timewasting | OPEN POST 2020.

[ For Ketterdam, the weather isn't bad. It's actually approaching the vicinity of good, with no rain in sight and only a smattering of wispy clouds set against the darkened sky. Their path in the Barrel is lit by lamps, the light giving Inej a halo-ing effect when she passes underneath of them.

He really needs to stop staring.

Her silent reassurance works, in part because she knows him so well. And the other part because he's distracted by how good it feels to have her walking alongside him again. ]

Good thing you were so nearby. [ His stomach does an unpleasant turn, thinking about how bad it could've been if the ship had been further out to sea. That isn't what happened though, and he selfishly is glad he'll get to see her for so long. ]

What, can't get the gulls to drop them off?

No such luck.

[ with a laugh; the gulls would steal any waffles away from her even if they could. but Inej shakes her head slightly, moving on easily. ]

She’s a good ship. [ in reassurance, as they walk. the salt hangs in the air, beckoning them both closer as they near the harbor. ] She kept us safe until we got to shore.

[ but it was a good lesson in trusting the skies; Inej won’t run the risk again. ]

Other than that, I haven’t had any trouble. It’s been ... wonderful.

[ truly and blissfully wonderful. ]

[ Truthfully, the gulls were more likely to be dirty little thieves when food was involved. He's seen enough children have sweets stolen right from their fingers while walking along Ketterdam's rocky shoreline. It's an amusing image either way. ]

She had better. [ Kaz you can't threaten a ship??? There is the reassurance, though, that the Kerch generally know what they're doing when they build said ships, their merchants always demanding the best. In this case, it's worked out– Van Eck wouldn't have settled for anything less in his fleet. His insufferable personality is their fortune. Quite literally, in basically every aspect. ]

Inej– [ He starts, hand partway extended, as if he isn't sure of this decision. ] –I'm happy for you.

[ She deserves to hear it. ]

[ there’s only the barest hesitation before Inej catches his hand easily, squeezing his fingers exactly as she had before, offering him a proper grin. ]

I am too.

[ definitively, sure of herself, confident. inej walks with a certainty in her step that wasn’t there before, a brashness, with the knowledge that no matter what happens, her life is her own. And she can choose where she goes, and what she does, and what she wants. everything that happens tonight will be because she wants it to happen, and that is freeing indeed.

but she allows his fingers to slip from hers as they keep walking. he’s free to grab her hand again, but she doesn’t want to push her luck. not while they’re having a legitimately good time. ]

And I’m happy for you, too.

[ because she notices the ease in which he breathes now, without the demon of Pekka Rollins haunting his steps. ]

How have you been, since... [ well. all of that. ] I worried about you, while I was gone. About you being alone.

[ but judging from the halls, and the mentions of wylan and Jesper, maybe kaz hadn’t been so alone after all. ]

[ That first brush of skin is a bit of a shock, even if he knows it's coming. There's no flash of bodies in the water, nor do his knees feel weak. Instead, it's something like a comfort, her fingers warm against his.

This, this he can do. Maybe her newfound confidence is catching, because he does carefully reach for her hand again as they walk. ]

Fine, busy mostly. [ With Per Haskell gone, he had to do some recruiting to fill the gaps. And of course, there was following the entire aftermath of Van Eck's trial, which is still ongoing. Then all the hundreds of things the gang needs in a single day, coming up with new schemes and making sure they go off without too many problems. ]

Wylan and Jes have me over for dinner, sometimes. [ It's becoming something like a routine– at least twice a month either one of them will drag him out of his office. He's stopped protesting it, for the most part. ]

I don't mind being alone, you know that. [ Not strictly true, but he does like his solitude. ]

[ inej makes a mental note to pay wylan and jesper, both a visit and in some amount of money, for being willing to physically remove kaz brekker from his office at least twice a month. it was honorable work, but also dangerous, and they should be paid for their efforts.

inej takes his hand with ease, intertwining their fingers neatly as she continues to talk. it's hard not to smile, at the touch, because she knows it's difficult (on a good day), but it only reinforces that kaz is happy to see her, and that coming back to ketterdam was the right thing to do.

as if there were any other choice. ]

I know. [ and she does, in terms of the solitude. she does too, the bustle of the city and people sometimes being too much. being out of the shadows is a new sensation for her, and while she doesn't strictly hate it, it does feel a little . . . weird.

though she does have to keep an eye out, for van eck, if he somehow manages to get out of prison. she did tell him only once, will he see her again. and while inej isn't exactly the revenge sort, breaking his legs would be too kind, for what that man had done.

but she pushes the dark thoughts of out of her mind, instead continuing to speak warmly: ] But that does not mean being alone is good for you.

