Disclaimer: I do not own Shadow and Bone or any of the characters. I only own my OC.

A/N: I know I said I wouldn't update soon but when the motivation is there to write it's hard to ignore. Therefore...here's a new update.

Chapter 1: Introducing Odette Viotto

Present Time

It wasn't unusual to see orphaned children running around in the streets of Ketterdam. What was unusual was seeing them all huddled together at night, appearing as if they were waiting for someone to arrive.

And just who was this someone they were waiting for? It wasn't like Ketterdam was populated with kindhearted people who were constantly looking out for homeless children. No, in Ketterdam the majority who lived there were apathetic towards others who weren't themselves.

But Odette Viotto wasn't nearly as heartless as those who resided in the city.

The dark haired girl stepped out of the shadows, allowing the group of children to see her now that she arrived. Over her typical outfit that she wore, she had on a dark moss green cloak with the hood up. Even then the children were able to recognize her because of the bags she carried. Bags that they knew by now were filled with food she had gathered for them.

Odette used her own money to buy the food but really most of the food in the bag was stolen. Odette was slick like that.

Just as the other times before, the children lined up in front of her. Odette began handing out food to them. It was a mixture of food items, but she knew the children favored bread. Especially when it was bread that was made that very same day. So that's what Odette tried getting the most of. Bread surprisingly was also the easiest to steal.

The food she brought with her today was just enough for all the children. There were times when she didn't have enough, and she never liked that. It made her feel bad. The last child in the line walked up to her. It was a little brown haired girl who looked to be eight. She looked at her with a smile.

"Thank you."

Odette sadly didn't recognize the girl but that wasn't surprising. There were always new children showing up in Ketterdam without parents and a home. The children that went to her for food weren't always the same. One night she'd see a familiar face but then days later she wouldn't see them. Sad thoughts always popped up in her head, thinking that they were hurt, or worse.

But she tried not to linger on those sad thoughts for too long. Especially now when staring at the little girl in front of her. Odette really hoped she'd be okay after she left with her food. But the little girl was living in Ketterdam, and only the strong-willed survived the harsh city.

Odette managed to give her a small smile before waving her hand, gently shooing the girl and the rest of the children away. They had their food. Many of them still didn't have a home but at least their bellies would be full tonight.

She told their small retreating figures that she'll try to bring food again sometime soon. There wasn't a schedule for when she was delivering food, it was when she had the spare time. The only sure thing was the location she would deliver the food. That's where the children would wait, but if she didn't show up at a certain time then it was a sign she wasn't showing up at all.

Odette calmly walked through the narrowed streets of Ketterdam. The wind carried the smell of the sea and salt from the harbor. Her shoulder length hair under the cloak's hood tickled her neck. It had been years since Odette let her hair grow out to pass her shoulders. She preferred keeping it short because long hair just got in the way. She supposed she could have tied and braided it like Inej did with her own hair. Except Odette found the time it would take to do her hair, no matter how simple, to be tiresome.

So she stuck with short hair.

The city always did liven up when the sun went down. However, the people who often hung out at night in the streets weren't the most gracious. But Odette Viotto had no worries, she never did when out in Ketterdam. The dark haired girl knew how to take care of herself. She had already left a mark with the permanent residents. That mark said not to mess with her...or else.

A few drunken men who'd once tried making a pass at her quickly got out of her way when they got a glimpse of her face.

Underneath her hood, Odette's lips curled upwards from seeing them panic. She remembered how scared they'd been when she had threatened them. They'd squirmed on the floor with their faces bloody, saying how sorry they were. She stopped hitting them eventually, but that's what they got for trying to touch her without her permission. Foolish men.

Odette almost halted, getting the feeling that someone was following her now. Unease never appeared because in her gut she knew just who it was. The way their boots sounded on the cobblestone gave them away. Honestly, they needed to work on that. She let the ruse continue until she turned into a corner where the streetlamps dimmed. It was there that Odette waited for the other person to turn into the same corner, and they soon did.

But she was ready.

The dark haired girl swiftly reached for the sheath that had her bo-staff. The bo-staff was made of steel and was collapsible. It was the perfect weapon because at first sight it was small, and not many would think it could cause damage. Once the bo-staff expanded though, it was a whole other story. She was also able to unlock the bo-staff and use it as a pair of batons during a fight if she wanted to. For the moment she kept the bo-staff whole as she pointed an end of it at the person's face who had been following her. They stopped just in time from getting hit in the face.

