𝖉𝖗𝖆𝖌𝖔𝖓'𝖘 𝖑𝖊𝖌𝖆𝖈𝖞 || kaz brekker

𝐢𝐯. ancesstral gifts.

❝and who could ever love a dragon?❞

¤

heat licking at her palm, Aeya gripped the wooden stick tighter as she moved around to illuminate her way. a few hours had passed since she last spoke to anyone from her crew, and so she guessed that the time they had decided to meet up at was now.

she carefully stepped over rocks and bumps while she made her way to the outskirts of town as she was instruted to, and noting a single flame twinkling a few trees away from her, she crouched down behind a bush, keeping only her eyes visible to analyse whether the group of three were her friends or someone else.

squinting for a moment, she stared as they marched the way she was heading, their head turning around to look for something that she could not figure out, and as they got a bit closer, she noticed a man in black holding a cane while staying at the back, walking alone.

she could see the slight limp he was trying to hide, and as their light shone in the right way, she made out his features, the ones she knew for years, the ones she called home.

reaching for the fire she placed on the ground, she quietly made her way towards them, their pace slowly halting as they noticed her figure in the dark and called her over.

"Where's Jesper?" she asked once she reached them, her confusion turning to disbelief as they stopped where they were supposed to go.

they all froze in their track, turning to look at their guide with raised brows. He stared at them for a second as if to figure out what had them halting.

inej blank at him, "landmines," she spoke sarcastically, pointing at the big yellow pannel next to her.

the man rolled his eyes and told them to follow him. Aeya was quick after him before being stopped by Kaz's cane in her way, "we'll wait," he stated, holding the goat bleeting at his chest, begging to be freed, "follow the path that you carve."

Arken shook his head, "that sign, that was my idea to keep people away," he explained simply, "can't be too careful," he added, moving forward with his light in hand, but noticing that none of them were following, he scoffed, "we're fine. Come."

only a few feet away stood the great fold. the source of all of Aeya's problems. it looked the same as it always has, just as scary and loud.

she could hear Inej's shaky breath, "it's one thing hearing about it, but this is," she trailed off, looking up at the monstrous barrier.

"Nothing compared to what lies within," the conductor scoffed, reaching for a handle almost darkned by the night if it wasn't for the blue glow in his hand.

they could hear the thunder rumbling above them, and as the little beast peeped, a bunch of squeaking reached their ears, their head instantly turning to look at the train appearing out of the fold in a burst of shadow and fog.

"there," arken smiled, proud of his achievement, "so, goat, jurda," he counted of, thanking the two, "fire extinguisher?" he wondered, turning to the saint.

she reached for her bag and pulled the huge red container before handing it to him, "thank you," he whispered, pulling it inside the train, "Now we're just waiting on -"

a bunch of shouting took over the silence all of a sudden, "Wait for me!" a voice called out, and as they followed it with their ears, they noticed Jesper running their way with an army at his back, screaming and shooting at him indistinctly.