[ Shouldn't she do that? No. She wants to. She wants him to be able to picture her perfectly, even though she suspects that he'd be able to regardless of how quiet she is. Kaz has always seen her, and the distance between them would be no different, surely. ]
I wanted you to be able to picture it.
[ "It" being her. For all her bravery, Inej can't quite bring herself to say that. It's presumptuous, and perhaps he doesn't want to picture what she's doing at all.
But she opts for what she feels is a compromise. ]
I could tell what you and Jesper would doing. I wanted to be able to share what I was doing, too.
[She wants him to see her. It’s always been an interesting juxtaposition to Kaz about her. How she so readily used moving in the shadows yet feared becoming a ghost within them. It’s nice now to have a way to ensure she’s still present with him, not lost or left wondering.]
I can picture it. [His voice as usual is rough, it has been ever since surviving the firepox. Whether it damaged his vocal chords or it’s simply how he was reborn, there’s always a gravel note when he speaks. His words though are like wind against the rock of deliverance.] I want to picture it.
[He’s tried to many nights, imagine what she’s going through and doing now.]
Though whether you’ve gotten a pirate hat yet has yet to be determined.
No, not yet. I'm worried that I'll pick the wrong one and I'll never hear the end of it from Jesper.
[ He's incredibly passionate about his hats. What if she picks the wrong one that clashes with his? Or he deems what she's chosen to be lesser than deserving for pirate? Inej's considered asking Jesper to choose her hat for her so she can carry something of him with her on the True Sea. ]
I spend most of my nights alone when I'm not on the deck with Specht or the crew.
[ He wants to picture it, and so she wants him to. ]
Sometimes I can't sleep, so I risk writing letters… to you. [ She's quick to add: ] And Jesper and Wylan and Nina. It's easier when the water's still.
[ She lowers her voice, feeling something in her chest deflate. ] But there are nights where I find it's hard to do that.
[She's better about sharing than he is. Kaz has trouble talking about himself, too many years spent barely saying a word. He prefers hearing about her. He flexes his foot a little, trying to stretch out the stiffness in his leg. He’s said that he can multitask, and he can, but he sets aside his pen when listening to her talk right now. It isn’t just them bantering and joking, and he gives her his pointed focus.]
It’s a risk we’re willing to take. [The letter writing, to stay in touch with her.]
Nights where you find it hard because…? [He could guess, but something tells him that this might be more a matter of him giving her a chance to open up if she wants, rather than filling in the blanks for her.]
[ She could've lied and made up a joke. There are some nights that are harder because of how moody of a sleeper the True Sea is. It's impossible to write when she's angry. And while that's true, that some of her letters started to unnaturally slant and had to be paused for another time, that's not what she had meant at all.
Perhaps it's easier to admit how she feels knowing he'll never have any proof of it. Jesper and Wylan joke about transcribing their audio conversations, but she's grateful they haven't been able to figure that one out yet. Writing it down gives him something tangible to hold onto. Writing it down confronts her. ]
All of you, obviously.
[ Not just him, although that's what she meant. ]
Sometimes it's hard to write about what's happened because I miss you. I'm still so used to you all being by my side that sitting down to write it down to you is strange.
[ She doesn't regret leaving, although she sometimes wishes they all could've joined her. She knows why they couldn't. This is her path to take, not theirs. ]
[Hearing the words make his chest constrict. Letting her go had been both one of the easiest and most difficult things he’s done in his life. Easy, because he always wants her to find her freedom and purpose above all else. Difficult because it meant not seeing her every day. It’s like losing one of his limbs, an invisible one he’s relied upon for years. If he feels that loss so keenly, he can imagine it’s harder for her to not have any of the Crows around regularly.]
It is strange. I don’t really know where to start sometimes, either. [So much of what goes on he can’t commit to writing anyway, it’s too dangerous. It’s risky enough to write, he’s not going to detail intimate crimes. Even talking over this device, it’s not the same though he feels safer in sharing the less lawful elements.]
It’s something, though. To know you’re doing okay. Or if you're ever not. You can let me know that, too.
[He's so used to just reading her body, and now he can read her voice, to know if her day went well or not, but it's still not the same.] Even if it's just that you didn't catch any fish. Or worse.
[ Her breath catches; he's meeting her tit for tat in confessing. She'd always imagined Kaz would insist he's walking fine without her. Nothing's changed. There's no time to account for the ways Ketterdam has changed with her gone.
