i crack the sky like a god-damn whip

JACK

They'd made their grand tour of the Greatwood-from-above, and Jack finally brings them down to dock at the Observatory. From there the Captain leaves Caly and Nova to their own devices, whether that's to explore the Sidhe Village, to go hunting for their brother or to be otherwise somewhere - anywhere - that Jack isn't. That last bit is the most important to him, and with the sun having not long set, he drifts down to the forest floor to let mind and body settle after the flight.

Fireflies wend through the air between stalls and gather beneath lanterns, a flurry of them scattering as the Captain walks close by. His footsteps take him from hard-packed dirt and onto the hollow thrum of wooden boards, and chooses a tavern overlooking the gentle lapping of the Stone Symphony. Built over two storeys, Jack settles beneath an awning just outside on the main floor, a haze of smoke partially obscuring him from view from the cigarette he lights and a glass of something pale and amber in a glass before him. Honey liquor, or some other fae delicacy, he thinks.

From there it's just the Captain and the dozens of minds that come and go in his vicinity, and whilst it might not appear relaxing to many, it's curiously grounding for Jack.

no more than I was or than I want to be
when you fall on me like night, I wanna kill the lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

The tavern hums the way it always does, a low current of passing thought and idle want threading through the space without ever quite settling, and under normal circumstances Vesper might have let himself sink into it, might have let the rhythm of it smooth the sharper edges of his mood into something more tolerable. Instead, irritation clings stubbornly, dragged along behind him like something hooked too deep to shake loose, all of it circling back to Niki and the quiet, methodical way he’d begun packing his things. With nothing worth drinking in the necromancer's home, Vesper had slipped out, ignorant of the fact his family were moored nearby, if only because he hadn't told any of them where he'd been staying.

The demigod orders without looking around, having not sensed Jack immediately given his shield, before the minds of those closest to the Captain draw Vesper's attention sideways as their thoughts orbit the man drinking alone, their curiosity and recognition giving shape to something Vesper would otherwise not have been able to touch.

Collecting his drink, he approaches without hesitation, though there’s no particular urgency to it either, only that same unhurried confidence that seems to shape most of what he does, slipping into the seat opposite as though the space had been waiting for him all along. One hand idly adjsuts the ring at his finger while the other lifts his glass in a gesture that borders on casual and lands somewhere nearer to deliberate. "Lemme guess," he drawls, the faintest edge of amusement curling through his tone despite the residual irritation still threading beneath it, "you’re here to ask the Mathair to quit with the screamin’ rain like everyone else?"

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

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

JACK

The crowd acts as a similar dowsing rod for Jack when it comes to Vesper's approach, though it's less curiosity and more a familiar wide berth given to the tall one with the sour expression, and he's smirking to himself even before the boy's shadow falls across his table. Lifting his glass in return like he'd been waiting for the demigod, Jack takes a sip of the liquor and chases it on a drag from his cigarette, brows furrowing at Vesper's question.

"Didn't realise she was the one causin' it," he says. "Been lucky so far - didn't get screamed at the whole way here." Jack glances sidelong out into the night as if almost expecting to be hassled by the strange phenomenon now to make up for it.

"But no," he continues, "I'm here on business. Gave your sisters a ride too - they needed to go fast an' see a region, or somethin', for a quest." Shrugging, Jack flicks the ash from his smoke and sets it down in the tray between them. "They're prob'ly lookin' for you as we speak." So of course Vesper had run into him instead. "You seem cheerful as ever, by the way."

no more than I was or than I want to be
when you fall on me like night, I wanna kill the lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

Vesper’s mouth tilts at that, something wry and just this side of amused as his brows lift a fraction. "Oh, lucky you," he drawls, easy and dry. "Guess maybe she likes you." And as if the thought itself invites it, he turns his head at the same moment as Jack, both of them glancing out into the night like they might catch the sky mid-tantrum, the gesture near-identical.

At the mention of Nova and Caly something in him shifts—not softer, not exactly, but more considered—as he leans back slightly, rolling the thought over before giving a small, acknowledging nod. He’ll find them, eventually, or they'll find him. That they’re already looking earns only a loose shrug, his attention dipping briefly to the glass in his hand as he tilts it, watching the liquor catch the low light. "I bet they find somethin' just as interestin' out there just the same."

