flora
Flora just grins at that, shaking her head as if Melita has badly underestimated the sheer entertainment value of being able to pry open reality’s receipts whenever she pleases. "Nah, I don’t think it’ll be boring," she says, the steam pearling against her cheeks while the starlit water laps glitter-bright against her collarbones. "Even in times when it’s like...oh, I need to recall a memory to know what groceries I’m supposed to buy, like, that’s still cool, y’know?" Because sure, yes, obviously there are grander and more devastating uses for the magic, and Flora is absolutely not going to pretend she isn’t already looking forward to the next time someone tries to dress a lie up prettily and hand it to her like a gift, but there’s something delicious about the little uses too.
As Melita continues, Flora’s brows raise, the easy mischief in her face quieting as she realizes the answer is running deeper than she’d expected it to. Her mouth tugs into a faint frown, not because she disagrees, but because the shape of the feeling makes sense in a way she doesn’t particularly like; she has never thought of Melita as weak, not once, and the idea that anyone might make her feel like an opening act before the real power arrived sits badly beneath Flora’s ribs. "I kinda know what you mean," she says after a moment, letting out a small sigh as her fingers drift through the surface of the hotspring, scattering the reflected starlight into loose, broken pieces.
"Not as a demigod, obviously, but like... back when all the Family shit was happening and I went to bargain with Dahlia, everyone acted like I was insane for doing it, like I should have just left things up to the Ronins and Remis and Deimoses and Sunjatas." Lifting her eyebrows, Flora gives Melita a look that says surely she understands this without needing it explained to death, because if anyone knows what it feels like to be underestimated until the world is already on fire, it is probably the Honeybee. "But like...they aren’t the only ones capable of doing shit, y’know?"
The seriousness doesn’t vanish so much as sharpen into something crooked and warmer, Flora’s grin returning with a tilt as she settles back into the heat and lets the magic of Safrin’s Mirror ease away another bright thread of soreness from her shoulders. "Well," she says, her voice turning lighter again as her eyes gleam across the water, "at least this way I can still channel you when I need you." And not just to help her beat boys at swimming races.
As Melita continues, Flora’s brows raise, the easy mischief in her face quieting as she realizes the answer is running deeper than she’d expected it to. Her mouth tugs into a faint frown, not because she disagrees, but because the shape of the feeling makes sense in a way she doesn’t particularly like; she has never thought of Melita as weak, not once, and the idea that anyone might make her feel like an opening act before the real power arrived sits badly beneath Flora’s ribs. "I kinda know what you mean," she says after a moment, letting out a small sigh as her fingers drift through the surface of the hotspring, scattering the reflected starlight into loose, broken pieces.
"Not as a demigod, obviously, but like... back when all the Family shit was happening and I went to bargain with Dahlia, everyone acted like I was insane for doing it, like I should have just left things up to the Ronins and Remis and Deimoses and Sunjatas." Lifting her eyebrows, Flora gives Melita a look that says surely she understands this without needing it explained to death, because if anyone knows what it feels like to be underestimated until the world is already on fire, it is probably the Honeybee. "But like...they aren’t the only ones capable of doing shit, y’know?"
The seriousness doesn’t vanish so much as sharpen into something crooked and warmer, Flora’s grin returning with a tilt as she settles back into the heat and lets the magic of Safrin’s Mirror ease away another bright thread of soreness from her shoulders. "Well," she says, her voice turning lighter again as her eyes gleam across the water, "at least this way I can still channel you when I need you." And not just to help her beat boys at swimming races.
The rumors are terrible and cruel
But honey, most of them are true
But honey, most of them are true