This person happened to be long-limbed, brown-skinned, and was giving her a mischievous smile. A mischievous smile that she was more than familiar with. The person was not at all bothered that she had her bo-staff pointed at them.

"Hello, Jesper." Odette greeted him waggishly. There was no uncertainty or awkwardness between them. Not only was he one of her fellow Dregs, but he was her best friend as well.

Jesper's smile turned into a pout. "You knew it was me the whole time?"

Odette lowered her bo-staff, made it small again, and tucked it back in the sheath. "Best leave the sneaking up to Inej."

Her Suli friend was excellent at sneaking up on people. Odette was better at sensing people, or perhaps only when it came to Jesper. He wasn't as stealthy as he claimed to be.

"One day, Dottie..." Jesper drawled, grinning and waving a finger at her. "I'll catch you off guard."

As expected he called her by the nickname he'd given her. He was actually the first person to ever call her Dottie. It started when they were kids and he was still calling her Dottie to this day. Inej would sometimes call her Dottie but it was more in passing. Nowhere near as personal as it was when Jesper said it.

Kaz never did. The day Kaz Brekker, also known as Dirtyhands and Bastard of the Barrel to the people in Ketterdam, started calling her Dottie would be the day she stopped eating waffles indefinitely. And she loved waffles. But she was confident that he'd never call her by that nickname.

Odette did think of him as a friend, even despite his cold professional demeanor. That was just Kaz. Ever since she met him. It honestly would be weird if he was anything but cold and intense. Strangely his coldness more than often comforted her. And she knew Jesper felt the same way.

"Keep telling yourself that." Odette went on to casually answer him.

"So what are you doing out here?" Jesper raised his eyebrows, amusement showing on his face. "Giving into your softie maternal tendencies again?"

"I am far from being motherly." Odette stubbornly rejected. She wasn't really bothered that Jesper had figured out what she had been doing. It wasn't like she was being super secretive about it. She did have a soft spot for orphaned children. She was well aware it was because she could have suffered the same fate as them…but she had been very lucky to have been found and taken in by someone.

Cressida Viotto. The woman who found her as a newborn in Novyi Zem. The woman became a mother to her. She had raised her as her own. So of course Odette had gladly accepted the first name she gave her, and last name.

The dark haired girl knew nothing of her actual first and last name, nor of her biological parents. Cressida never did figure out who had left her in the field close to her farm. Cressida, however, raised her as well as she could. Odette knew it must have been a challenge for the older woman. Cressida was a widow, and already in her late fifties when she had found Odette. Except old age didn't stop Cressida from loving Odette as if she were her own daughter.

It had been a good life. Living on a farm, helping take care of the goats they had, befriending the next door farm family that happened to be where Jesper lived. That happiness shifted at the age of ten for Odette when Cressida died of a weak heart in her sleep. She would have gone to the streets if it hadn't been for Jesper's father, Colm. The older man had known Cressida, and had decided to look out for Odette after the older woman's passing. Odette figured his kindness also came from him losing his wife. Jesper's mother, Aditi, died a few weeks before Cressida. So the Fahey family knew loss.

Jesper and her had been friendly with each other before Cressida's passing but it was when Odette moved in that they're friendship really blossomed. They became inseparable. She loved their friendship but the pain from losing the only woman that was a mother to her never really went away. Even now it still made her emotional but she was able to let it pass.

"Sure, and I'm just all beauty and no brain." Jesper retorted playfully.

Odette had no problem matching his wit with what she said next. "Well, only one of those is true."

Jesper pretended to take offense by pouting. "Hurtful."

"Now what are you doing here?" Odette frowned a bit, remembering something. "Aren't you supposed to be minding the door tonight?"

Usually Kaz ordered either Jesper or her to mind the door at the Crow Club. Tonight was Jesper's turn from what she remembered. Needless to say her best friend wasn't as responsible as Kaz expected him to be.

"Yes, and you're supposed to as well." Jesper answered breezily.

Odette shook her head. "You and I both know that when Kaz orders you to mind the door he just means you."

