Finn let out a small sigh at the question that Lily asked. He heard the teasing note but there was something under her tone that he knew prompted an actual answer.

"... not really, no. I want an apology from Florence, not excuses," he stated shortly. "I want her to start acting better and less bratty. I don't care how old she is, she's way too old to be acting like some stuck-up pick-me from high school--from old millennial high school."

He scowled sharply. "She needs to apologize to you. I don't want excuses, I don't want pathetic mumbles. I want an actual apology and I don't want to hear it, I want to see it. Instead of owning up to her actions, she goes and runs off to pout," he threw his hand in the air, gesturing toward the sky.

"I'm sorry for getting so... so heated but I can't... I just can't," he admitted. "The entire way she acts--just is--it infuriates me."

----

Xevon's feathers rippled with surprise at the fact that the goddess had responded. His mind swirled with thoughts, fishing for what came next.

What had Alma done?

"Who took Vedea?"

Xevon focused on that. His eyes studied the way the woman moved, keeping pace with Renissa. There was something still ethereal about the former goddess. She seemed like the reflection in a mirror, the type seen out of the corner of your eye. A whisper of snow caught on the breeze. The swirl of mist in the air.

It was haunting and beautiful but Xevon was worried they'd lose her if they went too fast or said the wrong thing. It was like skating on thin ice, hoping it would hold long enough to get to the other side of the river.