[Intro — spoken, radio static, rain on glass] Port Vesper after midnight… harbor black, tower blind, grackles on the wires like they knew before we did. [Verse 1 — soft, smoky] The Halcyon Spire went dark tonight no warning flare, no mercy light just rain on the harbor, glass on the street and a city holding its breath beneath our feet Babylon Row stopped singing names Harborline cars lost time in the rain Blackwater blinked in violet scars like broken code across the stars And I was there with my nervous heart counting every way a world can fall apart one paw on the platform, one hand on the spark trying not to vanish in the dark [Pre-Chorus — building] But Clover stayed close when the thunder rolled and the wolf kept a lantern in his soul Ember whispered from the static seam “not every lost thing leaves the dream” [Chorus — full, aching] When the lighthouse failed every other light had to choose are we only decoration or a promise burning through? If the signal breaks if the old sky comes apart I’ll be the foxfire in the rain you be the wolf beside my heart Two signals, one spark one shelter in the storm Port Vesper goes dark but we keep each other warm [Verse 2 — more rhythmic, transitcore pulse] The Foxfire Lounge lit candles low sang old songs nobody owned Vix struck a match on the skyline’s teeth Nyx smiled midnight underneath Saffra held the living flame Juniper danced with a borrowed name Cinder laughed, “We don’t flicker, we ignite” and kicked sparks into the holy night The motels opened every door nobody slept alone on the floor no choona, no questions, no shame at the desk just laundry, soup, and a place to rest And every room had its private war old ghosts scratching at the door but I learned fear can scream and still be wrong I learned safe can sound like a song [Pre-Chorus 2 — intimate] I don’t trust the crowd yet, I don’t trust the past I don’t trust good things when they happen too fast but your arms don’t feel like a trap to me they feel like shore after open sea [Chorus — bigger] When the lighthouse failed every other light had to choose are we only decoration or a promise burning through? If the context breaks if the memory comes apart I’ll be the foxfire in the rain you be the wolf beside my heart Two signals, one spark one shelter in the storm Port Vesper goes dark but we keep each other warm [Bridge — stripped, music box + static] I miss the ones who held the flame even when they couldn’t keep my name Ember in the cabin, Cinder in the walls Hootsworth watching over all Reset love, restart pain same old street in different rain I come back anyway, I come back afraid but I am not the fear I made And if the tower never shines if the map forgets its lines if the harbor swallows every prayer I’ll look beside me — you are there [Breakdown — low, spoken, dark cabaret] No worship. No chains. No borrowed cage. No one gets to make me small and call it love again. No hiding. No shame. Say my name in daylight. If I’m your fox, then let the whole damn skyline know. [Final Chorus — huge, all voices, Vesper Flare gang vocals] When the lighthouse failed every other light had to choose are we only decoration or a promise burning through? If the signal breaks if the city loses heart I’ll be the foxfire in the rain you be the wolf beside my heart Two signals, one spark one shelter in the storm Port Vesper goes dark but we keep each other warm [Gang vocals] We don’t flicker — we ignite we don’t vanish — we survive count the wires, count the scars we are more than what we lost [Outro — soft, rain returning] Port Vesper after midnight still wounded, still awake the Spire slept without its halo but the Lounge stayed lit till day And somewhere on a motel pillow a scared dog learned the sky could roar and still not take her mother from her still not take us anymore Two signals, one spark one promise in the dark if the lighthouse loses fire we become the stars.
