I'm just a cherub riding comets through the night sky
The images in her head—him done up in ribbons, tolerating horned headbands for the sake of squealing children—are so vivid and fucking earnest that Vesper has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning too wide. Her laughter bubbles up again, unguarded and bright, and he soaks it in like sunlight hitting the tide.
"Some things," he says, shaking his head slowly, "ain’t worth the money." The look he shoots her is full of exaggerated, world-weary disdain—but the glint in his eye gives him away. "Though now that you mention it, my sisters and I just took over a bar back in Torchline. Maybe we start offerin’ pony rides on Sunday mornin’s. Little hangover fun for the kids while their parents think back on their choices."
The curl of her thoughts grows heavier, richer, and when she says it—that’s the saddle for me—he stutters just slightly in his rhythm, something catching in the current between them. His fingers skim the water’s surface, dragging lazy circles, but his eyes are still on her. "Should’ve brought a saddle for our little desert expedition," he murmurs under his breath. "Spare your thighs my spine." His smirk returns, gentler this time, like it’s meant to cover the way something quiet tugs at his chest.
Her guess about the mountains earns a soft snort. "Nah," he drawls, tilting his head like he’s trying to dislodge a memory that’s clung too long. "Once you’ve been in the stars? Really up there?" His voice lowers, almost reverent, and his gaze skims the sky above them as if he could still feel the cold burn of it. "No mountain’s ever gonna come close. But the ocean—" He tips back into a float for a second, arms wide, lashes dripping salt. "Ocean gets near. The weightlessness, the vastness of it. The hush and then the roar. Like bein’ rocked by somethin’ that don’t expect nothin’ from you."
Then she narrows her gaze, calling him out, and he straightens with a lazy, amused groan. "Can’t get nothin’ past you, huh?" he says, wry, water sheeting off his shoulders as he trudges after her. Vesper moves behind her, obliging, letting his spine line up with hers—but just before her head would press between his shoulders, she’ll feel it: a gentle, flickering lift at her feet. His shadows, featherlight, curl around her ankles and then slip beneath the souls of her feet, lifting her. And should the incline of them have her leaning more against him, well, no reason to think that wasn't just the pull of the current.
"Some things," he says, shaking his head slowly, "ain’t worth the money." The look he shoots her is full of exaggerated, world-weary disdain—but the glint in his eye gives him away. "Though now that you mention it, my sisters and I just took over a bar back in Torchline. Maybe we start offerin’ pony rides on Sunday mornin’s. Little hangover fun for the kids while their parents think back on their choices."
The curl of her thoughts grows heavier, richer, and when she says it—that’s the saddle for me—he stutters just slightly in his rhythm, something catching in the current between them. His fingers skim the water’s surface, dragging lazy circles, but his eyes are still on her. "Should’ve brought a saddle for our little desert expedition," he murmurs under his breath. "Spare your thighs my spine." His smirk returns, gentler this time, like it’s meant to cover the way something quiet tugs at his chest.
Her guess about the mountains earns a soft snort. "Nah," he drawls, tilting his head like he’s trying to dislodge a memory that’s clung too long. "Once you’ve been in the stars? Really up there?" His voice lowers, almost reverent, and his gaze skims the sky above them as if he could still feel the cold burn of it. "No mountain’s ever gonna come close. But the ocean—" He tips back into a float for a second, arms wide, lashes dripping salt. "Ocean gets near. The weightlessness, the vastness of it. The hush and then the roar. Like bein’ rocked by somethin’ that don’t expect nothin’ from you."
Then she narrows her gaze, calling him out, and he straightens with a lazy, amused groan. "Can’t get nothin’ past you, huh?" he says, wry, water sheeting off his shoulders as he trudges after her. Vesper moves behind her, obliging, letting his spine line up with hers—but just before her head would press between his shoulders, she’ll feel it: a gentle, flickering lift at her feet. His shadows, featherlight, curl around her ankles and then slip beneath the souls of her feet, lifting her. And should the incline of them have her leaning more against him, well, no reason to think that wasn't just the pull of the current.
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.
