What do you get when two ruthless assassins raise their daughter travelling through the wildest reaches of Caido? Take one look at Theea and you'll get a pretty good idea. Cheerful and tenacious in equal measure, and curious beyond all else, she began her journey on a mission to find those her mother once called family. And find them she did, soon rubbing elbows with demigods, leaders and even ghosts from the past. Her determination is resolute, her thirst for knowledge unmatched. We can't wait to see where her next adventure takes her!
Congratulations, Theea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
OG Skinning provided by Kaons, with functionality and many custom plugins made by Neowulf!
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
The Brizo’s night-air is cool enough to raise gooseflesh along Flora’s arms as she settles cross-legged on the Sugar Tide’s deck. She has trimmed the stained-glass sails until they hum contentedly, and brought order to a small constellation of comforts between herself and Asta: a battered enamel teapot swirling spicy chair tea steams, a saucepan of hot chocolate laced—perhaps a little recklessly—with dark rum, and two oversized mugs. A spare woollen blanket, violet as a twilight wave, waits in easy reach should the wind freshen.
"I hope chai's all right," she murmurs while pouring, moonlight silvering the dark liquid. "And the chocolate may be… enthusiastic. Consider yourself warned."
For a minute she lets the hush of the water speak, the Sugar Tide’s bow cutting a quiet V through Brizo’s gentle swell. Lightning flickers far to starboard, contained and politely distant for once. Flora inhales the mingled scents of chai, spice, and salt, easing tension from her spine before beginning the confession that has been knotting her tongue all evening. "Thanks for coming out here with me," she begins, voice pitched low in the dark. "Safri said I needed to sail under the moon, but doing it alone felt…" She shrugs, curls brushing her shoulders.
She steals a sip of chocolate, braces her elbows on her knees, and stares into the rippling path of moonlight ahead. Words spill, soft but steady: how Jack walked away from her saying he needed 'a lot of space and time', and how the silence that followed proved louder than any argument, how their last meeting ended with accusations and a rope tossed back aboard the Ark.
"I keep reminding myself I did what I had to for Torchline," she admits, thumb circling the rim of her mug. "But knowing doesn't stop how shitty it all feels, you know?" A faint smile tugs at one corner of her mouth, half resignation, half gratitude.
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
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Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
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// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
It was almost nice, to be able to see just the edge of the Hollowed Grounds vanishing in the distance. Having no flighted shifts of his own, it was unlikely for the butcher to get this kind of view from this low... well, ever in his life. But it’s that, plus the beautifully adorned stained glass sails and the company that the butcher finds himself wholly at ease – tearing his gaze away from the comforts surrounding them to the woman herself.
“Chai is lovely.” He murmurs with confidence – not that he would complain whether it was chai, or any other kind of tea, to even the roughness of whiskey from the bowels of Halo. “Is that so? Well, I look forward to it.” He tacks on with a playful quip, a wink as he reaches forward to take the chai into his hands, cradling it without fear of burning himself. A sip of chocolate also accompanies the silence, the pulse of the waves as they brush against the hull of the Sugar Tide, the butcher far more relaxed than he thought he would be, this far out at sea.
But when she speaks, she captures his entire attention – his eyes made black by the dark of the night, hair slicked back neatly but flickering in occasional gusts that help push the ship in the direction Flora has chosen. “Of course, darling. I understand.” His accented voice hums, half curved toward her to brace his own elbows on his knees, soaking in the warmth of the thicker clothes he’d worn just in case.
Her tale is one that the butcher finds himself frowning in time and time again, only able to imagine how difficult it was. Given that he’d met Jack so rarely, he doesn’t know the man enough to say much about him. What he does know, is that Flora is hurting and that he’s very much willing to be here with her through it. “Yes.” He starts to say with a soft sigh, head tilting slightly. “You have sacrificed a lot, Flora. And for all of us that admire those that came before us of their own sacrifices, very rarely are the emotions and pain included in it. It takes.. a very strong person to do what it is you’ve done.” Shifting slightly, he offers her a gentle smile of his own, the sharpness dulled down for the gravity of the conversation. “And it is his loss to be unable to see that.” He touts a little proudly, because if Flora was going to be upset and pissed at Jack, he’s ready to join her side in it. What does he have to lose?
