𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 — gossip girls

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 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐃 been dealt with, and after Kaz had gotten his very own show and threat... Aleksa hadn't left Inej's side. She had become quite the well-tuned nurse with Nina to spectate. Of course, Aleksa already knew her way around a needle and thread, she could clean a wound with a bottle of whisky and an old cloth, and she knew what to keep an eye out for should an infection start to sprout.

 But despite Nina's insistence that she wasn't a healer, the Heartrender had done a wonderful job. As she slept and finally got to rest her head, Aleksa had stayed wide awake as a ghost lingered over her shoulder, whispering such tragic things... She kept a hand curled around Inej's as she promised to do everything she could to keep her safe, to keep her out of harm's way despite Kaz Brekker being so very willing to toss her aside.

 The worst of it was... Aleksa knew Kaz cared for his Crows. They weren't just more members of a gang, they weren't throw-aways; no matter how many times Kaz said they were replaceable... they simply were not.

 But as ever, his greed for kruge and his thirst for revenge rang louder than the cries of his crew. Aleksa understood... to some degree, she supposed. Kaz couldn't have simply become who he was without something spurring his monstrous side forth; it was Pekka. Pekka was the one who'd crafted him, and shaped him into a teenager who lusted for vengeance and retribution.

 Aleksa was happy to stand by his side, to be a sword wielded by the Barrel's Bastard... but she simply couldn't watch as Inej Ghafa, or Jesper Fahey fell into the same fate. Because they could get out, they could have their own lives... Aleksa knew that her life was in Ketterdam.

 She was built for it, and thrived within the damp city like a cockroach; nothing could seem to kill her... and that was the kind of person who dealt best with Ketterdam.

 She couldn't bear the thought of leaving again, not when she'd craved to come home for so very long. She couldn't bear to leave Kaz, for while she felt foolish for letting Dirtyhands draw her in... she couldn't quite resist the pull.

 That was why Nikolai had been turned away. That was why Aleksa had strayed from warming her bed with another... all because of Kaz bloody Brekker.

 Aleksa rolled her eyes skywards, tracing the outlines of the wooden slats above her. Him of all people, the Bastard, the monster, the demjin — a very apt name from Matthias, she had to admit.

 Aleksa was promptly saved from her thoughts when midnight struck. There was no bell, no chime echoing in her ears. But she knew that feeling, the feeling of a chill creeping forth as moonlight practically burned through the darkness.

 Fingers curled tight around her own, and ever so slowly, Inej's eyes flickered. She groaned, her throat bobbing as she turned her head to the side, pressing her clammy cheek against the table.

 "Aleksa? Nina?" Inej croaked.

 "Inej!" Aleksa breathed, and it was one of the very first times the Wraith had seen a glaze cast over those magnificent cerulean blue eyes. Tears, for her.

 Nina jolted, her chair screeching against the floor, "I'm up!" Her lips fell agape as she drew closer, peering blearily through her fatigue-laced vision. Then, Nina erupted in tears, "Oh, Saints, you're awake!"

 Aleksa felt her lips wobble as Nina's tears flooded her pink cheeks; somehow, she almost felt like she was back with Alina. Back with Genya or Zoya or even Petra. Aleksa had never grown up with friends, least of all girls.

 From being bullied to being locked in her golden cage... the first friend she'd made had been Inej. Then Jesper. Then... Kaz, she supposed. If you could consider him a friend.

 But Jesper had always felt like something different, his company had felt like the very thing Aleksa had always craved from Aleksander. He was a dear friend, one in which she'd tease and squabble with, and even though his addiction to the cards and tables of Ketterdam blurred his vision, it always cleared when Aleksa needed someone. When she needed a brother.

 Aleksa had always heard children chittering about their best friends. How they'd braid one another's hair, or lay back in fields of flowers as they crafted sweet-smelling crowns for one another... Aleksa and Inej, while braiding one another's hair was certainly prominent, relied on each other in so many other ways.

 Aleksa trusted Inej Ghafa more than anybody, even Kaz. They fought for one another, they looked to one another for the comfort of a friend. Aleksa was only now realising how she'd truly feel if Inej hadn't woken up. She'd banished the thought, just knowing that her darling Inej would pull through... but if she hadn't?

 Aleksa had mourned Alina Starkov, and the girl was still alive and kicking despite it all... so how in the world would she have been able to say goodbye to her Wraith?

