[table][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/tbIvwoy.png[/img][/cell][cell][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240504/7ea89157aa7490b85c1faa2a61df7e74.png[/img][/cell][/row]
[row][cell][sub]Location: Hot Springs[/sub][/cell][/row][/table]Kira smirked at Orion’s reply, her lips curving with sly amusement. [color=DC561E]“A night [i]or two[/i]?”[/color] she teased, her voice carrying a sultry tone to it now.  [color=DC561E]“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”[/color] She let the innuendo hang between them for a beat, enjoying the light tension it created. It almost felt like old times. Finding herself next to another noble, whispering sweet nothings in their ear. Coaxing secrets from their lips. 

But as Orion began to open up about the Prince and how Flynn had given him another chance—trusted him when others didn’t—the mischief slowly drained from her expression. She hadn’t expected Orion to open up about his past with the Prince, much less with such honesty. It was clear there was deep loyalty there. He wasn’t there just for show, then. They truly had a bond of some sort. 

A flicker of something like jealousy stirred in her chest. Every position she’d ever held had been out of necessity, driven by obligation or survival—never because she truly cared for the one giving the orders. Instinctively, she was mindful about committing all his words to memory. Though, she did not know who she was being so meticulous for anymore. She no longer sold secrets in exchange for her soul, yet it felt natural. 

Kira wasn’t one to bare her soul so freely, but what Orion described aligned with the version of the Prince she had encountered. Flynn had given her another chance too, despite knowing little about her beyond the surface. She had gone through with his little interview he conducted on all blight-born, but she had revealed only enough to satisfy him and make him believe she was trustworthy. To her, he seemed rather naive and idealistic, yet still kinder than any noble she had ever met—let alone royalty.

The royals and nobility in Lunaris were far from kind—cold and calculating was more accurate. Flynn’s warmth had been disarming at first, but Kira had learned long ago that kindness often concealed ulterior motives. There was always an angle. Always something hidden beneath the surface. Flynn’s efforts to build Dawnhaven as a haven for blight-born was admirable, but she could see desperation clung to him like a shadow. The prophecy levied against him looming overhead. She didn’t blame him, but he wasn’t doing this out of the pure kindness of his heart. Flynn, with all his supposed benevolence, couldn’t be exempt from suspicion. No one was. 

When Orion turned the question back on her, asking if she had any connections from her past that she treasured, Kira’s body instinctively tensed. She didn’t care for questions like these, ones that probed too close to things she preferred to keep buried. In the past, she would have shifted the conversation with ease, steering it back into safer waters, charming her way out of answering. She could tell them a lie or five, fabricating another life she had never lived. She had been good at that—using her looks, her wit, her body language to disarm people, to enchant them. To keep them exactly where she wanted them. 

But now, after everything that had happened, it felt harder to grasp that part of herself. Deep down it was still there, yet it would slip through her fingers when she needed it most. 

Her amber eyes dropped to the water, watching the gentle ripples without really seeing them. She didn’t respond right away, her mind grappling with memories she’d long buried, feelings she’d shut away. [i]Elara.[/i] 

For a moment, she thought about how much isolation had changed her. Perhaps even more than the blight. It was as if the parts of her that had once been sharp and magnetic were dulled, eroded by time and solitude. She could feel herself clamming up, her usual defenses rising like an impenetrable wall. 

Thankfully, Sya began to speak, offering a welcome distraction. Kira looked at her with a sense of relief, letting the conversation flow away from her, thankful that she hadn’t been pressed to speak first. 

Kira listened quietly, though Sya’s story didn’t surprise her. It was a familiar one—entire towns swallowed by blight, bloodlines erased, families shattered. Kira had heard versions of it before, countless times across Lunaris. Even Kira had been a victim of a similar story, a village lost just as quickly. Royals turned a blind eye, whether out of indifference or malice, it didn’t matter. The result was the same. The loss was the same. 

She grabbed the bottle Orion had set beside him and took another drink, her movements steady and deliberate, lacking the hesitation she had noted in Orion’s earlier. As Sya spoke about the stable boy she might have had a life with, Kira offered a closed-lip smile when their eyes met, one of feigned amusement and understanding. Sya was clearly trying to connect with her, but the effort missed its mark. 

Kira had never understood the desire to talk about men in such a gossipy way, though she knew it was popular, especially within the noble circles. In the past she’d fake interest and indulge people if it got her the information she needed. But to her it was childish. Perhaps it was because she had never grown up with the same experiences as other teenage girls. Gossiping about boys seemed trivial—stupid, even. Sya’s attempt at bonding felt foreign, though Kira wouldn’t let her know that. 

When Sya finished, Kira sensed the unspoken expectation in the air, as if Sya and Orion were waiting for her to share her own story. To spill her soul just as Sya had. Yeah, [i]right[/i]. Kira wasn’t about to unravel her own scars for strangers, no matter how much she might relate to their stories. She wasn’t that foolish. 

Sidestepping the question entirely, she reached inward and attempted to grasp that charisma she had once wielded with such ease. She shifted in her seat, leaning forward to offer Sya the bottle of wine. [color=DC561E]"You're doing a good job running the inn."[/color] Kira said with a small, practiced smile, trying to inject some warmth into her voice. [color=DC561E]"The Prince made a good choice in you."[/color] She shifted her gaze to Orion, adding, [color=DC561E]“In both of you.”[/color]

As Sya took the bottle, Kira settled back, hoping no one would press her for more. Still, she knew she couldn’t leave it at that. It wasn’t enough to derail the topic at hand. She needed to say something bolder, something that would disarm them and make them focus on themselves again. Although none of them were human anymore, blight-born still shared similar flaws—people loved to talk about themselves. 

[color=DC561E]"Maybe you'll find another tall stable boy around here."[/color] she added, a teasing edge in her voice as she played off Sya’s earlier comment. Her gaze slid to Orion, her lips in a mischievous smirk once more. [color=DC561E]"And what about you? Are you in the market for a stable boy too?"[/color] she joked, her tone playfully casual. She knew he was treading dangerous waters—talking about loved ones with fellow blight-born who had likely lost everything—but Sya had been the one to bring up the topic, and Kira knew it’d work to shift the focus. At least for a moment. Anything to keep the conversation from lingering on her. 

The past could stay where it belonged—buried. At least, for tonight.

[hr]

[sub][b]Interactions:[/b] Orion [@Qia], Sya [@PrinceAlexus][/sub]