Whether I'm gonna curse you out or
Take you back to my house
Take you back to my house
Flora snickers softly, shaking her head as she drags her sponge down the wall in broad, sloppy strokes. "Oh, I bet," she murmurs, voice bubbling with laughter she doesn’t quite let go of. Holding out her bucket, she flashes him a quick, bright grin. "Mind topping me up with some hot water?" She wrinkles her nose as though personally offended by the mud’s tenacity.
When he mentions Frey, she hums in quiet agreement, her gaze softening. "Yeah. I get that," she says simply, then exhales a small sigh, inadvertently echoing Sunjata's own thoughts on the matter: "It isn't your fault, either." The words are gentle but firm, as if she means for him to hear them—really hear them—even over the squelch of mud and the steady splash of water.
Her grin returns when the conversation lightens again. "I was actually talking to Melita about channelling," she says, brightening. "Promised I’d see what it was like for her after." The memory makes her wrinkle her nose, and she scrubs a bit harder. "Actually, she got channelled at LongNight and nearly drowned when her wild magic went haywire. Took a nap on top of the ocean." She glances over with a look that’s half exasperation, half affection.
When Sunjata mentions Tal, Flora hums, chipper as can be as if that was who she'd been wondering about. "Oh! That’s good," she says too quickly, scrubbing like her life depends on it. But at the name that follows, her rhythm falters, strokes slowing until the sponge just rests uselessly in her hand. Jack. The sound of it cracks something small and fragile in her chest. She forces a swallow, throat tightening, wondering what exactly he’d told Jata—if anything at all—and what that silence means.
Her arm drops, and she exhales slowly, staring at the wall but not seeing it anymore. "We’d been broken up for a while," she begins, her voice thin around the edges. "After what happened with Dahlia, he was furious with me, and it just..ended." The words land like stones, one after another. "But then the masquerade happened, we—" she swallows again, sighs, sets her sponge down with a quiet thud. "We hooked up. And then just...kinda kept randomly sleeping together."
She rubs at her wrist absently, smearing a streak of mud across her skin without noticing. "He told me he couldn’t keep doing that. Said he wanted to get back together." Her voice trembles slightly before she steadies it. "We both said we’d try. That we’d be better this time, especially with his telepathy, because that really..." Her breath catches, her hand curling around the edge of the bucket if having to remind herself that yes, she was allowed to mention Jack's telepathy to Sunjata. "It really fucked us up."
Tears rise before she can blink them away, blurring the wall into soft, watery light. "I asked him if he could make me happy," she says quietly. Looking up at Sunjata, she forces a shaky laugh, one that doesn’t reach her eyes. "He didn’t say yes. Didn’t even try to lie, just said it wasn’t up to him. That he’d try harder than he had before." The ache in her chest deepens, old wounds protesting their reopening. She shakes her head quickly, as if it might scatter the memories back into silence. "Maybe it was stupid of me," she whispers, scrubbing at the wall again without purpose. "To focus on that so much. But I loved him so much, but I just—" Her voice falters, breaks. "I wasn’t happy." Not the way that, in the brief interim he'd been allowed to, Kaisel had shown her how happy she really could be.
She glances over guiltily, eyes rimmed with saltwater. "I was supposed to meet him, but I wrote him a letter saying I couldn’t do it again and then he was just...gone." Her voice softens until it’s barely more than breath. "He just left Torchline." Floar's hands are still now, fingers wet and trembling, as she shrugs. "Anyway. That's what happened."
When he mentions Frey, she hums in quiet agreement, her gaze softening. "Yeah. I get that," she says simply, then exhales a small sigh, inadvertently echoing Sunjata's own thoughts on the matter: "It isn't your fault, either." The words are gentle but firm, as if she means for him to hear them—really hear them—even over the squelch of mud and the steady splash of water.
Her grin returns when the conversation lightens again. "I was actually talking to Melita about channelling," she says, brightening. "Promised I’d see what it was like for her after." The memory makes her wrinkle her nose, and she scrubs a bit harder. "Actually, she got channelled at LongNight and nearly drowned when her wild magic went haywire. Took a nap on top of the ocean." She glances over with a look that’s half exasperation, half affection.
When Sunjata mentions Tal, Flora hums, chipper as can be as if that was who she'd been wondering about. "Oh! That’s good," she says too quickly, scrubbing like her life depends on it. But at the name that follows, her rhythm falters, strokes slowing until the sponge just rests uselessly in her hand. Jack. The sound of it cracks something small and fragile in her chest. She forces a swallow, throat tightening, wondering what exactly he’d told Jata—if anything at all—and what that silence means.
Her arm drops, and she exhales slowly, staring at the wall but not seeing it anymore. "We’d been broken up for a while," she begins, her voice thin around the edges. "After what happened with Dahlia, he was furious with me, and it just..ended." The words land like stones, one after another. "But then the masquerade happened, we—" she swallows again, sighs, sets her sponge down with a quiet thud. "We hooked up. And then just...kinda kept randomly sleeping together."
She rubs at her wrist absently, smearing a streak of mud across her skin without noticing. "He told me he couldn’t keep doing that. Said he wanted to get back together." Her voice trembles slightly before she steadies it. "We both said we’d try. That we’d be better this time, especially with his telepathy, because that really..." Her breath catches, her hand curling around the edge of the bucket if having to remind herself that yes, she was allowed to mention Jack's telepathy to Sunjata. "It really fucked us up."
Tears rise before she can blink them away, blurring the wall into soft, watery light. "I asked him if he could make me happy," she says quietly. Looking up at Sunjata, she forces a shaky laugh, one that doesn’t reach her eyes. "He didn’t say yes. Didn’t even try to lie, just said it wasn’t up to him. That he’d try harder than he had before." The ache in her chest deepens, old wounds protesting their reopening. She shakes her head quickly, as if it might scatter the memories back into silence. "Maybe it was stupid of me," she whispers, scrubbing at the wall again without purpose. "To focus on that so much. But I loved him so much, but I just—" Her voice falters, breaks. "I wasn’t happy." Not the way that, in the brief interim he'd been allowed to, Kaisel had shown her how happy she really could be.
She glances over guiltily, eyes rimmed with saltwater. "I was supposed to meet him, but I wrote him a letter saying I couldn’t do it again and then he was just...gone." Her voice softens until it’s barely more than breath. "He just left Torchline." Floar's hands are still now, fingers wet and trembling, as she shrugs. "Anyway. That's what happened."
flora
I haven't decided yet
But I'm gonna get you back
But I'm gonna get you back