 Aleksa cleared her throat, but it wasn't quite enough to draw the tears back, "Whew," Aleksa breathed, swiping her thumbs beneath her eyes as her cheeks heated, as her heart thudded, "I tried so hard not to think about you dying —" Her voice cracked, and it was Nina who tucked her close.

 This was what it should have been like in her youth — perhaps less death, blood and stealing... but this kind of bond. This friendship.

 Inej started to cry too, for the Wraith had been on her way to join Aleksa when she'd been struck. Inej had been careless when Oomen had obstructed her path. Her knives had been ready, her eyes attentive and hard... until he chuckled and told her that their dearest Shadow was nothing more than blood upon the ground.

 He'd been lying, Inej knew that now... but it was obvious that if the Wraith were to have any weaknesses, it was Aleksa, and Oomen had extorted that. In her haze, in the midst of her throat closing with a sting at his vicious words, she simply hadn't been able to react to the knife buried in her flesh. Her desperate attempt to run from the enemy and help her friend had gotten her stabbed.

 Yet there she was, standing and crying for her life. There was no blood on her, no bandages peeking through her clothes... she looked a vision, as always.

 "Are you okay?" Inej muttered, feeling a tear slide down the length of her cheek.

 Aleksa picked her head up from Nina's shaking shoulder. Her hands were so gently placed atop Inej's. She swallowed, sure that her voice would be whole as she spoke, "I'm alright, my wounds are gone —" Inej's dark brows curled together, and when she moved to question exactly how she'd managed to simply brush aside her injuries, Aleksa tapped her fingers, "— I'll tell you how, another time. Are you okay?"

 But Inej slid her sights to poor Nina who was sobbing ever so furiously. Her eyes fluttered, tears clinging to her lashes as she peered at the ceiling, pleading for the waterfall to cease its flow. Inej couldn't help but smile a little, "Nina? Are you alright?"

 "Stop asking if we're alright. You got stabbed." Nina sucked in a shaky breath, but all it did was jostle the tears bubbling at her waterline, "I don't know what's wrong with me. It's just so much easier to kill people than take care of them."

 Aleksa pursed her lips, Inej blinked... and then all three of them giggled like children. Nina was right, killing, maiming... it was all far easier than healing, than sewing shut a wound or waiting for the injured to rise again.

 "Owww..." Groaned Inej, "Don't make me laugh, that feels awful."

 Aleksa swallowed, eyes drifting to the bloodied bandage twisted around Inej. It had only been changed a short while ago, and yet there was still a slouch of blood.

 Nina winced, shifting on her feet, "How do you feel?"

 "Sore, but not terrible. Thirsty."

 Aleksa swiftly fetched the little tin cup by the leg of the chair Nina had dozed in. The water was still stone-cold, and fresh thanks to the rainfall they'd been covered in only an hour after Aleksa had flooded the boat with shadows, "Here," She tilted the copper cup while Nina helped to hold Inej's head, "It's fresh, I promise."

 Inej took a few slow mouthfuls, banishing the feeling of cotton and sand at the back of her throat, it made her feel immensely better, "How long was I out?"

 "Three days, almost four. Jesper is driving us all crazy. I don't think I've seen him sit still for more than two minutes." Nina said, though for Jesper... that wasn't exactly out of the ordinary. The Heartrender stood abruptly, "I need to tell Kaz you're awake! We thought —"

 Aleksa shook her head. The last thing Inej needed was the vulture that was Kaz breathing down her neck all while waiting for the perfect opportunity to tell her his plans.

 'Welcome to the land of the living, how do you feel about climbing an incinerator and burning to death?'

 It probably wasn't what Inej would want to hear... and knowing Kaz, he wouldn't welcome her back, and he wouldn't ask... he'd tell.

 "Let's just wait until the morning?" Aleksa chimed as she placed the cup back on the ground, "It's midnight, everyone's asleep... and, well, do you really want Kaz to know you're awake yet?"

 Inej shook her head, "No thank you."

 Nina didn't blame her. If she had been stabbed and unconscious for four days running, the last thing she'd ever want was Kaz's stupid face staring down at her. So Nina nodded, and took her place back in her chair, stretching her legs and arms like a feline.

 Inej fiddled with the bandage around her middle, busting her fingers with whatever she could. She found that nowadays, she was a little like Jesper. Rather than reaching for guns, Inej would seek solace within her blade, her Saints and Suli proverbs.

 "Do we know who came after us at the harbour?" She asked.

 Aleksa ran her tongue along her teeth, "Pekka Rollins." She expected the wide-eyed look from Inej; they all had the same reaction, "He hired the Black Tips and the Razorgulls to keep us from getting out of Fifth Harbour."

