[kaz lets go of the door handle like it burns him. not because of anything she did, but because he can hear it in her tone. the need and the desperation caused by the infection. not just the infection. the drugs, too. and kaz brekker, bastard of the barrel, knew a lot about drugs.
the jurda trade was a profitable one, there was no denying it. but parem had infinitely complicated things. the withdrawal was like no other, for those that survived the effects.
which is why they'd given kaz what was left of it. because no one else could be trusted not to give it to nina. no one else could be trusted not to give into her and let her have it. kaz was steadfast. and "not feeling emotion" was a good way to ensure he wasn't going to give in when the tears started. not like matthias, who would do anything for his love. or jesper who could be baited.
kaz was best suited for the job. he's probably best suited for that one, too. he drops his voice to a whisper - maybe so he doesn't spook her, mostly so their other neighbors can't hear him.]
If you think I can't knock the door down even with you leaning on it, you're sorely mistaken. We need to talk.
omg i didn't even notice... it's too late here i'm crying
[ It's a mistake to think that's all there is to it as well though. The four months she's been here, she's definitely got more used to latching onto people, to letting herself get caught up in what could be considered a normal life - a lot more normal that the past three years of hers, anyway. She's used to holding onto someone, but for the past week or two she's tried to avoid it as much as possible.
People have had to visit with supplies to visit at all, and even at the hospital she had mostly met up with others to take their blood, not to have cosy hug sessions.
So the oxytocin is the best bet she has, but even that isn't perfect. It isn't the same as naturally getting the happy hormone, anyway. The high from it is the same, in some respects, but it's a lot easier to abuse it when you're injecting it into yourself. ]
That is not why I am doing it.
[ No. She's fighting with herself is more accurate, because even if she lets Kaz in, what will that achieve? A stern talking to won't fix this.
There's a huff of breath as she pushes herself back, hand clenching on the handle before she reaches to unlock it.
When she does show herself though, he may find it's actually... not a sight to see. Her infection is long enough along now that her veins stand out more, and the lack of make-up make it seem worse. Her eyes are darker from the lack of sleep too. ]
[the scene is about what he expects. the specifics are a little different, but he's caught up quickly in the time he's been at woodhurst to understanding the more specifics of the underbelly of this world.
kaz closes the door behind him before saying anything. then he locks it. then he just stares at her for a long moment behind an expression of stone. she looks the way jordie does in his nightmares, sometimes, when jordie wants revenge for not being cured.
but this isn't any worse than anything else he's dealt with. this isn't any worse than anything else in woodhurst.
when he speaks the normally gravelly tone of his voice is even rougher, like he's all edges and nothing soft. like all the walls he erects around himself are ten times higher.]
How long has it been since your last hit?
[he doesn't need to be told, doesn't even need to confirm that's the situation here. it's straight and to the point. it's the conversation that needs to be had.]
[ Her eyes dip towards the lock when it turns, though it's more out of confusion than fear. Some might consider it stupid, others reckless, but she doesn't fear him even if he had threatened to break in and was obviously trying to be intimidating right now.
Instead, she just cants her head to look at him, brow furrowing as she tries to work out what he's talking about. ]
[kaz surveys the room - the shattered glass, the syringe still on the table. then he steps closer to her. every step is like moving feet made of lead but he wills himself to do it.]
You're going to hurt yourself at the rate you're going.
Drugs...? [ Her voice is soft as she repeats it, then she follows his gaze towards the table, things finally clicking back into place. What did he think she was taking??? All in all oxytocin is actually relatively harmless over a few sessions but she has been doing it simply because... she doesn't have access to the alternative. ]
Do you even know what oxytocin is, Kaz?
[ If anything, she doesn't blink or move from where she's standing. ]
[ It's frustrating because he doesn't understand the problem here. ]
I do not see you coming here to hold my hand, do you? The oxytocin acts as a replacement for physical contact. That soothes the anger symptoms of the virus.
[ The idea of it is almost laughable. ]
Though if you must know, yes. I was trying to set something up, but my concentration is not what it was.
[he wants to tell her that you can still get addicted to something you do for the right reasons. tell her how harmless seeming things can be more than that. wants to tell her about jesper and gambling and nina and parem.
thinking of nina makes his heartache. it's worse now, that they have wylan. on the one hand, wylan has all but confirmed that their absence meant nothing. on the other hand, nina and inej and matthias were still at home. nina was still hurting. inej was still....
but kaz can't fix those problems, there's only one he can work on and it's standing in front of him. he takes a deep breath, like he's steeling himself against a blow and reaches over and takes her hand in his own gloved one, holding it tight.
