[ spicy beef stew, got it. and she moves to the couch again to pick up her phone to order. as she pulls up the app, she scans the menu herself to pick out what she wants . . . and to also ensure Kaz’s selection is not the cheapest option.
( it isn’t. but this place is also not very expensive in general. )
she pops in the order as she wanders toward lizabeta’s cage, and she lets the little bird hop onto her hand and up her arm before she turns to Kaz with a grin. ]
Ordered.
[ and she meanders back toward kaz, lizabeta eventually settling against her neck, peeping in contentment. Inej soon returns to her seat on the couch, tilting her head back to look at Kaz. ]
This had better not be a dream.
[ she says as lizabeta preens her feathers. ]
I feel like I am going to wake up to reality any minute now.
[ Inej walks back over to the couch to put in the order, concentrated in her scrolling through the menu. It's a reasonable place and something of a comfort, reminding him of dinners over at the Fahey-Hilli residence. He clearly remembers his eyes watering up the first time he had Aditi's spicier cooking, with Jesper laughing and Colm taking pity to hand him a glass of milk.
His food tolerance has greatly improved since then.
As Inej orders, he goes into the kitchen to heat up water for tea, feeling like the chill from outside is lingering. His apartment is fairly well insulated but it's cold enough outside to make the living room feel breezy.
He limps back over when she settles down with Lizabeta, taking a seat in the armchair he favors. Well, it's not like he dislikes the couch. But it feels like it would be too close with the two of them. ]
Think you're safe, most dreams aren't so logical. [ He leans back in his seat, stretching his bad leg out with a sigh. ] If a group of sharks started swimming by, though, that's a good indicator it's time to wake up.
[ she supposes that's true, and her lips curve upward at the comment about sharks. part of her still hasn't really grasped the reality of the situation, but the numbers don't lie. and there's also the question of . . . now what? she had been striving for this moment for so long that it feels a little unreal. and honestly, she still isn't in a really great position now. sleeping on the couch of a relative stranger.
she sits quietly for a few minutes, letting lizabeta walk her way along her shoulders and ducking underneath her hair before the little bird walks back down her arm to settle on her fingers, stretching her wings.
but as the silence stretches on (still comfortable, inej not feeling the pressure to speak), the thought pops into her head again: ]
Why do you want to help me?
[ she asks, her eyes flickering toward kaz, her brow furrowing slightly. testing the waters, a bit. ]
Heleen is going to come for you, too, the minute she finds out this is more than paying off a debt.
[ He can tell she's thinking but he leaves her to her thoughts, instead checking his phone for the text from Jes. How does he want to answer this? Because simply saying he spent tens of thousands today to bail Inej out of her contract seems—strange. In text, at least. He'd rather tell him in person.
So he settles for saying just enough:
Fine. And no, she isn't. It's complicated.
Frankly, that's not too far off. ]
She can try. [ He sends his text and looks up to meet her glance, steady and confident. ] I dealt with Pekka Rollins for almost a decade; bad contract, in and out of courts.
[ If he can stop someone from having to do the same thing, that's worth it. ]
[ ah. she supposes that makes sense, and the story feels . . . a bit more real, now. he's confident, and sure of himself, and he clearly made it out on the other side of whatever bad deal he signed. ]
You can't be much older than I am.
[ after a moment, as she gently runs her fingers along lizabeta's feathers, letting the bird nibble at the sleeve of her shirt. ]
[ They do have to be relatively close in age. It's either that or she has a very convincing fake ID, to be able to work and drink at the bar that Jesper had initially met her in. ]
Twenty, this year. [ So strange to acknowledge. He remembers being fifteen and feeling like he would never make it this far, not under the weight of the case and simply trying to survive. ]
I was nine. [ Jordie had recently turned twelve and neither of them had any sense. That part still aches, always wishing his brother could've seen it all work out. ]
[ ah, so older than she is. a little, anyway. but younger than she was, when whatever happened to him happened. she mulls that over in her head, considering prying a little bit more . . . but something in her tells her to stop. ]
I am eighteen.
