𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄 — got the goat

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 𝐊𝐀𝐙 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐊𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐃 done his best to remain in utter silence as he walked side by side with Aleksa towards the winding markets filled with stalls of blossoming fruits, vegetables, fine silks and velvets and multitudes of cheap and fake jewels.

 Aleksa had made his efforts rather impossible. She ranted and raved the entire time, she drove off on tangents and gestured wildly as she practically hopped down the cobbled path. Clearly the goat had rejuvenated her attitude.

 Her heavy boots thudded louder than Kaz's cane as she refrained from tumbling down the steep hill that lead to the bustling marketplace and she threw a quick look over her shoulder, "Saints, Kaz. You're crippled, not dead, hurry up."

 He wondered for a moment if he could possibly get away with lobbing his cane at the back of her head, but even the Bastard of the Barrel had morals that he truly wished he could slice through. Thus the boy with a bitter gaze simply scoffed at her words, "It's a goat, Aleksa. Try not to get too excited, or attached."

 She paused, "Are you saying we can't keep it?"

 "Of course we aren't keeping it."

 "You kept Jesper."

 "Jesper can shoot a gun."

 Aleksa inhaled deeply and tossed her hair over her shoulder, a waft of blinding rose emanating from the tendrils that trailed down her back, "Then I'll teach the goat to shoot a gun." She clicked her tongue, "You let me keep Cas."

 Kaz scowled at the name of the bird and promptly ignored the sly grin prospering on Aleksa's pink lips. He hated the damn thing, "I told you to get rid of it, you didn't listen."

 "Funny how that keeps happening, hm?"

 He had caught up to her by this point, and the coat that drifted around his calves brushed against her as he leaned ever so slightly closer, "Don't think I haven't noticed your feathery friend tailing us."

 "He is a crow." Aleksa copied Kaz's actions, her nose mere inches away from his own, "We're his flock, try not to preen."

 Then she was off; though certainly not before glancing at the pale-blue sky as a symphony of caws rang out. Cas really had followed them; the slimy little bugger.

 Aleksa's grin had threatened to split her face once she and Kaz had finally reached the market; there were people flocking to and fro carrying baskets of fruits and vegetables and little bottles of heavy spice. The scent of cinnamon filled the air, along with the sweet and bitter smell of lemon and lime.

 Each person stopped every few steps to lean and gossip with others as they shared what produce they had found. There were thriving Schreneck's Tulips lining certain stalls and their sweet scent mingled with the earthly tones of the cinnamon. Sprouts of reds, pinks and yellows littered the stalls and climbed the wooden shelters.

 There was a particular stall that Aleksa had caught sight of and would have happily pranced her way towards if not for Kaz Brekker who had struck his cane out the moment he followed her eye line.

 An older woman with brunette curls that were streaked with grey stood behind the wooden table with a warm smile on her face as she stealthily handed a small child a handful of sticky toffees. The table was lined with candied plums, various pies and a multitude of colourful and sugary treats.

 "I thought you wanted to get the goat?" Kaz drawled out as he slowly lowered his cane and eyed the summoner out of his peripheral. He could almost feel her internal dilemma.

 They waited as she considered, and then waited for another moment until Kaz had finally had enough. He strode forth and beckoned her to follow with a swift gesture of his gloved fingers. His voice was hardened and yet Aleksa could help but grin as he spoke, "Indulge yourself after."

 "I certainly plan to."

 Kaz paid her comment no mind, though it was beginning to grow harder and harder for him to do so; it seemed that this particular life-endangering trip was bringing out even more of Aleksa's provocative personality.

 Aleksa happily laughed as the Bastard took the lead and led her through the winding stalls that were clustered like a maze; people turned their heads at the chimes that left her lips, it seemed as though not only those within the dreary streets of Ketterdam were drawn into her charm.

 Kaz's mood soured as he watched men of shapes and builds nod their heads at his summoner, whilst even a handful of the women brushed her by with coy looks painted on their lips. One such lady drifted by like a petal in the wind and placed a sweet-smelling, vibrant pink flower behind Aleksa's ear; blushing when the Shadow Summoner sent her a delightful wink.

 "Aleksa!" Kaz called, his voice hardening like the icy shores of Fjerda, "Stop flirting with all of Ravka."

 Aleksa fanned herself with her hand that was now clutching at the lime-coloured stems of a bouquet, "Come now, Kaz. You know I only have eyes for you."

 "I believe your time at the Slat is certainly a rebuttal." He cursed the bitterness in his voice.

 "Jealous?"

 He remained silent as his uneven steps slowly came to a standstill. There was a large pen surrounded by muddy wooden planks and by the bleating that came from the other side of the panels; this was where they'd get their goat.

 Aleksa still couldn't quite understand why Arken wanted a damn goat of all things, but she didn't really want to argue. She just wanted a goat.

 A giddy laugh blew through her lips as she breezed past Kaz and clutched at the wooden fencing. Her hair dangled into the pen and one of the bigger goats with a rotund stomach sped towards her in the hopes she was offering a treat.

