your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand
"Ughhh!!" Flora groans, dragging the sound out with the full weight of a long-suffering sister dealing with childhood betrayal, rolling her eyes so hard it’s a wonder they don’t spin right out of her head. But the smile that follows—soft and bright and undeniably fond—betrays her entirely, flashing toward Mateo like an echo of the grins they used to trade in the Greatwood, all bark-stained knees and conspiracies shared between sunbeams.
The warmth lingers for a breath longer until she looks back to where Ronin stands beside Remi with the pot cradled in his arms and apology blooming on his face. Had he left it at that first line, that too-careful iF FloRa WanTs, she might have met it with ice, might have let the earlier hurt flare bright enough to send him packing. But Kai’s hand is a quiet anchor against her back, his thumb tracing back and forth in a steady rhythm that grounds her in the space they share, and when Ronin speaks again—earnest and direct—something within her begins to yield.
"Well," she sighs, lifting one hand in something that looks suspiciously like royal pardon before she exhales, dramatic but not cruel, the sound more a performance of surrender than true indignation. "If you ever say anything about Kai sticking it in ime again, I will channel you and make you sit and listen while I describe—in detail—exactly how he does it." Her tone is deceptively sweet, her eyes glinting with something dangerously playful as she levels the full weight of her threat upon him. "With anatomical accuracy and metaphors."
Turning her gaze toward Kaisel now, her smile blooms in earnest—softer, more intimate—and her expression glows with the warmth that only ever shows up when she looks at him like this. "We are great together," she agrees, her voice dipping just enough for it to feel private despite the audience, and after a breath, she adds softly, "and I'm lucky to be around him, too."
Flora lets her fingers drift from his arm as she slides gracefully into a chair, her lashes fluttering as she inhales deeply and finally looks toward Ronin again. "It does smell really good," she concedes with a sniff, as if surprised the food managed to survive their family drama, her grin sharp now but no longer cold.
The warmth lingers for a breath longer until she looks back to where Ronin stands beside Remi with the pot cradled in his arms and apology blooming on his face. Had he left it at that first line, that too-careful iF FloRa WanTs, she might have met it with ice, might have let the earlier hurt flare bright enough to send him packing. But Kai’s hand is a quiet anchor against her back, his thumb tracing back and forth in a steady rhythm that grounds her in the space they share, and when Ronin speaks again—earnest and direct—something within her begins to yield.
"Well," she sighs, lifting one hand in something that looks suspiciously like royal pardon before she exhales, dramatic but not cruel, the sound more a performance of surrender than true indignation. "If you ever say anything about Kai sticking it in ime again, I will channel you and make you sit and listen while I describe—in detail—exactly how he does it." Her tone is deceptively sweet, her eyes glinting with something dangerously playful as she levels the full weight of her threat upon him. "With anatomical accuracy and metaphors."
Turning her gaze toward Kaisel now, her smile blooms in earnest—softer, more intimate—and her expression glows with the warmth that only ever shows up when she looks at him like this. "We are great together," she agrees, her voice dipping just enough for it to feel private despite the audience, and after a breath, she adds softly, "and I'm lucky to be around him, too."
Flora lets her fingers drift from his arm as she slides gracefully into a chair, her lashes fluttering as she inhales deeply and finally looks toward Ronin again. "It does smell really good," she concedes with a sniff, as if surprised the food managed to survive their family drama, her grin sharp now but no longer cold.
