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

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

Flora grins and nods, because whatever sadness might be tucked behind Ronin’s smile, Zavien and Sohalia are still easier to think about in the bright, ridiculous glow of new love and badly-timed pregnancy than anything heavier. "Yeah, Zavien. I did mention to him that he could come and work with you and the soldiers, since I assume he’ll be moving here to be with Soh?" Her head tilts slightly, curls shifting over one shoulder as she glances down the beach and then back again. "She’s been spending a bunch of time in King’s End, but I can’t really see her moving there. Especially not with a new baby." Not when Torchline has sun and sea and people who already know how to orbit her gently, not to mention all the amenities and upgrades of a large region.

At Ronin’s correction, Flora gives him an affectionate roll of her eyes. "Well, Mom’s side has, like...a ninety-nine percent twin rate, going back like a thousand generations, so.." The easy retort fades as he continues, and for once Flora doesn’t immediately wedge something sharp into the opening. Some petty part of her wants to point out that if parenting is the most fulfilling thing he’s ever done, he sure does apologize a lot for fucking it up, but the thought stays behind her teeth instead of being allowed out into the warm coastal air.

She only sighs softly, nodding as her gaze drops for a moment before she looks back up at him with a crooked smile and a small shrug. "Well, it’s like you said. If we want to play parent, we’ve got Carlo and Calan, and Soh’s baby soon enough." Her smile pulls a little brighter at that, pleased despite the enormity of it. "She asked me to be its godmother."

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

"He'd be more than welcome to," Ronin agrees with a nod, glancing fleetingly out across the beach before leaving the soldiers to their work, figuring this patch of greenery to be nearly stripped of all of its deadfall by now. "Always plenty to do regardless of the season. Gods know Rae's Fingers alone keeps us busy enough." He doesn't go into the detail of why, nor the state of the region's darker underbelly and its constant and petty power struggles, preferring instead to think of new babies and even future (twin) grandchildren.

It's lucky that Ronin has no ability to sense where Flora might try to jab a retort between his ribs, the Knight instead resting his hands in his pockets and kicking a bit of sand from his boots. "Godmother? That's amazing," he says with a grin. "It's like parenting-lite. Between that and the twins you'll have plenty to keep you and Kai busy. Speaking of which, when do you want to host your first babysitting sleepover?"

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

Flora wrinkles her nose at the mention of the Fingers, the expression quick but unmistakable. Given that she’d only just asked Ronin last season whether putting Jack back into the equation might help with the rise in crime, only to be assured that no, absolutely not, apparently, it is at least something to know that the mess down there is being handled in some capacity. "Yeah," she says, letting the subject pass with a small nod and a smile that doesn’t invite the darker underbelly of Torchline any closer than it already is. "True."

The thought of being Sohalia’s baby’s godmother is much easier to sit with, and Flora’s smile brightens as she nods again, this time with far less restraint. "Yeah, I’m pretty excited," she admits, because she is. Terrified in a vague, distant, beautifully-deniable sort of way, sure, but excited all the same.

At Ronin’s question, though, she laughs outright, rolling her eyes at him as if the request is audacious instead of exactly the sort of thing she had to know was coming. "What, you two already need a break?" she asks, her tone all teasing disbelief even as her smile only grows brighter. "Maybe after LongNight?" she says, looking back at him with a grin. "Assuming they haven't given me reason to throw them in jail for real, or aged themselves up again by then."

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

"As you should be. The godparent, like an aunt, or a much older sibling who doesn't live at home, can enjoy all the good parts of a baby and then be able to give them back when they start to fuss," Ronin says, tapping his nose as if this is very sage wisdom he's imparting on Flora, and that she'd be foolish not to regard it. That is, of course, until those very same types are called upon for babysitting duties, which the Knight is apt at pointing out right away.

"Wild, I know. It's been almost boring so far," he says, his tone all exaggerated fondness and the sort of adoring weariness that doesn't fade just because your newborns are surprise!nine-year-olds. "After Longnight sounds great. And you can even put them in jail for the duration if you can't cope - I can guarantee they'll find it entertaining." But again, they'll also use it as a chance to brush up on their escapism, which really, nobody should want.

Spying the soldiers start to head further down the beach to seek out more driftwood to continue the bonfire plans, Ronin nods after them and sends his duplicate in tow. "Shall we?" he says. "I'll buy you a smoothie and we can keep talking about these upgrades the region will definitely need to cope with your brothers."

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

Flora huffs out a laugh, nodding as if Ronin has just confirmed one of the sacred laws of being godmother, aunt, or any other strategically adjacent adult. "Oh, don’t worry," she says, the corners of her mouth already twitching upward. "I am already really looking forward to filling Soh’s child with sugar and sending them back home again."

At the suggestion that she can put Carlo and Calan in jail if babysitting becomes too much, Flora shoots Ronin a theatrically unimpressed look, though the sparkle in her eyes makes it entirely impossible to take seriously. "Actually.." she says dryly, before tilting her head as the thought clearly improves in her mind. "Maybe I’ll put Kai in one cell and the twins in another and see who can break out first. It’ll wear them all out, I bet."

She nods as Ronin gestures after the soldiers. "Sounds like a plan."

As they stroll past the next group working their way down the beach, Flora hands over another round of bonfire layouts for them to follow, offering a few quick instructions before letting them get back to it. Then, with the matter apparently handled well enough for the moment, she leans against Ronin and smiles up at him.

"Smoothies are on you."

~FIN

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

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