Flora
She sighs, quiet and windblown, her fingers tracing lazy patterns over the shape of his chest like she’s trying to draw sense from the chaos. "Then why—" her voice lifts, light but edged, "why did he flirt with her so much? Why act like he wanted her if he wasn’t sure?" The question hangs in the air like mist that won’t burn off, caught between heat and hesitation. She doesn’t sound angry exactly, just tired and disappointed in a way that reaches deeper than she means it to.
"I mean," Flora huffs, pulling her hair back off her neck with one hand and letting it drop again with a shake of her head, "what was all that buildup for? So he could finally have her and then bail the second it got real?" Her brows furrow. "If he was so worried about commitment, maybe he shouldn’t have spent seasons chasing after her with puppy eyes and half-promises." Koa's actions weren't for Kaisel to defend, Flora knew that, but gods she'd be so frustrated on Sohalia's part for so long that it felt good to finally release some of that built-up steam.
But as Kaisel curls into the crook of his arm, burying himself in that quiet weight of disappointment, something in her softens again. Her own sigh follows, quieter now, gentler as she leans in to press a kiss to his cheek. It lands light as seafoam, lips brushing the freckled edge of his frustration. "Do you think that maybe..." she murmurs, voice low and reluctant, "we shouldn’t make anything...public, then? At least until you've talked to Koa? And Caly, I guess." Her words come slowly, carefully, like she’s peeling them from skin. "I just—" Her hand drifts against his arm as her thoughts scatter like petals on the tide. She imagines what it'd be like for Koa—his gaze catching on the imprint of her in the sand, on the way Kaisel had pressed her down into it with kisses that had tasted like heat and surrender. What it would be like for Caly to see them together, so casually the picture of everything he said he couldn't give to her.
It spirals through her stomach like surf dragged too far from shore. "It’d make everything worse if they saw us together before you had a chance to talk to either of them," she finishes softly, more to herself than to him. Still, she doesn’t pull away, insteading staying wrapped around him, steady and warm, like this was something worth protecting, even if it had to be quiet for a little while longer.
"I mean," Flora huffs, pulling her hair back off her neck with one hand and letting it drop again with a shake of her head, "what was all that buildup for? So he could finally have her and then bail the second it got real?" Her brows furrow. "If he was so worried about commitment, maybe he shouldn’t have spent seasons chasing after her with puppy eyes and half-promises." Koa's actions weren't for Kaisel to defend, Flora knew that, but gods she'd be so frustrated on Sohalia's part for so long that it felt good to finally release some of that built-up steam.
But as Kaisel curls into the crook of his arm, burying himself in that quiet weight of disappointment, something in her softens again. Her own sigh follows, quieter now, gentler as she leans in to press a kiss to his cheek. It lands light as seafoam, lips brushing the freckled edge of his frustration. "Do you think that maybe..." she murmurs, voice low and reluctant, "we shouldn’t make anything...public, then? At least until you've talked to Koa? And Caly, I guess." Her words come slowly, carefully, like she’s peeling them from skin. "I just—" Her hand drifts against his arm as her thoughts scatter like petals on the tide. She imagines what it'd be like for Koa—his gaze catching on the imprint of her in the sand, on the way Kaisel had pressed her down into it with kisses that had tasted like heat and surrender. What it would be like for Caly to see them together, so casually the picture of everything he said he couldn't give to her.
It spirals through her stomach like surf dragged too far from shore. "It’d make everything worse if they saw us together before you had a chance to talk to either of them," she finishes softly, more to herself than to him. Still, she doesn’t pull away, insteading staying wrapped around him, steady and warm, like this was something worth protecting, even if it had to be quiet for a little while longer.
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