 The clucking of chickens joined the bleating, as did the lowing of the cows; but Aleksa couldn't tear her eyes away from the smallest of the goats in the muddied pen. It teetered back and forth as the older and fatter goats bumped into its side.

 "That one." Aleksa pointed to the tiny thing that almost seemed to slump into the sloshing mud, "I want him."

 "The goat isn't for you." Kaz said with a roll of his eyes, though a hand was already buried in his pocket and ready to procure their currency, "Why would you pick the smallest? It's a Pigmy, they're completely useless."

 Aleksa regarded him for a moment as her hand drifted over the nose of one of the bleating goats; its fur felt like the bristles of a brush and she couldn't help but snort when the little beast trailed its tongue over her palm.

 The moment Aleksa had opened her mouth to respond, Kaz had already spoken again and this time, with something akin to a smirk on his face, "Because you're the smallest? Does he make you feel taller?"

 "As a matter of fact, yes, he does." Aleksa countered after sobering from her shock at Kaz's attempt at humour, "Thanks for that, now buy me a goat."

There was a chuckle from behind them, deep and full of the familiar warmth one could find within the villagers that pottered around the market. They were all a community, coming together to show off their wares and the produce and animals they had all put such time and care into growing and raising.

 He wore a lopsided straw hat, overalls covered in thick pelts of mud, but his smile was genuine as he neared the pair, "I reckon she won't stop 'till you take him home."

 He was, of course, right. Not that they were actually ever going to leave without one of the furry little things, but Aleksa was somebody who always got her way... Even with Kaz Brekker, though the man certainly tried to act as though she was a bother.

 "He's right." She sang to the Bastard before pointing a pearly painted finger towards the littlest of the goats, "That's the one."

 "The runt?"

 "I find that runts always seem to be rather adorable," Aleksa patted her cheeks and cocked her head as she regarded Kaz, "Don't you agree?"

 Kaz truly hated that he did agree as he stood there and surveyed the pink that perpetually stained her cheeks and the spark that flamed within her eyes. But of course, the Bastard merely cocked a brow, "I'm not feeding into your ego. Your head might explode."

 To say that Aleksa was utterly enjoying the view before her was certainly an understatement. Even to those who had absolutely no clue as to who Kaz Brekker was, the mere sight of a man made of harsh edges and a frightening scowl, draped in nothing but black... all while holding a tiny little goat was something to laugh at.

 He looked utterly ridiculous.

 And though Aleksa would have happily enjoyed spending the rest of their walk laughing and snorting at the goat that bleated within Kaz's arms every minute or two, she was actually quite jealous.

 "The goat suits you." Aleksa supplied with a small grin that only grew as Kaz turned his head to the side and offered her his most perfect of scowls.

 He rolled his eyes and shifted the fuzzy thing once more whilst his other hand tightened on the crow-headed cane that smacked along the cobbled path and kicked up the moss that had grown there.

 "Don't roll your eyes at me."

 His face was sour, "You're infuriating and never know when to shut up, rolling my eyes is a kindness."

 "Infuriating? Kaz Brekker, I am the light of your life." She dashed a pace ahead and spun on her heel, leaning ever closer to the Bastard who refrained from taking a step back, "Now give me the damn goat."

 He had little time to disagree, for Aleksa had already curled her mischievous little fingers around the belly of the goat, sure to avoid touching Kaz as she went. Her nails slid through the little beast's salt and pepper fur and she scratched away, grinning to herself as the goat practically melted in her arms.

 "I think he likes me." she chimed and continued to slide her fingers through the creature's fur, pausing to scratch at his cute little nose for a moment.

 Kaz almost turned up his nose, "Congratulations, you've made a friend."

 "Aw," Aleksa cooed as she fluttered her lashes at him, "One more than you."

 They carried on in what could have been considered a blissful silence; if not for Aleksa's cooing at the beast in her arms. She was absolutely smitten with the damn thing and she knew that if her feathery little friend was watching, he'd try his luck at making the goat his dinner. Cas always was a jealous little thing.

 The goat never seemed to fuss within her arms, and Kaz was certain that Aleksa had somehow charmed the damn thing just as she did with every person within a ten-mile radius; it was borderline terrifying. Yet he couldn't not be thankful for the silence that surrounded them and the weight that had been lifted from his arms; his leg wasn't doing well against the biting cold that surrounded them.

 No amount of warm cinnamon and freshly baked loves of bread that were stacked high on market stalls could fight against the bitter sting that was within the air. His leg staggered slightly, and his cane received far more pressure from his stark-white hand as they slowly made their way to the centre of the bustling town.

 The goat was theirs, now they just had to round up the rest of the Crows and make their journey across the Fold. Aleksa almost grimaced; it all sounded so very simple, and yet the chills that covered her skin and made the hair at the back of her neck stand on end were enough for her to pause mid-step.

 It was all well and good to parade around a happy-go-lucky market filled with smiling faces and bursts of bright colours; but behind her, lurking like a monster in the dark was the Fold itself. It loomed high and mighty; ready to tear anyone apart if they so much as neared the damn thing.

