The Love of a Crow - Wesper/Crows Fanfiction/AU

6.Jesper

  The ground rushed up to meet him as the shock wave yanked Jesper back, and he groaned as his head hit the dirt. For a second he just lay there in pure shock, ears ringing, shoulders shaking, hands desperately clutching at the grass fronds to make sure he was still on the ground.

Finally Jesper looked around at his friends. Inej had, of course, landed on her feet, and skid marks were etched across the soil from where she had been pushed back. She was helping Matthias to his feet, and Kaz... well, it was no surprise that Kaz was already standing.

Then Jesper looked at the damage, and his jaw dropped.

What had been the hilly side of the island covered in small ditches appeared to have imploded, creating the biggest crater Jesper had ever seen. The shack had been completely wiped out, and bits of stray wood now littered the island, though Jesper was amazed to see some had even been blown far enough to reach the water. There was no trace of the bomb left. In fact, there was no trace of anything left.

"Saints." Jesper whispered. Then his amazement turned to anger as he realised who the bomb belonged to. He was upon Matthias in an instant. "You gave him more materials!"

"Of course I didn't! You think I would give our prisoner a better way to blow us up?!"

"Well then who did? Nina?"

"Nina knows nothing about bombs, and would only touch any dangerous substances if it was for food!" Inej piped up, staring at the crater with a dreamy expression.

"Well... that... then-"

"It seems we may have underestimated the merchling." Kaz interrupted, brushing a speck of dirt off his jacket. "Now, have you ever seen a bomb like that before?"

For once the group was silent, all swimming in their own thoughts. Jesper's were all bad. How had the merchling become so good at bombs? Did it have something to do with his father? And if he could create something like that with a bunch of scraps, what could he do with real materials?

"So... does this mean..." Jesper began, already dreading the answer.

Kaz gave a small tilt of his lips that could have been a smile. He looked at Jesper with a dangerous glint in his eyes that only came after using his thinking face. "It looks like we found our new demolition expert."

6.Nina

Nina didn't know what had occurred on the island. Nor did she know how all of them had managed to get coated in dirt and dust. But she could take a wild guess.

"So we get to keep him?" She asked eagerly as the Crows gathered in the club.

"Yes, and may I remind you that he is not a pet!" Kaz snapped, chucking his jacket on a chair and proceeding to sit down on it. "He is still a prisoner."

"More like a slave," Nina muttered, but didn't press. Gods know what gastly fate would occur if she did.

"Do we give him a room then?" Inej asked.

Jesper snorted. "This isn't a hotel." That was when Nina noticed his sour expression that was so unnatural on his sharp chin and soft cheekbones, so easy to smile. What was it... jealousy?

"He'll stay in his cell." Kaz replied.

"You can't be serious!" Nina argued. "The boy is a valid member of the Dregs now, he deserves a room at least! I can't force-feed him forever!"

"No offence, but I think I know how to handle my Dregs, thank you very much! And how am I supposed to explain to Van Eck that instead of killing his son I made him a bomb maker?"