Flora
The little procession catches Flora’s attention so thoroughly that she misses the actual stumble, only turning at the sharp little intake of breath that follows it. By then, Kaisel is already rubbing at his leg and administering whatever punishment he thinks a root deserves for the crime of existing in his path, and her head tilts as she looks him over with all the playful judgement he’s earned.
Her attention returns quickly to the figures moving ahead of them, and to the smaller version of her husband in particular. Watching little Kaisel march along beneath Stormbreak’s remembered Longheat with all the confidence of a boy who’s been handed something important to do makes something soft and helpless spread through her chest. When he flutters his eyelashes at her, it only gets worse; her smile runs away with itself, mirrored through the bond as she shakes her head. "Shut up. You’re actually so adorable." Then, grinning fiendly at him, innocently she wonders, "whatever happened?"
She follows along as he points everyone out, taking in the boy who’s eating rather than singing, the teacher’s pet at the front, the one swaying like he might burst apart if he has to walk in a straight line for too long. It feels strangely intimate to be allowed this glimpse of him before her, not because it’s some grand secret, but because it’s so ordinary: Kaisel as a child, surrounded by other children, having a good day. As the shapes soften and begin to fade from the reach of her magic, Flora sighs quietly, watching them disappear into the glowing roots as though they’re simply off to finish the rest of their adventure without them.
"Obviously there are different predators," she counters, rolling her eyes as they continue on. "It’s just that most of them act pretty much the same. They’re usually eager to eat you, for one, which seems like a fairly obvious commonality to avoid."
His mention of spitballs earns a look from the corner of her eye that is far too knowing to be innocent, but when he asks to see one of her own childhood outings, Flora’s grin returns properly. She stands a touch taller, brows lifting as though he’s requested something especially impressive, and then reaches into the familiar places of her memory and the Undergrove ahead of them fills with the Greatwood.
It comes in pieces at first: a river bright beneath filtered green and gold light, the enormous shapes of trees rising around it, and then the children themselves. Flora, Enzo, and Mateo are all there, with the twins splashing through the shallows of the Stongsong after giant gold fish while Mateo pauses near the bank to collect seeds. Above them, tucked high into the branches of one of the towering trees, their treehouse sits broad and familiar against the canopy. "The best part about living in the Greatwood is that once you learned how to get the woods to listen to you, you could go super far from home and then still make it back for dinner in, like, five minutes."
As though summoned by the thought, Enzo's voice carries lightly through the memory when he announces that he's hungry. The three of them climb up the riverbank, and almost immediately the forest shifts around them. Trees and roots rearrange themselves with the quiet certainty of something making room, and where the Greatwood had stretched endlessly ahead only moments before, Vai's cottage appears just a few yards away.
Her attention returns quickly to the figures moving ahead of them, and to the smaller version of her husband in particular. Watching little Kaisel march along beneath Stormbreak’s remembered Longheat with all the confidence of a boy who’s been handed something important to do makes something soft and helpless spread through her chest. When he flutters his eyelashes at her, it only gets worse; her smile runs away with itself, mirrored through the bond as she shakes her head. "Shut up. You’re actually so adorable." Then, grinning fiendly at him, innocently she wonders, "whatever happened?"
She follows along as he points everyone out, taking in the boy who’s eating rather than singing, the teacher’s pet at the front, the one swaying like he might burst apart if he has to walk in a straight line for too long. It feels strangely intimate to be allowed this glimpse of him before her, not because it’s some grand secret, but because it’s so ordinary: Kaisel as a child, surrounded by other children, having a good day. As the shapes soften and begin to fade from the reach of her magic, Flora sighs quietly, watching them disappear into the glowing roots as though they’re simply off to finish the rest of their adventure without them.
"Obviously there are different predators," she counters, rolling her eyes as they continue on. "It’s just that most of them act pretty much the same. They’re usually eager to eat you, for one, which seems like a fairly obvious commonality to avoid."
His mention of spitballs earns a look from the corner of her eye that is far too knowing to be innocent, but when he asks to see one of her own childhood outings, Flora’s grin returns properly. She stands a touch taller, brows lifting as though he’s requested something especially impressive, and then reaches into the familiar places of her memory and the Undergrove ahead of them fills with the Greatwood.
It comes in pieces at first: a river bright beneath filtered green and gold light, the enormous shapes of trees rising around it, and then the children themselves. Flora, Enzo, and Mateo are all there, with the twins splashing through the shallows of the Stongsong after giant gold fish while Mateo pauses near the bank to collect seeds. Above them, tucked high into the branches of one of the towering trees, their treehouse sits broad and familiar against the canopy. "The best part about living in the Greatwood is that once you learned how to get the woods to listen to you, you could go super far from home and then still make it back for dinner in, like, five minutes."
As though summoned by the thought, Enzo's voice carries lightly through the memory when he announces that he's hungry. The three of them climb up the riverbank, and almost immediately the forest shifts around them. Trees and roots rearrange themselves with the quiet certainty of something making room, and where the Greatwood had stretched endlessly ahead only moments before, Vai's cottage appears just a few yards away.
Fatefully, I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me
Misery, Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep
Misery, Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep
Code stolen from Queen Sky