She appreciates it, even though she won't say as much. Pointing out Kaz's moments of honesty is asking for him to clam right up again. ]
I'm horrible at catching fish. [ She chuckles. ] Like really, really horrible. Specht says I want to save them, too, even though they'd be much better as food. I think you would've said something like that.
[ That's one of the things she's wanted to tell him. Mundane things like that. There'd been a time in Ketterdam when it'd been easy for them to talk about the mundane like it was business. It was easier to hide behind the fact that business brought them together. They still have that in common, but it's different now. Their missions intersect, but instead of going straight ahead together, he goes left while she goes right.
She audibly inhales and pauses. ]
It's easier to catch fish than slavers. Sometimes we find out about more than one, and I feel so guilty having to pick which one we go after while the rest get further away.
[ Despite being one for the shadows and having spent hours waiting for just one slip of pivotal information, she struggles now. How did he do it? Hadn't he bided his time since he was a little boy? How did he not worry about losing his one chance? ]
I want to make them all pay now. I wish I could make the sea swallow every slaver ship whole.
[ And it's clear by her voice that she's incredibly impatient. But he's right, as always. Brick by brick. One ship at a time. Inej will never give up; she wishes that someone had been intent on rescuing her from her ship so long ago. ]
[The rage never goes away. Or maybe that's just him? Kaz has Pekka behind bars now, but it still doesn't feel like enough. It doesn't feel finished. Perhaps it's because he knows Pekka might still be a threat down the road, and that it's his pride and wanting the man to suffer that he's willing to take that risk. Perhaps it's because Kaz simply doesn't know who he might be to let some of that anger go. He's simply displaced his sentiments onto other targets, raging at a larger society now that put Pekka into a position to take advantage of children to begin with.
Kaz embraces the rage, he nurtures the grudges. It's the quiet he struggles against. Inej is a hero wanting to ensure others didn't suffer as she did, she wants to protect innocents and dismantle a system that lets criminals win.
Kaz Brekker just wants a fight. Or at least, that's how he sees himself. A thief, a killer. A boy turned man who can't stay down out of spite.]
I know.
And you will. Just remember that they'll all make more than one mistake. It's human nature. Everyone has a tell they can't hide unless they're dead. You'll expose them all, if you don't get sloppy and misread what their weakness is.
It's not always going to feel like enough, but that's not the point, is it?
[ She sighs. He has a point, as always. She isn't pursuing this path to fill a hole inside of herself, although Inej knows it's helping prompt the healing of a very old wound that had opened up when she woke on that slaver ship. She wants to prevent broken families and children. She wants to see pleasure houses topple. Perhaps she and Kaz aren't all that different. ]
No, it's not.
[ This time, her voice is gentle. The ocean follows suit, softly lapping against the hull of the warship. ]
It doesn't feel like enough. I suppose that's really the point. The moment it feels like it's enough, I've given up on everyone else who needs me.
[ And Inej doesn't want that. She'll free slaves and take down slavers even in death. If she's learned anything from Kaz, it's that having a legend grow greater and bigger than her is oftentimes a great weapon. ]
It feels… good. Doing this. I don't enjoy knowing there are so many slave ships, but I feel like I'm doing something good.
You are doing something good. And I'm glad if it's bringing you any solace.
[It is, after all, what he cares about most for her. To have a life on her terms, to heal where she can, and to never let anything hold back the legend he's certain she'll become.
The one she's always been to him already.]
I've no doubt you'll give them hell on the high waters. I've no doubt you'll make them wish for hell by the time you're done with them.
More importantly, I know you'll bring hope to those who need it. To the people who the saints never reach.
[ Although Inej always wishes to defend her Saints, she understands what Kaz means. The Saints hadn't looked after her when she needed them most, but she believes they acted belatedly. It'd been serendipity that she hadn't been with a client the moment he had entered the Menagerie. Inej doesn't like to think of what her life would be like if she hadn't taken to the shadows and risked everything by speaking to him. ]
You do that, too, you know.
And I know you won't see it that way. You're Kaz Brekker, Dirtyhands who's nothing but as sharp as my blades. But… you did that for me when the Saints weren't watching over me.
[ Or perhaps they put him in her path. Inej likes to think that, but it's a little too romantic for what she knows of his tastes. ]
[It’s true that Kaz doesn’t like the idea of saints. He doesn’t like the idea that someone else is in control of his life, he doesn’t like the idea that what happened to him is at the whims of something he can’t beat to death with his cane. Kaz doesn’t want to give someone else credit for pulling himself back to his feet, and he sure as hell doesn’t want to seek revenge on a fairytale he doesn’t believe exists.