 "How did he know where we were leaving from?"

 Aleksa pursed her lips. That was a question she'd quite like the answer to herself. It had to be one of them, and that's what made it so very terrible. It wasn't just the damned ambush or the injuries they'd sustained. It was the fact that someone aboard the ship, or dead on the harbour... they had been the ones to spill, "We're not sure yet."

 "Oomen —"

 "Oomen's dead." Said Nina, eyes sliding from the girl on the table, to Aleksa who patiently awaited the Wraith's appraisal, "Kaz took his eye, and... and Aleksa killed him."

 Inej was silent for a moment, and then she nodded. Because while Inej knew that Kaz Brekker protected his investments, he'd never get his hands quite so dirty for his spider, not unless Aleksa asked him to. Because the Shadow was the only person capable of swaying Dirtyhands' mind.

 So what could have been the reason for Kaz to be so very brutal with Oomen? Aleksa. That was the reason, and Inej Ghafa knew it, "He was the one who got you, too, wasn't he?"

 "Yes, he was." Aleksa stuffed her hands into the pockets of her trousers. As luck would have it, Kaz had managed to pluck her coat from the harbour... He used it as a meagre little breadcrumb to find his way to her. But the coat was slung over her chair, leaving her frilled collar and cuffs to ripple without hindrance she fiddled with a stray thread within her pocket, "He told me — Oomen whispered in my ear before he stabbed me, told me he got you too."

 Inej said nothing.

 "So... when I saw him, I stabbed him right where he got you." Aleksa tapped her concealed fingers against her thighs, she could still feel power thrumming through her veins after sending the cut forth. Such power made her skin glimmer like the sunbeams Alina would conjure, "Then... I used the cut on him."

 Inej blinked, "You did?"

 "I told him that one was for me," Aleksa met her Wraith's gaze. She found no bitterness, for such a look was rare for Inej. Simple softness was all she could scour, no hint of disapproval, "I know you'd have granted mercy —"

 "— You're not me." It was as simple as that, wasn't it?

 Aleksa and Inej were alike, and yet in so many ways, they couldn't have been more different. Inej would pray to her Saint's daily, while Aleksa would leave in the dead of night to fight, flirt or drink. When somebody crossed her, Inej tried to show kindness, she tried not to let the Barrel beat every inch of who she'd been out of her...

 Inej would scold Kaz. She'd tut at Jesper, and sometimes she'd shake her head at Aleksa... but this time, Inej found herself alright with the outcome. Oomen had tried to take them both... and had it been Aleksa on the table while Inej was face to face with the man, perhaps her hand would have slipped. Perhaps she would have killed him.

 "I don't know If I would have spared him." Inej's voice was small now, "When he told me that he'd gotten to you... It was a lie, he got me first, but you... He did come for you. How bad was it?"

 Nina beat Aleksa to it, "Two bullet wounds, and a knife to the stomach." She ignored the burning sensation of Aleksa's heated gaze, and Nina spilled, "She died."

 Inej had to look away as her vision became rather foggy, as her lashes clumped together with tears as thick as glue. She swallowed. Her throat was still dry, "You died?" The Wraith whispered, and her heart lurched ever so painfully... She would have killed Oomen.

 Inej knew it now. If the man had still been alive, Inej would have carved him up like some poor unfortunate animal. But then, as a shot of pain emerged from her wound, Inej peered at Aleksa once more.

 The Shadow Summoner knew what was to come as she stood there, practically glistening even beneath the horrid lamplight.

 "How are you up at all? " Inej asked. Her eyes whipped to and fro, and yet they couldn't spy even a hint of blood, no blackness around her eyes, no hobbling feet or buckling knees...

 "She's holding that piece of information over my head," Nina huffed, "But... she did promise to tell me when this silly trip is over."

 Aleksa wasn't looking forward to that. She was certain they'd have to claw their way in, and out, of the Ice Court... and just when things would settle, when their bones would thaw in the warmth of the Slat, she'd have every little crow perching on her shoulder and pecking at her flesh for information.

 Inej wanted to ask more, but the way the Shadow and the Wraith worked was through trust. So Inej trusted that Aleksa hadn't done anything too foolish, and she trusted that she'd find out... if only to ease her nerves.

 "How is everyone?" Inej asked instead, and Aleksa was more than happy to saunter towards the table.

