what big teeth you have

The moment Thal begins to change, Vesper steps back—not out of fear, but reverence.

He watches, sharp and still, as her body elongates and scales rise along her skin like black opals forged in flame. Wings unfurl like ancient secrets, her claws catching the light, her horns gleaming like obsidian. She is beautiful. Terrifying. A storm compressed into flesh. And as the low, rumbling growl echoes through the Celestine, a grin spreads slow and certain across his face.

"Alright," he murmurs, voice little more than a ripple of sound beneath her thunder, "my turn." Shadows coil tight around him—not threatening, but intimate, like the fold of silk slipping off a shoulder. They flicker with pale starlight as they drag across his skin, and when the darkness lifts, the man is gone.

In his place: the sleek, powerful form of a tide jaguar.

His body moves like liquid ink poured over glass, sinew and strength beneath a coat of deep black broken by rosettes that pulse with soft silver-blue light, like stardust drifting beneath the surface of water. The markings shimmer faintly, not with the vibrant colours common to his kind, but with the glow of the night sky—bioluminescent constellations in motion. One cluster near his left eye takes the unmistakable shape of a star, bright and sharp as the mark he bears in his human form.

He prowls a half-step closer to Thalassa’s towering form, tail low, muscles rolling beneath his skin. There is no fear in him. Only challenge. Only invitation.

And in the glint of his jaguar’s eyes, something unmistakably wicked shines: Your move.

all these little things together don't build up to somethin' small

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Thalassa

They created the monster

The way he shifts is dark and beautiful, the shadows draping over him in a dance of twisting tendrils. They're as light as silk and soft as velvet that melt into his skin, slowly encapsuling him like a black hole. By the time they fall away, the smooth inky black of his fur glistens in the glow of the garden's flowers, accentuating the powerful muscles that linger beneath the surface, a quiet strength full of stealth and shadows. It reminds her of long, quiet nights spent looking out from the deck of her ship, swaying in the tide and feeling the pull in her chest. He's the night sky reflected on the ocean's surface, stars rippling in the gentle lapping of the waves, glowing waters that simultaneously darken to unimaginable depths. Ones that she wouldn't mind falling in.

As he steps closer, eyes gleaming with a feral message, Thal lets out a playful growl that rumbles between them, fire crackling and waves crashing against the challenge, a sound that resonates suspiciously like laughter. She leans forward to snap her deadly jaw at Vesper, the crack echoing through the space like a clap of thunder, a warning full of sharp teeth. 

Then she leaps for him. 

Thal may be all grace and beauty in her Ancient form, but her lyvern shift is uncontained violence and aggression, and she doesn't hesitate to reach for him, to see whether his feline instincts can dodge her lunging figure before she pins him. To see if she can pin the stars in place.

and then asked why I bite.

The growl was the only warning he got. He felt the air shift before her muscles did, read the tension in the way her wings adjusted, the way her claws curled. The crack of her jaw was a gunshot of sound between them. It echoed off ivy-wrapped stone and sent birds fluttering somewhere deep in the Celestine. His ears twitched. His rosettes shimmered.

And then she moved.

She was all speed and violence, every inch of her a weapon honed in salt and blood—but Vesper was a child of tides and dark, born in the hush between stars, and his body slipped beneath her like mist off a moonlit sea.

He twisted, shadows peeling off his flanks like sea-foam as her claws scraped the edge of where he’d been. Not fast enough to dodge entirely—she caught the trailing edge of his shoulder, scored a line through the fur—but it wasn’t a pin.

Not yet.

He rolled as he landed, paws hitting the garden path in a whisper, tail snapping once like a whip. His head turned, constellation eyes gleaming in the gloom, and then it was his turn to lunge.

