// Sweet shot of kerosene //
Vesper doesn’t grin right away. Doesn’t quip or needle or even echo her pride the way he might’ve on a different day. Instead, when Caly rises with her burn-bright grin and claws-out confidence, he turns toward her fully, elbow resting along the slick stone ledge behind him. The shadows trace the edge of his collarbone like they’re listening too, even as his gaze sharpens—not stern, but searching.
Because her laugh rings easy, sure. But her thoughts? They ripple.
"Does he seem… not okay, when he’s with you?" he asks quietly, the words low enough that they settle between them like mist rather than breaking the calm. "You don’t gotta answer if you don’t want to. Just—" A pause, then a sigh through his nose. "I pick up a lot of mess off that man. You know that." To call it baggage would be like calling the Cordillera just a few mountains.
His fingers flick through the water again, lazy. Reflective. He tips his head back slightly, star-mark catching the hot spring’s shimmer. “Even on his sunniest days, he ain’t ever gonna be the warm kind. Not the kind who melts into people. He’s… stormglass. Sharp, and beautiful, and only warm if you catch it right after the lightning hits."
It’s not judgmental. Just honest.
Still, Vesper’s voice softens near the end, the corner of his mouth twitching faintly with a trace of something like reluctant affection. "But if I’ve learned anything since showin’ up, it’s that he likes us more than he thought he would." He glances sideways at her now, smirk curling slow and dry. "Guess he’s got taste."
His foot nudges hers under the water. "You should show me the dress sometime, by the way. Y’know. So I can plan the funeral for whoever you wear it to kill."
Because her laugh rings easy, sure. But her thoughts? They ripple.
"Does he seem… not okay, when he’s with you?" he asks quietly, the words low enough that they settle between them like mist rather than breaking the calm. "You don’t gotta answer if you don’t want to. Just—" A pause, then a sigh through his nose. "I pick up a lot of mess off that man. You know that." To call it baggage would be like calling the Cordillera just a few mountains.
His fingers flick through the water again, lazy. Reflective. He tips his head back slightly, star-mark catching the hot spring’s shimmer. “Even on his sunniest days, he ain’t ever gonna be the warm kind. Not the kind who melts into people. He’s… stormglass. Sharp, and beautiful, and only warm if you catch it right after the lightning hits."
It’s not judgmental. Just honest.
Still, Vesper’s voice softens near the end, the corner of his mouth twitching faintly with a trace of something like reluctant affection. "But if I’ve learned anything since showin’ up, it’s that he likes us more than he thought he would." He glances sideways at her now, smirk curling slow and dry. "Guess he’s got taste."
His foot nudges hers under the water. "You should show me the dress sometime, by the way. Y’know. So I can plan the funeral for whoever you wear it to kill."
Vesper
// When I threw it back, it poisoned me //
☆ 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.