I do not see you coming here to hold my hand, do you?
guess again girl. sometimes proving a point can help you overcome the scariest things in life.]
This is what you need?
[he can't get himself to look at her when he asks it, but it's a step in the right direction.]
[ It might be the case that it comes to that, lord only knows she's probably getting there with sedatives because she's avoided Haise for the past few days. She'd got used to that. Sleeping by someone, holding onto them while letting dreams come because with Haise there it make the nightmares disappear. Without that, all she can seem to see are the nightmares.
So maybe she isn't being completely honest here either, but the one on the table is oxytocin, the sedatives in her room because there's a sense of shame that comes with those.
But she doesn't expect this.
Her eyes drop to where his hand is holding onto hers, her other going limp at her side. She can't tell if she really did take too much or even if oxytocin could make you hallucinate. It's only a hormone though, so how could it?
She gives her hand a little twitch, but the weight is still there, the touch of leather against skin. ]
It... [ She trails off, eyes slowly moving up to look at his face, even if he isn't looking at her. She's surprised. Overwhelmed might even be the better word for it. ] ...is the better alternative, yes.
[doing this is incredibly difficult. he's pulled a million cons and schemed a million plans, and every one of them is simpler than the act of holding sonia's hand.]
Find someone who can do this for you, instead of putting things in your body.
I cannot. [ Her own voice is softer as she says that, and it's dangerous going into this here, but she needs him to know why she's not willing to let anyone linger in this apartment for too long. No one but Giovanni has for days now. ]
Giovanni is not the type either, and... There are few others I trust with the knowledge of what I could do to them if something were to go wrong.
[ She still isn't letting go though, because even if this is hard on him, she needs the support to explain herself properly when she's still refusing. ]
[kaz forces himself to look up at her. his hand is shaking, in a trade-off, but it is what it is. they're both learning things about each other that aren't meant for most people to know.]
[ It isn't the worry of judgement that makes her hesitate here (that's impossible after what he told her during the two truths one lie game), it's not knowing what he might do with the information. She can feel the slight shake in his hand though, the way he seems to be holding on against his own will here, just to try and stop her doing this thing and she doesn't know why but the sentiment... it's touching.
Her thumb shifts, stroking slightly against the back of his hand to try and be soothing, though she doesn't know if that will make it worse. ]
Back home... [ She starts it slowly, though she's done this enough times by now that it's getting easier, the words find their way out with more ease. ] Myself and my classmates are responsible for killing millions of people. The guilty. The innocent. The rich. The poor. It did not matter who it was. We were brainwashed into causing mayhem and destruction, to spread despair.
This virus is not all that dissimilar. The only difference is that I can feel the downspiral, rather than it happening in an instant.
[he would never use this information against her. which is not to say he would never use this kind of information against a person, but sonia has earned enough respect from him he wouldn't. sonia is practically one of his crew at this point. he tries not to be shocked by what she says. it's a lot to hear about. like a grisha on parem, spreading terror.
kaz hears what she doesn't say: she'll be good at it, when it happens. and that's a scary thought for her.]
If you come after me and my team, I'll kill you.
[his tone is decidedly not threatening, despite the words. if anything, it's a promise. a promise to end it, if she ended up somewhere she didn't want to be. it's not the kind of promise a nice person makes. but kaz has never claimed to be a nice person.]
[ She doesn't really know that, even if she knows that he's helped her and she's helped him by this point. She knows learning that she was infected was likely difficult as well. Still, it's good that he understands it better now. That he at least might realise why this is a safer alternative because she cannot risk harming someone just because they were there to hold her hand or hold onto her like this.
His words, at least, make her smile. It isn't a kind smile this time, just something dead. A lonely, cold smile that shows she knows what to expect should it come to it. Something accepting of her fate, so to speak. ]
Do not worry, I have already asked Giovanni to end my life should it come to it.
[ Because she's not sure how good at it Kaz will be if she's armed to the teeth either. ]
[kaz nods stiffly. she doesn't need him, after all. not that giovanni was stopping her from hurting herself now, but in the log run at least she's got someone with a solution. it makes his barging in here a little bit silly. she doesn't need someone to protect her, because shes got someone.
he lets go of her hand - it was hard enough to hold it when he had a sense of purpose, but her response and that horrible smile make him think better of it. when he pulls away, he's still shaking, but he's trying hard not to let it show.]