 They may have gotten the goat that was now shifting in Aleksa's arms as though begging for her to pet him once more, Inej may get her hands on the Jurda and if Jesper had somehow managed to rein his greedy finger in and retrieve the coal... They had everything they needed, yet they still had to cross the Fold and survive.

 Aleksa had done it once, and it was one of few things that had kept her within Ketterdam's dull streets; she was far too terrified to cross it again.

 Kaz noticed the lack of thudding beside him, the lack of incessant sweet coos she uttered towards the beastly thing in her arms and so he turned. She stood there with her eyes cast over her shoulder and latched onto the Fold.

 "Aleksa —"

 She snapped out of her daze, and to her luck, Inej stood just ahead with furrowed brows as she trailed a bronze finger along the stone memorial that stood proudly in the town centre. Aleksa took that as her chance, "Oh, Inej!"

 Kaz clicked his tongue as she breezed by and kept her eyes pointedly forwards, never meeting his own. He was begging to grow rather annoyed at the way she was acting. Aleksa was, at the best of times, a loud-mouthed and crude annoyance, but even the inner thoughts of Kaz Brekker wished to hear her voice every waking moment... Now, however, watching as she evaded questions and drew her gaze elsewhere, he wanted to corner her and demand an answer, cover his curiosity and... worry with harsh words to pry answers out.

 But that would have been like pulling out a tooth with ones bare hand. Aleksa was built to keep secrets; she housed them like a coddling mother and never allowed them to see the light unless absolutely necessary.

 But whilst she was a secret keeper, Kaz Brekker was a lock pick, an unrelenting one.

 Aleksa was thankful when Kaz stayed back, she could feel his gaze on her back, burning into her like the flames summoned by a powerful Ineferni; but she had almost mastered the art of ignoring such fires.

 "He's adorable," Inej spoke when Aleksa climbed the stone steps and took her place beside the wraith, eyes caressing the stone monument carved with hundreds of names. The wraith's fingers glided over the goat's nose as he nuzzled closer.

 "Kaz has already told me not to get attached."

 "But you will. Out of spite."

 Aleksa laughed, a bright smile dusting her features and tugging her cheeks higher; sometimes the Shadow Summoner wondered if Inej was Grisha, one with a rare ability to spark hope within the hopeless... But she was only human, a truly wonderful one.

 Stray hairs billowed around Aleksa's face, catching the gloss spread over her lips. It irritated her to no end, and yet one hand supported the goat whilst the other trailed through its fur. Had the beast been born a cat, Aleksa was certain he'd be purring.

 "Did you..." Aleksa trailed off, the barest of nods directed towards the monument that was free of any discolouration, any moss or unwanted defects. It seemed that the townspeople truly cared for the reminder of lives lost.

 Inej swallowed, "No, they aren't here."

 "I know it's hard, not knowing, but their names not being here means they could still be waiting for their darling Inej to come home." Aleksa bumped her shoulder into Inej's, relishing in the warmth her friend provided as the wraith leaned her head on her shoulder, "Don't lose hope."

 "I won't. Not until I find them... Or their names." She let out a heavy sigh, one filled with nothing but fatigue and heartache. She deserved so much better than what the world had given her, "I just want confirmation, even if I find their names written on a memorial, at least then I could let the idea of them go."

 "You don't have to let the idea of them go, you know? Kaz is wrong; wanting to find your parents, your brother, that doesn't hinder you and it doesn't make you a liability. It gives you hope, and it gives you something to fight for. It makes you... dangerous."

 Inej felt a gentle smile wash over her lips like a petal gracing the ripples of a calm lake; they always seemed to be able to do this, help each other, "You really can do everything, you know?"

 Aleksa wished for that to be true. She wished she had such a power to reunite Inej with the family she had lost; to see such bright and warming smiles cross each of their wonderful faces. She wished she could pluck Jesper's hunger for gambling and leave him free to do as he wished without that voice calling out to him., beckoning him to his ruin... And she wished that whatever bitter seed Pekka Rollins had planted within Kaz could be vanquished.

 Not taken away, not resolved calmly... No, she wanted him to have his revenge, she wanted Kaz to stain his gloved fingertips with the merchant's blood... Anything to help him sleep at night, and anything to calm that constantly whirring mind of his.

 But alas, Aleksa was no wish maker, she could not bring light to those lost in the dark; she could only make their surroundings ever darker.

 Inej stewed in her thoughts, her mind conjuring images of her family though each was as blurry and fuzzy as the last... Had she really forgotten their faces? Had time and pain cracked and shattered their images?

 Aleksa too, leaned her head to the side, bumping her forehead with Inej's as the two remained fixated on the spot. Their eyes trailed the names, the spreading moss that drifted in the cracks upon the cobbled ground... and then the goat voiced his own thoughts in a single, impeccably loud bleat.

 Aleksa snorted, and Inej's shoulders shook.

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18-05-2022

bye i LOVE this chapter. aleksa and kaz's back and forth banter and bickering, and of course, the cute little part with inej at the end. 

don't forget to let me know what you think; and remember that i now require a particular number of comments and feedback before i consider releasing the next part (this is just to ensure people remain engaged and supportive, as well as allowing me to see what you all enjoyed most!)