𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐍 | Kaz Brekker

「no mourners」

It had been a while since they'd staked something out and Valeria remembered why she hated it so much. She was currently wedged between Kaz and Jesper with Inej on Jesper's left as they lay on their stomachs in the wet grass. Valeria had moved slightly towards Jesper at the beginning, fearing she had pushed Kaz too far the night before but he had moved closer to her after that and her anxieties diminished.

They were searching for a way to Ketterdam and clearly Kaz's plan was too lie in the cold, damp Earth until one appeared before their eyes.

She was not fond of this plan.

"How many are there?" Inej asked as they surveyed the camp outside the Fold.

"Two." Kaz said, his eyes narrowing. He was in heist mode, clearly. "At least one of them will have to go tell a superior what they found, we'll go in then."

Valeria's eyes were pulled to the Fold behind the camp they were supposed to be looking at but it near impossible to tear her eyes away from it. She was so sure it was a trick of the light that the second the sun came out from behind the clouds, it would disappear.

"Not to be that person, Kaz, but are you sure we can drive this thing?" Jesper asked, breaking her musings. She knew Kaz well enough to know he would not think of the question as purely constructive.

"On the way to Kribirsk, while you were busy hugging the bait-" Kaz began before Valeria let out a harrumph and he was met with an onslaught from Jesper and Val.

"Milo!"

"The Goat's name was Milo!"

Kaz rolled his eyes but bit his tongue, thought he prospect of sending a biting remark was glorious. He continued.

"-I was memorising Arken's timings."

"Not to gang up on you, Kaz but Jes has a point." Valeria didn't miss his sharp eyes as they moved to her face as she spoke. "I myself tried to make sense of Arken's wildly chaotic system, as you could see from the ride itself. No one would blame you for missing a count."

His eyes did not move from her once she finished but he still did not speak.  Any normal person would be terrified and shaking on the dewey ground at Kaz's stare but she knew that specific stare and suppressed a grin at the idea in her head. Jesper jabbed her side as he noticed the stare but she just ignored him as Kaz spoke once more.

"Jes?" Kaz asked, either disbelief or disgust in his voice. Valeria rolled her eyes but before she could say anything, Jesper spoke.

"It's Suli for best-friend." Jesper said with a sugar sweet grin that made Valeria drop her head to the floor. "It's what Inej and Val call me in their mother tongue."

"It is not." Val and Inej said together defiantly. Kaz used a gloved hand to push Val's head back up from the floor in one movement before he continued.

"Trust me, Arken and I think alike." Kaz said, his arm pressing against her's when he returned it to the space between them. Closer this time.

"Comforting that you're so similar. Weak-willed as well? Soft underbelly?" She asked after realising Kaz had made a comparison between himself and one of her least favourite people. He scoffed at that but she saw humour in his eyes.

"Not at all, love." He said and Val could feel Jesper shift in shock at that but before eh could say anything, something exploded and one of their two hopes for returning back to their smoggy home was dashed.

"That was my exact reaction to whatever that was." Jesper said, gesturing to dirty hands and the Viper beside him and Val swatted his arm as the train went up in flames. Kaz lowered his head and Valeria groaned, flipping onto her back. "It's too soon to appreciate the irony am I right."