REAPER ─ kaz brekker

five; frozen shores

005;          FROZEN SHORES

IT WAS ANOTHER TWO DAYS BEFORE FJERDA'S ROCKY COAST CAME INTO VIEW.

They would spend the frigid night on the schooner and move in tomorrow to make their  trek to Djerholm. Kaz hadn't shared anymore details about his ever evolving plan, if there were any. Though, Onyx was sure there was plenty he was choosing to withhold from them until he found it necessary. And if there was anything more specific he wanted her, or the others to know, he kept it to himself. It wasn't too terribly much of a surprise, but more information would've allowed a little more comfort to seep in before they were faced with the inevitable task of making it out of this whole heist alive. 

She spent the better portion of that first night thinking over the words -- or lack of words -- that she and Kaz shared aboard the main deck, overlooking the calm seas. It was more of an exchanging of threats than a real conversation, but the point was made. That was why, against her better judgement, Onyx climbed from her cot and slowly ventured her way out onto the deck. Some of the crew stayed awake to make sure they remained on course, but Onyx had taken to moving to the very back of the schooner, where no one could see her. And in the silence of that first night, with the sounds of the waves and the stars above to keep her company, Onyx lifted her hands and began her dreadfully silent dance with the wind. 

Her parents never knew that she was Grisha, much less a Squaller. Being in Kerch, being Grisha meant having an indenture, being a slave, being owned and sold. Most Grisha were stuck in pleasure houses or as servants to wealthy Merchants after being sold by slavers at the Harbors. Her father kept his gifts as a Fabrikator a secret, and was known simply as a skilled weapons maker. Her mother didn't have any abilities. The secret was theirs as a family, one they kept locked and sealed behind closed doors. And it wasn't until they were ash in the ruins of that Zelver District home that Onyx found her siren song. 

From that day, scrambling for life, scrambling to keep herself safe, feeling the rush of power beneath her fingertips and running through her veins, Onyx vowed it to herself to keep it a secret. She feared the repercussions. The repercussions were terrifying. Being a young female in the Barrel was scary enough as it was, and it was a miracle she never ended up in a pleasure house; being a young Grisha female was even more terrifying. But it became easier-- learning, relying on her innate, natural abilities with weapons, killing those who might have found out. 

It became easier because it was survival. 

And luckily enough for Onyx Vissier, survival earned a reputation. And a reputation meant climbing up the lofty ladder of authority in the Barrel. And at the top? The man who forced her to become the monster that was said to hide under children's beds. She couldn't simply kill him outright, of course. No, no, Pekka Rollins deserved to beg for the death and mercy Onyx Vissier lost that night in the Zelver District-- the same place where Onyx Reinsing died in agony. 

Onyx found her way back to her cot some time before sunrise. She spent the majority of the following day committing the Ice Court plans to memory and coordination with Inej about the potentiality of Onyx making the club behind her. This type of ordeal was Inej's thing, not Onyx's. She knew how to climb, she knew how to use the shadows and the rooftops to her advantages, but she was no Inej Ghafa. But still, the plan stood. They would both make the climb to ensure secure passage on the other side, with Onyx carrying the rope. 

The thought of such a climb left her tossing and turning about in the night. It kept her from what little sleep she might have gotten before she clambered out onto the deck and gave them the final push they needed toward Fjerda. However, unlike the morning before, Onyx didn't wake to the sound of Nina coming to check and bandage her wound. Instead, it was the cool, salt air breeze and Kaz's gravelly rasp somewhere above her.