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora lets the steam from her chai curl beneath her nose, inhaling cardamom and cinnamon until the ache caught behind her ribs eases by a breath or two. She drinks, the sweet heat of chocolate and whiskey pooling in her chest before she speaks again, softer now against the hush of the waves. "Strong feels like a costume I borrowed and forgot to give back." Her thumb circles the rim of the mug. Moon-silver flickers across the stained-glass sails, scattering broken blues and reds over her shoulders; the effect is more cathedral than skyship, and for a moment she allows herself to revel in the quiet.
"And as if that isn't enough to deal with," she adds with a dry laugh, "my ex-boyfriend and my best friend are going to start dating." Just thinking of their names together still tastes strange, bittersweet as half-melted sugar on her tongue. "They deserve every bit of happiness, and gods, I want to be happy for them. But some small, ugly part of me fucking hates it." For anyone who didn't know the butcher, they might think him disinclined to hear of Flora's woes, but it wasn't just because of their friendship she felt comfortable sharing, but because of what a lover of gossip he secretly was.
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
“Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, yes?” The butcher laments – not something he’s intimately aware of, but he’s able to make context clues to connect the dots. She had done it for the people of Torchline, for their betterment, at the cost of so much. And while Asta sips from the chai and lets the warm chocolate rum concoction settle within him, keeping him a warm figure if not still a bit spider-like in how curled up he is, he’s quite comfortable indulging in the woes of his friend.
Hearing the addition, though, he absolutely is on the edge of his seat – dark brows lifting as his horned head tilts up a bit to scan her face. “That is complicated.” He agrees with a wrinkle of his nose, a huff of a sigh. “Did they.. talk to you? Or was it a surprise?” He asks, obviously wanting to know all of the details Flora had to lament in her misery. “I am fairly certain there is a social guideline for things such as that.” He mutters, looking away from her as he tracks his mind to see whether or not there was an unwritten rule about it.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora groans softly and tips her head back against the polished rail, staring up at the night sky like maybe the stars could offer her some absolution. "Okay, so—" She drapes an arm dramatically across the side of the boat like she needs the physical support. "Koa was... my first. Like, first first. And then he, like, literally climbed out my window afterward like it was a one-night stand, and I was furious for, like, a full season and a half. Maybe two. It’s a little blurry because I was also deeply committed to pretending I didn’t care." Par for the course so far.
She gestures vaguely at the air between them. "Anyway, we sort of patched things up. Sort of. And in the meantime, he developed this big puppy-eyed crush on Soh—Sohalia, my best friend. And she kind of liked him back, but she was also dating Jude at the time." Flora shifts to sit cross-legged, the boat rocking gently beneath her. "Then Soh and Jude broke up. And then Soh got kidnapped and disappeared for a while and in that mess Koa and I..." She trails off, letting the silence fill in the obvious blanks. Her smile is a little sheepish now. "Things rekindled. But I was also kinda-sorta seeing Jack at the time. And after Soh came back, she still had feelings for Koa, I—I told her to go for it. Told her I was fine." Flora pulls a face, as if the memory tastes bitter even now. "Which, in hindsight, was maybe a lie." She makes a vague explosion gesture with her hands. "Boom. Chaos."
Dragging a hand through her curls, she lets out another laugh, softer this time. " But then Koa and I went on a for real date right as Jack sort of amped up the romance-" Or what passed for romance for a man like Jack, " and right as I told Koa that I was gonna date Jack seriously, he told me he was in love with me. Like, actually said it. And no one had ever said that to me before." The night air brushes her damp skin, cooling the flush that creeps into her cheeks as she shrugs helplessly. "And I was like...I mean, I probably was in love with him too, so...yeah. Usually there's rules about friends and exes. But when it's... this tangled? I dunno. Drawing a hard line feels stupid. We all made mistakes. It’s just... too complicated to play referee about it now."
She nudges her mug across the deck toward him with her foot, giving him a lopsided, self-mocking grin. "Gods, it sounds so fucked up saying it all in one go like that."
