Nova
Here's to alcohol,
Her hands snap back to her face like Jack had taught her, the lesson having been properly downloaded to her brain. The space between her fists lets her see the smile that spreads across Vespy's face, and it's like the moon finally appearing from behind a cloud, lighting up the darkness with a cool, shimmering glow that doesn't burn or blind, but brushes against her like a velvet hug, soft and soothing in ways that fill in the cracks of her glittery heart.
Nova visibly relaxes, the weight easing from her shoulders as she lets the praise ring as truth in her mind. There's a thin veil that slowly falls down, a filter that she manually places like a mosquito net for pesky lies. It's flimsy and untested, but there nonetheless where nothing had been before.
Puffing her chest a little, a thin-lipped smile does it's best to push through the dark emotions that cling to her - a sparkle caught just beneath the tide. "Jack says it'll take a few years of practice, but I think he's underestimating me." There's part of her that wonders how much their father has lied to her - a tremble of doubt through the pride that washes her thoughts in a light pink.
But when Vesper smiles again, fanning the fiery chaos within, her returning grin is brighter, finally making a full appearance when the mischief catches. "I'd still hit them." Even if she has to go for a second strike, or burn down the house down around them. Not even the fastest reflexes in the world would get them away from her.
For now, Nova can't think of anyone that deserves her ire, and she's content to resume their lessons with another small sniffle and roll of her shoulders. Flashing her brother a playful smile, she turns her affectionate attention to the wine spider huddling off to the side. "I think Jeff needs a job around here. Can he be our resident taste-tester?" Perhaps even for future drugs that he finds suspicious.
Nova visibly relaxes, the weight easing from her shoulders as she lets the praise ring as truth in her mind. There's a thin veil that slowly falls down, a filter that she manually places like a mosquito net for pesky lies. It's flimsy and untested, but there nonetheless where nothing had been before.
Puffing her chest a little, a thin-lipped smile does it's best to push through the dark emotions that cling to her - a sparkle caught just beneath the tide. "Jack says it'll take a few years of practice, but I think he's underestimating me." There's part of her that wonders how much their father has lied to her - a tremble of doubt through the pride that washes her thoughts in a light pink.
But when Vesper smiles again, fanning the fiery chaos within, her returning grin is brighter, finally making a full appearance when the mischief catches. "I'd still hit them." Even if she has to go for a second strike, or burn down the house down around them. Not even the fastest reflexes in the world would get them away from her.
For now, Nova can't think of anyone that deserves her ire, and she's content to resume their lessons with another small sniffle and roll of her shoulders. Flashing her brother a playful smile, she turns her affectionate attention to the wine spider huddling off to the side. "I think Jeff needs a job around here. Can he be our resident taste-tester?" Perhaps even for future drugs that he finds suspicious.
the rose-colored glasses of life.