He knows she sees it differently. He knows she sees strength in higher powers, finds hope in their light, in beings like Alina and Neyar. It wouldn’t be Inej without her faith, and while he doesn’t trust those she places her faith in sometimes, he always has faith in her.
She’s right. He doesn’t see himself as any savior, either. He likes to think they simply fought their way together to this point. That she was brave enough to approach him, and that he was smart enough to notice her.]
I’ve walked over more bodies than I’ve pulled out of the shadows, Inej. I’m not a good person. You’re more than the shadows, though. Seems like you’re getting the chance to prove that.
We can just keep saying it’s easier to hook a slaver than a fish. Say something enough times to enough people and it becomes the truth.
[ Just like the legend of him not having hands that look like anyone else's has spread. Say it enough times and have the persona to back it up, and people will believe the impossible. Inej is glad she knows better now. That legend is a disservice to his hands. They're gentle despite the calluses. They're hands that belong to a boy who deserves better. ]
You might not be a good person in your eyes, but you are in mine. You're not going to win this fight, Kaz.
[ There's no point in trying, even though she knows he'll do so until the stubborn, bitter end. He's a good person. He's enabled her to fulfil a wish of her own. He's encouraged her to unfurl her wings and see that they're no longer as battered and beaten as they once were in the Menagerie. He's made her laugh and smile and pissed her off. That's all signs of a good person.
It's clear in her voice that she's smiling. ] I'm Captain Inej Ghafa of The Wraith and I never lose a fight aboard my ship.
[ And he's technically on her ship, what with her sharing the sound of the waves and the way the wooden planks of the floor groan beneath her purposefully loud feet. She carries him wherever she goes. He's subject to her rules in the world where she reigns. ]
You’re not going to be aboard your ship when you come visit… us. [He nearly said ‘me.’] Don’t think I can’t pick up an argument decades later, let alone weeks or days. I’ve never forgotten a single one I’ve had since I was about three. I’m not above storing up all our discourse for when you’re in Ketterdam.
[She’s coming home. That reminder makes him smile, as much as hearing the smile in her own voice does.]
Don’t try and say it’s cheating, either. As we know, cheating’s just creative winning, anyway.
Do I need to make housing arrangements for your crew? [He just figures she’ll stay with the Crows, but the rest?] I can ensure rooms at a reputable inn are available once you have a time frame, unless they prefer to remain on your ship. [He imagines she’ll want to keep a rotating skeletal crew aboard at least.]
[ It's cheating! But she'll pick that argument back up much later when he insists on being absolutely infuriatingly stubborn about it. He's a good person. She doesn't care to hear anything to the contrary.
Inej laughs. She can't help it. Kaz is always looking to be a pain in the ass in the best of ways. ]
I think most of them will sleep on the ship, but… [ She doesn't wish to put Kaz out, even though she knows he'd never feel or think that way. She likes that she can come home and he'll welcome her with open arms—in his own way, of course. ]
I want them to experience some of Ketterdam. We picked up a few people from Ravka who have never been to Ketterdam before. Specht told them about the sweet shops.
[ She won't be surprised if Kaz lets that slip to both Wylan and Jesper. Jesper's the kind who'd plan an itinerary on how to best enjoy the sweets, only for Wylan to scoop it out from underneath him as the tour guide. ]
If it's no trouble… I can let you know when we're close to Ketterdam.
[The very first thing that Kaz and Jordie did when arriving in Ketterdam was spend too much of their small savings gorging themselves on sweets. On all the rich food varieties that Ketterdam has to offer. The island nation is the financial hub of the globe, and as such, trade and commerce bring all kinds. Including cuisines.
There’s something so innocent about these refuges from Ravka wanting to eat the sweets first. It flickers the embers of a memory in Kaz’s blackened coal heart. Perhaps what follows after won’t be a nightmare for them, now that he’s capable of protecting those who seek harbor in his city. He actually does have the means to set them up with new lives. Perhaps he’s stretching his resources thin, taking some risks, but the reward is worth it. Besides, it isn’t like he doesn’t have a steady stream of jobs.]