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
Looking over at her as she begins the tale, Asta feels the inward grimace of everything as each one seems somehow worse than the other. He also wonders, belatedly, if all of this had happened when they were together for however brief a time as it was. But judging by the timeline she’s laid out, it does seem to line up - and he puffs out a slow exhale, dark eyes softening as his understanding shines through.
“That is… Wow, Flora.” Asta hums softly, nose wrinkling as he tries to follow the lines and threads in his head where they all connect and overlap and overlay. Shifting slightly to cradle the chai in one hand, he stands and moves over to where she sits, settling beside her as he winds the blanket around her shoulders, sharing the warmth between them under the blanket for some semblance of closeness.
Something tells him she could use it.
“It sounds as if it were one of those romance books that are often leafed through time and time again. The most worn ones at the libraries.” He laments with a sigh, a frown tugging along his face as he nudges her calf with the ashen tip of his tail. “Fun to read, terrible to live through.” Pausing slightly, because Asta isn’t entirely sure who Sohalia or Koa are, but interjecting either way.
“We have all made mistakes, yes. I did, with you.” Wherever in the timeline he fell, likely prior to the Jack romance shows. “I suppose they will have to see how it goes. If it does not work out, then it does not work out. If it does, I suppose that answers that, mm?” He tilts his head a little away from her if only to ensure that they won’t knock into her.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora lets herself lean sideways into Asta the moment the blanket settles, her shoulder finding the solid warmth of his chest with the easy thoughtlessness of someone used to seeking comfort where she can find it. She curls up under the shared blanket, letting the familiar scent of copper and spice settle her frayed edges, her fingers plucking absently at the fabric pooled in her lap.
"Fun to read, terrible to live through," she echoes with a rough laugh, nose wrinkling as she tilts her head back against him. "Yeah, well. Teenage me would have killed to star in a love story with this much drama. Now? I'd rather just have a nap." Her lips twitch in a smile, but it’s tired around the edges, worn thin by the things she isn't saying.
When Asta brings up their own past, Flora huffs a small, knowing sound, nudging his thigh lightly with her knee beneath the blanket. "That," she murmurs, "was just... poor communication wrapped in you being too charming and handsome for your own good." Her voice is teasing but low, edged with a deeper truth. "You didn’t mean to mislead me. You were just—" she taps her chin lightly, "too polite. Too sweet to say 'hey Flora, we're just friends' while I was busy spinning wedding fantasies in my head." She smiles again—smaller, realer—before tipping her head against his shoulder.
For a moment, they simply float there in the moonlight, cradled by the tide and the heavy scent of rain on the horizon. Then Flora, never able to leave silence alone for long, lets out a long breath and shifts just enough to glance up at him.
"Speaking of terrible romantic decisions," she mutters, half-laughing, half-gutting herself anew, "I took the Sugar Tide out for a spin the other day. Guess who nearly ran me over with his flying galleon the size of a small island?" She doesn't wait for an answer. "He actually boarded my ship without asking. Handed me back all my stuff in a bag her voice thickens slightly, but she plows on, "—and when I asked why he hadn’t answered my letters, he said..."
Flora bites the inside of her cheek, the words harder to say than she wants to admit. "He said he didn’t answer because I hurt him, and he wanted to hurt me back." The words leave her like something poisonous, thin and shaking and mean all over again. She shakes her head, looking out across the dark water. "I knew he could be cruel. I'd seen it a hundred times. Just... never to me." Her voice dips to a whisper, barely audible under the flap of the sails. "Not like that."
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
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Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
Her shoulder finds his chest with all the ease of a homing missile, and Asta’s arm curls around her shoulders easily to keep her tucked in and close. “When I was a teenager, I had zero idea what a romance novel even was.” He admits with a low chuckle. One that fades into a sigh that carries on the soft cool breeze, a scent of ozone lingering among the chocolate and chai, and Flora’s own beautiful scent. “But I too would have rather taken a nap than imagine anything of romance.” Though most of that was because he would have become food if he’d gone down that path.
And yes, that’s precisely where the butcher gets it from.
Feeling her nudge to his thigh, his attention flicks from the waves that dance in the distance toward her, finding the smile bloom slowly on his face. And while he does mourn the instances that had ruined it, he does think that in spite of it, they had fun. “You know that we would have had the most audacious wedding, if things were different.” It would have been the one of the century, with all the bells and whistles and gaudy attire, fit for a queen. But his tone is whimsical.
