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+---- Thread: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger (/showthread.php?tid=12883)
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you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Vesper - 06-04-2026
Deepfrost sits hard over King’s End, turning every rope stiff with frost and every breath pale above the water. Vesper stands near an open barrel of fire on the docks, close enough for the heat to reach his hands but not so close that the smoke catches in his clothes, his injured shoulder bandaged beneath the dark line of his coat and a worn leather bag resting between his feet.
The Boondocks shift around him in restless pieces though he pays most of it little attention. There are minds enough to make the air feel crowded, merchants counting coin, sailors measuring risk, thieves thinking too loudly of pockets not their own, but none of them are the one he is waiting for. A card turns slowly between his fingers, edge flashing once in the firelight before disappearing against his palm. Vesper’s gaze remains on the water, pale and unreadable, while the star beside his eye catches the barrel’s glow in a faint, brief glimmer. Jack will come when he comes, that has always been the shape of waiting for him.
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Jack - 06-04-2026
The transition between Hak Etme and King's End has been a harsh one for the crew, and Jack can only imagine how The Ark is feeling about it all. But business calls from multiple regions, and in this one he's got some loose ends to tie up and a meeting with Vesper following a (hopefully successful) jaunt into the Oerwoud. While the young demigod warms his hands along the docks, the rest of the world continues to move around him in a hurry against the cold, coats pulled close and collars turned up against the sharp wind coming in off the Arclight.
Jack only leaves him waiting for a few more minutes, emerging from what's best described as a floating shack that seems almost suspiciously nondescript. He's tucking something into the lining of his coat with bloody knuckles as he steps back onto the docks, telepathy immediately catching on the void where thought should be as reaches out with greedy fingers for anything of note.
Vesper certainly fits that description, the Captain's footsteps somehow both loud and soft as he crosses the hollow boards to the barrel, the wind and sleet kept at bay by his magic. [say]"You're back,"[/say] he says by way of greeting, lowering the defences around his mind to offer the equivalent of a mental handshake.
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Vesper - 06-04-2026
Vesper feels Jack’s approach in the way the dockside thoughts begin to bend around him, curiosity and caution gathering weight before the captain’s boots ever cross into view. It is not reverence and it is not fear, not cleanly, but the small adjustments people make around something they recognize too late as having gravity.
He turns slightly as Jack nears, pale eyes lifting, and when the defences around the captain’s mind lower, Vesper lets his own ease by a fraction in return. [say]"Nothin' gets past you,"[/say] he grunts, grinning as much in greeting as answer.
The weathered leather bag waits between his boots. Reaching down with his good arm, Vesper lifts it by the strap and offers it out across the firelight, the bandage beneath his coat pulling tight enough to sharpen his breathing without changing his expression.
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Jack - 06-04-2026
[say]"An' don't you forget it,"[/say] Jack fires back, lips twitching into a smile as he settles beside the burning barrel, the fire casting their faces into ghoulish relief against the bleak palette of the day. His magic has already extended to Vesper to keep any chill or snow at bay, his hand ready to accept the bag the boy offers, but even without the full spectrum of his thoughts on offer, the body language, even subtle, is enough to have Jack's eyebrows raising.
[say]"Any trouble gettin' it?"[/say] he asks, the picture of nonchalance as he sets the leather bag between his own boots without checking inside it; such things are for overeager rookies, and he hasn't been one of those for a very long time. [say]"Ain't been to that cache for a bit. Wouldn't be surprised if it was a bitch to find."[/say] That's the problem with jungles. Shit's always growing.
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Vesper - 06-04-2026
The grin on Vesper’s face shifts by degrees into something that mirrors Jack’s with an accuracy too neat to be anything other than genetic. When the bite of Deepfrost eases around them, held off by the quiet reach of Jack’s magic, his shoulders settle despite the bandage beneath his coat and the raw insistence of the wound under it. He doesn't make much effort to disguise the stiffness; there would be little point even if Jack weren't a telepath given how observant the Captain always had been, and so Vesper shrugs with his good shoulder instead, careful enough that the gesture stays small. [say]"Ran into a molten tiger as a welcomin’ party,"[/say] he says, voice dry and even.
Being bitten half-open by something large and hungry is not, in itself, worth making into a story. That is the sort of consequence that attaches itself to Jack’s work sooner or later, and Vesper has no particular interest in dressing it up as a grievance. It is the rest of what followed him back out of the Oerwoud that leaves his gaze narrowing slightly toward the fire, pale eyes catching where the flames move through the barrel’s rusted seams. [say]"Heard some weird stories while I was passin’ through, though,"[/say] he adds after a moment, quieter now, not quite casual enough to be mistaken for idle talk. [say]"Folks fallin’ asleep outta nowhere. Weird critters that ain’t been seen before."[/say] His fingers shift once at his side, silver rings glinting briefly before his hand stills again.