 "Well... poor Wylan has emptied his stomach approximately seven hundred times. Jesper is about as calm as an angered wasp, Matthias is..."

 Nina took her cue, "An idiot."

 "Exactly... and Kaz... Is Kaz."

 "Aleksa threatened him."

 Now that had Inej perking up as though her wound were a mere scrape, "Really?"

 "Mhm, shadows and all."

 "No!"

 Aleksa exhaled as the two practically huddled together... well, Nina drew closer and closer, her voice a mere whisper as Inej grinned. They sounded like a couple of old crones gossiping on their front porches with tea in their hands and shawls around their shoulders.

 "Yes!" Nina whispered back, "Then, oh you'll never believe it! Then she threatened to break his bones!"

 Inej's eye almost bulged. She'd heard Aleksa argue with Kaz time and time again, she'd threatened to stay behind, to remain entirely unmoving unless he apologised, or at least showed he was sorry in some manner. Never had she outright opposed him with the threat of harm. Never had she clung to his gloved hand and proclaimed it a deal.

 Aleksa tossed her hair over her shoulder, one hand hanging from her trouser pocket, "Alright, alright... You sound like —" She was going to say teenagers... but they were. It was easy to forget that sometimes. Each of them, bar Matthias and Jesper, still hadn't quite hit their twenties.

 While they were on the cusp, they were still just a bunch of teenagers.

 Aleksa clicked her tongue, "Can you eat, Inej?"

 Inej shook her head, a smile still lingering on her lips. She'd have to catch Aleksa alone and ask her all about this little threat of hers... Perhaps she could ask her Shadow to recreate it, or even threaten him with something new.

 Aleksa nodded. It had been four whole days and Inej hadn't eaten a thing... but she knew well enough what the seas did to her. When she'd been stolen from her family, she'd been transported via ship; she'd had her innocence taken, her hope beaten and bruised.

 Aleska was surprised that Inej had agreed to come along at all. So she didn't push her, "Alright, but you'll join us for breakfast tomorrow?'

 "I will," Inej promised, "For now, I just want to rest."

 But when Nina moved to turn down the flame of the lantern, Inej stopped her, "Don't. I don't want to go back to sleep yet."

 Nina's hand hovered for a moment, and while she was willing to lower the lantern and demand rest for the Wraith as she had for Aleksa... Nina, instead, sat upright, "Why is it you don't have the crow and cup on your arm?

 Aleksa took a seat. The wooden chair beneath her was cold and uncomfortable, especially on the rocking waves... but she just wanted to stay. Inej had almost died, and now Nina was starting to ask questions that would lead to a place that haunted Inej Ghafa.

 Nina would have spied the lack of a particular tattoo upon Aleksa's arms too... but she supposed after the theatrics, and the refusal of any questions thus far, Nina hadn't the energy to try once more.

 It had been part of the deal when Aleksa had first joined the Dregs. She hadn't known how long she'd stay, and she had made Kaz perfectly aware of what might come to haunt him should she show up in front of her 'brother' with tainted skin.

 But now... Now Aleksa truly had her freedom, didn't she? No facade of a brother looming like a threat, no war to fight, no lives to barter. Maybe for Aleksa, the Crow and Cup would mean something different. It would signify that while she was sworn to a gang... she was free from the golden shackles the Black Heretic had encased her within.

 Inej shifted, "Staring with the easy questions?"

 Nina tipped back in her chair, tossing one leg over the other while her fingers coiled a piece of her glowing brunette hair, "Waiting...." She sang.

 Inej went quiet for a moment. The only other person to have seen more flesh than her hands or cheeks or neck was Aleksa. Men had always been rough with her, digging nails into her flesh until she itched beneath the surface... but Aleksa, the strong-willed summoner had a touch so gentle, she made sure Inej could barely feel her fingertips when sewing up her cuts.

 "When I joined the Dregs... Kaz told me about the tattoo." Inej's eyes fled to the ceiling, "He must have seen my fear... the fear of being marked yet again. It was like trading ownership. Kaz, well I suppose he took pity. He said I didn't have to do anything but make myself useful."

 Nina nodded, "Is that why you push yourself so hard? You're — You're afraid you'll have to get it?"

 Inej shrugged as best she could, hissing through her teeth like a snake when her wound was pulled upon, "Maybe."

 "I wouldn't let him." The sincerity in which Aleksa whispered clutched at both the Wraith, and the Heartrender. Their eyes landed on her, and the pair could so easily spy the truth in her features, "I'd never let Kaz do that to you."

