#oc: vic rane

[lavampira]

once you’re stripped clean, what’s at your core?

tagged by @narrativefoiltrope to take this quiz for some ocs last month and catching up now! these completely knocked me out omg. tagging @hythlodaes @durues @noonfaerie @reverienne @indorilnerevarine @elliewilliums @lavinet @hylfystt @coldshrugs if anyone wants to do it too <3

d’alia liveq - rippling sunset

you’re the nicest person i’ll ever meet, probably. with an undying passion to protect those who can’t protect themselves, you’re energetic and bubbly to a fault. it’s cute, watching you run around trying to tie up loose ends. i feel bad for you — out of everyone you know, you probably have some of the deepest trauma, more than anyone’s aware of. this isn’t something that you want attention for at all, and you’d really just rather forget it exists at all… even then, it seems like you can never escape it. i wish you a pleasant rest of your life, full of rippling sunsets and free of prying eyes.

kai amhi - acerbic wit

you're a mentor — an old scarred wolf, an injured soldier, a disgraced paladin. your teachings read as shamelessly pretentious, speaking in rhymes and biting down hard into anyone stupid enough to make the wrong move. this isn't your first life, nor your second, nor your sixth — you'll make the most of your time shackled to this world, no matter how many loops it takes to get it right. with every defeat, you reincarnate; a little smarter, a little quicker, crueler and nastier. will you choose to be brutal, equalizing, that final strike in the face of your enemies? will you go soft, become tender and domesticated? the choice is yours. it's not like i can stop you.

lux kennedy - fractured glass

no amount of orchestrated class is ever going to hide the fact that you’re doomed to be alone. you’re a puppet, you’re a weapon, but most importantly? you’re a fraud. your facade isn’t malicious, but that doesn’t change a thing. everything in your life is in your control now, and you chose to let yourself become stiff and distant. you’re guilty of everything you blame yourself for, and your misfortune is the fault of nobody but yourself. your selfish nature forges you into a man-made monster, so quick to blame and so desperate to escape consequence. i hope that you can become someone you’re proud of soon.

vic rane - animal intuition

loyalty is the saint you pray to. if you ever were stabbed in the back by your beloved, you'd probably apologize. to your enemies, you're fierce. to your allies, even fiercer. you cultivate a thick inner circle built on promises and devotion, fit only for the best of the best. it's impossible for most to even begin to dissect the type of person you are, owing to your unbreakable emotional walls and confusing philosophies. dream careers? body guard, movie star, unwitting pawn. don't let people get the best of that loyalty.

angel pavon - behind the mask

you aren’t slick about whatever you think you’re hiding. glass shatters in your midst, blood spills, children scream. like some of your friends, your personality of choice is entirely artificial. the difference between you and them is that you can get away with it. you’re unknown, perhaps even to yourself, and your goals are complex and unknown. anyone stupid enough to fall for you is setting themselves up to be frustrated and confused, owing to your being ultimately unknowable. i hope you can find an identity that makes you comfortable.

[lavampira]

shepherds of haven recruit form by @shepherds-of-haven

BIOGRAPHICAL INFO

Name: Leovic ‘Vic’ Rane

Aliases: Commander-Legate; Hero of Haven; The Dragonslayer

Callsign: Omen

Age/Birthday: 29 (Ashar 13th)

Gender: Cis Man

Pronouns: he/him

Sexuality: Gay

Heritage/Birthplace: Hunter-raised Mage from Maj

Height: 6’4 (193cm)

“A scarred and tattooed male Mage with pierced ears, neck-length, tousled, chestnut-colored hair, and intelligent hazel eyes. He wears the crisp, black-and-silver threaded uniform of the Shepherds, the rampant hound shining proudly on his chest. He has a streak of white in his hair as a result of his Hunter heritage. His cloak sports a golden eagle clasp (and a crude talisman constructed from holly and snapdragons). He has achieved legendary status, regarded as a hero and champion by all.”