[ kaz gets up to no good, when he's alone. and while that's often a profitable business, he no longer has inej to pull him back from the ledge. she's pleasantly surprised that there isn't a stack of dead bodies by the slat, truth be told. such self control and growth from their beloved leader. ]

[ She gets it, which has always been relieving. Inej makes friends much easier than he thinks he ever will, but she understands the desire for silence. And for the occasional need to have some time by herself. Part of that, he thinks, is why she's been such an effective wraith, always making sure she didn't disturb the tenuous quiet spaces.

What he won't admit easily, though, is that he doesn't mind the visits over to Wylan's. The two of them chatter enough to make up for his stoicism. And there's something oddly calming about watching the two of them navigate around each other, how they've gone from an awkward start to knowing so many ins and outs. He's watched Jesper wake early to surprise Wylan, breakfast made exactly how he liked. And Wylan has managed to bully Jes into grisha lessons, curbed his more outrageous need to gamble.

Too many times, he walks away from them feeling wistful, gaze straying to the harbor as he passes. As if Inej will materialize out of the thin air. ]

So Anika likes to remind me near daily. She's almost as bossy as Nina. [ Almost. ]

[ inej's expression shifts slightly, at the mention of nina. not closed off, necessarily, but a bit more somber. she missed nina terribly, and when she saw her again, inej doubted she would ever let nina go. but she hadn't been able to sail up north, to see nina just yet, though she knew nina was okay. soldiering forth. defending her country.

the wraith may not be crawling the rooftops of ketterdam anymore, but old habits die hard, and inej kept an ear to the ground whenever possible, to make sure nina was alive. but when she left ketterdam, inej was sailing for nina.

slavers may not be there, but inej would lend her knives to whatever nina zenik needed. ]

Have you heard from her?

[ the question is quiet, almost resigned. because inej is fairly certain she knows the answer. ]

Nothing from her.

[ He can put together a pretty decent of picture of what she's likely up to, though. Because when Ravka called, she answered, and that country was always a half step away from unraveling. Sturmhond– or Nikolai, rather– hadn't been kidding when he said his back was against a wall.

Kaz could understand the sentiment. Living in the Barrel took a certain kind of cunning and determination to stay alive. Nikolai was trying to do the same to entire dying country. Honestly, he didn't envy him in the least. ]

If she's gone back to work with the grisha, it might be a while before she can safely poke her head up. Ravka is still too unstable.

[ kaz was right, of course, but the weight in her chest was no less heavy for knowing it. perhaps the best way of helping nina was to stay put . . . but if anyone could steal through ravka unnoticed, it would be inej.

she tables the thought for now; it's clear she's lost in her thoughts for at least a few moments, but her vision clears once they near the harbor. the ocean lapping at the docks, and the wraith moored near the end.

the ship, honestly, looks decent upon first glance . . . except the whole missing a mast thing. it's cracked, brought down by the winds, and kind of bolted together through some creative woodworking that inej and her crew had cobbled together. there's also a crack in the hull, but inej doesn't look too bothered, as they come into view of her ship.

she does, however, gently squeeze kaz's fingers, in reassurance, before saying: ]

I think the crew went into town as soon as they were able, so it should be relatively empty.

[ no one in ketterdam is stupid enough to try and steal the wraith. ]

[ She falls quiet and he leaves her to her thoughts, undoubtedly worried about Nina. Not that he isn't—they'd gotten close on the Van Eck job, to his surprise. But Inej had a much closer relationship with the grisha, the two of them practically attached at the hip. Both of them had gone from Ketterdam on their own pursuits. Who knows when they'd be in the same spot again? Hopefully Ravka didn't swallow Nina whole.

Reflexively, when the Wraith first comes into view, his first words are: ]

Where is your mast? [ Okay, she told him they hit some bad weather but this is hard to take in. And well, he supposes there's a mast-like shape. They were lucky to get it cobbled together enough, otherwise they'd be dead in the water.

Those damn saints better keep up the luck, otherwise he's going to have a bone to pick with every single one of them. ]

After a shock like that, I'd want my feet on dry land as quickly as possible, too.

[ ah, well. a better reaction than anticipated.

truthfully, inej had been devastated when the storm passed and the damage was assessed. they were luckily close enough to a port town that inej could pay someone to tow them in, and they had managed to throw together something in order to get safely to ketterdam. but overall, she felt furious with herself that she had misread the skies, that she hadn't taken in sail quickly enough, that she had made a mistake.

once she allowed herself to feel angry with herself over such things, she remembered something crucial, which was: ]

Sometimes you have to learn to fall without a net.

[ and the sea had paid her dearly, for thinking she knew what she was doing. she's still learning, and it was a hard lesson to learn. but her beloved ship will be fine, and that was what matters most.

so inej keeps moving down the dock, tugging kaz along, her hand still intertwined with his. ]

I have repurposed portions of the ship belowdeck, into more living quarters. Temporary, for survivors that need to be brought to port.