It would be more trouble if you didn’t let me know. I’d be put out if I heard from one of my runners about you approaching rather than from your mouth. [Kaz likes to know, he likes to plan. He does not like surprises.] I’ll make sure that your new arrivals have a fitting Ketterdam experience. [Which means that yes, he’ll pass along the welcome wagon to those who enjoy hospitality.]
I’m not always in Ketterdam these days anyway, so yes, please give me notice when you can.
[He’d be even more miffed if he missed a visit by her.]
[ Part of the reason why she wants to return to Kerch is because of him. She wants to see Jesper and Wylan and Anika and see the way the Crow Club has changed while still remaining the same. She wants to return home and have it feel like home. That can't happen if he's not there.
His words prompt butterflies to flutter around in her belly. The idea of him wanting to know as a matter of priority leaves her feeling deliciously warm. ]
But where are you if not Ketterdam?
[ It's strange to picture Kaz anywhere but the city that he claims is his. ]
It varies, depending upon the job. Apparently, the skills and services provided by the Crows are deemed worthy of note when they're useful. [His tone is a little scathing and bitter, but taking on such jobs means he can bring back more resources to protect his city. He just finds it funny that the line he's claimed is blurred since he was nine is finally being noted by others. So very funny how saints and kings and everything in between will care about street rats, when they can ferry and fetch to do what needs to be done.
Though not all who hire him are created equal. He only plots the demise of most of them once he's got his pockets lined with their gold.]
[ Even if he could use her skills, she knows he'd never ask her to return to Ketterdam to help him with a job while she's out at sea. Kaz isn't the best at asking. He can give and he can take from those he deems worth taking from, but he'll never take her from the sea.
She'll have to ensure Jesper keeps her up to date then. ]
I believe you. [He can't say he's always believed that. Inej calculated once that he could do without her. That she could weave in another priority, and still get his job done. It meant she wasn't by his side.
It was complicated. He knows that if his life was on the line, she'd come without question. She trusts that he's better than that happening most of the time. Isn't that true of him with her? He's sent her on a ship with only his faith in her. He owes it to her, to reassure her that he's holding the fort while she settles her own scores.]
I've got it handled. [And he does, for the most part.] If I didn't, I'd figure it out.
[ She doesn't push. Pushing Kaz is like trying to shoulder a large boulder up a hill. It's next to impossible and she's bound to hurt herself more than she encourages him to budge. But for Inej, it's important that he at least knows. She'd come back for him, for any of them. ]
I know.
[ Not that he needs her to reaffirm what he already knows, but she knows he's more than capable. It's why she knew she could leave. They'd all look after each other in her absence. ]
If I do come back while you're out… I'll make sure to wait so I can at least see you.
[ She doesn't want him rushing back for her, not that she thinks he would. His business is the most important asset he has, but… She feels the need to tell him, anyway. ]
[He nearly says she doesn't have to wait for him, but he doesn't, because he doesn't want it to be misunderstood that he wouldn't want to see her. He does, he wants her at his side once more literally as well as figuratively.]
At least we have an easier means of coordinating now.
[There's a beat before he admits.]
I haven't wanted to leave this call for even a moment because if I came back and you were gone... [If the call had abruptly ended in his absence and he couldn't get ahold of her, he'd have to steal a ship and make sure she was fine.
He gets her desire to make sure the people she cares about are fine, to be there for them, as much as it's habit to brush the concerns aside.]
You'd still be able to reach me. Maybe not immediately, but I'd make sure we talk sooner rather than later.
[ She says it gently. It's a fear that she has, too, but she knows without a doubt that he's on land, kept alive by the likes of Jesper and Wylan. She supposes that the land is considered sturdier than the sea. She has Specht and her crew, and although Specht is very much a good, solid part of the Dregs, he's not a Crow. ]
If anything happened, Ketterdam would be the only place we go, no matter how far away we are. The crew knows that.
[ It's not something she's ever shared. Ketterdam is home, and if something happened out in the water, she wants to return home to recuperate. There is no other place safer to dock than berth twenty-two. Kaz made sure of that. ]
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 11:09 am (UTC)Yes.
[ Shouldn't she do that? No. She wants to. She wants him to be able to picture her perfectly, even though she suspects that he'd be able to regardless of how quiet she is. Kaz has always seen her, and the distance between them would be no different, surely. ]
I wanted you to be able to picture it.
[ "It" being her. For all her bravery, Inej can't quite bring herself to say that. It's presumptuous, and perhaps he doesn't want to picture what she's doing at all.