Ah, but then his attention fully flicks toward her with a raise of his brow, of terrible romantic decisions that has him all ears. His immediate internal response is Jack, but in the deadpan tone that is the equivalent of Susan. before he’s listening to her continue. He finds himself frowning anew, sharp teeth wanting to gnaw into something to alleviate the upset she had to have endured to have that shit show happen to her. “I wish I could put it more eloquently. Alas..” trailing off slightly, the butcher sighs and tilts his head, throwing up his glamour so that his horns won’t knock into her but that he can press his head to her own, his dark hair meshing into her blonde curls like a paintbrush in water. “That is horribly fucked up.” His tone shifts, more of that gritty Whitebrimness coming through with the wrinkle of distaste in his nose.
“You hurt him saving your people… He hurt you for what..? Because it would be fun? Make him somehow feel better?” He asks, hissing a touch, as if he’s quietly wondering what it might be like to bite a chunk out of the captain.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
04-29-2025, 08:30 PM (This post was last modified: 04-29-2025, 08:33 PM by Flora.)
flora
Flora doesn't answer right away; instead, she just presses her face into the side of Asta’s neck, letting the scratch of his stubble and the familiar rich scent of him blur into the night until the sting behind her eyes feels manageable again. Her curls tangle into his dark hair, and she lets them stay like that—wound tight, still—as if proximity could anchor her where nothing else has managed to lately.
"Horribly fucked up," she echoes at last, the words a breath, a bitter agreement. "He said it like it was a joke. Like hurting me was this clever twist in some game we were playing that I should have seen coming." Her nails catch against the seam of the blanket as she gathers it tighter around her shoulders before lifting her head enough to glance at him, pale eyes luminous in the dark. "And really I think that's all our relationship ever was to him. Just a game. I made him feel like he wasn't in control, and instead of talking to me like a person, he decided to punish me for it." Her smile is crooked, salt-damp, razor-thin. "Isn’t that romantic?"
Her laugh is quiet and hollow, and she sinks back against him with a kind of tired finality, like the weight of it all has finally stopped being something she can carry on her own. The Sugar Tide rocks gently beneath them, her sails catching the moonlight, and for once Flora doesn’t feel the need to fill the silence that follows.
"Gods, why couldn't things have worked out with you though? You're perfect," the queen teases with a sigh. "If anything ever happens with Danta, I demand one more crack at you," she adds, glancing up at the butcher and wrinkling her nose affectionately. It's all in jest of course, but gods what Flora wouldn't give just to have someone who was kind, even if said somehow was wholly uninterested in her for the most part.
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
He doesn’t mind the way her head angles in against his neck, the smooth warmth of her skin brushed against the carefully manicured beard and his bronze hued skin. He feels the flutter of her lashes, the bitter breath that emits from her as his arm tightens around her shoulders and his hornless head presses a little harder against her for this moment. “Perhaps in some alternative timeline.” Asta murmurs, a hum of eeeh preceding his next words. “You know, where everything is backwards.”
He embraces her each centimeter she sinks into him, until he’s wound mostly around her with the long length of his limbs, taking a moment to set the chai down so he doesn’t spill it on her – uncaring of whether she spilt hers on him. It wasn’t like it would burn him, anyway.
Hearing her question and the follow up offer, the butcher’s low laugh accompanies hers in the starlit night. “Ah, I am far from perfect, Flora darling.” Comes his rumble, the mischief in his gaze as he peels back enough to peer back down at her with the wrinkle to her nose. “Though I suppose my big bad secret is out to you, now.” This is paired with a dramatic roll of his eyes – because Maea telling everyone seemed to be a major thorn in his side as of late.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora snuggles in tighter, fully claiming the space Asta offers like she’s afraid it might vanish if she doesn’t stake her place. The blanket shifts with them, cocooning them in warmth and shadow and the faint scent of spiced chocolate still hanging in the air. She sighs, content for a moment just to be there, wrapped in steady arms and something that doesn't feel like a battlefield for once.