"Cheers,," Vesper smirks, and the word comes back dressed in a faintly crooked smile that doesn’t quite bother hiding the sarcasm threaded through it, his glass lifting in a small, deliberate salute. He drinks without elaborating, letting the silence sit before a quiet breath leaves him, something like a sigh but not quite heavy enough to call it that. "Hopefully Nova ain’t out pickin' wallpaper or anythin' yet," he adds, almost offhand, though there’s a sharper edge tucked beneath it now. "I ain’t so sure rulin' the Greatwood’s the best play anymore. The people here...the ones who ain't fae, they're all sorts of cowardly hero types."

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

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

JACK

"I'd consider myself part of a pretty exclusive club if that were the case," Jack says, scoffing into another sip of his liquor and waiting expectantly for a shriek of rain that never comes. Raising his glass in a cheers to the Mathair, wherever she might be and whoever else she might be tormenting that isn't the two of them, he sets his drink back down and glances back towards Vesper.

"Oh, I've no doubt," he drawls of Nova and Caly. "They could make an adventure outta watchin' paint dry." And by they he really means Nova, though he's got no doubt that she'd rope Calypso in for the fun of it. Lifting his chin in response to the sarcasm wrapped thanks, as if to tell Vesper he's welcome to it, Jack's gaze sharpens a touch to see something shift and change in him. Subtle enough to miss if you weren't looking, but given that they can't rely fully on their abilities with one another, Jack is always looking to some extent.

He tilts his head, curious. "Could've told you that 'fore you set sights on the place," he points out. "If it ain't feral, it's cowardice wrapped in pacifism. Though I ain't gonna lie, I'm glad to hear you say so."

Jack's smile grows a touch sharper, though it's directed into his drink. "Colt packed up an' left King's End. Ain't sure where, but she's not in the region no more. Y'know, if you weren't sure that you wanted to stay up here wastin' away."

no more than I was or than I want to be
when you fall on me like night, I wanna kill the lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

Vesper’s eyes flick up at that, the look he gives Jack carrying just enough dry disbelief to suggest he’s already a member of more exclusive clubs than anyone one man has a right to be. The corner of his mouth lifts instead, brief and knowing, before a quiet snort follows on the heels of Jack’s remark about his sisters, his head dipping in a small nod of agreement. "Yeah," he murmurs, amusement threading through it now, "that sounds about right."

Vesper leans back into his chair, settling in a way that looks easy but isn’t entirely, because without the usual undercurrent of thought to lean on, there’s a different kind of attention required here; subtler, sharper, something he doesn’t often need to reach for. One hand rolls his glass idly against the table as his gaze drifts, narrowing faintly as he glances out across the Bodega before giving a slight shake of his head. "I think I could’ve gotten past it if there was somethin’ worthwhile here..." he trails, letting the words thin out as his attention flicks back, expression flattening just enough. "But it’s just a lot of fuckin' trees." Trees that tried to kill you, trees that made the fucking sky scream.

His brows lift a fraction at the admission that Jack has feelings one way or another about him staying, and the timing works in his favour when he takes another sip just as the name lands. It hides the brief twitch at the corner of his mouth, the almost-reaction that doesn’t quite make it to the surface, and by the time the glass lowers again his expression has settled back into something more neutral, save for the faint edge that lingers there. He clears his throat lightly, setting the drink down with a soft tap. "Now I ain’t sayin’ you’re full of shit," he begins, one brow lifting as his tone drifts into something mildly skeptical, "but I find it hard to believe she’d pack up and leave."

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

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

JACK

Jack laughs at that, the sound quiet but genuine, because Vesper getting exasperated at putting himself in a forest full of trees and then growing irritable about it sounds just as about right as Caly and Nova's antics. "Well," he says, lifting his glass in a toast and knocking back the last of the liquor in it, "no one can say you didn't give it a fair try. You been here for what... close to a year?" That sounds about right.

