Carinya Devin sat in the dimming, empty Fabrikator lab, her eyes trained imperviously on the kefta laid out in front of her. It was an Inferni Kefta, embroidered with golden-red flames that stood out gorgeously against the royal blue of the main fabric. She let her eyes trace the shimmery stitching, up and down the fabric as she hummed. The occasional 'tap, tap' of footsteps outside of the door were almost not there to the dark-haired Fabrikator.
She'd been tasked with making sleeve pockets for a kefta. Thin, compact slips of fabric inside a Grisha's coat would be perfect for holding things like fire-starters or weapons. Carinya began melding the tips of the cloth to the inside of the sleeves, pressing gently against the fabric and watching them entangle together.
The seventeen-year-old sat with her back to the doors, occasionally lifting her gaze to the darkening sky. It was a bold mix of bronze and red, nothing like the cold night skies she remembered from her old home. Ravka in late fall was a thousand times more beautiful than Fjerda could ever be. She set down the kefta after a few minutes, bringing her knees up to her chest and balancing the heels of her feet on the edge of her chair. Carinya was so entrapped in the setting sun and the faint, comforting hum she always heard in her ears when she worked that she didn't even notice the door crack open and a figure slip inside.
"Enjoying the sunset, Devin?"
"Malenkov." The black-haired girl turned around to grimace at the newcomer, flashing him what she hoped look like a mock-apologetic smile. "what a shame. I was just starting to fall asleep."
"In a Fabrikator lab?" he laughed.
She sighed. "If you knew me well enough, you'd know that I can fall asleep anywhere."
"Obviously not here."
"Well, your presence doesn't exactly make me want to fall asleep."
"I'm sorry. Maybe I'm just charming enough to stay awake for."
"Don't flatter yourself, Squaller boy." Carinya tipped her head to the side. "that's not what I meant."
He flashed her a boyish grin, striding forward so he was within a few feet of her. "I'm sure there's some part of you who thinks that."
"Well of course there is," Carinya stated matter-of-factly. "you're built like a god. Everyone thinks that." And it was true. Alexei Malenkov and his tanned olive skin, golden eyes and tousled brown hair, walking down the Little Palace halls with his hands in his pocket and a handsome face forever ready to throw winks at passing girls was the literal definition of a god.
He looked surprised for a second, then pleased, the last of the orange sunset glow streaming through the windows and landing on his eyes. She could see the faint particles of dust encircling his face when he moved his head, the bobs of his hair every time he looked at her. "Well, Devin, you're not one to hold things back, are ya? And I must say, I do agree with you."
"I'm not," Carinya agreed, shrugging. "doesn't mean I'm dying to get in bed with you like three-quarters of the female population."
Alexei chortled, patting her on the head, to which she brushed it away carelessly.
"Sure, sure." he threw her a wink. Her face remained expressionless.
YOU ARE READING
SHARDS - grishaverse
Fanfiction- "and i just took him by the hand, sobbing, and everything- and told him he was gonna be okay, and i was gonna hold on, and-" "and what did he say?" she looked up. "he told me to let him die." - in which seventeen year old carinya devin has her lif...
