His fingers played along Vesper, half to remind him the other boy was still there and half to cling for the support he needed not to stumble over and fall again ... and again. His staff trailed weakly through the dirt, turning weeds and rocks to the side displaced along his path, while his other hand gripped over the boy's shoulder. He took it further as a rush of heat hit his head to a dizzying degree, sucking in a breath with a little whine and scrunch of his eyes, just to dip his fingers under Vesper's collared shirt and take refuge in the chill of his skin beneath it. "Uwaaa ... your guns're cold, Ves. Bweehh... hehehe ... ueehee. Issum - uhm - cold steel. Like'a ... like'a katana! Snrk. Ffffhheeee. Ahe... hahaha." His fingers curled in, manicured nails rolling without pressure down the back of Ves's neck and earning a pleased hum from Briar.Â
He glanced over: bright, watery purple sparking with a certain instinct - one for conspiracy to commit crime, at Vesper's behest. "Well, o'course! I-I mean, you got us into all this trouble, you ... you fiendish ... vabagabond, but uhm --" His smile broke his puzzled expression as he fought his words for greater graces, laughing bellsong against the side of Vesper's face. He bumped his cheek with his head, grinning. "I'll always fight with ya', I will. No one's taken my best friend forever away, no sirree! Even if'n he's a little ... rascal!"
"You're so funny, Ves," and he exhaled soft, slow, his laughter dimming to a pleasant tone and his words slurring in the comforting buzz of the night. Hic! It started him laughing again, pulling at the other boy with his staff banging awkwardly around their legs and ankles only to notch his head atop Vesper's shoulder and sigh out loud. "Mm .. mm-!"
They went for a final fall and the optics were not good for them getting up any time soon. His mage's staff forgotten in a roll a few feet away from weak fingers, his body lain haphazardly atop his fellow friend, and his breath caught by a daze rivaled only in the light in Vesper's eyes as he traced the curtain of night above. Briar let himself give in - slope down, cuddling in at Vesper's side with a need for his cold / his warmth, his salvation in a world so big and so far away he realized he had no reason to chase after it. Not when he was already held so securely, fastened with comfort and a solace entwined. He rubbed his head sheepishly into Vesper's arm, mumbling with a tired blink up where the other was pointing. He drunk it in with every breath, tinged with smell of sweets, and his wobbling line of a mouth parted for a twinkle of amazement. "They're really goin' .. make a wish, Ves. Mm?"
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