Walking his fingers around the rim of his empty glass and leaving small fractals of ice where his touch skims the sides of it, he shrugs his shoulders in a gesture that seems careless precisely because it isn't. "She would if her ranch burned down. Which it did," he says. "Happened durin' the Longheat wildfires - Sunjata brought up that she'd packed up an' left on a new venture. Caly was there too, she can confirm it if you still reckon it's bullshit."

Looking up at Vesper frankly now, he raises an eyebrow. "Her shadow ain't over King's End no more. Y'know, in case you wanted to see your sisters more often."

no more than I was or than I want to be
when you fall on me like night, I wanna kill the lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

Vesper shrugs at the question of time like it’s nothing worth holding onto, even though he knows exactly how long it’s been, could trace it back in quiet, precise increments if he cared to. "Somethin’ like that," he says instead, letting it land loose and unbothered, as if the time hasn’t settled into him in ways he hasn’t quite sorted through yet and probably never will.

He listens, and for all that he tries to keep his expression level, there’s a tightening at the edges—subtle, but there—something in the way his eyes narrow just slightly, in the measured pace of the breath he lets out after. There’s too much there, too tangled and unfinished, and Vesper has no intention of unpacking it here, even if he isn't as skilled as the Captain is at properly measuring his reactions.

Instead, Vesper lifts his glass and drains what’s left in a single swallow, the burn sharp enough to cut through the noise crowding in his head, smoothing it just enough that he can set the empty back down without hesitation. "Well," he says, voice steadier now, though the edge hasn’t quite gone, "then I really hope Nova hasn’t picked out wallpaper." His gaze flicks up, meeting Jack’s with something more decided behind it now, something that’s been settling into place while he wasn’t looking too closely. Tilting his head slightly, he adds, "Y’got room for one more when you go back south?"

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

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

JACK

Jack gives Vesper the good grace of privacy even from his prying eyes as he sorts through whatever thorny mess of thought and emotion the news had brought with it. The Captain has, unfortunately, become quite intimately acquainted with matters like this, and perhaps he has a wild redhead to thank for the calmer waters of his thoughts (he does), but either way he doesn't lift his gaze from his iced over glass until Vesper speaks once again.

And he scoffs, shrugging his shoulders. "Even if she has, reckon some good news'll have her forgettin' all about it again," he says. That good news being, obviously, that Vesper will soon be in the same region as the rest of his family. At the question, Jack gestures back towards the village and the skyport like it's a matter long settled. "I'll make room," he says. "Though, there's someone you ought'a be aware of 'fore you step aboard."

Here it really is easier to open his mind to the demigod, because trying to explain the depth of his relationship with The Ark, her separation from rigging and sail and hull and everything she is and can feel is beyond even Jack's silver tongue. And so he parts his mind like a curtain, allowing The Ark as she is now - ship and woman and everything in between - to flood through like a rogue wave.

no more than I was or than I want to be
when you fall on me like night, I wanna kill the lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

Vesper huffs a quiet laugh at that, the sound low and easy as he gives a small, conceding shrug. "Yeah," he allows, like he can already picture Nova abandoning whatever grand plan she’s latched onto the moment something better comes along, which, in this case, might actually be him for once. He’s already drawing breath to comment on Jack making space for him, something dry and offhand poised at the edge of his tongue, when the Captain's mind opens and whatever he’d been about to say dissolves before it ever quite forms.

It comes through like a tide, vast and shifting, all salt and pull and something unmistakably alive in a way that makes the edges of his awareness blur for a moment as he takes it in. Vesper's gaze slips out of focus, fixed somewhere just past Jack’s shoulder, while he traces the shape of it, pointedly ignoring the more intimate threads that flicker at the edges of Jack's thoughts about the Ark, but the whole of it, the sheer scope of what Jack’s done.

Vesper straightens after a second, clearing his throat lightly as if to mark the boundary of it, as if to say that’s enough without needing to voice it aloud, one hand dragging back through his pale hair before he leans into the back of his chair again. There’s a flicker of something unreadable there—impressed, maybe, or jealous, or both—but it folds quickly. Tilting his head, a crooked, roguish edge slipping back into place, he glances at Jack with a faint glint of amusement. "Is she the type that likes flowers?" he asks, tone light in a way that skirts neatly around the weight of what he’s just been shown. The grin that follows is sharper and more boyish. "Reckon I got a few apologies owed for shit that went on in my cabin while I was aboard."

