[RA] [SE] I knew it, I knew you

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

LongNight has a frankly rude habit of arriving as if Flora hasn’t spent the entire season knowing exactly when it’s coming, which is, of course, why she’s on the Ahi Coast now, weeks earlier than she normally would be, standing barefoot in the white sand with a strip of ribbon pinched between two gold-ringed fingers and a frown on her face. Behind her, the jungle gives up its dead wood in groaning bundles and uneven piles as a handful of Torchline soldiers haul branches, drift-rotted logs, and old stormfall out from beneath the palms.

"No, not there," Flora calls, lifting her chin toward one of the piles before the soldier carrying it can drop it beside the others. She glances down at the rough sketch she’s drawn into the sand with the tip of one of her daggers, the lines already being softened by the breeze and the occasional lazy creep of water across the shore. Her idea is simple enough in theory: enough bonfires to keep the Ahi Coast bright during LongNight, spaced far enough apart that people can move between them safely, close enough that the dark doesn’t get to pool too thickly between the flames. In practice, the beach is longer than it looks, the old wood is less cooperative than she’d like, and every measurement she makes seems to depend on whether she’s accounting for dancers, drunk idiots, children, companions, or whatever someone will inevitably decide to summon, shift into, or set down in the middle of a walkway.

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

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

RONIN

the white knight

"How about setting a few torches in the walkways between each bonfire?" Ronin's voice is quiet, tentative almost from over Flora's shoulder. The Knight had approached with a much different greeting in mind, but upon seeing the wind softened sketch of her plans for Longnight, he's spoken before he can stop himself. (Story of his life). Clearing his throat and remembering himself, he draws up beside her and rubs at the back of his neck, the wind tousling his already unruly hair and tugging at the fabric of his shirt.

Ronin looks comparatively chipper compared to the last time they'd spoken, in energy if not in mood; the dark and sleepless smudges beneath his eyes are considerably reduced, and though the stress that keeps his back straight and his shoulders tight is still there, it's of a slightly different flavour these days. "I'm sorry I didn't come to see you sooner," he begins, glancing from Flora and back down to her sketch in the sand.

"And I'm sorry for a lot more than that besides. Can we talk...? Or if not, I can help to shift some of the deadfall so it doesn't take so long."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

The voice at her shoulder has Flora turning sharply enough that her curls whip across one cheek, with Ronin's accent being far too distinctive for her to pretend even for a second that it belonged to someone else. Her aqua eyes narrow immediately, the look she gives him bright and edged and already halfway armed. "Well obviously," Flora snaps, before huffing a breath out through her nose and gesturing with the hand holding the ribbon toward the spaces between each rough circle she’s carved into the beach. "This isn’t my first LongNight."

His apology draws her chin up by a fraction, gold glinting at her throat and on her fingers as she folds the ribbon loosely into her palm. Around them, the soldiers keep moving deadfall out of the jungle and onto the sand, but there is a subtle adjustment in the air now, the kind that comes when people try very hard not to look like they’re listening to their queen have an emotionally loaded conversation with one of her fathers in the middle of a beach.

"What, you can’t do both at once?" Flora says, still sharp enough that the words flash when they leave her, though her eyes flick deliberately toward the wood piles rather than away from him. "Talk and help, I mean." Her soldiers were useful, but few compared to a literal demigod who could be in two places at once.

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

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

RONIN

the white knight

"Touche," Ronin says with a gentle nod, and it goes for both Flora's reminder about the number of Longnights under her belt and his ability to quite literally be two places at once. The Knight steps around to the opposite side of her sketch in the sand, and as he does so a second Ronin parts from him to jog up towards the treeline. His projection greets the soldiers with all of his usual candour, which in itself is an indication for them to politely set down the eaves they've been dropping.