"But he knows that I work better with you by my side." Jesper enthusiastically began telling her. "Listen, it's like we told Kaz when we first met him, wherever one goes the other follows. We're a pair. Like waffles and hot chocolate."

Odette couldn't help but laugh. That was so ridiculous. So Jesper. But it was funny. "That's what you're comparing us to? Waffles and hot chocolate?"

"Come on, you love waffles!" Jesper exclaimed. "And don't pretend you don't favor hot chocolate."

He knew very well of her love for waffles, for food in general. Odette had a ferocious appetite. It was highly amusing to see people's shocked reactions whenever they ate out in public and would see a small girl like herself eat a large portion of food. He honestly didn't know where Odette put all that food she ate because she was very lean.

Odette shrugged her shoulders. "True."

"The point is you can't have one without the other."

"You absolutely can." Odette countered, straight-faced.

"Not when it's us." Jesper softly said and watched as she let out a sigh, features relaxing. "The two work well together. Just like us."

"And I'm the softie here?" Odette muttered, a smile slowly escaping her.

Jesper patted her head, showing her once again how short she was compared to him. Even though she was eighteen years old, Odette hoped she hadn't stopped growing yet. She was the smallest of the Dregs. Inej even passed her in height. Odette, however, couldn't deny that in her case being short often worked to her advantage. People, men mostly, often thought she was weak because of her smallness. How wrong they were to think that.

"That's because you are, Dottie." Jesper said with a grin.

Besides her height, the other thing Jesper loved teasing her about was how softhearted she was. Out of all the Dregs she was probably the most considerate, following along Inej. But that didn't mean she wasn't brutal when she needed to be. He'd seen her strike men down, bloody them up, and leave them for dead. She was very much a fighter, and one would be a fool to think otherwise because of her innocent features, and her moments of kindness.

The sharpshooter let out an exaggerated sigh. Odette was used to him doing that. So she simply stared at him, not at all impressed. Jesper continued with his playfulness.

"You know Dottie up until now it's been an uneventful day, but..." He paused, and then grinned excitedly. "I'm feeling lucky now." His dark brown eyes gleamed. "You know what that means."

Gambling. It always meant gambling. Odette rolled her eyes, mouth quirking to the side. "Yes I do, but you say that all the time." Luck wasn't always on Jesper side as he thought it to be. The amount of times he had lost their money and angered people when playing cards wasn't forgotten by Odette. She still recalled quite well the huge debt he had put them in a while back.

So no, he wasn't always lucky. But as Jesper liked to point out, he was still with her, alive, so perhaps it really was luck. Odette called it stupid luck because of how reckless he can be at times, well most of the times. But that was her best friend. He was reckless, and deep down she knew she didn't want him to change, no matter how stressed out he made her feel with his decisions.

Jesper raised his eyebrows. "And am I ever wrong though?"

"Yes." Odette quickly answered. She then furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Well, sometimes." She huffed. "You haven't won playing cards as much as you think you have."

"Ah, but the point is that I have won." Jesper pointed out brightly.

"Not all the time." Odette reminded him.

Jesper dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand. "Details, so not important."

The sound of thunder made them look up. Jesper chuckled before looking down at her again. "Just in time." He jumped in place. "It's gonna start raining. A sign that we're meant to be inside."

Odette raised an eyebrow. "A sign that says we're meant to be inside gambling, you mean?"

Jesper snapped his thumbs. "Exactly!"

Odette spared the cloudy night sky one last glance. "I guess we should hurry." She was more interested in seeking shelter from the rain than gambling. "Unless we both want to look like wet cats."

"Kaz certainly wouldn't like that." Jesper answered, high spirited. He was ready to keep going forward, and get the night properly started.

Odette hummed, finding amusement from imagining the glare Kaz would have given them if they walked into the Crow Club in horrid conditions. "No, he wouldn't."

A/N: Just to make things clear this isn't an Odette x Jesper pairing. They're just super close because of their past. They practically grew up together and have been their for each other. So it makes sense that they have a close friendship. I kind of picture their friendship to be like Kara and Barry from Supergirl and The Flash.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I sure had fun writing it but that was because I enjoy Odette and Jesper moments. We'll start to progress more into the actual events of the show in the next chapter.