it off." Then, a flash of her teeth, wry and not entirely joking. "Would be nice to know how much I can actually handle before I have to drop a jaguar in someone’s lap again," she adds with a crooked smile.
At his request to moan about it, Flora's whole body breaks into a melodramatic sigh. "Astaaaaaa," she groans, crumpling against him as if struck anew, "it hurts so baaaad. I might need to be carried back. Probably forever."
But when he leans in and nuzzles her forehead, all theatricality melts into something soft and genuine. She hums warmly against him, leaning in for a moment longer before wrinkling her nose at his final comment. "A muzzle? Gods," she mutters, amused and appalled all at once. "Does it even work, or do you just rip it off the moment the mood shifts?" Her eyes flick sideways toward him, full of challenge and curiosity as they stroll beneath the rustling canopy of Leafchange gold.
There’s no bitterness in her tone, but something else, something hungry. "Do you think I could be?" she asks softly. "Not like you," she adds quickly, "—not haunting or monstrous like you can be now—but... scary?" There’s a flash of a smile again, more shadow than sunlight this time. "The kind of scary that makes someone stop before they try to touch you."
As for his not giving up if there’s nothing to lose, that pulls a sharp little laugh from her as her confidence returns in full force. "Then maybe we both should let ourselves go," she says, perhaps too brightly, "more than we did today." Her fingers flick idly at a drying patch of blood on her sleeve. "Assuming we really have nothing to lose." She shrugs. "I’ve already died once. Felt claws go right into my ribs." Her tone dips into something darker as she says it, not haunted, but thoughtful. "Feels like I’m owed the ability to just... shake it off." Then, a flash of her teeth, wry and not entirely joking. "Would be nice to know how much I can actually handle before I have to drop a jaguar in someone’s lap again," she adds with a crooked smile.
At his request to moan about it, Flora's whole body breaks into a melodramatic sigh. "Astaaaaaa," she groans, crumpling against him as if struck anew, "it hurts so baaaad. I might need to be carried back. Probably forever."
But when he leans in and nuzzles her forehead, all theatricality melts into something soft and genuine. She hums warmly against him, leaning in for a moment longer before wrinkling her nose at his final comment. "A muzzle? Gods," she mutters, amused and appalled all at once. "Does it even work, or do you just rip it off the moment the mood shifts?" Her eyes flick sideways toward him, full of challenge and curiosity as they stroll beneath the rustling canopy of Leafchange gold.