[ easily enough; seems fair, to tell him after he told her, after all. she lets lizabeta flutter up onto her head, the little bird poking through her hair with her beak. ]
When is your birthday? [ curiously; mostly to make a mental note. he had said this year . . . so it must not have passed yet. maybe? she can ask jesper. ]
[ She's only a little younger than he is, which is about right to his guess. It does make it worse, that she's been stuck with Heleen for so long. Years of adolescence chewed up by awfulness and a future that could've been much the same.
He wonders what she'll do now. After she celebrates, of course.
Lizabeta flutters the short distance from Inej's shoulder to the top of her head, small beak arranging her hair. It's an amusing picture, one he can't help a slight smile for. ]
January twelfth. [ Recently passed. He'd gone over to Jesper's place and been fussed at by his boyfriend, Wylan. ]
When's yours, then?
[ If it hasn't gone by already, maybe she'll soon be having a first birthday free of Heleen. ]
[ she hasn't thought about her own birthday in a long time. mostly because it's painful. inej is an only child, and her parents used to make a very big deal out of her birthday. which feels like . . . eons ago. any attempt she's made to contact them or try to track them down has either been thwarted by heleen or failed miserably.
she idly wonders where they are, now. or if they miss her. or even know if she's alive. but she quickly shoves that down to shrug a little. ]
Sorry that I missed your extravagant party.
[ a light-hearted joke, because while inej doesn't know kaz very well, she can tell he would rather do literally anything else on his birthday than attend an extravagant party. ]
[ Born in the summer. Somehow, that seems fitting. Her personality is certainly very positive and sunny, despite the absolutely shitty circumstances she's been living with. ]
Too bad, it was the talk of the town. Chocolate fountains, champagne, the works.
[ Ugh. He would never. It's an egregious amount of money for no reason. Sure he can be glad he's made it another year but that's less about celebrating a birth and more about the survival aspect. Inej seems to understand he doesn't care for the extravagance, at least. ]
Maybe so. [ He takes a seat in the chair nearby, stretching his legs out, the toe of one shoe close to her feet. Technically, it's easier to stretch out on the other side of the couch, where he wouldn't be almost touching her, but that would also put him closer, generally. It's easier to talk to her this way anyway. ]
[ chocolate fountains . . . the image sparks a grin, and she watches him stretch out. clearly trying to get comfortable with his bad leg, and inej considers offering to get him something that might help, but she decides against it. he seems like a proud person.
lizabeta makes herself comfortable on top of inej's head, and inej considers his question, settling back into the corner of the couch. ]
I don't know.
[ it's an honest answer, crossing her legs at her ankles. there's a million things to consider, and things to do. to sort through. to process. heal. her first thought is to go to ravka, to find her parents, but . . . how would she even do that?
she has to finish her business here, first. ]
I don't really have anywhere to go. [ admittedly, with a shrug of her shoulders, as lizabeta hops back down, fluttering to land on inej's lap. ] So I have to figure that out, first.
[ she pauses, though, her eyes flickering to his leg before her gaze meets his, inclining her head toward the couch. ]
You would probably be more comfortable if you laid down on the couch.
[ It is a bit early to ask, after all, so it's hardly a surprise when she says she doesn't know what she'll do. Being in Heleen's employ meant surviving and thinking of nothing else but getting through to the next day. At least, that is how it'd felt for him when he was up against Rollins.
Now she has so much choice it's likely to be overwhelming. Especially as she still processes the whole situation.
Though, she does start with the practical end: where she'll stay. ]
If you want to stay here in the meantime. [ Kaz gives her a half-shrug from where he's practically slouched down in his seat. ]
Technically, it's not long enough.
[ There's a way to make it work. But really, he doesn't want to kick her off the couch out of a probably stupid sense of pride. ]
[ he's ridiculously tall. or, well, maybe he isn't, and she's just short. he's not as tall as jesper, or quite so lanky, though you wouldn't know it by how slouched he is in the armchair. which looks very uncomfortable. ]
I think I have been enough of a burden; I don't want to continue being in your way.
