flora
Flora shakes her head almost immediately, the motion soft but stubborn, a quiet laugh slipping out of her as if Soh’s reassurance hasn’t quite landed where it’s meant to. "I’m still going to apologize on his behalf," she says anyway, the insistence gentle rather than forceful, like it’s less about obligation and more about smoothing something that doesn’t sit right in her chest.
At the mention of Lena, though, something in her expression shifts, the brightness dimming just a fraction as she exhales softly, gaze dropping for a moment before lifting back to Soh. "Has Zavien ever told you about the fight he and Kai had?" she asks, tilting her head slightly, her voice still easy but threaded with something more careful now. " know I told you a bit about the part I played in it, but Lena was a big part of that whole situation." Her fingers tap lightly against her knee before she adds quickly, almost reflexively, "And I’m not saying Kai was right to bring it up to you at all—he wasn’t. That wasn’t his place. I just.. there’s more history there than it probably sounded like in the moment."
As Soh talks about letting it go but not wanting to see Kai for a minute, Flora blinks, a cloud of surprise passing over her face before she can smooth it away, because it's a stronger reaction than she expects from her, especially given how compassionate and understanding Sohalia usually is, especially given how angry Soh had gotten in the moment. For a second it sits there, unfamiliar, before Flora lets it settle into something else, into the quiet, flickering recognition that maybe Soh is just being—understandably—overly protective of the new man in her life, and if anything, it feels achingly familiar; it's the exact same sharp-edged instinct Kaisel had had when Zavien had threatened his relationship with Flora all those months ago.
"Hey—no," she says, shaking her head again, this time leaning forward slightly, the movement immediate and firm. "Never do that." Her tone softens at the edges, but there’s something resolute underneath it. "I’d way rather be in the middle than have you think I’m just going to take his side no matter what." She huffs a quiet, fond breath, rolling her eyes just a little as if she can already hear the argument that statement might spark elsewhere. "I love him, and I’m always going to be on his side," she adds, lifting a shoulder in an easy shrug, "but that doesn’t mean I’m always going to think he’s right, or not want to hear from you if he's being an idiot."
The moment loosens again after that, tension slipping away as quickly as it came, and her smile returns—bright, familiar, a little mischievous—as she leans back into her chair. "Okay, good," she says, clearly pleased with her place in Soh’s information chain, before her brows lift and she wiggles them playfully. "Is there anything I can do to help you get it sooner?"
At the mention of Lena, though, something in her expression shifts, the brightness dimming just a fraction as she exhales softly, gaze dropping for a moment before lifting back to Soh. "Has Zavien ever told you about the fight he and Kai had?" she asks, tilting her head slightly, her voice still easy but threaded with something more careful now. " know I told you a bit about the part I played in it, but Lena was a big part of that whole situation." Her fingers tap lightly against her knee before she adds quickly, almost reflexively, "And I’m not saying Kai was right to bring it up to you at all—he wasn’t. That wasn’t his place. I just.. there’s more history there than it probably sounded like in the moment."
As Soh talks about letting it go but not wanting to see Kai for a minute, Flora blinks, a cloud of surprise passing over her face before she can smooth it away, because it's a stronger reaction than she expects from her, especially given how compassionate and understanding Sohalia usually is, especially given how angry Soh had gotten in the moment. For a second it sits there, unfamiliar, before Flora lets it settle into something else, into the quiet, flickering recognition that maybe Soh is just being—understandably—overly protective of the new man in her life, and if anything, it feels achingly familiar; it's the exact same sharp-edged instinct Kaisel had had when Zavien had threatened his relationship with Flora all those months ago.
"Hey—no," she says, shaking her head again, this time leaning forward slightly, the movement immediate and firm. "Never do that." Her tone softens at the edges, but there’s something resolute underneath it. "I’d way rather be in the middle than have you think I’m just going to take his side no matter what." She huffs a quiet, fond breath, rolling her eyes just a little as if she can already hear the argument that statement might spark elsewhere. "I love him, and I’m always going to be on his side," she adds, lifting a shoulder in an easy shrug, "but that doesn’t mean I’m always going to think he’s right, or not want to hear from you if he's being an idiot."
The moment loosens again after that, tension slipping away as quickly as it came, and her smile returns—bright, familiar, a little mischievous—as she leans back into her chair. "Okay, good," she says, clearly pleased with her place in Soh’s information chain, before her brows lift and she wiggles them playfully. "Is there anything I can do to help you get it sooner?"
Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price
You know that I bought it
You know that I bought it