[say]"Maybe it's just ordinary jungle bullshit, but.."[/say] He shrugs with his good shoulder.
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Jack - 06-04-2026
[say]"Oh, so a real friendly jaunt through the Oerwoud, then?"[/say] Jack says, scoffing under his breath and letting his eyes flick over Vesper only once, but with the calculated determination of a man used to finding weak spots in others. [say]"We'll be docked here for the rest of Deepfrost if you wanna rest up,"[/say] is what he says in lieu of anything more paternal, not least because neither of them would feel comfortable with it.
A sharp wind whips across the docks while they talk, sending loose papers scattering from stalls and forcing a few people walking to alter their course, but the Captain keeps his magic braced against it, the brief wrinkle of his nose the only indication of the redoubled effort. [say]"Weird stories?"[/say] he echoes, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Asking for more detail is unnecessary, Vesper filling in necessary blanks without delay, and Jack's brows furrow. [say]"It's rarely normal bullshit in my experience,"[/say] he mutters. [say]"You hear anythin' outside the Oerwoud on your way back here? If it's keepin' itself to itself for now, that'd be ideal."[/say]
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Vesper - 06-04-2026
Vesper’s smile shifts slightly at the edges, acknowledging the offer without making either of them suffer through the weight of it as his eyes drift briefly past Jack toward the water and the dark shape of The Ark beyond it. Since learning what she is now, the thought of being aboard her has sat badly with him; not because she’s alive, exactly, but because she’d been alive before, in all the ways that mattered for memory and sensation, while he’d still treated his bunk like a private room instead of part of something with ears, feelings, and opinions. For a telepath who has spent most of his life deciding who gets access to what, the hypocrisy of being unsettled by it isn’t lost on him, but neither is the fact that she’d have heard him in moments he’d assumed belonged to no one else, and most importantly that she could do it anytime she liked.
He gives his head a small shake, dismissing the thread before it can show too clearly before clearing his throat. [say]"Good to know,"[/say] he says, looking back to Jack.
[say]"Seems like whatever’s happenin' is stayin' in the jungle for now."[/say] His fingers brush once over the rings on his hand, then still. [say]"Ideal, as you said, if it stays that way."[/say] Though they both knew trouble rarely stayed contained.
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Jack - 06-04-2026
[say]"She won't bite unless you ask polite, y'know,"[/say] Jack says offhandedly, and though he purposely doesn't glance over his shoulder towards where Vesper's gaze drifts to the dark shape of The Ark, it doesn't take much to notice how all of their meetings as of late have taken place on the dock rather than the deck. [say]"I get it,"[/say] he adds, just in case the young demigod thinks him ignorant of what The Ark is, particularly to those with their skillset. [say]"Offer's still open if you need it."[/say]
Letting his attention drift back to the matter of the Oerwould with a brief twist of his lips, Jack exhales the sort of sigh that has long accepted trouble encroaching in all the places it doesn't belong. There had been a time when he'd balked against it, and fiercely so, but since the war that ripped half of Torchline into the sky and brought the Kingmaker to her shores, he's had to become a little more accommodating of the impossible.
[say]"I'll keep my ear to the ground in case those rumours get further afield,"[/say] he says. [say]"If they do, might be worth askin' someone a little more celestial about it."[/say]
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Vesper - 06-04-2026
Vesper huffs a small, humourless laugh, one hand lifting to ruffle through his pale hair as if the motion might dislodge the particular discomfort of The Ark from wherever it’s settled beneath his skin. [say]"Will she now,"[/say] he murmurs, though the edge of it dulls when Jack adds that he gets it, causing something in Vesper’s posture to ease by a fraction. Concern had sat there without announcing itself, too well-hidden to be offered and too present to be nothing, because refusing The Ark’s deck could too easily look like refusing what Jack had made of her, or worse, what she had become. But if anyone in the world was going to understand the ugly little shape of it, though, the privacy and invasion and embarrassment tangled through a telepath’s bones, it’s Jack. Vesper nods, the gesture small but deliberate. [say]"Thanks,"[/say] he says, softer than the rest of it.
When the conversation turns celestial
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Jack - 06-04-2026
Jack does little more than dip his chin in acknowledgement of Vesper's thanks, the Captain straightening a little more and nudging the leather bag a touch closer between his feet. Around them the port is starting to stir further to life, and although no one would dare to intrude on their little rendezvous around the barrel and out of the immediate harshness of the weather, there's more than one greedy and envious look being thrown around.
[say]"Look at you, payin' a visit to your mother like a good kid,"[/say] he says, the amusement easy in his tone, because they both know Vesper's relationship with the lady of the stars is much more like business than anything warm and fuzzy - at least on the surface. [say]"A good idea,"[/say] he concedes nevertheless, and though the Oerwoud is miles and miles away from them, the danger that might be brewing there feels altogether much closer to home.
