[RA] You know together we're glowing

In the wake of the Family's exit from Caido and the completion of their final barrier against the violet wanderers between stars, Hadama had turned his attention to the Mer. He had spent most of the season beneath the waves, tending to the needs and problems of the Merfolk in the Underwater City. But Leafchange moved on, and the city above the waves called as well.

He walked on bare feet through the Court of Stars, inclining his head in greeting to the staff who kept it tidy and running when Torchline's leaders were elsewhere. He moved to the garden at its heart, looking around at the night-blooming flowers that were closed up for the day, and the profusion of white blossoms and lilies that had been planted around as well.

Drawing in a breath of air that was cooler with the changing seasons, he moved to the desk that had become almost as familiar as the pool he had once worked from. There were complaints to peruse, budgets to approve, suggestions by concerned citizens to consider...

And so he passed the time in catching up on his duties until the clock chimed the hour of his meeting with his co-ruler, or until Flora arrived - whichever came first.

flora

The glass dome above the garden catches the late afternoon light, scattering it in soft gold over marble and water alike. The air inside is warm despite the season, carrying the mingled scents of brine and lilies, and Spice is making delighted little trills from her perch on Flora’s shoulder as she sways her way up the columned hall. Sunlight dances on the curve of her gold bangles and catches in her curls, and though she’s barefoot like the locals, the Queen of Torchline moves with the breezy ease of someone who has claimed this place as much as the tide ever could.

She spots him long before she reaches him—impossible not to, really, with all that height and quiet gravitas bent over his desk—and her grin blooms slow and wicked. "Well, well, she calls, voice carrying across the fountain’s soft murmur, "don’t tell me you’re here to swipe a few coins from the fountain while no one's looking." Her gaze flicks pointedly to the fountain, its carved image of Safrin serene and imperious, and she tips her head as though she’s caught him in some great scandal.

Spice, perhaps sensing the jest, flutters from her shoulder to the fountain’s rim, peering down as if searching for evidence of the crime. The dragon’s tiny claws click against the marble, and Flora drifts closer, the scent of coconut oil and saltwater curling in her wake. Though her personal life might be in tatters, she and Hadama had developed a rhythm as reliable as the tides, and so it was with a bright smile that she turned to regard him. "Hey. How've you been?"

I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Her voice floated through the air, as warm and bright as Longheat sunrise on the beach, and the slow smile tugged at his lips as he set aside the report he was reading to look up at her. As always, his co-ruler was a vision of loveliness in tanned skin and golden hair, accented in the metal that suited her complexion best. Diamonds were timeless, of course, but perhaps something with aquamarines or sapphires to bring out her eyes...

"Mmh. How else will I pay for our next mani-pedi day?" He regarded Spice's investigation with fond affection before he pushed back from his desk, standing and coming around it to offer his hands to the Doubletake, the corners of his eyes crinkling with warmth of his own. The scent of sun and salt and a lingering hint of the lilies he had been sitting beside clung to his brown skin, and the gold of his tattoos seemed to glow from the indirect light scattering from above as he took her hands and squeezed them gently. "I have been busy in the Underwater City. But well. My parents are both in good health, and my sister's wedding was... mmh. Uneventful." If he looked slightly disappointed that nothing had happened to interrupt it, it was only because he was relaxed enough around Flora to reveal his true feelings. With a slight shake of his head he refocused on Flora and his smile returned. "How have things been with you?"

flora

The sound that bursts from her is bright and unrestrained, laughter tumbling over itself as her nose wrinkles in mock-scandalised delight. She closes the distance easily, gold bracelets chiming against each other as she reaches for his hands, curling her fingers around his and tugging him down toward her. It’s only fair, after all—if he’s going to loom like a sea god, she’ll drag him back down to mortal height—and she rises onto her toes so she can press a kiss to the warm plane of his cheek.

"Uneventful?" she repeats, the word lilting with disbelief. Mischief sparks in her aqua eyes as she tips her head. "Clearly your mistake was not inviting me to be your date. I could’ve guaranteed at least one dramatic interruption." The grin she gives him is all teeth and sunshine, but it softens a moment later as the conversation turns to her own news.

