Nina Zenik (paymeinwaffles) wrote in stromaisleic, @ 2023-05-19 15:36:00 |
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Entry tags: | !time: morning, *thread: complete doc, [plot]: hounds, grishaverse: inej ghafa, ☑day: eight, ☒dropped: kaz brekker, ☒dropped: nina zenik |
Who: Inej, Kaz, Nina
What: hounds
Where: their house
When: day 8 (morning?)
Warnings: some violence
Status: complete g-doc
There was rarely a night that Kaz did not suffer from nightmares. Images, sensations, of being a float in the harbor, his hands clinging to his brother’s corpse as he desperately paddled for shore. Some nights he’d dream of being adrift with the bodies, tears staining his cheeks, as he lay among the dead and breathing in the suffocating stench of decay and rot. Others he found himself once more with his brother, both sheltered in a dirty alley, and Jordie barely clinging to life beside him.
Perhaps those were the worst of all because in those dreams he still tried to save his brother. He hadn’t resigned himself to the truth just yet. He still believed Jordie would wake up if he just shook him harder, if he just shouted his name louder, if he’d only known who Rollins truly was. Upon waking, guilt and anger wracked his heart as sweat beaded on his forehead and his heart pounded wildly in his chest. Guilt at not being able to do something to protect Jordie and anger, fierce, fiery anger at Jordie for being so stupid. So naive.
But last night Kaz did not have any dreams about Jordie. Instead, he dreamt of being chased through hallways and corridors by hounds. Blind, skeletal dogs with flesh that fell from their bones as they endlessly hunted him. The Bastard of the Barrel awoke with a start, sweat making his clothes cling to his body, and heart pounding in his chest. Kaz could still smell the putrid odor of their flesh and feel their breath as their teeth moved to close around his leg. Blinking, Kaz foolishly found himself searching the darkness of his room for any sign of the beasts. There was nothing and Kaz sank back against the pillows, forcing himself to take a deep breath. It was just a dream like all his others and yet-
Before Kaz could ponder the strangeness of the nightmare, a scream in a very familiar voice shattered the silence of the house. Inej. Kaz bolted from his bed and a gloved hand quickly grabbed the cane where it rested against the night stand. It was rare that Kaz ever slept without his clothes or gloves and this was one of the reasons why. He yanked open the door and hurried to Inej’s room.
“Inej!” Another scream pierced his ears and Kaz barreled his way into her room, eyes immediately landing on a bleeding Inej and the hound who had her cornered. One of the hounds lunged at her and Kaz blocked his attack with his cane. Whipping it around, the Crow’s head collided with the head of the beast and knocked it clean off. The body immediately dissolved into a strange mist, but Kaz didn’t have time to ponder it. He knelt beside Inej. Anger and fear reflected in his eyes as he looked her over and for once he was not the stoned-face bastard everyone knew from the Barrel. He was just a man scared for the woman he loved.
“You’re bleeding bad. We have to get you to Nina now. Can you stand?” Even as he asked the question, Kaz was already moving to wrap an arm around her waist. The fear of losing Inej outweighing his fear of touch in the heat of the moment.