we write out the ends on our palms, then forget to read
Flora nods, curls bouncing as her grin curves toward something conspiratorial. "Yeah, Mateo’s here. And so is this guy I liked when I was a teenager, who I dated briefly, who also happens to be Kaisel’s cousin, and who has been in this on-again off-again thing with my best friend for like, years now." Her aqua eyes widen with exaggerated scandal, letting the implication hang there long enough for Niki to fill in the tangled family tree himself.
The memory makes her snort softly, the sound almost lost beneath the rain. Her umbrella tilts as she gestures with it, sending a few stray droplets tumbling over its rim. "Ahh, well, Zavien—Stormbreak’s shiny new Commander—got into a stupid fight with Kaisel one day, because apparently testosterone has no boundaries. They were both being idiots." She rolls her eyes, the motion accompanied by a delicate huff that fogs in the cool air.
"Kai told me about it, but I mean...it was a fight between bros so I didn't really think anything of it, but at the end of our meeting, Zavien brings it up like it’s this major political concern," she continues, the sharp edge of disbelief in her voice softened by humour. "Like he expected me, as queen, to care that one of my citizens got into an argument with the Commander of Stormbreak, instead of just...the guy behind the title." Her grip tightens on the umbrella handle, gold rings glinting as the rain drums a steady rhythm above. "Then he tried to offer advice, which felt like he was totally just mansplaining."
Flora glances sidelong at Niki then, eyes sparkling with both irritation and delight at her own defiance. "So I made sure to remind him who’s in charge of the strongest region," she says breezily, "and who’s in charge of the weakest." Her smile is all sugar and poison—sweet as citrus, sharp as its peel just as it had been back then—as she leads them onward through the rain. "So that shut him up pretty quick."
The memory makes her snort softly, the sound almost lost beneath the rain. Her umbrella tilts as she gestures with it, sending a few stray droplets tumbling over its rim. "Ahh, well, Zavien—Stormbreak’s shiny new Commander—got into a stupid fight with Kaisel one day, because apparently testosterone has no boundaries. They were both being idiots." She rolls her eyes, the motion accompanied by a delicate huff that fogs in the cool air.
"Kai told me about it, but I mean...it was a fight between bros so I didn't really think anything of it, but at the end of our meeting, Zavien brings it up like it’s this major political concern," she continues, the sharp edge of disbelief in her voice softened by humour. "Like he expected me, as queen, to care that one of my citizens got into an argument with the Commander of Stormbreak, instead of just...the guy behind the title." Her grip tightens on the umbrella handle, gold rings glinting as the rain drums a steady rhythm above. "Then he tried to offer advice, which felt like he was totally just mansplaining."
Flora glances sidelong at Niki then, eyes sparkling with both irritation and delight at her own defiance. "So I made sure to remind him who’s in charge of the strongest region," she says breezily, "and who’s in charge of the weakest." Her smile is all sugar and poison—sweet as citrus, sharp as its peel just as it had been back then—as she leads them onward through the rain. "So that shut him up pretty quick."