[ and inej unfolds her legs to get up under the guise of stretching . . . before she moves to sit in the chair opposite him, arching her eyebrows in his direction. ]
[ He's going to argue that she isn't in the way. It's not like she's preventing him from sitting down or something. But, she takes it upon herself to move and he huffs out a sigh.
Bullied in his own home. Tragic. Though his leg will thank him later for stretching it out properly before he goes to bed. He's gone to sleep several times before thinking it would be fine but moving around in his sleep just made it worse.
Then again, he has a tendency to tuck up his legs when he sleeps, especially when it's cold out. ]
Fine, fine. [ He straightens and pushes himself up out of the chair, folding her blanket nest back so he isn't laying all over it. Carefully, he stretches out on the couch; that first bend of his knee the trickiest part. But, like this, it takes the pressure off his thigh and knee, letting him relax a little better. ]
Are you always this stubborn?
[ Says the guy who'd been suffering in an armchair less than a minute ago. ]
[ the retort comes easily, and lizabeta flutters in her hands to fly onto the coffee table, peeping softly as she hops along, clearly intent on getting to the couch.
but, you know. he did ask a question, and inej tucks her legs underneath her as she curls into the armchair, comfortable and content. ]
But I normally stand my ground, yes.
[ that's definitely the same thing as being right, right? ]
I think it still counts as stubborn. [ He does, after all, know stubborn very well.
Hearing Lizabeta's peeps, he stretches his arm out, providing her with two fingers to climb up onto. She marches her tiny feet straight onto them, tilting slightly to and fro when he picks her up from the table. Her journey continues as she flutters up to his shoulder, tucking herself close to his neck. ]
Does she think I'm a nest? [ It's not like he's annoyed over it. Something about the little bird is very comforting. ]
[ she can't help but smile at lizabeta tucking herself close. what a charmer. at least kaz has decided he likes the bird; inej isn't sure what she would do if he decided she couldn't stay because of lizabeta. ]
You are warm. So . . . probably.
[ with a shrug, amused. lizabeta indeed nuzzles herself closer, settling in for what looks like to be a nap. ]
She would sit on your shoulder the entire day if you let her.
[ He never really had a pet, growing up. The chickens were probably the closest thing, though they still weren't allowed in the house. Just up to the door, where they'd usually like to wait for his dad to come out in the mornings.
And once he'd gotten his life somewhat straightened out, he just figured he didn't have time for one. That might be from the overworking. Which he does. A lot.
But he does genuinely like Lizabeta. She's friendly and cuddly, with only the occasional screech (she is still a bird, after all). Most of her day is spent singing or chirping though. Pleasant. He reaches up and gives her a very soft pet on her head as he feels her slight weight settle closer. ]
The office wouldn't agree with it. [ Subjecting her to some of his coworkers would be plain unfair to the sweet bird.
A quiet whistling goes off in the kitchen and he sighs, sitting up carefully so as not to disturb Lizabeta off his shoulder. He'd almost forgotten about the water for tea. ]
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no subject
Date: 2020-10-01 02:03 am (UTC)[ spicy beef stew, got it. and she moves to the couch again to pick up her phone to order. as she pulls up the app, she scans the menu herself to pick out what she wants . . . and to also ensure Kaz’s selection is not the cheapest option.
( it isn’t. but this place is also not very expensive in general. )
she pops in the order as she wanders toward lizabeta’s cage, and she lets the little bird hop onto her hand and up her arm before she turns to Kaz with a grin. ]
Ordered.
[ and she meanders back toward kaz, lizabeta eventually settling against her neck, peeping in contentment. Inej soon returns to her seat on the couch, tilting her head back to look at Kaz. ]
This had better not be a dream.
[ she says as lizabeta preens her feathers. ]
I feel like I am going to wake up to reality any minute now.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-01 01:19 pm (UTC)His food tolerance has greatly improved since then.
