Crows of a Feather

An Option

Kaz

 Kaz sat at his desk looking for some sort of collateral to give tante Heleen so that Inej could go on the job with them. And as he opened one of the drawers a folded up paper was placed in front of him.

Looking up Kaz saw those honey brown eyes staring into his blue one. "Our payment" she said gesturing towards the paper, Kaz looked down at the paper and realized what it was. Her contract. Erine's papers. Kaz was impressed she had even found them in the first place, he made sure her papers were well hidden. But then he felt dread, a fear of losing her. "Absolutely not," he said immediately. Erine just looked at him in confusion. " why no?" she asked.

For once Kaz wanted to be completely honest. He wanted to tell her the whole truth, that he needed her by his side, to protect her, to teach her. Kaz rarely admitted it to himself but Erine was family to him. His only family, she was more than a crow to him and the thought of losing her was more terrifying than the night he spent in the harbor when he was a boy. " because I already have a plan" he lied, and he knew she knew he lied. " Well it is an option" she said without care.

Kaz was not angry, not at Erine but the fact that she didn't care to sell herself to that monster. Not when he needed her. " Katje, look at me." he demanded with sheer authority. " listen to me when I say this. You are never an option to me, Katje" Kaz could see the change in her eyes from determination to happiness. At that moment Kaz knew he would never let Erine go, because he was her family just as much as she was his. They were crows through and through, and like a crow Kaz would always look after his own.

Erine

Erine sat on the rooftop of the slat, staring off in the direction of the menagerie. Kaz had left an hour ago to talk to tante Heleen, and though Erine tried to go he wouldn't let her. The young girl couldn't help but feel like she was disappointing him. After everything Kaz had done for her all Erine wanted was to be able to repay him. But no matter how hard she tried she never felt like she could. She never felt like she was worth the time or energy Kaz put forth to teach her new things. She didn't deserve all the tiny gifts he would give her, the star charts, the dictionary, the stuff dog, the ear plugs. All of it was too much for her. She was just a slave girl who could barely speak.

" You should be asleep" A voice said startling the girl

Erine's eyes glanced to her side where she saw the wraith approach. Inej, as graceful as ever, took a seat right next to the young girl. " you of all people should know its far too late for the pigeons to be out, and Kaz would actually kill me if he knew you were out here this late". It was half true, Kaz could never kill Inej. Erine saw the way he looked at her, in Kaz's eyes Inej was an exact replica of Krugre only she seemed to be more valuable. ' Well good thing Kaz isn't here' Erine signed as she stared at the sky.

In a city as busy as Ketterdam the sky was covered in smoke, the light that emitted from the numerous bustling buildings and factories clouded the view of the stars. But still Erine looked for them at any chance she could. " Alright, so why are you out here then?" Inej questioned as she ran her fingers through Erine's hair. Erine didn't answer but instead looked down onto the busy streets. " Please, my little saint? I promise it's safe to tell me" the older one prompted. Erine took a deep breath and exhaled "I'm Scared" she said softly, Inej furrowed her brows in confusion "Scared of what?" " A lot of things" Erine answered, eyes still trained to the street. " about leaving?" the Suli questioned once more.

Erine just nodded, sure she was scared of leaving. She hasn't left Ketterdam in 5 years, and anywhere before that she couldn't remember. But she would rather let Inej believe that traveling was her biggest worry. "It won't be like the journeys you've had, I can promise you that." Inej comforted " I won't let anything harm you, and neither will Kaz. We will all leave together and return together , alright?" Erine nodded again. She wanted to believe in Inej's words but there was a part of her mind the whispered in the dark. A small echo of the life she had before the crows. Just a small girl with no voice, tossed from one place to another. No home, No family, no name.

Erine didn't know when she had laid her head on Inej's shoulder, or when the suli girl started to hum. But with the soft strokes of inej's fingers in her hair and the cool breeze hitting her face, Erine fell asleep.

Inej

Inej waited for Erine's breathing to even out before she started to move. She of all people understood how hard it was to fall asleep. Nights at the menagerie were torture, even after she had left the nightmares kept their memory alive. Slowly maneuvering the young girl into her arms, Inej gracefully walked back down to the room Kaz and Erine shared. Gently pushing the door open, Inej was met with the sight of a slightly frazzled Kaz. He looked panicked, like he misplaced his stock book. but if she looked closer into his eyes, Inej could tell he looked defeated. Something she had never seen in his eyes before. Inej watched as Kaz's piercing gaze fell to the sleeping girl in her arms, and if she didn't know any better Inej could've sworn she saw Kaz physically relax.

" where was she?" he asked, his face stone cold but his voice gave his concern away. That was one thing Inej admired. His voice, it wasn't smooth but rather rough, as if he had overused it despite being a man of few words. When Inej heard his voice the first time she thought it was a man and not a boy, but that was part of his act. Kaz's voice was harsh, but no matter how hard he tried Inej was always able to hear the tones of it. The wraith paid him no mind and continued to the ledge where Erine slept, placing her down in the bundle of blankets before kissing the top of her head goodnight.

She then faced dirty hands, " she was on the roof, like always" she replied, staring at him. They both held the same look, one that communicated more than enough information. Nights like these happened now and again and though they would never admit it,it scared the pair when Erine wouldn't sleep. She was a child, she needed to sleep more than ever. Inej knew Kaz would never admit his attachment to Erine, but she can't help but constantly compare them to herself and her little brother.

"Alright then, you can leave now" He told her, turning back to his desk letting his eyes steal one more glance at the sleeping little girl. " Kaz" Inej called to him from the door, he didn't acknowledge her but she knew he was listening. " She's scared, about tomorrow, don't make it harder on her" and the wraith left dirty hands to plot while their panther slept.

A/N

shame on Netflix for canceling Shadow and Bone. never felt so betrayed (except for when they also didn't renew Julie and The Phantoms)