With Hope, the Beginning of Better

Chapter 3: Better Than Before But Still Not Enough

Hi, here we have Kaz's perspective. I'd like to point out that it has been 9 months since CK so Kaz has gone through a little bit of change (not much though of course he is still Kaz lol) since he promised to himself to be better in the morgue scene towards the end of CK (realizing he didn't want to be alone for the rest of his life).

Hope you enjoy!!

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Kaz

Kaz didn't care if he possessed a moral compass or a conscience. Inej always saw something in him that just simply didn't exist. But he himself had told Jesper and Wylan that he had a conscience a couple of months back. Truth be told, he still didn't know whether he meant that seriously or as a joke. Kaz grumbled to shake himself out of his stupor. It didn't matter. What mattered was that Inej was coming to Ketterdam and he still wasn't ready. He usually never woke up this late in the morning. However, his reluctance to sleep had finally caught up with him, with him passing out from sheer exhaustion the night before and being startled awake late in the morning.

He hurriedly put on his suit and coat and grasped his crow cane. He reached for his chair and hesitated. He'd held Inej's hand once without any stitch of clothing between their palms. But he had also recoiled when he'd tried to kiss her again, being reminded again of his brother's rotting skin, disintegrating in the harbor in large clumps.

Finally, after much deliberation and deep breaths, he clutched the gloves off of his chair and slipped them on his hands.

As he made his way out to the door, he gestured to Pim and Anika. "I have some business to attend to. Look over the Club, will you? If you find any cheating or suspicious behavior, take care of it until I get back."

"But my break just started," Pim whined.

"Don't care," Brekker snarled, "consider yourself lucky I'm not making you clean the pisspots."

Internally groaning from the never-ending pain of his knee, Kaz limped out of the Crow Club and weaved in and out of alleyways, taking stock of the situation of surrounding properties. Heleen Van Houden seemed to be completely bankrupt. Quite unfortunate. Everything else seemed the same as before. It couldn't hurt to be wary, though. An image of Matthias's wound staining the floor red flashed through his mind as he shuddered guiltily. He'd learned that lesson the hard way.

Kaz felt the wind blow his hair to the right as he approached the ocean. He ran his hand through it without touching his roots. Was Nina right? Did he really need to get a new haircut? He scoffed. There was always the possibility that Zenik was just toying with him.

He looked into the distance and squinted his eyes. He could finally make it out: The Wraith outfitted in all its eternal glory. Against his will, he felt a grin form on his face. He immediately felt the muscles used in smiling aching from disuse, but he hardly minded. Inej, she's finally here. He waited for the ship to land in the harbor, leaning on his cane.

After Inej and her crew finally anchored the ship, Inej ran down the steps with her bag. Rather than her usual coil, Inej had opted for her hair in a long ponytail slung over her shoulder. Her bright brown eyes, while similar to his in color, instead held fierceness and warmth. She had changed her former spider clothes for a bolder, more vibrant pirate outfit, with dark black leggings, a bright maroon vest, a billowy white shirt with cuffs, and a brown leather hat.

But it wasn't just her outfit that was bolder. Kaz had always known that Inej was one of the bravest and most resilient people he'd ever met and ever will meet, but she'd always seemed to slip into the shadows a bit too easily. Now, she commanded attention to all those around her.