flora
Flora blinks at the correction, her brows tugging together at first—soft confusion like a cloud moving across the sun—before it hits. Right now. Not forever. Not fate. Just...for now. Flora nods, slow and quiet, because yes, of course Torchline would find its footing again, but it wouldn’t have stumbled if not for her. The weight of that doesn’t press down like guilt—it is guilt. But it's different when it's not a punishment handed down, when it's something you've chosen. Something you broke and now have to mend with your bare hands.
She looks up at Kaisel when his voice twists on the edge of a question, that half-finished is that how it all...pulling a frown onto her face. His hands have tightened, but they don’t match the storm behind his eyes, and her own expression tugs with confusion as she echoes the words, puzzled: "Is that how what all…?" The tilt of her head is nearly birdlike as she studies him, but the truth comes out simple. "Of course even at the end. Jack's business was always separate from our relationship." It had never occurred to her to think it could’ve been otherwise, and there’s something in the quiet sincerity of her gaze that makes that clear.
But when Kaisel moves her arms and lifts her effortlessly, she goes without resistance, though her laughter comes in a tired puff of air. "Congratulations," she says with a tired, crooked little smile, the humour tangled through with ache. She doesn’t clarify that it wasn’t her kingdom he’d ruined—it was Jack’s home. Kaisel’s presence had made one of the most stubborn and determined men she’d ever known pack up and walk away from the thing he built from nothing, and the sea he belonged to.
But she doesn't say any of that as he quite literally sweeps her off her feet, just leans up in his arms to kiss his cheek like she’s some noblewoman bestowing knighthood, and then chuckles as he drops her into the mess of pillows like he’s tucking away something precious. Nestled among the chaos of fabric and lingering memory, she inhales and nods, her expression thoughtful. "That’s a good idea," she murmurs, even if her mouth pulls down a little. "But I just promised Zavien I’d send a whole bunch of them up to Stormbreak." Her arms fall from around his neck, fingers reaching instead to comb back a few strands of hair that have fallen around his face, her touch gentle and affectionate.
Pressing her nose against his in a motion that’s more adoration than kiss, she sighs. "I should make Remi and Ronin do more. And honestly? If those assholes want to flood the Fingers again, I’ll send the actual Flood after them. Let’s see how brave they are with a tidal wave breathing down their necks."
Just saying it out loud makes her feel better. Like it’s a puzzle with edges again instead of some endless tangle of seaweed around her ankles. And it’s Kaisel who’s given her that. The space to breathe. The belief that she still has choices.
When he offers the idea of appointing a king of thieves, her nose crinkles fondly at the kiss pressed to her face, her gaze following him as he slips toward the closet. "You know, uh.." she says, clearing her throat as she rises up slightly on her elbows. "Something I never told you. I actually run the Thieves Guild across all of Caido." Her voice is breezy, casual, almost offhand—like it’s not one of the most morally grey things she's ever done—but there’s a glint in her eye as she waits to see whether Kaisel’s jaw will drop or if he’ll somehow be unsurprised or maybe even disappointed.
She looks up at Kaisel when his voice twists on the edge of a question, that half-finished is that how it all...pulling a frown onto her face. His hands have tightened, but they don’t match the storm behind his eyes, and her own expression tugs with confusion as she echoes the words, puzzled: "Is that how what all…?" The tilt of her head is nearly birdlike as she studies him, but the truth comes out simple. "Of course even at the end. Jack's business was always separate from our relationship." It had never occurred to her to think it could’ve been otherwise, and there’s something in the quiet sincerity of her gaze that makes that clear.
But when Kaisel moves her arms and lifts her effortlessly, she goes without resistance, though her laughter comes in a tired puff of air. "Congratulations," she says with a tired, crooked little smile, the humour tangled through with ache. She doesn’t clarify that it wasn’t her kingdom he’d ruined—it was Jack’s home. Kaisel’s presence had made one of the most stubborn and determined men she’d ever known pack up and walk away from the thing he built from nothing, and the sea he belonged to.
But she doesn't say any of that as he quite literally sweeps her off her feet, just leans up in his arms to kiss his cheek like she’s some noblewoman bestowing knighthood, and then chuckles as he drops her into the mess of pillows like he’s tucking away something precious. Nestled among the chaos of fabric and lingering memory, she inhales and nods, her expression thoughtful. "That’s a good idea," she murmurs, even if her mouth pulls down a little. "But I just promised Zavien I’d send a whole bunch of them up to Stormbreak." Her arms fall from around his neck, fingers reaching instead to comb back a few strands of hair that have fallen around his face, her touch gentle and affectionate.
Pressing her nose against his in a motion that’s more adoration than kiss, she sighs. "I should make Remi and Ronin do more. And honestly? If those assholes want to flood the Fingers again, I’ll send the actual Flood after them. Let’s see how brave they are with a tidal wave breathing down their necks."
Just saying it out loud makes her feel better. Like it’s a puzzle with edges again instead of some endless tangle of seaweed around her ankles. And it’s Kaisel who’s given her that. The space to breathe. The belief that she still has choices.
When he offers the idea of appointing a king of thieves, her nose crinkles fondly at the kiss pressed to her face, her gaze following him as he slips toward the closet. "You know, uh.." she says, clearing her throat as she rises up slightly on her elbows. "Something I never told you. I actually run the Thieves Guild across all of Caido." Her voice is breezy, casual, almost offhand—like it’s not one of the most morally grey things she's ever done—but there’s a glint in her eye as she waits to see whether Kaisel’s jaw will drop or if he’ll somehow be unsurprised or maybe even disappointed.
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