But she opts for what she feels is a compromise. ]
I could tell what you and Jesper would doing. I wanted to be able to share what I was doing, too.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 11:18 am (UTC)I can picture it. [His voice as usual is rough, it has been ever since surviving the firepox. Whether it damaged his vocal chords or it’s simply how he was reborn, there’s always a gravel note when he speaks. His words though are like wind against the rock of deliverance.] I want to picture it.
[He’s tried to many nights, imagine what she’s going through and doing now.]
Though whether you’ve gotten a pirate hat yet has yet to be determined.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 11:38 am (UTC)No, not yet. I'm worried that I'll pick the wrong one and I'll never hear the end of it from Jesper.
[ He's incredibly passionate about his hats. What if she picks the wrong one that clashes with his? Or he deems what she's chosen to be lesser than deserving for pirate? Inej's considered asking Jesper to choose her hat for her so she can carry something of him with her on the True Sea. ]
I spend most of my nights alone when I'm not on the deck with Specht or the crew.
[ He wants to picture it, and so she wants him to. ]
Sometimes I can't sleep, so I risk writing letters… to you. [ She's quick to add: ] And Jesper and Wylan and Nina. It's easier when the water's still.
[ She lowers her voice, feeling something in her chest deflate. ] But there are nights where I find it's hard to do that.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 11:47 am (UTC)It’s a risk we’re willing to take. [The letter writing, to stay in touch with her.]
Nights where you find it hard because…? [He could guess, but something tells him that this might be more a matter of him giving her a chance to open up if she wants, rather than filling in the blanks for her.]
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 12:04 pm (UTC)[ She could've lied and made up a joke. There are some nights that are harder because of how moody of a sleeper the True Sea is. It's impossible to write when she's angry. And while that's true, that some of her letters started to unnaturally slant and had to be paused for another time, that's not what she had meant at all.
Perhaps it's easier to admit how she feels knowing he'll never have any proof of it. Jesper and Wylan joke about transcribing their audio conversations, but she's grateful they haven't been able to figure that one out yet. Writing it down gives him something tangible to hold onto. Writing it down confronts her. ]
All of you, obviously.
[ Not just him, although that's what she meant. ]
Sometimes it's hard to write about what's happened because I miss you. I'm still so used to you all being by my side that sitting down to write it down to you is strange.
[ She doesn't regret leaving, although she sometimes wishes they all could've joined her. She knows why they couldn't. This is her path to take, not theirs. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 12:17 pm (UTC)It is strange. I don’t really know where to start sometimes, either. [So much of what goes on he can’t commit to writing anyway, it’s too dangerous. It’s risky enough to write, he’s not going to detail intimate crimes. Even talking over this device, it’s not the same though he feels safer in sharing the less lawful elements.]
It’s something, though. To know you’re doing okay. Or if you're ever not. You can let me know that, too.
[He's so used to just reading her body, and now he can read her voice, to know if her day went well or not, but it's still not the same.] Even if it's just that you didn't catch any fish. Or worse.
If you just want to talk.
You can let me know.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 12:33 pm (UTC)She appreciates it, even though she won't say as much. Pointing out Kaz's moments of honesty is asking for him to clam right up again. ]
I'm horrible at catching fish. [ She chuckles. ] Like really, really horrible. Specht says I want to save them, too, even though they'd be much better as food. I think you would've said something like that.
[ That's one of the things she's wanted to tell him. Mundane things like that. There'd been a time in Ketterdam when it'd been easy for them to talk about the mundane like it was business. It was easier to hide behind the fact that business brought them together. They still have that in common, but it's different now. Their missions intersect, but instead of going straight ahead together, he goes left while she goes right.
She audibly inhales and pauses. ]
It's easier to catch fish than slavers. Sometimes we find out about more than one, and I feel so guilty having to pick which one we go after while the rest get further away.
[ If only she could control the sea. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 12:45 pm (UTC)[Kaz knows he did. He remembers everything. It’s both a boon and burden, depending on the time.]
Brick by brick, Wraith. It takes time to make them all pay. You’ve only lost when you stop looking entirely.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 12:55 pm (UTC)[ Despite being one for the shadows and having spent hours waiting for just one slip of pivotal information, she struggles now. How did he do it? Hadn't he bided his time since he was a little boy? How did he not worry about losing his one chance? ]
I want to make them all pay now. I wish I could make the sea swallow every slaver ship whole.
