JACK
Scoffing out a real laugh at that, unable to help himself, Jack slants a grin in Vesper's direction. "Y'know, I believe it," he agrees. "An' I've been real lucky so far not to get on your mother's bad side. Ain't somethin' I plan on tryin' out if I can help it." And as Vesper has already concluded, it's the memory of the pain that teaches you to avoid those same pitfalls in future.
"Halo ain't too bad for gettin' lost though, if you can handle the cold. Ain't no one willin' to brave it to go lookin' for you," he points out. "But you're right... the Greatwood might have enough there to keep you entertained for a bit. An' it's a real nice distance from King's End. Though, loathe as I am to admit it, you'll be missed if you go." On The Ark, he means. Telepathy has naturally made Vesper into the sort of sailor the crew can recognise in their captain, and that similarity goes very far indeed when it comes to their willingness to follow orders.
But then Vesper is turning towards him, more or less, his voice low and earnest in a way that people simply aren't around Jack. It takes him off-guard, especially given the question that accompanies it, all of it enough to strike right through the chinks in his armour, landing a blow at the tender flicker within him that believes the answer to that question is yes.
"...Men like us," he repeats quietly, the ghost of a smile on his face as he reaches out to gently clasp Vesper's shoulder. "Y'know, there was a time when the idea of someone else bein' able to do what I can do was like a knife against my throat." Not the case now, clearly, but that in itself is proof that change is possible.
"The problem, I guess, is that I'm the only one you've got for reference. An' I don't think I'm built to be with someone, no." Though there is that soft echo in the back of his mind, of what Safrin had said, but he brushes it away for now. "I dragged myself up alone an' did the best with what I had. Doesn't have to be that way for you, though, if that's the sort of thing you want."
Vesper's magic doesn't have to be the sort of gift and curse that might cost lives to know about.
"Halo ain't too bad for gettin' lost though, if you can handle the cold. Ain't no one willin' to brave it to go lookin' for you," he points out. "But you're right... the Greatwood might have enough there to keep you entertained for a bit. An' it's a real nice distance from King's End. Though, loathe as I am to admit it, you'll be missed if you go." On The Ark, he means. Telepathy has naturally made Vesper into the sort of sailor the crew can recognise in their captain, and that similarity goes very far indeed when it comes to their willingness to follow orders.
But then Vesper is turning towards him, more or less, his voice low and earnest in a way that people simply aren't around Jack. It takes him off-guard, especially given the question that accompanies it, all of it enough to strike right through the chinks in his armour, landing a blow at the tender flicker within him that believes the answer to that question is yes.
"...Men like us," he repeats quietly, the ghost of a smile on his face as he reaches out to gently clasp Vesper's shoulder. "Y'know, there was a time when the idea of someone else bein' able to do what I can do was like a knife against my throat." Not the case now, clearly, but that in itself is proof that change is possible.
"The problem, I guess, is that I'm the only one you've got for reference. An' I don't think I'm built to be with someone, no." Though there is that soft echo in the back of his mind, of what Safrin had said, but he brushes it away for now. "I dragged myself up alone an' did the best with what I had. Doesn't have to be that way for you, though, if that's the sort of thing you want."
Vesper's magic doesn't have to be the sort of gift and curse that might cost lives to know about.
believer, believe it or not you'll know
when it ends and how it goes
when it ends and how it goes
- Secret Telepath
- Functionally Immortal (Forever 35)
- Two small star tattoos beneath his left eye
- Click for The Ark!