As Inej orders, he goes into the kitchen to heat up water for tea, feeling like the chill from outside is lingering. His apartment is fairly well insulated but it's cold enough outside to make the living room feel breezy.
He limps back over when she settles down with Lizabeta, taking a seat in the armchair he favors. Well, it's not like he dislikes the couch. But it feels like it would be too close with the two of them. ]
Think you're safe, most dreams aren't so logical. [ He leans back in his seat, stretching his bad leg out with a sigh. ] If a group of sharks started swimming by, though, that's a good indicator it's time to wake up.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-01 03:04 pm (UTC)she sits quietly for a few minutes, letting lizabeta walk her way along her shoulders and ducking underneath her hair before the little bird walks back down her arm to settle on her fingers, stretching her wings.
but as the silence stretches on (still comfortable, inej not feeling the pressure to speak), the thought pops into her head again: ]
Why do you want to help me?
[ she asks, her eyes flickering toward kaz, her brow furrowing slightly. testing the waters, a bit. ]
Heleen is going to come for you, too, the minute she finds out this is more than paying off a debt.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-01 04:09 pm (UTC)So he settles for saying just enough:
Fine. And no, she isn't. It's complicated.
Frankly, that's not too far off. ]
She can try. [ He sends his text and looks up to meet her glance, steady and confident. ] I dealt with Pekka Rollins for almost a decade; bad contract, in and out of courts.
[ If he can stop someone from having to do the same thing, that's worth it. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-01 04:34 pm (UTC)You can't be much older than I am.
[ after a moment, as she gently runs her fingers along lizabeta's feathers, letting the bird nibble at the sleeve of her shirt. ]
He got you young, too?
no subject
Date: 2020-10-01 08:11 pm (UTC)Twenty, this year. [ So strange to acknowledge. He remembers being fifteen and feeling like he would never make it this far, not under the weight of the case and simply trying to survive. ]
I was nine. [ Jordie had recently turned twelve and neither of them had any sense. That part still aches, always wishing his brother could've seen it all work out. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-01 08:59 pm (UTC)I am eighteen.
[ easily enough; seems fair, to tell him after he told her, after all. she lets lizabeta flutter up onto her head, the little bird poking through her hair with her beak. ]
When is your birthday? [ curiously; mostly to make a mental note. he had said this year . . . so it must not have passed yet. maybe? she can ask jesper. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 12:35 pm (UTC)He wonders what she'll do now. After she celebrates, of course.
Lizabeta flutters the short distance from Inej's shoulder to the top of her head, small beak arranging her hair. It's an amusing picture, one he can't help a slight smile for. ]
January twelfth. [ Recently passed. He'd gone over to Jesper's place and been fussed at by his boyfriend, Wylan. ]
When's yours, then?
[ If it hasn't gone by already, maybe she'll soon be having a first birthday free of Heleen. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 02:37 pm (UTC)[ she hasn't thought about her own birthday in a long time. mostly because it's painful. inej is an only child, and her parents used to make a very big deal out of her birthday. which feels like . . . eons ago. any attempt she's made to contact them or try to track them down has either been thwarted by heleen or failed miserably.
she idly wonders where they are, now. or if they miss her. or even know if she's alive. but she quickly shoves that down to shrug a little. ]
Sorry that I missed your extravagant party.
[ a light-hearted joke, because while inej doesn't know kaz very well, she can tell he would rather do literally anything else on his birthday than attend an extravagant party. ]
Maybe I can come to the next one.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 03:25 pm (UTC)Too bad, it was the talk of the town. Chocolate fountains, champagne, the works.
[ Ugh. He would never. It's an egregious amount of money for no reason. Sure he can be glad he's made it another year but that's less about celebrating a birth and more about the survival aspect. Inej seems to understand he doesn't care for the extravagance, at least. ]
Maybe so. [ He takes a seat in the chair nearby, stretching his legs out, the toe of one shoe close to her feet. Technically, it's easier to stretch out on the other side of the couch, where he wouldn't be almost touching her, but that would also put him closer, generally. It's easier to talk to her this way anyway. ]
It's early to ask— what will you do now?
no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 06:23 pm (UTC)lizabeta makes herself comfortable on top of inej's head, and inej considers his question, settling back into the corner of the couch. ]
I don't know.
