"With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean, she's the angel of small death and the codeine scene."

— Angel of small death & the codeine scene, Hozier.

     Before any of them could attack, Trixie had turned, trying to get away from the obvious attack heading towards her. The first ones to reach her were the tidemakers, someone appearing in a collision of mist. She was thankful for the quick lesson on the boat when Inej had taught her brief attacks and counter attacks. It was quick and it wouldn't mean she was amazing but it gave her a small shot at making it out alive.

     Inej made it to her side, thankfully, her own knife in hand as she joined her, covering themselves in blood as they watched it drip into the sand. One Squaller had seen their distraction and headed towards the two girls but Kaz had called out Jesper's name, signalling the boy to shoot. It seemed they couldn't get a break as another followed, dodging the bullets sent their way.

     They headed straight towards Trixie as she tried to attack it, narrowing missing the blade as they grabbed ahold of her, shooting upwards. Kaz swore he momentarily froze in fear as he watched the girl twist the blade, directing it into their throat. The scream that tore from it meant it couldn't hold onto her and she was released, falling into the sand and Kaz found himself running towards her, no plan in mind nor any thoughts, he had to get to her.

    Impact hit her and she found herself dropped unconscious, succumbed to nothing but darkness which she found herself embracing with open arms.

Sat on his bed, Trixie flicked through the pages that he'd handed her as they discussed the next job. In front of him, he left the bathroom door open so he could speak to her while also cleaning the dirt from his body. Looking up from the papers her words stopped as she watched as he stripped out of his vest and shirt. It seemed as if didn't give a second thought to her being there, continuing to talk to her as if nothing was abnormal about this situation.

"How much will I need?" Trixie asked referencing the poison he was speaking to her about as she darted a glance at him through the open doorway.

He was corded muscle, scars, but only two tattoos — the Dregs' crow and cup on his forearm and above it, a black 'R' on his bicep. Curiosity peaked at her but she kept silent, never asking him what it meant to him. It was his hands that immediately drew her attention as he pulled away the leather gloves and dipped a cloth in the water. He only ever removed them in these very chambers, away from the public eye. Whatever affliction he might be hiding, she could see no sign of it, only slender fingers, and a shiny rope of scar tissue from some long ago street fight that oddly reminded her of their first encounter.

"One or two vials." Kaz replied as he ran the wet cloth under his arms and the hard planes of his chest, water trickling down his torso.

Blushing slightly, she raised the papers so her face was entirely covered by them, unsure how she was meant to react when he was acting like this, did they all lack modesty here? Trying to sort out the heat rushing into her cheeks, raising her hand she pressed it against the crimson, cursing herself for it. The conversation continued and he'd suddenly arrived back in the room, a new shirt on as well as a dark waistcoat that he'd paired with it.

Something hit her head and she groaned, looking at a small bag of kruge wrapped in a pink ribbon. She looked up at him in irritation, wondering why he couldn't just pass it to her instead of throwing it at her when she wasn't looking. It made her think back to that night at her mother's party, where she'd slipped in her own bag of kruge into his pockets.

"Have you seen my headband?" Trixie questioned, swearing she left it here the last time, only taking it off because she had a splitting headache.

"I think it rolled under my bed." Kaz explained and the girl adjusted her sitting position, flipping her body so she could look under his bed, noticing the familiar sight of her black headband. "Oh, and will you please put in an order for a new hat later."

"A please would be nice." Trixie scoffed, grabbing the headband and sitting up straight as she almost let out a scream when she saw him stood in front of her.

"Please, my darling Trix, treasure of my heart, and major pain in the ass, won't you do me the honour of acquiring me a new hat?" Kaz spoke sarcastically and she glared up at him unimpressed.

"Less sarcastic could've done but I'll take it." Trixie shrugged as she stood up, looking at the boy over her shoulder as she grinned. "I'll make sure to chose the most hideous looking one, just for you my dear."

"Of course." Kaz had commented, his back turned to the girl, hiding the small grin that tugged on his lips at the sound of her laughter.

Oh how he wished to hear it now as he ran his finger over the tattoo on his bicep, the 'R', allowing himself to slip into his past self. Unbeknownst to him, the girl beside him groaned quietly, squinting at the light that shone down on her. Her head was pounding and she was slightly dizzy, fuelled by agony as she pulled herself off the sand she still laid in. At this, the boy whipped his head to face her, looking at her curiously as she gathered herself.

Immediately she asked what had happened and he explained it, how as soon as she was dropped Van Eck switched his claim, aiming for Inej. He truly believed the fall had caused serious damage to the girl, but it seemed all she gained from it was a raging concussion, so he went for the better option, Kaz's eyes and ears, the Wraith. A threat had followed as he demanded that they bring him Kuwei, the real one this time.

Silence surrounded them as Trixie tried to think of what to say, Inej had been taken when it should've been her. All she could do was helplessly stare ahead as they waited for someone to come and help them off the island. Her fingers dug into the sand beside her as she drew mindless pictures into it, her guilt eating away at her as she let her thoughts race at a million miles per hour, she needed a distraction.

     "What does the 'R' mean?" She asked him, her hand hovering over the tattoo on his bicep, not touching the skin but merely casting a shadow above it.

      A part of him screamed that he should lie or ignore her, but another part was tired of the constant lies and he thought over what she'd told him on the ship. He knew he'd regret this, opening up a piece of his past that he'd tried to keep buried for so long but he knew he had to start somewhere. So, if that meant telling her about the meaning behind his tattoo, he'd do it.

      "Rietveld." Kaz answered, fighting back the memories that arose from the mere mention of his past self. His words dried up in his mouth like the sad he was sat on as he fought himself to continue the story and Trixie stared at him patiently, thankful he'd taken her advice. "It means Kaz Rietveld."

"Brekker isn't your real name?" Trixie mumbled, furrowing her brows as she met his eyes.

"After Jordie," Kaz took a momentary pause before continuing, "I changed it."

"Jordie was your brother, correct?" Trixie asked and he nodded, words completely failing him yet again. "What was he like?"

"Disgustingly optimistic and trusty of the wrong sort." Kaz commented, looking up at the sky above them. "He was also protective, shielding me from anything he believed that could harm me. Jordie made sure I had some form of a childhood while he went out each day searching for a new job."

Trixie listened to Kaz speak of his brother with the smallest smile tugging at her lips as she rest her head on her knees. The way he spoke of his brother was as if he was hiding his care, love and grief in snide comments that he'd make but she could tell there was no malicious undertone to his words.

"He seemed like a lovely person." Trixie whispered quietly and Kaz nodded, turning to the sand beside him, he was. Silence followed them for a few seconds before the blonde broke it with another question. "Whats your favourite colour?"

"Black." Kaz replied instantly and she let out a quiet chuckle, earning his attention while he rose a brow. "Is there a problem with that, Van Der Woodsen?"

"No, sorry," she placed her hand over her mouth to minimise her chuckles, "It's very on brand for you."

"And what is that meant to mean?" Kaz quipped, failing terribly to hide the amusement shining on his features.

"Nothing, nothing."

"Let me guess, your favourite colour is pink?" Kaz shot back and she smiled, ignoring his sarcastic tone.

"No way, how did you guess?" She joked, chucking some sand at him as he barely dodged it, staring at her with a fond look that made her face heat up. "I knew you were totally obsessed with me, Brekker."

"You wish, Trix."

Words~1627.
{edited:no}