Flora
Flora doesn’t flinch when Melita says she didn’t know. because of course she didn’t. The Honeybee had never really liked Flora and Jack together; not in the sharpen your knives, let’s run him out of town kind of way, but more like a disapproving older cousin watching a bad season of a show you’ve already committed to. Listening out of loyalty, side-eyeing every episode, waiting for the inevitable crash, offering moral support with the same sort of sigh one might reserve for reality TV with too many spin-offs and not enough character growth.
"Yeah, we..." she starts, then trails off. Her gaze skims the waves rather than finishing the thought. She’s already tried—gods, so many times—to explain what Jack had been to her, what she’d thought she was to him. But it always turned to smoke in her mouth, too slippery to hold. Even when she’d told others about that final conversation—about asking him, outright, if he could make her happy, and how he’d only shrugged and said that wasn’t his decision—it had never landed the way she needed it to.
But then Melita calls it a mess, and it lands differently. Something clicks. Not like a door opening, more like a frame tilting slightly and finally coming level.
Maybe it wasn’t that no one had understood.
Maybe it really just wasn’t that deep.
A laugh escapes her, soft and sharp, curling with salt and self-awareness. She scrubs a hand through her curls and flashes Melita a grin, crooked as ever. "You have no idea how good it feels to hear someone say that," she admits, voice tight around the edges, like the words are holding something else back. "I thought when he left, and things started falling apart in the Fingers, everyone would start pointing fingers at me." She swallows, glancing at the Honeybee, glad to know that while some probably would still, that the Honeybee wouldn't be among them.
When Melita brings up the bar, Flora’s first instinct is to lie. To toss out the version she’s been peddling like it’s part of the job; structural damage, time for an upgrade, blah blah. But the words stall behind her teeth, and maybe it’s the way Mel’s still watching her, or maybe she’s just tired of pretending.
Folding her arms, she lets her shoulders drop a little. "If I had to guess? Caly burned it down, she and her siblings, as payback for Jack leaving. I didn’t see them do it, but—" she lifts a brow, voice dry, "—the help it would’ve taken, the timing, the fact that they all suddenly moved to King’s End the next day..." She shrugs. "Pretty obvious."
And then, without missing a beat, she flashes a sly grin. "So instead of chasing them down and starting a whole fight about it, I just took credit for it. We would need to rebuild a bar anyway, so why let the Marin's get away with arson when I could turn it into a rebrand?"
Before Melita can reply, a gust of wind tugs at the sails and something giggles out on the waves as a child's laughter carries on the breeze. Rolling her eyes at the Echo Sharks, Flora turns back to the Sugartide, eyes landing on the long lavender vines draping off the port side. They’re drooping, pitiful in the breeze, all pale stems and sluggish curl. Mateo would throw an absolute fit if he saw how sad they’ve gotten.
Groaning louder this time—more for show than anything—Flora plants one hand on her hip and calls skyward like someone making a complaint to management. "Hey! Frey!" she calls, lifting her chin and aiming her voice toward whatever sliver of sunshine might be listening. "Any chance you could add a bit more oomph to my lavender before my brother sees it and kills me?"
Flora channels Nature Frey to revive the lavender on her ship
Channeling (Accepted) : Allows an Accepted the opportunity to channel one of the gods during a time of crisis (2x a season). Can be combined with other accepted channeling to increase power. If combined with another mastered channeling, increases the odds of a Big God answering to 15 %
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
"Yeah, we..." she starts, then trails off. Her gaze skims the waves rather than finishing the thought. She’s already tried—gods, so many times—to explain what Jack had been to her, what she’d thought she was to him. But it always turned to smoke in her mouth, too slippery to hold. Even when she’d told others about that final conversation—about asking him, outright, if he could make her happy, and how he’d only shrugged and said that wasn’t his decision—it had never landed the way she needed it to.
But then Melita calls it a mess, and it lands differently. Something clicks. Not like a door opening, more like a frame tilting slightly and finally coming level.
Maybe it wasn’t that no one had understood.
Maybe it really just wasn’t that deep.
A laugh escapes her, soft and sharp, curling with salt and self-awareness. She scrubs a hand through her curls and flashes Melita a grin, crooked as ever. "You have no idea how good it feels to hear someone say that," she admits, voice tight around the edges, like the words are holding something else back. "I thought when he left, and things started falling apart in the Fingers, everyone would start pointing fingers at me." She swallows, glancing at the Honeybee, glad to know that while some probably would still, that the Honeybee wouldn't be among them.
When Melita brings up the bar, Flora’s first instinct is to lie. To toss out the version she’s been peddling like it’s part of the job; structural damage, time for an upgrade, blah blah. But the words stall behind her teeth, and maybe it’s the way Mel’s still watching her, or maybe she’s just tired of pretending.
Folding her arms, she lets her shoulders drop a little. "If I had to guess? Caly burned it down, she and her siblings, as payback for Jack leaving. I didn’t see them do it, but—" she lifts a brow, voice dry, "—the help it would’ve taken, the timing, the fact that they all suddenly moved to King’s End the next day..." She shrugs. "Pretty obvious."
And then, without missing a beat, she flashes a sly grin. "So instead of chasing them down and starting a whole fight about it, I just took credit for it. We would need to rebuild a bar anyway, so why let the Marin's get away with arson when I could turn it into a rebrand?"
Before Melita can reply, a gust of wind tugs at the sails and something giggles out on the waves as a child's laughter carries on the breeze. Rolling her eyes at the Echo Sharks, Flora turns back to the Sugartide, eyes landing on the long lavender vines draping off the port side. They’re drooping, pitiful in the breeze, all pale stems and sluggish curl. Mateo would throw an absolute fit if he saw how sad they’ve gotten.
Groaning louder this time—more for show than anything—Flora plants one hand on her hip and calls skyward like someone making a complaint to management. "Hey! Frey!" she calls, lifting her chin and aiming her voice toward whatever sliver of sunshine might be listening. "Any chance you could add a bit more oomph to my lavender before my brother sees it and kills me?"
Flora channels Nature Frey to revive the lavender on her ship
Channeling (Accepted) : Allows an Accepted the opportunity to channel one of the gods during a time of crisis (2x a season). Can be combined with other accepted channeling to increase power. If combined with another mastered channeling, increases the odds of a Big God answering to 15 %
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
I trace the evidence, make it make some sense
why the wound is still bleedin'
why the wound is still bleedin'
Code stolen from Queen Sky