 "I don't think he would. But... If it did come down to it, I know you'd knock his skull."

 Inej's grin was enough for Aleksa to lean down in her chair, planting her chin atop her fist, "His face may be pretty, but yes darling Inej, I would ruin it for you."

 "I cannot believe you can get away with calling him pretty." Nina laughed, her voice light and bright as summer air sweet with roses, "I think he'd try to hack off my tongue if I said that."

 "Mm? Maybe he likes my tongue."

 Nina gaped, and then it seemed like her haughty laughter rocked the boat itself. They no longer needed the salted breeze nor ocean waves to carry them, not when Nina Zenik dissolved into a fit of giggles so harsh she began to choke.

 Aleksa felt her lips widen until her cheeks rose and began to ache. It was a feeling long since missed. Such a smile was rare now, coy grins, little smirks and crooked lines were easy to puppeteer... but after such a trifling year, Aleksa really did find it hard to lighten with the breaking dawn.

 "You know..." Nina drew out, "I bet you're not all that far off. If someone's going to seduce a demon, it would be you."

 "Now that is a mighty compliment, Zenik, but seduce?" Aleksa cocked her head, unaware of the way her friends watched a coil of curls slip by her perfectly flushed cheeks. The tendrils skimmed magnificently glowing skin, and her eyes seemed to ripple like a clear lake's surface, "Is that what it seems like?"

 "You talk to Kaz in the same way I —" Nina faltered, but Aleksa knew precisely what was to come next.

 "The same way you used to talk to Matthias?"

 "That obvious?"

 "To me, yes."

 "Well then... yes. The same way I once spoke to Matthias." Nina sighed, a hand dragging down her round cheeks. She was in an absolute mess when it came to Matthias. She'd done what she'd done thinking it was the only, and best, option for him.

 The only way he'd survive... Because Nina knew what the Darkling would have done to him.

 But Matthias was angry. He felt betrayed and so whenever she tried to tell him why she'd deemed him a slaver, he turned up his nose, grew red in the face and exploded like one of Wylan's flash bombs.

 They might have been stuffed into a surgeon's quarters still recovering from an ambush of guns, knives and blood... but Aleksa felt rather... normal. This was what girls did, wasn't it? They spoke about boys and laughed until they cried. They mocked the fools they stared at all the while picturing their stupid faces.

 Aleksa saw no harm in speaking again, "Perhaps I'm a fool."

 "No more foolish than me. A Grisha and a druskelle?"

 "A Saint and a Demon?"

 "... Yes, you're far more foolish."

 Inej cracked a smile, "Saint. They did start calling you that, didn't they?"

 Aleksa dropped her gaze to her hands. The ones that could call upon the darkness and the creatures lurking within. They called to Merzost and crafted beings with magic... The small folk had deemed her a Saint when Alina took her hand, rose it high, and demonstrated the way their powers intertwined.

 The light and the dark had twisted together like springs. They had curled and fluttered, and yet one had never sought to devour the other. The darkness and the burst of light had remained present, together; they had clung to one another like a vice.

 Townsfolk had rejoiced. Nikolai had clapped. Tolya and Tamar had pressed their hands to their hearts.

 "I didn't like that title," Aleksa said, for she had never believed in Saints. Even Alina wasn't a saint in her eyes. She was just a girl— a friend... a summoner. Alina Starkov was family. What she had done and sacrificed was great, but she had never wanted to become a Saint. All she had ever wanted was to live and love with Malyen Oretsev; she had that now... not that many knew of such a fact.

 Inej grinned wider, "I knew you wouldn't... but does that mean I have to toss the knife I named after you?"

 Aleksa groaned when she snapped her head up, peering at Inej through her furrowed brows, "You named a blade..."

 "When the news spread to Ketterdam... I took out the one you gifted me, the one with the black hilt. I named it Sankta Lissa. I thought it best to use your fake name because I knew you'd come home to us one day."

 "Okay, I see what this is." Aleksa was greeted by indisputable confusion. Her heart throbbed; Sankta Lissa. A fake name... And yet Inej had still taken a hold of it and prayed to her. Prayed for her, "You just like seeing me cry, don't you? Pray all you want, dear Wraith, nothing will ever make that less than pure evil."

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DATE: 25/12/2023

:･ﾟ★ Kaz who? Aleksa x Inej x Nina is all i know.

also... SANKTA LISSA. i almost screamed. 

merry christmas to those who celebrate,a nd to those who don't... I hope this made your day a little brighter <3

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