[ She doesn't mean it like that either, so when he pulls his hand back it makes her own feel emptier than even before. Maybe it is best she doesn't make him aware of everything else as well. The fact that her room has been torn up, furniture overturned in fits of anger they can probably hear through the wall. The fact that her arms are covered in bite marks and puncture wounds from infecting herself too often. That she's sedated herself enough times now just to have a decent rest that she's forgotten what it's like to sleep naturally. ]
He will not. Cannot.
[ There's a beat, then more coldly she murmurs: ] You may both have that in common.
[ Though with that in mind, it may be best to not think of it as her having someone to protect her. Giovanni isn't quite there yet, though he's getting closer. He may not get to reach that point before she cracks and he has to end her at this rate. ]
[it's the first most bitter thing that leaps to his mind and he says it before he has the good grace to stop himself. he's too on edge from all of this. this deficiency -- this weakness -- it was his alone. he wouldn't let him be compared to anyone else because no one else would understand what it was like. how stupid it was.
[ She pauses then, reaches up to brush hair from her face. ]
If anything, I took the steps to push my way into his life. I was trying to help him as he has never really known affection. Expecting him to "get over it" is as if expecting a miracle. He does not know what it is to get over it to begin with. Please, do not ask for the impossible.
It is not that simple. [ Kaz, you know what she's done now. Of course she's going to feel guilty for it. ] Even if I could not control myself, I still took the power from my parents and used it to destroy my entire country. If I have to work on this on my own, I will do. That is all.
[ What she isn't saying: If I cannot help find the cure for this virus, I might as well die from it. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
i belatedly realized i started this thread feb 15 and not march 15 where am i what year is it
the jurda trade was a profitable one, there was no denying it. but parem had infinitely complicated things. the withdrawal was like no other, for those that survived the effects.
which is why they'd given kaz what was left of it. because no one else could be trusted not to give it to nina. no one else could be trusted not to give into her and let her have it. kaz was steadfast. and "not feeling emotion" was a good way to ensure he wasn't going to give in when the tears started. not like matthias, who would do anything for his love. or jesper who could be baited.
kaz was best suited for the job. he's probably best suited for that one, too. he drops his voice to a whisper - maybe so he doesn't spook her, mostly so their other neighbors can't hear him.]
If you think I can't knock the door down even with you leaning on it, you're sorely mistaken. We need to talk.
omg i didn't even notice... it's too late here i'm crying
People have had to visit with supplies to visit at all, and even at the hospital she had mostly met up with others to take their blood, not to have cosy hug sessions.
So the oxytocin is the best bet she has, but even that isn't perfect. It isn't the same as naturally getting the happy hormone, anyway. The high from it is the same, in some respects, but it's a lot easier to abuse it when you're injecting it into yourself. ]
That is not why I am doing it.
[ No. She's fighting with herself is more accurate, because even if she lets Kaz in, what will that achieve? A stern talking to won't fix this.
There's a huff of breath as she pushes herself back, hand clenching on the handle before she reaches to unlock it.
When she does show herself though, he may find it's actually... not a sight to see. Her infection is long enough along now that her veins stand out more, and the lack of make-up make it seem worse. Her eyes are darker from the lack of sleep too. ]
Are you happy now?
go team
kaz closes the door behind him before saying anything. then he locks it. then he just stares at her for a long moment behind an expression of stone. she looks the way jordie does in his nightmares, sometimes, when jordie wants revenge for not being cured.
but this isn't any worse than anything else he's dealt with. this isn't any worse than anything else in woodhurst.
when he speaks the normally gravelly tone of his voice is even rougher, like he's all edges and nothing soft. like all the walls he erects around himself are ten times higher.]
How long has it been since your last hit?
[he doesn't need to be told, doesn't even need to confirm that's the situation here. it's straight and to the point. it's the conversation that needs to be had.]
we got this... clearly
Instead, she just cants her head to look at him, brow furrowing as she tries to work out what he's talking about. ]
My last... hit?
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[kaz surveys the room - the shattered glass, the syringe still on the table. then he steps closer to her. every step is like moving feet made of lead but he wills himself to do it.]
You're going to hurt yourself at the rate you're going.
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Do you even know what oxytocin is, Kaz?
[ If anything, she doesn't blink or move from where she's standing. ]
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[but he's not about to let her back him into a verbal corner with what justifications. he keeps talking:]
What did you break that plate?
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[ It's frustrating because he doesn't understand the problem here. ]
I do not see you coming here to hold my hand, do you? The oxytocin acts as a replacement for physical contact. That soothes the anger symptoms of the virus.