BACKGROUND INFO

Weapon: Daggers

Magic Specialization: Argentis (divination magic)

Education: Trained at the Veiled Circle in Capra

MISCELLANEOUS INFO

Past Jobs: Hired guard and guide/tracker, tavern server, rigger on a corsair ship in exchange for passage, dock worker, scribe in a book shop, spymaster’s apprentice

Likes: Astronomy, spiced tea, layered jewelry and open shirts, charch, teasing friends, the sea

Dislikes: Cluttered rooms, social pretenses, heights, repetitive routines

Strengths: Raw magical affinity, agile, quick-witted and fast learner, introspective, compassionate

Weaknesses: Overly blunt, stubborn, emotionally reactive, authority and trust issues, holds grudges, martyr complex

Hobbies + Special Skills: Scrying, reading poetry and novels, cooking, gardening, formal dancing, boxing, collecting maps, star-gazing

Major Arcana: The Moon (upright: intuition, subconscious, illusions / reversed: unveiling secrets, self-deception)

D&D Morality Alignment: Neutral Good

PERSONALITY

heart of gold | will of iron

rebellious | loyal

independent | social

tactful | straightforward

bold | cautious

charming | stoic | intimidating

witty | sincere

resentful | forgiving

self-preserving | self-sacrificing [develops a martyr complex]

book-smart | street-smart

one-god | atheist | old faith

RELATIONSHIPS

Love Interest: Trouble, Red (ex)

Best Friends: Trouble, Briony, Chase, Halek, Shery

Preferred Mission Partners: Blade, Trouble, Halek, Tallys, Red, Riel

Friendly Rivals: Mimir (one-sided diviner competition), Ayla (squabbling sibling vibes), Lavinet (mutual irritation)

Enemies: Ebert, the Endarkened, the Inquisitors

REFERENCES FROM PAST EMPLOYERS OR OTHER RECRUITS

“Rane is a reliable guide who operates in a timely and efficient manner, but his social skills leave much to be desired.” -Unnamed noble

“One time, I told Vic that I lost the ring I’d inherited from my Nan while closing up, and he came back the next day with an idea for where to look. I found it exactly where he said it would be! His investigating is uncanny, if you ask me.” -Former co-worker at the Drunken Rose tavern

[lavampira]

12 & 20 for vic/trouble?

couple development questions

ty teddy!! can always count on you for the trouble ship love 🫶

12. how much independence do they prefer in a relationship—do they want to share their lives as much as possible with their partner, or do they prefer to mostly do their own thing and let their partner do their own thing?

for the most part, they’re pretty attached at the hip! they’re best friends at their core and love to do most things together, not in a co-dependent sense, but simply because they really do enjoy spending as much time as possible with each other and sharing parts of their day. trouble skews slightly more towards it than vic, though; after so much of his life on his own, vic still craves the occasional alone time to do his own thing, and his social battery burns out far quicker, so he doesn’t want to hold trouble back from his own fun either.

20. when would they say “I love you?” do they say it first? do they say it often, or is it reserved for special moments?

when they finally get it through their silly heads that they’re not reading too much into things and their feelings are mutual!!!!! idk how it’s going to play out in the story, and I used to think that trouble was going to have to be the one to say it first, but I think sheer desperation might make vic break and confess, likely without intending to say it, and then have a small crisis about it until trouble says it back to him. once it’s out there, trouble says it often - that’s his best friend, and the love of his life, and everyone needs to know it, especially vic! it takes vic much longer to reach a point of being able to say it often since he’s so traumatized from loss and afraid of what it means to love him this much and risk losing trouble because of him, too, so it’s rarer and more fervent when he does.

[lavampira]

12, 20, and 41 for those specific character asks! for whoever you want!

oc questions

ty friend!! I’ll go with my shoh oc vic for this one 🖤

12. what’s something that makes them laugh every single time? be specific!

caine’s antics like bragging about him to his little friends, or trouble and blade bantering with each other, or his totally not hidden in his room cat (who he named mirage, since his shepherds codename is omen) misjudging a leap drastically and looking offended at ravity when he recovers.

20. who do they like as a person but hate their work? vice versa, whose work do they like but don’t like the person?

he adores chase and he’s one of his closest friends, but he isn’t completely down with the thievery - his little bit of goody two shoes coming out as discomfort when it’s blatant. and he can appreciate lavinet’s efficiency and connections as useful to the shepherds, but they actively despise each other.

41. what phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?

while he already cursed quite a bit, that amplifies from being around trouble. also some of trouble’s mannerisms like awkwardly rubbing his neck get picked up, too. they’re attached at the hip and it really shows in these little ways sometimes.

