Crows of a Feather

The Panther

Erine

    The now 9 year old girl smirked as she climbed into the window of the room she now called home. It had been six months since the heist. Six months since Kaz broke his leg. In that time Erine began to create a name for herself in the barrel. The Panther. Word spread of a small girl with Cat-like eyes doing work for Dirty hands while he 'plotted' in his office.

Since Kaz had been on bed rest for nearly three months, Erine had to make sure his pockets remained full. Kaz refused to have her do his dirty work, he strictly only sent her on little errands to pick up payments. She earned her name by stealing anything that caught her interest, mainly shiny things. To her they sparkled like the stars she was so enamored with and simply had to have it. Unfortunately there would be times when she was caught in the act, and the survivor was always left with scratches from her dagger and the haunting image of the yellow eyes.

With her feet firmly planted on the floor of the slat, Erine emptied her bag  near Kaz's desk. The boy in question sat at his desk looking through paperwork, his leg wrapped between two thick poles keeping it straight. Erine paid no mind to him as she organized her new 'belongings' before finding what she was looking for. It was a golden crow head, crafted specifically for Kaz by a blacksmith. Kaz had sent her to go pick it up for him and along the way she had managed to pickpocket a few unsuspecting merchants. With the crow head in hand she walked over to the front of his desk and placed it in front of him. She then moved her hands in a certain way, sign language of sorts. "Do you like it?" she asked. It wasn't official sign language, it was signs the two had created together in the first moments of Kaz's recovery. Only the two of them could understand it.

Kaz

Kaz hated himself. He had never felt more weak, pathetic. He had been bedridden for three months. All because he was careless. 'Never again' he thought as he sorted through his papers for what felt like the 100th time. He had to admit Erine has proven herself valuable in aiding him. She kept his name circulating  in the Barrel, rumors about his ruthlessness of his own 'pet'.

Kaz looked at the crow head, designed to sit atop his new cane. " Yes, I do," he said as he took the head and placed it off to the side. The signing was an Idea he had come up with when he wanted to be able to communicate with her. She learned movements and gestures faster than anyone he had ever seen. That and her already sense of sound meanings, giving the words motions was the easiest thing for her. He looked back up at the girl, he noted her smirk. A clear sign she was proud of what she had done. It was the same face she made when she wanted to play their little game. And who was he to deny his Panther a little fun.

" Alright, you earned it. What is it this time?" he asked as he leaned back in his chair. The game was simple, work for a word. Kaz introduced this concept to her as a way to not only to become literate, but to teach her to never do anything for free. Always get something in return. He watched as Erine scurried to her nook and pulled out a book and a journal. The book was a dictionary , the journal was filled with scribbles of what was the Kerch Alphabet. Once the dictionary was open she pointed to the word ' Astrology'. Kaz laughed on the inside, he knew she didn't know what it meant that was the point, that was the game. She would point to a word she wanted to learn and he would teach it to her. "Astrology" he said to her in the clearest voice he had. Now it was her turn, " As-trol-g" she tried with the broken syllables, he could see the concentration in her face "No, As- trol- o- gy '' he sounded out for her. " As-trol-ogy" she said once again, more firm than the last. Deciding it was good enough for now he took his pin and wrote out the word in the journal for her copy. After that she took the journal and climbed up to her nook to practice.

That was when the Crow learned to communicate with his Panther