no amount of freedom gets you clean

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora stands outside the door with one shoulder angled toward Sohalia, fingers curled around the old brass key. Her gold rings catch the light from the corridor windows, glinting as she exhales through her nose. "Honestly if Kai hadn't said anything about it, I probably would've just left it forever. Like a storage unit in my brain that I kept meaning to deal with but never did, y'know?" The attempt at humour lands thin. She looks back at the door and its antique nautical doorknob, shaped like a small brass wheel. The lock clicks with a sound that feels louder than it should, like a glass set too hard against a table, and for a moment her fingers hesitate on the knob. Then she pushes the door open and steps aside just enough to let the air shift past her, as though the room has been holding its breath for months and is finally allowed to exhale.

It is the room with the best view of the sea in the whole house. The entire far wall is windows, arched and generous, looking straight out over the ocean where it stretches endless and unapologetically toward the horizon. Late light slides across the floorboards and climbs the legs of a large antique desk positioned deliberately to face the water, its surface arranged with ships in bottles, each one meticulous, fragile, absurdly romantic in a way she refuses to unpack. Tiny sails frozen mid-wind. Tiny ropes that will never fray.

A brand new couch specifically designed for sex sits angled toward the windows, upholstered in dark leather, positioned like an invitation that no one had ever RSVP'd to. Beside it, half-tucked against the wall, a boxed piece of equipment stamped in block letters—sex swing—still unopened, still waiting for a ceiling that would never hold it. A heavy chest rests near the desk, lid closed but not latched, and she knows without looking what is inside: unused sex toys still wrapped in tissue, a couple of bottles of rum with labels, and a small stack of Jack's clothes folded with more care than they deserved.

The air smells faintly of salt and something older, something that feels like the ghost of cologne and late nights and the particular electricity of wanting someone who wanted you back. "No one has ever been in here but me," Flora admits, and the sadness in her voice sounds more like failure rather than meloncholly.

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Sohalia

This was not a task that Soh would ever allow Flora to tackle alone, and so she stood beside her best friend in the hall, staring at a door that felt both bigger and smaller than she might have imagined. She imagined that if she looked hard enough, there would be dust motes falling from the handle as the key turned in the lock, the room long since tucked away and almost, but not quite, forgotten. "You can love Kai with everything you have and this room can still make you sad," she pointed out softly. "You're allowed to mourn, you know." Not, perhaps, Jack's loss - but that she had given so much of herself for so long to a man with whom she didn't really fit.

They stepped through the doorway and into a room with a stunning view of the sea. Large windows took up the far wall of the room, and Soh paused long enough to admire the waves crashing on the beach and the distant horizon line before turning her gaze to everything else the room contained. A desk, antique and beautiful, containing small ships inside bottles that meant little to Soh but would probably mean a great deal to someone more seaworthy than her. A dark leather couch that she didn't want to inspect too closely for fear that her imagination might run away with her. A heavy chest near the desk that somehow Soh imagined contained treasure of some kind. A box labelled 'sex swing' that she pointedly ignored.

It was all meticulously designed to appeal to someone's very specific tastes. Just from standing in the room, Soh rather thought she knew more about Jack now than she had five minutes prior, and this after Flora had detailed their relationship more than once.

Flora's voice brought Soh back to the moment, and she looked around at the sadness in it. Frowning, Soh stepped towards the Doubletake, gently nudging their shoulders together like Flora had done so many times before to bring Soh out of her own head. "Hey," she said gently. "We can take this as slow as you need to, okay?"

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora is quiet while Sohalia speaks, and when she turns her head the smile she offers her best friend is small and shining at the edges, like glass catching too much light. It wavers but does not shatter. "I know I could have asked Kai to help, but.."

The words settle between them, and in the space that follows her gaze drifts back into the room; not toward the couch or the desk, but somewhere unfocused, as though she is looking through the air instead of at it. She could have asked him and he would have come. He would have made a joke of it, or rolled his sleeves up and been steady and warm and entirely too good. But she had not wanted him standing here with her sadness blooming like something misplaced, not wanted him mistaking the ache for longing in the wrong direction. This was not about losing Jack. It was about losing the girl who built a room like this and believed she would grow into it. It was about shedding skin she had once bled for. It was about closing the door on a version of herself that no longer fit, and not wanting anyone to think she wished it still did.