Meanwhile, the Knight before Flora slips his hands into the pockets of his jacket, glancing from the diagram up to her face. "I'm not going to insult you with small talk unless you really want it," he says softly, before breaking the ground that's been between them for weeks. "You're old enough to make your own decisions, even if I'll always want to protect you from the world. I'm sorry for not respecting that when you told us about Safrin."

He sighs.

"Unfortunately, though, that also means you're also old enough to know that I'm a person as well as a father. I've got a past, baggage, I make mistakes, I react badly. It's no excuse, I know that, but it came from a place of loving you and wanting to keep you safe." Even so, that doesn't change the bruised feelings he's caused. "I am sorry," he repeats. "You came to us with good news and we turned it into a lecture."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

Flora only glances peripherally as Ronin’s duplicate heads toward the treeline, her attention remaining on the sketch in the sand until he mentions small talk. At that, one brow rises, though she stays silent as he begins.

For the first few words, she thinks she knows exactly where this is going. She’s old enough to make her own decisions, which means she’s old enough to deal with the consequences; old enough, apparently, for an apology to become another lecture with an “I’m sorry” tucked neatly around the edges so it looks like one. Her shoulders tighten automatically, her chin lifting a fraction as she prepares herself for it, already bristling before Ronin has even finished.

Only he doesn’t turn it into that.

As his apology stays genuine, Flora’s gaze drops to the clipboard in her hands, the tension in her shoulders softening somewhat as the sharpest edge of her expression begins to ease. It would be too easy to needle him some more, and part of her still wants to, because while she understood his reaction, she still thought it was a shitty one. But he has apologized, and really, what more is there to say?

For a moment she only looks down at the clipboard, then out toward the water, her lip puckering ever so slightly in a way that makes her look almost childlike despite herself. "Well..." Flora says at last, glancing back toward him. "Do you even wanna see what I can do now?"

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

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

RONIN

the white knight

While second!Ronin corrals the soldiers and helps to organise the driftwood and stormfall, breaking larger pieces into more manageable ones with disgusting ease, the original stays before Flora and doesn't try to fill the silence in the wake of his apology. He lets it stretch for as long as she needs it to, and if she had opted to keep needling him about it, they both know he'd have taken the verbal lashing with grace.

Instead, her lip puckers out in a way that reminds him of when she was small and he was still being an asshole, and despite himself, Ronin smiles at her. "Yes," he says, and he means it. "I absolutely would. And because I didn't say it to you before - congratulations, Flora. Being chosen in that way is a huge responsibility, but it's also a sign that the gods know you're just as special as we always did. And while you're a big bad demigod in your own right now, I hope you know Remi and I will still open jars and build shelves for you if you need us."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

As Ronin offers his congratulations, Flora softens even more, the last of that ready-made hostility loosening from her expression as her lips twist into a helpless little smile. She shrugs one shoulder, trying to make it seem casual and almost succeeding, though the small, pleased sound threaded through her voice gives her away entirely. "Thanks," she murmurs, the word quieter than her usual brightness and far more delighted than she’s ready to admit.

Then she clears her throat and lifts her chin slightly. "Okay, watch this." Pulling on the thread of her magic, Flora reaches back for a memory from four years ago, the shape of it rising around them in flickering, illusory colour. The Ahi Coast gives way to the inside of the Hanged Man as it had been then, still standing but not yet hers, its edges worn and familiar in that way old places are before anyone realizes they’re about to become important. The memory moves in fragments, flashing through the work of getting the building ready to be used again, with Ronin appearing again and again throughout it: helping repair what needed fixing, moving what needed moving, lending his hands and strength to a place Flora would later make her own.

Glancing toward him as the illusion plays out, Flora’s smile turns smaller but no less pleased. "I can replay memories," she explains. "Mine, or whoever I’m with." She gives a little shrug, one that doesn’t come close to hiding how useful she thinks the magic is. "So now I can see how things happened even if I wasn’t there for them, or replay what was said in case someone has selective amnesia about things." Snickering softly at that, Flora lets the memory linger for another moment before looking back at Ronin. "I also have Rescue, like you do."

