averrse

❛ one of these days, when you finally choose to listen to me, you will find that you're more powerful, and more intimidating, for being part of an inseparable team. which, yes, necessitates coming running when one of them's in trouble. ❜ she's said as much before, and she'll say as much again. she'd point out that there's not one of them who would leave kaz behind ( not when push came to shove, though jesper might threaten to ) if their places were reversed.

In a way, Kaz respects how sure Nina always is that she knows what's best. He imagines it's served her well.

However, it's proved inconvenient for him, when he is also sure he knows what's best. "Or, one of these days, when you've been in the Barrel for longer than five minutes, you'll find that one is more powerful when one has nothing to lose. A team is only powerful when it's cohesive; when one member decides to act on his own, it's up to him to clean up his mess."

His voice is bitter, and he doesn't hide it. He tries to keep Jesper safe in line, but sometimes Jesper insists on trying to prove himself. So, he'll prove himself or he won't.

❛ yes, you did. ❜ she offers the agreement without hesitation, and without any semblance of remorse or concern for having disregarded that request. except, of course, this was kaz brekker, and request was far too mild a word for it.

Kaz clenches his jaw, drawing in a breath slow through his nostrils.

This is not how the game is played, although Nina has no respect for that and never has. Jesper getting himself into trouble was Jesper's concern, and to make it anything else...

Well, it was already, as Nina said, a catastrophe. No averting it, as far as Kaz was concerned.

Send one of the following emojis for our muses to:

👻 Explore a haunted house

🔮 Have a seance

🕯️ Use a Ouija board

📺 Watch horror movies

🌲 Get lost in the woods at night

⚰️ Spend the night in a cemetery

🏢 Explore an abandoned store/mall

🎡 Explore an abandoned theme park

🏥 Explore an abandoned hospital

📿 Perform or witness an exorcism

🐻 Try to find a cryptid (bigfoot, mothman...)

📚 Read out loud from a cursed book

👽 Look for UFOs

😈 Summon a demon

🧙‍♂️ Cast a curse

🔪 Get chased by a slasher killer

🧛‍♀️ Get chased by a vampire

Kaz arches an eyebrow at the intercepted note. "The Black Tips are making a play."

She could feel the beat of his heart as the stranger approached-- steady and level, it didn't have the erratic spikes and dips of someone in pain or distress. The cane could be an affectation, she'd seen a few people in the slums using props for sympathy.

But as he closed the space between them, she didn't think so. He looked comfortable with it, not tripping over the end, or bouncing it off his foot.

He didn't sound sick, but that could be misleading... Some things were easier to hide.

Well! She wasn't going to find out by standing there!

"Not at all, sir!" Carrie smiled, and stirred the pot of bandages, so they didn't all clump together. "Just making a lovely pot of linen soup."

That silliness, admittedly, was more for the children, who gathered closer around her; most giggling, but some more wary than others.

"I have you at a disadvantage, then. Because I have heard of you and this place you've made for yourself."

He stepped in, looking around with his eyes still avoiding the children. There wasn't much to look at, really. A place of utility rather than flash, which could itself be a sort of obfuscation. There had to be a reason that she'd chosen this clinic rather than aligning herself with one of the gangs--especially if she was, as rumor had it, a grisha.

An outsider with a wholesome facade, already surrounded by clean-faced children. She could be another Helene in the making. She could be worse. There was no evidence that she was participating in that trade yet, nor evidence that she was using the children to run any other sorts of jobs, but it was a matter of time. Kaz was sure of that.

“[Name], you’re bleeding.”

“How long has it been like that?”

“Did you dislocate a finger?”

“You’re slurring.”

“They say you almost died. You left it that late.”

“You’re snapping. Headache again?”

“You’re in a bad mood. Are you in pain?”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Hey, why are you walking like that?”

“That’s a lot of swelling.”

“Where did you get that bruise?”

“Whose blood is that?”

“When you say your pain’s ‘4 out of 10′, that’s a normal person’s ‘8 out of 10′. We’re going to the hospital.”

“How did you not notice?!”

“If it hurts, it hurts.”

“I know you can manage it, you just don’t *have* to.”

“Holy shit, how long have you had this?!”

“[Name]? [Name]! Hey!”

“We’re a team. You need to tell me about this sort of thing.”

“That’s … a lot of blood, is that - oh, fuck.”

“Hey! Hey! Stay awake, okay? Stay awake.”

“It would have been a lot easier to treat if you’d mentioned it sooner.”

“You can’t keep hiding this stuff.”