#But why make him dumb enough to even think he could strongarm the princess of hell - even if he was in a rage

[velvette-hussle]

Lowkey, I wish Vox had answered Valentino when he asked him which gun made him look sexier. He didn’t even need to verbally do it, he could’ve just pointed and I would’ve been satisfied.

It just tickles me that he’d care enough to pick - and finds the imagery of Val with a gun attractive enough to have a preference, period - while also still completely vetoing Valentino’s whole plan to storm the Hotel (or whatever the fuck his dumb ass thought he was gonna do).

EDIT: Here’s the picture for reference; and also the answer is obviously the bigger one because it matches his wings (not that I necessarily find Val sexy, but still).

[evaxsombra]

Silent Tears

Referencing 

Kadeu, Spade/Club Border

04 March 2021, Just Before Dawn

The silence was deafening and weighted. It pressed against Eva even as she walked along the border that marked Spade from Club. In one hand her cane swept across the ground—Eva half-hoping it might tap against a pair of boots followed by a “Hey there, Princess!” But none came. The other hand held a small basket, still warm with freshly baked goodies she’d made only an hour prior in Prospero’s kitchen. A bottle of mead poked out from beneath the cover. Even the pastries didn’t make the usual sounds of crust and crumble that were so familiar. It was as if the food knew where it was going and who it was for and dared not voice how it would simply spoil or be stolen by a hungry passerby.

The shuffling of guards’ feet reached her ears and Eva knew she was close. She passed them, returned their greeting as she moved along and then through the passage that led to Club. She didn’t go very far. She counted the paces until it was approximately the same distance that Anton would have usually met her within Spades borders. Her cane hit a wall—the side of a house maybe? She settled her back against it and slid down until she was seated. Carefully, she set the cover on the ground, followed by the variety of breads and, finally, two cups filled with mead. She sat the bottle beside her and let out a small breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

Then she smiled.

“Hey TonTon. Betcha didn’t expect me to come to ya this time, huh?” Silence. “Well, I figured I could make an exception this time. Seeing how you can’t meet me halfway anymore, I gotta pick up the slack.” Eva reached for one of the breads, held it gently between her hands. “Brought you more of those breads from Yeon Nen. Some alcohol too. Haven’t been able to stop baking since…well, um…since I heard.”

She thought back to the day after Airang. How she’d been exhausted after a wild night of whatever weird spell had come over her. All she’d wanted to do was sleep, but the moment she’d entered Spade, Lilith had been waiting, insisting that Eva come home to the Leon estate with. She’d even grabbed Chupa from her barracks. At first, Eva had been too tired to question it, but the alarm bells had been ringing. Lilith never touched Chupa—she didn’t much like scaly creatures. And she sure as hell never met Eva anywhere but at the Leon home.

And then Lilith had sat her down, made sure she had a good hearty meal. Let Eva rant and rave about the previous night and the early morning shenanigans. But Eva could hear how forced the helper’s laugh was, could smell the worry and sadness coating her skin. So she’d asked, “What’s wrong, Lilith? You seem down. Nothing happened to Prospero, right?”

“The master is alright, Miss Eva.” The pause. The first of many heavy silences. “Miss Eva…you were well acquainted with that Club boy, Anton, yes?” Eva nodded and grinned, knowing how Lilith had never been too fond of the Strongarm. The Shifter was sure she’d warm up with enough time…a lot of time.

“What’s he do this time? If it’s his handwriting I swear he told me he’s been practicing.” A complete lie.

“Miss, I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

And suddenly their time went bankrupt.

Eva gripped the bread tighter in her grasp until it caved in on itself, until her fingers met through the still-warm dough. “We both know I can’t cook to save my life. Or yours.” The wind didn’t so much as whisper. “If they had told me you died ‘cause my bread poisoned you, I woulda believed it. This stuff,” she poked at a pastry, “should be labelled an assassin’s weapon. Woulda fit you since, ya know, you were apparently an assassin and all.”

That hadn’t been easy to hear. To listen to Lilith’s voice as she read the Deck. As the Deck aired all of Anton’s dirty laundry for the world as if it was their right. Threw harsh words and unverified rumors knowing full well the man of the hour couldn’t defend himself. Eva had sat frozen, feeling her heart break even as she tried hard so hard to process the fact that her best friend was gone.

“You…you coulda told me, TonTon,” she murmured not unkindly. “I get why you didn’t. Really, I do. I never told ya, but I…I did some bad stuff too. But I think you woulda forgave me for it. I was just too ashamed to say anything. Even now I can’t really talk about it….S’not my place to forgive you, but I just wanna let you know that all that stuff doesn’t change how grateful I am to have had you in my life. It doesn’t change how much I love you, ya big dumb idiot. You were the brother I always wanted. And from now on every time I do somethin’ stupid I’m gonna think about how you’re supposed to be there putting up with it and makin’ sure we don’t go n kill ourselves. We were supposed to have the next three hundred years to bug the crap outta each other and laugh and get Lilith to actually like you. We were supposed to have time.” And someone took that from him.

Something warm and wet ran down her cheeks, dripping off her chin to soak the bread. She couldn’t move. She didn’t so much as gasp or sob. The tears fell silently as if they too feared disturbing this moment. Eva felt the crack that had been forming along her heart since that morning grow until it felt like a physical agony. She bent in half, face nearly touching the dirt as she let the pain finally course through her. Her body shook and her face contorted into something beastly. Her nails dug into skin, but instead of skin armadillo armor barred her from digging into flesh. Even now her animals were protecting her. But Eva didn’t want her own safety. She wanted Anton’s. She wanted him to be okay, to greet her like always, and offer a new adventure, and everything to be alright.

She wanted Anton to be alive.

She meant every word. She would always love TonTon and he’d always be her family. But the anger and grief and confusion—they couldn’t be ignored. She didn’t know how long it would take to accept losing one of her own. She didn’t know if this pain would ever stop. She didn’t know if she could ever think of Anton again without feeling like she falling apart. But she did what she could now.

Eva rode the wave of emotions, let the skid of tears against skin fill the void that silence had made of her too dark world. She cried in the silence she hated so much until she finally had the breath to hum a shaky tune. A final goodbye for a boy who would always mean the world to her. He’d never hear her sing, but the melody filled her with some solace. And as she hummed, Eva could feel the sun’s rays as they touched her skin, bringing a new dawn.

And with the warmth of day came the sound of birds and the rustle of wind and sound returned once more to her even as the wind carried her voice into the sky and disappeared into the world.

Song: Message in the Wind by Carole & Tuesday