Flora
Flora listens the way she always does when it’s Soh—fully, greedily, like every word matters and also like she’s mentally filing half of it away under juicy. Her attention is bright and intent, chin tipped up slightly, eyes fixed on Soh’s face as the story unspools, sympathy and recognition threading together because gods knew Soh had held space for far too much of Flora’s romantic shrapnel over the last year.
Her mouth drops open with theatrical precision, the reaction so immediate it almost sends a ripple through the water between them as Soh mentions that Koa had asked her to shower with him. "I’m sorry," Flora blurts, incredulous and delighted in equal measure, "what?" Her head tilts sharply to the side, curls slipping wetly over one shoulder as she stares at Soh, imploring and disbelieving all at once, before she has to shake her head to disguise the laugh trying to claw its way out of her chest. "No, because—" A huffed breath, shoulders lifting. "Honestly? That sounds exactly like something Koa would do." He'd disappeared on Flora once too, and then shown up like nothing had happened, like they could just fall back into each other's arms as easily as anything else. And Flora had. Still, she winces immediately, lifting a hand. "Not that I know Koa better than you do," she adds quickly, mouth twisting, because for everything that summer had held for she and the dragoon, it was nothing to what had sparked between him and the Luminary.
Her gaze flicks over Soh’s shoulder then, a quick glance toward the open stretch of pool, and she tips her chin slightly. The house responds like it’s been waiting for a cue; water shifts, displaced by something large and buoyant drifting in from the edge, followed by another, the spirits clearly pleased with themselves. Flora turns back just as two oversized floaties glide into reach, both of them unmistakably shaped like tumseas, their carved grins faintly ridiculous. She groans affectionately, rolling her eyes skyward. "Gods, what a mess."
She reaches out, grabs the tumsea floatie, and with a practiced little hop hoists herself onto it, water sloshing softly as she settles astride, forearms draped over its neck. Gold rings catch the sun as she exhales, long and thoughtful. "Okay," she says, squinting slightly as she lines it all up in her head. "So. Options." She ticks them off with a lazy tilt of her fingers. "Option one: you see where things go with Koa, knowing full well that he could absolutely break your heart for—what—like the third time?" Her mouth twists, honest but not cruel. "But also maybe it ends really well. Maybe it’s worth the risk because you two have been going round and round for, like, years now."
Her eyes slide back to Soh, playful light creeping in despite everything. "Orrrrrrrrrrrr—" The word stretches, singsong and deliberate. "Maybe you find your own Kaisel." Her brows lift meaningfully, a smile threading its way into her voice despite herself. "I never thought of Kai as anything other than Koa’s cousin," she admits, shrugging one shoulder. "And then one day everything just...changed, and now I've literally never been happier, and he was right there all along." The grin softens as she looks at her friend, fond and earnest beneath the teasing. "Maybe that’s what you need."
Her mouth drops open with theatrical precision, the reaction so immediate it almost sends a ripple through the water between them as Soh mentions that Koa had asked her to shower with him. "I’m sorry," Flora blurts, incredulous and delighted in equal measure, "what?" Her head tilts sharply to the side, curls slipping wetly over one shoulder as she stares at Soh, imploring and disbelieving all at once, before she has to shake her head to disguise the laugh trying to claw its way out of her chest. "No, because—" A huffed breath, shoulders lifting. "Honestly? That sounds exactly like something Koa would do." He'd disappeared on Flora once too, and then shown up like nothing had happened, like they could just fall back into each other's arms as easily as anything else. And Flora had. Still, she winces immediately, lifting a hand. "Not that I know Koa better than you do," she adds quickly, mouth twisting, because for everything that summer had held for she and the dragoon, it was nothing to what had sparked between him and the Luminary.
Her gaze flicks over Soh’s shoulder then, a quick glance toward the open stretch of pool, and she tips her chin slightly. The house responds like it’s been waiting for a cue; water shifts, displaced by something large and buoyant drifting in from the edge, followed by another, the spirits clearly pleased with themselves. Flora turns back just as two oversized floaties glide into reach, both of them unmistakably shaped like tumseas, their carved grins faintly ridiculous. She groans affectionately, rolling her eyes skyward. "Gods, what a mess."
She reaches out, grabs the tumsea floatie, and with a practiced little hop hoists herself onto it, water sloshing softly as she settles astride, forearms draped over its neck. Gold rings catch the sun as she exhales, long and thoughtful. "Okay," she says, squinting slightly as she lines it all up in her head. "So. Options." She ticks them off with a lazy tilt of her fingers. "Option one: you see where things go with Koa, knowing full well that he could absolutely break your heart for—what—like the third time?" Her mouth twists, honest but not cruel. "But also maybe it ends really well. Maybe it’s worth the risk because you two have been going round and round for, like, years now."
Her eyes slide back to Soh, playful light creeping in despite everything. "Orrrrrrrrrrrr—" The word stretches, singsong and deliberate. "Maybe you find your own Kaisel." Her brows lift meaningfully, a smile threading its way into her voice despite herself. "I never thought of Kai as anything other than Koa’s cousin," she admits, shrugging one shoulder. "And then one day everything just...changed, and now I've literally never been happier, and he was right there all along." The grin softens as she looks at her friend, fond and earnest beneath the teasing. "Maybe that’s what you need."
I hope you're sweating the bigger stuff,
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in
Code stolen from Queen Sky