[ The idea of it is almost laughable. ]
Though if you must know, yes. I was trying to set something up, but my concentration is not what it was.
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thinking of nina makes his heartache. it's worse now, that they have wylan. on the one hand, wylan has all but confirmed that their absence meant nothing. on the other hand, nina and inej and matthias were still at home. nina was still hurting. inej was still....
but kaz can't fix those problems, there's only one he can work on and it's standing in front of him. he takes a deep breath, like he's steeling himself against a blow and reaches over and takes her hand in his own gloved one, holding it tight.
I do not see you coming here to hold my hand, do you?
guess again girl. sometimes proving a point can help you overcome the scariest things in life.]
This is what you need?
[he can't get himself to look at her when he asks it, but it's a step in the right direction.]
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So maybe she isn't being completely honest here either, but the one on the table is oxytocin, the sedatives in her room because there's a sense of shame that comes with those.
But she doesn't expect this.
Her eyes drop to where his hand is holding onto hers, her other going limp at her side. She can't tell if she really did take too much or even if oxytocin could make you hallucinate. It's only a hormone though, so how could it?
She gives her hand a little twitch, but the weight is still there, the touch of leather against skin. ]
It... [ She trails off, eyes slowly moving up to look at his face, even if he isn't looking at her. She's surprised. Overwhelmed might even be the better word for it. ] ...is the better alternative, yes.
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[doing this is incredibly difficult. he's pulled a million cons and schemed a million plans, and every one of them is simpler than the act of holding sonia's hand.]
Find someone who can do this for you, instead of putting things in your body.
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Giovanni is not the type either, and... There are few others I trust with the knowledge of what I could do to them if something were to go wrong.
[ She still isn't letting go though, because even if this is hard on him, she needs the support to explain herself properly when she's still refusing. ]
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Tell me.
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Her thumb shifts, stroking slightly against the back of his hand to try and be soothing, though she doesn't know if that will make it worse. ]
Back home... [ She starts it slowly, though she's done this enough times by now that it's getting easier, the words find their way out with more ease. ] Myself and my classmates are responsible for killing millions of people. The guilty. The innocent. The rich. The poor. It did not matter who it was. We were brainwashed into causing mayhem and destruction, to spread despair.
This virus is not all that dissimilar. The only difference is that I can feel the downspiral, rather than it happening in an instant.
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kaz hears what she doesn't say: she'll be good at it, when it happens. and that's a scary thought for her.]
If you come after me and my team, I'll kill you.
[his tone is decidedly not threatening, despite the words. if anything, it's a promise. a promise to end it, if she ended up somewhere she didn't want to be. it's not the kind of promise a nice person makes. but kaz has never claimed to be a nice person.]
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His words, at least, make her smile. It isn't a kind smile this time, just something dead. A lonely, cold smile that shows she knows what to expect should it come to it. Something accepting of her fate, so to speak. ]
Do not worry, I have already asked Giovanni to end my life should it come to it.
[ Because she's not sure how good at it Kaz will be if she's armed to the teeth either. ]
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he lets go of her hand - it was hard enough to hold it when he had a sense of purpose, but her response and that horrible smile make him think better of it. when he pulls away, he's still shaking, but he's trying hard not to let it show.]
Then tell Giovanni to hold your hand.
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He will not. Cannot.
[ There's a beat, then more coldly she murmurs: ] You may both have that in common.
[ Though with that in mind, it may be best to not think of it as her having someone to protect her. Giovanni isn't quite there yet, though he's getting closer. He may not get to reach that point before she cracks and he has to end her at this rate. ]
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[it's the first most bitter thing that leaps to his mind and he says it before he has the good grace to stop himself. he's too on edge from all of this. this deficiency -- this weakness -- it was his alone. he wouldn't let him be compared to anyone else because no one else would understand what it was like. how stupid it was.
how hard it was.]
If he's going to protect you, he can get over it.
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[ She pauses then, reaches up to brush hair from her face. ]
If anything, I took the steps to push my way into his life. I was trying to help him as he has never really known affection. Expecting him to "get over it" is as if expecting a miracle. He does not know what it is to get over it to begin with. Please, do not ask for the impossible.
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Perhaps both.
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[so stop that immediately, obvs]
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[ What she isn't saying: If I cannot help find the cure for this virus, I might as well die from it. ]
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[he tells himself this every day. every day when he reminds himself what he owes to jordie.]
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