The Sorcerous Standout

☀️-- It had been a while since he'd last felt like this. Or maybe, actually, not that long at all. Maybe he just buried it.

He didn't belong here. Not natively. Not in the way that most everything else around him did. As much as he tried, he always had to hold something back or push something forward. Always had to keep some type of wall between himself and others. So few who knew the truth in the grand schemes of things. Few who he could be completely open with. He wasn't human. He wasn't even a metahuman.

He had been raised among them, he loved all of them.

But at the same time... he wasn't Kyptonian either. Not in a way that felt like it mattered. His powers marked him as such, but he hardly knew anything about Krypton itself. He longed for Krypton, wished to know what it was like and felt a sadness for its destruction, but in the end... he couldn't quite relate to Kara either.

Even if he could be more completely himself with the League, he still felt odd.

His words were interrupted when he bumped into someone on the street, hands failing to catch his phone. "Oh, goddess, I am so sorry--" Zephyr remarked as he started to compose himself. "I should've been more aware." As the magician stood after grabbing the discarded device, dark eyes finally appraised the person in front of him.

There was something about that expression. It wasn't his business and he probably shouldn't push.

He lifted a hand to cup his lover's cheek, thumb tracing over the cheekbone in a soothing motion. A long list of questions formed in his mind, but he bit his tongue as he sorted out his priorities for the moment.

"Let's get you cleaned up."

In one swift motion, he scooped up the witch in his arms and effortlessly carried him to the bathroom.

Zephyr leaned against Vergil, finally letting out an exhale. It was a blur as Vergil prepared a bath until he slowly sunk into the water, and his eyes returned to their normal dark hues. He'd done something incredibly dangerous, and there was no promise that he would've survived.

He did survive. He'd done something that he could've sworn he couldn't, depending on when one had asked him.

The witch's eyes moved back to the bladed fans on the counter of the sink. Tailwind had broken in that battle. A staff that had been with him for what felt like a lifetime, upgraded and upgraded some more. There was no time to mourn in the heat of battle, but now?

There was more than enough time for anything now.

"When we talked about...about us potentially sharing the fate as others in our kind of life, it made me worry that I couldn't stand next to you. That, when the time came, I'd fall as easily as I would've when I started on this path."

His eyes fell back on Vergil once more.

"Now I know I won't. I feel it, Vergil. Every day, the chaos of my magic becomes more and more orderly. I'm able to do things I was never able to before. Now..." He dunked his head under the water to clear his hair and head of whatever detritus that had lingered before coming back up.

"I guess I'm still not used to this sense of peace," he replied softly. "I'm so used to moving with the wind, never staying in one place. I cannot seem to relax when it's quiet. The last time I ever felt as peace was..."

His mind drifted back once more to his childhood, memories of him and Dante rough housing in the backyard until their mother came to call them in for dinner. Images of his father had become blurred over time - it had been so long that Vergil was starting to forget what he looked like.

The melancholy seemed to linger in the air between them before Zephyr met Vergil's gaze once more. "But that doesn't mean we can let that fear control us. The future is terrifying and unknown...but never immutable. I think anyone could look us and say we defy whatever Fate had in store for us. You came back from all-consuming darkness and have your brother, your son, a family."

Zephyr took Vergil's hands into his own, brown eyes filled with determination.

"I have no doubt that you will prove yourself a worthy opponent," he mused, meeting the other's gaze again. "Soon, every demon will know to be wary of the one who walks beside a son of Sparda."

His expression softened, a reminder of his father's legacy that forever hung over him like a shadow, a legacy that he had tried so hard to chase but could never quite catch. Even after learning all he could, even after obtaining all of the power he could ever hope to achieve, he somehow fell short. A familiar rage boiled within him, but with a deep breath, he pushed it down until it subsided. He gave Zephyr's hand a gentle squeeze.

Zephyr sat up then, searching Vergil's eyes for a moment before speaking once more.

"What's really going through your head, Vergil? It's a little late for second thoughts, isn't it?" He reminded, glancing down at the engagement ring on his finger. "For better or worse or absolutely hellish, I'm in this for the long haul."

He placed his free hand on the other's cheek, thumb lightly brushing over Vergil's cheekbone.

Depending on the person, it could be seen as terrifying or exhilarating.

"The Fool and the Ace of Swords." She lifted her gaze, brown eyes fixed on Zephyr. "Obviously it's quite the journey that lies ahead of you." Returning her gaze to the cards, she moved them into position, side by side, horizontal beside the vertical Tower.

"Together these suggest a bold beginning, a journey of transformation where the destination isn't completely clear yet. But it will bring clarity," she added, tapping the ace of swords before glancing at The Fool. "Though you will have to take chances, be careful of moving too swiftly, taking initiative without looking first. Communication," she concluded, enunciating every syllable for emphasis. "is going to be key in each step of your journey."

Steady now. One last card.

The flicker of blue was quicker, brighter than it had been this entire reading. Zephyr reached for it, a thankful grin coming to his lips as he placed the card in front of Lilia. There was a sense of serenity in knowing the path ahead, in knowing that something new had to come forth.

Maybe it would lead to another move. San Francisco was on his mind a lot these days. He could be near his parents again, maybe look into some old friends. Who knew?

“Okay, card. Fuck me up, I guess.” Zephyr remarked before finally laughing, whatever tension in his frame dissolving in this moment between two witches. The sound carried on for almost half a minute, with the younger witch waving his hand in front of his face in apology.

Nodding in acceptance of the selection, Lilia reached over and flipped the card over.

"No surprises here..." she commented drily as she revealed The Tower.

He just hated seeing that damn card.

Focus. Two more cards.

As he exhaled and focused his eyes on the rest of the cards, that same flicker of blue appeared on the left most deck and then the center. He followed it wholeheartedly, drawing the cards in that order and setting them gently down next to The Tower.

While Zephyr seemed less than enthused, Blazer was locked in. Ever since she read in his file what Zephyr's former profession had been, Blazer had wondered when she'd get to see a trick or if she'd could politely ask.

As such, gloved fingertips reached over and picked a card out of the ones spread out, Queen of Hearts, naturally.

As the card was returned, Zephyr started to shuffle. The cards arched in a masterful manner, landing exactly where they needed to be. There was a magic in prestidigitation, even with the lack of actual power.

Perhaps the magic was in how Blazer's eyes lit up.