Not with violence. Not with teeth. But with momentum, claws splayed and body angled to slam into her side and roll them both through a bed of glowing flowers. Starlight scattered around them like sparks, his growl a deep-chested rumble of challenge and delight. If she wanted to pin the stars, she'd better be ready to wrestle the whole damned sky.

all these little things together don't build up to somethin' small

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Thalassa

They created the monster

Vesper looks like a nightmare wrapped in inky fur, a moving shadow that slips through her claws like smoke, with nothing to show for it. Her legs land among the grass as she spins to spot the faint glow of his midnight form, as it crouches briefly before barreling into her side, eyes like a vortex of stars and ocean waves. Despite her larger size and his near incorporeal appearance, his muscled side hits her scales hard, throwing her balance off. Thal has to make the split decision to flare her wings and right herself, or tumble into the grass. The feline will have an advantage on the ground, but where would be the fun in flying off?

As she falls to the side, Thal tucks her wings close to avoid snagging the delicate membranes, a low huffing grumble of annoyance pushing from her chest in the motion. The world tilts, making it hard to tell where plants, mirrors, or shadows are in the blur, but she reaches out a leg to snag at the tide jaguar, attempting to twist them into a tangle of scales and fur, to grapple the star-studded sky into the bed of flowers. Sensing the threat of ending on her back, her tail whips against the ground, instinctually rotating her through the motion, righting her body for a moment amongst the chaos.

and then asked why I bite.

He’d expected resistance—expected claws and teeth and fury—but this was something else entirely.

Thal didn’t fall. She fought gravity like it had insulted her, wings folding sharp and tight as she spun mid-air, tail cracking through the garden like a whip. Vesper went with her, caught in the snare of her leg, the momentum of his lunge turning treacherous as she twisted their bodies mid-roll. His back hit the flowers first. They exploded beneath him in a burst of soft white light—petals crushed and strewn like stardust across his fur as her weight slammed down. Scale and muscle coiled around him like the coil of a storm at sea, her chest pressed to his, breath hot through her fangs.

The tide jaguar snarled, but it wasn’t anger—it was thrill. Challenge. The burn of blood moving faster than thought. Stars pulsed under his skin, a galaxy in motion. His forepaws shifted against her shoulders, not shoving, not clawing—just bracing, as if to hold her there. To feel her, before stilling completely.

Chest rising. Heart pounding against hers. He lifted his head just slightly, feline jaw inches from the wicked line of her own. A low growl rippled up his throat—approval, dark and curling. Then came the whisper of a purr, so deep it thrummed through the ground beneath them.

She’d caught him. And he didn’t seem to mind.

all these little things together don't build up to somethin' small

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Thalassa

They created the monster

By the time everything settles, Thal is braced over Vesper, the feel of his soft fur strange against the solid curve of her scales. Her breaths mix with his, fast only in the thrill of her heart as she leans into his paws. Her eyes don't miss the powdering of luminescent pollen that coats his fur like stardust, or the way his rosettes glow on her scales like iridescent mirrors, or the pulsing heat of his gaze. She drinks it in like victory, having caught the night sky for a moment before it has a chance to slip away again. 

Her mouth may not be able to form a smile, but the grin is easy to spot in the crease of her glowing blue eyes, the pleased rumble of her chest joining his purr. She lowers her maw to his ear, the vibrating huff of her breath hot as she drags it down towards his throat, deep breaths drinking in his scent - smoke and salt brine that echo over her tongue like a sinking ship. It's intoxicating, and Thal lingers at his throat, possessive in a way that feels surprisingly intimate, a fine line of control and release before she pulls back. 

She hesitates for a moment, then flicks her tail one last time, her wings fluttering faintly as they shrink back into her spine, dark scales giving way to pale skin. Her hair hangs loose around them as the Ancient sits where the lyvern had hovered, a purring rumble still resonating in her chest. She tilts her head, the sensitive pads of her fingers running curiously through the velvety softness of his fur to trace a single rosette like it might have a heat of its own, but all she feels is his body heat, warm against the delicate roving of her palms. 

When her eyes lift to his, there's a teasing glint in them, prodding playfully at his pride. "Cute. A very pretty kitty."

and then asked why I bite.

if you try and chase the sun you're never gonna catch it

Vesper lets Thal's hands roam, his breath shallow where her fingers press through the thick velvet of his fur. He watches her from beneath half-lidded eyes, starlight still pulsing faintly through his rosettes like the aftershock of something cosmic. Her touch is bold—curious, but unhesitating—and it sends heat spiralling low in his belly, a possessive thrum echoing in the cage of his ribs.

