flora
Flora's lashes flutter, exaggerated and saccharine. “"You could always just take Kai’s word," she says in a tone sweet enough to curdle, "that he pinky swears not to tell." The Ark lists again, harder this time, and she has to catch the desk with her palm to steady herself, the sudden tilt scraping her patience thin. She glares at him openly now, certain it’s his doing, before straightening with a sharp inhale. "I'll go back to mine. I'm pretty sure the distance between our ships won’t bother Safrin."
She doesn’t wait for his response, but instead turns and walks out of the chartroom, spine straight, knowing he’ll follow in his own sweet fucking time, and crosses the deck without acknowledging the crew. The rope ladder sways between hulls as she climbs down, and the second her feet touch the Sugartide she untethers it, fingers working fast so The Ark can’t decide to drift and drag her with it. The Maw yawns below, the air warm and restless as she heads straight for the stairs and down into the dim below deck.
"Kai," she calls, breath thinner than she’d like, and the moment she sees him she reaches without hesitation, wrapping herself around him in a tight, immediate hug. "Jack agreed," she whispers, relief breaking through the seams of her composure, her body trembling faintly now that she doesn’t have to hold herself rigid. She presses her face briefly against his shoulder, inhaling like she needs the reminder of something steady and warm, before pulling back just enough to take his hand and tug him toward the stairs.
They’d talked about this ahead of time, about what he’d focus on if he felt his thoughts drifting somewhere dangerous, about keeping his mind on neutral ground, on safe loops, on anything that wouldn’t snap like a tripwire under pressure. She can only hope neither he nor Jack does something reckless in the next few minutes, that pride doesn’t flare, that the fragile shape of this agreement doesn’t splinter before Safrin can witness it.
She doesn’t wait for his response, but instead turns and walks out of the chartroom, spine straight, knowing he’ll follow in his own sweet fucking time, and crosses the deck without acknowledging the crew. The rope ladder sways between hulls as she climbs down, and the second her feet touch the Sugartide she untethers it, fingers working fast so The Ark can’t decide to drift and drag her with it. The Maw yawns below, the air warm and restless as she heads straight for the stairs and down into the dim below deck.
"Kai," she calls, breath thinner than she’d like, and the moment she sees him she reaches without hesitation, wrapping herself around him in a tight, immediate hug. "Jack agreed," she whispers, relief breaking through the seams of her composure, her body trembling faintly now that she doesn’t have to hold herself rigid. She presses her face briefly against his shoulder, inhaling like she needs the reminder of something steady and warm, before pulling back just enough to take his hand and tug him toward the stairs.
They’d talked about this ahead of time, about what he’d focus on if he felt his thoughts drifting somewhere dangerous, about keeping his mind on neutral ground, on safe loops, on anything that wouldn’t snap like a tripwire under pressure. She can only hope neither he nor Jack does something reckless in the next few minutes, that pride doesn’t flare, that the fragile shape of this agreement doesn’t splinter before Safrin can witness it.
you're under the feeling like teenagers in cars
it ain't robbing or stealing if the moment is ours
it ain't robbing or stealing if the moment is ours
