Echo • Six Of Crows - Kaz Brekker

17

Mavka felt as though she and Kaz had become twin soldiers, marching on, pretending they were fine, hiding their wounds from the rest of the crew.

After an in depth conversation that involved a lot of quips and serious consideration at leaving dear Nina and Matthias alone together (that was eventually shut down by Kaz and his impatience at the others ability to shut up about it), her and Kaz had been left alone at the back of the group once more.

The snow was stinging the shallow cuts on her cheeks and forehead and her muscles ached more than they usually would after throwing herself into the action like that - which she despised. She felt weak. But she wouldn't allow herself to be caught up in it because she would then be even weaker for dwelling on it.

An hour passed and she kept looking at Kaz. Something kept catching her eye and over the magnetic feeling with the memory of the cold fingers latched around her wrist, and the stinging of her face, and the fatigue that threatened to drag her into the ice, something else kept catching her attention and she couldnt shake it.

"What are you looking at?" Kaz's raspy, stone on stone voice made her look forwards again, a pink tint flaring under the numbness in her cheeks and nose.

He saw the colour on her face. It wasn't the cold.

She shrugged, sliding her frigid hands back into her pockets.

"It must be rather important."

Mavka huffed a breath and shook her head at the floor, trying to hide her face. It really wasn't, which made it worse that she couldnt stop looking.

Stop asking, please. She begged mentally. she felt like a child caught doing something she wasnt supposed to, but not in a terrifying way, in a playful, embarrassing way.

"Spit it out, shadow."

She put her middle finger up at him, her lips twisting up. He knew what he was doing.

"Something wrong with my face?" He inquired dryly.

She mouthed the word 'always' and span her index finger in a circle in the air. He rolled his eyes.

She happened to glance at him in the silence and deeply regretted it as her lips twisted further up, more than she would have liked. Her eyes glinted and he caught her eyes flickering up to his hair and he subconsciously ran a hand through it when she looked away.

Crystals of ice came away, melting against the warmth of his leather glove, and his eyebrow rose. Remnants of the Squallors storm.

She avoided looking at him when he looked her way, wondering if this was what she was fixated on.

He ran a hand back through his hair, shaking the rest of it out. She caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and bit her tongue as he brushed his hands off.

She went to reach out to take out one of the last pieces glinting in the sunlight, stuck within the longer strands of his dark fringe that fell to the side of his forehead. But she caught herself when his eyes snapped to her movement towards him.

She checks that the others are far enough ahead and considers pulling the bit of ice out herself, but she had a feeling he'd break her wrist with his cane before she could get close enough.

Or maybe he wouldn't because it was Mav.

At times like this she really would have liked to have seen what went on inside his head.

Seeing him assume he had it all out was amusing and when she looked at him, trying to conceal her smile, he gave her a dry look.

Mavka pointed to her own hair and flared her fingers in a wave beside her head, wiggling her fingers as she did. She nodded towards him and gave a thumbs up. It was a lovely new accessory.