𝕬𝖗𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖘 𝕷𝖚𝖑𝖑𝖆𝖇𝖞 - [𝗞𝗮𝘇 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗸𝗸𝗲𝗿]

𝐱𝐢𝐯. 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 — feeding time

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 "𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 you have twenty pounds of Alabaster coal." Were the first words Arken muttered, his grubby and sweaty hands clamping down on Jesper's boney shoulders; clearly he didn't share the same elation at Jesper's presence as the crows did.

 The lanterns around them were similar to those found on the usual skiffs; pale blue and dull enough as to not attract the attention of the Volcra. Aleksa shivered at the thought, she could already hear their cries, and they'd only grow louder.

 Jesper scratched the back of his neck, twirling a crimped curl as he chuckled nervously. He could almost feel Kaz's disapproving sneer burning a hole into his prized tweed jacket, "Slight snag in the plan," he removed the coat, hoping it'd relieve him of Kaz's stare. It didn't. "Turns out the kid who was helping me buy the coal didn't exactly know how to... uh... buy coal."

 The end of his sentence sounded more like a question than a statement; Jesper was as bad a liar as he was a gambler and drinker. His words did little to convince any of them, even Cas gave an indigent caw at the boy who shuffled through the train, craning his neck to refrain from headbutting various pieces of very sharp metal.

 "We know you gambled it away," Kaz stated, his voice lowering with each word yet Jesper still wouldn't meet his eyes. It was never the rage that repelled Jesper from meeting Kaz's bitter stare; it was the disappointment. The reminder that he would see the very same thing from his father if he ever grew the balls to see him again.

 "I lost some of the money." Jesper sighed as he slumped onto one of the makeshift seats, his tailbone throbbing almost immediately. He looked at Kaz then, and his lies got caught in his throat... Worst of all, it wasn't just the look on Kaz's face that was in his view, but Aleksa's too. Her lips were tugged down more in concern than anything else, and that was enough for guilt to begin to bubble in his gut, "Alright... I lost all of it. I gambled it all, okay?" He drew his eyes to the ground, "I'm sorry."

 He didn't meet either of their eyes as he nodded to the cream-coloured sack that was streaked with mud, "I managed to steal twenty pounds of Alabaster coal, though."

 Aleksa, who was closest to the bag, plucked it from the ground and tossed it haphazardly towards Arken who fumbled to catch it, he frowned as it landed in his sweat-slicked palms, "No, no, no. This is sixteen pounds."

 Jesper shrugged, "Sixteen pounds of Alabaster coal."

 Aleksa let out a heavy sigh as she stalked closer to the makeshift metal seat that Inej was perched upon. The wraith had withdrawn one of her knives, the one with a black hilt. She twirled it expertly with her fingers as a distraction from the disaster around them.