you must burn brighter than ever
The Honeybee usually didn’t care for how anyone reacted to her own temperamental exchanges but remained wholly unaware of how much weight hers might’ve carried. It was easier to flare into anger over much else; a protective layer of fury to guard everything else under the surface. Kaisel had only invoked her wrath on the singular occasion, so when he beamed back at her, informing her of the meaning behind it, her brow arched, mentally taken aback. What was with people who could just easily say shit? Well, besides her, obviously – poor impulse control and forthright platitudes were a symbol of her existence; she just wasn't certain what to do when it was shoved back at her.
Though she’d already carefully maneuvered around the next panel of mud splatter, back to as he began complaining and grousing about Jack. Melita walked a fine line there. She’d been a member of the Ark for many years before her demigodhood had taken over her occupation, and she knew the Captain to a certain extent. Respected. Listened to him, sometimes. But she didn’t always necessarily agree with his life choices, and Flora had been one of those sticking points. With Flora so young and enamored with someone who would’ve easily toyed and tossed her about without much cause for concern on her part, she’d always surveyed the relationship as ‘gross’, and hadn’t hidden her opinion. Little good that had done in the long run. So her nose wrinkled slightly, as she applied more pressure into the grime. “He was a big part of her life,” unfortunately, she started, trying to walk around the wounds. He’d probably left some large, jagged pieces behind too. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be more. I mean, if she’s content - ,” she shrugged, as if to say ‘wasn’t that enough?’, or maybe to soothe some worries that he’d stated weren’t there, but she figured anyone would have apprehensions over the serrated fringes Jack had scorched. “Last time I talked to her, she seemed happy. At peace.”
Hoping all of that would distract him, the reel of it came back to her anyway, and she rolled her eyes, huffing a breath as she turned back to glance at him over her shoulder. Still protective and daunted within the same stroke, she went mulish, pressing her rag harder into the wooden surface. “None ya,” she offered with a cheeky grin. “I haven’t even told my uncle yet, so you’re not getting dibs either.” Not that Sunjata would care. She just didn’t really know how to go about anything anymore; floundering around like a fish out of water. “Gods, I don’t even want to think about a family dinner.” But maybe something for later.
She’d made space for Iskra with ease after all; she always had when they were younger, and now it’d become nothing to jettison her skyship back and forth between Torchline and Halo and places in the middle. But plans – things and notes for the future, had never been a Melita experience. She was more apt to boldly proclaim a game in the middle of a clearing in some land because the world needed amusement, not pencil in certain fixtures upon a calendar. But maybe this was where she needed to start – to remember she wasn’t alone in all these interims anymore – and even that was sometimes a surprise. A fierce independence didn’t have to be lost, and Iskra had never asked for it –
But she felt like a fumbling fool where Kaisel seemed to have, well, most of it figured out in a short timeframe. “She does love a party – and even better if it’s about her,” offered on a wink, taking the rag and wringing it out. “What sort of gift?”
Though she’d already carefully maneuvered around the next panel of mud splatter, back to as he began complaining and grousing about Jack. Melita walked a fine line there. She’d been a member of the Ark for many years before her demigodhood had taken over her occupation, and she knew the Captain to a certain extent. Respected. Listened to him, sometimes. But she didn’t always necessarily agree with his life choices, and Flora had been one of those sticking points. With Flora so young and enamored with someone who would’ve easily toyed and tossed her about without much cause for concern on her part, she’d always surveyed the relationship as ‘gross’, and hadn’t hidden her opinion. Little good that had done in the long run. So her nose wrinkled slightly, as she applied more pressure into the grime. “He was a big part of her life,” unfortunately, she started, trying to walk around the wounds. He’d probably left some large, jagged pieces behind too. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be more. I mean, if she’s content - ,” she shrugged, as if to say ‘wasn’t that enough?’, or maybe to soothe some worries that he’d stated weren’t there, but she figured anyone would have apprehensions over the serrated fringes Jack had scorched. “Last time I talked to her, she seemed happy. At peace.”
Hoping all of that would distract him, the reel of it came back to her anyway, and she rolled her eyes, huffing a breath as she turned back to glance at him over her shoulder. Still protective and daunted within the same stroke, she went mulish, pressing her rag harder into the wooden surface. “None ya,” she offered with a cheeky grin. “I haven’t even told my uncle yet, so you’re not getting dibs either.” Not that Sunjata would care. She just didn’t really know how to go about anything anymore; floundering around like a fish out of water. “Gods, I don’t even want to think about a family dinner.” But maybe something for later.
She’d made space for Iskra with ease after all; she always had when they were younger, and now it’d become nothing to jettison her skyship back and forth between Torchline and Halo and places in the middle. But plans – things and notes for the future, had never been a Melita experience. She was more apt to boldly proclaim a game in the middle of a clearing in some land because the world needed amusement, not pencil in certain fixtures upon a calendar. But maybe this was where she needed to start – to remember she wasn’t alone in all these interims anymore – and even that was sometimes a surprise. A fierce independence didn’t have to be lost, and Iskra had never asked for it –
But she felt like a fumbling fool where Kaisel seemed to have, well, most of it figured out in a short timeframe. “She does love a party – and even better if it’s about her,” offered on a wink, taking the rag and wringing it out. “What sort of gift?”
Melita