She exhales a theatrical sigh, the kind meant to be performed for an audience, but there’s a hairline crack in the brightness, something fragile beneath the show. "I handed the Hanged Man over to the Marin siblings," she says, voice still warm but tinged with the faintest note of loss, "and...I’ve decided it’s time to move out of the house Enzo and I first settled in when we came here." Her gaze drifts past him to where the sea breeze threads through the garden like a familiar ghost. With a vague sweep of her hand toward the shore beyond, she adds, "So I’m building myself something bigger. A mansion. Right on the beach." The last words are deliberately buoyant, like she’s daring him to challenge her extravagance.

I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

He was tugged without resistance, and his smile widened with quiet delight at the kiss that was bestowed. It widened further as she revealed his greatest mistake in the attendance of his sister's wedding and he squeezed her hands in silent gratitude. He could well imagine the sort of interruption his brilliant, vivacious Queen might have instigated - one which would have been eminently satisfying on a personal level, even if his sister would have taken a few years to forgive him.

Ah well. Next time, perhaps.

But his attention was all for Flora as she sighed. He knew her too well to think it was something either simple or shallow, and at the blunt, unadorned statement of the Hanged Man's disposition he squeezed her hands a second time. There was concern in emerald eyes even before the news of her imminent move was revealed, and he drew in a slow breath to let it all sink in. Then he released her hands so he could lean down and pull her into a warm, strong embrace.

"The bar is in good hands," he rumbled quietly. "Almost as good as yours. But a mansion..." He released her, enough to rest his hands on her shoulders and look solemnly down into her sea-blue eyes. "Mmh. I suppose it will do, for now. But a Queen deserves a castle, Flora. And Torchline owes you a great deal for the risks and sacrifices you made with the Family. Promise me that you will spare no expense on it." The concern lingered, but his solemnity had lightened to a smile that held only a little sadness for what she was leaving behind - memories and connections with a past that would never be forgotten, but which would now be at an even further remove.

flora

Flora sags into him without hesitation, arms looping around his middle, though it’s a stretch to make her fingers meet at his back. "Yeah.." she murmurs, the agreement shaped in a voice that’s warm on the surface but edged faintly with something sharper. "Probably is." She still hated it though, or at least, she hated the circumstances which had led up to the decision.

She tilts her chin, peering up at him with a glimmer of mischief. "A castle? I’m always down for an upgrade." The smile she flashes is bright enough to hide the rest, and she lets the moment slip into something lighter as she draws back enough to keep her gaze on his.

"Speaking of Torchline," she begins, a sly curl to her mouth, "what do you think we ought to do this season?" Her nose wrinkles in open distaste before she adds, "And if you say train more soldiers, I might drown myself in the fountain." The joke lands with a twinkle in her eyes, and she lets it roll into a more extravagant suggestion. "We could just make sure the city’s ticking along. Or—" and here her grin widens, voice dipping into mock-conspiracy, "we could try piping the lucky rum fountain into all the drinking fountains in the city. Imagine the morale boost."

I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

He could not change the decisions she had made, so instead he only tightened his embrace and held her closer. The Hanged Man would survive, but there was no doubt that it would not be the same without the Doubletake at its helm.

He could not take that pain from her, but he could bring a little of the joy back by giving his sincere approval of her building plans. Her smile made it all worthwhile, but before he could offer further architectural advice it was Flora's turn to distract him, pulling his mind back to business - and drawing that slow smile back to his eyes with her threat. "Mmh. A difficult proposition when I am near," he reminded her with a quiet laugh. "But I will not risk you finding a way. No soldiers." An easy promise to make with peace settling back over Torchline like a warm, familiar blanket.

Her alternative suggestion had him tilting his head to the side as if in serious consideration of the improvement to the city's waterways. "It would help to sanitize them," he mused, giving her a sly smile. "But think of the extra collisions on the docks." He paused, then gave a slow nod. "But we should improve the region. The weather now is good for such work. i recommend repairs on our public buildings... and the construction of new housing. We may see more Ancients from the Hollow Grounds coming to stay here in Deepfrost." And if some of those new building funds ended up going to Flora's new mansion? Hadama might not admit to seeing - or approving - the expenditures, though they would certainly make it past his desk somehow.

flora

Flora snickers, rolling her eyes with mock exasperation. "Oh, I could find a way," she assures him, tone lilting with the kind of confidence that’s less boast and more statement of fact.

