VESPER
Vesper’s sneer sharpens, a scoff pushing past his teeth before he shakes his head, the edge of it softening into something closer to exasperation than anger. "Pretty sure Caly wanted it to hurt publicly," he mutters, voice low and dry, not least of all because they all knew who it would be at home dryin' Flora's tears about it, which was half the fuckin' problem. "But you don’t need to worry about her. Besides, you and Nova’ve both got enough control over fire these days to keep anything from catchin’ that shouldn’t." His smirk flickers faint, the faintest ghost of amusement behind it, before his attention drops again to the bottle resting between them.
He fidgets with the rings on his fingers when Jack’s question lands, silver glinting under the lamplight, the motion small and restless. The rum’s halfway to his mouth, when he pauses, jaw feathering. "A bad way," he says simply, voice quieter now. He doesn’t elaborate with words. Instead, he takes a long pull from the bottle and lets his mind open, unguarded and sharp-edged, for Jack to see for himself.
It’s a labyrinth of colour and heat: flashes of Colt’s laugh, her mouth against his throat, the heady rush of her body pressed to his; the ferocity of her spirit, untamed and electric. But beneath it all lies the weight of something colder; all her doubts, her mistrust, the way she drags her baggage along with her and adds his name to the tags like they belong to him. Every spark between them is bright and real, but always shadowed by the fear she can’t shake. He lets the memory of her sudden distance—her vanishing off the docks—play in brief, vivid fragments, frustration tightening like a rope around his ribs.
The bottle lands softly on the crate as he exhales, jaw feathering tight. He doesn’t quite look at Jack, though his eyes flick up once, searching the captain’s face. He’s not sure what he’s asking for. Not advice, exactly, but maybe the kind of understanding that only comes from someone who’s spent too many years haunted by the noise of other people’s thoughts and has found himself beaten and battered inside of 'em without any recourse.
He fidgets with the rings on his fingers when Jack’s question lands, silver glinting under the lamplight, the motion small and restless. The rum’s halfway to his mouth, when he pauses, jaw feathering. "A bad way," he says simply, voice quieter now. He doesn’t elaborate with words. Instead, he takes a long pull from the bottle and lets his mind open, unguarded and sharp-edged, for Jack to see for himself.
It’s a labyrinth of colour and heat: flashes of Colt’s laugh, her mouth against his throat, the heady rush of her body pressed to his; the ferocity of her spirit, untamed and electric. But beneath it all lies the weight of something colder; all her doubts, her mistrust, the way she drags her baggage along with her and adds his name to the tags like they belong to him. Every spark between them is bright and real, but always shadowed by the fear she can’t shake. He lets the memory of her sudden distance—her vanishing off the docks—play in brief, vivid fragments, frustration tightening like a rope around his ribs.
The bottle lands softly on the crate as he exhales, jaw feathering tight. He doesn’t quite look at Jack, though his eyes flick up once, searching the captain’s face. He’s not sure what he’s asking for. Not advice, exactly, but maybe the kind of understanding that only comes from someone who’s spent too many years haunted by the noise of other people’s thoughts and has found himself beaten and battered inside of 'em without any recourse.
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.