[ it's an honest answer, crossing her legs at her ankles. there's a million things to consider, and things to do. to sort through. to process. heal. her first thought is to go to ravka, to find her parents, but . . . how would she even do that?
she has to finish her business here, first. ]
I don't really have anywhere to go. [ admittedly, with a shrug of her shoulders, as lizabeta hops back down, fluttering to land on inej's lap. ] So I have to figure that out, first.
[ she pauses, though, her eyes flickering to his leg before her gaze meets his, inclining her head toward the couch. ]
You would probably be more comfortable if you laid down on the couch.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 08:28 pm (UTC)Now she has so much choice it's likely to be overwhelming. Especially as she still processes the whole situation.
Though, she does start with the practical end: where she'll stay. ]
If you want to stay here in the meantime. [ Kaz gives her a half-shrug from where he's practically slouched down in his seat. ]
Technically, it's not long enough.
[ There's a way to make it work. But really, he doesn't want to kick her off the couch out of a probably stupid sense of pride. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-02 11:12 pm (UTC)I think I have been enough of a burden; I don't want to continue being in your way.
[ and inej unfolds her legs to get up under the guise of stretching . . . before she moves to sit in the chair opposite him, arching her eyebrows in his direction. ]
And I also think the couch looks long enough.
[ move it, loser. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-03 12:34 am (UTC)Bullied in his own home. Tragic. Though his leg will thank him later for stretching it out properly before he goes to bed. He's gone to sleep several times before thinking it would be fine but moving around in his sleep just made it worse.
Then again, he has a tendency to tuck up his legs when he sleeps, especially when it's cold out. ]
Fine, fine. [ He straightens and pushes himself up out of the chair, folding her blanket nest back so he isn't laying all over it. Carefully, he stretches out on the couch; that first bend of his knee the trickiest part. But, like this, it takes the pressure off his thigh and knee, letting him relax a little better. ]
Are you always this stubborn?
[ Says the guy who'd been suffering in an armchair less than a minute ago. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-03 01:10 am (UTC)[ the retort comes easily, and lizabeta flutters in her hands to fly onto the coffee table, peeping softly as she hops along, clearly intent on getting to the couch.
but, you know. he did ask a question, and inej tucks her legs underneath her as she curls into the armchair, comfortable and content. ]
But I normally stand my ground, yes.
[ that's definitely the same thing as being right, right? ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-03 05:30 pm (UTC)Hearing Lizabeta's peeps, he stretches his arm out, providing her with two fingers to climb up onto. She marches her tiny feet straight onto them, tilting slightly to and fro when he picks her up from the table. Her journey continues as she flutters up to his shoulder, tucking herself close to his neck. ]
Does she think I'm a nest? [ It's not like he's annoyed over it. Something about the little bird is very comforting. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-10-03 09:11 pm (UTC)You are warm. So . . . probably.
[ with a shrug, amused. lizabeta indeed nuzzles herself closer, settling in for what looks like to be a nap. ]
She would sit on your shoulder the entire day if you let her.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-04 08:09 pm (UTC)And once he'd gotten his life somewhat straightened out, he just figured he didn't have time for one. That might be from the overworking. Which he does. A lot.
But he does genuinely like Lizabeta. She's friendly and cuddly, with only the occasional screech (she is still a bird, after all). Most of her day is spent singing or chirping though. Pleasant. He reaches up and gives her a very soft pet on her head as he feels her slight weight settle closer. ]
The office wouldn't agree with it. [ Subjecting her to some of his coworkers would be plain unfair to the sweet bird.
A quiet whistling goes off in the kitchen and he sighs, sitting up carefully so as not to disturb Lizabeta off his shoulder. He'd almost forgotten about the water for tea. ]