VESPER
The smoke clinging to the estuary air does nothing to dim his sister; if anything, it gives Nova something to outshine, and Vesper watches her from the bank with that faint, knowing curve to his mouth that never quite commits to a full smile. He lets her finish in a rush of colour and triumph, lets the story tumble out in bright fragments about Safrin’s quest and Caly’s cleverness, and he inclines his head as though receiving a formal report rather than the effervescent sprawl of his sister’s enthusiasm. "I reckon you two’ll have it sorted out quick then," he says, the amusement in his voice low and easy, warmed by something steadier beneath it. "Mom won't even have time to miss you."
He does not need to reach for her thoughts to know how fiercely she means to prove worthy of that expectation, but they brush against him all the same; bright as struck glass, quicksilver with possibility, little sparks of invention and mischief tumbling over one another in delighted disorder. It is a lot, Nova’s mind, always has been: bees and blue skies and half-finished plans and bold declarations layered atop a core of startling clarity. Ordinarily, he keeps a careful distance from such noise, trims the edges of the world down to something navigable. Today, though, the chaos is a relief. It crowds out the harsher static he has been skirting for days, fills the chambers of his skull with sunlight and the hum of life rather than the colder, needling things he would rather not catalogue.
A silver coin appears between his fingers, and he rolls it across his knuckles in an idle cascade of light, the metal catching the fractured shimmer of water and sky. His gaze drifts outward as hers lifts, taking in the place she has only just noticed. "It’s called the Saltkiss Estuary," he says, tipping his chin toward the mingling waters. "Stone Symphony runs down into the ocean here. Fresh and salt don’t quite cancel each other out, so everything that lives in it learns to be a little strange."
He does not need to reach for her thoughts to know how fiercely she means to prove worthy of that expectation, but they brush against him all the same; bright as struck glass, quicksilver with possibility, little sparks of invention and mischief tumbling over one another in delighted disorder. It is a lot, Nova’s mind, always has been: bees and blue skies and half-finished plans and bold declarations layered atop a core of startling clarity. Ordinarily, he keeps a careful distance from such noise, trims the edges of the world down to something navigable. Today, though, the chaos is a relief. It crowds out the harsher static he has been skirting for days, fills the chambers of his skull with sunlight and the hum of life rather than the colder, needling things he would rather not catalogue.
A silver coin appears between his fingers, and he rolls it across his knuckles in an idle cascade of light, the metal catching the fractured shimmer of water and sky. His gaze drifts outward as hers lifts, taking in the place she has only just noticed. "It’s called the Saltkiss Estuary," he says, tipping his chin toward the mingling waters. "Stone Symphony runs down into the ocean here. Fresh and salt don’t quite cancel each other out, so everything that lives in it learns to be a little strange."
Will I ever quit playing with matches?
Why am I making angels in the ashes?
Why am I making angels in the ashes?
☆ 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.