[say]"Here's hopin' it's fuck all."[/say] Sighing, he nods further into the Castaway Exchange. [say]"Got time for a drink an' to nurse your wounds?"[/say]
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Vesper - 06-04-2026
Vesper lifts his pale eyes to Jack and gives him a flat, unimpressed stare that belongs more to theatre than offence, holding it just long enough for the point to land before a rough little laugh slips out of him despite himself. [say]"Yeah,"[/say] he says, the edge of amusement still tucked at one corner of his mouth. [say]"Somethin’ like that."[/say]
He shifts his weight, good shoulder rising in a small shrug while the other stays carefully out of the matter. [say]"Found some snakeskin up in the desert a while ago, and I’ve been workin’ on havin’ it made into armour for Nova."[/say] There’s no softness laid over the name, but the care is there all the same. [say]"Figured she could use it over Caly."[/say] Which is not, strictly speaking, an insult to Nova. It is merely an honest assessment of which of his sisters is more likely to find trouble and then make eye contact with it until it becomes personal.
At Jack’s offer, Vesper nods and slips both hands into his pockets as he steps away from the fire. [say]"And then some,"[/say] he agrees, as his gaze cuts briefly across the Castaway Exchange, taking in the stalls, the hungry looks, the thoughts that turn a little too brightly around the bag at Jack’s feet, before he glances back to his father. [say]"Anythin' new on your end?"[/say]
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Jack - 06-04-2026
[say]"A wise decision,"[/say] Jack says easily as Vesper speaks of the armour he's been making for his sister - and one over the other, in particular. He shifts enough to reach down and snag the strap of the leather bag, treating it with the casual authority of someone who knows intimately what's of value inside but dares anyone else to make mention of it. [say]"You better hope it comes out lookin' bright an' fashionable though, or it'll be a waste of snakeskin,"[/say] he adds, though he doubts very much that Vesper needs to be told.
Heading off across the docks to a floating bar that has gotten more popular since its main competitor sank in suspicious, Jack-related circumstances, the Captain only has to think for a beat before his laughter all but scoffs out of him. [say]"I ain't seen you to tell you,"[/say] he realises. [say]"Colt wants to do business with The Ark, shiftin' dream cacti an' dreamdust down from Hak Etme."[/say]
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Vesper - 06-04-2026
[say]"Well, the snake had this rainbow-y sheen to its scales, so..."[/say] Vesper lets the explanation end there, one shoulder lifting as if that ought to settle the matter, which, where Nova is concerned, it largely does.
He follows Jack across the docks without needing to look twice at where they’re headed, the floating bar already warm with noise and smoke ahead of them. His hand lifts to shrug out of his jacket as they move, careful around the bandaged shoulder, and he has the coat half-loosened when Colt’s name slips into the air between them like a blade turned flat-side first. His movements don't stop though; Vesper keeps drawing the jacket down his good arm, expression held in the same easy shape, though pain gives him somewhere convenient to put the slight wince and the tightening around his eyes. Jack knows enough about what had happened that pretending not to react is nearly pointless, but it’s old work, that particular kind of concealment, and it happens in him before he decides whether it’s worth doing.
[say]"Oh yeah?"[/say] he says, casually enough. [say]"I heard she was doin’ somethin’ like that."[/say]
The jacket comes free, and Vesper folds it over his arm as if that small bit of order deserves more attention than the cold feeling working down his spine. There’d been a time when Colt’s ambition had been somethin' spillin' from her lips right into his ears. Now he only has the report of it second-hand, and that’s better, probably, though not in any way he cares to name. [say]"With Stormbreak gone, I bet most of the buyers and sellers are lookin’ for new suppliers,"[/say] he adds, glancing toward Jack with a small shrug that doesn’t quite touch the wounded side. [say]"Could be good business for the Ark to get into this early on."[/say]
RE: you play the victim with your finger on the trigger - Jack - 06-04-2026
Jack doesn't so much as glance at Vesper as the boy works on getting out of his jacket and wrestles with the knowledge he's just set down before him like a dose of particularly sour medicine. They are similar enough in that respect that he doesn't have to, that he knows having someone witness it - even someone who already knows the truth - is often worse than the feeling itself. So instead he shrugs out of his own coat as they head into the belly of the bar, finding a quiet table near one of the portholes, draping it over the back of his chair and setting the leather bag neatly beneath it.
[say]"Mm, the port was... somethin', when we headed up to Hak Etme."[/say] Jack's wry amusement isn't quite enough to explain, so he lowers a shutter against his mental walls to send Vesper the view of the place through his eyes, preying orchids and sassy pirates and all. [say]"That was her thinkin',"[/say] he says of Vesper's explanation, holding up a hand to get the attention of a server for his usual and taking a seat. [say]"An' mine too. Course, it also means I can pull strings if I need to."[/say]
Finally gazing across at Vesper, he raises his eyebrows. [say]"Unless that doesn't sit well with you."[/say]