[ And it's clear by her voice that she's incredibly impatient. But he's right, as always. Brick by brick. One ship at a time. Inej will never give up; she wishes that someone had been intent on rescuing her from her ship so long ago. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 01:08 pm (UTC)Kaz embraces the rage, he nurtures the grudges. It's the quiet he struggles against. Inej is a hero wanting to ensure others didn't suffer as she did, she wants to protect innocents and dismantle a system that lets criminals win.
Kaz Brekker just wants a fight. Or at least, that's how he sees himself. A thief, a killer. A boy turned man who can't stay down out of spite.]
I know.
And you will. Just remember that they'll all make more than one mistake. It's human nature. Everyone has a tell they can't hide unless they're dead. You'll expose them all, if you don't get sloppy and misread what their weakness is.
It's not always going to feel like enough, but that's not the point, is it?
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 10:43 pm (UTC)No, it's not.
[ This time, her voice is gentle. The ocean follows suit, softly lapping against the hull of the warship. ]
It doesn't feel like enough. I suppose that's really the point. The moment it feels like it's enough, I've given up on everyone else who needs me.
[ And Inej doesn't want that. She'll free slaves and take down slavers even in death. If she's learned anything from Kaz, it's that having a legend grow greater and bigger than her is oftentimes a great weapon. ]
It feels… good. Doing this. I don't enjoy knowing there are so many slave ships, but I feel like I'm doing something good.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 10:55 pm (UTC)[It is, after all, what he cares about most for her. To have a life on her terms, to heal where she can, and to never let anything hold back the legend he's certain she'll become.
The one she's always been to him already.]
I've no doubt you'll give them hell on the high waters. I've no doubt you'll make them wish for hell by the time you're done with them.
More importantly, I know you'll bring hope to those who need it. To the people who the saints never reach.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 11:12 pm (UTC)You do that, too, you know.
And I know you won't see it that way. You're Kaz Brekker, Dirtyhands who's nothing but as sharp as my blades. But… you did that for me when the Saints weren't watching over me.
[ Or perhaps they put him in her path. Inej likes to think that, but it's a little too romantic for what she knows of his tastes. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-04-22 11:32 pm (UTC)He knows she sees it differently. He knows she sees strength in higher powers, finds hope in their light, in beings like Alina and Neyar. It wouldn’t be Inej without her faith, and while he doesn’t trust those she places her faith in sometimes, he always has faith in her.
She’s right. He doesn’t see himself as any savior, either. He likes to think they simply fought their way together to this point. That she was brave enough to approach him, and that he was smart enough to notice her.]
I’ve walked over more bodies than I’ve pulled out of the shadows, Inej. I’m not a good person. You’re more than the shadows, though. Seems like you’re getting the chance to prove that.
We can just keep saying it’s easier to hook a slaver than a fish. Say something enough times to enough people and it becomes the truth.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-23 12:02 am (UTC)You might not be a good person in your eyes, but you are in mine. You're not going to win this fight, Kaz.
[ There's no point in trying, even though she knows he'll do so until the stubborn, bitter end. He's a good person. He's enabled her to fulfil a wish of her own. He's encouraged her to unfurl her wings and see that they're no longer as battered and beaten as they once were in the Menagerie. He's made her laugh and smile and pissed her off. That's all signs of a good person.
It's clear in her voice that she's smiling. ] I'm Captain Inej Ghafa of The Wraith and I never lose a fight aboard my ship.
[ And he's technically on her ship, what with her sharing the sound of the waves and the way the wooden planks of the floor groan beneath her purposefully loud feet. She carries him wherever she goes. He's subject to her rules in the world where she reigns. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-04-23 12:18 am (UTC)[She’s coming home. That reminder makes him smile, as much as hearing the smile in her own voice does.]
Don’t try and say it’s cheating, either. As we know, cheating’s just creative winning, anyway.
Do I need to make housing arrangements for your crew? [He just figures she’ll stay with the Crows, but the rest?] I can ensure rooms at a reputable inn are available once you have a time frame, unless they prefer to remain on your ship. [He imagines she’ll want to keep a rotating skeletal crew aboard at least.]
no subject
Date: 2023-04-23 12:40 am (UTC)Inej laughs. She can't help it. Kaz is always looking to be a pain in the ass in the best of ways. ]
I think most of them will sleep on the ship, but… [ She doesn't wish to put Kaz out, even though she knows he'd never feel or think that way. She likes that she can come home and he'll welcome her with open arms—in his own way, of course. ]
I want them to experience some of Ketterdam. We picked up a few people from Ravka who have never been to Ketterdam before. Specht told them about the sweet shops.