[lavampira]

for alternative pairings - Vic and Red? if Trouble didn't enter the picture, would Red have a chance of rekindling his relationship with Vic? 👀

[send an oc + an alt love interest for them]

TY this is a very fun one 🖤

VIC/RED

tbh there actually would’ve been a very strong chance that red could rekindle their romance if not for trouble’s existence! that history between them is strong and the longstanding friendship is familiar and comfortable to fall back into as well, but also red has the benefit of knowing vic before all the notoriety and responsibility, when he was simply a tall gangly book nerd in their little mage school and not the intimidating shepherd captain-later-commander that he is now, and that would be a grounding quality that vic would appreciate. vic and red also challenge each other in a positive way of drawing each other out of their comfort zones while being a solid support system that could really work for them romantically, too.

[lavampira]

1, 2, 4, 8, 9 for Vic! 💕

[character solidifying questions]

ty karolina! 🖤

1. how does your character think of their father? what do they hate and love about him? what influence - literal or imagined - did the father have?

ough it’s a complicated one between vic and his dad. ultimately, he still loves and respects him deeply, and admires how he took charge and protected their community as best as he knew how, but there’s an undercurrent of frustration towards how stubbornly resigned and jaded his father had become and how he’d kept him from some of the hunter culture that’s grown a bit as vic has gotten older. as a leader himself now and still not quite used to it, vic tends to reflect on what he’d seen in his father and think on what he might do in his place, though.

2. their mother? how do they think of her? what do they hate? love? what influence - literal or imagined - did the mother have?

the fact that vic was so young when his mother passed adds a layer of idealization to his memories of her, which are mostly moments of gentle maternal care anyway, and he wishes he could’ve known more about her as a person outside of that lens. but the silver hand mirror that he uses to scry used to belong to her.

4. what type of discipline was your character subjected to at home? strict? lenient?

not completely rigid, but strict in the overprotective sort of way that a widowed parent who’s grown weary by hardship can be. no room for argument or backtalk. mostly given stern lectures to correct behavior, nothing lengthy but enough to knock sense into him.

8. how does your character feel about religion?

not at all interested in the norms’ one god, but believes in the old gods in a distant sense, more of a comfort than truly buying into them outright. he doesn’t actively seek out places of worship or anything. which, of course, makes things more than a little confusing to wrap his head around after That Reveal.

9. what about political beliefs?

vic is solidly in the ‘fuck the autarchy’ camp with tallys, frowning at excessive and misused wealth with trouble (and often at odds with lavinet on this point), and not very shy about expressing it when asked.

[lavampira]

I finally got a moment to catch up on the most recent shoh update and I’m screaming, crying, yelling etc about vic and his diviner antics (again. this chapter has given my psionic mage so much) and also vic and trouble and the KNOWING each other and vehement DEVOTION of it all

[lavampira]

6 10 & 20 for vic & trouble?

[otp questions]

ty teddy!!

6. how do they react to the realization that they like the other character? is it an “oh my god I’m never going to think about this again” thing, or are they pretty comfortable with it?

at first, vic is pretty chill about having feelings for him, but it very quickly descends into ‘oh this is a problem’ when he starts to think that trouble might genuinely only see him as a friend, and the extra “friendliness” that feels like flirting but might simply be trouble behavior is complete torture for him. he tries to stifle it, but can’t help but lean into the little things either.

10. what scares them about entering a relationship?

there’s some wariness about both of them being shepherds and the issues that surround vic’s life, and he hasn’t had many relationships overall, but vic isn’t actually that scared about starting a relationship. he’d be all in right now if trouble made it known how he feels.

20. when would they say “I love you?” do they say it first? do they say it often, or is it reserved for special moments?

after the initial confession, which probably comes from trouble first, since vic has resigned himself to pretending what they have is enough, it’d be a regular occurrence. trouble would say it more often as he feels it, but vic says it more quietly and shyly until he gets used to it.

[lavampira]

revisiting one of my shoh fics in my wip docs got me thinking about diviners and how their concept of time must be nebulous, how mimir is in a constant state of all realities occuring at once for her, or how the diviner MC is often disoriented after scrying an object and getting immersed in others’ memories before coming back to reality, so I’ve decided that vic is often terrible at knowing how much time has passed unless he’s actively focused on keeping track as a side effect of his magic

[lavampira]

the idea of trouble wearing one of vic’s rings on his thumb when they’re apart…….. help

[lavampira]

hmmmm for the oc questions how about 14, 26 & 33 for vic!