She smiles again at Soh, a little crooked, a little raw, and nods once. "It does feel a little like mourning," she admits, the word sitting carefully in her mouth, not dramatic, just true.

Her aqua eyes sweep the room in a slow arc, taking in the leather couch angled toward the windows, the unopened box stamped with promises, the antique desk with its fragile fleet frozen mid-sail. She exhales in a huff that borders on laughter, though there is nothing particularly funny about it. "I don't know if I would rather do this fast or slow," she says, hands lifting helplessly before dropping back to her sides. She gestures vaguely around them. "Everything in here is new, pretty much. That is the stupidest part." Her smile falters, just slightly. "There wasn't even time for memories."

The swing they never found time to hang. The couch bought after they'd visited Stormbreak that was never used. The desk and the bottled ships chosen so Jack would feel anchored, even here, even away from the water. All of it pristine. Untouched. Waiting for a story that never arrived.

Flora steps fully into the room at last and then, after a breath that seems to deflate something in her chest, leans sideways into Sohalia’s shoulder, just enough to borrow the contact without collapsing into it. Her curls brush warm against her friend’s arm. "Maybe," she mutters, half-exasperated, half-sincere, "I should just channel and have one of the gods take it all away." She tips her head back slightly, staring at the ceiling as though considering the logistics.

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Sohalia

Asking Kai to help would have been a burden; Soh could see that as plain as day, and she reached out an arm to loop it around Flora's shoulders, squeezing once before releasing the Doubletake and taking in the room. It wasn't anything against Kaisel - Soh knew he would show up to help with bells on if asked - but there was still something sad about all this, something that was sure to ache no matter where Flora had ended up. It was a little like Soh thinking about Jude. Time had passed, and Soh had moved on, but when she looked back at their time together, she still had to be careful not to cut herself on the sharp edges of her grief.

The room around them was still. It was strange. It almost felt like a painting, or perhaps a little like an exhibit in a museum, depicting a pristine, perfect version of the way things might have been. But that was the thing, wasn't it? Real life wasn't perfect, and beneath the pretty furniture and picturesque bottled ships, there was a very real, very messy set of memories that defined the relationship that Flora had once had - the one that had shaped her into who she was today.

"Maybe," Soh agreed. "Or maybe cleaning it out will be cathartic or something." She glanced over at Flora. "I'm here for whatever you need. If you want to open the windows and throw everything out, I'm down for that. Or you can channel and we can go get margaritas by the pool."

A sharp flutter of wings announces itself far too close overhead, followed by the scrape of talons and the unmistakable sense that something has landed where it absolutely should not have. A Hel perches nearby, head cocked, eyes bright and calculating as it sizes up the scene.

It hops closer with a series of quick, impatient movements, letting out a short, grating call that sounds suspiciously like a demand, right down to the way it cranes its neck toward packs, baskets, or anything that might reasonably contain food. If ignored, it only grows bolder, wings flicking open as it makes a half-hearted lunge toward anything unattended.

When shooed away, the Hel takes to the air in an indignant spiral, only to settle again moments later a short distance off, clearly unimpressed and entirely unconvinced that the matter is settled. It watches with unwavering focus, occasionally edging closer, testing boundaries with the persistence of a creature that knows it doesn’t need to be threatening to get exactly what it wants.

---

Hels Areas Found: Torchline — Common Hels look vaguely like a species of seagull, but are quite friendly. Should one sit on your shoulder, you will find yourself suddenly able to walk on water! Be careful though, these birds are easily bored. Should they abandon you during an ocean-stroll, you will find yourself sinking into the water potentially hundreds of feet from the shore! Challenge Rating: Easy HP: 38 | To Hit: +26 | Dmg: 9 Movement: Fly 60 ft.; Walk 10 ft. SPECIAL SKILLS Waterwalk Bond: While perched, grants the bearer the ability to walk on water; Boredom Curse: If the hel leaves its perch during waterwalking, the bearer immediately loses buoyancy and begins to sink

TRAITS Friendly Companion: Inclined to approach and perch on willing shoulders; Light as a Feather: Nearly weightless, they do not hinder movement or balance; Ocean’s Familiarity: Innate understanding of currents, tides, and sea weather ACTIONS Peck: A quick tap with its beak, used more in play than aggression

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora’s grin flashes quick and grateful over her shoulder, bright enough to cut through the thickness in her chest. "Or something," she agrees with a breath of a laugh, the sound lighter than it has any right to be, as she tilts her head, considering. "Margaritas by the pool does sound dangerously appealing, though. I could absolutely be convinced to pivot from existential reckoning to citrus and salt in under five minutes."

