Wylan cleared his throat. "Inej, you know that we love you and that you're always welcome here but ah…"
"Maybe you should get out of the house? Or take a bath," Jesper suggested.
Inej glared at them from the blanket nest she had built on the couch. "Fight me."
"Inej, you are literally half of my height and while I don't doubt that you could easily kick my ass, you would have to come out first," Jesper smirked at her. The first time Jesper had tried to pull her out, she might have bit him. Not hard enough to draw blood, but enough that he was now hesitant to get any closer.
From inside her nest, Inej practically growled at him.
Wylan sighed. "Look Inej, please come out? You can't stay in there forever. Plus, we've got waffles."
"I haven't been here forever, it's only been…" Inej frowned, thinking.
"Nearly two days Inej," Wylan supplied patiently.
"Come out and stop sulking," Jesper said, still standing slightly behind Wylan. Jesper was too tall to use anyone as a human shield effectively, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying.
Inej shook her head. "I have spent the last three years as a captain on a ship hunting and killing slavers. Before that, I worked for Kaz Brekker and the Dregs and somehow got roped into the stupidity that was breaking into the Ice Court. Before that, I was stolen from my parents and forced to work in the Menagerie. It's been literal years since I've had the luxury of sulking, and I'm planning to take advantage of it."
Jesper looked at Wylan. "The lady has a fair point."
Wylan grinned. "You know, she does…"
"Why are you two looking at each other like that… what are you-"
Inej squealed as Jesper and Wylan both launched themselves at the couch, adding to the pile.
"You guys are horrible," she said from somewhere under the tangle of limbs.
After a few minutes, they were able to rearrange themselves so no one was being smothered, with Inej in the middle still surrounded by blankets. Wylan was lying partially in her lap, and she was pressed up against Jesper. Their warmth was reassuring, and she felt herself slip deeper down into the couch.
"I take it back, you guys are not horrible," she mumbled sleepily.
When she next woke, Jesper was gone but Wylan was still curled up against her, snoring lightly. She dug out one of her arms and started running her fingers through his curls. He mumbled something, but remained asleep.
"And there's our Wraith," Jesper commented from where he was leaning against the doorframe. Inej frowned and Jesper just laughed. "He's not going to wake up. It honestly takes a miracle to wake this kid up," he said fondly.
"He looks like he needs it," Inej said.
Jesper raised an eyebrow. "So do you."
She huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, I suppose I did."
"So… what are your plans today?" He asked her, with the air of someone skirting around a pile of glass.
Inej sighed. "I don't know. I should probably go check on the Wraith and make sure everything is in order there. It's been a few days now. We needed to resupply badly. I'm sure Rast has things under control, but I am the Captain. I should be there."
There was a beat of silence. "Promise you won't leave without saying goodbye?" Jesper asked her quietly.
Inej looked away. "Yeah, Jes, I promise." Looking back at him she continued, "I don't think I'm ready to leave yet."
Jesper nodded. "Well that's good to hear. But whatever you do, you might want to at least move Wylan before he drools all over you," he snickered and left.
Inej groaned, but took his advice and wiggled out from under the still sleeping boy. She looked down at his face. He looked so innocent in his sleep, a trait that didn't completely carry over into his waking hours. If Wylan looked like he had seen more trouble than he deserved, she wondered what her face looked like.
She made her way through the mansion, getting ready for the day. Heeding Jespers advice, she took a bath, and dressed in the simple cotton tunic she had taken to wearing on her ship. The last thing she did was fasten all of her knives to their proper places.
It was another grey and foggy day, and Inej picked her way carefully across the rooftops that were slick with dew. The Wraith came into view over the top of an apartment building, and Inej sucked in a breath looking at it.
Her ship was gorgeous. Kaz had done an amazing job picking one for her. It was large enough to hold her crew and enough supplies for up to a six month voyage. It was still small enough to have speed, and speed was a valuable asset when hunting down slaver ships. To avoid being obvious, slaving ships usually appeared as merchant vessels- large and cumbersome, and with little visible firepower. The crews they held knew how to put up a fight, but they were left fighting against her and their own ship's limitations. While a slave ship sunk low into the waves and required strong winds or strenuous physical effort to turn, the Wraith was able to dart in and out, according to her captain's whims, practically flying across the surface of the water.
As she climbed down from the roof to make her way across the harbor, her heart felt lighter than it had since she reached Ketterdam's shores.
She greeted the few crew members that she had stationed as guards, getting grins in return. Inej made her way belowdecks where Rast was overseeing the loading of their final supply shipment.
"Good to see you back Captain," he commented over the top of his log. "How was your visit?"
Inej sighed. "Complicated."
The older man laughed. "It wouldn't be Ketterdam if it wasn't," he said. Then he launched into a report of the comings and goings of crew and supplies, ticking things off as he went over them. Inej let herself get lost in the minutia.
With Rast's help, Inej checked the entire ship, going over their in-port checklist. No details were too small- they checked everything from the rigging to the integrity of the masts to the number of clean blankets for the people the rescued. While the people they saved were free to move about the ship as they pleased, Inej had learned over time that the vast majority felt safest under the deck, away from the raging sea and Inej's crew. The least she could do was make it as comfortable as possible for them.
It broke her heart every time she heard the mistrust in their voices and saw the skepticism on their faces. Every time their eyes widened, their nostrils flared, and they went the long way around the deck to avoid crossing her path, she felt another crack widen.
But, Inej supposed, she couldn't pick and choose who became afraid of her. She wanted her wrath to be known far and wide- to strike fear into the hearts of slavers everywhere. As a result, her reputation carried over to the people who had no reason to fear her. Her persona had taken on a life of its own, had become larger than life, and perhaps larger than she was prepared to carry.
Inej wondered if this was how Dirtyhands came to be.
AN: A big thank you to everyone who has read and enjoyed this story so far! Thank you for your support
