flora
Flora nods slowly, like Ronin's just explained something utterly reasonable. "Ahhh, okay," she says, her tone all mock-serious understanding. "So all I have to do is pick a fight with Caido, win, and then I get afternoons off. Easy." Her grin widens, bright and teasing, before she leans back against the couch and slurps the dregs of her milkshake as though that settles it.
As he keeps talking, though, her expression softens. The way he says he doesn’t care about Torchline in that way makes her brows rise at first, but when he clarifies, she gets it. It’s the kind of answer that feels exactly right coming from him: protective without being possessive, supportive without taking over. Still, a flicker of reluctance curls somewhere beneath her ribs. After all, she’s only just begun to rule on her own; letting someone else in, even for the right reasons, feels a little like sharing air she’s only just learned to breathe.
With a sigh that’s half resignation, half amusement, she nods again. "I did ask Melita if she wanted to get involved politically," she admits, "but she said absolutely not, which is basically what I'd expected." She smiles faintly, tapping her fingers against her cup. "And it would be nice to actually take a vacation without worrying the whole place will catch fire while I’m gone."
Then her grin flickers back, brighter now, play chasing away the hesitation. She shoots him a sidelong look and lifts her hand, pinky crooked toward him. "Pinky-swear we keep professional and personal separate?" she asks, tone mock-solemn but her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Because it'd get pretty awkward if I had to channel Remi or Sunjata to throw you in jail if it came to it."
As he keeps talking, though, her expression softens. The way he says he doesn’t care about Torchline in that way makes her brows rise at first, but when he clarifies, she gets it. It’s the kind of answer that feels exactly right coming from him: protective without being possessive, supportive without taking over. Still, a flicker of reluctance curls somewhere beneath her ribs. After all, she’s only just begun to rule on her own; letting someone else in, even for the right reasons, feels a little like sharing air she’s only just learned to breathe.
With a sigh that’s half resignation, half amusement, she nods again. "I did ask Melita if she wanted to get involved politically," she admits, "but she said absolutely not, which is basically what I'd expected." She smiles faintly, tapping her fingers against her cup. "And it would be nice to actually take a vacation without worrying the whole place will catch fire while I’m gone."
Then her grin flickers back, brighter now, play chasing away the hesitation. She shoots him a sidelong look and lifts her hand, pinky crooked toward him. "Pinky-swear we keep professional and personal separate?" she asks, tone mock-solemn but her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Because it'd get pretty awkward if I had to channel Remi or Sunjata to throw you in jail if it came to it."
and if you'd never come for me, I might've drowned in the melancholy
I swore my loyalty to me, myself, and I, Right before you lit my sky up
I swore my loyalty to me, myself, and I, Right before you lit my sky up