The sharp flutter of wings slices through the corridor before she can say more and Flora turns instinctively toward the sound, curls shifting over her shoulder, frown creasing her brow as a Hel slips brazenly through one of the open arches and lands far too comfortably inside Wildering House. It hops forward with the confidence of something that believes it has every right to be here. She doesn't move to shoo it away,, but instead waits, chin lifting slightly, gaze flicking toward the ceiling as if silently consulting the unseen. The spirits in the house stir faintly as they too notice, but whether they choose to intervene or simply watch the drama unfold remains to be seen. Either way, the bird is, at present, the least complicated thing in this room. "Unbelievable," she mutters under her breath, though there is no real heat in it.

"Wellllll," Flora murmurs, turning her attention back to Sohalia and the room. "Do you want any of this?" Her hand sweeps vaguely toward the couch, the unopened box, the chest near the desk. It was all sex-related of a very unvanilla variety which wasn't really Sohalia's thing, but maybe with Koa back, her bestie might get some use out of it. "Or if you know anyone who'd want it..?" She shrugs. "Consider it a deeply awkward parting gift from my former life."

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Sohalia

Cracking a smile, Soh crossed the room to peer at some of the little bottled ships, studiously ignoring the more sexual objects in the room. "I'd wager under three," she teased, but before either of them could say more, a flutter of wings drew their attention to the corridor. Surprised to see a hel in the House, Soh cocked her head to one side and regarded it. "Huh," she murmured. "Brave little idiot, isn't it?" The hel hopped closer. Soh could feel the spirits in the House stir, but neither they nor Flora made any move to shoo the bird out. She could compel it to leave - it would be easy - but if the House and its owner were fine with it staying, who was she to kick it out?

Flora's voice drew her back to the room - and to the couch, and the sex swing box, and to the unopened chest, which Soh suddenly very much didn't want to open. She giggled, a little embarrassed, but mostly amused. "Um... to be honest, I probably wouldn't even know what to do with most of it." Propping one hand on her hip, she looked it all over, flushing a bright shade of pink as she tried to imagine what use she would get out of it, if any at all. "Isn't there, like, a big brothel here - I forget the name. Think they'd take donations?"

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora smirks at Soh over one shoulder, nodding once. "Mm, you're probably right," she concedes easily, her mouth curving with that familiar flicker of competitive delight. "Under three. I have faith in us." The Hel’s persistent shuffling draws a huff from her, sharper this time, aqua eyes narrowing faintly as it edges closer with shameless curiosity. "I swear, if you start nesting in there, I'm charging rent," she mutters toward it, though she still makes no move to interfere, trusting the House to decide whether this particular idiot is welcome.

Her attention shifts back to Soh and the very deliberate way she studies the bottled ships instead of anything upholstered in leather. Flora’s shoulders lift in a shrug. "I could tell you how all of it works," she offers breezily, tilting her head and bouncing her eyebrows in exaggerated innocence. "For educational purposes only, of course." She lets the suggestion hang just long enough to be suggestive before she laughs and waves it off. "But yes, the Halenani would probably take it."

With a decisive sigh, she crosses to the nearest window and pushes it open. Warm sea air rushes in immediately, salt threading through the room and stirring the light curtains. She braces her hands on the sill for a moment, drawing in a breath that tastes cleaner than the air inside. "We can just toss everything onto the lawn," she decides, glancing back at Soh with renewed resolve. The practicality of it steadies her, and as she steps back from the window her expression shifts, something bright and conspiratorial slipping into place.

"Anyways," she says, grin widening as she leans one hip against the desk, "it was amazing seeing you buck Koa off. Immediately." Her eyes gleam. "I have never felt so smug on your behalf. Did it feel as good as it looked?"

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Sohalia

The hel continued to intrude upon the room - which, honestly, considering that it was one of only three to have been in this room, felt like something of a 'fuck you' to Jack. Like somehow the bird had been deemed worthy and the captain... lacking.