The jaguar dissolves like smoke, shadows folding in on themselves until pale skin emerges beneath her straddling frame. Vesper doesn’t move right away—just lets his hands find her hips, his thumbs brushing the bare edge where scale gave way to skin only moments ago. There’s a reverence in the way he touches her, but it’s not gentle. It’s claiming. Anchored. Still feral beneath the calm slant of his grin.

"We should hunt together sometime," he murmurs, voice low and threaded with something darker, teasing. His gaze rakes up the line of her throat, to the tangle of her hair, the gleam in her eyes, before his hands slide up, slow and unapologetic, mapping the sharp lines of her waist with the idle hunger of a man who’s not finished hunting. Their proximity crackles with lingering adrenaline, the ache of want beneath skin that remembers teeth, claws, heat.

And now it's turning out to be the worst of my bad habits

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Fool me once, fool me twice
Are you death or paradise?

It's with no small amount of disappointment that she feels the fur dissolve into shadows beneath her fingers, winding through them like mist. She feels his skin solidify under her hand, warm through the deep opening of his shirt, the constellations dancing around her fingertips. His pulse is fast and faint, though she can feel his every breath, the way they constrict with her movements while she feels the tight grasp of his hands. It makes her smile, sharp and full of predatory delight. "We should." Her voice is still a whispering purr, quiet like she might frighten her prey. 

The trailing of his hands has her spine straightening, a bracing tension spreading through her body, one that has her grin widening. She leans closer, hands holding firm against his chest as her head tilts, teasing and accusing all the same. "Are you sure this wasn't your real intention for asking me here?" There's a bubble of laughter that presses against her chest, a thrill heating her gaze as the primal instincts remember every second of their last meeting. She certainly won't complain.

Now you'll never see me cry
There's just no time to die

Thalassa

if you try and chase the sun you're never gonna catch it

Vesper doesn’t flinch beneath her hands—if anything, he leans into the press of her palms, his body still coiled beneath the surface like it hasn’t quite unlearned the need to pounce. Her accusation makes his grin curl slow and sharp, the kind of smile made of shadowed teeth and moonlight. "Would it matter if it was?" he murmurs, voice roughened by the heat still in his blood. "You came, didn’t you?"

His fingers tighten briefly at her hips, anchoring her to him in a way that’s casual only on the surface. One hand traces a line along her lower back, slow and indulgent, before dipping just enough to hint at something more. His gaze doesn’t shy away—he meets hers with a dark, unhurried hunger, like a man confident he’ll get another bite.

"You can't blame a man for wanting a private showing of a monster like you," he says, low and admiring, like it's a compliment (and from him, it is). His thumb sweeps once over the sharp angle of her hipbone, a teasing press meant to test the line she’s drawn, not break it—yet.

And now it's turning out to be the worst of my bad habits

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Fool me once, fool me twice
Are you death or paradise?

She lets him play, lets his hands anchor and claim, lets his words fill the space between them. Having proved her point last time, she's willing to take it slow, to see just how much he'd wanted to see her. Maybe she'll even let him have a bite. It's a different kind of game, one she's willing to be patient for, a predator waiting for the moment when her prey shows its motives, shows its weakness. 

A hum lilts as she lets her hands roam slowly - low, then high, teasing and casual. Through the darkening of her eyes and the heat being stoked, Thal smiles. "I did come, didn't I?" Her voice is soft and suggestive, the tilt of her lips telling him her phrasing is more than a little intentional, even as she drags a fang over her lips. "Was it just a 'show' you came for?" The press of his thumb against her hips certainly says otherwise.

Now you'll never see me cry
There's just no time to die

Thalassa

if you try and chase the sun you're never gonna catch it

Vesper’s fingers flex against her hips at her phrasing—barely restrained, as if he’s considering all the ways he could answer and none of them are particularly pure. His grin sharpens, a low rumble of something caught between a laugh and a growl threading through his chest. "I came for the monster," he murmurs, his voice pitched low and curling like smoke through the charged space between them. "But I stayed because the monster was beautiful. And because she wanted to bite."

