[ the first thing she does when she gets back to the slat is actually not go to the roof, but to sneak to the kitchens. she isn't sure why she does it immediately, but something in her decides enough is enough.
if she was going to survive, she needed to do things on her own. remaining in kaz's shadow (however apt it was) was not going to do any good. if people were going to take her seriously (like haskell, or anyone else in this dark building), then they needed to know that inej was just as capable of acting on her own as anyone else.
cornering the cook had been relatively easy. kaz brekker's reputation is much scarier than her own, and as inej is already known as "the weird girl who follows dirtyhands around," she sees no issue in using that to her advantage. so it takes only a handful of moments for the kitchen staff to agree to help her, and it only costs her a promise of covering no more than three shifts in the future if they need her.
after that, she made it to the roof before kaz had found her. her instruction that she could go downstairs if she wants is taken silently, and inej slips off the roof to steal silently to her room, sliding through the slim window to land on her cot. and she remained there for the rest of the evening, until the early hours of the morning, when she waited until she heard kaz go to bed (or, at the very least, lay down).
the next two hours were among the most painful that she had experienced in a long time. the cook had given her a sling of whiskey and a piece of leather to bite down on, which inej appreciated. the cook had advised that she look away, but inej kept her eyes fixated on her arm during the whole process. every single cut into her skin just felt empowering. and though the pain was excruciating, inej had bitten into the leather and not made a sound, less she wake up or alert anyone else on the lower floor of the slat. by the end of it, her arm mangled and bloody, inej had simply told the cook thank you, wrapping the wound in bandages on her own.
he had told her not to worry about covering the shifts.
she had mostly remained in her room the day after, to recover, before doing odd jobs around the slat. purposefully rising early in the morning, to earn spare money on the side, while also avoiding kaz. after a solid day of cleaning dishes and cutting food, the cook seems to take pity on her, and gives her some extra money. more than enough to buy herself some boots that fit, with room for two waffles.
so when kaz and jesper eat lunch, inej enters the hall carrying, quite possibly, the most ridiculously overloaded waffle in existence. and she sits down in front of kaz without a word, sliding a few kruge across the table to sit in front of him, before she rolls up her sleeves to tuck into her pile of whipped cream, chocolate, and strawberries.
it tastes absolutely heavenly. the best thing she has eaten in years. it's enough to almost bring tears to her eyes, if she were that type of person. but the ache in her arm is enough to keep her focused on the task at hand, and so she cuts into the waffle with great purpose. ]
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Date: 2021-01-03 02:43 pm (UTC)if she was going to survive, she needed to do things on her own. remaining in kaz's shadow (however apt it was) was not going to do any good. if people were going to take her seriously (like haskell, or anyone else in this dark building), then they needed to know that inej was just as capable of acting on her own as anyone else.
cornering the cook had been relatively easy. kaz brekker's reputation is much scarier than her own, and as inej is already known as "the weird girl who follows dirtyhands around," she sees no issue in using that to her advantage. so it takes only a handful of moments for the kitchen staff to agree to help her, and it only costs her a promise of covering no more than three shifts in the future if they need her.
after that, she made it to the roof before kaz had found her. her instruction that she could go downstairs if she wants is taken silently, and inej slips off the roof to steal silently to her room, sliding through the slim window to land on her cot. and she remained there for the rest of the evening, until the early hours of the morning, when she waited until she heard kaz go to bed (or, at the very least, lay down).
the next two hours were among the most painful that she had experienced in a long time. the cook had given her a sling of whiskey and a piece of leather to bite down on, which inej appreciated. the cook had advised that she look away, but inej kept her eyes fixated on her arm during the whole process. every single cut into her skin just felt empowering. and though the pain was excruciating, inej had bitten into the leather and not made a sound, less she wake up or alert anyone else on the lower floor of the slat. by the end of it, her arm mangled and bloody, inej had simply told the cook thank you, wrapping the wound in bandages on her own.
he had told her not to worry about covering the shifts.
she had mostly remained in her room the day after, to recover, before doing odd jobs around the slat. purposefully rising early in the morning, to earn spare money on the side, while also avoiding kaz. after a solid day of cleaning dishes and cutting food, the cook seems to take pity on her, and gives her some extra money. more than enough to buy herself some boots that fit, with room for two waffles.
so when kaz and jesper eat lunch, inej enters the hall carrying, quite possibly, the most ridiculously overloaded waffle in existence. and she sits down in front of kaz without a word, sliding a few kruge across the table to sit in front of him, before she rolls up her sleeves to tuck into her pile of whipped cream, chocolate, and strawberries.
it tastes absolutely heavenly. the best thing she has eaten in years. it's enough to almost bring tears to her eyes, if she were that type of person. but the ache in her arm is enough to keep her focused on the task at hand, and so she cuts into the waffle with great purpose. ]