Ignoring it in favor of the rest of the room, Soh made the mistake of looking at the various items of a sexual nature and blanched as Flora offered to tell her how it all worked. Eyes round, she looked over at Flora just in time to see her bestie laugh. Snorting a sound that was somehow amused and distressed all at once, Soh waved a hand in the air. "Listen, if there's anything good for going solo in there, maybe I'd be interested," she said drily. "Otherwise, to the Halenani, it is."

Flora crossed to the nearest window, pushing it open and allowing a warm gust of sea air to enter the room. "Toss it all. Got it." With that decided, Soh moved purposefully towards the supplies they'd brought, grabbing a bag with the intention of shoving all of those stupid bottled ships into it before throwing them rather forcefully onto the lawn, but paused for two reasons: one, it seemed only right to let Flora make the first move in this situation, and two, she had to pause to snicker at the queen's question. "Oh, my gods, it totally did. I mean, I felt a little bad that he came off so quick, buuuuuut I can't say that he didn't deserve it a little."

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora giggles outright at Soh’s expression, the sound bright and genuine in a way that feels almost rebellious in the middle of the room’s lingering weight. She lifts both hands in mock surrender, shaking her head as she glances toward the chest. "Noooo, that one is very firmly designed for pairs," she says, the corners of her mouth twitching before her eyes flick back to Soh with a glimmer of mischief. "But if you ever did want to find something suitable for solo adventures," she adds, voice lowering conspiratorially as she leans a shoulder against the desk, "I know just the place."

The humour softens as she notices Soh hovering near the ships, bag in hand, the hesitation obvious enough that Flora does not need to ask why. As their eyes meet, for a second the brightness fades, replaced by something quieter. Flora’s smile turns small and apologetic as she gives a faint shake of her head, then nods toward the carefully crafted fleet. "Can you?" she asks softly. Her gaze lingers on the ships just long enough to acknowledge what they are before she looks away again, letting Soh take the lead where Flora clearly cannot.

The heaviness lifts a fraction when Soh brings up Koa again, and Flora’s grin slips back into place with much less effort this time. "Oh no," she says with a laugh, pushing off the desk and crossing her arms loosely over her stomach. "He deserved it a lot."

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Sohalia

Soh waved a hand in the air dismissively, though her face was bright pink as she struggled to contain her laughter. "I'll keep that in mind," she said drily. "Honestly, though - if I did want suggestions, I think you're about the only person I could talk to about it without dying of embarrassment." And even that was kind of iffy, given that her cheeks were currently on fire even thinking about it.

The brightness of the moment faded the moment Soh began hovering near the ships, and the Luminary nodded at Flora's quiet request. And then, rather than tossing them carelessly into the bag and breaking every last one as she would have liked, she set them gently into the trash, as though acknowledging the weight of what they once were. These were not trinkets to be shattered, but remnants of Flora's heart. Even if Kai had patched her up, there were some pieces that even he couldn't touch; these ships were proof that some things, once lost, were gone forever.

As she worked, she was happy to let the conversation circle back around to herself, if that was what helped Flora through this task. "Okay, maybe he did." She paused, tucking away another ship. Gnawing on her lip, she glanced over at her best friend. "I - don't think I love him anymore," she blurted suddenly, then pressed her lips into a thin line, as though she shouldn't have spoken the words aloud. "I just... when I saw him last I just felt... empty and exhausted. And that's not love." Right? she seemed to ask, silver gaze pleading where it met Flora's.

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora’s grin spreads wide and unashamed at Soh’s confession, bright enough to soften the awkwardness of the moment before it has time to root too deeply. "There is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about," she says firmly, shaking her head as if batting the idea away entirely. Then she rolls her eyes at herself, the gesture exaggerated and fond. "And as someone who does plenty of embarrassing things, I feel uniquely qualified to say that."

Her smile lingers while Soh begins gathering the ships, though it fades gradually into something quieter as she watches the careful way her friend handles them. One by one they disappear into the bag, not shattered, not discarded with the violence Flora half-expected, but lowered gently as though they were small bones or fragile relics of something sacred. It makes the back of Flora’s eyes sting and the ache that rises feels disloyal somehow, like a betrayal of the life she has built with Kaisel, a life that is steady and warm and real in ways this room never had time to become. And yet beneath the guilt there is also relief, the strange loosening that comes with finally allowing grief a shape instead of pretending it never existed.

