VESPER
Vesper startles sharper than he means to, the sound of Jack’s voice slicing through the hush like a line thrown too close. He hadn’t heard the captain approach—never does, really—and without the hum of thought that usually precedes another presence, Jack might as well have stepped out of the shadows themselves.
His fingers still where they’d been drumming against a crate, the rhythm dying quick. He glances over his shoulder, caught mid-guilt and too aware of it, then exhales through his nose and turns fully to face him. The lanternlight throws long across the deck, making the angles of his face sharper, his sweater soft and oversized in contrast.
Rather than try to fumble for words, he lets the mental wall between them lower just a little—enough for Jack to catch the echo of what he’d been doing down here (and perhaps few other snippets of thoughts, besides): the girls’ voices braided together, Nova’s bright enthusiasm, Caly’s sly amusement, the half-formed thought of what could we do for him? The bottle from Halo, traded and tucked away. The seed of an idea for a bar planted and tended in their collective mischief.
When the flicker of those thoughts fades, he clears his throat, shrugging one shoulder. "Thanks for comin’ to get us," he says simply. "Think it made the whole thing easier for the girls, knowin' it was family comin' to pick us up." His tone softens, not quite tender, but with something close to it buried under the usual dry calm. "Anyway," he adds after a moment, gaze sliding back to the bottle on the crate, "figure the least we could do was start payin’ the favour forward."
His fingers still where they’d been drumming against a crate, the rhythm dying quick. He glances over his shoulder, caught mid-guilt and too aware of it, then exhales through his nose and turns fully to face him. The lanternlight throws long across the deck, making the angles of his face sharper, his sweater soft and oversized in contrast.
Rather than try to fumble for words, he lets the mental wall between them lower just a little—enough for Jack to catch the echo of what he’d been doing down here (and perhaps few other snippets of thoughts, besides): the girls’ voices braided together, Nova’s bright enthusiasm, Caly’s sly amusement, the half-formed thought of what could we do for him? The bottle from Halo, traded and tucked away. The seed of an idea for a bar planted and tended in their collective mischief.
When the flicker of those thoughts fades, he clears his throat, shrugging one shoulder. "Thanks for comin’ to get us," he says simply. "Think it made the whole thing easier for the girls, knowin' it was family comin' to pick us up." His tone softens, not quite tender, but with something close to it buried under the usual dry calm. "Anyway," he adds after a moment, gaze sliding back to the bottle on the crate, "figure the least we could do was start payin’ the favour forward."
And it's all my fault that I'm still the one you want
So what are you after? Some kind of disaster?
So what are you after? Some kind of disaster?
☆ 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.
