Talons⛥Kaz Brekker

⛥𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫⛥

When I got back to the hotel, Nina and Matthias were sitting on the couch, Wylan and Colm were sitting in the dining room, Kuwei was sitting on the floor, Inej was sitting on a chair and Jesper was pacing. I came in the window and closed it without a sound. "What if they don't both make it back?" Jesper asked, "what if they're laid side by side in their own blood?"

"We're fine," I replied. They all turned to me, Jesper quickly hugged me. Then Kaz walked in bloodied and banged up—broken nose, split lip,
one eye swollen shut. He was clutching his side in a way that made me think at least one of his ribs was broken, and when he coughed into a handkerchief, I saw blood on the white fabric before Kaz shoved it back into his pocket. His limp was worse than ever, but he was still standing, and Anika and Pim were
with him.

“All Saints,” Jesper said after Kaz told Inej something and she disappeared. “So I guess that went well?”

“About as well as expected.”

Matthias shook his head in something between admiration and disbelief.
“How many lives do you have, demjin?”

“One more, I hope.” Kaz had wriggled out of his coat and managed to yank off his shirt, leaning on the sink in the bathroom.

“For Saints’ sake, let us help you,” said Nina. Kaz gripped the end of a bandage in his teeth and tore off a piece. “I don't need your help. Keep working with Colm.”

“What is wrong with him?” Nina grumbled as they came back to where I was stationed in the living room.

"Same thing that's always wrong with him. He's Kaz Brekker." I replied.

Kaz closed the bathroom door, but before he did, I could see him look at me. A silent plead for me to go in there. They all took their focus back on Colm, so I slipped into the bathroom, closing it again behind me. Kaz had sat down on a chair and taken off his shirt, his bad leg sprawled out, hand clutching his side, head slightly leaned back. He looked like he was about to pass out.

"When was the last time you took a decent nap?" I asked as I walked over to the basin and grabbed a wet towel.

"Why did you follow me?" Kaz asked, ignoring my question. I walked over to him, starting to clean the blood off his face, making sure not to touch him with my bare skin or slice him with a nail. The quicker I could get my gloves back on the better.

"Because," I replied.

Kaz grabbed my wrist with his gloved hand, stopping my hand, "because why?"

"Because I wanted to make sure you didn't die," I justified and Kaz let me go. With the cut on his eye, I had to be careful and not just wipe the blood off like I had initially been doing. I carefully put my index finger and thumb on either side of his chin, holding his head. He went a little dazy. I pulled my hand away and started to tear away the bandage on my hand so I could put a glove on. But before I got the chance to, he grabbed my hand and put it on the side of his face. Not only did it give me better grip, it also meant I was touching him more with my skin.

"You know, I could put my gloves on and make this a lot easier," I said.

Kaz didn't speak.

"Don't freak out," I said as I gently dabbed the blood away.

"Trying," Kaz replied.

I finished his face and let go of him, throwing the towel back into the basin. "Take a bath, get the rest of the blood off of you, then take a nap. At least until Inej gets back," I told Kaz.

"Can I try something first?" Kaz asked.  I looked down at him with an eyebrow raised into an arch, "sure, but what?"

I didn't know what to expect.