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

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

RONIN

the white knight

Ronin doesn't hide his pleased smile either - not just to see Flora so quietly delighted, but also to feel as though the weight they've both been carrying for weeks has finally slid from their shoulders. And he's attentive when she tells him to watch, straightening up and turning to glance around at the coastline that melts into weathered boards and the shape of a bar that no longer exists. His eyes widen a fraction - the fact that The Hanged Man has burned down is more of an indicator that this is a memory than the Ronins that flit through it (he's used to having a double, after all).

"The Hot Take," he repeats with a raise of his brows towards her, his grin boyish and entirely amused. "That makes a lot more sense now. Flora, this is incredible..." Not just for the very Safrin-esque reasons she mentions, but just to be able to replay things she might have missed. The Rescue, though - that understandably also gets his full attention.

Huffing out a laugh, Ronin steps across the fading memory to swoop in and kiss her cheek. "You'll forgive me for being just as happy about that as your other power," he says apologetically. "That's... I'm relieved," he admits freely. "Having you be able to channel me if you needed it always put me at ease, you know. I didn't realise how much until it was gone."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

"Fitting, right?" Flora says, nodding at the moniker with a small, satisfied lift of her brows. Her gaze flicks back through the fading edges of the memory, already turning the magic over in her mind. "I bet I can use it in a fight too," she adds, shrugging. "Because it’d probably be super distracting to suddenly see a full-ass scene of something you were thinking about replaying itself right in front of you."

When Ronin swoops in to kiss her cheek, Flora makes an immediate and very dramatic show of squirming away from him, shoulders twisting and curls bouncing as if she is being subjected to some deeply embarrassing public ordeal rather than accepting the affection with a laugh. She doesn’t actually pull far enough to avoid it, of course, and the sound that slips out of her is bright enough to give her away.

"I’m not stupid, of course I wanted it," she says, rolling her eyes even as the smile remains tucked at the corner of her mouth. Then, with a smaller shrug, Flora glances back toward the Knight. "I do want to be strong on my own," she says, and for once there’s no sharpness in the admission, only the plain truth of it. "But, like... being able to call you and Remi in when I need you is not the sort of thing you just give up."

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

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

RONIN

the white knight

"Oh, I bet," Ronin says with a scoff, and as Flora tries to dramatically squirm away, he makes a show of kissing her cheek an obnoxious second time for the trouble. "You could even use it to avoid fights if you needed to. Nothing like a bit of blackmail to stop someone throwing their weight around." And their fists, too.

Straightening back up, the Knight softens a bit as he hears Flora out, nodding his understanding and turning up his collar as a particularly sharp breeze whips down the beach. "You were strong on your own far before you became a demigod," he assures her, "but that doesn't mean you can't lean on people. Remi and I have used Rescue to call each other more times than we can count..."

He laughs suddenly, as if it has only just occurred to him. "And we can call you now, too," he adds.

Something occurs to him then, though, Ronin glancing around at where The Hanged Man had just been. "Actually," he says, "are you able to use that new memory magic of yours again? There's something else I came to tell you. It's part of the reason it took me so long to come out and see you...

And if Flora does pluck out a memory from Ronin's mind, she'll see for herself the lemon and lime marching up the beach towards the Northaven, all bright blues and dark, messy hair and identical faces. "They did it themselves," he murmurs, still a little shell-shocked about it. "Channelled, went to a shrine, grew up. Remi and I woke up to empty cribs."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

Flora bounces her eyebrows at that, grin flashing bright and immediate across her face in a way that makes it obvious she has absolutely already thought of blackmail as an option and is pleased Ronin has caught up.

At the mention of rescue, though, her smile shifts slightly, the corner of her mouth twitching as she recalls the conversation she’d had with Melita. "Yeah, about that..." she says, and the words come with a small sigh as she glances away for a moment. "I don’t think I ever realized how inconvenient it could be to be channelled, especially when you’re pulled out of something important, so..." Lifting her aqua eyes back to Ronin, Flora steps forward and wraps her arms around him in a hug. "For all the times I never said thank you...thank you."

