HALF A ⁽ ᶜᴼᴿᴾˢᴱ ⁾

    “ good for them. heard it helps the skin, ” he replies, his grin unfurling and vicious. it’s an amusing sight to visualize, at least. not that he has any idea of what they’re setting on fire - clay dummies is his guess. the next… keftas are made to be fire - proof, aren’t they? would be awfully inconvenient if they aren’t. but he’s not exactly going to waltz into the little palace and tell them how to design their little robes. if anything, he’s going to tell them to add more patterns. 

    he reaches and tugs a bowl full of chocolate - covered nuts and fruits over. jesper has them there for his mild sweet tooth, but if he’s being honest - it’s mostly for nina, if she ever visited. “ an army and you all were never taught how to shoot a gun? saints, i don’t even want to think about that. that’s criminal. ” there’s a shudder that he tacks on with the shake of his head. “ awful, really. you all never wanted to learn, either? ”

               once her eyes settles on the chocolate covered goods,     her focus shifts.     suddenly the feeling of being homesick loosens in her chest,     almost disappears by the time she gets the sweet sensation inside of her mouth.      eyes glancing over at one of her dearest friends.      “     we’re taught hand to hand combat if that helps.     ”       she laughs,    nudging her head closer to him,    before she snuggles against his shoulder.

❦        PROTAGONIST STARTER  FOR NZENIK

she couldn’t quite place why, but her heart always fluttered a little bit faster around nina zenik.      she was gorgeous, curvy, and smart …      but she was also strong willed.      katherine always had a harder time with people who wouldn’t bend to her whim.            ❝        so, partner,        ❞            katherine says as she places the textbook between them,            ❝        i’ll do the battle of willow creek,  you do the fell’s church massacre.        ❞            mystic falls always had been a little too proud of its history …      @drusja​

instinct pushed him to argue, like he constantly did around nina zenik, but this time, kaz simply bit down on his tongue   ( it wouldn’t do good to anger her and have her poison his cup of hot chocolate, after all ).       ❝   agree to disagree.   ❞       though they talked about everything, the topic of nina’s hot chocolate had never once come up in conversation between kaz and inej, but the heartrender didn’t need to know that.        ❝   i’ll reserve my judgement until after i taste it,   ❞       he clasped his hands over each other now, eyes darting down to the mugs placed on the table. she didn’t make it like how jordie used to make it, and kaz almost let the words slip right out. but he stopped himself again   —   now wasn’t the time to bring up the ghosts of their pasts.       ❝   if i ever get to try it. what’s taking you so long?   ❞

                  there’s  a  quirk  of  his  brow  as  he  looks  at  her .     “     excuse  you ?     ”     he  heard  it  well  the  first  time ,   he  is  just  wondering  if  she’ll  dare  to  repeat  it .     why  would  nina  zenik  be  concerned  about  what  plans  he  has  for  valentine’s  day  is  a  mystery  to  him .

         for such a vibrant creature, there was something dimming the light in her. of course there was, he thought to himself. he could hardly comprehend the changes she had been through. that alone would have been enough for anyone — but she had quite the history of far-fetched and dangerous expeditions. so, for once, theo thinks before he speaks.   ❛   a little,   ❜   comes gentle admission.   ❛   different isn’t wrong. we, of all people, should know that.   ❜   just because grisha were different didn’t mean they were evil or cursed. he preferred the zemeni terminology. blessed. 