[character development ‘hard mode’ questions]

ty sydney !!

14. does your character remember names or faces easier?

definitely faces. he’s used to being watchful and wary, so he’s taught himself to pay attention to people around him, and the details stick. names will slip his mind, though.

26. how does your character behave around children?

it’s situational because on one hand, he can act like an older brother (see: his relationship to caine) where he’s protective and comforting but also a little silly and embarrassing on purpose, but then there’s moments like coming across the kids in the swamp where he doesn’t really think beyond ‘get the weapon out of the child’s hand before someone accidentally gets hurt’ to how it looks for an exhausted 6’4 mage who’s been running around the swamp for days to snatch a sword away from the kid. but he also tends to talk to kids like little adults while mostly minding his language (mostly. he tries very hard).

33. in the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

defensive. he’s been on his own for so long that he digs in his heels when he receives criticism, but he knows that he does have areas where he needs improvement, so he’s willing to work on it, it’s just an immediate gut-punch reaction when something is pointed out to him.

[lavampira]

ngl I don’t normally do AUs but the vic/trouble edit I made for last year’s shoh summer event has had me thinking about the potential of a 1920s noir AU fr

smth smth trouble as a detective in a private agency (featuring other shepherds too) and vic who gets caught up in the middle of one of his cases because of his divining magic and then the chaos of a murder mystery and lots of pining between them working together to becoming friends to catching feelings <3

[lavampira]

OC MASTERLIST

last update: 01 february 2024

divider credit

INTERACTIVE FICTION

ANGEL PAVON

alias: operative vesper

age: 28

identity: he/him, bisexual

appearance: 6’2

specialization: infiltration

romance: nash, evie thierry (ex, au), seb ariti (au) [belongs to consulaaris]

verse: project hadea + original

BENJAMIN “BENJI” FINCH

alias: sunset bird resident

age: 23

identity: he/him, bisexual

appearance: 5’10

occupation: guitarist + freelance artist

romance: cove holden, rowan hill (au) [belongs to consulaaris]

verse: our life + original

DAVINA VIRAC

alias: the painted phoenix

age: 25

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 6’, phoenix mythosi

weapon: double-bladed scythe

romance: syfyn javall (ex), amilia von clamile

verse: the exile

LEOVIC “VIC” RANE

alias: omen, commander-legate

age: 29

identity: he/him, gay

appearance: 6’4, hunter-raised mage

specialization: circle-trained diviner

romance: red antiqua (ex), trouble alder

verse: shepherds of haven

LINDEN “LUX” KENNEDY

alias: lead vocalist of saint reverie

age: 26

identity: they/them, bisexual

appearance: 5’11

occupation: alternative rock singer

romance: seven lawless (ex), orion quinn

verse: infamous

RIVER LOVELL

alias: rivlaughluv

age: 27

identity: they/them, bisexual

appearance: 5’10

occupation: private lab technician

romance: olivia santos (au)

verse: blooming panic + original

TABITHA ABRAMS

alias: the preacher

age: 26

identity: she/they, lesbian

appearance: 5’7

occupation: vampire-hunting swindler

romance: celina sokolova

verse: larkin

VERONICA SCARLET

alias: the wayward scarlet

age: 25

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’8

occupation: biology grad student

romance: avery belle

verse: scarlet hollow

YANA ROMANUS SEVILLA

alias: white company mercenary

age: 29

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’4

occupation: mercenary + latin translator

romance: hadrian

verse: the golden rose

TTRPGS

ELAITH NATHAIR

alias: the druid

age: 32

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 5’7, half sun elf

class: circle of spores druid

romance: none

verse: dungeons & dragons

LON LAURIER

alias: the investigator

age: 33

identity: he/him, gay

appearance: 6’3

occupation: wwi veteran + museum curator

romance: ethan ripley

verse: call of cthulhu

DC COMICS

OLIVIA SANTOS

alias: the lawyer

age: 27

identity: she/her, demiromantic bi

appearance: 5’5

occupation: defense attorney

romance: dick grayson, river lovell (au)