His hands trail up, slow and deliberate, mapping her sides with an intimacy that speaks of hunger held on a knife’s edge. His thumb brushes just beneath the curve of her rib as his other hand slips behind her, fingers grazing the small of her back like a promise. "I didn’t come just to watch," Vesper breathes, his mouth ghosting close to her ear now, heat and starlight coiled tight in the space between skin and skin. "But if you’d rather put on a show, Thalassa..." His tongue clicks softly, teasing. "I'll happily enjoy the view."

And now it's turning out to be the worst of my bad habits

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Fool me once, fool me twice
Are you death or paradise?

Whether it's all flattery or truth, she likes hearing it. Her fangs peek out in her smile, a pleased chuckle rumbling through in her chest as she lets his hands guide her forward. There's a playful challenge in her tone that sparks between them. "Keep the compliments coming. You might just make me blush." Or more, if the caress of his fingers is anything to go by. 

His teasing voice brushes against the hollow of her ear, the smokey heat of it curling down her spine, the small of her back arching like a cat that stretches towards the warmth. She nearly purrs in return, letting her splayed hands roam purposefully beneath his shirt while she tilts her head to consider his words.

Thal isn't opposed to playing the seductress again, letting Vesper watch until he can't contain himself anymore - until he loses control again - but an idea flashes in her mind, hot and steamy against the surface of her thoughts. She offers him a dark, mischievous grin as she leans a little closer, voice dripping with desire. "I might know a way you can watch and play." Her eyes dart to the mirror that still stands beneath the ivy, darkness reflecting like a pool of still water. There's no lingering anger in the growing heat, not when it could be the source of something so much more enjoyable, and she's already picturing the many ways she might like to see her reflection - their reflection.

Now you'll never see me cry
There's just no time to die

Thalassa

if you try and chase the sun you're never gonna catch it

Vesper doesn’t need to follow her gaze to the mirror to know exactly what she’s suggesting. The thought paints itself vividly across her mind—bold, unfiltered, and impossible not to feel. A low hum coils from his throat, his grin growing slow and wicked as he steps closer, crowding into her space without touching—yet. "That right?" he murmurs, voice rich with heat, roughened at the edges by the tug of desire curling just beneath his control. "So she's got a bit of an exhibitionist streak, huh?" The way he says it is fond and filthy all at once, like he’s already imagined the scene a dozen ways before she’d even spoken. And now, she’s just given him the excuse.

His hands drift lower again, fingers splaying along the backs of her thighs before gripping just enough to coax her closer, guiding her gently—insistently—until her back is to the ivy-laced glass. The reflection catches only hints of them at first: the gleam of teeth, the press of starlit freckles against flushed skin, the sway of shadows curling like silk around them both.

And now it's turning out to be the worst of my bad habits

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Fool me once, fool me twice
Are you death or paradise?

Thal notes his own wicked excitement, letting out a dark chuckle that further heats the shrinking space between them. "'She' likes anything that gets her heart racing." And watching as well as feeling her pleasure is something that would absolutely enhance the experience - although she also lets every other possibility flood through her thoughts, not shying away from any kink or sexual experience that might make even a courtesan blush. Vesper will find that she has quite the imagination, most of which involve him at the moment. 

She lets him guide her to the mirror, eyes catching the brief flashes of his hands and shadows that wrap around her. The tight layers of her black clothes make it easy to see where the darkness coils around them, tempting with scandalous promise, where his fingers press into the soft curve of her thighs, suggestive and claiming. 

When he turns her back to the mirror, Thal's eyes drift to Vesper, blue meeting blue in the low glow of the garden, a growing anticipation sparking through her. Her voice is the crackle of a embers as she leans close enough for him to feel the heat. "Don't worry. I won't bite - hard." The quirk of her lips reveals a fang that beckons him closer, to let her take a bite while he enjoys the view.

Now you'll never see me cry
There's just no time to die

Thalassa