( for: kaz. )

[wraithes]

[ inej felt exhausted, but pleasantly warm, wrapped in what felt like the softest blankets and a warm wool coat draped over her body. the collar was tucked right against her face, and when she inhaled, it smelled familiar.

darkness, peppermint. a faint hint of licorice. salt, from the waters of the canals. kaz.

she had been too cruel to him. selfish, to herself. some part of her refused to feel bad about that, but when kaz brekker had looked at her, on that island, she knew why. she was what he did not want to lose. she was the thing to be protected. not wylan, jesper. nina, matthias. her. and that thought stirred something within her, a fierce protectiveness.

she needed to get back to kaz . . . but had kaz already found her?

that thought caused her to blink, slowly. her body ached. what had happened? had she escaped van eckt? . . . van eckt. that name caused her to stir, to force her eyes awake, but her body refused to move. trapped, in this perfect nest of warmth. wrapped up in whatever kaz . . .

wait, why did she have kaz brekker's coat? --

her eyes scanned the room, vision slightly blurred. it was a strange room, not hers, not kaz's. not particularly nice, so not the white rose . . . were they even in kirsch? and why did she have kaz's coat? was it kaz's coat?

stiff arms began to move, as she willed it. to pull the coat further down her body, to dig through the pockets, to where she knew he kept his secrets. but the coat was empty, save for a few pieces of loose paper and some change. predictable, inej thought in aggravation. of course the bastard of the fucking barrell would empty his coat before draping it over her for warmth.

somehow, she no longer regretted being blunt with him before her capture. but as emotionally inept as kaz brekker was, he had somehow managed to save her. again. ]

Kaz?

[ she tried to call out, but her voice was a whisper, and she forced herself to sit up just a bit, to get a better look around the room. where was he? ]

Comments

casually comes up with an au-ish future???

[ketterdamned]

[ kaz brekker hasn't slept. not since returning to ketterdam, not since coming back to kirsch. no matter the familiarity to the city, to the unforgiving nature of his country, he hadn't found the peace or the quiet. hadn't quite found the state of not-safety that he usually required to close his eyes and set down his guard.

( and that was wholly because of what he saw when he closed his eyes - inej, falling. inej's limp body, carried away. )

he had been presented with another impossible task, another impossible quest, but this time it was different. this time, there was more than money on the line. kaz brekker had invented a new trick, kaz brekker had done the impossible (again). dirtyhands did what he had to do, and if it had pulled apart half of ketterdam, well. no one truly from ketterdam would miss that half too too much. the details of the process were complicated, moments and favors and fears all falling into place in the exact right way, at the exact right time. it worked, van eckt was dead, and inej.

inej was safe.

they were in a safehouse, outside of ketterdam but not so far that kaz couldn't keep an ear to the ground. truthfully, he shouldn't have left the city, but he wasn't about to let any more harm come to inej, and by ensuring that, they needed to get out. to leave. to disappear, before anyone else got any ideas. it was small, a room at the top of a halfway decent inn, right along the coact but much further south, much much further. getting there had been difficult, but mattias had been just as eager to get nina somewhere safe for her to continue to fight off her withdrawl. they were on the first floor, tucked into a room that had been meant for the four of them, but kaz hadn't wanted inej near anyone, that possessive, angry, dark part of him just wanting her to be safe, and for kaz, safe usually meant alone.

( alone, and with his wraith. the wraith. inej. )

now, she was sleeping - set up in the corner of this attic room, on a small bed that was still larger than her lithe frame, blankets tucked around her and under kaz's coat. he, on the other hand, had been near the door, sitting on the first step of a set that led down to the only entrance to the room, elbows on his knees and fingers darting against each other. his mind wouldn't slow, couldn't slow, but all that was left to do now was wait.

the sound of her voice had almost made him jump, barely above a whisper but as loud as church bells. kaz turned, his cane clattering against the top step as he knocked it from where it had been resting on his knees, his eyes wide. ]

Don't move. [ he says, moving himself into a standing position and making his way over to her. his leg ached, a kind of pain he hadn't felt in years, but he limped over in spite of it. ] I haven't found a grisha, yet, I haven't had you looked at. You could- [ he pressed his lips together, realizing he was babbling a bit too late to stop it, coming to a pause a few feet from her - awkward, and tense, but so incredibly relieved he didn't quite know what to do.

there is an uncomfortable silence that follows, while kaz struggled to find the words - to find any words. ]