One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.
Shannon L. Alder
JESPER FAHEY x MALE OC
SHADOW AND BONE SEASON ONE
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Home was a word Alik didn't want to know anymore, home was his childhood and even that was ripped away from him. Home was a word that Alik learned to not get attached to, not a place or a person could be a home for him.
Ketterdam seemed like a place for shelter, just somewhere he could hide and try to survive while he looked for another place to live. Luckily for him, his arrival had been in bright daylight, as the sun started hiding behind the clouds and buildings, trouble started to appear within the streets, gamblers, thieves, and more that had Alik gripping his pockets tightly.
"I could get used to this." Alik sighed, his body laying on his mattress, the loud sounds of bickering and music just outside his window became an everyday noise for him.
Alik had found a place to live, just on the second floor of a bar, paying rent was his number one priority and for that, he had to look for a job. Job seeking wasn't that easy for Alik, when it came to looking out for it, he noticed that most of the openings had to do with either doing illegal activities or even kill some Grisha. And that last one, Saints, it scared the crap out of him.
"How much for a pound?" Alik questioned the woman, he looked down at the fruit and vegetables, he had few coins with him but he managed to survive a moment. With the coins in hand, he could pay for a bit of his food. Alik wasn't a cook, he knew some basic cooking skills and how to make essential combinations but he couldn't make something too elegant, he didn't know how and he believed he didn't need that in Ketterdam.
Returning to his comfort place Alik ignored the few men who invited him to a match of gambling or the women who asked if he needed company. He ignored the drunks that bumped into him, but, he was careful with those who looked around and pickpocket people's belongings. Heading home had a lot of dark ally's which made Alik feel scared, but cautious, there were too many people who had too much to drink and who Alik knew their intentions weren't good.
"Hey blondie." Alik's body tensed up, of course someone was talking to him "Can you spare some food?" Alik turned to look at the group of men, they were indeed talking to him, their attention was set on the bag Alik had on his hand.
"Sorry guys, this is the only food I have for the day." Alik wasn't lying, this ingredients would be his food for his week. But they didn't care at all about it, why would they care? All they cared about was getting their food, one way or another.
"Don't you dare run, we don't want to get this street bloody don't we?" There was faint sound of a knife scratching the wall, of course they had weapons with them. They wouldn't care if someone died, in Ketterdam it seemed like it was something so casual. But they didn't know who they were fighting against with.
"You don't want to start this guys, I'll give you some of the food but I can't give you everything." Alik tried being reasonable with them, but as he imagine, they didn't care, one of them walked over to him, standing behind him.
Neither of them cared about what Alik had told them, both launching towards him, Alik took steps back and tried to hit them with the bag of vegetables. Knowing this was useless, the bag was thrown aside, both of his hands lifted, his fingers shifting in circular motions, Alik closed his eyes just for a moment, he took a deep breath in, trying his best to be silent, focusing only in their heartbeats.
Two heartbeats, rapid beating of them. Alik opened his eyes and pulled back his hands, both men groaned in pain, falling into their knees as they gasped for air. The weapons falling next to them away from their distance, they just looked scared at Alik and what he was doing.
"Stop." One of the men said with a faint air coming out of his mouth, his face had turned red from the lack of oxygen and his mouth slowly bled. Alik down at them, his eyes wide and clenched jaw as his hands continued to pull close to his chest.
"You will never steal from anyone ever again, will you?" Alik asked, his voice deepened as his eyes looked at the scared men, one of them bleeding out from his nose and mouth already. Alik saw how he was ready to die, and that was the moment Alik knew what he was doing, he released his grip from his hand and relaxed, hesitating on either wanting to help them or walk away, but right now, the second option seemed better.
Returning to check on his food, he was able to rescue a few vegetables, he would have to figure out what else to make with the few products left. With a sigh he picked them up and slowly walked away, his eyes looking down to count his food.
"You are a freak, a freak." he coughed up, spitting the trails of blood in the dirt. Alik tried to ignore those words he had been telling himself since being a kid, but it's hard to do that when it's been already programmed every time he used his magic.
Alik ignored his thoughts, focusing on getting to his place, get to safety. But, there was a feeling of being followed, carefully he looked back, a dark figure was just a few steps back, he noticed the suit and hat dark like his shadow, the faint sound of a crane stabbing the ground. He looked forward again and hurried his step, if he was being followed he would defend himself, again. Looking back he noticed how he kept his distance but he was still there, and like before, Alik gripped his hands into fists, a rapid and aggressive turn, Alik lifted his arms until they were in shoulder height. Ready to attack no one. There was just beer barrels and boxes, no more man following him around.
"Weird." he whispered, shaking away the feeling of being followed and insecurity. Safety, he needed safety and he had to get there now. The small room had everything he needed, there was a bed against the wall, a small night table beside it and a closet on the other side of it, just entering the room to his right there was a very small section to call a kitchen, a fire hazard too, but Alik always knew how to be careful around the kitchen.
Getting everything out for cooking Alik started to plan out what to make of the vegetables he had saved, washing them and cutting them into cubes, he ended up doing just like a mashed vegetable mix, it didn't look that appetizing but he could work with it. As the vegetables cooked in the pan, he searched for paper and ink on his side table, what just happened to him would be an interesting letter to send.
Alik knew that Asya might worry for him after he wrote down how he almost killed two men, he imagined that Asya would write back with at least three pages of kind words. Alik shouldn't have said what he had done but it was already written down, he didn't have more paper with him to start over, so, he had to be brave and send it away.
The small room smelled amazing with the cooked vegetables, the food was not that great but it wasn't disgusting, how he wished he had more with him. Tomorrow would be a new day, a new start and the perfect moment to look out for ways to make money, in other words, Alik Petrov needed a job. He just hoped no one found out who or what he was.
a/n this is quite short but i'll be introducing someone next chapter so be prepared!!!