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

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

JACK

Jack smirks, wolfish and unapologetic as Vesper gives the unmistakable indication that he's seen enough, the Captain dropping the curtain to his mind to lock away The Ark and all she is back behind it. At least until Vesper meets her for himself; he can't guarantee anything when that happens, and nor would he want to. "Right now she's the type to like anythin'," he says emphatically; being properly alive for the first time will do that, he's finding. All food tastes better, all emotions are felt doubly so, every experience is more intense.

"She's definitely a fan of good liquor and jewellery, though. But you can try her with flowers, see if they impress her." Or see if they remind her of the day Jack set her on fire. The Captain pointedly doesn't mention that though - let Vesper and The Ark figure each other out themselves. "You gotta make any arrangements 'fore you leave?" he asks instead. "I'm here for a couple days, but I can stretch it if you gotta say goodbyes or set shit on fire or whatever."

no more than I was or than I want to be
when you fall on me like night, I wanna kill the lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

Vesper’s brow lifts slightly at that, something faintly incredulous flickering through his expression at the idea that she’d like anything, though it settles as Jack elaborates, the specifics giving him something more solid to work with. He exhales through his nose, a quiet, conceding sound, and nods once. "Got it," he says, the earlier edge smoothing into something more thoughtful, because for all the flippancy of apologizing to her for his boyish nocturnal activities that he’d wrapped around it a moment ago, he understands—more than most—what this is, what she is, what she means. He’s felt enough through Jack’s mind to know this isn’t something to treat lightly, and certainly not something he wants to fuck up.

Vesper's lips twitch as the thought of it brushes back against the earlier joke, but it doesn’t quite take hold again, not with that awareness sitting just beneath the surface. Instead, his attention drifts, just briefly, and the shadow of Niki pulls at his mood again, a quiet irritation tightening the set of his jaw before he pushes it aside. He picks up his glass as if expecting more from it, turning it once in his fingers before setting it back down with a soft, unimpressed tap. "Nah," he says after a beat, leaning back slightly, easy but decided. "Few days’ll be more than enough."

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

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

JACK

Even without that innate link to one another that their magic usually provides, Jack recognises the thoughtful notes of respect in Vesper's voice and expression. And though he doesn't draw attention to it, it's nevertheless appreciated. Treating The Ark with kid-gloves, per say, isn't going to earn anyone her favour, but understanding what she is and the history that rides along in her wake is a damned good place to start. And so with the matter settled, he lets his attention drop back into the Bodega, the crowds, and Vesper's impending return to King's End.

Pretending not to notice the tightening in his jaw or the pointed tap of his glass against the table, Jack merely offers the boy a quick, decisive nod. "King's End is gettin' a healin' river," he adds, as if just remembering as much. "An' we took a jaunt back to Torchline. Might be more frequent visitors movin' forward - y'know, in case the wind blows you in that direction."

no more than I was or than I want to be
when you fall on me like night, I wanna kill the lights

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

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

Vesper lifts a hand without looking, a small flick of his fingers toward the bar enough to signal another round before his attention drifts back, one brow arching at the mention of a healing river. "Huh," he mutters, the word sitting somewhere between mild interest and disbelief, before his shoulders rise and fall in an easy shrug, like he’ll believe it when he sees it and not a moment sooner.

Torchline, though, that catches his attention properly. His head tilts, pale hair slipping slightly as his gaze sharpens just a touch, long fingers idly turning his glass against the table, the faint scrape of ring against rim a quiet, steady rhythm. "That got somethin’ to do with the Ark," he asks, tone turning more curious now, "or that little display written in the stars?" The smirk that follows is quick, familiar, edged with something warmer than before as Vesper tries once more to mask the wy Jack's news hits. "Of all the places I’ve been so far, nothin’ really compares to Torchline."

He lets that sit for a second, the grin easing into something a touch more genuine as his eyes flick back up to Jack. "How’d it go?"

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

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