[ It's been exactly a week since the new girl, Inej, had been with the Dregs. A week and a half since she'd told him I can help you and he'd believed her. Not for the truth of her words, but for the fact that she'd snuck up on him, soundless, with bells tied around her ankles.
No one's surprised him like that in years.
(There's also the niggling thought that maybe she is the one. The words are there, on the inside of his wrist. But he's heard them said by several people in the past and he's sure he'll continue to hear them in the future).
So he'd argued the case to Haskell, to buy out the girl's contract from Heleen. Something of a blessing, even if the Barrel could be a cruel place; he's heard some of the stories about Tante Heleen alongside just having to deal with her. An unpleasant woman. And unfortunately still a useful one. Her information was usually right and has helped him in the past. But eventually, he knows he'll end up having to deal with her.
For now though, he's waiting to see what happens with their newcomer. Per Haskell has been on his back all week about Inej and her apparent indolence, as well as her eerie silence. Kaz, irritated, finds himself stuck between two immovable facts: Haskell wants his results and Inej needs time. Trauma comes in many forms and the mask of quiet is a face he recognizes all too well.
The tentative ice shatters though. Kaz hears about an incident in the club from Jesper. It doesn't take him long to figure out where Inej had fled to but he deals with the offender first. Suffice to say the man will have a difficult time touching anything for a while. After, he makes his way down to the basement. A place he only occasionally visits, solely because it's another set of stairs. And there's always a damp chill that seems to set into his leg as soon as he gets halfway down. He ignores it in favor of watching Inej beat on a training bag, small fists driving into it with fervor if not much skill.
When she pauses to take a breath, he figures now is as good a time as any to say something. ]
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Date: 2020-12-26 08:51 pm (UTC)No one's surprised him like that in years.
(There's also the niggling thought that maybe she is the one. The words are there, on the inside of his wrist. But he's heard them said by several people in the past and he's sure he'll continue to hear them in the future).
So he'd argued the case to Haskell, to buy out the girl's contract from Heleen. Something of a blessing, even if the Barrel could be a cruel place; he's heard some of the stories about Tante Heleen alongside just having to deal with her. An unpleasant woman. And unfortunately still a useful one. Her information was usually right and has helped him in the past. But eventually, he knows he'll end up having to deal with her.
For now though, he's waiting to see what happens with their newcomer. Per Haskell has been on his back all week about Inej and her apparent indolence, as well as her eerie silence. Kaz, irritated, finds himself stuck between two immovable facts: Haskell wants his results and Inej needs time. Trauma comes in many forms and the mask of quiet is a face he recognizes all too well.
The tentative ice shatters though. Kaz hears about an incident in the club from Jesper. It doesn't take him long to figure out where Inej had fled to but he deals with the offender first. Suffice to say the man will have a difficult time touching anything for a while. After, he makes his way down to the basement. A place he only occasionally visits, solely because it's another set of stairs. And there's always a damp chill that seems to set into his leg as soon as he gets halfway down. He ignores it in favor of watching Inej beat on a training bag, small fists driving into it with fervor if not much skill.
When she pauses to take a breath, he figures now is as good a time as any to say something. ]
You can break your thumb, punching like that.