JACK
"Well, you did, no thanks to any magic," Jack says with a scoff - whether or not his telepathy had been useless and his shadows had been providing shitty feedback, Vesper's own sharp hearing had clued him up to the sound of flint on steel, and here they stand. Shaking the residual static out from his hands and tucking them into the pockets of his coat to keep them warm now that he's set the ice to melting to nothing, the captain raises an eyebrow as Vesper explains about how things had been going.
"Least you know now," he points out. "Might be a good idea to keep a light source handy now that you do." He gestures to the unlit lantern at the boy's waist and the one flickering between them, giving the shadows some substance to latch onto.
Glancing suddenly and sharply back up, not at the huff of breath but at the flicker of something between them that he'd only ever sensed once before in their very last meeting during the fight, Jack feels his hands unconsciously clench into fists, as if waiting for the catch. But there is none; like peeking at a gift beneath a sliver of wrapping paper, or catching a glance of someone you know in passing, Vesper is simply and suddenly present in a way the captain has never been able to read from him before.
Idiot, he thinks instantly from behind his own mental walls, because what's shared can be used, especially by someone like Jack. Only... is Vesper, really?
Whether or not it's to prevent him from being accidentally diced up by skewers of ice magic, the fraction of himself that the boy has chosen to reveal is regarded quietly, solemnly by the captain, trying to discern the extent and depth of his revelation. Then, and only then, does he part his own mental shield enough - like a slat opening in a security door to reveal distrustful eyes - to offer the same in return.
In place of adrenaline there's calm and self-assurance; in place of almost dying, there's a quiet and dangerous well of experience to draw upon. The wariness between them is identical, though the affection and the boundless curiosity are absent. A cousin to them lingers, though, bordered by something that might one day be called pride towards the boy, and Jack noses towards the lantern on the ground.
"Want to put it out and follow me instead?"
"Least you know now," he points out. "Might be a good idea to keep a light source handy now that you do." He gestures to the unlit lantern at the boy's waist and the one flickering between them, giving the shadows some substance to latch onto.
Glancing suddenly and sharply back up, not at the huff of breath but at the flicker of something between them that he'd only ever sensed once before in their very last meeting during the fight, Jack feels his hands unconsciously clench into fists, as if waiting for the catch. But there is none; like peeking at a gift beneath a sliver of wrapping paper, or catching a glance of someone you know in passing, Vesper is simply and suddenly present in a way the captain has never been able to read from him before.
Idiot, he thinks instantly from behind his own mental walls, because what's shared can be used, especially by someone like Jack. Only... is Vesper, really?
Whether or not it's to prevent him from being accidentally diced up by skewers of ice magic, the fraction of himself that the boy has chosen to reveal is regarded quietly, solemnly by the captain, trying to discern the extent and depth of his revelation. Then, and only then, does he part his own mental shield enough - like a slat opening in a security door to reveal distrustful eyes - to offer the same in return.
In place of adrenaline there's calm and self-assurance; in place of almost dying, there's a quiet and dangerous well of experience to draw upon. The wariness between them is identical, though the affection and the boundless curiosity are absent. A cousin to them lingers, though, bordered by something that might one day be called pride towards the boy, and Jack noses towards the lantern on the ground.
"Want to put it out and follow me instead?"
when I look at something, I see it for what it could be
when I look at something, I see how it ends
when I look at something, I see how it ends
Code stolen from Queen Sky
- Secret Telepath
- Functionally Immortal (Forever 35)
- Two small star tattoos beneath his left eye
- Click for The Ark!
