you can call me honey if you want
Flora’s nose wrinkles the moment Colt finally says the name, the reaction arriving fast and theatrical as she leans back like someone’s just waved something sour beneath it. "Vesper?" she repeats, incredulous, one brow arching toward her hairline. "Jack’s son?" Which would have made Flora Colt's MiL if things had worked out for everyone.
The Doubletake makes a soft, dismissive tsk under her breath, the sound sharp enough to carry over the murmur of waves rolling against the towering trees behind them. "Well," she adds with a small, knowing shake of her head, reaching for another grape and tossing it into her mouth, "I can’t say I’m surprised. Like father, like son. You really dodged a bullet, I can promise you that." The words aren’t especially vicious, but there’s an unmistakable note of dry disdain threaded through them as she chews, gaze flicking briefly toward Colt before softening again, as though the judgment is aimed squarely elsewhere.
Melita’s confession pulls her attention back almost instantly, however, and Flora’s expression brightens as the Honeybee stumbles through the explanation. The queen bites lightly at the inside of her cheek as Mel talks about long friendships turning into something more, a flicker of recognition crossing her face before she pushes it down neatly, not wanting to usurp the spotlight. "Iskra?" she echoes, delighted. "I've met him, actually." Her finger lifts slightly as if to mark the memory. "At a market in Halo, ages ago." She winks at Melita across the picnic blanket, grin bright and approving. "He seemed super fun."
The conversation inevitably swings back to her catastrophe, and Flora exhales a long sigh that lifts her shoulders before dropping them again, glancing toward Mel with an apologetic little shrug for having not immediately retaliated. "I honestly thought ignoring him would do the trick," she admits, tone airy but edged with resignation. Her gaze flicks sideways toward Sohalia, a crooked smile tugging at her mouth. "And then, well, I thought using it as an excuse to take my top off would make it seem like he'd done me a favour, or whatever."
She pauses, tilting her head thoughtfully before reaching for the mimosa bottle and pouring herself another glass. "Judging by what an absolute asshole he was when I saw him after, I guess it worked."
Melita’s question about the mysterious girlfriend draws another quick glance back in her direction, and Flora wrinkles her nose faintly as she lifts the glass. "Some redhead I’d never seen before," she says with an indifferent little wave of her hand. "No idea who she was." But she knew Jack well enough to know he didn't sit that cozily with just anyone.
Then she snorts softly, rolling her eyes as the rest of the tangled story spills out. "Kai went on a single date with his daughter Caly." Flora lifts a single finger for emphasis. "After she friendzoned him, he told her he was going to date me, and that pissed her off enough to have her and her siblings burning down the Hanged Man and following Jack to King's End." She takes a sip of her drink, shaking her head slowly as though even now the whole situation refuses to arrange itself into anything sensible.
The attention shifting to Sohalia draws her gaze across the little circle again, the corner of Flora’s mouth curving into a knowing smile as her best friend describes bucking Koa off. Rather than teasing, she simply nods once, pouring another splash into her glass as though the motion gives her something casual to do with her hands. "Well," she says lightly, lifting the mimosa, "if he fumbles you again, that’s the loss of a lifetime." Her eyes flick toward Sohalia with quiet certainty. "You deserve so much more than someone who can't see what they have, especially when it's right in front of them."
The Doubletake makes a soft, dismissive tsk under her breath, the sound sharp enough to carry over the murmur of waves rolling against the towering trees behind them. "Well," she adds with a small, knowing shake of her head, reaching for another grape and tossing it into her mouth, "I can’t say I’m surprised. Like father, like son. You really dodged a bullet, I can promise you that." The words aren’t especially vicious, but there’s an unmistakable note of dry disdain threaded through them as she chews, gaze flicking briefly toward Colt before softening again, as though the judgment is aimed squarely elsewhere.
Melita’s confession pulls her attention back almost instantly, however, and Flora’s expression brightens as the Honeybee stumbles through the explanation. The queen bites lightly at the inside of her cheek as Mel talks about long friendships turning into something more, a flicker of recognition crossing her face before she pushes it down neatly, not wanting to usurp the spotlight. "Iskra?" she echoes, delighted. "I've met him, actually." Her finger lifts slightly as if to mark the memory. "At a market in Halo, ages ago." She winks at Melita across the picnic blanket, grin bright and approving. "He seemed super fun."
The conversation inevitably swings back to her catastrophe, and Flora exhales a long sigh that lifts her shoulders before dropping them again, glancing toward Mel with an apologetic little shrug for having not immediately retaliated. "I honestly thought ignoring him would do the trick," she admits, tone airy but edged with resignation. Her gaze flicks sideways toward Sohalia, a crooked smile tugging at her mouth. "And then, well, I thought using it as an excuse to take my top off would make it seem like he'd done me a favour, or whatever."
She pauses, tilting her head thoughtfully before reaching for the mimosa bottle and pouring herself another glass. "Judging by what an absolute asshole he was when I saw him after, I guess it worked."
Melita’s question about the mysterious girlfriend draws another quick glance back in her direction, and Flora wrinkles her nose faintly as she lifts the glass. "Some redhead I’d never seen before," she says with an indifferent little wave of her hand. "No idea who she was." But she knew Jack well enough to know he didn't sit that cozily with just anyone.
Then she snorts softly, rolling her eyes as the rest of the tangled story spills out. "Kai went on a single date with his daughter Caly." Flora lifts a single finger for emphasis. "After she friendzoned him, he told her he was going to date me, and that pissed her off enough to have her and her siblings burning down the Hanged Man and following Jack to King's End." She takes a sip of her drink, shaking her head slowly as though even now the whole situation refuses to arrange itself into anything sensible.
The attention shifting to Sohalia draws her gaze across the little circle again, the corner of Flora’s mouth curving into a knowing smile as her best friend describes bucking Koa off. Rather than teasing, she simply nods once, pouring another splash into her glass as though the motion gives her something casual to do with her hands. "Well," she says lightly, lifting the mimosa, "if he fumbles you again, that’s the loss of a lifetime." Her eyes flick toward Sohalia with quiet certainty. "You deserve so much more than someone who can't see what they have, especially when it's right in front of them."