"Weirder things have happened," she murmurs, lips curving faintly against his collarbone as she echoes his ‘backwards timeline’ comment. "In one of them, maybe I’m the emotionally stable one and you’re the chaotic mess trying to untangle your feelings in a tavern booth."
Setting down her mug beside his, Flora slides her arms around his chest beneath the blanket, palms flattening against his back like maybe she can soak in a little of his calm by osmosis. When her gaze drifts back up to his face, the moonlight does lovely things to his cheekbones and the curve of his mouth, the moss-brown of his eyes turned dusk-deep. "Still perfect to me," she insists quietly, nose wrinkling in soft mimicry as she rests her chin on his chest. "Just adds to your whole mysterious aesthetic. Deadly charm and deep secrets."
Her brows lift then, a sly gleam rising behind her lashes. "Speaking of—" she says, a little sing-song, "is that certain pale thorn still out there running her mouth about you?"
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
She’ll feel the chuckle before she hears it as it rises from his chest, away from the rough gnarled scar tissue adorning his skin like crocodile armor. “Complete with karaoke?” He murmurs, adding into the jest. It doesn’t pull him away from her, though, if anything it keeps him just as close as her arms slip around him, the warmth of her palms against the scar tissue in his back – a barely there whisper of what he’s sure would be such a soft caress if he could actually feel it.
At least he has a good imagination.
Their eyes meet, the moonlight reflected in her own like the world sat within the pools of blue he finds there as she compliments him still, his lips quirking into a small smile as she rests her chin on his chest and his arms slip around her a touch easier. “They do call me the butcher for a reason..” He whispers, as if it were a secret and not something that others had known already.
But he spots the sly gleam before her words follow it up, snorting before he sighs and slumps a little – which only serves to pull her in against him tighter beneath the blanket, radiating the warmth between them with nothing but the waves and ship beneath them. “Unfortunately. It seems she told Thalassa of my preferences.” Rolling his eyes again, he huffs a little. “Despite the fact that she still wishes to apologize.” His hand lifts from her back to the nape of her neck, threading fingers through the blonde sea-salt curls. “But I shall not dwell on it, lest it make me bad company.” Comes the soft little apology, muting it for the moment.
“What are your plans after this? Might I convince you to come back to the Dusklight with me when we return?” The butcher offers, dark eyes dropping down to watch her for her reaction.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora’s laughter hums low and genuine, muffled by the curve of his chest. "Obviously there’d be karaoke, she murmurs, voice rich with amusement, and not for the first time the queen is reminded that time does have a way of healing wounds, if the fact that she and Asta can so easily joke now about the mess once between them.
Her smile softens as he sighs, and when he speaks of Maea, Flora only shakes her head. "She brought me one of Vi’s Roses, you know? As an apology. I really thought that meant she was gonna start taking responsibility for her own shit instead of weaponizing everyone else’s." She exhales, nuzzling briefly into his collarbone. As someone quite experienced in keeping the secrets of others regardless of how difficult it made things for her, Flora had little sympathy for Maea's need to air her friend's dirty laundry.
Pulling back just enough to look up at him again, she scrunches her nose, the gesture playfully fond. "You could never be bad company. But I get not wanting to let her haunt our night."
Then, following his invitation—simple, warm—Flora’s reply comes just as easy. "Yeah," she says, a thread of brightness reappearing in her voice. "I’d like that." Her brows rise slightly as she adds, "My bed down below still isn’t sorted yet. Spice keeps hoarding my pillows and I’m pretty sure the blanket is cursed. So really, I have no choice." The teasing twist of her grin returns, because they both know that whatever Flora might do down below, it would never hold a candle to the decadence of the Dusklight's rooms.
Though it’s clearly a shame to leave the cocoon of warmth they’ve made, Flora eventually unwinds her arms and sits up with a reluctant little groan. "Alright, alright. Let’s get moving before the tide decides to carry us to King's End." With a final nudge against his side, she slides out from under the blanket and pads barefoot to the helm, calling up a playful breeze to help nudge them inland.
The Sugar Tide turns with her touch, her stained-glass sails catching the moonlight as she glides toward the Hollowed Ground's dusky silhouette—toward laughter, shadowed rooms, and the dusklit promise of something softer than spending the night alone.
