& if you never bleed you're never gonna grow
Flora bursts into a sunny smile the instant the blade clings, her whole face alight with the kind of pride that spills over and warms the air between them. "Amazing!!" she beams, eyebrows bouncing with an encouraging lift, bracelets chiming as she claps her hands once in sharp delight. The look on Theea’s face—triumph split wide and unguarded—makes Flora laugh, bright and ringing, a sound that lingers even after she reins it in. Gods, she remembers that feeling. And she remembers being that girl, too: heart on fire, teeth grit with the belief that if she just pushed hard enough right now, life and skill and everything else would fall obediently into line. Flora had tried to bend love that way once, tried to bend the whole world, and learned how unyielding it could be. Still, she wouldn’t hand her cousin the weight of that lesson just yet.
Instead, she grins, sharp with confidence and care. "Likelihood? Guaranteed you’ll be closer than when we started. And that’s all it is, really—muscle memory. It’s not about hitting it once or twice. It’s about hitting it, walking away, and letting your body keep the knowledge like a secret for next time. Otherwise you just wear yourself out chasing perfection." Her dagger twirls lazily between her fingers, the feathers blurring. "Sometimes drilling doesn’t help. Sometimes you gotta trick yourself and switch it up."
Her grin tilts sly, conspiratorial, as she suddenly calls, "Think fast!" Her blade flashes up into the air, spinning bright before slicing clean across the top of the palm. One of the molten pineapples above drops loose. "Quick, hit it!"
3/4
Instead, she grins, sharp with confidence and care. "Likelihood? Guaranteed you’ll be closer than when we started. And that’s all it is, really—muscle memory. It’s not about hitting it once or twice. It’s about hitting it, walking away, and letting your body keep the knowledge like a secret for next time. Otherwise you just wear yourself out chasing perfection." Her dagger twirls lazily between her fingers, the feathers blurring. "Sometimes drilling doesn’t help. Sometimes you gotta trick yourself and switch it up."
Her grin tilts sly, conspiratorial, as she suddenly calls, "Think fast!" Her blade flashes up into the air, spinning bright before slicing clean across the top of the palm. One of the molten pineapples above drops loose. "Quick, hit it!"
3/4
