VESPER
He wakes face-down in moss, and for a second, Vesper doesn’t move. Doesn’t open his eyes. His ribs are sore, like he’s been tossed by something larger than himself, and his mouth tastes like salt and crushed leaves. His shadows are sluggish at his feet, clinging like mist that hasn’t yet remembered how to slither. There’s blood in his mouth—he thinks it’s his—and something sticky trailing from the corner of his jaw. The air is thick with perfume: sweet, cloying, and sharp in the back of his throat.
A low groan escapes him as he shifts, shoulder protesting, and he rolls slowly onto his side. Humidity curls along his spine like breath, and the throb behind his eyes pulses with every heartbeat. He doesn’t know what hit them—but it hit hard.
Colt’s voice cuts through the jungle like a whip, and he’s moving before his body finishes catching up. His shift is long gone—burned out by whatever dreamscape or voidshit left him like this—but he staggers to his feet anyway, bracing a hand against the wide trunk of a knotted tree slick with sap. His curls cling wet and wild to his cheeks. His shirt is torn at the hem, one sleeve entirely gone. His boots are caked in mud and bruised petals.
"Yeah," he rasps, voice cracked and hoarse. "I’m here."
He shoves off the tree and stumbles forward, following the faint tug of her voice and her thoughts—a dim thrum, distant, buried beneath a film of poison pollen and whatever psychic static still hangs in the air like aftershocks. It takes him a minute, ducking low branches and stepping over carnivorous vines with their too-hungry mouths, before he finally spots her, tangled like a fly in an overgrown snare.
A low whistle escapes him, and the smirk that follows is more bruised than amused. "Well shit, darlin'," he drawls, voice fraying at the edges. "You’re lookin’ a little tied up at the moment." He moves in, slow and cautious, shadows beginning to stir again around his ankles. "Hold still. I got you." His shadows curl around her, lifting slightly to ease some of the tension as he fishes for a knife out of his pocket and begins to cut.
A low groan escapes him as he shifts, shoulder protesting, and he rolls slowly onto his side. Humidity curls along his spine like breath, and the throb behind his eyes pulses with every heartbeat. He doesn’t know what hit them—but it hit hard.
Colt’s voice cuts through the jungle like a whip, and he’s moving before his body finishes catching up. His shift is long gone—burned out by whatever dreamscape or voidshit left him like this—but he staggers to his feet anyway, bracing a hand against the wide trunk of a knotted tree slick with sap. His curls cling wet and wild to his cheeks. His shirt is torn at the hem, one sleeve entirely gone. His boots are caked in mud and bruised petals.
"Yeah," he rasps, voice cracked and hoarse. "I’m here."
He shoves off the tree and stumbles forward, following the faint tug of her voice and her thoughts—a dim thrum, distant, buried beneath a film of poison pollen and whatever psychic static still hangs in the air like aftershocks. It takes him a minute, ducking low branches and stepping over carnivorous vines with their too-hungry mouths, before he finally spots her, tangled like a fly in an overgrown snare.
A low whistle escapes him, and the smirk that follows is more bruised than amused. "Well shit, darlin'," he drawls, voice fraying at the edges. "You’re lookin’ a little tied up at the moment." He moves in, slow and cautious, shadows beginning to stir again around his ankles. "Hold still. I got you." His shadows curl around her, lifting slightly to ease some of the tension as he fishes for a knife out of his pocket and begins to cut.
wake me when it's over
like a bad dream
like a bad dream
☆ 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.