Straightening as he asks about her memory magic again, Flora raises a brow before shrugging and nodding, letting the magic pull at whatever memory Ronin is already thinking of. Across the sand, the image plays out in vivid, impossible detail: her twin brothers strutting toward the Northaven in identical yellow and green rain jackets despite having been babies only hours before, all bright blues and dark, messy hair and identical faces. "Wh—" Flora starts, eyes widening as Ronin says they did it themselves, blinking stupidly while the memory continues.

It shifts to the boys on the deck, demanding to know where Remi’s shadow is, before skipping ahead to show them passed out in bed. Flora watches the whole thing with her mouth slightly parted, and when she finally looks up at Ronin again, mischief and amusement are bright across her features. "They did it all themselves?" she repeats, even though he has just said exactly that, then her grin turns wicked and adoring all at once. "Oh, you two are so fucked."

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

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

RONIN

the white knight

Ronin accepts the hug as if he's always on the cusp of waiting for it, his arms moving protectively around Flora to give her a gentle squeeze that promises shelter whenever she needs it. "Mm, maybe when it comes from some people," he agrees of the channelling with a wry smile, "but for you or Mateo? It was never inconvenient, so you were always welcome to it." The gratitude is still accepted with warmth and affection, though, and Ronin only considers stepping back as the memory begins to play.

It's already easier to find it amusing now that the initial shock has worn off, the Knight shaking his head with helpless amusement as the scene warps from the beach to the deck to the twins piled in their bed. "They did," he confirms with a huff of long-suffering laughter. "Just... decided it one morning. And oho, Flora, we are not the only ones who are fucked. You know the cannon went off a little while ago? That was them. That was them ten minutes after growing up."

Suffice to say, everyone is in trouble in Torchline now.

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

I'd burn my house down just to hear them scream my name

Flora hums softly against Ronin, who feels, as he so often does, like carved marble made flesh; impossible and warm all at once, built for war and somehow still capable of wrapping around her like nothing in the world could touch her without getting through him first. "Well," she murmurs, quieter now, "I still appreciate it."

As the illusion continues to play out across the sand, Flora watches lime and lemon busy themselves through the memory with open delight, happily allowing herself to enjoy Ronin’s suffering now that it has become entertaining rather than immediately alarming. There is something deeply, wonderfully satisfying about seeing him look so helpless in the face of two tiny boys who have apparently decided to skip several years of childhood on their own schedule, and she shakes her head, lips curving as the twins move from beach to deck to bed.

Then Ronin turns the chaos back on her; the mention of the cannon has Flora blinking, surprise cutting straight through her amusement. Her eyes go wide, her mouth dropping open in a comically confused little shape as the pieces slide into place. "WHAT," she mutters flatly, before raking her fingers through her curls with a weighty sigh, looking suddenly every inch the queen who has just realized there are now two more walking disasters loose in Torchline. "Why would they do that?"

I've carried hopes & heavy day dreams, but i'm all done with sleepin'

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

RONIN

the white knight

At Flora's reaction the memory finally fades into its conclusion, though rest assured that Ronin still often has that same expression of bewilderment on his face as he and Remi navigate life with twins on the move. In fact his eyebrows raise in solidarity at her reaction, and he spreads his hands like he's still uncertain himself. "Why would they do that?" he echoes. "They said a sign told them to pull it. They can't read, Flora."

Huffing out a laugh that betrays the stress of his new situation, the Knight rakes his hands through his hair and shrugs. "We've explained why they shouldn't do that now, obviously. And I think your wrath might stop them if nothing else does. We're also working on the reading thing. But I don't know - shall we train more soldiers to make sure there are enough hands to deal with whatever they do next?"

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!