                 ⟨⠀@drusja​ + 𝙼𝚄𝚁𝚃𝙰𝙶𝙷⠀⟩⠀    .⠀.⠀. ⠀    𝙸𝙽𝚃. :   𝙰  𝙼𝙴𝚃𝙷𝙾𝙳  𝚃𝙾  𝙼𝙰𝙳𝙽𝙴𝚂𝚂.    𝚂𝙻𝙴𝙴𝙺  𝚂𝚄𝚁𝙵𝙰𝙲𝙴𝚂  𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴  𝙼𝙸𝙳𝙽𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃  𝙼𝙸𝚁𝚁𝙾𝚁𝚂,    𝙻𝙸𝚃𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙴𝙳  𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷  𝚁𝙾𝚆𝚂  𝙾𝙵  𝙺𝙽𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚂  𝙰𝙽𝙳  𝙼𝙸𝚂𝙲𝙴𝙻𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙴𝙾𝚄𝚂  𝚃𝙾𝙾𝙻𝚂.    𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙸𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂  𝙲𝚁𝚄𝙴𝙻𝙻𝚈  𝙲𝚄𝚃  𝙰𝙽𝙳  𝚂𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁𝙴𝙳;    𝚆𝙸𝙳𝙴‒𝚂𝙿𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳  𝙲𝙰𝚁𝙽𝙰𝙶𝙴.    𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙴𝙼𝙴𝙳  𝙶𝚄𝙴𝚂𝚃  𝙾𝙲𝙲𝚄𝙿𝙸𝙴𝙳  𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷  𝙰  𝙶𝙻𝙰𝚂𝚂  𝙾𝙵  𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙴  𝙰𝚂   𝙷𝙴  𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙺𝚂    ‒‒           “𝙸’𝙼  𝙾𝙽𝙻𝚈  𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴  𝙵𝙾𝚁  𝚃𝙷𝙴  𝙵𝙾𝙾𝙳.”

                WHOLLY  UNPERTURBED,           not  a  single  stutter  in  practiced  movements.           his  turned  back  betrays  naught  but  the  wing‒beat‒like  raise  of  both  shoulders         ‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒         A  DRAWN  OUT  SHRUG.           smile  concealed,           a  huffed  laugh  swallowed  by  sounds  of  clattering  kitchenware.

𝙼𝚄𝙲𝙷  𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴  𝚃𝙷𝙴  𝙼𝙾𝙾𝙽,           𝙷𝙰𝙻𝙵  𝙾𝙵  𝙼𝚄𝚁𝚃𝙰𝙶𝙷  𝙸𝚂  𝙰𝙻𝚆𝙰𝚈𝚂  𝙷𝙸𝙳𝙳𝙴𝙽.

               as  secretive  as  he  is  with  his  past,           as  possessive  is  he  with  his  emotions.           𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙰  𝚉𝙴𝙽𝙸𝙺  𝙶𝙴𝚃𝚂  𝙰  𝙲𝙻𝙾𝚂𝙴𝚁  𝙻𝙾𝙾𝙺  𝚃𝙷𝙰𝙽  𝙼𝙾𝚂𝚃,           having  pocketed  all  her  insights  during  the  theft  of  his  heart         ‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒         and  her  blasé  attitude  about  it  all  even  allows  him  not  to  feel  too  unsettled  by  that.                ❛❛      IS  THAT  SUPPOSED  TO  BE  SOME  BIG  REVELATION  ?           because  i’m  well  aware.      ❜❜

               i’m only here for the food.     those had been the words she had said.      and she hadn’t meant them completely.     she had come because her heart had whispered,      had ached and longed for him.       his touch,     his rougher voice.      to run her fingers through his hair again.      to be in his magical presence.       she reaches to grab his drink.      lips press onto the goblet of wine,     taking a sip of it.       eyes linger on his,     they never leave him.     only allowing herself to blink every now and then.

       “ I HAVE A TERRIBLE FEELING ABOUT THIS IDEA,”  not that he didn’t trust nina to get them both out of trouble, it just so happened that she was usually the reason they were caught in it.  with some help from jesper, of course.  some.  a smidgen.  he’s an angel.

he waits for her to detail her idea, and isn’t disappointed at all; his lips twitch into a mischievous smile that he has to turn his back to hide.  if anyone around them suspected … “ we can’t take anything that is hers … but we can certainly leave something else behind, if you catch my drift? ”

               oh,     they both got in trouble.      and quite often.     luckily she had most of the mentors on ground charmed by her sparkling personality.      and her ability to find snacks and share them.       “     oh shut it.     ”       she scolds with a roll of her eyes.