Got a head full of spiders & a heart that isn't here
The scent of ozone hits first—sharp and metallic, curling into Vesper’s nose like the warning before a storm. Then the ice follows, jagged and sudden, erupting from the stone in a semicircle of lethal, glittering intent. He stills, drawing himself up to his full height as instinct, training, and power all shift into place like tumblers in a lock. One wrong word and he’s not entirely sure Safrin would pull him back. Not when she had another demigod waltzing through the world.
But the voice that follows is familiar enough to hold off whatever catastrophe might have followed. Vesper exhales slowly, watching Jack straighten and snuff the match, the lantern’s soft glow pooling on the wet floor between them like the aftermath of a detonation. "Yeah," Vesper says, his tone returning to something like casual, though it never quite loses its edge. "Was practicin’. Thought I’d see if I could catch someone ahead by listenin' for em'."
He shifts his weight and gestures faintly down the tunnel behind him. "Was tryin’ to use the shadows to feel for walls, roots, anything in the way. Turns out I can call 'em in the dark." Another pause, more thoughtful now. "But they’re shit at feedback. Slither over everything without tellin’ me where it is." A faint shrug. "Tripped more than I’d like to admit."
The tension hasn’t left his shoulders entirely, but as Jack swears and starts grumbling about sneaking and debts and the general inconvenience of knowing someone too well, Vesper exhales again—sharper this time, and with it, lowers his mental shields just a fraction. Only a sliver.
A crack in the facade that lets the surface of his thoughts leak out like heat from a window left open overnight: the low thrum of adrenaline, the sting of almost-dying (probably), the flicker of that familiar pulse of affection swirled with aggravation, buried under something sharper; respect, maybe. Wariness, definitely. And curiosity, always curiosity.
The vulnerability persists, enough that Jack would feel him now, faintly—but just enough to register that he’s there, rather than pushing against a brick wall. Vesper rolls one shoulder like he’s shaking off a shiver. "Not lookin' to get skewered," he mutters by way of explanation.
But the voice that follows is familiar enough to hold off whatever catastrophe might have followed. Vesper exhales slowly, watching Jack straighten and snuff the match, the lantern’s soft glow pooling on the wet floor between them like the aftermath of a detonation. "Yeah," Vesper says, his tone returning to something like casual, though it never quite loses its edge. "Was practicin’. Thought I’d see if I could catch someone ahead by listenin' for em'."
He shifts his weight and gestures faintly down the tunnel behind him. "Was tryin’ to use the shadows to feel for walls, roots, anything in the way. Turns out I can call 'em in the dark." Another pause, more thoughtful now. "But they’re shit at feedback. Slither over everything without tellin’ me where it is." A faint shrug. "Tripped more than I’d like to admit."
The tension hasn’t left his shoulders entirely, but as Jack swears and starts grumbling about sneaking and debts and the general inconvenience of knowing someone too well, Vesper exhales again—sharper this time, and with it, lowers his mental shields just a fraction. Only a sliver.
A crack in the facade that lets the surface of his thoughts leak out like heat from a window left open overnight: the low thrum of adrenaline, the sting of almost-dying (probably), the flicker of that familiar pulse of affection swirled with aggravation, buried under something sharper; respect, maybe. Wariness, definitely. And curiosity, always curiosity.
The vulnerability persists, enough that Jack would feel him now, faintly—but just enough to register that he’s there, rather than pushing against a brick wall. Vesper rolls one shoulder like he’s shaking off a shiver. "Not lookin' to get skewered," he mutters by way of explanation.
VESPER
☆ has a pale star tattoo beneath his left eye, and freckle-sized constellations move across his skin
☽ hair changes from bleached blonde to brown
☆ telepathic: Sunlit Shadows | 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.
☽ hair changes from bleached blonde to brown
☆ telepathic: Sunlit Shadows | 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.