DRAGON AGE

GABRIEL COUSLAND

alias: hound of highever

age: 23 in 9:30 dragon

identity: he/him, bisexual

appearance: 6’

class: duelist + shadow rogue

romance: nathaniel howe, leliana (au)

NALAH MAHARIEL

alias: hero of ferelden

age: 24 in 9:30 dragon

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’4

class: berserker + spirit warrior

romance: tamlen (ex), zevran arainai

THE ELDER SCROLLS

ARISE VALEN

alias: the vestige

age: 33 in 2E 583

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’9, dunmer

class: dragonknight

romance: fennorian

TORA THE DOVAHKIIN

alias: the last dragonborn

age: 29 in 4E 201

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’8, nord

class: conjuration warrior

romance: farkas

FALLOUT

MARISOL REYES

alias: courier six

age: 29 in 2281

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 5’6

skills: speech, guns, repair

romance: none

FINAL FANTASY XIV

D’ALIA LIVEQ

alias: warrior of light

age: 28 in ARR

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’4, seeker miqo’te

job: summoner, dark knight, dancer

romance: minfilia warde (ex), sidurgu orl

MASS EFFECT

MALENA SHEPARD

alias: the commander

age: 29 in 2183

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’10

class: vanguard

romance: kaidan alenko

SONORA “SONI” RYDER

alias: the pathfinder

age: 22 in 2819

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 5’8

class: sentinel

romance: vetra nyx

PATHFINDER

MERITHIA DE CHARON

alias: queen of the stolen lands

age: 29

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’7, aasimar

class: celestial line sorcerer

romance: tristian

RESIDENT EVIL

EVELINE “EVIE” THIERRY

alias: the detective

age: 28

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’1

occupation: private investigator

romance: jill valentine, angel pavon (ex, au)

STAR WARS - KOTOR

SHIVA AMHI

alias: the jedi exile

age: 31 in 298 BTC

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’5, mirialan

class: consular + master

romance: atton rand

VANNA PHY

alias: revan

age: 33 in 303 BTC

identity: they/she, bisexual

appearance: 5’9, human

class: scout + sentinel

romance: malak (ex), canderous ordo

STAR WARS - SWTOR

ANA MAITE VICARI

alias: the wrath

age: 21 in 10 ATC

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 5’3, human

class: marauder + shadow

romance: jaesa willsaam

ANDAN VICARI

alias: cipher six, sith intelligence commander

age: 24 in 10 ATC

identity: he/him, demiromantic bi

appearance: 5’11, human

class: operative + gunslinger

romance: rysandor riel [belongs to consulaaris]

CADRIEN TIRAI

alias: lord tirai, claw of the empire

age: 19 in 12 ATC

identity: he/him, gay

appearance: 6’1, miraluka

class: juggernaut + sage

romance: minaiph tirai [belongs to hythlodaes]

EDELIE LOK CADERA

alias: champion of the great hunt

age: 18 in 10 ATC

identity: she/her, bi demisexual

appearance: 5’2, human

class: mercenary + powertech

romance: torian cadera

JORANI RHA

alias: captain of the fortune’s favour

age: 24 in 10 ATC

identity: she/her, lesbian

appearance: 5’7, twi’lek

class: scoundrel + mercenary

romance: blaire myrrho [belongs to consulaaris]

KAIZEN “KAI” AMHI

alias: jedi battlemaster, the outlander

age: 20 in 10 ATC

identity: he/him, gay

appearance: 6’2, mirialan

class: guardian + sage

romance: theron shan

MITTH’ALIA’MIURANI “THALIA”

alias: CEDF infiltrator/biochemist

age: 25 in 10 ATC

identity: she/her, bi demisexual

appearance: 5’9, chiss

class: sniper + operative

romance: saganu

MITTH’ASTON “THASTON”

alias: cipher nine

age: 23 in 10 ATC

identity: they/them, bisexual

appearance: 6’1, chiss

class: sniper + powertech

romance: kaliyo djannis (ex), hunter (ex)

