flora
Flora sighs softly against Kais' chest, a breath that catches on something heavier before it slips free. "He was, though," she murmurs, the words warm and muffled where her cheek rests against him, like she’s not sure whether to confess or apologize. It probably isn’t what Kaisel wants to hear—she knows that—but truth rarely arrives on clean feet when it comes to the things that have made Flora cry lately. And it doesn’t make her love Kaisel any less, doesn’t change the way her body curls into his like he’s the only shelter left. It’s just that Jack’s absence left a shape in Torchline, and it’s one she doesn’t quite know how to ignore, let alone how to fill.
She grumbles, almost theatrically, her nose pressing deeper into his sternum like she’s trying to burrow somewhere safe from the fact that her city is fracturing. "Apparently there’ve been a bunch of fights breaking out at the docks," she mutters, the words reluctant. "And now there’s this stupid, violent scramble for control."
The shirt tugs lightly as she recedes, messy-haired and rumpled, a newly emerged sea creature blinking at the surface again. Her fingers come up to rub at one eye, smearing away whatever tears haven’t already dried against her skin. "When it comes to Torchline's undercity..." she sighs, the weight of it all beginning to drag her limbs again, "Torchline’s a lot worse off without him."
There’s a helpless sort of groan as she flops back against his chest, more drag than drama, her head thunking gently beneath his collarbone. "Do you know how many bribes it took to keep Jack onside?" she groans, tossing a hand limply in the air as though trying to scatter the memory like confetti. "It’s gonna take weeks—months, maybe—to figure out who’s trying to replace him and whether they even want the same sort of arrangement Jack had."
And as for Kaisel—sweet, goofy, star-sleeved Kaisel—when he says he deserves a little credit, she thinks of what she’d whispered into his skin just moments ago. Of what it cost her to admit it, and what it must’ve cost Jack to hear it. She hadn't come back to the captain after that admission despite saying so, and given that Jack had remained in Torchline during their last breakup, his absence was almost certainly tied solely to Kaisel's place in Flora's heart.
Her smile is the kind that doesn’t quite make it to her eyes, miserable and a little lopsided, like it aches just to form. Slumping fully against him again, she lets her arms encircle his waist, her voice small and sad as it spills into the cotton between them. "Actually...you probably deserve all the credit."
She grumbles, almost theatrically, her nose pressing deeper into his sternum like she’s trying to burrow somewhere safe from the fact that her city is fracturing. "Apparently there’ve been a bunch of fights breaking out at the docks," she mutters, the words reluctant. "And now there’s this stupid, violent scramble for control."
The shirt tugs lightly as she recedes, messy-haired and rumpled, a newly emerged sea creature blinking at the surface again. Her fingers come up to rub at one eye, smearing away whatever tears haven’t already dried against her skin. "When it comes to Torchline's undercity..." she sighs, the weight of it all beginning to drag her limbs again, "Torchline’s a lot worse off without him."
There’s a helpless sort of groan as she flops back against his chest, more drag than drama, her head thunking gently beneath his collarbone. "Do you know how many bribes it took to keep Jack onside?" she groans, tossing a hand limply in the air as though trying to scatter the memory like confetti. "It’s gonna take weeks—months, maybe—to figure out who’s trying to replace him and whether they even want the same sort of arrangement Jack had."
And as for Kaisel—sweet, goofy, star-sleeved Kaisel—when he says he deserves a little credit, she thinks of what she’d whispered into his skin just moments ago. Of what it cost her to admit it, and what it must’ve cost Jack to hear it. She hadn't come back to the captain after that admission despite saying so, and given that Jack had remained in Torchline during their last breakup, his absence was almost certainly tied solely to Kaisel's place in Flora's heart.
Her smile is the kind that doesn’t quite make it to her eyes, miserable and a little lopsided, like it aches just to form. Slumping fully against him again, she lets her arms encircle his waist, her voice small and sad as it spills into the cotton between them. "Actually...you probably deserve all the credit."
lust's a liar, a short lived fire
it isn't what you and I are at all
it isn't what you and I are at all