She bobs her head in agreement at his suggestion for city upgrades, the movement easy and loose as she leans a hip against the nearest column. "Yeah, I’m in. And sure, I expect a few more Ancients too.." Her smile tilts crooked, eyes catching the light in something sharper. "But with Danta’s giant bonfire to the Climb and his little fire-on-tap arrangement, I doubt it’ll be like the past years."

Tapping her chin, Flora's lets her lips twitch as though weighing the next thought. "Y’know, maybe in the future we could see if Vi could make it so the fountain water stays blessed even after it leaves Torchline." She tilts her head, curls brushing her shoulder. "I don’t know if it’s possible, but...maybe next time either of us talks to Safrin, we could ask?"

I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

He had learned not to doubt her resourcefulness. Or her perseverance.

So instead he changed the subject a trifle, offering an alternative plan to improve their region and nodding contentedly when Flora agreed with it. "Mmh. We may receive refugees from Deepfrost from other regions, too." 'Snowbirds' from Halo or King's End or even Stormbreak who might come to spend the coldest season for part or all of it in Caido's most civilized city, with its creature comforts and entertainments from highbrow all the way to downright unsavory.

For the right price.

Emerald eyes watched a perfectly manicured nail tap the beginnings of a thought and the Tidebreaker lapsed back into silence to give his co-ruler the space to think. When she offered a suggestion of her own he gave a slow nod to indicate that he had heard it while he turned the idea around in his head. "I do not think it has been done before," he admitted slowly. "That I have heard of. But if it is possible... yes. It would be a significant gift to all of Caido." His gaze warmed with admiration for his queen and then a spark of mischief entered them. "Though perhaps we should reconsider the gravity cannons, first. If we put them off again I fear that Melita may lead a coup."

flora

Flora’s grin curves quick and wide, eyebrows bouncing as she tilts her chin toward him. "Torchline's really has become the destination, huh?" There’s no hiding the pride threaded through her voice, a glittering undercurrent that speaks to how much she values what the two of them have carved together from salt and sunlight.

She tips her head, curls spilling over one shoulder, thoughtful now. "Yeah, I haven’t heard of it done before either, but I don’t see why it couldn’t. Maybe Rae’s the better choice instead of Vi, though...either way, worth looking into." Her bracelets chime softly as she waves a hand, dismissive, as always, of the obstacles in the way.

At the mention of gravity cannons, she snickers, rolling her eyes fondly. "Gods, you’re right. We’d never hear the end of it if we put them off again." Her smile softens into something warmer, settled. "But, for now, we stick with the city. Repairs, housing, the boring-but-important things. Come Deepfrost..." She lets her grin sharpen again, eyes bright with possibility. "Maybe we chat about cannons."

I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

"Indeed." And the satisfaction in his deep voice matched the sparkle in Flora's eye, pride for pride, in how far they had come together through the trials and tribulations that had assailed Torchline over the last several years.

He looked over to the pool within the inner garden as they both contemplated the Doubletake's suggestion. Healing that would exist beyond their borders... a gift for many, especially their less magically-talented citizens. And their friends and family beyond Torchline's borders as well. "I am inclined to Vi," he admitted with a flicker of a smile and a tilt of his head in acknowledgment of his own divine 'lineage' through Safrin. "Especially since the fountain already bears Safrin's blessing." But first they would need to ask and learn what limits or possibilities were open to them, something he hoped to have the opportunity to do soon.

Assuming that they were still in charge when their next opportunity to ask the gods for such regional quests came around again, of course. Not entirely something to be taken for granted when there were others with ambitions - or even just predilection for mischief and mayhem in equal measure - who might take things into their own hands. And cannons.

"Next season," he agreed with a chuckle. "The repairs and building will keep us busy enough this season."

~Fin