SARAJAH RIZAS

alias: jedi barsen’thor

age: 23 in 10 ATC

identity: she/her, bi demisexual

appearance: 6’, cathar

class: shadow

romance: felix iresso

VIN KHARU

alias: havoc squad commander

age: 25 in 10 ATC

identity: he/him, bisexual

appearance: 5’8, nautolan

class: vanguard + mercenary

romance: elara dorne

WYLAN ORIAS

alias: ex-padawan mechanic

age: 20 in 20 ATC

identity: he/him, bi asexual

appearance: 6’4, echani

class: shadow + guardian

romance: jase bralor

ZOYAH KALLIG

alias: darth occlus

age: 26 in 10 ATC

identity: she/they, poly bisexual

appearance: 5’, rattataki

class: assassin + sorcerer

romance: andronikos revel

VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE

INES DELAROSA

alias: the fledgling

age: 25 at embrace in 2004

identity: she/her, bisexual

appearance: 5’2

clan: toreador

occupation: metal singer

romance: ash rivers

THOMAS REAUX

alias: the sire

age: 28 at embrace in 1919, final death in 2004

identity: he/him, bisexual

appearance: 6’2

clan: toreador

occupation: jazz pianist

romance: none

[lavampira]

"You two are completely attached at the hip." "And so what? We make a good team."

commissioned @ulenehlervu for this gorgeous art of vic and trouble from @shepherds-of-haven and I'm in loveee <3

[lavampira]

22 or 60 + vic/trouble?

22. falling asleep on the other’s shoulder [x] 638 words; smoking cw ty rae! 🖤

Vic isn’t sure what actually wakes him, as eerily quiet as the evening is aside from the ever-present wind this high above the city, but he blinks open his eyes to the realization that he did fall asleep on the rooftop. He draws in a deep breath as he comes to, the familiar scent of leather, gunpowder, and sweet smoke reminding him that he isn’t alone. His throat bobs as he swallows, slowly raising his head from the warm shoulder beneath him.

The man at his side stirs with his movement. Trouble twists to look at him, those pretty blue-gold eyes catching the moonlight as he tilts his head to see him better, almost as if checking him for something. Vic tries not to think about the unfortunate amount of times that he’s been witness to him startling awake from nightmares as he brushes back the white tendril of otherwise russet hair looped over his forehead and clears his throat.

“How long was I out?” he asks.

Trouble flicks ash from the stick of charch between his fingers over the ledge, flashing him a lopsided smile before taking a drag. “Dunno. Long enough my shoulder went a bit numb.”

“You should’ve woken me.”

Trouble glances towards the horizon, lifting a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug as he flits his sharp gaze across the city’s streets, and mumbles around the stick of charch between his lips. The gusting wind on the rooftop covers whatever he says. Vic reaches and plucks the charch from his mouth, unable to stop himself from smirking at the indignant gasp that rips from the other man’s throat. He takes a long drag of it himself, watching the way Trouble’s eyes drop to his lips for the briefest moment before averting away again, and asks him to repeat what he’d said.

“I didn’t want to bother you,” Trouble mumbles, tugging at the tufts of blond hair on his head as he runs a hand through it. “It’s a long way back from Lockwood. Thought you might be tired.”

Tired doesn’t even begin to cover the extent of it. Not just the arduous journey, but the politics and head games, the strain of overdoing it with his magic, and the frenetic worry in the air over Haven’s news after finally getting home all seeped into him. Vic isn’t surprised that he crashed as soon as he got a moment of peace. What does have him stunned is how well Trouble sees through him about it, willing to let him sleep on his shoulder when they’re supposed to be catching up. Not that he wants to admit it.

Instead, Vic shoots him a grin with the charch lingering near his mouth, nudging his side with an elbow. “Worried about me?”

“Don’t be stupid.” The tips of Trouble’s ears redden as he pushes his shoulder in return, but he huffs out a bemused laugh. “I was being a good friend, you wretch.”

Vic brings the charch to his lips again to hide the way his smile falters. He inhales deeply, drawing in the smoke and holding it for a prolonged moment until it stings, but he can’t quite blame the tightness in his chest on it. When he releases it in a plume around them, he holds the stick out to the man beside him. He tries not to think about the warmth of the gloved hand brushing his own as Trouble takes it.

It’s for the best, Vic reminds himself. The last thing that Trouble needs is him making things complicated and messy when what they have right now is more than enough. It has to be, he thinks, but despite telling himself that, he eases his head back onto the other man’s shoulder again, letting out a silent, shaky breath as Trouble leans on him in turn.

[lavampira]

mcs for @shepherds-of-haven ✧ vic, dalia, tristian

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