[ liberation, for the little girls like inej. ]

No one was hurt, in the storm. Not even the children.

[ so, honestly. a win is a win, in her book. ]

No faster way to learn. [ He says dryly, knowing full well what that's like. In one case, literally. In a number of other cases, somewhat figuratively. His whole entire run in the Barrel has been filled with mistakes, things he learned from as he went.

At the very least, he feels like he's making less of them, lately. It's entirely possible he'll look back on this time in a few years and think he'd been an idiot, though. That is, if he's still around by that point. One never knew in the Barrel. ]

How do they take it? [ Surely, there's relief when they're pulled from slaver hands. But he can't imagine the fear goes away, even with the promise of being returned to homes. He knows even when he had Jordie upon arriving in Ketterdam, he'd been afraid, unsure of what was going to happen. ]

They probably think you're one of those saints. [ He follows her tugging, still warmed by being able to touch her like this. ]

[ no faster way to learn, indeed. but at his question, inej hums to herself, trying to figure out the best way to put it. ]

The first time, I accidentally scared them. [ it's a rueful confession, because while inej has a massive heart, it's also been a long time since she was a child, if she ever was one to begin wtih. and a lithe teenager appearing from nothing from the shadows with a finger to her lips and a knife in her spare hand could inspire fear in even the bravest of men. ] Now, I remove the threat first, before searching the cargo hold for people.

[ "remove the threat" is a lovely way of saying "make grown men beg for their lives and cry for mercy," but inej has always been kinder than most. ]

And I do not think they think that.

[ she knows he's just being himself, but the correction still stands!! as they approach the wraith. ]

I think they are simply grateful to sleep somewhere without chains, until they can return home.

There's already been some grumbling in the West Stave.

[ He's yet to find where the exact discontent is, since it seems to be a generalized sentiment. Good, let those brothel owners be upset. When they inevitably get angry enough about Inej routing all of their plans, he'll ruin them even more. Just like Tante Heleen. ]

Well, that's definitely true. [ He does think she's being too humble as usual. She doesn't know the effect she has on people.

Or maybe he's biased.

As they come up to the ship, he notes more of the damage, frowning to himself at it. Clearly, it's still floating, but the storm had done quite a bit. In his mind, he can practically hear Specht's worry over it all. ]

So then, Captain, give me the tour.

[ the news that there's grumbling in the west stave brings a satisfied grin to her face, and while she doesn't say it, it's clear that inej feels good about that piece of information.

she immediately moves up the ramp onto the wraith properly, bumping shoulders with kaz as they move along the deck. ]

There isn't much to see up here.

[ admittedly; it looks like a normal deck! but she'll move toward a door, to head below deck. ]

I had a secret hold installed that can be accessed through the captain's quarters. [ to hide people, if necessary. ] But other than that, the layout remains the same.

Smart.

[ More exits are usually a good thing, especially if they're hidden away. They both know the value of having a means to escape. Or hide something (or someone).

As they head below deck, he reluctantly lets her hand go, the more cramped spaces making it difficult to stay connected. As annoying as that is, it's strangely nice to know it was circumstance that had him letting go and not the sickly feel he's used to getting. ]

How long did it take to reconfigure?

[ letting go of her hand is bittersweet, but inej keeps him close as they move down into the underbelly of the ship. it's a relatively open space, for a ship, but as inej ducks underneath a beam, she gestures to a few different rooms and compartments. ]

Not long. [ coin tends to make men move faster than not, and inej had really just gotten rid of a cupboard area to expand upon a secret area. she doesn't point out where the secret door is, not yet; kaz can figure it out on his own.

instead, inej moves through the space easily, pushing open a door to show the repurposed captain's quarters -- the largest living quarters on the ship, now built into multiple bunks and an impromptu armory. ]

The survivors sleep here, when they're on board. [ with a small smile toward kaz, inclining her head toward the beds, which appear to be able to collapse back against the wall, with a quick movement -- easy to hide, if needed. ] The crew and I take ... [ and she gestures toward the opposite end of the underbelly of the ship, where a few more doors exist. ] -- those rooms, there. I have my own room.

[ more to keep her sanity, than anything else. ]

And the kitchen is that way, and we eat wherever we can.

[ it's a small ship, but it's hers, and that's what matters. ]

[ Generally, he has a pretty good memory for spaces, so he notes some of the differences in the layout once they're below deck. The lower lighting casts unfamiliar shadows on everything– he'd seen it in the daylight, when he first went to inspect it. Some parts are obviously more worn in a good way– it's a ship that sees frequent use by people who genuinely love it. He pokes his head into the repurposed quarters, nodding in approval at the changes.