[ She won't be surprised if Kaz lets that slip to both Wylan and Jesper. Jesper's the kind who'd plan an itinerary on how to best enjoy the sweets, only for Wylan to scoop it out from underneath him as the tour guide. ]
If it's no trouble… I can let you know when we're close to Ketterdam.
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Date: 2023-04-23 12:55 am (UTC)There’s something so innocent about these refuges from Ravka wanting to eat the sweets first. It flickers the embers of a memory in Kaz’s blackened coal heart. Perhaps what follows after won’t be a nightmare for them, now that he’s capable of protecting those who seek harbor in his city. He actually does have the means to set them up with new lives. Perhaps he’s stretching his resources thin, taking some risks, but the reward is worth it. Besides, it isn’t like he doesn’t have a steady stream of jobs.]
It would be more trouble if you didn’t let me know. I’d be put out if I heard from one of my runners about you approaching rather than from your mouth. [Kaz likes to know, he likes to plan. He does not like surprises.] I’ll make sure that your new arrivals have a fitting Ketterdam experience. [Which means that yes, he’ll pass along the welcome wagon to those who enjoy hospitality.]
I’m not always in Ketterdam these days anyway, so yes, please give me notice when you can.
[He’d be even more miffed if he missed a visit by her.]
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Date: 2023-04-23 01:04 am (UTC)[ Part of the reason why she wants to return to Kerch is because of him. She wants to see Jesper and Wylan and Anika and see the way the Crow Club has changed while still remaining the same. She wants to return home and have it feel like home. That can't happen if he's not there.
His words prompt butterflies to flutter around in her belly. The idea of him wanting to know as a matter of priority leaves her feeling deliciously warm. ]
But where are you if not Ketterdam?
[ It's strange to picture Kaz anywhere but the city that he claims is his. ]
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Date: 2023-04-23 01:14 am (UTC)Though not all who hire him are created equal. He only plots the demise of most of them once he's got his pockets lined with their gold.]
Don't worry. I never leave for long.
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Date: 2023-04-23 01:26 am (UTC)[ Even if he could use her skills, she knows he'd never ask her to return to Ketterdam to help him with a job while she's out at sea. Kaz isn't the best at asking. He can give and he can take from those he deems worth taking from, but he'll never take her from the sea.
She'll have to ensure Jesper keeps her up to date then. ]
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Date: 2023-04-23 01:56 am (UTC)It was complicated. He knows that if his life was on the line, she'd come without question. She trusts that he's better than that happening most of the time. Isn't that true of him with her? He's sent her on a ship with only his faith in her. He owes it to her, to reassure her that he's holding the fort while she settles her own scores.]
I've got it handled. [And he does, for the most part.] If I didn't, I'd figure it out.
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Date: 2023-04-23 02:30 am (UTC)I know.
[ Not that he needs her to reaffirm what he already knows, but she knows he's more than capable. It's why she knew she could leave. They'd all look after each other in her absence. ]
If I do come back while you're out… I'll make sure to wait so I can at least see you.
[ She doesn't want him rushing back for her, not that she thinks he would. His business is the most important asset he has, but… She feels the need to tell him, anyway. ]
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Date: 2023-04-23 07:58 am (UTC)At least we have an easier means of coordinating now.
[There's a beat before he admits.]
I haven't wanted to leave this call for even a moment because if I came back and you were gone... [If the call had abruptly ended in his absence and he couldn't get ahold of her, he'd have to steal a ship and make sure she was fine.
He gets her desire to make sure the people she cares about are fine, to be there for them, as much as it's habit to brush the concerns aside.]
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Date: 2023-04-23 09:43 am (UTC)[ She says it gently. It's a fear that she has, too, but she knows without a doubt that he's on land, kept alive by the likes of Jesper and Wylan. She supposes that the land is considered sturdier than the sea. She has Specht and her crew, and although Specht is very much a good, solid part of the Dregs, he's not a Crow. ]
If anything happened, Ketterdam would be the only place we go, no matter how far away we are. The crew knows that.
[ It's not something she's ever shared. Ketterdam is home, and if something happened out in the water, she wants to return home to recuperate. There is no other place safer to dock than berth twenty-two. Kaz made sure of that. ]
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