Flora
Kaisel's blindly searching hand grazes her waist in a glancing sweep—nothing lascivious, just the accidental tide of bodies in a market that never leaves much room for air—and then the cold, indignant frog takes center stage and saves them both from the awkwardness of it, launching Kai into a full-body shudder and an aerial yeet that sends the creature skimming over a chorus of gasps and laughter.
Flora flickers into view in the space his panic leaves behind, laughter breaking bright and helpless from her as if the sun has found a chink in the clouds; tears bead at the corners of her eyes, quick and crystalline, and she swipes at them with the back of her hand without bothering to tame the grin that’s already taken her mouth. The sheet hangs from the merchant’s fist like a defeated flag; Spice trills approval from a signpost; Ludo’s satisfaction chimes faintly in the wind.
She’s dressed for the season’s edge: a seaglass-green cardigan that catches the light with a scatter of barely-there sparkle over a white tank and worn-in jeans, the soft fall of her curls loose around her shoulders, hiding most of the dark bloom on her neck, and smelling of jasmine and something sweet; the sort of fragrance that made it feel like summer despite the nearness of Deepfrost.
Grinning, Flora tips her chin up to him, brows lifting, the smile going crooked and gloriously unrepentant. " I knew you’d be no good with ghosts!" she laughs accusingly, amusement curling through every syllable as she nods toward the parabola Rupert traces into legend, "and that stunt with the frog makes me believe your toad story even less."
Flora flickers into view in the space his panic leaves behind, laughter breaking bright and helpless from her as if the sun has found a chink in the clouds; tears bead at the corners of her eyes, quick and crystalline, and she swipes at them with the back of her hand without bothering to tame the grin that’s already taken her mouth. The sheet hangs from the merchant’s fist like a defeated flag; Spice trills approval from a signpost; Ludo’s satisfaction chimes faintly in the wind.
She’s dressed for the season’s edge: a seaglass-green cardigan that catches the light with a scatter of barely-there sparkle over a white tank and worn-in jeans, the soft fall of her curls loose around her shoulders, hiding most of the dark bloom on her neck, and smelling of jasmine and something sweet; the sort of fragrance that made it feel like summer despite the nearness of Deepfrost.
Grinning, Flora tips her chin up to him, brows lifting, the smile going crooked and gloriously unrepentant. " I knew you’d be no good with ghosts!" she laughs accusingly, amusement curling through every syllable as she nods toward the parabola Rupert traces into legend, "and that stunt with the frog makes me believe your toad story even less."
I hope you're sweating the bigger stuff,
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in
Code stolen from Queen Sky