Collapsible bunks and a small armory to go with it. Prepared, just in case. ]

I imagine having your own space is necessary in cramped quarters.

[ The Slat is busy and seems to always have people crowding the hallways. That would be doubly true for a ship like this that doesn't have the opportunity to expand like a building does. What space they have is what they have to work with. ]

It looks good, there's some smart precautions. [ He means it, he's impressed. But did he expect anything less from her? ]

[ there's a soft noise of agreement, as she moves to light a lantern, which she sets up a bolted down table against the wall, to cast a bit more light in the room. having her own space is necessary. solitude is needed, sometimes.

but as kaz offers the compliment, inej tosses him a grin before she moves to open the door to her own private quarters -- so she can fetch her things to bring back to the slat -- speaking as she does so. ]

So your concerns can be put to rest?

[ she's only teasing a little, as she slips into her quarters. ]

[ As she heads into her quarters, he leans against the doorway, not wanting to get in the way. She has an actual room to herself, but that doesn't mean too much on a small ship. Two people in one spot can feel cramped.

He does peek in though, noting the little bit of decoration, the useful map pinned to one wall, the woven looking bedspread. It's very her. ]

Not exactly. [ Look, he'd worry even if Ghezen himself were looking after the ship. Ok, maybe Ghezen is a bad choice, he's not known to be very selfless.

The saints, then. Doubt is in his nature. ]

Maybe if the whole ship were in a protective bubble. [ Not possible but a guy can dream. ]

[ she doesn't have very many belongings, so packing clothes into a bag is a quick process. she already has her knives on her person, never leaving anywhere without them. but once she closes the bag and buckles it up, shouldering it with ease.

she moves back toward the door, grabbing another bag by the door, which she hands to kaz with a warm smile, reaching out with a hand to gently touch the side of his face, in the briefest of caresses, before she adds, her tone a bit dry: ]

I am my own protective bubble.

[ and she slips past him. ]

Waffles?

[ you owe her dinner, sir. ]

[ When she hands him the bag, he takes it, settling it over one shoulder. Her brief touch is a surprise but not an entirely bad one and he tilts his cheek into it. The fact that it doesn't last long is both a blessing and something he wants to curse. Frankly, he's not sure he could handle more than that, but he always wants to. ]

Usually, yes. [ Maybe not against storms or a raging sea but he doesn't want to belabor the point (for once). Inej knows how to take care of herself, as much as he always finds himself worrying about her. He supposes a close call with Van Eck stealing her away is enough to warrant such a reaction. ]

Enough to make up for the months without them. [ He smiles, just a bit, following her out. Now that he knows the layout of the ship, it's quicker as they head off of it and back towards the Barrel. The night crowd is out in fuller swing, gathered around doorways, their raucous laughter echoing out into the harbor. ]

You'll want to visit Jesper and Wylan sooner rather than later, otherwise they're going to accuse me of being selfish.

[ Which. He is? But he really doesn't want to deal with either of them knocking his door down in the morning over it. ]

I will visit them after we eat.

[ it’s an easy promise to make, and inej catches his hand again as they walk, the city coming to life as the sun vanished behind the horizon. she treasured wylan and jesper dearly, but it hadn’t been a question, on who she would visit first.

she would rather wylan and jesper be annoyed at kaz for monopolizing her time than the reverse. and inej knew that wylan and jesper would understand, unequivocally, why she had headed straight for the slat. she could deal with their complaining, because it would be in jest.

which reminds her: ]

And I am sure they will complain more about my lack of souvenirs from my travels than your selfishness.

[ children. though inej does have a looted gun from a slaver ship that jesper can keep. but seeing as Kaz is the one who brought them up, inej finds a chance to wheedle information out of him, and inej casts him glance, arching her eyebrows.. ]

I’ve heard Jesper has avoided the halls.

[ where she heard this, she won’t say.

( she totally asks her sources who dig up information on slavers to check and make sure her friends aren’t dead and/or in debt. ) ]

[ She takes his hand again as they walk and he braces himself momentarily for the feel of water around his ankles. There's a quiet breath of relief, lost in the din of a passing group whose chatter permeates the air. Maybe he'll be braver, later, if his mind is going to cooperate so well. ]

They can complain all they want—you're back, that's what matters.

[ Uh. Well. That's a little more honest than usual but he isn't taking it back, annoyed as he is at the prospect of complaints that there weren't little gifts. He can understand the eagerness but he's really just relieved she made it back in one piece, especially after seeing the damage to her ship firsthand. ]

You heard right. [ From where, he's curious, but it figures she would have her own network. News is hard to come by at sea. Having good informants when she docks would make sense. And maybe he feels a bit warmed by the fact that she's clearly keeping tabs, even when she's so far out of reach. ] Seems Wylan's curbed most of his gambling compunctions.

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