Flora
Flora’s head tips in immediate, emphatic understanding, the tumsea bobbing beneath her as she nods a little too hard. "I know," she says, soft but absolute, eyes warm on Soh’s face. "I really do." Her mouth curves, gentler now. "But now that you’re back in Torchline, you won’t have to be alone." She gestures vaguely with one hand, water slipping through her fingers. "You’ve got me, obviously. And the spirits—" as if summoned by the mention, something unseen sloshes the water approvingly "—and with Mateo and Enzo in the house, there is always someone around for coffee dates or questionable shenanigans. You won’t be rattling around by yourself unless you want to."
Her tone shifts then, grounding without turning heavy. "And if Koa isn’t the one, then he just...isn’t. If you stay hung up on him, maybe you’re missing out on something really good." Her lips press together briefly, a glance skimming the water. "I nearly missed out on Kai because of Jack," she admits quietly, not lingering on it, just letting the truth sit where it belongs.
Then Soh asks about Kaisel, and Flora absolutely lights up. The smile hits first, growing too fast, too bright, until she has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep it from completely running away with her. She glances down at her left hand without quite meaning to, eyes catching on the sparkly orange hair tie looped around her wrist, and she has to inhale sharply, like she’s physically holding back a little scream of joy threatening to burst out of her throat. She paddles closer, tumsea nudging against Soh’s floatie as she leans in, conspiratorial and vibrating with barely contained excitement. "Okay," she says, already grinning so hard it’s difficult to get the words out, "don’t freak out, but—"
The pause is useless. She laughs, breathless, and then it all spills out in one rush, barely contained by lungs or sense. "Kai and I got secretly married last week."
Flora sucks in another breath and just keeps going, words tumbling over each other, hands gesturing helplessly as if she might catch them. "We hadn’t planned to do it, and obviously there is going to be a real wedding later where you will be my maid of honour, but...well, Kai had flown up to the Cordillera after I'd run into Jack. I was an absolute wreck and one thing had turned into another and he just happened to already have my engagement ring with him since he was going to ask anyway, and so he proposed, and suddenly it felt like making that promise permanent seemed like the most important thing, so I channelled Safrin and...yeah." All of it pours out in one long, exhilarated exhale, leaving Flora flushed and slightly breathless.
When she finally stops, she’s laughing softly, looking down at her left hand again like she still can’t quite believe it. "He hasn’t even had a chance to talk to my dads yet," she adds, fond and a little awed. "And we knew Asta was going to propose to Danta, so we didn’t want to steal their thunder." Her smile lingers there, bright and full and unmistakably real, before she looks back up at Soh, eyes shining.
"The plan is to tell everyone in a week or so, so that it isn't right after Asta, but...yeah."
Her tone shifts then, grounding without turning heavy. "And if Koa isn’t the one, then he just...isn’t. If you stay hung up on him, maybe you’re missing out on something really good." Her lips press together briefly, a glance skimming the water. "I nearly missed out on Kai because of Jack," she admits quietly, not lingering on it, just letting the truth sit where it belongs.
Then Soh asks about Kaisel, and Flora absolutely lights up. The smile hits first, growing too fast, too bright, until she has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep it from completely running away with her. She glances down at her left hand without quite meaning to, eyes catching on the sparkly orange hair tie looped around her wrist, and she has to inhale sharply, like she’s physically holding back a little scream of joy threatening to burst out of her throat. She paddles closer, tumsea nudging against Soh’s floatie as she leans in, conspiratorial and vibrating with barely contained excitement. "Okay," she says, already grinning so hard it’s difficult to get the words out, "don’t freak out, but—"
The pause is useless. She laughs, breathless, and then it all spills out in one rush, barely contained by lungs or sense. "Kai and I got secretly married last week."
Flora sucks in another breath and just keeps going, words tumbling over each other, hands gesturing helplessly as if she might catch them. "We hadn’t planned to do it, and obviously there is going to be a real wedding later where you will be my maid of honour, but...well, Kai had flown up to the Cordillera after I'd run into Jack. I was an absolute wreck and one thing had turned into another and he just happened to already have my engagement ring with him since he was going to ask anyway, and so he proposed, and suddenly it felt like making that promise permanent seemed like the most important thing, so I channelled Safrin and...yeah." All of it pours out in one long, exhilarated exhale, leaving Flora flushed and slightly breathless.
When she finally stops, she’s laughing softly, looking down at her left hand again like she still can’t quite believe it. "He hasn’t even had a chance to talk to my dads yet," she adds, fond and a little awed. "And we knew Asta was going to propose to Danta, so we didn’t want to steal their thunder." Her smile lingers there, bright and full and unmistakably real, before she looks back up at Soh, eyes shining.
"The plan is to tell everyone in a week or so, so that it isn't right after Asta, but...yeah."
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