Maybe it isn’t even Jack she mourns, maybe it's the girl who tried so hard to love him well. The girl who poured every bright, reckless piece of herself into something that never quite held. The girl who now exists only as a story told badly by the first man she ever loved, who could no longer stand the sight of her.

Flora turns away before the last ships disappear, crossing the room and pretending sudden interest in a folded shirt from the chest. Her fingers fuss with the fabric as though the task requires careful attention, though she is not really seeing it. It's only the shift in Soh’s voice that makes her look up again, the words landing in the room like something fragile dropped on stone. Her hands still, and then she drops the shirt without thinking and crosses the space between them in two quiet steps, sliding an arm around Sohalia’s waist and leaning her head gently against her friend’s shoulder.  "I'm so sorry," she murmurs softly.

Her hand squeezes once at Soh’s side, a small grounding pressure before she nudges her friend lightly with her shoulder. "No," she says gently, voice low and certain. "That isn’t how love is supposed to feel." Her gaze flicks toward the bag of ships before settling back on Soh again, the understanding in her expression deep and steady. "But that doesn’t make it any easier when it ends."

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Sohalia

"Oh, please," Soh snorted, glancing fondly at her best friend. "When do you do embarrassing things?" Another ship lowered into the bag, clinking faintly against the others. "I mean, you're so busy being a badass queen all the time, I can't imagine you have ample opportunity."

There was a pause as Soh worked to clear the desk, taking care not to break any of the shattered remnants of the life Flora might have led. She might not have lived Flora's heartbreak, but that didn't make it any harder to imagine; this was a special kind of grief, the kind that even a husband's love couldn't touch. It wasn't even about Jack, not really. It was about the person Flora might have been - hell, the person that she had been, and all the ways that girl had had to die to bring this version of herself to life.

Soh's admission, when it came, was quiet and fragile, as though it didn't have a soft place to land here in this room. But Flora was there, as always, wrapping arms around the Luminary and offering her soft condolences. And maybe, if it hadn't ended like this, Soh might have cried, or screamed, or raged... but as it was, she simply offered a sad little smile. "I'm okay," she reassured her friend. "Maybe it was always going to end this way, and it just took me this long to see it. Not, you know, in one big moment of clarity, but in a million little ways that just..." And she gestured vaguely, shrugging her shoulders as though to indicate that there were no words to describe what she was trying to say.

But she knew Flora would understand anyway.

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora snorts under her breath, lifting her head just enough to widen her eyes at Soh in exaggerated disbelief. "Oh please," she says, the corner of her mouth tugging upward. "How about the fact that everyone in Torchline basically knows my entire life?" She tilts her head back slightly, counting on her fingers. "Or, when I was learning to fly the Sugartide and every time I clipped something it immediately became local gossip. Or—" she waves a hand vaguely toward the sea outside the windows, curls bouncing with the motion, "—every nip slip I have ever had on the beach." Her grin grows brighter, the list clearly capable of continuing indefinitely, but she just shakes her head instead, dismissing the thought with an amused huff.

Flora settles her cheek back against her friend’s shoulder, gaze drifting unfocused toward the open window while she considers the words. "I think," she says quietly after a moment, "the only reason it took you so long to see it is because of how good you are." The statement is simple, offered without ceremony, before Flora straightens, lifting her head so she can look properly at Soh, her expression warm even as a sad little exhale escapes her. One shoulder rises in a helpless shrug because gods knew Flora didn't have all the answers. "The fact that you give people second, third and hundredth chances—" Her mouth curves faintly. "—that is one of your best qualities."

Flora nudges Soh lightly with her shoulder, the gesture meant to loosen the heaviness that has settled between them. "Did I tell you," she adds suddenly, tone shifting with the quiet mischief of fresh gossip, "that Koa and Mel came and stole some of Kai’s boxers off our laundry line?" She snorts under her breath, shaking her head as though the absurdity of it still hasn’t worn off. "The spirits showed me," she says, glancing briefly toward the hallway as if the unseen house might confirm it, before her brow furrows and she gives a small shrug. "So, y'know, just think. That could have been you on a Friday night."

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3